Tony Middleton's Story

The Owner

A sigh escaped Jack's lips as he stared at the mingling freaks. The zoo opened in about 2 hours. Which meant they got one more hour to mingle, and then an hour to practice what they would be performing today. That was, if they decided not to just sit there and make him look bad. He ran a hand through his short hair, giving all the freaks that looked at him a glare before walking off to the Staff Building. It wasn't really a building, more an oversized trailer. There was a sign on the door that announced this area was open only to Staff Members. He pushed open the door and the burst of cool air conditioner hit him. There was only one man in here. The new one, Tony. He looked over at him.

"Zoo opens soon. Your the one meeting the visitors today. Try to be... cheerful. We're only here for another day and then we're off to Vancouver." He spoke firmly, as if to say he didn't want any complaints back. He then gave somewhat of a nod and opened the door to his cluttered office. Nobody was ever to enter but him, so he didn't bother cleaning it. He looked at all the walls, years worth of pamphlets inviting people to the zoo tacked on the walls. He gave them all a quick glance, before looking at his watch.

20 more minutes until he had to round those freaks into their cages.
---
Dawn

Dawn sat on a bench outside of her cage, sighing. The small time they allowed them to be out and about wasn't that fun. At least they were allowed to stretch their legs out. Which reminded her... She stood, her wings sticking straight out on both side. She looked around at everybody else. Most were collected in small groups, talking. They hadn't been here long enough. They still had some kind of spirit in them. Sighing, she beat her wings. Back and forth, back and forth. Until her feet lifted off the ground. And then, she was way above the others, flying the perimeter of the zoo and then back again. She couldn't go farther then the fence, or they would go get her. And then they would punish her. She only made that mistake once.

She did this for at least 20 minutes, fly around. She liked the feeling of wind through her hair, the feeling of being free for just a small period of time. That was, until somebody shouted at her to stop going too high, and she was brought back to Earth. Literally.

Tony scanned the crowd, looking for the tiger girl. 'Tiger Lily,' He mentally corrected himself, having learned the girl's stage name from Jack. He spotted her after a while. She appeared to be wandering around, doing not much at all, so Tony decided to give it a try. He was muttering his escape plan to him over and over again "When-if she attacks, roll to the side, run away" He ran his fingers through his hair, and began his rehearsed conversation.

"Hey, baby, you look-,"

Lily let out a yawn, border-lining a roar, as she casually walked out of her cage. She weaved though the mass of freaks and staff that were in her way. "Where are Lillith and Ara?" She eventually spotted them, but something way less exciting was standing in her way. Tony Middleton, ugh.

"Hey, baby, you look-," His pathetic, stuttering voice began, trying to seduce her. She cut him off with a snarl and a flex of her claws. "What a loser," She thought, grinning a little bit, just to show him her fangs.

Dawn

Dawn looked down, and couldn't help but notice the few people that looked at her. Ridley. She liked her, and she was a friend. Sort of. And then there was Lilith and Ara. They were alright, but she had to say that Lilith was a bit more her style. Sighing as she saw nearly everybody returning to their cage, she tucked her wings in and plummeted to the ground, managing to land on the balls of her feet. It wasn't too hard, she did it everyday. She walked over to her cage, sliding in and allowing the door to close behind her.

Her cage was actually a bit bigger then most. After all, they had to give her room to show off her flying skills. A small frown set on her face, she flew up so she could sit in a fake branch on a fake tree. It was actually quite annoying how this was built exactly like a normal cage at a zoo, with a painting of a landscape and a few trees here and there. From here, the audience wouldn't be able to see her too well. The only problem was she knew the Owner would come around at some point and make her come down.

Dawn looked out the glass and could see Salem. His cage was right across from her own. Giving a small wave and an even smaller smile, she lay down in the fork of the tree. It was going to be one long day at the zoo.
---
The Owner

"Come on, you freaks! Get back in your cages!" Jack yelled out, looking around at the array of cages. Most of them had already climbed in, but there were a few stragglers hanging around. He saw that tiger girl talking to Tony. Rolling his eyes, he caught the girl's eye and she gave Tony one last growl before returning to her cage. Better. Walking over to Tony, he handed the boy a folder.

"Your the lucky fellow giving out ticket's today. The tickets are in here, and so is the list of prices. Adults are five dollars, kids are three. Not a dime less, okay?" He didn't bother waiting for an answer. He walked around, giving a look into every cage. Most of them gave him a snarl or a hiss, but he just glared back and continued on his way. After making sure all the cage doors were locked from the outside, he stalked back to his office, taking a seat in the chair and staring out the tiny window. Let the day begin.