S a l e t é I I

XIX - Épaules - Huit

The old street was once again busier than usual thanks to a gathering that was occurring at the top end of the road for a second time, the sight of it stirring a quiet unrest within Monet as they observed from the peak of the slope. Whilst she appeared perturbed, if only by the lack of clarity surrounding matters, Uliana looked far more inquisitive, no doubt because this was a mystery that she would have liked to solve.

If these figures from the underground region's past really were returning, did that mean they could move freely between Lower Merveille and the rest of the city? The one route that linked the two locations was supposedly the big road that she'd heard of during her initial days below, so that must have meant that anyone with a vehicle could come and go, mustn't it? Why would someone from the city want to actually descend in the first place? What did Lower Merveille even offer nowadays that the rest of the city couldn't?

Thinking of the district in that sense only made it feel like a lonelier place than it already was.

Maybe she could have become a hitchhiker, if things had been easier, and if Sabre weren't ever present gatekeepers of that one road. She still couldn't envision all of the officers being as rude as the two she'd encountered at the station that day, but at the same time she wasn't going to take any chances, both because of that encounter and Monet's many warnings.

"That is kind of weird... Usually, you only see people crowding like that if something bad has happened, like a fight or an accident." Uliana had been saying as they began their descent of the slope, her gaze still mostly drawn to the ruckus below, her words doing little to settle Cassia's mind.

"Accidents...?"

"Yeah, like the time these rocks came down over near the junkyard this one time. It was a while ago now, but one of the houses was - "

"That's enough."

Monet cut her off, her voice firm, and Uliana was visibly unnerved for a few seconds as she feared she had annoyed her in some way. Cassia was mostly glad that such a conversation had been ended before it could really flourish with any further detail, her regret having spiked from the moment she'd heard that rocks were involved. 

Even so, a sliver of her curiosity remained, as morbid as it felt.

They agreed upon the usual meeting spot - the foot of the road that led back up the barren shopping district - before they split up for the day's search. At least, they were supposed to split up; Monet went one way, but Uliana lingered near Cassia, ultimately staying by her side, something that she wasn't about to complain over.

Her items for the day consisted of several things leftover from Zisel's work with the children's clothes. Unneeded materials, or fabric from clothing that could no longer be salvaged, was used to craft basic things like wash cloths and handkerchiefs, whilst she'd also mended a few articles that she considered side projects over time, including a few tops of various sizes. Cassia had been bestowed with one of these, along with the smaller examples of their companion's handiwork, whilst Monet had taken the rest. Uliana had been given a few old tools and things to use with them, including the one found by Taya the previous day, all things that someone was bound to find useful.

"Are we working as a team then?" She asked Uliana when the girl failed to go off on her own, which she sounded wholly unapologetic about.

"Why not? I'm not really the best at this kind of thing when I'm by myself..."

That sounded like the sort of thing she wouldn't have dared to admit, had Klavdiya been with them, and she appreciated her openness on the matter.

"Neither am I. I've never been good with strangers." Cassia admitted in return, doing so without any variety of shame. To her surprise, such a revelation appeared to be news to her friend.