Dogfighting Tournament (sign ups only!)

[Stygg Whitefeather]

“Hello mares and gentlecolts! We’re your hosts, Winter Gale and Sun Showers, on this, the annual Cloudsdale dogfighting tournament! Today is a perfect day for dogfighting, the air is clear and weather perfectly polished by our friends at the Weather Factory, please, everyone a round of applause for those fine weatherponies.” *Applause*

“Today, our judges are: You all know him, the All Time Champion, Percheron Razorwing. - *Applause* and joining him are our long time judges: Dust Devil and Ice Halo. *Applause* Now that they’ve taken their position beside the field, let me tell you what we have in store for our competitors today!”

“I hear the competition has thrown in some surprises today to mix things up, right, Winter?”

“That’s correct, Sun. On top of the usual cloud obstacles and a few very volatile thunderheads floating around, we also have a team of pegasi generating a very nasty derecho across the western section of the zone to make things really shook up and in the east, there’s a weather system throwing down hail.”
“That’ll surely sting.”
“You betcha, Sun! But that shouldn’t deter our competitors, in-fact, let’s meet today’s dogfighters.”
“Maybe we’ll witness the next Percheron? Do you think he’s worried?”
“He should be, we have some great ponies competing. Now without further ado…

OOC: Alright pegasi, here is how to play. There will be two rounds with the goal to be the last pony flying with the highest score. The first round is an all out dogfight between all four, the second round is a 1v1 melee between the two higher scores and two lower scores from round 1. Positive scoring will be done on the basis of relevant writing length (i.e. non-fluff/combat: 1+point per 100 words), form (air acrobatics, tactics, physical attacks and environments attacks: Points scored relative to what occurred +1-9pts), and confirmed hits with your weapon of choice (+10pts). Points may be awarded even if attacks fail to connect. You can lose points from receiving hits, being struck by the environmental hazards, or by knockout (-5pts per hit, -15pts for a knockout).

The battlefield is split into an upper/lower/eastern/western sector, some with specific hazards. To battle, declare your target in your writing, and your attack (however you wish to do it). If on your turn, someone/s attacked you, you may attempt to counter the attack and either return the attack against the one who attacked you or move onto another target. You may use anything to your advantage; however, a knockout can only occur if you score a hit against another with your weapon of choice. These weapons are hard wood, wrapped in cloth on their striking surface (hooves do not count as your weapon). The basic weapon choices are: swords, spears, staff, wing blades, axe, knives, polearms, and clubs. You may only carry one per round, and if you lose a weapon, you will not be able to score a knockout hit. If you’re hit by the others weapon, you’re out of that round with your earned points. You will all be wearing similar, simple leather head, torso, leg, wing armor to protect sensitive parts of the body and to prevent any unfair advantage/balancing.

To win, whoever is the last pony standing in the first round wins that round and will be awarded +5 points over whoever has the highest score (unless they have the highest score), for the second round, the lower division winner will receive +5 and the upper division will receive +10 (i.e. whoever knocks the other out). However, whoever’s total score is the highest from either division, is the tournament winner. So get creative, ponies, combine hits/attacks/environments/acrobatics in your posts because, the best fighter may not necessarily be the winner.

To start, post order will be a first come, first move. Choose your sector (1 pony per sector to start), weapon, and get to wooing the crowd and once everyone has posted, the battle begins. Also, do not edit your post after another has posted to add length or alter attacks, I will be watching timestamps for edits. With that, begin!

[Glide Heart]

    Glide Heart wasn't usually much for show boating, but for an event like this it was almost an necessity. The roar of the crowd put a grin on her face and a gleam in her eye. As she stood in the tunnel she stretched out her wings and avoided making eye contact with any of the other competitors, she needed to stay focused! She waited in the tunnel made of clouds clearing her mind and focusing on her training. As she stretched, the leather armor she wore creaked slightly. The belt she wore around her waist with a scabbard and a wooden sword creaked as well. She wasn't used to wearing leather armor like this. She looked back out the tunnel toward the light outside and awaited her name to be called by the announcers. The bright light almost enough to make her eyes sting. 

    When the voice of the announcer boomed out her name, Glide was ready. She knelt down in a launching position, flapped her wings twice and then lunged forward. Quickly flapping her muscular wings which shot her out of the tunnel like a cannon ball. She soared through the air making her way to the upper quadrant, noticing the storms that brewed on the west and east quadrants. She soared to the same height as the tallest bleacher and stopped flapping, stalling almost and falling into a nose dive. She spread her wings to catch the air, her time training with the griffons having strengthened every muscle in her body, and flapped them to stop her decent. She hovered in the middle of the upper quadrant looking around to the cheering fans and on lookers. Throwing her hooves in the air she screamed out a loud war cry, pumping her hooves in attempt to get the crowd riled up with her. 

[Javelin Razorwing]

    Today was the day. The audience was deafening as it echoed through the entrance tunnel. Javelin realized that the commentators must have been using powerful magic to be heard over the din. This was not the first time Javelin had been to the Cloudsdale Colosseum. She had been a member of the academy’s dogfighting team, and had competed in the arena several times, while also participating as a spectator when her sister Glaive had flown in the Dogfighting Competition a few years ago.

   
     Javelin had been somewhat hesitant to sign up for the competition this year. She had sustained several injuries in the battle with the Silver Core, and she had been in hospital for a few days afterwards. That had been three weeks ago. Javelin’s wounds had healed up rather quickly, thanks to a little unicorn magic, and she had eased herself back into her training regime. The injuries, combined with her sister’s absence, whom she would have practiced with in preparation for the tournament, had left her less sure of her capabilities.

    
    Javelin was glad that she had decided to sign up. She was delighted to find out that her friend Cloud Atlas was also going to compete. She had caught up with her old classmate before the match had started, had bantered with her a bit, but that had ceased. Now was the time to focus.

   
    Javelin tugged at the straps on her leather cap, finding it snug. She tightened her grip on her spear, knowing that it was too sturdy to snap. She stomped her hoof on the cloud floor, felt the slight give of the otherwise solid material. When they called her name, she sprang into action. Her wings snapped and caught the air, propelling her out into the open arena. She soared to the top of the colosseum in a spiral pattern past the blue mare, and brandished her spear in both hooves. She had a huge grin on her face as the crowd cheered. Finally, the young Razorwing somersaulted into a dive before taking her position at the lower region of the arena. Her heart thumping from the excitement, she hovered impatiently for the rest of the fighters to emerge.

[Cloud Atlas]

Cloud Atlas' wings were twitching. Only four ponies had formally signed up for this event, mostly mares at that, a testament to their tenacity and confidence. The roster had cut down dramatically once it was announced that Percheron Razorwing would be judging- his cast iron gaze must have scared them away. Cloud could hear the echoing voice of the commentators as the contestants were called out one by one. First went Glide Heart, the blue mare and air force doctor that Cloud had heard and read of a few times after graduation. Then went Javelin, a Razorwing who needed no introduction and no doubt with the aim to keep up her family legacy of tournament victors.

Cloud preened unconsciously and stretched her wings. This competition was going to test everything she had. She was already at a small disadvantage from the inevitable one-on-one format, her greatest strengths were in strategizing and coordinating larger groups of more talented ponies, not in hoof-to-hoof combat. That wasn't to say she learned nothing in training- she could take and dish out some mean knocks when it came down to it- it just wasn't her preference. The announcer called her name and she puffed out her chest proudly, ruffling her feathers and taking flight in parade style. The sudden glare forced her to squint while her eyes adjusted. The crowd was deafening and massive, numerous pegasi roosting on the roof and hovering nearby showed that the event was well over capacity. It was a little intimidating, but she mastered her unease and smiled for the masses as the commentators idly picked about her history and standing.

"Well, no time like the present to try something new," she said quietly, before quickly flying over to the unoccupied corner of the upper west section. Below Glide, who skirted the roof of the arena, but well above the median altitude. She would have a good eye on her opponents from there and would have at least a few extra seconds to plan a response were she attacked right off the bat.

Cloudsdale was one of the few major population centers in mainland Equestria that was left practically unscathed during the war. It's not like the war was some myth relegated only to newspaper headlines or anything, but the citizens here could still live out their daily lives and, for example, attend an event like this without a second thought. Ill considered or not, the tournament this soon after the end of the war was just as much a nationalistic morale boost as it was desperately needed entertainment and normalcy.

[Draft Design]

Draft stood still and stoic as the announcers recited the names of his fellow competitors and their related factoids of interest. He was here representing the Rainlock Guard (and the Y chromosome apparently) in the Cloudsdale Dogfighting tournament. His participation hadn't so much been his doing as it was a result of at least a dozen of his fellow guardsmen nominating him for the role.

Draft doubted he had been the correct choice for the nomination, but the relative pedigree he held over his opponents gave him a little more confidence. He was the only Rainlock here, and that alone improved his odds, even if he wasn't much of a dogfighting expert. One, he knew, was a rookie. Another, Gilde, was a doctor. A combat doctor, but surely not a combat expert. He could count on his hooves (if his hooves had fingers) the reasons why he was displeased with her being one of his competitors, but threatening his odds to win was not one of them. The Razorwing was the only one he considered a major threat. He knew little about the pegasus herself other than her heritage, but with what he knew of the Razorwings, that was more than enough. After all, the all time champion-turned Judge was her kin.

Draft stood through repeated, asterisked applause until his name was spoken. The cheek-scarred pegasus gave his armor straps a final, redundant tug before stepping out and soaring into the open air of the Eastern section of the arena. Greeting him was the unpleasant sight of a manufactured hailstorm, raining tiny, icy pelts of frozen pain within his starting sector. He gripped the wooden club tight within his teeth, not particularly pleased that he had been forced to forgo his crossbow in the competition. But then he supposed that it wouldn't have been much of a dogfighting tournament otherwise.

The club had been the simplest choice, and Draft wanted the math to be as simple as possible. The less complicated the weapon, the simpler his calculations, and the more ensured his victory would be. The guard remained still aside from the necessary wing flaps to maintain his altitude, considering flaunting, aerial loops and hoof-clasping waves to the audience beneath his position. Cheers from his fellow guards, however, were able to elicit a grin from the otherwise stone-faced pegasus.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

"Wow, these contestants look fierce. No doubt we're going to see a great tournament today, no doubt about it. Gale, whats your take on our contestants?"

"I dunno what to say, completely awestruck. Even our judges look pleased with their entrances. This just might be our best tournament to date."

"Well I hope you're right, and I believe the crowds are in agreement, because the roar of applause has been deafening since
they entered. So, Gale which contestant has your eye for the prize, today?"

"I can't say, they all look promising, but, we do have a someone from Rainlocks' group on the field today, he's going to be the stallion to watch out for."

*The sound of a chorus of trumpets overshadows the applause of the crowd as their din slowly dies away in response*

"You know what that means, right, Sun?"

"Indeed I do, Gale, it's time for our tournament to start!"

"Contestants, get ready. Get set..."

"And FIGHT!"

[Glide Heart]

    From the moment she whizzed by, Glide already had her eye set on her first target. The young Razorwing seemed very confident in her spear and in her ability. With a name like hers, she would undoubtedly have the skill to live up to such a name. Glide knew that there was more to fighting than just brute force and skill but also knowledge, she had studied up a bit on her competitors and knew that the young Razorwing once been apart of a dog fighting team, so experience was on her side. Focusing back on the mares showboating with she swirl she let a grin climb across her face. she wondered just how talented she was with that spear of hers. One thing that made Glide feel just that much better about her choice of target, was their positioning. The mare had just given Glide an advantage by giving her the high ground. She hovered in place as the other opponents names were called and they each took their places. Glides hoof squeezed the hilt of her blade impatiently until the commencement of the fighting. "Breath" she thought to herself, trying to remain at peace within and stay focused on the task at hand. 

    Glide ears quickly moved on a swivel at the sound of the trumpets, the triumphant noise sent adrenaline pulsing through her veins as she knew it was time for action. Glide didn't notice the dimming of the sound of the crowd around her since she had already tuned them out in her pre-meditation. The only noise she heard after the glorious roar of the trumpets was the word she had been waiting for. At the call for the contest to begin Glide took off like a loaded bullet. Immediately pulling down into a nose dive headed right for the back of the Razorwing mare. Rather than headbutting her back, which would hurt Glide more than Razorwing she aimed slightly to her right. She aimed to shoulder charge the mare and disorient her. Glide also positioned one hoof on the scabbard of her blade and the other firmly around the hilt in order to make a quick and clean draw of the blade. Her plan was to send the mare plummeting then make a clean swipe with her blade across her back to get the hit. She also was prepared for a counter attack, if her opponent chose to swing her spear around or aim it at her should would be able to parry the spear and adjust her next move. 

[Javelin Razorwing]

    The opponent that Javelin had been focusing on was the Rainlock soldier, Draft Design. He had the look of one who had seen combat and his stoic manner hinted at personal discipline. She kept her eye on him, but that did not mean she was blind to the actions of the other two contestants. Javelin knew how Cloud thought, she would observe from afar and work out a strategy. It might be best to hit her first before she got a chance to figure things out. The blue mare, Glide Heart, was mostly unknown to her, but she seemed green, untested. She was the odd mare out in this contest.


    Javelin mulled over her options for a few seconds before deciding what to do. The stallion posed the most direct threat, and were she to engage him, the other two combatants may take the opportunity to flank her. Javelin knew that the other ponies might be intimidated by her because of her family name, or want the glory of taking down a Razorwing, which made her a target. Thus, it made more sense for her to take out the weaker contestants with as little effort as possible to maximize her chances of winning.


    When the commentators gave the word, Javelin began to flap towards the western side of the arena. Cloud Atlas was positioned at the edge of a storm, she would be unable to retreat behind her without entering a hazard zone. The young Razorwing began to pick up speed, but did not get far before, with an upward glance, she spotted the diving Glide Heart. Javelin flipped over her body, an aerial dodge to force Glide to arrest her dive and brought her spear around to whack Glide when she came in range.

[Cloud Atlas]

The announcer's voice boomed over loudspeakers and the crowd erupted in cheers as the tournament began. With the fighting officially commenced, Cloud quickly drew the provided wooden sword and fiddled with the grip, finding a comfortable balance. It was an exceptionally crafted piece of athletic equipment, lighter and easier to handle than even the military-provided training swords she had used at the academy, clearly the tournament officials had only settled for the best with such a small roster.

She had settled for pulling a sword off the weapon racks not only because she was most comfortable and had the most practice with wielding a light, mid-length blade, but also because of the tournament's scoring system. Points were granted for hits in addition to the expected knockout. Spears had range in their favor, but hauling their length around in three dimensions as opposed to two in ground combat was both strenuous and slow. Daggers were quick, but getting close enough to use them invited a swift kick to the face and wings with no room to flap meant a lack of fine control for the wielder. A sword was the perfect balance of the two, granting reasonable speed and reach, and with enough weight to effectively guard without relying more heavily on brute strength. Cloud didn't know what to make of a pegasi touting a club other than wonder why they would take the extra weight willingly, but Draft looked confident in his ability to wield the massive bludgeon, so she decided to stay well out of his range for as long as she could help it. Wingbades would have been the best choice without a doubt since they were designed for pegasi and aerial combat in particular but she wasn't trained to use such exotic weaponry and would no doubt injure her wings if she tried here and now.

Within seconds of the signal, Cloud looked up to see Javelin lock her spear and dive straight towards her. Cloud allowed herself a broad smile before drawing her legs into a combat posture and brandishing her sword in preparation for a dodge. It would be just like sparring at the academy, nothing she hadn't done hundreds of times before, only now with a few thousand extra spectators and without the instructors screaming in their ears. Nearly every time they had been paired up to fight, Javelin had won. Cloud could never match her combat ability, but this time she wasn't alone.

Cloud pulled into a speedy climb as soon as Javelin's dive and concentration were broken by Glide careening in from the side. She stopped only when she had placed Javelin and Glide in-between her and Draft. She wanted to stay away from him, and her position let her keep an eye on all three of her competitors. She had no intention of breaking up the scrap between Glide and Javelin. Even though she could probably catch one of the two unawares, it was a risky move since both of them would probably take the opportunity to knock her out if she slipped up. If anyone was going to weigh that risk in their favor, it would have to be Draft, and she was more than happy letting him get a few scratches by jumping in with that club.

Nevertheless, Cloud kept a tight grip on her sword and hovered comfortably, warily watching the confrontation and keeping an eye on Draft. Should he bypass the two and attempt to engage her directly, she had more than enough space to evade and drag him into Javelin and Glide, quickly turning the duel into a four-pony free for all.

[Draft Design]

Draft Design, pacing around cautiously as his opponents began to target each other rather than him, began to postulate the possible outcomes of their actions and movements. He could stay out of the fray, letting his opponents knock each other out for him until he was left with one weakened foe, but that wouldn’t get him very many points with the judges. He needed to pick a target, one with maximum susceptibility and minimum risk for the Rainlock guard.

Cloud was trying to hang off to the side. Smart, but not particularly courageous. Glide and the Razorwing, meanwhile, looked headed for an inevitable clash, something Draft could take advantage of. He picks one of the two as a target, then locks on and strikes after they’ve come to blows. She’d be distracted and likely not suspecting the immediacy of an incoming attack, which would give Draft an upper hand and hopefully an assured blow. In one scenario, Draft strike’s the clashes victor and finds himself with two weakened opponents. In the other, Draft lands a second, further damaging blow on a now even more exposed pegasi; perhaps even a knockout blow, which could score him additional points.

Thus, the only thing he had to do was pick one, a natural choice. The Razorwing was most likely his most challenging competitor, and Draft personally wanted to avoid striking down his personal acquaintance Glide in his first maneuver. Perhaps that reasoning was unsportsmanlike, but he needed some way to break the tie.

Draft dove in a spiral towards the two female pegasi about to strike one another, aiming to strike at Javelin himself as soon as their own split-second clash was over. Now he just needed to be mindful of the arena’s hazards. And the as-of-yet uninvolved Cloud.

[Stygg Whitefeather]

The announcer kept up a play by play commentary as the four begun the round, while the crowd erupted in a dinning cheer. Oows and awws echoed off the nearby clouds as the spectators watched, mixed with the clapping of hooves. Then, a hushed silence befell the crowd as the contestants made their move against one another, with the tension rising as three pegasi drew near, ready to strike, ponies wondered if this would be a resounding and critical blow... then crash!

Javalin's dodge was a success, however Draft had misjudged his decent and just following the near hit between Javalin and Glide, he slammed into Glide herself, locking them together for a brief tumble as they fell away from Javalin. Judges call no clear weapon hit and the fight continues.

"Ouch, that certainly looks like it smarts, don't you agree Showers?"
"Haven't seen two pegasi slam into each other like that since Rainbow Dash competed."
"Haha, ol' Rainbow Crash. Don't think any us will forget that match, what a miraculous recovery she had following that incident. Wish we had footage to show the audience who may have missed it."

Admin:(Scores will be displayed after a pony is knocked out of the round.)

[Glide Heart]

    Glide had kept her attention firmly planted on her target, which was her first mistake and that showed her obvious lack of experience in this type of battle. Though she was in fact inexperienced in the tournament style of dog-fighting however she was not an inexperienced fighter. She trained countless hours with her shipmates repeating again and again at the command of her captain to hone her skills, and be up-to-snuff with her griffon counterparts. This was a first time experience for her, however she was confident in her ability to stand just as level with any of these other ponies. 
    
    She watched as her target seemed to ignore and or not see her dive, that would be useful while the Razorwing focused on another target all together. A wide smirk grew on Glides face and a confident glint in her eye as she drew closer to her opponent. That is until the moment that she saw Javelin notice her dive. Glide tightened her grip on her blade as she readied herself for the oncoming attack by the spear. With a solid grip on the hilt she parried the spear, sending a jar up her arms  to her shoulders. She easily and quickly shook of the jar, un-phased from her built up endurance to such pains. In a split second Glide looked in front of her to see Cloud waiting ready a small distance away from them, unaware of her purposeful placement of her own body. 

    Glide did not expect the quite sudden smack from the other Pegasus behind her. The smack sent the two of them flying away from her lock with Javelin with a startled "umph" escaping her mouth. She turned readying herself to attack the one who seemed to have attacked her but stayed her hooves seeing that it was in fact her friend Draft. A small smile showed on her face noticing he wasn't obviously attacking her. This gave her a chance to restart another attack perhaps to catch the other two off guard. In a quick decision Glide made a silent proposal to Draft with a head nod toward the other two opponents. She suggested a temporary alliance between the two of them against the other two with a simple nod of the head. Hopefully Draft would understand her intentions and accept her offer. Otherwise her next choice was to target him, which she wanted to avoid for her own slightly unsportsmanlike reasons as well as him not being an immediate threat to her. As shown by him not intentionally attacking her. 

[Javelin Razorwing]

    Glide had parried Javelin’s readied attack. Dang. Javelin looked dead in Glide’s eyes, and saw nothing but concentration. The weapons of the two mares locked for a second, both pressing against the other, when suddenly Glide was knocked aside by the impact of another pegasus. Javelin righted herself, and her mouth gaped in astonishment at the sight of Draft Design. She began to backpedal, flapping heavily in order to pick up speed and began to ascend in order to get some distance between herself and the engaged pegasi.

    
    She hovered a dozen meters above Glide’s and Draft’s position, and took stock of her options. Cloud Atlas had moved quite a distance from her original position, now hovering near Draft’s original position in the Eastern quadrant of the arena. The hail storm that raged behind the grey pegasus looked like it would be painful if one were knocked into it…

    
    Javelin glanced down towards Glide and Draft. Both were recovering from their rough collision, even Draft seemed a bit shaken by it. Javelin had thought for sure that Draft had air-tackled Glide while her back was turned, but maybe that hadn’t been the case. Javelin could have swept in to strike at both while they recovered, but she had probably missed her chance when she had moved to get distance from them.

    
    Cloud was still a priority target, and having missed her chance to attack the others, Javelin decided to charge at Cloud once again. Her plan was to try to corral Cloud into the hazard so that she would be easier to dispatch. She also hoped that, with the other two contestants so close to each other, they would start to duke it out, and hopefully one or the other, (preferably Draft) would be tired out by the time they came after her.

[Cloud Atlas]

Even though she wasn't on the receiving end, hearing the full-bodied smack of Draft careening into Glide still made her cringe. They dropped in a flail for a few seconds like brawling eagles before separating, the ref not signaling any hits and a great cheer erupting from the stands. The battle had been successfully joined and the first contact was made, Draft had taken his initiative like Cloud had desired. Next on her plan was to take advantage of the distraction Draft and his massive club provided to both Glide and Javelin, flying around the outskirts while they were occupied with each other, picking the right moneys to dart in and steal a clean hit or two with her sword or hooves, but it would never be that easy.

As the saying goes, 'no battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy', and it looked like Javelin was going to be that enemy. Glide's focus drawn away from her and onto Draft, Javelin saw her opportunity to go for Cloud and she took it in earnest. Cloud was hovering lazily in the upper quarter of the arena, with the hailstorm a comfortable distance behind her, but even extreme distance meant little to a speeding pegs, and Javelin was approaching fast and with very clear intent. "Just like in training, eh?" Cloud grinned and tightened her posture, renewing her grip on the sword. Regardless of whether or not she could successfully defend from Javelin's attacks, sooner or later she'd get backed into the storm, so staying still wasn't an option. On top of that, Javelin had a spear, so trying to outrun her and dodge pokes from behind wasn't an option either. That spear though, Cloud narrowed her eyes and focused on the weapon, its length would be a handicap if she could close within its blade. The pole itself could be used to deal some hard blows, but that required shifting her grip on the weapon entirely to a stance that made thrusting difficult.

'Ok, so new plan,' Cloud thought to herself. She cocked her wings and shot forward, directly at the charging Javelin. Flying headlong into a line of spearponies was suicide, but when faced with just one it was actually the best option available. Spears were designed to keep enemies at ranges where shorter weapons couldn't land hits, and were most effective at this job when used en masse because of their unwieldy length. Close the distance, avoid or deflect the thrust, then bring up the sword. Those were the steps taught in the academy when drilling with spears. But then again, the lesson was two sided, so the students wielding the spears were also taught how to best defeat this type of approach. Cloud herself had both succeeded and failed many times at both roles, so claiming a lack of experience was moot. Needless to say whoever ended up landing their hit in the next few seconds depended on who had the better read on the situation as it progressed, and Cloud certainly didn't like having only one option to choose from.

With about half the distance between them closed in seconds, Cloud braced the sword, placing the flat of its blade against her forehoof. If she could juke past the entire spear thrust, that was all well and good. If not, she'd use her sword to slap away the shaft, keeping the point from finding purchase and marking her armor for a hit. If either of those went according to plan, she'd go for a fierce upwards slash at Javelin's unguarded breastplate. Put simply, she would charge at Javelin, either dodge or parry the spear, and then counter with her sword. Painfully obvious, at least in Cloud's head.