S a l e t é I I

XIV - Mains - Trois

Taking the road at the end of the abandoned upper area rather than the slope took only a few more minutes, just as Monet had said. The path down was like all the others - broken up almost entirely, leaving the sandy, dusty earth below exposed, even if it did remain mostly flat.

Cassia couldn't help but start wondering in that little way of hers again. How many people had travelled this way before? How many vehicles had used that route, in the past? A road didn't end up in such a state through simple age.

The old street awaited below, although Cassia's attention was inevitably drawn to the form of the large, disused factory across the way, barred by walls and the durable metal gate. Did children really live there? Were they hiding away? There must have been plenty of nooks and crannies, and there must have been an alternate way inside if it really was occupied.

That disbelief didn't last long when she considered what her current residence was like.

Warehouses... Factories... Why couldn't there be a few decent, abandoned houses nearby?

As she'd fully expected, the street itself was brimming with activity. She got a fairly decent view of the folks who were already busy below as they descended, once her attention had been diverted from the imposing structure that loomed nearby. Now that the air was filled with voices, and not just playing host to the sounds of work in the areas around them, things felt much livelier, and Cassia's mood was lifted that little bit more.

She made sure to stay close to Monet as she'd been instructed, their group entering the crowds at the foot of the road. The crowds themselves weren't especially large, and there was ample space to actually navigate, as most people gathered together in groups, and getting around wasn't too difficult.

Cassia was soon drawn back to the people around them. Again, like the day before, the vast majority of those present were adults, and she was afraid that three children would stick out because of this. Thankfully, nobody seemed to be paying any attention to them outside of the brief glances they got as they walked by.

Both people and Jouets were present - making such a distinction still felt wrong to Cassia  - and many stalls had already been set up, the same mixture of hasty designs and more established ones underway. Perhaps the condition of a stall was a testament to how long its owner had been working in the area? If not, a front in a better condition at least spoke for the quality of someone's work, or maybe their willingness to put in the effort. She imagined that both prospects would serve to attract customers in different ways.

It made sense at first, but then she remembered that sense had undergone some changes as of late, and she ended up unsure all over again.

One thing she was sure of was her plight, and she remained vigilant, keeping an eye out for anyone or any stall offering any kind of stationery. So far, she'd seen nothing of that sort, but she kept her hopes up - they'd only just gotten down there, after all.

Most of the stalls that day were selling various food items. One was offering bottles of vinegar and bags of what looked like salt, citing that they had value as preservatives. Another was offering honey - actual honey, made by actual bees - though the people there seemed to be getting heated in their bartering. Another front, a little further down, offered metal containers of powdered milk, though these were few in number, whilst one across the road from where they now were was trading in canned food.

For some reason, cans of chilli seemed more prominent than anything.

Every now and then, across these various stalls, a little box, basket or other section would be present at one end, or off to one side, filled with a couple of bottles of the Honey she knew and savoured. Did anyone down here ever get the filtered variety that she'd enjoyed back home? How did one go about filtering Honey, anyway? What was the process?