Notes: I do not own any rights to the Reign of Fire series or anything relating to it. I am simply a huge fan, and, personally, I think it has the best dragon creature design of any other movie. This is just a prologue for my overall story, and I just wanted to see how it goes before taking the time to write any more, though I probably will post a bit more as you can't truly get a feel for what I'm really trying to do just by this short bit (subnote: there are several obvious hints in there though). Thanks for reading; I hope you enjoy.

Wrath Of Fire

"Cats… take the large cats of Africa for example. In a pride of lions there is usually only one male, the alpha male so to speak. Now, I'm sure we've all seen those documentaries at one point or another that basically tell us that this male is essentially useless as he does none of the hunting and really just sits there and just tries to look good. Ladies, I can see you all trying not to look at your husbands," A slight chuckle emanates through the crowd as he pauses for a brief moment before continuing, "but hold off on looking his way for just a second longer. You see, this alpha male actually acts as the group's largest stabilizing factor. He keeps things in check and balanced, now sadly this includes killing his own offspring on occasion if they could possibly pose a threat to his dominance, but let's just overlook that detail for the sake of not getting sidetracked." A larger but brief roar of laughter can be heard this time as he pauses once again, "As you can, and have no doubt seen throughout this presentation, we share a lot of aspects in common with other living things, from apes to horses to birds to cats, granted that last example was more of a poke at some fun, but even after all those relations we still possess at least one thing that all other living creatures do not; we have will, free will in fact. The will to choose what we want to eat next, the will to love whomever we desire, and the will to give up, or persevere. I'm running a bit short on time here I'm afraid, but we're almost done. So, in a brief conclusion to restate our topic this evening, we – as the human race – are the most gifted, and highly advanced, species to ever walk the planet... Thank you."

The usual upheaval of applause that accompany such a presentation resound off the walls of the large room as Dr. Ulisse Anning steps down from the stage and makes his way towards the back exit. He did not intend to stay for the rest of the program as he felt he would be better served back in his lab at the university, or more importantly with his eagerly expecting wife, Dr. Marie Anning. It was going to be their first, and she was already about half way through her third trimester. Despite this, he knew all too well right where she'd be: in the lab.

When he wasn't giving a talk such as he had just done, in the laboratory, and/or spending time with his significant other, he could often be found lecturing his students or otherwise helping them along with given assignments. He was a professor of Paleontology and Genetics at a decently sized university, located somewhere on the east side of the Appalachian mountains in Virginia. At least for the time being he taught courses related to these fields, that is until they assigned him to teach yet another class next semester, which he didn't mind so much as long as he wasn't teaching completely foreign material, such as the finer arts. He had a Ph.D. in genetics and a Masters in paleontology as well as a few other various minors in closely related areas. He did, however, have a secret longing to get settled into one class eventually.

Just as he had suspected, Marie was still in the lab, which is right where she had been since he left to give his talk about an hour or two ago. She had been engrossed nearly the entire day with studying a recently discovered pterosaur, perhaps more commonly known as a pterodactyl, skeleton that had been uncovered, surprisingly enough, deep within a remote cave system on the island of Great Britain. The university had been chosen to 'dissect' this new find for its exceptional facilities and staff, which included both the doctor and his wife amongst a few others.

Ulisse, or Se for short, though Marie usually only ever referred to him as Honey, Darling, or Babe, sneakily makes his way inside the test center and quietly walks up behind the seemingly mesmerized woman at the microscope. Her pregnant figure becoming more noticeable as he drew closer, he decidedly did not try and scare her, for good reason. Instead he simply placed his hands on her shoulders and began to message lightly, position his head over top of her long, blonde hair.

Jumping slightly at first, she smiles, leaning back, and turns her head up to kiss him, admiring his short brown hair and slight 5 o'clock shadow. His face is more oval shaped than it is round, and it's features, such as his cheek bones are fairly pronounced, but not to the point where it makes him look too thin, simply average, which was her preference. She straight way asks him, "How was the talk?"

"Meh, long… boring… same ol', same old," he replies wittingly while he both removes his scholarly glasses, as well as hers, and goes the extra distance to close the gap between him and her. Her face is slightly more rounded than his, and her hair line gives it a sort of heart shaped appearance. Her features are also more soft and smooth rather than distinctly profound.

"What do you think it is?" she asks.

"Well, by the looks of it, it's definitely a pterosaur. At least that's what it said on the box," he says jokingly.

She gives him that look and says, "You're so generic. That's the oldest evasion tactic in the book."

"I thought you didn't want to know?" he questions.

She tilts her head to the side a bit, leaning on his hand, "I don't, but I'm just wondering what you think is all."

He simply rubs her stomach gently and asks, "Well, what do you want it to be?" Before she can answer he adds, "You know, alligators, when they keep their eggs at a certain temperature, can actually choose the sex of their young." She flashes another that look, but he goes on anyhow, trying to save the moment. "Yep, if it's warmer than a certain degree then the brood is certain to be all males, and vice versa for females. Now, would you like a blanket? You seem a tad bit on the cooler side."

"Don't try and regale me with your genetics," she quips. "And who said anything about me wanting a boy?"

"Alright, a girl then," he concedes. "How about a name then? It seems you've already given some thought about 'her', so surely you have a name at the forefront you are thinking about."

She nods and accepts his surrender.

"Alexandra… I was thinking about Alexandra…"