S a l e t é I I

XX - Dents - Trois

After putting away whatever their trip had yielded in terms of useful items, Monet did stay with the other girls for a while as they explained what their latest venture into Lower Merveille had presented them with, appearing largely unmoved. Whilst this was a demeanour that she typically possessed much of the time, the fact that it hadn't changed in any way following their outing suggested to Cassia that nothing especially noteworthy had occurred or been witnessed.

The shadows of the warehouse had grown familiar, the way that they shifted and altered with the presence of the fire even more so. Sitting with the others amidst the smoky air, the embers rising up towards the ceiling only briefly before they were lost to a darkness that no longer felt overbearing, had become such a strangely calm past time for her. The building might have been far from splendid, but it really did feel as if it belonged to them - or rather, to the girls she was with, anyway. She was merely staying there, and she would never be a true part of the setting due to her ties to the city above.

Monet's lack of even the slightest urgency was one thing, but Uliana's similar variety of disinterest was another, only serving to further Cassia's suspicions that the excursion hadn't revealed much of note. They'd started from the beginning, recounting the few details that had already been spoken of, Uliana doing the talking to start with.

"So there's these buildings, and one's bigger than the others. Nothing really smart or fancy or anything like that, but you can tell they're new, and they don't look anywhere near as cheap as the stuff you normally get around here." She'd explained, prompting Klavdiya to join in.

"Yeah, they actually look like they were made by real builders with actual things to use. Proper walls, windows, this big set of doors..."

Cassia wouldn't have considered doors, walls and windows to be fixtures of note when discussing buildings. Considering many of the structures she'd already seen during her limited glimpses of the housing district, however... 

"All these people were turning up to look around. We didn't see the Brisbois guy, but there were these other guys in nicer clothes who were sort of showing folks the new stuff." Uliana had continued, this time earning some input from Monet.

"Brisbois is probably out doing what we saw him doing yesterday, spreading the news to other areas and residents."

"Can't he just get a bunch of people to do that for him? It'd save a lot of time." Klavdiya suggested, the older girl answering without hesitation. 

"If he's willing to venture out personally for that sort of task, then he must be invested in whatever it is he's establishing. Spreading rumours or news is easy. Making appearances like his takes more effort."

"Do you think he really cares then? About Lower Merveille, and making everything better?" Cassia asked her, taking her opportunity, the teenager not replying immediately this time. Instead, Uliana gave a response of her own to the query.

"We didn't really see a whole lot. Like, I couldn't tell what they were doing there. Maybe they're making things, maybe they're mending gear, I dunno. It kind of looked is if they weren't open."

"Mhm. It might still be early for them, so they probably don't have everything ready to go yet." Klavdiya said.

"Or maybe they're still looking for people to work with them? You said that people were looking around, maybe they're the ones who could get jobs there?" Zisel replied, and it was a notion that everyone saw sense in, including Monet.

"It seemed that way. If he really is offering honest work, then there are many who will wish to visit." The girl in red stated.

"Are jobs and things really that rare...? There must be other people you can work for down here?" Cassia asked, the idea of no alternatives not sitting very well with her.