King Elk Forest Tinker Tailor, Soldier Sailor

"It's plausible," spoke Giancarlo in his own defense. "I mean -- plants can get get diseases, wither, and die... Trees are all in the same. Who's to say that didn't happen here on a large scale?" His response was accentuated with a smug humph. Of course, his idea was no more plausible (perhaps even less so than the explanation offered by his father), but it was his own idea. Giancarlo, of all things, was headstrong and once he got an idea in his head, it was tough to budge.

However, guided by the goading of his father, Giancarlo pulled away from the tree and pressed further into the withered forest with his nose to the ground. Eventually, he came by the brown carapace of locust: one of the swarm that had been left behind to die. He lifted a brow and shot a glance at his father. "This?" He asked, pushing the body of the locust across the forest floor with his forepaw. "You think these things stripped the entire forest? I knew you were old Dad, but I didn't think you were full-on mad." Smugly, Giancarlo began to laugh.