S a l e t é I I

XX - Dents - Dix

"See? You have to look for the good spots, because there's always going to be one. Sometimes you might have to make it yourself, but it'll be there."

Uliana had managed to scale a sizeable chunk of one of the largest mounds of garbage in the corner of the junkyard they had chosen to scour through, the presence of what must have been some sort of old washing or drying unit helping her along, its top serving as a platform. Describing the piles of junk as "mounds" might have been a bit of an understatement - to Cassia, they were more like hills, forming a rolling landscape of shifting debris, filth and curiosity all at once.

With some help, whilst listening to Uliana's advice, Cassia had been able to get up to the same point as her. There, her concerns over getting messy were more short lived than ever, considering that she wasn't exactly in a presentable state to begin with, though she'd remained mindful of getting caught or stuck on anything. 

Old sections of small pipes, broken, gnarled bits of disembowelled electronics, lumps of what might have been old buildings in the form of damaged beams and smashed masonry... She would have guessed that the heap they were currently exploring had originated from a construction site somewhere.

With their newfound elevation, both girls began to search through their immediate surroundings, Monet looking up at them from below.

"Be careful."

"I always am!" Uliana called back, though she didn't raise her voice too much.

They'd taken the time to seek out a more secluded corner of the yard before they'd begun their search for anything remotely useful, settling on a relatively darkened area, only one makeshift lamp providing a fairly dim glow to aid them in their task. Many other people had been present back towards the entrances - bands of friends, strangers who'd come together to aid one another, the occasional pair or family-oriented team - and Cassia had no qualms with calling them a community. 

Sifting through the junk discarded by the better off households and organisations somewhere above them... What a joyous occasion. Fun for the whole family.

Sarcasm aside, Cassia could see why Uliana's more adventurous side rose up during their visits to the place. There might have been a great deal of useless rubbish amongst everything that they were now surrounded by, but the prospect of potentially finding something good - something helpful - was enough to get her own inquisitive side up. There was only one, familiar problem.

"What exactly should I be looking for?" Cassia asked. Most of the leftover scraps piled up around them would probably have been useful to someone somewhere. 

If only they could shift a building site's worth of things... 

"Circuit boards, plugs, wires, switches... Many components can hold surprising value." Monet replied as she continued her own search below. Cassie was able to see that she'd already collected a bundle of old wiring, which she'd set to one side for the time being.

"Yep. There're folks around here who recycle all that sort of junk. Either that, or they pass it on to people who can." Uliana added.

"Correct. Copper, other alloys... Possibly even gold."

Cassie would have guessed that recycling would have been the focus here, as no one was going to be using any of the junk directly, considering that it really was just trash now. Either way, she was glad for the input.

"Found anything?" Cassie asked Uliana, keen for an update as she continued her own search.

"Yeah. A half eaten banana, makeup wipes and uh... Whatever this is. It kind of looks like a busted phone case."