S a l e t é I I

XXI - Estomac - Quatre

The days had always felt ever so long in the underground, and they only ever seemed to be growing longer still. Cassia found herself beginning to sympathise with Uliana more and more, each hour within the confines of the warehouse starting to wear down her senses further and further, the dark and drab colours of the forgotten walls and floors all blending together in a murky industrial vision, the stone and metal that the building consisted of dulling her sight. 

It felt more like they were living in one perpetual night, the conclusion of a single day that never actually ended. The absence of the sun had been strange from the first moment, and now it really was starting to play tricks on her.

The day after Monet had visited the factory children for the follow up meeting, the group once again went halves with the bottles of Honey that they had managed to acquire, their drinking session ending only with a fresh wave of concern. They were back in the same worrying situation, in need of more bottles for the days ahead, their objective unchanged. 

Zisel had hesitated as she'd accepted the bottle she was to share with Taya, that pause one that Monet very quickly took notice of. 

"Zisel." 

"Sorry..." 

She began to drink her half. 

The look that Monet had given her had clearly been wrought from care, as firm as her voice had been. Judging by Zisel's reaction, Cassia had the impression that it was a look she'd earned before. 

Seeing Taya accept her half with a far more content vibe about her offset any tension, at least. 

Cassia herself was chosen to accompany Monet that day, along with Uliana. She wasn't too worried about the trip ahead and the prospects that it entailed, not after what the leader had said about the residents of the old street probably having existing stocks of Honey they could use, but she would have been lying if she'd said that she was entirely free of doubt. Thankfully, her old brand of Deering optimism was still serving her, and it was fostered further thanks to the spark that Uliana once again brought with her.

"Do you think any of the old workers from around here hid anything before they left? You know, just in case they ever ended up coming back?"

"Hid anything? Like what?" Cassia had asked as they went on their way, the sound of their footsteps quietly disturbing the air that hung in the alleyways.

"Valuables, you know. Loot. Treasure!"

"I don't know. Maybe? There has to be something in all of these old places."

"That's unlikely. All of these warehouses would have been combed long ago. I imagine that they're all very similar to ours." Monet said, offering her own less exciting thoughts on the matter. Uliana, naturally, gave what Cassia deemed to be the expected response.

"What, boring and dark, you mean?"

"Consider it a test of your creativity."

"What the heck does that mean?"

"It's dark and boring. Think of ways to make it less boring."

To be fair, that was what they spent most of their days doing . Uliana and Klavdiya had little trouble coming up with games, of course, and their constant bickering matches were in their own league entertainment wise. 

Hearing Monet comment on the boredom factor was rather enlightening though. She should have come downstairs more often and joined in on some of their schemes.

As they set off, Uliana didn't let her earlier scheming go so easily, the girl whispering to Cassie. 

"Seriously though, we need to go treasure hunting."