Chapter 16 - Strange hints
Breakfast was a quiet affair as usual. None of the experienced Black Whistles liked to talk much around her and Tanya could understand that. They wouldn't discuss their trade secrets and undoubtedly important plans in front of a newbie like her. Nonetheless did it still sting to be so low in the social hierarchy.
As a result she decided not to bother her co-workers further by dragging them on her, admittedly unnecessary, excursion. Logic dictated that she should remain near her travelling party and take the quickest route up to the surface without any detours, but after years of staying indoors and monotonous training she was itching for some exploring. Maybe that was the repressed "child part" of her being wrestling for control. In the future she would need to repress it harder.
Visiting another delver´s encampment couldn´t hurt, she told herself. It might even give her some valuable insight into what exactly the other children had been up too in the last few years. After that first night at Ido Front she had never seen them again. The risk was there, but her curiosity far outweighed her concern.
Wherever Nanachi was staying couldn't be too far away, right? In case of an emergency she still had her whistle to call for backup.
So she just told her companions that they should rest for a little while longer and recover until she came back in two hours. (Naturally they would need to push themselves harder to make up for the lost time later on.) That was a reasonable timeframe in her opinion for whatever Nanachi wanted to show her. Hopefully they would respect her limited time.
Indeed only a couple of minutes after she had stepped into the undergrowth outside the small clearing and Nanachi seemed to materialize out of thin air. They were still wearing the surprisingly realistic costume from last night. Now in the daylight it looked it more high-quality than at night-time. It was eccentric and impractical, but it demonstrated a wealthy income on Nanachi´s part to be able to afford a fursuit like this.
Oh, now she remembered. In her old world there existed such people as well. How were they called?... Fur-... Furries! Yes ! Was Nanachi one such Furry? Probably. From what Tanya remembered it had been something vaguely frowned upon in her homeland so she wouldn´t pry. If Nanachi wanted to dress this way then so be it. If there was one thing that Tanya could subscribe to then it was the display of individual freedom. (In accordance with the law of course.)
"Good to see you again." she said with a practiced smile.
"Yes. I hadn´t any visitors in a long time. Nyaaa."
"Then let us be off. I have only two hours for everything you wanted me to show."
To her immense relief their destination was indeed not very far away. Both of them knew better than to converse loudly while walking lest they capture the attention of the more unpleasant inhabitants of the Abyss. Now that Tanya thought about it her life was mostly silent. Not that she was complaining.
Her expectations for Nanachi´s hideout had been a number of tents or perhaps a hole in the ground, but she had definitely not anticipated a full house!
It was an unsafe looking construction that resembled mostly like a large green egg. How Nanachi had been able to build a nearly spherical house on stilts was beyond her. Even if it was architecturally quite fascinating it seemed not very efficient. Whatever "rustic charm" this establishment held was easily dwarfed by the simple cleanliness and orderly modernity of Ido Front.
Surely Nanachi wasn´t living in such a rural place?... Like permanently?
Well, Tanya would not question Bondrewd´s orders. If he found it important to erect outposts like this in the wild then she could find no fault in that idea. Although that begged the question why he hadn't told her about such an institution? Surely if his workers maintained safezones in other layers then that would have been valuable information for her to know. A real kitchen and a solid bed were invaluable commodities after all.
Did he want her to be more independent? To not rely on already existing institutions and travel without the metaphorical "support wheels"? Strange, but very thoughtful of him. Bondrewd was intelligent enough to certainly understand that stifling the growth of your subordinates by pampering them would lead to complacency and failure. In that sense she definitely approved of his decision. He truly was a good father.
"So Nanachi, how long have you been stationed up here?"
Why did they look so weird at her? Had she misspoken?
"I... uh... I don´t really know how long - nya - it´s been?... Time is difficult to track... A few years I guess?"
So long? Either upper management had forgotten to promote Nanachi or they had been terrible at whatever their job was.
"It has to be difficult to live here."
Her statement had not been a question, because she already knew the answer. Tanya shuddered at the prospect of losing the achievements of civilization like electricity and flowing water again after being freed from that damned, backwater orphanage.
"Y-Yeah."
Time to make some vague promises and create social bonds. Simply the idea of a promotion would motivate most workers to give it their all and after years of isolation in this sorry place a bit of positive reinforcement would be received well.
"I am sure your good work has not gone unnoticed by Bondrewd. Maybe after I have spoken with him again he will see fit to bring you back to Ido Front. Wouldn´t that be nice?"
Tanya tried to sound empathetic. She really did. But somehow she must have messed up, because Nanachi, instead of relieved and ecstatic, looked horrified. Why were they shaking? Damn! When in doubt retreat!
"Don´t worry. I can´t tell you any specifics when or if you get transferred somewhere else. That is not under my jurisdiction. If you ask management then a journey further upwards could certainly also be possible. Maybe you would want to see the surface again? I can understand that. We all are in good need of a vacation, ey?"
She sadly had no sufficient experience in communication with children if Nanachi´s still mortified expression was anything to go by. Her only moments of non-professionalism were reserved for Bondrewd, because he had made it abundantly clear that he didn't mind the informal tone. Quickly changing the topic Tanya asked:
"Who else does live her with you? Yesterday you told me there were others as well."
"...uh... Mitty. Only Mitty... But she doesn't want any visitors! Nya!"
The last part was unnecessarily forceful, but Tanya would accept it. The atmosphere was already weird enough.
"Well, would you mind showing me a bit of the interior? We didn´t walk all the way only to stare at your house from the outside after all."
"...But not for long! I am very busy you see!"
They were devoted to their work at least. Tanya could respect that. Even Nanachi's lacking social skills could be excuse by her age and her isolation. Having to sit in a damp hut day in and out would drive most people insane which appeared to have already happened here. The poor thing was wearing a bunny costume for crying out loud!
Inside looked as primitive and dirty as she had imagined. No electric lights and no heating. Worst of all the walls and the floor were somehow coated in the same obnoxious moss as outside. Of course she couldn't say all that in the name of politeness.
"I admit I am impressed with what you did with the place. It is quite... picturesque."
Because even though she would have preferred even a broom closet back home to this place, the craftsmanship that had went into building the furniture and decorating the walls was praiseworthy.
She critically examined the contents of the nearest cupboard and found to her surprise a medical journal in Bondrewd´s handwriting. After all these years in his care she knew his signature as well as her own. Her father must have held Nanachi in high regard to give away one of his prized journals. A brief flare of jealousy surged through her chest, but she crushed that unproductive though before it could take root.
When she returned home she would ask him what all of this was about. Nanachi's story got stranger and stranger by the minute.
"Nyaa... Now leave."
How rude. What had she done to offend her host? No wonder that Nanachi hadn´t been promoted with that attitude. Lack of human interaction changed people in the oddest of ways it seemed.
