Waters Under Earth

A Ranma 1/2 Fanfic by Alan Harnum - harnums@hotmail.com

All Ranma characters are the property of Rumiko Takahashi, first
published by Shogakukan in Japan and brought over to North
America by Viz Communications.

Homepage at:  http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Bay/9758

Any commentary is always welcomed.  

Chapter 24 : A Pricking of Thumbs [2 of 3]

     Ryoga watched the strain on Happosai's face, the sweat
beading his brow.  He felt a strange sense of wonder, at the kind
of power that it must take, to be able to hold something mighty 
as Ashura helpless, to suppress her aura with your own and trap
her.

     Only for a few seconds, but they were enough.
     
     Because then Shampoo leapt to stand atop one of the train
cars, something dangling from one hand.  Another leap carried her
through the air towards Ashura, stretching out her free hand as
she did.  

     She landed, palm placed flat atop the centre of Ashura's
three heads, lifting herself into a vertical stand as she did,
and upending the steaming kettle atop the form of the paralysed 
demon.

     She vaulted off, as Ashura's aura winked to nothingness, as
her monstrosity disappeared, and the form of a girl fell towards
the ground, long hair trailing behind her.

     Happosai stepped forward and caught her in his arms, as 
Shampoo landed nimbly on her feet.  Genma emerged from behind the
cover of the locomotive, looking pale and frightened.

     Ryoga began to head down towards them, Akane following,
again cast into the darkness of the night by the disappearance of
Ashura's light.  
     
     Happosai placed the still form of the girl on the ground,
rising up and dusting himself off.  He glanced around at the rest
of them, then focused his gaze on Genma and Shampoo.

     "Took you long enough to get that water heated, didn't you?"
he asked them.  Then he looked down at the girl at his feet.
"Yowza.  Where has she been all my life?"

**********
     
     Ryoga fed another log into the crackling fire, and glanced
around at Genma and Happosai.  Despite the master's entreaties,
he'd been denied permission to carry Rouge, that task falling to
Ryoga until they'd gotten far enough away from the train.  They'd
retrieved their baggage before the passengers and crew had shown
up again, and set off into the wilderness towards Jusenkyou.

     They had made camp in a clearing amidst a stretch of sparse
forest, picking their way through tangled roots and gnarled trees
to find a suitable spot to stay the night.  The clearing lay in a
shallow dip in the land around it, hidden from the sight of
anyone except those walking close by.
     
     Ryoga was beginning to realize something about Happosai, a 
train of thought that had begun ever since he'd seen the old man 
fight Yamiko.  If Happosai genuinely desired something, there 
wasn't any one of them who could have stood in his way.  The 
battle with Ashura had only driven that point home even more.

     Akane and Shampoo had taken charge of Rouge as soon as 
they'd arrived at a suitable spot to stay for the night, a fact
for which Ryoga had been grateful.  Carrying her, he'd realized
just how tattered her clothing was.  The fact that she was
astonishingly beautiful hadn't helped much either.  He had forced
himself to focus on the fact that she'd been trying to annihilate
them earlier, and that had helped.  A little.

     The three girls were some distance away from the fire, the
light flickering across their faces.  Rouge was still 
unconscious, showing no sign of waking up.  Shampoo was holding a
warm cloth to the girl's forehead, as Akane held her hand and 
said words that Ryoga couldn't hear from this distance.

     Wood popped in the fire, startling him and sending a spray 
of sparks rising into the night for a few seconds, before they 
winked out into darkness.

     "So what now?" he asked, glancing to Happosai.

     Happosai took a drag on his pipe, then leaned over from 
where he sat cross-legged on the ground and tapped his ashes into 
the fire.  "We'll spend the night here, and move on in the
morning.  If we push ourselves, and push ourselves hard, we 
should make it to Jusenkyou by early tomorrow morning."

     Genma plucked up a handful of grass from the floor of the
forest clearing they'd made camp in, and tossed it into the fire.
"All this walking..."

     "Do us good," Happosai said cheerfully.  "Like when you
trained with me, Genma."

     Genma shuddered and looked at his feet intently, saying
nothing.

     Happosai nudged Ryoga in the ribs with his elbow and winked.
"So, Ryoga, what do you think of this new girl?  Is she a hottie
or what?"

     Ryoga scowled and blushed furiously, waving dismissively at
the old man.  "I'm not the kind of man to comment on such 
things."     

     "Ahh, but that body, that hair..." Happosai sighed.  "Makes
me wish I was a young man again."

     "You are," Ryoga muttered.
     
     Happosai chuckled.  "Quite right, quite right."
     
     Happosai waved his pipe under Ryoga's nose; the acrid scent 
of pipe tobacco made his head feel foggy.  "Now, remember, I'm
Rikuichi, not Happosai."

     "Whatever," Ryoga sighed, glancing back at the girls for a
moment.  "Just don't forget the reason we're here, Happosai.
This isn't a girl-chasing expedition."

     "Life is a girl-chasing expedition," Happosai said in a
lecturing tone, as if he were explaining something to a child.  
"The problem lies in eliminating all the little distractions that 
get in the way of it.  And don't roll your eyes at me, it's
rude."

     Turning away, Ryoga reached over beside him and opened one 
of the flap-covered pockets of his backpack, rooting around until 
he found the small shape he was looking for it.  

     Pulling it out, he examined the torn half of the photo wallet
in the dancing light of the fire, gazing at the portrait shot of
Akari.  

     Happosai looked over his shoulder and whistled softly.  
"Cute little thing, isn't she?"

     Ryoga hid the photo under his hand and glared at the smaller
man.  "Do you mind?"

     Happosai shrugged his narrow shoulders and grinned 
roguishly.  "Nope, I don't mind looking at all.  That your
girlfriend?"

     "Yeah," Ryoga said, and then immediately regretted it.
     
     Happosai smirked and leaned over.  "So tell me," he
whispered.  "Have you..."

     Ryoga grabbed him by the back of the neck, feeling a slow
anger rise in him.  "Don't talk that way about Akari, Happosai."

     Happosai slipped free of the grip and moved away from him a
bit, dusting himself off before settling back into a seated 
position with his pipe dangling from his fingers.  "Don't get
defensive.  And the name's Rikuichi."

     "Whatever you call yourself, you watch your mouth," Ryoga
snarled.  "I won't have you insulting Akari."

     "Do you two mind?" Genma muttered from where he sat, head
bowed.  "I'm trying to relax here."

     Happosai snorted and turned his back to Ryoga and the fire,
drawing long on his pipe and blowing a succession of smoke rings
into the air that were soon scattered apart by the gentle night
breeze.

     Ryoga looked at the photo of Akari for a moment longer, then
slipped it back inside his pack.  He stared into the fire, 
letting it warm his body as he watched the dance and weave of the
flames.  Somewhere far in the distance, a night bird called, and
was answered by another moments later.

     The flames twisted round the wood in fire, blackening it.
Ryoga picked up another dry log from the pile they'd gathered, 
and tossed it in, watching the cleansing heat of the fire consume
it to ash.

**********

     "Rouge?" Akane asked again, giving the girl's hand another
squeeze and looking down into her pale face.  Rouge looked as if
she'd just recovered from a long illness; her cheeks were hollow,
her eyes dark-circled.

     "You know her, Akane?" Shampoo asked quietly from where she
sat with Rouge's head cradled in her lap, wiping a hot, damp
cloth across the girl's forehead.

     "Yeah," Akane replied, glancing off to where Ryoga, Genma
and Happosai gathered around the fire a short distance away.  
Happosai had claimed knowledge of any number of pressure points
that would be helpful to the unconscious Rouge, but Akane had
refused him, saying she would care for the girl.  To her
surprise, Shampoo had offered to help.

     Akane shifted her grip slightly, uncomfortable at how cold
Rouge's fingers were.  "She showed up with Tarou a while back.
The two of them did a lot of damage fighting each other."

     Shampoo raised an eyebrow as she looked at Rouge.  "She 
fight Pantyhose boy?"

     Akane nodded.  "Uh-huh."
     
     "Can't be all bad, then," Shampoo said with a shrug, moving
a lock of glossy dark hair out of Rouge's eyes.  "Why she try to
kill us, though?"

     Akane frowned uncomfortably.  "I think her personality
changes a bit when she's in her cursed form.  But... she was 
never that bad when I met her before."

     She glanced around at the skeletal, twisted forms of the
trees and shuddered slightly.  "So you and Mr. Saotome went to
get hot water to change her back, did you?"

     Shampoo nodded.  "Happosai tell us to."
     
     Akane blinked.  "Useful of him."
     
     Shampoo nodded again, then snorted.  "For once."
     
     Akane let Rouge's hand fall gently to the soft grass of the
clearing, and gently rubbed at her temples with a sigh.  "I wish
she'd wake up.  I'm worried about her."

     Shampoo said nothing, looking up at the darkness of the sky
and the lights of the stars.  
     
     "Shampoo?" Akane asked finally, breaking the stillness.
     
     "Yes?" the other girl said, glancing over at her.  
     
     "What's it like in your village?"
     
     Shampoo paused as if in thought, touching a finger to her
lips.  She ceased her swabbing of Rouge's forehead, wadding the
damp cloth into a tight ball in her fist.  "Different from
anything you used to."

     "Uh-huh?" Akane prompted.
     
     Shampoo shrugged and continued.  "Very small, maybe eight
hundred villagers.  Biggest village in Jusenkyou valley, but 
small next to anything else.  Not very complicated life; spend 
most of your time training to fight or working in the fields.  
Every woman trained as warrior as soon as they old enough."

     Akane heard a bird cry out in the night, long and sad, 
mirrored by an almost identical reply a second later.  "Were 
you happy there?"

     Shampoo nodded, smiling softly, the shadows thrown across 
her face by the distance fire like bars around her eyes.  "Very 
happy.  I was finest warrior of my generation."

     Her expression clouded slightly and she frowned.  "Ranma
change all that.  Is dishonour to be defeated.  Is greater
dishonour to return without woman's head.  Now that I go back
without Ranma as husband, dishonour be even worse."

     "What's going to happen to you?" Akane asked.
     
     Shampoo sighed.  "Not know, Akane.  Very special situation.
I tell Council about everything that happen, with Cologne, with
Ranma, and we see..."

     "What's the Council?"
     
     "Joketsuzoku Council.  Thirteen women on it.  Cologne leader
for last twenty years.  Now there be new leader."

     She shook her head dismissively.  "What happen, happen.  I
not able to control it, so why worry?"

     "Aren't you scared?" Akane asked softly.
     
     Shampoo's eyes narrowed, and she glared at Akane.  
"Joketsuzoku woman not know fear."

     "Oh," Akane replied in a droll voice.  "How useful.  I know
that if I were in your position, I'd be scared."

     Shampoo ducked her head, letting the fall of her hair hide
her face.  She said nothing; as Akane watched, a silent shudder
wracked her shoulders.

     Akane felt a strange sadness rise in her for her former
rival.  She hesitantly reached out a hand.  "Shampoo..."

     Shampoo lifted her head, eyes shining slightly as if with
unshed tears over her scowling mouth.  "We not friends, Akane. 
No fool yourself.  Too much past between us."

     "Fine," Akane said, hurt showing in her voice.  "If that's 
the way you feel..."

     "It is," Shampoo said, standing to her feet and walking away
towards the fire.  Her slippers whispered softly across the
carpet of the grass.

     Akane looked down at Rouge, then enfolded the still girl's
hand between both of hers.  "Rouge, wake up."

     To her surprise, Rouge stirred slightly and her eyes
fluttered open, staring blankly for a moment before they focused.

     "Akane?" she whispered.
     
     "Good to have you back with us, Rouge," Akane replied, 
smiling down at the other girl.  "Are you feeling better now?"

     To Akane's shock, Rouge suddenly threw her arms around her
neck and began weeping, great hiccuping sobs that made her entire
body shake.  "Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou..."

     Embarrassed and glancing over to the now attentive group by
the fire, Akane patted Rouge on the back, mystified at the
behaviour.  "What's wrong?"

     "I couldn't stop her," Rouge said through her tears.  "She
hid when the rains came so she wouldn't change back, and it got
harder and harder, and I could watch what she was doing, but..."

     "Rouge, get a hold of yourself," Akane said gently, 
detaching the girl's arms from around her and holding her by the
shoulders.  "What happened?"

     "Ashura," Rouge said, and shuddered.
     
     "What do you mean?"
     
     Rouge had not yet stopped crying, but had at least slowed
down a little.  "Nothing.  It doesn't matter."     

     Akane stood up, helping Rouge to her feet.  "Come on.  Sit
down by the fire, and you can tell everyone about it."

     She led Rouge over to where the fire burned, and sat her
down between herself and Ryoga.  Genma was lying back, his head
pillowed on his hands as he looked up at the sky; Happosai smoked
his pipe nearby.  Shampoo was leaning back against a tree a few
feet away, her arms folded over her chest and her long legs 
stretched out.  The air smelt of the burning wood of the fire, 
mingling with the sweetish scent of Happosai's tobacco.  

     Ryoga looked up at Rouge as she sat, the firelight 
reflecting in his dark eyes.  "Hi.  Feeling better?"

     Rouge nodded and stared at her hands.  Akane put a hand on
her shoulder and looked over at Ryoga.  "Rouge, this is Ryoga.
Ryoga, this is Rouge."

     "I am very pleased to meet you," Rouge said formally, 
bowing her head to Ryoga and extending a delicate hand.  "I am 
from Shanghai."

     "Nice to meet you too," Ryoga said a bit warily, reaching
out and shaking her hand for a moment.  Then he turned and looked
back into the fire; Akane thought she saw the faintest sign of a
blush tinge his cheeks, or perhaps it was just the way the fire's
light caught his face.

     Akane caught Rouge's eye and gestured to Shampoo.  "That's
Shampoo."

     Shampoo raised her head and glanced at Rouge through 
half-closed eyes, smiling a bit unpleasantly.  Than she slowly
nodded a silent greeting and turned her head away.

     Akane continued the introductions.  "Mr. Saotome's lying
down over there.  And this is..."

     "Rikuichi," Happosai said, walking over and bending down to
extend a hand to Rouge.  He smiled, putting his young face a step
closer to being called simply plain rather than unattractive.
     
     When Rouge gave him her hand, he raised her fingertips to 
his lips and gently kissed them.  "Madam, you are forgiven for
your attempts to burn me to a crisp earlier.  I could forgive a
woman of your loveliness of anything."

     Akane groaned softly, watching as Rouge blushed and lowered
her head demurely.  He might not be doing as much groping as he
used to, but Happosai hadn't changed.  

     He let Rouge's hand go and sat back down, tapping out a thin
sheet of ash to the ground from his pipe.  "How did you come to
be in such a state, however?"

     Akane had taken the time to explain about Rouge's situation
while they'd walked, so there was no need for her to talk about
her battle with Tarou back in Japan.  Once that was made clear,
Rouge launched into her explanation of matters afterward.

     "After I obtained more of the source of power," she began.
"I made my way back across the ocean as Ashura, but..."

     She sighed and looked at the ground.  The fire cast sharp,
glinting highlights into her hair, and danced metallically in her
golden jewelry.  "Something went wrong.  I... feel different when
I am Ashura.  So angry all the time, and it is so much easier to 
let the anger be free with that much power... I sunk into the 
rage, and became a prisoner of my own flesh, unable to control 
the impulses that were mine in that form."

     She closed her eyes, tears leaking out from underneath and
hanging for a moment on her long lashes.  "I'm not sure how much
damage I did to the villages around here before Ashura attacked
your train and you stopped her, but..."

     The next words were said barely as a whisper.  "I don't
think I hurt anyone too badly.  I hope I didn't."

     "I'm sure you didn't," Happosai said, surprisingly gentle.
"And none of this was your fault."

     "Jusenykou makes people do strange things," Akane heard
Ryoga say softly, though his words made no sense to her.

     She hesitantly put her arm around Rouge's shoulders.  "I
don't think you'd hurt someone on purpose, Rouge."

     "It's so hard," Rouge said, opening her eyes, tears
glistening with the light of the fire on her cheeks.  "Ashura...
I... she is so angry.  There is so much hate in her."

     She reached up and brushed at her tear-stained cheek.  "So
much hate in me."

     Ryoga unwrapped his bandanna and handed it to her.  "Here."
     
     Rouge wiped at her eyes with it, then blew her nose gently.
"Thank you.  But..."

     "I've got spares," Ryoga said, reaching into his backpack
and producing another, which he wrapped around his head and
tied.  "No big deal."

     Akane smiled.  Ryoga was so sweet sometimes it almost broke
her heart to see.

     "You're right, boy," Happosai said, looking intently at
Ryoga.  "Jusenkyou can make people do strange things.  Some of
the springs change the mind as well as the form.  I suspect 
that's what happened with this lovely young thing here, eh?"

     Akane rolled her eyes and buried her face in her hands as
Rouge blushed again.  "You are very kind, sir," she heard the
girl say in her dulcet voice.

     "You needn't worry, though," Happosai said.  "Since you'll
be travelling with us from now on, we'll be here to help you out 
if the need arises."

     "What?" Shampoo said, breaking her silence and leaning 
forward from where she sat.  "You no-"

     "Be quiet," Happosai snapped, turning his head to look at
her.  Shampoo shrunk back, eyes wide.  "Rouge, we are travelling
to Jusenkyou ourselves.  You could cure yourself there with the
Nyannichuan, if you wish..."

     Rouge stared into the fire for a long time, and then slowly
nodded.  "I... I like being strong.  But Ashura is so angry.  So
dangerous.  It cannot continue."

     She ran a hand through her long hair.  "I wish to come with
you, if you will allow me."

     "It's no problem," Akane said quickly.  She risked a glance
back to Shampoo.  "Is it?"

     Shampoo shook her head, scowling.  "I no care."
     
     Rouge smiled and yawned.  "Thank you."
     
     "It's okay," Akane replied.  
     
     Rouge yawned again.  "You never told me," she murmured
softly, eyes half-closing.  "What are you doing in China..."

     "It's a long story," Akane answered softly, feeling a sudden
sadness come upon her.  "We'll talk more in the morning, okay?
You look like you could use some sleep."

     Rouge nodded.  Akane could see from her slumping head that
she was close to collapsing from exhaustion.  

     "She can sleep in my bedroll," Ryoga said, then suddenly
blushed furiously.  "I mean... no... by herself, I can sleep on
the ground, I've slept in worse places..."

     He trailed off, as Akane looked at him sympathetically.

     Rouge covered her mouth to hide her smile.  "Thank you."
     
     Happosai laid his pipe aside and stretched his arms over his
head.  "I'm going to nod off as well."

     He hooked a thumb in Genma's direction.  The man lay on his
side, without blanket or pillow, snoring softly.  "And he's out 
like a light already."

     Akane nodded, realizing that she herself was very tired.  
They began to unpack their bedrolls, as the unfed fire slowly
died down to a few glowing embers, and the stars overhead began
to grow brighter in the absence of any other light.

     Lying in her sleeping bag minutes later, her head on a thin
pillow, Akane breathed in deeply, inhaling the fresh scent of
grass and the vague, lingering odour of Happosai's pipe tobacco.
Nearby, she could hear Rouge snoring softly; out of the corner of
her eye, she could make out the dim shape of Shampoo, still
sitting with her back against the tree.

     Her eyes closed, and the stars above seemed to wink out one
by one, as the night came down across her like a cloak, and she 
fell into a deep sleep, dreamless and untroubled.

**********
     
     Ryoga came awake suddenly, his eyes snapping open to stare
into the darkness.  He was not sure immediately what had 
disturbed him for a moment, until he heard it again.

     Footsteps, soft and light, and nearby.
     
     As his eyes slowly adjusted to the darkness, he could make
out the sleeping shapes of Happosai and Genma nearby, and two
others across the ashes of the fire that he was fairly sure from
their locations were Rouge and Akane.

     He was lying on his side, head pillowed on his pack.  The
ground beneath him was hard, the sparse grass providing only a
modicum of comfort.  He wasn't sure how long he'd been asleep, 
but he didn't feel tired anymore.

     He slowly sat up, rolling over from his side to rest his
back against his pack.  Some distance away, on the spot where the
land began to rise into a hill, he saw a shadowed figure 
standing with her back to him, strands of long hair blowing about
her back and shoulders in a slight breeze.

     A quick glance over assured him that Rouge was asleep, 
pretty face calm and untroubled as she slowly breathed the even,
deep breaths of slumber.  It must be Shampoo, then.

     For a moment, Ryoga considered putting his head back down
and trying to go back to sleep.  He was not sure what he might
say, or even if there was anything he could.

     Then, with an almost inaudible sigh, he stood up as quietly
as he could, and walked towards where Shampoo stood, grass
crushing under his feet.  Overhead, the stars seemed infinite,
not even the dimmest of their number lost out here in the
wilderness.  
     
     Shampoo turned as he approached, and he saw the light of the
stars, light of the moon, shining in her eyes, in the trails of
tears running down the slenderness of her cheeks.

     He remembered Akane, weeping against his shoulder on the
mountain as they'd searched for Ranma.  He seemed to have deal
with a lot of this kind of thing these days.  

     "Nice night, isn't it?" he asked neutrally as he came to
stand beside the silent girl, staring out in the same direction
as her.  

     Still, silence.
     
     He risked a glance to his side, looking down at the Chinese
girl, trying to read her mood.  There was nothing there but a
mask, obscured by tears.  "Shampoo?"

     "Is nothing," she whispered thickly.  "Go back to sleep,
dummy."

     "Why didn't Mousse come with us, Shampoo?" he softly
inquired.

     That was it, the great unanswered question, that none of
them had raised with her since they'd gotten onto the plane.  He
saw Shampoo's shoulders heave slightly, and her eyes closed.  The
tears stained her cheeks, hung upon them like the rain on a
window.

     "We have fight," she answered finally.  "Very bad fight."
     
     Ryoga reached up and nervously fumbled with his bandanna.
"Oh."

     "He leave," Shampoo continued.  "I not know where he went.
I not care."

     "Why are you crying, then?" 
     
     Shampoo looked up at him, and smiled sadly.  "Why you not?
Enough to cry about even if Mousse here."

     She was right, Ryoga reflected silently.  But he had done
his grieving already, for Ranma vanished, for all the pain that
had come.  "Because I have to be strong."

     Shampoo shook her head.  "You outsider men so stupid 
sometimes.  Always hold everything in till I think you going to 
burst.  Ranma... Ranma always worst of all of you.  Never willing 
to show anything, except until it too late."

     Ryoga hesitated for a moment before speaking.  "Shampoo, I
know that the laws of your village are different, and..."

     "You want to know what happen to me, come back without Ranma
for husband?" she interrupted.

     Ryoga blinked, then nodded. 
     
     Shampoo reached up and wiped away what she could of the
remnants of her tears.  "I not know.  Is hard to say with the
Council.  And circumstances very strange."

     She looked at the ground and scuffed her feet on the grass.
"It help that I have witnesses to what Cologne do.  You, Akane,
Genma, Happosai.  It also help that I bringing back what
Happosai steal before."

     She fell silent, then, her expression slightly despairing.
     
     Ryoga put a hesitant hand on her shoulder, feeling her
trembling slightly under his palm.  "What would usually happen?"

     Shampoo shuddered.  "Exile.  Public humiliation of family.
If council decides I simply ignore law, not try to carry out,
execution.  But..."

     She laughed, softly and bitterly.  "If one thing I know, it
that I try to get Ranma for husband.  Try so hard, so hard I not
even see that he never love me, that I do so much wrong..."

     Ryoga dropped his hand from her shoulder to hang it at his
side.  "Shampoo..."

     "What?" she asked sharply, glaring at him.
     
     "Are you afraid of what's going to happen to you?"
     
     She shook her head fiercely.  "No.  Why everybody always ask
same questions?"     
     
     Ryoga frowned for a moment, confused.  "You remember when we
were fighting that woman on the mountain, Shampoo?  Yamiko?"

     Shampoo slowly nodded.
     
     "I thought I was going to die for a little while," he said,
voice soft in the darkness, the heavy stillness of the deep 
night.  "She was better than me, and she wanted to kill me so
bad."

     He reached up and gestured to the scars on his cheek that
Yamiko's hands had left.  "I was so scared I could hardly 
breathe, Shampoo.  You fought her too.  Weren't you frightened
then?"

     Shampoo said nothing, but reached up and rolled the short
sleeve of her flower-patterned blouse up to the shoulder of her
left arm.  A long pattern of four wide scars, puffy and white and
new, ran down nearly to her elbow.  

     "Yamiko do that," she said softly.  "If Happosai not there,
we would have died."

     And slowly, she smiled.  "Yes, I scared then.  And I scared
now.  But I not going to run away.  Not then.  Not now."

     Ryoga looked up at the stars for a moment, crossing his arms
and listening to the night's silence.  "That's what's important, 
I guess."

     Shampoo nodded.
     
     There was a long silence between them, so still they could
hear the quiet breathing of their companions who lay asleep 
nearby.

-Continued in section 3


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