S a l e t é I V

XLII - Bravade - Treize

"I can't remember the last time I went outside... As in, outside, not just in the underground."

Cassie was still sat with her fellow younger group members after the bulk of their meeting had concluded. Now that everyone had the general gist of what was going on, they'd started to talk amongst themselves, with Sleeves the one to share her thoughts first.

"Have you lived here for your whole life?" Cassia asked, to which Sleeves nodded quickly. 

They'd remained on the conveyor, only now they'd formed what was almost a circle of their own, sitting cross legged, nearly laying down as they faced each other.

"Mhm. Mum used to take me with her sometimes to the docks when she had stuff to do, but other than that I've spent all my time here."

"I've been here since I got stuck, pretty much. Before that, we never really stayed in the same place for long." Shipshape added, the notion of actually being stuck something he'd very obviously come to terms with what could have been a long time ago, the lad not upset in the slightest. 

Even so, Cassie gave him a pat on the arm before they continued, receiving a smile from him for her acknowledgement.

She liked to think that he knew he was lucky, in a way. If he was going to end up stuck in one place, then he'd certainly ended up with a fine bunch of friends to be stuck with.

"Swoopy? What about you?" Cassia asked, the girl in question only mildly surprised as she was addressed.

"Oh, um, I've been here for as long as I can remember." She replied, seemingly unsure of how she was supposed to feel about that, as if she was worried it was something to be ashamed of.

"Me too." Klavdiya said, shaving that tension off for her with such a revelation.

"And me." Zisel began, politely raising a hand partway as she spoke.

"Though uh, for Klavdiya and I, that's to be expected, seeing as we were brought here for a purpose."

"Do you really not know where you actually came from? Like, where you were... Made, I guess?" Sleeves asked, the nature of the question confusing her, Zisel able to simply shake her head.

"No. I don't know who designed me, or where. My first memories are of Lower Merveille and my owners."

"Same for me. My owner was the first person I met." Klavdiya said, neither of them unnerved or particularly thoughtful in any way. 

Then again, to them it probably wasn't a bizarre subject, something that left Cassia wondering if she should have felt it was unusual herself.

In a way, wasn't asking about where they'd been made like asking anyone else where they'd been born?

"At least you can remember stuff. I was too young to be able to understand much that was going on before I was with my uncle on our boat." Shipshape confessed, somewhat disappointed this time as he scratched at the side of his head.

"Maybe that's what we could do if we leave?" Zisel asked, hoping to pick him up from even that small dip.

"What, find a boat?" He asked, intrigued.

"Yeah. Being able to take your house with you everywhere does sound kind of cool." She replied, the pair sharing a softer smile as he chuckled.

"We've already got a Captain." Klavdiya pointed out, ensuring that such a chuckle was shared between the group.

"It does sound nice, actually." Cassia admitted, the thought of them sharing a ship genuinely lively, perhaps even vibrant. 

The familiarity that they shared with one another, along with their own personal vessel, with so many places to visit and explore... Naive or not, it was still fun to think about, and it definitely beat worrying.