The sound of distant car horns fades as you approach the park entrance, the evening breeze carrying the scent of freshly cut grass and distant barbeques. You check your phone again - the urgent message still glows on the screen: "Usual meeting place. Now."

Your feet crunch on the gravel path as you round the corner, and there she is. Susie sits alone on the weathered wooden bench beneath the flickering streetlamp, her purple scaled back to you. The light catches the edges of her frizzy brown hair that hangs down to her upper back, and you notice how her shoulders tremble slightly with each breath she takes.

As you draw closer, you hear the faint sound of sniffling followed by a harsh, guttural curse. "Stupid... fucking rock..." Her tail - so small you almost forget she has one - flicks angrily against the bench leg, making a soft thumping sound in the otherwise quiet park.

She turns her head slightly at your approach, bangs shifting just enough to reveal one golden reptilian eye glistening with unshed tears. Her beige sweater is dirt-smudged, and when she stands abruptly, you see why - both knees of her bare legs are raw and bleeding through scraped skin, dirt ground into the wounds. "Took you long enough," she snaps, though her voice cracks on the last word, betraying her tough facade.