Rogdar as the largest of the litter had always had an easier time grabbing pears from the lower branches of the many trees than his brothers. He had even developed a technique all on his own that for a pup so young was nothing short of impressive; He would make a running start for the tree, jump onto the bark and then pivot into the air before opening his jaws to lock his needle sharp teeth around one of the oblong fruits. Thus far it had been successful, in fact too successful as there were no longer any fruit still on the tree within reach for the agile pup. There was however one just outside of his reach that no matter how hard he tried to get to he simply couldn’t. Rogdar sat in a huff, a deep-set frown on his face as he looked at the fruit that now seemed to be taunting him. “Stupid pear!” He cried as if it could somehow feel offended and show how hurt its feelings were. He snorted and turned away, attempting to convince himself it wasn’t worth it but unable to keep himself from glancing at it from over his shoulder. “Maybe just one more try..” He thought and wheeled around, his legs bracing as he prepared to make a mad dash for the tree. He sank low and too off with all he speed his little body could muster and launched himself at the trunk of the tree. His paws landed on the smooth bark and twisted, his legs bent and ready to push off. He sailed through the air, his jaws open as wide as they could go and…They closed around a mouthful of leaves. He spat out the bitter tasting leaves and shook his head trying to clear the vile taste from his mouth with a frustrated glare. “Stupid pear!” He repeated this time in his head. Speech  Thought You

As the kids roamed about the orchard Mara often found herself trailing after one or another of them to check in that the little scamps didn't do something stupid and get hurt. Kids had a knack for doing that, and she fully intended to continue the streak of no injuries for as long as possible, especially since no one in this odd little family was a healer. She didn't enjoy the idea of having to go look for one to fix up her kid. She'd just finished tracking Amos who was now trying to climb up a lo he had no hope of scaling. She admired the determination though, and held in a soft chuckle before turning and going to look for one of the others. Rogdar's scent was the one she found first, so he was to be next on the list. After following his trail for a minute or so she knew exactly where he was going and she stopped bothering to track his scent and simply meandered in the direction of his favorite trees. Sure enough, there the boy was. Observing his failed attempts at reaching a pear a bit too high for his little legs to launch himself, she stood quietly at first. When the frustration seemed to reach a high point she finally decided to step in, approaching her son with the soft smile she reserved for her kids and her kids alone. Even Feli didn't get the kind of tentative affection she offered to these kids.

"How about some help?" the dark femme offered, giving her son a questioning look. She could probably have just stood on her hind legs and still reached a pear, at most having to hop a little. She figured she could either grab him by the scruff and lift him high enough or let him jump off of her so he started a little higher up. The second option might be better so he felt more like he did it himself, but, either way she intended to help the frustrated little fuzz butt somehow, whether he wanted it or not.

He wheeled around to look at his mother, wide-eyed as if he were in trouble- as he so often was, then smiled when he saw the soft expression on his mother’s face. “Nah, I got it.” He said, with new found confidence. He dashed passed his mother dropped low and charged full speed for the tree with every intention of showing off. He pivoted off the bark and stretched s far as his limbs could reach in the air, his front paws skirting just over the skin of the fruit before he began to fall. He felt the tip of his back paw strike the base before he tumbled to the ground and falling on his side. He found his footing as quickly as he could, watching the pear with anticipation. The fruit swayed then settled, and Rogdar’s ears folded back with disappointment. He looked at his mother, almost ashamed before a soft “thump” called his attention. He turned his head and locked his olive green eyes on the pear sitting neatly on the grass. He looked at his mother, his ace aching from the sheer size of the grin on his face and his tail fanning  rapidly rom side to side. “I did it! Did you see?! Did you see?!” He yapped excitedly, bouncing from his back paws to his front all the way to the fruit before he took one large victorious bite. Speech Thought You

Sitting back, Mara watched the determined little puffball as he asserted that he could do this himself. Well then, if he was so certain he could do it she'd just watch for now. She was pretty sure this kid was going to single-handedly empty the entire orchard of fruit before summers end. Any other wolves that wandered nearby were going to be outta luck if they wanted to get their paws on something sweet as long as this kept up. Not that she cared.

He made a dash towards the tree, racing with that boundless puppy energy on those awkward legs with such intensity she had to smile a little. She'd probably be slow to admit her breath caught in her throat once he hit the ground as they both watched the swaying pear, suddenly invested in this very serious matter. The boy almost gave up too soon, looking back to her but Mara kept her eye on the pear and tilted her head, gesturing towards it as the fruit finally let go of it's hold on the tree and dropped down with a satisfying thunk! Chuckling at the sudden wave of excitement that overcame little Rogdar at his success she leaned down to try and lick the top of his head. "How could I not? You did very well."

Flame-colored eyes took on an expression of curiosity as she watched her son. "But what will you do when you run out, little hunter? I imagine you'll need to move onto new prey soon enough. Perhaps prey that will not sit and wait for you to scoop it up, soon enough." Mara wasn't really sure when she'd learned to hunt herself, but at some point between the adults caring for these spunky kids someone was going to need to at least start on the basics with them. It would be a lie to say she wasn't looking forward to a little more quiet when the kids finally began feeding themselves at least once in a while.

He seemed to consider his mother’s words carefully; more than anything else in the world he loved the pheasants an fat quails his father brought for them on occasion and the thought of getting them himself was something the young pup had never considered.  “How d’ I do that?” He asked, cocking his head to the side, the pear completely forgotten about. Rogdar had a growing need to be the center of attention and had quickly learned that the best way to get the attention of their grandfather and parents was by being better than his brothers. His young mind had already begun to envision his brothers grumbling enviously as his family showered him with praise while he stood over the body of a deer with antlers twice his size. He realized then how much he wanted that, how much he needed that, and suddenly pears and apples had lost all their appeal to him. Speech Thought You

Grinning with amusement at her son's sudden shift from focusing on his pear to completely disregarding it when the potential for new prey presented itself to him. Looking sidelong at the boy with a mischievous glint in her eyes she hummed, "How? I suppose the first task would to learn an entirely new approach to getting near your prey. You see charging a hare will make it run to its burrow and since they're so fast you'd likely not catch it." Bowing so she could stretch the muscles of her forelegs  Mara yawned, taking her sweet time to see if she could build a little suspense here and have some fun. "You'll need to hear how to stalk your prey quietly, staying hidden so you can pounce at the right moment. It takes practice and isn't easy at first, buut with some work I think you could probably do it," she winked.