Have a third update in 2 days. See... if I was smarter, I'd hold off a chapter or two as a buffer to post when I don't have time to write. But I'm not smart. And I have no self control.

Raptor
Chapter 9: Sideways

"Charlie, Delta, looking good." Owen stood on the catwalk above the paddock, watching the raptors below. Three of them were standing perfect. One wasn't. "Blue, hold them steady. Echo! Don't break formation! Echo! Hey!"

Echo's head snapped up to him. She blinked and tilted her head to the side. Her tongue lolled out for a moment and she looked like she wanted to play. She always looked like she wanted to play. But at that moment, she looked like she was seconds from darting off. Which was something Owen did not need.

"Pay attention!" Owen snapped loudly.

Blue's lips curled in a growl and Echo straightened up. Finally.

"That's better." Owen called down to them. "Okay. Watch this." He said, glancing sideways at the red headed woman. "Are you watching?"

"Yes!" She snapped. Her arms were crossed and she clearly wasn't happy to be there. But she always looked like that. The entire time Owen had known her, she always looked like she had better things to do.

"For the boss, girls." He lifted his arm up and they stood up on their toes. When he lowered it, they lowered to the ground. He had them turn in a circle to the right, then to the left, then a series of leaps and more twirls.

"Great." Claire said beside him, rolling her eyes and throwing up her arms. "You taught them ballet."

He smiled after signaling them to disperse. The raptors immediately darted off into the cover of the trees. He knew they weren't fond of the boss lady. But they respected her enough to try to impress her. "Dancing raptors." He said, turning to her. "Come on. That's cool."

She narrowed her eyes a bit. "As interesting as this is, Mr. Grady, this is not why I made an appointment with you."

Owen wrinkled his nose. He held up his hands and took a step back. "You did NOT make an appointment with me."

She rolled her eyes. "I have another matter to discuss with you." She turned and started down the stairs. She didn't wait to see if he followed. She just kept going, assuming he would.

He smiled and followed after her. He was curious. She hardly came to raptor paddock. Not in person. It had been almost a year since the last time she'd been spotted there. If she had a matter to discuss with Owen, as she had said, she'd call. So yes. Owen hurried to catch up with her. "Came to ask me out again?" He asked.

Her eyes widened for a moment. She stopped and turned to glared at him. "Uh... no..." She said flatly.

"Good." He was still smiling. "Because you really aren't my type."

"Oh I know." She said, nodding. She turned back around and started down the steps again. "You spent most of our date flirting with the waiter." She said dryly.

Owen shrugged as he shoved his hands in his pockets. He had. It wasn't his proudest moment. And he hadn't even realized he'd been doing it until she pointed it out and then left. "I was bored. Who prints off an itinerary for a date?"

"I like schedules." She said, glaring at him again sideways. "Who shows up to a date in board shorts?"

He snorted. "It's central America. It's hot. What kind of diet doesn't include tequila?'

"All of them!" She snapped loudly.

He slowly smiled as they stepped off the stairs. "I did apologize for leaving with the waiter." He had apologized several times, over and over again.

"Yes... well..." She crossed her arms and held her glare. "You shouldn't have agreed to go out with me if you're gay."

Owen wrinkled his nose and shook his head. "Not really gay." He said, walking towards the gate. "I don't like labels." He spotted Echo through it. She was darting in and out of the trees and he really had no clue why. He smiled and turned around, leaning against the gate. "I said yes because you're hot." He continued. "I left with the waiter because he grabbed my ass and wouldn't take no for an answer. And he had a real nice, big..."

"Mr. Grady!" Claire snapped, glancing around quickly. But they were alone.

He smiled real wide at her. "Hair." He said like that was totally the end of his thought. He knew she knew it wasn't. Because it wasn't. But he'd only said it to get a rise out of her.

She let out a sigh and shook her head. "Mr. Grady..." She sounded tired. "Are you capable of having a normal, adult conversation?"

Owen didn't miss a Beat. "Oh I can have adult conversations." He said, wagging his eyebrows.

"Seriously." She shook her head and turned away. She stalked off towards the entrance without another word.

His eyes widened. "Wait!" He said quickly, pushing off the gate. He hurried to catch up with her again. "Okay. Fine." He darted around in front of her and held up his hands. "What do you need?"

She stopped and crossed her arms. "I need an adult." She said in a condescending tone.

Owen snorted and shook his head. "Dude, I'm an adult."

"Adults use big words."

He glared at her. "Stop being a curmudgeon. Ha! That's a big word!"

She stared at him. "Adults don't make up words."

"It's not a made up word! It's a real world." He said with a nod. "I read it off a Snickers bar and looked it up in the dictionary."

"Yes, well... that may be but I think your intelligence is still lacking." She sidestepped around him and continued.

He frowned as he spun around and ran after her. "Wait! For what?"

Claire waited until Owen fell in step with her. Then she glanced over. "Escorting two very important VIP's around the park for a couple days."

"VIP means very important." He pointed out.

She ignored him and continued on. "I was hoping you could give them some behind the scenes tours and demonstrations. But now on second thought... I don't think you can handle it."

He frowned. "Stop calling me stupid!" He snapped.

"I've done no such thing." She said, slowing and walking closer to the fence. "But your obvious short attention span today has shown that you aren't the right man for the job. Maybe your friend... Barry, right?"

"Barry!" Owen scoffed the name. "He's afraid of all the animals!" That was a bit of a stretch. Not all of the animals. Just... the raptors. Well.. just sometimes. Mostly Owen.

"I know Vic Hoskins is here..." Claire continued on. She tilted her head and smiled a bit. She knew the man was a sore subject for Owen. She knew exactly how to rile him up.

"Oh fuck no!" Owen snapped, shaking his head. He pulled in front of her and blocked her path again. "No, no, no nono!" He said, shaking his head. "Keep Hoskins away from anyone important. And my girls. He's an asshole."

Charlie popped out from the brush and darted towards the fence. [Dr. Asshole Butthead?]

"No." Owen said, looking over at her. "The worse one."

Charlie let out a growl and Delta stepped out to join her. [Eat him!] She said.

"No you may not!" Owen snapped. "We don't eat people, Delta!" Claire was staring at him when he turned back to her. "What?" He asked innocently.

She rolled her eyes and stepped around him. "Anyone would be better than the crazy guy who talks to dinosaurs."

"The words cool and awesome should be in there somewhere." Owen said, following her. "Awesome Crazy Cool Guy Who Talks to Dinosaurs." He paused and tilted his head. "Make that MR. Awesome Crazy Cool Guy Who Talks to Dinosaurs."

She kept on walking. Owen was the best choice for the job, she knew, because he was the only choice for the job. He would make the tour fun. That's what she needed. Someone fun. Plus, she knew he didn't have anything else important to do, unlike her. Claire didn't have time.

He hurried to catch up with her. "Wait. Just wait a minute."

She stopped and turned towards him. She crossed her arms and looked at him. She really didn't have time.

"You said important, right?" He asked. "I can do that. I can do tours and demos. I can be Mr. Serious and Important Tour Guide and Demon... Demonstrator?" He shook his head and rolled his eyes at himself. Even he would agree he sounded like an idiot. "I can do it." He said in an honest and serious tone. "I promise. I can clear my schedule and do tours."

She eyed him a moment. Then she nodded. He was her only choice, after all. "Good. They will be arriving tomorrow afternoon on the ferry. The Mitchell brothers. Zach and Gray Mitchell."

"Mitchell." Owen repeated with a nod. "Got it."

Claire smiled at him. "Thank you, Owen." Then she turned and walked away.

Well that was... an unsettling look. He frowned for a moment and watched until she disappeared from his view. Then he breathed out and shrugged. "Oh well." He turned back towards the raptor paddock. Blue, Charlie, and Delta were waiting for him, expectantly. He stuck his tongue out at them. Blue snorted and shook her head. Owen rolled his eyes. "Where's Echo?"

There was a high pitched whistle and the brown and black raptor appeared. Owen stuck his tongue out at her and she mimicked the gesture, opening her mouth and letting her tongue loll out like a dog's.

"Ha!" Owen snapped loudly.

Blue growled.

"Well... you won't do it."

She turned around, her back to him.

"Whatever." He said, shaking his head. "Okay." He clapped his hands together and stepped up to the fence. "Listen up. The next few days, I'll be hanging with two important people. I'll bring them by at some point."

Delta bobbed her head. [Eat?]

"No, Delta!" He snapped. "We do not eat people!"

She snorted and stamped her foot, digging her claw into the ground.

Owen shook his head and continued. "Two people boss lady says are important. So best behaviors. We need to impress them."

[Firelady?] Charlie asked, looking to where the woman had been a few moments before.

Owen smiled and nodded his head. "Yes. Firelady says important."

Blue let out a growl and waved her tail.

"I don't care if you don't like her." He snapped. "You will respect her because I say so." He stepped closer to the cage. "I'm Alpha. And I will bite you."

She growled something low that Owen couldn't make out but he could guess it was some smart-alecky remark like, try it or bite you back or something. Blue had her snarky moments. But she knew who was really in charge.

"Hey." He said, stepping closer again. "I will come in there and kick your ass."

[Yes!] Echo said loudly. [Play! Play! Play!] She started wiggling.

"Uh... that's not..." He started. But Charlie and Delta bobbed their heads and Blue had turned back around. They all looked at him expectantly. He glanced around quickly. It was getting increasingly harder to sneak inside with them. And near impossible to sneak them out. He tried to think back to the last time he'd prowled around with them in the jungle. It actually pained him when he couldn't remember. It was probably at least a year. He let out a sigh and scratched at the back of his head. "Let me see."

Echo started bouncing.

"That's not a promise." He warned. "I will try. Don't get your hopes up." He headed to the office to find Barry. "Hey." He said, finding his friend at his desk. "Start passing around that I'm doing some night scent tracking drills tonight. So I need the whole place empty. No security, no workers. No cameras or lights because... it... interferes with the integrity of... whatever." Owen said with a shrug. "Make shit up."

Barry leaned back in his chair. "Owen..."

Owen held up his hands. "Just an hour or two."

Barry let out a sigh and shook his head. "You are going to get caught one day."

Owen shrugged again. "The decoy tracking chips haven't failed yet. Come on!" He whined. "It's been almost a year!"

"Four months." Barry said. "Their birthday."

Owen nodded slowly as he remembered. "Oh yeah. Well... it's been four months! It'll just be a couple hours!"

Barry sighed. "Alright. But I'm staying here while you're gone."

Owen smiled. "You don't have to."

"Someone has to cover for your ass."

Owen smiled. "They'd have to catch my ass."

Barry rolled his eyes.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Barry's worries were pointless. They always were. Whatever Owen said in regards to the raptors was law. Because of Dr. Wu's influence, he was sure. Plus everyone thought he was a little crazy anyways. Close the paddock and turn off the lights and cameras. Just another day working for Owen Grady. Same shit, different day. Or same crazy ass shit.

Owen took the girls out for a few more hours than he promised Barry. And when they returned, the man was asleep at his desk. Owen checked all the equipment, making sure the lights and cameras were still off. Then he woke up his friend. The man mumbled a bunch of shit under his breath. Owen smiled and just pushed him out the door. "Go get some real sleep. See you in a few hours."

Barry glared at him. And then was gone.

Owen went back out, intending to say goodnight and head home. But Blue stopped him. [Stay.] She whistled sadly. All three of the others heard her and appeared behind her.

Owen let out a groan. "Okay fine. For like a minute."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Something hit him. Not hard. Something tiny. Didn't hurt. But it was super annoying. Because it happened a second time. And a third time. Fourth, fifth, sixth. The eleventh time though... man, that was the cincher. He growled low in his throat as he opened his eyes. Tiny rocks surrounded them. Rocks. Someone was throwing rocks at him. Little tiny rocks. Who the fuck was throwing little tiny rocks at him?

Charlie nudged his arm. He blinked at her. Oh shit. He'd fallen asleep in the raptor paddock. As a raptor. And he was now very human and very naked. He was half draped over Blue and Charlie was pressed against his back and he was certain Echo was snoring over his ass and Delta was sure to be somewhere in the pile. And damn, Echo was heavy. He knew she was getting fat! And was someone drooling on his feet? Yeah. Someone was drooling on his feet. That solved the where's Delta issue.

"Echo!" He rolled slightly and tried to push her off. "Get up!" He hissed. "You're too big to lay on squishy!"

"Owen!"

He could make out Barry's whispered, worried voice. "Hang on a minute, Barry. A bit stuck here." He hooked his arms under Echo's neck and pushed her. "Echo!"

Charlie let out a snort behind him.

"Stop laughing at me and help me. Wake up Delta and Echo." A few more minutes of wrestling with them and he slithered out. He stood up, rolled his shoulders and there were a few loud pops and cracks and maaaaan he suddenly felt old. Oh god! He shouldn't been old for forty years. Or at least twenty. Stupid raptors. He turned and glared at them.

[Squishy!] Echo darted forward and rubbed her head against his chest. He smiled and pushed her away gently.

"Owen!" Barry hiss again. "You're naked in the raptor paddock. You need to get out of there before the crew gets here."

Owen nodded. "Cameras still off?"

"Yes." Barry answered.

"I'm totally getting yelled at for that." He started looking around. No sign of his clothes. Anywhere. Not even a sock. "Damnit, Echo!" He turned and the youngest raptor was gone. He let out a groan and shook his head.

"Hurry up!" Barry sounded seconds from panicking. "You're going to get caught."

Well at least he drove his jeep in yesterday. "Can you pull my jeep around? Keys and my phone are on my desk."

Barry let out a sigh and shook his head. But he turned and disappeared from view.

Blue let out a low, sad whistle. He turned towards her. Charlie was behind her and Delta was still on the ground, asleep and drooling. "This was a whole lot easier when you were younger. And smaller."

Charlie let out a snort and Blue bobbed her head in agreement.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Driving home naked was fun. Really fun. But at least he hadn't taken his motorcycle. He was really going to have to do something about Echo. He knew she missed raptor him. He knew they all did. But Echo, she'd gotten spoiled. That first year, he was terrified she was going to die. They all were. And she'd gotten whatever she wanted. All the time. It had always been too hard to say no to Echo.

He showered, dressed, and ate quickly. And he was back with the raptors as the morning crew started arriving. He stifled a yawn as the time slowly ticked by. He shouldn't have been up all night. He was tired. And the way Blue snapped at one of the crew members when he walked too close to the fence, they were tired, too. Yeah, so maybe last night was a mistake. Well... not really a mistake. The extended time was the mistake.

He stifled another yawn and waved Barry over. "I have to go meet the boss lady's VIP's." He said, shaking himself. "She wants me to show them around for a couple days before the park closes."

Barry cocked an eyebrow. "You? Tour guide?"

Owen sighed. "I can be serious."

Barry nodded slowly and shrugged. "Sounds fun."

"I'll be gone for the rest of the day." Owen continued. "Give everyone the day off and let the girls sleep. I'll stop by at some point and check on them."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

Author's Notes: Owen meets the brothers next. XD