salt&static

antonio's expression immediately softened at the mention of lucca, his gaze drifting briefly toward the game booths where children darted between attractions with far too much energy for his liking. “good,” he said simply. “he should be with his friends. if he's spending the festival following adults around, then we've all failed him somehow.” there was warmth beneath the dry remark, the kind reserved for very few people. lucca had always been one of them. unfortunately, before he could say anything further, elena had already grabbed his hand. “elena—” the protest died somewhere between annoyance and resignation as she spun him around in a full circle. antonio tolerated many things from very few people. this happened to be one of them. barely. by the time she released him, he looked thoroughly unimpressed with the entire experience. “i am surrounded by traitors,” he informed her gravely. his eyes narrowed slightly. “i wear one hat and suddenly everyone becomes a fashion critic.” despite the complaint, the corner of his mouth twitched upward. only slightly. “and i do not have a tell,” he added immediately, because of course that was the part he objected to. antonio santoro had spent most of his life making sure people couldn't read him. hearing otherwise felt mildly offensive. “if i had a tell, i'd be considerably worse at my job.” still, her question gave him pause. his gaze wandered briefly across the festival grounds. families, music, children running around with sticky hands and overpriced prizes. normal people doing normal things. “i am, actually,” he admitted after a moment. “surprisingly.” the answer sounded almost reluctant. “it's nice seeing everyone out of their houses for something other than a funeral, a murder investigation, or a crisis.” his eyes returned to her then, calmer than they had been in weeks. “and before you accuse me of lying again, yes, i mean that.” a beat passed. “though if you tell anyone i enjoyed myself, i'll deny it immediately.”

Tatianna picked her arms up to cross over her body, in this moment she wanted to just disappear again. "Tommaso." She cast her eyes down, not wanting to look at him as she said her next piece, "Guess he's back in town. Came up from me from behind, put his arm over my shoulder, I pushed it off and turned to see who it was. Told him to fuck off, when I tried to walk away he grabbed me and pulled me back." She paused as she looked back up at him, studying his expression. "The situation just kinda got worse from there... I just.. I don't want to get into it." She didn't want to repeat the horrible things her brother said to her, the threats he made that she knew he would follow through out. Some family, huh. "I can handle my brother, and I did handle him. For now at least." If slapping him and then running away was handling then she sure in hell was a pro by now. "You just wouldn't understand." How could he? He could keep his siblings close, but hers? She would be putting them in danger, now more than ever with Tommaso around. They were liabilities, leverage, weaknessess, all things that could be used against her to get her to bend to the Donatelli's will. She wouldn't subject them to being used as pawns just as she was. "And if I'm gonna be in the dog house I might as well make it worth it, it's two public incidents I've started tonight, new track record I guess."

for a moment, antonio simply stared at her. the anger he'd been carrying toward tommaso solidified into something colder and far more dangerous. his jaw tightened as she described being grabbed, pulled back, handled like she belonged to someone. if there was one thing antonio santoro understood, it was possession. and there was a line between protection and ownership that men like tommaso seemed incapable of recognizing. his tongue pressed against the inside of his cheek as he forced himself not to immediately start making plans. not here. not now. tatianna was speaking, and for perhaps the first time since he'd met her, she wasn't throwing knives to keep him away. she was letting him see the wound underneath. antonio listened. really listened. the confession about savannah hit him first. then thalia. then sal. pieces he'd already begun assembling falling violently into place all at once. the resemblance. the hostility. the strange reactions. suddenly it all made sense. and worse, he understood exactly why she was terrified.

antonio stared at him for a moment, the fishing rod resting loosely in his hand as he considered the explanation. the irritation he'd been cultivating over losing at a children's carnival game faded almost immediately. not entirely, because antonio santoro disliked losing on principle, but enough. his gaze shifted briefly toward the stuffed dinosaur tucked against cassidy's chest before returning to the younger man. "well." his mouth twitched faintly. "that is considerably more noble than what i assumed." there was a pause before he glanced toward the game booth. "and here i thought i was witnessing the world's most enthusiastic dinosaur collector." his tone remained dry, but there was less edge to it now. "the children at the hospital will appreciate it more than i would." he adjusted his grip on the rod and looked back toward the water basin with quiet suspicion. cassidy wasn't wrong. the entire setup looked designed by someone who had a deep personal hatred of fair competition. "you know," he said thoughtfully, eyeing the floating fish, "the fact that you're openly admitting the game might be rigged somehow does not inspire confidence." still, he lowered the hook into the water with the concentration of a man preparing cross-examination rather than attempting to win a stuffed animal. "though i suppose there is comfort in knowing failure can be blamed on corruption instead of personal incompetence."

Antonio's smile lingered at her question about politics, though it shifted into something more thoughtful. "Once upon a time, I thought I might," he admitted. It was close enough to the truth without actually being the truth. "Law was always the plan. Politics seemed like a natural extension of it." His shoulders rose slightly in a small shrug. "Life has a habit of presenting other opportunities." Or obligations. Depending on how honest one wanted to be. His gaze drifted briefly across the festival grounds before settling back on her. He listened as she spoke about Asena, and despite himself, something softened around the edges of his expression. Not enough for most people to notice. Enough for him. "She is," he agreed quietly. "One of the most impressive people I've ever met." There was no hesitation in the statement. No need for it. Antonio had admired Asena long before she became district attorney. Before the campaigns, the headlines, the public image. "And for what it's worth, Kiana, I suspect you're doing yourself a disservice there." His tone remained polite, conversational. "Asena isn't the type to invest her time in people she doesn't value. She's far too busy for that." A faint smile touched his mouth. "You make a lovely couple." The words tasted bitterer than he cared to admit, but he delivered them flawlessly all the same. Years of practice made smiling through unpleasant realities second nature.

his appearance wasn't a surprise for anyone involved. they all knew to expect tommy's return sooner or later. and given tatianna's behavior (or lack of communication), his visit came sooner and will likely last longer. "ah, I see. maybe you should introduce me to the mayor then. I'm more than willing to give him my input directly." while tommy didn't give a shit about getting involved with community and politics, he did plan to make his stay as comfortable as possible. and that included making friends a little all over the place. antonio was their way into the town, a means to an end. but if the donatelli's planned to know the ins and outs of rift valley, they would have to expand a little further than just the santoro's. "I suppose you're right. maybe I got too accustomed to the new york way of doing things." he glanced at the other with a confident smile. "perhaps it's time I spend more time with you. learn how you do things around here." and possibly fix a few, but he left that thought in his own head. he nodded his head in agreement instead, eyes shifting the scan the grounds in which the festival was taking place. "you're not entirely wrong. though loud places make for a great...distraction."

Antonio glanced toward Tommy, catching the confident smile and the implication tucked neatly beneath it. Not subtle, but then Donatellis rarely were. The corner of his mouth lifted into a polite smile of his own, practiced and controlled. "Careful," he replied smoothly. "Spend too much time giving politicians your opinions and eventually they'll start asking for more of them." His gaze drifted briefly across the festival grounds before returning to his brother-in-law. "Though if you intend to stay awhile, I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you to meet people. Rift Valley has never lacked personalities." The statement was pleasant enough on the surface, but Antonio had no intention of handing Tommy a roadmap to the city simply because he asked. Trust was earned. Especially now. "As for learning how we do things here," he continued, adjusting the cuff of his sleeve, "I've always found observation more useful than instruction. People reveal far more about themselves when they don't realize they're being watched." His eyes lingered on Tommy for a beat longer than necessary before the smile returned. Diplomatic. Civil. Unreadable. "And you're right about distractions. Large crowds tend to make people comfortable. Comfortable people become careless." He looked back toward the festival where families laughed, children ran between booths, and music drifted through the evening air. "The trick is making sure you're paying attention while everyone else is distracted."

The fuck is a skirmish? The question writes itself across his face. It could mean just about anything. Then, Antonio finally gets to his point and it all starts to make sense. His brow furrows so tightly it looks as though he's trying to squeeze a thought out of his own head. A dangerous exercise. On a good day, Nicky's depth of contemplation rarely exceeds that of a teaspoon. Try as he might, he does land on one thing: "Hold on a minute," he rolls his shoulder, shrugging off Antonio's hand. Not petulantly, nor he is he that irritated, but he stands in a puddle of confusion where he's struggling to piece things together, one of which is Antonio's admonishing tone. "I don't- let me get this straight. So, you got no time for me, but you got time for Wilder? How does that work?" He looks at Antonio, with a complete lack of understanding, though desperation for it lingers beneath his gaze, before it curdles into something he can understand: hurt. "And you don't even wanna hear my side of the story?"

Antonio stared at him for a moment before letting out a slow breath through his nose. Of course that was the part Nicky latched onto. Not the accusation. Not the fight. Not the fact that he'd managed to punch a hole through an already fragile situation. No. It was the perceived slight. The corner of Antonio's mouth twitched faintly, not quite amusement and not quite irritation. Somewhere uncomfortably between the two. "God help me, Niccolò," he muttered, dragging a hand down his face. "Only you could hear 'you punched a capo in public' and somehow make yourself the victim of the conversation." Despite the words, there wasn't much venom behind them. Frustration, certainly. Exhaustion. But not anger. Not yet. His gaze settled on his younger cousin again, taking in the confusion that slowly gave way to hurt, and for a moment Antonio was reminded that Nicky often felt first and thought second. It was one of the things that made him endearing. It was also one of the things that routinely gave Antonio migraines. "I spoke to Wilder because he was easier to find. You disappear like a stray cat every time you think you've done something wrong." His brow lifted slightly. "And if I didn't want your side of the story, I wouldn't be standing here having this conversation. I'd have already made a decision." Antonio folded his arms across his chest then, studying him carefully. "So yes. I want to hear your side of it. All of it. Preferably the version that doesn't begin with 'he started it'." His expression softened by a fraction. Barely noticeable to most people, but there. "You're my cousin, Nicky. If I was interested in handing down judgment without hearing you out, you would've known about it days ago." He tilted his head slightly.

zahir's smile grows a little at the mention of thalia, the kind of expression that would've earned him endless teasing from half the people who knew him growing up. "yeah, thalia," he confirms, rubbing the back of his neck. "and before you say anything, i know exactly how obvious i've been." there's a warmth in his voice that doesn't appear often these days. despite everything happening around town, talking about her feels easy. grounding. "i'm excited," he admits after a moment. "nervous too, but mostly excited. she's important to me." his gaze drifts briefly toward the crowd, searching for trouble out of habit before forcing himself to let the thought go. tonight wasn't supposed to be about murders or investigations or the next disaster waiting around the corner. tonight was supposed to be normal. as normal as rift valley ever got. the smile fades slightly as jia mentions dario and ryker's abuela. the weight of it settles between them for a moment. too many funerals. too many people hurting. too many names added to a list nobody wanted to keep. "yeah," he says quietly. "it's been a lot." he doesn't offer empty reassurances. doesn't tell them everything will be okay because he isn't sure anyone can promise that right now. instead, he nudges their shoulder lightly again. "which is exactly why i'm trying to enjoy tonight while we've got it." when they gesture toward the food trucks, a small chuckle escapes him. "now that's the smartest thing you've said all evening." he points toward the row of vendors. "c'mon. let's get burgers. for one night, i'm choosing to believe the festival won't catch fire, nobody will get arrested, and the biggest problem we'll have is figuring out which truck makes the better fries." with that, he starts walking toward the food trucks, determined to hold onto that optimism for at least a little while longer.

OF COURSE, SAL'S EYEBROWS had been raised upwards at the mention of an eerily familiar last name when thalia had first told him that she was seeing someone. cole. of course, all sal ever wanted was for his sister to be happy -- and for her to be taken care of after all their family had gone through. protective was perhaps the understatement of the year, especially after so many years apart. it felt like another opportunity to be the man he had promised himself he would be for his sisters. keep them safe from anyone and anything that could hurt them. he had spent most of the day at the heavy ink temporary tattoo tent, keeping his head down and only addressing the consumers of his work -- not bothering to look very much further. sal used to think he was allergic to overwhelm. that he was stronger than this, and there was nothing he couldn't beat as long as he focused in hard enough. but, he knew he couldn't hover forever. thus, he made the conscious choice to stop by for a drink -- when his eyes fall on his sister. he knows what's coming, but he's looking forward to it. even if it comes with some amount of sizing up -- thalia had seemed to excited about her new relationship. he could see it in her face. thus, he decides to remember that she is in fact a very good judge of character -- born with the very same protective skin that he was. as they approach his face turns up into a smile. even if it's only partially rehearsed, it's not because of either of them. " so this must be the man of'the hour. " sal greets the two of them, offering his sister a hug before he extends a hand to zahir. " 'm sal. i've heard a lot 'bout you.... and i'm likin' what i'm hearin'. either of you want a drink? "

"i do love it when you stay over too." she loved it more than anything. she loved falling asleep in his arms at night and waking up to him in the mornings. how she had managed before, sleeping by herself was beyond her. this was it. the moment she would finally introduce zahir to her brother. in a way. she was glad to finally be introducing them. sal would get to meet the man who made her beyond happy. "don't be nervous. he's going to like you. trust me, he will." she was sure of it. she knew her brother pretty well. she knew he would like zahir. "i may have talked about you a lot to him too." she had. she really had. it was something she couldn't help either. when sal had been at her place earlier in the week, she had mentioned zahir and how they were together. and that head lead her to talking about him. how happy he made her too. the smile staying on her lips, she hugged her brother back with her free arm. "sal, this is zahir, the man who makes me insanely happy. " and the man who she knew she was in love with too. "i could go for a drink. " she spoke before looking at zahir.

zahir's nerves settle a little the moment he sees the way sal looks at thalia. there was something familiar about it. that instinctive protectiveness. the quiet habit of checking that the people you cared about were alright before worrying about yourself. he'd spent enough years looking after family to recognize it in someone else. keeping his hand linked with thalia's, he returns the offered handshake with a firm grip, meeting sal's gaze evenly. "i've heard a lot about you too," he says with a small smile. "mostly good things, which is probably because thalia loves you enough to leave out anything embarrassing." the joke comes easily, helped along by the fact that this mattered to her. he could feel her excitement standing beside him, and despite the initial nerves, that alone was enough to make him relax. when thalia introduces him as the man who makes her insanely happy, zahir can't stop the smile that follows. it softens his entire expression as his eyes briefly find hers. there was a time not that long ago when he would've convinced himself he was imagining things. now she was standing beside him holding his hand in front of her brother, proudly claiming him. the realization still felt unreal sometimes. "i'll take a drink," he says, glancing back toward sal. "and for the record, i think i got the better end of that deal." his thumb brushes lightly across the back of thalia's hand before he continues. "she's been talking about introducing us for a while now." his tone is warm, genuine. "family's important. so i appreciate you taking the time." there is no mention of clubs, affiliations, or the complicated realities of rift valley. just a man meeting his girlfriend's brother at a summer festival, hoping to make a good first impression and quietly grateful for the chance to be included in a part of her life that she'd spent so many years trying to get back.

◜★ ˚ ﹔ closed starter › @saltandstatic ◜★ ˚ ﹔ location › summer kickoff.

zahir lets out a quiet huff of amusement as he glances toward the line in question, watching a group of teenagers eagerly debate paint colors like the town wasn't currently plastered across every news station in the state. "honestly?" he says, folding his arms loosely across his chest. "i think i can believe it." there's no judgment in his voice, only understanding. "people get scared, they look for normal. sometimes normal looks like body paint." his gaze drifts back to lola, immediately picking up on the tension underneath the complaint. it isn't really about the body paint. not entirely. "and hey," he adds gently, shaking his head. "you don't have to apologize for talking." the festival lights reflect softly off his badge as he shifts his weight. "i spend most of my day listening to people when something's wrong. comes with the job." a small smile tugs at the corner of his mouth. "besides, i've heard worse complaints than body paint. a guy yelled at me for twenty minutes once because a seagull stole his hot dog." his expression softens slightly after the joke, concern settling in behind the warmth. "truth is, i don't think you're upset about the line." his voice remains calm, never pushing. "i think you've got a lot on your mind, and the body paint just happened to be standing in front of you when it boiled over." he nods toward an empty patch of grass nearby. "if you need to vent, you're allowed to. festival's long. i've got a few minutes."

nico wasn’t really in the mood to be at the party. the whole festival felt too loud, too bright, too full of forced cheer while everything else in the valley seemed to be unraveling. he was only here because eddy had asked him to be his date, but it was starting to feel like a pity invite. eddy had disappeared into the crowd ages ago, and nico couldn’t shake the nagging suspicion that it wasn’t accidental. maybe eddy had realized this whole thing was a mistake. maybe he was avoiding him on purpose. maybe he was still stuck on the last conversation he had with romy. “huh?” his uncle’s question snapped him out of the spiral, yanking him back to the present.

zahir's expression softens immediately at the question. for a moment, he doesn't answer. because the honest answer is complicated. there were plenty of people who worried about him. thalia. the cole family. friends. fellow officers. but safety had never really been something zahir spent much time considering for himself. he was usually too busy worrying about everyone else. "that's a good question," he says quietly, glancing back toward his nephew. a small smile touches the corner of his mouth, though there's something thoughtful behind it. "truthfully? a lot of people try." his hands settle into his pockets as they continue walking through the festival. "my family. my friends. people who care about me. they remind me to go home every once in a while." a soft chuckle follows. "whether i listen is another story." then his attention settles fully on nico again, concern returning as he notices the tension that still hasn't left him. "but that's kind of how it works, kid. we look out for each other." his shoulder bumps lightly against nico's in a familiar gesture. "and for what it's worth, you're one of the people who keeps me safe too. maybe not with a badge or a gun or anything dramatic. but knowing you're okay? knowing the people i care about are alright?" he pauses, his voice quieter now. "that matters more than you think." his gaze drifts briefly toward the crowd again before returning to his nephew. "which is why i'm gonna ask again if you're alright. because you've been staring through half this festival like you're trying to solve a problem nobody else can see."

Damian's face lit up the second he spotted Zahir. He lifted a hand in an enthusiastic wave before making his way over through the crowd. Between the music, the food stands, and the festival atmosphere, he looked entirely too happy to be standing anywhere near work. His badge was clipped on more out of habit than necessity. "I am off duty," he said immediately, pointing a finger at Zahir as if defending himself in court. "Mostly. Like eighty percent off duty." He paused. "Okay, maybe seventy-five. But I'm here to party. Responsibly. In a law-abiding manner." His grin widened. "Somebody's gotta set a good example." Damian gestured vaguely toward the crowd around them. "Besides, it's a festival. People are having fun. Nobody's actively on fire." He lowered his voice slightly. "And I've got a total babe on my arm that I'm trying to impress, so I can't spend the whole night acting like a patrol officer." The words came out with absolutely no shame attached to them.

he remarked, folding his arms across his chest as he looked the younger officer over. there was something familiar about it all. the enthusiasm. the optimism. the belief that things could still be fixed if people just cared enough. it reminded him of himself years ago, before the military, before new york, before enough crime scenes and death notifications to understand that sometimes doing everything right still wasn't enough. "and for the record, i am glad you're here having fun. that's important too." his gaze drifted briefly toward the crowd before returning to damian. "the city's had enough people carrying the weight of the world lately. you don't have to volunteer for all of it." his expression softened slightly as damian spoke about the bodies, the setbacks, the frustration that came with realizing effort alone didn't guarantee results. zahir knew that lesson well. maybe too well. "that's not an annoying answer," he said quietly. "it's the answer i'm glad you still have." he reached over and gave damian's shoulder a firm squeeze before letting his hand drop. "the day you stop caring is the day i start worrying about you." there was warmth in his voice, but also conviction. "you've got something a lot of cops lose after a few years. you still believe people are worth helping, even when they make it difficult. don't let this town take that from you."

Scout spotted Antonio before he reached her and immediately felt her mood sour. It was almost impressive how one man could ruin a perfectly good afternoon just by existing. The second he called her Scarlett, her jaw tightened. She hated that name coming from him. Hated the way he said it. Hated the memories attached to it. The version of her that lived in the Santoro house had been Scarlett. Quiet when she was supposed to be. Pretty when she was supposed to be. Polite when she was supposed to be. Scout had clawed her way out of that girl years ago. The bubble gum between her teeth snapped loudly as she looked him up and down with open disdain. “Funny,” she said dryly. “I was just thinking the same thing. Usually I can smell a Santoro infestation before I stumble into one.” Her eyes rolled dramatically. “And it’s Scout. Scarlett died the second I got the hell out of your house.” She crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head, studying him with the same hostility she reserved for rattlesnakes and men who touched dancers without asking. Antonio always carried himself like he was the smartest person in every room. Like the rest of the world should be grateful he chose to occupy it. Scout had hated that look since she was a teenager. “So tell me,” she continued, her smile turning sharp. “Have you laid that sister of yours in the ground yet?” The words came out cruel on purpose. “Or are you waiting till you can drag the whole town through another Santoro tragedy first?” Her gaze never left his. “You people do love making everything about yourselves.” Another snap of her gum followed. “Honestly, I’m surprised there’s room at this festival for the rest of us with your ego taking up half the county.” Scout shrugged one shoulder. “Then again, if I spent my whole life pretending I was God’s gift to Rift Valley, maybe I’d walk around looking that pleased with myself too.” Her smile widened. “Good to see being rich still hasn’t fixed your personality.”

antonio stared at her for a long moment after the comment about josephina. not angry. not immediately. if anything, the first thing that crossed his face was disappointment. the sort reserved for people who should have known better and chose not to. scout always seemed determined to prove him right about her in the worst possible ways. "you know," he began calmly, brushing an invisible speck of dust from his sleeve, "for someone who spends so much time insisting she's escaped us, you certainly can't stop talking about us." his gaze swept over her deliberately. the attitude. the gum. the carefully crafted image she'd spent years building around herself. "it's almost impressive. you had every advantage handed to you. a roof over your head. people willing to help you. opportunities most people would kill for." his mouth twisted into something resembling amusement. "and somehow you've convinced yourself you're a victim." he clicked his tongue softly. "rift valley is full of people with actual sob stories, scarlett. your tragedy is that life didn't bend itself around your feelings." his eyes narrowed slightly. "for all your talk about freedom, you traded one family for another and call it independence. at least be honest about it." he took a step closer, not threatening, but entirely unbothered by her hostility. if anything, he looked bored by it. "and let's not pretend you're playing the struggling artist because you have some great moral objection to money." antonio's smile never reached his eyes. "you grew up wealthier than most people in this city. now you cosplay as poor because it's more fashionable than admitting you threw a tantrum and ran away from home." harsh. cruel even. but scout had deliberately invoked josephina. any patience he'd possessed evaporated the moment she did. "i hope dancing for drunken strangers and letting a motorcycle club convince you they're your family has been worth it." his gaze remained steady on hers. "i hope every bad decision, every bridge you've burned, every opportunity you've wasted has been worth it." then came the final blow, delivered in the same calm tone he'd used from the beginning. "because your father died giving his life for something bigger than himself. you spend most days making sure your life is only about you."

he thinks for a moment on his question with a smile, knowing exactly what he was getting at. it was similar, in a way to family engagements where you're requested because you're obligated. different yet similar enough. he looks to the don, not with arrogance but as someone he didn't mind sitting down and sharing a conversation with. " i'm doing alright. " he finally answers in truth. he was doing alright, he was content and contentment was what he'd consider enjoying himself. " besides, if you put in the effort enough, you can get through the persuasion. " even if you didn't really want to be somewhere, tyler learned people responded better when they have your compliance. " just me though. " he lightly shrugs. " what about you? "

antonio hummed thoughtfully at the answer, watching the crowd move around them as festival music drifted through the warm evening air. there was something reassuring about hearing one of his people say they were doing alright, especially lately. too much had happened in rift valley for anyone to take normalcy for granted. "persuasion is one word for it," he replied dryly, the corner of his mouth lifting slightly. "i've always found life becomes easier when you stop fighting every obligation that lands in front of you." it was a philosophy he'd built an entire life around, whether he wanted to admit it or not. his gaze shifted back toward tyler then, studying him for a brief moment before giving a small nod. "i'm glad you're doing well." the words were simple but genuine. antonio made an effort to know who worked for him, not every detail, but enough. enough to know when something was wrong. enough to know when someone needed help before they asked for it. "as for me?" he glanced toward the festival grounds, children running between booths, families laughing, people trying very hard to pretend the city wasn't carrying a shadow over it lately. "i'm managing." which was about as close to honesty as most people received from him these days. after a moment, his expression grew slightly more serious. "i won't keep you from enjoying your evening, but if anything unusual happens tonight, anything at all, i expect to hear about it." his tone remained calm, conversational even, but the expectation behind it was unmistakable. "hopefully i'm worrying over nothing." a pause followed before he added, "but be careful regardless. i'd rather everyone make it home with nothing more serious than a hangover and poor financial decisions from the food vendors." a faint smile tugged at his mouth then, softening the warning enough to let the conversation remain light.