#hybrid!ghost

The rain is ice cold and so dense you can’t see through it more than a few feet. In seconds you are drenched and shivering, frantically trying to find some reprieve from the downpour. You run in the direction you think your pasture is in, blinding groping along familiar towering boulders when you find a crevice. Close to the ground and probably some small animals den, you wiggle and stuff yourself inside. It’s bigger than you expect, big enough to curl into a tight ball as you sniffle and try not to get mud in your mouth. The thunder rattling in your ears only makes you whine, wishing for the safety and warmth of the barn. 

He hears you. He can’t smell you in the rain but he follows your warbling cries as far as he can. You’d taken too long to come back to the herd, probably napping by the stream and unaware of the darkening sky. He doesn’t make it far when the rain starts, left to follow your tracks in the mud. Smart lamb, stuffing yourself in a hole too small for predators like himself to dig you out. He tries anyway, claws raking through icy mud but it only startles you further, pushing yourself to the very end of the burrow and bleating in distress. He can taste your fear scent in the back of his throat, heady and raw and the animal part of his brain revels in it. Digging harder and faster with a deep snarl, reaching in and groping around to feel even a bit of you. He’s able to wedge his head in, eyes zeroing in on you in the dark as you wrap your arm around yourself like a shield.

You really do start crying when you see him, big fat boo-hoo tears. Not because you are scared, you just wanted to go home. But home came to find you. 

“G-Ghost-“ you bleat miserably as he noses at your cold ears and lets you grab at him, dragging him in and soaking up the warmth radiating off him. 

“Don’t hide from me like that.” He growls, a warning you ought to be better about listening to. He gives you a long suffering huff and squeezes in with you, the rain beating down on his back as he reaches in to pull you from corner.

“Shouldn’t wander ‘s far. Now look’t you.” He grumbles, his fur is rough and scratchy against your face as you press into him, tucking under the spiked collar and breathing in the smell of home and herd. 

“You found me.” Your voice, clogged with tears, has him rumbling, claws digging into the mud beside your head. You don’t understand it yet, but that's okay. He’ll always find you, no matter how far you roam. But maybe that's why you let him do what he does, let him snuffle and nip at your soft, downy ears with the same teeth that snap bone and rend flesh. You don’t know any better when you lean into him, making yourself small and neat for him to latch onto and tuck away under his ribs, right in the hollow space near his heart. 

He thinks you just might want the same when you stick your cold nose in the space just below his ear and sigh like you have nothing to fear from him. You don’t even push him away when he starts drooling, feeling his hot, humid breath on you like a brand as he huffs your scent. You only wrinkle your nose a bit and let him move you to wrap your legs around him, crushing you to his chest. 

You think he may be rocking you, much like what you do with the small new born ewes, only his big meaty paws are grabbing at your hips and pressing them down onto him. You’re pulsing and warm, he can even feel it through your layers. He’s only warming you up, lamb, quit running from him. 

At least out here the others won’t come looking when they hear your soft sounds and hiccups when he’s got you under him, rutting against your puffy little sheep cunt with his teeth digging into your shoulder. Not enough to bleed, never, only to hold you still like an unruly pup. It was enough, more than enough to get him there, relishing in the weak mewl you give when his thick tip throbs against your puffy clit. It was disgusting, the way you go from shivering in fear to rolling around in the mud like you’re in heat, humping against each other in the dark.

Price was both the most unnerving of the three dinosaur hybrids in front of you. He had horns on his forehead as well but also a smaller horn on the bridge of his nose. You were much more eager to approach him than the rest of the team until he opened his mouth to greet you, exposing the sharp teeth that made your blood run absolutely cold.

“Welcome! I hope the journey wasn't too rough on you. I know the roads that lead to the base can be a bit bumpy.” He said with a warm smile. His British accent would probably be comforting if you hadn't had nightmares as a calf about hybrids that look like him.

You had heard about hybrids like him. He was a Ceratosaurus hybrid. Your mother had warned you when you were young about the dangerous hybrids that had horns like an herbivore and still ate meat. It was so uncanny to see in person. You had always thought that they were just stories meant to scare naughty calves into staying within the herd. You just stared up at him for a moment before realizing that he was expecting a response. 

“It was… It was fine.” You said quietly, doing your best to be polite about shrinking away from him. You didn't want to make him angry or make him think that you would be a nice meal if he were to get hungry.

You didn't even notice the massive Gorgosaurus hybrid behind you until you felt him sniffing your shoulder from only an inch or so away. You yelped and then instinctively went into attack mode. You turned around and lowered your head, launching yourself at the carnivore hybrid. Your little horns didn't do much as you harmlessly bounced off of his stomach and fell on your butt. You huffed and glared up at the man, doing your best to puff yourself up and seem intimidating.

It obviously didn't work when he simply started laughing at you. It started off as a deep chuckle before the man hunched over, shaking with rough and unused sounding laughter. You stared at him and just looked horrified. You were raised in a herd of mostly Ceratopsian hybrids with a few other herbivorous hybrids and it was extremely unnerving to you to be around hybrids that made your instincts scream at you to run away as fast as you could.

The hybrid you were staring at looked like a nightmare to you. You couldn't see the sharp teeth in his mouth that you knew were there thanks to his freaky looking mask but you could see the body shape of a theropod hybrid and the long and impressive rusty orange and grey tail behind him. You quickly got to your feet, not wanting to let yourself be seen as weak. You turned your head to see the other three hybrids looking stunned by the way that the largest one was acting. 

You looked between the man and his teammates for a bit and just seemed absolutely clueless. You took the opportunity to observe features of the other two hybrids. One had darker skin and surprisingly kind brown eyes for a carnivore. His jaw was slack and you could see the sharp teeth inside his mouth. You could see his deep green tail and more narrow theropod hybrid body type. He seemed a bit more easygoing than the rest of the team but every bit as dangerous. He was clearly an Allosaurus hybrid. It made sense. Allosaurus hybrids were known for working well in groups.

The other was a bit more scary to you. He had shockingly blue eyes and though his smile was filled with fangs, you could see that he was hiding some terrifying intelligence. He had a few patches of feathers on his exposed skin and his tail was covered in feathers as well. You had heard stories about his species from a scarred up old triceratops bull hybrid when you were younger when you asked questions about the civil war that led to herbivores like you having your legal right to not get eaten alive recognized. You remember the anxious look in the old bull's eyes as he told you about the hybrids that were the scariest. They were smart, fast, agile, aggressive, practically bred for war, and the reason that he had almost died more than a few times. The hybrid in front of you was a Utahraptor hybrid.

You shuddered.

This introduction was already making you consider quitting and going back to your herd.

After the captain gave the proper introduction to each of your new teammates, Johnny slung an arm around your shoulder and began talking a million miles a minute at you. You thought you were going to faint. As an incredibly social species of hybrid, he was trying to establish a pack bond with you but all he was accomplishing was scaring the absolute life out of you. Your face was pale and you could barely understand what he was saying. You just nodded along as he told you about how nice the grass and trees are on the base and how he was sure that you'd love working with them. 

You had been hired to work with the team to manage the logistics of their missions and order the things that they needed on base. You were dreading the idea. The college that you went to had an almost entirely herbivorous student body. Your eyes were wide as you were paraded around the base like you were the most important being alive. You weren't a big fan of all of the attention that you were getting and the way that the soldiers outside of the team stared at you like you were literally a piece of meat.

During dinner, you were seated between Kyle and Johnny. You kept your eyes on your plate, uncomfortable with the sheer amount of meat on the rest of the team’s plates, and picked nervously at your salad. You weren't exactly thrilled when one of the cooks presented you with it, happily exclaiming about how she had personally made it for you and how she was happy to finally be able to prepare food for an herbivorous hybrid. You grimaced when you saw that the majority of the salad was composed of grass clippings, something that you couldn't actually eat. That was how you figured out that you were the only herbivore on base, which explained the looks that you were given by the soldiers passing by and eating in the cafeteria around you. It was a very real reminder that you were potentially in grave danger. Even if you weren't attacked, there's a chance that you would starve if you got hurt and couldn't get your own food.

You tried not to think about it as you sat quietly and continued to listen to Johnny happily chattering at you. You picked out the more desirable vegetation in the salad like the pine needles and fern fronds and ate that instead. The majority of the grasses on your plate went uneaten and you didn't catch the concerned look that Simon had on his face as he watched you.

“You know, Simon must like you. I've never seen him laugh that hard before.” Johnny said after taking a rare break to breathe.

Simon simply grunted. You had only known him for a few hours but you already understood that he mostly kept his thoughts to himself. He simply kept eating and the sound of him crunching down on one of the bones to get to the marrow made you feel sick to your stomach.

“I didn't expect him to be there.” You murmured before taking a bite of one of the small fern fronds on your plate.

“Ah, no one expects Simon. He's good at that.” Kyle chuckled.

After dinner, you were brought to the team’s quarters to get settled in. There was a small kitchen and a main living area with a giant nest filled with blankets and pillows. The walls were covered in open storage with an empty space, presumably for your things. You were shocked by the formatting of the room.

They used almost the same sleeping structure as your herd.

Oh no.

Once you were done putting your possessions away, it was time to sleep. You had done your best to sleep on the outer edge of the bed but it was clear that the team had done their homework on that aspect of your behavior. They knew that Ceratopsians like you needed to be in some kind of herd structure to feel comfortable and Johnny had literally dragged you into the pack’s cuddle pile by your tail. You had struggled for a few seconds before realizing that you really couldn't get away. The Scotsman's arms were firm around you as he hugged your front to his chest, carefully tucking your head under his chin, and Kyle was eager to snuggle up with your back to his. John was curled up against Kyle and eventually wrapped an arm around him as he rested, unconsciously wrapping his hand firmly around your forearm.

You didn't even realize that Simon was behind Johnny until you looked above Johnny's head. You yelped and immediately tucked your face back into Johnny's chest. You were so afraid that you didn't notice the smiles on each of the men's faces. To them, you looked, acted, and sounded like a rambunctious hatchling.

You didn't sleep that night. You were convinced that the moment you closed your eyes, you would get a bite taken out of you. You didn't have a frill to protect your neck like some of your siblings and you cursed your genetics for not granting you more protections against predators. The most comforting thing about that night was Price’s loud snoring. The other three snored a bit while they slept but it was nice to know that Price was definitely not conscious enough to attack you while your back was turned. The entire night, you just laid there with a rumbling stomach and a fear that left you almost paralyzed.

In the morning, the team very reluctantly let you go to get ready for the day after an ordeal of a morning bonding routine. They had begun gently grooming each other and also you, much to your dismay. Even Simon joined in. You squirmed and squeaked as they carefully cleaned up your scales and nuzzled against your skin like you were a new hatchling. It was humiliating. You hadn't been treated like this since you were a calf. You tried headbutting John to get him to stop trying to polish your horns but all it did was make him smile. He got up onto his knees and gently started locking horns with you, clearly trying to play as he easily matched the force you used to push him. He looked absolutely delighted that you were trying to play with him. That was even worse. They were treating you like a kid instead of an adult.

You went to get ready in the bathroom after your hour of coddling once you gathered your clothes and the necessary supplies. Once you were dressed, you examined the bags under your eyes with a grimace. You were going to have to get something to add to your skincare to look a little more alive in the future if you had to keep dealing with this. You were still peering into the mirror when you caught the tail end of a conversation outside of the door.

“--like a little tiny hatchling!” You heard Johnny exclaim excitedly.

“Calm down. They need some time to breathe and get comfortable with us.” Simon said sternly.

“He’s right, Johnny. It's not like they're going anywhere. We knew that they'd be a bit skittish. Be patient.” Kyle muttered.

“Aw, it's hardly fair. They're so cute and I can't handle it! I just wanna keep ‘em with me forever. Did you see how cute they were when they were scared of Simon? Such a precious little thing. They look like a wee little bairn with those little tiny horns!” You heard Johnny say, entirely ignoring Simon's words. You could practically hear the eye roll from Simon.

“They're plenty cute but the poor thing is terrified of all of us. We just need to take it slow and they'll be perfectly happy to be a fully fledged member of the pack soon.” John said sternly.

Your suspicions were correct. They thought of you as a kid. It was honestly insulting. You had a degree and were perfectly qualified to do your job, which was to take care of them instead, and they were ignoring it. You huffed. Ceratopsian hybrids were known for their stubbornness and assertive tendencies and you were no exception. You were afraid of them but that wouldn't stop you from setting boundaries and getting what you needed. You wouldn't quit. You walked out of the bathroom and approached John, watching the rest of the team fall silent as they were interrupted. 

“Excuse me but do you know where I could find some ferns and maybe cycads or conifers? I couldn't eat most of my dinner yesterday. I know the cook had all the best intentions but I couldn't eat most of the salad she made for me. It's a bit of a myth from the war that all herbivores just eat grass and I don't want to get sick.” You said politely to John. You were trying to be confident but you were quite literally shaking in your boots.

John's eyes went wide and the rest of the team had a similar reaction. They hadn't even realized that you were going hungry for a reason. They had simply thought that you had eaten on the way to the base. Only Simon has wondered earlier if you didn't like the food that you had been given.

“You… Can't eat grass…?” John repeated hesitantly.

“No. It was a rumor spread to make herbivores starve when taken captive and to make us sound like ungrateful morons.” You stated bluntly, emboldened by the other hybrid’s hesitance.

John felt horrible. He had let his new subordinate go hungry because he didn't actually know how to take care of them properly. He genuinely had thought that you just didn't feel hungry.

He was about to respond when Gaz cut him off.

“Oh, I know a spot! It's down by the lake. We can all keep watch while you graze. I read online that herbivores feel more comfortable when they have someone watching over them. Would that be okay?” Kyle suggested warmly.

Kyle was automatically your favorite now. He wasn’t nearly as scary and touchy as the rest of them and he was way way more considerate of your needs.

“That would be great. You're a lifesaver, Kyle.” You said earnestly.

If you were paying more attention when you were being led by Kyle to the lake, you would've seen the jealous looks being sent at him by the other hybrids, especially when he gently touches your shoulder to point out a bird native to the area. You also would've seen the smug look that he sent to the rest of them. Despite Kyle's seeming gentleness and kindness, he was still a carnivore like the rest of them and he still had the same instinct to protect and care for his pack.

The lake was surprisingly beautiful and the vegetation was lush and tasty. You absolutely stuffed yourself with the tender leaves and shoots all around, much to Kyle's delight. It was a very tasty breakfast and it reminded you of home, in a strange way. The team kept their distance and simply watched you eat your fill. John left for a bit but came back after about half an hour. At one point, a Carnotaurus hybrid began curiously approaching you from behind and it must have seemed a bit too aggressive to Simon. He snarled and let out a roar so terrifying as he charged at the other hybrid that your knees buckled and you were pleasantly surprised that your pants remained unsoiled when you finally regained your footing.

He didn't say anything to you after he had chased the other soldier away but he checked you over and stayed much closer to you while you ate. That made you a little more nervous and as a result, you moved from plant to plant at a quicker pace.

Once you were done eating, you were absolutely exhausted. You went down to the edge of the water and quietly began to drink. Johnny's eyes absolutely lit up. He may not be able to share a kill with you but he could drink with you. He knelt down next to you and carefully began drinking the water as well as his broad shoulders brushed yours. You started to get a bit extra nervous but shifted to the side a bit to make more room for him before going back to drinking. Johnny seemed to figure that you were just making room for your new best friend and shifted towards you again. He seemed content once your shoulders were brushing one another's once more and you just gave up. You were tired and full and the sunlight was comforting on your skin. 

After you were done drinking, the team led you to the cafeteria so that they could eat their breakfast as well. You didn't get as nauseous this time when they ate their meat and the chef didn't make eye contact or try to speak to you this time. You sat and looked sleepy as they ate and Johnny once more began talking your ear off. He talked all about how happy he was that you were fed and that you were adapting so well to having a pack. You were tired and feeling a bit more affectionate than usual so you decided that bonding with the team a little might be a good idea. 

You leaned up against Kyle as he ate and he looked stunned. He put a brotherly arm around you before quietly going back to eating. The rest of the team seemed absolutely shocked. It was the first time that you had initiated any type of physical contact with any of them and Johnny was especially jealous. He desperately wanted to be the one to take care of you the most and get snuggled in return.

After a long day of carefully learning your responsibilities, which, to be entirely frank, weren't many due to how self-reliant the team was, you were guided back to the team's room. You were much less hesitant to lay in the giant bed with the team that night. They had all been doing their best to make you comfortable and they were thrilled to reap the rewards.

You settled in and paused when this time, it was Simon and John that stepped in to cuddle you. You cautiously watched them and seemed a bit worried as John pulled you closer to him. Before it was time to snuggle, it was time to bond once more. He leaned forward and gently headbutted your head. He locked his much more impressive horns with yours again and gently started to push against you. You instinctively began pushing back against him as your tail swayed behind you.

“C'mon kid. We've gotta get your energy out. We want you to sleep well tonight.” John whispered to you.

All of the sudden, you heard Simon growl. You froze and John sat up. You could tell that he had much more dinosaur DNA than most hybrids and definitely more than you have. John raised an eyebrow as Simon carefully took his place and gently pushed his head against yours. You began pushing back against him as his tail stuck in the air. It was clear that it was because of how low he had to bring his head and body to be able to play with you as well. He seemed extremely pleased with himself as you pushed your little horns against him as he snuffled and huffed.

On top of freaking humans out, you looked just "wrong" enough to also freak others hybrids out. Not to mention all the horrible interactions you had in the past with wolf hybrids. Prideful creatures they were, they somehow always got offended when you called yourself a wolf, as if they never heard the maned part.

For that reason, you had always requested not to be transferred into a team containing wolves hybrid. You had asked the same for fox hybrids, despite never having worked with one before, because if you were scaring everyone else so much, you really didn't want to found out how they would react to you.

You're luck must have been shit lately, because you had just been informed that you were being sent to a team containing both a wolf and a fox hybrid and that the decision was final.

You already knew it was going to be an awkward first meeting when Price came to pick you up from the tarmac and gave you that look. The look everyone first gave you when their brain was trying to figure out if you were a treat or not.

To say you were nervous was an understatement, especially when you finally saw them; Lieutenant Simon "Ghost" Riley, the biggest, highest presenting wolf hybrid you had ever seen and Sargent John "Soap" MacTavish, a relatively low presenting but unmistakable fox hybrid.

"Do fox pup always look this bloody weird?" Ghost asked, not even to you, but to Soap.

"They're not a fox, L.T." The Scottish fox chuckled out.

"Their files said 'Maned wolf'." Price said.

"Never seen a wolf pup this weird either. They're way too scrawny for how tall they are." Ghost said, still not talking to you.

"Maned wolf, L.T." Soap chuckled out again, apparently amused by the whole situation and how awkward you seemed.

"I swear, those teams who don't even bother taking care of their pups." The Lieutenant grumbled, grabbing you by the collar to drag you God knew where.