Location: Woodland North of Minden, Outside Ballamory
Interactions: Dexter (Collab with JJ)
Heading out along the abandoned roads that led away from their settlement, the sound of bird song soothed Evie's initial nerves at heading out again. If the birds were singing, it meant that things were less likely to be moving in the trees. The route ahead wasn't particularly dangerous, however. A quick hop through the outskirts of the town and then a loop back through the woodland to Balamory. Herself and Dexter had left around the same time as Otto and Cecilio had, leaving Ballamory somewhat quiet for the first time in a while - more from the absence of a certain redhead than anything else.
"So." Dexter began, stepping over a thin log that had fallen across the path.
"We need tough cable. For Otto's boar snares. I think I may know where to find some, but it's off the beaten path. Still, though, if we head out soon we should be able to make it back before dark. What do you think?"
"Sounds good to me. Where you thinking?" Evie asked in response, snapping out of her daydreaming.
"There's an industrial garage or something a few miles out. I found it when I was out exploring the other day. Didn't want to risk trying to clear it by myself, though. There's probably a lot of materials we could use." He slapped at a mosquito on his neck, wiping the blood onto the leg of his jeans.
"I didn't see any Infected roaming around, but from what I saw the doors are closed so there could be some inside."
"Oh? Is this how you treat all girls when you take them out? Romantic trips through zombie-packed industrial garages?" she teased with a smirk.
"Only the ones I think can handle it." He replied quickly.
"You should take it as a compliment."
"Well, compliments are rare these days so thank you!" Her response came with a slight playful sarcasm as she looked away to observe the treeline that was slowly reclaiming the road.
Dexter laughed, shaking his head as they rounded a bend in the path. Ahead of them, lying in a sunny patch on what asphalt still managed to peek through the overgrown grass, was a large black snake. He immediately looked down, ready to give Hero the command to stay away from it when he remembered he'd left the dog back at Balamory.
"Watch out." He said, eyeing the snake who didn't even bother to move at the sight of them.
"These things are getting brave. They don't even mind us anymore."
"I hate snakes..." Evie shuddered.
"Eh, they're harmless. Especially that one - not a rattler like Otto found. Just a rat snake, I think." He knelt to pick up a stick, tossing it in the snake's general direction. Evie made an audible yet suppressed squeal in protest of the action. It landed a few feet away but had the desired effect, and the creature slithered off into the brush.
"Oh, thank god," she sighed.
"My heart feels like it's about to jump out of my chest."
Unable to suppress his laughter, it echoed through the area, causing several birds to startle and launch from the trees.
"You can kill Infected without blinking, but you're scared of a harmless snake? That's fucking adorable. I'm sorry, but actually I'm not."
"That's it, keep laughing..." she said, scowling at him.
"We'll see who's scared when I put my foot in your arse."
"Can you even kick that high?"
"Actually, yes. I was quite the athlete back at uni," she said in a proud and almost prissy tone, holding her chin high with a smug grin.
"Oh, well excuse me." Came the response.
"I will be sure not to cross you again, lest I end up with a foot in my arse." He placed a hand over his heart like she'd truly frightened him.
"But if you ever wake up with a snake in your bed, all you have to do is call me and I'll defeat the evil thing for you."
"Arsehole," she chuckled.
"Hey, now that we're alone without Otto interrupting with yet another dead thing or Marcus prattling on about guns, can I ask you a question?"
Caught by surprise, he blinked, glancing over at her with an uncertain expression.
"Sure, what's up?"
"Back at the hotel, you know, when all that... stuff happened," she proceeded, her tone uneasy at mentioning the memories.
"You said something to me, about making sure Hero was okay and getting him to... Washington, was it? Why was that?"
Dexter paled, looking away as they continued down the path.
"I don't remember." He started.
"I guess I was just confused, maybe, because of all the adrenaline. We, uh… we have family in Washington. That's where I was headed before I met up with you and Otto. So."
"Hey," she interrupted, snatching his sleeve and pulling him to a halt. Her sapphire eyes stared up at him, however, not with an accusatory glimmer to them but a sympathetic one.
"Look, I know you guys kind of see me as the stupid little ginger girl with the British accent - the girl who couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a gun or whatever else you guys want to swing at me for but... I'm not stupid enough to believe that's it." She sighed, taking a small step closer to him and resting a hand on his arm.
"It's kind of obvious something has been gnawing at you, especially so since we've stopped moving. I just... I don't know... I just want you to know you can trust me."
Letting her stop him, he turned to meet her gaze, not saying anything until her mini rant was over, though his darkening expression probably told her how much he disagreed with everything she was saying.
"I do trust you." He rubbed a hand over his face.
"It's just…" He slid his gaze away from hers, swallowing uncertainly. How was he supposed to explain to her something that didn't even make sense to him? Something that was so far from the realm of possibility that even suggesting it would make him look insane?
"Evie, I…" He started, but faltered when the sound of cracking brush sounded from behind them. Turning, he whipped his gun out of its holster and flipped the safety off, and moved between Evie and the threat. But the threat turned out only to be a raccoon, sitting on its hind legs and eyeing them curiously.
Breathing a sigh of relief, he flipped the safety back on and replaced his gun, turning again to face her.
"Listen. Right now's not the time nor the place to be talking about something like this. It's… not important right now. Okay?"
"O-okay," Evie sighed, her head drooping as she realized just how much she'd hit a nerve.
"I'm... I'm sorry."
Brows drawing together in concern, Dexter frowned at himself. Way to be a jerk. He lifted a hand as if to touch her face, then seemed to think better of it and took a step back.
"You have nothing to be sorry for - you're right, we shouldn't keep secrets from each other. But it's a long story, and it's not safe to tell it here." Glancing into what he could see of the sky through the overlapping boughs, he gauged the amount of daylight they had remaining. Satisfied, he nodded, letting out a quiet sigh and falling into step.
It didn't take too much longer for him, scanning the brush as they walked, to find what he was looking for. He touched Evie's shoulder to get her to stop and inclined his chin towards a small indentation in the bushes to their left.
"Game trail." He said quietly.
"It'll take us where we need to go."
"Okay, you're the boss!" she hummed, removing her bow from her back as a precaution.
"After you."
Having taken this particular trail a time or two himself, he was fairly familiar with its twists and turns, and despite never having had an issue with Infected in this area, he flipped his sheath open and drew the large hunting knife, holding it blade-down and at the ready just in case.
"Just keep an eye on where you step, it can get a little swampy at times. And keep your ears peeled." Moving forward, dark eyes scanning the immediate area for any threats, Dexter continued along the path with Evie on his heels. The pair met no resistance, and in fact it seemed rather peaceful. The birds were active, meaning there wasn't anything dangerous or even loud in the area, and they didn't stumble across any more snakes, either.
It took a little over an hour, but eventually a break in the trees signaled the end of the trail up ahead. Dexter put an arm up to stop her, pausing himself.
"There's a road up ahead." He said in a hushed tone.
"If we're going to meet Infected, that's probably where they'll be. You ready?"
"Uh-huh," she hummed, with a nod before a wry grin crept across her lips.
"Just try to keep up." Moving forward, the girl emerged from the brush slightly, fingers caressing the nock of an arrow that sat in her quiver, eyes scanning across the road. It all seemed rather quiet... as in silent. Looking back to Dex momentarily, she furrowed her brow a little, eager to see what he thought. He'd noticed it too, the complete absence of sound from any of the wildlife. It had been so lively back on the game trail that the stark contrast was blatantly obvious. Even though there was nothing dangerous immediately apparent, something wasn't right, and it made hairs on the back of his neck stand up.
Moving quietly forward to stand beside Evie, he shook his head.
"I don't see anything, but…"
"It definitely doesn't feel right," she continued for him, her tone low and quiet.
"You know, if I weren't so sure that the world is out to be a bitch these days I'd find this pretty cool. It's like an action movie cliche."
"Except in an action movie there's bound to be a bad guy." He replied, a little more serious. Before the incident at the hotel, he'd given people the benefit of the doubt most of the time. But since, even the sound of a vehicle or someone's voice sent him immediately on the defensive.
"I'm starting to think we should have brought the others with us." It wouldn't have been fair, since Otto and Jesse did more than their fair share of patrolling, hunting and protection, but it would have provided them with much more of an advantage were they to get into a firefight. But, thankfully, it turned out to not be necessary - a low, moaning growl sounded from somewhere to their left.
"Infected." He whispered, almost relieved.
"Can't tell exactly where it's coming from, but it sounds like only one?"
"Oh, well that's just easy," Evie sighed in relief.
"Let's check it out." Moving off from their position towards the noise, Evie kept her eyes fixed on her feet, trying to minimize her noise profile. It had been the case that when she first started this new life of hers she just ran into these 'easy situations' arrows flinging, yet experience taught that even the simplest things often turn out to be something much, much worse. As the two got close enough, the sound of a rope groaning under pressure could be heard and the creaking of a tree branch. Even though a collection of bushes barred their vision, it was obvious from the audio that there was, as suspected, only the one infected.
"What is that?" He whispered, frowning at the noise of the rope.
"Cover me." Putting his foot on the bottom stem of the bush directly in front of them, he pressed down, and the foliage sank low enough to see over it. The Infected was hanging by a single foot, its arms touching the ground as it rotated in a near-continuous circle.
"...What? I didn't think Otto came this far out." He whispered. But as the thing rotated to face them, now that it could see them through the bushes, it snarled and reached towards them, causing the bough it was on to sway precariously.
"You want to take it out or should I?"
"I'm not getting another pair of clothes covered in blood. Be my guest," she answered.
Snorting at the comment, he stepped over the bush, reached a hand out to stop the Infected from spinning, and then knelt, plunging his knife through the underside of the creature's jaw and into the brain. It stilled immediately, reaching arms going limp as he wrenched the blade out of it and slung the blood into the forest opposite Evie. He stood and gestured to himself.
"No blood. You just gotta have skill."
"Does cockiness come as part of the package, too?" she said, bow on her back and arms folded.
"Nah, you just got lucky that it comes naturally to me." He winked at her, stepping back to investigate the snare that had caught the Infected.
"Does this look like one of Otto's to you?"
"No... but that means..."
"Other people." He cut her off, swearing under his breath.
"So close to home? It doesn't make any sense. We're far out from Shreveport, it couldn't be the same people at the hotel, could it?"
"No," she said quickly and seriously.
"Look, maybe it's... err... I dunno. Maybe someone was camped around here before and they set this up as like a temporary defence?"
Running his fingers along the rope, Dexter shook his head.
"In this climate, rope made out of fibers like this would start to decay quickly, which is exactly why Otto wouldn't use it. This is fresh. A few days, at most." The realization made his mouth go dry.
"We should… get rid of this Infected. If someone comes back to check the snares and sees that it's dead from a knife wound, they'll know people are in the area and may be inclined to search."
"Dex?" she asked, meekly.
He paused in undoing the noose around the Infected's ankle.
"Yeah?"
"What are we going to do if they find us?"
He was tempted to say "they won't", but was unable to force the lie out.
"If they're aggressive, we'll fight back." He finished loosening the noose and letting the corpse slump to the ground.
"We'll just have to hope they're like us. Peaceful." His voice, initially sullen, grew hard and serious as he looked at her.
"I won't let anything happen to you. I promise."
"O-okay," she said, uneasily.
"So... err... sh-should we go look for those supplies?"
Clearing his throat, Dexter nodded. He was unsettled by the immediate surge of anger that had overtaken him at the thought of anyone hurting Evie, perhaps just as much as she was unsettled by the electricity that coursed through body at his comforting words.
"Yeah lemme just, uh… take care of this thing first." He shouldered the corpse, stepping into the forest and finding a place that looked swampy enough to cover the whole thing. With some effort, he managed to toss it in and it sank almost entirely, leaving only a foot and ankle exposed on the bank. But he wasn't about to get trapped in a bog to kick it in, so he threw some brush over it and returned to Evie.
"The sooner we get this done the sooner we can get out of here and tell the others what's going on."
"Oh god, that means that Otto's going to go full Mountain Man Rambo again, isn't he?"
Dexter grunted, nodding.
"Yeah, probably, and with Marcus and Jesse to back him up it's going to be difficult talking them into sitting back instead of taking the offensive."
"Are we sure it's right to tell them, then?" she asked, her tone quiet as if she felt guilty for suggesting it but her expression was firm and serious.
"I don't know if I could keep something so big from them." He replied, stepping into the street.
"Everyone looks at me as a leader, what kind of leader would I be if I started lying to everyone?"
"Dex... they're going to steamroll through this whole forest 'til they find these people and deal with them. If we just stay quiet... I - I don't know... maybe they'll pass and it won't be an issue," she argued, her tone sounding almost desperate now. It was clear by the expression on her face she wasn't eager to see anymore bloodshed. After all, she'd seen more than she'd ever wanted to. The idea that they could become embroiled in another battle scared her more than any snake or zombie could.
Letting out a long, low sigh, Dexter nodded, obviously unhappy with the decision.
"Alright, fine… fine. If this is the only sign of people we see, we can keep it to ourselves. But if there are more... " He trailed off, the rest of his sentence hanging in the air.
"Then... then we tell the others. I know," she gulped.
Without replying, he turned back towards the road and jogged across it, attempting to keep his exasperation with the entire situation to himself. Lying to the rest of the group didn't sit well with him, but fuck it if those puppy-dog eyes didn't do him in every time. You're losing your edge man. Shaking his head, he walked along the fenceline, looking for a chink in the defense, something he could use to break through. It was only chain link, but it was topped with razor wire and the entrance to the complex was way on the other side. He didn't want to have to climb over it and risk getting injured, as their supply of antibiotics wasn't much of a supply at all. Evie, meanwhile, had been trying to keep up. Still, seeing the obstacle they came against only further reinforced her now-downtrodden mood. Biting into her bottom lip, her eyes scanned the perimeter.
"There's got to be a gate somewhere," she commented.
"There is. On the other side." He pointed through the fence.
"It's a long walk, and if we're going to be carrying heavy supplies I'd rather not take it. So we have to find a place to get through the fence." Continuing along for another hundred feet or so, he stopped at the next joint, running his fingers along the seam where the fence was bolted to the pole.
"This is what we need. Do you have a knife on you? We need to pry these ties open and we'll be able to get through."
"Yup, right here," she answered, drawing her hunting knife from its sheath on her lower back. She moved closer to Dex, tucking in next to the fence.
"What do I need to do?" she asked, looking up at him. Taking his own knife, he inclined his head towards what he was doing as instruction for her to watch, and shoved the flat of the blade into the u-shaped tie that bolted the fence to the pole, twisting the knife. It took a good bit of effort, but eventually it gave and came undone.
"You do the bottom, I'll do the top."
Evie followed along obediently, groaning with exertion slightly as she pulled against the strength of the fence.
"Is... it b-bloody moving... yet?" she managed to gasp as she continued to pull.
Dexter was finished his third tie by the time Evie spoke, and he glanced down with a chuckle.
"'These bad boys don't grow themselves' she says."
"Hey, I'm all triceps, you're all biceps. Don't... gah... don't judge!" As she finished speaking, she finally made a bit of progress, smiling widely at the development. It was only when she looked to see how many Dex had done that she frowned again.
"Oh... ha-ha..."
"You're trying too hard." He commended, kneeling and taking her wrist, showing her the right place to put the blade beneath the metal tie. As his hands grasped her wrist, she flinched with a slight gasp. It was a weird nostalgia. It reminded her of when her father taught her how to use a firearm when she was younger, that feeling of trust and safety. It was clear Dexter knew what he was doing a lot more than she did in the new world she had found herself in - all of the others did. She was nothing more than a lost little girl again when it came to all of this. Yet, still, that didn't anger her as it once would, it didn't bother her nor did it upset her. Instead, she felt content to place herself in someone else's care and that was the feeling that was weirdest of all - a feeling harkening back many years since last felt. Safety. True safety.
"Do it from the middle, not the tip, and the knife's leverage does the work for you." He made sure it was set in the right place, then nodded at her.
"Try now." Still, she didn't move, her eyes merely staring up at him. This had to be it. This had to be why she was feeling so strange lately. All the contemplating, all of the daydreaming; what a bothersome, irritating inkling she had been having. The feelings of confusion as to why and how were clearly only a blocking doubt, a defensive mechanism to obscure the truth out of fear. As she held there, looking up at him, thought went to the wind and nothing but feeling and instinct retained control. No words were spilled or wasted, the moment's silence only interrupted by the discrete noise of lips touching lips.
It wasn't even clear who initiated it, one second he'd been trying to show her, and the next, their breaths were mingling in an almost desperate exchange of affection. Dexter dropped to a knee, releasing Evie's wrist in favor of her cheek and pulling her closer, their lips moving against one another as if it were the most natural thing in the world. And he supposed it was. His other arm circled her, pressing her tight to him, and he groaned low in his throat. It had been a long time since he'd kissed someone, but even so he didn't remember it feeling like… like anything that this was. Fire and passion and hunger. Like it was too much but could never be enough at the same time. He grazed her bottom lip with his teeth, suppressing another groan, and after what seemed like an eternity he pulled back, breathing heavily.
"I…" he started, swallowing past the lump of self doubt in his throat and lessening his grip on her. But the words wouldn't come. And he resigned himself to staring into those eyes and waiting for the aftermath.
"W-what... what just happened?" she asked, her tone hushed and her eyes still closed. Her entire aura was pure, blissful serenity.
Dexter brushed a thumb across her cheek before pulling his hand away and sitting back.
"I… have no idea." He admitted.
"But I enjoyed it."
"Yeah, me too," she chuckled, her face flustered as she sat demurely on the floor.
"I... erm... well - fuck sake, Evie, spit it out - I err... well, does that mean you... you know... have some level of feelings for me?" Her wording was awkward, but not even half as awkward as the delivery. Her thumbs danced around each other as she fidgeted restlessly, time seeming to slow almost to a halt as the beating of her heart gave soundtrack to the waiting on his response.
"Evie, I have had feelings for you since the first day we met, and you threatened to shoot me with an arrow." Dexter said seriously, a comment that earned a giggle from the blue-eyed girl.
"Really? Weirdo," she teased, nervously, giggling once more. Her face burned as red as her hair as she cast her eyes to the floor beneath them for a moment.
"Sooooo... things could get a little awkward now. You know, the others aren't going to shut up about it and there's the slight issue of me being a useless emotional mess and... well... yeah, that's about it."
"You're not useless." He protested.
"Okay, I can sling arrows like a girl possessed but y'know... I'm not going to win any awards for fence busting, hunting or whatever wacky things I have to do these days. I'm a bloody history student," she said with a chuckle.
"Not much call for girls like me these days - apart from the arrow slinging thing."
"You're too hard on yourself." Dexter frowned at her.
"You managed to survive on your own for months. You're capable. And we're lucky to have you. Anyone can tell you that." He wet his lips and picked his knife up off the ground, turning it over in his hands.
"We don't… have to tell the others if you don't want to… you know…"
"No," she interrupted, sharply.
"I don't mind them knowing and... if you're going to keep giving me these compliments you've suddenly become so fond of I might have to keep being hard on myself," she smiled, wryly. Leaning forward, she cupped his cheeks with her hands, kissing him briefly and softly once more.
"I don't mind them knowing," she repeated. She breathed deeply, the redness in her cheeks allaying somewhat, and rose to her feet.
"Now, this fence isn't going to bust open itself."
Dexter grunted after she kissed him, rose to his feet and took a step towards her and the fence. He looked down with a serious voice.
"I'm going to need you to stop doing that if you ever plan to get any work done around here." But despite the tone and thanks to the expression in his eyes it was perfectly clear that he wanted her to do exactly the opposite. Taking a breath, he turned back to the fence, forcing the blade back into one of the ties and forcing it open in half the time it had taken him previously. He was in a hurry to get this done and get back home - nothing good ever came from being out and about when his brain was clogged with things other than how to survive in the zombie apocalypse.
Between the two of them it only took another ten minutes before the last tie was forced open, and the fence sprung apart with a much louder noise than was ideal. Dexter stood, hand on his holster and ready in case anything came groaning at them out of the trees, Evie just as wary. But nothing came, and after a moment he stepped through the gap in the fence.
"Just keep an eye out, I'm still not entirely convinced those buildings are going to be empty."
"Do you know where we're going to get what we need?" she asked, following him through the fence and, once more, wielding her bow.
"Not exactly, but it stands to reason that any extra supplies would be stored in the larger warehouse." He gestured towards the most southward building.
"It's also most likely to be empty, unless someone had the same idea we do." Keeping eyes peeled, he started moving towards the building, stepping through the shin-high grass.
"Watch out for snakes." He smirked, looking over his shoulder at her.
"Bastard," she groaned, eyes looking immediately downward around her feet. The two proceeded onwards towards the building, a thankfully snake-free experience for Evie. Still, as they approached the ominous structure snakes soon became the least of their concerns. Looting buildings was always dangerous, there was no avoiding that fact. However, the idea that someone had laid traps, the fact that those people could still be nearby, added a whole new layer of danger to the excursion. Evie's heart raged at what felt like a thousand beats per minute and her knuckles were pale white from the tightness with which she gripped her bow.
"Let's just... take this easy, okay?"
"That's the plan." He replied seriously, this time actually drawing his gun. He was loathe to use it, but if there was more than a couple of Infected in here, it would be too many to kill with just a knife and a bow. Moving towards the door, he pressed his ear against it, concentrating on listening, but heard nothing.
"Either the door is too thick to hear anything, or there's nothing inside." He whispered, trying the handle. It gave, unlocked, and he looked to Evie.
"Ready?"
"Here, let me," she said, moving in front of him and pulling the door open, despite Dexter's protests.
"Yoohooo!" she hollered into the building, kicking the door several times so that the sound echoed deep into the building. Knocking an arrow, she held her bow firmly facing into the depth of the structure, waiting for any sign of a returning noise.
"Christ, Evie, I thought you wanted to take it easy." He scowled, moving around the door.
"I need you to remember that it's not just Infected we're trying to avoid here."
"Oh," she sighed, looking down momentarily in disappointment.
"I- err - sorry."
While her eyes were looking inside, his were scanning back the way they came, making sure they weren't followed, or, now, heard.
"It's alright." He replied.
"Didn't mean to snap at you I'm just on edge because of the stupid fucking snare up there." After a moment of searching, he turned back towards the building, satisfied they were unseen for now but still anxious to get out of the open. It seemed like the building was empty, or at least close to it, so he stepped inside and waited for his eyes to adjust to the gloom that filtered in through the dusty upper windows. Not willing to admit that he'd completely forgotten to bring a flashlight, he searched the shelves. There were a lot of them. This was going to take a while.
"Do you want to split up or stay together?"
"What do you think?" she asked, eyes looking up at him with uncertainty. It was true that with the new threat, she was going to have operate differently to how she was used to. The idea of that alone was enough to throw her confidence to the wall.
"I mean... I'd rather stay together but..."
"Then together it is. Just cover me, it's hard to search and watch my own back. Though I figure we'd probably hear anything coming before it managed to sneak up on us." Moving down the shelves, he surveyed the equipment. Most of it was in boxes, but they were clearly labeled.
"Screws… nails… bolts…" He muttered aloud as he brushed the dust off the cardboard to read the lettering. They had plenty of all of this thanks to the supplies left in the unfinished houses, but it was good to have a backup in case they ever needed it.
"Dust masks… no, no…" Finishing the first shelf, he moved around to the next, but it yielded the same results.
"If I were cable, where would I be..?" After a second, he cursed and shook his head.
"I'm an idiot."
Foregoing combing the other shelves, he paced around the warehouse, boots echoing off the solid concrete floor.
"Cable isn't going to be sitting in boxes, they sell it in rolls. So it'll be..." he crouched, practically duck-walking down the row.
"Floor level." The last words were said triumphantly, and a scraping sound could be heard as he reached back to pull something from the bottom of the shelf.
"400ft of ⅛ cable. I think this will be perfect."
Evie, meanwhile, had been following him around like something akin to a lost sheep. She had no idea where she would look or what she should be looking for so, instead, had taking to surveying the building for signs of habitation by either infected or humans. Barely paying attention to Dex's exclamation, her eyes were trained on a well-devoured corpse lying, barely covered by tattered clothing, in the far corner of the room.
"Seems there's been rotters here, before," she said, looking back to Dex.
"We should move."
Hefting the roll of cable up onto his shoulder with a grunt of effort, he nodded.
"Alright, let's get out of here. We've got a few hours of daylight left, should be plenty to get home." He stared at her for a moment, smiled, and then moved past her and towards the door.
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On Person (Evie):
- Hunting Knife
- Bow (20 arrows)
Backpack/Room (Evie):
Items (3):
- Blanket
- Hunting Knife
- Bow (20 arrows)
- Change of Outfit
Water (1):
- Canteen (60%)
-
Food (0):
-
Outfit:
[spoili]
[/spoili]