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“Ok Roden, I’m going to take a stab and say that you aren’t that good at lying. Furthermore I’d say that you can’t even control all of the animal aspects of yourself. Answer each part fully and in order.” Andrew regretted that last part. It sounded harsh and was a direct order, not the asking tone he had hoped for.
As a result Roden only stared at Andrew for a moment, the rage and surprise of his face as clear as Andrews’s water to him, and he wasn’t scared. His mind told him that he should have been though; he was staring down at a cheetah hybrid. It had claws and big teeth that were made for ripping meat, people! And he was just about to freak out when it hit him that Roden needed Andrew. Not only did he need Andrew alive, he needed him in a good mood or he’d be ratted out and surely killed. He doubted the church would welcome Roden.
Andrew would have thought about that for some more time, but then a response from Roden. Slowly and deliberately at first “You got me. I’m a bad liar, not like you with your brother. And no I really don’t have all that much control of my instincts…so you’d do good to watch it, ‘cuz I really don’t care too much for you right now.”
That put Andrew in a good mood. He was finally on the same level with such a stranger; he was beginning to think that he would never be on the same plane as Roden, but here they were looking eye to eye. Andrew even had an edge on Roden, that his instincts played a big part in his thoughts.
It may have been some luck that Andrew noticed but that last line he delivered wasn’t really like his other lines. Before Roden always seemed to be fluent and speak proper, now he almost sounded like some of the other kids that Andrew knew and not like a diplomat. Then a light clicked in his head. That meant that Roden was bluffing before; or at least right now! He was lying about lying! Oh and he almost pulled that off! It was too much to pass up and Andrews pride got the better of him. “Well if you are such a terrible liar, then how can you just change your tone like that; even if your instincts had hated me before you did a great job covering it up then?”
The look on Roden’s face after that was priceless for a fighting Andrew. He looked so defeated; so found out. Even so he was quick to retaliate to Andrew’s attack “Fine then, you caught that. I guess how it looked like Roden really was struggling with himself; his instincts rather. Then Andrew’s observations were stalled by Roden speaking again “So if you are so smart, do you know how we can get back North past the desert? ‘Cuz I do.”
Andrew was puzzled by that. Not by the question, but the wording of it. While it was fresh in the air he questioned Roden. “I’m not looking for that answer; I won’t even ask you why you need to get north; just yet. What I want to know is why you just assumed that I would go north with you!” Andrew was furious now. He didn’t care that he had just yelled when he should have been by himself talking to no one what bothered him was that Roden had even planned for him to go north, back to where ever the hell Roden was living with all of his cheetah hybrids. Even more so Roden was trying to steal away the conversation so that he was in control. Yet above all else; what bothered Andrew the most was that it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk to Roden. “Talking to you is like playing chess. Ever move I make makes it that much harder to do anything.”That stopped the conversation. Both of them sat there in silence for minutes without any plan of either talking. It just stayed like that.
Andrew wanted to talk; Andrew wanted to know so many things about Roden. It didn’t even have to be important things like his home or why he looked like he did. Andrew wanted to know if Roden had a family, if he groomed himself, what his favorite color was; anything about him.
Andrew realized that he still had the meat from dinner with him at his side, so for lack of a better idea he offered it up to Roden. Andrew didn’t think that he was as surprised as he should be, but that didn’t really matter in the whole scheme of things; so they sat there and Andrew watched Roden eat the meat. It was odd, but Andrew could tell that he was satisfied with it, mainly because his tail was sweeping back and forth across his bed making a smoothed out semi-circle of a path. And they remained like that; Roden pleasantly eating and Andrew looking on like a dog for scarps; both enjoying each other’s company for the first time, ever.
Suddenly the peace was shattered as Roden looked up from his cupped left hand that held the pork. Andrew watched as his eyes widened and then Andrew turned on a dime to look straight into Swanson’s beanie. At first Andrew was scared and out of shock tackled Swanson to the wood floor. It was then on the ground that Andrew noticed something strange. When he went to cover his brother’s eyes, he didn’t have to. Swanson was firmly holding the beanie’s edge down below his nose so that it covered his eyes for Andrew. He noticed this and stopped wrestling his brother who had put up almost no fight to begin with.
“Why’d you already have your eyes covered?”
“Because he still Uncle Kyle if I don’t see him.”
“Don’t be a dip shit Swan, I saw you drawing him!”
“Did you see me throw it away? As far as I care the sooner that Uncle Kyle leaves the better; because I sure don’t wanna remember him for another second after that.”
Andrew just stared at his little brother, pinned to the ground and running thoughts a mile a minute in his head. Then he spoke up from under his beanie “So; despite me not believing in Uncle Kyle being anyone other than Kyle, where’s he from?”
Andrew had to admit to himself that it was an interesting idea for Swanson, but Andrew could hardly talk to the cat by himself, let alone be a go-between for Swanson’s surely endless curiosity. “Cut the shit and take off your hat Swan’, don’t you know that’s disrespectful to our guest.” The last part had enough sarcasm to kill. And slowly Andrew’s brother lifted the wool of his beanie off his face.
He had the look of a child on Christmas getting a present that he didn’t think could even exist. It was such a powerful expression Andrew had a hunch that that was how Swanson really saw Roden; an odd toy to amuse him today.

Description
“Ok Roden, I’m going to take a stab and say that you aren’t that good at lying. Furthermore I’d say that you can’t even control all of the animal aspects of yourself. Answer each part fully and in order.” Andrew regretted that last part. It sounded harsh and was a direct order, not the asking tone he had hoped for.
As a result Roden only stared at Andrew for a moment, the rage and surprise of his face as clear as Andrews’s water to him, and he wasn’t scared. His mind told him that he should have been though; he was staring down at a cheetah hybrid. It had claws and big teeth that were made for ripping meat, people! And he was just about to freak out when it hit him that Roden needed Andrew. Not only did he need Andrew alive, he needed him in a good mood or he’d be ratted out and surely killed. He doubted the church would welcome Roden.
Andrew would have thought about that for some more time, but then a response from Roden. Slowly and deliberately at first “You got me. I’m a bad liar, not like you with your brother. And no I really don’t have all that much control of my instincts…so you’d do good to watch it, ‘cuz I really don’t care too much for you right now.”
That put Andrew in a good mood. He was finally on the same level with such a stranger; he was beginning to think that he would never be on the same plane as Roden, but here they were looking eye to eye. Andrew even had an edge on Roden, that his instincts played a big part in his thoughts.
It may have been some luck that Andrew noticed but that last line he delivered wasn’t really like his other lines. Before Roden always seemed to be fluent and speak proper, now he almost sounded like some of the other kids that Andrew knew and not like a diplomat. Then a light clicked in his head. That meant that Roden was bluffing before; or at least right now! He was lying about lying! Oh and he almost pulled that off! It was too much to pass up and Andrews pride got the better of him. “Well if you are such a terrible liar, then how can you just change your tone like that; even if your instincts had hated me before you did a great job covering it up then?”
The look on Roden’s face after that was priceless for a fighting Andrew. He looked so defeated; so found out. Even so he was quick to retaliate to Andrew’s attack “Fine then, you caught that. I guess how it looked like Roden really was struggling with himself; his instincts rather. Then Andrew’s observations were stalled by Roden speaking again “So if you are so smart, do you know how we can get back North past the desert? ‘Cuz I do.”
Andrew was puzzled by that. Not by the question, but the wording of it. While it was fresh in the air he questioned Roden. “I’m not looking for that answer; I won’t even ask you why you need to get north; just yet. What I want to know is why you just assumed that I would go north with you!” Andrew was furious now. He didn’t care that he had just yelled when he should have been by himself talking to no one what bothered him was that Roden had even planned for him to go north, back to where ever the hell Roden was living with all of his cheetah hybrids. Even more so Roden was trying to steal away the conversation so that he was in control. Yet above all else; what bothered Andrew the most was that it was becoming increasingly difficult to talk to Roden. “Talking to you is like playing chess. Ever move I make makes it that much harder to do anything.”That stopped the conversation. Both of them sat there in silence for minutes without any plan of either talking. It just stayed like that.
Andrew wanted to talk; Andrew wanted to know so many things about Roden. It didn’t even have to be important things like his home or why he looked like he did. Andrew wanted to know if Roden had a family, if he groomed himself, what his favorite color was; anything about him.
Andrew realized that he still had the meat from dinner with him at his side, so for lack of a better idea he offered it up to Roden. Andrew didn’t think that he was as surprised as he should be, but that didn’t really matter in the whole scheme of things; so they sat there and Andrew watched Roden eat the meat. It was odd, but Andrew could tell that he was satisfied with it, mainly because his tail was sweeping back and forth across his bed making a smoothed out semi-circle of a path. And they remained like that; Roden pleasantly eating and Andrew looking on like a dog for scarps; both enjoying each other’s company for the first time, ever.
Suddenly the peace was shattered as Roden looked up from his cupped left hand that held the pork. Andrew watched as his eyes widened and then Andrew turned on a dime to look straight into Swanson’s beanie. At first Andrew was scared and out of shock tackled Swanson to the wood floor. It was then on the ground that Andrew noticed something strange. When he went to cover his brother’s eyes, he didn’t have to. Swanson was firmly holding the beanie’s edge down below his nose so that it covered his eyes for Andrew. He noticed this and stopped wrestling his brother who had put up almost no fight to begin with.
“Why’d you already have your eyes covered?”
“Because he still Uncle Kyle if I don’t see him.”
“Don’t be a dip shit Swan, I saw you drawing him!”
“Did you see me throw it away? As far as I care the sooner that Uncle Kyle leaves the better; because I sure don’t wanna remember him for another second after that.”
Andrew just stared at his little brother, pinned to the ground and running thoughts a mile a minute in his head. Then he spoke up from under his beanie “So; despite me not believing in Uncle Kyle being anyone other than Kyle, where’s he from?”
Andrew had to admit to himself that it was an interesting idea for Swanson, but Andrew could hardly talk to the cat by himself, let alone be a go-between for Swanson’s surely endless curiosity. “Cut the shit and take off your hat Swan’, don’t you know that’s disrespectful to our guest.” The last part had enough sarcasm to kill. And slowly Andrew’s brother lifted the wool of his beanie off his face.
He had the look of a child on Christmas getting a present that he didn’t think could even exist. It was such a powerful expression Andrew had a hunch that that was how Swanson really saw Roden; an odd toy to amuse him today.