Page 24 of Riv's Sanctuary

This male coming down the path looked nothing like Geblit.

This male looked like he could break her and Geblit in two.

6

The male was big and blue.

As he got closer, Lauren had time to take him in.

He was tall, muscular...she could see his biceps bulging through the simple dark tunic he wore. The tunic hung over his dark trousers, which were tucked neatly into his dirt-encrusted boots.

He was wearing a wide-brimmed hat of some sort with dark glasses covering his eyes. Black hair in partial locs and some loose strands hung over his shoulders, decorated with golden adornments, and over his nostrils and mouth a cloth was tied, like a handkerchief turned into a mask.

One arm hung at his side idly as he approached but the other held a large weapon, a gun of some sort, thrown over his shoulder.

"What the actual fuck?" she breathed. In the corner of her eyes, she could see Geblit glare her way, silently telling her to shut up.

This was the person he wanted to leave her with?

This Riv looked like a bounty hunter—as if one wrong move and she'd be cut down with the weapon slung over his shoulder. The fact she couldn't see his face properly or even his eyes only made the apprehension snake thicken and grow heavy on her spine.

Despite that his shades gave no indication of where he was looking, something told her he was looking her way and she fought the urge to scramble away deeper into the box, as if she had space there.

"Riv." Geblit was speaking, but she couldn't tear her eyes away from the male that was now in their presence.

He was blue all over, it seemed. A cobalt blue that made the bits of visible flesh on his face and arms look inviting to touch.

He came to a stop in front of where the barrier was and she felt, rather than saw, his focus move from the box to Geblit.

"Why are you here? I told you I don't like visitors," he said.

Fun guy, this one. She could already tell.

"This isn't technically a visit. I am merely dropping the human off."

This time, Riv's head turned and she was positive he was looking at the box.

"Human?" The way he said the word, she could practically see his lips curl. "The phek is that?"

"A new species I found at the animal market." When Riv said nothing, his head still turned in the box's direction as if he was trying to see through it, Geblit rushed on. "It is quite tame. It will fit in well with your oogas."

Geblit motioned to the hippo-looking things crazing quietly in the long yellow-orange grass of one of the enclosures.

He thought she would fit in well with those?!

"Looks too small to fit in with an ooga," Riv noted.

Smart man.

There was no way one of those things could even come close to fitting in the box so she was obviously much smaller than they were.

Geblit's eyes darted around for a bit. "I mean in temperament. Very easy to...take care of."

"If it's so easy to take care of, you keep it then." Riv turned as if he was about to leave, and she could almost feel Geblit's anxiety.

"I can't! Cargga doesn't want it at our residence. It will die if I leave it on its own."

No, she wouldn't!