Sheriff Charles gave a small smile. He reached down and patted Veilor's head. Seeing that it was now safe, Rei wagged her tail and barked joyfully.
"Very independent pups you two have." he chuckled as he looked at Jock, who gave a few barks in agreement.
Twix perked his ears at Rei's barks and bolted over to her, running in circles around her. He grabbed her tail and yanked her backwards. Stunned, Rei stood up as soon as she could and made a sloppy leap for her brother. The poor balance she had sent them both collapsing to the floor. She grabbed Twix's tail and sat on his torso.
"That's not fair!" he howled in protest. He then froze as he detected Rei's one default in the pin- her paws were next to his hind legs and she sat on his shoulder blades. Using all of his strength, Twix slammed his hind legs into her paws, making her fall head first in the dirt. He then stood up and bolted off, boasting over the victory.
"Cheater." she growled while shaking the dirt from her pelt.
"Now we have to see how strong they are." the Sheriff grabbed a rope and tied a knot on each end. Veilor was the first to grab one end, tugging as hard as he could. He shook his head and growled and gave small bursts of energy with every pull. Sheriff Charles was at a bit of a struggle to not get pulled to the ground. He pulled backwards, lifting Veilor off of the ground. With a strong growl, he pulled the rope out of the Sheriff's hands.
"Strong one here." he chuckled as he got the rope back.
He dangled it in front of Rex, who wasn't interested. Instead, he tackled Veilor and started rolling around with him. Sheriff Charles frowned with a laugh and started playing with Twix. He grabbed the rope and walked backwards trying to pull it out of his hands just as his brother did. He growled and pulled, but he didn't give small tugs to preserve energy, he gave large jerks and ran out of breath. He dropped the rope and sat down, panting.
"Not much for strength, but he is quite smart."
"He loves to play, but the only one of his siblings he has beaten is Rei over there." Mason pointed to the small pup that was standing next to Twix, wagging her tail as she licked his face.
"Rei... I like that name. It's a strong name, it says a lot about her. Come here, girl. Here Rei, here."
Her ears perked at her name and she bounded closer to the tall man. He dropped the rope in front of her and tugged it lightly to make the game seem more interesting. Excited, Rei jumped up and pounced on the rope. She grabbed it in her jaws and pulled. Bleau shifted uncomfortably where she sat.
"Remember what I told you, Rei." Jock reminded the pup. Confused at first, Bleau tilted her head. When she came to realization, she growled, but didn't say anything.
Rei folded her ears back and planted her front paws. Instead of giving long and hard jerks, she gave short ones. She shook her head back and forth to try and loosen his grip. After a while, she got tired and gave a final tug before giving up. That tug made Sheriff Charles stumble forwards. Full of pride, Rei dragged the rope away with her head in the air.
"Good job, Rei." everyone yelled in joy. Jake came outside and crouched down in between Jock and Bleau, stroking their pelts. He was a little sad that the pups had to leave today, but he knew he could keep one.
"I think I know who I want to join their father in the K9 Unit." Charles smiled.