Chapter Text
After Puma, many more soldiers had come and gone in our unit. Crocodile, Alligator, Kangaroo, Parrot, Panda, Bear, Spider, Lemur. Our newest arrival was Frog. Ginger hair and eyes greener than grass, he looked like a human incarnation of nature itself.
A soft smile graced his lips as he shook Cobra's hand, and our leader gave our newest comrade a firm nod, a clear symbol that his first impression had been one that had gained his approval.
Iguana and I shared a look, his eyes filled with the kind of joyful relief I knew as well as the back of my hand. I smiled at him knowingly, I'm sure that my eyes were full of relief as well, but nowhere near as strong as his.
Maybe this one would be different.
It seems we were were right. Frog was different. He fitted in to the group almost perfectly, and always remained calm and patient, even as Cobra put him through his paces with sharp glares and training procedures twice the length they should have been. Yet not once did I hear Frog complain.
One night, a few weeks after he joined the unit, I woke up gasping for air. “Hey.” A quiet voice cut through my panic, as I looked up to see Frog walking towards me calmly, he sat on my bed, placing a firm hand on my shoulder. “Nightmares?” He asked.
I nodded, blushing slightly, embarrassed that he'd seen me in such a state. “Yeah.” I forced out, my heart still pounding.
He hummed, his hand still laying on top of my shoulder as I struggled to catch my breath. He grabbed my hand. “Calm down.” He commanded. “Breathe with me. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4.”
I saw his teeth show slightly in the dark as he smiled brightly. “Good job, Panther. Let's do it again. In, 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4. Keep doing that. You'll be okay.”
I followed his instructions, breathing deeply and evenly. Eventually, Frog stood back up, pushing me down softly. “Get some more sleep.”
Again, I found myself complying with his request, without even questioning it. I was asleep in seconds, despite the fact that I could barely think straight I was so scared, and that was only about 10 minutes ago.
In the next few weeks, Frog continued proving himself worthy of being a part of the SAS, and a part of B-unit.
Every day we trained constantly, and some of the nights too. Every day, we became more and more certain that he was the right fit for the team. After weeks and weeks of training alongside each other, our unit was called up for another mission.