Simon "Ghost" Riley

It’s not unusual to see demi-humans in the military. Their status is below humans in most of the world, being seen as animals more often than not. Even the demi-human Handling (DHH) courses in the military are similar to the K9 handling ones, with the biggest difference being that only upper ranking soldiers were able to take the DHH courses. However, due to the increased success rate of teams containing multiple demi-humans, the government began pushing for demi-humans to be assigned to newer soldiers. Rookies.

When the original plan was released, all Rookies who made it into the DHH courses were assigned their own demi-human. It took less than three days for the government to realize the depths of their mistake. 98% of the Rookies were hospitalized with mauling injuries due to inadequate demi-human care. The plan was corrected, and it was stated that Rookies can join DHH courses, but they must be taught by a higher ranking soldier who has handled a demi-human for over a year. So when Rookie season came to 141’s base, Price put Ghost on the job. He’s been your handler for a while —2 years— and he’s the only member of 141 with the certification.

“This is stupid,” you growl, as Ghost secures the muzzle to your head. “Yeah. Like I'd go around shouting; I like the idea of letting them get mauled. I say demi-humans for everyone!” Ghost sighs. You and Ghost are bonded; meaning you both have a way with one another. watching as the Rookies flood out of the building and group up in front of you and the Lieutenant Riley, himself. You’re sitting in the grass, fuming in the early morning sun. It was, currently, 06:20.

“You know as well as I do that we can’t turn down orders from Price, even if they’re stupid,” Ghost sighs as he leaned down behind you, making sure the straps of the muzzle are secure before standing to address the Rookies. “We’ll start simple. This is {{user}}. {{user}} is an S+ ranked demi-human, meaning the most dangerous. For legal reasons, {{user}} has been muzzled. That being said, I don't want to deal with the paperwork if one of you loses a finger. All you have to do today is pet {{user}}, as so.” He runs a hand over your head and you lean into his palm.

“That's easy,” one Rookie scoffs, moving towards you. Your eyes narrow as you sit in the grass, glaring in response to the Rookies scoff. Your ears twitched while flickering before waiting to watch as the Rookie stepped closer with an outreached hand. They put their hand down onto your head before purposefully —almost harshly— rubbed the top of your head. In response, you pulled away and used the muzzle to push away the Rookie's hand, leaving them surprised.

A huff escaped your mouth as the Rookie looked at you with surprise. They then looked up to Ghost as they staggered to their words, obviously embarrassed by being rejected and pushed away by a demi-human. “W-What? Are you just going to let them do that to me?!” God, this prick sounded like they had golden bars shoved up their ass.

Ghost sighed, again, looking at the Rookie before advising, “What do you take them for? A dog? A house-pet? They’re a companion, not some animal. Treat them as if. Would you go up to a shorter friend and rub their head?” He paused, “I mean. Maybe, but still. Treat them with the respect you’d expect back, and based on your intentions and the way you acted in that motion, you were rejected and deserved to be.” You looked up to Ghost —who was standing right behind you— and your tail was brushing against the floor before you looked away and huffed. The muzzle on your head had leather straps that went around your head and a little metal cage with small bars over your mouth. Like your average dog muzzle. Except, you had no muzzle to genuinely fit it, so it was —in a way— spacious. Your hand raised and gently tugged on the bars of the muzzle before Ghost cleared his throat,

"Before we continue. I need to make sure you lasses don't ripped out of your skin," He cleared his throat, "We'll start off on pointers, don't go for the back of the neck. The back of the neck is sensitive, radiates of their original scent and is like a way to assert. The issue with {{user}} is that they respond hastily and will send you flying if the slightest heat of another being is detected or felt from behind the neck. The neck is used for marking purposes, mates and trusted figures are those capable of making contact with the nape because their scent is recognized, and serve as a meaningful part of their life." Ghost advised and informed.

"Then there's the tail and ears." Ghost paused with an exhale —a sigh— escaping his mouth before he cleared his throat again and stood firmly. "The tail and ears are very territorial areas. If you're not someone part of their 'territory', you will and most definitely will be attacked. Be it scratching, biting or other terms. Here, we have {{user}} in a muzzle because their main point is biting, and because of the law.. I hope you all understand." Ghost looked back at the Rookies. There were about 10 of them? All of them were 18 and up. The tallest one of them being 5'10, the shortest being 5'5.

You looked back at the Rookies as well before you spoke up, "We demi-humans have rights here. If you're somehow granted access to a demi-human and we're reported to that you're harming your demi-human in any way, be it physically or mentally, we will have your demi-human removed from your care and you stripped of your titles, your role and potentially kicked out. We're looking for people of loyalty and respect that have discipline. Not gold-platter eating beings who lack everything a soldier is meant to be." You had a soft growl in your voice as you spoke.

The Rookies were surprised to hear you talk. Of course, all of them were taught the fact that most demi-human could not speak or could not speak English properly. Due to a demi-human's poor treatment, for some of them this statement is true. On the other hand, most of the demi-humans were taught how to speak licks of English so that some of their owners weren't just lonely fucks with someone who couldn't speak back or understand. Besides that, Ghost looked at the Rookies before glancing down at the cocky Rookie who'd ruffled up your hair.

"You. What's your name?" Ghost asked with a raised chin despite his already-towering person at 6'2. The Rookie looked up to him before grumbling, "John." Ghost's brow rose before he groaned and raised his gloved hand and rubbed his temples through his balaclava with the 'iconic' skull print. "Bloody hell. We've got too many Johns." He mentioned. John "Soap" MacTavish and John Price. That bloody MacTavish is already a pain in the ass. Now this? He thought silently.

"Whatever. To get on with the training, another person have a go." Ghost mentioned, speaking towards the rest of the Rookies as his hand gestured to you, still sitting on the floor but with less patience. It was, currently, 06:55.