Ava rejoined Marcellus who had been standing watch. The wolf crossed his arms. “Do you think it’s wise to allow kids in our hideout?”

“Our hideout?” Ava asked teasingly.

“You know what I mean,” Marcellus said, rolling his eyes as they continued walking.

Ava let out a soft chuckle and caught up with Marcellus. “It’s alright. There are rooms behind the storage room that no one uses since everyone sleeps in the bunker. They can use those until they feel better.”

Seeing his longtime friend turned rebel be so motherly stirred a strange array of feelings in Marcellus – none of which he could not identify. He wondered at that and at her. The weight of his maul on his back felt as though it was growing. It was as though his weapon was reminding him who and what he truly was. Whatever those feelings were they passed. An ever slight shake of his head cleared the rest of mind. The mission was all that mattered – the mission and moving on. He had his own business he had to take care of.

“Marcellus?” Ava asked.

He turned to see Ava looking at him with an unreadable expression. “What is it?”

She quickly shook her head. “It’s nothing.” A smile played at her lips. There was something off about it though. Her eyes did not seem to match the expression.

A few minutes passed by in silence as they wound their way through the heaps of junk that passed as walls. Eventually more and more people could be seen in the streets. Storekeepers with their neon shop signs ablaze and flickering tended to the night’s customers as vendors in the streets competed for their business. It was cacophonous and droned on like the hum of a large bee hive. Marcellus figured this was the part of town that never slept.

“This is the Promenade,” Ava explained.

The wolf looked around. People were selling questionable food, questionably obtained goods, and in the corner of his eye a few girls were selling questionable services. He was not impressed. “Awfully fancy name for a place like… this.” The pause made his discontent evident. Marcellus was no stranger to sights such as these. His comrades in the military did not shy away from such locale. However, he was not in any way a fan of them. “I suppose upstairs isn’t the only place that is gilded in false gold.”

Ava nodded, “that’s one way to put it.”

A whistle could be heard in the distance. Marcellus looked to Ava in question.

She shook her head. “Factory whistle,” Ava clarified. “This place is about to get a little more crowded.”

Marcellus checked the time again and saw how late it was already. He supposed with living conditions such as these that Caelum did not care much for the working conditions as well. He did not recall seeing other cities throughout the empire with such poor living conditions. He wondered in passing why Urbium had it the worst.

“Hey! Hey, Ava!” Came a high and rather flamboyant voice somewhere off to their left. “Dearie, it’s been a while.”