TatlTails
They Can't Order Me To Stop Dreaming
Unfortunately for almost everyone involved, this situation wasn't new.
For as long as circuses have existed, magical beings have been forced to perform in them. The practice of enslaving these beings just for entertainment was close to dying out (thank the Heavens), but there were still plenty of shady troupes traveling around with far too many injustices under their tents. One of which had fallen under Madi's radar.
The place was awful. Stuffed with dozens of witches and creatures, horrible living conditions, and even worse treatment from the staff. She was frankly surprised it hadn't been shut down by humans yet, much less the likes of her. But all of that was about to change.
She and Dagger had snuck in at the end of a show, misdirection spells dripping off of the both of them to help divert attention. Dagger had donned his "human disguise" of an enchanted hat just for good measure, and unless someone was highly adept with magic, the two would just seem like a pair of nobody teenagers not worth anyone's attention. All they really had to do was just wait at the back of the bleachers until all of the hubbub died down, cast a couple silencing spells, and get to work.
Dagger was the scout, as always. He handed off his hat to Madi, revealing his large, twitchy cat ears, and transformed in a moment's time into an almost-normal-looking housecat. The fur color was a bit redder than most cats, but he blended in just fine in a circus environment, and he was small enough to get through narrow spaces. That was his first mission, to get into the "living quarters" of the magic beings and clear the way for the rest of the rescue team. Madi wasn't the only other one on the mission, but she was the scout's "mistress" so she was the only one who bothered to go inside with him.
But she couldn't sneak through narrow tent flaps and prison bars, so off he went. It was laughably easy to get into the "backstage" area of the circus, and only a bit more difficult to transform out of cat form and take out the first few humans in the area. Usually Madi discouraged murder, but these bastards deserved it. Plus a slice to the throat was so much quicker and quieter than trying to knock them out.
As soon as he got within sight of some magical creatures, he just gave them a pointed look, held a finger to his lips, and continued his work on the guards.
It was several more minutes before he'd "scouted" the whole area, and gave Madi the signal to send everyone else in. He frankly just hoped that either no one would mind his work, or that they had a necromancer on the team. In the moments between the signal and the inevitable rush of rescuing, he decided to start unlocking the nearest cage, and let the creatures inside know "We're on your side. Prepare to get the fuck out of here."
For as long as circuses have existed, magical beings have been forced to perform in them. The practice of enslaving these beings just for entertainment was close to dying out (thank the Heavens), but there were still plenty of shady troupes traveling around with far too many injustices under their tents. One of which had fallen under Madi's radar.
The place was awful. Stuffed with dozens of witches and creatures, horrible living conditions, and even worse treatment from the staff. She was frankly surprised it hadn't been shut down by humans yet, much less the likes of her. But all of that was about to change.
She and Dagger had snuck in at the end of a show, misdirection spells dripping off of the both of them to help divert attention. Dagger had donned his "human disguise" of an enchanted hat just for good measure, and unless someone was highly adept with magic, the two would just seem like a pair of nobody teenagers not worth anyone's attention. All they really had to do was just wait at the back of the bleachers until all of the hubbub died down, cast a couple silencing spells, and get to work.
Dagger was the scout, as always. He handed off his hat to Madi, revealing his large, twitchy cat ears, and transformed in a moment's time into an almost-normal-looking housecat. The fur color was a bit redder than most cats, but he blended in just fine in a circus environment, and he was small enough to get through narrow spaces. That was his first mission, to get into the "living quarters" of the magic beings and clear the way for the rest of the rescue team. Madi wasn't the only other one on the mission, but she was the scout's "mistress" so she was the only one who bothered to go inside with him.
But she couldn't sneak through narrow tent flaps and prison bars, so off he went. It was laughably easy to get into the "backstage" area of the circus, and only a bit more difficult to transform out of cat form and take out the first few humans in the area. Usually Madi discouraged murder, but these bastards deserved it. Plus a slice to the throat was so much quicker and quieter than trying to knock them out.
As soon as he got within sight of some magical creatures, he just gave them a pointed look, held a finger to his lips, and continued his work on the guards.
It was several more minutes before he'd "scouted" the whole area, and gave Madi the signal to send everyone else in. He frankly just hoped that either no one would mind his work, or that they had a necromancer on the team. In the moments between the signal and the inevitable rush of rescuing, he decided to start unlocking the nearest cage, and let the creatures inside know "We're on your side. Prepare to get the fuck out of here."