Grace glances at Matron, who gives her a stern nod, and then looks back at you before sighing.
"I know," she says. "I get it. It's just…well, the blood, the skin, and the eyes. That's where it gets a little intense for me."
You look at Matron. "Look," you say, "it's going to be fine, right? Like, she'll be completely okay and unaffected by it?"
"Oh, absolutely," Matron says. "There should be no ill effects whatsoever: my methods are completely safe for humans and inhumans alike."
You look back at Grace, trying to gage her reaction to this. She seems, at least, a little calmer. When she meets your eyes, she slumps a little, as though some of the tension has gone out of her.
"Fine," she says. "Just…try to make it as painless as possible, maybe?"
Matron gives another brisk nod. "Believe me," they say, "with the range of sedatives I have at my disposal, you'll have no idea that anything is even happening. I am, if nothing else, an artist."
A few seconds after she's up on the table, Grace's concerns largely seem to vanish, whether they involved the procedures in her immediate future or anything more abstract. Whatever Matron's got in her lab, they certainly seem to be more potent patents than anything you'd find under the counter, or even from less-than-legitimate purveyors.
"This will take some time," Matron announces after a brief glance over Grace. "In the meantime…" They turn to you all. "Do the lot of you not have something more productive to do than stand about here until I'm finished?"
"I mean…Fritz is sort of missing an arm," Michelle points out. "We should do something about that, probably."
You all turn to look at Fritz, who's propped up between Val and Romilly. His skin seems to be gradually turning gray.
"Looks like your standard prosthetic job," Matron says, sounding uninterested. "I have a wide selection of replacement limbs: one that transforms might take a little longer, but I can get to work once these tests are over." They reach into their pocket, taking out a small vial of pills and tossing them to Val. "Give him one of these so that he doesn't die."
Val, looking alarmed, begins fumbling with the lid of the vial.
"I guess we could be getting on with something," Max says. "There's got to be one or two things worth doing."
"I'm staying with Fritz," Val says, having finally placed a pill into the werewolf's sagging mouth. "Someone should, if Matron's going to be busy."
"Well," Sonia says, "we could probably shut some of the doors to this place. If our fellow students have all gone feral, that might be a good safety precaution."
There's a clatter from over by the table as Matron stares at your group, with Grace sitting up to gaze at you as well, though her eyes seem to be having some trouble focusing.
"You didn't lock any of the doors?" Matron demands, disbelief filling every syllable.
"It all happened so fast!" Sonia protests.
"Unbelievable," Grace comments, somewhat dreamily, before she settles back down on the table.
"Absolutely unbelievable," Matron agrees, raising their scalpel again.
"Okay," Max says, raising his hands. "I can lock the doors. Anyone want to come with?"
"I'll come," Sonia says reluctantly. "Gods know what'll happen if we let you wander around by yourself. You'll probably go all naturist again."
Max nods coolly. "What else needs doing?"
"We might want to try to get a look at what's happening out there?" Michelle suggests. "We've no idea what the students could be up to."
Renault floats forward. "I can handle that," he says. "Shouldn't be too difficult to spot."
"I'll stay here," Michelle says with an uncertain glance at Matron. "You know: keep an eye on things." She looks at you. "What about you?"