That night, Charlie had trouble getting to sleep. She stared at the ceiling with wide eyes, tempted to wake Lily and talk about her problems. Although she trusted her, Charlie felt slightly uncomfortable because of her species. Lily was not a human and not a dinosaur, which meant that she was something new and frightening. Then again, the same could be said of Charlie, who was not a complete human and no longer a raptor. She didn't know exactly what her role was in this household, and she was starting to worry that she might not fit in at all.

"I can tell that you're not sleeping."

Charlie gave a little jump and sat up in bed.

"What?"

"You're not sleeping," Lily repeated, "Is something bothering you?"

Charlie paused, sniffling lightly, then burst into tears.

"Owen said he doesn't want to use a clicker anymore and I know he thinks that I speak English well but I'm not good at communicating and if something goes wrong he'll think I'm not listening and he'll get mad and kick me out of the house and I'll never see him again!"

Lily blinked. She was clearly trying to process the entire confession that Charlie had blurted out, which meant that she had to go over everything that had been said at a slower pace. When she finally dissected the run-on sentence, she sat up and folded her tail around her legs.

"Um, okay. First of all, my dad isn't going to kick you out."

"How can you be sure?" Charlie whimpered.

"Because he loves you, and you just don't do that kind of thing to someone you love. Second, why are you so worried about him being mad? We all make mistakes, and sometimes we have to suffer for them. That doesn't mean the people who punish us don't care about our feelings. It means they want us to be better, that's all."

Charlie sniffled.

"I don't understand."

Lily rubbed her chin.

"Here, why don't I tell you a story? A long time ago, when I was about five, I was brushing my teeth in the bathroom when I knocked over a fancy, pink cup. It fell off the counter and landed in the trash can. I guess it was somewhat convenient for me, because it broke into several pieces: far too many to glue. I was afraid, because I knew that breaking things was a bad thing to do. I went to hide in my room, and I pretended that nothing was wrong. My mom wasn't stupid, though. Still isn't, I guess. She saw the cup in the garbage and yelled at me for breaking it. She said that it was her favorite cup . . . or maybe I just imagined that part because I felt so guilty. Anyway, I lay in bed crying long after she left. To my surprise, she came back a few minutes later. She sat down beside me and stroked my frill, and I was shocked to see that she was crying too. She explained that she was upset because of what I did, but that didn't change the fact that she loved me. She said that she was under a lot of pressure. Even adults get stressed out, sometimes. I guess she felt overwhelmed because I started being homeschooled that year. Anyway, that was when I realized that my mom would love me no matter what, and even if she yelled at me, that didn't mean she was trying to be harmful. Does that make any sense?"

Charlie sighed and wiped her eyes.

"I think so. Don't tell Blue I was crying, okay?"

Lily smiled.

"Dad says it's okay to cry. But don't worry. Your secret is safe with me."

Charlie gave her a hug.

"Can we be sisters?" she asked.

Lily's eyes went wide.

"Sisters?"

Charlie nodded.

"I know we're not related, but I still want us to be family. I guess if you don't want to-"

Lily squeezed her.

"No, it's okay. I've always wanted a sister."

Charlie smiled.

"Thank you, Lily. I can't tell you how grateful I am."

"It's no big thing," she replied, "Do you think you'll be able to sleep now?"

"Yeah, I think so."

"Okay. Goodnight."

"Goodnight."

***TSJWFEW***

The next morning, everyone seemed to be in a decent mood, but there was a strange undercurrent regarding their interactions. Barry and Delta came down late to breakfast, because they had supposedly kept each other up all night by kicking in their sleep. Blue and Foxtrot ate their breakfast quietly, but in a somewhat messy manner. Apparently, Blue had assigned dish duty to Foxtrot, which displeased Owen. Unfortunately, he had bigger problems to deal with.

To his dismay, Echo slept in until noon, hungover from the wine she had consumed the previous night. Owen sat by the couch-bed and waited for her to wake up, feeling guilty that he'd let her drinking go as far as it did. When she began to stir, he snapped to attention. She groaned and looked around with uneven eyelids, as if she was unsure where she had fallen asleep. Owen handed her a glass of water, which she drank in one big gulp.

"What's going on? Why are you watching me sleep?"

"I'm worried about you," Owen said, "You weren't very lucid last night, and the girls were telling me that you tend to drink too much. You need to learn to control yourself."

Echo looked away from him in shame.

"It's no big deal. I'm going to die soon anyway. I'm the oldest member of the Squad. There's no point in delaying the inevitable."

"Don't say those things," Owen mumbled, "You need to limit your alcohol intake, or you could really end up hurting yourself."

"What does it matter?" Echo grumbled, "No one will miss me if I pass. Blue hates me, the others think I'm old and weak, and-"

Suddenly, Owen scooped her up in a hug.

"I care, Echo. I've already lost one member of my family this way, and I won't let it happen again."

Echo didn't quite know how to respond.

"I . . . But I'm the least important raptor. Even Foxtrot could beat me in a fight, I'm sure of it."

Owen shook his head.

"No, Echo. You have it all wrong. Out here, it doesn't matter who's the strongest. We don't fight each other to earn respect: we do nice things and help one another as a family. Yesterday, you did a good job of watering the plants. That garden is where we get most of our food, so by taking care of it, you did something that benefits us all. That's a million times better than fighting, and we respect you for it. You're not weak, because you're helpful."

Echo sighed.

"Blue wouldn't think so."

"Blue isn't the Alpha," Owen said sternly.

Echo considered this, rubbing her chin thoughtfully.

"Then . . . should I water the garden again?"

Owen nodded.

"Do it in the evening so that the water doesn't evaporate as much. If you want to do something right now, you can help Claire empty the rain barrel."

"Isn't Delta helping Claire?"

"She decided to work in the garage with Barry."

Echo sat up and ran her fingers through her hair.

"Alright. I'll see what I can do."

Owen patted her shoulder.

"Good. I'm proud of you."

She smiled and gave him a quick hug before trotting out the door.

***TSJWFEW***

Late at night, Blue held a secret meeting. It was arranged last-minute, and the raptors were very much displeased that they had been awoken from a pleasant slumber. Although they were now human, their raptor-ish tendency to sleep deeply hadn't been forgotten. Drowsy and disoriented, they gathered by the hide-a-bed, rubbing their eyes like sleepy children.

"This is a disaster," Blue began.

"I'll say! I was having a wonderful dream before you interrupted me!" Foxtrot sassed.

"Shut up," Blue hissed, "I'm talking about this whole mission. After years and years of searching for Owen, we find him living here with that stupid cow, completely changed. That vile woman has moulded him into a sweater-wearing loser, and she's trying to do the same to us!"

"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.

Blue leaned forward menacingly.

"Do you honestly think she made slippers because she likes you? She's trying to manipulate us!"

". . . With slippers?" Echo puzzled.

"Of course!" Blue snapped, "She wants to de-raptorize us. If we listen to her, we'll be no better than housepets."

Charlie whimpered.

"Blue, I don't think she's trying to manipulate us. I think she's trying to make us feel welcome."

"Then why is she so protective of Owen? Every time I try to approach him alone, she's always coming over and talking to him."

"They're married," Echo grumbled, "They're bound to talk to each other."

Blue sneered.

"She's trying to keep us apart."

"Maybe she thinks you're trying to steal Owen," Charlie speculated.

Blue turned her face to the window and looked out at the moon.

"I'm just trying to show him the way. He used to be strong, but that disgusting hybrid has made him weak."

Echo shook her head.

"He's not weak. He's kind and generous-"

Suddenly, Blue snatched her up by the collar and pulled her forward until she was inches away from her face.

"Kindness is weakness. Do you think that kindness will save your life when you're being chased by a predator?"

She released Echo, who shrunk away submissively. Delta frowned lightly and stepped in front of her.

"Stop it, Blue. There's nothing wrong with the way things turned out. Owen's letting us stay, and we have to respect his wishes. If he tells us that Claire is his equal, that's what we will believe."

Blue snarled.

"She's seduced him! Do you think anyone in their right mind would want to marry that . . . thing?"

"He loves her," Charlie whispered, "That's why-"

Blue swiped at her, and she backed away quickly.

"He is not in love. She tricked him, but we can do the same. Delta, you look almost exactly like her when she was human. Win him back to our side."

Delta shook her head.

"I can't. He wouldn't go after me."

"Why not?"

"He's not in love with the way she looks: he's in love with her. She can't be replaced that easily."

"What if we find a way to make her uglier?" Blue muttered as she tapped her fingers on the sofa's armrest.

Delta snuffed.

"I don't think you understand what I'm saying. There's no chance he'll leave his wife. Not unless we find another Claire, and even then I don't think he would. They're too much in love."

Blue shook her head.

"No, that's simply an illusion. They can be separated. We just need to find her weakness. Does anyone have information we can use?"

None of the raptors met her gaze. Blue growled in frustration.

"You must have learned something. If you withhold your discoveries, I'll have to find a way to get it out of you by force, and you don't want that."

After a pause, Echo sighed mournfully.

"She gets spooked by snakes. She told me this when we emptied the rain barrel."

Blue nodded.

"Good. We can use that. You're all dismissed for the night. Tomorrow, we will tear them apart by any means necessary."

And with that, the group disbanded with heavy hearts.