It really isn't altogether unlike Isla Nublar. There are rules and protocol to follow here just like many places where the girls have spent their lives, even if it's been a while since the last time they had to follow them. He tries to give them a talk like this one anytime he wants them to be clear on the behavior he expects. Hell, they did the same thing whenever the girls went up to the park for the day.
But he pays close attention to how they look at him now. He knows that three of the girls are excited, and so is Chi; Psi is off in his own little world, but any lack of panic is a good sign. It's really the eldest siblings that he's still worried about, no matter how smoothly the drive up here had gone. Omega's brow is furrowed, but he seems less angry and more thoughtful, and Owen expects he's simply waiting to proceed to the next step.
Blue, he thinks, is a little nervous. Which is to be expected, and in any case she doesn't show it enough for most people to notice. He still thinks that this will be good for her, and no matter how intimidating his father can be sometimes, he knows that the Captain won't deliberately antagonize them. Certainly not with the consideration of why they're here.
Satisfied that everyone will conduct themselves appropriately, Owen ushers them back into the cars, and they resume the very last leg of their journey. It isn't far at all now, following the country road into the secluded hills, and Owen doesn't mention it out loud when the landscape finally drops within the invisible boundaries of the Grady farm. Not long after that, he turns them off the main road onto a long, dirt drive, rolling up a hill toward the brown roof just peeking overhead about a mile in the distance, rising above a large farmhouse as they close in.
Eventually they reach the yard fence, which boasts a small wooden gate to one side of the drive, and a wide metal one stretched across it, set on a spring and a simple motor which allows it to mechanically open and shut at the push of a switch. The house is bigger than Owen and his father rightly needed while Owen was growing up, but Owen recalls learning that his mother had always imagined a big house with a large family; he would likely have had several siblings if she hadn't died. So the growth of the house was a labor of love on his father's part, sort of an homage to his wife and the dream she had. It's well constructed, with a wide front porch, split level on one side where the hill slopes downward; that side of the house boasts a sliding glass basement door leading right onto the front yard, concealed within by a heavy curtain.
Owen parks on the outside of the gate and climbs out of the trunk, pausing for a moment under a wave of nostalgia. There are sheep in the distant fields and the air smells like horses; from here he can see the barn -- well familiar -- and the stables -- not nearly so large when he left home -- and a few hundred yards in the other direction, several long rows of large trees weighed down with cherries. On the other side of the house, he knows there is a small garden, the only "crops" grown on Grady land and meant specifically for the household, and there is a guest house for farmhands on one side of the barn, and goats and cows and chickens.
He lets Gwen gather the others and heads to the gate himself, where he purses his lips and lets out a sharp, trilled whistle, a specific sound he learned before he could walk. Almost at once, two large dogs burst from the side of the house and the porch, a German Shepherd and a thick-furred Rottweiler mix, alert barking as they barrel across the yard toward the intruders. Owen doesn't so much as twitch, but sinks down to one knee and lets out a shorter whistle, palms spread for the dogs to investigate. Ears and tails up, the dogs seem to find this especially curious and circle him, attention quickly switching to the alarming number of strangers now following the first through the gate.
Two farmhands appear near the barn to see what the fuss is about, but then suddenly the front door of the big house bangs open.
"RUBY! DUKE! That's enough, get back here!"
Both dogs turn immediately and haul back to the porch, where Captain Paul Grady thumps purposefully down the front steps and strides across the yard toward them in dirt-covered jeans and a dusty hat. A weathered man in his seventies, he appears every bit as gruff as Owen has described him to be, and he eyes them almost skeptically as they approach the house. Owen notices his father's eyes flicker across each hybrid in turn, and linger for a beat on Gwen. Well, he did warn her.
The Captain lets them get within a few feet of the porch before speaking to Owen directly.
"You shoved all of them into two cars?"
"They're roomier than they look," Owen answers without missing a beat, and beckons for the girls and boys to come forward. "Dad, this is Delta, Echo, and Charlie--" he indicates the girls one by one, "--and Chi and Psi." The two of them look as attentive as they always do in the presence of strong authority, and Owen wonders if it's him or his dad this time. "This is Omega."
Omega is watching with bland disinterest as Ruby circles him uneasily, her ears flat and a low, suspicious growl rumbling in her throat. Owen deliberately moves on.
"This is Blue," he says, gesturing to their reason for being there at all, "and Gwen." He's honestly not certain which one of them his father will focus on more while they're here, although he has a sneaking suspicion..
The Captain purses his lips like he doesn't expect to remember any of that, but he just looks them over again, very obviously examining the dog's reaction to Omega, looking Gwen over in frank appraisal, and finally observing Blue for only a moment longer, without fixing her under that stare. Finally, he nods. "Grab your stuff, bring it inside, come on."
no subject
But he pays close attention to how they look at him now. He knows that three of the girls are excited, and so is Chi; Psi is off in his own little world, but any lack of panic is a good sign. It's really the eldest siblings that he's still worried about, no matter how smoothly the drive up here had gone. Omega's brow is furrowed, but he seems less angry and more thoughtful, and Owen expects he's simply waiting to proceed to the next step.
Blue, he thinks, is a little nervous. Which is to be expected, and in any case she doesn't show it enough for most people to notice. He still thinks that this will be good for her, and no matter how intimidating his father can be sometimes, he knows that the Captain won't deliberately antagonize them. Certainly not with the consideration of why they're here.
Satisfied that everyone will conduct themselves appropriately, Owen ushers them back into the cars, and they resume the very last leg of their journey. It isn't far at all now, following the country road into the secluded hills, and Owen doesn't mention it out loud when the landscape finally drops within the invisible boundaries of the Grady farm. Not long after that, he turns them off the main road onto a long, dirt drive, rolling up a hill toward the brown roof just peeking overhead about a mile in the distance, rising above a large farmhouse as they close in.
Eventually they reach the yard fence, which boasts a small wooden gate to one side of the drive, and a wide metal one stretched across it, set on a spring and a simple motor which allows it to mechanically open and shut at the push of a switch. The house is bigger than Owen and his father rightly needed while Owen was growing up, but Owen recalls learning that his mother had always imagined a big house with a large family; he would likely have had several siblings if she hadn't died. So the growth of the house was a labor of love on his father's part, sort of an homage to his wife and the dream she had. It's well constructed, with a wide front porch, split level on one side where the hill slopes downward; that side of the house boasts a sliding glass basement door leading right onto the front yard, concealed within by a heavy curtain.
Owen parks on the outside of the gate and climbs out of the trunk, pausing for a moment under a wave of nostalgia. There are sheep in the distant fields and the air smells like horses; from here he can see the barn -- well familiar -- and the stables -- not nearly so large when he left home -- and a few hundred yards in the other direction, several long rows of large trees weighed down with cherries. On the other side of the house, he knows there is a small garden, the only "crops" grown on Grady land and meant specifically for the household, and there is a guest house for farmhands on one side of the barn, and goats and cows and chickens.
He lets Gwen gather the others and heads to the gate himself, where he purses his lips and lets out a sharp, trilled whistle, a specific sound he learned before he could walk. Almost at once, two large dogs burst from the side of the house and the porch, a German Shepherd and a thick-furred Rottweiler mix, alert barking as they barrel across the yard toward the intruders. Owen doesn't so much as twitch, but sinks down to one knee and lets out a shorter whistle, palms spread for the dogs to investigate. Ears and tails up, the dogs seem to find this especially curious and circle him, attention quickly switching to the alarming number of strangers now following the first through the gate.
Two farmhands appear near the barn to see what the fuss is about, but then suddenly the front door of the big house bangs open.
"RUBY! DUKE! That's enough, get back here!"
Both dogs turn immediately and haul back to the porch, where Captain Paul Grady thumps purposefully down the front steps and strides across the yard toward them in dirt-covered jeans and a dusty hat. A weathered man in his seventies, he appears every bit as gruff as Owen has described him to be, and he eyes them almost skeptically as they approach the house. Owen notices his father's eyes flicker across each hybrid in turn, and linger for a beat on Gwen. Well, he did warn her.
The Captain lets them get within a few feet of the porch before speaking to Owen directly.
"You shoved all of them into two cars?"
"They're roomier than they look," Owen answers without missing a beat, and beckons for the girls and boys to come forward. "Dad, this is Delta, Echo, and Charlie--" he indicates the girls one by one, "--and Chi and Psi." The two of them look as attentive as they always do in the presence of strong authority, and Owen wonders if it's him or his dad this time. "This is Omega."
Omega is watching with bland disinterest as Ruby circles him uneasily, her ears flat and a low, suspicious growl rumbling in her throat. Owen deliberately moves on.
"This is Blue," he says, gesturing to their reason for being there at all, "and Gwen." He's honestly not certain which one of them his father will focus on more while they're here, although he has a sneaking suspicion..
The Captain purses his lips like he doesn't expect to remember any of that, but he just looks them over again, very obviously examining the dog's reaction to Omega, looking Gwen over in frank appraisal, and finally observing Blue for only a moment longer, without fixing her under that stare. Finally, he nods. "Grab your stuff, bring it inside, come on."