S a l e t é I V

XXXVII - Plumes - Cinq

Sleeves hadn't been waiting for them in the factory courtyard when they'd gotten back that afternoon, though only because she was watching from up on the second floor with Gunner, the girl waving them in when she spotted them coming. 

There really was nothing quite like a welcome from the kids who called the rusted site home, their presences easily making up for all of the dismay that its abandonment had caused.

She'd gotten downstairs to greet them properly by the time they'd gotten indoors and through to the main chamber, Cassia sharing her latest hug with her the minute that they met.

"Did everything go okay?" Sleeves asked whilst she had her in her arms.

"Mhm, totally fine. We saw some people from Sabre, but they didn't see us."

"Sabre? What were they doing?" Her friend quickly asked, a mixture of curiosity and trepidation behind the query, Chief acting to dispel those feelings as he gave her cheek a brush with one hand.

"They were outside the junkyard, probably working on the investigation. Who knows? Maybe they weren't, they could've been there on some other job."

"They were only a pair of lackeys. I bet even you could've given them a good fright." Spears chuckled as he took Chief's bag, getting ready to head upstairs to their storeroom with them.

As he made his way to the closest intact ladder, leaving them with a click of his tongue, Sleeves put aside her feelings so that she could direct them to their usual meeting ground, the candles that formed the familiar ring in the space between various discarded machines starting to wear thin.

"Connie's here."

"Is she?" Chief asked, genuinely surprised.

"She arrived a little while ago. Sunshine made her some tea."

"What's going on with her? Was she looking to head out someplace with us?"

"I don't think so. She has stuff with her already."

"Maybe she wants to do some swaps?" Cassia suggested, the idea one that left Chief curious.

The easiest thing to do was to head right on over to join them, the teenage girls currently the only people visible on the ground floor. Gunner hadn't left his post, and Captain had already returned to his, whilst an absence of noise probably meant that the other kids were upstairs somewhere, perhaps getting some rest. 

Sleeves gave Cassia another quick hug, just for good measure, before they began to follow Chief and Monet, the two having already gone on ahead.

Connie looked as if she was doing well, her expression fair as she listened to what Sunshine was saying, the lass holding her mug in both hands as she leant slightly forward in her chair. She had indeed brought her own bag with her, which was currently down beside her seat, both girls soon noticing the returning party as its members headed across the ground floor to join them.

"Hello! I'm guessing that everything went well?" Sunshine asked, her bright welcome ensuring that Cassie was already feeling warm before she'd even had a chance to say anything herself.

"Yep, all good. We found a decent spot at the junkyard, pretty sure we were the first ones to go through it." Chief replied as he took his backpack so that he could join them in sitting, though he left the best remaining chair for Monet, the girl in red taking her place there when he offered it. 

Cassie and Sleeves were content to use the stools, the girls making sure to sit close together once they were ready.

"You alright Connie? Do you need someone to go out with you?" He asked, quickly turning his attention to their guest.