Snippet #2551299

((Sorry for the late post, work has been kicking my butt hard this week!))

Charlie was vaguely aware of two sets of hands helping her up. The crocodile-naturan wheezed slightly as she stood up, taking a moment to let her body and mind to register the crash. Nothing felt hurt, but then again, she could be in shock. The young woman briefly looked herself over, finding that her only injuries were a scratched forearm and a scraped up shoulder. Whew, she thought to herself, that could have been a lot worse.
"I'm fine, thanks. I've got a tough hide," Charlie growled softly to Connor, warily watching the red-haired human wheel over her bike. The man had been polite to her so far but that did nothing to dispel her worry. Humans had this strange knack for being unpredictable, which Charlie realized was quite ironic coming from her.

The naturan woman murmured her thanks to the human as she took her bike back from him.
"It's an old Iron Paladin model, they used to be popular about forty years ago. I was lucky to find it in one piece," Charlie muttered as she inspected her bicycle, making a mental note that nothing seemed dented or broken so there must be something wrong with the front gear cluster that caused the crash, "The frame's fine even though it's rusted, I'll just need to take the clusters apart when I get home after...work."

The crocodile-naturan turned pale, barely registering what Connor said to her. Maybe if she sprinted there she could still make it... Charlie stammered slightly, the young woman wasn't the best with words but she didn't want to ignore what the rabbit-naturan had said. "L-look, I don't think your ideas are bad, they've just...well, they've just made life a little complicated for some of us," Charlie blurted out as she hefted her bike onto her shoulder, noticing a young elven woman and a fox-naturan who had been sitting nearby rush over.

"Really, I'm fine. I've got a thick hide," She said nervously, backing away from the newcomers. There were too many people around her now; she was just a naturan, so why was everyone so concerned for her safety?
"Connor, it was nice meeting you but I'm going to lose my job if I stick around. Thanks for helping me up," Charlie turned on her heel and started to run from the plaza of the marketplace. Maybe there was still a chance that she could make it to the construction site! The crocodile-naturan had barely made it over the edge of the main square when the familiar little ringtone of her cell phone chirped out of her backpack. Sighing sadly, Charlie fished it out of her bag and prepared herself, clicking the 'answer' button as she held the phone away from her ear.
"Charlie here..."
The number of expletives and insults that her supervisor screamed out of her tiny phone could have made a sailor blush and she was fairly confident that most of the plaza had heard him ream her out. One thing was certain though, she was definitely and without a doubt, fired.