that tree came outta nowhere

The sheer glee he saw on his eldest boy’s face and in his wiggly butt and tail sparked mirth and joy in the father wolf, almost laughing out loud were it not for his son’s obvious frustration at this insurmountable challenge he’d found himself facing. As Renegade related his tale of woe, Maverick pursed his lips and gazed down at the evergreen sapling with perplexity. Sure, he was big enough and could easily just rip the sapling out of the earth on his son’s behalf, but that wouldn’t do him any good. Ren had already demonstrated a predilection for problem solving and a tremendous level of intellect, so he would let the pup earn his victory here with a little bit of help.

Maverick hummed as he batted the sapling back and forth a couple of times, considering what Renegade had already tried and what methods had failed him thus far. "Hmmm, that is quite a dilemma we’re facing here…" he mused aloud. Bringing his large body down to lie on the grass and dirt without any sign of concern for the cleanliness of his coat, Mav leaned in closer to Ren’s side. "It seems to me that traditional warfare isn’t going to work for us against this foe. But we have something the tree doesn’t." Maverick playfully tapped his son’s temple with a cheeky grin. "We’re smarter than it is. So if we can’t bite it or knock it over, we'll go under it." Yes, that meant digging, and yes that meant they would both get dirty from it, but Maverick was about to teach his son an important life lesson with this seemingly innocuous cedar sprout. "Yeah, your mother's gonna be upset if we get all dirty, but it's easy to wash dirt out of fur. It's less easy to hide wounds if we get scraped or cut up by those needles."

Using his large paw to again bend the little defenseless sapling away from Renegade's face and paws, Mav gestured to his son to step up and face his opponent once again. "We'll tag team this one! I'll hold it back, you go low and aim for the roots." The sapling was still young and the roots wouldn't have been able to burrow very deep. Teaching his son the importance of facing an opponent smartly to exploit its vulnerabilities and weak spots was an important lesson, and he was willing to sacrifice a helpless plant for the cause. Plus what sort of father would he be if he didn't get up to a little mischief every now and then with his children?

"Maverick"