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Shavi straightened and turned to Zeren at his question. She lifted the few vials in her hand and wiggled them. "Plants. Since the cobra was selling bad wares, I have to collect my own." She spotted another plant that she'd missed, behind the cubi and rushed past him. "It's normally more difficult than this," she said as she bended over to sniff the leaves. Nope, she already had it, but she had the more potent flowers. This shrub wasn't flowering yet, so it was almost useless. Well, currently useless which made it overall useless since she never returned to a place.

She straightened up again and waved her hands to urge Zeren forward. He didn't have to wait for her, otherwise their trip would take much longer. No, if she saw he was ahead of her, she'd run to catch up, ignoring all the bushes around her. It would help to speed things along.

She trotted up to his side, her eyes still scanning, but seeing nothing she didn't already have. It was interesting, this line of life and death. If they walked a hundred feet behind them, there would just be dirt and debris, no life, no plants. But heading deeper and deeper into the treeline, one had to watch their step, lest they trip over a happily growing sapling or bush.

The dark feline hissed as the forest around them began to lighten with the brightening day. She turned green eyes to the sky and lifted her lip in a silent snarl. They'd have to find some place to rest in when the heat of the day began. A building was unlikely, so a cave would have to do. But they would have to hope it was deep enough. A shallow crevice in a hill would not protect them at high noon.

Shavi was distracted by a plant she hadn't seen before in all her travels. She crouched over it, sniffing the leaves, stem, and flowers. She waved Zeren over for him to get an eye on it. But she also wanted to speak to him. "Are you at all able to... Sense people? In general?" They didn't need shelter for at least a couple hours, but it would be good to at least know where they should head off to. Maybe if he could sense people, they could find a safe spot quickly.

The plant intrigued her greatly, and sent her tail twitching in delight. She moved her head in time to a song she played in her mind as she gathered specimens of each part of the plant. She'd have to experiment with it to find out all that it did.

Once her vials were back in their proper places, she straightened up with a nod. Everything would be crowded in the cave, most not so friendly. But that was fine. They had stocked up on weapons and supplies before heading to that inn. And all was before the cobra chased them. She looked back the way they came to make sure they were still alone. Yep, no sign of him or anyone else. Good thing.

"So can you sense any in this area? Creatures or caves?" She wondered if the populace they left would hinder his sight, if he could see that far. She wondered many things about him. Perhaps she'd be able to find out more..

Shavi turned in the direction the cubus pointed. She pulled a couple vials from various pouches and held them in her hands, at the ready. She put the claws of her thumbs at the edges of the caps and began walking in the appointed direction.

She didn't feel a need to count any actual steps, she figured she'd see whatever it was. She idly wondered how many a "large concentration" meant.

"Make sure you're at the ready," she said to Zeren, unaware of what type of fauna would be inhabiting the place. She hoped it was a deep cave. She hoped many things, but it would be a matter of time before any of it came to be.

The hot sun baked her back as they approached the cave. The vials slid around in her palms as the sweat began to bead. It wasn't near to noon, but it was already hot. Noon time would be sweltering. May as well get it over with.

She stepped into the cave and sniffed. Nothing too bad. Must've been deeper. Her green eyes shone as she peered in the darkness. The vials squeaked as she tightened her grip. Just in case.

No movement and very little smell. Perfect.

She straightened and sighed. She pocketed one of the vials and left the other clenched in her paw. "Good. Nothing so far, might be further in. Which is fine." She walked in further and something flew by her head. She flinched and whirled around, but when nothing jumped out she assumed it was a bird or some such. Probably shouldn't get too comfy if that was going to be happening more often.

She continued to walk, expecting Zeren to follow, deeper into the cave until the sun could no longer be seen. Her feline sight allowed her to see in the dark, so she set her things down against the wall of the cave. She took off her coat and rummaged through her bag for something to start a fire.

A piece of jerky hung from her lips as she set to work.

As she prodded the flames, she lifted a brow at Zeren as he watched her. The jerky was halfway gone. Another rustle through the bag and she produced an apple which she tossed in his direction. He was strangely quiet. This whole "ownership" thing was strange.

"I, uh, appreciate the help. For all this. You know, the cobra and this cave." She poked the fire again. It wasn't very damp in the cave. What with the heatwaves. She still hadn't pocketed the last vial. She held it with her last two digits as she tore a chunk from the jerky.

She tucked the rest of the dried meat away. In the dimness of the cave, it wasn't that tough to find her jacket. The feline rolled it up and placed it against the wall to lean against. She turned to the cubus and watched him in the dancing flamelight.

She could feel her face heat up in a blush. She thanked whatever there was left of the gods for her dark fur that hid it. It wasn't like she hadn't thought of him that way at least once. Especially the first time she saw him. But everyone was entitled to their own form of living. Some didn't get that chance, but entitlement didn't always play out.

Shavi stared into the fire and shifted her feet in her boots. She folded her legs and crossed her arms. Had she really changed him so much by treating him like a person? Well, she'd even changed since meeting him in that building of slavery. She spoke more, her emotions ranged further than "stoic", and she cared for someone other than herself. That was certainly new.

Her green eyes flashed gold as the flames danced in them. Damn, her thoughts were just as active this mornin'. "You've spoken about your previous master here and there, but not at length. Are you happy with me?"