Aha. I see you understand play. [ which means she's finally getting up, dusting off the back of her jumpsuit once she's up on her feet again ] Well okay, fetch is out. You are not putting anything from this ship in your mouth, no, ew. So.. Hm. What are the odds you understand 'sit' and 'stay'? I could go hide in the Jungle? And then you have to find me. ..No really, you have to, I'll freak if I get lost in there. You just have to give me some time to hide, okay?
['Sit' and 'stay'. Padfoot is obedient when he chooses to be, and disobedient more often than not--but for girls that he likes, and for his own purposes, he is incredibly capable of sitting and staying.
It's almost immediately after she's made the suggestion that he crashes to the ground again, sitting quite forcefully. His tail still beats against the ground, but he stares up at her with incredible focus, his ears pricked and his eyes bright and every centimeter of him looking helpful and friendly and ready to come and find her and save her and rescue her from the jungle.
In case there's any question, he barks, once. Ready!]
Good boy. [ Raven's so proud, SO proud. excellent. okay. she takes a few steps away, looking back into the Jungle and hoping there aren't bugs bigger than her head in there or anything. but nah. someone would have said something by now if there were big scaries in there. right? right. ] Okay. Stay. I'll.. whistle when I've found a hiding spot, yeah. Right. Stay. [ she lifts up on her toes with a grin before she dashes off, straight into the thick of the plant life. luckily! she eventually finds a narrow little trail that winds around the trees and whatnot, and she follows that for a bit before breaking off of it again. and she's still fast even when she's dodging trees and hopping over plants, which is good, because she's not sure she trusts Sirius to stay still for very long. it's not until she finds a tree with a few low branches that she decides to stop, and she hasn't climbed trees since she was kinda really little, buuuut.
eventually she makes it up. not too high! the last thing she needs is to get stuck in a tree, wow. but her legs dangle over the sides of the brach and there's still about a six feet drop, so. yeah! this seems like a good hiding place.
once she catches her breath, she whistles as loudly as she can, peeking back the way she came from before scooting back on the branch until she can rest her back on the trunk of the tree. she's not toooo well hidden, her black jumpsuit against all the green moss, but maybe it'll be tricky. who knows. ]
[He tenses when she first moves off--almost ready to follow her, not content to wait, too eager to chase and to be with her and and and--
But stay, right, stay, and he sinks back, quivering, eyes following her for as long as he can.
Staying takes a great deal of willpower and focus, but he stays perfectly statue still, as if she's going to double back to check on him, as if she might know that he moved if he moves, and he can't move, not until--
THE WHISTLE and there it is, and with an eager bark, Padfoot springs to his feat and goes tearing off in the direction that Raven went. He can smell her, he can he can he can, even over all the good interesting weird wet green plant smells of the Garden around him, he can smell her still, and it's like a blue path, a Raven-path, almost as clearly as if it's marked out on the ground--there she went, and here, and turned, and no no no back back there, and he has to slow a little to sniff at the ground but--
But then it stops, suddenly, right in front of a tree, and there's no more smell but it's still here, and he twists around, his tail wagging hard, and he barks again. Where!, and when she doesn't answer he whines a little, and barks once more. Where where where!]
[ she has to press her mouth shut hard to avoid saying anything at first, wanting to see if he can find her up here, figure it out on his own. Raven knows hide and seek is supposed to be all about being such a good hider that the seeker never finds you, but she's always been one to get more excited at being found, at seeing the seeker ( it was honestly always Charles, he was the only kid she ever really played with ) rapidly approaching her spot. it always made her feel proud and relieved and, well, found. there isn't really anything wrong with being found, nope
Sirius whines and she can't help but 'aww' a little bit, even with her mouth shut still. oops. ]
It's okay, sweetie, I'm up here! [ ... what? he's a sweet dog. and now she's leaning forward, away from the trunk, so it's easier to spot her ] You found me!
[His ears lift a little higher at the sound of her voice, and he looks around, and then, finally, up--
Oh! Oh! There she is, yes, and he knew that already, of course he did, and he jumps up to brace his forepaws against the tree, his tail beating at the air again in his enthusiasm. Yes yes yes he found her, and now she has to come down, and he barks! And barks again, just in case she didn't hear him!]
Okay, okay, okay. Don't move, I don't wanna squash you.
[ umm, hm. safest way to get down. right. she slowly scoots over on the brach until she's more or less in the center of it, and then- like monkey bars, right? she shifts her hands into gloves for a better grip ( bark hurts, okay ), but then she just lets herself tip backwards, and uses the momentum to flip back off the branch-
and onto her feet. ]
--oof.
[ there's just one stumble back before she gains her footing, and she actually doesn't end up on her ass. yay! ]
I sure hope you remember your way back. --C'mere. [ because well she wants to pet you again, which is why she's holding out her hand and wiggling her fingers ]
[Obediently--proving what a good dog he was, yeah yeah yeah--Padfoot had hung back, but as soon as she shows the slightest interest in him again (and wiggling fingers are an interest and an invitation both!), he barks and darts to her side, pressing close against her, sticking his nose against her hand, her wrist, anything he can get, his tail beating against her legs.
He winds around her in a tight circle, snuffling at her, beaming up at her in adoration--and he barks again, because yeah, he knows the way back! And he can show her!--and just as quickly as he'd returned to her side, he springs away again, darting back a few steps and stopping stock-still to stare at her. Come on!]
[ ow, ow, tail. coldcoldcoldnose!!! Raven doesn't actually have that much experience with dogs, she's never had any pets at all, nor did she spend time with anybody that did, so this is kind of all new to her. which is weird for her to realize this long after he's changed, but the longer he stays like this, the less she's thinking of it as a shift of some sort. but that's bad, like, wow do not get attached to this puppy dog because he is, in fact, one of your friends here and that's incredibly awkward. but she's actually managed to forget a lot about why they decided to meet and why he's showing her this ability of his at all because now it's just... playing. it's fun. it's so far from anything else she's used to on the ship that she actually is kind of, for now, just letting herself not think about any of it. so anyway!
once he's starting back, she's pretty quick to understand ( yay thank god he remembers ), and she hops up once on the balls of her feet, ready to run. ]
[Forgetting is sometimes entirely the point of Padfoot. He's a big furry warm-bodied distraction, and he plays that part excellently, whenever he's called to do so. So Raven forgetting all the trouble--even for only a few moments--that's a success, and Sirius would be as pleased as Padfoot to hear it.
But Padfoot of course doesn't understand complexities like that. All he knows is playing and happy and the way she seems to be pleased with him, and yes now she's ready to go again and he starts, faking her out--yes run-- and then he tears off in earnest, dashing off into the underbrush.
This might be the way out! Or it might be a game.]
[ she manages to follow him for a little while, watching where he cuts through the wide leaves and moss and vines, but- it gets- tricky- after a bit! there must've been a dip in the ground, either that or the plant life just gets more lush in certain areas, because suddenly the underbrush is almost up to her knees and she can't really tell where Sirius got off to. so she slows to a jog, tries to listen for him, but it's really no use. no, no, no, she really doesn't want to lose him in here. if she starts heading towards the left it seems like there's a path cut out, maybe the same path she was on before, but what if he keeps going straight-?
... unless he's doing this on purpose. ]
Sirius! [she eventually slows to a stop, turning in place to see if she can spot any movement. ] Oh no! I lost you! [ please let this be a game... she starts to continue through the brush, trying to step quietly even as she calls out again; ] Where aaaare youuu?
[But of course it's a game, and of course it's on purpose, because it's Padfoot, which means it's Sirius. Which means he doesn't take anything seriously. Even as a dog, he likes jokes--dog-jokes--which means he lets her linger in the feeling of maybe-being-lost for a few moments, skulking behind a tree. It's nearly too much! He snuffles in excitement, his tail striking the tree beside him--a moment longer, a moment longer, only a moment longer--
Where are you, and that's it, and barking, he leaps out of the underbrush and bowls into her. It might be a crash or it might be tackle or it might be something of the two combined.]
[ she actually cries out in surprise when he barks, not at all ready for it, and when she turns towards the sound, she's met with a big black dog barreling towards her and oh no, oh gosh, he's going to tackle her isn't he, he's going to just-
yup-! yup.
luckily she saw it coming, kind of got low enough that falling back meant just dropping down instead of stumbling backwards and falling. she's got her hands out to catch him, and one ends up kind of.. where his chest is ( is that his chest? under his neck, at least. whatever ) and the other's on his side, where she immediately starts scratching him again, kind of, more like just ruffling up his fur while she laughs ]
You had me worried, sneaky pup. [ her lips purse after she smiles at him again, and soon mumbles that sound kinda like "g'boy g'boy g'boy" are being cooed as she moves to scratch him behind the ears with both hands. eventually ( maybe it's because of said ear scratching ) his face is bowed enough so she can lean in and give him a kiss on his ..forehead? well kind of between his eyes, whatever that is on a dog, without getting attacked with dog-kisses first, and then she leans back, hands stilled, her expression still bright, but a little less goofy now. ] Thank you, Sirius. [ for.. everything, distracting her and playing with her mostly, but she's not going to specify ] Who knew you could be such a sweetiepie. Ah-yes-yes-yes you are.
[This would be weirder if Sirius wasn't already accustomed to this dichotomy. It's still a little disconcerting to be called Sirius and not Padfoot--a minor tiny detail that hardly matters, except when it does; when he hears Sirius it's like waking that part of him, and she's kissing him which he can sort of appreciate, except kissing him as a dog, and Padfoot wriggles happily against her, panting, so pleased so pleased so happy good boy good boy, and all this affection, his skin crawly with it, yes, happy, yes--
Sirius, thinks Sirius, somewhere in the dog's head, and he appreciates that thanks, even if it's not necessary, he'd have done it anyway. Padfoot would have, unprompted, just for the joy of playing with her, but Sirius would have as well, and he tries to send calming messages to the dog bits of him, shut up hold still shut up--still, Padfoot licks once at Raven's wrist before he settles down a bit, sinking onto her haunches and staring up at her with adoration clear in his eyes.
Would it be weird to change back to himself now? Maybe. Probably. But it would also be better, because Padfoot is going to jump up and run around her in just a moment here, so--he barks, once, a goodbye, and noses at her hand before he gets to his feet. A few paces off and he turns, trying to tell her stay here, wait, so he can duck behind a tree and hang back and make sure everything is in order before parading around in front of her.]
[ Raven's caught a little off guard when he licks her, but it's only because she's still trying to figure out if he understands her at all ( he must, though, isn't all this attention to her proof enough? ) and which part of him it is that does, exactly. human side or dog side. not that it matters too much, she's glad for it just the same. when he backs off, she's standing up again already, set to follow him or try and watch as he dashes off to hide again, but that never comes. instead he barks and she just tilts her head curiously, but otherwise she stays right where she is. ..still ready to run in case he dashes off, but. okay. she'll wait and see what he's doing first. ]
[Once safely behind the tree, Sirius has to work to get Padfoot around to the idea of switching back. It's not that he's not in charge--he absolutely is!--it's just that it can be difficult persuading even himself that he doesn't want to be this happy and this in tune with every little thing around him.
But dogs can't talk, and he wants to talk, and he can switch back later and play some more; come on-- and so, finally, he shifts back. The reverse of the transformation is like sneezing backwards--not painful, not precisely, just weird and definitely unnatural, as every bit of him remembers that it's meant to be more complex--
But, finally, there he is, in clothes and everything, and after making sure everything is straightened out, he comes out from behind the tree, rubbing at his jaw. Merlin, but his mouth always tastes terrible after being a dog, no matter if he's eaten anything at all--]
Blrurk. Hullo. Yeah, so-- there y'are. [And it's sort of weird that she knows--she's not the weirdness in that equation, it's just weird to have anyone who isn't a Marauder knowing. And there's plenty of people aboard this ship who now know, and here's one more. Weird.] Ta-dah.
[ hey, Raven doesn't think it's weird at all. he should be proud of that!! he's got an amazing ability and there's nothing weird about showing it off. then again, she doesn't know it's a secret back home. ]
That was amazing! Really. SO groovy. [ she'll even clap ] Could you understand what I was saying? I forgot to ask before you changed.
[He pulls one more face--reverse dog breath, yurck--but even he has to grin at her applause, and he does a little mock bow.]
Some of it--I understand some of it. But I can't do anything about it. S' like-- being in a dog's head, but you're just along for the ride, and the dog is incredibly loud. Everything else sort of gets drowned out.
[ her cheeks might darken at that last part, but she's not about to bring attention to it. not deliberately anyway ]
They were kisses for the puppy! It's not like- Hn. You were being very sweet, and it felt like a perfectly normal thing to do at the time. [ just shush up, yeah. good idea, Darkholme ]
Everyone but you. Why do I not believe that at all? [ let it be known that Raven knows this is probably in bad form. maybe. kind of. kissing lead to biting which might actually lead to her being a werewolf which is bad, but mostly she's thinking about the fact that she just kissed Remus not all that long ago, and now she's leaning in to give Sirius a kiss on the cheek, and she's sure there's some rule here that she's breaking here because they're all friends, but whatever. a kiss on the cheek isn't- it's not anything to worry about. it's just friendly. still! she's a girl, so of course she's going to think about it.
but only for a second.
she gives him a loud kiss on the cheek, then steps back again, nodding just once. ]
[His eyes shut, Sirius pauses a moment to consider that kiss--and then he nods in return, leaning back and rubbing at his cheek with a satisfied air.]
Yes. Yes, I think that will do nicely, if only in the interest of--y'know. Complete and total fairness.
[Right! Moving on! Briskly--but still grinning, still with a hint of accomplishment so she doesn't quickly forget that she's just kissed him (which is perhaps a little cruel, but it's just a joke!)--he claps his hands together.]
Well, so there y'are, then. That's Padfoot--that's what we call him. Er, that is to say, me, when I'm him. And it's a secret, by the way, so don't go telling everyone.
Padfoot. I like that. And I definitely like having something else to call him that isn't your name, since that was a little strange. [ in fact, she thinks it's kind of adorable, but she won't say that. Padfoot, aw. awww. ] Your secret's safe with me. [ and she's kind of looking around the jungle now because yes that's easier than watching him smile and try not to get flustered at the same time. ] Okay, so. How do we get out of here?
[Too many Siriuses and he starts getting really confused--and that is distinctly unpleasant, being confused as a dog. It makes everything murky and wonky.
But at her question, he examines their surroundings with some interest. A beat, and he concludes, cheerfully:]
Not sure! How d'you feel about being a little lost, Raven?
[ Raven literally throws her hands up at that because wHAT how can they be lost nooo ]
Being lost in Bug City?! ..Jungle Bug City..? Whatever? I have mixed feelings. [ SHE CAN'T PUNCH BUGS. SHE'S USELESS AGAINST THEM ;; and now she's nervous. kind of. in that weird way that people get around bugs. like you know it's dumb, but you're still scared. ] I'm sure we can find the path I ran in on. Maybe. Back that way? Sirius. [ now there's nervous laughter because she has a seriously bad sense of direction ]
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It's almost immediately after she's made the suggestion that he crashes to the ground again, sitting quite forcefully. His tail still beats against the ground, but he stares up at her with incredible focus, his ears pricked and his eyes bright and every centimeter of him looking helpful and friendly and ready to come and find her and save her and rescue her from the jungle.
In case there's any question, he barks, once. Ready!]
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eventually she makes it up. not too high! the last thing she needs is to get stuck in a tree, wow. but her legs dangle over the sides of the brach and there's still about a six feet drop, so. yeah! this seems like a good hiding place.
once she catches her breath, she whistles as loudly as she can, peeking back the way she came from before scooting back on the branch until she can rest her back on the trunk of the tree. she's not toooo well hidden, her black jumpsuit against all the green moss, but maybe it'll be tricky. who knows. ]
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But stay, right, stay, and he sinks back, quivering, eyes following her for as long as he can.
Staying takes a great deal of willpower and focus, but he stays perfectly statue still, as if she's going to double back to check on him, as if she might know that he moved if he moves, and he can't move, not until--
THE WHISTLE and there it is, and with an eager bark, Padfoot springs to his feat and goes tearing off in the direction that Raven went. He can smell her, he can he can he can, even over all the good interesting weird wet green plant smells of the Garden around him, he can smell her still, and it's like a blue path, a Raven-path, almost as clearly as if it's marked out on the ground--there she went, and here, and turned, and no no no back back there, and he has to slow a little to sniff at the ground but--
But then it stops, suddenly, right in front of a tree, and there's no more smell but it's still here, and he twists around, his tail wagging hard, and he barks again. Where!, and when she doesn't answer he whines a little, and barks once more. Where where where!]
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Sirius whines and she can't help but 'aww' a little bit, even with her mouth shut still. oops. ]
It's okay, sweetie, I'm up here! [ ... what? he's a sweet dog. and now she's leaning forward, away from the trunk, so it's easier to spot her ] You found me!
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Oh! Oh! There she is, yes, and he knew that already, of course he did, and he jumps up to brace his forepaws against the tree, his tail beating at the air again in his enthusiasm. Yes yes yes he found her, and now she has to come down, and he barks! And barks again, just in case she didn't hear him!]
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[ umm, hm. safest way to get down. right. she slowly scoots over on the brach until she's more or less in the center of it, and then- like monkey bars, right? she shifts her hands into gloves for a better grip ( bark hurts, okay ), but then she just lets herself tip backwards, and uses the momentum to flip back off the branch-
and onto her feet. ]
--oof.
[ there's just one stumble back before she gains her footing, and she actually doesn't end up on her ass. yay! ]
I sure hope you remember your way back. --C'mere. [ because well she wants to pet you again, which is why she's holding out her hand and wiggling her fingers ]
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He winds around her in a tight circle, snuffling at her, beaming up at her in adoration--and he barks again, because yeah, he knows the way back! And he can show her!--and just as quickly as he'd returned to her side, he springs away again, darting back a few steps and stopping stock-still to stare at her. Come on!]
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once he's starting back, she's pretty quick to understand ( yay thank god he remembers ), and she hops up once on the balls of her feet, ready to run. ]
Go ahead! I'll keep up.
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But Padfoot of course doesn't understand complexities like that. All he knows is playing and happy and the way she seems to be pleased with him, and yes now she's ready to go again and he starts, faking her out--yes run-- and then he tears off in earnest, dashing off into the underbrush.
This might be the way out! Or it might be a game.]
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... unless he's doing this on purpose. ]
Sirius! [she eventually slows to a stop, turning in place to see if she can spot any movement. ] Oh no! I lost you! [ please let this be a game... she starts to continue through the brush, trying to step quietly even as she calls out again; ] Where aaaare youuu?
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Where are you, and that's it, and barking, he leaps out of the underbrush and bowls into her. It might be a crash or it might be tackle or it might be something of the two combined.]
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yup-! yup.
luckily she saw it coming, kind of got low enough that falling back meant just dropping down instead of stumbling backwards and falling. she's got her hands out to catch him, and one ends up kind of.. where his chest is ( is that his chest? under his neck, at least. whatever ) and the other's on his side, where she immediately starts scratching him again, kind of, more like just ruffling up his fur while she laughs ]
You had me worried, sneaky pup. [ her lips purse after she smiles at him again, and soon mumbles that sound kinda like "g'boy g'boy g'boy" are being cooed as she moves to scratch him behind the ears with both hands. eventually ( maybe it's because of said ear scratching ) his face is bowed enough so she can lean in and give him a kiss on his ..forehead? well kind of between his eyes, whatever that is on a dog, without getting attacked with dog-kisses first, and then she leans back, hands stilled, her expression still bright, but a little less goofy now. ] Thank you, Sirius. [ for.. everything, distracting her and playing with her mostly, but she's not going to specify ] Who knew you could be such a sweetiepie. Ah-yes-yes-yes you are.
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Sirius, thinks Sirius, somewhere in the dog's head, and he appreciates that thanks, even if it's not necessary, he'd have done it anyway. Padfoot would have, unprompted, just for the joy of playing with her, but Sirius would have as well, and he tries to send calming messages to the dog bits of him, shut up hold still shut up--still, Padfoot licks once at Raven's wrist before he settles down a bit, sinking onto her haunches and staring up at her with adoration clear in his eyes.
Would it be weird to change back to himself now? Maybe. Probably. But it would also be better, because Padfoot is going to jump up and run around her in just a moment here, so--he barks, once, a goodbye, and noses at her hand before he gets to his feet. A few paces off and he turns, trying to tell her stay here, wait, so he can duck behind a tree and hang back and make sure everything is in order before parading around in front of her.]
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But dogs can't talk, and he wants to talk, and he can switch back later and play some more; come on-- and so, finally, he shifts back. The reverse of the transformation is like sneezing backwards--not painful, not precisely, just weird and definitely unnatural, as every bit of him remembers that it's meant to be more complex--
But, finally, there he is, in clothes and everything, and after making sure everything is straightened out, he comes out from behind the tree, rubbing at his jaw. Merlin, but his mouth always tastes terrible after being a dog, no matter if he's eaten anything at all--]
Blrurk. Hullo. Yeah, so-- there y'are. [And it's sort of weird that she knows--she's not the weirdness in that equation, it's just weird to have anyone who isn't a Marauder knowing. And there's plenty of people aboard this ship who now know, and here's one more. Weird.] Ta-dah.
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That was amazing! Really. SO groovy. [ she'll even clap ] Could you understand what I was saying? I forgot to ask before you changed.
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Some of it--I understand some of it. But I can't do anything about it. S' like-- being in a dog's head, but you're just along for the ride, and the dog is incredibly loud. Everything else sort of gets drowned out.
Thanks for the kisses, though.
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They were kisses for the puppy! It's not like- Hn. You were being very sweet, and it felt like a perfectly normal thing to do at the time. [ just shush up, yeah. good idea, Darkholme ]
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[He heaves a pained sigh.]
S'ppose that means I'll just have to go around as Padfoot more often.
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but only for a second.
she gives him a loud kiss on the cheek, then steps back again, nodding just once. ]
There! Now you and the puppy are both even.
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Yes. Yes, I think that will do nicely, if only in the interest of--y'know. Complete and total fairness.
[Right! Moving on! Briskly--but still grinning, still with a hint of accomplishment so she doesn't quickly forget that she's just kissed him (which is perhaps a little cruel, but it's just a joke!)--he claps his hands together.]
Well, so there y'are, then. That's Padfoot--that's what we call him. Er, that is to say, me, when I'm him. And it's a secret, by the way, so don't go telling everyone.
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[Too many Siriuses and he starts getting really confused--and that is distinctly unpleasant, being confused as a dog. It makes everything murky and wonky.
But at her question, he examines their surroundings with some interest. A beat, and he concludes, cheerfully:]
Not sure! How d'you feel about being a little lost, Raven?
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Being lost in Bug City?! ..Jungle Bug City..? Whatever? I have mixed feelings. [ SHE CAN'T PUNCH BUGS. SHE'S USELESS AGAINST THEM ;; and now she's nervous. kind of. in that weird way that people get around bugs. like you know it's dumb, but you're still scared. ] I'm sure we can find the path I ran in on. Maybe. Back that way? Sirius. [ now there's nervous laughter because she has a seriously bad sense of direction ]
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