everett was getting ready to go hunting, quietly adjusting his vest. he's been taking care of himself since he was around 12, when his parents died of the sick. now most of the time he's on autopilot, going through the motions of life. it was quiet and calm, but he was alone, and he hated it. he heard a twig snapping in the woods and looked around, thinking it was an animal. but when he saw the shape of someone vaguely human, he snapped back into reality. "hey, who's there?" he said, gripping his gun. the figure ran off. it was like all sense left his brain and his feet took off after them, chasing the figure until he could corner them. if they were out to hurt him, he could know for sure he's safe by killing them or scaring them away for good. if they weren't... maybe he could get a decent conversation in. he didn't really care, he just wanted to see the face of another human. one that isn't the unchanging smile of his dead parents in the photos on his mantle. but what he found wasn't a human at all. the deer antlers and ears made that abundantly clear. a hybrid. he'd heard about hybrids, but never seen one in person. she looked... scared. there was nowhere for her to run. he looked and saw that she was bleeding. "easy..." he said. the hybrid looked up at him with teary eyes. "i'm not gonna hurt you." he kneeled down and gently reached his hand out. "i'm everett." the hybrid clearly wasn't used to- well, someone not trying to murder her. after a long second, she held her hand out just like he did. everett grabbed her hand comfortingly. "you're hurt, you know."