Frostwing gazed down at the tiny, yellow lights. They blinked up at her, teasing her, daring her to fly down and confront the humans. The mocking lights, however, only made her angrier. She knew what she was going to do, and nothing could stop her from doing so.

    She extended her wings to their full length, letting the wind carry her closer to the city. As she got closer, she could see tiny, powered contraptions running along black pathways in between each of the buildings. The tiny, colorful things had glowing eyes that lit up their field of vision; and every once in a while, a human would step out of it for a short period of time before getting back in. She didn't understand the ways of humans, she just knew that they were evil and selfish.

    She turned her pale green gaze away from the black roads and instead focused on finding the animal prison. Fortunately, these were very easy to find, even in the heavily polluted brown air. The prisons were frequently located in a massive blob of green, and in these green spaces were a countless number of fences, buildings, and tiny paths on which the humans walked on. And soon enough, she found what she was looking for: a relatively small prison placed in between some smaller human nests. This will be easy. I sneak into the prison, unlock the cages with my claw, and get out. Simple. So simple in fact that practically nothing could go wrong.

    She glided silently down towards the dark prison, it's entirety encased in black shadows. Large and bushy trees swayed from side to side within the many sections, and once in a while, a growl or whinny would resound from beneath the trees. She flew closer, her bare eagle front talons buried in her warm brown and white feathers. The breeze was cold tonight, and it stung her eyes. Yet, the captives didn't have anything to protect themselves from the cold as far as she knew. It was almost time for the various creatures to start preparing for winter, and in griffin tradition, this a time for meeting with family and friends before the Great Migration. This year, there would be no Great Migration, but she didn't want to deny the humans’ prisoners the chance to see their family.

    Frostwing evened out her wings once she was just barely outside of the main gate, her wingtips brushing the silver metal. Would humans be smart enough to set guards to watch over their prisoners? I highly doubt that such a race would even care to do so. They probably think that they and their puny brains are far more superior to every other species…. But, I guess that it would probably safe to just assume that they set guards.

    After skimming the outside of the cruel place, Frostwing declared that it was safe to finally move in. She hadn't spotted a single human aside from the ones in the colorful transportation devices. And, the only sounds were of those from caged animals. I'm lucky that humans are so naive. They wouldn't expect anything to harm their precious cells.

    Tilting her wings up, which were now beginning to grow weary of the constant flight, she rose higher into the air, her powerful muscles pulling her towards the top of the fence. Then, she dove downwards until she landed on the hard, white stone pathway. Her padded back snow leopard feet touched the ground first, followed by her front eagle talons, causing a perfectly quiet landing.

    Frostwing couldn't help but feel a twinge of excitement. She was finally setting the hostages free! This had been her goal for quite some time, and she was actually achieving it. I didn't think that was a thing anymore, happiness. Nor did I think that I would actually do something with helpful benefits. Filled with a newfound energy, she bent low to the ground and hurried as quietly as possible towards the nearest cage.

    As she peered through the very tight mesh, she recognized a small group of Fennekare, small, fox-like creatures with large ears, a thin tail, and tiny bat wings. They couldn't fly however, and instead preffered to run on the open plains and tunnel into burrows underground. They were also rather effective predators, preying upon rabbits and other small rodents.

    Frostwing wasted no time as she ripped her incredibly sharp, black claws through the surprisingly thin mesh. She was shocked at first at how easily she had destroyed the barrier, but then she realized that the humans must have thought that the Fennekare weren't strong enough to break through. But they never suspected a griffin of all things to break into their own prison and set all of their captives free. She smirked at the thought.

    The Fennekare within the now open cage looked up at her sleepily, some of them glaring because she had awoken them. But, the hostility didn't last long. The small creatures realized that they were free and, with a few happy barks and yips, zoomed out of the hole and into the darkness. They'll find their own way out. She reassured herself as she moved on to the next cage.

    Her target wasn't far from the first, as it was only a couple wing lengths away. She couldn't waste any time at all now, for the red of the sun, she noticed, was just starting to show in the darkness of night. Morning brings humans. Humans bring death… I need to hurry.

    In the next cells that she broke into were smaller creatures of all sorts, each and every one of them rushing out to freedom once she released them. But, as she progressed, she found that the meshes that encased captives became harder and harder to tear apart with her claws. And soon enough, she was struggling to pull apart thick pieces of metal. Maybe it's finally time to try and find a lock. Before, there was no need, but now, I'm not so sure.

    She flew upwards along one of the last few creatures’ cages, searching for a lock. Then, she spotted it. The tiny thing was towards the back of the cell in a place where the young Dire Bear wouldn't be able to find it. She rushed towards it, noticing for the first time that the small cub was smiling up at her, its eye alight with joy and hope. It was counting on her to be free once more. I won't let you down. I promise.

    Once she landed next to the lock, she noticed the sky was now a bright orange with red and purples fading into dark, starry blue behind her. The morning was closer now, closer than she would have thought. I still have two more to free… I can do this. She took the small lock in her talon and reached her long claw into the keyhole, twisting and turning her claw until she heard a tiny click!

    She flung the lock behind her and opened the tiny box that it had been protecting, squashing down the small red button inside of it. There was a very quiet beeping sound before the main door to the enclosure screeched open on tired gears.

    With a delighted look on its face, the Dire Bear cub dashed out into the open, running into the pandemonium that was enfolding with all of the various released creatures. Some of the captives that she had set free earlier had already escaped the prison altogether, but many hadn't found the way yet. So, all over the areas where humans were supposed to walk were animals of many species screaming and aimlessly running amok.

    No time for distractions. They'll escape eventually. Just focus on the two species that have yet to be set free. She launched herself back into the air, quickly searching for her next targets. She did the same for the following cages, finding the multiple locks, picking them, and opening the heavy gates to rescue whatever creature was inside. In one of the enclosures was a rather large pack of wolfdea, each one letting out long howls of joy. But, for the final cage, no animal came out. Was there nothing in it? Maybe nobody was held captive in this one.

    But, she was wrong. As she flew down to investigate, a rumbling groan echoed from a cave at the far back. What is in there? She flew closer, cautiously keeping an eye on the exit in case it was a dangerous creature. She was only halfway correct though. From the mouth of the cave emerged a very old manticore. She could see its bones outlined under its thin, golden lion pelt. It's skinny legs shook when it took a step forward, and when its goatish-human face saw her, it didn't do much except talk.

    The manticore tucked its dark red dragon wings tighter to its back and casted her a wary smile. “You're a brave one, young griffin.” He rumbled, his sentence broken by a weak cough. Frostwing wanted to help him, but she had to admit that she was frozen to the spot, halfway in fear, halfway in wonder. It wasn't everyday that you got to see a Manticore, a friendly even less so. I wonder how the humans got their greedy hands on a creature like this. Maybe when he got caught, he was too frail to fight back.

    The Manticore dipped its head to her, his eyes glinting, “i've always wondered when the one would come…” the one? He coughed and drew in a raspy breath, “the one with a heart of fire.”

    Frostwing was entirely dumbfounded, and she knew that she couldn't waste anymore time listening to the Manticore. He didn't know what he was talking about, right? Maybe he was confusing her for somebody else. I don't have a heart of fire certainly. And plus, I still have to escape as well; the sky is already fully alight! He must've recognized the look of panic on her face, because the great beast shook out his shaggy coat, spread his wings, and began to lift into the sky. Frostwing never have thought that he could fly before she saw it with her own eyes. But, it didn't leave.

    The manticore turned around and nodded his head to someplace on the ground that Frostwing couldn't see. “Somebody needs you. Go take a look.” He said simply before continuing his flight away from the prison. Frostwing was confused even more so, but she abided anyway, soaring to the general area he had indicated.

   Then suddenly, a very loud yelp tore through the air, making her fur stand on end. Humans. She could already spot their disgusting furry heads along the winding white paths. They were streaming into the prison like bees, their postures rigid and faces panicked. But, almost all of the animals had escaped, all except for one.

    Along the outermost wall was a dark grey, if not black, woldea. It's already incredible fluffy fur was spiked out to twice its size, and its large, tufted ears were pinned back against its head. The Wolfdae's snow white face was stricken with fear, but also excitement. Frostwing didn't understand how it was possible.

    However, the most interesting thing about this particular wolfdea was that it was missing its front, left leg. Yet, it stood in almost the exact same way a regular wolfea would stand. Along its pelt were also numerous scars that spanned its entire body. I wonder what happened to that poor wolfdea; although, I have a pretty good guess as to what went down.

    As she watched, the humans zeroed in on the last remaining captive, wary of the Wolfdea's snapping jaws. It's jowls were drawn back to reveal large, menacing white teeth that looked to be as sharp as daggers. If any of the humans got bit by the defending wolfdea, they would most likely fall very ill, for Wolfdeas were notorious for having dangerous levels of bacteria living in their saliva.

    The captors cautiously approached it, and Frostwing couldn't help but notice that they were carrying weapons. That was when she decided that it was about time that she help the surrounded animal. I can't let this one Wolfdea be jailed while all the other animals live on in freedom.

    So, gathering her courage once more, Frostwing flew until she had a clear path to ambush the humans. Then, with one last beat of her wings, she tucked them to her side, her plan already too successful to turn back.