Find Me

It’d been years since the laboratory was working properly; long since laid to waste. Still she found herself poking around the refuse every once in a while, as if she would find something worthwhile. An outsider would have a hard time seeing the massive beast; for all of her size, she had cloaked herself and blended into her surroundings exactly. The only thing that gave her away was her occasional breathing and wriggling of her long tail.

She snuffled through the wreckage with her large nose, nudging things aside. Optimistically she let out a chirp as she recognized something in the damage. Her skin faded to its normal pallor broken up with hints of pink, and the massive raptor gingerly opened her jaw, exposing razor-sharp teeth. With the precision of a surgeon she grasped the tiny ID card between two teeth, raising back upon two feet. Her footsteps echoed softly, crackling shards of glass as she mindlessly stepped over them.

Caaaaaaaan…?

She froze, the spikes along her neck standing at attention. Her head swiveled, ID card still in mouth as she searched for the sudden intrusion of sound.

Anybody? Fiiiiind meeee….

Her pupils constricted, uneasily pulling her lips back. The growl that followed wasn’t entirely raptor or indoraptor; something she had picked up from living amongst modern fauna.

Somebody tooooo..

Her growl developed into a snarl. She wasn’t alone. The music grew louder, as if it were approaching. She lowered onto all fours; ID card still in her mouth, unwilling to let go of a relic of a past she chased.

(Looooove)

Something small, metal, orb-like came rolling towards her. Against all of her better knowledge, for all the intelligence instilled in her, she found herself moving towards it. Curiously she sniffed what seemed to be a speaker. As soon as her nose made contact, the object exploded into light, blinding her. A deafening ringing overwhelmed her senses, crippling her to the ground. In what could only be recognized as fear, the indoraptor let out an ear-splitting screech, stumbling back. In the process she found herself separated from her object of interest, causing more panic than the fact that she couldn’t see or hear.

She didn’t even feel the pain of the shrapnel as it embedded in her hide, large clawed hands grasping feverishly for the hunk of plastic that somehow meant so much. Before she could get her claws upon it, she felt the all-too familiar sensation of bullets. World around her black and silent, she scrambled to her large feet, rearing up to her back legs and forcibly bringing her arms back down, pounding onto the ground with a roar. She felt herself make contact with what she could only assume was a human, whipping around and slamming her large tail into them.

Blind, deaf, confused and afraid, she uneasily backed up, trying to get her bearings. She felt something take hold of her, and began to vocalise even though she couldn’t hear- unsure of how quiet or loud she was being. What came from her mouth wasn’t something beastly, but rather the cries of a baby velociraptor for their mother. It was entirely queer to see such a large, fearsome creature crying out in fear.

What awaited her assailants was a fate worse than the netted and screeching indoraptor, however. They may have fooled one mighty beast, but what they didn’t expect was her partner. In fact, they couldn’t have expected anything because the creature was utterly silent, not bothering to answer her cries for help. Instead of making even the softest sound, instead he just acted.

Two humans were hardly a match for a velociraptor; especially one as quiet and vicious as the red and black beast that quickly overwhelmed them. She could sense him nearby and quieted her cries, still confused but lulled to peace as she felt the humans drop to their deaths. He approached silently, cautiously; well aware of the damage Larken could do even on accident. His talon clicked across the ground, close enough that she would feel the faint vibrations.

Almost heaven, West Virginia.

He pressed his talon harder into the ground, calming her anxiety as he set to work cutting the netting that consumed her. She relaxed at the familiar sound; a song she’d been programmed to become damn near docile to.

Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River

It took a good while for Slag to cut her free, but once he did, she was curled up and beginning to regain her vision and hearing. She looked to him, able to see him though mostly blurred. He leaned in, pressing the brunt of his nose against hers. She snuffled softly, the noise so incredibly strange for such an imposing creature, but obviously an intimate one. She rubbed her nose against his.

The moment was short lived as he leaned out and darted off. Larken craned her head back down, closing her tired eyes. It was a good walk back to their shared den, and the blood she’d lost in the struggle made it a rough one to make at the moment. She’d only just dozed off slightly when a familiar tapping sounded off near her head. She growled softly, as if to tell him not now, she needed to rest. He was insistent, though. Letting out a loud huff, she opened her eyes.

From his jaws, the precious object from before: the plastic ID card, bearing a familiar face to them both. It was spattered with blood now, but all the same. She gave up a noise somewhere between a trill and a coo, and he took his place next to her, curling up beside her. They’d rest here for the night. Their den was wherever they were, at the end of the day, and that was enough for either of them.