It was awkward for him too, but he just had to do it. Felt like the thing to do. He glances back at the kid and rumble at him, a low neutral sounding lion sound. Hard not to notice the kid stiffening, and fair enough, because if a stranger did that to him he'd do the same thing, likely.

"Rr. You put kids in the hospital. All that talk about adults bein' assholes, I thought they were the reason you're... I dunno. Sad? Grief? Angry? Doesn't have to be physical. Worse is when they don't lay a hand on you and cause you to be miserable." He can relate, and the hand is still on his shoulder.

He stands on all fours, making a chuffing noise. "Climb on. It'll be faster that way. An' I'm Shadow."