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She reminds him of the deep dark ocean, maybe its the stripe, maybe its they way she always seem to know exactly how to both terrify him and and seem in control. The thing about raptors is, they know what they're doing. A sharp bite here, some razor sharp claws there and you're no longer alive. Owen finds peace that this small thing in his arms feeding out of a bottle will someday grow up to be big and strong. That this small thing that runs around quicker than a dog and will reach 40mph in the future. That one day the small dino will grow to be 6ft tall in a few years.
Owen finds peace in Blue. The small thing in his arms yawns and he has to stop himself from cooing over her. She was only born a few days ago, still small and fragile. The tiny thing excites him greatly. Owen can't wait to spend years with her
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Owen might just be regretting the decision a little, A Little. She's bitten him twelve times and refuses to listen to him. Owen thought that the baby gates would at least keep her out of trouble when she was roaming the house. The little raptor was to smart for that though and put claw marks all over his furniture and himself just to climb over the couch and get where she wanted to go anyways. The fridge has claw marks in it as she's smart enough to know that's where food comes from. The door has equally as many scratch marks. Owen has to replace the curtains more than once. She has taken a liking to steal his socks, and Last but not least she would put his clothes in piles and rip them up to sleep on. He has lost many a pair of board shorts to Blue.
The only thing was, once she calmed down she was the sweetest thing. She took to climbing on his shoulder and sitting there while Owen would watch TV. She would sleep in his lap while he filled out reports. She had even moved her bed of her own accord into Owen's room. She was smart and knew what she wanted and didn't like being told no, but she was the sweetest thing and Owen loved her for it.
They move her to a cage a few months later, figuring that if imprinting is going to happen it should have already been done enough to form a pack bond. Owen misses her greatly. He still sees her everyday, but he misses the small thing. The noises and the clawing, yes he found it annoying and was upset with what had happened but his bungalow felt empty with out Blue.
Owen did have to take care of more raptors eventually, the small things nothing like blue in look or actions. Though little they were still very dangerous and it did take him a while to adjust to the fact that, no these tiny ones where not the same as Blue. Owen still loved them though. They were all different colors, sometimes he wonders if they did it on purpose.
first came Delta, then came Echo, and at the end of it all came Charlie.
They were all deadly but more laid back, Charlie was the calmest while Echo thought she ran house. Owen found it funny, but he missed blue to death.
The other raptors did have to move on eventually. Find their own way in the pack seeing as how they were pack animals after all. They had left even sooner than Blue had and he only felt more lonely.
They did seem to get along for the most part. Blue and Echo had a shaky relationship. With Blue being the beta and Echo wanting to take her place it wasn't long till they fought over the position. Echo had to go and challenge Blue. She had fought for dominance over the pack and had lost. Her face and jaw permanently messed up from the interaction. That had turned out to be a messy day trying to subdue both raptors before they tore each other to shreds. Echo still caries the scars to this day, Her jaw permanently off.
Owen spends so much time with them. A twelve hour day is easy for him. These raptors were like family, they became everything he had. Blue was his favorite (Shh don't tell the others) she lead the pack and kept them going. More often than not helping Owen accomplish what he wanted anyways. Barry was a big help as well. Owen knows what the army wants to do and Barry helps keep them off the scent. The raptor squad like Barry almost as much as they like Owen, hes just as much of the pack as he is.
Hoskins whats them used in war, and it sickens Owen. Putting dogs into war was bad enough. Putting uncontrollable wild animals into war was so much worse. Raptors where dangerous enough as is, they will never be able to be fully tamed and it seems Owen is one of the only people to understand it. Barry helps him out the best he can, but they're now realizing just how much trouble they've gotten themselves into.
Blue turns on him, and it hurts everything. Every moment they spent together. He wonders if should have expected this from her. She was strong willed and strong in mind. Owen was hurt, more hurt than he had ever been before. He had spent years raising Blue, years raising them all. To have her turn so fast with the prospect of another alpha had cut him and cut him deep. He had spent so much time with them, training them, keeping them from doing exactly this. The pack had turned on him almost immediately and Owen has to wonder if they even cared for him at all.
In the end only Blue survives, the only one from her whole pack. There's nothing left of Charlie, Echo was burned to death, and poor Delta was thrown into a store front. Owen can tell it kills the both of them, lives gone that were never meant to be taken. Raptors that were never meant to be in a war. Owen blames himself.
As she runs off into the night he thinks that this, this is where she belongs. Blue was meant to be free, like the calm and scary ocean she was. Free to be what she is, free to be alive.
Owen often sees her in his dreams. She's always leading him to new places, new things, new people. She always leads him right. Blue is all he has left of his pack, and it hurts knowing she's the only one left. But she's alive, and that's what matters.
So when he sees her running in the woods twords him, hes not scared. When she stops right in front of him, he's not spooked. When he holds out his hand, and Blue lets her head rest in it. It lets him know that what he's about to do is ok, because she still trust him, and hes so very thankful for it. He goes in for a hug, she doesn't make a sound, doesn't protest. Just lays her head on his shoulder like she used to do before she got big enough to swallow his head.
He sings to her like he used to, and he remember all the time they spent together. Time spent training. Time spent together when she was still small enough to not injure him. Time spent together in the pack. The times when they were sleepy and let Owen full on pet them. Time spent trying to wash raptors on hot sunny day when they were only knee high and running faster than he or Barry could catch them.
Owen remembers that he loves her. It's then that he remembers that this is family, this is what he fights for.
Owen will always fight for her. Blue is his family, and she won't get left behind.