"Ho!"
The call rang through the paddock, echoing flatly on the cement walls.
"Don't give me that shit, Delta. Not again."
Owen stood in the paddock clearing, hands outstretched in a firm "back down" command toward the green raptor.
Delta stared back at him, sharp teeth glinting in the sun as her lips pulled back into a predatory sneer. The raptor barked a challenging call to him, her tail twitching in agitation. She wanted a challenge, and today, she seemed hell bent on getting it.
The pale green raptor wasn't the same inquisitive raptor that Owen had worked with for just over a year. She hadn't quite been the same since her bout with West Nile. She was more aggressive, less patient with her sisters, and since she had been reintroduced, there was barely a day where she didn't challenge someone's authority.
Today she had chosen to pick a fight with the alpha. She decided it was time to challenge Owen. Things had changed in the two months since the vets cleared his girls. The biggest change was Blue's decision to cede her position to Owen. Almost overnight, Blue had decided that Owen was the Alpha. The weeks that the blue-streaked raptor had spent recovering had been spent almost exclusively with the trainer.
Dr. Kirby had pulled him aside one morning to giving him a warning. She explained that because West Nile was a virus that attacked the neural pathways, it had a tendency to cause prolonged symptoms that may never fully recover. Both Blue and Delta could have medical problems that would follow them for the rest of their lives. Barry and Owen had discussed this eventuality at length, ultimately deciding to split their efforts in the hopes of helping their girls recover.
Owen had spent almost all of his time with Blue, providing her with physical therapy and patient conditioning in order to rebuild her physical prowess. Barry had spent his time with Delta, helping her return to her former glory.
The results were varied.
Blue recovered very well, showing almost no residual symptoms of the disease. Additionally, the time spent with Owen had brought her closer to him. The blue-streaked raptor, rarely left Owen's side when he was in the paddock, and tended to follow him anytime he was walking the catwalks. When she had been reintroduced to the pack, she had almost immediately and very visually submitted to Owen in front of Charlie and Echo.
Barry on the other hand, had been a miracle worker with Delta. The green tinged raptor was ravaged by the virus. It had taken her nearly two months of constant work to rebuild the raptor's atrophied muscles. Barry worked tirelessly with a near insurmountable patience as he conditioned the recovering raptor despite her aggression toward anyone around her. Still, even with his constant effort and confident demeanor, Delta hadn't come out of the sickness unscathed. The virus had affected her, making the raptor unreadable on good days and downright dangerous on bad days.
Barry had even gathered his own set of scars from Delta's growing temper. Her behavior was so different from her old personality that the men had consulted Dr. Kirby on the matter. The conclusion that she came up with was concerning. She surmised Delta's avian genetics made her more susceptible to the virus. This weakness allowed it to sink itself deeper into the Velociraptor's nervous system, affecting her behaviors and demeanor.
When Delta had been reintroduced to the pack nine days ago, the other raptors had welcomed her with excited barks, purrls, and scent marking. The family group was whole again, allowing for even Delta to relax with her sisters. She was showing progress, mellowing back into her curious, playful self.
This improvement lasted until she saw that Blue no longer defended herself as the alpha. It had been Owen's first day in the paddock since they had reintroduced Delta with her sisters. He had walked casually into the clearing, still cautiously aware, but enjoying a good day that had stemmed from a good training session earlier that day. It wasn't much, but it was progress.
Blue greeted him the moment he stepped foot into the enclosure. She approached with a soft bark that rolled into warm purrls as she began to rub her head and neck against the man's clothing. When he smelled sufficiently of sweat and musk and dirt, her nostrils flared and she followed him on a trek around the paddock as he inspected the walls for damage or debris.
Everything had been going well. They followed a routine that had been reinforced over the past year. Greet each other, check the perimeter, relax in the afternoon sun. Charlie had even joined them, snorting loudly at Owen as she took in his pack scent. When they had finished checking the paddock walls, they returned to the clearing and Charlie found a sunny spot to sprawl out and take a nap.
Echo approached the group curiously, giving Owen a sniff before giving him space and deciding to frustrate her dozing sister by nipping at her tail and ducking out of reach when Charlie had finally had enough. Blue took up a spot next to the handler as he let himself lean against the paddock wall comfortably. His hand still itched occasionally from the fracture, and his grip felt weaker than before, but he was just happy to be free of the brace and back into the daily routine they had built.
The lazy afternoon changed the moment Blue had laid onto her side, closing her eyes and absently exposing her belly to the trainer.
Delta was on top of Blue in an instant.
A wild hiss escaped the pile as the two writhing animals fought violently. With several frenzied barks, Blue dug her talons into Delta's underside and kicked hard, throwing the attacking raptor off of her. She stood with a dangerous hiss and before Delta could respond, Blue was on top of her. The fight lasted less than a minute, Blue pinning the green raptor to the dirt, her largest talon resting heavily on the dinosaur's throat. Delta had submitted, limping away with a sullen whimper.
She had attacked Echo next, the rust colored raptor submitting without a fight.
The trainers expected a fight between Delta and Charlie any day. It never came, and honestly that worried Owen even more. The pack could deal with an aggressive member, Blue would either put her in her place, or Delta would eventually take Blue's position. What worried Owen was Delta's unpredictable actions.
The green raptor would ignore the provocations of her sisters, but she would leap into a violent, screeching fit if Charlie nuzzled her the wrong way.
He could only assume it was the residual effects of the virus.
Now she was focusing her rage on him. Her amber eyes glinted in the afternoon light, her rounded pupils focused dangerously on him as she moved to the side, hoping to circle around the trainer.
Owen kept his hands locked out in a clear statement. She needed to back off. Whenever she would step forward, he would let out a roaring "Ho!" He matched her circling pace, making a wide slow circle around the clearing.
Delta's tail twitched and her muscles tensed. She wanted to fight, she wanted to hunt. The agitated raptor unleashed several calling barks, encouraging the pack to hunt with her. To hunt Owen with her.
"Stand down!" Owen growled immediately not taking her eyes off Delta
None of the other raptors moved.
Somewhere deep inside Owen, he was proud of that. He calmly circled around, still matching Delta's movements with his own. The paddock settling into an uneasy silence.
"Owen!" Barry's call was loud. His tone warning the trainer of something. Owen's attention shifted just slightly and he saw a flash of movement. He had let Echo circle him until the Charlie and Echo stood behind him. He could just see Echo in the corner of his eye. The youngest raptor twitching, her large killing talons digging ruts into the dirt.
"Barry, Get that door open for me." He heard Barry's boots on the catwalk grating. He would come.
His attention now split, the trainer held his ground, reaching behind him and drawing the short knife from his belt. He had dug himself deep this time. He had let himself become complacent. The girls now had an advantage. Owen took a deep breath, steadying himself, pushing his nerves away so that he could focus on the fight ahead.
Echo stepped forward.
His hand shot out to show her his palm and his eyes locked with the rusty colored raptor. "Stand Down!" Her taloned foot returned to its original position, her head cocking slightly to the side.
He'd left his side open.
He heard the shriek even as he moved. Delta lunged through the space he had just thrown himself from. He landed hard on his tailbone, the wind forcefully leaving his lungs. The trainer pushed the rest of his momentum into a sloppy roll backwards that left him on his knees, sucking in air with gasps.
He got shakily to his feet and looked up in time to see Delta turn back to him. Her eyes were wide, her pupils tiny pinpricks. She let out a screeching call her lips forming a toothy sneer as she planted her feet for another lunge.
A grey streak rushed past him, planting itself firmly into Delta's side with a sickening crunch. Both raptors tumbled to the ground before Delta kicked her legs up, flinging the beta into the paddock underbrush.
"STAND DOWN!"
This time Delta froze. Her head still lowered toward Owen. He was breathing heavy, still trying to catch his breath, but he was sick of this shit. Delta was way out of line.
Delta responded with a low growl and began to approach Owen slowly. Her stance was defensive and her neck coiled, ready to strike at a moment's notice.
His heart was racing, his head was pounding thinking was difficult through the adrenaline coursing through his body. He stood his ground as she stalked closer to him, watching him like one of his falconry birds watching prey. Somewhere in the back of his mind, he registered more shouts, and heard the grating of metal against metal.
"HO!"
His hands shot forward out of habit, his knife gripped tightly in his right hand. The green raptor stopped just a few feet shy of him. He could feel her deep growl reverberating in his own chest.
Owen was the first to move. He lunged forward into the raptors personal space giving his sharpest yell.
He was surprised when he saw Delta's pupils dilate, widening in shock. He'd never lunged at them before. She hadn't expected it. The green raptor reared back with a loud skree, her legs scrambling back wildly as she backpedaled.
After a few fumbling steps, she turned and ducked wildly into the underbrush, fearful whines echoing through the leaves as she retreated.
Owen stood still in the paddock clearing for nearly a minute, his knuckles white from tightly gripping his knife. The beats of his heart echoed through his head and his breathing was labored. The trainer stared at the greenery before him, his mind frozen in the events that had just occurred. Finally when there was no movement from the shaded foliage, he began to slowly calm down.
He glanced around warily. Charlie stood near the center of the clearing between him and Echo, her body blocking the rusty raptor from approaching the alpha trainer. She fixed him with a quick look before turning and walking away from him. As she walked into the leafy cover, her tail slapped Echo in the side, releasing her own tension and urging the rusty raptor to follow her. The clearing now free of Velociraptors Owen's shoulders finally slumped and he felt the knife slip from his grasp.
Turning shakily to his left, he saw a pale faced Barry standing in the paddock gate.
He felt a nervous laugh rise in his throat.
A nervous warble made his head jerk as he immediately looked for the source. His beta stepped cautiously out from the tree line. Her streaked head and neck held low, balanced by an equally low tail. She approached him cautiously, her head only perking up when he didn't move. Finally she reached him and pushed the top of her snout into his side.
The sound of a breaking branch reverberated through the paddock, the source deep where the raptors liked to build their nests. Blue's head snaked away from Owen turning to face the intruding noise, a dangerous hiss escaping the edgy raptor.
"Blue."
Her eyes snapped back to him. He shook his head slightly at her.
"Go."
The word was firm, but not harsh. It was a request to be left alone and Owen was grateful when she listened for once. The grey-blue Velociraptor gave him a slight warble and left him, quickly loping back into the cover of the paddock foliage.
The trainer bent down and picked up his knife, sheathing it on his belt loop before walking slowly to the paddock gate, each step a little shaky. When he was close enough, Barry grabbed Owen by the arm and practically flung him into the cage system that acted as the double door for the enclosure. Hitting the button to lower the grate Barry turned to his friend with a grim expression.
"That was too close Owen."
"I know. Believe me Barry, I know."
The two made their way through the smaller caged door and out into the afternoon sun, their short conversation lapsing into silence as the made their way toward the outbuilding.
"I'm serious Owen" Barry finally spoke up. "If you get yourself killed, I might be the one stepping in that cage, at least until I find a replacement. If I find a replacement." There was a pause. "You don't want me getting hurt now do you? Besides, where the hell am I going to find another trainer with more balls than brain that I can convince to risk his life every day?"
The tension was broken and Owen cracked a tired smile. "Dr. Kirby said the other carnivore handlers were a lot like me."
"No, the other carnivore handlers just feed and care for their animals; they don't take them on walks and challenge them to dominance displays."
Owen stopped, crossing his arms defensively and giving the darker man a faux glare. "I did not challenge Delta. Hell, she didn't even challenge me like the she did the other raptors. Besides, aren't you supposed to be working to calm her attitude?"
Now it was Barry's turn to take a defensive stance. "Now hold on. You know my girl is-
A slow clap echoed across the packed earth outside the paddock garnering the attention of both men.
They turned toward the sound to see the chief of InGen security making his way down the catwalk stairs.
"Impressive work Mr. Grady, the control you hold over your pack is really improving."
Owen sighed, he didn't have the energy to deal with Vic right now. "I don't control them Vic. Now can we help you?"
"You could have fooled me kid. Those animals should have eaten you alive, instead you convinced three to back down and one to flee from you."
"I didn't convince them of anything. Blue and Charlie stepped in to keep things fair. They're the reason we can talk right now. Delta got startled, that's all. Echo, well, she's the pack omega right now, so she goes along for the ride more or less. It wasn't my command of them at all, if anything, it was more blind luck."
"My point, you have convinced two Velociraptors to help you out; it may seem like dumb luck to you but I'm starting to see real results, opportunities even."
Owen and Barry stopped at the outbuilding door and turned to the large security chief. "I beg your pardon?"
"It's just that this experiment is finally starting to take shape and make some progress. You and the others are making great steps in proving that these animals can be trained. What I saw today proves this. It was rough, sure, but those beasts are actually listening to you."
Owen rubbed his temples trying to keep a headache from forming. "Vic, I don't think-"
"You continue to make progress like this and InGen could make history. The applications could be limitless."
The trainer frowned, glancing at Barry who had a similar look of concern on his face. "Applications?"
"Applications. It is actually why I'm here. Dr. Wu has requested that you would attend a formal dinner this Friday. A number of investors and board members for both InGen and Masrani Global will be there and I am sure many of them would like to speak with our leading trainer about the work you are doing. Since you don't seem to check your email often enough, I decided to pass the information along myself."
Owen stared at the man silently before turning to open the outbuilding door. "I'll pass. Barry and I need to clean the paddock this week and we need to figure out a solution to Delta's attitude. We just have too much work to do. If they want to know about what we're doing, they can read my reports."
"It wasn't a request Mr. Grady. These men and women are providing the funding to keep your animals fed, they were the ones who paid for the medical expenses your animals have built up over the last few months. They expect you to be there; InGen expects you to be there."
Owen just let out a groan as Vic turned from the two trainers heading back to his own car before pausing and turning once more.
"Oh, one more thing, the event is black tie, so please dress appropriately."
The headache Owen had quickly flared into a migraine as the SUV pulled away from the paddock.
Owen turned away from the outbuilding, his desire to rest gone. He needed to work and clear his head. Motioning to his friend and coworker, he began to make his way back to the paddock. "Come on, let's go get a pig ready. The girls probably need to work off their stress, and I don't want to be a target again."