Phantom Hollow Missing Person

@Mitanni. And @Issun if you want to drop in

Judas had noticed something..off in the pack. There was something missing in it. But he couldn't quite figure out what. So he left his den to find out from someone who might know, and also at least trusted him enough to let him near them.

He stopped outside Mitanni's den, and let out a chuff. If she was here, he would go look for her. Surely she knew what was going on.

Mitanni slept, for the most part restfully. The hunger in her belly that was tolerable during the wakeful hour of the day made falling asleep more of a challenge, but she'd managed and had continued sleeping to save as much of her energy as she could.

Though perhaps it was backfiring, when she heard a soft noise outside of her den, the petite wolf groaned, clenched her eyes more tightly shut, and pretended for a moment not to hear. It took a few seconds for the sound to make its way through her head and register as not just any noise but that of someone standing outside of her sleeping quarters, and with a sharp intake of breath she hastily, and groggily, uncurled and lifted her head.

The image of Judas that she saw was a little blurry, but she recognized him as she blinked. "Judas," she greeted simply, her jaws suddenly splitting in a wide yawn. She snapped them shut again, licked at her lips, and tried to shake a bit of her bleariness out of her system. "What are you doing here?" There was just a teeny edge of worry to her voice. She didn't normally have visitors, and considering their history the fact he stood at her only exit was just a little off-putting.

Judas took a few paces back as Mitanni awoke, not wanting to make her feel afraid of him being so close. He still felt he instilled fear in her despite their interactions improving. His face serious like usual, he spoke, "Does something feel out of place? I can't figure out what. Like the pack is lacking in something..have you seen Malice lately? She might know." It didn't once occur to him that Malice was the very thing out of place.

The worry inside of her chest subsided as the tan-hued coywolf backed up a pace, allowing her adequate room to breathe. His serious expression didn't tip her off immediately that anything was amiss--as far as she knew, that was his default look--but she listened and wondered as she shook her head again and slowly rose to her paws, stretching a little inside of her den.

Out of place? she thought, frowning, missing something? Had she felt that way? If anything could have triggered it, she thought immediately it must have been the absence of viable game sharing the spooky Phantom Hollow with them. But Mitanni didn't think that was what Judas meant.

As he mentioned Malice, she made a little thoughtful hum. "No, I haven't seen her," Mitanni remarked, feeling concerned and also disappointed. "I've been too worried about hunting and restocking our caches to check in on her." And currently had nothing to show for those efforts either. Famine was cruel that way. "She can't be too far. Have you checked her den?" the mottled brown wolf questioned, stepping out of her den to join him in the wood.

He shook his head at her question. Judas had gone to see Mitanni first and not Malice. The coywolf hesitated on it. And then it came to his mind that maybe they should check-up on her, and ask her himself. He began to turn as he answered. "Maybe we should check up on her." He started off, tail swaying slowly behind.

He headed off to see Malice in her den, and stopped outside. Surely she would be inside with being pregnant and all. "Malice, I have something to bring to your-" He froze, staring inside and still. She was not here. "Malice? Where is she?"

Appparently she was the first one Judas had gone to with his new revelation, without confirmation that Malice wasn't presently in her den. He suggested they go to see her, and Mitanni nodded her head in agreement. It had been too long since she'd seen the alpha too, and maybe just checking in and letting her know that she was out looking for food would help excuse their lack of communication.

The lithe little wolf followed at Judas's heels, stepping around beside him when they finally reached Malice's den to try peering in herself as he called to the alpha. There was no answer, though as she stared into the dim den she could see why. Malice wasn't in it.

Her ears tipped back and a nervous look settled upon her face, her amber eyes searching and then returning to Judas. "Maybe she's gone out?" she suggested, though she didn't feel the least bit confident in it. Of all the places for their pregnant leader to be, this seemed the safest and most reasonable.

But, then again, Malice wasn't the type to sit still when things needed to be done. That, at least, Mitanni thought she knew well enough about their alpha. She would do for herself as long as she could. "She could be hunting or something..." Malice wasn't so pregnant that she couldn't do that anymore...right?

Judas felt some worry in the dark bowels of his emotions. He paused, then took a wary step inside just in case she was hiding somewhere. But it was evident she was not here. He was so distracted he did not think to try and sniff her out. 

"Hunting? While pregnant? That is unwise" he said, ears perking up to try and hear anything of her presence nearby. "I'm fine with that" his evil side thought back in his mind. Seemed nothing would satisfy that side of him except blood. He turned his head away from Mitanni to mutter something against that voice inside.

"Have you got any ideas?" he asked back to Mitanni. They needed to find her, to make sure she was safe. It was their duty to their alpha. As well as him owing her. "We need to find her."

Maybe she'd been wrong about the hunting thing. Mitanni bit the inside of her lip as Judas spoke against it, and fidgeted a little where she stood waiting as he searched the den. Where could she be? she worried. It didn't make sense that she'd just leave. She had to be somewhere close, somewhere nearby.

She heard Judas mutter something and exit the den, asking more loudly for suggestions. Her mouth gaped for a moment as her thoughts tried to supply her with something, anything, helpful, and belatedly she said the first thing that made sense. "I don't think she'd go far. We could try to track her down." She might not have been the best tracker, but anything was better than nothing at this point.

Judas' worry got higher as he heard nothing that signalled Malice was nearby. His ears peeled back, a frustrated look on his face. Finally, he could have started a new life. But without an alpha, the pack would surely fall apart. What a way to ruin his new way of looking at things and his revised plan.

One ear perked up, a thoguhtful expression on his face. A small smile tugged at his muzzle. "Sure. Might as well try out your skills with your sniffer, right?" he asked with a small sly smile. He turned, ears up and face glad that they had an idea. He put his nose to the ground, following a trail he found. It was very faint. That put worry back in. "It's faint. How long has she been gone?"

Judas surprised her by smiling, even if it was a little one. It seemed he hadn't forgotten her attempts at tracking before, what felt like ages ago now. Mitanni smiled back tentatively, nervously, not quite feeling the same amount of amusement. It was hard to when there was no clue as to where their pack leader had gone off to.

But at least they had something to do now, and, as the coywolf pressed his nose to the ground, a trail to follow too. The little wolf followed his lead and lowered her nose to scent as she walked along beside him, picking up the same faint trail that he'd identified. "Who knows, at this point," she replied solemnly, pausing as she lifted her head to look around.

With Judas she followed the trail as it led through the woods, stopping only briefly when it crossed the boundary line to their pack lands. "She's not here," Mitanni remarked, at last feeling certain. If the trail went this way, then Malice had gone beyond the Hollow. With a concerned look shared with Judas, Mitanni sighed and followed the trail out of the pack lands, determined to find wherever it lead and the wolf that would be waiting at its end.

Judas follwed the trail, desperate to find her. They needed to find her, needed to protect her. For she carried the young of the pack's next generation. "I certainly don't. This could be bad" he replied worrisomely.

He paused at the pack border, heart skipping a beat. She's..left? Why leave them? He gulped nervously. Not long after, he charged out. "We have to find her. Come on." He followed the faint trail over their border. If she was ti be killed, it would mean a fall for certain for the pack.