Professor Kijewski
December 30, 2005 1:23 AM
Year 1, Lesson 2 by Professor Kijewski
Kiva left her office later than what she had planned. Since the blizzard, she had been unable to teach her classes outside in the clearing like she had been. She was rather perturbed by this as she actually enjoyed teaching outside (made her feel more at ease being outside than it did being inside) so now she had a special classroom for her students were she could teach her lessons.She had been able to charm the classroom as she saw fit. The ground was a mimic to the grounds outside, with an occasional flower or tree littered the classroom, but the resemblance to the clearing outside was remarkable. Yes, Kiva could make do with what she had so long as she could teach in the surroundings such as this.
She made it to her classroom moments before the lesson was meant to start. She was happy to see some students already there waiting for her, “Good morning.” She greeted them with a smile and went to where her desk was located to find the creature she was to be teaching that day. She lifted a carrier box and set it down on her desk. Today she wore a pair of jeans and a sweater beneath plain black robes. She wore her comfortable sneakers with her hair falling in loose curls around her head. She couldn’t wait until the snow went away so that she could return to her capris and sandals.
Once everyone was settled into the grass or chose to stand around, Kiva began, “Good Morning everyone! I’m glad to see you all were able to find the classroom!” After Kiva did role, she decided it was time to get down to business. “Alright, I’m well aware that our first lesson with the flobberworms hadn’t been all that well enjoyable for most of you, but I was happy to see that you all at least gave it a good effort.” Kiva smiled at her class to show her approval of how they handle the situation.
“Today we will be studying these,” Kiva opened the carrier and gently pulled out what looked to be a cat, except that it had spotted fur, rather large ears, and a lion’s tail. “Everyone please pull out some parchement in ink so that you may all take some proper notes.” Kiva told her class before continuing on with the lesson.
“This is a Kneazle. Kneazles are very intelligent creatures who can detect suspicious or unsavory persons very well and will react badly to them. Which means, trust a kneazles instincts. However, if a kneazle were to take a liking to a witch or wizard, it makes for an excellent pet.” Kiva placed the kneazle on the ground directly in front of her. “As you can see, a kneazle looks much like a regular house cat, with only a few minor details. Come have a look, feel free to pet her, she’s well-trained. Now, as you examine her, can anyone tell me the differences between a kneazle and a cat?”
OOC: Okay, you all know the drill. Three paragraphs per post, 3 to 5 sentences to each paragraph. Use as much detail as you can and have lots of fun with the kneazle.
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Subthreads: Oh Goody by Izabella Santoro with Anne Wright
Nice Kneazle... by Gwenhwyfar Carey with Connor Pierce
Not my cup of tea... by Catherine Raines with Dalila, Catherine
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Professor Kijewski
Year 1, Lesson 2
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Professor Kijewski
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Izabella Santoro
January 01, 2006 11:57 PM
Oh Goody by Izabella Santoro
Bella wasn't looking forward to Care of Magical Creatures only because that meant travelling outside in the cold snowy weather and ice cold winds. Or, at least, that's what she had assumed until the notice went up that class was to be held in a classroom. How on Earth they planned to make that work, was news to Bella, but she merely packed her books and wound her way through the school until she found the appropriate room and walked in.She stood motionless with her mouth gaping open at the sight of the classroom. It wasn't even a classroom at all! She felt as though she had walked directly into their normal clearing for the class instead of an indoor classroom. Bella had to shake herself out of her stupor and went and sat herself down in a lump of grass.
Bella pulled out a piece of parchment and a quill when told to do so and took the proper notes in her loopy handwriting. She only paused occassionally to study the kneazle but would quickly return her dark eyes to her parchment. The only time she stopped writing was when Professor Kijewski told everyone to crowd around and have a look.
After setting her parchment aside so as it not have it trampled, Bella stood and made her way over to the kneazle. It wasn't hard at all to figure out what was so different about this kneazle and a regular house cat, "This one has a lion's tail. House cats don't have tails like these." Bella said, indicating the tail on the kneazle.
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Izabella Santoro
Oh Goody
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Izabella Santoro
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Anne Wright
January 07, 2006 11:01 AM
Approaching warily... by Anne Wright
Anne doubted she would ever really like Care of Magical Creatures, but she was no longer as terrified of it as she had been at the beginning of the year. Part of it was that not even she had yet managed to figure out what was so frightening about a flobberworm. Part of it was that she would do a lot more than toss lettuce at a grub to secure herself a high grade. Finally, part of it was that she refused to carry on like a snivelling coward. She wholeheartedly agreed with Shakespeare's representation of Julius Caesar on cowardice, and had no desire to die the thousand deaths. Holding on to childish specific phobias was not behavior she was willing to accept from herself.She couldn't say she was exactly pleased by the transfer to a classroom. A good, cold wind would have felt nice after so long cooped up in the mansion. She had always preferred being cold to being hot, mainly because cold could be conquered with a jacket while hot proved impossible to be rid of without an air conditioner. She could see the practical reasoning behind it, though; enough parents had probably been upset by the mud storm and dust storm without taking the risk of giving their kids pneumonia.
The classroom's appearance caused her to do a double take. Somehow, Kijewski had enchanted the room to mimic the appearance of the outdoors. She shot a respectful look towards her Head of House as she found a place to sit down. She didn't know much about the magic behind the classroom's appearance, but it was only logical to think that it had taken a fair amount of talent to pull off.
She grimaced a little when she learned they were moving past flobberworms, but obediently pulled out her parchment and a pen to write down the notes on Kneazles. She did not miss that Kijewski had omitted the fact that Kneazles were occasionally aggressive, and so hung back a little when they were instructed to gather around the animal. She really didn't want it to decide that she was a suspicious or unsavory character right there in front of the whole class. With the magical world the way it was and her luck being the way it was, there was always a chance she would remind the thing of Uncle Al or Grandmother St.Martin.
She was tall enough to be able to see over the people in front of her, and thus able to examine the Kneazle without getting too close to it. There was a fine line between being a coward and employing good sense. "It's ears are too big," she said after Bella pointed out its tail. As if it registered the insult, the Kneazle turned its head to look at her. Crossing her arms across her chest, Anne refused to blink, but stared back and forbore to mention that it also looked at people even weirder than normal cats did. \n\n
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Anne Wright
Approaching warily...
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Anne Wright
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
January 07, 2006 6:22 PM
Nice Kneazle... by Gwenhwyfar Carey
Gwen, for her part, was relieved when the notice went up that Care of Magical Creatures was being moved indoors for the time being. She was no outdoorswoman in the best of circumstances, and the current weather did not qualify. Two layers of clothing was neither comfortable nor practical for getting around in, but her mild-weather accustomed bones would accept no less. Two layers not counting her robes and cloak. The building wasn't especially warm, but at least there was no snow falling and no wind blowing.The room came as a surprise. She had seen scene-setting enchantments once before at a Robinond party, but not one this extensive. The Professor's desk looked oddly out of place in its surroundings. Making her way across the room a little gingerly for fear of stepping on anything, she found herself an out-of-the-way corner and prepared to take notes as Professor Kijewski entered the classroom.
Gwen had to duck her head to hide the peculiar look on her face that came from an urgent effort to keep from laughing when the day's subject was announced. Kneazles. Her first run-in with a Kneazle had come when she was seven, and she had yet to forget the experience. Eulalie Carey of the Charleston Careys was seventy-four, an old maid, and much indulged by the family, which was how she had gotten away with bringing her pet Kneazle to a ball thrown for Anthony VII and Lorraine's anniversary. She had made the critical error of instructing her attendant elf to hold it while she went for more punch. The Kneazle had escaped its guardian and inflicted a series of nasty scratches on Anthony V and his wife, the latter of whom had then been hexed by Eulalie when she kicked Precious. Gwen had thought Anthony IV was going to die on the spot.
She wrote down the details Professor Kijewski told them and proceeded forward with the rest of the class, staying near the back and not venturing to attempt petting the Kneazle. She didn't think she was hiding any major secrets at the moment, but she'd rather not find out that the creature thought otherwise the same way Anthony and Laura had. She ventured to nod in her cousin's direction and give her a faint smile when Anne pointed out the Kneazle's ears after the other Aladren girl spoke about its tail.
Gwen raised a tenative hand. "I believe Kneazles also have more color variation in their coats than regular cats as well," she said, edging a little closer to the front. The observation was based on the two Kneazles she had seen against Morgaine's cat, making it of questionable accuracy, but it was worth a try. \n\n
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
Nice Kneazle...
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Gwenhwyfar Carey
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Connor Pierce
January 07, 2006 9:24 PM
I thought it started with an 'N'. by Connor Pierce
Connor had read the notice announcing that Care of Magical Creatures was moving indoors with some regret. Flobberworms hadn't gone over too well even when they were outside in the open, and he doubted putting them in a probably musty unusued classroom would improve them. Still, it made sense. It was literally below freezing outside, if the amount of snow and ice he could see from the common room windows and the temperature inside the building was anything to go by, and the winds that had thrown dust and mud against the school had no problem with picking up snow as well. It was for that reason that he shouldered his bag and made his way to the indoor classroom without complaint when time to report to class rolled around.His eyes widened when he saw the classroom. It was like walking into an alternate dimension, or at least a really fancy planitarium with good 3-D effects. "Whoa," he said aloud, not really thinking about it. "How cool is this?" He winced internally when it caught up with him that he'd just spoken aloud into to the air, but no one seemed to be looking at him as if he were nuts. It stil seemed best to move on without further comment, though, which was exactly what he did.
Professor Kijewski was still being friendly in a teacherly sort of way, and she introduced them to something a little more interesting than an earthworm. Cats weren't a terribly great deal more fascinating, true, but they did have some things going for them. Anything once revered as a deity by a pretty advanced society had to be a little interesting, and they'd been associated with witches for centuries. The professor's reassurances that it wasn't actually a cat helped, too. Uncapping a pen, he hurridly wrote down a summary of what she had just said.
Neasles
-Smart magical cats
-Good instincts about people
-Good pet if it likes you
Satisfied with his handiwork and fairly certain he had misspelled the name of the creature in question, Connor moved to the front of the room with the rest of the class to observe the specimen Kijewski had brought into class.
An Aladren girl he didn't know pointed out the Kneazle's most obvious difference from a real cat, and Anne Wright's familiar voice sounded from the back to tell about its oversized ears. He was able to see her by tilting his head a little, and was just thinking how odd she looked trying to stare a cat down when another familiar voice, its accent not too much different from Anne's, hesitantly spoke up about color variation. Trying not to attract notice, Connor edged around the crowd until he was beside the owner.
"Hey," he said quietly, trying to pull off sounding completely normal. It didn't work entirely, but close enough. He then tried - and failed - to find an accurate way to ask what he wanted to ask without taking so long about it that Kijewski overheard. He finally settled on the basic worn-out question of greeting and hoped Gwen got the point. "What's up?" \n\n
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Connor Pierce
I thought it started with an 'N'.
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Connor Pierce
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Gwen
January 07, 2006 9:41 PM
Nice or Kneazle? by Gwen
Gwen flinched internally when a voice spoke to her. Hey. A brief pause. What's up? She wasn't yet thick enough to miss the real question. Connor wasn't the best at being subtle. She glanced at him nervously for a moment, then turned her attention back to the Kneazle without saying anything, biting her lip. She almost wished that he'd just taken the general population's word for it and not spoken to her at all."Not much," she said after another moment, just as quietly. "Just watching the Kneazle." Evading the real question. Coward's way out, but a way out just the same. This was not a conversation she wanted to be having. She'd done a good job of avoiding everyone since Christmas, but her luck was clearly running out. At least it wasn't Asher or Laura she was having to do this with. She felt somehow sure that they would have made it a lot more difficult.
The real question was still there, and she had to answer it. She didn't want to, but she had to. He was - had been - her friend. She owed him that much, at least. "I'll tell you later," she said, still not looking at him. \n\n
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Gwen
Nice or Kneazle?
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Gwen
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Connor
January 07, 2006 9:57 PM
Kneazle! I know what nice starts with... by Connor
If he hadn't known before that something was up, Gwen's response proved it. It wasn't like her. Nervous, hesitant, fidgety...none of that fit into the picture he'd put together of Gwen Carey. Her usual semi-frightening vitality was practically gone. She didn't really seem to be all the way there. It suddenly felt like he was up to his ankles in snow at a graveyard or something.Quit being poetic, he thought at himself furiously, just as she spoke again, proving that she had been pretending that she didn't understand the question. "Okay," he said. "Avalon." Because of the difficulty of getting into the Pecari commons these days, he would have to make it pretty quick, but this was important. It was just a feeling, but he was sure that it was. To avoid attracting the Professor's notice, he moved a little further forward and scratched the Kneazle's ears. It made a sound sort of like purring. "What's it's name?" he asked, glancing up at Kijewski.\n\n
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Connor
Kneazle! I know what nice starts with...
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Connor
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Catherine Raines
January 07, 2006 11:23 PM
Not my cup of tea... by Catherine Raines
At least I don't have to go outside, Catherine consoled herself as she approached the door to the indoor Care of Magical Creatures classroom. She couldn't honestly say she had a favorite subject, but this was probably her least favorite, as a rule. None of the others required tromping around outside with bad weather and dirt and bugs and Merlin-alone-knew-what. She might still have to deal with bugs and Merlin-alone-knew-what while the class was being held inside, but it seemed moderately safe to say that dirt and bad weather would be kept out of the equation, or at least have a diminished presence.She took down the bare minimum of notes on Kneazles, but had the good sense to keep a bored expression off her face. Her father had enough problems without finding out she'd gotten in trouble over something as stupid as that. She still couldn't forget how strained he had looked while she was home for Christmas, or how he had yet to even have Lorenzo send a reply to her latest letter. Her stupid mother wouldn't care even if she noticed, which left Catherine in the role of the one who worried about him.
Others took it upon themselves to answer the good professor's questions about what distinguished a Kneazle from an ordinary cat, leaving Catherine in a position where she could happily stand back and do nothing. She sent Gwenhwyfar's pet mudblood a less-than-friendly look when he petted the thing and inquired about its name, but she didn't think he noticed. Her dear "ward" was standing not far away, bundled in a cloak and not looking precisely happy. She had said something about the Kneazle, but Catherine had already forgotten what it was. Merlin, but this was boring. Boring and cold. \n\n
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Catherine Raines
Not my cup of tea...
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Catherine Raines
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Dalila
January 21, 2006 7:26 PM
I don't like tea anyways... by Dalila
Now this was what Dalila loved about magic: being able to turn a boring old room into a forest paradise. she seated herself in the shade of a small tree and listened to the Professor K's (she still didn't know how to pronounce it) lecture on kneazles without bothering to take notes on them.When they were asked to take a closer look, Dalila jumped at the chance. "They look like cats...ugly cats," Dalil murmered to herself and immediately resolved to like cats much better tha kneazles no matter how magical the latter was. Dalilas was brought up in a household that worshipped cats and backing away from that wasn't easy.
Dalila retreated a good distance to get away from the crowd of people, accidentally brushing up against someone. "Whoops! Sorry..."She started saying the person's name but realized she hadn't met her. She did look familiar though.
"Umm...I'm sorry, I don't know your name. I'm Dalila." She punctuated her introduction with a friendly smile.\n\n
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Dalila
I don't like tea anyways...
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Dalila
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Catherine
January 23, 2006 8:53 PM
I harbor no grudge against tea, just classes. by Catherine
I officially hate cats, Catherine thought, flexing her hands in their gloves in an attempt to keep the blood moving. Her old baby-nickname of Catkin had established an aversion to the species that the irritable old horror perpetually perched on her grandmother's knees had not lessened, but having to stand here and look at an especially ugly magical specimen was the final straw. There were many better things she could have been spending her morning on, such as huddling in front of the fire back in the common room. At least there was a chance something interesting might happen there.She jerked back instinctively when another girl, Teppenpaw if Catherine wasn't mistaken, bumped into her. "Watch it," she snapped under her breath, then returned Dalila's smile with an impersonal, summing-up look spoiled only by a surprised blink when her eyes lighted on the other girl's head. It was almost certainly a trick of the light, but she could have sworn there were orange streaks in Dalila's hair. After a moment, she nodded.
"Catherine Raines, of the Illinois Raines'" she said, hating the high, clear quality she had never been able to get out of her voice. It made her sound too innocent. Her mother had tried to get her to take singing and piano lessons when she was younger, but her teacher had stormed out after a case of accidental magic that made his baton start beating him around the head. She had received a long and boring lecture from her mother about the importance of not wasting her natural talents, but she hadn't been forced into any more music lessons. "Crotalus first year," she added. The Loser Crew had effectively ruined the reputation of the first year Crotali - she glared at Gwenhwyfar again, this time more angrily - and left the respectable members of the House to make the best they could of it. Catherine was not going to allow a bunch of half-breeds and blood traitors to make her be ashamed of her own House. \n\n
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Catherine
I harbor no grudge against tea, just classes.
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Catherine
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Dalila
January 24, 2006 8:30 PM
Classes can be the bane of an existence by Dalila
So...she's pureblood... Dalila thought as she mulled over the name. She's one of those snotty girls I've been hearing about she continued. Unlike most people who would turn a nose up at this rumor, Dalila simply tried hard to prove that the rumors were just that - rumors."Well, Catherine, I'm glad we met. I love meeting new people. Umm, I guess I should have introduced myself properly if you did. Otherwise my grandmother would have a fit." Dalila smiled warmly, insinuating that she was trying to friendly.
"Dalila Bastet of the Los Angeles Bastets, but I doubt you've heard of them." She knew what would happen if Catherine knew she was only half-blooded. She wouldn't like her and Dalila wanted Catherine as a friend. So instead, she played up her mother's side.
"If you've heard of anyone in my family, it would be the Menes's. That's my mother's side, but except for my grandmother, they all live in Egypt, so it's still unlikely you'll know them." She paused for a moment and caught her breath before starting on a nicer subject.
"So, do you like this class?"\n\n
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Dalila
Classes can be the bane of an existence
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Dalila
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Catherine
January 26, 2006 4:17 PM
Yes...*sigh* by Catherine
She kept from raising her eyebrows at Dalila's assertment that she was glad they'd met, but any bemusement at the other first year's choice of words vanished into a reflexive and sympathetic wince at hearing the terms 'grandmother' and 'fit' in the same sentence. The image of Amelia's long, hard-angled face and sharp eyes popped into her mind for a moment before she forced it out again. Grandmother fits were something she could fully understand."I can't say I have," she said when the other girl named her families. She refused to waste time entertaining a fantasy about shipping Amelia to Egypt in a crate of illegal produce that had been Transfigured into rocks for the journey. "I'm sure they're well-respected, though." A thing her family, at least, could relate to. They had been better-repsected before they got their hands on some money and status.
Catherine gave Dalila an incredulous look at the question. "No," she said flatly. "I don't. This is my least-favorite class, if I have to pick one." Considering how abysmally she had done in Defense Against the Dark Arts with the jinxes, that was saying a lot. Catherine hated looking like a fool, even if it was best in the social climate of the moment. She knew her father thought the pretend stupidity was all too real. "Do you like it?" \n\n
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Catherine
Yes...*sigh*
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Catherine
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Dalila
January 27, 2006 6:58 PM
Kneazle rhymes with weasel by Dalila
Good. Catherine still like her. The thought brouught a smile to Dalila's face especially when she said that Dalila's family must be "well-respected"."Oh, then I'm sorry you have to go through this. I like this class sometimes and others I really don't. Like the flobberworms were boring and really ugly and useless, and while kneazles may be intersting, I like cats so much better. Cats are prettier. I have one; her name's Nut." She stopped her tangent and gave Catherine what she hoped was a encouraging smile.
"Well, at least you can get out of this class in a few years," Dalila said, hoping to raise Catherine's spirits. "Are there any classes you do like?"\n\n
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Dalila
Kneazle rhymes with weasel
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Dalila
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Catherine
January 28, 2006 8:59 PM
Loot rhymes with boot. by Catherine
Catherine endeavored to keep a politely interested expression on her face as Dalila rambled about her cat. She would agree that cats were pretty animals, but they were as temperamental as the day was long. Amelia's Lini would be as docile as a rug one minute and would try to claw the blood out of anyone but her mistress the next. Of course, the cat could have just been picking up insanity vibes from that mistress..."I wasn't a fan of the flobberworms, either," she said when Dalila finished. "The potion-thickening secretion thing did it for me. I suppose these are all right from a distance." She bit her tongue hard when she realized she had just implied posessing a fair degree of intelligence or at least the ability to listen to the teacher and read the textbook to someone who was not yet a proven ally. I'll burn I'll own house down yet.
She was caught off-guard by what Dalila said next. What kind of question was that? Something, be it instinct or training, told her that informing the other girl that they were all prime examples of pointlessness and torture in action would not be the correct response. She had to think about it for a moment to select a favorite, lest it sound completely unconvincing. "Charms isn't too bad," she said finally. "I'm not too fond of Connell, but Potions is all right too, I guess." There. She had named two classes. That was enough for anyone, in her opinion. "Which do you like?" \n\n
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Catherine
Loot rhymes with boot.
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Catherine
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