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Post by summerrain on Sept 17, 2014 17:17:55 GMT
Iabureth settled, lowering her head to the ground so the Candidates could reach. But then she noticed a familiar face. She tapped Navelon with her muzzle, one large eye staring at him. You I recognize, she told him. Do not think we will go easy on you just because you are also Igenborn. A small snort of laughter escaped her, and then she moved her head back to the ground.
We shall have to keep Helena up to date on the Candidates that came here from Igen, Lenara told the dragoness silently. Then the boy began to rub sand into Iabureth's wings, and her inner eyelids closed. This boy knew what he was doing. Her eyes slowly whirled a contented pale blue color almost as light as her own hide. Lenara smiled softly. Since the day their instructors retired, they had not gone a day without a class of Weyrlings. It was a nice change, only having to deal with two-legged living things, as opposed to the four-leg mess that young dragons were. And that was if the dragon was Hatched a normal dragon.
Eternity was scrubbing part of Iabureth's right foreleg, and man it was hard work. She stopped and took a breath; years of plays hadn't prepared her for this... But, well, it was a different kind of fun. Hard work was satisfying. Like during rehearsal when she finally got the scene right multiple times in a row. She saw the interaction between the dragoness and the boy, realizing that he wasn't from the ship. She picked up another handful of sweetsand and started scrubbing again. There would be time to get to know the others later. Right now, she had to learn.
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Post by Row on Sept 17, 2014 18:02:47 GMT
Hearing that Kaira wanted a flit or a serpent had Anka feeling a little upset with herself for having one of each, as if she was hoarding the little buggers, when others wanted one so badly. But the emotion was fleeting. Kaira would have her chance at bonding with either one. Clutches and hatchings happened enough that it wouldn't be long before she was coming to Anka telling her she had a little one of her own! That thought made her smile and she nodded absently to the older woman, before following her in the water and up to the Aquamarine dragon.
Of course, Anka had never had a chance to bath and oil a dragon, so she went into the lesson with an open mind. Having Gaol and Caior didn't mean anything, as neither was really any bigger than one of Iabureth's claw, but at least she had a very general idea on how to go about cleaning. While the others went to work on legs and wings, Anka started working on the tougher back hide.
~~
Duncan missed Aura's twitching reaction, but he didn't miss the look in her eyes as he glanced back once more to make sure she was ok. It seemed the lassie didn't enjoy strange male contact, which he could understand, thus he would keep his hands to himself. Turning once more, he almost ran into a young man who was offering him a brush. Taking the brush and starting to take off his shoes and rolling up his pants legs, before looking up as the young male mentioned his name, rank, and where he was from. There was a grin on the Scottish man's face as he stood up once more, regarding the male before him. The male was clearly younger, much shorter, but seemed to have the same attitude as Duncan, so in the end, a great grin broke out over the Scots face and he nodded. "Duncan MacDougall of clan MacDougall . . . Born and bred in the highlands of Scotland on Earth, ex-con, mechanic, and now Candidate," he stated. Of course, his eyes were drawn to the little firelizard on his shoulder that dived into the water.
"She's a cute little lass," he mentioned, earning himself a nip at his ear from Hai. "Come now, Adhainn . . . I was only makin' mention of the lassie's cuteness . . . nae dat I'd be taken her home wid us," he stated, rubbing his ear as his flit puffed herself up and fluttered off his shoulder. He pouted a little, but knew it was for the best. He wouldn't be able to clean if he was constantly worried about knocking her off his shoulder.
At the mention of Navelon offering to help show him what to do, Duncan nodded and the grin got bigger. "Dat would be great. I've never cleaned someting dis big . . . save for dings wid metal and gears," he stated, bowing slightly to the dragon. "But ye be better lookin' den dose dings, lassie," he offered up to Iabureth, before following along behind the shorter male.
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Post by slush on Sept 17, 2014 18:56:35 GMT
"Well," Navelon noted honestly, once Duncan had finished his introduction, "I understood about half of that...Duncan?" Some of his confusion was from the accent, the rest from all the unfamiliar words. "It's a pleasure to meet you, at any rate." He wondered if he should say something about the crash, offer condolences. But it was such a pleasant day and occupation; he wouldn't sully it with such somber topics.
"Oh, thank you. She's quite the show-off, when she feels inclined. And I see you've been acquainting yourself with the local fauna, at least." He smiled at the scolding of the little aquamarine. Shee seemed quite pleased as Adhainn took wing. She caroled to the other female, fluttering further away from the dragon and attending humans. A game of tag, perhaps?
"Here. Since you're so much taller, you'll probably do a better job of the upper edges than I. I could tell you the parts of the wing as we work, if you like. Or if you'd rather, you could tell me about Earth." He was torn between the desire to show off and hear more about this unknown world.
As Iabureth addressed him, he looked up, all smiles. "Don't worry, I wouldn't dream it. No one from the desert knows how to 'go easy,' anyway," he quipped to the dragon as he worked. The desert-bred were hardy folk of necessity. He was pleased that Iabureth didn't object to his ministrations. It was a simple thing, but when you'd been a Candidate before and failed...it was a jolt to the pride, particularly for one such as Navelon. He didn't like the feeling of second-guessing himself.
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Post by Row on Sept 17, 2014 19:25:15 GMT
Duncan couldn't help but smile. He knew his accent was worse in the morning, but it would get better as he woke up and did more. So when Navelon mentioned that he could do the upper edges of the wing, Duncan stretched himself out and went to work. Of course, he couldn't stop the chuckle that escaped him as he started rubbing cleaning sand over the wing like soap over a human body. "It's a pleasure meetin' ye tae, Navelon. Once I start tae wake up, me accent will start tae go away, until its a little easier tae understand," he stated, grinning as he worked.
When he mentioned fauna Duncan looked back at the ground, a little confused as to why Navelon started talking about the plants, but then he noticed his firelizard flying after Hai, and he grinned. "Aye, fauna . . ." he said, grinning and shaking his head. As soon as Shee took notice of Adhainn, the little aquamarine seemed to think better of the pearl and crooned back at her. Of course, still being young, Adhainn found the idea of a game of tag wonderful and zipped off, before Duncan had a chance to notice she was gone.
"How 'bout we split it? Ye tell me a bit about de wing and I'll tell ye a bit about Earth," he offered.
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Post by Lynn on Sept 17, 2014 21:20:38 GMT
Kaira smiled and then scrubbed at the soft hide of the dragoness, noting the smell that came off of her with some pleasure. It was spicy, and quite nice, all in all, and she found it quite pleasant. Humming to herself, she scrubbed diligently, but made sure she wasn't causing the lady pain with frequent checks at her eyes. She'd heard the young lad's comments about their eye hues, and had seen the colors changes herself before, though she'd never really been sure of what each color meant. "You're quite a beautiful lady," she murmured softly to the Aquamarine, saying it both mentally and physically, not really aware she was essentially transmitting her thoughts to the dragon. She wasn't in control of her ability, after all, and really was only partially aware of what it entailed. She really needed to speak to Hyra...
Aura sat quietly, just continuing to watch curiously. She itched to help, but she could see that the motions would only strain her back, and her stitches were not supposed to get wet. "Balderdash," she muttered in annoyance, and Orti chirred, the sound distinctly amused. "Oh hush you. I wanna help..." She sighed despondently, tempted to get up and leave, since all she was really doing was sitting and being useless at this point.
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Post by .:Nox:. on Sept 18, 2014 8:05:49 GMT
Tre
The earth boy yawned deeply. Morning? It seemed ungodly early to Tre, but some voice was thundering through him, saying it was time to get up and to meet...somewhere. He shook his head, clearing the sleep from his mind. But Tre was a Bitra now, and if he was told to get up and go, he needed to do his Hold proud and be the best he could.
He got dressed quickly, wincing as the cut on his shoulder twinged from the motions. He hoped that would heal soon, he was tired of not having a full range of motion without pain. He followed the others to the lakeside and listened as it was explained what to do. He shrugged at the task, wincing again and cursing under his breath for forgetting about his injury so soon. He grabbed a bucket and claimed himself a free spot on the dragoness, observing how the instructor did it before repeating. He quickly got into a rhythym, washing the dragon silently, though he kept an ear out for further instruction.
Jena
"Dahling, must we really be up so early," Jena spouted into the air as she stretched and rose from her bed. She had lucked out with only superficial injuries from the crash, unlike a few of the others. She found one of the outfits she had recently made an outfit in the Pernese style, and so she slipped into that.
Her brow furrowed and she frowned delicately as she approached the lake. Wet? they would be getting wet? And DIRTY? A shudder went through the woman's body "Ew. No, I simply can't," she said quietly, taking a few steps back from the shore. Not mud and sand and DIRT. "Oh ew. Ew ew ew." she said again, her eyes round as she froze in place. Willingly, oh no she would NOT do this willingly.
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Post by Red on Sept 18, 2014 10:55:03 GMT
.: Theodore Miller :.
Theo had waded into the water with every appearance of great enthusiasm. He wasn't one to be afraid of getting wet or dirty, and the chance to get close to a dragon wasn't one he was going to be passing up. For a long time he had been focused on the healing of his arm, limited by the injury he had taken during the crash. In more recent days, now that he had been let off the close watch by the healers, he had been spending fairly significant amounts of time with the smith-crafters, learning from them and seeing what of his knowledge could be applied here. He wasn't allowed to do the hard work and heavy lifting yet, but with his wound finally scarring over, he didn't need to be as careful about how he moved. Kestrel had been another distraction, after the pale blue pearl queen had hatched from the egg Layne had given him. Though she was a different tone, the young queen seemed to taking after her pearl mother in personality, at least from what Theo had seen of Anna. Kes had already shown a strong tendency toward maternal fussing, despite that she was only a short time out of her shell.
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Post by summerrain on Sept 18, 2014 14:27:37 GMT
Ah, yep. There was bound to be one troublemaker in there somewhere. Iabureth pointed the girl out to Lenara, who slid down the dragoness and landed in the water with a splash, catching the people nearest her. She approached Jena. "You're late. If you really despise being a Candidate that much, I may just rescind your Standing privileges until you prove that you really want to be a Rider," she scolded harshly. She would not let anyone half-heartedly participate in her lessons. "If you think this is bad, you wouldn't stand a chance should the Red Star get thrown off course and hit us sooner than it is supposed to. You won't stand a chance in a Fall, or helping fight a fire. If you really think bathing a dragon is that bad, then you can feel free to leave right now." She made to walk back, but stopped. "Remember, miss a lesson and you will not be allowed to Stand." With that, she went back to Iabureth and climbed up again.
Eternity watched quietly, stunned. This was a strict woman. Well, there was reason to be. We are a bunch of off-worlders, it makes sense, she reasoned. She looked over and saw Siren, her Lapis, fly over to Aura and settle in her lap. She laughed and walked over. "You could give her a bath, I'm sure she needs it," she told Aura. She sighed and sat down for a minute. "This still seems a but surreal, doesn't it? I mean, being given the chance to have a real dragon, that's not something that would ever happen on Earth." She laughed. "Though miss princess over there sure got it handed to her. Did she really think that this was going to be some super-clean adventure?" She hand't rolled her pants up enough, the rolled bottom of the legs were basically soaked, though it didn't go past the roll. She stood back up and stretched. "Well, I should get back. But I know Siren wouldn't mind if you gave her a bath. You'd just have to be gentle, like Lenara said." She walked back over to her bucket and grabbed the brush.
Hey, that boy was... He was one of the ones in her group during Camp a month ago. Oh, had it already been that long? A month since she'd seen her parents, her sisters... She sighed and reached her fingers into the water. She still wished she'd be able to go home... The twins were in college, so they'd be busy already. She grabbed a handful of sand and began to scrub, maybe a bit harder than intended. She did lighten the pressure a bit though. There was no point in focusing on the details of what was before all this. She got into a rhythm, like the boy next to her, and kind of stopped thinking. She moved on autopilot, scrubbing away.
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Post by .:Nox:. on Sept 18, 2014 19:02:11 GMT
Jena sputtered incoherently as she was chastised by the Rider. But... MUD! She closed her eyes and steeped herself. " It's just a little... water.. and dirt.. and mud. You can do this Jena" she said to herself. " The dragons need this. You can get over being a little dirty. Just take an extra long bath. Yeah, that's right. A nice warm bath..." she hiked up her skirt, found a bucket, and closed her eyes tight. She slowly inched into the muddy lake bed, making soft complaining noises under her breath.
She took a deep breath as she got to calf deep water and opened her eyes. "Okay. You got this, Jena."she told herself. "Now just use the sand and brush like she said. It's not that hard." She continued to give herself a pep talk as she slowly approached the dragon and started her task.
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Post by Lynn on Sept 19, 2014 2:13:33 GMT
Aura saw the girl stop and then just not move forward, and she frowned, opening her mouth. Before she could say anything though, Miss Lenara lit into her, and she hid her smile. She would need to learn if she wished to be a rider, she thought. It would not be an easy job, or a clean one for that matter. Babies were dirty creatures, no matter their species, and she suspected the Hatching Sands would be quite chaotic. Aura sighed longingly, stroking the little one in her lap, then she blinked and looked down, realizing it was far too small to be Orti. "Oh! Hello Siren," she said with a gentle smile. "I didn't see you land." She then looked up as Eternity came over, listening to her and chuckling. "Yeah I know it. If Lenara hadn't come over, I would probably have said something," she grumbled. "At least she GETS to Stand!" She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, trying to relax. Orti nudged her cheek gently, chittering to her, and she smiled and rested her cheek against his back. She then looked to Eternity again. "I'll do that," she said with a look down at the little Lapis. "She's so tiny. I wonder how big the dragon babies are..."
In the water, Kaira frowned darkly as her student refused to enter the water, her hazel eyes calm and cold. Oi, Jena! she thought in aggravation. Better get over that fear of dirt, girl, or else you're not gonna do well here. Sighing as the girl gave in to Lenara, she then returned her attention to scrubbing Iabureth's soft hide, her head turning slightly as she felt a familiar mind nearby. Her gaze found Hyzeth, the Diamond just coming back from hunting for himself and his Queen, as he dragged a large wherry carcass into the Hatching Sands, and she smiled as she felt Aketh's gratitude for the meal. Despite what some would say, Hyzeth truly was devoted to the blue Pearl, and took good care of her.
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Post by slush on Sept 19, 2014 4:14:14 GMT
Navelon was startled to find his arm beginning to tire. It shouldn't be suprising--he hadn't done this in turns, and the rhythmic circular scrubbing didn't mirror anything he was accustomed to doing in the Farmcraft. Still, it rankled him. He pursed his lips, trying to ignore the burn in his muscles.
"Sounds good to me," Nav replied. He lifted one soapy hand to gesture to the top of the wing. "You can probably see the bone running from the shoulder to the finger joint--that's the almost thumb-like thing, there. That bone is like our arm bone, basically. The membrane it supports is called the leading edge of the wing. Other than the arm bone, there are four more bones that support the wingsail. Extending from the finger joint on the other side of the arm bone is the spar bone. A smaller bone--don't ask me to name that one--runs from the spar to the wingtip. The other two bones, going inward toward the shoulder, are the mid-bone and inner bone. Oh, and this edge, here,"--and now Navelon pointed toward the bottom of the wing--"is the trailing edge." He paused, shifting his weigh so that he now leaned more into his left arm than his right. "I'm told it makes more sense if you know anything about ships and sailing and the like, which I don't. But my mother used to quiz me on stuff like this as we bathed Troienth. She always said I'd be a rider one day." He fell silent, wondering how accurate his mother's prediction would prove.
Merc had gotten curious. The sea serpent sashayed through the water, twisting underneath Iabureth and coming up beside Navelon with only his head and spines protruding above the surface. He was quite curious about this new person, so much so that he swam right up to Duncan and twined around the man's leg, unbeknownst to Navelon.
Amelia would've liked nothing more than to lie in bed for a couple more hours. She'd only been released from the infirmary a few days before, and the shift from her bed there to her Candidate's cot had not been gentle on her somewhat-battered body. But the Aquamarine's voice resonated in her mind, and her excitement at being able to examine a dragon up close eclipsed her discomfort. She sat up quickly and then hissed; the sudden movement pulled her stitches, sending a flash of pain across her chest. A nasty gash had split her skin from her left shoulder to her breast. Luckily, though, apart from that, some bruises, and pulled muscles, she'd had no major injuries. Still, the slash was deep and had kept her hampered for a while, even with the skill of Pern's healers. She was still weak from an infection that had set in a few days after the crash, but luckily it had been taken care of. Now she only had to battle exhaustion and regain her strength. She was, to her infinite relief, pronounced fit to stand for the Hatching.
Speaking of Healers...she had to go get her dressing changed before she could attend the lesson. Great. Amelia hated being late. She set off at a brisk trot, ignoring the pinching pain that accompanied her gait. Due to her month-long confinement, she was out of breath by the time she reached the infirmary. She was gently chided for "pushing it already," but the Healer could tell by the look in her eye there was no way she was missing her first Candidate lesson. She was admonished not to overstretch herself, given a measuring look, and pointed in the direction of the lake.
By the time Amelia arrived, everyone was already in the water, scrubbing away. Even her brother Theo, she was relieved to see. She wanted to talk to him, but duty called first. She rolled up her trousers--a simple, plain pair in the Pernese style--and entered the water, angling toward the Weyrlingmaster. "Sorry I'm late, ma'am," she began, "I was in the infirmary." She eyed the other students and finally the Aquamarine they all attended. It probably seemed strange to the Pernese, how the mere sight of the dragon brightened her face. Everything about the not-so-mythical creatures fascinated her.
She realized she'd been staring at Iabureth and jolted back to reality. "What should I do, ma'am?"
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Post by summerrain on Sept 19, 2014 5:30:17 GMT
Lenara slid back down off Iabureth. "Everyone up and out!" she called, grabbing the new arrival's arm less-than-gently to get her point across. Once everyone was clear, Iabureth went into deeper water and sunk under the surface, clearing the suds off her hide. Dragons were just like Runnerbeasts. Even if you know them, despite the bond that was shared, they were still dangerous.
Certainly goes much faster when there are thirty plus sets of hands to help out, the Aquamarine said to her rider. Lenara rolled her eyes as Iabureth came out of the water and flared her wings, sending water everywhere.
"Yeah, one of the Healers told me about you when I got here," Lenara told Amelia. "You should probably just sit over there with her, and I want a look at your injuries before you leave. Those Healers don't always know what is enough to be a risk on the Sands." Rose suddenly appeared and landed on her shoulder. "And you're just in the way, a candlemark and I'll get you food," she muttered to the Amethyst flit. Rose rolled her eyes and decided she liked Amelia better for the moment, settling on the Candidate's shoulder instead. "Just don't go making a pest of yourself, she needs to pay attention." She turned back to the other Candidates.
"Now comes the messy part!" she said to them, a strange smile on her face. Oh, this was going to be fun, especially with that girl who didn't like the lake. "There are a few buckets over there, and they've all got special oil in them. That goes on her hide next. And for an adult dragon like Iabureth, you'll want to rub hard to get it in. For younger dragons, Hatchlings specifically, you're going to have to be much more gentle. The hide of a Hatchling is much more sensitive and fragile than a fully-grown dragon's. Also, the older the dragon, the harder you'll have to rub the oil in." She grabbed an oil bucket and pulled it over, then stuck her hands in it. "Again, you'll want to keep it out of her eyes. It's a lot like bathing a canine, actually. But more intricate." She stopped talking and put her oil-covered hands on Iabureth's neck. "For those of you who are more squeamish, there are rags you can use instead. But you have more control over the oil if you use your bare hands." She massaged the oil into Iabureth's hide.
"Oh, I forgot to mention something about Hatching day!" she called. "Gather round so you can all hear me! Okay. When you Impress, you must not let the Hatchling overeat. When they Hatch, they will be hungry. And after they eat, they will sleep. Eating, sleeping, and growing is the only thing they do for a few months, depending on the color. Some take longer, others not so long." She looked at the gathered Candidates. "Alright! Get oiling then!"
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Post by .:Nox:. on Sept 19, 2014 5:48:59 GMT
Jena flinched and squeaked in surprise as she got hit with water. She eyes the new bucket wryly, suppressing the shudder that threaten to emerge. It was oil, like for a massage. She had been covered in similar stuff many times.
She kept her mouth shut though, remembering the earlier chastisement. With only a thinly veiled sigh, Jena took a bucket and claimed a spot on the dragons neck, her nimble fingers caressing the beast. She smiled softly at the sheen the oil left on the hide before it was completely absorbed. This wouldn't be TOO horrid maybe...
Tre
The boy nodded as she pointed out the oil buckets. He had been told about oiling hide when his family member explained the basics of Firelizard ownership.
He set to work on the same leg he had been washing, sweat forming on his brow from his exertions. It was hard, but he had to do it, if he wanted the Diamond or Onyx he deserved.
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Post by Red on Sept 19, 2014 5:54:23 GMT
.: Serenity Miller :.
Tag: Jena/Jena
Serenity had watched the confrontation between the Iabureth's rider and one of the other girls. In a way, she did understand where the other girl was coming from. Sen wasn't a complete neat-freak, but she wasn't particularly fond of mud and dirt either. "Relax" Sen said to Jena, moving closer so she could speak to her "It's not so bad once you get into it. Kinda soothing actually. And we've got to learn how to do it for if we impress."
She skipped back when Lenara told them too, watching Iabureth as the aquamarine went to wash herself off. Serenity watched as the rider picked up the bucket of oil when the dragoness came back, her eyes following the way she rubbed oil into Iabureth's hide. She had been shown how to do that for Lily, but it was one thing to rub oil into a little flit like her amethyst, and another to be oiling a whole dragon.
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.: Theodore Miller :.
Tag Slush/Amelia
As the aquamarine went to wash off, Theo stepped back out of the water. Spotting his sister, he moved over to her, setting a hand gently on her shoulder. "You okay?" He asked softly. Amelia's illness had worried him and though she was now getting better, he didn't like seeing the way her injuries stopped her from doing certain things. Though he was sure she felt the same way about watching him and the way his injured shoulder still pulled painfully and kept him from doing things.
The teacher's firelizard came to sit with Amelia and with a smile, Theo silently encouraged Kestrel to do the same. The pearl queen had taken a liking to both his sisters and was quite happy to go and perch on his twin's knee. He listened to the teacher speak about the hatching and how they had to watch what the baby dragons ate to make sure they didn't eat too much. It made sense. Human babies didn't have much of an idea about the size of their stomach either. Heck, neither did a number of human adults.
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Post by Lynn on Sept 19, 2014 6:04:18 GMT
Aura listened quietly as she explained what to do next, and looked down at the little Lapis in her lap. "Well, I guess we should get started, huh, little miss?" she said lightly, rising and pacing over to the edge of the lake, a distance away from the dragon and her helpers. She didn't wish to be in the way after all. "Okay Siren, into the water with you," she said, then looked to Orti. "We'll do you as well, I think," she added, and the Sapphire chirped mildly, agreeing to this.
Kaira backed up when told and watched from the shoreline. Chuckling as several people got soaked by the dragon, she then glanced over at Amelia, looking her over quietly. She was very late, but she was also very smart. She'd pick up these things really quickly, she thought, then moved to the oil. Shouldn't they have waited for the dragon to dry off, she thought with a frown. The water would likely only keep the oil from being absorbed properly. Or, she knew it did with human skin. Maybe dragon hide was different? Shrugging, she did as instructed, rubbing firmly in circles to work the oil into the softly toned hide.
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