The sun peaked in through the heavy blue curtains on the large bay windows and French doors, the rays of light making the deep aqua wallpaper of the large bedroom pop. Even the golden trimming on the walls shined with an immaculate gleam, same as the chandelier that hung in the middle of the room. Unfortunately, the sun bounced off of some of the gold trim in a direct path into the closed eyes of a still sleeping teen wolf, the grey-furred youngster letting out a groan of discomfort as she pulled her thick comforter over her frame.

But, even with the covers over her head, she couldn't escape an ever-punctual saluki.

"Porsha," a soft, but still authoritative voice whispered, the voice itself so soft that Porsha could barely hear it. But she did, and she let out a soft whine of protest as her father's faithful talent scout, one Suki Lane, peeled back the covers, the young wolf's attire of a simple blue crop-top and black running shorts doing little to protect from the cool ocean breeze that flowed in through the open French Doors.

"Come on sweetie," Suki cooed with a soft chuckle, the saluki running her fingers through the fluffy fur on Porsha's cheek in a gentle caress, "it's time to get up. Your dad's going to swing by in an hour to pick us up."

"Five more minutes, please Momma," Porsha whimpered as she attempted to grab the covers again, managing to do so, much to an annoyed Suki's further frustration, for while Porsha was usually compliant with the saluki, she, like many, was not a morning person. Though the older female was used to this sort of early morning routine. But at that moment, a teasing smirk formed on Suki's lips, the older canine standing up before making her way to the open door that led out to the massive foyer of the large mansion.

"Alright," she said in a tone of mock defeat, "I guess I'll have to tell Mr. Calloway that his biggest fan had a bed wetting incident."

"YOU WOULDN'T!"

Suki turned with a smug smirk to see the teen having bolted right out of bed, her yellow eyes staring daggers at the saluki as an accusing finger was pointed in her direction, said saluki placing her hands on her hips in triumph as she walked back to the young wolf.

"Well," she said in the same teasing tone, firmly grasping both of Porsha's soft cheeks, squishing them together as she continued to speak, much to Porsha's annoyance.

"Get ready, and maybe I'll keep my trap shut."

And not even a second later, Porsha's defense stance deflated, her smushed face making her response all the more adorable to Suki.

"OK Momma," she responded like anyone would when their face was smushed. But much to Porsha's relief, Suki relaxed her hold on Porsha's cheek, but still gently caressing the soft fur, the saluki leaning forward to place a gentle kiss on the wolf's head.

"Good," she hummed, turning to leave the room so as to give Porsha more privacy to get ready. Unfortunately, she was stopped by a very personal question.

"How's his mood today?" Porsha asked nervously, the young wolf looking pleadingly at Suki, searching her brown eyes for any source of comfort. Luckily there was some comfort in Suki's response.

"Very mellow right now."

Before Porsha knew it, she was sitting in the back of the limo, her head down as her gaze focused on her hands in her lap, her fingers twiddling away as her nerves continued to come undone with each passing minute. And while many would assume it came from the excitement that she was about to meet her idol, the one and only Clay Calloway, Porsha's nerves were really focused on the wolf by her side. The entertainment titan of Redshore City…

Her Father…

Jimmy Crystal.

"You excited, Baby," the white-furred canine inquired, never once taking his eyes off his golden phone, absentmindedly patting Porsha's knee, the action unknowingly causing the teen to flinch slightly at the contact, something which did not go unnoticed by Suki, who was sitting just off to Porsha's left. And off to Jimmy's right, sat his ever-loyal assistant, Jerry. Well, assistant in the professional since. Suki preferred shameless suck-up, the diminutive feline tapping away at his tablet, clearly not paying any attention to what was happening around him, unlike Suki.

"Mm," Porsha responded quietly to her father's question, her hands slowly unclenching from the sudden spike in her nerves, only to feel those nerves slowly calm down as she felt a soft, gentle hand take hers, the ginger fur a clear indication that it was Suki, the older woman offering Porsha a loving smile as she tenderly traced her thumb over the girl's hand. And for the remainder of the ride, Porsha felt some semblance of comfort as she held onto Suki's hand, even briefly maintaining her hold as they walked into the backstage area of the theater portion of the Crystal Tower Hotel, the hold making her feel safe and secure, just as when she was a pup.

"MOON!"

Jimmy's booming voice quickly caused Porsha to flinch, pulling the girl from her awestruck stupor at the amazing sets that were being constructed in front of her very eyes, her wide eyes soon landing on the form of a nervous koala. And at that moment, Porsha realized that at some point she had let go of Suki's hand, the little sense of security she had out of reach, causing the girl to feel her nerves spike once again as she watched her father stalk toward a koala at the center of the room.

"YOUR SET DESIGNS ARE A DISGRACE!"

Porsha braced herself, silently hoping that the koala hadn't already gotten on her father's bad side. A side she knew no one wanted to be on. And she would be speaking from experience. But, to her relief, her father started to laugh, clearly messing with the small marsupial before him. And in that time, Porsha felt a gentle touch be placed upon her back, rubbing soothing circles over her shirt and jacket.

"You're okay sweetie," Suki soothed as she helped calm her charge, "remember, breath in, and out."

It was when Suki had said this that Porsha realized that she had begun to hyperventilate, a clear sign that she had had a minor panic attack. But, doing as she was instructed, the young wolf breathed in through her nose for five counts, and exhaled another five, rinsing and repeating until she felt calm again.

"Thanks Momma," Porsha whispered, her fondness for the Saluki who had helped to look after her all these years once again displayed by her favorite term of endearment. In fact, given how her father almost always placed business before family after her own mother had left, Porsha had always seen Suki as more of a parent to her than her own.

"Anyway, this is my daughter, Porsha."

Realizing that her father had just introduced he to the koala, Porsha tentatively stepped away from Suki, the saluki offering some encouragement.

"Don't worry hon," she cooed, gently nudging Porsha forward, "he's actually pretty nice. Stubborn and bit crazy, but nice."

With these words in mind, Porsha continued to timidly walk toward the koala, noticing out of the corner of her eye that two other mammals, a young gorilla in a black leather jacket, and a young elephant in a pink hoody, seemed to watch her with, as she observed, genuine curiosity. But she pushed that out of her mind for the time being as she stopped in front of the koala, almost immediately offering a meek wave to the diminutive showman when she stopped right by her father.

"Hi," she said softly, the young wolf bending down to one knee, offering her hand to the koala, "it's nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too, Porsha, I'm Buster Moon," the koala responded, offering the girl a friendly, almost comforting smile as he accepted her hand in a double-handshake, which Porsha's figured made sense, since her own larger hands seemed dwarf his. And Porsha didn't know why, but that smile he gave her made her feel safe and secure, like all her problems could just melt away by looking into those caring blue eyes.

"Yeah, yeah, Anyway…"

Her father's voice unfortunately pulled her back to reality, the young girl immediately standing back to her full height, ears pinned back, tail tucked between her legs, hands clasped in front of her waist, and tail between her legs. This did not go unnoticed by Buster, or the young performers, who looked at Porsha in concern, but also her father with some disdain. But, they figured now was not the time.

"She wants to meet Calloway. Big fan, aren't cha, baby?"

"Uh huh," Porsha quickly answered, a hint of a genuine smile on her muzzle as she opened her jacket slightly to reveal her blue t-shirt emblazoned with the face of the lion rockstar himself.

"I really like vintage."

"So, where is he?"

"W-well," Buster stammered, the question from Jimmy causing him to look very nervous, but this did not affect any affect on Porsha's wandering eyes, her attention once again on the sets, her ears back up and her tail slowly wagging, "I'm not expecting Clay on set just yet…"

"Wait," Porsha absently-mindedly said in awe, causing everyone to look to her, "is this like a sky-fi show?"

"PORSHA!" Jimmy abruptly growled, causing everyone to flinch, especially Porsha, whose ears almost immediately pinned to the back of her head, and her tail once again falling limp behind her as she looked to her father, the older wolf's expression changing from annoyance to forced civility as he continued speaking through a tense smile, "what did we say about interrupting?"

"Sorry Daddy," Porsha immediately said in a soft whisper, her eyes to the ground, her desire to just run and curl up in a ball somewhere growing by the second. And while Suki, who was standing by an equally nervous Jerry, wanted to run to the girl and comfort her, she reluctantly thought better of it in order to avoid her employer's attention…at least for the time being. But luckily, she was unwittingly aided by the koala who had become a thorn in her side since he magically showed up at the auditions a few days ago.

"No, no, it's alright," Buster said as he walked up to Porsha, offering her a genuinely kind smile.

"Sci-Fi? Yes, it is."

"I…I love Sky-Fi," Porsha timidly responded, an innocent smile on her face, the smile faltering some as a new voice sounded from overhead. Turning her attention to the source, Porsha could make out the form of a cheetah in a tight white jumpsuit looking over the edge of the platform.

"MR. MOON?! WE'RE READY UP HERE!"

"ALRIGHT, THANK YOU SASHA!" Buster called back, before turning to Jimmy, his confident smile that was briefly plastered on his face becoming more timid as he addressed the entertainment mogul.

"We're about to rehearse, soooo…"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Jimmy responded, more focused on the snack table than Buster, "go do your rehearsal thing."

With that, Buster went to stand amongst a group of, to Porsha's surprise, Piglets, as well as a male pig, more than likely the youngsters' father. It was at that moment that Porsha remembered that Suki had mentioned that the lead of the show was a female pig, a mother of 25. Said mother was probably the one at the top of the platform with Sasha, preparing to practice her jump for a spectacular stunt. And while Porsha knew she should stay put, a little spike of adrenaline entered her system at the idea of performing such a daring feat.

But, at that moment, she noticed movement out of the corner of her eye. Looking in the direction she saw the movement, Porsha was met with the sight of the gorilla and elephant form earlier, the two also looking up at the platform overhead, not paying her any mind. And while Porsha was content with that, something deep inside of her told her she should at least introduce herself. And so, working up the courage, she made her way over to the two young mammals, not noticing the proud smile on Suki's muzzle as she did.

"Hi."

Both primate and pachyderm turned their attention to the wolf who stood before them, the canine offering her hand and a nervous smile as she spoke.

"I'm…I'm Porsha. It's nice to meet you."

And to Porsha's relief, the two smiled back. Full, whole-hearted smiles, with the elephant being first to respond in a way that made Porsha feeling like Buster in terms of their handshake, HER hand being dwarfed by the elephant's.

"Hi Porsha," she responded brightly, her high, sweet voice seeming to put Porsha more at ease, "I'm Meena. It's really great to meet you, too."

Then the gorilla stepped, offering his own hand to her.

"Johnny, like wise" he responded curtly, but with a genuine smile on his lips as he pulled away, tucking his hands into his jacket pockets.

"So," Porsha began hesitantly, "are you guys part of the show?"

"Oh yeah," Johnny responded with a nonchalant shrug, but a huge grin on his face, "I'm playing the lead warrior on the 'Planet of war.' Pretty bangin' if you ask me."

"That does sound pretty cool," Porsha responded with a giggle, turning to Meena, who seemed more enthusiastic about her roll.

"It is, and I get to play the lead on the 'Planet of Love.'"

"AWWW!" Porsha cooed, placing her hands over her heart as she responded to Meena's answer.

"I LOVE LOVE! It's what makes the world go round, right?"

"Yeah," Meena responded just as enthusiastically, "And believe me, I think I can get it down pretty quick. I read all sorts of Nora Roberts."

"GET OUT GIRL!" Porsha excitedly responded, "I HAVE EVERYTHING SHE'S EVER WRITTEN!"

And so, for the next few minutes, the two quick friends began listing off their favorite parts of their favorite books by their favorite author. At some point, Johnny, clearly uncomfortable with all the girly talk, awkwardly sauntered away, leaving the girls to gush over their shared interest.

But then…

"MR. MOON!" A heavily accented voice called down, causing Porsha to look up to see another, more portly male pig staring over the edge, "I THINK ROSITA IS HAVING, LIKE, A MAJOR FREAK OUT UP HEAR!"

"Oh dear," Porsha heard Buster mumble, her nervous gaze landing on the koala as he made his way toward the lift that would take him up to the platform.

"Hey Moon," Jimmy called in an almost snakish manner, his attention never leaving the snack table as he poured himself a cup of coffee, "you think the mommy pig can handle this?"

This did not sit well with Porsha, who despite not being able to see what was happening, felt an unexplained sense of empathy with the mother at the top of the tall structure.

"Absolutely, Sir," Buster cheerfully responded, though Porsha could tell that this optimism was for show, "trust me there is nothing Rosita cannot do!"

With that, Porsha watched as Buster stepped on the lift, the small platform quickly ascending to the top of the metal frame. And while she knew she should stay put, a part of her felt she needed to be up there with Buster. And so, mustering up some courage, Porsha, after excusing herself from her conversation with Meena, turned in the direction of the snack table.

"Daddy," she softly called, catching Jimmy's attention as he cast an inquisitive look to his daughter, "could I, maybe, go up? Y'know, and try the jumping thing?"

For a solid minute Jimmy stared at his daughter, his eyes narrowing as if he were trying to read her like a book, the hard gaze causing Porsha to grow slightly nervous at the almost invasive glare. But, to her relief, Jimmy shrugged his shoulders, his face relaxing as he turned back to the table.

"Sure baby, knock yourself out."

With that, Porsha made her way to the base of the frame, pressing the call button that returned the lift to the bottom of its tracks, the young wolf immediately stepping on, having to steady herself the moment the lift started up. But, within a matter of seconds, she was at the top of the frame, standing on the rather narrow platform, which was already occupied by Buster, Sasha, and the foreign pig, all three gathered around a female pig, who Porsha quickly surmised was Rosita, who Porsha immediately recognized from her wide, erratic eyes, her labored breath, and sweet dripping from her forehead that she was having a panic attack.

At that moment, Porsha knew she made the right choice.

"H-hey guys," she timidly called, causing all eyes to land on her, the wolf offering a small smile and little wave, "is everything okay?"

"Who's that?" Rosita immediately asked, eyeing the newcomer with what could only be described as aa combination of curiosity and wariness.

"OH!" Buster exclaimed, beckoning Porsha over, the young female doing so with surprisingly little hesitation, the teen kneeling beside Buster as he continued to introduce her.

"This is Mr. Crystal's daughter, Porsha. Porsha, this is Rosita, the star of our show."

"It's nice to meet you, ma'am," Porsha said with a smile, offering her hand to Rosita, who after taking a moment to confirm that the girl before her was indeed quite friendly, returned the gesture, offering a soft smile of her own.

"It's nice to meet you too, Porsha," Rosita responded, only for the pleasantries to be almost immediately interrupted by the groan inducing bellow of Mr. Crystal.

"MOON! YOU GONNA LET PORSHA JUMP OR WHAT?!"

Buster, after taking a moment to recover from the shock of the question, turned to Porsha, who offered a defeated shrug as she twiddled her fingers nervously.

"I told him I was coming up here to try."

With this in mind, and knowing that what Porsha told her father was obviously a lie, given that her attitude made her look like a pup who had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar, Buster called down to Jimmy.

"SIR, IT WOULD BE VERY DANGERO-!"

"MOON, COME ON, LET HER DO THE THING!"

And upon realizing that he needed to do whatever he could to keep Jimmy happy, Buster released a defeated sign, silently gesturing for Sasha to get Porsha in a harness.

"Okay," Sasha said as she finished getting Porsha set up, clicking the repelling line to her harness, gently grabbing what appeared to be a small tab on the front of the harness to show Porsha, "remember to release the safety catch before you jump, alright sweetie?"

"Okay," Porsha said, immediately taking a deep breath as she moved to the back of the catwalk, looking to get a running start. But before she did, she cast the others an almost giddy smile. And with what she said next, they couldn't help but smile in return.

"I've always wanted to do this."

And with that, she was off, her howls of laughter and mirth echoing through the building, some of the construction workers and Rosita's fellow castmates stopping in their actions to watch Porsha swing around above their heads, the teen wolf jumping from several fabricated planets and asteroids. And from the ground floor, despite the nerves forming from watching Porsha engage in an otherwise dangerous stunt, Suki couldn't help but silently laugh along as she watched the young girl have the time of her laugh. And in Suki's mind, she knew that Porsha needed this relief. And it must have been good relief, for without warning, the room was filled with loud, powerful bellow.

"THIS GIRL IS ON FIIIIIIIRE!"

And with that, Porsha, so wrapped up her fun, began belting out the lyrics to her favorite song, actually adding some midair acrobatics to her impromptu routine as she sang from the very bottom of her heart. By that point, Buster had decided to bring Rosita down to the ground floor, the mother pig immediately flocked by her husband, children and castmates, each immediately wishing to check on her well-being. But, to everyone's surprise, and slight worry, Rosita simply waved them away, walking with Buster to meet up with Porsha as she landed by the landing pit, her breathing heavy and her face beaming like a light.

"Well," Buster said with a laugh, "that is quite the set of pipes you have Porsha!"

"Yeah!" Jimmy loudly proclaimed, a large smile on his face as he walked towards them, "she's got the Crystal talent alright."

"Okay," Buster responded, immediately running to grab something off to the side of the pit where a prop table had been set up, procuring a round, cliche space helmet, quickly offering it to Rosita.

"Rosita, wanna try it with the helmet this time?"

But before Rosita could take the helmet…

"You know what Moon? I was JUST thinking," Jimmy suddenly interrupted, snatching the helmet out of Buster's hand before walking to his daughter, causing Porsha to shrink back as her father spoke to Buster, the koala immediately taking notice of the younger wolf's almost submissive posture whenever her father was near.

"The mommy pig's scared. She won't be able to do the part. But Porsha? She's young, and she's not afraid of anything," he finally said, practically shoving the helmet into his daughter's hands before turning back to Buster and Rosita, sending the mother pig a dismissive scowl as he continued to speak.

"Maybe Porsha should have the lead."

"WHAT?!"

The shout came from multiple people.

Buster and Rosita in shock and indignation.

Suki and the rest of the cast in surprise.

And Porsha in utter horror.

"But Sir," Moon quickly began to interject, gesturing to Rosita, "I specifically wrote the role for Rosita."

"Moon," Crystal interrupted, "walk with me."

With that, Jimmy and Buster walked away to one of the partially constructed sets, a planet with spinning rings around its equator. And as the two were discussing whatever it was Jimmy wanted to talk about, Porsha walked up to Rosita, the shorter woman being consoled by the foreign pig and, to Porsha's curiosity, a teenage porcupine in a red leather jacket.

"Are you okay, Miss Rosita?" Porsha asked, the wolf suddenly stalling in her actions as Rosita turned her attention to her, looking up to Porsha with eyes filled with hurt. It was at that moment that Porsha felt a deep pang in her heart, followed by a deep sense of paranoia, the idea that the mother pig now hated her festering in her mind. But, upon noticing the young wolf's dejected expression, Rosita almost immediately put on a strong face, as well as genuine, but still sad smile.

"I'm…fine sweetie," she responded, her half-hearted claim being reinforced by the foreign pig by her side, the portly male displaying a bombastic attitude that Porsha found quite contagious.

"JA! I mean Rosita is, like, this totally chill person! Like, so chill you could cool a drink with her!"

"Well, that's Gunter for ya," the porcupine added in, sending the male pig a teasing smile, "always exaggerating."

Upon saying this, the porcupine turned her attention to Porsha, her arms crossed as she sent the wolf a smile, a half-smile sure, but still genuine.

"I'm Ash, by the way," she added, only for her face to scrunch up in uncomfortable confusion as she just saw Porsha staring at her, the teen wolf now on one knee as she seemed to be examining Ash with great curiosity. Finally, after a solid minute, the tension got so high that Ash finally spoke up.

"Um, you okay?" She asked.

"You're kinda creeping me out with the stares."

Upon hearing this, Porsha quickly snapped herself out of her trance, the young canine letting out a nervous chuckle as her ears pinned to the back of her head.

"Sorry," she said in an anxious chuckle, "it's just, I've never really met a porcupine. You guys are kind of a rare find in Redshore."

Upon hearing this, Ash, eyes wide in surprise, couldn't help but feel somewhat impressed with Porsha's honesty, as well as the knowledge that there were hardly any other porcupines in the whole city. Unfortunately, before the teen porcupine could respond to Porsha's statement, the duo heard Rosita let out a sharp gasp, the two girls turning just in time to see Rosita's eyes widen in horror at something in front of her.

Turning in the direction of Rosita's gaze, Porsha's eyes widened to see that Jimmy had grabbed Buster by the back of his collared shirt, lifting him up so that the smaller male was face to face with Jimmy's imposing canines. In truth, at that point Porsha had seen her father hurt so many people, she just couldn't bear to see it again. So, thinking fast, she ran to the snack table, and with as much courage as she could muster, called out…

"DADDY! I'M HUNGRY FOR FRENCH TOAST!"

And to Porsha's relief, he was more slightly annoyed than angry as he dropped Buster back on is feet as he hollered to his loyal cat assistant.

"JERRY! CAN WE GET HER SOME FRENCH TOAST!"

And while Porsha was relieved to see Buster safe, the koala immediately being flocked by his colleagues, the teen wolf, out of force of habit, decided to holler a farewell to her father as he prepared to leave.

"BYE DADDY!"

But as the hulking form of Jimmy Crystal walked away without so much as a sideways glance, Porsha felt her heart twist.

"OKAY, LET'S GET PORSHA FITTED FOR HER COSTUME!" Suki called to the production team in her authoritative voice, only for her tone to soften considerably when she cupped the disheartened teen's cheeks.

"Come on sweetie," she cooed, gently cupping Porsha's cheek with her free hand, softly rubbing her thumb against the fur "let's get you ready."

"Okay," Porsha answered, preparing to follow Suki, only to stop briefly when she noticed Buster talking to Rosita on the metal stairs, the two surrounded by their friends and castmates. And so, without giving much thought, Porsha walked up to the group, who stopped in their obvious consolation of Rosita, who looked down at the wolf from her spot on the small metal staircase as the latter looked up at the mommy pig.

"I'm," she began, a hand tentatively reaching forward to clasp the smaller hoof of the female before her, the gesture she was somewhat relieved to be tenderly accepted, her words catching in her mouth as remorseful eyes met those filled with heartbreak.

"I'm sorry. I really am."

And to Porsha's surprise, Rosita offered a kind, but still sad smile, gently taking her paw in her other hoof, as she spoke to the young woman.

"It's okay sweetie…Go on and get ready."

With that, Porsha walked away, her gaze lingering on the others, who seemed to give her gazes and smiles of understanding. But, even then, her heart was heavy, her nerves on end, and her mind swimming over what was to be in store for her.