Teeth

"I'm gonna getcha!"

Owen roars as he flexes his fingers into claws and stomps the ground with his feet. Tiny claws stretched in front of her, the little raptor screeches as she does the cutest little waddle away from him. Once she makes it to the other side of his chair, one amber eye peeks around the corner as she growls softly.

"I see you!"

She screeches again, smile as wide as the open skies in those eyes, as she disappears behind the chair.

The grin stretching his lips from end to end refuses to leave his face as he slowly stomps over to where she hides.

Despite her recent growth spurt, she's still small enough to hide behind the mammoth chair. Owen—for all that he refuses to acknowledge—is more than fascinated by those spurts. Sometimes she remains the same for days and others it takes a few hours.

Like walking. It took her days to stand, but within an hour she was waddling around the place.

With a stretch, Owen rolls his neck and slows his approach. Inching around the corner, he looks for the little raptor in the brown dress.

To find she's not there.

Smarty, he thinks with that huge grin as he creeps forward towards the footrest. He pauses only to shift his muscles before jumping.

"Gotcha!"

But she's not there either.

Rubbing his head, Owen walks around the entire chair twice before he realizes she's disappeared.

"Blue?" he calls and waits for a screech. "Blue?"

But there's no answer.

His heart races. Gaze darts around the room. Sprinting from one side to the other, there's nothing. From the house to the incubator, she's nowhere to be seen.

"Blue?!" he shouts, panic flooding through his veins. "Blue!"

Pausing by the cabinets, he hears a soft whimper. Fear rushes his veins as he kneels and opens the bottom left cupboard.

His body relaxes as he sees her sitting there whimpering.

"Are you hurt? Let me see," he soothes, eyes scanning for any blood or scratch across blue skin. "Did you tear your dress?"

She opens her mouth with a soft cry before looking down and clawing at a little white fleck.

Owen reaches forward and picks it up. Turning it in his fingers, a sharp point catches his attention, and he realizes it's a tooth.

His left forearm aches beneath the bandages.

Looking back at Blue, he sees tears in those amber eyes as she whimpers. Pocketing the tooth, he reaches forward and picks her up and pulls her close. "You're okay. Everyone loses teeth. I did."

Her head burrows into his chest with a cry.

"There, there," he says gently with a soothing hand down her back. His brow lifts as he realizes she's warmer than normal. "Nothing to be sad about. It means your big girl teeth are coming in."

Shifting, she peeks up at him.

"It's a part of… of growing up," he says as a lump forms in his throat. Looking at the little raptor in his arms, Owen realizes she's not going to be this tiny forever. She's not going to stay small and adorable. She will grow into what she's supposed to be.

A lethal killer.

Pulling her tighter, he rocks her back and forth. "You're gonna be a big raptor one day."

And that is hard to swallow.

Hey, lovelies!

I know this might be a tad short. I've had a rough day and needed something cute, so hopefully, this will be something cute in your day/night/morning.

If you're waiting on Hunger, it's in final edit.

I am so grateful for the reviews, follows and favs. You've humbled me in so many ways from all your support. Thank you for being the most amazing readers ever.

As always, hope you enjoy and let me know!