#jackelope reader

First off Price often helps Gaz with preening, removing any loose or damaged feathers but Price can’t always help. You notice one day that Gaz’s wings look a little shaggy, like he'd ruffled them and they weren't settling.

“Yeah, I haven’t been able to preen them very easily. Hard to reach places and all.” He says.

“Could I help?” You ask. Gaz shrugs.

“Sure. Just be gentle, and only the loose ones.”

At first he does it while sitting on a stool but this proves a bit difficult, as you can’t easily tell which ones are loose when they’re folded. Gaz gives in and lies down on his stomach letting the wing stretch out for you to see the loose ones better. You’re able to get them much easier and set the feathers aside. You take some time to look at the feathers more closely, and he lets you keep one of them which you manage to braid into your hair for ‘good luck’.

Horangi was shifted one day and reclining in the rec room. He did this sometimes to just be alone from any humans, though it didn’t really work on the other hybrids. You come into the rec room and he looks up at you before putting his head back down. You sit down next to him and trying to sketch him while he’s resting.

When it comes to contact though, your intrusive thoughts can take over. You can’t help but want to try and pet him. You did it with Soap when he was shifted, and Horangi was also a shifter. Your brain puts these two thoughts together and you pet him, giving gentle neck rubs. He makes a sort of annoyed growl until you find his sweet spot. That’s when your eyes widen and your ears perk up. He was chuffing! You give him more neck rubs, going for two hands and he lifts his head for you a bit as he continues chuffing. You giggle a bit finding it surprisingly adorable. Someone enters the room and he shifts back to human lowering your hands. You’re still snickering.

“What is so funny?” He asks.

“You were chuffing.”

“I don’t chuff.” He says a little red.

“Yes you do.” You say with a big grin. “Don’t worry about it. Soap does the same thing, except it's his tail.”

Horangi raises an eyebrow at that. The big bad wolf, wagging his tail like a happy puppy. Knowing you, it's not surprising.

This one you’ve done a few times before it’s just become a habit at this point but Soap gets restless during the full moon. You and him have started calling your difficult times during the month full moons. Both of you are there to help with those times.

When you have cramps or are feeling stressed and emotional he makes sure you’re doing better and have what you need. He even calls on Hunter for a couple of things to help you out. If you get overly frustrated or angry, he's firm with you, reminding you to go cool off, and take a minute to yourself.

Originally you didn’t know about his full moons but at one point you overheard growling and a couple of howls from outside and went to go and see it, unable to sleep yourself. You found Soap in a field not far from the base, simply howling up at the stars. A twig snapped underfoot and he caught notice of you in your pjs and hoodie before striding over to you. He pressed his snout into your shoulder and you gave him some hesitant pets before you noticed his tail wag. Then you went all in with the scratches, not even caring there was a full grown man behind all this fur. He was on the ground rolling over for a belly rub and you can’t help but laugh and rub away.

When you both finally returned to base Soap was exhausted, and finally went back to human. You comforted him and helped him back to bed so you wouldn’t wake up Hunter. Ghost was waiting and helped you get him to his room. Since that night you don’t always go out with him but you notice him awake and wandering the base around the full moon. It becomes a sort of ritual between you too, and though he often insists on you going back to bed you insist on making him something for you to both snack on.

As a girl you have your own full moon and the scent is not impossible for Soap to notice. ‘Full moon’ sort of becomes a safe word for you two, asking if the other is okay or if they need some company or comfort.

One night you’re sick and had to stay in your room for a while. Food was proving difficult for you, and Hunter had others to tend to. Hunter had been stretched rather thin and Soap knew of it. Recruiting some of the team, he got Hunter to take a break. Rudy and Gaz took them to get food and some relaxation. Meanwhile other medics tended to any wounded or injured. The problem was, they were fairly weary of you, aware that you were struggling to keep food down. Once the base had gone more quiet that night, Soap comes into your room after knocking.

“Oi pup. You dead?” He jokes. The only response he gets is a small groan. Soap opens the door and sees your pale face and laying form in the bed. He doesn’t let you make another sound before he wraps you in your blanket and carries you to the rec room, where there’s also the small kitchen. He sets you on the couch, and makes sure you’re cozy and you have a face mask on. He works on getting you some food, simple grilled cheese and a mug of soup. May not be Ma’s but it’s enough. You take small bites and small sips, thankfully keeping some of it down.

Alejandro doesn’t really like pets. At least the nagual doesn’t. Alejandro is fine when you want to curl up with him and will even offer his lap to rest on. But the nagual is more prideful. It shows affection in a way, taking the occasional head scratch or pet, but keeping the signs of affection minimal.

Or rather, it has other ways of showing affection. Like fighting you.

Alejandro is a good sparring partner and despite them not being the most friendly with each other, he and Horangi work well. Alejandro talks and shows you through various maneuvers, and goes slow. Horangi is a nice enough sport to be a practice dummy though he will take advantage of your vulnerable positioning and Alejandro instructive distraction to drop you like a sack.

Alejandro tends to shake his head but your giggles make it hard for him to be frustrated. Then it’s back to the beginning.

The nagual side on the other hand is a bit of a different story. It doesn’t hold back on you, and since discovering your wendigo form it takes full advantage to get itself acquainted with a new enemy. He may not run your tracking sessions as often as he used to, but when he does it’s full hybrid mode. Sometimes he takes you on night hunts if he needs to blow off steam, which makes tracking him harder for you. The Panther form is used for stealth making him harder to find even for you. Sometimes you try to hunt each other leading to a pretty rough fight. Alejandro doesn’t hold back unless he knows he’s going too far.

One of these nights, you hadn’t seen Alejandro for some time. You had also just come back from a rough mission. It hadn’t gone well and Alejandro had to step in more than once to keep you safe. He had requested you join him for a late session. You were in wendigo form for sometime until you found a place to rest and relax. It was a miracle you hadn’t passed out from exhaustion. Once you found cover on the ground, you returned to human, taking a moment to breathe.

You had maybe rested for 10 minutes when out of nowhere you’re tackled to the ground, and forced to shift before claws can dig into your flesh. You through the heavy mass off of yourself roaring at it to back off, irritated at the interruption. Thankfully the intruder was Alejandro who was able to take the hard blow just as well as you could. You stare each other down, before you shift back to human, catching him off guard a bit.

“Sorry I need a minute.” You say, bracing yourself against the nearest tree.

“No time out in the field Mija.” Alejandro reminds you as he shifts back to human as well.

“I know. Just… I’m fucking tired.” You say, fighting to stay standing. Alejandro comes over encourages you to join him sitting on a fallen tree. Now all you’re fighting is the urge to lean against him. You notice his breathing is heavy as well.

“How have you been sleeping lately?” He asks. You think about it for a moment and honestly with school work, training and missions, not as much as you would like.

“Not a lot.” You admit.

“Why did you say yes to coming on the mission then?” He asks.

“I thought I had to.” You reply.

“You’re young Mija. You don’t need to go on missions if you don’t think you can do it.”

“But I can do it.” You argue.

“You did do it. That’s not the point. You should have rested. König could have taken your place. If this were a real mission I could’ve killed you. When you don’t rest you affect your whole body, you’re not as aware, and you’re not as strong.” Alejandro explains. You fidget, his words leaving a tiny sting. You made everything harder for everyone else is what it sounds like. He notices your drop in expression, and puts an arm around your shoulders for a comfort.

“I messed up.” You say.

“On the contrary, you did very well Mija. Especially with how tired you were.” Alejandro says. “But remember you don’t need to come on every operation. If you want to, you sure can try, but you’re going to tear yourself apart doing it.”

You nod understanding him a bit better. Sleep was needed. No going on missions tired. Get better rest. He smiles at you.

“I’m sorry.” You say.

“Ahh don’t apologize.” Alejandro reassures you. “There were no casualties, and we achieved our objective. Now it’s time for you to rest, and I’ll make Hunter write you a doctor’s note if I have to.”

You smile at that and nod. On the way back you need another break from walking. He offers to give you a piggyback while shifted. You give in and end up passing out. By the time he reaches the base, almost everyone is in bed. Except for Price. He shakes his head at the sight but stays quiet, while he carefully takes you off of the nagual’s back and carries you to your room.

Price didn’t know what to think when your file landed on his desk. Still wasn’t sure what to think now. One thing he did know, was that you were part of his hoard. Which meant he’d grown attached. As long as you were with the 141, he was satisfied.