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Avery shrugged and looked panicked when Kimiko took his plate. She draped her legs over him before returning his plate of food and Avery relaxed. He took his plate and happily resumed eating.

”We could still do that, Nero. You just have to tell us where you want everything to go.”

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Cassi sighed and nodded. She wanted to take inventory of everything she lost. Some things would be irreplaceable, others would take time to regrow or find, but some she could make right away.

She bent down while Nic moped up the blood and picked up a mandrake root. It had been squished and would take her four years to make fresh. Luckily, she had some at home that had been growing for two years already.

”It's fine, Nic. I'm just going to have to do more readings for a while to accommodate the loss in revenue for the spells and potions I make. Well, they aren't really spells, but people buy more thinking it's some mystical thing.” Cassi stood and tossed the destroyed mandrake into the garbage.

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Kiki smirks a little at Avery’s reaction to her taking his plate briefly before she looks over at Nero who’s tapping their chin in thought. “It’ll depend on how much time we have to pull this off.” They finally say. “Especially with how much stuff the man has.”

“Who knew dragons are depicted correctly in media? Hoarders, the lot of ‘em.”

---

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Nic frowns with a small shake of his head. “Or bill him for loss of wages.” He suggests as he starts helping with the broken glass all over the place. “Before you yell at me again, broken shards are a safety hazard so I’m getting rid of them.” He says to Cassi, crouching on the floor and carefully picking up each piece and placing it into a cardboard box. He would later tape up the box so nobody would accidentally cut themselves.

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”Well, if we're just doing his office I think we can pull it off. There's no way we could do the whole house. Caden's got so much. It's all laid out well, so it doesn't look like a lot but when you have to pack it up… trust me. It's a lot.”

Avery finished his second plate and set the dish aside. He leaned back on the couch, resting his hands on Kimiko's legs.

”Although, if we're doing this we better get started.”

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”If I don't ask Caden to pay me back it'll hurt him more. If I pour myself back into my work and have no time for him, and no time for you, it'll affect him more knowing I'm losing out and refusing to ask for his repentance.” Cassi crossed her arms, watching Nic clean up as she explained all this. She hated the idea of not seeing Nic, but it was probably for the best at this point. It was getting harder and harder to have to leave his place every night, and after their last date it wasn't easy to keep her hands to herself either. For whatever reason, Nic wasn't wanting to make that move yet, so it was probably better if she just stayed away.

Cassi smirked at Nic's response for cleaning the broken glass up next. ”You know I could call on the wind to do all that. Or do you enjoy doing menial tasks?”

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Nero laughs, shaking their head. “And now that we’ve added my hoard… Nein, no, we’re only going to rearrange his office.” They assure the two before they go through their phone to type up and send the cypher to the two of them in order to help speed things along. When Avery speaks up next, Nero looks up to see Kiki finishing her plate and nods in agreement.

“Right, let’s get started.” They agree, getting up from their seat.

---

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Nic frowns - it’s not exactly what he wants, cutting down on his already limited time with Cassi. “I just hate that he’s pulled this shit so soon after the two of you finally mended things.” He observes grumpily as he mops up some of the blood before grabbing some more of the shards on the floor. At Cassi’s response to his argument to let him keep cleaning, he pauses and looks up at her.

“It’s helping me right now because if I start thinking about it for more than a minute, I might end up asking you how one could kill an immortal dragon.” He says honestly before returning to his task.

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Avery collected Kimiko's plate and placed it on top of his. He moved Kimiko's legs before he stood and offered her a hand up.

”Would you like a drink while we work?” Avery offered.

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Cassiopeia couldn't help the smile that warmed her face from Nic's statements. Even though he was human, Nic seemed to be fiercely protective of Cass. It didn't matter if her mental, emotional, or physical state was compromised, Nic was ready to protect and care for it all.

”The brave knight who slayed the dragon to free the princess from her tower…” The image was so strong in her mind's eye, Cassi couldn't help but wonder if Nic had been like that in a past life. ”Or in this case, cleans the tower. Let me grab the mop and broom then if you're going to insist on doing this.”

Cassiopeia disappeared into a back closet to retrieve the items. Water could be heard running as she poured some bleach and other cleaning supplies into the mop bucket. She wheeled the items out, carrying a broom and a dust pan in the other hand. ”Here you are, sir knight. I'll start on the walls. Once we have everything cleaned, I'll have you help me make a list of everything lost.” At this rate, Caden would be rotting in a jail cell at least until first light, Cassi thought to herself. That would have to be good enough.

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Kiki beams up at Avery, taking his hand and letting him pull her to her feet. “A drink would be nice.” She says with a nod. “I’m going to see if I can find a speaker so we can have some music.” She hesitates a moment, glancing sidelong at Nero briefly, before leaning in and kissing Avery’s cheek. A nervous giggle bubbles up her throat and she quickly walks away to concentrate on the task at hand.

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There’s a pause and Nic looks up again to see Cassi’s smile. The warmth of it catches him off guard and his ears warm a little. Gods, she is breathtaking… He thinks to himself as she addresses him as her knight. He chuckles, a lot of the stress ebbing away just from the small exchange.

Hearing the wheels of a mop bucket, Nic stands and turns to take the broom from her first. “Many thanks, my lady.” He says, a lopsided grin on his lips as he bows his head. “And, as you wish.” He throws in a wink before he starts carefully sweeping up most of the debris. Nic tries to give the blood and other liquids pooled on the floor some berth, not wanting to spread them around with the broom.

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Avery chuckled at Kimiko's reaction. He watched her go off before he set the dirtied dishes out of the way from the clean ones. He recovered most of the food, hoping to make it a bit easier for the others when they came to collect. Avery then made himself and Kimiko a drink before he joined everyone in Caden's study to tackle his collection.

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Cassiopeia laughed and fiddled with her hair before she turned to clean up the walls.

”I loved The Princess Bride when it first came out. I had a very large crush on Cary Elwes. He was rather handsome and hilarious in his other movies,” Cassi informed Nic while they worked.

She cleaned up more broken bottles and wiped out the shelves. She rearranged some things while she worked to make it easier to catalogue what was left of her stores. Cassi grew a little more sad each time she found a broken bottle or something else she would have to remake.

Cassi knew Caden was upset, but he upset a lot more people by his leaving and would upset more people once they found out what he did. She didn't understand it and hoped he found the answers he had been looking for.

---

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“The man is a legend.” Nic says, twirling in a circle as he sweeps dramatically. “I still have a crush on him.” He glances briefly at Cassi to see her reaction before he focuses on actually sweeping up the debris. As unnerving as it is to be cleaning up everything around the dead body just sitting there, Nic is enjoying the time alone with his girlfriend.



It takes some time, but between the two of them, Nic and Cassi are able to get the place cleaned up with a complete list of everything the sorceress had lost. It’d been hard for Nic whenever there was something that was irreplaceable that Caden had broken. The only thing stopping him from even thinking of punching him is just the fact that he doesn’t know if it would break his hand or not.

“Well…” He said, putting his hands on his hips as he surveys the now mostly clean back room. “Do we need to be here for them to take the body?”

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Nero wipes the sweat from their brow as the party of three finishes off the reorganization of Caden’s office. Despite the work laid out for them, they had managed to reorganize according to Nero’s cypher and the Russian categorization. The imp jumps down from the tallest shelf to softly land on their feet with a great big smile on their face.

“I can’t wait until he notices. No one better tell him a thing - I want him to discover it on his own.” There’s a terrifying look to Nero’s expression, but one only had to look a little closer to see that it’s simply a mask they were right now to hide their worry for Caden.

Kiki’s relief is clear on her face. “Make sure we never do anything to piss of Nero in the future.” She tells Avery. She should be exhausted by this point, but her own concern for both her siblings is keeping her awake for now.

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Cassiopeia loved how easily Nic could make her smile and laugh. When he spoke about having the same crush as her, it reminded her of all those TV shows where the girls would stay up all night talking about the boys they had crushes on. Cassi never thought she would have another best friend. Especially someone she was dating.

The two worked well together. Cassi had decided to cover the body at one point so it wasn't a constant reminder. The sheets weren't much better but it was something.

Cassi stood by the doorway with Nic, looking over the back room. She clutched her notebook that held the damages. So much was lost. More than she realized and it hurt. She just barely registered Nic's words.

Cassi shook her head. ”No…No. I just have to make a phone call and they'll come. Supernatural cleanup so it's done a bit differently. Do you think we could stop at yours or mine before we go to the police station? I'd like to shower and change, as I'm sure you might. Maybe a cup of tea?” Everything was well and truly closed but Cassi had all the makings of a tea shop in her house, and she had stocked Nic's cabinet with some of their favourites.

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Avery draped an arm of Kiki's shoulders once she was near. He assured Nero he wouldn't dream of telling Caden anything. In fact, Avery had removed the photo and any evidence of what they had done from his phone to prevent anything from getting to Caden.

”I can't believe we managed it all,” Avery said honestly. He wasn't sure how long it would take Caden to realize. He was a rather particular person, so Avery didn't imagine it would be that long. But to reorganize it how he liked it, that would take a long time.

”What should we do now then? A movie?” Avery asked. He still wanted to go to the gazebo with Kimiko, but he didn't want to leave Nero if they wanted the company.

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“Convenient.” Nic observes with an appreciative nod before wrapping an arm around Cassi and pulling her close for a moment. “But yes, I agree. Let’s stop at your place and freshen up.” He holds her as he kisses the top of her head before pulling away. He keep an arm around her shoulders while leaving her shop, though.

As they approach the SUV, Nic can no longer stop himself. “If I were to theoretically punch Caden, would it hurt me?” He asks before opening Cassi’s door for her. “I mean, more than punching another human would? Theoretically.”

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Kiki leans in towards Avery a little, finding his arm comforting as he waits for Nero’s answer. “No, I’ve kept you both long enough. I think I’m going to go up to my office and do some ‘light’ reading.”

“You mean research.” Kiki says, reading between the lines of what Nero is saying. “That can wait - you don’t need to do that right now.” Cassi’s words of not letting Nero dwell on things replay in her head. “A movie sounds nice to me, anyhow. We can make some kettle corn - it’s popcorn that’s sweet.”

When Nero doesn’t immediately reply, Kiki knows she’d guessed correctly. “Okay, but only because you’ve piqued my interest with this kettle corn.”

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Cassiopeia wrapped her arms around her notebook, like if she kept it close she wouldn't lose anymore. She leaned against Nic and sighed before turning around and walked out of the shop. She stopped to lock her front door before following Nic to the SUV.

She stopped by the door with him and quirked an eyebrow at his question. She slowly smiled and removed one of her hands from her notebook. She brushed invisible lint from Nic's shoulder.

”Theoretically? No. It just might not injure him. He’s invulnerable on top of some other things. That being said, there are things that can weaken him,” Cassi informed him. Cassi wrapped her arm back around her notebook and looked up at Nic.

”You're really upset, aren't you?”

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Avery chuckled, not letting the fact that his idea for the night was no longer on the table. He kissed the side of Kimiko's head before letting her go.

”I'll go make it. Why don't you two set up the TV and the movie,” Avery suggested. ”Want any other sweets, Nero?”

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Nic smiles for Cassi, trying to ease her mind, but as soon as he looks down at her as she clutches the notebook and sees the pain in her eyes, the expression falters. He reaches to cup her cheek, smiling sadly now. “I just know how much this hurt you and I hate it.” His jaw feathers as he once again thinks of the items that Cassi can’t even replace and wishes he could magically fix it.

“It’ll be hard for me to forgive him for this, but I will also follow your lead on how you want to handle it.” He bends to place a soft kiss on her forehead.

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Nero shakes their head - there’s still a whole tray of sweets to eat if they need it. “How about some chocolate-covered strawberries?” She asks, turning as Avery lets her go. “Please, if that’s okay?” She adds quickly.

Nero’s already moving past the two towards where they had all been eating previously. Kiki catches them pulling their phone out and checking for notifications. She can’t help but empathize with the imp right now.

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Cassiopeia shrugged and moved away from Nic's hand. ”I'm sure I could curse and yell and threaten all sorts of things to him, but it won't make of a difference. His focus, I'm sure, will be on Nero this time and that's as it should be. I'm worried for Nero. I'm not certain rearranging Caden's office is going to make them feel better or feel like less of a burden, especially after learning they are mated to Mundus.” Cassiopeia sighed and looked at the SUV.

”Let's just get back to the house so we can clean up.”

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Avery smiled and hooked his arm around Kimiko's waist. He pulled her in and kissed her swiftly.

”Of course it's fine. I make sure the kitchen orders extra supplies everytime. There should still be some premade in the freezer.”

He smiled at Kimiko before he released her and headed for the kitchen. He whistled while he walked. It was a different tune, something knew he was trying to write on the guitar.

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Nic nods, wishing he could do something more for Cassi. “Well, we can check on them when we get back.” Nic says as he awkwardly takes his hand back and heads for the driver’s seat. He can’t help but feel she’s rightfully concerned about Nero. He gets the SUV started, waiting for Cassi to buckle in before he heads towards her place. It’s a relatively quiet drive as it seems both are too tired from cleaning up and stuck inside their own thoughts to really have a conversation. Nic silently hopes that changing and having some tea will help.

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Kiki lets out a small squeak of surprise as she’s pulled into a kiss with Avery. Her hands rest on his chest as her surprise melts away and she kisses him back. She’s flushed when he pulls away to speak. “Oh.” She says simply, dazzled by his smile and a little dazed as he walks away. She takes a moment to watch him before she lightly slaps her cheeks to refocus, walking away to go join Nero.

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Cassiopeia settled into her seat while Nic drove them back to her place. She pulled out her phone and called the people responsible for supernatural clean-ups and had them charge Caden for the clean-up. It was the usual procedure, but it felt good to make sure the payment came from Caden’s account. After that, Cassi texted Kimiko.



Cassi slipped her phone away to stare out the window. She sighed while the world went by. The silence was fine by Cassi. She didn’t feel very conversational after what the two of them just had to do. Cassi knew Nic wanted to help and support her, but she still hated that he had to be there for that.

Once Nic parked outside of Cassi’s house, she barely waited for the engine to shut off before she was out of the SUV and running up the steps to her front door. Cassi managed to open the door before she dumped her stuff in the front entrance. Maximilian was sitting there, staring at Cassiopeia like he knew. He meowed, and Cassi instantly scooped her familiar up. She buried her head in his fur and inhaled the comforting scent of her cat.

”Caden’s an idiot,” she informed Max. Calypso came out from around the corner and wound her way around Cassi’s legs before meowing loudly. She continued to meow as she led Cassi to their empty food dishes.

”Yes, yes, of course. Nic…” Cassi turned around to look for Nic, just remembering his existence again. ”Do you want to shower, too?”

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A few staff members still lingered in the kitchens, waiting to clean up the remaining meal. Avery smiled and greeted them all happily. Every one of Caden’s staff either knew who he was or knew what he worked in. Most didn’t believe in the supernatural before starting, but they had all been vetted beforehand for their ability to stay calm and keep secrets. That being said, Avery kept the conversation short when they asked where Caden was.

”He was called away to work on something time-sensitive for Costa. It’s rather hush-hush. We’re hoping he’ll be back by the morning. That being said, the ceremony got cut short. Nero’s rather upset by it, understandably. The rest of us are just trying to make it work. You could leave the sweets out for them, but you could pack up the rest of the food. I’m just going to make some kettle corn for us and grab Kiki’s strawberries.”

He spoke with the staff a little while longer while he prepared the ingredients to make the kettle corn and retrieved a tray of chocolate-covered strawberries for Kiki. There was one premade tray left, which Avery noted so that he would make time to make more for her.

Eventually, Avery was left alone in the kitchen while the kitchen staff went up to clean up the remaining food. He waited downstairs until there was a sufficient amount of popcorn for a werewolf, kitsune, and demon to eat before he went back upstairs with the goodies. Avery set the bowls of popcorn and the tray of strawberries down on the table before he sat next to Kimiko.

”What movie did you two pick?”

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Nic locks up the SUV and walks quickly to catch up to Cassi, entering through her door just as she turns to look for him. He smiles, his eyebrows in a concerned angle as he meets her at the cats’ empty food bowls. “Oh, I probably should… But you go ahead first, I can feed the cats for you.” He tells her. He’d almost just said he didn’t need one but he remembered that he had spent most of the time cleaning the floor of Cassi’s shop.

“Unless… do you want to… shower together?” His ears turn pink, embarrassed by his own hesitancy to just offer to take one with her. They’re dating and had already talked about marriage with each other, so why is he so nervous about this sort of thing? He knows the answer, of course. In his head, he knows that Cassi has been around for a lot longer than him and he wants to make their first time special to set him apart from anyone else but… it’s getting more difficult with each passing day to show restraint.

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Nero glances behind them when they hear Kiki approaching and she quickly sends the text off to Cassi before flashing an awkward smile at the demon. “Was just sending a text off to make sure everything’s going okay.” She lies, her eyes and nose crinkling. She can see the doubt in Nero’s expression, but to her relief, they drop it.

As the staff come in and out to take care of the other dishes and food, Kiki starts going through different movies to see what Nero might be interested in. By the time everything but the sweets tray is cleared and Avery arrives with the popcorn, they’re stuck between two choices.

Kiki leans onto Avery as soon as he’s seating, wrapping her arms around his arm for a moment. “We’re stuck on a couple of options; X-Files or Hellhazers.”

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Cassiopeia blushed from Nic's words and she was instantly reminded of Caden's house. They had been down this road already today. She looked away from Nic and set Max down. She moved to retrieve the cat's food and fill up their dishes.

”I'm not opposed to the idea of showering with you,” Cassi said. If she was being honest, she would prefer it at this point. She wanted just a bit of normalcy, and showering with her boyfriend seemed the most normal to Cassi. Her day had been full of ancient bonding ceremonies between creatures that shouldn't exist, cleaning up dead bodies, and would end with picking up her friend from jail. Cassi was too tired for shower sex or anything of the like, but she also wanted to feel closer to Nic in some way. If that was them standing under hot water to wash away the smell of blood, sulphur, and bleach, she would happily push for it.

Cassiopeia looked back at Nic, nervous for his answer. If he rejected her, Cassi wasn't going to take it personally. It had been a long day which turned into a long night, and even if Cassi wasn't looking for anything tonight, showering together was an intimate experience.

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”Oh, X-files for sure, Avery said, nodding happily. He pulled a bowl of popcorn over and set it between himself and Kimiko. ”I don't know if you're a cuddler, Nero, but you're more than welcome to join Kiki and I,” he said.

He didn't want to obviously single Nero out, but he didn't want them to feel left out either. Besides, it would ease Avery's protective nature if Nero accepted him as someone who could look after them.

Avery popped a handful of popcorn into his mouth and chewed happily. ”I think you'll be happy with this,” Avery told Kimiko.

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Nic rubs the back of his neck as he waits for Cassi’s responses, his eyes following her as she moves. At her words, a nervous grin spreads across his face. “Well then,” He says, stepping closer to her and wrapping his arms around her from behind.

“If you’re not opposed and I’m not opposed, we should shower together then.” He kisses her cheek before resting his chin on Cassi’s shoulder. “Do you want me to start the kettle while you fill the bowls? Or would you rather wait until after our shower?” He asks, feeling some form of normalcy from just this conversation.

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Kiki tugs Avery so that he’s sitting a little more center on the sofa before nodding at Nero to join them. The imp hesitates before climbing onto the couch on the other side of Avery. Kiki smiles before trying some of the popcorn herself. “You’re right, it tastes delicious… but I’ve got my eye on those strawberries as soon as they’re no longer frozen.” To be honest, she’s tempted to eat them now.

Nero reaches in and tries some for themself as Kiki gets the movie set up and started. “Sweet and salty - best of both worlds.” The demon observes before grabbing a bowl of their own and settling into the couch.

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Cassiopeia shivered when Nic wrapped his arms around her from behind. The sensation was oddly comforting, and she leaned back, knowing Nic supported her. Her eyes closed and she smiled when he kissed her cheek.

”After,” she answered. ”You could head up now if you want. I'll be along after I feed the cats.”

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”You could warm them up a little yourself,” Avery reminded Kiki. He didn't have a full understanding of her powers with fire but it stood to reason that she might be able to control it enough to unthaw food.

Avery grabbed another handful of popcorn and ate it before he rested an arm on the back of the couch behind Nero. He settled comfortably into the couch, rather enjoying the idea of movie night.

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Nic hums tiredly, kissing her cheek again before finally releasing her. “Don’t leave me waiting too long,” He teases with a wink. Truthfully, he won’t take it personally if she needs a moment to herself before joining him.

“I love you.” He tells her as he heads upstairs to go grab a change of clothes and get in the shower.

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Kiki blinks, the thought not having occurred to her. “Why didn’t I think of that?!” She says as her brows crinkle. She grabs the plate of strawberries and holds her finger a couple of inches above them as it seemingly lights on fire. Careful not to get too close, she goes in a circle around the frozen treats until the chocolate just starts to look like it’ll melt. Blowing her fire out on her finger, she picks up one of the strawberries and happily bobs her head in satisfaction.

“Eet woked!” She tries to tell Avery with the strawberry still in her mouth and a hand blocking his view of seeing her chewing.