Dick Grayson had been born into the circus.

His parents were the famous Flying Graysons, known for their daring acrobatics acts in Haley's Circus. They were often considered the circus' greatest act. So, when Dick was born, it wasn't long before he started being trained as well.

And he loved it. He loved the feeling of soaring through the air, knowing that one of his parents was waiting on the other side to catch his hands in theirs, flipping off bars, showing off how flexible he was, and how well he could perform gymnastic feats that amazed the audience. He had picked up his training so fast that at the young age of eight, he was already allowed to perform in shows.

But there was one downside of being born into a circus. He was a bit... Well, lonely. Sure he had his parents, he had the other performers, and he had Zitka (the circus' elephant), but you didn't exactly find a lot of other kids his age working at all, let alone in a circus. He had lots of adults to take care of him, but not any kids to be friends with..

Except one. There was one kid, the adopted child of the owner, who spent most days around the tents. They were always bouncing around the circus grounds, talking to different performers, trying to help out. You could tell they weren't exactly made to be part of a circus, and most times that had to be politely shooed away. He knew that they genuinely wanted to help out around the circus, they just.. Weren't very good at it. They didn't know HOW to help, and no one was trying to teach them...

Dick liked them anyway, though. They were the only other kid his age that he knew, and he enjoyed playing with them when he wasn't busy practicing for new acts. He thought it was funny just how amazed they looked whenever he did anything remotely acrobatic, since even a simple back flip was enough to make their eyes sparkle. Plus they brought him all kinds of cool toys from their own collection, and they were why his Zitka plush now had all kinds of toy friends. They were his best—and only—friend.