S a l e t é I V

XLV - Crépuscule - Quatorze

"It's all we could get."

"You don't have to apologise every time! It's still amazing!"

Cassia, Klavdiya Zisel - all three of them had banded together in their gratitude as Alex had handed them the bottle of Honey he had been able to acquire during his most recent outing. 

Cassia and her friends hadn't even back that long before he'd made his return with his own partners for the day, the gift that he'd been able to bring back with him one that she'd been more than ready to jump out of her seat again for, with no regard for how comfortable she'd managed to get.

Klavdiya was the one holding the bottle now, considering the conditions that she'd agreed to during their last round of decision making. There was still the matter of deciding who would get the remaining half, but that didn't matter yet - all that mattered was that Alex had done right by them, and Cassia was ready to administer a good helping of appreciation. 

Whilst she was still on her feet, she latched onto him, hugging him tightly on behalf of her fellow warehouse girls.

"Alright, alright. No need to get all mushy and sweet again." He said, his smile betraying any attempts at putting on a harsher tone he may have been trying to feign. 

He gave her head a good rub, the affection that she had to give far from unwanted. He had no choice but to return that hold, as she wouldn't have eventually let go otherwise.

"Thank you." Zisel said as she extended a hand, the words stemming from deep within the relief that she was now able to experience, the young man taking it and offering a fair squeeze.

"You're more than welcome, darling. I honestly just wish I could bring you more, we all do. It was the only one on the street again."

Cassia wasn't going to ask how he'd managed to come away with it, as she feared that the answer was one that he wouldn't have been entirely proud of. Instead, she allowed him and her friends to focus on simply having the victory.

Klavdiya simply waved him over when Cassia was done hanging onto his side, conveying her own admiration by kissing his cheek once he was close enough. This time, he didn't try to downplay anything, the boy instead giving her a short hug whilst he was at her height.

When he left them to it, on his way to organise his things and the remainder of the items he'd managed to secure - a small, though varied selection of foodstuffs including bread, a few vegetables and some powdered milk - Cassia observed him for a moment longer, content when she witnessed Monet bestow his forehead with a small kiss of her own.

"Drink up, squirt." She said upon turning back to her friends, giving Klavdiya a hefty push.

"Yeah, hold on a second. I wanna admire it for a minute."

Zisel and Cassia shared a decent chuckle as Klavdiya stared at the fluid within the glass vessel they'd been blessed with, every bubble rising to the surface within an entity to capture her fascination, which wasn't even entirely staged. It truly was a sight to behold, a promise of stamina, health and longevity.

What about that combination didn't command admiration?

When she finally removed the lid, she savoured her half of the contents slowly, a cool rush of relief passing over her as soon as Klavdiya started to drink, the knowledge that she'd finally received that wondrous flavour for herself cutting away a tremendous degree of Cassia's immediate concerns. 

They would be straight back to searching the next day, as those who went without would forever be in need, but they'd bought themselves some time.

Time. If they could just pass enough time...