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Considering how tough she was, she didn't know why the mere thought of raising a hand to Zeren or doing something he did not consent made her sick in the pit of her stomach. She fought back the nausea and reassured herself. She might yell at him a couple times, but that would be rare. He'd had a tough life, she assumed with his slavery. It was now up to her to make the rest of his days the best that she could. Well, the best they could be with a Wanderer who constantly gets into trouble.

Her thoughts were interrupted by his random question. With surprise, she looked over at him, but his purple gaze did not meet hers as he was working on cleaning his weapons. She gave a bark of laughter, a sound that was more canine than feline, and coughed. She was not used to laughing.

"Who believes in gods nowadays, honestly? Besides the old crazy folks who are too old to die?" Short answer, no she did not. She sent prayers in the heat of the moment, but she did not expect for them to be heard, let alone answered. "This is a godless world, Zeren. I won't tell you to stop believing in whatever it is you believe, but it won't save you out here." She nodded to his guns, "only cold metal is the answer to many things."

Shavi tipped her hat back and was about to let out another laugh before she registered his words. He spoke like he was one of them. A god. With incredulity and a little fear, she turned to meet his purple eyes with her green. "No-" she began, but was cut short.

The space above them was suddenly filled with bats. Chattering little devils. She shooed them away if they dove too close to her. She wasn't afraid of them, exactly. She just didn't like anything that moved so quickly and had no respect for a little thing called personal space. Once the bats passed through, she cleared her throat and set her eyes on Zeren again.

"How do you know this?"

The black cat wasn't sure what to make of it all. She hadn't known Zeren for very long, but this still surprised her. She didn't know what he was, just that he was different. This just... Blew her mind.

She kept staring at him, trying to keep her breathing even. She was a little panicked. What was she supposed to do with this information? Did he expect her to bow down and worship him, like the gods of the very, very old days? Focus, Shavi, she told herself. He spoke of a war. The Old War? The war that tore the sky? "So...," she squeaked. She had to clear her throat before continuing. "Is it true then? What is said about the gods raking the sky in their anger?"

Pawns in a game. Less than that. That's all they were to these gods? That's all life was to them? The feline bristled as her anger mounted. Fear gave way to fury at their sheer lack of respect for life. People might not be gods or descendants of them, but dammit they still mattered. She was about to stand and do... Something, but his last words floored her.

He worshipped her? But she was nothing. Even to people, even in this "kingdom of man" she was nothing. But she saw sincerity in his purple gaze. And it softened her heart. It melted her hard anger. She smiled softly and put out a paw to touch him. "Thank you, Zeren. I don't know where we'd be without each other."

Damn, so much in so little time. She found out the cooky old myths were in fact true. She discovered her purchase was more valuable than anyone could have imagined. And her acknowledgment of a higher power was restored, but her faith in them was squashed even further. Why put faith in something that would rather you didn't even exist? Her heart ached.

She began to smile, but it crumpled at the edges at his... Joke? She didn't find it that funny, considering how close to the truth it cut. She shook her head and pushed her hat further over her eyes. She was nocturnal by nature, but when travel was safer at night, it became a survival tactic. Time for some sleep.

She eyed the fire from under the brim of the hat and then looked at the creeping edges of "daylight". They were far enough into the cave that they wouldn't burn, but it would still get pretty warm. She could see in the darkness, but she wasn't sure about Zeren. And he might not sleep this time around, what with his cycles he mentioned back at the inn.

As a compromise, she kicked at the fire, extinguishing most of the flame, but left the long-burning embers. That would provide light without overheating the feline. She crossed her arms tighter over her chest and straightened out her legs. "See you in a couple hours, cubus."

Not in her usual nightmare, Shavi found herself in the desert. The sky was bleeding. It dripped onto her arm and burned. She screamed, her throat tore, but nothing came out. She screamed again as more blood fell onto her nude body. Then she heard laughter. Laughter she didn't recognize. She tried running, but the blood was everywhere. It burned her feet, it burned the land. Then the ground went away, and she was in the sky. Surrounded by blood and laughter.

She awoke kicking and crying. Her throat turned scratchy as she screamed in the voice she had back.

Shavi fought off the hands that clamped around her. She pushed the offending force away, eyes still closed and shoved back until a wall stopped her. She put her paws over her ears, trying to drown out the laughter that seemed stuck in her head. And now it was paired with some awful screaming. It wasn't until her throat went hoarse and burned that she realized the screaming came from her own mouth. She shut her jaws, but her lungs still strained to scream, though no noise came out. She'd burned out her throat. The laughter still rang out in her ears though. Tears seeped through her shut eyes. She blinked them open to try and clear them. Then her gaze fell on Zeren and she opened her mouth to scream again.

His white skin appeared streaked with blood. She couldn't tell if this was a part of her nightmare or not anymore. It was all terrifying. The laughter echoed away and she attempted to look at the cubus again. His skin was back to it's healthy pearly sheen. No traces of blood or anything else. And his purple eyes shone with worry. Worry for what? She looked around, afraid there was something in the cave. But there was nothing else, not even the bats. Was it worry for her then? She looked back at him, her eyes asking since her throat could not.