“Well, this certainly wasn’t what I was expecting,” Svanda said with a bemused expression as she ran a finger along the concrete wall of their new accommodation. “It’s a little… cold, don’t you think?”

“I like it,” Nina replied as she looked out across the living area, her eyes glancing at the sky which she could see through the large windows at the far end. “It’s modern.”

“Like it or not, you’re stuck with it,” Reina said as she walked towards a second set of stairs after taking a quick glimpse around the space. “Bedrooms are downstairs, so sort out your arrangements and meet me back here in ten.”

The group’s arrival at the main settlement of Moonglass Isle had been somewhat uneventful. A single street was lined on each side by a collection of both old and new buildings built from timber and concrete, while only a few people loitered around outside in the midday heat. The couple of people that they did come across simply nodded and went back to whatever business they were preoccupied with, so thankfully Reina knew where they were headed. Questions could come later, probably once they had settled in and had taken time to learn a little more about where exactly they had ended up.

In what seemed to be a common trend on the island, the accommodation that Reina had organized was underneath the row of shops that sat close to the edge of the cliff. Clean straight lines of polished concrete dominated the interior, and most of the walls, floors, and ceilings were bare. Like the landing station where Joolah had winched them up it felt utilitarian, although Nina couldn’t help but be impressed by the modern feel. Someone from Luem might not see the charm in such a style, but the small features of dark wood and steel that were tastefully dotted around the place told her that there was more to the picture than just practicality.

It was quiet at the bottom of the next set of stairs as they ventured further into the rock, Reina’s footsteps puncturing the silence as she was the first to make her way down the curving concrete hall. There were four doors for four bedrooms, and Nina quickly realised that the jostle for position when they had all followed her down was intentional. Reina was closely followed by Svanda and Trim, while Jade and Aline had been more than happy to wait around for everyone else so that they could bring up the rear. The result was that Reina took her own room as usual, while Svanda, Trim, Jade, and Aline paired up and took the second and fourth rooms.

Nina, it seemed, would be sharing a room with Saela. It wasn’t the end of the world, but she would have preferred to share a room with literally anyone else in the group if given the choice. The fact that she was quiet and kept to herself was the only positive thing she could think of, although she also had a sneaking suspicion that the periods of silence would feel awkward to her. One way or another she would find out, so instead of dwelling on it she simply pushed open the door and stepped inside to see that room was much like the rest of the place. The neat rectangle of space which was encased in concrete featured a thin bed on each side of the room with immaculate white sheets, while matching bedsides and wardrobes were the only other feature besides the round window in the far wall. It was plain, but Nina didn’t particularly mind. If the amount of time Saela usually spent in the bedroom was anything to go by she probably wouldn’t be seeing that much of it anyway.

The girl in question appeared behind her, stepping around Nina who stood near the door before casually tossing the two bags which she was carrying onto one of the beds, staking her claim. Nina half expected her to leave without a word now that she was done, but instead she flopped down onto the bed before tightening the string around her hood to close it up. It didn’t look particularly comfortable, bending around a bag and lying over the covers while fully clothed, but Nina knew that there wasn’t any value in commenting on it. Conversation with Saela was a delicate thing for her, so it was better to let it slide.

“Yo,” Jade said as she appeared in the door, flashing Nina a smile before she quickly glanced over at Saela. She sighed when Saela turned to face the wall, but her expression quickly brightened as she held up the bag that she was carrying. “Got your stuff, is on the bed alright?”

“Yeah.”

Jade dropped the bag onto the bed before peering out the window to the ocean beyond. “Kinda weird being in the cliff like this, don’t you think? Must have been a pain to build.”

Nina shrugged in response. She wasn’t an engineer, and she didn’t really understand what kind of technology was available here either. Every time she thought that something outside of Caecus was primitive she would manage to find something else ten minutes later that surprised her. Throw wealth into the mix and it would probably be even more surprising too - the technology on the white or purple floors in Luem were something that she probably couldn’t even imagine.

“Oh well,” Jade said as she took a quick glance at Saela before heading for the door. “Ten minutes Saela.”

Saela grunted in response, leaving Jade with a smile on her face before she placed a hand on Nina’s shoulder and nodded towards the hall. Nina certainly wasn’t about to hang around and watch the girl in the corner take a ten-minute snooze, so she accepted Jade’s invitation without a word before joining her in the hall and heading back towards the stairs. The whole stairs thing was something that Nina was slightly annoyed by considering that she would probably be seeing a lot of the two flights, but at the same time it might end up helping her rehabilitation process. What the plan was once she was finished recovering was a different question, but that was something which Reina was probably about to address.

“At least it’s cool in here,” Jade said as she reached the top of the stairs. Nina had to agree, it was certainly one of the perks of living underground if they could escape the heat during the day. She would have thought that natural light would have been the trade-off, but the window which ran along the entire far end of the living area provided plenty of it and a stunning view too. She hazarded a guess that the open living area was of a similar size to the four bedrooms downstairs, sitting on top of them to provide a wall of concrete between them and the busy street above. There was a sleek kitchen of brushed steel with a timber bench, while a large black sofa sat around a squat coffee table made of glass. She did note that there was a complete lack of greenery, although it didn’t bother her. Plants needed to be maintained, and so it probably wasn’t the best idea for temporary accommodation.

“We’re going to need something to eat,” Svanda said after she opened the fridge to check the contents. Lack of contents was probably more correct, and her subsequent search of the cupboards didn’t seem to be any more successful. Trim and Aline had also made their way upstairs already, both seated at the long wooden dining table with a steel plate running through the centre of it, which left only Saela and Reina downstairs. Saela would probably turn up at the last possible minute, while Nina guessed that Reina was collecting her thoughts. This was the first time that they were probably going to be able to relax for a while and she would need to take advantage of the time to not only plan their next move, but also to plan every move between now and their return to Luem. Ormain might have been given the slip for now but dropping to Terminus would kick-start another frantic bout of cat and mouse.

Nina’s thoughts drifted to Caecus. Her home which had initially seemed so far away was now beginning to feel within reach. Had anything changed? Maybe her apartment was still there like nothing had happened, the leftover fruit in the fridge brown from neglect while her television continued to record her favourite show on a nightly basis. It wasn’t like her bank account would have been drained by the automated billing process yet, so there was a chance that she could literally walk back in the door as though nothing had happened. She as a person couldn’t go back as though nothing had happened though, and that was the most important thing in the end. Settling back into any form of daily rhythm wasn’t something that she would ever be able to do again, no matter how much she willed herself to do it. The knowledge that she now had wasn’t something that she could simply push to the back of her mind.

“You alright?” Reina asked as she placed a hand on her shoulder. Nina was still standing at the top of the stairs, and it seemed like she had completely spaced out as she had been lost in thought. She hadn’t even heard Reina climb the stairs behind her, and she hadn’t felt her presence either. Maybe she had a strange expression on her face too, as the rest of the group was staring at her.

“I’m fine,” she replied with a smile before dropping her chin, running a hand through her hair. What would happen when they got to Caecus was something that she would never be able to predict. Reina would have her own plans for Caecus when the time came, and Nina had a sneaking suspicion that she wouldn’t be privy to the entire picture until then.

“Good,” Reina said as she breezed past her, heading for the table before dropping a manila envelope on it. “Let’s get this started then, it’s time I talked everyone through our next few moves.”