The Safe Haven

"Keep moving!" Price ordered as they pushed deeper into the forest, Shepherd's men somewhere behind them.

"This is getting weird," Soap muttered. "That's the third blanket-nest I've seen animals just... respectfully walk around."

"Like invisible houses," Gaz observed, watching a tiger carefully skirt a wolf's blanket-marked territory before flopping down on its own nearby. "They all just... know."

"Speaking of weird," Roach whispered, "that lion just left its pride to go swimming with some bears."

"And?" Ghost raised an eyebrow.

"And twenty minutes ago it was napping with its family. Now it's... I don't know, taking a social swim?"

"You're overthinking it," Nikolai chuckled softly. "Look - the wolves."

They watched as a wolf pack split up naturally - three heading off to race with some cheetahs, two joining a mixed group at a water hole, others staying with the pack, all moving with casual confidence.

"Did that zebra just use the tiger's drinking spot?" Alex asked.

"After the tiger nodded at it, yeah," Kamarov confirmed. "But notice how it didn't go near the tiger's blanket area?"

"They've got boundaries," Farah noted, "just... reasonable ones."

"Like neighborhoods," Rodolfo mused. "Everyone has their own home, but they can visit anywhere."

"Guys," Ghost hissed, "we need to-"

"Holy shit," Soap interrupted as they emerged into a clearing.

A massive house seemed to grow from the forest itself. Through its glass walls, they glimpsed animals drifting in and out - some alone, some in groups, all moving with comfortable familiarity. But what made them freeze wasn't the house.

On a sun-warmed rock near the building, a teenager lounged with her current companions, underneath the shade of a orange tree. A massive crocodile stretched beneath her, a bear pressed against her side, a red cardinal on her shoulder, a komodo dragon at her feet. Around them, life flowed naturally - animals coming and going, some stopping to visit, others just passing through on their way to various blanket-marked territories scattered throughout the forest.

"I've officially lost it," Soap declared. "Completely cracked."

"You're not hallucinating," Price sighed. "The python sharing its sun rock with those rabbits is real too."

"The rabbits that just hopped off to race that cheetah?" Roach asked.

"No, different rabbits. Those ones are napping with the fox over there."

"Of course they are," Alejandro muttered. "Why not?"

The team watched as a young elephant wandered over to the girl for scratches, carefully avoiding the various blanket-territories around her rock, before heading back to its herd.

"At least the blanket thing makes sense," Horace offered. "Everyone needs a home base."

"Right," Rodolfo nodded. "Like the wolf that was just running with the cheetahs - still went back to the pack's blanket area to sleep."

"Can we focus?" Ghost hissed. "Armed men chasing us? Potential death? Ring any bells?"

"Mate," Soap gestured at the scene before them, "there's a teenager using a crocodile as a lounge chair while a bear acts as her pillow. I think we're past normal tactical concerns."

The girl turned another page in her book, completely unbothered by both her deadly companions and the armed soldiers staring at her in disbelief.