Lost Creek Hollow How to smile behind a frown?

It was still very unfamiliar, even with the familiar scents of others now also occupying the territory.  Occasionally there were things that suddenly were a bright light of familiarity, but they were little things like the chance crossing of a packmate's scent with that of a rabbit, or a particular collection of members that had marked a particular chunk of the borders.  Right now, the thing that struck her was the former.  She'd been trying to locate the hare's burrow until that weird flash of memory knocked her out of focus.  Her next step wasn't as focused, and she stepped on a rather crunchy pile of leaves.

In response, maybe a dozen yards in the distance she could hear something else kick off in the foliage, running away from her.  Dammit.  She growled beneath her breath in the general direction the hare had likely been.  Just that little lapse and she'd lost a chance at food, so now she was just left with the initial thought of finding the burrow.  All pretenses of stealth were dropped, and she wandered forward, nose sweeping the ground.  It didn't take her very long to find the entry to the burrow, but standing there staring at an empty hole wouldn't fill her stomach.

terance too had been tracking this rabbit. of course treason had been faster-- today terance's shoulder had a crick in it that hurt a bit when he walked, but only in the morning. now it just popped occasionally-- quite uncomfortably too. but he was fine, it wasn't stopping him from working. 

he spotted treason at the mouth of the burrow, giving a quiet chuff to announce his presence. he stopped a few paces away from her and raised an eyebrow slightly at her, awaiting some sort of command. after all, she had been there first.

She was just about to head off when Terance called out.  Treason looked over and shook her head, It's long gone.  Might be back in a few hours. Maybe.  Depending on how much she scared it.  She left out the part how she'd totally messed up whatever hunting was right in this vicinity.  If he hadn't seen, he wasn't gonna get to know.

Treason took a few steps away from the burrow, though if Terance wanted to go check it out, he was free to.  Anything new? she said with a tilt of her head. Depending on when this is, timeline-wise, who knows, maybe there was?  But at least for what she knew, people seemed to be settling in, blah blah normal stuff.  Thankfully.

"damn," terance returned, ears pressing forwards as he stared at the hole-- and then his gaze found treason, and he gave a little shrug. "maybe later," he agreed.

and then to her question, terance nodded. yeah, actually, something new. "ran into a guy from seabreeze's new pack, apparently they relocated. that guy left, along with a girl i used to know from moonspear... and someone else," he informed her, shifting where he stood and clearing his throat, "i invited them here-- apparently seabreeze is leading now and they didn't like that... or something. regardless, the guy is nice enough and seems diligent enough." whatever. terance was a softy anyhow.

Huh.  Okay that was interesting.  Treason didn't really know Seabreeze or Olive except the former seemed to be fond of flinging herself into danger.  In all honesty, she really hadn't paid attention to whatever the reason for them leaving had been either.  But the thought that she'd pissed a couple of people off enough to make them leave did kind of trigger an amusing chord.  Anyway, she blinked a couple of times, then shook her head, I'm sorry, i just can't see her as an effective leader.  Hope she has help, for their sakes.  If she kept jumping into danger, one time she was gonna hop into too many teeth.

Some new members may be nice, though.  Replenish the pack because of the ones they'd lost in the move, not that she was going to say that Terance's sisters just been narrowed down to a number, Curious to see if they'll show up, then.  And the girl's not one you had a bad experience with, I guess?  Kind of obvious, sure, but didn't hurt to check.  They didn't need any crazy cultists at least.

"olive," he returned with a wry chuff. yeah, competent the both of them were. well, terance had always thought highly of seabreeze. but it felt right to mock her now-- for some reason. but not out loud, only to himself. 

and then his nose crinkled. "no," he said, almost sharply, but he didn't truly look upset, "i didn't invite an ex to come live with me." what, did she think he was stupid? truthfully, terance didn't want to know the answer. bold of terance to call lyra an ex. as if. 

"she left way before i did," he added, a little nicer, "actually lyra's sister-- but she doesn't look or act like it. i'm not too sure she felt very welcome at moonspear-- might agree with your cult theory." his lips turned in a small smile at his own joke. hah.

The whole thing then got more bizarre.  She could accept that one of them had gotten lucky and found a bunch of saps willing to follow her (likely bad) direction, but both managing to convince them?  Wait, so they both left and took over a pack?  How the hell did they manage that?  Was that what they left for?  Treason was pretty perplexed.  They didn't strike her as the type that wanted power, though that was a motive she was familiar with.  They seemed so bland and pathetic more often than not.

She shook her head, trying to get back to the more important topic even though the first was still sending her brain for a spin.  Though then again, Terance wasn't helping too much.  She didn't know all that much about what did happen back in Moonspear, but the fact he might have some other woman (assumedly) left back there too made her wonder just what kind of disaster of a life he was trying to lead.  Treason did kind of give him a bit of a weird look at that but didn't say anything.  Treason kept her life so much more simple in comparison -- maybe it was just because she was younger.  Whatever, moving on, Well, as long as their rejects continue to be reasonable sorts, then who gives a damn.  Their disapproval seems to be an ok stamp.

oh. terance hadn't thought of that. his brow furrowed, and he made a noise before responding with, "i wouldn't have thought so-- but... i guess it's possible." hell, what did terance know these days about anything? 

really it hadn't occurred to terance that he hadn't managed to overshare his whole life with treason. so when she seemed a bit confused at his mention of lyra, he pursed his lips. whoops. whatever, she didn't ask any questions and terance really wasn't keen on diving deeper into it. and, yes, terance was indeed trying to make his life a disaster. thank you for noticing, it means his efforts were paying off.

he snorted. "glad you approve of me, then," terance joked. again.

Treason was putting a few pieces together, perhaps incorrectly.  They were these bland, meek things that for some reason thought they were worthy of rank and power, but too cowardly to step up and say anything or do anything about it.  Maybe it was because the leadership ranks were fairly full and they just didn't want to fight it?  Either way, they'd shown up, used the pack (and specifically Terance), then left when they got what they wanted and were able.  Then they found a group that would bow to their whims.  Dear lord, they were even more self-centered than Treason!  How is that even possible?!

Still, something to think about. But onward again.  Well, you're still here and you're not a cultist as far as I know, pause, not so serious pointed look before continuing, so at least you've got that going for you.  Perhaps a little flippant, sure, but if someone was coming to Treason for hugs, they probably weren't gonna get it.  Her humor was sharp, that was certain, but it was as joking around as she could get without having some sort of target to snipe at, But I suppose I'm probably hard to impress, beyond that.  That wasn't a problem, was it?  Someone had to be the critic.

another chuff. "at least," terance mused, his tail waving, "unless i've already turned this place into a cult and you're too brainwashed to realize it." he eyed her, tail pausing midair, but then it fell again. "bad joke," he said wryly-- as all of the others had been. terance was unsure why he was making so many jokes-- or attempting to. it was a more friendly, casual, and dare he say flirty way of handling interactions-- and he tended to reserve those for rannoch, who enjoyed flirting right back. treason was one one for those things-- really, this was not a fitting way to talk to the beta. but, whatever. terance was still doing it.

"that's a good thing," he noted with a bob of his head, "we need someone with better standards."

Then again, did anyone really know what Treason was really like?  She liked games -- ones with tooth, at least, whether it be verbal or physical.  Joking around gave those not as thick-skinned a bit of a safety net.  Sure, she also had her ulterior motives at times, but that was for her to know, and them not.  She sauntered over to another possible trail to check out for other options with a catlike flick of her tail.  Mm, but what if it's you fallen to my whims?  That had seemed more likely to her, and with that devilish grin, maybe she even thought that was the case.  Or not.  She was an odd one.

But then Treason had to stifle a guffaw.  Yes, it had seemed like the pack had quite a number of bad decisions on its sheet.  Rannoch had picked a mountain that hadn't been plentiful enough to support the population, then later decided that mountains weren't nice anyway.  Terance had picked a woman that apparently did not give a damn about anything but herself and she'd bailed on the lot of them.  Treason had considered some of Wraen's actions not appropriate for the scenario.  Yeah.  Maybe they really did need someone who wasn't going to fly off in a random direction.  Will have to see what you think of anyone I drag back here, hm?  More the question was would anyone be convinced.

terance's grin widened a bit. "that's more likely, isn't it?" he chuffed with a wave of his dark tail. but terance was pretty certain he wasn't part of any cult. it was him, after all, that had a power reign over her. i mean, not rank wise, but rannoch would chuck treason over terance in a heartbeat. at least, he hoped. 

"i guess we will," he agreed with a gentle nod.

I think we can wrap? :D

She gave him a sort of sly, agreeing look, if that makes sense.  It was mostly theatrical, but hey, could you blame her for wondering after all that had happened recently?  A promotion, then another in such quick succession?  It made her think, not that she was going to verbally question the opportunities that she'd been given.  As long as doors stayed open, she'd take a peek inside.

Time for business, though. So, patrol before the snack gets back?  Honestly, it wasn't much of a question since she knew the answer was almost certainly yes since the other choice was to just sit around like a lump and wait.

terance returned a more solemn version of her expression, his tail swinging. and then, when she offered to patrol, he nodded. "sounds like a plan," he agreed, and gave her shoulder a playful bump with his own before trotting off in front of her-- glancing over his shoulder with a few skippy-steps, insinuating they should make it to the borders quickly. 

"last one's gotta join a cult," he challenged, and if treason would take off after him, he would make a beeline for the borders, swerving around trees and ignoring the tingling in his shoulder.

It was perhaps a little more playful than Treason would typically go, but a challenge was a challenge and that was hard for her to pass up.  After all, she was almost certainly going to win anything anyone would throw at her, at least in her opinion.

Let's also be real, Treason has nothing against playing dirty.  Only a few strides in, she was already thinking up a few ways she might 'accidentally' knock him out of his stride but she quickly noted it seemed it wasn't really necessary.  All the wounds so far in her life had been pretty surface level, and between that and her not having lost much fitness over the summer, she could keep up with ease, despite being not particularly built for speed.  Apparently she'd get to hold her tricks 'til later.

Either way, the one joining a cult?  Wasn't gonna be her, fake threat or not.