S a l e t é I I

XIX - Épaules - Douze

Whilst the older members of their joint effort spoke amongst themselves as they surveyed things below, Sleeves inevitably grew somewhat bored with waiting for something to happen, and eventually she got talking to Uliana and Cassia about other things in order to pass the time. 

The first subject that she wanted to know more about - one they'd already discussed after Chief had asked about it enroute to the junkyard - was Cassia's letters. She'd already informed them that she'd gotten them both sent off with different people, but she hadn't recounted the exact series of events leading to such an outcome, and it was these that she now filled Sleeves in on.

"Cassie's been a whole lot happier since then, definitely less nervous." Uliana had been saying after Cassia had given her accounts, the girl appreciative of her consideration. Something she'd said caught the attention of their young companion.

"Cassie? Is that your nickname?"

"Oh, yep. My sister and one of our servants made it up for me a long time ago." She gladly explained.

They'd been sat at the table for dinner when it had happened, hadn't they? Roslindis had been the one to mention it first, something along the lines of I keep wanting to call you Cassie. Just the pet name alone instilled her with an ember of joy, almost as if the presence of home was carried in the syllables that it consisted of.

"Hmm..." Sleeves began to mutter, an expression that suggested she was contemplating such a name now coming to her.

"What? Don't you like it...?" Cassia asked, a little uncertain, but the girl quickly replied.

"It's not that, it's nice, I just think you need a nickname for Lower Merveille too." She swiftly explained, keen to dispel any misconceptions.

A Lower Merveille nickname...? What was she talking about? Was she... Oh!

"You mean like the ones you and your friends have?" Cassia asked, her voice perking up again at the thought, a reaction that got a smile out of Sleeves.

"Exactly! It has to be something that fits you really well, something to do with you or how you act."

Cassia became thoughtful herself now as she wondered what might have suited her, leaving Uliana to speak up again as well.

"What about me? You never gave me a nickname." She grumbled, pretending to look miserable, Sleeves becoming dismissive of her complaint.

"You can have one too, just wait a second! I'm still thinking."

The slope at the foot of the fence that they were now sat on wasn't exactly the most comfortable of places to rest as they waited for things to unfold below, but it was much more stable than Cassia had expected. The ground had looked much less firm than the likes of the earth making up the path down to the old street, and such looks had been deceiving, no slipping occurring as soon as they were down there. Monet's assistance might have played a part in that, however.

The crowd near the main entrance to the yard had continued to grow in size, slowly yet surely, and there must have been about a hundred people present. There was still a large amount of space available, which had led to the crowd spreading out to a good degree, meaning that individuals would have had no trouble navigating the area. 

It was too difficult to pick out any Jouets from the crowd due to the distance, the usual tell-tale signs unnoticeable. There must have been at least a few amongst those in attendance, Cassia thought. 

Whilst the majority of the scrap piles and mounds of garbage remained ever present across much of the grounds, Cassia couldn't make out many details - or smell any details - from where they were now waiting, which was probably for the best.