Abstraction ➳ Owen Grady

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ALLY HOPPED OUT of the Jeep and strode toward the raptor enclosure. It was an odd hour between lunch and dinner, but her fieldwork had been on hold as of late for repairs and in preparation for the proposal, she was going to be working on. It always did her good to have a change of scenery or a break before working on something like that.

"Hi, Barry!" She called as he descended the stairs on the wall of the enclosure. He smiled and fell into step at her side. "What brings you this way?" He asked. She had only been to this part of the island a handful of times, but her last visit had been a couple weeks past.

Alysanne shrugged, sticking her hands into her pockets, "I needed a change of scenery before I start working on this next project proposal." Barry nodded, though he suspected that wasn't the only reason she had come out to the paddock. "Where's Owen?" She finally asked, glancing around at the assistants and workers that were scrambling with buckets of dead mice and barking orders for containing the raptors.

"Back at the resort," he replied. "We're about to bring them in for a checkup, want to help?" He asked, mainly as an afterthought of sorts. She nodded and trailed behind the trainer into the containment chamber where the four harnesses were.

It was a common routine, no doubt, even the velociraptors seemed not to mind the steel doors closing behind them and the thick braces and pulleys that brought them securely into the harnesses. Barry started with Echo, but Alysanne found herself drawn to the beta of the group.

Slowly, she approached Blue, holding out empty hands as if to prove that she wasn't a threat. "Hey, Blue. How are doing girl?" She asked and the raptor snorted. "Do you remember me?" Ally reached forward, meaning to stroke Blue's nose as she done with Charlie, but when her fingertips were only a fraction of an inch away, the raptor jerked violently and opened its mouth as much as the muzzle would allow, baring her teeth.

"Ah!" Ally jumped back and retracted her hand, she glared at the animal, not understanding the animosity between them when the other three didn't seem to mind her all that much. "She thinks you're trying to take her spot," Barry laughed as he walked over to Blue and began stroking the velociraptor's neck. It calmed her in a matter of seconds, though her eyes never strayed from Ally.

"Spot as what?" she asked. He smiled, continuing to rub Blue's neck and cheek, "Owen's favorite girl." Alysanne Sattler felt her eyes widen and heat rush up to her cheeks, that only made Barry laugh again.

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Owen leaned against the against the low railing of the Gentle Giants exhibit. He was watching Alysanne as she ran around the enclosure pen with two Apatosauruses and a young Gallimimus chasing after her. Soon the time would come when Pat and Sue were too big for this type of play, but until that moment came, she enjoyed their curious and mischievous nature. Slightly out of breath, Ally jumped up to sit on the railing next to Owen, wearing an almost goofy smile.

It was a Friday night, the start of her weekend, and for once it was a true weekend. There were no reports to write or paperwork to be filled out looming over her head. "I've got a twelve pack and big ole pepperoni pizza back at the bungalow if you need to escape," Owen told her after a moment of droll silence. Those words were welcomed music. Life had been hectic for the past month and it had been weeks since she had seen Owen Grady. Maybe even a small part of her had missed him, but she would never give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

Ally popped the top on the can of Bud Light and turned it up to her lips, taking three long drags of the amber liquid. She wiped her lips off with the back of her hand, looked down at the blue and white can, and smiled. "Is it crazy that I've missed cheap beer this much?" Owen laughed as she finished off the can with a contented sigh. "You know what they say about geologists, right?" Ally asked, a smile playing at the corners of her lips. He shook his head and tossed her another can of Bud. "We're the first alcohol-based life form." He reached for another slice of pizza and leaned further back into his lawn chair, chuckling at her poor joke.

Between the two of them, the twelve pack had been polished off within just over an hour but a couple of slices of pizza remained. Alysanne Sattler wasn't on the brink of drunkenness yet, but there was warmth in her stomach and cheeks that made her feel light and carefree. Suddenly she had been transported back to her time as an undergrad, before true responsibilities, before the stresses of adulthood had been thrust upon her. She sighed, a long and deep sigh full of longing, though what caught Owen's attention was that she was looking up at the stars.

It was a clear night, the moon was almost full too. Away from the bright lights of the resort, she could see the stars, clear and plentiful. There was something appealing about the thought of living in a bungalow next to the water, away from the tourists, away from almost everything. Maybe she would ask Claire about a possible arrangement. "What I wouldn't give to be out here every night and actually see the stars."

He looked over at her and smiled. The small fire cast dark shadows across her face and if he squinted he could make out a faint scar just above her upper lip. He didn't say anything in response, only turned his gaze up to the sky as well.

"Hey," Owen started, but then when he looked over at her he saw that she was asleep, curled up on her side with wisps of hair clinging to her damp forehead. Owen Grady shook his head with a sigh as he stood from his lawn chair and bent down to lift her into his arms. His first steps were a little unsteady but with a valiant effort, he managed to push the door to his bungalow open without dropping her or knocking her head against something. He laid her down on the full-sized mattress and draped a thin blanket over her shoulders before picking up a throw from the tatty recliner and heading back outside to his lawn chair by the fire.

Alysanne woke not to the sound of a blaring alarm, but to ribbons of sunlight hitting her face through a set of navy blue curtains. She sat up, feeling oddly refreshed with only a minor headache. It took a moment before her surroundings set in and at first, she panicked, her back going impossibly straight. Her first thought was to feel for her clothes, all of which, except for her shoes, were still in place. That was when she remembered last night, the pizza, the cheap beer, the half-tipsy conversations and jokes she and Owen had shared.

Ally looked around the trailer and found that asides from her, it was empty. She leaned down to pick up her hiking boots when a sticky note crunched under her shifting weight. Didn't want to wake you up. The note read. Leftover pizza's in the fridge. Alysanne smiled.