300+ words.

Vigilante was feeling nearly as gray as the overcast sky seemed to be. The rain was beginning to bother him, and that was a rare incident indeed. Generally, the weather did not bother him, but overbearing heat was not something he enjoyed. His body had been made for the cold and wet, but despite this, the pouring rain did not please the secui King. He sighed, trotting along the borders with his face down, turned against the water. As usual, he was continuing his duties regardless of the weather, but he certainly was not pleased by it. The rain was a most unwelcome visitor today.

Ears twisted in the direction of Rurik's call, the urgency in it uncommon for the happy silver-toned man. Vigilante turned without question, alarmed at what might have triggered the insistence that was in his voice. He did not recall ever having heard Rurik sound so, and he moved quickly, curious to know what could be the cause of the urgency. Generally, Rurik was a happy and friendly, incredibly boisterous, individual. If something had seemingly gotten to him enough that he would call for a leader so insistently, then Vigilante assumed that something must actually be wrong, even something small.

The secui King held himself dominantly as he arrived, approaching the pair with a curiousity that he flickered in his glance at Rurik, who looked far from pleased about something in the current situation. "I am Vigilante Haskel, the King of this pack," he said, incredibly unhappy by how far into the pack's territory the pair was. Normally this would not be a problem, but Rurik did not look happy at all. "Is there a problem?" He could easily see what had happened—the pack had been subject to its fair share of trespassers before—but he wanted to hear it from them, beginning with Rurik. The secui male looked at the Duke expectantly.

300+ words.

Jade eyes flickered to the blue of his pack member's, the King listening intently to what the Duke had to say. He was already not a fan of what seemed to be going on here, not one bit. Though the pack was fairly relaxed, Vigilante absolutely did not like trespassers. Trespassers were sneaking around on the pack's territory—they could not be trusted. He was not keen on giving them the benefit of the doubt, though in some cases it was necessary. Charles had been an exception to this, as he'd not had much choice in where his boat left him. Generally speaking, though, the Haskel man was never fond of trespassers. He would give them chances, occasionally. Gunner Banes had been an impudent brat, and he had accepted her as a Serf for her trespassing and her attitude. Like he had suspected, she had not stayed in the pack for very long.

He offered Rurik a half-smile, nodding his agreement at the sentiments. "That does seem to be the case, and I am glad for it." He was always glad to spend more time with the members of his pack, something he had not done much in the past. The rest of what the Duke had to say was taken in by the King, his eyes turning to scan the newcomer when she spoke in turn. Something about her bothered him, and he suspected it was largely in part for her seemingly refusal to speak to Rurik. "Being tired and travelling far is no excuse for trespassing. Our borders are clearly marked," and he knew this because he was the one to mark them, "and our pack does not appreciate trespassers. You found her this far in?" he asked, glancing once more at Rurik. It was not as if they were just inside the borders, not nearly so.

I am so sorry for the horrible wait on this. Like I said in my PM, a few things came up and I wasn't online much... 300+ words. WotD: quintessential.

Vigilante knew that Jacquez had not been the quintessential alpha male, and he also knew that he was not, either. Still, despite the fact that he was not the typical leader, he knew that he took a similar approach to trespassers as many leaders did. They were not appreciated. The King looked to Rurik, who nodded in response to the question, confirming that he had, in fact, found the girl so deep within the pack's territory. "The last girl to trespass was allowed to join, but as a Serf, the lowest ranked pack member, until she could prove that she deserved a higher rank." Of course, Gunner had disappeared long before she had been capable of moving up in the ranks. He would have been surprised to learn that she had stayed a few weeks, if even that. Truthfully, he did not know, and admittedly, he did not care. "If you are interested in joining, you will need to earn respect and trust, things not generally conveyed by trespassing."

The girl was young, but something bothered the caramel colored male a great deal. Rurik was one of the higher ranked members of the pack—not at the top, but certainly not anywhere near the bottom—and his title should suggest this. As far as he knew, this had never been a problem before. "Why would you not speak to Rurik before my arrival?" he inquired, probing for an answer from the girl. He did not like the idea that she was not interested in showing respect to anyone other than the leader, and that was how it seemed to be. Of course, it was entirely possible that he was mistaken, but he did not like the idea that she would not speak to anyone but the King, unless she could come up with a damn good reason.

Just as a head's up, she'll probably move up at the next shuffle, which happens around the 1st of July. This is just because the in-character circumstances of this thread dictate this outcome. ^^;

Vigilante nodded to the silver-furred Duke, the discomfort of the male obvious. The caramel-colored King wished that there was a way for him to make Rurik more comfortable in this situation, but he doubted it was possible. He felt that Rurik had handled it well, regardless, and he hoped that it would not discourage Rurik from border-duty, as he seemed to enjoy doing it, in situations where the newcomer was friendly and the air was not tense. "That is fine, Rurik, and I will be seeing you," he said, offering the man a smile as he waved.

The girl seemed apologetic, and Vigilante did not know how to handle it, truthfully. With Gunner, she had not seemed to understand that her actions were not acceptable. The only reason he had accepted her into the pack had been because of Firefly. If she had not been there, it was likely that the King, the then-Constable, would have turned her away. "As I said before, the pack does not take to trespassers, however, we do not turn anyone away immediately. I told you of a past trespasser who was accepted as a lower-ranking member, and the same will go for you. If you do anything to prove you cannot be trusted, though.." he trailed off, the warning clear.