The 2nd Indoraptor

Chapter 60

Ebony's POV:

I blinked open my eyes, and lifted my head. I must've fallen asleep. My stomach rumbled, and I could feel hunger starting to hold me in its clutches. Yawning, I got up and stretched, smiling at the satisfying sound of a crack in my joints. 

The pack of Owen's raptors were in the middle of the room. They were each equally grouped into two pairs, and all of the pairs sparred with each other. I watched silently as they played. Blue was fighting with her sister, Echo, and they both laughed and smiled. My throat felt tight as I wondered what it would've been like if I had a sibling. 

Caught up in my thoughts, I didn't realize that Blue had approached me. "Want to join us?" She asked, her eyes shimmering. "You were staring."

"I'm just thinking about things," I muttered. "But... I suppose it wouldn't hurt to join in." There was no helping it, I needed to get their trust and friendship.

"Just don't be too rough. You're a lot bigger and stronger than we are," Blue said, flicking her tail matter-of-factly. She walked towards the sparring raptors. "You can spar with me."

I felt frozen to the spot. Words started tumbling out of my mouth. "I'm sorry for yesterday," I blurted. 

Blue whipped around, surprise flickering in her eyes. "No worries. I understand how you felt. I'm sorry too."

"You've already apologized," I said, tapping my claws on the floor. What am I doing? "I thought about it overnight and realized that what happened can't be changed. I can't rewrite the past, but I wish I could."

Blue looked at the ground. "Don't we all," she muttered, mostly to herself. A sadness clouded her eyes, and she looked up, gazing off into space, as if she remembered something horrible. She shook her head violently, trying to forget. "Why don't we just spar? We can take our minds off of terrible thoughts," she said, grinning.

"Perhaps," I responded, following her to the middle of the room. Maybe I do hate her a little less, but I still hold a grudge. Events like those aren't just something that you 'forget' about.

 Blue turned to face me. "Remember, we're just sparring. So don't come at me like you want to kill me." She crouched, ready to pounce. "Ready?"

"Wait," I blurted. "Is there a winner for this?" I asked.

"Well, we're just fighting for fun. It's not serious or anything. But I guess there could be a winner," she said.

"How about first blood or yield?" I suggested. 

"Sure," Blue agreed. "Just don't be too aggressive," she reminded, giving me a sharp look. "Are you ready now?"

I nodded, and suddenly she sprang forward. I slipped under her belly, easily dodging her. She leaped up as I turned, and I met her with my claws. We locked talons, and I pushed against her, overpowering her easily. She kicked up a hind leg, almost striking my belly, but I jumped up and avoided it, loosing my grip on her talons. 

We circled each other for a moment before leaping again. Blue kicked up a hind leg, and I reared my head back to avoid her claws, but that was just a diversion. She swiped at my neck, but fortunately her claws only grazed my scales and didn't draw blood. She cursed under her breath and leaped back, but I swiped my tail at her legs just at the right second and caused her to fall backwards.

I scrambled on top of her, swiping my claws at her face, but she dragged herself under my belly and butted her head into my stomach, causing me to gasp with pain at the feeling of her hard skull colliding with my ribs. 

As I was stunned, Blue leaped up and placed her foot on my side. "Do you surrender?" She asked. 

Hardly able to breathe from the blow to my stomach, I thought about surrendering, but my pride was too much. "No," I rasped. I leaned to the side, surprising her as I crushed her with my weight. She struggled under me and tried to swipe her claws at me. "Surrender?" I asked.

"Not that easily!" She roared, her eyes gleaming with thrill. With unexpected strength, she shoved me off with her powerful legs. I felt a sting on my side and looked down to see little dots of blood staining the carpet.

Blue laughed. "I drew first blood! I win!" She announced with excitement.

Feeling embarrassed that I'd lost to someone who I'd considered an enemy, I growled in disappointment. But I had to admit that she was a formidable foe. 

"It's so exciting to fight someone when it's just for the fun of it," Blue sighed. "We should go again next time."

"Maybe I'll spar with Feather sometime," I responded. "But yes, it was exciting, I guess," I muttered. 

"Lighten up a little," Blue advised, jutting me in the arm with her arm. "Don't be ashamed that you lost to me."

You only won because I held back, so don't be too excited. Defeating Killer will be much more difficult. I turned away as I heard a door open. 

"Come on, it's feeding time!" Owen exclaimed as he stood at the entrance. The raptors rushed towards him, but Blue stood in front of me. 

"I know what you're thinking. You think we won't be enough to take down Killer, right?" She asked. Without waiting for a response, she continued, "You need to have faith in others. We'll take Killer down, I assure you. But that's only if we work together. If you don't want to work with us, then you're only holding us back."

Maybe she's right. But I was doing just fine against Killer on my own. I watched her run towards the door, then I followed more slowly behind. I'll just have to swallow my pride and work with Blue and her friends. 

Oh boy, its been a while. Truthfully, I lost all my motivation to work on this story, which is why there have been no updates in a long time, but I recently got a spark of motivation to update this story, and hopefully that spark can stay for just a little longer.