GAR
Gar stormed out of the cave and through the clearing outside where Aaryn stood, nervous but determined, waiting for him. Gar slapped the paper Rika had written into his chest and Aaryn grabbed it with a low growl, stuffing it into the pocket of his leathers.
They glared at each other, but Gar knew he wasn't really angry at Aaryn. He was angry about losing time with Rika—that the Creator always seemed determined to make him hunt for happiness.
"I'm going to shift, and you're going to ride me to the cave," he said through his teeth.
Aaryn's jaw pushed forward and his face got tight. It was humiliating for a Protector to be carried by someone else's beast. They avoided it in every situation that wasn't an absolute emergency.
"There's no one else here to see," Gar snapped. "And I'm not spending a minute away from her that I don't have to."
