That night he sleeps better than he thought he would, with his mate soft and her heartbeat strong beneath his head. He doesn't dream about Hoskins or InGen. Just Blue, her happiness returning, and the life they've built together gathering itself forward again. The sky overheard is open wide.
+++++
Nothing else disrupts them on the rest of the drive northeast. They pile back into the cars the next morning, and Omega stretches out (mostly) in the backseat of the truck once again, while his mate joins her Alpha up front. That's fine. She's doing much better this morning, and from the back Omega can scarcely take his eyes off of her.
Hours go by. Thousands of signs, buildings, trees blur past. Then little by little, Omega notices that the trees are spreading out, the buildings shrinking, the blue sky starting to yawn overhead. He sits up in the back and watches the landscape roll away from them over smooth plains and distant hills, and far in the distance are the rising purple ridges of the mountains. The sun is into its descent; Owen had said they would make it to the farm by sundown.
Big Sky Country.
The impatience to reach their destination is palpable every time they stop to stretch their legs, and the breaks don't last as long as they did yesterday. Omega wasn't very concerned with the farm to begin with, but such wide open spaces make him restless. He could pull Blue out of the truck right now and run the rest of the way. Run anywhere.
Nevertheless, the towns they pass through become smaller, and the lands between more rural; here and there are horses, cows, more horses (no bison yet, and Omega does look). Somehow the sky remains gigantic above them even as the mountains grow larger, and finally they pass a round sign on the side of the road that reads Thompson Falls.
The little town is populated almost entirely by small businesses, even the gas station at the corner; they drive past a family cafe, a hardware store, a grocery store with fruit in bins on the sidewalk. There are more pedestrians than cars, and the entire place seems to be surrounded by the plains and the nearby forest, protected by the mountains now close enough to touch. Owen guides them through it, into the busiest hub and out the other side, well past the businesses, past the homes, past the edge of the town proper. The road takes them out under the sky again, where they start to pass more animals than people, guarded by wooden fences and heavy brush. Sometimes there are farmhouses, visible but tucked away from the road past long dirt drives.
After a few miles, Owen suddenly guides the truck over to the side of the road -- indiscriminately, as far as Omega can tell -- and waits for Gwen to pull up behind them before getting out and beckoning the others to do the same. He lets the entire pack gather around, whereupon he gives them one last rundown of the protocol ahead.
"Now remember, he doesn't have much of a sense of humor and even less patience, but don't take it personally if he's short with you, he's like that with everyone. He goes by Captain Grady, not Mister, and never by his first name. He runs a tight ship, needs to be completely certain about what anybody on his property is doing and where. If you want to wander around and explore, let him know -- or better yet, ask permission. And the most important thing you need to do, over everything else, is be respectful." Owen makes eye contact with each of them, and then comes back to Blue's sisters, with am emphasis on Charlie. "And don't try to pet the dogs until they're used to you. They're working dogs, not pets, and won't be very cuddly to strangers."
Eyes around again; the boys are rapt with attention, and even Omega is listening without a sour look on his face. "Understood?"
no subject
+++++
Nothing else disrupts them on the rest of the drive northeast. They pile back into the cars the next morning, and Omega stretches out (mostly) in the backseat of the truck once again, while his mate joins her Alpha up front. That's fine. She's doing much better this morning, and from the back Omega can scarcely take his eyes off of her.
Hours go by. Thousands of signs, buildings, trees blur past. Then little by little, Omega notices that the trees are spreading out, the buildings shrinking, the blue sky starting to yawn overhead. He sits up in the back and watches the landscape roll away from them over smooth plains and distant hills, and far in the distance are the rising purple ridges of the mountains. The sun is into its descent; Owen had said they would make it to the farm by sundown.
Big Sky Country.
The impatience to reach their destination is palpable every time they stop to stretch their legs, and the breaks don't last as long as they did yesterday. Omega wasn't very concerned with the farm to begin with, but such wide open spaces make him restless. He could pull Blue out of the truck right now and run the rest of the way. Run anywhere.
Nevertheless, the towns they pass through become smaller, and the lands between more rural; here and there are horses, cows, more horses (no bison yet, and Omega does look). Somehow the sky remains gigantic above them even as the mountains grow larger, and finally they pass a round sign on the side of the road that reads Thompson Falls.
The little town is populated almost entirely by small businesses, even the gas station at the corner; they drive past a family cafe, a hardware store, a grocery store with fruit in bins on the sidewalk. There are more pedestrians than cars, and the entire place seems to be surrounded by the plains and the nearby forest, protected by the mountains now close enough to touch. Owen guides them through it, into the busiest hub and out the other side, well past the businesses, past the homes, past the edge of the town proper. The road takes them out under the sky again, where they start to pass more animals than people, guarded by wooden fences and heavy brush. Sometimes there are farmhouses, visible but tucked away from the road past long dirt drives.
After a few miles, Owen suddenly guides the truck over to the side of the road -- indiscriminately, as far as Omega can tell -- and waits for Gwen to pull up behind them before getting out and beckoning the others to do the same. He lets the entire pack gather around, whereupon he gives them one last rundown of the protocol ahead.
"Now remember, he doesn't have much of a sense of humor and even less patience, but don't take it personally if he's short with you, he's like that with everyone. He goes by Captain Grady, not Mister, and never by his first name. He runs a tight ship, needs to be completely certain about what anybody on his property is doing and where. If you want to wander around and explore, let him know -- or better yet, ask permission. And the most important thing you need to do, over everything else, is be respectful." Owen makes eye contact with each of them, and then comes back to Blue's sisters, with am emphasis on Charlie. "And don't try to pet the dogs until they're used to you. They're working dogs, not pets, and won't be very cuddly to strangers."
Eyes around again; the boys are rapt with attention, and even Omega is listening without a sour look on his face. "Understood?"