It bothered Pomegranate, of course it did, but the boy had held Dante at arms length so it wasn't as if it was himself he was bothered for.

It was Mutter.

Always, he was protective of Mutter, and the man left.

If the man came back, he'd bite him, sink his teeth in and run him off again so he doesn't get a chance to leave her twice. But that was a possibility for the future, one of many the growing tripod had to think about.

The boy has been throwing himself into training, getting Sparrow to spar with him with nothing held back. The wedding tournament had made a fool out of him, and made him realize just how....weak he was, and how he needed to grow. He needed to be the shield the pack lacked, he needed to be big and strong, and that meant he couldn't be thrown around like a toy anymore.

Plants weren't for him, he's already decided, but when he spotted Apple walking her fields alone...well, the boy went to her. Woofing a gentle greeting, the boy fell in step alongside her, plucking at the familiar weeds and plucking dead twigs to drop in the path for easier collection.

Words unspoken, falling into familiar patterns as he hopped along.

It was.... relaxing, at least, to not think about training and just helping Mutter.