"Sheep are really cute…" Claire sighed dreamily as they waved goodbye to Barley and May of Yodel Ranch.
"They taste pretty good, too," Karen smirked.
The farmer's face fell. "You're terrible!"
"She's right though," Cliff let out a small chuckle. "There's nothing quite like slow-roasted mutton; we never got to eat it much back at home."
The blonde sighed, but found herself laughing. "That's it! Neither of you are allowed in my barn after I buy livestock!"
"She won't notice one little missing lamb, will she, Cliff?" Karen nudged her friend. "I won't tell if you don't!"
The young man said nothing, but gave her a conspiratorial wink.
"And now you two are plotting right in front of me!" The farmer mock-pouted. "You two have no shame!"
Karen ruffled the blonde's hair and Claire let out a giggle. "You are perfectly adorable, Claire! Raise us lots of livestock for us to eat, okay?"
Seeing the horses, cows, and sheep of the livestock farm had put all of the friends in a cheerful mood. They had finished the southern section of town; Karen led the two up a cobblestone path to the north and stopped at a very official-looking building next to the church.
"This is our hospital. The doc's really nice. Let's go in and say hi," Karen opened the door and her friends followed.
"We've got some new patients!" Karen hollered as they walked into the sterile lobby.
"So, what seems to be ailing you?" The nurse frowned at the pair.
"Oh, no! We're not sick, w-we're just visiting," Claire explained, caught off guard by her concerned face. "Karen's showing us around town."
"Oh, well then, good afternoon!" The nurse had a sweet, motherly air about her although she looked like she was the same age as them. "Welcome. My name is Elli, and I'm the nurse here. Pleased to meet you. Feel free to stop by for a checkup any time. I also sell over-the-counter medicines."
"My name is Claire." The nurse seemed friendly enough, and the farmer relaxed a bit.
"So nice to meet you, Claire and…?"
The young man was distractedly staring at the jars of medicine behind Elli's desk with nervous eyes. His cheerful mood had disintegrated the moment they stepped through the door, and the sterile room seemed to release a sense of fear in him. "Uh… I'm Cliff…"
"Well, why don't you guys go see the doctor and he can register you two as patients? We'll just get some basic information on you so that when you come here for a real visit, we won't have to bother with the formalities, okay?" The nurse popped her head in the doctor's office. "Doctor Trent, we have a couple of new residents."
"Oh, good, send them in," a deep businesslike voice emerged from the doorway. Elli gave Claire a nod and walked back to her desk.
Karen gave Claire a nudge and the farmer nervously walked into the office, not realizing Cliff had followed her. Karen stifled a giggle and took a seat in the lobby; the young man looked very bewildered and confused.
The doctor turned around in his swivel chair. "Hello. Doctor Trent. Pleased to meet you," He nodded and shook their hands. "Honestly, a lot of people just call me Doc. New farmer, right?" He nodded toward the blonde.
The man had a very serious expression, and Claire got the distinct impression that his face rarely changed. His dark eyes were observing her as well, and the farmer noticed there was a subtle warmth behind them.
"Yes, my name is Claire." She sat down and placed her hands in her lap. Her friend watched her and quickly followed suit, taking a seat close to her.
"So is this your husband?" Trent pointed at Cliff with his pen.
"Oh, n-no! We're just both new to town," the young woman shook her head, flustered for a brief moment. She stole a glance at her friend and noticed his cheeks were flushed.
"Well, I can't see you both at once then," Trent sighed; he thought this much was painfully obvious. "Can one of you wait in the hallway for a moment? I don't want to violate any health privacy laws," he pointed at the door with his writing utensil.
"Uh… S-sure…" Cliff stood up and scrambled out of the room.
The doctor rolled his eyes at the young man and grabbed some forms. "Alright. I won't get too invasive today," he gave her a kind smile. "I'll just collect some basic information on you."
He recorded Claire's height, weight, blood pressure, and took a sample of blood.
"Are there any ongoing health issues that I need to know about?"
"W-well…" The young woman played with her hands. "I-I get…" Her mouth suddenly felt very dry. She tried again. "S-sometimes my heart starts racing and I feel dizzy and I have trouble breathing." Just talking about it made her feel the symptoms again.
The doctor frowned and scribbled on his notepad. He swiftly picked back up his stethoscope and pressed it to her heart. "Just randomly? When does this happen?"
She gulped; he was getting the wrong idea. Surely he thought she had some sort of severe health issue now. She began to wonder if she should have said anything at all. "N-no… I-I'm sorry. I'm not explaining it well… I just get nervous and then I feel this way."
"So it's anxiety then, huh?" His voice was gentle.
"Y-yeah. Panic attacks. I had one the other day and had to sit down for a while. I went home and slept really hard; I was really worn out." It didn't feel like her own voice admitting all of this. She felt too detached to be embarrassed.
"How often does this happen, and is there usually something you're doing that triggers them?"
"Maybe one every few days… M-meeting new people makes me anxious…" And trying to get Gray to notice me…
The doctor bit back a grin. "I suppose Karen's town tour isn't helping too much with that, huh?" He whirled around in his swivel chair and dug through the cabinet behind him. He produced a small amber bottle and opened the lid. "Here, take a whiff of this and tell me how it makes you feel."
She took the bottle in shaking hands and gave it a small sniff. Her nose was filled with a sweet floral scent that made her throat and muscles relax.
He saw the relief on her face and smiled; this was what he lived for, after all. "It feels good, huh?"
She nodded mutely and reluctantly handed him back the bottle. He shook his dark head. "Keep it. That's lavender oil. Try adding it to your soap or just dab some on your pressure points."
Claire immediately put some on her neck.
"It's not a medicine, but it will help you relax. Spend some more time with your friends and the social anxiety should subside."
"Th-thank you."
"If the panic attacks get worse, come back to see us. You also might want to consider visiting the church for some counseling. Pastor Carter is a very kind, sympathetic man. Why don't you send your friend back now?"
"Alright. Thank you, Doctor Trent…" She clutched the small bottle in her hand, feeling a sense of relief and pride in telling the doctor about her anxiety. She returned to the lobby.
"See? It only took a minute," Karen was rolling her eyes at Cliff.
"He's ready for you," Claire nodded.
She saw that her friend was looking at around the room as if he was expecting something to jump out at him. "A-alright…" He trudged into the doctor's office.
Claire took a seat next to Karen and the brunette let out an exasperated sigh. "That kid's never been to a doctor's office in his life. Can you believe it?"
The farmer shrugged. It was a little unusual, but judging from his clothing, he looked like he was from a pretty rural area that might not have very advanced medical equipment. "I wonder what he does when he gets sick, though…"
Karen shrugged.
"Alright, done!" Cliff hurried out of the examination room; one of his bracers had been removed and he had an elastic band around the exposed forearm. He tucked the unworn bracer under his arm. "Let's go."
"Get back here!" Trent's voice roared from his office.
Karen caught her friend by the shirt. "What on earth-?"
Trent stepped into the hallway.
"I-It's BA… neutral…" Cliff muttered. "I just remembered!"
"That's not even a blood type," Trent cocked an eyebrow.
"Of course it's not!" He laughed nervously. "I meant… A…B. Yes, AB!"
"It's just a small needle," Trent held up the syringe. "It will just take a minute. Besides, I need to know more than just your blood type."
"… AB neutral," Cliff repeated, clumsily tugging at the band on his arm, hoping that the addition of the new word held some kind of weight.
Claire frowned at her friend; his emotions seemed pretty erratic today, and she knew it was probably from all of the new people he was meeting. The young man seemed extremely agitated; she could see past his frail smile and his blue eyes were darting around the room in panic. Perhaps today simply had too much excitement and forced socialization for such a withdrawn person. "Cliff…"
Karen scowled at him. "Do you want to die if you get a blood transfusion? You can't just pick a blood type!"
"Come on, just a small sample of blood," Trent sighed.
Cliff bit his lip; he wasn't trying to be difficult… "Well, if all you need is a bit of blood…" He reached into his pocket and produced a hunting knife, "Why can't I just nick myself and you can catch the blood in a cup or something?"
Karen laughed heartily while the doctor's eyes widened in horror. Surely the young man used the same knife to gut fish. "That's not a sterile method at all! Besides, the needle will cause much less discomfort."
"I… beg to differ," the patient mumbled under his breath.
"Come on, he'll probably give you a lollypop if you're a good boy," Karen smirked at him.
Cliff turned toward his other friend and noticed she smelled rather nice. Despite his urge to panic, he felt himself relaxing a bit. "Did he make you do this, too?"
Claire held up a bandaged arm.
"Oh." He fell silent.
"Take a seat. Now." The doctor was tired of fighting.
The young man obeyed mutely and plopped on the couch next to Karen. She immediately stood up and averted her eyes, wandering over to Elli's area.
"Don't look at your arm; look at something else," Trent ordered, tightening the band on his patient's arm.
Cliff's eyes fell on his blonde friend and quickly dropped to the floor with embarrassment. He stared at the tiles on the floor, focusing on the sound of his own breathing.
"There, done. Not so bad, huh?" Trent patted Cliff's shoulder and swiftly bandaged the arm and removed the band in a fluid motion.
The young man didn't reply; he quickly covered the bandaged arm with his bracer with shaking fingers and looked up in surprise when Claire took the laces.
"These must be hard to tie yourself, huh?" She gave him a kind smile. As she laced up the arm wear, she noticed for the first time how many scuffs and scars covered the young man's arms and hands; one scar in particular looked jagged and appeared as though the skin had been stitched together by an amateur at one point.
"Th-thank you…" His eyes moved to the floor and his face flushed.
"That reminds me… Karen, you're due for your bloodwork soon," the doctor headed back to his office.
The young woman went pale. "R-right…"
"Don't put it off again like you did last time. Make an appointment soon," his voice was stern.
Karen swore under her breath. "Alright. Bye, Elli! Bye, Trent!" She dragged both of her friends behind her as she left.
0o0o0o0
Author's Note: Hope you're enjoying the story. I feel that it's important to introduce the readers and Claire to the people of Mineral Town, as they will be making more appearances later. As I'm sure you've probably noticed, I've given them a few quirks and faults to her friends to make them feel more genuine. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! More to come real soon!