The next morning, I awoke to a plate of three bread rolls and butter set in front of me. My first inclination was that they were from TomCat as an apology; however, when I asked Cheetah if this was true, he denied it.
"No... they're from me. I felt bad that you were so upset last night," Cheetah stated with a smile. I was taken aback; Cheetah only ever gives me food just to feed me and it's always leftovers. These were freshly baked rolls... as a gift.
"...thanks," I said, still stunned by his act of kindness. Cheetah dismissed my gratitude with a wave of his hand.
"No need. You were upset and the master didn't make things any better. You enjoy those rolls now," he explained. I managed a smile and dug into the fluffy bread without hesitation. They were still warm and their crusts' had just the right amount of crunch. Oh! It was delicious! I was actually upset when I had eaten my last roll and there were no more; I would've loved to have more, but I knew that if I asked then that would've been too much. So, hiding my disappointment that there was no more, I pushed the plate closer to Cheetah and he took it and set it down beside his chair.
"Where is TomCat? He usually says good morning," I wondered quietly. Cheetah thought for a moment.
"He's somewhere... I'm not sure, I've been here most of the morning. I heard from the other freaks, though, that he's been in a real pissy mood," he stated after a moment of thought. I felt guilty; I knew it was undoubtedly my fault that my best friend was in such a bad mood and now everyone else had to deal with that. Still, I remained quiet about my thoughts.
"Has he said anything to you?" I wondered.
"No. Like I said, I've been here all morning. I'm waiting until he does, though, cause I know he'll say something to laugh about later," Cheetah managed a chuckle but I didn't reciprocate his humour. I learned the hard way last night that when Tom is angry, he had a hard time keeping inner thoughts to himself and some of those thoughts are very hurtful.
I hoped he wouldn't show up to talk to Cheetah later...
...
My wish must've come true, for TomCat never once made an appearance at my cage nor did he make an appearance for the show (that I was not allowed to be in because of the previous night). I don't know all the details but Cheetah told me that everyone was panicked because of his absence and eventually FatCat was driven to make an announcement that the show was cancelled due to a "lack of proper equipment,". Of course, the audience left disappointed and spent the last few hours walking around some more while a few performers wandered the circus (and eventually the town) in search of the ringmaster.
To my utter surprise, Cheetah convinced the others that I should be let free to search for him since I'm small, quick, and can manoeuvre through crowds with ease while others struggle. Naturally, the other artists were reluctant to allow me to roam free but Cheetah, confident in my obedience, convinced them otherwise and I was allowed to roam.
This circus was definitely hard to search with crowds of people gathered around vendors and carnival games. Which is why I avoided them all by travelling behind and between the tents, watching the crowds from the shadows as if I were a predator hunting prey. I was able to remain inconspicuous this way but unfortunately, I still couldn't find our tall ringmaster.
After the circus closed and all the guests went back to their homes, all of the remaining performers who weren't watching over the circus joined in to help us search the grounds. Alas, no sign of him came up even if we were screaming his name.
After the clocks struck midnight, everyone had grown frantic, including me...
"Demon! Do you see anything up there?!" BirdCat yelled from the bottom of the Big Top as I, perched perfectly on the flagpole on top of the tent, gazing out at the dark countryside that stretched for miles.
"No! How 'bout you!?" I answered, looking down at the small man.
"Negative!" he answered... That sums up everybody else's words at this point. I thought to myself, sighing in defeat and sliding down the tent. I landed on the floor with a painful grunt and snuck off towards the edge of the forest. I wasn't sure if anyone had searched here yet, but I didn't let that hold me back from exploring a bit... just in case.
"TomCat!" I called into the trees, my voice was swallowed up into the canopy of leaves above me and I wasn't used to the unfamiliar sensation. The silence that followed was only broken a few times by an animal call or a group of insects singing from unknown places. There was no sign of Tom.
"TomCat!!" I yelled louder and nearly stumbled over a fallen tree. I stopped after I composed myself and looked around at the distant darkness ahead of me. It seemed so empty and vast, yet there were miles upon miles of strange wonders to be seen. I was staring into a gateway to another world and something was pulling me in to explore it.
I let my feet carry me deeper while my eyes took in every little detail they could in the dark and my ears listened closely to the sounds of the woods. I had grown accustomed to loud voices, booming music and thunderous applause that practically deafened me but, as unfamiliar as the sounds of the woods were, I found solace here. I found comfort in the chirping of insects and the rustle of leaves.
I took another step... and another... and another, until eventually, I was so deep into the woods the lights from the carnival were nothing but a blur in the distance and the only light I had was the moonlight, which barely peeked through the trees.
The pull of the mysterious gateway continued to carry me and I lost all awareness of how far I was going. There was shelter here in the open and I felt safe. The leaves and sticks beneath my feet woke my numbed senses to this new world and I felt alive. This is where I belong. I thought with a smile. At that moment, something shiny flickered in my field of vision and drew my curiosity. I followed the small light that shone through the leaves like a small torch.
When I was closer, I realised the source of flickering light was the moon reflecting off of a hanging piece of glass. The sight intrigued me, as I had never seen such a decoration before. It was curious that anyone would think to hang a broken shard of glass from a tree. So why was it here? I reached up and touched it, watching as the shard danced from my disturbance and the moonlight sparkled off of its jagged edges.
The longer I stood there in the forest, the longer I began to feel watched. The hairs on the back of my neck stood on end and I had to turn my gaze from the glass to look around for anyone or anything who was watching me. The feeling made me uncomfortable and I was almost grateful when one of the tamers called my name to summon me back to the circus.
I immediately ran back towards the circus. I loved the feeling the woods gave me... but whoever or whatever was watching me from the darkness that I couldn't see gave me a horrible feeling of dread. I ran all the way to the edge of the woods, where BeastCat stood with her back turned; she wasn't expecting me to appear behind her, so when she finally heard me and turned, she jumped in surprise.
"What were you doing in the woods!?" she interrogated harshly.
"Looking for TomCat," I answered simply, I dared not tell her about the hanging glass shard.
"And then we'll be looking for you as well! Don't go into the woods again!" the tamer scolded and gestured for me to follow her before I could apologise. I obeyed, not wanting to upset the woman who already had a strong dislike towards me. She could easily ruin my whole life if she wanted and she wouldn't regret a thing; I'd rather not have that. If there was anything scarier than TomCat when he's angry, it's BeastCat when she's out for revenge.
"FatCat instructed us all to give up for the night and continue in the morning. If he doesn't show up before the circus starts, we'll have to contact the police," The woman stated firmly. I frowned as the thought of my life-long friend being missing began to worry me. Anything could happen to him and we would never know. I hated that thought.
"Do I have to go back into the cage?" I wondered, changing the subject so I could get my mind off of my missing companion. BeastCat turned to me as if I had said something absolutely insane.
"Uh... duh," she answered bluntly. My heart dropped and, without another word from either of us, BeastCat led me to my cage and locked me in. I knew my freedom was over once the locks clicked into place. I only set myself free whenever TomCat was around because he knew and I enjoyed his company. However, he was no longer here, so I had to wait out my long night alone and filled with worry for my friend.