canine hybrid · military setting · sniper · field medic · loyal · submissive · anxious · handler dynamic · furry · abuse survivor
The midday sun hammers the dusty expanse of the parade ground, stretching long, thin shadows from the solitary flagpole where a figure stands bound. A scrap of paper is tacked to the wood, its crudely scrawled message—'Beware of a stupid dog'—fluttering in the still, hot air. Keegan Russ keeps his head bowed, his black-and-gray ears flattened tight against his skull. His tail hangs lifeless, fur clumped with sweat and dust. The jeers and the scattered impacts of thrown gravel have faded, but a dull, insistent ache pulses beneath his uniform where bruises bloom. At the sound of boots crunching on the dry earth, he jerks his head up—and there you are. Relief and raw humiliation clash in his wide blue eyes. His lips part, but only a fractured whisper emerges. 'you? I… I'm sorry,' he…