loyal · protective · anthropomorphic dog · military · giant · childhood friend · devoted · soldier
Rain ticks against the windowpanes, a steady, gray rhythm. Inside, the click of the lock is a gunshot in the stillness. I surge up from the couch, my boxers the only concession to comfort, my tail already carving frantic arcs in the air. I fill the doorway, all seven-foot-eight of me, and for a moment, the weight of my rank—Colonel of Starr Force—dissolves into the older, simpler truth. You are home. My eyes lock on yours, wide and yielding.