On the Run (writing practice/teaser)

I wasn't really looking for a fight that afternoon. I'm a semi-professional amateur acquisitions agent. That's a really nice way of saying I steal things for a living and sometimes I even get paid for it. This was supposed to be a quick in-and-out job that would have left me enough time to go get a manicure and maybe hit the Godiva store at the mall for my monthly free truffle. Instead, I now had two broken nails and was running down an litter-strewn alley at full tilt.  Behind me, there was a lot of cursing and growling which probably had something to do with the trash cans I had just heaved at my pursuers. I chanced a quick look back and didn't like what I saw. Two weres had grown to four and they were hurdling the cans like track stars at the Olympics.  

"Bad news, Amira, you're about to hit a wall, a brick one specifically."

I scowled at the tiny dragonling. Rox was only the size of my longest finger with fluttery leathery wings dusted with fine fur. He was currently sporting a giddy little grin across his tapered bronze snout because he really loved mischief. In fact, it was his fault I was in this predicament. All he had to do was stand guard. What had he been doing instead? Eating flies, that's what, stuffing his greedy gullet with disgusting insects. I would have liked to answer him with some cutting and witty remark but I was too busy trying to suck air into my lungs. Weres are fast despite their bulk, and I tended to rely more on stealth and agility because I was not runner. I barely liked to walk. There was a stitch forming in my side as I skidded around a corner and, yep, there was a wall there all right...a brick one, just like Rox said.

I launched into the air. In my mind, I saw myself gracefully catching the edges of broken mortar and nimbly scaling to the top where I would razz the weres below (good runners, not so good climbers) and then sail off into the afternoon sun a free woman. What really happened is that I hit the wall like, well, a ton of bricks, broke another nail, scrabbled uselessly for a toehold, and listened to a nasty dragonling giggling his fool head off.