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Before Roland unexpectedly arrived in this world, he considered himself more as a dog person.
Dogs are cheerful and loyal, no matter what size they are. Cats, however, tend to be aloof or just plain mean. This was what he learned when he was a kid after many encounters with alley cats.
For some reason, his son Sean loved cats and always wanted one. Unfortunately, his illness meant that his immune system couldn't handle any possible germs a pet could bring home. But if he ever achieved remission, one of the first things Sean planned to do was get himself a cat. He wouldn't be convinced otherwise so Roland was resigned to tolerating a creature that viewed humans with disdain.
But now that Roland is in this strange new place, he kept his views on cats to himself in order to not offend people. Because of course there would be literal cat people and the first person he met is half-cat.
Despite his previous title as King of Ding Dong Dell, Evan is only a child. The oldest he could be would about eleven. And dare he say it, a kitten. And like a kitten, Evan was old enough to fend for himself but still needed an adult to teach him some things. In this case, he would need some pointers on running a kingdom.
Democracy and absolute monarchy are different enough that Roland could only offer some advice. They'll have to find somebody who is more familiar with this world.
But for now, what Evan needed was someone to protect him as they carefully made their way through the Rolling Hills, only camping among trees in case of wolves finding them late at night.
Tonight they were doing just that. The day in particular was exhausting and it seemed like everything short of Mausinger's goons came after them. A dragon of all things showed up. A dragon!
But now that they were safe, Evan had allowed exhaustion carry him to sleep. He curled up by Roland's side as the older man kept watch.
As the boy king purred in his sleep, Roland felt himself smile.
Perhaps cats aren't so bad after all.