No one moved a muscle. No one said a word. Still stuck between the metal saplings, Norman couldn't see who had spoken. Whoever it was though must've been in charge. "Move aside," the stranger spoke again. It sounded closer this time. The griffin cub could hear the other animals moving away. Meanwhile, there was a set of footsteps coming closer. Then the stranger, now closer than before, remarked, "Hello youngster."

"Hi..." Norman whimpered. Frightened, he began struggling again. He still couldn't get out though. The cub cried and whimpered. "Please," he begged the stranger, "You gotta help me!" There was a moment of silence before the response came. "I can't kid," the stranger replied, "You got yourself wedged in there pretty tight. But you can get yourself out."

"Rooster, he needs help-" the lynx retorted. The stranger, named Rooster, interrupted though, "Chloe, relax! I wanna see him do it!" Returning his attention to the struggling griffin cub, he murmured, "Calm down kid. It's simple." Tears running down his face, Norman whined, "I can't do it! I'm stuck!" Humming softly, Rooster asked, "Since when did we mythical creatures start believing we can't do anything? We can do the impossible."

"We?" Norman questioned. There was no verbal response. Instead, a white paw reached forward through the metal saplings on the cub's right. To his amazement, the paw would briefly turn into wisps of black smoke. "A shadow dog..." the cub whispered. The paw went back behind the metal saplings as Rooster advised, "Try turning to the side and then go forward, never backward. Once you're free, do it again to get back into the cage. Got it?" Norman nodded his head so Rooster went on, "Alright. Go ahead."

Calming down, Norman did what Rooster said. Turning his body just a little bit to the side, he found himself free. Moving forward and not backward, he got himself out from between the metal saplings. Free, the griffin cub turned around and repeated the process. Back in the cage, he looked up at Rooster. Smiling, the shadow dog murmured, "Perfect."

"He did it!" Duke roared. The animals gathered around Norman, celebrating the cub's great achievement. Watching them in silence, Rooster could already see an idea blossoming in his head. Getting up to his paws, he figured he'd sleep on it for the night. Come morning, he should have the whole idea branched out. One thing he knew for sure though, the griffin cub was going to play a huge part. That was a given.

"You did good kiddo," the Canadian lynx Chloe purred, "Do you have a name we can call you by, besides kid?" His striped tail wagging back and forth excitedly, Norman squeaked, "Norman. My name is Norman."

"Well Norman," Daisy piped up, "Welcome to the Circus Gang."