Threshold shift

Chapter 13

So life had returned to almost-normal.

Before Interns, as he jokingly called it.

Owen had reassured Nancy that he would still be her so-called wingman when she worked with M. He would still spend time with Reggie and the herbivore herds that were in the Gyrosphere area, as well as along the river cruises. While Nancy was always holding back, unsure where she really stood with the massive mosasaurus, Reggie was in his element with his herds.

For Owen, the work was mostly instinctual. He had never been trained, there was no manual, and what he did was simply try to help a fellow preternatural with their own charges. He learned from Reggie and Nancy, too. He also learned from their animals.

Dr. Gary Themming, moderately talented, too, never asked for any assistance, but he had started to quiz Owen more about what he did and how.

"There's no recipe for perfection," Owen told him over the treatment of a sick ankylosaurus who had been heavily sedated. "It's instinct."

Themming nodded, injecting a milky liquid into the tube running down the ankyl's throat. "Hit and miss."

"Kinda."

"That's why there are no books."

"And the fact that preternaturals like to keep to themselves."

Gary smiled briefly. He removed the tube and cleaned it, then drew up the antidote for the sedative.

"That and the fact that talented people like to specialize. Horses, dogs, cats... raptors..."

Owen shrugged. He was extremely specialized. Four individuals. No more. Everyone else he felt, the mass of dinosaurs on the island ever-present in the back of his mind, was just background noise.

"But whatever you are to them, at the end of the day they are just animals," Themming said, injecting the antidote.

He nodded at Owen to get going, because a disoriented ankylosaurus was a pissed-off ankylosaurus. And they were a force to be reckoned with.

"Except yours, right?" the vet added as they climbed into the armored vet mobile. "Not just animals, but not human either."

Owen didn't comment. His eyes were on the waking dinosaur. The squat, armored animal huffed, grumbled and snorted, managing to get to her short legs with a speed that spoke of a good metabolism and a lot of willpower.

He could feel her. She was a true fighter, like all of her breed, and she was looking at the vet mobile with open distrust. If not for the sickness still in her, she would most likely have thought about attacking them.

Owen reached out and briefly pushed against her mind. She huffed again, then turned around and walked away, gait a bit unsteady, but she managed.

Themming was busy stowing his gear, then he settled down beside Owen, who had been the one driving.

"One more on the list," he announced, checking his tablet and typing quickly. "Injured dimorphodon. Flightless at the moment."

Owen nodded and started the car.

He knew the way to the Aviary in his sleep.

x XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX xx XX JW XX x

The mail came in the morning. The pack was milling around outside, enjoying the warm temperatures. They had returned after a long endurance run, chasing prey, training stealth and stalking yesterday evening, just after sundown. It had been a wonderful day and they had come home pleasantly tired and rebalanced. Like Owen had told Carter, they had just needed some time to run, for him to clear his head.