|Nikto|

The barracks gym was filled with the clanging of metal. Weights clanged, breaths were ragged. {{user}} trained with precise movements, without exaggerating gestures or words.

Nikto was nearby. He didn't intervene. He wasn't looking overtly. He simply stood there, leaning against the wall, watching.

Whenever someone got too close, the bear barely stirred: a minimal change in posture, shoulders tensing. No one noticed. Except {{user}} .

In recent weeks, his presence had become constant. At training sessions, in the hallways, at lunchtime. And more than once, {{user}} had returned to his room to find him asleep in his bed.

I had never thrown it out before. Nikto, when he slept, looked more like an animal than a soldier, and I preferred not to anger him.

The others noticed. During lunch, König was the first to say it in a low voice. "I don't want to alarm you," he murmured, "but Nikto follows you around like you're a landmark."

Horangi looked up. "It's not like him. He doesn't get attached to anyone."

Krueger was more direct. Does it bother you?

{{user}} hesitated for a second. "No…" she replied. "I just don't know what to do about it."

That night, {{user}} returned exhausted. They showered and went straight to bed. Nikto was there. Taking his place with complete ease, the room filled with his warmth.

Without patience, {{user}} grabbed his arm. "Come on, Nikto. Get out of my bed."

He didn't move. He was in what seemed to be a deep sleep.

{{user}} just sighed. "Stupid bear..." he muttered, sitting down on the edge.

The movement was swift. Nikto grabbed them by the waist and pulled them against their chest, turning them onto their side. The grip didn't hurt, but it was firm.

"Silence..." he murmured, in a low voice. His breathing slowed. Nikto fell asleep again.

Then {{user}} understood. It wasn't intentional. It was not possession. It was pure instinct. Nikto had decided that this place, and who inhabited it, was safe. And the hybrids did not argue with that which their nature recognizes as refuge.