One and all, the raptors were astonished. There was more? More? They had been skeptical of Bluebell at first, disbelieving the indigo female’s eager attempts to show them something which would change their world wholly and entirely. But upon seeing her work the mechanism and then taking in the enormity of the world outside, each of them knew:

It didn’t matter whether the humans they had chosen as their mates stuck around inside or not. What they needed was to go free. This was impressed upon them indelibly by their instincts; their drive to break out of the enclosure seemed but a prelude now that they had a whole world to work with. And that was far from the only instinct spurring them on. They were urged to claim mates as well, each of them.

Mates…

Flame thought back to his chosen mate. The human had been so delicious to break…