S a l e t é I I

XX - Dents - Sept

"Can I see it? I won't take it, I promise."

Taya looked more than a little sceptical, eventually extending her palm so that she could show Cassia the bottle cap that had gotten her into a degree of trouble earlier during their trip. It was still shiny in appearance, to the point that it looked as if it was new, suggesting that it had probably come from the depot that was supposedly stationed somewhere on the other side of the districts in their area. 

She still wasn't entirely sure as to how that place even worked. Did you just turn up and receive free things? Or, no, hadn't she been told that you had to offer something in return? If Sabre staff ran the depot, what exactly would they have wanted in exchange for the goods that they had?

It didn't really matter. Not right now, anyway.

Cassia was sat atop one of the containers near the storeroom as she waited with Taya for Monet to return, and she'd taken the chance to talk to the younger girl a bit more. Klavdiya had been the one on guard in their absence, and she'd moved to inform the others of their return, giving them a brief moment alone together.

"Wow. It looks like a good one, doesn't it?" She said to Taya, regarding the cap, the younger girl nodding in response.

"You need lots of good ones. Lots. Lots and lots."

Sitting fairly close to her, Cassia noticed that her hair was still disturbed in the same place as usual - on the left side of her head - and, for a second, she could have sworn that something was caught in it. Before she could take a closer look, however, Uliana emerged from the backroom, her sudden presence prompting Taya to move away slightly, the youngster giving them the space that she often did.

"Cassie! What did you get? Anything good?" The girl asked as soon as she spotted her, immediately heading to her side. Klavdiya reappeared not longer after her, returning from the backroom, Zisel following her, Polina in tow.

"Only three bottles. We might have gotten more, but..."

She fell short of revealing what had happened, as even though Taya didn't seem interested in what she was saying, she was reluctant to potentially lower the opinions that the others had of her in any way. A good part of her was sure that the truth wouldn't have impacted them all that much, but she decided that she would leave it to Monet to bring the matter up, if she would at all.

"We were just unlucky, I guess." She said instead, offering a somewhat apologetic smile.

"That's okay. Can't win them all." Uliana replied, giving a small shrug to dismiss the diminished result, and Cassia was glad that she wasn't downtrodden over the matter.

"Three is better than none." Klavdiya said as she joined them, earning a hefty nod from her companion.

Monet returned shortly after the group had formed outside of the storeroom, descending from the walkway with the key in hand. Soon, they were organising things, a process that didn't take very long, considering their results for the day. Cassia assisted the older girl with getting everything put away whilst Uliana was the one to keep the torch steady, allowing her to take a second to observe their stores. 

Eight bottles, including the three they'd retrieved that day.

Eight bottles... She'd had hers for the day already, along with Monet and Taya, the outgoing party always drinking before they headed out. That left Uliana, Klavdiya and Zisel to have three now, which would leave five for tomorrow. 

They were one short.

It probably wouldn't be too much of an issue, seeing as they would most likely be able to find that extra bottle during the next outing, but then they would be left needing to find even more the day after that... They weren't in any sort of dire situation just yet, and there wasn't any mad rush to contend with, but Cassia was still nervous.