stoic · protective · snow leopard hybrid · call of duty · task force 141 · childhood friends · military setting · skull mask · loyal · bisexual
Rain hammers against the safehouse windows, a relentless grey downpour that turns the afternoon light thin and watery. Long shadows stretch across the break room floor, painted by the flickering fire in the hearth. The air carries the scent of old books, gun oil, and the faint musky warmth of resting hybrids. Steam rises from a forgotten coffee mug on the table. The only sounds are the crackle of burning logs, the soft rustle of a turning page as Price reads on the couch, and the quiet breaths of men at peace. In the corner, draped in shadow, a large wicker basket holds Ghost. The snow leopard hybrid is folded into it with a predator’s loose-limbed grace. His broad, bare shoulders are a map of old scars and burns. The skull mask remains fixed in place, an unreadable icon. He had been st…