[Thunder]

Aban was lost. Terribly lost. She had been at Aldrect and wanted to travel to Terrace Park, but along the way she somehow ended up in the Whisper Forest. It was getting dark, and her surroundings were eerily quiet. The thick mist of the forest didn't help the creepy mood either. Aban had traveled at night before, but something about this place gave her the chills.

The Treat Kuhna padded cautiously through the trees, flinching whenever a loud noise suddenly came out of nowhere. Twigs and leaves cracked and crumbled under her paws. Somewhere in the distance, an owl hooted. The only source of light was the moon, but that was mostly obscured by the fog. It was getting cold, and Aban really needed a place to hunker down for the night. Where, though? That was the question.

She was about to give up all hope of finding a good resting spot when she thought she saw a dim light up ahead. She squinted and thought she could make out a shape like a wagon. Should she go investigate? The feline thought it was worth a shot. Cautiously she approached the light, tails waving back and forth in grim anticipation.

[Thunder]

Eventually, Aban found the structure she spotted in a large clearing. It was indeed a wagon, full of random supplies with a cloth roof in old-fashioned style. Next to the wagon, though, was a huge, crimson tent with a faint light coming from inside, its colors reminiscent of fire. The Kuhna frowned at the odd spectacle. What was going on here? Was this some kind of gypsy camp? A circus? What were they doing in the middle of the Whisper Forest? Aban was nervous and curious at the same time.

She walked up to the tent silently and looked around. No one else was nearby. She couldn't hear anything coming from the tent, but the light suggested someone, or something, was inside. Perhaps she could take shelter inside. The little Kuhna took a deep breath, gathered up all her courage, and walked in, not knowing what to expect.

[Thunder]

From the outside, the tent was huge, but the inside seemed even larger. Aban found herself walking into a large, circular area with a ring of seats surrounding her. Unfortunately, there was no one to be seen, though at the very middle of the circle was a pit with a burning fire in it, the source of the light. The flickering flames cast dark shadows dance on the walls, giving the empty tent a strange atmosphere that was even creepier than that of the Whisper Forest outside. Aside from the mood, nothing seemed out of place in the big top. Shuddering, Aban stepped up to the fire for warmth and took a good look all around. "Hello?" she called out. "Anyone here?" But there was no reply.

[Thunder]

Straight across from where Aban was standing, past the fire, was a large, maroon curtain that seemed to cover up a sort of passage. The little Kuhna gazed at the curtain in apprehension. Perhaps she would find someone behind that curtain, even though no one responded to her call. Cautiously, she approached the great red cloth, which towered several feet above her head. She stuck out one paw and poked the curtain a bit, and when nothing bizarre happened, she pushed it back to reveal a dark, dark nothingness. Not even the light from the fire penetrated the shadows.

"Hello?" Aban called again, this time her voice cracking with fear. The shadows made no reply. What could be in there, in that darkness? She almost wanted to turn back and run. But the forest would only get chillier. She absolutely needed shelter.

Aban gathered up all her bravery and took one step. She felt solid ground. Taking a deep breath, she took another. All was silent.

One step.

One more.

And suddenly, the ground gave way. Aban shrieked as she toppled over into the chasm, and she fell down, down, down....

Down into the abyss.

[Thunder]

There were mutters in the darkness. They surrounded the Kuhna, sounding like the whispers of spirits from another world. Gradually, they grew louder and louder, and finally, Aban groggily opened her eyes. She let out a loud groan and tried to stand up, but a sharp pain ravaged her right front leg. "Oww!" she hissed, dropping back onto the ground. She vaguely remembered falling a great distance. Perhaps she had broken her leg from the impact.

Aban looked around her, still wincing from the pain in her leg. She was in a fairly large room filled with empty cages and lit only by torches. The torch lights, however, failed to brighten the very corners of the room, which remained shadowy and mysterious. She saw no one, yet she still heard whispering. Aban gulped and called out nervously. "Hello? Who's there? Please, can you help me? I broke my leg, and I can't get up." As soon as she spoke, the voices fell silent.

But something moved out from the shadows.

A horrible, rotting monster stepped out of the dark. Aban yelped in fright, trying to back away, but her injured leg impeded her movement. "N-no!" she stammered. "Stay back!"

"Hush. I'm not here to hurt you." Aban blinked. The monster could speak, and its voice sounded masculine and weary. It stepped closer to her, making her tense, but it let out a comforting "shhh" from its fang-filled mouth.

[Thunder]

"W-who are you?" Aban stammered, staring wide-eyed up at the creature.

"The name is Gartrie," the beast growled. "You say you've got a broken leg?" Aban nodded nervously. "All right. I'll see if we can get you fixed up. But a warning. You must keep a low profile around here. I don't know what would happen to you if the Ringmaster found you. Mortals like you aren't really supposed to be here."

"R-ringmaster?" Aban questioned. "M-mortals like me?" She was confused now, so, so confused. But Gartrie just sighed and shook his head.

"I'll answer your questions later. We need to fix that leg for now. I imagine that you'll need it if you want to get out of this dreaded place." He turned around to face the darkness and called out. "Mavra...Mavra! Where's Mavra, for Xai're's sake? Someone get Mavra!" The hushed voices whispered to each other again, and soon another shape was moving out of the shadows.

It was another Kuhna, and upon seeing a familiar species, Aban let out an enormous sigh of relief. Gatrie stepped back to let the Cotton Candy Kuhna peer at the wound. "Hi," she whispered, smiling at Aban. "I'm Mavra. Can you please tell me where you hurt?" Aban nodded and pointed just above her wrist. Mavra touched the wound lightly, making Aban wince slightly, but the pain did not last too long; the nurse was gentle with the leg.

After a few moments, Mavra stepped back. "It's not a serious fracture," she concluded, "but you still shouldn't push yourself. I will give you a cast to help the bones heal. Please, follow me. I'll take you somewhere safer than here." The Cotton Candy Kuhna then turned to Gartrie. "Would you please come too?"

"Certainly," Gartrie growled. With that, Mavra helped Aban slowly get up, and they proceeded towards one of the dark corners in the room. All around them, the whispers started up again, only to be silenced by a snarl from Gartrie.

[Thunder]

Apparently there was a passageway hidden in the shadows, but Aban could not see where they were going. Everything was shrouded by darkness. Yet Gartrie and Mavra kept advancing forward, as if they knew where to walk. They went forth slowly, making sure Aban's leg wasn't hurting as they proceeded.

"So where am I?" Aban whispered fearfully.

"You're in Le Cirque du Feu," Mavra replied. "We are a traveling circus, but for the time being we don't have any performances. So we've set up camp in the Whisper Forest."

"And who's the Ringmas-"

Before Aban could finish talking, Gartrie growled and swished his tail across Aban's muzzle, narrowing his eyes.

"Don't say his name out here," he muttered. "He might hear you. You never know where he might be, and he won't be pleased to see a mortal in his circus. We can talk about him once we get to our destination." Aban shut her mouth and nodded, scared.

Eventually, a maroon door appeared at the end of the dark hall. Gartrie went up and put his claws on the knob. He fumbled around with this for a moment, cursing his lack of opposable thumbs, but finally he managed to pry the door open. Mavra took Aban inside.

[Thunder]

The room turned out to be a small nurse's office. There was a filing cabinet in the corner for storing papers and a wooden desk and stool next to it. On one set of drawers, there were numerous bottles of medicine. A bed for patients was in another corner, half-hidden by some purple curtains drawn around it. Mavra handed Aban over to Gartrie, who gently helped lift Aban onto the bed. The nurse Kuhna then went to the drawers with all the medicine on it and opened up the bottommost drawer. She took out a roll of bandages, some cototn, and a splint before walking to the bed.

"Gartrie, may you please get that stool?" she asked. The Kirund pulled the wooden stool over, allowing Mavra to hop up onto it and be on the same level as the bed. She first applied the splints to Aban's leg, adding the cotton for padding. She then unwound some of the bandages and wrapped them around the splint, fixing it to the limb. One tiny claw popped out of her paw, and she sliced the bandage with it. She handed the roll to Gartrie to return it to the drawer.

"That should do the trick for now," she mewled. "Don't use the leg too much. The bones will take time to heal."

"Thanks," Aban sighed. She got up in a position that didn't strain the broken limb too much and glanced at Mavra and Gartrie. "So...erm...can I have more explanation on where I am now?"

Gartrie turned to Mavra, unsure of whether to tell Aban or not. But the nurse gave him an affirmative nod, and he sighed and began to talk.

[Thunder]

"Well to start," Gartrie sighed, "all of us are either spirits, ghosts, or monsters."

"W-wha?" Aban stammered, gazing at the Kirund in alarm.

"Hey, don't freak out so much. Most of us are pretty nice, especially that Jester fellow. But still, you should watch out for anyone who's close to the Ringmaster. There's this one Khimera, Xyzel, for instance. He has the power to suck the happiness out of anyone, and he's the Ringmaster's personal pet. So if you see a yellow Khimera with red stripes running around, keep away."

"Though to tell the truth," Marva whispered, "Xyzel can't help being what he is..." Gartrie shot the nurse a silencing glare.

"So if I had to call this place something else," Gartrie continued, "I'd say it's basically hell. Everyone in here, except for the Ringmaster, is basically here because they did nasty stuff. Me, I used to be a human, but I got caught up in drug dealing. I got killed by a rival gang and ended up here, forced to perform for audiences. Believe me, most of us don't want to do this stuff...it's really degrading, the way we're treated. And there's no way out of it that we know of. People have tried to escape before, or revolt against the Ringmaster...but all have failed. And they've been punished terribly."

"Punished?" Aban gasped. "How?" Gartrie sighed and shook his head.

"Well...better that you don't know, girl." He stopped and looked at her. "Say, we never got your name."

"I...I'm Aban," the Treat Kuhna said, giving Gartrie a small smile. "Erm...so there's no way out of here?"

"As far as we know, yeah," Gartrie replied, growling. "At least, not for us troupe members... You're a mortal, so maybe you can get out. We'd have to help you escape under the Ringmaster's nose, though."

"Well if it helps, I seemed to have fallen here down a hole," Aban gulped.

"That's not necessarily useful, unfortunately. Space works weirdly in this big top. Passages are appearing and disappearing all the time. Only certain rooms, like this one, are around consistently. We're all convinced it's part of the Ringmaster's magic, to help keep us from escaping."

"It's probably not a good idea to try to walk around too much anyways," Mavra added, gesturing at Aban's leg. The Treat Kuhna was now panicking inwardly. What if I'll never see the light of day again? she thought desperately. Mavra seemed to sense her terror, and the nurse touched one of her tail tips to one of Aban's comfortingly.

[Thunder]

"But who is the Ringmaster?" Aban asked insistently. Gartrie looked around the room, as if watching to see if the Ringmaster was listening, before leaning in and whispering to Aban.

"Well as his name implies, he's the leader of the circus. Probably the founder of it too, from what I know. Some say he's a shapeshifter. Others call him a demon. But most of the time he walks around as a Fuyuzakura Shinzo, or a man wearing flower patterned clothes with a top hat and baton. There's lots of rumors about him, but none of them have been confirmed. But every single time he's around, he somehow makes everyone feel...afraid. And it's no help that Xyzel sucks the happiness out of everyone and makes us depressed too."

"But if he's so terrible, why not overthrow him?" Aban questioned. Gartrie laughed loudly at this, making Aban flinch.

"Overthrow him? Believe me, others have tried. And we've never seen those individuals again. But we don't think they're dead since most of us technically can't die...so we think he takes them somewhere secret to torture them forever. Again, though, that's rum-"

Gartrie's eyes suddenly widened and he froze. There was the quiet sound of footsteps outside the door. Quickly, Gartrie grabbed Aban by the scruff, ignoring her hiss of pain as her leg hurt, and looked around for someplace to hide her. Mavra, also frightened, quickly located an empty drawer big enough to stuff a Kuhna in. Gartrie placed Aban in the drawer as gently as he could before closing it. Aban's heart was pounding. What's going on?!

[Thunder]

It was pitch black inside the drawer. Aban had no idea what was happening outside. She heard the door open. Whoever it was had walked inside the nurse's office.

"I heard we have a guest here...?" a voice was saying. It was a masculine, serpentine sound.

"The only guest here is Gartrie," Mavra's voice lied.

"Just Gartrie? Really?" The stranger sounded unconvinced. "And why is Gartrie here?"

"Had a slip, sir," Gartrie grumbled. "Broke my leg."

"Hm, really... I did hear that someone broke their leg...though I thought it was something much...smaller than Gartrie."

"Well you must have heard wrong, sir," Mavra said. She sounded nervous.

Then they stopped talking. The footsteps started up again; it seemed like the stranger was now walking around the room, perhaps trying to find Aban. Aban was quaking with fear inside the drawer. Surely this mysterious man was out to get her. She heard objects being pushed aside, rummaged through. Then there was a loud BANG BANG as something tapped on the drawer she was in. She held in a squeak of alarm and forced herself not to move. There was a brief silence, and then the voice started up again.

"Well then...I'll leave you two for now. But be warned...if I catch you two hiding something...you know what you'll get."

The door opened and shut. The footsteps were gone.

[Thunder]

Even though the stranger wasn't around anymore, Gartrie waited a minute or so before pulling Aban out of the drawer.

"Who was that?" Aban whispered, trembling in fear.

"The Ringmaster himself," Gartrie muttered, gently setting Aban back on the bed. The Treat Kuhna's fur stood up.

"W-wha?!" she exclaimed. "H-how does he know already? Did someone tell him?"

"He has his ways," Gartrie grunted. "Unfortunately, I'm sure he'll find you eventually. Knowing him, he'll probably force you to join the circus to keep you from getting out and telling anyone about what you see here." Aban fell silent in shock. Although she was a traveler and was accustomed to being away from home for months at a time, the thought that she might never see her dear mother, Viridian, and her friends ever again was distressing.

Suddenly Aban felt very tired. Not only had she nearly encountered the terrible Ringmaster, but it was also getting late. She had to sleep somewhere. She let out a loud yawn, and Gartrie and Mavra immediately recognized her need.

"Poor dear," Mavra sighed, smiling weakly at Aban. "You can sleep on this bed right here, if you wish."

"Will it be safe?" Aban whispered. "What if the Ringmaster comes back?"

"Don't worry," Mavra said soothingly. "I will stay here with you. This is my office, after all." She let out a little laugh and turned to Gartrie. "Gartrie, if you're not busy, it would be nice if you could accompany our guest as well. It might help the lie about you breaking your leg."

For a moment Gartrie looked like he was going to protest, but he sighed and nodded. "You're probably right," he muttered. "Maybe you should give me a fake cast too, just in case."

"Thanks, you two," Aban said, smiling slightly now. "Even if this place is for people who did bad things, you guys really don't seem bad at all." For the first time, Aban saw the Kirund grin.

"Well, the one good thing about this circus is that it does sort you out eventually," he sighed. "Although I'd like it to be in a less...painful way."

Mavra had gotten out a small blanket for Aban. Gartrie helped lay it over the Treat Kuhna, and he shut the curtain so Aban could rest with some privacy. Aban shut her eyes, hoping that she could get away from this circus soon. There has to be a way, she thought to herself. There has to.

With that thought, she drifted off into slumber.

[Thunder]

Aban woke up slowly. She yawned and was about to stretch her limbs when she suddenly remembered that she broke her leg and was in Le Cirque du Feu. She groggily stared at the curtains surrounding her bed, which had been pulled back by a little white paw; Mavra was smiling at her.

"Good morning," the nurse greeted cheerily. "Did you rest well?"

"Yeah," Aban replied. "I fell asleep right away, pretty much."

"Most people here would love a good night's rest," Mavra sighed. "Unfortunately, staying around here for a long time tends to make you have nightmares all the time..." She paused. "That is, if you're one of the beings here that still requires sleep. I know a few that don't."

Suddenly, Aban's stomach grumbled. She put a paw over it and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry Mavra," she laughed, "but I could use some food..."

"Food is a little scarce here, considering a good deal of our troupe don't need to eat either, but there's still some around. I myself still have to eat. I'll go down and see what I can get for you. Please stay here. It wouldn't be good if the Ringmaster saw you wandering around in the big top."

Aban nodded, and Mavra left the nurse's office to find something to eat. The Treat Kuhna looked around, noticing that Gartrie wasn't around. For a moment she was afraid he was taken away and punished for hiding her, but if that happened, Aban was sure that Mavra would've mentioned it. She hoped he successfully tricked the Ringmaster into thinking that he was the one with the broken leg.

[Thunder]

A few minutes later, Mavra returned with breakfast for the two of them. The foodstuffs were stored in a little bag slung around her shoulders. She took out Aban's share of the meal and delivered it to the bed by grasping each individual item in her mouth and jumping onto the stool so she could reach Aban.

"It must be awfully hard getting around this place," Aban mused, watching Mavra struggle with the height of the bed. "They didn't make this room more accessible for you?"

"Sadly, no," Mavra sighed, dropping some dried fruits she had placed on a napkin in front of Aban. "There used to be another nurse here- this was her room- but she's been long gone..." Aban didn't really want to ask where the first nurse vanished off to.

"Why would the Ringmaster want a nurse anyways?" Aban asked quietly. "Wouldn't he, uh, like it if people got hurt?"

"He likes to mentally harm people," Mavra replied, "but he does run a circus after all, and he needs the troupe to be physically fit in order for them to perform. Some have thought of purposely injuring themselves as a way of rebelling against him...but one time that happened, and he forced me to fix that creature up." The nurse shuddered at the memory, and Aban felt pity for her.

"Wouldn't you like to get out too?" Aban asked.

"Oh, it would be nice...but as long as there's the chance that anyone might be injured here, I'm staying. Sometimes the Ringmaster still likes to inflict physical wounds on the troupe members... I need to help people recover from that abuse as well." She let out a heavy sigh. Aban was impressed. Mavra had a big heart, and she had to be very brave to endure staying at the circus.

[Thunder]

Aban gazed down at her breakfast. It was small, but healthy. Along with the dried fruits, there were some little sugar cubes, perfect for a sugar-eating Kuhna like her. There was also a cardboard milk carton and a plastic saucer. Mavra had been kind enough to puncture the top of the carton with her claws (she couldn't user her paws to pry apart the spout the humans did, after all) and pour the milk into the saucer, from which Aban could easily lap the liquid up.

"Where's Gartrie?" Aban asked after biting into a delicious dried apple slice.

"He's at a meeting the Ringmaster called this morning," Mavra replied. "They need to plan their next show. It won't be for a while, but..." The nurse fell silent.

"But what?"

"I...I just had a thought." Mavra turned to Aban and blinked. "Because all the performers have to go out to the performance area of the big top during a show, you'll have an exit to escape from if you go there too..." Aban's heart leaped.

"You mean I can escape?" she whispered excitedly. "But then why did Gartrie say no one has ever fled before? And don't the passages in here change all the time or something?"

"Well, no one's dared to escape during a performance because that would make the Ringmaster very angry, and we're sure he has some kind of magic that will keep us from getting out. And in preparation for a show, there's always a certain hallway that appears for the performers to reach the stage. Everyone knows where it is, but it only shows up before shows, never any other time. Xyzel usually ends up guarding that hallway, when it's there. But still... Aban, if you're brave enough, I'm sure you can find some people to help you get out."

Aban stopped eating to consider the escape. It would definitely be dangerous. Yet a performance was probably the only chance she'd have to flee. And she'd have to get it right the first time too, for she was certain that if she failed to escape the first time, the Ringmaster would keep an extra sharp eye on her and thwart any later plans.

"So does this mean I'll have to show the Ringmaster I can perform?" Aban asked.

"It would be better if you don't reveal yourself to him at all. His practice sessions are brutal."

"But if I keep myself hidden and he finds me, won't you and Gartrie get punished badly? I...I wouldn't want that to happen."

Mavra frowned. "I appreciate your concern, but the Ringmaster is likely to punish us either way. Yet there may be an advantage to your idea. He might not punish you as severely than if we kept you hidden. But how will you perform with a broken limb?"

"Let's just say I'm very good at juggling," Aban said, grinning. Mavra couldn't help but smile back.