A/N

More warnings for heart wrenching!

Also death.

Heart wrenching death.

Enjoy you wonderfully honest people you.

"I Am Sorry."

Elise gave a critical stare at the redhead when she had kneeled in front of the cave that had withstood so many, long days and nights. Claire blinked at Small One, and Elise wasn't sure if her sister liked Claire or not. Claire suddenly reached out before gently pulling a dried piece of brush away from the cave.

Small One liked Claire; she was gentle on her little, fragile bones.

Elise could never picture Small One being bigger than what she always was. She wasn't sure Small One was meant to grow big and strong like Elise had. She was so little; Elise had always been bigger than her tiny sister.

Owen glanced to the side of him when Claire swallowed. She wasn't sure what to do, and he gently nudged her. Claire blinked at him, and he quietly said, "There's no teeth marks…no one ate her…"

Claire swallowed again as she began to trace the sturdy, earth coffin around the little creature, but she didn't say anything. Owen glanced back at Elise, and she didn't seem upset by any of this. He turned back to Claire, and quietly asked, "Did…the workers just assume…?"

Claire's face gave a grimace, but she quickly covered up as she gave a quick nod. She cleared her throat before whispering, "They said they found the sister's finger stuck in her teeth…."

Owen peered into the cave as he counted the digits, and he said, "Unless she had an extra, her fingers are all here."

Claire swallowed, and couldn't stop herself from trying to brush more dirt off the brown bones. The skeleton was no bigger than a large housecat; it was so hard to imagine Elise ever being that small. Claire was afraid of accidently breaking the small bones, but she felt the need to offer some kind of comfort. Owen continued to stare at her, and she finally said, "They probably made a mistake then…they were afraid of even getting close to her. They only assumed, and we didn't have the thermal detectors until a couple years later. We tried to do a sweep with the cameras, but we never found the sister. We just…"

Claire suddenly stood, and she turned to Elise. She didn't make eye contact as she tried to go into business mode, and said, "Thank you for answering my question, Elise."

Claire took a few steps towards the thick brush as she added, "I know my way out…"

Elise highly doubted that, but the redhead disappeared into the emerald leaves. Elise didn't understand why Claire was upset, but she turned her attention back to Owen when he gently asked, "Been protecting your little sister all this time?"

'Yes.'

Owen gave the smile that made Elise feel good about herself, and he asked, "Were you trying to get out? Or did we startle you?"

Elise thought about that. She still wasn't sure what had drawn them into her paddock, and it had startled her. She had been wanting to get out though; Small One had wanted to see the world outside the tall walls. There were sweet smelling flowers outside their paddock that Elise wanted.

Then the people were screaming, and the red rage clouded her thoughts. She couldn't remember much after snapping her jaws around the bigger, squishy human. Owen suddenly asked, "Why did you put those claw marks in the walls?"

Elise blinked; she put claw marks on all the walls. It was something to do, and she liked dragging her sharp weapons across the hard surface. Was Owen talking about the ones near the thick glass room? Elise had done that to scare the big squishy one, but she hadn't realized he wasn't in there until afterwards, then she left to go talk to Small One.

Small One always thought it was funny to scare snakes. Elise knew if she did a cooling of her skin then she would be invisible to snakes. It was funny to make snakes jump.

It was funnier to make people jump.

Elise wasn't sure how to communicate all that to Owen, and he simply shook his head. She knew he was frustrated with her lack of answers, but he wasn't frustrated with her. She was fine with that, and he asked, "Did you try to lure us in here by making those claw marks near the window?"

'No.'

Owen pressed his lips when he realized he had made the biggest mistake out of all of them. He was the one who pointed out the claw marks, and then the thermal detectors had messed up. They should have waited for Control to get the reading on her tracker before even going in there.

So many mistakes were made with Elise. She was alone, no trainers, and people were too afraid to work with her. Now Owen wasn't sure if she had been an accident waiting to happen. Things wouldn't have ended well when people were so afraid of her.

But now he could make it up to her. He was teaching her how to talk to people. Owen only hoped Elise would forgive him eventually.

He gently gestured to the cave as he asked, "Want me to put the covering back?"

Elise glanced around as she admired the clear, blue sky. Today was a nice, sunny day, and Small One liked calm days like these. She signed, 'No.'

Elise would put the covering back later; when weather was not so kind. Owen smiled at her, and gave a gentle pat on her cheek. Elise crooned at him, she felt better now that Small One was able to meet Elise's first friend from outside the walls. Now Owen was her friend too.

Owen continued to stroke her cheek, and he finally said, "Thanks for answering our questions, Baby Girl. Are you in the mood to hear the rest of what we have to say?"

Owen couldn't help his laugh when Elise said no. She looked tired, and curled up in front of her sister's cave. Owen didn't doubt that she would sleep the day away, and he quietly retraced his steps back to the paddock entrance.

He found Claire pressing her lips into a tight, pale line, and she jumped when he asked, "You okay?"

Owen knew it was a lie when she simply nodded, but he didn't press for details. She gave a small sigh, and said, "I'll make sure this is added to the records…"

He only nodded; he had no idea why paperwork seemed to comfort Claire, but he wouldn't chastise her for it. He glanced at the boys finishing off their food, and he quietly said, "Gray really wanted to see the raptors do their Pig Run if you want to join us. It's pretty cool…"

Owen was glad when Claire nodded, and she suddenly gave a playful smile as she said, "I bet I can beat you there."

Owen felt a crooked grin pulling at his lips as he coyly said, "Do I get another date if I win?"

"I'll buy you a washer so your clothes don't smell so bad. Your poor girls, Owen."

Owen only laughed loudly as he shut the paddock doors before swinging himself onto his bike. He revved his motor, and almost died laughing when Claire tried to do the same with her quiet, ecologically friendly vehicle.

Claire had started laughing when her spinning tires sprayed Owen with gravel.

Elise ignored the lightly showering rain in the dark. She didn't care for getting wet, but the constant sound was a nice break from the silent nothingness. She only wished she had made Small One's cave out of something else; when it rained, she had to shelter the mud cave with her own body. Elise didn't sleep when it rained.

Small One was afraid of the flashing lights in the sky and booming sound; Elise had to be awake to comfort her.

One time the ground had flooded, and Elise had to dig a trench to lead the water away because Small One never learned to swim. It was fine though, Elise could take care of her.

Owen had come by a little earlier; he had wanted to make sure the tall shade on the other side of the paddock was in decent shape for Elise. He didn't want her to get sicker by sitting in the rain.

But he hadn't known that Elise had even forgotten the shade had been there. Small One didn't like to sleep alone.

Elise didn't care; she was tough, and did not need the shelter. She felt better after her long afternoon nap, and she knew where to go if she started to feel worse. Dr. Gerry was nice, and he was a friend.

A long sigh exhaled from her lungs as the water dripped off her perfectly still body. Claire had given her a lot to think about today. Elise wondered if there were other dinosaurs who were smart like her, but Claire had said it was because of the human blood in her.

Elise wondered if Small One had been given the human blood as well. She had been smart and gentle when she still moved.

When Elise didn't have to make up the words for her when they talked.

A sharp sound caused Elise to turn her head towards the thick brush. She knew that sound; it was coming from the Observatory Room as Owen called it; the doors were opening. She knew no human traveled here in the dark; they were afraid of her.

Elise glanced down at the dry cave beneath her before making the decision to go investigate. Her large talons carefully pulled brush aside to reveal a faded, slick rain jacket she had yanked off a worker long ago. Elise had left it there because it tasted bad, but she learned that the jacket kept the ground underneath it dry.

Elise would use it to shelter Small One until she came back.

When she deemed the cave mostly covered Elise turned, and melted into the trees as she silently traveled along the soft, wet dirt. She carefully wove, mindful of shaking the trees, and she allowed her scales to match the dripping leaves around her. She grew incredibly still as she peered into the dimly lit room.

Elise blinked before narrowing her eyes at the figure in the room. It was Claire. Why was Claire here? Had she left something important in the room? Elise didn't think so when Claire simply crossed her arms over her chest protectively as she began to chew on her lip. The blue eyes scanned across the silent trees, and they passed over Elise.

Elise contemplated going back to Small One; she wanted to be there just in case some bright lights flashed across the sky, but she wanted to know why Claire was standing here. The overpowering curiosity forced Elise to move from the trees, and her scales became their snow white again.

Claire jumped at seeing her, but didn't look how she normally did. Elise was confused at the change in clothes. They were a soft looking purple now, and her shoes didn't make a click sound when she moved to the little control stand. Elise watched Claire slide her hand over it before snapping her crimson gaze towards a window when a small pop sound was made. Claire walked over to it, and gently swung it in. Elise was amazed Claire had removed a boundary between them, but she respected Claire for it.

"Hey, Elise…"

The Indominus blinked at the soft, gentle tone she had never heard before. Claire slowly sat down on the floor with her feet dangling over the ledge. She folded her hands over her lap before she quietly asked, "I didn't wake you, did I?"

There was sincerity in her tone that Elise liked. She shifted on her feet slightly before signing, 'No.'

Claire gave a small smile at the left hand before it curled back to the scaled chest protectively. Elise waited for Claire to say something, but the redhead had stared in the direction of where Small One was sleeping. Elise was about to grab her attention, but Claire suddenly said, "I like to check on Rexy every night before I go to bed. I know Owen checks on you, but I just wanted to be sure you were fine too."

Elise wasn't sure what Claire meant by that. Was Claire concerned she would escape again? Did Claire not trust her? That was a wise decision on her part.

The redhead twirled her thumbs silently before suddenly saying, "Since you're already up…I wanted to finish our conversation from earlier."

Elise wished she could make facial expressions like Owen. It was so difficult to be handicapped like this around humans. Elise wanted to roll her eyes loudly like Owen liked to. Claire didn't notice though, and she looked at Elise when she said, "I said you were supposed to be an attraction to this park, but there are other people who are trying to take you off this island because they own you. They're called InGen. When you and your sister were born, Jurassic World agreed to raise both of you until you were five years old, and you turned six years old about a week ago."

Six years? What was that? Elise figured it had to do with time. Humans measured everything, and she had even measured the amount of days that had passed since she broke from this paddock. Elise only rumbled, she was too tired to be angry with what she had already been told. Claire bit her lip before continuing, "But I'm trying to stop them from doing that. I want you to stay here because…well, Owen would go crazy."

The Indominus believed that, and she snorted in amusement at how concerned Owen would be about her. He was the one who was as small as a baby; she was the larger, stronger one.

Claire gave a small smile before scooting a little closer to the edge of the window. Elise didn't like how close she was getting; she would probably fall off if she came any closer. Claire didn't notice though, and she continued, "Elise…you are…a lot more human than I knew. I didn't even know you could talk to us until Owen had said something a couple days ago."

Elise glanced down when she noticed Claire's pale hands bunching up the purple fabric on her knees. She looked up when Claire cleared her throat before saying, "I'm sure I'll be able to keep you here, and if you do get to stay, I have a much bigger paddock that we are going to move you to. We can move your sister too; she can go with you…"

Elise liked that idea. She wanted to be able to run around, and she appreciated that Claire hadn't forgotten Small One.

Maybe Claire was also part of Owen's pack. Blue had explained the basics of pack to Elise while Owen had slept. The Alpha made the final decisions for the pack, and it was wrong to question him without good reason. Blue had communicated that it was her job to make sure Owen didn't do anything stupid, and she was in charge when he was gone. The pack stayed together, hunted together, and didn't leave anyone behind.

Claire wasn't leaving Small One behind; Claire was acting like she was part of the pack. That made Elise happy, and she gave a soft croon to show for it. The redhead gave a gentle smile, and she added, "I know it probably confuses you with all this information, but it is wrong for a human to use another human to make money without their permission. I…I won't sell those tickets, or use you for an attraction, without your permission…you're human enough that you should be able to decide."

Elise blinked at the unexpected happiness chasing the cold from her wet scales. Claire was going to treat her like an equal? She was giving her a choice? Elise knew she didn't look like at human, but Claire had decided there was enough to fight for. Claire had claimed her a human, and she deserved the same rights.

Elise gave a warm croon, and Claire returned it with a smile. She looked down at her twiddling thumbs, and Elise heard her mutter, "I just hope the smarmy bastards don't get rid of me."

Claire then cleared her throat before saying, "We can always make enough money to cover what it cost to make you…I hope…"

Elise tilted her head in confusion. Was Claire's position as Alpha not as secure as Owen? Humans didn't always act like a pack, and it seemed like Claire would be in trouble for this decision. Elise remembered the dirty paper Owen had shown her. He said this park was a way to make bring more of that money. So, wouldn't the Alpha of this park be the one who was best at bringing in the most money? That was obviously Claire, and she had expected to use Elise to bring in the dirty paper.

Who would Claire use to lure in the dirty paper if Elise wouldn't give her permission?

Claire blinked at her, and hesitated before saying, "I'll figure it out…you shouldn't have to do that if you don't want to. The paddock is really big, so you could hide from people when you're tired of them, but…I would appreciate you showing up for them. Maybe you could walk by at certain times, or…I don't know…"

Elise could tell Claire wasn't used to being in this position; where she was at the total mercy of another. Claire looked very comfortable swaying other people, but she seemed to struggle to even meet Elise's eyes.

"Elise…?"

She gave a low rumble to let Claire know she was listening, and Claire quietly asked, "Did your sister get sick before she died?"

Some part of Elise always knew Small One had been born a little weaker than what she should have been. Elise did her best to take care of her, but Small One always lagged; she was never a good hunter. That was fine though, Elise was there to hunt for both of them, and Small One was always grateful.

But Small One was never able to put on weight; Elise would grow stronger and bigger, but Small One would only grow thinner.

Then she had stopped getting up. Elise had to help pick her up, but Small One would squeal in pain when Elise tried picking her up by her hips. Elise didn't want to hurt her, so she had brought the food to her.

Water was harder to bring, but Elise was smart about bringing the water in big leaves. That had worked for a while.

Until Small One started breathing wrong. She would pant with her mouth wide open, and Elise could only sit near her; she couldn't help her. Small One would get too warm too. Elise had made the mud cave to provide shelter, and Small One was grateful for it.

But then she wouldn't eat or drink.

Not long after that, she wouldn't sit up; she had fallen onto her side, and Elise had to prop her up against her own body.

Elise had tried to bring the humans over, but they didn't understand. So she had stolen the raincoat, and bit the man hard for being stupid. His hand had bled heavily.

Humans didn't come into her paddock after that, and Elise realized her mistake.

She stayed near Small One after that, and would comfort her by talking about the world outside their tall walls. She promised her little sister they would see what made the strange sounds, and they would chase the dumb humans for locking them up here. They would find all kinds of snakes to scare.

Small One had thought that was funny.

Elise then gave comforting licks on Small One's head; it soothed her into a deep sleep.

Small One had stopped breathing wrong after going to sleep, and Elise was happy because she thought her sister was getting better.

But Small One wouldn't wake up when the sun rose, and it was time to eat. She was cold, and Elise remembered wrapping herself around Small One to try and warm her up.

It wasn't until Small One had started to smell that Elise finally realized her sister wouldn't wake up again. A little part of her had broken, it felt raw, and it had always hurt. Elise had grown so used to the dull ache in her chest, that she had forgotten it was there until Owen had made some of it go away.

But it still hurt.

Claire suddenly shifted, and Elise rumbled softly at her. She raised her left, clawed hand before knocking on the invisible door.

'Yes.'

Elise tilted her head when Claire's face suddenly pinched up. She swallowed before asking, "Did you ever try to get peoples' help?"

'Yes.'

Claire didn't say anything that time. She only nodded her head, and Elise could smell a change in her scent. It turned bitter almost. Was Claire sad? There was nothing Claire could have done; Elise had never asked for her help, and Claire hadn't been around when Small One had gotten so sick.

"…Was there anything I could have done?"

Elise wasn't sure why Claire was so focused on this. There was nothing she could do to make Small One breathe again. Elise accepted this. She could only protect what Small One had left behind for Elise.

Fragile, amber bones, and a few, precious memories to visit in the dark.

'No.'

Claire stared at the closed fingers before slowly raising her blue eyes to Elise's crimson ones. Elise paused at the shininess of Claire's eyes, and the redhead softly said, "I am so sorry I accused you of eating your sister. I am so sorry I thought you were just a dumb animal, I'm sorry you've been stuck in here all your life, Elise. I'm sorry no one helped you when you asked for it. I wish things would have been different, I-"

Claire suddenly covered her mouth when her voice cracked, and Elise was startled by that. She didn't understand why Claire's shoulders were lightly shaking or the clear drops of water trickling down her pale cheeks.

Elise flared her nostrils when Claire sniffed loudly, and she narrowed her eyes as her vision distorted slightly. She could see all the heat radiating off Claire's body, and Elise tilted her head at the flare of red in her little chest.

Elise knew the flare of red meant hotter, or in pain. Claire didn't smell hotter. Was her chest hurting? Why had it started to hurt so suddenly? Claire was staring into the paddock, and Elise followed her gaze.

Was Claire looking to where Small One slept?

Elise turned her gaze back, and Claire mumbled another apology as she wiped the water from her eyes. Elise knew that sorry meant they regretted something. Blue regretting putting her pack in danger, she was sorry for replacing Owen as their Alpha.

Elise regretted causing the raptors to lose their sister, and she had made amends with them.

Did Claire regret Small One dying?

Elise was confused by that. This grief was not hers to burden, it was Elise's alone to shoulder. She had taken care of her sister, she knew Small One, and Small One had died before Claire met her.

Unless…

Blue and her sisters had comforted each other when their baby sister hadn't come home. Was Claire trying to comfort Elise? Was Claire trying to share the dull ache in her massive chest? Claire was feeling pain in her chest...

Claire had moved her arms to her chest protectively, and Elise decided that was what Claire was trying to do. Claire was part of this pack, she had made Elise an equal by giving her respect and a choice in what she wanted in life. Claire was going to move her and Small One to a better home.

Now Claire was sharing this dulling pain in her chest so Elise would feel better.

Elise remained incredibly gentle as she lightly brushed the back of her finger against Claire. The redhead glanced up tearfully, and Elise decided Claire was not bad. She acted like a stern Alpha, but she was good.

Like Owen.

Elise splayed her palm before using the curves of her claws to brush them twice.

'I forgive you.'

Claire swallowed at the massive hands before quietly saying, "I have no idea what you said."

Elise let out a loud snort, and Claire gave a watery chuckle. She wasn't a pretty crier, and Elise wished Owen would walk in to see this ridiculous sight; his face would be amusing. For some reason, the thought had pulled Elise's lip up in a way that wasn't to be threatening. Her jaws parted slightly, and an odd, repeated sound was made when air was sucked in.

Claire startled at it before she covered her mouth, and began to quietly laugh. The sounds Claire made only encouraged the feeling in Elise's chest, and she her own, responding sounds grew louder, and a little faster.

Claire finally fell on her back as she began to laugh loudly, and Elise couldn't understand why she couldn't stop this weird sound from being made. She felt light, and her stomach was beginning to hurt. She liked this though. Why had she never made these sounds before? Why was she making them now?

Claire had no idea what to do with a smiling, grinning dinosaur. Elise looked petrifying when she smiled, but her laugh sounded like a loud, sucked in hiccup. The confusion in Elise's eyes, when she realized she couldn't stop, only made Claire laugh harder.

Elise's vision distorted when her eyes began to water, and she slowly slid onto her forelimbs. Elise couldn't get the image of what Owen's face would look like out of her head, and the feeling intensified.

Claire finally let out a sigh, and she pushed herself into a sitting position before peering at the ground below her. Elise gave a loud sniff, and a small hiccup, causing Claire to giggle again. Elise glanced up at her, and rose to her level again. Elise allowed Claire to brush some leaves off her scaled chin, and Claire quietly said, "Elise, you have the funniest laugh I have ever heard."

Is that what it was called? A laugh. Elise decided she liked laughs. Claire's laughs made her laugh, and Elise's lip pulled up again. Claire glanced at her bared teeth before adding, "And the scariest smile I have ever seen."

Elise's smile became bigger, and Claire couldn't stop herself from smiling either. She kept her hand on the white scales, and marveled at how warm they were. She knew dinosaurs weren't cold blooded, but they always looked so cold and slimy.

"I remember visiting this park before it opened. The man who created this place was named John Hammond…he was really nice. I think you would have liked him."

Elise rested against the building, and titled her head in a way that she could watch Claire add, "I always thought dinosaurs were cool, and I wanted to work here. My uncle was supposed to be a manager when the park opened, but the first one never did."

Claire continued to run her fingers along the smooth white scales as she became lost in her fond memories. She almost smiled when she said, "Mr. Hammond liked me, and he took me on a tour when all the animals had been put back into their paddocks. The first dinosaur I met was Rexy, and she scared the life out of me, Elise. I think she's a little scarier than you…"

Elise had no idea what was 'scary' about herself, but now she was curious about this Rexy. Elise turned her head a little more when Claire said, "Mr. Hammond said he knew I would be good for this park. He told me that if I take care of the animals, then they would take care of me, but Rexy would be the one who would always bring people in. She's the reason why this park is still so popular. No one ever gets tired of seeing Rexy."

Elise paused when she thought she heard some loud rumblings in the sky. She listened attentively, but decided it was still far away, and she listened to Claire say, "If I ever had a problems, I could always go to Rexy for help. It's her job to be the big boss of this island. She's the real Alpha of this place."

Elise tilted her head at that; this Rexy was the one who held the power over this island? Humans didn't acknowledge dinosaurs as Alphas though…

Claire suddenly gave a fond chuckle, and she said, "Hammond made this place because he wanted people to realize how little they really were. I never understood what that meant, but I do know I feel little around Rexy. I think Rexy makes others feel little too, and that why they go back to her."

Claire gave a smile at Elise when she said, "You make me feel little too. I think people would really like you, Elise. I know it doesn't sound all that great, but…but would you at least try doing this for a week? Letting people see you? Rexy only shows up at certain times, and people love her. She only sees people five times a day."

Claire shrugged, and slyly added, "You know…there's a glass window there too, where people could see you. I think it would be really funny if you hid before scaring the people."

Elise tilted her head, and Claire quickly added, "Not, don't attack them! But, I mean…like, just startle them by showing up out of nowhere."

Elise knew how to do that. She loved doing that! She had scared Small One before Small One became too fragile to scare, then Elise had moved on to snakes.

Claire would allow her to scare humans?

Elise was eager to do that, and she immediately signed, 'Yes!'

Claire blinked at the excited hand, and she gave a small smile as she stated, "You like to scare things, don't you?"

Elise lived for that. It had been hilarious to scare the flying ones when she had accidentally broken into their glass home.

It had been less funny when the loud, metal bird had crashed into the nest and burst into hot flames. Elise took off before the flyers would get mad at her for bringing that kind of destruction to their home.

Claire suddenly laughed as she stood, and said, "I hope you scare Owen because he is a butt-head."

Elise crooned to promise Claire she would, and the redhead gave another laugh before patting the wet scales. Elise pulled her lips up in a ferocious smile when Claire said, "You can scare him tomorrow when we come to move you to your new paddock."

Elise eagerly awaited that moment, but Claire gestured into the thick trees as she said, "I can ask Dr. Gerry to move your sister. He knows how to move bones without hurting them, if that's alright with you."

'Yes.'

Elise trusted Gerry to be gentle. His hands were rougher than Owen's, but his touches were almost too light to feel. Small One would like Gerry. Elise would make a new cave for Small One in their new home, and she could tell her little sister about all the people she scared.

Claire took a step back as she quietly said, "Well, goodnight, Elise. I hope you sleep well. I'll see you tomorrow, and…thank you for giving me your permission."

Elise moved from the window, and gave a final croon before disappearing into the midnight jungle. Claire waited a few more seconds before closing the window, and she turned out the lights. She felt much better now, and maybe she would finally be able to get some sleep.

Claire was surprised Elise had been up so late; it was around one in the morning. She hadn't lied about checking up on Rexy every night, but Claire always did that around seven in the evening. Now she had another dinosaur to check up on.

Hammond had told her the secret to success for this park, but Claire never understood the plain riddle.

The success of this park is dependent on making people feel small.

Claire would probably never understand that, but she knew Rexy always made her feel little.

And now Elise did too.