Phantom Hollow You Got A Liar In Me

For @Sage

The silver tongue's mind wandered as he himself wandered, prying in bushes to look for anything of use. Such as an escape route perfectly hidden behind the shrubs. He had already found some of them. And some fallen logs. Could be useful for making a fast getaway against a heavy chaser. But his mind went on about other things. With the male alpha having disappeared, and the other alpha going off to visit another pack, only one leader remained. The perfect change to get some information on them. Though he would not go to them. No, he would let them come to him. So he continued along the path laid out before him, exploring every bush and fallen tree he could.

I'm going to assume this is when Malice has yet to return.

Sage had been patrolling, on extra alert with Malice being gone, and her being in charge. Nemesis's words were unsettling, and didn't sit well with her, resulting in her constantly wary of the borders. She sniffed the ground, until another scent filled her nose—an intruder? No, he held the scent of Moonlit, but his smell was still not of the most familiarity. She began to walk in their direction, she believed it wasn't okay to not know who it was when she first smelled it, her being the Beta she should have a relationship with every one of her pack members, so she picked up the pace until spotting who was emanating it. He wasn't a normal wolf, being filled with coyote features, she slowed her speed and tilted her head. "Hello."

Judas froze when he smelt something heading towards him. He thought about hiding. though that action would make one suspicious, if not seem weak. And if he was not one thing, it was weak. Well, not in the mind, at least. The half-breed also knew that to get a decent standing for his plans, he would have to appear tough enough. And he would do so.

At the sound of the voice, he turned his head. Once more, he made the mistake of having his back to them, showing the coyote side of him. Judas quickly turned his front to them, flashing off a charming smile. "Hello there. Name's Judas." One who did what he did would normally hide their true name. But he never thought of doing so, thinking that those who heard it would never live to tell anyone of it again. How he had been wrong many times before. His eyes scanned over the female. He remembered her from the meeting, but which one was she? That he did not recall.

"Sage," she said simply, not being the one for long introductions. "What brings you here?" She assumed he would just be patrolling or something, but you never know. She was the type to jump to conclusion and hoped to stop that. He was odd at first, not turning to speak to her, but he soon fixed it so she didn't feel the need to say anything. Perhaps it had something to do with the coyote in him? 

His smile had her smirk, returning the kind look. But it took a bit more for her to actually smile, versus a more mischievous smirk. Her tail flicked in interest, and she tilted her head with curiosity.

Judas felt he needed no reason to feel threatened. Already, everyone he had met in this pack seemed kind enough. Yet he still had others to meet. And upon hearing her name, he let his grin widen a bit. Mitanni had spoken of the one before him as being a fighter, along with two others. And with her being announced as Beta, that made her something he would have to watch out for.

Though for now, he would keep back all those dastardly evil thoughts, and wall them off with fake kindness. "Sage. I heard about you. Congratulations on the promotion." He looked off to the side, keeping his grin and his tail swaying in delight. He was sure to get some things out of someone so high up with his charm. "Just taking in the sights of this forest. I take delight in some things others do not, such as a dark forest" he added in answer.

Her ears lifted the slightest when hearing his praise of achievement from her being crowned Beta, no one yet congratulating her except for Malice and Issun, but the two of them were close friends.  His charm did not fall unnoticed, though it naught change much if he were the opposite of it. Sage would be kind to any of her pack members, unless given a reason otherwise. "Thank you, that's very kind." 

You would expect all Moonlit's wolves to enjoy the dark forest of Phantom Hollow, but she'd come across some members who disliked its eeriness, while her, like Judas, enjoyed the mysterious grounds. "Stunning, isn't it?"

Judas nodded with a smile. Really, the compliment was nothing. Seriously, nothing. He just made it to get on her good side. And it seemed to have worked. He kept his facade going, keeping the smile. "No thanks needed. Besides, it's not everyday you become a beta. You must feel lucky..besides all the weight on your shoulders" he added in a murmur, knowingly loud enough for her to hear. It was meant as a pry, to see if she was handling the pressure.

The tan wolf gazed around, taking in the scenery around them. "Indeed it is..." To him, the light was like the dark. He feared light more than darkness. It left him in the open, showing him to both friendly and unfriendly eyes. Where as the darkness hid him, like a cloak.

Although Sage had recently dealt with some stress levels leading her to consider running away forever, should would never speak of it to anyone. Of course she would never abandon Moonlit and leave Malice to rule alone, so it never came to and for the time being she'd gotten over her worries of leading and now takes pride in her rank. "You could say that, but it's nothing I can't handle." She has anticipated this role from the moment she met Cogetimus and would try her best to fulfil her role.

Judas found her confident words admiring. It seemed she would be a tough one if the time was ever to come. The tan wolf hesitated on what to say next, thinking of something that would benefit him in an inconspicuous way. After a moment's hesitation, he thought of something.

"Upon my meeting with Malice, I did not learn much. What can you tell me about her?" he asked, adding a charmed smile. He hoped that would be enough to get some facts out of her. After he might choose to share some words to gain a small friendship with this wolf before him. In his own words, 'keep your friends far and your enemies close, or risk losing everything'.

She found the question quite odd, what did he wish to learn about Malice? Her love for the stars? How much she's devoted to the pack? Her past? There were tons of things the young wolf had yet to even discover about her alpha, truthfully she hadn't learned much about the queen either. From the start she had been closer to Cogetimus, and now that he was gone she would do her best to gain more insight on who Malice really was. 

"What would you like to know?" She hadn't thought of anything particularly important to tell him, it would have to be more specific for any real answers, as she didn't know her well enough to come up with something off the spot.

Judas shrugged casually, pacing a bit along the path. "Anything, really. Maybe, I don't know..What her ambitions with this pack are? Something like that" he asked. He flicked an ear up, eyeing her curiously as he awaited an answer. "Knowing this could certainly help me help the pack as a whole, wouldn't you say?" Whether she answered or not, he would just ask another question until she showed signs of annoyance at his questions. He always had a way of finding other sources, but what better source besides the alpha herslef than the beta, one of the most trusted by alpha. At least, he assumed so.

"Well, Malice founded this pack because she fell in love—with Cogetimus that is. She's lived with the thought that she is queen, and to us she is, the forming of this pack was for rule and for family. Being a loner is quite...lonely, I'm sure you know. Her ambitions would just include growing the pack to build her family." Most of this was assumed, but rather accurate. She had observed the queen and former king, and some of this was just estimated guessing. All this time it had been Judas questioning her, and when the first two encountered he was facing away from her, revealing his many scars crossing is backside. It was now her turn to question him. "How did you gain these scars?" The inquiry was strange from the other ones asked, but that didn't stop her interest.

If he kept his feelings more open, he would have rolled his eyes in disgust. Love. Did such a thing exist forever? The closest thing he saw of that was the love from his mother, but it was something that never lasted long. Judas wished he could just empty all those feelings out. But he couldn't, not without revealing his true self. After taking everything she spoke of in, it didn't really change anything.

This he didn't expect, even though he should have. A question, directed to him. He remained hesitant before answering, twisting the truth around. "Would you believe me if I told you that some judged me before getting to know me?" He looked back at his rump. "Not everyone judges solely on my wolf appearance, but rather my rear half. This one didn't even say hello" he added, gesturing to one of the scars on his rear in a somewhat comical way.

She couldn't help but smile at his jest, she believed it always better when you embrace your scars and such, in fact she wished she had more. Unfortunately, for her that is, she only bared one scar that was most often hidden by the fur on her back leg. Scars told stories, and were rather quite attractive to her. The reasoning for his past wounds was rather the opposite though.

His charm, fake or not, was enticing. Judas seemed like a fellow she could get along with well. "You'll be safe here," she assured with a simple smile. "I'll make sure someone gets a date out of you before doing something like that's." the girl joked.

He gave a small smile in agreement. He would be safe from anyone who saw him as a threat. In a way it was kind of funny how none of them saw his coyote side as a threat at all. "I hope I will be" he murmured. If he was not, then he would have trouble carrying out his plans.

What she said next confused him for a moment, his lips twitching. Just with Mitanni, he could take his own jokes, but another's? Not so much. "I can assure you, I have no need for such a thing" he said with a touch of absolute seriousness. If such a thing had ever happened, it would cause conflicting feelings. Something that could destroy him from the inside.

His seriousness has taken a hold on her, why was he so opposed of a date? Especially if it were to be with someone he liked. It was strange to see such a strange answer, and expression, when it came to a simple joke. "Why no need for a date?" The yearling had yet to ever be in a date herself, or expirence a relationship to gain from one, but she wouldn't oppose the idea.

Shall we finish up?

Judas silently cursed at himself for replying in such a manner. When would he learn the difference between someone else's joke and a serious matter? He held back any answer, and instead turned away. He began to trot away, then thought that she wouldn't let him leave without an answer. So he gave one. "That is something I do not share. We all have our secrets...Good day to you" he said, dipping his head in farewell than trotting away, seething between his teeth once he was a good enough distance away.

His actions and answer had be peculiar, only making her want to go after it more. A mission was now set in her mind, and that was to get closer to Judas. She loved the challenge of reserved wolves—well, half wolf—and would gladly speak to him again. Sage wouldn't cease such mission until complete, no matter how long that may take, so, she nodded in return to the Coywolf. "And to you." 

I'd love to start a new thread with Judas while Sage tries desperately for him to open up, if you don't mind that is. PM me your answer ^^