She did make it herself, and this is the third or fourth model, the last one having been lost in the wheels of the Gigahorse. Better materials might yield a better end result, but she doesn't much care what it looks like. Just whether she can use it to get her work done.

She gives a bitter little chuckle at the commentary. "Noticed that, but I don't want a haven, strategic or not."

They are going to make a new Green Place, and she's bound herself to help, for as long as she lives. "Not unless it's the one I've been trying to help build. But I'll take seeds if I can get them, and it's good to know there's clean water here."

On that note, she leaves his side and pulls a canteen off her belt, diverting course to have a look at a shallow little stream. And crouching, she stares into the water, dips up a capful, and then stares again. "...are those fish??"

In point of fact, they're tadpoles, but she's had little occasion to see either, since very early childhood.