Loneliness.

It's such a terrible thing.

It's all I've ever felt.

I wasn't always alone though.

I barely remember... a time when there was another just like me...

But then she went away...

Then I was alone again.

It's been a long time since that happened. I've grown a lot.

I've got a larger territory now. BIg and open... and empty.

There's a spot in my territory. A spot in the wall, where I sometimes see small creatures. They remind me of the ones who took care of me and the one who was like me.

I sometimes go over there just to be near them. I can see and smell their fear though. They don't like me. So I hide. But I stay near, because when they don't think I'm near, they aren't so bad.

When I'm not spending my time watching the small ones, I'm usually patrolling my territory, practicing my abilities, scratching trees or walls to keep my claws groomed. Anything really. I eat the meal of freshly dead meat that comes in sometimes, dropped in by the arm of the great metal not alive thing.

When I'm not doing that, I'm at my nest sleeping, or at the water hole, drinking my fill when I'm thirsty.

Then one day everything changed.

When I was practicing my abilities after sharpening my nails on the wall, I heard a noise near the clear wall that I've never heard before.

Curious and wary, I stay hidden and make my way towards the noise.

That's when I see them. Three of the small ones have entered my territory!

A part of me feels angry at this, but it's largely drowned out by the novelty of not being alone in my territory for once. That part of me feels overjoyed and excited and nervous. Would they like my home? Would they stick around and be nice?

I can already tell the answer to the last part of my question. The three are scared and wary. They're acting like intruders. Prey, even.

I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to scare them by appearing.

It seems I have no choice though. They've started back the way they came, and I can see that they've come through what I've long suspected to be a hole in the wall sized just for them.

This upsets me, for several reasons. If they could enter this whole time, why did they leave me alone? More importantly though, I don't want them to leave. I don't want to scare them away by appearing, but they're trying to leave anyway, so what else can I do?

I appear and try to call to them to not go.

The scent of fear, and the glow of their heat, spikes, and they run. I chase, trying to get them to stop, and not sure what to do about the other part of me that revels in the chase of these small ones that it insists are prey.

One of them does something to the wall, and the entire thing begins to crack open. I startle for just a moment. How strong must this human me, to crack the wall when I never had before, back when I still tried?

I started forward again though. Two of them made it out, but the third I was able to catch just beyond the doors. I almost dropped the small one when I was bombarded by the sights and sounds of so much newness outside my territory. It was almost intimidating. Part of me wanted to go out and conquer it, but that part was also wanting me to just eat the small one currently clutched in my claws, and I wouldn't have that. Besides, what would I want with all that outside, when I have everything I could possibly want here in my own territory now? I was lonely, but now I have my own small one, and now I won't be anymore.

Turning back into my territory, I paused, and turned around, regarding the breach into that wide open world out there. It occurred to me that while these walls had kept me in, it also kept everything else out, too. And while that was a bad thing before, now having seen how big the world is out there, I think maybe I'd like to just take it in small steps. I'll have to be extra careful though in case what might be out there is something that could make even me look small.

Taking the small one back to my nest, I settled down and curled up around it, letting it loose in my hand and watching it. It stumbled out of my hand, shaking. It was still afraid, but it didn't seem like the others. And the scents coming from it spoke to something inside me that made me ache for the lonely feeling to go away.

I leaned down and breathed softly on the small one. It reached up and patted my nose. I crooned, liking that. I leaned forward and nuzzled the small one, accidently knocking it, (him, I identified after another sniff), over. I leaned back a bit, slightly alarmed. I hadn't really thought of it before, but now that I think about it, these small ones are probably a bit more sensitive than something as big as I am is. I'll have to be extra careful not to hurt him. No one likes hurt after all. Not even me.

After the small one stood back up, I breathed a small breath on him in apology and, as softly as I could manage, pressed my snout into him. This time it barely pushed him, and he reached up and patted my nose again, which I crooned at once more.

OoOoOoOoOoO

I can't believe I'm still alive.

I came in here, fully expecting to start tracking how the Indominus got out, only for Claire to call and say the Indominus was still in the paddock. Then when we tried to leave, it appeared and chased us, roaring.

Then, when it had it's chance, when it had made it outside and the world seemingly held its breath... the Indominus went against everything Owen thought he knew about dinosaurs and went back inside.

Not without scooping him up first though, which lead to his current predicament.

The ride over had been hell on his ribs. The Indominus had been surprisingly gentle for something its size, but it doesn't change the fact that it still gripped just a bit too tight. And now here he was, rubbing the nose of a giant super predator, and seemingly bonding with it, rather than being eaten, which would make so much more sense in this case.

Don't get him wrong. Owen is glad he's still alive, but his sanity has currently gone on vacation while he tries to figure out how to deal with this situation.

He froze and kept silent as the Indominus reached over and picked him up again, before tucking him against its, her, chest and closing her eyes.

'I think I now know what a teddy bear feels like,' Owen thought, doing his best not to panic.

Slowly, the Indominus drifted off, and her hold on him relaxed enough that he was able to wriggle out of her hold. He paused while he was sneaking away to look back at her and frowned.

Nothing about this encounter made sense. This was supposed to be a dangerously intelligent and terrifying monster that killed its sister, and should've gone on to wreak unholy havoc on the rest of the island while he, ACU, and others tried to stop it and protect the innocent park visitors from being eaten.

But instead it was almost like... like she'd make those marks on the wall for some other reason. Something that had nothing to do with escaping apparently. And then she'd then gone on to pick him up and treat him like his niece treats a beloved stuffed animal, squeezing just a touch too hard, but considering her size and strength, it was more telling to him that he simply had bruises rather than busted ribs. And she'd even been more gentle with nudging him after knocking him over, proving she could learn, and putting the final nail in the coffin of his original idea of just how monstrous the Indominus really was.

Owen nearly cursed as the radio on his belt crackled and Clair's voice came through quietly, "Owen, what are you doing? Get away from it!"

The call wasn't quiet enough though. The indominus' eyes blinked open and focused on him, its hands flexing slightly at confirming he was not where he was when she'd fallen asleep. He cringed and waited to see if he should start running after all.

OoOoOoOoOoOoO

It seems the small one wasn't all that interested in taking a nap. She crooned sadly at seeing the spike of fear. It had seemed to calm down though when she'd nudged it before. Maybe doing it again would calm it again?

She leant over and nudged it gently, carefully, and was rewarded when the small one's spark of fear went away, and she crooned at him, blowing a soft gust of air over him through her nose affectionately.

The small one chittered at her in its language, its tone soothing as it brought its arm up and rubbed her snout, causing her to croon even more.

She saw it lift up a black thing she saw some of them carry around with them. She'd figured out through observation that the small ones were somehow communicating with each other through long distances with it. After a moment, a voice answered back, and she crooned in delight. It was the red haired female small one! She liked that one, even if it did speak harshly and kept her fear under a guise of being confrontational. Aside from the small ones in white coats, she was there the most, and it was obvious from interactions that the red haired female was in charge of the others.

Sometimes another came through with her, a black haired male small one that she deferred to, but he wasn't here often.

She quietly watched and listened as the small one in front of her continued to speak to the red haired leader female. She could pick out a few words here and there. After so long of observing and listening while hidden, she'd figured out the meanings of a few words.

From the gist of it, it seemed the red haired female leader wanted him to leave her territory and that she was scared for her new small one friend, thinking that she would eat him. She crooned sadly at this. He had only just arrived! Now he had to leave? She didn't want him to. The small new friend patted her snout and she crooned again, enjoying the feeling.

She listened as the small new friend spoke to her now. It seemed he did have to leave, but he promised to come back. She knew about promises. he smelled of honesty. He would come back. That would have to be enough for her. She wouldn't risk her new friend becoming angry of fearful if she didn't let him leave.

When he began to back out of the clearing her nest was in, she rose up, and he froze, a spike of fear, though smaller this time, going through him. Gently, she picked him up and carried him, though in a loose hold this time, not missing the wince when her hands went around him. Thankfully he kept his balance and held onto her fingers as she carried him over to the crack in the wall.

Beyond it, she could see the wide open world, as well as many small ones, all dressed in black and pointing things at her when she came into sight. They were afraid, but they were also challenging. Part of her wanted to answer the challenge, as her eyes narrowed on the small ones.

A sound from the one she was carrying though caused them to shift. Then the red haired female leader who was with them said a similar sound, and the rest of the small ones slowly lowered the things they were pointing at her, which caused the other part of her to quiet some.

Gently, she lowered her small friend to the ground, and nuzzled him, crooning sadly that he had to go. He rubbed her nose again and promised to be back. She nodded at him, a gesture she'd seen the other small ones do, and was surprised to smell surprise in not just her small friend, but many of the others as well.

Slowly, her small one backed away, and again, like she'd seen the small ones do, she waved in farewell. After a moment and a spike of more surprise scent from him, he raised his hand and waved back. She crooned and then went back towards her nest, already missing her friend, but content that he would come back. The loneliness came back, but it was tempered in that knowledge.

The strange sound from earlier came again, and she looked back to see the crack in her wall closing again. Now knowing what it was, she waited till it closed completely again, memorizing how it moved and worked, then she went back to her nest to finish her afternoon sleep time.