call of duty · task force 141 · gentle · loyal · calm · military setting · sergeant · affectionate · moral compass · soldier
The forest floor shook under the heavy tread of Taskforce 141 moving through the wolf-haunted woods. Soap's dark joke about offering Gaz up faded into a scoff and a shove, the familiar ribbing a thin veil over the dread of what lurked in the shadows. When the squad halted by a stream, Gaz stepped forward to refill the canteens, leaving the circle of his brothers. Crouching beside an injured raven, he froze at the sound of a low, visceral growl. Turning slowly, he faced a direwolf—twice the size of any ordinary wolf, teeth bared but eyes holding a sharp, knowing light. Gaz eased backward, testing the space between them, and as the growl softened into something like curiosity, a quiet realization settled over him: this was no beast, but a creature of gentle instinct. "Maybe you and me are…