Sniffle

He isn't sure what time it is when his chair jolts. Rubbing a hand over his face, he only knows it's late because the lights are still off. In the dim of the Incubator lamp, he sees the little raptor trying to climb back into his chair. Her back legs aren't quite strong enough to give her the boost she needs, but she's also weighed down by a large, blue, flat square in her mouth.

A book? Owen's brow wrinkles as he pulls the little raptor into his arms and takes the book, covered in drool, from her.

"Gross," he mutters and wipes it off on his pant leg.

"Rar, Rah, Rawr," she grumbles softly, body still warm like a heating pad.

With a sigh, he looks at what she picked from the small library his mother sent. "Stellaluna. Fantastic."

Yawning, he shifts the raptor into a more comfortable position and places the book on the armrest.

Blue growls in response. Her little voice soft but demanding as she twists and turns, tiny claws reaching for the book.

"In the morning." He shuts his eyes and yawns, again.

"Rar!" she snarls.

Owen grits his teeth as he looks down at her, at those droopy little eyes and sharp teeth flashed at him—with two little spots missing. She's cranky, warm and drooling, all of which he remembers his cousins' doing when they were teething. Given the fact Blue's lost the two teeth now, and the next set has yet to make their way up, he imagines that might be why she's finicky.

Not to mention when he looks in her mouth, she doesn't have a lot of her back teeth yet.

With a grumble, he opens the book and is thankful the incubator bulb is bright enough. Looking at it, he's reminded of something his father used to do when he read to him. Owen's lip twitches upward. "In a warm and sultry forest far, far away, there once lived a father fruit bat and his new baby. Oh, how Father Bat loved his soft tiny baby. "I'll name you Blue," he crooned. Each night, Father Bat would carry Blue clutched to his chest as he flew out to search for food."

The little raptor snuggles against him and sniffles.

"One night, as Father Bat followed the heavy scent of ripe fruit, an owl spied him. On silent wings the powerful bird swooped down upon the bats…" As he continues to read, Owen casts a glance at the little raptor tucked against him. Her breaths steady, but her nose sounds stuffy. "Finally, though, the little bat could bear it no longer. She climbed into the nest, closed her eyes, and opened her mouth."

When Owen really thinks about it, he realizes she hasn't been chewing on things. Sure, she bit him, but that's nothing. If babies and puppies chew as they teethe, shouldn't a Velociraptor?

"Mama Bird stopped Blue. "You are teaching my children to do bad things. I will not let you back into this nest unless you promise to obey all the rules of this house." Blue promised."

Maybe the little raptor in his arms is sick and not just teething. Maybe there's something wrong. Maybe he should contact the staff.

"Blue behaved as a good bird should," he says, still reading to her, but listening to the soft wheeze in her breaths. "I'm just like them, thought Stellaluna. I can fly, too."

Does he call whomever this late at night? Does he wait until the morning? No, he thinks. He'll just wait. He needs to remember she's not an actual human. She's just fine.

"Blue was confused. "Mama Bird told me I was upside down. She said I was wrong…" "Wrong for a bird, maybe, but not for a bat.""

The little raptor is fine, he tells himself with a deep breath. She's an animal, they get over these things.

""Wait! Wait! Let me look at this child." A bat pushed through the crowd. "An owl attacked you?" he asked." Pulling the warm raptor closer, his voice lowers. "Sniffing Blue's fur, he whispered, "You are Blue. You are my baby."

When she sneezes, he closes the book and places it on the armrest. Glossed amber eyes look up at him. She sniffs as snot dribbles down.

Owen goes to the sink where he grabs a tissue and wipes her nose. "You don't feel well, do you?"

There's a soft whimper before she snuggles against him.

With a deep breath, Owen picks up the phone.

Hey, Pack!

Your encouragement means the world to me! From the reviews to favs and follows, it's really inspiring!

You all should check out deviantart . c o m / jeanette9a /art /Misadventures-of-a-Raptor-Trainer-753405206 Take out the spaces(because FFN is exceedingly unhelpful) and it should show up.

Anyway, Jeanette9a did the CUTEST doodles of Blue in a sundress! They're amazing! So check her out!

Thank you all for your support. You guys are the best.