After Dinner, Victor was scheduled to work with the 'She-wolf' early the next morning. He offered to see her that evening, but the Ring Master declined. The doctor left that evening wondering if he would really meet the dancer on the poster. He also wondered why she was so adamantly referred to as some sort of beast; it hardly made any sense. He had asked the Ring Master, to which the showman simply grinned and chuckled, insisting that Victor watch the show sometime.

That was not an experience Victor was looking forward to, not after seeing how these people lived.

Victor stepped outside the Ring Masters caravan and walked past the crowd of clowns sitting around, smoking and laughing around a campfire. They seemed to be speaking some language Victor had never heard of. A few of them looked up at him and then looked away, whispering to one another. Victor furrowed his brows and almost stopped to inquire what they were going on about when Tim showed up behind him; his expression looking as surprised as Victor's.

"Hey! So did you actually…?" Victor blinked a little, inspiring a wide grin across Timothy's face. "My god, you did didn't you? Ha! And you're alive! Well, way to go bud!" Timothy laughed and slapped him on the back, "I can't believe you're alive!"

"Relax Tim, the Ring Master isn't all that bad… I've certainly met worse." Jefferson approached still looking haggard, but maybe not as tired before,

"Tim and a few of us were just about to have a few drinks," the hatter said, "… Though if you were dining with The Ring Master I suppose you've probably had enough."

"But you should come sit with us anyway!" Tim chimed in.

"I need to be up early tomorrow." Victor replied, "It's probably best if I don't… but actually… I don't suppose either of you had worked at all with this She-wolf dancer girl, have you? I'm suppose to see her in the morning and … I guess work with her 'partner'."

Tim raised an eyebrow, "'Partner'? What the hell are you talkin' about?"

Jefferson just crossed his arms, "You mean the wolf part of 'She-wolf'?"

"Yes, I assume." Victor nodded, "It sounds like The Ring Master is very concerned with her health at the moment."

"I'm sure he is." Jefferson scoffed, "Well, if you're working with her in the morning, I don't think you'll have to worry about the wolf. You see... she only comes out at night."

"You mean the wolf is nocturnal?" Such a fact could be surmised about such creatures, though Victor had read wolves are just as active in daytime as they are at night.

"No, I mean…. gods, what do they call them here?" Jefferson searched the darkening skies for the answer, scratching his head under his hat. He finally snapped his fingers with victory, "She's a…. Werewolf, that's it. She turns into a wolf at night as the sun goes down."

All three men fell silent. Victor took a moment to register this, "You're joking with me, Jefferson. That's not possible."

"Why not?" The hatter rolled his eyes, "Rumor has it she's not from this world anyways: she's from mine. Though I guess they're called 'Children of the Moon' or something a bit more classy there."

"... Yeah, I mean I've seen some pretty crazy stuff too." Tim interjected, though he did feel a bit out of place between the two men who spoke of other, magical worlds.

"And so you've seen her transform, and you've seen a 'werewolf'?" the cynicism in Victor voice becoming thicker and thicker.

"No…. they do that part of the show behind a curtain, look, when you see her, you'll know. Just trust me alright?" Jefferson insisted.

It was going to take a lot more than smoke and mirrors to make Victor believe such a transformation were possible. Though... hypothetically... in order for someone to make that sort of change every night, they would need the ability to literally generate and rearrange cells into a totally different structure at an accelerated rate that no one is capable of, and then break down those same cells by the end of the night as well. To believe in such a possibility was ludicrous; any living thing that possessed such abilities would be truly extraordinary.

"Well, I don't think so, but thank you anyway." Victor nodded, not taking the bait, "I'm going to go see if perhaps the last 'Doctor' had any books on this sort of thing. Wolves; not mythical creatures."

Jefferson rolled his eyes again, but let the new doctor go, knowing the man was far too stubborn to bend on hearsay.

The rest of the night was spent going through the remainder of the wagon. Victor seemed to find more junk and more miscellanea as he went about the task. Some of it he kept for the sake of reference; some outdated books about biology, basic first aid and so on. The old jars of preserved plants, animals and who knows what, he tossed. The more he cleared away, the more spacious the dwelling seemed. To his delight he even discovered a dusty looking writing desk. Victor pulled up a little chair and placed the salvaged books atop the new treasure. He jiggled at the handle on some of the drawers; all were surprisingly empty aside from the thick coating of dirt and dust. He crinkled his nose, trying not to breathe any of the newly disturbed dirt in, when he discovered something in the bottom desk drawer: a finger notch. Curious, the Doctor lifted the false bottom of the drawer to reveal a small-concealed journal.

Victor took out the book and opened up the pages; it was all scribbled notes, some pages more faded than others. They all seemed about the circus performers and animals. There was even a page about a 'dragon' that was revealed to be an abnormally large marine Iguana with fabricated wings attached to it. Another few pages were dedicated to the mermaid, or Gill, and also the tiger-lion breed. Everything about them was written down and appeared to be truthful, even their real names. So Victor searched for anything about his new patient. Finally he came to a page with a full drawing of the dancer, except he could see her hazel eyes and her proportions were slightly off compared to the poster... and that was about it. He frowned and turned the page, but it was just notes on the hunchback. Her pages had been ripped out; three or four of them. He looked deeper into the drawer, maybe they had just fallen out... but no. A few more pages in and he saw a portrait of the Ring Master. But there was no name or information; simply blank lines. Something about this didn't sit well with the doctor.

He set the journal aside and looked into the biology textbook, reading what he could about wolves. There wasn't much but he found the information somewhat useful. Luckily what he learned was that they had a few similarities to humans anatomy-wise. Not many... but a few.

The next morning Victor was indeed up and ready early for his mystery patient. Victor opened the door before the Ring Master could even knock, "Oh, lovely! You're awake," the showman laughed, "Come this way. We're getting ready for tonight's show."

As the two walked into the big top tent, everyone was busy arranging seats and banners or preparing for acts. Through the glimmering and smokey chaos, the Ring Master brought Victor into the back part of the tent behind the three rings, leading him past assorted cages before reaching their destination.

"Here we are. The patient awaits." The Ring Master flourished a hand gesture to the largest cage draped in midnight-blue curtains.

In the center stood a woman who resembled the woman in the poster, as well as the drawing from the recently discovered journal- except far more beautiful. She was dressed in that red outfit with huge scarlet plumes coming from the ringlets in the back of her hair. Her chains rattled slightly as she brushed powder on painted stars and crescent moon upon her cheek. She had to look in a mirror being held up by one of the stagehands.

Victor frowned, "She's in chains? But the show isn't for hours. Surely she doesn't need that collar or those shackles.."

"Oh no, Doctor: she's a dangerous beast, an animal. It's for her protection and ours." The Ring Master replied.

"You can't be serious... you of all people know this is an act, she's a human being! She deserves some dignity!"

The Ring Master stared back at the doctor, "Come see the show. Then you'll know what she's really like." With that, the Ring Master turned and strode away from the cage area.

Victor stood there a moment, unbelieving that anyone could even think to treat another person like this. He looked at the woman, now setting down her makeup and tenderly rubbing the skin beneath her shackles, and truly took pity on her. The closer he came to the bars, the more detail he took in. She had dark puffy circles under her eyes that she had tried to hide with make up, and there were sores underneath the shackles.

"Hello?" Victor finally went up right beside the cage and the woman turned her attention to him. Her hazel eyes met his blue and he lost his thoughts for a minute, "... I'm the new Doctor the Ring Master has hired."

"What's your name?" She asked almost immediately.

"... You may refer to me as 'Doctor'."

"Oh," She turned her face away. "So, what are you here to do for me, Doctor?"

She was very candid he noted right away," Well… to tell you the truth I don't think it's healthy for you to stay in one of… these." He put his hand on one of the bars and the woman stepped back.

"No, believe me Doctor, this is where I should be."

Victor's mouth almost dropped, "You… what?" Was everyone here simply mad? "No. Miss…. uh… Miss…"

"I don't have a name either." She offered, "I just go by my stage name."

"Okay… well," Victor ran his fingers through his hair, not feeling comfortable calling her a 'She-wolf'. "Look, I've had years of medical training and I know that this can't possibly good for you." For a moment he thought about the amount of time Gerhardt had spent in that little cell at the lab and slightly cringed. "... The Ring Master said you weren't performing well? Maybe this is why."

The She-Wolf said nothing; instead she looked at the stage hands who were quickly leaving the backstage area. Victor raised an eyebrow at this behavior.

"I might be able to convince the Ring Master to help you." He offered, but the woman just sighed and sat down on the floor in a heap of red fabric.

"How much do you know about him: The Ring Master?" She asked, looking at him with those same sad and tired eyes that Victor had first glimpsed in the poster. The doctor pulled up a nearby stool and looked at her, but couldn't come up with an answer as he took a seat. "He's a very manipulative man. He keeps all of his little pawns under his thumb and he won't tolerate anything else."

He watched her expression as she said those words. It occurred to him that she was right in one aspect: he really didn't know anything about this Ring Master. Victor knew that the man constantly pretended that he was a gracious and exuberant person, but then there were the glimpses of a cold and calculating man. Was the latter the real ugliness beneath a pleasant mask...or was it just a tool of intimidation?

"He's dangerous, and he has more power than you might think." The She-Wolf continued, answering his unspoken question.

"Well, thank you for the warning" Victor smiled weakly, "For now, may I see your arms? Or arm, just for now?" The She-Wolf hesitantly put a lithe arm through the heavy bars and Victor gently took it his expert hands.

"And…. thank you, Doctor" The woman smiled," I really do appreciate this, what you're doing for me. For all of us."

The Doctor leaned over and grabbed salve and bandages from his bag. "This might sting, but it will keep out infection and maybe keep these sores from getting any worse." He looked under the metal shackles, but they weren't chaffing or cutting into her skin; they were just small enough so they wouldn't slip off. That's when he noticed they were made of silver: actual silver. Silver that, if sold, could bring in quite a large profit. "I suppose you have an allergy to silver too." Victor huffed, "Well, I guess I can put a bandage over the skin here, but the irritation on your wrists will only continue if these remain on your skin."

She didn't say anything as he continued to wrap her arms and apply the salve. When she twitched or hissed in pain he offered to stop, but she insisted he continue. He noticed her palms were sweaty and they shook when she tried to hold them up herself. Her eyes remained trained on him; at first he wondered if she simply didn't trust him. It would explain why she was so unwilling to tell him more.

"Miss, if I may ask, how are you feeling. You seem… fatigued. You don't look like.. well... like you should perform like this." He put up his slender fingers to check for notable heat of the forehead.

The She-wolf just shook her head, "No, Doctor. I'm fine."

"Miss, I can't help you if you don't let me." She bit her lip then moved in a little so Victor could put a hand on her forehead. "...You don't really believe the things that are said about you, do you? That you're some sort of monster?" He finally asked.

"And what about you? He took away your name too. What did you do to need to hide your name?" She said rather suddenly, "Here monsters aren't allowed names."

Victor swallowed not expecting to hear her say something like that, not when she had seemed to have such a soft demeanor, "I suppose that's fair…"

"I'm sorry," The She-Wolf pulled in her hand, "I… I shouldn't have asked. I hope I.." She bit her lip, "I guess it's hard for you not to think badly of me, especially when I don't think much better of myself to begin with."

Victor didn't understand; it showed very clearly. He figured, however, that it was probably better if he didn't get anymore involved. Not in this way at least. Being a patient under his care he would try to get her in better living conditions, but as far as everything else... Victor was starting to feel that some issues were better left alone.

"Listen… you should come see my act." She suggested, "It might help you understand my… um... I guess you would call it a condition?"

"Condition?" Victor repeated.

She lifted her head, like she heard something that startled her. She grabbed the bars and leaned in, conjuring up a small smile, "My name is... Or was 'Red'."

The Doctor was taken aback by hearing her give that sacred piece of information to someone she had just met. "... Miss Red… uh..." Victor turned as he heard the approach of footsteps.

"You're a doctor right? A real one?" Red began to stand, though she wobbled quite a bit," Maybe you'll be able to cure me."

Victor heard the Ring Master calling orders from just behind the curtain. Red was getting up to go get her shoes, but Victor suddenly grabbed the hem of her dressed through the bars. She turned and looked down at him again... and he felt his cheeks turn bright and hot.

"I…" He felt his name on his tongue, but he couldn't, "… I will come to your show. I'll watch."

Red smiled, almost as if relieved, but just as she was about to respond the Ring Master came to the doctor's side, "Ah Marvelous! I can't wait for you to see our first performance! We won't let him down, will we girl?" He chuckled but the dancer's smile became more painted on as he took the center of attention. "We have a lot of work to do, so if you're done could you-" The bandages on Red's wrists caught his eye, "What are these?"

"Ah, yes, the first thing I noticed was that she had numerous sores on her wrists. I'm assuming from the shackles…" the doctor began.

"Yes, well, I'm afraid they need to come off." The Ring Master retorted, "Will they need to be reapplied after the show? It's a bit of a waste don't you think?"

"No. In fact they'll need to be changed every few hours until her sores have healed. Which I doubt will happen until those shackles are taken off." Victor defended.

The Ring Master sighed. "There just no pleasing you is there, Doctor?"

"There's more: I believe she has a fever. I mean.. she can barely stand on her own! And you expect her to dance?"

"Well do you know for a fact that she has a fever?" The Ring Master asked, but when Victor did not answer he gave him a smug smile. "Well I guess not. She performs. But listen, I'll have her keep her bandages on till the show, and after you can put them back on. Yes?"

The Ring Master gave Victor a hearty pat on the back as if this small allowance made up for everything. The doctor was about to try and correct the man but backstage was flooding with performers now. Victor looked back at the She-Wolf, Red, and saw her face become ridden with exhaustion once more.

He left the tent, determined to change things; more then ever.