Collete sighed as she sat by the dire wolf paddock, watching Nero and his pack go about their daily business. She'd somehow felt like a weight had been taken off her soul now this whole thing with Alice had been resolved – she winced at the memory of the argument. She could understand why Alice had gotten nervous about her – she felt like she needed to protect Jack in case of heartbreak… but, anyway, back to business.
Her thoughts turned to Jack. She'd been at the dromas with him earlier today – Jack had half-jokingly talked about doing shows with them when the park opened. She smiled at the memory – Jack never failed to make her laugh. One of the things she liked about him.
To some people, it was still surprising that that Jack – so happy-go-lucky, so goofy at first glance – had ended up bonding with the droma pack to the degree he had. Kaa was another one, too – Collete had been surprised by how friendly the dinilysia had been. However, Jack had taught her that sometimes things aren't always what they seem to be – or at least are more than what appearances tell you. In a way, it made a certain kind of sense that Jack would bond with creatures that were as good at playing on what other people thought of them as Jack himself was.
Sometimes she wonders if the team were meant to be friends with Jack because there is a certain level of deceptiveness to all the animals they'd bonded with – for instance, people look at Sun-Tzu and they see a pretty little feathered dinosaur, with beautiful reddish-brown feathers. They're wrong. Sinornithosaurus are vicious little bastards – with a venomous bite, believe it or not – and Watts is just as dangerous underneath her seemingly pretty, unassuming exterior.
Sherman is another one who takes people by surprise – but not for the reasons people expect. Denversaurus, at about fifteen feet long, are comparatively small for ankylosaurs (comparatively, mind – they're still pretty big)… but they have big personalities. Most ankylosaurs are always up for a scrap or two – particularly the smaller ones. Now, day to day, Sherman is pretty placid, even friendly at times…. however, Collete has seen him angry – and in some ways, he's even more frightening than the tyrannosaurs.
Now, Forestock is comparatively unsurprising – the harpactognathus is just as diligent, level-headed and loyal as Willoby is. What is surprising is that Willoby raised him from when he was a hatchling after his egg rolled out of the nest – and from watching Willoby raise him (with Adrian's advice), she's learnt a surprising lot about pterosaurs. For instance, unlike birds, baby pterosaurs could fly straight out of the nest and grew over multiple years – Forestock was almost a year old and had a roughly five-foot wingspan. According to Willoby, Khatin had estimated that Forestock would reach his full size at roughly eighteen months/two years old.
People are generally thrown off balance by Geronimo. Well, that was kind of obvious – there's something inherently unnerving about being near an 8-foot, venomous lizard that snacked on baby dinosaurs. The reptile handlers – including Jack – treat him with a degree of cautious respect – they've worked with reptiles that size before. They know the drill. The point is Geronimo is perfect for Farnsworth – unreadable, dangerous and highly intelligent.
Martha is perfect for Nikolai, too, although not many people see it. Just like Nikolai, Martha's big, strong and intimidating… but ultimately benevolent and protective to those she's closest to. She'd heard about how, when they'd first found her, Martha had saved Jack from the Ape Man who had attempted to strangle him to death and how she and Nikolai had fought off the Ape Man hunting party seeking to kill Martha's sister Ellie. Once she'd heard Nikolai's past – what had happened to his parents and sister – another parallel between the two emerged; both were broken creatures, having previously been hurt by the world and had bonded with each other over it.
Somehow, it was also somewhat apt that she bonded with Nero and Hannibal - all three of them were fierce and menacing on the outside, but fiercely protective of those that they cared about. And perhaps appropriately, Jack had bonded as closely with them as he had with her – reflecting how she had come to… care very deeply about him.
Not that she'd ever tell Jack that – she doesn't need to. Neither she nor Jack ever say those things – not because, unlike Leon and Yolanda, they're too shy to admit it, but because, as different as they are, they both believe that you don't need to tell someone you care about them… you show it. And Jack knows she cares about him – she can just tell that he does… but he knows not to say it either.