With a sage nod he keeps Charlie from falling over head first in an attempt to grab the kitten. "That would be a solid name choice. But Optimus Prime Thundercat NightRider's a mouthful, best stick with Skit." There is a joke about keeping that name for Rodeo's first child but it evaporates somewhere in his throat, leaving a bitter taste and a strangely tight feeling in his windpipe behind. There are some things one might not want to joke about and he thinks this is one of those, given the overall situation and everything.
Cat comes around the trailer, half of the time he has no damn idea where that dog is but she never strays far from him and seems to have a very good sense of when she is needed around, because more often than not she is the distraction that helps him get away from people. This time she eyes the intruder on his lap and tries to find room on the other leg next to Charlie, not quite deterred by the hand that pushes her down. Finally she settles on sniffing at his feet, her tail wagging because if it's on Sarge's lap, as unusual a thing as that is, it can't be not good and because she is young and loves children. When her long, broad tongue begins to swipe across the soles of his feet and the boy giggles, Sarge lifts his hand, effectively distracting his dog, making her sit down in anticipation of a treat, or at least some ear scratching. "Careful now, if you eat him we'll be in trouble with his mama."