Talking Animal Companion

One of the characters in my fantasy novel is Arlan Blythe, a shapeshifter and spymaster under the employ of a Queen. I need to introduce him a lot earlier than planned, and him spying on and looking after the main character Ria seems like the most logical way to do so, and this just seems like a funny way to go about it.

He’ll be one of three characters we predominantly follow in the first book, with Ria meeting the third, Aidan, as a mob tries to kill him. The question is, does Ria befriend this talking animal before that, or do the two of them come across him afterwards?

  • Before, a duo then a trio
  • After, a random talking animal to round out the group
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