S a l e t é I I

XV - Côtes - Six

The girl and the boy who'd come down the ladder more or less together were still bickering as they rounded the corner of the machine to Cassia's right, the two of them coming into view as they reached the glow provided by the candles.

"Do you think she brought toys this time?"

"No way, these visits are for important stuff."

"Toys are important..."

"No, they're not. You don't understand this sort of thing, do you?"

"Yes, I do! I'm not dumb!"

"Stop arguing in front of the guests." Chief eventually had to say, the expression on his face a weary one, as if this was a display he'd witnessed more than a few times.

Both of the children acknowledged Monet with welcoming smiles, the girl even giving a quick, imperfect curtsey.

The girl was younger than the boy, probably around eight or so, whilst he looked more like he was around ten. His hair was surprisingly light, of an auburn sort of shade. Whilst it was understandably messy, it also seemed natural for him.

The girl's was cut into the expected chin length style, an ashy blonde in colour, serving as a contrast - it was actually quite neat, as if it had been combed relatively closely, even if it wasn't as clean as it could have been.

The young lady wore a white and pink dress, simple in design, the pink faded and the white dirty. It might have been basic, but Cassia still liked it, finding its small collar charming and the flowery print on its base to be cute. With this dress, she wore a big pair of shoes that didn't match her outfit at all - another case of practicality over style, something else that was perfectly understandable - and they too were past their prime, with the tongue on her left shoe practically hanging off.

The boy wore a black t-shirt, plain and also simple, with sleeves that ended only just after the shoulders. A dash of colour was added in the form of a pale red neck tie of sorts, something that looked as if it could he fastened into a kind of face covering, or a bandana. Scrappy,dark jeans accompanied this, with their fair share of patches, and a pair of his own bulky shoes, both of which were scuffed and bashed.

Almost immediately after they'd acknowledged Monet - and as Cassia had fully anticipated - these two children were drawn to her amidst the humble light. Before they could ask any questions, Chief was again the one to speak up.

"This is Cassia, she's a new member of Monet's bunch. Cassia, this is Shipshape..."

He gestured to the boy first, and he gave a quick salute as he was introduced, a streak of playfulness accompanying the motion. It was sweet, in its own way, though it didn't prevent Cassia's timidity from shooting back up as she introduced herself.

"And this is Sweets."

The girl smiled broadly, a sure-fire childishness rife on her face, the dirt stains almost right at home alongside such an expression.

"She's called Sweets because she eats nothing but sweets, obviously." Shipshape said, such a statement one that Cassia suspected had been designed to irritate, the girl taking the bait.

"No I'm not! I'm called Sweets because I'm sweet! We barely even get proper sweets here!" She protested, but he already looked content in the fact he'd gotten a reaction out of her.

From what Cassia could tell, such back and forth squabbling was friendly enough.

"It's n-nice to meet you." Cassia said, sounding just as timid as she'd expected. She could at least give a decent smile of her own as she addressed the pair.