"Five minutes!"  The manager said as he passed by a nervous artic fox.  The fox was slim, with bright white fur except for the black fur that wrapped around his legs like socks and his paws like gloves.  His headfur was short and white with black tips, not affected as he ran a paw through it.  His ears twitched as he heard the house of the auditorium fill up, the black tips flicking left and right to catch all the sound.  His right ear was pierced with a small red ring, standing out from the dark fur.  He was dressed formally, but not in a suit and tie. He was comfortable, his clothing giving him the movement that he would need tonight.  This was Vivaldi, the arctic fox.

	Vivaldi took a deep breath, trying to calm himself as he looked down at his shaking his paws. The arctic fox stood backstage, waiting for his moment to go on.  He held his paws together, closing his eyes as he tried to clear his mind.  It was Vivaldi's first performance of his new songs for his show.  Vivaldi had performed before, but this night was the first night that he would sing and play his mandolin at the same time.  His mandolin was next to him, case open, ready for its master's paws to pick up the small wooden instrument and play.  Vivaldi gently ran his fingers across the strings of the instrument, smiling to himself as he closed his eyes.
	
	"I can do this. It's just another performance, but with singing. It won't be that bad. After all, no one really shows up to these smaller shows. They always wait for the bigger shows, right?"  Vivaldi audibly swallowed as he tried to relax himself.  In a sense, the white fox was right. The smaller shows had smaller crowds, but he wasn’t one of the smaller shows anymore.  Vivaldi was one of the big shows now. His performances normally filled up with furs that were eager to listen to him play his music, and tonight was no different.
	
	"Vivaldi! The house is filled! One minute and you are on bud, good luck."  Zerrick, the manager, gave his friend a pat on the back as he walked by him. "It's just another show, Vivi. Go give them a great one."  Zerrick smiled as he disappeared into the maze of the auditorium, making sure that everything was set up and ready for Vivaldi’s performance.
	
	Vivaldi tried to calm himself again, taking deep breaths as he drank some water.  He looked over his mandolin, gently strumming the strings.  He winced as he heard one of the strings ring, the tuning slightly off.  He picked up the instrument, closing his eyes as he strummed the string again, reaching up and tweaking the tuning knob just ever so slightly, getting the perfect tuning out of the string.  He sighed as he slipped the strap on over his shoulders.  The light instrument seemed nonexistent in his arms, the wood freshly cleaned and the metal just polished, shining bright, even in the darkness of the backstage.
	
	He picked up the water bottle again, taking a small drink to help keep his throat clear.  Vivaldi had to give the best performance he could.  All the critics would be there tonight. If he played a bad show, the rest of the performances would be ruined by the reviews.  Vivaldi walked to the door to the stage, his tail nervously swaying behind him.  He paused to close his eyes, seeing if he had everything he needed.  He nodded to himself, absolutely sure he had everything as he smiled, opening his eyes as Zerrick stood by the door, ready to open it for the arctic fox.
	
	"Give 'em a good one, Foxerz. I know you will."  With that, the door opened, the bright and intense stage lights flooding in through the door as Vivaldi stepped onto the stage, trying to give his eyes a chance to adjust. There was a loud wave of applause assaulting Vivaldi's ears, making them twitch for a moment before he looked into the auditorium, seeing the massive crowd seated and ready, the seats all filled.  He slowly approached the microphone at center stage, another beside it at a lower level for the mandolin.  He held the strings on the mandolin quiet as he took a deep breath before smiling and speaking into the microphone.
	
	"Hello and welcome to my first performance of my new show.  I will be playing this mandolin that I've been known to play, but I'll be singing too.  Yes, just like the advertisements said, I will be singing and playing. I have composed all of the songs I will be playing tonight, and the lyrics are all mine as well. Now, I would hate to keep you all waiting so I'm just going to go ahead and start the show! Enjoy!"  The audience applauded once more as Vivaldi holds his mandolin lightly in his paws, one at the strings, the other one on the neck, ready to play.  He smiles before strumming the first chord of the night, the small microphone picking up the chord, the sound echoing into the large auditorium.  He continued to strum, each note detected by the sensitive microphone, the audience hearing everything. 
	
	Vivaldi closed his eyes as he focused on the music, feeling the vibrations of the strings through his paw pads, the notes flowing through his ears, the air of the audience still with anticipation.  He opened his eyes, looking out into the crowd as he parted his lips and started to sing in melody with the mandolin.  Once Vivaldi sang that first lyric, his body ran on autopilot. His fingers moved on their own, producing sweet music from the strings, his lungs inhaled air and exhaled vocal music.  Everything worked in perfect harmony as he played, the smile across his muzzle widening with each passing second.
	
	The night went on and on, Vivaldi playing each song exceptionally.  As he finished the last song of the night, the audience gave a standing ovation, cheering so loudly that as Vivaldi walked off the stage, he was forced to return for another bow, hoping to silence the loud crowd.  Zerrick was waiting back stage, smiling and clapping as well.
	
	"Great job Vivi! I'm sure you knocked it out of the park tonight. The rest of the performances should be sold out by tomorrow with these reviews!" The arctic fox walked up to his mandolin case and set the instrument down inside, his tail swishing around softly.  He turned back and smiled to his friend.
	
	"Wonderful. I can't wait!"  Zerrick smiled and left to go take care of business as Vivaldi sat down in a chair beside his mandolin.  He looked over the instrument, seeing the smudges where his paw rubbed on the glossy finish during the show.  He pulled out a small cleaning cloth from the case and began to wipe the instrument, cleaning and polishing it, getting it ready for the next big show.