The bite hadn't been deep but it had drawn blood. Ignoring the pain and letting the adrenaline do its job, Owen forced himself to focus on carefully freeing the tiny mouth from base of his hand. Using his free hand, he secured the tiny raptor and instinctively pinched the base of Blue's skull. He put just enough pressure into his grip to make her open her jaw in discomfort.
He carefully extracted his hand from her mouth and quickly released her head ignoring the blood slowly dripping down his wrist. The small dinosaur watched him intently smacking her jaw together, tasting his blood. She was hungry. He knew it innately. Her body language, her actions, even the subtle vocalizations gave it away. He let himself chuckle, she really was like the birds he had worked with; the nestlings had always been all stomach and no manners.
Turning, he hid the wound from her, there was no sense teasing her, let alone reinforcing bad behavior. As he stepped away from the incubator, he heard her soft cry, a sort of mewling beg. He grabbed some paper towels from the far counter and held them to his injured hand. When the bleeding stemmed, Owen decided it was time to let someone know this little raptor had hatched. He quickly jabbed the intercom button and the device came alive with a short static burst.
"Hello? Anyone there?"
"Mr. Grady? Can I help you?" a feminine voice responded.
"Yes ma'am. This little raptor has finally hatched, can you send me some food for her, also if you could drop a medical kit by as well, that would be great."
"A medical kit? Is everything alright?"
"Yes ma'am, just got a little over eager in here and paid the price."
"Okay, I'll let Dr. Wu know that she hatched. Can I get you anything else?"
"Dinner and a movie would be nice."
The pause at the other end of the intercom lasted far too long.
"Excuse me?"
Owen grinned at her flustered voice. "Dinner and a movie. I won't be leaving anytime soon, so I would like something to eat and a way to pass the time when this little girl finally falls asleep."
"Oh. Of course, would you like anything in particular? I can order something from the restaurants in the park."
"Just surprise me. Thanks."
When she didn't respond, Owen turned his attention back to the hatchling dinosaur before him. Blue was staring at him. Her amber eyes contrasted with her grey body, almost glowing in the reflection of the heat lamp above her. She stared at him with large predatory eyes. They weren't the eyes of innocence, but they weren't hostile either. They were predatory, calculating, instinctual. He stared back, unintimidated. Eye contact meant several different things in the animal kingdom. Oftentimes it was a threat.
But just as often, it was a challenge.
Owen stared Blue down, his own eyes without judgement, simply looking on at the animal before him. This was step one. You didn't gain leadership through intimidation and control. You gained it through respect, and that needed to be earned.
They stared at each other for several minutes, occasionally blinking, but never turning away. Ultimately it was a knock at the door that made both heads turn away. Owen stepped away from the incubator and cracked the door open. Ms. Pierce stood outside, several bags hanging heavily in her arms.
"We've prepared a private room just down the hall for you, please follow me."
Glancing once more at the little raptor he quietly stepped outside and pulled some of the bags from Ms. Pierce's arms. "Thank you, I was afraid I was going to be stuck in that incubation room all night."
That got a chuckle out of the brunette. "We can arrange that if you wish." The rest of the walk was silent, leaving Owen to his thoughts. After two turns down adjacent hallways, she stopped suddenly and opened the door on her right. As the two stepped inside, Owen glanced at his temporary residence.
"There's a small shower in the back and there is a staff kitchen just a little further down the hall if you feel like microwaving something. Nursery room 1 is also just across from your room. It's been prepared and is ready for your girl."
"She's staying with me." Owen stated flatly.
"No."
"Yes, she is, that wasn't a request."
"I would advise against it. She may be small, but she is still a dangerous predator."
"I know."
"She has already hurt you once."
Owen glanced down at his hand before setting the bags down on the small twin bed. Rummaging through them, he found the small first aid kit and moved to the sink. "That was my fault, not hers."
Ms. Pierce let out an exasperated sigh "Why does she need to stay with you?"
"Imprinting is not an immediate process. It takes time. For the birds I worked with back home, it could take up to a week." The hot water stung on the small laceration. He let out a hiss of pain, but continued scrubbing it clean. "If Dr. Wu wants a successful imprint, it's going to take more than just feeding her. She will need to be with me constantly for the next several days. I need to be her sole source of food, protection, and comfort."
"Dr. Wu will need to be informed. I will let him know your decision. Mr. Hoskins, though, will not like the breach of protocol."
Owen nodded, turning the handle and shutting the water off. With the wound clean, he quickly wrapped it with a strip of gauze from the first aid kit before turning to Ms. Pierce.
"Thank you, if they have any reservations, send them my way, I will be happy to explain myself. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a hungry baby to tend to." He smiled at the assistant and grabbed the bags from her hand, setting them down beside the others on the bed.
With a happy grin he pulled a rat from the farthest bag. It had been frozen and subsequently thawed like the ones he fed the birds back home. He turned towards the door and walked out giving one last smile to Ms. Pierce.
"If you need me, you know where to find me."
When Owen re-entered the incubation room, he was not surprised to find the small raptor hadn't moved much, hatchlings rarely did. The birds back home could take up to two weeks before they began to venture a few steps from their nest. The nest was safe.
Setting the thawed rat onto the counter, he resumed his staring contest with the blue tinged dinosaur. He approached her quietly, it wouldn't be fair to cheat here, to distract her and make her look away. No, he had to earn this first step.
It took nearly five minutes, but she had looked away in the end.
"Good girl." He cooed softly. By looking away, she had given him the opening to attack; had he been another hungry predator at least.
The young man stood suddenly and turned back to the counter. He knew that tiny eyes had locked onto him and were following his every move. It was time to prove to her that he wasn't a threat. He cracked a smile, if she continued to behave like his birds, then he knew that a happy raptor would be one with a full belly.
She watched him intently the entire time he worked. He purposely ignored her as he carefully diced the rat into bite sized pieces. When he was finished, he turned around and approached the hatchling with less caution than before. He purposely avoided eye contact now, right now, she would see it as a threat to her life. She needed to see that he had no interest in harming her. Food would help make that possible.
As he held out the first bite, she backed away from his hand, never taking her eyes off him. Still, when the meat touched her snout, she instinctively snapped her jaws. Pulling back, he grabbed the next piece as she chewed the first slowly, savoring her first meal. When he raised the next piece of meat, her eyes finally broke away from him. They were following the food. This bite the blue streaked hatchling snapped at readily, practically inhaling the food.
It was several chunks of food later where she began to get a little over eager. He felt her teeth graze the tip of his finger when she snapped at the bite he was offering. Pulling back he frowned a little.
"I guess we'll be starting your training earlier than I thought." He muttered softly as he turned toward the counter to get another piece of meat. He paused with his back to her. Letting a plan form in his head.
The pause in the feeding was noticed immediately as Blue began mewling softly, urging him to bring more food.
Turning back to her, Owen held another bite of food in his hand. Her eyes immediately began to follow the food, even when he held it away from her.
"Eyes on me."
Blue ignored him, completely focused on the meal in his hand. The words were meaningless right now, just a noise to the newly hatched raptor, but he would need to show her what they meant and why they were important.
"Eyes on Me." He stated a little more forcefully. However, as he spoke, he brought the meat back to him, holding it to his chest. Blue followed the meat all the way until she was focused on him.
Owen smiled and gave a soft click with his mouth. Handing the reward to the hungry raptor.
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Ten minutes later, the rat was gone and Blue had slight bulge in her belly. Owen smiled again as the tiny velociraptor let out a tired yawn. It was time to get her to her new home. He carefully grabbed her which elicited an indignant cry but no real struggle. Placing her in the crook of his elbow, against his chest, Blue wasted no time getting comfortable in this new position.
Owen carried her carefully back to the room he had been assigned. He gently placed her on the bed before clearing everything else off of it and putting the bags on the ground next to the small desk. Turning, he ducked into the little bathroom before returning with one of the park's complimentary towels. Rolling it tightly, he bent it into a rough circle, placing it on the nightstand next to his bed.
He glanced at Blue, she had begun watching him again, although not as intently. He gave her a small shrug of his shoulders, speaking as if she could understand.
"I'm making you a bed. You may be my guest, but I am not sleeping on the floor."
Blue just continued to watch.
When he was finally happy with the shape, Owen stepped back, his gut telling him the makeshift nest wasn't quite ready yet. Glancing back at the raptor on his bed, he had an idea. He quickly stripped his shirt off and placed over the towel donut he had created. Birds didn't rely much on scent, but dogs did, and he imagined that may apply when it came to raptors.
Blue had let out another indignant cry when he picked her up again, but she quickly settled into her new nest. She had watched him for a time as he tried to find a place to put the bags of supplies Ms. Pierce had dropped off. Her interest passed quickly when he turned on the small television.
Owen took a seat on the bed, savoring the first bite of the burger Ms. Pierce had provided. The food wasn't tremendously good, but he really hadn't eaten today. As he ate, he couldn't help but watch the little dinosaur on his nightstand. He never looked at her directly, but he watched her from the corner of his eyes as she struggled to split her attention between him and the strange box producing lights and sounds.
Her struggle only lasted a few minutes with a belly full of food, and soon enough Owen noticed her head droop and finally curl in with the rest of her body.
The next three days passed in a blur and Owen was constantly amazed by this little predator. She was growing fast. In fact, she had doubled her size. The hawks he had raised grew fast as well, usually fully grown in just a little over six weeks, but she was growing even faster. Unless her growth slowed, he estimated she would be nearly fully grown in roughly three months. He was beginning to see why the scientists had expressed their concern about her staying with him.
Still it was her growing intelligence that impressed him the most. He had briefly wondered when she would begin exhibiting characteristics of pack predators. The first two days, she had simply behaved like a hatchling bird. Watching everything curiously, begging for food, and sleeping most of the day. None of that was wrong, but he hadn't seen any signs of developing social behavior.
Day two marked some minor progress with teaching her to look on command, but they were a long way off from mastering it. Ms. Pierce had stopped by and dropped off a small book from Dr. Wu. The spiral was not a published book, but rather a record of observations, and according to Ms. Pierce, a collection of everything they knew about behaviors of living Velociraptors. It was not much.
Day three had marked a change. It had started when she had taken her first steps from the nest. She had been unsure of her movements at first, but like most animals, she picked it up quickly and was soon exploring the nightstand and the adjacent bed.
Within an hour she had jumped to the floor and started to explore the entire room. He got up and preemptively zipped his duffel bag closed. He was grateful that someone had dropped it off for him, but he wasn't about to let this little tornado of exploration get into the only possessions he held on the island.
With his bag secured, he had ducked into the bathroom to take a leak. It was mid-stream when the little raptor had pushed the unlatched door open. She seemed to stare at him for a few seconds before beginning to root around the bathroom for things of interest ignoring him completely. When he finished and left the room, she followed.
Several hours later, he had returned to the bathroom to grab a washrag only to discover that she had relieved herself on the floor. While that wasn't anything new for Owen, he was well versed in cleaning animal waste, what surprised him was that she never relieved herself elsewhere after that.
This was her first sign of social development and she quickly began to develop more.
He spoke to her often enjoying the meaningless conversation as she responded to him with whistles and soft barks. While she certainly didn't understand his words, she was aware that he was communicating and gave her attention to him when he vocalized; he made sure to do the same for her. It was all about respect.
Her nervousness around him quickly evaporated after she began exploring the room. Owen was no longer a threat, and she ignored him for the most part. She knew where he was at all times, but she tended to ignore him for the more interesting discoveries she might find within the room.
There were limits though. All the progress she was making seemed to be lost whenever food was in the room. Owen could almost feel her hunger as predatory instinct washed over his little blue raptor any time the scent or sight of food was present. It was as if she no longer knew who he was at these times. Now that she was moving, he could only stand over her to keep the food out of her reach.
He would ask for her attention and she might respond half the time. Even the successful commands were completed with jerky movements, the growing raptor shifting her attention only briefly to him before snapping back to the raw food presented before her.
When she was well fed, her personality shifted right back to her curious, albeit destructive self.
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She quickly developed a habit of following him wherever he went. She was just a week old, but she had become his shadow, almost to a point of frustration. Owen couldn't leave the room without hearing her mewling cries. It really became a problem the first time the rooms door failed to latch. Before he could stop her, the hatchling raptor had bolted into the hallway with him, rushing to sniff and explore the new area.
Despite his efforts to lure her back into their room, the new area was far too interesting for the tiny raptor to ignore. Owen groaned in frustration before deciding to finish what he had started before dealing with the little blue menace that was now exploring every nook and cranny she could stick her snout into.
Coffee.
He would grab a cup, then he would deal with the escaped dinosaur.
Owen leaned against the counter and watched her root around the common room for nearly fifteen minutes as he nursed the cup of mediocre coffee. She never strayed far from him, but she did try to squeeze into impossibly ridiculous areas as she followed whatever scents she found.
She had just triumphantly pounced on a small bug when the common room door opened.
Owen froze, Blue froze, the large man in the doorway froze. The room was completely still for nearly a minute as each individual took the scene in.
Blue was the first to respond when she hastily retreated to the safety of Owen's legs.
"Mr. Grady." Vic's voice rang out both tired and strained.
"Sir, I-"
"Don't." his hand shot up. "Just tell me why the hell there is a velociraptor loose in our staff room."
"She followed me sir, slipped out the door before I could close it."
The security officer's brow furrowed. "You are an experienced trainer, Mr. Grady. You are responsible for training this thing."
"I am aware-"
"No, I don't think you are Mr. Grady." Hoskins cut him off again, his voice hardening. "These are not your pretty birds or pet dogs. You seemed aware of that when we hired you, but this," He gestured to the small raptor at the trainer's feet. "This is not the way we do things at Jurassic World. These are dangerous creatures, creatures that should be contained at all times, creatures you were hired to control."
"Sir, she's a week old! Yes, she is a predator, but she is also an imprint. Training her will take time."
The large security officer gave another tired sigh and approached Owen before pushing past him to the coffee pot earning a quiet hiss from the blue raptor at their feet.
His voice was low as he poured himself a cup. "Mr. Grady, we've tolerated your requests because of the unique needs required for imprinting, but it appears that you've succeeded. I want it contained in the nursery before the day is out, and I don't want to see her loose again. Do you understand?"
"Yes sir."
"Good."
Vic retreated out of the room as soon as he had his coffee. Owen let out a heavy sigh and glanced down to the small raptor coiled protectively around his right foot. She sniffed the air and resumed exploring the area when she was sure Hoskins was gone. In one sense, this was good. It would get her out of his room. Ms. Pierce was tired of bringing him new bedsheets and Blue couldn't resist tearing them up.
At the same time, he was concerned for his girl. He had grown attached to her in the past week, and she had most definitely imprinted on him. He had come to that conclusion last night after waking to find she had abandoned her nest, deciding the crook of his neck was a more comfortable spot to sleep.
He had succeeded in imprinting a velociraptor, but now he was faced with a minefield of challenges that would make her continued development more difficult than simply training velociraptors. Imprints often had trouble socializing with others of their species and he was worried she wouldn't adapt well when introduced to the rest of her pack.
"Come on girl, it's time to go meet your sisters." Owen gave a sharp whistle, a blue streaked head poked out of the staff bathroom, eyeing him inquisitively.
An hour later, they were both back in the room staring at each other. Owen pulled a chunk of meat from the treat bag he now carried on his belt, holding it for Blue to see. Her eyes narrowed focusing on the food.
"Eyes on me."
She glanced at him briefly, her focus returning fully to the meat.
Owen shook his head "Not gonna work Blue. Eyes On Me."
She turned her head to face him directly, forcing her eyes to look at the man before her.
"Good girl!" a sharp click from the clicker followed, and Blue eyed the meat, expecting her reward. Owen tossed the meat to her. The small dinosaur rushed to it, snapping hungrily at the prize. When she looked up, there was a full rat lying in front of her, she rushed forward and tore into it.
A latch closed behind her as Owen closed the carrier door.
Owen felt uneasy. Something in the pit of his stomach was telling him to be alert. He had tried to calm himself, but had only succeeded a little. Blue had not like the carrier, but she had been more upset when she was handed over to a lab assistant. They were taking blood samples and injecting the tracker that every dinosaur had in the park. When they finished, she was going to be released in nursery room two with the rest of her sisters.
That's where he was now. Or rather, he was standing above it. The Nursery rooms were in fact exterior enclosures designed for young animals. The room itself was twelve feet long and twelve feet wide with eight foot walls. The area above it was open to the air, and had walkways running the perimeter. From this vantage point, Owen could watch the raptors closely and gauge how they would interact.
He wasn't alone on these platforms either, looking over other enclosures, he could make out pairs of people watching different dinosaur groups, taking notes, using misting hoses, and even dropping food inside.
The sound of approaching footsteps brought Owen back from his observations. He turned to see a tall man with dark skin and one of the broadest smiles he had ever seen.
"Mr. Grady! It is good to finally meet you! I was beginning to worry you and the beta were never going to leave your room!" A firm hand shot out to Owen who grasped it in a handshake. "My name is Barry Sy, I have been looking after the rest of this pack."
"Mr. Sy, it's good to meet you. Please call me Owen."
"Only if you call me Barry."
Owen couldn't help but grin at this man's friendly demeanor and enthusiasm. "How are they doing? Have they given you any problems?"
Barry shrank back in mock pain. "I am hurt! My beautiful girls would never give me problems! They have been eating well, and have been right angels." Owen chuckled at the man's overacting. Barry straightened before continuing more seriously. "In all fairness though, they have done well, they are raptors, yes, but they are showing good signs of socializing and pack bonding. They are wild, but they are a fine pack of raptors."
"Good, good." Owen paused, an orange light was flashing over one of the chute doors below them. The gate slid up into the wall and three blurs shot into enclosure, ducking into the nearby foliage.
"There are my girls." Barry stated proudly The small pack stepped out of the leaves in unison, exploring the walls of the enclosure. "Charlie, Delta, and Echo."
Owen's smile dropped as he watched the young raptors intently. "That's not right."
"They're good names!" Barry huffed. "Besides, a name like 'Beta' didn't leave me with much to work with."
"No, not that; they released the wrong group first. Your girls are establishing a territory boundary. Blue should have been released first, that way it would be neutral ground when those three entered." The orange light flared at the arrival of another raptor from the chute. Owen froze. The nervousness was gone, replaced with a tension and readiness for action. Barry stiffened as well, realizing the situation a moment later.
Blue stepped cautiously out of the chute. Her sapphire streaks shining in the noonday sun. As she stepped out into the enclosure, she was greeted by the other three raptors with growls and warning calls. She growled in return. To Blue's credit, she seemed to keep them from moving any closer. Still, she was being slowly pushed towards the far wall.
"Barry, go downstairs and unlock the maintenance door. Be ready to intervene." The man nodded once and took off down the catwalks towards the stairs.
The heavy footsteps from above drew Blue's attention away from the pack momentarily. It was all the distraction they needed to make their move. They were on top of her in an instant.
"Shit." Owen cursed, looking down at the fight below. He rushed around the catwalk looking for an open space away from the scuffle. Finding what he hoped was a clear enough spot, he cursed under his breath and vaulted the catwalk railing.
He landed with a heavy thud his legs cushioning the fall but directing the remaining momentum forward and onto his stomach. He forced himself back onto his feet and surveyed the new situation. Charlie, Delta, and Echo had frozen relenting their attack on Blue and were now staring at the new intruder. Blue was laying on her side, lacerations and bite marks dotted her form, but was more concerned whether or not she had protected her neck and belly.
The other three raptors turned slowly to face this new, larger threat, and Owen felt their predatory eyes on him. They moved in unison, beginning to spread around him, looking for a vulnerable spot. Rather than let them find it, he moved first and charged towards the first dinosaur.
Engaging it was the furthest thing from his mind though. As the young raptor met his charge, he veered to his side coming down into a baseball slide that brought him right next to his beta. He instinctively grabbed her, tucking the small raptor against his chest and rolling onto his knees. With his back now to the wall, he looked up to see three sets of predatory eyes fixed on him. He stared back with as much intensity as he could muster.
It was a bluff, but this was step one, just as it had been with Blue. He focused on the largest one, the one that he assumed was the current leader of the pack. She was just a hair taller than the others, her green hide glistening in the sun, revealing darker green stripes that ran horizontally down her back and curled in toward her stomach.
She stare back with intensity, and an intent to kill. A short barking whistle came from her jaw as she snapped her teeth at Owen. The other two raptors began to spread out towards Owen's sides
"Whoa! Whoa!" He shouted standing up and taking a step towards the left most raptor. He pushed his free hand out towards the Raptor on his right. He kept his eyes on the center one though, refusing to break eye contact.
CRACK!
The metallic sound rang out from behind him. The Lead Raptor broke eye contact, fixing her eyes on the source of the noise.
"Get your ass in here Owen!" Barry shouted from the opening behind him, before slamming the metal pail against the concrete lined door once more.
CRACK!
That was his cue, without hesitation, Owen bolted through the narrow opening before the raptors had a chance to respond. He turned to see Barry heaving the heavy door shut and breathed a sigh of relief.
"You just saved my life." Owen breathed, the adrenaline making his hands shake.
"No, I was saving her life." Barry responded, pointing to Blue as Owen held her against his chest. "Your dumb ass just happened to with her at the time."
Owen just stared dumbly at the man before him. Barry's lips cracked into a smile. "You are crazy Owen Grady. I like it! Jumping in with my girls and surviving; you'll be the talk of the park. Come, let's get your Beta taken care of."