To Saoirse's relief, there was only one time when Katz had yanked non-too-gently on her leash. It was when, while they were touring with a tour guide and six other animals, she had started to look longingly down a dark hall. Perhaps, she had thought, that was where they were keeping the Terriers.

And, as if reading her mind, Katz yanked her back to reality in order to keep suspicion low.

It was only at the end of the tour as the sun set and they were alone did she speak in a hiss. "What are you doing? We have to check if the Terriers are in there!"

Just as she made to unclip the leash, his hand swatted at hers with a sharp sting. Wincing, she glared. He seemed unbothered by her attitude. "They are not. And touch your leash like that again and I'll hang you with it."

Ignoring the threat and the shiver that accompanied it, Saoirse questioned, "And what makes you so sure of that?"

Katz' sharp yellow eyes studied her for another moment before speaking, "There were no guards lurking around doors, or anything else to imply secrets that require protection. Ergo, no Terriers."

Saoirse fell silent as she thought back, recalling each hallway, each section they had seen on every floor. Finally she made a slight face. "I see." He was right.

Katz glanced over at the setting sun. "We need to rest for tonight." He got into the truck. "Come. I know a place." With a skeptical look, Saoirse joined.

The hotel looked old and worn out, dusty even on some surfaces. Saoirse said nothing, but felt the brief longing for her home again, spotless and clean. Exhaustion hit her once more, however, at the sight of the bed. After today, and knowing that tomorrow would require even more energy, she made to lay down.

It should have bothered her that she had to share the bed with Katz, but, again, she was simply too tired to care. The bed wasn't as soft as she wanted, but it was a bed. The sheets had the musty smell to them, clearly aged, but they didn't smell dirty...or feel dirty, for that matter, and that was what mattered.

Just as Saoirse closed her eyes and started to drift off, she felt a light flicker across her back. She shifted, thinking it was her hair. When the light flicker sensation kept up, traveling up to her neck, she turned on her side and looked around. Katz was still in the bathroom - he must have turned the light off since only the bathroom light that snuck through from under the door offered any help in the room.

Saoirse was about to lay down again, hearing Katz brush his teeth and nearly finish with his routine no doubt, when something moved in the corner of her eye. Turning sharply, she let out a toe-curling scream when she saw what was next to her.

It was an oversized dark spider with vivid colors splashed across it's hideous back!

Saoirse's scream didn't stop as she backed up, falling off of the bed as a result. When she looked up while gasping for air, light from the bathroom flooded the room. Luckily the thing wasn't moving towards her, but away from her - towards Katz!

"Watch out!" She managed to shout, nearly choking on her words.

Yet the spider did not attack Katz, not like how she pictured. The man remained standing there, calm and still as a reed, while the thing skittered up his body until it rested on his shoulder. Katz raised a brow at Saoirse's behavior, then looked at the spider, as though it were actually a parrot rather than something straight from the bowels of hell.

"You may get off of the floor now. She presents no danger." He was so calm that it took the fallen human a moment to comprehend his words. He offered something to the spider and watched as it chomped away on it.

Saoirse stood on trembling legs, mind spinning. "Wait, 'she'? That thing was touching me! It was going to eat me!"

Katz rolled his eyes although the edge of his lips twitched into something of a humorous smirk. "Hardly. She," he emphasized the pronoun, "doesn't devour anyone who I do not give my full permission to. She was merely curious as to who you are." Saoirse's jaw hung open as she processed it all. Katz' smirked grew more as he couldn't resist adding, "Careful, or my lovelies may make a nest in your mouth." That made her snap her jaw shut.

"Wait, your...your lovelies?! I don't…"

"This is my hotel - Katz Motel, if you hadn't noticed. It isn't as fully operational as I would hope, partly due to advertisement," Saoirse snorted, "and partly because this is the home of my lovelies." Pause. "Would you like to see them?" There was a sadistic gleam to his eyes.

Saoirse shuddered and shook her head. "No!" She snapped quickly, horrified at the idea. Katz made a soft noise. His 'lovely' on his shoulder skittered down his body - Saoirse yelped and jumped up on the bed. Luckily for both Katz and Saoirse, the spider went to the open window to escape.

Katz rolled his eyes and walked over to the bed. Saoirse, however, refused to lay down after that ordeal. He had left the bathroom light on but shut the door just enough to give mostly darkness to the room. When he got under the covers and closed his eyes, Saoirse kept staring at the window. She refused to sleep, knowing one of those...disgusting 'lovelies' might come in again!

After a few minutes, Katz sighed sharply. "I've already told you, they don't devour those I say not to devour."

"How lucky am I." Saoirse muttered sarcastically.

"You are." Something in his voice made her tear her eyes from the window and to the man next to her. She was startled slightly at how bright his eyes were in the dim light, how piercing they were as they met her own. After a moment like that, he rolled them. "If I close the window, will you go to sleep? I don't like sleeping when someone is hovering over me like that."

All the smart remarks she could have made slipped away at the idea of safety. She nodded and watched as he got out of bed, tail twitching as he went to the window. When it was shut tight, he returned to see that she had laid down obligingly. When Katz had gotten back under the covers, he noticed that Saoirse was asleep.

"Hmph." He made a soft noise at the sight. She must have been more exhausted than she let on - or terribly frightened to have stayed awake so long. With that, Katz smirked and closed his eyes.

The day felt weird to start with. Saoirse wasn't sure why or how, but it just...did. Perhaps she woke on the 'wrong side' of the bed or maybe it was just because she woke up next to Katz in a quasi-filthy motel room. Whatever it was, the feeling didn't leave the pit of her stomach even after breakfast, after they traveled to the city once more.

Katz noticed it too - well, he had taken note of her quiet behavior. It was unusual for her, even he knew that. The drive to their next government-run city was awkward at best. Katz tried to provoke a response out of her, to get her to talk. He would sneer about her simply being a human, question how she slept with the spiders, and so forth.

Saoirse gave half-hearted snaps and scowls, unsure of how to respond past that. She felt like she was in a fog. Something…something was off. Something was…wrong about today.

She knew this, but she didn't know the extent until much, much later.