The clinic was more colorful than Wolf had expected. When she thought of a clinic she tended to imagine something white and sterile, but here... the walls were covered with flags of all colors. A rainbow flag, which she understood well enough, but there were several others that she didn't recognize at all. A yellow flag with a purple ring in the middle, a flag with yellow, purple, black, and white stripes, a flag with blue, pink, and white stripes, and all of that was just scratching the surface of the display. In addition to the flags, there was a small aquarium, some chairs, and the front desk, which Fox had been ushering Wolf towards. Behind the desk sat a lion who was idly playing with their mane. Didn't seem as though they'd noticed the two of them enter, they were just staring off into space, looking... bored.

Once he got to the desk, Fox cleared his throat, which got the lion's attention. Their face lit up once they saw who it was. "Well now, isn't this a surprise!" Their voice had an excited purr in it. "To what do I owe the pleasure, Mr. McCloud?"

"Yeah, I missed you too, Pride." Fox chuckled. "I'm here for my... friend. She's interested in starting HRT."

"Hm? Oh! Yes." The Lion finally seemed to notice her. "My apologies. Fox was one of our first... customers?" They glanced at Fox. "That sounds too buisniness-y, doesn't it?"

Fox shrugged. "Yeah, but it gets the point across." He rested his arm on the table and looked at Wolf. "This was the first Gender Clinic opened on Corneria, and even though it got some pushback at first we've thankfully reached a point where it's only a begrudging acceptance at worst."

"Yes, but that's enough of a history lesson for now." The Lion reached a paw across the desk. "The name's Lionel Pride, he/they. Well, currently. But no matter what, you can call me Pride." There was a twinkle in his eyes as he said that.

"I'm Wolf. O..." Wait, should she give her full name? Sure, she'd been given a pardon, but that didn't change the fact that there were still a lot of people who remembered her fighting alongside Andross during the Lylat Wars... She sighed. No, best not to hide it. Plus they'd probably need her legal name anyways. "Donnell. Wolf O'Donnell. And, uh, she/her." She took Pride's paw and shook it.

If they knew who she had been before, there was no sign of it in his eyes. "A pleasure to meet you, Ms. O'Donnell." Standing up, they gestured for Wolf and Fox to follow him to the back. "Before we can start anything, I've just got a few questions I have to ask you. Medical stuff, you know how it is. Probably."

The questioning went by in a blur. The excitement, knowing that she was so close to something she hadn't known she wanted, hadn't even known was possible a week ago... it made it hard to focus on anything but her heart trying to beat out of her chest. Pride went over the list of side-effects with her, made sure that she was of sound mind before making the decision, and a few other things before nodding.

"Well, that covers almost everything, just need to decide if you want any surgeries too."

"Surgeries?" Wolf tilted her head to the side, slightly confused.

"Yeah, you know. Facial feminization, vocal surgery, bottom surgery, top surgery... basically anything that HRT doesn't change that you would want in order to feel at home in your body."

Wolf thought it over for a bit, but shook her head. "I'll pass, but thank you."

Pride made a few more notes on their clipboard then stood up. "Sounds good! Follow me and we'll get you started."

If you had asked Wolf where she'd be today just a week ago, 'standing in front of a teal blue pod as big as she was while wearing a hospital gown' would haven't breached the top 100 guesses. She gazed through the window on the front of the machine, lost for words.

"So you'll get in the Pod and we'll hook you up." Pride explained as they did some last minute adjustments. "The liquid has a light anesthetic, so you'll fall asleep, and over the next three days you'll effectively go through a second puberty, giving you the same effect of years of traditional HRT! Plus," he grinned, "it's a one-and-done, unlike pills or injections."

Wolf nodded. She glanced over at Fox. "You'll tell Panther where I am, right?"

"Obviously. And I've got transport arranged for you for when you're done."

Pride opened up the Pod, gesturing Wolf forward. With a gulp, she advanced. Once she was inside, Pride attached several wires and sensors to her, one under her tongue, two on the front of her chest, two on her back, four on her arms and four on her legs, and one on her forehead. With the final additions of a breathing tube and an iv drip, she was as ready as she could be. With one last sheepish wave to Fox, the Pod closed, and began to fill with pink liquid. As she fell into a deep slumber, she closed her eyes. The only thing left to do is to wait.

"Welp! Only thing left to do is wait." Pride said, dusting off their hands.

"No kidding." Fox said. "Remember how it used to take months for the same effect?"

"Oh, don't remind me." Pride laughed. "Peppy was not happy at the thought of leaving you in one of those for that long."

"Heh, yeah. I do not envy you having to convince him every few days, though."

"Eh, that's what friends are for, right?"

Fox smiled and nodded. "Yeah, it sure is."

"Still... can't say I expected for you to bring the leader of Star Wolf in here." He stroked his chin, then shrugged. "So long as it makes her happy, though."

"Like you said, that's what friends are for."

"And you two are... friends?"

Fox gave them a look. "We're not more than friends, if that's what you're asking." The two of them started to head back to the front desk as they talked. "And... I dunno. Whether we're friends, rivals, or whatever, I can't just sit back and watch someone suffer with what I had to."

"That's fair, I guess." They walked in silence for a bit before Pride piped up again. "Speaking of being 'more than friends', though, you popped the question to Krystal yet?"

"I- wh- huh?" Fox could feel his face turning a bright red. "I, no, why, uh..."

"Relax, bud, I'm just messing with you." Pride said, giving Fox a playful nudge. "Though I'm not sure why you're acting all aloof, it's no secret that you two are an item."

"I... yeah... I just..."

"You know you can talk to me, right? About anything."

Fox nodded. "I do, and I might, but there's... someone else I should talk to first."