A/N: First, thank you Silver Wolfos (guest review) for reminding me what Island they're on. I looked them all up, for future use, yet I mixed them up. How embarrassing. Still, if anyone notices any mistakes, please say something. I try to avoid mistakes, but I'm human.
The names have not been chosen yet. It's getting really close though. I was going to do it in this chapter, yet as I wrote it I couldn't help but have Owen go see his Raptor Squad again. It will definitely be in the next chapter though. So keep the name suggestions coming until then. All of the suggestions are helping to shape my final decision.
Disclaimer: I do not own Jurassic World or anything about it. I do love dinosaurs though.
Owen sighed as he looked down on the sheet of paper in front of him crossly. He took an angry bite out of his apple as he crossed off the name he had just written down. The whole paper was covered with names. All of them were crossed off. Some people in the cafeteria who walked by him noticed that he writing stuff down a lot into his notebook only to cross it off a second later. Though most decided not to ask and to just walk away as if they hadn't noticed. Ever since his disastrous date with the Claire, most people had decided to avoid him and her in order to avoid her ire until it cooled down. Most of the workers silently agreed to give it a few more weeks, just to be safe.
"What on Earth are you doing?" A voice with a very noticeable British accent asked from directly behind him.
Owen had to utilize a lot of his Navy training to not jump up and yelp in shock. Thankfully, he had managed to maintain his cool. He turned around slowly and casually shrugged. "Nothing much." He replied while nonchalantly closing his notebook.
"Hm…" Zara hummed doubtfully as she moved over to sit in the seat in front of Owen. She set down her tray before starting to eat.
Owen stared at her for a moment before glancing down at her plate. It was covered half with salad and half with fries. Strange choice, but he approved. After a second he looked around in search of something.
"Is something wrong?" Zara questioned him.
"Well," Owen started. "You're sitting at the same table as me. You're Claire's assistant. And you're you. This doesn't really add up."
"True," Zara conceded, unconcerned. "I was just wondering what you're doing making that face."
"And?" Owen asked, raising an eyebrow at her.
"And…" Zara continued with slight annoyance. "Claire sent me to tell you to finish your reports and send them to her."
"Oh," Owen grinned in amusement. "Well, she doesn't need to worry about that now."
"You already turned them in?" Zara asked with an overly shocked look on her face. Though there was a slight bit of mirth in her eyes.
"Better. The Boss himself said I didn't need to turn them in," Owen said smugly. "He said he'd send an e-mail. It'll be coming soon hopefully."
"Well, maybe now you'll be able to finish." Zara said sarcastically.
"There's a chance." Owen agreed. He ignored her sarcasm as he usually did with a slight grin. In front of Claire, Zara was the prim and proper English woman. Yet when she wasn't around Zara tended to be sarcastic and blunt. Owen really enjoyed this side of her.
"So are you going to tell me?" Zara asked after eating a couple more of her fries.
"Tell you what?" Owen asked as he placed his elbow on his notebook and leaned on his hand in feigned confusion.
Zara rolled her eyes and pointed a fry at the notebook. "Are you going to tell me what you're writing in that notebook? And please don't tell me it's a poem you came up with in order to win Claire's heart. It won't work. She isn't that kind of woman. And you suck at poetry."
"Really?" Owen held a hand over his heart in mock hurt. "That's so cruel…"
"Owen." Zara stared at him.
"If you really want to know," Owen thought of an excuse fast before blurting out the first thing that came to mind. "A friend of mine is having kids. Twins. He wanted me to help with names because I'm… The Godfather. Yeah. I am the Godfather of my friend's future twins and he wanted some name suggestions from me." That had come out reasonably well.
This time Zara didn't fake the look of shock she gave Owen.
"Zara?" Owen waved a hand in front of her face. She didn't react. Owen then grabbed a fry off her plate and took a bite out of it.
"Hey!" Zara glared at him.
"You should've been paying attention." Owen shrugged as he chewed on his fry.
"Well forgive me for being shocked that there's a couple out there willing to let Owen raise their kids." Zara bit back as she pulled her tray closer to her in order to better protect it from Owen.
"Ouch," Owen leaned back. "You know just what to say to wound my heart."
"Thanks," Zara smirked at him. "I learned from Claire."
This time Owen really did wince. "Gee, thanks."
Zara looked down. "I'm sorry, that was rude. I didn't mean to…"
"It's cool," Owen shrugged it off. It was to be expected really. The date with Claire was doomed to fail before it had even started. Still, it did hurt when he thought about it. "I'm over it."
"So what names have you thought of?" Zara asked hurriedly to change the subject.
"Um," Owen looked down at the notebook. It would have been easy to just give her the notebook and let her see. But there were some weird names in it. Names like Snowball, Bone Crusher, and White Godzilla. He really didn't want to have to explain those names to her. There was no way he could come up with a reasonable excuse for names like those. "You know… It's just a bunch of really normal names."
"Come on Owen," Zara tapped her fingers on the table impatiently. "I need a bit more information than that. Like their gender."
"Oh right," Owen said. He thought back to the paper he had flushed yesterday. If he recalled correctly, both of the Indominus Rex were female. Just like all the other dinosaurs currently in Jurassic World. "They're both going to be girls."
"And you'll be their Godfather?" Zara sighed loudly. "I feel sorry for them already."
"Come on Zara," Owen bemoaned. "Have some faith in me. I'm training four Velociraptor girls here. There's no way human girls can be worse than them."
"You'll be surprised," Zara said. "In any case, that helps a bit. Did you want somewhat matching names with the same first letter? Or maybe after characters in some kind of media? Or something else?"
"Is all of the above an acceptable answer?" Owen asked.
"No." Zara crossed her arms.
"Then I have no idea." Owen sighed.
"You are so weird…" Zara took another bite of her salad.
"Your lunch consists of fries and salad." Owen said, pointing at her lunch. "That's weird."
"I like fries. I like salad. There's nothing weird about this," Zara defended her lunch. "And don't change the subject."
"Fine," Owen rolled his eyes. "I guess I wanted something that kind of matched since they're twins."
"Good," Zara smiled. "I hope they won't get mad at you for that when they're older."
Owen gulped at the thought of that. That would be bad. Chances were slim, but maybe… Female dinosaurs tended to be temperamental. While the only real example he had on the island was Rexy, he was sure it would be similar. Worse, actually, given the added addition of Velociraptor DNA.
"Owen?" Zara asked with a slight concerned tone. "Are you ok? You've gone pale."
"Yeah," Owen breathed out. "Peachy."
"If you say so," Zara looked at him worriedly. "Maybe you should ask your friend about their ideas before you start this. To get an idea."
'Yeah, ask Henry Wu,' Owen thought sarcastically. 'Hey Doc, I found out about your hybrid dinosaurs. I've decided to raise them without your knowledge. By the way, do you have any name ideas for them? I'm only asking to help myself decide what to call them. Ok, thanks.'
"Yeah, I think I should come up with it on my own." Owen said.
"If you're sure," Zara shrugged. "Just don't overthink it. Names can be simple once the proper inspiration hits."
A sudden beeping noise brought both of their attention to Zara's pocket. Zara pulled out her phone and swiped the screen.
"What's that about?" Owen questioned after seeing Zara smile at the message she'd received.
"It's Claire," Zara replied as she pocketed her phone and stood up. "She told me to forget asking you about the reports. At least until the end of the month since that's the new due date. She seems rather cross with you."
"That's not new." Owen retorted.
"I'm sure," Zara picked up her tray. "Well, this has been enlightening. Good luck with the naming, Mr. Grady."
"Not you too," Owen called to her retreating back. "You know I hate it when people call me that!"
Zara tossed her tray in the trash and waved without looking back as she exited the cafeteria.
"Hmph," Owen turned back to his notebook with a slight smile on his face as he opened it and flipped back to the page he was on. "Proper inspiration, huh?"
Owen stared at the page for another minute before closing it. No inspiration yet. Hopefully he would get an idea once he visited them again that night. He got up and tossed out his food before leaving the cafeteria. He still had some time before he could visit them. So he may as well make the most out of it.
In the end, he decided to go back and check on the Velociraptors. It was something. Plus by now Blue had hopefully calmed down. Although the chances of that were slim. That hope was quickly dashed as he walked by the window and saw Blue glare at him. While Blue always seemed to glare, this one seemed especially scathing. Owen grimaced and realized he would probably have to do something to make it up to her. He walked over to the door and noticed that there were new guards in place. Neither of them even glanced at him as he walked up and typed in the code to enter the room. He opened the door and quickly closed it behind him while taking in the room. Everything seemed to be ok. Though unlike the last time he entered, all of the Velociraptors stayed on the other side of the room.
"Hey girls," Owen waved needlessly. "I'm back."
The pack just stared at him in curiosity. Blue was sniffing the air.
Owen held his breath. After he had left earlier, he had decided to take a shower right away, just to be safe. He didn't want to risk an adverse reaction from any other dinosaurs in case he was needed elsewhere. Hopefully he had managed ok. He had used nearly an entire bar of soap to ensure the lingering scent of the Indominus Rex was taken care of. Now was the moment of truth.
Luckily, it seemed to have worked as Blue stopped sniffing the air and started to walk closer to him. The rest of the pack followed obediently.
"Are we ok now?" Owen asked. "I just want to be sure."
Of course, he didn't get a nod or anything from them. He idly wondered how the Indominus Rex would react if he asked them. He was sure he would eventually find out as they grow older. There was still a lot of time before they became more aware, hopefully.
Once the pack was in front of him, they stared up. Echo started to pace in the back as Charlie glanced at Blue for instructions. Delta was just looking around while glancing back at him occasionally. Blue, of course, just kept staring at him.
Owen met her stare boldly. On the inside though, he compared her eyes to the Indominus Rex. They all had slits for pupils. Though that was the just about the only thing they all had in common. Blue's sclera were a yellowish-orange. And they practically oozed cleverness and cunning. He glanced at the rest of the Raptor Squad as he affectionately called them. All of their eyes looked similar to Blue's, except for Charlie's who had a circular pupil. The only real difference between all of their eyes was the emotion in them. Delta's were calm thoughtful. Echo's were impatient and restless. And Charlie's were curious and hesitant.
The bone white Indominus Rex, on the other hand, had a bloody red sclera with more than a hint of madness in them. Of course, she was cooped up with just her sister for company so he couldn't really blame her for that too much. Still, it would have to be worked on. The snow white Indominus Rex had eyes unlike any he had ever seen on any dinosaur. While they were as blood red as her sister's, they were also a bit mellow. Her eyes were, if he had to put words to it, kind and thoughtful. He had ever seen eyes close to that in the dinosaurs at the petting zoo portion of the park. But he had never seen eyes like them on an adult dinosaur. And for sure not on a carnivorous one at that. Yet that was the only word that fit. She had kind and thoughtful eyes. His mind flashed to that moment when she purposely pushed her head against his head to be petted. He had no recollection of any other meat-eating dinosaur, baby or not, ever doing that.
A low growl brought his attention back to the real world. It seems like Blue had figured out he wasn't really paying her attention.
"Hey now," Owen held up a hand. "Shh."
Blue stopped and eyed his hand.
"Good girl," Owen said. "Now, stand back."
Blue continued to stare.
"Blue, stand back." Owen repeated firmly, motioning with his hand.
Blue hesitantly took a step back.
"Good," Owen held his breath. "Now the rest of you, stand back."
The rest of the pack did. Though Owen wasn't sure if they had done it because he told them to or because Blue had already done so. Lately, he'd been working on commands with them. Nothing major. It didn't take them long to figure out most of what he meant. He was sure that was because they already seemed to have their own language. A language he swore he would figure out some day. Unfortunately, it didn't seem like it would be happening any time soon.
"Blue." Owen said.
Immediately Blue looked at him.
"Charlie. Delta. Echo." Owen said.
One by one, as he called their names, they each paid a little more attention to him. Yet after a moment they returned to looking idly around. Though he could see that they kept glancing at him. And the window.
Owen nodded. They recognized their names. That was helpful. It definitely gave him more resolve to come up with a name for the Indominus Rex. Not only to better differentiate them, but also to give each of them their own identity. It would show them that they are more than just something created by the scientists. They were their own beings. He could already tell that they were smart. No baby should be that attentive. Not even the Velociraptors had been until they were a few months old. Blue had been focused just a bit sooner than the others though. Still, it was nothing compared to the Indominus Rex. There must have been something in their DNA that helped them. Maybe something that made them more developed while still in the egg.
"You like your names, right?" Owen said suddenly.
None of the pack answered him. Owen wasn't surprised. Honestly, he would have probably ran out of there in a second had they moved their heads to answer his question. Or worse, talk.
"I'm just asking because I'm curious," Owen continued unperturbed. "Everyone has a name. And it's weird because it's not really up to them. They get a name for their entire lives that was chosen to them by someone else. Isn't that strange?"
The Velociraptors still didn't respond. They stayed around though. Owen was sure it was mainly due to their curiosity only. He wasn't bothered by that fact though.
"Still, you all seem to like your names," Owen said. "Well, you respond to them. That's just as good. I guess."
Owen paused as the pack started to squawk quietly among each other. He noticed Blue glance at the window times. For all he knew, they were discussing an escape plan. Just as he was about to say something, they all turned and ran into the foliage. Owen stared blankly at the spot where they just were earlier recalling something like this happening before. He followed their example and ducked down out of sight himself.
Not even a moment later, he heard a loud knock on the window. Owen groaned inwardly. He recognized that knock. It was Vic Hoskin's knock. He had heard twice before. The first time he had visited the raptors and the second time a few weeks ago. The first time, Vic had entered the room and tried to pet Blue before almost getting bitten by Delta. The second time, the Velociraptors had hid before Vic had shown up and Owen was cornered by the man as he exited. Luckily, this time both the Velociraptors and he had managed to hide before he had shown up.
The knocking continued a few more times before Owen heard an angry swear and footsteps walking away. Owen mentally counted to 10 before slowly getting up. On the other side of the room, he saw the Velociraptors doing the same.
"Clever girls," Owen chuckled. "I owe you all something special the next time I see you."
Owen wasn't sure, but he could swear he saw Blue grin. He blinked and the look was gone. He was probably imagining it.
Meanwhile, Delta continued to stare at the window where Vic had walked off.
Owen noticed the look and looked out the window as well. It was strange that the Velociraptors would hide when they noticed Vic was coming. Then again, it could be something they had decided. Since they knew Vic wanted to see them, they decided to not let him see them. At least until they figured out how to kill him. That would be Owen's guess. It was funny, in a way. After only two visits, the Velociraptors had managed to figure Vic out and think of a way to ruin his plan.
"How did you all notice though?" Owen murmured.
It was a really curious thing. They were in a sealed room. Yet they knew Vic was coming. They probably talked about it or something, given the squawks they had let out right before Vic showed up. And they hid from a person that undoubtedly wanted to see them. That was smart. Ever more worrying, that was planned.
Blue looked back at him and walked over slowly. The rest of the pack followed.
That was a good reaction. They knew to come to him. That meant they had recognized his leadership, hopefully. Still, it would only really matter once they were old enough and still did it even though they could easily kill him.
'Though,' Owen thought as he looked back into Blue's eyes. 'They may be able to do it now if they try hard enough.'
Owen decided they had done enough. Taking things slow would be the most beneficial thing for now. Plus, he didn't want to risk running into Vic.
"Eyes on me." Owen said firmly.
Blue, Charlie, Delta, and Echo all stood up just a bit straighter.
Owen reached into his pocket and pulled out some pieces of beef jerky. Even before he pulled it out, all the eyes of the pack stared and they slowly started to shift closer.
"Stop." Owen said. Staring at each of them before focusing on Blue.
Blue stopped and snarled lowly. Charlie, Delta, and Echo each took a step back.
"That's my girl," Owen stated proudly. "Here."
This time, he decided to be a bit foolish and place his hand down low, keeping the beef jerky piece in-between his thumb and forefinger. Blue stared at the piece of meat and cautiously stepped up. The others remained behind her.
"Come on now," Owen whispered. "Careful." He really didn't want more teeth marks added to his fingers.
Blue took a few more steps before stopping directly in front of Owen's hand. After a few cautionary sniffs, Blue opened her mouth wide and quickly bit the piece of jerky and pulled back harshly to yank it out of his grasp.
Owen sighed in relief and stood back up. He stared at his bandaged fingers and smiled. While they still hadn't healed from yesterday, at least today there weren't fresh bites. Although Owen was willing to bet that was most likely only because Blue wanted the beef jerky more than his fingers. Still, a win was a win.
Owen quickly pulled out three more pieces of beef jerky and tossed them to each member of the pack. He decided to not risk his fingers again, just in case. It seemed to be the right choice, considering how voraciously they were all eating their food now. Blue definitely had the most self-control, though that wasn't saying much in the grand scheme of things.
"I'm glad you're all enjoying yourselves," Owen said as they continued to eat. As he looked at them, he couldn't help but think of the Indominus Rex. All alone in their room. Surrounded on all sides by glass. Without outside interaction. Alone. "Damn it. I should see if I can visit them now somehow."
The tone of his voice got Blue to stop chewing and look up to stare at him. Owen didn't notice this though. He had turned around and was about to open the door before remembering them. He quickly turned around.
"I have to go now. I'll see you again tomorrow." Owen smiled at them briefly before turning and knocked on the door twice before it opened. He left without a backwards glance.
The rest of the pack finished their beef jerky and started to walk around the room again. Blue, on the other hand, stared at the door inquisitively.
EXTRA
"Welcome to Jurassic World 101." Owen told the class as he strolled in through the door.
"I thought this was supposed to be just an overview to our duties here." A new worker whispered to another in the back of the room. He received a confused shrug in return.
"Now, since you're all new here and I got forced into doing this," Owen said as he turned on the projector and inserted a disc into the computer to stream. "I have decided that we should just watch an instructional video that will teach you all you need to know about this island."
The class grew excited and leaned closer in anticipation. A few of the more studious types even took out their notebooks to take notes.
"Ok now… Enjoy." Owen said as he sat down in his chair and leaned back as the video started to play.
A man hesitantly raised his hand less than a minute later.
"Yes?" Owen asked. "Do you already have a question?"
"Um, sir?" The man looked at the video, then back at Owen. "I think this is the wrong video."
Owen looked at the DVD case on his desk and then at the video on the screen. "Nope. This is definitely the right video."
"But sir," A woman in the front chimed in. "This is the movie How to Train Your Dragon."
"Trust me," Owen said sagely. "This will teach you ALL you need to know."
A/N: So I gave more to the Raptor Squad. They're definitely as smart as they are vicious. Who knows what they're thinking? I sure don't.
The next chapter will have more about the Indominus Rex. Who will be getting their names. For sure.
Again, if you have thoughts or ideas or corrections for me, say them. I will hear them and contemplate them. Thanks to those of you who have already reviewed, I have fixed mistakes and gotten ideas for future chapters because of them. So thank you. And thank you again. :)
By the way, this EXTRA is probably my favorite thus far. lol
