Jurassic *Hiatus*

Chapter Eight

The days went by faster than they had when Violet was in the cage. The fresh air and constant movement, both exhausted and rejuvenated her.

Violet had never been good at tracking time in the cage, but out in the fresh air she could track how many sunrises she fell witness to, and she never missed one. The way the sun painted the sky in different ways each morning, using the same colours over and over, amazed her. She doubted she'd ever find something with comparable beauty.

"Morning," Blue trucked out of the forest and into the meadow. She sat next to Violet, "Watching the sun?"

Violet barely moved her head but still managed to get a nod across.

Blue's eyes opened her mouth wide, releasing a yawn. "How many is it now?"

"One thousand and fifty-three," Violet answered.

Blue nodded and sat quietly. The raptor had been teaching Violet and her sisters everything she knew, but the four of them had also learnt a lot in the moment. Like to stay away from the big fenced body of water; a lesson they learnt after cornering a creature with three horns on its head there. A large water creature jumped out of the water and grabbed their foot, dragging it into the water.

They had also learnt that the creatures with large plates on their backs with spikey tails were a pain to take down, and their meat was tough and less juicy than others.

One rule that Blue had reminded them of over and over was to stay out of Rexie's way. Apparently, Blue and the large creature with small arms and big teeth had made a deal not to attack each other as long as they—they being Blue and now the other raptors—stayed out of Rexie's way. Altogether, Violet and the others didn't see much of Rexie.

Beta joined Violet and Blue when the sun was up enough for the sky to be a light purple-pink colour. "What's on the menu today?" She dipped her head down and tail up, stretching out her back.

"I believe it's Violet's turn to choose," Blue stated without looking Violet's way.

Violet could have sworn it was Blue's turn, but didn't argue. "The long-legged creatures are juicy, and fun to chase." Violet was the fastest of the group, so she often herded their food while Beta or Omega followed close behind as backup, the other two would wait at a meeting place in preparation to attack. Violet loved the feeling that chasing her food gave her. Blue called it 'the thrill of the hunt'.

"Ugh," Omega joined them and fell onto her side, visually still tired. "You couldn't pick something slower? It's my turn to scout you." Scouting is what they called the position of the raptor that flanked Violet.

"Perhaps you shouldn't stay up so late," Blue scolded, "then you wouldn't be so tired."

Omega huffed, "I need my midnight run; otherwise, I'd probably rip you all apart."

Though Omega's deep-throated voice sent shivers down Violet's spine, Blue just smirked at the threat, "then you'd have to work three times as hard for your dinner."

Omega huffed again, rising to her feet. She didn't spit out a snarky comeback today. Instead, she walked through the tall grass.

Blue's eyes met with Violet's and she winked. Blue then turned to follow Omega. Beta yawned before following suit.

Violet lingered a bit longer, watching the three raptors. Even as the months passed, she didn't stop missing Alpha. Even with Blue here, sometimes being nice to her and other times being snappy, it made her miss her oldest sister that much more. Yes, Blue had been a friend when they were young, and yes, she was keeping them alive, but she Wasn't Alpha.

Violet took a breath and followed the others.

The blades of grass tickled Violet's smooth scales. Long blades towered around her crouched body, shielding her from the sights of their prey. No more than thirty feet away stood a group of long-legged creatures, crazing on the grass. Their slender necks moved as they swallowed, little lawed arms tucked into their bodies like injured young.

Two creatures with hard shells for heads fought not too far from the flock. Omega had tried to take one down before and suffered ahead to the sternum. She complained for weeks but eventually was back on the hunting scene.

"Focus," Omega hissed next to Violet. The grass between us was bright against her dull brown scales. She shot Violet a glair.

Violet sighed, shifting her gaze back on target. "Ready?" Before Omega could answer, Violet leaped out of the grass and dashed towards one of the creatures, keeping her eyes locked on it. The creatures all started running, their backs straitening as they fled.

One of the heard headed creatures charged towards Violet, but Omega caught it off guard, jumping onto its back and digging her talons into its flesh as she jumped off. The creature cried out in pain and fell over. It was soon back to its feet, nostrils flaring with rage.

Omega laughed, a short distance behind Violet, "There's nothing like the smell of blood in the morning."

The two sprinted through the long grass, Omega snarling as she ran. Violet's target broke away from the group, heading towards the trees. Violet followed. She caught up and moved to one side of the creature. She snapped her jaws at its legs, scaring it back on course. It wouldn't last long in the forest, but that wasn't the meeting place. That wasn't where Beta and Blue were waiting.