All went silent, and the only thing he could hear was the sound of his breathing, growing heavier by the second. His paws clenched and unclenched, his body growing tense. His eyes narrowed, the deep emerald green glinting in the light that shined down from above. Tail swishing slowly behind him, feet steady and arms splayed, he readied himself for the stunt. As all eyes laid on him, the world set, and without recognition, he was off.

His mind set on the tiny ring sitting at the end of the course. He flew by, a blur of orange and black stripes. Moving his hands beneath him, he began to twirl, spin, and flip, putting off marvelous displays as he traveled down the path. And as they called out his name he leapt, clearing the distance between him and that tiny little ring… and he had done it.

He had done the impossible once again.

Vitaly rose to his feet and a bright smile appeared on his face. He threw his arms up in the air and the crowd roared. He roared with them, sounding his victory. An unimaginable feeling of pride and excitement erupted in his chest. Grinning he bowed and reaching out one hand swept the ring stand off its post. The people cheered and bellowed as the Siberian tiger continued to show off.

Then with one swift movement he struck the ring stand into its once resting place and began to churn. The floor around him filled with life, a swirl of light exploded from the center. The ground began to lift as he continued to turn the stand. He swayed with the rising floor, moving into the spiraling staircase.

Vitaly looked out to the crowd of people, seeing their faces light up with amazement and wonder. He then glanced up, seeing the other circus animals begin to appear. It was an amazing sight to behold. A lion and jaguar dropping down from the ceiling as small dogs flew by like dazzling fire crackers. The zebra and sea lion shooting through the air, stripped with neon. The giraffe and hippo gliding over the tightropes with ease. The horses all bounding in unison. The elephants with their fiery trunks, expelling plumes of colorful flames. The bear and the lemur ridding on a motorcycle horizontally across a stream of light.

It was remarkable…

Then as he gazed at the others he noticed a pattern. Each animal had their own partner, their own group to perform with. No one had a solo act… besides Vitaly.

A sudden pang of loneliness surged through him and his expression suddenly changed into one of distraught. But as soon as this feeling came, it was gone, leaving only an afterthought behind. The tiger shook his head clear and exhaled deeply. His mind returned to a better place and he smiled up towards his friends. That's all he really needed after all. A family. HIS family.

The sound of a door slamming shut awoke the young Indian tigress. She raised her head, which had been resting on her crossed arms, and gazed out through the bars of her cage. The other animals around her stirred, gapping their mouths with wide yawns, some others wining in protest of the sudden and unpleasant noise. She pinned back her ears and growled in annoyance, laying her head back down.

The woods around the outside alignment of cages began to shudder in the strong and unexpected breeze. The night air became chilly as the skies filled with dark clouds. The golden tigress huffed gently to herself and closed her eyes once again, ignoring the cold.

The sound of doors opening and closing was heard once again, fallowed by footsteps, but that was also ignored. These sounds were not uncommon here. No, she had lived here far too long to be startled by these measly noises. She had grown used to this place's awful environment and fowl smells, and the constant sounds of other unfamiliar animals.

This place was a hell whole for exotic animals, torn from their homes and forced to live in captivity. Her rare golden pelt had earned her a spot amongst these poor creatures.

She had lived here almost all her life. It WAS her life now. It had been so long ago that her parents were killed by poachers, since she had been pulled away from her den and was traded off to this horrible place. She was SOLD. For a profit… and her emerald necklace went with her, but had not stayed with her. The man who paid for her hide now wore it around his neck…

She cringed at the thought, tears threatening to spill over. She growled in frustration and bit back a roar. She hated this place. It took away her freedom. Took away her hope, the only thing she had left of her deceased family. And it took away her name… she had almost forgotten her name… Ninarika… that's it…

And now she was stuck here, forever… forced to fight other animals and starve for days without food other wise. She shuttered, remembering the feeling of helplessness that swelled up within her when put through this. The winds began to pick up.

The sound of a crying animal rang out. She opened her eyes and looked in the direction of the painful sound. Another animal was being carried away, a human on either side holding it at the legs. She watched as they walked by.

Lately they had done this a lot. More and more animals had disappeared. More and more cages were found empty. The animals were no longer forced to fight. Maybe the master had grown tired of them? Whatever the case, it seemed as though he did not need them any longer.

The white tiger that had once neighbored her was taken away the other day. She couldn't tell if he was dead or alive. The smell was masked by the stench of the humans. But he was gone now too. He had warned her, this would happen. Told her the master had no more use for them. That he wanted their pelts. She did not believe him at first. But now it seemed it was true.

Though at this point she did not care. Let them come. Take her pelt. What did she care?

Then the master came. A golden string laced around his neck, with her family's emerald strung from it.

Ninarika sat up and stared out in disbelief.

He was here. He was gazing at her through the bars. How could he? How could he be here? He was never here in person…

Then he opened the cage. She froze. His eyes were filled with unrecognizable hatred. His movements were uneasy. He wobbled and stumbled, as if he couldn't keep himself steady.

She did not understand his current state. All she knew was that he was not acting right. He was sick. He was corrupted. He was venerable.

A low rumble rose in the young tigress's throat, her sight set on the man moving towards her. He was in HER cage. He had crossed the line of safety. This was HER territory, NOT his.

She rose up to her feet, her shoulders swaying. She waited; waited for the right moment. Her old master had now become her prey, and she finally had a chance to escape.

As his foot came down her claws sheathed, and she was on top of him, outside of the cage. His eyes filled with terror and he froze up. She looked him dead in the eyes before letting out an ear piercing roar.

Then in a flash she was off of him and running, already deep within the forest, the emerald necklace dangling from her jaws.