Phantom Hollow Hidden Behind Forced Smiles

At the borders. @Malice or any other is fine

So this was the so called Phantom Hollow, or Moonlit Hills. Whichever others called it by, it did not matter. Judas had taken much thought into this decision. But this was a new thing to him. He had joined few packs, but they were very disorganized. And he doubted this one would be the same. He was quite uncertain and nervous, for two reasons. One was being found out. The other was having his wolf side take hold inside. That side had already taken over his looks upon birth.

Judas waited patiently outside the border, calling out to the last he had met of this pack, who was the alpha, or one of them. He kept his hind away from the border so none would see what little coyote he had on the outside, as well as the scars and see him as a troublemaker. Or, if they did see it, perhaps see him as a fighter. His tail remained low, his face solemn and his stance very relaxed. He knew the routine by now. All he could was wait, and hope his luck wouldn't run out on this day.

Strangely, for the male, the first to arrive was not the pack's reigning leaders but instead a gruff statue of a wolf. Or not a statue, but rather an individual with the strong smell of a million different herbs on her as well as the pack scent. Gruff because her face resembled that of an oncoming storm - dark, brooding and not at all approachable. In an instant, she seemed to have reached the borders within mere seconds of his summons, scrutinising his face, his pungent smell, his posture and his attitude. 

Apparently she'd reached a conclusion because the unknown wolf drew back, her face still hard but now with the satisfied look one would see on a cat. It was as if she'd deemed him no threat, nothing more than a trickster, handing him a bunch of leaves. "Eat," she'd said, and pushed them towards the male.

Unknown to him if he did eat them, the plants would give a strong itch on the back of his neck - one place extremely hard to scratch. Such a trickster, the woman was. And more, a burning sensation in his mouth as well.

And Veritas loved it because while she might look like she was seeing no threat with the newcomer on the outside, she knew, inside, she was not a gullible wolf. She was not one to be played for a fool. The burning rage craftily hidden behind placid eyes gave the man away completely, and hell no, she was not going to let any pack of hers be destroyed from the inside out.

Let's wait for @Cogitemus :) Also short post because writer's block :P

As the queen was on border duty, a howl reached her. The voice was fairly familiar and after digging deep in her memory, she noticed that it reminded her of Judas. Had he really come? So soon? The queen sprinted towards their North border, her throat feeling better after all the medicine she had gotten from Veritas. It tasted somewhat... How to put it... Foreign in her mouth, but it definitely helped. Slowly she began seeing Veritas more like a companion, rather than just a healer who so happened to be in their pack for the time. She had spirit. By some it could be seen as rudeness, but Malice had maybe grown a little naive.

As she reached their border, she had already smelled their healer. Weird, she normally didn't patrol the borders at all. Well, at least the queen had no knowledge of Veritas strolling around their borders. She approached the older woman, tail somewhat higher than hers but not in a way that she wanted to rub in that she was higher than the healer. She just wanted their guest to see that she was boss around here. The leaves on the ground confused her, just like the smell of herbs and stuff Veritas had in her Healer's Den. What was she doing?

Hello there, Veritas. She greeted with a dip of her head. And Judas. She also dipped her head to the male near their borders. Yeah, she still remembered his name. Her glare returned to the leaves again, going from Veritas to the herbs and back. What's this? She asked, her head tipping to the left, a little smirk on her face. Was the healer playing a prank or something on the new face, or...? 

Cogitemus was awoken by a howl. He has spent all night and most of the day before hunting, checking the borders, so on so forth. When he reached the scene, he saw Malice and the healer. Was he really that tired? Was the healer actually standing by the borders? It must be a prank, and in fact it was, as she drew closer he saw herbs that Moonlit Hills owned, being given to a scraggly old loner. There had to be a good reason or Veritas and him would have to talk about it. He moved forward, into view of the wolves. He dipped his head in greeting to his lover and Dark Healer. He turned to scan over the loner. He looked down at the herbs, he had to contain his laughter.  His brothers used to give Cogitemus this all the time, he could recognize those herbs from a mile away. He shot his eyes into the loners, trying to tell him [i] The alpha approves, do what you're told.[/b] he had completely forgotten what Malice asked. He was a bit disappointed, Cog enjoyed tricks and pranks, and he wasn't too sure about Malices input about this.

Judas forced a smile on a wolf's approach from inside the territory. Obviously, they were part of the pack he came to see. The wolf side of him urged to start a slow wag of the tail. This wolf that approached, he already liked what he saw. Someone dark, and brooding. With the smells coming off her he could tell she was a herbalist. His guess was furthered when the wolfess placed a small bunch of leaves before him. He hid his knowledgeable face because he knew what these leaves were.

A short time after another wolfess came. Judas knew her to be the alpha he met, Malice. He returned her greeting with his own dip of the muzzle, keeping his tail down low to the ground. He kept his head down lower than she did, trying his best to show respect in the way he saw fit.  Another came soon after. This was certainly starting to become a crowd, and he could feel worry taking him slowly. This time, a slight twitch in his face showed the worry. He spoke no words, being careful just in case he said something wrong.

He gazed back at the leaves. He had a slightly stronger immunity to any ordinary wolf thanks to his careful consumption of many herbs that would help in doing so, though he did not have enough to negate the full effects. The itch would still happen, as would the burning in his mouth. Just less so. And with two of the wolves telling him to do so, one doing so verbally, he went the 'what could go wrong' path, and picked them up in his mouth before consuming them. It would take a few seconds on him to take effect. All he would have to do is prepare himself for those effects. Then giving them a look that plainly said 'that good?'.

Veritas was growing more suspicious by the minute and though she wanted to blurt it all out to the two leaders - this was the perfect time - she restrained herself. She had no visible evidence and while she could see, or at least feel the malice behind his act, she couldn't prove it to be true to anyone else. But he took the herbs knowing what they were - one healer could always recognise the look another wolf gave when they knew something.

"That'll be all from me. I trust you three will take care of yourselves." Enough was enough, and it was a good thing the woman was already going to leave the pack when she wanted to. She sure as hell wasn't going to put up with murderous wolves. 

Wait

He wasn't all wolf. While the man had kept his hind hidden before, it showed now from her angle - and because he'd shown his tail tucked in, it was fully visible. Those scars... And that coyote hind. Yes. She was leaving as soon as possible.

-Exit-

Yo Judas, how large is his knowledge of herbs? His profile states only 'some knowledge of hallucinogen-producing plants' and I'd like to know, just being curious!

Short post because terrible writer's block :((

As more wolves entered the scene, the healer left after Judas had eaten the leaves. Was he crazy? She gave a look to her lover, silently asking him to ask the new face something. She already knew of the male, but she wanted her lover to ask him questions.

The man snorted as the leaves were eaten. "Sorry bout' that bud." He laughed. "I'm Cogitemus, if I hadn't already addressed myself, I was caught up in the moment." He said, now moving to his original alpha stance. "What can we do for you?" he asked, looking the boy up and down.

Judas shrugged, a small itch begging to be scratched on the back of his neck. He had to keep his composure, and having a strong will over his own body went a far way to accomplishing that. His face twisted to seriousness, the burning sensation slowly making it's way to the back of his throat. He decided not to reveal that he was fine from the herbs, just in case. Besides, it seemed they already had a herbalist. Someone he already felt he would not get along with, if they kept feeding him herbs.

"I am Judas. I have come to form companionships within a pack. It gives me closure to be surrounded by my brethren, by other wolves" he held back a gag of sickness at his own words without a single flinch. How he wished to wretch in private just at hearing them leave his own mouth. "I may not be strong, but my mind is hard break..by most means. What I offer is speed a way for words. All I ask for is to be sheltered and taken in." He gave a bow of his head towards the male alpha. "If you would have me, I would be most grateful." His coyote side inside would have been gagging by now, but his wolf side was overjoyed. Judas already knew which side he stuck to, as he waited for an answer.

The queen didn't respond, she was just observing her lover to predict what he was going to say. Malice had invited the wolf to come, and she would stick to her thoughts on him being a good companion in the future. She wondered though why Veritas had been so... Weird with him. She would have to talk to her later about it, and was sure she had a reason.

She stared at the two males, eager to know what her lover would think of the new face.

The two-tones man nodded. "I see, but your words bother me heavily. You say you just want to be sheltered and taken in, which will not happen. You can't lay around and expect people to do things for you. We have hard working wolves here, and I will not let our pack be brought down by a wolf who sits and watches others work. If you meant something diffrent, then it would be best you speak up now." he said. He did like the submission, but Moonlit Hills would not take in dead weight.

Even if the loner was grateful or not, Cogitemus would not take in someone that hasn't spoken about loyalties and whatnot. "I would suggest you find a trade that would suit you, such as counsiling.  Otherwise, I think you would possibly fit in nicely. I just want to to know, that I will be keeping a close eye on you, and lazy wolves will not be tolerated, am I clear?" he said, not rudely, but to the point of 'you better understand me kid'

Judas nodded in reply. Next time, he made a mental note to choose his words carefully. Being part of a wolf pack in this kind of way was a new thing, since all the others he went to were in utter chaos. And with the male alpha promising to keep a close eye on him, that would make things tougher. He would have to work hard to gain the trust he planned to break in the far, or near, future. The wolf-hater still had yet to mark a target. 

"I will be sure to find one. Thank you." He went to take a step forward, but slowly withdrew. Now he was hesitant on this. He was about to step into an entirely different life, and live a double life. A dangerous one, at that. One slip up could reveal everything, which would not be a good thing for Judas. And the sign of hesitance might not be good in their eyes, so when he was ready, he made up some excuse. "Uh, is there anywhere specifically you would like me to go?" he asked in a polite manner.

The man screwed up a confused face. "What do you mean? Like where to go right now on our territory? Or trade wise?" he asked. If he meant trade wise, Cogitemus could totally help out, but territory wise, he would have to go meet some people and find a den. 

Malice is allow me to skip, so it's just you and me :D

Judas shook his head, basically saying 'nevermind'. "Just curious about what kind of pack you were. I have heard of some that want newcomers to head straight to a certain area." He gave a farewell dip of his head to the female alpha before once more speaking. "If you do not mind, I will go find a den. And perhaps practice some things." And by that, he meant stake out some excellent run away paths. With that, he went by, giving another dip of the head to the male alpha.

Fade after your post? Welcome to Moonlit Hills!

"This pack thrives on loyalty and hard workers, and I think you will fit in nicely." he spoke. "Go choose a den, and start getting to work. Good luck!" he said before turning and trotting off, towards the Alpha den, which was sadly all the way across the territory.