Strangers in these here Industrial areas

Åra looked around the area with a suspicious gaze. There was most definitely something off about the area surrounding her home. She had a bit of a hard time putting her claw on it. It wasn’t the snow that was slowly covering the ground. That had been there for a few hours now and while it was growing it was not causing her concern. No. Something else was off in the area.
The mostly grey raptor slowly made her way out of the small door of the facility she called home. She carried a stuffed duck pillow in her hand as emotional support. It was an abandoned warehouse that kept surprisingly wind tight despite the fact that it wasn’t really built to keep the cold out or heat inside. But that was not the reason or why the raptor had moved in there from the beginning. Outside the front door was an enormous statue of a rubber duck. At some time back in the day the old facility most likely had been producing rubber ducks and eventually they stopped. Now the grey raptor was filling the warehouse - unknowing of its previous use - again with ducks of all shapes and sizes. Her favourites were the rubber ducks but she had a few soft, cuddly stuffed ducks as well. She sniffed the air slightly as she looked around the area. She tried her best to figure out what was off with the world around her. Something was. She took a couple of daring steps out. She wished she still had the company of the Cryo’s that joined her when she first moved in. They were young but they were fast. They could have helped her look around. Now she had to do everything by herself. A slight rattling in the bushes far behind her caused her to jump out of her skin. Physically her body was standing there, frozen, but her spirit felt as if it left her body for a moment before she returned.
Åra turned her head quickly as she gazed at the brushes. The forest had slowly crept in on the industrial area over the years. It was at the edge of the city and perhaps more susceptible to the growth.
The bush rattled again and Åra straightened herself as much as she could so that she would look as big as possible.
“Get out of there now. I am warning you. I am a masterful claw-master.” Her voice was shaking. She was still fairly young and had barely had any fighting experience at all. She didn’t even have any siblings that she could’ve been training with. The bushes rustled again. She couldn’t really go back on it now. She had to guard her home now. The ducky squaked quietly as she hugged it tighter.

“Please don’t hurt us.” It was a tiny voice that came from the bush. Afraid. Åra tried to make herself as big as possible when the bush again started rustling as the small raptor exited it. She looked as if she was ready to cry. She had a rather similar pelt colour as Åra but it was a bit more earthly in colour. “We don’t want to fight.”
“We?” Åra said as she squinted her eyes over at the raptor. “There are more of you?” She couldn’t see anyone around her. But there were a few hiding places a bit farther away. The other raptor looked back at the big bush behind her.
“He wants to come out. But he’s scared. Can you promise not to attack?” Åra felt, for a tiny moment, proud that someone had been frightened by her.
“I can’t promise my instincts wont kick in.” She lied with her nose high in the air. “They can be tricky to control. But since you asked nicely. I will try.” The only instinct she really needed to try and control was the instinct that she needed to run fast and far away from the stranger. But the other raptor did try her best to try and look as small as possible as she gestured towards the bush. It started to rustle around again and Åra looked into it expecting another raptor. It was something much bigger. There slowly crawled a Suchomimus out of the bush. He had a similar type of colour as Åra had, but he was a bit darker than both of the raptors.
Åra was slightly thankful that she was frozen in fear because if she wasn’t she most likely would have taken a step back. The Suchomimus didn’t look old. He looked like he would be younger than Åra herself, and she wasn’t particularly old. Regardless of if he was younger or older he was in fact bigger than her. She doubted that when he was fully grown not even two raptors on top of each other would be at his full height. Yet he laid close to the ground with both body and head as he looked up at her. Was he frightened of her?

“I am Öre and this is Ära,” The other raptor said as she stood and gestured towards the Sucho, “and we’re just looking for somewhere to stay for the winter.”
Åra had to collect herself for a bit. She had still not fully gotten over the fact that it was such a big dinosaur in front of her. And she was somehow considered the strongest of them all. Maybe she was really strong and just didn’t know it. Ära looked up at the two raptors. He didn’t look dangerous. And Öre stood right next to him.
Åra looked down slightly at the plush ducky in her arms. She had calmed down enough to make a decision and she hoped it was the right one.
“You can stay with me.” She smiled. Öre, the other raptor, jumped up into the air while Ära, the Suchomimus picked his head up from off the ground as he looked excitedly from Öre to Åra. “I think there’s enough space.”
Åra waved them over as she started to walk back and Öre hurried over, gesturing to Ära as she did.
“Com’on Ära!”
Åra stopped in front of the small door she had exited the facility from before and looked over the much slower but more importantly bigger dinosaur Ära. She gave off a humming sound as she looked back at the door calculating.
“I don’t think he will fit through the door.” Ära looked at the door before shaking his head agreeing. He could not see himself fitting through it even if it was open. He lifted his head for a bit and looked around at the side of the warehouse. “But I have an idea. You two, go around the wall there. And then turn on the corner after that.” Åra pointed with her free claw as she spoke, trying to give them directions around the rectangular building as if it was in the middle of the city and hard to find. She hurried into the building as Öre gestured to Ära to follow her. The raptor and Suchomimus slowly made their ways around the building. They took their time. Åra had in all her gestures and explanations made it sound easy to miss. It wasn’t. It was a big old loading dock and as they turned the last corner Åra was already standing there.
“Over here!” She was excited now. And for a moment she thought about how weird it was that it turned so quickly from freight to excitement.
Öre easily jumped onto the higher part of the loading dock that Åra was walking on but Ära had to walk to the ramp before he could make it up onto the same plane. Åra had to look him up and down for a moment. He felt even bigger inside the loading dock and she wondered how he would look inside of the warehouse.
“Here!” She gestured towards the door and Öre made an excited small jump when she saw the doors made for lager goods and machines. Ära would need to make sure he didn’t hit his head still but he would easily make it inside. Åra and Öre both pushed open the doors as much as they could. They hadn’t been used in many, many years and they squealed as they did.
Ära slowly made his way through the dock doors. The first room was dark. There were broken planks everywhere and it felt small but Åra gestured for both of them to follow her as they made it through the second set of doors. Inside the big open space of the warehouse it was light. The big windows that covered the top of the walls easily let in sunshine around them, lighting up almost all of the room. There were many big, wooden boxes around the room. Especially in the corners of the room. But more importantly, and perhaps the first thing that both Ära and Öre noticed, was the ducks. There were rubber ducks of many different sizes. There were some enormous stuffed duck plush sitting in the corner. They had clearly been well taken care of as not even a speck of dust was visible on top of them.

“Wow. I’ve never seen so many in one place.” Öre said as Ära walked behind her looking onto everything in the room with awe.
“Yep! Probably the biggest collection in the entire world.” Åra said with pride in her voice as she carefully placed the smaller duck plush in front of the bigger ones. Letting them watch over it. “Do not sit on them.” She looked över at Ära who looked as if he was ready to test their softness by doing just that. He both nodded and shook his head as if to say that he understood and that he would never.
“I sleep over here.” Åra showed them to one of the smaller rooms, an old office space with words written on the door that neither of them could even begin to read. She had decorated the room with many different pillows and blankets that she had found around the city.
Ära tried to squeeze himself into the room but didn’t quite manage. Both Öre and Åra had to help him squeeze back out the door again and he looked quite sad.
“Don’t worry. I know where to get loads of these things. We can build you your own but bigger bed!” It seemed to cheer the Suchomimus up a bit and he nodded happily as they all went back to the duck room. “There’s plenty of space here.”
“Thank you.” Öre said with a smile. “For not attacking us. But also for showing us your place and letting us stay here. It’s getting cold out there.” Öre nodded in agreement and pointed at Öre as she spoke. Åra smiled back at them.
“Well. When you have it as great as me. And are as strong as me,” She boasted herself a bit strong but her ego had grown from meeting both of them, “you have to be kind and help others. That’s what I’m thinking at least.” She buffed up the small feathers on her neck and chest at her own words. “As long as you behave of course.”
“Oh we will! We will behave, won't we Ära?” Ära nodded intently at Öre’s words as he agreed with them whole-heartedly.