---

The girls descended from the roof hatch. Maeve’s toe claws were actually better suited to this than Veronica’s flat hooves, but she didn’t let on. “I’ve been here before,” she said confidently. “The night cameras are all around the front doors so as long as we stay low and quiet we’ll be fine.”

The two reached the concrete warehouse floor and crouched. Veronica squinted. “And now of course everything’s dark and close so I can’t see.” She pointed. “Maeve, up near the checkstands—um, up that direction, I mean—do you see a sign that says ‘optometry’? Spelled like it sounds. Um, mostly.”

“I do!”

“Perfect! We need to go there.”

Arriving at the optical centre, which thankfully wasn’t locked away from the rest of the store, Veronica found the cardboard box where people could donate unwanted glasses. She opened the lid and began trying pairs on, focusing on her outstretched hand. “No good. Nope. Ehh, sorta? Nope.”

“Veronica, are we stealing?” Maeve asked.

“No, no, these are used glasses, donated free to people who can’t afford them,” Veronica said, putting on a pair of cat’s-eye frames. “Ooh, these’ll work! —Of course I’ve never been to an optometrist—eye doctor, sorry—so I have no idea what my prescription might be, so I had to try them all on and hope for a match—“

She realized that she’d begun to overdo it again. She was so happy to be free of the cave society and eager to share the outside world with Maeve that she kept getting carried away. “Sorry, I’m chattering at you again. No. Little break and entry. No theft. I’ll leave money to pay for your clothes.”

“How do you have money?” Maeve asked.

Veronica’s excitement changed to a cold pit in her stomach. In her relief she’d overlooked the parts of the human world she wasn’t ready to share. “I… I can’t tell you that. Yet. I will, but I can’t right now. There’s a lot I haven’t told you.”

Dammit, she thought. Dammit!