The ringleader wasn't human. It was obvious. He had wolf ears and a wolf tail; his eyes were green and yellow. The top of the iris was green while the lower part of the iris was yellow. He had sharp canine teeth filed down to a point.

But he was beautiful.

"My, my, my," the ringleader said, swishing back his cloak in a dramatized manner. "Do we have a newbie?" He looked at Paradox, giving him a chilling smile.

Why was everyone pointing this out? Was it something they did? Pointing out a newcomer who came into Lumen Lunae or the Lycan World?

The ringleader bowed, tipping his top hat to Paradox. "I'm Jehovah Springfield. Who are you?"

"I-" Paradox stuttered. "Para-Paradox?" He said, wincing when his voice broke from fear.

"Paradox? Paradox. What a lovely name. Say, after the show would you like to come to the back?" Jehovah purred.

Paradox's throat constricted. "I don't…"

"Lovely! I'll see you then, Paradox." Jehovah said, and he dropped his top hat on Paradox’s head.

Paradox was too stunned to speak so he stared at Jehovah in dumbfounded shock. He watched as the ringleader whisked out a staff from within his cloak and began swinging it around, announcing what tonight’s show was going to be about.

“Isn’t he just stunning?” Caravel whispered to Paradox. “Look at him—I mean, look at him. He’s so…” Caravel trailed off thoughtful. Then, he said, “Hot. He’s fucking hot.”

“He’s a Hybrid.” Paradox told Caravel in a tense voice. “You can’t be messing with Hybrids or Lycans. Why are you—”

“Admit it,” Caravel said in a low voice. “You’d let him fuck you if you had the chance.”

Paradox shot Caravel a horrified but furious stare. “What?” he hissed at him.

Caravel shrugged, turning his attention to the front of the stage once more. A female Lycan dressed in tights and a backless top was performing an aerial trick, the silvery silk flowing like water as she made a drop to the ground but caught herself with ease, body arched, legs posed. She looked like a spider, fine limbs moving with grace; her white tail swishing in time with the silk that slipped between her body. It was mesmerizing watching the Lycan dance her way between the silk while being at least 15 feet in the air.

The crowd was hushed, holding their breath as the female Lycan made her way to the top of the silk. The strained silence and low-tension music was setting Paradox’s nerves to flame. He didn’t like suspense. He preferred knowing the outcome right away, which was why he came off as impatient at times. But this was a lot. Especially with the fact that he and Caravel were in the Lycan World, no longer in the human world. A place where if something dangerous were to happen, he and Caravel wouldn’t be safe.

“Is everyone enjoying tonight?” Jehovah asked into his condenser microphone.

The Lycans who were in their beast forms howled in agreement while the Hybrids whooped, clapping their hands. The few humans were quiet, merely giving a short nod before glancing around the circus tent.

“What about you, Paradox?” Jehovah wondered, pointing his condenser microphone at Paradox. He waited for Paradox to answer his question, but Paradox wasn't sure how to respond to Jehovah's question.

"Answer," hissed Caravel. "You're going to anger him."

"Indeed you will," Jehovah replied, tapping Paradox's cheek with the condenser microphone. "You don't want to see me angry, do you?"

"I—it's…everything's good." Paradox managed.

"And how good, newbie?" Jehovah murmured, segmental heterochromia eyes flashing.

Before Paradox had the chance to answer, behind Jehovah, a cannon went off and the crowd went back to oohing and aahing at the show. Jehovah had a flicker of annoyance on his face but he stood upright and said, "Let's continue the show!" and he was received with cheers.

Paradox sank into the seat, relieved that the ringleader was now busy with his show. He sighed, dragging a hand down his face. He felt exhausted despite it being only noon. He removed the ringleader's top hat from his head and examined it. It was well made: it felt firm and had tiny intricate details in a shade slightly lighter than the hat itself. Paradox checked the inside of the hat and realized that on the inside, stitched in gold, was Jehovah's name. He ran his finger over the stitched letters, wondering who had sewn the name in the hat.

"What are you looking at?" Caravel suddenly asked, peering over Paradox's shoulder.

Paradox instinctively hid the hat away, preventing Caravel from seeing the name. This action surprised both Paradox and Caravel. Paradox wasn't the type of person to hide things or keep secrets. But for some reason he felt the need to hide this from Caravel.

Caravel looked offended and he crossed his arms over his chest. "What? Is it something private or some shit? Why are you hiding the hat?"

"No reason." Paradox lied, and internally flinched. Perhaps it was Lumen Lunae's strange and hypnotic atmosphere that was fucking with Paradox's head. This had to be the first time he lied so easily.

Caravel knew, which caused him to narrow his eyes. "Right. No reason." He echoed dryly.

"I'm sorry. I just—I feel like…see…" Paradox tried explaining helplessly.

"Whatever." Caravel said, annoyed. He looked back at the stage.

On stage was a balancing act. A Hybrid male wearing a deer skull headed mask was balancing on a beam with his hands. His back was arched in the air, wolf ears twitching at every sound in the crowd. He was shirtless so Paradox saw the male's muscles ripple as he moved along the bar, swinging and balancing, backflipping and landing.

The music was now a low humdrum, but Paradox didn't mind it so much. He was focused on Jehovah. The ringleader was lounging on a huge armchair in the far back with dim lighting, arms dangling over the sides, legs crossed. His segmental eyes were lazily scanning the crowd, a half smile on his lips.

Then, Jehovah's eyes met Paradox. Paradox tried looking away but Jehovah shook his head. Alarmed, Paradox did look away, looking at Caravel, but his best friend was now talking to a female Hybrid.

The female Hybrid had her hand on Caravel's arm; her other hand was in her hair, twirling the white locks. When she replied to Caravel's question of "what's your name, sweetheart?", the Hybrid's voice sounded like silk:

"Noa," the Hybrid said languidly. She moved her hand from Caravel's arm to the side of his face. "And you said you're Caravel, right?"

Caravel nodded. His gaze was focused on Noa's lips, her neck, the dip in her dress. His hand was on her thigh, and he was grinning.

Paradox growled and then used Jehovah's hat to whack Caravel on the back of his head.

"What." Caravel said stiffly, turning around to face Paradox.

"The fuck are you doing?" Paradox hissed at Caravel. "She's a Hybrid."

"I know." Caravel said.

"Then why are you—"

"Is something the matter?" A low voice asked: Jehovah. He was in front of Paradox and Caravel. Jehovah had a strained grin as he looked at Noa. "What are you doing here? I thought I kicked you out of Seicopathig."

One of Noa's wolf ears flicked in annoyance. "You mean, completely? I thought you meant your jangly performance, not including the tent."

Jehovah sighed, his grip tightening on his staff. "Please leave, Noa. You are banned. Do not interact with my guests."

"Guests? These"—Noa gestured to Paradox and Caravel—"are guests?"

Jehovah's jaw ticked. He then turned heel and went back to the stage where he stopped a male Lycan performer.

Noa let out a low growl.

Jehovah made a gesture towards the left side of the stage and the lights dimmed slowly before going out completely.

Paradox blinked, confused and dazed. He squinted in the darkness, hoping to make out some shapes, but it was too dark to see. He heard Caravel beside him sigh heavily, clearly annoyed by the situation.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls. Is everyone ready for a show? We may be fucked up, but you won't be lucked out. Welcome to Seicopathig, part two."

With Jehovah announcing this, the light went on, blinding Paradox for a moment. He shielded his eyes against the glare of the light, and once his eyes adjusted he saw Noa on stage, strapped on what Paradox vaguely remembered was called the Wheel of Death.

Despite Noa being so high up, Paradox could see the fear in her blue eyes. Her tail was puffy and her ears were flat against her skull. She was glaring at Jehovah who was swinging his staff around, grinning.

"It's been awhile since we've done the Wheel of Death, hasn't it, my guests?" Jehovah said grandly, arms stretched out wide.

"No shit!" A Lycan replied eagerly. "Was 'coz Miss Everglade went flyin' off!"

"What?" Caravel said, gripping the arms of his seat. "Is that thing safe?"

Paradox had to admit he was alarmed as well. Despite being wary and practically hating Hybrids and Lycans, in the end, they were still a life, whether he wanted to admit it or not. He didn’t want to witness something dangerous, such as Noa getting hurt or perhaps even dying, but he had no control over what happened to her. But he had control whether or not he wanted to continue watching. With that, he stood up from his seat, and Caravel shot him a look of what are you doing. Paradox muttered, “I’m leaving. I don’t want to stay here anymore.”

“But why?” Caravel asked.

“Look. Clearly this isn’t a ‘normal’ circus: it’s run by a sadistic Hybrid who doesn’t give a shit if someone gets hurt. I don’t want to witness anyone hurting themselves or dying. That’ll be traumatizing. So. I’m leaving.” Paradox placed the ringleader's top hat on the seat and began to make his way to the back. He tried ignoring the stares from the Lycans and Hybrids, hearing them murmuring words of mockery and venom.

"Leaving so soon?" a crisp voice asked when Paradox stepped outside the tent. He turned around and found a male Hybrid.

The male Hybrid was shirtless, muscles exposed, scars lining his chest and stomach. He had a peculiar scar near the base of his throat that looked like a tooth mark, but Paradox didn't want to know why or how this Hybrid got it. He wanted to leave.

"Are you mute?" The Hybrid asked, canting his head.

Paradox ignored the Hybrid, trying to walk away, but the Hybrid stopped him.

"Where are you going, newbie? Don't you know you're in Lumen Lunae, Byd Cyntaf? You're in the Lycan World. You better answer me."

"I'm leaving." Paradox said stiffly.

"Without your buddy?" The Hybrid asked, eyes wide.

“He’s fine.” Paradox said dryly, moving past the Hybrid who was blocking Paradox’s path. He suppressed a shudder when the Hybrid bumped his shoulder against Paradox’s; he hated the way the Hybrid was eyeing—eyeing him like a prey, like a pawn. It made him feel uneasy and uncomfortable. He heard the Hybrid whistling as he continued walking, never daring to look back once, but he knew the Hybrid was watching.

Watching with those moon-silver eyes.