Baya peeked out through the clinic's window, her head resting in her front paws. It was the first time she was in Issiq, and Ochre Dockyard looked very busy. Xunari of different shapes and species were chatting and trading their goods, standing under the warm sun slipping in between the sandstone buildings. The young Belemoid was glad that Quetzacoatl's clinic had air conditioning… She observed the murmuring streets and merchants carrying crates and vases of different shapes, filled with who-knows-what. Then, she observed a Tsabhua merchant tripped and dropped a basket full of colorful fruit, making a mess in the street.

"Eep!-" Baya squeaked suddenly, as someone tapped on her shoulder. Thankfully, it was just Journey - a lavender Tsabhua, who was there with her to learn how to become a physician. Seeing that it was him, she relaxed a little. "Ah, sorry, sorry… Just got a little spooked!"

"No no, I should be the one saying sorry - I didn't mean to scare you" he scratched the back of his neck, lowering his head. "I just wanted to say that it's time for us - Quetzalcoatl said that everything is ready"

"Okay! I'm coming" she nodded, crawling down from a windowsill and landing on the clean, tiled floor. Today, they were supposed to learn how to properly administer vaccines to patients, yet she couldn't help but feel a little nervous. It was the most basic and probably one of the most important skills, but to her it seemed to be quite a difficult one. What if the patient passes out because they are afraid of the needles?

Journey opened the door leading to the vaccination clinic and invited Baya to come inside first with a swish of his tail. She thanked him and walked inside, looking around. The room was tiled, squeaky-clean and smelled like disinfectant. It was spacious, with glass cabinets containing different medical supplies and equipment. Quetzalcoatl was waiting for them behind her big, yet very organized desk. Nearby her was a green examination couch behind a privacy screen, with a marigold aquatic Tark'ee peeking out from behind. They seemed to be the patient they were going to be vaccinating, looking at the fact they looked a bit nervous.

"Welcome! You two must be Baya and Journey!" The soft-nosed Tsabhua waved at the two. She gestured with her hand towards the sinks present in the room. "Before we start, please wash your hands and of course - put on your gloves. It's a very important step!"

The two nodded and immediately made their way towards the area with the sinks. Seeing that they were a little high, Journey looked around and noticed a small stool. He picked it up and put it in front of the sink, so that Baya would be able to wash her paws without standing on the tips of her toes. The whelp thanked him and hopped onto the stool. Instantly, she was faced with an instruction with pictures, about how to properly wash hands.

"There are instructions for hand-washing?" She peeked at Journey.

"Yes, dear!" Quetzalcoatl replied cheerfully instead of him. "You've got to get rid of all the bacteria and different germs, so that you and the patient are safe"

Baya nodded and strictly followed the hand-washing instruction, scrubbing her wrists, claws and the spaces between her beans. The Belemoid took her time, she had to get rid of all the germs.

"Hey, I think it should be enough scrubbing - you're going to scrub off your skin if you wash for too long," Journey told her, turning off the water.

"You're finished? That's great!" Quetzalcoatl seemed to appear next to them out of nowhere. Not only was Baya scared, but Journey has hopped up a little as well. She has a lot of energy! The young mare noticed. "Oh, I didn't mean to scare you two, sorry… Anyways now it's time for the gloves"

She gestured towards the table next to the sinks. On it there were three boxes with medical gloves, marked with the letters "S", "M" and "L" respectively. Baya reached out for the box that had been marked as "S" and pulled out one glove, only to see that it did not seem to fit her paws at all. Her ears have dropped - maybe this was just one faulty glove? Yet, when she pulled out two more gloves, they were all the same. It's already going all wrong and I'm only on the stage of putting the gloves on… she worried and peeked to look at her Tsabhua companion. It seemed that it was only her who was having problems, as Journey already had his gloves on - fitting his hands perfectly. His ears perked up as he noticed her eyes on him.

"Is there something wrong? Do you need help with anything?" Journey lowered his head to have a better look at her.

"It's just… None of these gloves fit me at all…" she sighed, fidgeting with the glove she was holding and pulling by its fingers. "What am I supposed to do?…"

"Ah - did I forget to bring the gloves that fit all Xunari? No need to worry my dear" Quetzalcoatl tilted her head and instantly rushed to one of the cabinets, digging through its contents. She returned with three more boxes of rubber gloves and put them down on the table. "Here they are - these ones are designed specifically for the hand shape of your species. It would be very unfair if you were excluded from safety or performing medical procedures just because of a different hand structure. Try these on"

Baya's eyes brightened up at this information and she reached out to pull out the new gloves and after putting them on and wiggling her fingers a few times, they fit perfectly.

"And how do these fit?" Journey asked.

"They fit… perfectly! Thank you, miss!" She responded, smiling at the medic.

"No problem, now I'll introduce you to our patient today"

Quetzalcoatl walked up to the Tark'ee who was resting on the examination table. Noticing that everything was already prepared for their vaccine, they began fidgeting with their claws,

"This is Splash - they are here to receive their shot today," the mentor introduced them. At this, they smiled awkwardly, waving their hands at the two. "Alright, first, we need to get the shot. It should be in the fridge, signed with the patient's name - could you get it for me?"

"Sure" Journey nodded and turned around to peek into the fridge. He pulled out a silver bag and opened it, taking out the syringe. "Here it is, should I remove the cap already?"

"Yes yes, open it so that I can explain how to use it - come closer, Baya, so that you can have a better look" she invited the whelp with a wave of her hand and waited until everyone was ready. "Many think that a needle is pointy like a spike - which is not entirely true. Yes, it's sharp, but the tip has a bevel with a hole in it. When we do the injection, remember to insert the needle with the hole upwards, not downwards. Today, we are doing an intramuscular injection - which means that the needle goes into the muscle. With vaccines like these we usually administer it into the shoulder area, but it can also be administered by injecting it into the rump. But today, we're going to go with the shoulder to not stress Splash out. Now, Baya, you're going to have a very important job, so listen closely"

Quetzalcoatl gestured to a small table near the examination bed. On it stood three objects - a box of gauzes, a spray bottle with a label that said "disinfectant" and a small, red plastic bin with a sticker with the biohazard symbol.

"Since Journey's already holding the syringe, he's going to do the injection - but you have to prepare the patient for that," she explained. "You can get infected with many dangerous diseases if the site is not disinfected. The process itself is easy, but very important. First, you have to spray the site with the disinfectant and then use a clean gauze to clean it. When you're finished - toss the dirty gauze into the biohazard bin"

The Belemoid nodded and took the spray bottle in one hand, and a clean gauze in the other one. She moved closer to Splash, who shifted to give her all the access, yet looked away. Baya sprayed two times and carefully rubbed and spread the disinfectant across the site, before tossing the gauze away into the tiny bin.

"Excellent!" Quetzalcoatl clapped her hands together. "You did absolutely great, dear. Now it's time for you, Journey. Remove the cap and I'd recommend flicking your claw a few times against the syringe, just in case any bubbles were there. Then, remove the little cap and toss it into the bin. When you're ready, I will guide you and show you the proper angle"

The lavender bull nodded and started following her instructions. Soon, the needle was prepared and the physician helped him guide it properly, explaining everything word by word. In the meantime, Baya has noticed that Splash was getting only more nervous. Her ears dropped a little and she reached out to put her paw on top of theirs.

"You can hold my hand if you're afraid," she smiled at them reassuringly. "It's only going to be a small sting - you'll barely feel it.

At her reassurance, Splash tried to smile back at her, yet their smile was a bit nervous. They squeezed her hand back and closed their eyes as Journey was just about to administer the vaccine.

"And - done!" Quetzalcoatl announced, patting the patient on the head. "Did it hurt?"

The Tark'ee opened their eyes, shocked that it had ended very quickly. They peeked over to their shoulder as Journey pressed a clean gauze against the tiny wound left by the needle.

"Hold it for a little while," he told them.

"Alright…" They nodded. "And no, it felt like a mosquito bite - I was scared for nothing but" they looked back at Baya, smiling at her. "Thank you for holding my hand"

"No problem!" She replied.

"Well, well well! You two did an amazing job for your first time" The medic said, putting her hands on Baya and Journey's shoulders. "You're going to be great physicians in no time - under my guidance, of course!"