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Courageous and Gentle

Chapter 2

Notes:

I sat down to write Broken Raptors.

This came out instead.

Thank you for reading and supporting.

Hopefully I'll update Broken Raptors either this week or next week. I had fun writing Owen and Ellen.

Chapter Text

The rumbling of a motorcycle thundered up the gravel road, tropical trees overlooking the waters of a calm lake. A trailer was nestled along the lakeside, signs of repair and handiwork present.

The purring of a motor was cut as the man silenced his bike, the scent of gasoline and vehicle oil upon his person. The earth crunched under his boots, the cool winds a brief respite from the tropical warmth and humidity upon his brow.

The ex marine was quite eager to just go to bed.

He certainly did not expect a brown chevy trax to be parked in his driveway.

He expected Ellen to be present in his lawn even less, just making herself right at home. The short blonde woman was currently lounging in a lawn chair in the dying rays of the sun painting the skies, wearing a hooded sweatshirt and shorts, bare feet tapping and splayed toes idly pulling at the grasses.

Owen's heavy, weighted footfalls upon the gravel signaled his approach.

Ellie's neck craned to look upon the man. Her arms raised above her head, back arching in a stretch, "Owen! You came back from your date! Finally."

The raptor trainer cocked his brow, brown eyes narrowing ever so slightly, "Date? Claire and I-"

"No, Sexy Epsy," The blonde then relaxed her body, though still did not get up, even as the trainer ceased his advances to a mere foot away, "I didn't want to disturb you."

Owen's tanned and developed arms crossed over his chest, "Disturb me? What, you stalking me? I know I'm irresistible with the ladies, buuut-"

"Pfffft! Yeah, real lady killer of the scaley kind. Look, you're attractive, but I have raptors of my own. I was just making my rounds. And-I saw you. Gotta say...," Ellen, at long last, sat upright. Her blue eyes stared behind thick glasses, brows knitted together in concern, worry, "Owen? Are you okay?"

"...Okay? Sure! Why wouldn't I be?" The man responded after a slight pause, confusion and something akin to uncertainty lace in his tone. It was immediately followed up in a jest. An attempt at a jest. It arguably wasn't a very good jest, "You remember who you're talking to, right, El? You get heat stroke from being in that hoodie?"

A chill breeze brought on from the lakeside blew several golden strands from Ellen's loose ponytail, the wind caressing the nearby trees and grasses, causing them to dance.

The blonde woman frowned, "Owen, I'm just concerned for you. You seem to be...taking this matter with E...," Ellen's hands rose, as if grasping for words, attempting to gather and mold her thoughts, "Very...personal? I'm not stupid. You've been visiting her a lot. She's my charge, and...admittedly, you've done a helluva lot more for her than I ever did. You advocate for her. That's good. I'm just...concerned for you. Like, I would expect you to do this for Blue, or Echo, or Charlie...but a raptor of my charge? One you have not bonded with like your own? I don't know. Maybe I don't have the connection to them like you do. But if something else is going on, you can always, you know...talk to me about it."

Uh, fuck. She hoped he understood her intentions through all that blubbering. Oh, fuckin' well.

"I...uh...Thanks, El. I...I'll keep that in mind." Owen spoke, arms slightly dropping to his side, "So...You've been keeping tabs on me?"

"Like I said, you visit one of my charges almost daily. So-Yes." The short woman nodded.

"So...Do you have a problem with that?"

The blonde shook her head in response, "No. I think it's good you drop by. A lot of the time I'm too busy with my own raptors. The...viable ones, as Henry would put it. Besides, E likes you better than me. Just, uh...be careful, Owen."

The ex marine raised a brow, "You forget who you're talking to again?"

"No. It's just-your raptors imprinted on you as a parent. For you, everything went find and dandy. For my group-it was all kinds of fucked up. C'mon, big guy. We can talk over a beer, yeah? I put a pack in your fridge." The short woman smiled, and began to meander towards the man's trailer.

Owen blinked. Blinked twice. Thrice.

He shook his head, "Wait-What?-"

"You're welcome!" Ellen chirped.


The sound of soft clinking of glass against wood resounded in the calm silence, followed by the groaning of an old chair tolerating added weight.

"So...How'd you get in my home again?" The man asked, sitting opposite of the small woman as he twisted off the cap of his own beer.

Ellen took a swig of her bottle. Her nose scrunched, "You should maybe, I don't know, lock your door, Owen? Don't worry, I didn't snoop. If that's what you're worried about." Lashes fluttered in a wink behind thick glasses.

Owen's stubble was molded by his smile, "Good! Then you didn't find my porn stash."

"Oohoo, Mister Grady, Mister Grady, you naughty man! You have any of those old Playboy ones?" Ellen asked, deciding-against her dislike of such a drink-to take a second swig. Once more, she grimaced. Ew.

"A few, yeah. But I ain't sellin' 'em. They'll be worth some cash, maybe," The man then connected his lips to the rim of his bottle, and chugged, throat muscles bobbing as he swallowed.

"Hard day?" The blonde asked in a slight, if sullen frown. Once more, the sound of glass hitting wood resounded, however more forceful, and heavy.

"Yeah...You can say that...," The ex marine's brown eyes briefly flicked towards Ellen's feminine fingers. They appeared to be too small to even clasp around the girth of the bottle, "You don't have to drink that if you don't like it. I think I got...whiskey?"

"You got any coke? I can take rum and coke, then." Ellen spoke, body slouching forward. Her cheek pressed flat against the aged table wood, and she removed her glasses in order to be more comfortable. Her hair splayed around her, spectacles laying lazily nearby. Her shoulders slumped as she exhaled deeply.

She could hear Owen rise from his seat, naked feet slapping against the floor.

The sound of the fridge opening.

Then closing.

The clinking of glass.

The clinking of ice.

The popping of a can.

The pouring of liquid.

"...What happened?"

Ellen's voice was soft, tone laced in fatigue.

It was a fatigue Owen knew well.

At first, he didn't answer.

At first, he merely stared at the mixed drink, briefly swirling it, as if inspecting it.

Really, he was stalling.

Feet upon cheap flooring.

A cling of glass upon the table.

The sound of an old chair groaning as Owen sat down.

"...Here you go, El."

Owen's voice was soft, tone laced in fatigue.

It was a fatigue Ellen knew well.

Slothfully, lazily, the woman's hand rose, fingers searching, wandering. They curled around the glass, abandoning the beer bottle, "...Thanks, Owen."

Ellen then moved to sit upright, lips pressing against the crystalline rim.

Owen's voice broke through the blur of her vision.

"...A boy almost died today."

It was followed by another long chug from the male raptor trainer.

The blonde's eyes flicked towards the blob that she knew was Owen. Slowly, carefully, her glass lowered, and moved to rest upon the wood, "Owen...I'm sorry..."

The man's beer bottle hit the table again. Fatigued. Heavy, "Yeah, well...You know what he tried to do, El? He tried to save a pig. A fuckin' pig...And he fell into the pen...They barely listened to me. My own fuckin' raptors barely listened to me. I mean-they're animals. Let's face it. They listen to me because they choose to listen to me. They don't have to listen. Beyond the pen? Up on those top gates? I have all the power. But in that same damn space? That enclosure? I don't have shit. They have the real power. They don't have to listen. They can tear me apart-and I know they will, as soon as I turn my fuckin' back...I don't know, Ellen. People fuckin' watch me all the damn time, and they look at me as if I have some kind of magical fuckin' powers. And today...I don't know. I guess it just fucked me up. Because if I made just one mistake, one nervous twitch, one...they'd be on me. And that kid?...Well..."

Owen picked up his beer once again.

He went to drink more.

It was empty.

Thus, he reached for the woman's long discarded beer, and began to leech off of that.

The woman frowned, "Owen...I'm sorry that happened to you. But that kid? You saved a life. That's what matters."

The bottle clinked against wood, "...Yeah...I guess...Still...Today was just fucked up...Good thing Vic wasn't there..."

Ellen perked up-if ever so slightly, "Oh? Vic was supposed to see you training your raptors?...Oh."

Owen's brown eyes then flicked upon the blue eyed woman, and lingered, "...What? Shit happen for you, too?"

"Yeah...," The blonde shifted slightly in her seat, "Vic got between me and Rust. Turned his back on the cage. Rust got him good."

The man's eyes widened, "One of your raptors bit Hoskins?"

Ellen merely nodded, "He needs fifty stitches, at least." Her glass rose, and she took a large sip. Her drink clanked upon the aged table, "And you know what? He was amazed. That an animal can be so loyal. Rust could have done more damage. Could have. But he didn't. It's my fault as much as Vic's he got sliced. I shouldn't have let him get between me and Romeo."

"Subject Romeo? You call him Rust?" Owen asked.

Once more, Ellen nodded, "Yeah. A bit ironic military code named him Romeo. But Romeo's an ugly name. So I named him Rust. Completely off record. Because he's a grumpy, miserable, aggressive fuck. And because his imprinting got fucked up. So he didn't imprint on me like Bravo and Storm-eer, Sierra, did. At a child-parental imprinting bond. Rust imprinted on me later. So-I'm his mate. This means I'm the alpha female-and Rust, the alpha male. Which means he automatically hates any male that gets between me-and him. So, yeah...Poor Vic. And it also means he enforces order upon the other males. So...in a sense, he's my beta, I guess."

"...So..." Owen blinked, thoughts attempting to comprehend her situation after taking another drink, "...You're getting dick from a dinosaur? Nice to know, I guess. So I can avoid your boyfriend."

The man's comment caused Ellens' face to flush a red hue, a laugh escaping her, "I ain't gettin' it anywhere else! Nice to know I have an option available. But, really, no. I wouldn't want to be in the same enclosure as Rust. Without bars. He's not too kind with the ladies."

The blonde's comment caused Owen's brow to raise, "He ever do anything to Ep?"

Ellen shook her head, "No. I don't think so. Not that I'm aware of, anyway. As far as I know, she's never been bred."

"But she was put on birth control?"

"As a precaution against breeding, yes. But I've never seen the males do any courting behavior around her. Just bully behavior."

A silence then fell over the pair.

A silence that was broken by the female trainer, "Ah, speaking of courting behavior, that reminds me. Owen? Just be careful E doesn't imprint on you. Sexually, I mean. She might start viewing you as her mate."

"Why? You'd get jealous?" The ex marine questioned in jest.

"No. I just don't...I don't know. They're smart birds. And like birds, they can breed for pleasure. I think it would just be a bit cruel, is all. To have her imprint on a mate, but never receive that pleasure. From a woman's point of view, anyway. It would be like being in a celibate relationship and being sexually repressed. Kind of. Not really. But-you get my point?"

"So...Romeo imprinting on you is cruel as well?" Owen asked.

"Well...Yes. It is. You know what-never mind I said anything. I just figured I'd tell you to be a teeny tweeny bit careful around E? Maybe not get anymore attached than you are? Maybe it won't get your girls jealous? It'll be easier for you, in the end." The blonde spoke.

The man simply nodded, "Yeah...I get ya."

Silence then reigned.

A fatigued, heavy silence.

Then the pattering of rain upon the roof.

"You're not going home, you know that, right?"

"Owen, don't be silly. I almost crashed driving here."

"'Atta, girl. I'm training you well."

A quiet chuckle, "Not well enough, Mister Grady. I'm not on my knees."

The woman's comment caused a dusting of red to spread across Owen's cheeks.

Thank God, Ellie couldn't see.

"...Owen? Are you blushing?"

"No."

"I think you are, Owen."

"No."

"Yes, you are! I feel that blu-uuush!" The blonde cooed.

Silence was the man's only response. Either Owen had no comeback, or was busy drinking.

"You're cute when you blush."

"Stop it."

And then, Ellen's lower lip jutted out in a pout, "Awe...You're no fun."

"Pffft! I'm tons of fun."

"Sure, big guy." The woman replied. She then produced a burp, "...Excuse me."

The ex marine smiled slightly, "You're not excused."

"You're mean...Hey, can I use your shower? You still don't have those stupid towels that are short so I have to chose to cover up my tits or my ass, do you?" The woman asked, reaching for her glasses. She was tired of being blind.

"Hey. Those towels aren't stupid. They're doing their job."

"Ew...You pervert." Elllie remarked, "Sly, smart pervert...Huh..."

That...That was actually intelligent.

Owen rolled his eyes, "Yeah, well, your fancy long towels are under the bathroom sink."

The short woman then stood up, figuring she could finish her drink later, "Mine? Ha! More like Claire's!"

Once more, a reddened hue danced across the trainer's features, "H-Hey...Stop it."

The blonde was already on her way to the bathroom-and promptly closed the door.

Soon, the sound of running water was heard.

Owen sighed, finishing his second drink in several large gulps.

He moved to get a spare blanket and a pillow.

Well, tonight might be interesting.