Thread: Heartfire (Vertaige & darkangel76)

The trek downtown felt like it was taking an eternity. The air was hot and thick with humidity and, with every step she took, Evie could feel her heart palpitate beneath her heaving chest. Her jean-clad legs were beginning to feel like lead as she willed them to move, to press onward toward the convention center. Needing a distraction, she pulled out an mp3 player from her back pocket and hooked it to her belt. She then placed the earpieces in her ears and turned the music on to help calm her nerves. Almost immediately, Evie's pace began to quicken, her legs moving in time to the beat of the music that played only for her to hear. Her blue eyes took in the sights about her. Cars zipping by as lights flashed and sirens blared. The traffic got heavier the closer she got to the convention center, the scent of fish on the air as a breeze blew in off the nearby river. She crinkled her nose at the pungent stink as the smell hit her hard, but she shrugged it off as she set her jaw and clenched her fists into tiny white-knuckled balls. A shiver ran along Evie's spine as she approached the convention center. So many luxurious cars were pulling up along side the main entrancesurely these were owned by dragons. They were known for being meticulous in their ways of saving and making their wealth grow by leaps and bounds. They just knew how to make connections, work the systems. They knew how to keep what was theirs and make more, adding high yielding profits to anything that was of interest or caught their eye. They had the knack, were business savvy. To be allied with a dragon was to never want for anything. Evie sneered at the thought of such rare alliances. Perhaps that was what dragons feareda greedy human? The very idea! Dragons were powerful beings, could snap a human in half if so inclined. And given their own greed for power and wealth, no doubt they'd smell a gold digger before one even attempted the task to try and win one of them over. Oh, the very thought made her blood boil with rage. Just who did they think they were to look down upon them all, to jump to such conclusions! They should be free to make their own choices, their own decisions! Besides, from her own experiences, it was the dragons who treated others poorly... treating humans like playthings, like toys to please on a whim only to discard them on the street in the cold after they'd done their damage! At that, Evie turned her music up just a bit louder. Her hair flowing in red ringlets behind her as her pace quickened to a light jog while her breaths came harder as she moved and finally came to the convention center's door. She bit down upon her lower lip and reached for the door's handle with her arm donning a swirling blue tattoo of flowers and curling vines. This was it. There was no turning back now. Once inside, she'd have no choice but to follow through and make a difference for her kind because she'd regret it if she went and then didn't speak up. As Evie pushed through the crowd, her blue eyes scanned over the sea of facesdragons. Most of them were dragons, though there were a few other humans attending much like herself. She wondered if any of them were like her and only there because they were utterly disgusted and hoped that their presence would somehow matter, would somehow impact things for the better for humans. Of course, even if any of them managed to do anything of significance, she knew it would only be the first step of many needed to bring about change. Dragons were stubborn, the sort who seemed to have an idea on how things should be. To change that way of thinking wouldn't happen overnight and she wouldn't try and delude herself otherwise. Plucking the earpieces out of her ears, Evie tucked her mp3 player away in her back pocket and then placed her hands on her hips as she listened to one dragon in particular begin to speak. Oh, he clearly thought highly of himself as he stood up there in all his confidence with his charts and graphs. She wondered just how much research he truly did to come up with the numbers he was spewing at everyone. A sigh passed over her lips and she went to over to a human who was selling water. She handed him her card so that he could deduct credits for her purchase. Thanks, Evie said with a smile. She tucked a stray lock of red behind one of her ears and looked up at the dragon who was speaking. Her blue eyes found his and she shivered. Whether he actually saw 'her' or not, she didn't know. But it felt as though he'd seen her amongst all the people in the crowd. Slowly, Evie made her way toward the front, her eyes still fixed upon his face. She opened her bottle and took a sip of her water. The dragon's words upset her greatly as he continued to throw out what he considered facts and figures. Insults and lies as far as she was concerned! Liar! Evie finally shouted out. With her cheeks burning brightly, heart thumping, chest heaving, she threw her open bottle of water at the dragon as he spoke. The bottle flew through the air, the contents spilling out as it hurtled toward him.