𝐣𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐢𝐜 ; jurassic world

𝐄𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓. Visiting the Velociraptors

"So.... What do you do here?" Gray asked looking at her.

"I'm a trainer, so..." Kate shrugged.

"No way! What species do you train?"

"I train the raptors. Velociraptors."

"Velociraptors?!!" Gray exclaimed, "But- You have got the velociraptors in here?? But I thought they didn't have them here yet! There was no mention of velociraptors on the website- is it like some kind of a secret project?"

"Well, not necessarily a secret, just haven't been publicized yet," she explained briefly.

Gray hopped excitedly, "Did you even listen, Zach, she trains Velociraptors? Velociraptors!"

"What's so fascinating about the Vel-ciratops?" Zach asked reluctantly.

"Velociraptors, not Velciratops!" Gray corrected him.

"Yeah, that's what I said," Zach rolled his eyes.

But Gray was excited. "Of course, I don't know everything about the Velociraptors, but I do know that they're like pack animals, they live and hunt in. . . probably smaller packs? Also, one of the most intelligent species, they are! Oh and also, very fast! Hypothetically, they should be able to run upto. . . about 40 miles per hour!"

"Wow, Gray! You already know a lot about them," Kate smiled appreciatively and gave a pat on his shoulder. Gray grinned, beaming.

Zach, on the other hand, did not seem as excited as Kate, and looked rather too used to his range of knowledge, if not a little tired of it. "It's cool and everything, I guess, but keep on encouraging him like this and he will probably never stop again," he teased, peeking at Gray by corner of his eyes who only rolled eyes at him.

"It really is cool, though. I am just as much a Dino-enthusiast, you see," she wriggled a brow at Zach as though she was a little amused, then focused at Gray with a warm smile, "So, yeah, feel free to enlighten me with every dino-facts you know! In return, I will fill you in on some of them since I, too, happen to know a bit or two about them. Occupational hazard," she winked at Gray.

Gray laughed as his hand shot up in air for a high-five and Kate gave him one. Zach looked somewhat amused at their enthusiasm which he kept it to himself as he shook his head with a chuckle.

"So? How do you train them? Aren't they predators? Are they scary? Do they try to attack all the time?" Gray went on excitedly.

"Well, they remain in a highly secured paddock. Also they were imprinted with us right after their birth, so they are quite attached to us. We share a unique connection. It's... Not like that of between a owner and its pet. I'd call them my babies, if that makes any sense. There's more intimacy, and, better understanding since they have high intelligence ─ it's a connection based on respect and trust from both sides. But, they are what they are, wild animals, and they do have predatory instincts, so I wouldn't suggest them as a friendly companion. You wouldn't wanna get on their bad side."

"How intelligent are they? Do they listen to what order them to do? Can they, like, take orders and act? Because like people can teach their dogs and horses tricks, they can perform on order, and if the Velociraptors are really as talented as they're supposed to be...?"

"Well, they are intelligent, but I wouldn't say you can teach them to sit and squat or any other tricks to perform. But then again, what we're doing here, it's some kind of conditioning them, trying to train them to be more. . . sociable, I guess? So they are less of a threat and more presentable. More behaved. Because believe me, they can be very unpredictable and dangerous."

"But you can control them, right?" Gray asked ever curiously, "You definitely wouldn't let them attack anyone."

Kate laughed. "No, we can't. We can't control them. We don't even try to control them. Control. . . can be exploitative. And it can be overthrown. However, what we're trying is to establish some kind of mutual understanding. So we may understand each other and in turn, they can learn to trust us. If there's trust, they'll more likely listen. And understand what is acceptable behavior and what's not."