Amidst the hustle of the many compacted bodies, the shouts of students making their way from classrooms and towards the lunch room or trailing towards the parking lot, and the general chaos that was known as lunch break at Benton University, one could hardly take two steps before being jostled by a passerby. The entire ordeal was exciting and breathtaking, or a major headache depending on your viewpoint, even to those who had been attending the school for several years now. The noise level peaked as a group of freshman guys produced a set of speakers they hooked up to their iPod, Blasting music and attempting to spur those nearest into a spontaneous dance party. One of them, a skinny kid with long blonde hair and several piercings, was running into the crowd, forcibly grabbing people and actively trying to get them to start dancing. He had just convinced a group of girls to join the throng when he turned towards his next target, and froze.
Cinead wasn't entirely sure if he was intimidating on purpose. He certainly wasn't trying to be when the young man turned in his direction and then skidded to a stop. Then again, maybe he was trying just a little. He really didn't want to dance. What ever his intentions, the boy quickly recovered and scurried in the opposite direction. Sighing through his nose, Cin calmly walked past the impromptu party, feeling, not for the first time, a little out of place. There were still times when he still didn't feel used to such a multitude of strange faces and colors, humans dominating with their patches of hair above or growing out of pink or brown colored faces, foreign accents rolling off of tongues. That was probably due to the fact that he wasn't human, not in The slightest, though in the sense of the body he currently wore, he was a mid 20s college student in his senior year.
No, he thought quietly as he watched a group of couples bouncing around in a ridiculous dance, he was far from being human. If the crowd around him caught even a glimpse of his true shape, they would be scared witless, Perhaps admitted to a mental institution for the wild stories that would spring up. Dragons weren't something you saw every day after all. Or in his case, ever. He wasn't so foolish or quite so young that he would risk blowing his cover. Human technology and science had advanced so far that his species was constantly in danger of being discovered. That was why so many of them had decided to do their utmost to blend in, adopting human guises and integrating into society quietly and efficiently. That hadn't kept a lot of them from dying out, but it kept the rest of his kind safe. And he wasn't going to ruin it for everyone merely for a few moments of pleasure at watching a herd of freshman run for their lives.
At last escaping from the immediate press of people, Cinead began heading towards the street, intending on making his way to a local sandwich shop for lunch instead of fighting his way through the parking lot. Away from the crowd, his shoulders relaxed somewhat and it became less obvious just how tall he was. It was always an awkward feeling to view himself as a giant among people, but his frame was well above average, even if he had struggled to make his magic give him a less conspicuous shape. It hadn't worked, naturally. Dragon magic was a fickle thing, unhappy to constrict itself into such a strange body. But he made do with what he had. Shrugging his messenger bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, he did his best to block out the world for a little while, doing his best to ignore the smells and sounds around him.
Cinead wasn't entirely sure if he was intimidating on purpose. He certainly wasn't trying to be when the young man turned in his direction and then skidded to a stop. Then again, maybe he was trying just a little. He really didn't want to dance. What ever his intentions, the boy quickly recovered and scurried in the opposite direction. Sighing through his nose, Cin calmly walked past the impromptu party, feeling, not for the first time, a little out of place. There were still times when he still didn't feel used to such a multitude of strange faces and colors, humans dominating with their patches of hair above or growing out of pink or brown colored faces, foreign accents rolling off of tongues. That was probably due to the fact that he wasn't human, not in The slightest, though in the sense of the body he currently wore, he was a mid 20s college student in his senior year.
No, he thought quietly as he watched a group of couples bouncing around in a ridiculous dance, he was far from being human. If the crowd around him caught even a glimpse of his true shape, they would be scared witless, Perhaps admitted to a mental institution for the wild stories that would spring up. Dragons weren't something you saw every day after all. Or in his case, ever. He wasn't so foolish or quite so young that he would risk blowing his cover. Human technology and science had advanced so far that his species was constantly in danger of being discovered. That was why so many of them had decided to do their utmost to blend in, adopting human guises and integrating into society quietly and efficiently. That hadn't kept a lot of them from dying out, but it kept the rest of his kind safe. And he wasn't going to ruin it for everyone merely for a few moments of pleasure at watching a herd of freshman run for their lives.
At last escaping from the immediate press of people, Cinead began heading towards the street, intending on making his way to a local sandwich shop for lunch instead of fighting his way through the parking lot. Away from the crowd, his shoulders relaxed somewhat and it became less obvious just how tall he was. It was always an awkward feeling to view himself as a giant among people, but his frame was well above average, even if he had struggled to make his magic give him a less conspicuous shape. It hadn't worked, naturally. Dragon magic was a fickle thing, unhappy to constrict itself into such a strange body. But he made do with what he had. Shrugging his messenger bag into a more comfortable position on his shoulder, he did his best to block out the world for a little while, doing his best to ignore the smells and sounds around him.
