{Took a little longer than anticipated, sorry.
Got a new keyboard~}
The sun had risen fully into the sky, but a flame-haired girl who was very late for a very important meeting was still sleeping soundly. With one arm propped under her head and the the other slung over her closed eyes, she looked half-dead lying on that metal roof high above the streets. She had been up very late the night before - midnight, at least - but this was common for the half-phoenix girl, and not why she was sleeping in. She was dreading this meeting, and not just because it required her to wake up earlier than usual.
She didn't want to have to go on some stupid journey if she was perfectly happy and thriving while living on her own. Sure, her current life was at times lonely, but it was a lax lifestyle. Sleeping until midday, sweeping the streets until late at night, lighting things on fire and watching it burn just because she could. There was the occasional guard chase, but once they were burned to a crisp, they always lost the desire to follow her.
Time ticked on. An hour after the meeting should have started, she finally woke herself up with an irritated grunt. She sat up, propped herself up against the metal shingles of the roof faintly warmed by the dull early-morning sun, then swung her legs over the edge of the five-story building. She had scaled the building (with much difficulty) the previous night, and since it was high up and safe, she had decided to rest there for the night. Her back ached from laying against the solid and uneven tiles, but it was hardly anything new. She had slept on bare rock before.
Her amber eyes blinked a few times, attempting to adjust to the sudden bright light that was the sun. She rubbed at her eyes, then found a pair of darkened shades in her pocket and pushed them onto the bridge of her nose. Much better, she mentally concluded, nodding to herself. She loved the sun, practically worshipped that gloriously warm star, but it was not her friend in the early morning.
Grumbling whiny protests to no one in particular, she slid down to the gutter of the building and lowered herself down. Her hands immediately gripped the edge of the metal gutter, her knuckles turning pale right as she clung to the edge for dear life. Her mind screamed at her; What are you gonna do now, genius?! She hadn't planned this out. The metal began to creak beneath her hands, and as it did so, her breath quickened. The streets below were busy with cars, and one little slip would mean certain death.
She swallowed, caught her breath, and slowly unfurled her wings. She couldn't use them to fly, but perhaps they could work as a way to at least soften her landing? She closed her eyes, softly counted to three, and let herself drop off the edge.
After a lot of screaming and the flailing of wings and arms, she landed flat on her butt on the sidewalk. She whimpered softly upon impact, then sat there for a moment, trying to catch her breath. After a few minutes, she decided that she was ready to go look for the warehouse where the mutants were to meet. She stood, smoothed out her ruffled feathers, combed her fingers through her wavy hair, readjusted her glasses, snapped her wings in against her back, and promptly began walking. She didn't have much to hide, but what she did have - a pair of wings - were nearly impossible to conceal. She just kept them pressed against her back and prayed that no one would notice them.
She swept down the sidewalk, walking past guards and other humans and trying not to visibly tense when they took a double-take upon seeing her. She just bit her tongue and hoped they wouldn't notice the flash of orange feathers against her back. The warehouse was nearby now, she knew it; but one of them spotted her differences before she could reach safety.
"Hey!" the guard's gruff voice sounded behind her, as soon as she heard the voice, her entire body stiffened. She muttered a curse under her breath, then shot off as fast as her legs could carry her. The sun was still too weak for her fire abilities to truly work, so it would be useless trying to fight him like she usually did when guards spotted her. She could hear his heavy footsteps behind her, just feet from her heels. She raced through the streets, bowling over other people and knocking over trashcans in her wake. She was causing a huge scene, but it hardly mattered. She knew that she needed to get out of there.
She turned the corner, her gaze finding the warehouse just down the road. She just needed to lose the guard, but how? She couldn't lead him into that warehouse where there were other mutants just waiting to be captured.
She stopped, holding her hands out in front of her. "You got me," she falsely admitted defeat in her Southern accent, hanging her head in well-acted shame. The man came forward, ready to put her under arrest, when a tiny but powerful little ember was flicked into his eye. Her powers were weak in the early morning, but sparks weren't difficult to conjure up at any time of day.
The guard stumbled backwards in surprise, and she was off again before she could come up with a witty farewell remark. A moment later, she was standing in the old warehouse, leaning heavily against the door and breathing hard. She raised a hand in greeting, but was too tired to do much else.
She leaned against the door and observed the room while she caught her breath. The warehouse was old, dusty. The high, cracked windows were blurred by smudges and dirt, and the paint-job was peeling. There were less people than she was expecting; it look like there was only about five or so. A griffon girl, a manticore lady, a dragon man, a cat (wait, what was a cat doing there, exactly?), and a tiny little boy that she couldn't even begin to guess the mutation of.
She realized that she was suddenly feeling much less tired, and took a deep breath. "Let's get this over with," she muttered, folding her arms over her chest and flashing a cocky, "I'm-far-too-good-for-you-all" grin at the group of mutants.
{CRAP this turned out really long didn't it? I'm sorry. ;u;}
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