I know, "What is she doing?". I just re-watched Dragonheart and, as this tends to go, had the most kick-ass dream about it. I'll hop to finishing my other fics later. But, um, please... try to enjoy. It's not that great and I'm on a 3 a.m. rush. Anyways, first time I've made such an angry bitch of a character. Just trying it out. Feedback is loved. Thank you.

Hearts cannot live if they do not beat.

Hearts cannot survive if they are alone.

Hearts cannot endure if they are wounded.

Hearts cannot continue if they are tired.

Hearts cannot exist without one another.

Surrounded. Not the best possible feeling in the world. Trapped like a rat. I believe I've made my point. Black boots crunched the fresh grass as the wearer took a small step backwards. There were things that people did in life that flooded them with regret shortly after. Today was not one of those days. Well, not for a certain young, brunette female who rarely ever regretted anything. At least, not out in the open. Frozen hands clenched tightly until the knuckles whitened at the knife points that threatened her very existence. Caution and timing were imperative to her survival. Who was she kidding? These people were idiots. Of all the reactions her attackers might have predicted, this might have been the most likely from the infamous devil.

"You think you can get away with this?" A thick finger pointed to a purplish red bruise forming nicely on a steroid pumped male's left temple. The receiver of the inquiry remained motionless. Four men, one girl. Do the genetics math. Brows knitting dangerously, the young woman who gave off the convincing impression of being the victim immediately lunged for the predator image. With a heavy shrug, exhale and one swift movement, she reached over, wrapped her palm around the back of an offender's head, and bashed it squarely into the surface of the tree just behind her. Key idea here was to utilize her surroundings. What possessed her to run into the nearby forest was beyond her and any thinking she could hope to accomplish now. Cool air brushed through the girl's russet hair as she moved forward, eyes feral and unforgiving. Leaves shifted underneath her sudden feet movement. Without warning, she surged forward from the cover of her calculative stillness, and with bone crunching force, delivered a powerful punch to the center of his face, slamming him away and to the ground with an ear splitting yell. Chaos ensued as the two with knives stepped forward. A growl slid past her lips as her body turned and ran deeper into the forest.

College. Not too different from high school, except the men are bigger and the second they learn you're a cold, heartless bitch... mercy is often not a viable option. Being twenty-two years old was great; the whole handling issues on your own and junk. One wrong move, for a woman especially, either resulted in rape or some form of degrading assault. Actually, to be perfectly honest, that was working out just fine with our little rabid animal here. Yes, our rabid little animal has a name. The girl currently speeding through a forest so fast that the trees meshed together in blurry green clumps was Alex.

Abruptly, the woman halted, pressing her back against a suitably sized tree. Breathing out slowly, Alex listened for the footsteps. And there they were, loud and clear with no fear of any repercussions. Driven by blind rage these men were. That would most definitely work to her advantage. The makings of an almost wicked smirk flickered across her features as she shot her arm out from behind the tree grasping onto the first man's wrist. Forcefully yanking him forward, a knee was driven straight into his gut. As for the final man, an elbow to the neck with 'x' amount of force and 'y' amount of surface area got him highly acquainted with the floor shortly after. "So inconvenient." A snarl, if anything. Light sounds of hands tapping against cloth sounded when Alex brushed her arms of any possible remnants of the stench of man. A dropped knife was picked up and examined closely.

"Impressive." A powerfully deep voice commented. If her assumption was correct, the accent was almost... Scottish? Instinctively, the girl pivoted, knife held out threateningly. What she found wasn't quite what one would expect upon a leisurely stroll through the forest. "I mean you no harm." Though he might not have meant to, the voice came out in a growl. A middle-aged man, about six feet and two inches, stood about ten feet away from her. He bared his teeth, wrinkling the skin around his mouth which was lightly coated over with a forming beard. These things were not what stole her attention completely. "I'm warning you girl. It is not wise to threaten a Dragon." Clothed in tattered garbs that vaguely resembled medieval attire, the man lowered himself defensively.

"Get to your freak convention and leave me alone." Alex's voice, no matter how hard she tried, tended to come out more abrasive than she wished. No matter. They really should've put an age limit on these dress up renaissance convention things. This guy was at an age where it got creepy.

"Are you... a warrior?" Genuine curiosity laced the fabric of his voice. "Something of a knight... yet you're a woman." Fist closed, the 'warrior' felt another act of violence coming on. "Impossible, and such odd attire..." Wishing she hadn't a second later, Alex glanced downwards. A gray short sleeve, black vest, shorts, and boots weren't out of the ordinary. "Intriguing almost. Nevertheless, I must find the stone." The arm holding the knife extended outwards angrily.

"Hey hey, that's enough." To her surprise, there was no concern at all evident in the male's eyes at all. "Listen, you creepy, creepy, Dragon wannabee-"

"What?" The dark-haired male shifted. Alex noted the slight grays streaked through his, once jet black, hair. "You dare call me a liar?" There was more hurt than anger in the raise in volume of voice. "Why, I never- I-" More flustered than the usual older-than-normal-nerd. The girl's jaw tightened, this guy wasn't going to give up, was he?

"Dragons fly." Blam! With the bluntness of a baseball bat. Take that. A spark of determination in the man's eye caught Alex's full attention as he marched straight to his left. She had no time for this. Just how ridiculous did she intend for this scenario to become? A pile of homework was sitting at home just waiting her imminent return. It called to her, mocking her endlessly. Then what if her assaulters picked now to regain consciousness? Darkening clouds meandered across the sky, bathing in their last gulp of sunlight, ready to make room for night. Not to mention she actually had a job commitment tomorrow. "What a waste of my ti—what the?" Eyes widening, she rushed forward, praying that her eyes were deceiving her.

What the hell was he trying to do? The man she'd just met not more than ten minutes ago stood on the edge of a cliff. Crumbling factions broke off the edge and tumbled down below. If the fall didn't bring about his demise, the jagged rocks at the bottom would. Alex stopped short on the final grassy patch leading to the rocky edge. He watched intently as the sun crept it's way under the horizon – fierce eyes fixed o n the luminous display as beams of light cut their way across the pallid sky. "If I could only concentrate, this just might work." He wasn't going to do it. No way, in anyone's right, sane mind would they come up with a suicide scheme this... weird. Then again, she had been wrong before. A bitter wind gust of air blew across the male's chiseled features, forcing the course fabric of his cloak to snap and curl around his tall, fit figure. Suddenly, with a grunt, his arms flew outwards and his legs propelled his body forward.

Mouth agape, all the girl could do was stare as the man leaped forward, only to tumble straight down the stone infested hill. "You idiot!" The guy needed to be put in a freaking asylum, tucked away in a mountain somewhere. Alex glanced over the edge. Finding the man still rolling downwards—alive from the excessive amount of groaning and yelling out—she followed. Muttering to herself, the woman slid down the rock surface slowly, taking many more precautions than the man, who had finally ceased in his downward descent, before her. "You!" Unsympathetic to any injuries he might have obtained, a hand snatched the fabric closest to his neck. A couple hard shakes proved fruitless, "Are you trying to piss me off?" A ball of cloth still clutched tightly in her hand, Alex yanked him forward, "You listening to me?" She half yelled in his face. His eyes made a very feeble attempt to open, exposing a slit of white behind the eyelids. A fine trickle of blood snaked down the side of his head.

"The stone." At least, that was what it sounded the most like to Alex. From his accent, that sentence could have been anything between 'The sun' to 'The scone'. No, wait, he'd mentioned the stone before. Alex's vice grip tightened and twisted. A lack of response from him indicated that his consciousness had lost the battle. Two fingers pressed lightly against her temple in contemplation.

"Ugh, what am I doing?" Indeed the most appropriate question for exactly what happened next. Calling upon the strength in her arms, Alex hoisted the man up into a position where his upper body mostly leaned on her. Half of his body was still dragging along the floor, but the girl could still pull him away from here. Leaving him would be a one way ticket to freezing to death. And by the slim chance he did crawl away from the jaws of death, there would be a lawsuit involved one way or another.

What was she getting herself into?