Tuesday 17 September 2013

Chapter 36 - Cornered


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Be Warned:
Butt-picture
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Lillian briefed Charlotte and Kat on Alex and that they needed to recover her body. There was visible regret and anger on Charlotte's face. If only she had insisted on taking her back with them when they left that night. She only wanted Alex to take responsibility for her actions, not this… never this. Kat wasn't unfazed by this either. She doesn't flinch when she's sent to get vampire remains, but now, knowing the face on the body had her stomach in knots. No matter which way she viewed this, this wasn't going to be like any other job; this was Alex, lifeless on a cold slab.

The feeling of unease hung heavily in Lillian's office during their meeting and even followed them out when they left to figure out a strategy for the unsettling, but necessary job later. Lillian waited for them to exit her office before pressing the intercom button to her secretary again. "I'm sorry, Miss Lewis. I called her several times. The last was 2 minutes ago, but she's not picking up. Should I try again now?"
"No, thank you Vanessa. I'll take it from here…", Lillian answered. She picked up the phone and punched in a different number than the one she let Vanessa dial. The phone was picked up immediately after the first ring.

"I got all of the other calls too, so you know! It's not a vacation if you're gonna calling me"
"Cut it short, Angelica! I need you here"
"Charlotte and Kat can handle it just fine, Lillian"
"One of ours was killed yesterday!"
"Kat or Charlotte?"
"No, but what does it matter? The treaty is void… What is going to happen is big and I need all three of you here. You can take a vacation afterwards for all I care, but right now, you're needed here"

There was a silence on the other line before Angelica sighed. "Fine, I'll be there tomorrow night"
Tomorrow night? That had to mean she was closer than Lillian had originally thought. "Wait, where are you now?"
"Belladonna Cove. I was going to be here for a week or so"
Belladonna Cove- That's where one of the witches lived. "Angelica, I need you to do something before you leave. There's a witch, her name is Rinka DiGorgio; we need her as well. Your job is to persuade her to join our cause. Use any means necessary… the vampires will try to get to her too, we need to be faster."

"Persuade? I don't persuade"
"There's a first time for everything"
"And what if she isn't persuaded by any of the means necessary?"
Lillian sighed, but didn't answer. They needed that witch and whatever power she has. If she couldn't get her, Calum wouldn't either. Angelica had been around Lillian long enough to be able to read her silence if it was work related.

"Got it", she answered, "I'll call you when I have an update"

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Desiderata Ville

"When will this rain stop? It's depressing!"
"Oh, come on Jase. It's not so bad", the girl next to him answered, "See… now I can wrap my arms around you all the time"
Jase smiled and opened his arms a bit more so she fit perfectly. "I guess it does have some advantages. But I still don't get why you wanted to go to the park. Now. In this weather"
"Oh, It didn't have to be the park. I just wanted to go out with you. I actually got tired of sitting at home waiting for the rain to pass"
"You see, you find it just as depressing", Jase stated.
"Not depressing, just 'in the way'! It was keeping me from you and I thought I'd show it who's boss", she smiled sweetly.
"Right, come on. I'm taking you home"

"Jase!", she pouted.
"MY home, Kayla", he answered looking away from her cute pout, "You said it was so you could be with me, that way you still are, only drier"
Her pout turned into a huge grin and she followed him as they turned back around.

The two of them walked back towards the entrance to the park when Kayla suddenly halted. Jase followed her gaze and noticed someone walking towards them. Kayla's grip on his arm grew tighter the closer it got and then she buried her face in his shoulder.
"Who's there?", Jase yelled.
The man didn't answer, but kept coming closer and closer. He was walking in the pouring rain with no umbrella and… no clothes.
"Who are you?", Jase yelled again, pushing Kayla behind him. He looked towards the park's entrance once more, but something about the man in front of them made him wonder if he could at least get Kayla to make a run for it.

The man stopped in exactly three paces in front of them, blocking their path, and looked up.
"What do you want? Money?", Jase asked, but the man just looked at him, still not answering, and then shifted his gaze towards the few strands of hair just visible over Jase's shoulder. Kayla… he wanted Kayla. Jase tightened his grip on Kayla and took half a step back, pressing her into his back some more. Kayla shivered behind him, but was somewhat curious as to why her boyfriend held her tighter and braved a quick look over his shoulder at the man in front.

Their eyes met; brown and fiery-red… and time stopped. Kayla was mesmerized. The rain was forgotten and so was her boyfriend-shield. All she could think about was that she wanted to see those eyes up close. The man elegantly lifting his arm and beckoned her to him; his eyes never leaving hers. Kayla's feet moved on their own as she side-stepped from behind her boyfriend and slowly started walking.
"Kayla?"

Jase watched with open mouth as his girlfriend moved towards the stranger. It wasn't until he saw her glossed-over eyes that he realized the man was hypnotizing her. Jase pulled her by her arm, but for some reason she was stronger than him and didn't even budge. He let go and watched her settle into the stranger's arms. There was a smile on both their faces as the man caressed Kayla's face; pulling her hair to the back exposing her beautiful neck. He ran his fingers up and down from her ear to her shoulder and Kayla sighed at the sensation.

Jase's fear gave way to anger knowing the man was controlling her and he remembered the pocket knife he had stashed in the rolls of his pants. He took it out and lunged at the stranger who's attention was still entirely on Kayla. Jase buried the knife in the man's stomach, pulled back and then stabbed again. Blood oozed out, but the man seemed unfazed. Horror grew on Jase's face as he watched his inflicted stab wounds close in front of his eyes. This man was a monster. He looked back up and dropped the knife. The fiery-red eyes had left Kayla and were now fixed on him. This was actually the first time he had noticed that they were really RED. An arm closed around his neck and lifted him off the ground as if he weight nothing.

"…you will be next…", the man finally spoke with a voice so raw and rough as if he hadn't spoken for quite some time. There was a partial growl in his voice and Jase noticed his canines were longer than normal. Fangs! On the edge of falling unconscious Jase watched as the stranger leaned over Kayla and buried his fangs into her neck. The sounds of greedily feeding sounded in his ear and Jase lost consciousness. The last sound he heard was a small moan coming from Kayla…


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The two adolescents were enough to keep his hunger in check and he continued on his path that ended in an unknown alley. It was the smell of his own that led him there, so he walked towards the door.
"Hold it right there freak"
The clothes the guy wore practically blended into the wall. Clever disguise, but he had noticed him the minute he entered the alley. Vampire; approximately 1 year old; nothing special about him, so he continued walking towards the door when the young vampire blocked his path.

"I said hold it! You think you can just waltz right in here? This isn't a strip club buster, go back the way you came!"
"You are a brave one are you not", the rough voice sounded once more. It was getting better each time he spoke. The young one looked at the man and frowned. It was then that he took a closer look. This was no ordinary man; he was a vampire just like him, but there was a different aura to him. It felt older and kind of similar to the other vampire; that elite that once came here… is he one of his crew?
"Look man, I don't know who you are, but you've-"
"…and that is your mistake…"

The young vampire didn't even have the time to ponder on those words when he found himself jerking violently through the air. His eyes flew back to the naked man… he was doing nothing, just staring at him. Those fiery red eyes were piercing and ripping at his skin and he knew he made a mistake. This was definitely not a normal vampire; this was one of the Elite! He had just offended one of the 3 remaining Elite vampires.

His hovering body crashed into the neighboring wall, where it stayed. He groaned at the intense pain and blood streamed out of his mouth. Then… his body withdrew from the wall and slammed into it again… and again… and again. It grated against the brick wall as it made its way down, landing amidst the trash. He opened his bloodshot eyes and tried to move his head to where the Elite stood, but he couldn’t move his body.
"…yes… you are still alive. Mistake me again and that will change…"

He was in excruciating pain, but still managed to mutter a weak apology that no human ears would be able to hear. The Elite vampire had already forgotten all about the 'trash'  and had his attention on the door in front of him. He twisted the handle and found it locked. Instantly following that action, a small window in the door opened up and another vampire came into view.

"Who are you?"
The Elite vampire smiled at the déjà vu he was about to create…

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Riverblossom Hills
Astor Residence

"Okay, so hold up! Let me see if I got all of it. You want me to pack my bags and come with you, because you have a bad feeling about Raven for reasons you can't explain or won't explain. Julie! You met him just 3 days ago", Marina said leaning against the doorpost.
"I know I just met him, but I don't know I have a bad feeling okay", Julie answered, quickly looking at Jane.
"Well, a bad feeling doesn't work for me. What brought this on? You were practically fawning over him at gram's party"
"I checked up on him and the things I found weren't exactly-"
"You found something about him?", Marina cut her off.
"Uh, yes… why do you say it like that?"
"Because Binny has been searching for weeks and she found nothing"
'It didn't really come out of nowhere either', Jane said, having been updated on the way over, 'Julie had a-a… dream about a house-number and checked it out. Turned out it was linked to him'

'A 'dream' huh?' Or a 'vision' ?'

Julie dropped Marina's shirt on the floor at those words and Jane sat equally perplexed. 'What are you-'
'Don't insult me. I've known for a while now. Remember when Shadow* threw me a few months ago? Lubinnia healed me. She thought I was unconscious, but I wasn't. I pushed her into a corner until she told me- everything. About her healing powers, about you guys, visions - everything. Now what did you see about Raven?', Marina took a deep breath after she got it all out.

Julie looked at Jane and then shrugged. 'Alright, since you feel you know everything. Raven is a vampire and I don't think he has amnesia. I believe he will lose control at some point and attack you; which is why we're here now, to get you away from him so that doesn't happen'
Marina looked skeptically at Julie, then at Jane. 'Really? You can accept that we're witches who have visions of the past and future, but you don't believe he's a vampire?'

'Well of course not! Vampires don't exist', Marina sat down on the bed next to Jane.
'But they do exist hon! Grams was attacked by one not so long ago. She is fine, don't worry!', Jane ran a comforting hand down Marina's shoulder at her shocked expression.
'Okay, so you say vampires are real…', she scoffed, making Jane frown. She had never seen her cousin like this. Marina seemed a bit toothy in her reaction. '…so, how does Raven fit in there? Last time I checked they don't help people with vegetable gardens or take horses for a trot in the DAYTIME!'.
'I know. We haven't been able to figure out how he does that either, but he is a vampire, Marina. I had a vision of him back in the Victorian age and it was bloody; a massacre. I couldn't see his face, so I searched for other things in the vision. That's when I noticed the house number. I checked up on that and it took me to the bloodshed that happened in that time. There was also something about the O' Connor family that had me wondering. They were mentioned a few times in newspaper articles of back then. There was a picture-', Julie searched around in her bag, 'Shit, I think I left it in my room. There was a picture of the family; an obituary and he was on it… Raven was part of that family in the Victorian era'

'What? And you think that Raven kil-…', Marina choked on the word. This was a lot to take in if any of this was even true. Surely Julie wouldn't lie about something like this AND come up with such a supportive back-story; but still… Raven, her Raven? She didn't recognize him in any of what Julie said.
 'I don't know if he is the one they were talking about. They said the massacre was the work of a mad man. The Beast of New Orleans they called him.'
And there it was- all that Julie found out about the vision. Even Jane appeared overwhelmed by hearing it out loud again. Julie had not told her about the Beast of New Orleans or the picture, so that was news to her ears too. The three of them sat there in silence letting it all sink in before Julie jumped up at the sound of a chuckle behind her and Raven who entered the room after.

'-The Beast of New Orleans- It's been a while since I last heard that one...'

To be Continued…
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*Shadow: One of the horses Marina has.

16 comments:

  1. First of all.... LMAO about the 'warning'.

    Oh no! Rinka! I don't want her on either side, and I hope she can do something to prevent that.

    Holy crap! So I take it this is the creature from the tomb. Vampire and a bit more.
    There's more than 3 elites now buddy.

    Well, I must say I'm quite proud of Marina for already knowing. She's not the sweet, little innocent she portrays all the time. :) Nevermind. 'vampires don't exist'. People always have to find a place to draw the reality line.

    Just because he's heard the term doesn't mean he's the one.
    I wonder what he's going to do now that the girls know.
    Please don't let him be the bad guy. You know how I worry anyway.

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    1. Haha, I laughed when I put it up.

      Prophecies are hard to maneuver around, but we'l see what happens.

      Yes, that's the creature from the tomb. Like the young one said, he IS an Elite. Nope, he's one of the three. So far you've seen him and Calum. But he's definitely the last you want to cross.

      Who knew that Marina was not really as innocent as she appeared. And Binny is a witch as well. We're surrounded by them apparently. I'd say that too. Witches, sure, but vampires, come on!

      He knows the term, yes, but true, that doesn't exactly mean it's him. That's easy, kill them of course!
      On the plus side, we get to know who Raven is now :)

      Thanks Brooke!

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  2. Ok so this elite vamp looks like trouble. I couldn't help but to laugh with him walking around nude. I instantly thought of Arnold in Terminator 2. With him waking, I fear for my poor sexy Chase. I know he's in hiding for slipping up and almost having Alex turn. :(

    And I have to say I DO NOT like Lillian's attitude in regards to Rinka. Ok I know you are gung ho for this war but that does NOT give you the right to be so carefree with ending the life of someone because she may not want to get in the middle of it. That's a real fucked up bitch thing to do and I don't think Rinka will be persuaded or go down that easily. Plus the hunters don't want the wrath of her family coming down on them along with dealing with the vamps. I'm not sure Lillian is thinking clearly on that one.

    I like that Marina knew what was up (sorta) with the witch thing. She however is still in the dark about the fact that she is one. They might need to clue her in because I get the feeling she didn't drink whatever concoction grams brewed up. And that will be a good thing because she will be needed.

    Now the question is will she stand my Raven's side or will her cousins try to get her away? He is the first person she's really gotten close to it seems like and I don't see her walking away without at least hearing him out. Especially if he lets her and the twins know that Grams knows all about him. :) I don't think he means her any harm, if he wanted to hurt her, he had plenty of opportunities to do so. So nope not gonna believe he's a bad guy.

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    1. This Elite vamp isn't one to mess with. We've had a little taste of that. I know right!! At first I though, let him take the clothes of that Jase guy, but it wasn't to his taste apparently, so B-day suit it stayed.
      If he bumps into him now, he's done for, so if Chase knows what's good for him he'll stay hidden for awhile!

      You're absolutely right about Rinka. She's carefree, BUT not easy. If Lillian thinks this is going to be a breeze, she's sorely mistaken. Lillian is on the path to revenge. She doesn't care about the witch or even her own hunters for that matter. As long as she gets what she's after, she doesn't give a damn. Messed up person for sure!

      She knows it's in the women folk of her family, so it surprises me she hasn't made the link yet. The prophecy does say two witches, so she'll know at some point. I say better sooner than later, but the twins get distracted easily (I noticed that when I was reading them over) so it might skip their mind to tell her,

      Raven, Raven Raven.
      I'd say the mystery is over. They know who he is now and all he needs to do is fill in the little holes. That is a good question. Who will Marina side with? She knows a different side to Raven so she'll definitely want to hear him out on this. Raven can't hurt her just as much as he doesn't want to. But we'll get into that a bit later. He's had plenty of opportunities to do her harm, so I don't think that's going to happen.

      Lol, isn't he?

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  3. Great update, bad ending!!! What happens next? ugh... *LOL*

    The naked vampire was worse than Calum... Now that would be a war made in the realm of eternal flames. The vampire hunters are certainly going to have more trouble than they realise. If they harm a witch, it will be worse. I wonder how horrible the persuasion will be :(

    I hope that Gramma can shed some light for everyone on her end so that Raven isn't cast out. I think that his presence will be the balance for them. And without him, Marina will wither.

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    1. I knew you were going to frown at the ending, so I gave a smile first with the butt-picture warning! :)

      IS! He is worse than Calum. Calum only dreams of the power this guy has. Those women don't even know what's coming to them. Lillian is trying to get some witches on her side against the vampires. If she angers them, she'll have two enemies to worry about. She's hoping Rinka and her new power can greatly aid her against the fangs.

      Everything that needs to be said will come from Raven in the next update. Time for him to un-cloud his mystery. You could be right about that balance. And if Raven gets back on their good side, I'd say that's 3 more witches on team vampire.

      Marina will wither... how very poetic of you! I love that!

      Thanks Zhip!

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  4. Eep!
    Great chapter, Jem! The mysterious and naked elite vampire...he's bringing som trouble.

    I'm looking forward to hearing Raven's side of things. I know Jane and Julia are worried for Marina, but I'm just worried about anything coming between her and Raven.

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    1. Glad you like it!

      That Elite spells trouble... for everyone in sight apparently!

      Well if Raven wants to keep Marina and the twins on his good side (more Marina really), he better come up with something. They're all on defense right now.

      Thanks Cat!

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  5. WAR! HOO! GOOD GOD YALL! WHAT IS IT GOOD FOR!?

    Wow! That was...well that must have sucked to have his girlfriend just taken from him like that! Can't blame him for trying to stab him afterwards, he would have lost his man-card otherwise because I was ready to file a report on this guy.

    This guy is just walking around naked and on a small killing spree. Nothing else needs to be said.

    Hmm and that there are three elite vampires...we know two, is Raven the third?

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    1. I bet Lillian has a list to answer that question for you, lol

      Ouch yes, took away the manliness right from under him. Jase had to do something... not that it mattered in the end, but his man card is in tact!

      I can't agree with you more. Besides if you kill everyone that sees you naked, there's no one to go telling on the naked stranger.

      That's right, 3 Elite vampires. Calum, Nudy and ... Raven?? Hmm, why? Because you don't know anything about him other than that he's a vamp? Okay, I can see your point of view...

      Thanks Aeon!

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  6. HAHAHAHA ok, by show of hands how many scrolled down to find the "butt-picture"? *raises hand* Oh please I KNOW I'm not the only one :P Just wasn't who I was hoping for :(

    Poor Kat and Charlotte. Hopefully they understand this isn't their fault and probably couldn't have been prevented. Either she faced Lillian and died or faced Chase and...ended up where she did.

    Wow so now Rinka's life is in danger. She either joins or dies. But hopefully she sees this coming. Lillian doesn't seem to know what Rinka's power base is and that will work greatly in Rinka's favor.

    Damn this Elite sounds vicious! I love him already! Elegant, scary, fierce...and naked! Dude is just walking all over the city bucky-naked! I said BUCKY-NAKED! I like how he gets shit done haha! Callum better watch his back! I just hope that's not bad news for Chase :(

    DUN DUN DUNNNNNNN

    Well now. Raven has joined the conversation. At least Marina will get confirmation from his last words. But DAMN what an entrance. He doesn't seem mad so I'm hoping this ends well. It's nice to know also that Marina knew what they all were this whole time! She's no longer completely in the dark...except about herself.

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    1. *Raises hand*
      What? I may have written it, doesn't mean I'm not doing the same!

      It's hitting them harder than they expected it to. She might've not been close to their league, she was a sister hunter nonetheless. And Charlotte was enjoying the fact Alex was trying to learn from her, albeit as it proved for different reasons. Alex was screwed either way, facing Lillian or going after Chase. I don't know where my mind would've taken me had I let her go back to Lillian, but death from Lillian seemed a bit harsh and plain crazy. What kind of punishment is that?

      Danger is creeping up Rinka's door. That's the choice: Join or die! *spoiler* She does see it coming...
      Lillian doesn't know what Rinka's current power is, no. She completely fixated on what she's going to receive once she picks sides (theirs preferably)

      LOL, the guy just woke up and not by choice, so why shouldn't he be? He's cranky, vicious, elegant...scary... and Naked, yes, can't forget that! Bucky?? I can feel that growing on me just now. Yup, bucky is my word of the day!
      If my writing is correct, Calum should be cowering in a corner right about now as is Chase, only not in each other's vicinity...

      Yayyyyyyy!
      We get to know who Raven is now (if he decides to share that is?)
      So Marina is not as 'in the dark' as first believed. Sure, it's just a light-beam through the door crack, but still. Raven did chuckle, but I don't know what is going through him right now. He should be careful... that room contains three witches, or at least 2 and a half, that fried a vampire not so long ago!

      Amnesia, no amnesia, Marina should be able to connect a few dots by now.

      Thanks for reading Deej!

      Delete
  7. I'm late, I know. *sighs*

    ARE YOU EFFIN... WHAT?!?!?!?!!
    WHYYYY!!!?!?!????
    Why would you leave it there?! Was Ravens chuckle a 'I'm gunna kill you all 'cus I'm the beast' kinda chuckle, or a friendly 'listen to that nonsense', or even a fond memories kind of chuckle? :|

    And Marina knows. I had a feeling she might. It's hard to keep a secret that massive from your own family or anyone you live with, so they were bound to slip up at some point. I can't wait to find out what Raven has to say!

    Lilith is calling in the reinforcements. She knows shit's goin' down! I also can't wait to see how all that goes down, but I feel that'll be a longer wait than Ravens explaination, yes?

    And of course the butt. Loved the warning, made me giggle. The section containing the butt... Not so much. There's a naked elite wondering around killing randomers. That's always good... :|

    SO much going on here! Very action packed, look forward to the next :) Hopefully Raven will give some answers...

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    1. Don't worry, I 86'd the time-limit. You should be fine!

      See, that's why I left it there, so that those questions would rise up. Makes you all the more anxious to what he has to say, if he gets the chance to say anything!

      I think Marina had quite some fun watching the twins try so hard not to slip up in her presence. She knew all about it, but had to pretend she didn't. It was a good thing too to be honest. If no one knows you're a witch, you won't get targeted. Makes sense doesn't it?

      She is calling in reinforcements in the form of her top three huntresses. Among others, but those will be in this story for sooooo long, I don't have to introduce them this early. They're not even of importance... just part of Lillian's "armada".

      Aha, the butt. I had to, some people might find a butt-picture inappropriate. I mean full on nude sex-scenes between Julie & Dante and Chase & Alex are okay, but butt-pictures are a no-no!!
      Maybe it is time I put some clothes on the guy... He has reached one of his destinations (the alley), so yeah, I can cover that inappropriate butt now! :)

      It's all coming together now, so more *gasps* to come!
      Thanks for reading Gemma!

      ^__^

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  8. You and your dam cliff hangers/almost cliff hangers girl!

    r So the butt vamp is the one doing the attacks yesh?

    I'm callin' out Rosalie on the Raven thing! She knows him and from what we have seen from when Raven and Marina went to her birthday he is not a bad person. Rosalie aint clueless and I'm quite sure she has some idea as to what they are up to so I say let her intervene!
    I would call you bad names if Marina kicked Raven to the curb=b...edenz~

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    1. Haha, Cliffy's are fun to do, but less so to receive! My apologies!

      He's doing his own attacks. This is the vampire from the tomb, so he couldn't have done the one on Rosalie.

      Rosalie knows Raven VERY well. She knows who/what he is, what his rank in the vampire community is AND what he's capable of. You're not going to drop the -Raven's not bad- bit are you?

      I shall do my utmost best to prevent it! I'm scared of you!

      Thanks Edenz!

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