Side note but Cerberus Ghost but it's hyena Cerberus
This thought graced me briefly a couple of times, but now that you said that out loud, why not make it into official first spinoff episode of the hyena 141 au?
CW: 1345 words, hyena!Cerberus!Ghost, shifter!au, hyena 141 au, poly141 with elements of poly141 x gn!reader, fluff
I present to you hyena Cerberus!Ghost (and hyena task force 141) headcanons:
Tug-of-war 3 vs 1 as in every Ghost head gets to play with its own opponent out of other three boys at the same time. It's the only way they can have a chance against the mass of this huge monster, since whenever one of them tries to go one on one, he gets flung around with the piece of rope they're competing over. Yes, when they're in their human forms too. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is a force to be reckoned with even more than normal hyena!Ghost.
Every head of the hyena Cerberus has a unique mane. The right one (the left if we're looking at him directly) is a hyena buzzcut basically, kept short and neat: it grows unevenly and quickly becomes patchy if he doesn't groom it that way. Just like with the skull shape (yes, I'm making it canon that it's not a natural pattern, but something he needs to bleach regularly, otherwise he'd have a normal cute hyena muzzle), Price is the one Ghost trusts to do that. When the fur gets too long and starts acting out, he comes to his Captain and sits patiently as John works the humming shaver, leaving a nice streak of short, thick and very fluffy to the touch fur. It's the softest out of the hyena Cerberus Ghost's manes, so it always attracts Soap's restless fingers - he buries them in the fluff, tugs and scratches, and that absolutely melts Ghost, even if he tries not to show it, since this scruff always gets particularly itchy.
The middle head has, on the contrary, the most coarse mane, it grows the longest, since it's not a liability (there really isn't a way to grab onto it in combat, the brave idiot that tries gets his hand chewed off faster than he can realize his mistake), and is striped, dirty blonde broken up with patches of brown along the long crest all the way to the back. It's the most extended one, too, going past Ghost's massive shoulder blades along his spine and slowly mingling with the shorter fur somewhere in the middle of his back.
Finally, his left head (or right if you look at him head-on) has something similar to his human hair: blond and wavy, so even if it grows as long as the middle one, it looks shorter due to the curls. It's Gaz's favourite mane, he never misses a chance to get his deft fingers into the soft strands and twirl them - or nuzzle into them and chew on them in his hyena form. Gaz also tried putting products into this mane, softening it further and trying to make the curls even more prominent, and Ghost got so pissy every time, grumbling and scowling all three mouths at Kyle, yet still allowing him to do it. If only because then he gets hyena!Gaz cuddling up to him and sniffing at the nice smells of the products massaged into Cerberus's hide...
Technically could easily be the most dominant one in the clan (until they get themselves a Queen, obviously), but requires someone's leadership over him, so never undermines Price's authority unless it's during play/train time and only without witnesses. If someone (probably a rookie, these dumb cunts always run their yappers without a single braincell active) even suggests a possibility of hyena Cerberus!Ghost overthrowing his Captain and taking his place, they get jumped by all the hundreds of kilograms of the beast, cackling at them menacingly in three voices, and cannot get up until Price calls his guard monster off.
Yes, he is extremely loyal. Ghost is in general the definition of loyalty, now make it cubic because of three heads, each with a more or less separate personality, even if they are still connected into one conscience. Complicated? No shit, but you don't really have to think too hard about it. At the end of the day, this is still Ghost, he is still a terrifying enemy and the best ally. And he has his human and hyena traits and moments just like anyone else.
Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is weak for ear caress just like normal hyena!Ghost. Reliant on hearing, he obviously demonstrates immense trust whenever he lets someone cover his plush round ears and massage them, turning him all putty and pliant, or, if it's one of the other hyena boys, lick and nibble on his tender shells, tickling them with hot breath and gentle grumbles. This is also a good way to ground him when he has a flashback or struggles mentally: cover all three pairs of his eyes and lavish some sweet attention on his ears, filling them with nothing but loving words and soft humming. No explosions or cries, no alarms allowed to go off in his heads. Only safety.
He loves to be cuddled. Any version of Ghost does, being the little spoon or laying cradled like a baby is that man's joy of life, he needs that safety cocoon, but if it's relatively hard to accomplish even with normal sized Ghost, hyena Cerberus!Ghost needs the whole clan to swarm around him in a mess of human and hyena limbs, all flanks covered and protected. When not everyone is available for a giant cuddle pile, whoever Ghost sees first, falls victim (literally) under his weight plopping on top. How come Soap is the one that gets squished the most?..
Only lets all three of his heads sleep at the same time when he feels completely safe, which isn't often, but having everyone dear to his big monstrous heart huddled around definitely helps. His right head (with the short buzzed mane) snores the loudest, but the middle one makes weird gurgling noises. It's okay though, just some trauma aftermath.
It's actually more or less impossible to put collars/collar on him because of the way his anatomy works, but it never stops everyone who loves him from trying. However, I recommend trying headbands (with bows or other season appropriate toppers - like soft antlers for Christmas or devil horns for Halloween). If you think a giant mass with three rabid, drooling, scowling snouts gets less intimidating with a pretty pink bow on the middle head, think again.
While he tolerates (hardly) headbands, he actually enjoys when you or Gaz braid tiny braids into his middle mane and put small beads or feathers or other little tokens there. He never says that, but he actually considers those lucky charms that keep him from harm.
Needs help with grooming. His mass and three heads partially glued together make it hard to reach some places on his hide, so it falls on his more than willing partners to do it for him. Everyone has their own style, with Soap being an absolutely unbearable playful menace about, Gaz going extra miles to pamper his Lieutenant and Price staying methodical, but extremely thorough. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost's hide is always in the best condition no matter what trouble he gets into, because there are people (hyenas) that love him. And will lick him clean of blood whenever he gets drenched in it.
Actually hates being alone. One-headed Ghost, human or hyena, already prefers to always be a silent presenΡe in his partners' vicinity, but three heads and the jumbled thoughts, voices and other unpleasant experiences that come with those, make him even less of a loner than everyone thinks. Having Johnny talk/cackle all of his ears off is a much better alternative to being consumed with three separate inner monologues that sometimes take him to very, very dark places.
One of his (and everyone's in the clan) favourite things is to hug him around his partially grown together necks. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost is a thick boy, so you need to spread your arms veeeery wide to grasp all his might in an embrace, but it always feels like drowning in the softest, fattest, sweetest giant plushie. Three fluffy snouts nuzzling the hugger's head, low, slightly distorted purring coming out of three throats. Hyena Cerberus!Ghost needs love, and he is finally at the point in his life, where he has it in abundance.
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