Bombastic pt 20

Serena rested her cheek on her knees, watching him eat. “We can pretend we’re camping,” she said happily. “I’ve seen pictures of camping.”

“Camping? Don't you at least need a tent?” Vas asked. “Honestly I have never been on away missions but I know how to put one together. There are lots of different types too.”

Serena pointed to a striped awning hanging over a shop with dead ducks hanging in the window. “We could use that t’make a tent,” she said with a nod.

“I think they might miss it. Why don't we look for something that won't be missed while we scope out a safe place to sleep? All we need is something rope like and a big ol blanket and I can make us a pup tent.” Vas offered.

“In… the… city?” Serena asked. “We can do that?”

“Make a pup tent? Why not?” Vas asked with a curious tilt of his head.

“I dunno, maybe in an alley, or…” she rubbed the back of her neck. “I wish we could be at the tip top of a big building.”

Vas looked up tilting his head a bit like a cat calculating a jump. “We can make that happen.” He said confidently. “We get up along the fire escape and it would be easy to get to the top.”

“An’ I bet we can see Tarter Sauce from there!” she exclaimed.

“Maybe, I doubt it cuz the city is huge but it's worth a try. Before we should look for at least a blanket I think might be safe to sleep up there if we find a good nook.” Vas suggested.

“Would a rug do?” Serena asked, pointing to a fire escape where someone was airing a large area rug. “Or does it gotta be a blanket?”

“Rugs are stiff and heavy, it'll be hard to carry …” Vas said, peering at some boxes next to the dumpster. “... People throw away a lot of stuff.” He said, looking through the contents.

Serena poked around as well, looking for interesting treasure to show to… well, anyone left. “Just a buncha books,” she said, casting them aside.

Vas would have more interest but they had more important needs they needed to meet. He dug out a long frayed extension cord. He could work with that! He wrapped his prize around his arm for now so he could keep looking for anything else useful and he moved on cracking open another box.

Serena thumbed through a brightly colored brochure, then opened another box hoping for a blanket…. or crayons. All her stuff was left back home. “Dibs if you find crayons or markers,” she told him, trying on a pair of sunglasses that were missing a lens.

“Nothing good so far …” Vas reported. As he tor open a garbage bag that looked like it had soft stuff in it. “ … oh clothes … might get lucky with a blanket after all.” He brightened digging around the bag.

“Is there anything pink?” Serena asked, hopefully, trying to see around him.

Vas nodded, pulling out a cotton candy pink hoodie with an anime unicorn and rainbow in front. “It's pink.” He shrugged, he kind of understood why it was tossed and looked like it was worn all of once.

“It’s amazing!” Serena squeaked, shaking it out before pulling it over her head excitedly. “It’s my favoritest kind of pink!”

Vas opened his mouth to say something but Serena's reaction shut him up. “You deserve to be happy. There's another bag over there. Why don't you look through that while I finish this one up?”

“Like a hellhound!” Serena said, skipping over to the trashbag. Among other things, the bag had a red nylon sleeping bag with a broken zipper, that looked worse for wear. “oooooh! How’s this?” She called, holding it up.

“Yea that's a keeper! See if you can air out …” Vas suggested. “Ohh look …” Vas pulled out a few tightly rolled up fleece blankets. They weren't terribly big, they were kind of thin and had a hole in it. But they were brightly colored and patterned and they weren't in a position to be picky. “...this can work for us too.”

“Okay!” Serena said, still not sure how they’d make a tent, but Vas knew a lotta stuff!

Vas perked to economize their space by putting their blankets inside the sleeping bag and rolling as tight as he could and used his extension cord to tie it, even making a convenient handle to hold it all. “So … still set on going up?” Vas said with a tick on his head.

“Probably less rats up high,” Serena said, nodding to the wriggling mass in the dumpster.

“That's fair.” Vas nodded and motioned for her to follow while he looked for fire escapes they could use to climb. “How about that one? It's right next to the dumpster and should be easy enough to climb up if we're quiet.”

“I’m not real good at being quiet,” she warned him. “But I’ll give it my best shot. That looks like a great building!”

“Just don't wake no one up else they might get wise and we'll get kicked out.” Vas said, boosting the girl up to the dumpster.

“I’ll try!” Serena said, then covered her mouth. “I’ll try,” she whispered, looking from the dumpster to the ladder.