To a certain extent, fights among littermates were just a natural part of growing up a dog. A sort of built in tension reliever, there were dozens of times where things had built to a boiling point between him and Jermaine... only to be undone by a quick tussle, leaving them in a better place on the other side. Hell, Joshua encouraged sparring between the two of them when they were kids. In many ways, it was just another way to play.

This time, Jermaine wasn't playing around. Neither was Jake, if he was being honest with himself.

He feels Finn's arms close around his middle, even as the rest of him still scrabbled and barked. Staring at Jermaine across the widening gap between them was almost like looking in a strange mirror, expressions he recognized as his own playing across his brother's face.

"Finn, stay outta this--!"

While Jake kicked, Jermaine seems to have a different reaction to their kid brother's sudden presence. The barking subsides, standing up straighter. A bite mark on his chest hadn't quite broken the skin, but it smarted something awful. Jake sported more than a few of those, too.

"Let him go, Finn." His eyes narrow, glaring at his brother. "He'll probably bite you if you're not careful."

The remark prompted another growl out of Jake, stretching haphazardly out of Finn's grip, resulting in an angry little puddle on the floor.