Post by Munkustrap Etc. on May 1, 2007 1:38:23 GMT -5
((Before the last Jellicle Ball, Bomba and Munk went out for a bite to eat, which turned into a stolen kiss, which would develop into kittens...))
Munkustrap jumped and spun and danced and sang, practicing for the upcoming Ball. He had certainly come a long way from the graceless street kitten that he was when he first joined the Jellicles. Still, traces of that kitten lingered in his mind, and Munkustrap was never fully confident of his abilities when it came to things like dancing and singing. As the Protector of the tribe, though, and second-in-command, Munkustrap's part in the Ball was filled with such artistry. He never told anyone how nervous he got in the nights leading up to the Jellicle moon, but he spent more time practicing his parts.
Bombalurina slipped through the shadows, watching some of her fellow cats dance and sing. She had decided not to practice with the others. Bomba gazed down and spotted Munkustrap practicing. She perched ontop of a rocking chair, watching the tabby.
Munkustrap finally stopped, panting and shaking his head. The recounting of the battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles was always challenging - to get so many lines out so fast and not slip up on any words - but he was sure he'd manage to get that song done, now. As long as everyone else remembered what they were supposed to do...
Munkustrap shook out his paws and then streeeetched, his paws over his head and then back, his silver fur catching the moonlight. He closed his eyes and smiled. Victoria would be coming of age this Ball, and Plato had been chosen to dance with her. They should be a good couple.
Bombalurina couldn't supress a loud, "Bark!" when Munkustrap finished his song. She lept down from the chair and walked over to the tom. "Hey there, Munk," she said.
Munkustrap jerked around when Bomba barked, his scowl at being surprised turning into a petulant pout. "How long have you been watching?" he asked, going to meet her halfway with a friendly nuzzle. "Hello, Bomba."
"Long enough to tell you you should relax." She pecked his cheek, then settled down on a nearby pillow. "How long have you been practicing?"
Munkustrap looked up at the moon and shrugged. "I don't know. An hour?" He sat next to her with a smile, beginning to groom his arms. "I was going to take a break now, anyway. How have you been?"
"Fine," she answered. "Demeter's been practicing, and I had to get away from her. You don't know how annoying "The Old Gumbie Cat" can be until you've heard Deme sing it fourteen times." She laughed. "And you? How has the brave Protector been?"
"Try singing it fourteen times yourself," Munkustrap said with a groan. "I don't see why Tumble can't introduce Jenny. She's his mother, after all!" He laughed with Bomba, shaking his head. "I've been well. Busy, but that's to be expected this time of year. There's so much to do, so many preparations that need to be made for the Ball. Tantomile just told me today that there's some sort of problem with the lights, and they can't find Quaxo to fix it. If you see that little tom, let him know the twins are searching for him, will you?" Quaxo was off on one of his disappearing acts again. Munkustrap usually didn't mind them, but not this close to the Ball!
"I will," Bomba promised. She paused. "So who are you going with?" she asked, trying to make conversation. She was curious, too. She had made it a priority to find out who was going with who. secretly, she wanted to find out if Tugger was going with anyone, and if he was, who was available for her.
Munkustrap shrugged. "Probably whoever needs a date at the last minute. I'm thinking I'm going to end up with a queenkit on either arm, though, with the way Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima are fawning over Tugger. You know he never takes anyone to these Balls... or, if he does, it's one of the old cats, just to be difficult."
Bombalurina tried to keep her expression the same with the mention of Tugger. "Any of the kittens would be delighted," she said. "I might ask Pouncival. He's such a sweetheart. But it might give him ideas, so... I think I won't."
Munkustrap snickered a bit at the thought of Pouncival's reaction to Bomba asking him out. "Any tom would be delighted to go with you, Bomba... but that might just give Pouncival a heart attack."
Bombalurina chuckled softly. "Probably. And I don't think I'll go with anyone this year." She yawned. "Are you as hungry as I am?" she asked the tom, her tail flicking away a fly.
"You and Tugger will break the hearts of half the tribe, going alone," Munkustrap said with a smile. "But not as badly as if you chose someone." He shook his head. "That depends on how hungry you are. I could use a snack, but I'm not starving." He rose to his feet and offered her a paw. "Shall we try to find a bite to eat?"
Bombalurina took Munk's paw and stood. "Maybe a mouse, or some Chinese takeout. Cassandra and I found some, and it is amazing." She walked behind a row of garbage cans, slipping into the shadows. "You should try some, Munkustrap."
"Chinese takeout?" Munkustrap followed Bomba, sounding mildly interested. "I don't think I've ever had any that wasn't frozen." Munkustrap usually stuck to mice and rats and the occasional bird, chipmunk, or squirrel (though once he had a bat, and that was a very odd and delicious taste), supplemented by whatever treats the junkyard human would bring him (chicken, turkey, and fish, though last year there was a big chunk of roast beef during winter which he shared among the whole tribe). Most other human food was usually eaten cold and hard in the dead of winter, when all other food was scarce.
"It can't be frozen. The flavor just goes away." She looked into a garbage can, then jumped back down. "Nope. Nothing. You want to test your luck?"
"Yeah," Munkustrap said. "Frozen human food never tastes very good." He picked a can and jumped up, knocking the lid off. "Hmm..." He spent a minute rummaging around. "Cookie?" he asked, coming up with most of a fortune cookie.
Bombalurina smiled. "Thanks," she said, taking the cookie and eating it. She licked her lips and dug into another can. She knocked it over, spilling the contents. "Woops." She dug through the trash, then spotted a very dumb mouse run out from under neath a can of soda. She dug her claws into it, quickly killing it. She placed the little creature by Munk. "For you," she said before going back to digging.
"Graceful," Munkustrap commented with a teasing smile as she knocked the can over. He accepted the mouse with a nod of thanks, bending down to eat it while it was still warm. After licking the blood from his lips, he selected another can and rummaged through it, trying to find something Bomba might like.
"I know. I'm like a swan," she said, laughing. "Find anything?" she asked, glancing over to Munkustrap.
Munkustrap growled as he tried to pull a large piece of some sort of meat free, but it was trapped beneath something. He shook his head, tugging and tugging and... there! It snapped free and he toppled backward, into another open can behind him. "Oof!"
Bombalurina let out a sharp laugh, doubling over. She took control, though, and grabbed Munkustrap's wrist, pulling him up to a sitting position. "Smooth," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice.
"You didn't see that," Munkustrap said, shaking something slimy off a hind paw. "Ugh. I don't think I've fallen like that since I was a kitten!"
"Of course not," Bomba nodded, smiling. "What were you like as a kitten? You came to the Jellicles almost an adolescent."
"I was a mess," Munkustrap said. "Literally. I don't think my mother could get me to sit still long enough for even a partial bath." He cocked his head to the side, looking at Bomba. "You were still a kitten yourself when I showed up... about Etcy's age, if I remember correctly."
"Just about her age," Bomba said. "I remember a few of us were soldiers... that was fun, although in all honesty, Cassandra, Exotica and I weren't really there for the training." She winked.
"You were there for the Tugger, weren't you?" Munkustrap asked with a laugh. "I knew it!" He grinned. "Not that I minded an excuse to show off for the queens..."
"Not just for Tugger. You were quite the little tomkit, you know." She stood back pretending to study him. "What happened?" she joked.
"I took a bath," Munkustrap said, widening his eyes. "And then I looked like this."
Bombalurina laughed. "Protector and comedian? What next?" she asked.
"Hopefully, dancer and singer." Munkustrap spun once and bowed before Bomba. "I don't know whose idiotic idea it was to make the Protector of the tribe also the guide for the Ball. I fight. I do not dance."
"Who knows, maybe dancing will become your best talent. No more fighting for Munk; he's a dancing man!" she said, laughing the last part.
"Oh, hah," Munkustrap said, rolling his eyes. "No, I'll leave the dancing to Vicky and Quaxo, and just focus on getting through another Ball." He smiled over at Bomba. He really did enjoy the Jellicle Balls, even if he felt self-conscious of his abilities in a way that never showed in the rest of the year.
"Is it true Victoria is dancing the Invitation?" she asked, sitting cross-legged. "Isn't she a bit young? Oh, right, she's dancing with Plato... it's always nice to see a kitten come of age." She ducked down, her voice a whisper. "Don't laugh, but I came of age with Bustopher Jones." She smiled and winked. "He's not that bad. And this was when he weighed only nineteen pounds."
"It is," Munkustrap said, sitting across from Bomba and belatedly offering her the bit of meat he had fallen in the can for (he had never let go of it). "I remember that Ball... it was my first." He grinned. "I had no idea what was going on - Tugger had thought it would be best to let me 'go with the flow' rather than prepare me for the Jellicles going mad."
"Poor Munk," Bomba said, grinning. "It must've been a surprise to see everyone on top of one another." She took the meat and ate it, ignoring the strange taste.
"More of a surprise when Exotica yanked me into the pile and told me to stop being such a spoilsport," Munksustrap said. "And then proceeded to demonstrate what non-spoilsports did." Munkustrap shook his head. "The Ball is probably the hardest thing for a non-Jellicle to get used to... but it's one of my favorite parts of the year, now. Except for the whole needing to sing and dance bit."
"You were yanked in by Exotica? Consider yourself lucky it wasn't Cassandra. Or me." She winked. "And you'll be fine. Just think of singing as talking musically. Dancing can be... fighting without claws, and much more gracefully."
Munkustrap leaned forward to nuzzle Bomba in a friendly fashion again, careful not to push the line. "Oh, I know I'll be fine. I've done this before. I just don't like it."
Bombalurina kissed Munkustrap's cheek, then smiled. "I know you'll be great. Just have fun with it."
Munkustrap smiled at the kiss. "So, what about you? Aside from the Gumbie Cat, are you performing anything else this year?"
Bomba thought for a moment. "Bustopher Jones is coming, and I'm singing a bit with Jenny and Jelly. Demeter and I might have to explain Macavity to the kittens. That should be interesting. And I have a few dance solos. Not much, but it should be fun. I know I'm probably forgetting something," she said. "And you? What else do you get to sing?"
Munkustrap shook his head. "Hopefully there will be no need for a Macavity explanation," he said darkly, though he knew chances of that were slim. Macavity seemed to relish wrecking the Ball. Nothing too bad had happened, though... yet. "Well, I'm singing the introduction, introducing Jenny and Deuteronomy... there's the Pekes and the Pollicles production we're doing... and I'm going to be making sure everything goes smoothly and jumping in wherever I'm needed."
"I sure hope he keeps his distance," Bombalurina agreed. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. It should be fun."
"It'll be a blast," Munkustrap said with a grin. "Though I'll probably spend half of it sitting by Deuteronomy's side."
"Such is the curse of postion," Bombalurina laughed. "You love it though, sitting next to him. It makes you feel high and mighty." She winked. "Promise me you'll save a dance for me?" She dangled a half-empty bag of nacho cheese tortilla chips infront of him. "You will, won't you? The chips are telling you to. You can't say no..." She pretended to hypnotize him with the chips.
"It makes me feel small and insignificant, next to his greatness," Munkustrap said with a grin. "Well... if the chips are talking..." He was following the dangling bag with his eyes, playing along with Bomba's hypnotism before snatching the bag away from between them. "Then I simply must promise you a dance."
"I knew you couldn't resist nacho cheese," Bombalurina teased. She stole a chip from his bag and smiled evilly.
Munkustrap pouted at Bomba. "All you had to do was ask, and I would have given you all the chips..." He really wasn't all that interested in the cheesy chips. More human food.
Bombalueina loved human food. She ignored everyone's constant chastisement. She was pretty sure her figure wasn't in jeaopardy; besides, it tasted good. "Then I'm asking," she said, eyeing the chips. Aside from BBQ potato chips, those were her favorite.
Munkustrap pulled a chip from the bag and touched it to her lips.
Bombalurina licked her lips, then bit of a corner of the chip.
Munkustrap fed Bomba the chip with a smile. "See, all you had to do was ask. No need for stealing."
"But stealing is much more fuuunnn," Bombalurina protested. "Stealing chips, cookies... kisses." She kissed Munkustrap, then pulled back and smiled.
Munkustrap drew back with a mock-startled gasp, clasping his paws over his mouth. "You didn't!" The way he held his tail, though, the perk of his ears and the grin he couldn't hide with just his paws all revealed his interest... and what tom wouldn't be interested in Bombalurina?
"I did," Bomba said, then winked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips again.
Munkustrap pulled his paws from his mouth as Bomba moved close, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down to meet her kiss halfway.
Munkustrap jumped and spun and danced and sang, practicing for the upcoming Ball. He had certainly come a long way from the graceless street kitten that he was when he first joined the Jellicles. Still, traces of that kitten lingered in his mind, and Munkustrap was never fully confident of his abilities when it came to things like dancing and singing. As the Protector of the tribe, though, and second-in-command, Munkustrap's part in the Ball was filled with such artistry. He never told anyone how nervous he got in the nights leading up to the Jellicle moon, but he spent more time practicing his parts.
Bombalurina slipped through the shadows, watching some of her fellow cats dance and sing. She had decided not to practice with the others. Bomba gazed down and spotted Munkustrap practicing. She perched ontop of a rocking chair, watching the tabby.
Munkustrap finally stopped, panting and shaking his head. The recounting of the battle of the Pekes and the Pollicles was always challenging - to get so many lines out so fast and not slip up on any words - but he was sure he'd manage to get that song done, now. As long as everyone else remembered what they were supposed to do...
Munkustrap shook out his paws and then streeeetched, his paws over his head and then back, his silver fur catching the moonlight. He closed his eyes and smiled. Victoria would be coming of age this Ball, and Plato had been chosen to dance with her. They should be a good couple.
Bombalurina couldn't supress a loud, "Bark!" when Munkustrap finished his song. She lept down from the chair and walked over to the tom. "Hey there, Munk," she said.
Munkustrap jerked around when Bomba barked, his scowl at being surprised turning into a petulant pout. "How long have you been watching?" he asked, going to meet her halfway with a friendly nuzzle. "Hello, Bomba."
"Long enough to tell you you should relax." She pecked his cheek, then settled down on a nearby pillow. "How long have you been practicing?"
Munkustrap looked up at the moon and shrugged. "I don't know. An hour?" He sat next to her with a smile, beginning to groom his arms. "I was going to take a break now, anyway. How have you been?"
"Fine," she answered. "Demeter's been practicing, and I had to get away from her. You don't know how annoying "The Old Gumbie Cat" can be until you've heard Deme sing it fourteen times." She laughed. "And you? How has the brave Protector been?"
"Try singing it fourteen times yourself," Munkustrap said with a groan. "I don't see why Tumble can't introduce Jenny. She's his mother, after all!" He laughed with Bomba, shaking his head. "I've been well. Busy, but that's to be expected this time of year. There's so much to do, so many preparations that need to be made for the Ball. Tantomile just told me today that there's some sort of problem with the lights, and they can't find Quaxo to fix it. If you see that little tom, let him know the twins are searching for him, will you?" Quaxo was off on one of his disappearing acts again. Munkustrap usually didn't mind them, but not this close to the Ball!
"I will," Bomba promised. She paused. "So who are you going with?" she asked, trying to make conversation. She was curious, too. She had made it a priority to find out who was going with who. secretly, she wanted to find out if Tugger was going with anyone, and if he was, who was available for her.
Munkustrap shrugged. "Probably whoever needs a date at the last minute. I'm thinking I'm going to end up with a queenkit on either arm, though, with the way Etcetera, Electra, and Jemima are fawning over Tugger. You know he never takes anyone to these Balls... or, if he does, it's one of the old cats, just to be difficult."
Bombalurina tried to keep her expression the same with the mention of Tugger. "Any of the kittens would be delighted," she said. "I might ask Pouncival. He's such a sweetheart. But it might give him ideas, so... I think I won't."
Munkustrap snickered a bit at the thought of Pouncival's reaction to Bomba asking him out. "Any tom would be delighted to go with you, Bomba... but that might just give Pouncival a heart attack."
Bombalurina chuckled softly. "Probably. And I don't think I'll go with anyone this year." She yawned. "Are you as hungry as I am?" she asked the tom, her tail flicking away a fly.
"You and Tugger will break the hearts of half the tribe, going alone," Munkustrap said with a smile. "But not as badly as if you chose someone." He shook his head. "That depends on how hungry you are. I could use a snack, but I'm not starving." He rose to his feet and offered her a paw. "Shall we try to find a bite to eat?"
Bombalurina took Munk's paw and stood. "Maybe a mouse, or some Chinese takeout. Cassandra and I found some, and it is amazing." She walked behind a row of garbage cans, slipping into the shadows. "You should try some, Munkustrap."
"Chinese takeout?" Munkustrap followed Bomba, sounding mildly interested. "I don't think I've ever had any that wasn't frozen." Munkustrap usually stuck to mice and rats and the occasional bird, chipmunk, or squirrel (though once he had a bat, and that was a very odd and delicious taste), supplemented by whatever treats the junkyard human would bring him (chicken, turkey, and fish, though last year there was a big chunk of roast beef during winter which he shared among the whole tribe). Most other human food was usually eaten cold and hard in the dead of winter, when all other food was scarce.
"It can't be frozen. The flavor just goes away." She looked into a garbage can, then jumped back down. "Nope. Nothing. You want to test your luck?"
"Yeah," Munkustrap said. "Frozen human food never tastes very good." He picked a can and jumped up, knocking the lid off. "Hmm..." He spent a minute rummaging around. "Cookie?" he asked, coming up with most of a fortune cookie.
Bombalurina smiled. "Thanks," she said, taking the cookie and eating it. She licked her lips and dug into another can. She knocked it over, spilling the contents. "Woops." She dug through the trash, then spotted a very dumb mouse run out from under neath a can of soda. She dug her claws into it, quickly killing it. She placed the little creature by Munk. "For you," she said before going back to digging.
"Graceful," Munkustrap commented with a teasing smile as she knocked the can over. He accepted the mouse with a nod of thanks, bending down to eat it while it was still warm. After licking the blood from his lips, he selected another can and rummaged through it, trying to find something Bomba might like.
"I know. I'm like a swan," she said, laughing. "Find anything?" she asked, glancing over to Munkustrap.
Munkustrap growled as he tried to pull a large piece of some sort of meat free, but it was trapped beneath something. He shook his head, tugging and tugging and... there! It snapped free and he toppled backward, into another open can behind him. "Oof!"
Bombalurina let out a sharp laugh, doubling over. She took control, though, and grabbed Munkustrap's wrist, pulling him up to a sitting position. "Smooth," she said, a hint of laughter in her voice.
"You didn't see that," Munkustrap said, shaking something slimy off a hind paw. "Ugh. I don't think I've fallen like that since I was a kitten!"
"Of course not," Bomba nodded, smiling. "What were you like as a kitten? You came to the Jellicles almost an adolescent."
"I was a mess," Munkustrap said. "Literally. I don't think my mother could get me to sit still long enough for even a partial bath." He cocked his head to the side, looking at Bomba. "You were still a kitten yourself when I showed up... about Etcy's age, if I remember correctly."
"Just about her age," Bomba said. "I remember a few of us were soldiers... that was fun, although in all honesty, Cassandra, Exotica and I weren't really there for the training." She winked.
"You were there for the Tugger, weren't you?" Munkustrap asked with a laugh. "I knew it!" He grinned. "Not that I minded an excuse to show off for the queens..."
"Not just for Tugger. You were quite the little tomkit, you know." She stood back pretending to study him. "What happened?" she joked.
"I took a bath," Munkustrap said, widening his eyes. "And then I looked like this."
Bombalurina laughed. "Protector and comedian? What next?" she asked.
"Hopefully, dancer and singer." Munkustrap spun once and bowed before Bomba. "I don't know whose idiotic idea it was to make the Protector of the tribe also the guide for the Ball. I fight. I do not dance."
"Who knows, maybe dancing will become your best talent. No more fighting for Munk; he's a dancing man!" she said, laughing the last part.
"Oh, hah," Munkustrap said, rolling his eyes. "No, I'll leave the dancing to Vicky and Quaxo, and just focus on getting through another Ball." He smiled over at Bomba. He really did enjoy the Jellicle Balls, even if he felt self-conscious of his abilities in a way that never showed in the rest of the year.
"Is it true Victoria is dancing the Invitation?" she asked, sitting cross-legged. "Isn't she a bit young? Oh, right, she's dancing with Plato... it's always nice to see a kitten come of age." She ducked down, her voice a whisper. "Don't laugh, but I came of age with Bustopher Jones." She smiled and winked. "He's not that bad. And this was when he weighed only nineteen pounds."
"It is," Munkustrap said, sitting across from Bomba and belatedly offering her the bit of meat he had fallen in the can for (he had never let go of it). "I remember that Ball... it was my first." He grinned. "I had no idea what was going on - Tugger had thought it would be best to let me 'go with the flow' rather than prepare me for the Jellicles going mad."
"Poor Munk," Bomba said, grinning. "It must've been a surprise to see everyone on top of one another." She took the meat and ate it, ignoring the strange taste.
"More of a surprise when Exotica yanked me into the pile and told me to stop being such a spoilsport," Munksustrap said. "And then proceeded to demonstrate what non-spoilsports did." Munkustrap shook his head. "The Ball is probably the hardest thing for a non-Jellicle to get used to... but it's one of my favorite parts of the year, now. Except for the whole needing to sing and dance bit."
"You were yanked in by Exotica? Consider yourself lucky it wasn't Cassandra. Or me." She winked. "And you'll be fine. Just think of singing as talking musically. Dancing can be... fighting without claws, and much more gracefully."
Munkustrap leaned forward to nuzzle Bomba in a friendly fashion again, careful not to push the line. "Oh, I know I'll be fine. I've done this before. I just don't like it."
Bombalurina kissed Munkustrap's cheek, then smiled. "I know you'll be great. Just have fun with it."
Munkustrap smiled at the kiss. "So, what about you? Aside from the Gumbie Cat, are you performing anything else this year?"
Bomba thought for a moment. "Bustopher Jones is coming, and I'm singing a bit with Jenny and Jelly. Demeter and I might have to explain Macavity to the kittens. That should be interesting. And I have a few dance solos. Not much, but it should be fun. I know I'm probably forgetting something," she said. "And you? What else do you get to sing?"
Munkustrap shook his head. "Hopefully there will be no need for a Macavity explanation," he said darkly, though he knew chances of that were slim. Macavity seemed to relish wrecking the Ball. Nothing too bad had happened, though... yet. "Well, I'm singing the introduction, introducing Jenny and Deuteronomy... there's the Pekes and the Pollicles production we're doing... and I'm going to be making sure everything goes smoothly and jumping in wherever I'm needed."
"I sure hope he keeps his distance," Bombalurina agreed. "Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. It should be fun."
"It'll be a blast," Munkustrap said with a grin. "Though I'll probably spend half of it sitting by Deuteronomy's side."
"Such is the curse of postion," Bombalurina laughed. "You love it though, sitting next to him. It makes you feel high and mighty." She winked. "Promise me you'll save a dance for me?" She dangled a half-empty bag of nacho cheese tortilla chips infront of him. "You will, won't you? The chips are telling you to. You can't say no..." She pretended to hypnotize him with the chips.
"It makes me feel small and insignificant, next to his greatness," Munkustrap said with a grin. "Well... if the chips are talking..." He was following the dangling bag with his eyes, playing along with Bomba's hypnotism before snatching the bag away from between them. "Then I simply must promise you a dance."
"I knew you couldn't resist nacho cheese," Bombalurina teased. She stole a chip from his bag and smiled evilly.
Munkustrap pouted at Bomba. "All you had to do was ask, and I would have given you all the chips..." He really wasn't all that interested in the cheesy chips. More human food.
Bombalueina loved human food. She ignored everyone's constant chastisement. She was pretty sure her figure wasn't in jeaopardy; besides, it tasted good. "Then I'm asking," she said, eyeing the chips. Aside from BBQ potato chips, those were her favorite.
Munkustrap pulled a chip from the bag and touched it to her lips.
Bombalurina licked her lips, then bit of a corner of the chip.
Munkustrap fed Bomba the chip with a smile. "See, all you had to do was ask. No need for stealing."
"But stealing is much more fuuunnn," Bombalurina protested. "Stealing chips, cookies... kisses." She kissed Munkustrap, then pulled back and smiled.
Munkustrap drew back with a mock-startled gasp, clasping his paws over his mouth. "You didn't!" The way he held his tail, though, the perk of his ears and the grin he couldn't hide with just his paws all revealed his interest... and what tom wouldn't be interested in Bombalurina?
"I did," Bomba said, then winked. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pecked his lips again.
Munkustrap pulled his paws from his mouth as Bomba moved close, wrapping his arms around her waist and leaning down to meet her kiss halfway.