Sorry for the delay! 500+ words.

The storm had been over now for a few days at most, and the destruction that it had brought about was still showing itself to the members of the Miracles pack. Though some members had moved back to their own homes now that the winds and snow had died down, the King was spending very little time at his home or the hotel. Instead, the caramel-colored secui dog had taken to patrolling the pack's territory with more fervor than before, knowing that the pack's scent markings would be at their weakest now, buried beneath a thick layer of snow. He had been doing his patrols in his usual secui form for both the physical strength of it and the protection that the even thicker fur provided, though another bonus was the increased size. Vigilante was a large male and he knew this, and he thought that it would certainly work to his advantage if anyone chose to trespass now when the pack had been weakened a bit by the raging storm. Surely the other packs had been affected as well and members would be busy with their own packs and duties, but there was no way that he was willing to slacken his protection of the borders.

It was on one of these patrols that the King found himself now, though he was not alone. Both Noah and Liam had been asking to accompany him instead of staying inside, for they thought that what he was doing was far more exciting than staying safe in the hotel, but the King had been doing all that he could to quell their pleading. It was not safe, he had told them, and Ayita had agreed. The boys were left with their mother, though neither had agreed without begging and whining more. However, he had gotten about twenty minutes into his patrol when he turned sharply to see Noah trailing behind him with difficulty. For a moment, the dog King of misfits had been angry, incensed at the boy's inability to do as he was told, but that feeling had passed quickly. Instead of taking Noah back to the hotel, as he knew that he should do, he had instead howled to Ayita to tell her that the older boy was with him and had allowed Noah to stay with him. The boy was delighted and he was determined to keep up, though the father did slow his pace a bit so that Noah could more easily stay with him.

"Dad, who's that?" Noah asked loudly, spotting someone a bit away. Vigilante looked to where his son's bicolored eyes were focused and he felt the fur along his spine bristle. It was a stranger sitting at the borders, though he did not seem threatening. The King took a moment to calm himself, and indicating that Noah should stay a few paces behind him, he trotted towards the stranger with purpose. "Is there something I can help you with?" he asked, his tone brisk but noble, while Noah peered out from behind his father's muscular leg.

300+ words.

Though the dog King generally kept to his own pack—a fault of his, perhaps—he did know a bit about the surrounding packs, namely Crimson Dreams, AniWaya, and Cercatori d’Arte. There were wolves in the pack of Dreamers that he considered to be good acquaintances. He did not kid himself into thinking that they were friends, for the former killer knew that he did not have many he would call friends, and surely to give the title to someone he hardly knew would be absurd. Still, there were Dreamers that he was fond of, and he knew that many in his own pack had friends or familial bonds with members of the pack of Dreamers. Cercatori d’Arte held a few canines that had formerly belonged to his pack, and though Vigilante had been sad to see them go, he could not mourn the loss. He had not been close to any of them and they had seemingly found somewhere they were happier, and that was what mattered, truly. AniWaya was one he was least familiar with, though he had been fond of Susquehanna and wondered what might have become of her. The King of Miracles recognized the tribe’s scent on the stranger before he spoke.

Vigilante nodded pleasantly at the introduction, as he certainly agreed with the sentiment of feeling closed in because of the recent furious storm. Walking was certainly not a crime, though it did not explain why he had chosen to sit at the pack’s borders, but the dog mutt knew that he was simply being over-protective and wary in this time of disaster, particularly because of the number of young ones in the pack. He smiled amicably, finding no problem with the stranger, now J’Adore Austral instead of a stranger. He could not presume to know the tribal man from the introduction, but at the very least, there was a name. “I am Vigilante Haskel, King of this pack. This is my son, Noah,” he introduced himself and the boy, who walked proudly to stand beside his father’s front leg. “Are you finding what you are seeing to be enjoyable?” he questioned, surveying the scenery around them as the tribal man shifted to match the King’s bulky form. Vigilante noted that he was still larger than J’Adore, though not by as much as he often towered over others.

500+ words.

It was obvious to the King that the tribal man was not looking to cause trouble, thankfully. There had never been any past troubles with the tribe, though, so it did not surprise him at all. The Miracles pack had not had much trouble at all, in fact, since it had been founded, though there could have potentially been problems a year prior during the war that raged to the north. Jacquez had been the King then, and he and a few other members of the pack had gotten involved on a personal level. Vigilante had been the Constable then and he had been a big advocate of remaining uninvolved, and he had not been the only one to wish for that. He had been glad to avoid troubles with the coyote clan and pack of wolves to the north.

Vigilante smiled amicably, finding the tribal man’s manners to be quite welcome as he spoke. “It is a pleasure to meet you, as well,” he replied, jade eyes following the landscape around them as J’Adore continued to speak. The King did not know how badly the other packs in the area had been hit, and he was unaware of the fact that the southern packs had not been hit nearly as bad as the northern packs. He was simply glad that it had not done as much damage to his lands as it could have, though what it did do was not to be discounted. Noah looked around as well, desperately trying to act as grown up as his father was and trying to be a part of this adult exchange. This was all he really knew, though: Snow. He had been born in winter and it was all he had been exposed to by way of weather, so it did not seem out of the ordinary for a storm as bad as that one to hit. Noah was far too young to realize how damaging the storm had been, and his father was grateful for that, in some respects. Though, he did wish that Noah would have listened to his instructions and stayed at the hotel with his mother and Liam.

A look of concern crossed the male’s features at the explanation that followed. Though he did not know much about the tribe’s way of life, he could imagine that a Great Fire would be important, and for it to be extinguished by the storm was most unfortunate. He did not have to be a member of the pack to know that, nor did he have to know J’Adore well to feel a touch of concern at his disappointment in himself as of late. “What is troubling you?” the King questioned. “Yeah, maybe we can help,” Noah spoke up then, though he did not truly know what they would be able to do. He was assuming that his father would know, because his father knew everything. Vigilante was his idol, and Noah wanted to be just like him someday.

300+ words.

Though Noah looked quickly to his father for assurances that they could still help, the King nodded solemnly. He could easily understand the sentiment, though he did not know who J'Adore had lost. If he could bring back the dead, his sister would not have been gone for so long, though he was not certain as to whether or not he would actually do it. Coming back to the world of the living from the world of the dead was not meant to happen and he did not think that the one returning would be able to return fully. "I am sorry for your loss," he spoke with a tone to match the solemn nod. Though he had been entrusted with the task of killing those that did not deserve life, something he no longer chose to do anyway, he could not bring them back to those that loved and missed them.

Noah wrinkled his nose unhappily, not liking the answer that was given by his father. It sounded as if Vigilante was accepting that they could not do anything to help the tribal man, and this did not match the image the boy had of his father. His father was a great King that could do anything, but he seemed to be willing to say that he could not without even trying. That seemed absurd, for the boy truly felt that his father could do anything and to hear him say that he could not (in different words, of course) was dififcult for the young wolfdog hybrid.

Vigilante did not know Dawali personally, but it was still a shame to hear that. "Please send him my condolences, if you would. This is a difficult time as it is, but to have broken a leg must make it all the more troublesome," he spoke. Thankfully, none of his own members had been injured, though Kambujiya was still missing and there were a few other faces unaccounted for.

The departure seemed sudden and it was surely unexpected for the King. The tribal man had been sitting on their borders without calling for anyone or with seemingly no purpose, but he was taking leave suddenly. Though the King did not understand the other's choice of actions by coming to the Miracles pack's borders and then leaving so suddenly without seemingly having accomplished anything, but perhaps J'Adore had simply wanted to make acquaintances with someone in the pack. If he was relatively new in the area, then perhaps that was simply the case, though Vigilante could not know how long the male had been in the area.

"It was a pleasure meeting you as well. Have a safe journey home," he spoke then, watching the tribal man take his leave. The dog mutt of a King looked to his older son and simply shrugged, as Noah was giving him a questioning look. J'Adore had been pleasant enough, but the sudden departure was strange and it confused even the young boy who idolized his father so. The pair set off again to do more patrols around the pack's territory, looking for any more potential damage that had been done by the awful storm that had ravaged the lands.