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In her haste to pack things up and leave, Shavi hadn't paid the dog. He cleared his throat and she whirled around to glare at him. His ears flattened and his eyes grew wide. "I-I just need payment?" The cat scoffed and shook her head. "Consider it reimbursement for not beating your a** when you insulted my friend." She tossed him a few coins anyway, which he flinched at. Even he needed something, she knew. They all needed something. Plus, she didn't want to be in trouble for stealing.

Not much law around, but thieves were punished hard. Battery and violence was looked down upon, but not persecuted; however, steal something, and you're taking away life. Things that may have been common in the old days were now prized. And now, unlike the old days, theft could be punishable by death. She'd rather keep her life. That's why she needed more s**t.

She ignored the canine's whimpering and walked out of the shop. Time to find a potion shop. Herbs were hard to come by in a place like this, but there were unnatural things that could hurt too. Fortunately for them, she spotted one next to an inn. A rather dingy inn, but she'd never slept in one, so it must be better than a dead tree or a rock in the middle of a chemical swamp. She was pretty sure anything was better than that.

She'd rather send Zeren to the inn and have him buy them a room, but he wanted to tag along. She didn't like for people to know what made up the liquids and powders in her vials. Made it easier for her to attack. The booth was out in the open, to the left of the inn. It was a little stand, but she could see that it spread into a much larger area behind it. The booth was small because all of the wares were on display in vials. Easier to see each ingredient and was also efficient in the way of space.

The cobra behind the booth simply smiled as his tongue flickered. He probably already knew what she had on her, so all she did was point out vials. Some icy blue goo that helped with healing. Lots of bright green powders. An orange powder. A red liquid. And a chunk of black rock. "Jars," she said, implying she didn't want the tiny vials, but jars of the substances she pointed out. "And a mortar and pestle." May as well have one of her own, instead of hoping for a few perfectly shaped rocks that never showed up when she needed them. The snake smiled bigger, kinda creepy, and moved away to gather her things.

Shavi turned around to face Zeren. She watched him as he appeared thoughtful. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the cobra before speaking to the cubus. "What about these things? Most of them are unnatural, but is there anything I should worry about," she murmured, almost inaudible. Most things she used were harmful to the people she attacked, but that was physical contact, not simple exposure. She didn't want tumors from playing around with dust.

The cat cursed savagely under her breath. She took another look around, and glanced behind her. The snake was nowhere to be seen, probably having himself some fun with more of her purchases. ******** people. She grabbed his hand, for the upteenth time in one day, and pulled him towards the inn. She uttered a small, hopeless prayer that they weren't seen by the cobra. With him being so close, she didn't want him knowing where they were staying. It might've been obvious that they were in the inn next door, but since she didn't even pay yet, he wouldn't be after them. Too bad, she really wanted a mortar and pestle; yet, he could've easily dusted that with something unsavory.

She bought a room quickly, ignored the silence that fell upon the crowd sitting idly on chairs and couches at their sudden appearance and hurry, and swiftly dragged the cubus up to their room. She made sure to shut and lock the door behind them, once they located room 304. She leaned against the door when they were safely inside, and heaved a heavy sigh. It was weird, but she was sure that the first number of the room should signify what floor they were on. But the inn was one story. She'd never set foot inside of one, so perhaps she was wrong.

The weary cat sagged to the floor. She drew her knees up to her chest and let her head droop. Her black, wavy hair covered her face as she took a breath. Such an eventful night.

Shavi flinched at the touch to her shoulder. It was soft, but she was a bit shaken. She blinked Zeren into focus and folded back her ears in apology. She stood and, with another sigh, took her coat off and draped it on the back of one of the two chairs in the room. In her mad dash, she didn't pay attention to how much she paid for the room, but it must be pricey. The room had its own bathroom, rare to find indoor plumbing that still worked, but with the door open she saw a tub instead of a shower. Better to soak than feel a spray. Just made her fur crawl. Toilet, sink, mirror, pretty usual things for a bathroom. Their room also had two beds, thankfully, and a table with two chairs. Not much else except a window and a lamp on the table. Not even a bureau or set of drawers. Must not be too pricey then. That was good.

She turned back to the cubus after she surveyed the room. "I'm fine," she said softly. "Thank you for your help." She figured he might be able to help her further after the weird thing with the fruit. And it turns out he did, but now she was without new potions. She turned away and chewed on a claw in thought. She could scavenge, but that wasn't safe in a city where chemicals ran rampant in the uninhabited places. She could get some potent poisons or she could poison herself. Too risky. She'd do better to get out of the city and look around for plants. They were like sponges for chemicals. Maybe that bush Zeren was staring at had some properties to it. She'd have to wait until the heat subsided though. Night time would be good. "Do you sleep?"

Shavi nodded. They'd both sleep the day away then, so at night they'd go looking for plants. She needed to refill her vials before leaving the city. She wanted to get out as soon as possible but the damn potions her kept her there. And she was now also conflicted by an odd mantra: "To bathe or not to bathe?" She was very tired and didn't want to bother with bathing, but she didn't want to sleep in an actual bed, something she hadn't done for ages, still filthy.

She chewed another claw to give the first one a rest as she stared at the bathroom. She could let Zeren go first, but then she'd be so tired that the decision wouldn't be made and she'd simply plop into bed and pass out, clothes still on and everything. She spat, frustrated, and walked into the bathroom. "I'll be quick so that I don't use up all the hot water we might or might not have."

Shavi stripped herself quickly as the tub filled up. She was surprised that the inn did indeed have running hot water. No wonder they didn't have bureaus in the rooms, the hot water was expensive enough. She scanned the little bottles of soaps and lifted a lip. They were all scented. She didn't want to smell all frilly. Made the tomcats run all the faster to woo and then get their asses kicked. But there was no other choice. Resigned to her perfumed fate, she grabbed a tiny bottle and slipped into the water.

She exhaled sharply, a hiss, at the warmth of the water. It steamed and soaked deep into her fur. She lowered herself completely and even dunked her head under. If there was a god, he certainly made this bath just for her. It felt sooooo good. She could sleep right in the tub. She even felt her eyelids droop, but she snapped them open when her nose slipped beneath the surface. It would suck if she had to be discovered by the cubus; naked, drowned, and all wet. That would suck. She shook her head and set to washing.

When she was done, she rinsed, drained the tub, and dried off. Her fur stank of citrus. It was terrible. If it wasn't redundant, she'd roll in the dirt outside. Hopefully it would wear off after some travel with nothing close to a bath but rain. She slipped back into only her undershirt and the black underwear. She looked at herself in the mirror and twisted her mouth in thought. Wasn't too scanty, right? She told the cubus there'd be no sex, and he agreed. She always slept like this when she had shelter. She scrunched her face up again and put on her pants before opening the door. "Your turn."

Shavi flopped herself onto the bed furthest from the window, which happened to also be closer to the bathroom. Her, lazy? No, just tired. And she wasn't a fan of windows on the first floor. Too easy to get into. The curtains were drawn over the window, but she could see at the bottom that it still got brighter and brighter. Not as bright as some of days her great-grandfather spoke about, but brighter than night, and brighter than the room with one lamp. She didn't want to open them though. She rather liked the dimness of the room. Plus, it would get hotter with the curtain open. From the heat of the bath, she needed to cool off.

She crawled on her belly to the top of the blankets and rolled around on the pillows. Felt sooooooo good. They were all cool and soft and amazing! She even let a little purr escape. Her tail swished with her happiness and she buried her head deeper into the plushness. Thank the gods the cubus wasn't in the room to see her. No one needs to see when the kitten side of her breaks out.

The feline lifted her head, eyes wide, and mewed in surprise then clapped her hands over her mouth. She immediately sat up and blew the hair out of face. She righted herself and cleared her throat. "Yes," she said simply before turning away and getting under the covers. She was glad her fur was black because then he couldn't see her blush. She couldn't believe Zeren caught her like that. If she wasn't purring so damn loud, she would have heard the tub drain and him shuffling around, maybe. Dammit. She hoped he didn't comment anymore on it. She didn't know him well enough yet to say whether he would or not. She just hoped he didn't. Prayed he didn't. How could she be so careless. Damn pillows. She pulled the blanket completely over her head and quietly said, "Sleep well."