For a long time, I am nothing.

Darkness ebbs and flows around me. It's all I've known. Is it? I can't tell what I've known and what I haven't. I just know the darkness and the quiet. Then something thunderous shatters the silence and something horribly bright forces it's way into my state of nothing.

I think I lash out at it, causing another rip in my reality as a new world collides and collapses with my old one. Suddenly, I am something and I know that I have to get out of the quiet darkness. I want to explore the light. I want to see.

I attack the sliver of my future again, causing it to let out a horrendous groan and the barrier crumbles a little bit more. More light is pouring in now and I want it to chase away my nothingness. I swipe again and again until there's is a hole big enough to push my head through. I am sure the rest of me will follow.

I stick my face out and breath in something different to the nothing I was in before. The air around me is tinged with something sharp and a sound I don't recognise slips from my throat.

Something makes a loud noise and I squeak in alarm. "She's gorgeous," someone says.

It occurs to me that I don't know how I understand what's happening.

I struggle to pull my body through as my heart begs to explore this different, new place, but I wriggle and heave and puff until I am out of the darkness and into this strange new light. I am not as dazed as I thought I would be.

"Hey little one," someone coos and I tilt my head as something large and slightly fuzzy appears before me. "I'm not gonna hurt ya."

I take a cautious step forward, clinging to this soft new thing, and trill in alarm as it starts moving. Someone laughs and the sound is like a rolling wave of thunder followed by a sharp crack of lightning.

I'm not even sure what those things are.

"She's small," someone says loudly and I hiss softly. They are not the same person that was speaking before. "The genetic tampering we did must have affected her growth. She will be weak. There is a high chance that she will not survive long, Mr Grady."

The soft thing I am standing on moves again and I put back on the hard surface I was on before. "Of course," the first man, Mr Grady?, says. "Well then, lets check out her siblings."

I chirp as the huge shadowy figure moves away and leaves me alone in this new place. Already, I am processing and accepting. There are things I don't understand and there are things I do; I struggle to find the balance between the two as the people watch my siblings hatch.

They say I will not survive.

I say that I will.

*

Four of my sisters make it through with me. We are the five strongest. I feel proud because I have survived. Owen trains with us and he talks to us and I find out that he was the man there when I became something. The others don't know his name. Mostly, they call him Mom. I don't try to correct them.

I think it's kind of funny.

Owen has named us now, officially claimed us as his Raptors. Blue is his Beta and my sisters, Charlie, Delta and Echo don't fight with her about it. Blue is the strongest. I am the smartest. I am the different one. My sisters know it, I know it and Owen knows it. It doesn't define me.

I have survived.

Right now, Owen is trying to train us with a clicker thing that I find annoying. He started with it a few days ago. My sisters are slowly learning to respond to it. I tend to ignore it until Blue hisses at me to pay attention.

"Alright girls," Owen calls and I look up at him as he stands on the walkway. My sisters eye him as well but Delta and Echo don't give him much attention. "I wanna try this again. No funny business this time, got it?"

I doubt that the others understand him. That burden sits only on my shoulders. I chirp at Delta and Echo, trying to get them to at least attempt the training.

"We're watching," Delta spits back and Blue turns her head to hiss angrily at us.

"Pay attention," she snaps crossly. "The sooner we finish this, the sooner he leaves us alone."

I want to say something but I stop myself and look up at Owen. He starts a series of clicks, keeping his eyes on us. "Alright." A familiar sound splits the air and Blue's attention snaps to the pig that now runs around, squealing. My instinctual reaction is to go for it; I'm hungry. Charlie starts creeping forward but Owen clicks at her. "Hold! Charlie, back it up. Blue, Delta, I'm seeing you." Echo snaps at him and he clicks back at her. "Don't give me that bull, Echo, back it up. Falcon, I see you moving forward. All of you, hold-"

Delta is the one to break and her jaws snap up the pig. Charlie pounces a moment later and Echo follows. The three of them drag the animal off into the trees and I can hear Owen sigh. "So close."

I chirp at him and he gives me a small smile.

"I want to eat," Blue grumbles and I flick her with my tail.

"We'll get there," I tell her and she hits me softly with her head. I'm the only one that doesn't challenge Blue and in return, she doesn't ever fight with me. We have both decided that the other deserves a basic respect. Owen has picked up on it, as have the others. They don't really mind it, as I never challenge them either.

We have order in our group. I look back to Owen. He's gone.

I let out a small trill and fade back into the bushes.