Abiline Kansas, 1882

With a content huff, Madame began to slowly pace the area, her eyes travelling up and down the length of each corpse, each of which she had spent adequate time carefully planning for. The woman's dark blue eyes shot up to the entrance when she heard footsteps draw near, easing up some when she realised it were William who'd come to aid her and not an unauthorised presence which she'd likely have to waste her time disposing of - "Ah! Willy~ Do come forth!" she grinned like a young child, stepping aside to lead way to the three bodies laid out side-by-side on small wooden beds only a few inches apart, "This will be our shapeshifter" she pointed to the nearest body, "And those two.." she wavered her hand, trailing off.
"Those two what?" William had trouble (as he often did) matching her exuberance. He looked at the pair she gestured to. "...barely skeletons?" He guessed with a shrug. "Which one are we doing first?"
"Those two we will do last" she repeated in a more stern tone, nodding toward the other corpses, "They won't need any restraint" she looked back to the soon-to-be shapeshifter's corpse and rolled her shoulders, "So. Shall we start?"
"I suppose. Sooner we get this over with." William walked over to the indicated body. "Can I just tie him down to the wood or do you really think the cuffs will be needed, too?" He set them on the ground, then started to unspool his rope. "Those cuffs aren't awfully comfortable." He tossed an end of his rope over the body. "I'd rather use them as little as possible. It's nightmarish enough coming back into this world frothing at the mouth with only cheap rope scratching your new flesh without your wrists having your new life squeezed out of them."
She chuckled softly at William's comment and nodded, "Rope should be fine" she stared down at the body, stepping aside to allow William the space he needed, "Those two may need the cuffs, though" she pointed, "Cuff them to each other, they'll cancel out each others abilities."
"Each other's abilities?" He questioned. "What? Is one a democrat and the other libertariain?" He ran the rope around the bed, across the corpse's chest, stomach, thighs, and shins, before tying a complicated knot under his feet where it couldn't be undone. "I'll cuff them when there's enough wrist to actually cuff." He studied his work for a moment, then gave a satisfied nod. "He's not going anywhere."
"Close, but no. She" Madame pointed to the middle corpse, "Will be the daughter of light, the gracious lady whom light follows her every step. And he," her pointed finger edged over to the last body, "Will be the son of darkness, a haunting, impeding shadow whom stalks the girl and hopes to take her down." her voice upheld the tone she usually had when introducing an act. William's brows came together with concern. "...stalks? Like, Jack the Ripper? You didn't exhume a murderer and his victim, did you? Because I've overlooked a lot working for you, but that's a little extreme." He stood and crossed his arms, clearly misunderstanding her theatrics, but Madame shook her head, though the idea clearly amused her, "No no, not murder. Just a little game of cat and mouse." she'd chuckle again reaching down to pluck at the ropes to check their strength and giving a nod once satisfied. William shook his head, now more convinced that he was about to do something awful. "No. I'm not going to bring someone back from the dead just to sick a murderer on them for the entertainment of some drunks!"
She looked up upon hearing his word, rolling her eyes, "Oh hush, I was joking. They won't actually kill each other. Just chase each other around and make a pretty light show for the audience."
"...as a performance, you mean? Like a show. Not actually going for anyone's throat in the dark." William looked at her seriously, wanting a full, verbal agreement that he wasn't going to be an accessory to murder before continuing. "Mhm" her agreement was too sudden, too contempt - she didn't seem to give much of a care at the thought of murder within the circus,"I thought perhaps a little lightshow would appeal to the more.. artistic folk" she couldn't think of a word for 'those who dislike gore' besides pussies.
"I..." William sighed. He'd been prepared to yell at her. He looked down to hide the shade of embarrassment that colour his face. "Sorry. Right." Of course Madame Merciless wouldn't do that. "...right." He turned back to the body. "So, somethin' for the kids, right? Good. I'm glad. I'm sure there's a fine number of little tykes who'd love a late-night lights show."
She nodded. "Yes. For the children" her tone was almost sarcastic, but she went along with it just to keep William from dragging out the conversation any longer - "Anyway. We need to get this session underway." she'd clear her throat, retrieving the vial of toxin from her inner pocket and heading over to the strapped down body. William waited patiently, if uncomfortably, cracking his knuckles while standing over the body. He never enjoyed this. It always made him feel guilty and dirty. He thanked God she hasn't asked him to help actually retrieve the bodies. "Yes. We need to get this underway." Quickly, before I'd throw up if I still could. "Not that I'm in a rush to get away from you, of course," he joked. "Just promised the rest of the circus I'd be back in time to help set up."Madame chuckled, she could sense the unease in her partner's tone, she knew he'd never enjoyed the process of resurrecting new acts, but it had to be done. She moved around to the top of the table, standing just above where the head was positioned, the only part of the body that wasn't completely bound, and uncorked the vial, a strong waft of a sweet yet sickening smell filled the air, one which was more than familiar to William and herself. "Now, I'm not sure exactly how this might end up, but chances are he may get stuck in his animal form, so.." her voice trailed off, and without further adieu she tilted the vial horizontally and tapped a few small drops into the corpses open mouth."May?" He questioned. "How big is the risk?" But it was too late; the mysterious liquid was already poured. "...what kind'a animal does he turn into? Is my rope going to be effective?" He hesitated to hold the body down. When it was just people he didn't have a problem, but... well, she's not going to hold it down, he thought. My fault for agreeing to this. "...alright...so how long until something happens?" He wish he had a metric; he didn't know if age or size or gender affected the process. All of that was
calculated by Madame Malice."Oh, nothing too dangerous" she wavered her hand, offering the vial over to William, he looked rather wary - a few drops of toxin would perk him right up, "Anything I could find, really. Dogs, coyote, fox.." she tapped her chin, trying to think of the list of animals she'd 'experimented' with, "I think perhaps the biggest animal I'd found was a wolf" a wide grin spread across her devilish lips at that as she looked down at the body, which had already started to reform into a more alive looking human, "This one is only a few years gone, so it should be pretty fast. Those two however.. well, by the state of 'em I'd say a couple minutes, they've been rotten for a while" no-one knew how Madame found all the information she did on the bodies she'd find, it was a mystery to even William, they'd all just assume that she'd searched through their personal belongings for clues, or looked on their tombstone, either way it always seems like Madame knew exactly who she was dealing with when they finally awoke. "Eeyup," William mumbled. He patted his chest until he remembered he'd left his coat in his tent. His cigarettes were in it and dealing with the dead made him mighty anxious for one. "You want to get started on them, too? Or do you want to handle this one at a time?"
"You don't have to stay and watch" she chuckled, almost enjoying the slight panic she saw as she watched William search for his cigarettes, the hand that held the toxin retreating so that she could plug the top again with the cork, "Probably best to wait until he's done" she gestured toward the now clearly distinguishable male who began convulsing, though he wasn't given much space to thrash about due to the tight ropes which held him down. William had been careful to place the rope over his chest and legs in such a way as to effectively restrain him but tried not to cover his arms so the man didn't get ropeburn during his initial thrashing. "...you picked English-speaking bodies, right? Mon espanol est tres mal." He didn't even say that in the right language. His jokes ended when he finally looked at the forming human. "...eh...'ello, pal," he offered weakly, unsure of whether he was even heard or not. "You said this'n'from not too long ago? So he'll speak English correctly. Not some fancy ye-olde speak, right?"
"He'll speak english just as well as you, my dear" she grinned, mocking William slightly.
"Well, that ain't too well. 'least that's what the tinhorns back east would say."
"Precisely" she smirked, peering down at the 'man' as his convulsing seemed to seize for now, leaving him with a foam filled mouth and a manner of other side-effects of having a fit - he'd likely had a headache, and the animal DNA surging through him would probably cause him quite a deal of pain as his body tried to reject its new fate. Madame simply grinned, clasping her hands in excitement as she watched the first of her new creations show its first signs of life. She wiped the foam away from the man's mouth and peered down to his barely opened eyes, "Hi there!~" she cooed.
William grimaced; as much as he liked Madame Malice, her face wasn't the first thing he'd want to see coming back to this world. "G'morning, sir."he offered from behind her. "I'll untie you in a moment, but there's some due explanation as to why you're among the living again."
Madame looked up to William, "Oh, don't untie him just yet, I don't think he's done" she nodded down to the man who was no doubt struggling against the ropes, writhing in pain and confusion. Madame left the man and made her way over to the two other 'bodies', circling around their beds at first before taking of the toxin and pouring a few drops each into their mouths, "Cuffs, please" she called over to William, watching as the toxin slowly began to build up muscle and flesh of the barely-bone siblings she'd dug up. William nodded and picked the cuffs up. He walked around the writhing man to present them. She was familiar no doubt with how they worked. "You'll get that one?" he asked before stooping to cuff what he assumed to be the male's body. She nodded, taking the other cuff and tightening it around the newly re-formed female's wrist, securing the siblings together. It was unlikely that they'd cause much harm or disturbance, but Madame had learnt a lot throughout her years of experimental resurrection, and the phrase "Better safe than sorry" was one she used often when it came to bringing in new acts.

"You have your eye on them? I'll welcome the werewolf back."

Madame nodded to William before then turning and heading to the further end of the small closed off section to where she'd kept one more body, a secret from William - she knew he was never fond of the gruesome stuff, and this act was likely to be as gruesome as it gets; a ragdoll, bag of bones, pin-cushion, this act would not be for all those of weak heart and even weaker stomach, Madame made sure of that. With a few drops of toxin into the corpses mouth, Madame left again, returning to the others as she kept a sharp eye and ear out for each newblood's awakening, forcing a bright and wide smile onto her face.

Note: Me and Plague worked on this post together, hence why it switches between characters. All the 'new bloods' may post now.

Trenton felt his body burning and his skin ripping as he was pulled back from the other side of death. Suddenly his eyes flew open and a wave of terror flooded over him. He twitched and writhed, his mouth opening and closing making a sickening cracking sound.
His skin tore and what was underneath wasn't all together human it was fur. He tried to yell but nothing came out, in fact he wasn't even breathing, had he forgotten how to breath?
Trent looked around wildly, searching for someone, anyone. When his eyes landed on a man who was coming to stand over him. Trenton tried to speak but again, as before, nothing came out.
Suddenly in a rush of hot air his lunges filled and a loud growl erupted from deep inside Trenton's chest.
He gasp for the air, almost drinking it in.
As he breathed he began to calm down, soon enough sound returned to him and he stared at the man and woman who had spoken to him.
The first words to leave his lips were broken and gruff from not using his vocal cords for a while; "WA-T-HUR!"
It almost sounded like a plea of a dying man, well it sure felt like he was dying.

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Luna came back much smoother then the man tied down at the other end.
Her eyes opened, she looked around, and breathed in deeply. She moved her lips to speak but nothing came out, she had forgotten less how to breath and more how to speak. Not hearing any sound was the scariest part, she began to toss and turn trying to creat some sort of noise, nothing. Finally a loud shriek burst from her lips. She shot straight up to a sitting position and then fell right back as her body began to twist and turn in all manner of inhuman ways. Her bones poped and cracked as she moved until finally she was twisting without any sound at all, then she lay scilent looking up at the sky breathing deeply.

Katheline closed and opened her eyes while Kane squeezed her hand reassuringly, the young woman more shaken than the both of them. Dying had been horrible but that... that had just been raw, soul-shaking pain. Like dying all over again but ten times more painful. Katheline looked around, tear trails drying on her cheeks as she looked around with clearer-seeying eyes. She found the man with the odd accent, her brows lightly furrowing before she dropped her head back as she put a weak but amused small on her own lips, "Oh, please. I'm always rational."

What sounded like a chuckle came from Kane, who was more squinting than opening his eyes. He knew his sister wasn't always rational, but if she could joke she was fine. Besides, if he was feeling as weak as he was then he was sure she was no better at the moment. Neither of them had any idea what was happening, but they were sure as hell curious enough to wait patiently for answers.

Luna stood wobbly and slowly walked with the woman that had just brought her back to life. when the woman released her Luna plopped to the ground and just sat there, looking like a rag doll as the woman spoke. When she told everyone to come to the practice yard Luna slowly got to her feet and walked behind her, her bones in her legs still cracking and popping every now and then. As she walked she saw eyes peeking out of what she guessed were living quarters. As she looked longer at them they seemed to zoom in on all of them and then finally landed on her, Luna felt her stomach turn and suddenly was on all fours dry heaving. She sucked in air through her teeth and sat back on her knees trying to calm herself. She didn't like this feeling, she felt empty and hollow. It was almost scary. As she calmed herself she looked up and saw that the eyes were gone, maybe she had been imagining them.

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Trenton had calmed down and was now being untied and slowly sat up rubbing his head and looking at himself. Animal DNA? that was crazy, this whole thing was crazy. Trent had died, he remembered dying, so how was he here. "This is madness..." He whispered as he slowly got to his feet. As soon as he stood upright he got light headed and fell to his hands and knees. As the man came to help him up a low growl burst from Trenton's chest, maybe he did have animal DNA in him. He softly pushed the mans hand away and stood up again this time taking it much slower. He walked forward, his balance coming back to him. Everything looked so new to him, the sun seemed brighter, the air smelled different and it even felt different.

After listening patiently, Katheline curled onto her side then before pushing herself half-way into a sitting position, shakily moving her new wings around herself to cover what the scraps of burnt, century-old rags no longer did. She was highly uncomfortable now and released her brother's hand, bringing her free hand to feel around the cuff that held her wrist to her brother's. "S-sir William... sir, would please take this off me? And... is there anything I might cover myself with? These, these scraps haven't served their purpose since they were burned to ashes." She moved the hand again to hug herself with it, feeling rather imodest amongst all of these strangers.

Kane looked away from her for her sake, well, he hadn't really looked at her since he'd realized neither of them really had anything on. Noticing so, he carefully pulled himself into a sitting position and did with his wings what his sister did, folding the scaly things around himself though not having to struggle so much to cover himself. He wasn't so uncomfortable as Katheline, but just as reluctant to begin walking about without proper clothing. He waited silently for the cuffs to be removed while she held himself up with his uncuffed hand, gazing further around his surroundings as he now got a better view. 'What an odd collection of people... beings, I'd dare call them. I wonder if any true witches had anything to do with the making of such a group.'