S a l e t é I I

XX - Dents - Douze

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure we've got a couple of bottles. Spears is always bringing a few back, and I think that Swoopy might have gotten a hold of one the other day whilst she was out with Captain. I'll take a look in a minute."

Knowing that Chief would be able to alleviate a degree of their burden was an instant source of relief, and he appeared somewhat pleased to be able to give the girls such news.

"You can take your pick of our findings in return, of course." Monet informed him, only this time he was immediately dismissive of such a notion, waving it away with one hand.

"Don't worry about that. It's on the house."

"Are you sure?"

Monet sounded genuinely surprised, albeit pleasantly so, such a shift in her voice definitely a rather strange one - simply because Cassia hadn't really heard it before. 

That said, it was one that she wouldn't have minded hearing more often.

"You can't exactly get back on track if I take your stuff today, can you? Besides, you're our friends."

"Yeah, and friends look out for each other!" Sleeves declared with vigour upon hearing Chief's words. 

"We'll take all the old electronic junk if you want too, Spears could probably run it over on his next trip." The boy continued, leading to Cassia's next question.

"Run it over...?"

"Mmm. Some scrap dealers can usually be found to the west of the Red District. The trouble is, getting there could be problematic, considering that we are Jouets." Monet explained for her.

A fair point. Weren't Sabre supposed to be more active in that corner of the underground? Or, no, active was the wrong term. Perhaps present was better in this case?

"It's kind of you to make such an offer. I hope that you'll take a share of your own from it all." Monet said, turning her attention back to Chief now, a slight firmness returning to her voice, the kind that suggested she wasn't about to take any sort of refusal.

"Alright, fair enough. We'll both gain from it."

With the arrangement decided upon, all that was left to do now was to drop off their haul in the room that the children used as their own storage cupboard. Such a space supposedly existed on the third floor, across from the larger room that had once served as a dormitory of sorts for the factory's employees. Anything that anyone living under the factory roof brought back after an outing would be taken to their storeroom, whether it was something they could use directly or not, where the other residents could then browse and make decisions upon the various discoveries.

"I'll take the bags up!" Sleeves said, volunteering herself for the task as soon as it arose, although Monet spoke up.

"You've already done enough for us, little one. Cassia, will you go with Chief? Empty our bags of scrap, then bring them back."

"Right."

Cassia soon had two of the backpacks on hand - one over each shoulder - whilst Chief himself took up the third before he began to lead the way, guiding her out of the candlelit circle that she found so oddly fair amidst the grit and stained metal of the foundry floor. The darkness, whilst strong, was unable to take hold in many areas across the floors of the building thanks to the other candles that had been strategically placed, their tiny flames forming small pools of light at irregular, yet effective intervals.

Sleeves was already asking Monet and Uliana questions as Sweets continued to listen patiently, their voices breaking what would have been an otherwise near silence, each one distinct. Monet's calm tone, Sleeves with her usual energy, Uliana with a slightly playful note... The same muffled words that Cassie had heard earlier - coming from high above - continued now, although she still couldn't make out anything of any real meaning yet. The idea that there were others present was enough for her, the large structure feeling far less empty even if she had yet to see who remained on the third floor.