601 words.
####It had not been Vigilante’s intention to bring up the subject of the war, simply because he did not know where this impudent girl had come from. It seemed that his mind was working in a similar fashion to Firefly’s, however, as she spoke in regards to the battles raging to the north. There were things he could not relate to that were going through the golden woman’s mind, unknown to him of course. He had never been close to Svara, and therefore, her death had hardly affected him, and the only actual memory he had regarding this cliff was his conversation with Jacquez about his promotion. He had known that this was the cliff that the former Constable, later Serf, had jumped from, but the knowledge did not affect him in the same way that it affected those that Svara had known more closely, such as Jacquez, Firefly, and Leroy. He also knew very little of the situation with Dahlia de Mai ages ago, as he had been a new member and had hardly known anyone. The horrors that Haku Soul had inflicted upon the pack by attacking one of their members so callously were unknown to him, and therefore, did not affect him as much as it did others. His only dealings with Dahlia had been a personal matter from his past, not a pack-related hatred. If he had known that it was Haku that had attacked Ayita’s daughter, however, it would have involved him much more than it did, but unfortunately, not even her mother knew the monster’s name. Under the pretense of the war, he would have been able to do something in regards to the chocolate monster. He did not want to bring danger to those he cared for.
####“She is correct,” he said sternly, glancing once more at Firefly. She had not given her name and had brought up the subject of the war first, and she obviously knew more about the situation with the other packs in the area. He did not know if she was concerned about giving her name in times of war, especially in her current condition. Vigilante could not imagine her wanting to endanger her growing pups, the bulge visible enough that he could only assume she was protective of it already. “These are times that we have to be cautious, and we do not take kindly to trespassers to begin with. You run a very high risk traipsing onto our lands to begin with, let alone in such trying times. Unless you have a much better reason to be here,” he added gruffly, very obviously annoyed by her ridiculous explanation, “then I suggest that you leave now, and do not come back. It would also do you well not to be so bold and disrespectful in the future,” he advised. She was young, and yet, that was absolutely no excuse. Her attitude only showed that she had been raised in a poor manner, which was very much a shame. With all of his past, he had at least been raised to be polite, courteous, and he had been taught to mind his manners and those of a higher ranking than he. Obviously, she had not, and she would need to be brought down a few notches before she could even hope to join any pack, especially this one. He was not one to take kindly to people of her nature, and doubted that Ruri, who seemed very sweet, would like her much either. Jacquez, on the other hand. . . He could not be so certain about the King.