T H R E E
Upon arrival at the nests, 'Fulsamee deposited the human hatchling in an unused nest and tried to leave the scene quietly. It was one of the only things he ever failed to do, as 'Rolamee found him and said, "Thought you'd get out of it easy, did you? No, until the hatchling can support himself, you will care for it. I know you haven't really done this before, so if you need help, ask 'Sonamir, 'Olimir, or 'Nuramir. They'll know what to do." With that, 'Rolamee left 'Fulsamee alone with the hatchling he'd led the pack to.
Where to start, he thought. That much was fairly obvious - humans, like any other creature he knew, needed to eat. And from what he'd seen of raptor hatchlings, very frequently. 'Fulsamee checked that the hatchling was secure for the moment, went out with 'Uramee, and quickly found and killed a small Stegosaurus. Between the two of them, they brought back a fair quantity of meat for the hatchling. When offered the tender bites, he jammed as much of it as he could into his mouth, and alternately chewed and sucked on the meat until it was extremely dry. He then threw the rock-hard chunk at 'Fulsamee, and hit. The meat bounced off 'Fulsamee's leg, but he was still surprised at the effort it had made.
The now well-fed hatchling paused uncertainly, then released a loud belch that caused 'Fulsamee to jump back about a foot. This, combined with his startled expression, seemed amusing to the hatchling, who immediately broke into laughter. 'Fulsamee took this as a good sign, it at least liked him. After calming down, the hatchling settled down in the nest, curled up slightly, and immediately fell asleep. Finally, thought 'Fulsamee. I can get back to normal living for a moment.
He didn't know just how wrong he was. Over the course of the night, 'Fulsamee was woken by the hatchling no less than four times, and each time it wanted food, or water, or just felt like screaming. It was a nightmare. One he couldn't escape from. However, the following day, 'Sonamir took pity on him and took charge of the hatchling's care and upbringing. It turned out out that she knew a great deal more about raising hatchlings than 'Fulsamee did, not a surprise, but what was truly amazing was that she somehow managed to keep it from screaming. Completely.
In months, the hatchling went from begin absolutely reliant on the raptors to being able to walk around and do small things for itself. It even began to make some of the sounds the raptors made, which were totally different from the human set. It was growing fast, and as it did, 'Fulsamee began to develop a close relationship with the tiny human. They would walk around the forest together, or play hiding games. Sometimes the hatchling was simply content to ride on 'Fulsamee's back as he went about his daily tasks. The other raptors accepted the hatchling as though it was one of their own, and exhibited no less compassion and playfulness towards it than they would for a young raptor. 'Rolamee especially enjoyed its company, and would sit for hours just talking at the hatchling, telling it of the heritage of the Dena pack, of grand battles fought in past ages, and of perils that all faced. Whether or not the hatchling understood any of it was uncertain.