S a l e t é I I

XVII - Veines - Quatre

Thankfully, the walk across their end of the underground was a smooth one - or, at least, as smooth as it could be. Monet gave Klavdiya the assistance that she needed in order to get over the fence at the end of the warehouse alleyways that served as their shortcut, that instance marking the only time during the trip that they had needed to slow down to any sort of degree. They didn't encounter any kind of trouble, either along the old storefront roads or down at the old street itself.

If anything, Cassia was surprised that the people of Lower Merveille were as courteous as they were. In a place with entire zones that apparently had no kind of Sabre presence, she wouldn't have been surprised to see a lot more in the way of fights or unkindness. It was something she didn't keep to herself as the three of them were making their way towards the end of the warehouse alleys.

"I've been thinking." She began, her initial remark more than enough to get Klavdiya's attention - the girl glancing back at her for a moment - whilst she was sure that Monet was also listening as she led the way forward.

"People here are actually pretty nice. I mean, mostly, anyway. It feels kind of like everyone kind of has their own laws?"

This comment confirmed her suspicion, as Monet was the one to reply.

"Do you remember that I told you there was a saying, down here? About the people who occupy these districts?"

She could recall something along those lines... Hadn't Monet said that she would hear it sooner or later? Something like that?

"It goes something like this. The people of Lower Merveille are far more likely to be considerate with their manners than the people of Merveille itself." She said, though Cassia sensed there was more to this particular point.

"Why though?"

"Because down here, there's nothing to stop someone from turning your insides into outsides if they don't like you or what you say. Any sort of fight can go from one to one hundred in a matter of seconds, potentially before anyone can step in."

Given how everything worked down here, by what she'd seen, such a line of thought did make sense in Cassia's mind.

"There's always going to be troublemakers, and you'll find more of them as you head further into the districts, but for the most part it is as you say. There is a sort of code between people. A place like the old street wouldn't be able to function without it. "

Those old storefront roads were largely empty again, and Cassia didn't really understand why. Many of the buildings themselves were in a poor state at best, yes, but some of them weren't beyond rescue, and had ground floors that could have been mended to a good, usable extent. Maybe people just gravitated to the old street because it was already there, up and running, free to use? Or maybe people were just saving whatever resources they had for their homes... 

As she thought about it, she came up with more and more possible reasons, to the point that her earlier lack of understanding quickly withered.

The old street was filled with the usual activity, the chatter hanging over the place a welcome relief from the quiet areas that were now behind them. Friends were together, in pairs or groups like normal, but one sight that caught Cassia's attention was what appeared to be a family. A young man and woman, a little girl holding onto the woman's leg as she shyly looked to the stall owner they were talking to.

She thought back to the times she'd gone into Merveille with Adeline, and of the times she'd been shy about practically everything. Did Adeline think about those times too? She was probably still worrying... Everyone was probably worrying.