by Sunlitsecrets » Tue Mar 13, 2018 6:56 am
"Welcome, one and all, to the Maestro's Magnificent Traveling Circus!"
The human was giving the announcement again - he was standing in he center of the tent's huge circle and shouting at the other twolegs sitting around the edge. Dust had found this strange at first, but by now? Well, it was just routine.
. "Hey, Dusty!" Orion said, padding up from behind his friend. The dark tabby sat down, tail curling around his paws. "Quentin reckons he's found the nicest humans in the crowd this time 'round. Beaver wants nothing ta do with them, but hey! Means more attention for the rest of us, am I right?"
. Dust turned to look at the smaller cat, a smile already forming on his face. "Sure, Ori, sure. Speaking of Quentin, though... where is he?"
. Orion pointed one paw towards the other end of the tent. "That a-ways." Dust looked, and sure enough, there was the youngest of the four, purring in the lap of a young human. She was petting his fur as the show continued on.
. "Well that looks good to me! Come on, let's go get some food out of the humans," Dust said. It was a young one, the young ones always gave them food. After so many years doing this, he had it down to a science.
----
A short time after the show had ended and most of the circus animals were back in the ship that was used to travel from town to town, the strays snuck below deck, into the lowest floor where the performance animals resided. The horses, seals, two tigers... and above all, the mighty lion.
. "Say hey there, lads! How's it all going?" Dust said as he leaped down from the rafters, the other three jumping down as well. This was another tradition - every night, Dust and the others would stop by for a group meeting. A kind of council, as it were.
. The eldest horse whinnied and stomped his hooves. "Not good. The new one is still here, and it seems like he's getting closer to a deal every day. And if something really happens... I dread the change that might come."
. No one had a name for the new human, and yet no matter how many things they called him, everyone knew who it was. Beaver hissed to Dust's left. "If he dares try to do anything tricky, I'll claw his face off!"
. "You sure that's the best thing to be doing?" The great lion, the king of them all, spoke quietly from the back of the room. Even though he was barely audible, everyone listened, silent as they waited to hear what he had to say. "Listen, if we show any anger towards the new one, we don't know what he will do to us in return. Why not wait, watch, and listen? That's exactly the kind of thing the street cats could do. We're stuck down here. You four aren't."
. Quentin gasped in horror. "You mean - spy - spy on them?" Ah, that was Quentin. Always nervous.
. "Well, come on! Don't you want to know what's going on?" Dust asked, bumping his friend's shoulder teasingly.
. "Find out! Find out! Arf! Arf!" the seals chorused.
. Dust merely ignored the youngest cat's look of terror. He smirked, a false show of confidence, and said, "Don't you worry, elder lion. We'll be back 'afore you can realize we're gone."
