S a l e t é I I

XV - Côtes - Un

The trading posts spanning the length of the old street that day had nothing in the way of paper or stationery, leading Cassia to believe that such things were actually quite rare in Lower Merveille. Whilst she'd not really been searching for too long overall, her lack of success in finding what she sought so far had begun to engrave small doubts within her mind - the sort of doubts that would only grow larger with each subsequent failure.

Slowly building. Steadily rising. Creeping in.

Most of the stalls were dealing in either food or scrap, whearas one was offering what looked like little pots of medicine, the supply on the limited side, mainly because this was the one attracting more attention than any of the others. As they passed by, a woman was arguing with the man running it, both of them exchanging rather colourful examples of vocabulary.

One thing that still struck Cassia was just how unnoticed they were, as a trio. Three kids, together on the street, not exactly in the best of states...

Was it because they were Jouets? Or was it because people simply had too much going on in their own lives? Quite a few folks looked as if they weren't doing as well as even they were.

"Sorry Cassia." Uliana said once they reached the end of the stretch they would be covering.

"It's okay, it's not your fault. We can check again on the way back, can't we? There might be new people then."

"Maybe one or two. I guess it's worth a shot." Uliana replied, appearing more contemplative.

It was Monet's voice that broke up their little exchange.

"We still haven't arrived at the factory. A second visit may not be required, if you're lucky."

It was a good point, and Cassia forced down any defeatist attitudes as she prepared to follow again. Holding onto the straps of her backpack, Cassia accompanied her as she began to lead them up a smaller road, this one running alongside one of the factory's perimeter walls.

Whilst that wall was to their left as they followed the path, to their right, and on the other side of the street, was the edge of the housing district.

The housing district...? That was what Cassia wanted to call it. Did it have a proper name?

"Hey, Monet?"

Monet looked back slightly, such a gesture revealing that she was listening.

"All of these buildings... What do you call them? I mean, the whole place, where they all are. The district." Cassia asked, deciding to just put forward the question, considering how simple it was.

"Different people call it different things. Most would call it home, I suppose. Not everybody down here lives amongst all of it."

"Some people call it a dump." Uliana added, pretty nonchalantly, as she too looked across at some of the structures closest to them.

"Or a slum." Monet added in turn, to which Uliana shrugged.

Now that they were closer, Cassia could make out a few more details. Many of the homes were indeed made out of cheap looking materials, metal and wood being the most common, arranged in serviceable ways, regardless of whether they were attractive - practicality came first. In fact, she suspected that looks barely even came into the equation, if they even did at all.

Some areas or smaller buildings were made out of bulky, grey bricks, the industrial feeling lingering on. Whilst these were quite ugly, they certainly appeared durable, which was sometimes more than could be said for their neighbouring structures; some were leaning slightly to one side, or bits were coming loose in places. Only a few smaller sections on some builds looked as if they were genuinely at risk of falling apart completely, but Cassia would have still been mindful about any degree of wear or tear.