Chapter 10 : Morning

“...Is this supposed to be some sort of trick?” questioned Anton as he cocked an eyebrow “Or a joke of some kind? Because I...”

Anton stopped short as he looked up at the suddenly miserable looking dark elves and found them both huddled together with their ears laid back submissively.

“...Wait? What's going on?” he asked as he unfolded one of his arms and indicated Mica “What is she talking about?”

“I'm talking about you! You ass! And how you said you were going to sell this elf to my Dad!” seethed Mica as she pointed back at Fiona “You even said you would make him a good deal! You sick fuck! But I won't let you do it! You come anywhere near her and I'll kill you!”

Staring down at the brazen little kiochi who was apparently ready to fight for her, Fiona's eyes went wide as a grateful tightness began to form in her chest.

“...Okay, this is definitely some kind of trick.” mumbled Anton as he turned to the dark elves “Girls, I don't know what Mica has told you, but I have never even once spoken to her Father about selling either one of you. This is just complete nonsense.”

“...What? But, yes you did!” started Kianna as her voice began to crack “You did, when you were talking to Leopold last night!”

“You said you were working with dark elves.” whimpered Fiona as light tears began to form in her eyes “And you said that one was coming along great, and that one wasn't... And then you started talking about me. About how I was young and, inexperienced. And then you told Leopold that a dark elf would be expensive. But that you would make him a good deal...”

Going still for a moment, realization slowly formed on Anton's face as he looked from one dark elf to the other.

“Oh!” he said as he slowly began to nod his head “That's what your all talking about! No, no no no! This has been a complete misunderstanding! That's not what we were talking about at all! That had nothing to do with selling you, Fiona!”

“...What do you mean?” asked both of the dark elves in unison as they looked at each other in confusion.

“What were you talking about then!?” demanded Mica “Because that sure as Hell sounded like you were talking about selling her!”

“Your parents.” said Anton as he indicated Mica “Have a client that is married to a nekomata, or a werecat of some kind. And this cat is apparently being quite the tom lately. So Leopold wanted to know if he could rent or hire my dark elf on this clients behalf, and have her step in and scare this cat straight via some “behavior-modification” training. That's what we were talking about. We never even once discussed him actually buying Fiona. Not that I would ever sell a homicidal brat like Fiona to him anyways. I could never do something like that to a friend after all.”

The dark elves and shinoccubus remained completely still and silent for several moments as they all stared at Anton.

“Oh, thank the Gods!” exclaimed Fiona as she hunched in on herself.

“I knew it!” cried Kianna as she clutched her relieved looking sister around the shoulders “I knew it! I knew you would never sell her! I knew it! I knew it!”

“Hold on. Is this why you've been acting so weird lately?” asked Anton as he pointed at Fiona “You really thought I was going to sell you?”

“Yes!” cried Fiona “And oh Gods! I almost puked so many times! 'Oh look at me! I'm little miss happy, happy slave girl! Master! Master! Right away, Master!' Bah! Argh! My stomach was turning the whole fucking time! And I could barely even stand myself!”

“It was so creepy and gross!” declared Kianna as she nuzzled their cheeks together “And it'll be so good to have you back to normal!”

“...Agreed. That was actually very unsettling.” nodded Anton “This is still unfortunate though. Considering at this point, I doubt things are going to work out for you, Fiona...”

“Wha? What do you mean?” questioned Fiona as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in nervousness “What's not gonna work out for me!?”

“This opportunity.” said Anton “I know how important it is to you that you become better at being a dark elf. And this would have been a good chance for you to get some real world experience in. Unfortunately, like I said, it's just not going to work out. And I am really sorry about that.”

“Oh. Right. No, that's okay...” said Fiona as she shook her head “Don't worry about it. I mean, it sucks. But it's whatever. I'm not upset about it.”

“Hm. Well I appreciate the good attitude.” nodded Anton “And I promise, we will find you more opportunities like this one. We'll just have to keep our eyes open for them.”

“...Right. Okay!” grinned Fiona as she joyfully pressed her shoulder into the hold her sister still had on her “Yeah! That sounds good!”

“You're still a heartless bastard!” declared Mica as she kept her knife pointed at Anton's face “And I'm still not letting you anywhere near these elves!”

Narrowing his eyes, Anton was quiet for a moment as he seemed to be assessing the shinoccubus.

“Right... So where is this really coming from, Mica?” he asked as he began to thoughtfully rub his chin “Because you can't actually expect me to believe you're truly trying to protect the dark elves without some other motive being at play here...”

“I don't give a crap what you believe!” snapped Mica “I already told you that!”

“...Mm hm. So, you're saying that when you attacked me just now, you weren't out for revenge with that? You only did that to protect the dark elves?” asked Anton as he folded his arms back over his chest “The very same dark elves that have been torturing you, and openly threatening your life... You gave up on a chance to escape, and you stayed to protect them. With no ulterior motives whatsoever. You realize how difficult that is to believe, right?”

“Motherfucker!” growled Mica “Yes! That's what happened! I stayed because I knew you'd be pissed at them if I was gone!”

“...I see. ...Well isn't that interesting.” mumbled Anton as he cocked in eyebrow in obvious disbelief “You knew I was going to punish them, so you stayed to try and protect them. That's very nice of you.”

“Fuck you!” snapped Mica through her clenched jaw.

Fiona had become stoic as she stared down at Mica. After a few moments of watching her argue, she smirked at the frustrated kiochi before closing her eyes, sighing through her nose and turning to face Anton.

“Master!” she called as she looked him in the eyes “You know how to fight, right?”

Taken aback, Anton blinked as he, Mica and Kianna all turned to her unison.

“Excuse me?” said Anton as his face scrunched up in surprise “I, why? What do you mean by that?”

“I mean, that you know how to fight! Like when you fought with Mica last night.” said Fiona as she looked back down at the kiochi “You knew what you were doing. And you knew, that she didn't know what she was doing... Right?”

“Well, yes, you're right... I wouldn't necessarily call myself overly skilled at most forms of combat. But yes, I can technically fight. And fairly well.” stated Anton “Why exactly are you asking though?”

Fiona hesitated and began to chew on her lower lip as she stared at Mica. Unnerved by the sudden attention, the kiochi grimaced in unease as she leaned away from her.

“...Do you think? That you could, maybe like, teach Mica how to fight?” asked Fiona as she looked back up at Anton “Like train her? Or something?”

“...What!?” exclaimed both Anton and Mica in unison.

They immediately mimicked one another again by glancing at each other and then turning back to face Fiona.

“Now why in the world would I ever do that!?” questioned Anton.

“Why would I ever listen to a damn thing this guy says!” declared Mica as she pointed her knife back at Anton.

“Because! ...I don't know!” cried Fiona as she looked from Anton to Mica and back “Because! Because she needs it! Because she's stupid! And she's gonna get herself killed! She needs help! Bad! She's all alone in this! And nobody else is going to help her! Because nobody else even cares!”

Mica went silent as she stared dumbfounded at the dark elf.

“...And why do you care all of a sudden?” asked Anton in a calm tone as he tilted his head “Seriously? Where did this come from?”

“It, it came from her! When she! When we! ...I don't know!” cried Fiona as her voice began to crack “...Why do you care so much!?”

“Um, well. I wouldn't exactly say that I do!” chuckled Anton.

“Yes you do! You care a lot! You care about us!” exclaimed Fiona as she turned to a startled Kianna and began to blink at her as light tears took shape in her eyes “You tell us about what we are! And you're teaching us how to be better at what we are! You want to make us better at what we are! ...And, I don't know why!? ...I know you say it's because it's entertaining to you. Like you're just bored, or something. ...But I don't know about that. ...I think, maybe you just really care! ...And I think, that maybe you want us to be better, because you really care? ...But I, don't? ...I don't know?”

Anton remained silent and still as he watched the now sobbing dark elf struggle with her confession.

“It's like with this thing, that just happened. I thought you were getting rid of me! ...But you weren't. You were gonna help me get better. And you even said that you're sorry cause it didn't work out. ...You promise other ones will though. And, I believe you! Because, I know you want me to be better. And I know you can help me be better. I know you can help us be better!” continued Fiona as she pressed her shoulder against her sister's as she grinned at her “And even though I do hate you! ...I still know that you'll help me. ...And, I just think, that maybe, maybe you could help make her better too? ...Please?”

“Yes!” cried Kianna as she looked up at him and frantically nodded in agreement “Please! She really does need help! Your help! Please! You have to help her! ...Please!?”

Anton stood completely still for several long moments before he slowly turned to the kiochi.

“...How did you do this?” he asked softly as he shook his head in disbelief “How did you manage to get these two on your side like this?”

“I didn't do anything...” mumbled Mica as she scowled and looked away from him “They just started untying me. ...But this is why I stayed. Because they helped me, and I wanted to help them. ...So now you know why. ...Okay!? Do you get that now!?”

Anton stared at her for another long moment before slowly looking back up at the dark elves.

“Well, then... This is just, out of nowhere... And I'm really sorry girls, I don't know how to say this, but...” he mumbled as he cradled his chin in his hand and went quiet for another long moment.

The dark elves couldn't help but to grow anxious as they watched Anton's expression slowly become thoughtful.

“...But, then again. ...I did kind of like the way that looked.” mused Anton as his eyes shifted back to the shinoccubus “When she was protecting you.”

The dark elves eyes widened to their fullest as Mica's head snapped back up to attention.

“...Enslaved dark elves are going to be a spectacle. And in the right place, you two could easily draw the wrong attention.” continued Anton as he looked from the kiochi back to the dark elves “It might not be a bad idea, to have a bodyguard around...”

Mica's face immediately scrunched back up into a scowl as she pointed her knife back up at Anton.

“Fuck you! I wanna kill you! Like I'd ever be your bodyguard!” she exclaimed “I'd never do that for somebody like you!”

“Hm, well, technically, you already are doing it for me, Mica.” chuckled Anton as a small grin formed on his face “After all. You've been protecting my dark elves this entire time, haven't you?”

“From you!” declared Mica “Not for you!”

“Mm, true. But that's just a minor detail.” said Anton with a shrug “You're already willing to protect them though. So that wouldn't be something that I'll have to train into you myself.”

Blinking, Mica took a step back as her confidence seemed to suddenly falter.

“Hey! Don't talk about me like that!” she exclaimed as she took another step away from him “You can't just train something into me! I'm not some kind of... dog!”

“Right, you're right. You're not a dog... You're a young, clanless, homeless shinoccubus with no formal training and who is completely unwanted by her family...” mused Anton as he took a step forward and let his grin grow into a thin smile “You are, in all actuality, quite interesting...”

“I'm, h-hey! No I'm not!” cried Mica as her voice became laced with an undercurrent of panic “Don't say crap like that! And stop looking at me like that!”

“Well, well, well... This suddenly became interesting... This suddenly became very interesting... This is actually a very unique opportunity!” continued Anton as he took another step forward “You're a completely clean slate, Mica. You have no exposure to clan doctrines. You have no bad habits from former trainers. You're able bodied, eager to learn and have plenty of motivation... It really would be a shame to just let someone else ruin all of your potential. Especially considering that as you are, you could be molded so very easily.”

“What!? No I can't!” exclaimed Mica as she looked from him to the dark elves and back “Seriously! Stop saying crap like that!”

“...This is such a wonderfully entertaining idea! Why didn't I think of this earlier!?” smiled Anton as he turned back to the dark elves “Good thinking, Fiona! I'm going to have so much fun with this!”

“Uh, yeah. No problem!” exclaimed Fiona as she smiled and tried to ignore the kiochi who was now hatefully glaring at her “Anytime!”

“No! You're not!” declared Mica as she shifted her glare back to Anton “I'm not listening to you, or working for you, or anything for you! Ever!”

“Why not? What better option do you even have?” asked Anton as he continued to grin at the angry little kiochi “Do you really think you can defend yourself on your own? Because it's not as though the world outside this house has suddenly gotten any safer for you.”

Her face twisting in rage, Mica went to speak but was stopped short as Kianna interrupted her.

“Mica!” shouted the dark elf as she pointed her ears straight upwards “Stop that! Right now!”

“...Wha, what!?” questioned the startled kiochi.

“What are you doing!? You have someone who is finally willing to help you and you're going to act like this!?” exclaimed Kianna as she stepped forward and took a stand in front of the wide eyed kiochi “This is exactly what you wanted! You don't have to be alone anymore! Our Master is going to help you. So why are you fighting with him!? What do you think you're even doing!?”

“...I! ...W-wait! No! He, he's gonna!” stammered Mica as she pointed at Anton “He's the bad guy!”

“What!? Why!?” asked Kianna.

“...Because! He's gonna punish you! And, and put me in a jar!” exclaimed the kiochi before blinking in confusion “...Remember!?”

“I never said I was going to do that to you, Mica. Or that I even wanted to. I only said that I could do it.” sighed Anton as he shook his head “And I only told you that so that you would understand what the consequences for you would be if you pushed things to that point. My only intention was to give you a reason to control yourself. And nothing more.”

“See! There ya go!” exclaimed Kianna excitedly “You're not really gonna end up in a jar. Not unless you keep being really stupid. Which you're not gonna be! Because we're done now! We're not enemies anymore! So you're not gonna try to run away, or keep fighting us or anything like that... Right!?”

Mica said nothing as she merely stared up at the now smiling dark elf.

“...Right, Mica!?” repeated Kianna through her smiling teeth as she folded her arms across her middle and narrowed her eyes into a stern looking glare.

Her expression clearly mistrustful, Mica tightened her own eyes as she shifted to the side and clutched her knife to herself as if she was expecting it to be taken away from her.

“Dammit, Mica...” grumbled Fiona as she shook her head in frustration “Really!?”

“Mica.” said Anton in a calm tone.

Mica and the dark elves all turned to him in unison as he spoke.

“What!” snapped the kiochi as she tucked her knife in even closer to herself in an effort to keep it out of sight.

“Just recently, we've had a conversation where we discussed how all shinoccubi have an ingrained ability that when invoked, takes the form of an oath of loyalty.” explained Anton “This ability essentially acts as a self-inflicting curse. And when shinoccubi come of age they invoke this ability on themselves and swear their oaths of loyalty to their clans and to the Makieves that their clans serve. Do you remember all of this?”

“...Yeah.” mumbled Mica.

“Good, perfect.” nodded Anton as he clapped his hands together “Then listen very carefully!”

Grimacing in unease, Mica went still as she narrowed her eyes at him.

“We do not trust each other. You do not trust me. And you have proven, time and again now, that I can not trust you. So, if you're going to be staying here with us, living with us, and working with us. Then this is going to have to change. Immediately. So with this being the case, I want you to invoke this ability, and then swear your loyalty to me. Thus, making me your Makieve and your Master.” said Anton “And in exchange for this. I will swear that I will protect you, care for you, keep you alive and have you fully trained to the point that you will be able to defend yourself against anyone who may try to threaten or attempt to kill you... Now, how does all this sound to you?”

Mica was silent for several long moments as she stared at him.

“Are you serious!? Hell no!” she declared as she pointed her knife back up at his face “Fuck you!”

“Hm. Okay, fine then.” said Anton with a shrug “I'll just enslave you instead. It's basically the same thing anyways.”

Another long moment of silence passed as everyone stared at Anton.

“...Wait, what!?” cried Mica as her eyes went wide.

“Oh! That actually works perfectly!” exclaimed Kianna as she clapped her hands together.

“Holy shit! Why didn't we think of that!?” cried Fiona as she slapped her forehead “This solves everything! We should have just done this from the beginning!”

“Wait, what!?” cried Mica as she turned towards them.

“But hold on. Don't you think this will make her family even more pissed?” asked Kianna.

“Nah, why would it? If anything it should make them happy!” exclaimed Fiona “If Mica becomes our slave, then they won't need to kill her anymore!”

“No, I doubt it'll make much of a difference to them either way. And even if it does, it definitely won't be enough to stop them.” said Anton “She's too much of a liability, even as a slave. They want her dead. And us putting a collar around her neck isn't going to change that.”

“Hold on! Just hold on! Everybody just stop!” cried Mica as she put her hands up and backed away from all three of them before pointing her knife at Anton “You! You can't enslave me!”

“...Okay?” questioned Anton “Why not?”

“Why! Because! I'm not a criminal! You can only enslave criminals!” exclaimed Mica as she tapped her finger on her own chest “And I'm not a criminal! I've never done anything wrong! I'm totally innocent!”

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at her.

“...Wait, seriously?” questioned Fiona “She can't seriously be this stupid? ...Right!?”

“Stop it, Fiona! Don't call her stupid! You know how confused she is!” said Kianna as she glared at her sister and then turned to the kiochi “Mica, sweety. Why are you here?”

“Wha!?” cried Mica as her eyes darted from Anton to the dark elf “Because! I was helping you! How many times do I have to keep saying this!?”

“Uh, no. Well, yes. But what I mean is, why did you come here? In the first place. What were you-.” started Kianna.

“Kianna, just hold on a minute.” interrupted Anton as he shook his head “Let's try giving her a moment to figure it out on her own...”

“What!? Wait! What was that!?” cried Mica as she looked from Kianna to Anton and back “What were you gonna say!?”

Kianna grimaced apologetically as she hunched her shoulders into a shrug.

Mica stared at her in confusion for a moment before shifting her gaze to Fiona.

Smirking, Fiona made as if she were holding something as she bobbed her hand up and down in a stabbing motion.

Brow creasing as her confusion deepened, Mica looked down at her own hand. Her eyes widened in panic as they locked onto the knife being held there.

“...Oh crap.” she groaned softly.

“And there it is.” grinned Anton.

“Oh crap! Oh crap! Oh crap!” chanted Mica as she balled her hands into fists and pressed them to her temples jut below her horns “What have I done! I tried to kill somebody!”

“Mm, it was twice that you tried that, actually.” grumbled Anton as he held up two fingers “So far...”

Mica began to tremble uncontrollably as her eyes went dull and lost focus. The coils of her tail began to wither wildly around her waist as her panic set in deeper.

“...Okay. I think I'm gonna go ahead and take this away from you now.” said Fiona as she reached over and slowly slipped the knife out of Mica's hand “I don't think you should have this anymore...”

“No, she never should have had it to begin with!” grumbled Anton.

Rather than fight back as her weapon was taken away and tossed into the sink, the trembling shinoccubus instead just rolled her hands forward to cover her eyes.

“Crap!” wailed Mica as her whole body seemed to slump “Why is this happening to me!?”

“Oh, poor little Mica...” soothed Kianna as she patted her on the head “Nothing is just happening to you, sweety... You did all this to yourself...”

Mica went still for a moment before suddenly diving forward and ducking around Kianna as she made a break for the backdoor. She stopped in a panic as a series of pink and green rings suddenly winked into existence around her.

“What the! No! Stop!” she screamed as thin vine-like chains erupted out of the rings and immediately ensnared her before lifting her up off the ground “Get off me! Let me go!”

“Now where do you think you're going!?” mocked Fiona as she and Kianna stepped around to stand on either side of the struggling kiochi “You had your chance to leave and you blew it, you dumb little bitch! You came running right back. And now it's just like they say! Let something go, and if it comes back to you, it's yours... Forever!”

“Wha!? No! Let me go! Dammit! Let me go!” cried Mica as she cringed back from the smiling dark elves.

“Sorry, sweety!” cooed Kianna as she tapped Mica on the nose “But you're not going anywhere now!”

“Well, that may not be completely true.” mused Anton “It might be better to send her off for a bit of training. So she might go away for a little while.”

“What? No!” cried Kianna as she and Fiona both wrapped their arms around the still bound Mica and held her sandwiched between them “You can't do that! What if the people you send her to are mean to her!?”

“Yeah! We're the only one's who get to be mean to her now! And besides! You're supposed to train her! Not somebody else!” exclaimed Fiona.

“There's only so much I can really help her with though.” said Anton as he shook his head “Like I said before, combat wise, I'm far from an expert. And I would rather her learn from someone who had a better idea of what they are doing when it comes to combat training. I will help her of course, but I'd still prefer she learn from someone who was better skilled than me in the forms of combat that she would be more suited to.”

“Oh. Well, yeah, I guess that makes sense...” grumbled Kianna as she tightened her hold on Mica “But still! Do we really have to send her away though? Can't we just keep her here, and take her to lessons or something?”

“Oh! That'll work! We'll just take her to lessons!” repeated Fiona “That way we can still keep her here with us!”

“Right! We want to keep her here, please!” begged Kianna “Can't we keep her here!”

“Yeah! Can we keep her here!?” whined Fiona in a mockingly childish tone “Pretty please!”

“Pretty please can we keep her!?” sang both of the dark elves in unison as they squeezed the kiochi between them.

“Stop saying it like that you psychos!” cried Mica as she frantically tried to wiggle herself free “I'm not some damn stray you can just keep! I'm a person! You can't just keep me like a dog, dammit!”

“Pretty please! Can we keep her!?” repeated the dark elves as they both began to rub Mica's head as if she were some kind of small animal “Pretty please!”

“No! Quit! Stop that! Dammit!” screamed Mica as she angrily twisted her head back and forth in an effort to get away from them “Stop petting me!”

Anton couldn't help but to throw his head back and laugh.

“Okay! Okay...” he chuckled as he recomposed himself and wiped a tear away from his eye “Alright... Well... If it really means that much to you girls... Then I guess it's fine with me... We can keep Mica!”

“Yes!” cried the dark elves as they again squeezed the kiochi as hard as they could.

“No!” whined Mica as she struggled to breathe around their onslaught.

“I guess we'll just have to put together some kind of training schedule for her...” mused Anton as he rubbed his chin “...And maybe we can find her a tutor? Or something like that. Oh well, we can figure all this out later. We still have some more important things to do today.”

“Right! We've got to get her ready after all!” exclaimed Kianna as she smiled wickedly and took Mica's face in her hands before beginning to playfully twist her head back and forth “You're gonna be such a cute little slave!”

The kiochi whimpered pitifully as she scrunched up her face in misery.

“She actually really is. I mean, for a vicious little ninja-bitch, she's already a cutie!” teased Fiona as she continued to pet Mica's head “She's gonna be the bestest little guard-doggy too! Isn't she! Yes! Yes she is! Hey! We should wrap a big pink bow around her neck so people will know how dangerous she is!”

“Aw! Yes!” gasped Kianna as her ears pointed themselves straight upwards in excitement “That would be so cute! Oh! We can tie some bows to her horns and wings too! And wrap a ribbon all the way down her tail! Yes! We could even put her in cute little dresses! Like a little dolly!”

“What! No! No, you can't do this!” exclaimed Mica as she frantically shook her head “Dammit! I'm not your doll! And I'm not your dog! I'm a person! Dammit! I'm not your pet! You can't do this to me! You fucking psychos! What the Hell is wrong with you!?”

“They're dark elves, Mica. They're like that. They see people as pets. That's just how they are.” said Anton with a shrug “You'll get used to them eventually... Or not. Honestly, at this point, I really don't know if I care either way?”

“Hey! When she gets enslaved, will she have to listen to what we say too!?” asked Fiona as she turned to Anton.

“Hm, well, she will if I command her to.” said Anton as he cocked an eyebrow at the dark elf “I don't know if I'm going to do that though...”

“Ah, c'mon! I'm not gonna do anything too cruel. I just wanna play with her in the dungeon a little bit. Make her ass dance a little, and maybe bend her in half a few times.” said Fiona as she smirked evilly at the kiochi “Also... I wanna command her to act like a monkey!”

“You, what!?” cried Mica as she twisted her head towards Fiona “Fuck you! You sick bitch!”

“Aw! That would be so cute!” exclaimed Kianna “Oh! We could even get her a little monkey costume! One she can wear it as her pajamas!”

“No! Shut up! I'm not a monkey!” cried Mica as she whirled back to glare at her.

“Yeah, I'm not going to let you two do any of that.” chuckled Anton “Well, maybe the monkey thing...”

“What! No!” cried Mica as she redoubled her struggling “Dammit! I don't wanna be a monkey!”

“Ah c'mon now, Mee-cah...” cooed Kianna as she playfully squeezed the kiochi's cheeks and pulled them apart to stretch out her face “You'll make such a great monkey! You'll be so cute!”

“Nah! Thop ith! Leth meeth tho!” cried Mica as she tried to speak around her stretched face “Wah!”

Kianna laughed merrily and crushed Mica's cheeks together before finally letting her go.

“Ah!” groaned Mica as she cringed away from the dark elf “Fuck this! Fuck you! This is a nightmare! I swear! This fucking day can't get any worse!”

“Oh, now don't say that, Mica.” said Anton as he crossed his arms over his chest “Things could always get worse, you know.”

“How!?” snapped Mica as she glared at him “I've been trapped by a bunch of psychos who want to turn me into a guard-dog-monkey-slave! How could things possibly get any worse than this!?”

“Well, for one thing...” said Anton as he let his aura flare outwards and instantly flood the room with a cold and heavy dread “You're still about to get waterboarded...”