And Vargas did see him. His expression didn’t change; it stayed artfully blank, but his bright green-eyed gaze was locked on the panda as Shen went up on his hind legs, used his nose to open one of the cabinets, and used his paw to knock down a few bamboo roots. He picked one up in his mouth, lumbered over to Stevie’s chair, and with nothing more than a thought, shifted from panda to human. He took the bamboo from his mouth so he could lean down and kiss the top of Stevie’s head. “I’m going up to take a shower. I’ll be down in a few.” “Shen,” Max said, gesturing to their “guest,” “this is Zé.
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