I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic Park/World. All OC's with the exception of Kavita belongs to Macx.
"Alright," said Owen to Kavita as they stood on the catwalk for the evening session, "Raptors are smart enough to get bored when there isn't much for them to do and especially when the days are warm like the ones we've been having lately."
"Okay," she said, not quite sure where this was going.
"Since tomorrows forecast is unsurprisingly more sun, I want you to come up with some ways to relieve the boredom of raptors. Let's see if you come up with anything more original than your peers."
"Oh wow," she laughed, "That's going to….." she trailed of suddenly and Owen saw a light come on in her eyes. "You know what?" she said, "I may know just the thing."
Owen raised his eyebrows and she grinned at him. "You'll see tomorrow," she said cheerfully.
"Alright," Owen nodded, "Well lets get today's session started."
After the session had finished and Kavita had left, Delta chuffed at him impatiently. Blue and Charlie echoed her sentiments.
"Alright," he said grinning at them, "Let's go for a run."
The next morning, he bumped into Nancy as she was coming into Winston's.
"Stranger Danger," she chirped when she saw him.
"That sounds like something Josh would say," he tells her and she laughs. "Besides you saw me yesterday!"
"But I may not see you for the whole week," she said and grinned at him, "Those ladies have you good and tight."
"You talk like M doesn't have you wrapped around her flipper," Owen snarked back and Nancy laughed.
"And she knows it too."
Owen put away his food for the day into the pack on his bike and headed back into the enclosure. He greeted his girls through the enclosure.
"Alright," he murmured to them, "Let's see what she has for you."
A few minutes later Kavita came riding up in the jeep. She hopped out and Owen raised a hand to stall her where she stood. She rocked to a stop so fast Owen's back gave a twinge of sympathy pain.
"Rules of the enclosure," he demanded.
"Don't go into the paddock. Don't try to feed them or touch them in anyway. Make sure the gate to the outsides is locked when you go into the stables. And ask questions," she rattled off.
"What are the raptors?"
"They are highly, intelligent wild animals."
"And how should they be treated?"
"With respect," she said, words clipped like a soldier answering her commanding officer.
"Alright," he said, "Remember what I said about how you project yourself. Let's see what you've got to relive the girls of their boredom today."
In response Kavita reached into her backpack and pulled out several colored boomerangs of varying colors, sizes and angles. Owen blinked art them.
"What are you going to do with that?"
"Throw them," she said like it was the most obvious answer in the world.
"Let me get this straight," he said after a moment, "You want to play fetch with raptors?"
"No," she said, "I want to simulate a small, flying prey and hopefully get your girls some exercise and stretch their mental faculties."
"And what makes you think that the raptors are going to attempt to catch the boomerangs?" asked Owen.
"I thought we could rub 'em down with a dead rat," Kavita said shrugging. "Besides, it's a brightly coloured object flying into their enclosure. I'm pretty sure they'll lunge for it just on principle."
Owen blinked. Blue was wavering between, amused, offended and curious. Echo wanted to play with the boomerangs, Charlies was wary of them and Delta wanted to know how it would feel to crush one in her jaws.
Owen decided to let it go. "Fine," he says. "Just consider this a disclaimer if you lose a hand catching back one of those."
"Noted," said Kavita promptly. Then she dumped her bag at his cabin and met him on top the catwalks.
Owen was feeling a little skeptical about the whole thing. He had no idea if the idea was even going to prove feasible. Kavita showed him the blunted edges of the boomerangs, to reassure him that they wouldn't hurt his girls and then cocked back her arm to throw one.
Before she did though, she tilted her head and grinned at him, "I bet you a meal a Winston's that they'll fail to catch the first one."
Owen raised his eyebrows as Blue responded to challenge. He looked down at his waiting girls below them, ready to pounce.
Take it, said Blue.
"Alright," said Owen.
You better catch it, Owen told Blue with amusement, or you owe me a meal.
Kavita nodded, and with a full body throw released a bright pink boomerang into the enclosure. The girls raced after it ,like she predicted they would. They were in range in seconds and just as Blue leapt into the air, jaws open and extended to snatch the offending pick object, the boomerang, with its small angle, reached the point in its path where it curved back on itself and Blue's jaws snap shut on empty air.
The boomerang curved back up towards them and Kavita stooped on the catwalk, reached through the bars of the fence and snatched the boomerang before it passed beneath the catwalk. She withdrew her hand with the boomerang and grinned at Owen who was staring at her in shock.
"You owe me a meal," she says cheerfully.
"How?" asked Owen.
"Raptors are epic and they can turn on a dime but there's some angles even they can't twist into," she said in explanation. "I just made the boomerang's angle so that it would make an arc too steep for them to turn," she shrugged, "That won't work a second time through."
Owen was silent while he took in the information and matching it up with what he knew. She was right. He knew she was. He knew every strength and weakness of his girls, and it was true that Blue couldn't make a turn at that angle.
"Good observation," he said finally.
She looked pleased at the praise and then threw the boomerang a second time. This time Charlie chased after it but Blue came up perpendicular to her and snatched the boomerang when it made the turn. Then she sauntered up to the catwalk and with a flick of her head tossed it back up to Kavita with a smug, challenging air.
"Hope she doesn't hold a grudge," Kavita muttered under her breath. Then she Picked up the pink boomerang again and took the green one from Owen in her other hand. She tossed the pink boomerang again and then waited a second and a half before she tossed the green boomerang in a different direction.
The raptors pulled the same strategy to catch the pink boomerang, but had to break off the assault when the green boomerang, with a different angle and lapse time, curved back and its path caused it to curve right to the lunging raptors. Echo ducked to avoid being hit in the face from the green boomerang and missed the pink one.
Within seconds, both boomerangs were tossed up at their feet and Owen felt his girl's frustration at being bested twice. Kavita picked both back up and tossed them again, and this time the raptors responded with lighting fast strategy to get both of them.
"They learn so fast," marveled Kavita and Owen nodded absently while his mind was taken up in his girls focus. They were not currently bored and they zeroed in on the exercise with the focus on a hunt. Their failure to catch the boomerangs had sharpened their determination to win as it had reflected poorly on their skills, as far they were concerned. But they were also learning fast. They had quickly determined that the boomerangs had a curving flight path and so to be wary of expected turns. That the boomerangs were thrown by Kavita who had obviously manipulated them to be that difficult only increased their desire to win and exert dominance.
Both boomerangs were once more tossed up and Kavita snatched them out of the air. She took the yellow one from Owen, this one with a wider angle between the ends than any of the others and then tossed the green one first, followed by the pink and finally the yellow.
Blue caught the green one but was forced to duck out of the way from the pink. Delta lunged for the pink one where it's curving path was supposed to bring it. This move brought her in direct conflict with Charlie who going after the yellow one. Charlie plowed into Delta, the yellow boomerang hit the wall of the enclosure and Echo snapped the pink boomerang in her jaws.
Charlies and Delta detangled themselves, snapped warningly at each other and then Charlie picked up the yellow boomerang and tossed up at Kavita. The pink and green ones soon flowed and Kavita tossed them all again, adding different delay times and directions to them.
The pack worked out he flight paths quickly and had to orient themselves even quicker to avoid slamming into each other. But they got it, moving with predatory instincts millions of years old not to mention all the training they had gotten from Owen.
The next time Kavita threw the boomerangs, including the forth final one, Owen felt Blue peek from his eyes to get a bird's eye view of the field before communicating with the others what to do.
They caught all four with devastating effectiveness and then tossed them up smugly at Kavita.
She laughed in awe. "I think that certainly deserves rats," she said turning to Owen.
Owen nodded. It certainly did. He tossed one to Blue, Charlie and Delta and then handed Kavita the last one to toss to Echo.
"And that's your treat for today for coming up with an effective idea for keeping the raptors entertained," he told her.
She looked pleased and tossed it to Echo who caught it deftly.
You owe me a meal, Owen reminded Blue.
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