Well, welcome to chapter four! I apologize for my tardiness in this chapter, right after I said I'd have a chapter out a week, I end up skipping a week. Midterms were killer last week (out of five classes I had four tests and a paper all due last week). But THIS week I have made up for it with an update and the introduction of… shall I say, a promised character to the story. Anyway, you'll read and find out I'm sure, so please enjoy the chapter. Special thanks to my pre-readers, Ghostninja85 and QianYun!

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Exodus

Chapter 04

Ganten! Ganten looked up from his fire-making as Rin's voice, like a distant whisper, called out to him. It sounded like he was in trouble, but… "Tenmar, did you hear something?"

Tenmar looked up from Mina's side as he dabbed a damp washcloth as her face, clearing the day's dirt from it. "No, why?"

"I thought I heard…" The white haired boy shook his head. "No, never mind."

GANTEN!

Ganten dropped the flint as once again he heard Rin's voice, this time louder. He glanced at his brother, but the man was back attending to Mina. Once more, he didn't seem to have noticed. Standing decisively, Ganten moved in the direction that Rin's tracks were heading, "I'm just going to check on something…"

Tenmar looked up as his youngest brother dashed away, face creasing with concern. "Alright…" I hope nothing's wrong with Ganten; he didn't even finish building the fire, that's not like him.

Walking quickly, Ganten headed towards Rin, using the other boy's scent to track him. Rin had a warm, earthy scent. The kind of smell you got from sleeping on the ground for a few years. Mixed in with that smell was the smell of herbs, a little bit of a wet dog smell and the sweet smell of his sweat. Each person's body gave off a distinctive odor; it was like a fingerprint, a person's sweat.

GANTEN! "GANTEN!"

Ganten's speed increased as he heard Rin's voice more clearly now, the sound of desperation clear in it. He could feel his sense of reason begin to slip away as fear for Rin's well-being over-took him. With a low growl, Ganten raised a clawed hand, tearing away at branches and overgrowths that were standing between himself and the most direct path to his companion. "RIN?" Ganten himself was surprised when his voice came out more like a growl than it normally did before the realization hit him that he was partially transformed.

"Ganten?" Rin's voice reached him only moments before the brunette himself appeared in Ganten's field of vision.

"Rin? Are you alright?" Ganten asked, calming slightly as he saw Rin, unharmed, but shaken, crawling his way back towards camp. Ganten leaned down, sweeping his friend into his arms and turning back towards camp.

"Ganten!" Rin's eyes were wide and wild, his normally dark complexion was pale and his face was beaded with sweat. "Ganten, they're coming!"

"Who's coming?" Ganten demanded, again increasing his speed towards camp. Rin's words and a sudden bad smell in the air, like something dark was on its way, made Ganten suddenly become frightened for his family.

"I don't know, but there's three of them, and one of them…" Rin buried his face in Ganten's arm, eyes squeezed shut. "Ganten, he's a monster. And so powerful." His voice barely came out in a whisper.

"That's fine." Ganten put a comforting hand on his friend's head, eyes hardening as a dark presence filled the forest. "It'll be OK. There's nothing in these woods, maybe not even in the whole world, that can take Daddy down."

"Aahh…" Rin panted, eyes rolling back in his head as the dark thoughts rose un-beckoned to his mind. "Uzu… What about Uzu?"

"What about Uzu?" Ganten demanded, feet skidding to a halt as they arrived in the center of camp.

Tenmar looked up anxiously, "Is everything OK?"

"They found Uzu…" Rin replied, breath coming on fast and uneven. "Oh my God…"

Ganten's head snapped up as the bone chilling sound of Uzu's distress howl reached the camp. Acting quickly, Ganten laid Rin down gently on the ground next to Mina. He took Moab from Tenmar and thrust him into Rin's arms. "I know you're upset, but right now, Uzu needs us. I need you to focus. Take care of Mina and Moab until Tenmar and I get back. If Daddy wakes up tell him where we are. If there are three of them, Tenmar, Uzu and I should be more than enough to take care of it. I know it's hard for you, but I need to focus on my mind right now. If things look bad, you NEED to hide yourself, Mina and Moab. Father can take care of himself. You got it?"

Rin nodded. His eyes were still as wide as saucers, but his breathing was beginning to even out as he did as Ganten asked and focused his mind on the boy's. He could sense the power welling in Ganten's mind as the animalistic side began to take over. He watched as Ganten, eyes red, looked to his brother. Both men nodded and then disappeared into the forest. Rin looked down at the baby Moab, whose eyes were also wide; face scrunched in silent fear. "It's OK…" Rin soothed, praying as he did so that his words would prove to be true. "Ganten'll take care of it…"

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With a wary grin, Uzu held up his hand, looking over his catch. Two large, health looking rabbits. It wasn't going to be a feast, but at the very least it would help his father gain some of his energy back. Hopefully. He shrugged, still grinning. Either way, it felt good to do things for the family, even if that did mean that Moab and Rin would also get to enjoy it.

Rin was still a problem for Uzu, he had verbally agreed to allow the boy to stay with them, but internally, he was still torn over the issue. Part of him was really OK with the boy; he and Ganten got along well, a rarity, and, despite everything, Rin's life choices didn't really seem to be that bad. He'd had a hard life and managed to survive, wasn't that all that anyone could ask of him?

On the other hand, surviving by affixing yourself to some evil guy and then helping said evil guy get his kicks by terrorizing and maiming large populations of people, not to mention helping him attempt to track down the people you were now expecting pity and understanding from… It was a lot for Uzu to take. Honestly, he wasn't sure he could understand Tenmar's easy forgiveness of the boy. But then, Tenmar had always been an overly understanding soul. Ganten's easy acceptance of Rin, Uzu understood. It was for the same reason that Uzu had suddenly developed a keen interest in walking a certain spiky-haired boy home from Sasuke's house whenever he'd gotten the chance. Even if Ganten wasn't ready to admit his attraction to Rin, the desire was still there, and it was an emotion that Uzu readily understood.

Uzu shook his head, a frustrated growl rising in his throat. It pissed him off to be this torn. Normally he didn't think too hard about things, he just liked something or someone or he didn't and that was that. Being torn was for humans and, truth be told, Uzu didn't really consider himself one. Partially human, certainly, but more than his brothers, maybe even more than his father, Uzu was part wild beast and much happier when he could let his body do the thinking for him. In fact-

Uzu's mind changed speeds, eyes widening as a dark shadow passed over the sky far above him. It was closely followed by another and then a moment later, another. Humans, 2 male and one female, their scents unfamiliar, but one of them reeked of blood and all of them had vicious battle auras up. Without thinking, Uzu dropped his hunting bag, leaving it forgotten on the forest floor as he dashed towards the already retreating figures. They were heading straight towards camp.

Moving faster than was technically safe, Uzu dashed across the forest floor, keeping his eyes on the sky, scanning for the two men. He had to stop them before they reached the camp. A battle at camp would be too dangerous for Mina, Moab and Rin. Although, another benefit to having Rin around was that the brown haired boy had probably already realized that these people were approaching and warned Tenmar and Ganten. Uzu shook his head, clearing his mind. If this guy's scent was any indication, he wouldn't have time for such thoughts at the moment. He could feel his self control starting to waver as he noticed still some distance away from camp, the three had stopped far up on a tree. Uzu silently clawed his way up the tree, listening to their conversation as he did so.

"Are you OK? Get a hold of yourself! We don't have time for this right now." One of the males was saying to the other, the smallest of the group.

Uzu softened his breathing, silently stalking his opponents. They were young, the oldest no older than he was, the youngest was probably just a little younger than Ganten was Uzu's guess. The younger one did indeed look worse for wear. He was shaking almost uncontrollably, his breath was coming out in sporadic huffs, eyes wide with dark circle around them like he hadn't slept in a lifetime and there was an excitement there, as his shaking continued and his aura grew. The kid was crazy.

"Calm down!" The first one said again, reaching a hand out to grab the other. "We've gotta get back, what the hell are you think-"

In a flash faster than Uzu's eyes could follow the smaller of the two swatted away the hand that reached out to him, "Shut up." Uzu stared in amazement as he watched the man who had just been swatted fly over a meter's distance to land with a resounding thud against a nearby tree.

The female immediately jumped to the first speaker's assistance, shooting an almost terrified glance towards the still shaking boy. "Kankurou! Are you OK?" She cried as she raced towards him, eyes wide. In a lowed voice, but still within Uzu's hearing range the girl whispered, "We need to do something about Gaara, quick, before things get out of control."

Uzu's eyes narrowed as he looked with distaste towards the smallest of the trio. Even if he was the alpha male, it didn't mean he could beat the crap out of his companions. Luckily, he was already in position above the little bastard, so… "Looks like you got an attitude problem, runt." Uzu grunted, as he jumped down, leg poised towards the boy's head. "I think it's time someone taught you some man-" Uzu grunted, eyes wide as his kick failed to connect. He had connected with SOMETHING, Uzu was certain of that, but not with the boy's skull, as had been his plan. He was certain the boy hadn't dodged. Uzu grinned; it was going to be a good fight.

Gaara glanced at the man that had had the nerve to attack him; a bored, irritated look over-taking his features. It wasn't THIS weakling he'd come to fight. No, the presence he had sensed was much stronger. Without speaking he reached a hand out towards the red headed man, and then with a smirk clenched his fist. "Desert coffin."

Uzu's eyes widened when he noticed that as the boy reached out towards him, sand was beginning to edge towards him, seemingly from nowhere, covering his body. Before the boy could speak more words, Uzu jumped, utilizing the full measure of speed that his birthright allowed him and escaping the sand's reach. Jumping up, he clung onto the branch above him with a grim satisfaction. He noted with a mixture of excitement and anxiety that the branch where he had been standing, a branch thicker than a man in diameter, cracked and crashed to the forest floor as the sand pressed in on it. Uzu grinned from his position, hanging from his claws to the branch above the boy. "That's a pretty neat trick you got there." Uzu noted, jumping down towards the boy once more. With a growl he raced towards the boy, hair, teeth and claws growing as he did so. "But wait 'till you see what I got up my sleeve."

Gaara narrowed his pale blue eyes, glaring at his escaped prey as the man dashed towards him.He was fast, but if this was the extent of his strength, then he wouldn't prove to be very entertaining and he was eager to fight the strong one he sensed earlier, to once again verify his existence. He stood unmoving as his red headed assailant dashed towards him. When the man's attack (a swiping attached with a suddenly very hairy, dangerously clawed hand) struck, Gaara closed his eyes as the sand around him did as it always did and moved to protect him. But his eyes flashed open as, somehow, a moment later the man's second attack managed to claw partially through the protective barrier of sand, claws stopping only centimeters away from his face. A twisted smile worked its way across Gaara's features. Perhaps he would play with this one before the end.

Uzu grunted as his attack did little other than dent his opponent's barrier, which would simply reform when he pulled his fist out of it… All that energy for nothin'. Then again, if it were easy, it wouldn't be fun. His eyes widened as he attempted to pull his claws from the sand. He was stuck.

The boy behind the shield began to chuckle. "I'll tear you apart one piece at a time." The boy said reaching hand towards Uzu's captured claws. "Starting with these."

Sharp pain flickered through Uzu's body as the sand began to tighten around his hand. Shit! I can't grow a hand back, bastard! And he's toying with me, too, doing this slowly… SHIT!With a frustrated growl, Uzu threw back his head, allowing more of his transformation to take over. He would lose his reasoning abilities, yes, but it would also make his claws longer and with that he should be able to hit his opponent. Assuming, that was, that his beast side would be able to reason that out as the best plan of action.

Gaara's eyes widened as his opponent threw back his head, sending out a long, angry sounding howl into the night. At the same time, the red head's hair, not only on his head, but all over his body, began to grow longer along with his claws and teeth. He jumped back in surprise as the free hand, fur covered and clawed, swiped past the sand barrier holding the other hand, at a speed that not even the sand could easily keep up with and, in surprise, allowed the sand to let got of the beast-boy's other hand. His mouth once again twisted into a humorless smile, "You won't get away aga-"

Gaara's words cut off as Uzu, a wild look in his eyes, fell to all fours, growling and then dashed towards him. Temari's eyes widened as she noticed that the boy looked less like a man and more like a beast. Fur was now covering every aspect of his body, his shirt had ripped completely off, revealing a fur covered chest. His body had also grown more than double its original size; in particular his arms grew longer, making a four legged dash perhaps the most logical option, not that logic seemed to be driving the man.

Even more amazing, in Temari's opinion, was how this new, beast-like attack that lacked any sense of strategy or thought seemed to be effectively pushing Gaara back. "Kankurou…"

He brother nodded eyes wide. "I know, I see it, too. Should we help Gaara?"

Temari thought for a moment, watching the battle as it progressed. The beast man was making significant progress in pushing Gaara back, although he seemed unable to deal him any real damage, but there was a swirl of sand surrounding the two's battle and frequent whimpering sounds could be heard as the sand dodged in and out of the battle, striking, crushing and basically dealing as much damage as possible in the frighteningly fast fury of the strange beast-man's attacks. Temari shook her head after a moment. "At this point if we get involved one or both of them will crush us before we can even get close. Let Gaara kill him, maybe then he'll calm down." She glanced down at her brother's doubtful eyes and shrugged. They had to hope for something.

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Tenmar followed Ganten as the white haired boy led them in the direction of Uzu's howl. He was worried. Although he loved his brother, he knew Uzu was, in general, a thoughtless bastard. He probably hadn't even thought to howl until he was in over his head. There was an oppressive, dark feel to the forest that grew the farther from camp they headed. Tenmar hoped that they would be able to handle whatever was waiting for them without having to bother their father. Naruto was exhausted and if he had to fight now, there was a serious chance of him falling in exhaustion.

As they ran an idea sprang up in Tenmar's mind and he quickly formed his summoning seals as they ran, perhaps the only high-level ninjutsu Tenmar knew. His hands paused as he thought about whom to summon. The twins were a bad choice, although they were usually eager to help in comparison to the other fox- they were still recovering from the LAST battle he'd called them to fight in against Kentaar. The big boss was out of the question, the only person he'd ever listened to or fought for had been Naruto himself, and even then his loyalty was questionable. The only really left… "Ganten, I'm summoning Buren! We can't afford to have Father called out to this fight."

Ganten nodded without turning around. "Good plan."

Tenmar sighed as he finished his jutsu and with a large puff of smoke, a fox about the size of a horse appeared, falling into place next to Tenmar. "You called, whelp?" The fox asked in a slow, bored drawl.

Tenmar nodded, wincing internally. Buren was a powerhouse, certainly, but his mind was a little on the slower side and once he started fighting the chances of him actually stopping until the enemy was dead, and likely eaten, to Tenmar's disgust, were slim to none. But right now what they needed was someone that they wouldn't have to argue with, that would provide a good show of force against whoever it was they were about to face. "I don't know who the enemy is, but Uzu's in trouble and I want to make sure that Father doesn't have to be called into this battle, understand?"

"Heh heh heh… Gotcha. Letting your father slack off for a bit? That's fine. 'Course I miss fighting alongside him, but whatcha gonna do?" Buren laughed again, a low almost hissing type of sound. "An' who knows? Maybe he'll come along later, anyway."

Tenmar opened his mouth to respond, but a thudding sound followed by a pained whelping noise that could only be Uzu caused his words to halt in his throat. The three of them picked up their speed, sudden fear for Uzu's well-being filling both Ganten and Tenmar's hearts. As they ran, Tenmar could feel his body transforming further and further. If Uzu was having problems, then Tenmar would need to be at the very top of his game to even think about surviving. They reached an area where the trees were less dense and their eyes were met with a horrifying sight.

Uzu was as transformed as Tenmar had ever seen him, it almost looked like a full-scale transformation, except he still looked a little human and he was far too small. He was lying, unmoving on a branch; a strange looking boy with reddish-brown hair was standing over him, pale blue eyes gleaming in what looked like triumph. The boy's face looked cracked, not that that made any sense, how could his FACE be cracked? Uzu's normally red fur looked brown at first glance, but upon closer inspection it became obvious that he was actually covered in what looked like sand. His breathing was ragged and it looked like he was struggling for consciousness, and it was obvious that he was in his 'animalistic' mindset. Off to the side sat two people, one man and one woman, looking between Uzu and the new arrivals with wide eyes.

Ganten acted quickly, growling as he noticed the boy standing over Uzu. Putting all of his strength in his legs, Ganten raced head first towards the boy, smacking into him with his shoulder. "Don't TOUCH my brother, bastard!" His voice came out in a low growl as the red head was pushed back a couple feet. The sand seemed to dissipate as the man was pushed back further and Ganten quickly gathered Uzu into his arms and carried him a decent distance away.

Even animalistic Uzu recognized his brother's scent and allowed the boy to carry him away from the demon that he'd been fighting. Ganten put Uzu down and Tenmar could tell that the boy was shaking, a look of rage and fear were mingling across the boy's face and Tenmar was certain that a similar look was on his own. What kind of monster could do this much damage to Uzu in so short a time?

Temari stood as the three newcomers appeared. If they had only shown up a few moments later, then maybe Gaara would have calmed down and they could have convinced him to resume the mission without hunting down the others, but now, from the look on his face, they would be lucky if Gaara would be able to stop after he finished killing all of them. It was possible that this battle itself would prove to be what pushed Gaara off the deep end, a depth that she feared he would not be able to return from. "Kankurou, get ready. We can't let Gaara take on all four of them on his own."

Kankurou looked at his sister skeptically, then at the three newcomers. Two looked like the other had, animal men, the other was some kind of mutant fox. After watching the way the last animal-man had actually managed to push Gaara around, and maybe even hurt the boy (that was hard to tell), he was less than eager to take one of them on in a fight. With a sigh he lifted Karasu off his back and placed him firmly on the tree branch, pulling slightly as his wrappings. "Let's get to it, then. I'll take the Blondie; you get that giant freak-fox thing. I have a feeling the white-furred one is going after Gaara." Temari nodded, already jumping on her fan and floating towards the giant fox. Kankurou sighed, wondering why nothing could ever be simple when Gaara was involved.

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Rin sat with wide eyes, listening to Ganten's mind as the boy ran towards Uzu. When he reached the man, Rin could feel Ganten's anger at the monster-man that had hurt Uzu and winced. "No, Ganten…" Rin moaned, cradling Moab closer as he did so. "Not that one, don't fight him, anyone but that one…" He could feel helpless tears welling in his eyes and a sudden fear that he would never see Ganten again filled his being. He hated how useless he was right now.

Still cradling Moab, Rin glanced around. At least he would do as Ganten requested; he would find a safe place for Moab, Mina and himself. Pain seared through Rin's body as he grabbed hold of Mina's bed and began to drag it to the nearby bush. The key would be to cover the bush so no part of Mina or himself would be visible, but also so that it didn't look like someone WOULD be hiding there. Also, it would be important to disguise their smell and-

Rin's eyes fell on Naruto as he labored at hiding Mina. If Naruto were fighting I'm sure the battle would be over in a few seconds… This guy's nowhere near as strong as Naruto, I'm certain of it… Ganten asked me not to wake him up, but…

Naruto stirred in his sleep, small smile on his face as he muttered something in his sleep. After a moment Rin moved towards the man. He LOOKED well-rested. Nowhere near as exhausted as he had been when they'd first arrived at camp. He probably had a little fight in him at this point. After all, he'd been sleeping for over an hour now. Rin moved closer to the blonde, reaching out a tentative hand. His eyes widened in surprise as Naruto's hand grabbed Rin's own. For a brief moment Rin thought Naruto must have woken up, then Naruto rolled over, still holding Rin's hand and muttering softly, "Sasuke…"

"Naruto!" Rin yelled sharply, trying to wrench his hand back as the blonde's dream began to filter into him. Rin blushed. "Naruto! Wake up! Ganten and the others are in trouble!" As if to accentuate Rin's pleas, Moab opened his mouth, letting out a long, low wail.

Naruto jumped to his feet, eyes wide at the sound of Moab's cry. "I'm awake, what's wrong with the baby?" He asked sleepily.

Rin grinned, Naruto's mind was still accessible to him as the man was still clinging to his hand and it made him laugh that when Naruto asked what was wrong with the baby, Naruto was thinking of a baby Ganten or Mina. The happy feeling lasted for only a moment as his mind once again brushed against Ganten's mind. He could feel the boy as he screamed in pain and rage. Things were NOT going well. "Naruto, it's Ganten and the others… They went off to fight this badass that showed up, but I don't think they can handle it. He's already beaten Uzu and now he's working on Ganten. He has two goons that are keeping Tenmar and some fox he conjured from helping Ganten. I'm sorry to wake you, but if you don't help I'm afraid that you're not gonna have a family to fight for soon."

Naruto stared at the boy as the words continued to rush from his mouth. In his sleepy state it took a moment for him to grasp what exactly Rin was trying to say, but Rin's last words were enough to put him in motion. Naruto jumped to his feet, "What direction?"

Rin pointed, watching for a moment as the blonde rushed off towards his sons before calling after the man. "Naruto!"

"Yeah?" He replied, turning towards Rin with a look that was less than patient.

Mustering all of his strength, Rin tossed Naruto his pants and a shirt. "You may want these. Be careful, and bring Ganten back."

Naruto looked down, realizing for the first time that he was undressed. It made sense, seeing as how he went to sleep immediately after turning back into a human. He hadn't had the energy to change into something at that point, now he didn't have the time. Naruto looked at the near panicked look on Rin's face and winked at the boy. "Don't worry; I'll bring Ganten back to you." With that he was off, dashing as fast as he could through the forest while attempting to pull his pants on.

Rin smiled, suddenly feeling much more optimistic about the fight. With a sigh he moved back towards Mina and their hiding place; just in case. He glanced down at Moab, who suddenly looked like a very tired baby. "It's OK, go to sleep now. Everything will be just fine."

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"What do you MEAN, no one matching that description had been though here?" Sasuke demanded.

Shikamaru sighed, trying to disentangle the ferry owner from Sasuke's grip without pissing the other boy off, a feat that was turning out to be most difficult. "Oi, calm down! I knew there was a chance they'd do this, but it's fine. It increases our chances of catching up with them before they cross the sea, so just put that guy down… Geeze."

Sasuke glared at the other boy, but released the shop owner with a grunt. "Whatever." He muttered, shoving his hands into his pickets and storming out of the business establishment.

Shikamaru gave a man a small smile. "So, how much to ferry the two of us across the bay?" The man gave him a dry look, but eventually stated a price. Shikamaru winced, wondering how much extra they were paying for having him transport a 'dangerous person.' He sighed, whatever, Sasuke was paying, anyway. But the other boy's attitude was getting old quick and Shikamaru was getting tired of being the 'people person' in the group.

He walked out of the store, and glanced up and down the street, eyeing Sasuke standing outside a restaurant of some sort. Eating food that wasn't cooked over a campfire, now THAT was a good idea; eating food that he didn't have to cook himself, even better. "Hey. I managed to buy tickets for us, but it wasn't easy after your display." As Shikamaru spoke he led Sasuke into the restaurant, grateful for the chance to relax for once. "Anyway, the boat leaves in a couple hours and it'll take two days to get all the way across the bay. We ended up paying through our nose because of you, but at least the guy's gonna let us on the boat. The next nearest town with a ferry to Port Town is half day's travel." The spiky haired boy shook his head, not attempting to conceal his annoyance, "you really need to THINK before you act."

Sasuke glared at his companion. He didn't like be reprimanded, even if he WAS in the wrong. Instead of focusing on his mistake, however, he decided to focus on Shikamaru's. "Why didn't you tell me there was a possibility that they would go around the bay?" He demanded.

Shikamaru glanced at the other boy with a long-suffering sigh. He can't be serious, right?

:BREAK:

Well, I hope you liked my surprise guest star! Well, maybe not so much of a surprise or a guest, but either way, I LOVE Gaara! YAY! Oh and YES, Ganten was hearing Rin inside his mind… WHY, you may ask? Well, that's yet to be disclosed, so you'll just have to wait a chapter or maybe ever two in order to find out. But more importantly, isn't Gaara so cute?

OK, well, all this leads me to a very important question. I was wondering which of the characters, original or other wise people like the most/would like to see the most focus on. I'm NOT talking about couples, as the characters that HAVE a coupling are (for the most part) pretty far away from their significant other. This question is purely directed towards a character as an individual, and so you are aware, the answers I get will help me know who to focus on randomly. So if in a review you could let me know who's your favorite character and maybe WHY I'd REALL appreciate it. Think of it as a poll, but without the handy polling functions, so you have to do actual work and probably have less fun…? Well, anyway, thanks in advance for those of you who reply!