© MADI

Even before she heard the broadcast call, the teal dinosaur smells the pungent scent of carrion - her sense of smell provided her a keen advantage when her species wasn't the largest predator around, and in this more modern age, she is capable of scavenging effectively when she feels too lazy for proper hunting. But his call caused her slow pace to turn into a full sprint as she rushed towards the male's location. Delta is a pack animal, even if she is completely capable of survival on her own; and she hasn't seen him in a long time; she wants to reunite with him and her sisters.

Letting out a broadcast call of her own, she runs through the forest. Her bulky body is surprisingly maneuverable, turning sharply to weave through trees with the slightest motion of her balancing tail. Though she is still loud, and her arrival is announced by the sound of her racing through the foliage and pounding of her feet long before she properly appears in front of the small gathering.

Charging into the clearing, she slows to a stop within a few paces, her feet skidding on the ground a few centimeters as she stills to a stand. The utahraptor's dark eyes instantly focus on Owen, as she appears not to acknowledge Hazel or Imperia - good for them, as Delta only considered other animals prey, threats, or nothing to concern herself with. "Alpha!" she babbles excitedly to Owen, the claws on her arms flexing as she continues her vocalizations by chuffing a pleased greeting to him. Delta prefers the times when Owen watches over the pack, as she likes the strength of the pack when all of her sisters and their leader contribute. And, while she is bonded to Blue, Owen is the one that raised her; she would follow him first until his obvious death.

Taking note of the carrion, her dark eyes quickly glance to the bundle next to him. However, she doesn't advance towards it, not intending to challenge her alpha for food possession. Instead, she cocks her head to the side, right and left, as she waits for his reaction to her presence.

"We had a raptor here? That's so cool!" Whispers had been heard by Thea here and there of large killing machines that resided in the territory, much too strong for a single Ascendent to face, and they tended to stick together. Thea, naturally, admired that, and the Arabian leopard watched in awe as what she viewed as something that should be respected stood a few feet away.

But why did they respect the shepherd? They could easily kill him. That was probably the difference between Delta and Thea. Thea only respected and listened to those she viewed as strong.

Eyes stayed trained on Delta, fascinated. "Why doesn't she just take the food from you? She could easily kill you and eat you and the food." The young Fireball was a bit blunt, but still, a valid question, in her mind.

She hears her name in his reply, though she found it difficult to understand everything he said - she understood that he spoke something to her Blood Favorite duo, but she doesn't even try to understand the mammal speak now. Her attention focused on her alpha and - to a lesser extent - the meat he brought with him, she returns his chitter with own, pleased that he recognizes her and doesn't seem mad. Blue made for a more testy alpha in his absence, and she is pleased that the pack order can be reestablished to its proper place. Well, once her sisters turn up, that is.

Hearing his commands and seeing him manipulate the carrion, she lets out a chirp-like noise of anticipation as she straightens her posture. Her head lifts up, her dangerous sickle claws tapping the ground as a sure sign of her decreasing patience.

There was one new thing about her that stood out, now that her head was more prominently displayed. A large, angry series of cuts were on the right side of her face - weeks old, long since healed over, but nevertheless scarred over. Delta doesn't think about them, now that they've healed and the pain went away, though she will never forget which animal she brawled with.

As the meat sailed towards her, she breaks position and lunges for it, her teeth closing around the slab. She shakes her head, allowing her backward-facing teeth to do the work of sheering part of it for her. She is satisfied with it, soon enough, though she hardly seems to notice the resulting blood splatter across her muzzle and through the air. Bobbing her head up, she opened her jaws enough to swallow the meat whole, tasting its rich marbled steak flavor for a second before it vanishes. Delta appreciates this, in the moment, as she hasn't encountered this species of prey for a while - most of what she gets, these days, are deer and boar.

Chittering contently, she feels most of her excitement give way to regular contentment. Stepping towards Owen in an unrushed manner, she attempts to tap his shoulder with her blood-soaked nose - expressing the greatest amount of affection she was quite possibly capable of feeling.

Yes, she thinks she missed Alpha; she chirps contently at the returned affection, and for a moment it is easy to see that Delta is not entirely consumed by savagery. At his question, she grunts almost non-committedly in response, her tail lashing irritably behind her. "Don't know," she babbles back, huffy in exasperation. While she knows her sisters can handle themselves well enough alone, she is tired of the pack's fragmentation - without Alpha, they tended to wander more and follow their own instincts. She does want to see them again, but she also doesn't know where to find them.

She remains unmoving as his paw brushes her scars, though she doesn't realize that he's paying attention to a previous wound - she's long forgotten it, as she can't see the scar tissue and it doesn't impact her life now that it healed over. She doesn't blink and seems patient enough to tolerate this.