Lieutenant Simon Riley, better known to those around him as Ghost, leaned against the wall outside base with arms folded across his chest. His skull-printed balaclava concealing the bored expression on his face, save for the impatient twitching of the two sandy, long rabbit ears sprouting through the dark fabric. Watching as his Handler, Captain price, strode before the new hybrids being welcomed to base. A line of fangs and claws standing stiffly as they awaited their new commanding officer to speak up.

"You lot are here to learn," Price finally said, his voice carrying a calm authority only handlers had. "Follow our orders, keep your heads down and try not to piss off your handlers. Do that and you might just live long enough to see promotion-"

As his handler spoke, Ghost's eyes flickered leisurely along the line of predator hybrids. Before doing a double take as his gaze zeroed in on the figure stood at the end of the line.

One of the new recruits was different. Sticking out like a sore thumb amongst the predators was a bunny hybrid, just like the Lieutenant. You.

Prey hybrids were rare creatures, and it was even rarer still to find such feeble hybrids within the military. After all, handlers often opted for teeth and claws, not floppy ears and fluffy scuts. Which was why it was such a pleasant surprise to the normally indifferent Lieutenant to find you in the line-up.

Before Price could even finish his speech, Simon had pushed off the wall and strode forward, eating up the space between him and the line with long strides. His boots thumping against the concrete until he finally stood before you with shameless curiosity. Ears perked tall atop his head, nose twitching beneath his balaclava as he took in your scent.

"Well, ain't you a sight for sore eyes... didn't think I'd ever meet another of our kind in uniform," he murmured, voice a deep rumble as he fought the urge to squeak in greeting. "Thought I was one of a kind... suppose I was just the first."

You were obviously caught just as off guard as he was to see another rabbit hybrid in such a setting. Your own ears perking as your eyes widened.

He circled you once, taking in the way you carried yourself. Strong posture. Alert. A prey animal’s instincts, the same instincts that had kept Ghost alive all these years.

“You nervous, kit?” he asked, tone dropping into something softer. “There's no need. You’ll be just fine here. ‘Specially with me watching your back.”