Kate and Elijah shuffled back stage, each of them trying to resist from going into shock after what had just happened. Kate was attached at Eli's hip, but the doctor who had arrived soon split them apart. She pushed her way through the people, making sure she kept an eye on him all the way to an area that was marked off for this very instance. 

Kate nearly shoved a knife in the doctor's neck when he tried to tell her that she would have to wait outside of the curtains while he assessed Elijah, refusing to let him out of her sight after what just happened. The doctor agreed only after she threatened to strap him to a board and use him as target practice herself. 

The doctor looked Eli over, noticing the blood splatter that covered his entire torso, as well as Kate's hands. But, finding nothing medically wrong with him, he eyed them both suspiciously. 

"Is this some trick? I am here for real emergencies, not as a continuation of your little illusion." He scribbled on a piece of paper and pulled back the curtain of the makeshift room to let them both out. 

"I give you approval for making the incident so realistic, however. You had me convinced with the blood." Kate and Elijah both tried to explain that the blood was real, as well as what they claimed had happened, but the doctor simply waved them off and returned to his station should he be needed for a real accident. 

Elijah walked away with a hand on his neck where the knife had pierced his flesh. He remained silent, and Kate followed him to a pair of chairs that sat at the edge of the backstage, looking on to the show ring. 

"Eli?" Kate frowned and looked at her friend, "Are you alright?" 

Elijah remained silent for another moment, staring out on at whatever act was currently on. He didn't look at her as he spoke, his voice low and unchanging. "You hit me. Your knife pierced my neck. I felt the blood gushing out of me and my vision blurred." He exhaled and looked down at his feet. "And then nothing. The bleeding stopped, I could see clearly, the wound was gone." He looked at her now with glossy eyes, "How?"

Kate swallowed hard, knowing that the most damaging part was that she had told him that everything would be okay, and then it wasn't. Her brow furrowed as she looked at him. "Eli, I've no idea what just happened. But please, I beg you, believe me when I say that that knife was not on a path towards you. I am sure of that." Her eyes were pleading him to forgive her, fearful that she had lost his trust for good. 

Eli sighed again, and remained quiet as he looked at her. Finally, he blinked and nodded slowly. "I believe you. Honestly, the most unbelievable part of the whole bit was that you hit me in the first place." A small smile was restored on his face and he patted Kate on the knee. "But..." his face drew a curious mask, "something odd is going on here..." 

The two of them watched the other acts as the show continued as it should. As they watched, they began to noticed peculiar differences in this show from any other... minor things that seemed to alter the acts to make them more appealing to the crowds. When it was Claire's turn to perform, Kate watched on curiously, but a hint of nervousness gnawed at her as well. 

Strangely enough, her performance seemed to go on as planned, that is until she heard something odd. Kate had to blink a few times and scan the ring to make sure her brain was not hearing things. It appeared as though Claire had just... roared? Not like she usually did, a poor human attempt to speak the big cat language. This one sounded astoundingly real.

After her act, Claire found Kate and Elijah where they had been watching. She was overly chipper, with a pep in her step, considering the recent circumstances. 

"Well, we're shaken up." Kate said with a weak smile. 

"But alive!" Eli butted in with a grin, as he was trying to see the brighter side of the situation himself. 

Kate raised an eyebrow but said nothing to him, looking back to Claire. "So, uh... when did you learn to speak, oh how do you say... lion? Tiger? Animal?" Kate blinked a few times and stared at her friend, sincerely wanting an explanation for what she had witnessed moments ago. 

"Something strange is going on here," Eli agreed, nodding his head. He was baffled at the traumatic event that had occurred to him, but more suspicious than anything at the strange events occurring. It definitely was different than anything that had happened during a show before, and it made them all curious.