Welcome to Gaia! ::

Canti was a strangely co-operative child, to say the least. However, when he was told about these 'vaccinations', even he had to squirm a little. It just didn't sound at all appealing, even though Lucas had attempted to speak to his more OCD side saying it was simply to keep his insides clean forever. Lucas had adapted to speak to him in terms he could understand. Bleach flowing through his systems, though, didn't sound all that good either. That was why he wasn't allowed to drink it. It had been a valiant effort, though.

The ant child was clinging tighter to his father's hand than he ever had entering D-Corp. He was scared, but he tried not to let it show too much. Somehow he knew that even if he did, Lucas would make him go anyway. This was important.

A knock would come to Angela's door, father and child standing in the hallway while the tech peeked in to see if the doctor was ready.

Lucas was always awkward when it came to handshakes, but he smiled to Angela anyway and reached out. His hand, enclosed in a latex glove, wrapped fingers around hers and held on briefly, before he let go once again. From the look in his hazel eyes, he was a bit nervous too.

"Is there anything I can do to help?" He asked her, wondering if he would need to leave.

The question she addressed him with was a good first move for her, for the ant boy shuffled and seemed to relax a hair. The doctors and teachers here were usually very kind to him, and he was glad this one who was supposed to be cleaning his insides seemed to be too. His old instincts were kicking in, and he gave her a shy, fearful little smile.

"I am being okay, Miss Angela," He said softly, trying not to whimper as he did, "Can I be seeing the cleaning device?"

Lucas gave something of a sheepish look to the other woman, hoping she could work with it.

That seemed fair enough, Lucas decided, a little relieved he wasn't going to have to leave. In a way, he really did. He wasn't bad for shots himself but he didn't know if he could actually watch what he considered his child go through the process. He would, however, be there for Canti if that's what was asked of him. He already knew he would be.

Canti loosed his hand from his father's and followed Angela's gestures. He stepped closer, peering at the metal of the needle, picking up the alcohol swabs. They were given a short sniff before he flinched back, satisfied. They SMELLED like cleaning products...

Finally, he looked at the little bottle of liquid, finding nothing special about it in the look. That was going inside him? While it didn't look horrible...

"Ok." He finally said, glancing to the adults before he began for the examination table, pulling himself up to wait.

Canti would have been more than pleased to make a new friend, but at the moment his mind was elsewhere with worry. He remained still for the doctor, offered her a small smile even. Then he blinked, feeling a hand cautiously stroke through his hair. He glanced over with eyes only to see Lucas near him, putting those latex-coated fingers through his chopped lavender locks.

"Don't look at it." He advised the boy, and set the hand on his opposite shoulder. The photographer made sure to stay out of Angela's way, gently tapping the boy's arm to encourage him to put it out. The ant seemed to relax a little visibly, leaning back a little into his guardian, the tension that he had tried to keep invisible nearly all seeping out of him as he allowed his head to fall back. No matter the temptation, he looked at the tiles in the ceiling now.

As the needle was inserted into his arm, the ant closed his eyes and the barest whisper of a whimper clawed at his throat. His exoskeleton was hard, but he did have nerves running thick through it. It was like piercing bone. The insertion of the liquid was even worse, burning through his system, laboring his breathing a bit. For a minute after she had finished, Canti just sat there, leaning back into his guardian as he willed the waves of pain to go away.

Well, sure there seemed to be no seepage. There was a visible hole burrowed in him, quite a bit more apparent than it would have been in normal skin. The vaccine was racing through his veins quickly, and her rubbing did help some to encourage his tissues to pump it along. His antennae twiddled weakly. He was just ready to go home...

Until she mentioned candy. He perked right up, scootching away from Lucas to the edge of the table where his lower arms held on and allowed him to lean. "A lollipop?" His eyes shone, feet kicking anxiously. He loved sugar! Suddenly, Angela was his most dearest friend in all the world. He beamed at her hopefully.

The ant hopped down from his perch, wobbling a little when he hit the ground. The vaccine had made him feel a bit woozy, and he leaned back against the examining table a moment more, blinking, before he moved toward the directed candy jar. He was really glad he'd been cooperative for the nasty injection, not that he had really considered otherwise anyway.

After plucking out a couple of the small lolipops, he unwrapped one and proceeded to search out the wastebasket.

Lucas smiled at Angela in the meantime, mouthing a soft but grateful 'thank you'. He was glad that they'd yet to come across a particularly cranky tech. Not that he was a great judge of character, but Angela also seemed to have a more personable nature about her.

"I am to be thanking you, Angela!" Canti returned, the stem of the sucker hanging from the corner of his mouth. He approached the woman, opening his arms to hug her about her waist. He was only about as tall as her belly button. Lucas had to wonder if she'd ever gotten a four-armed hug before.

He seemed to be all the happier when she returned the hug, positively beaming in a way that somehow lit up his dark frame. He forgot all about the nasty needle then, made a subconscious note as to the doctor's name for later. With reluctance, he pulled away, glancing to his caretaker.

The photographer couldn't help but feel a little more heartened himself, it was quite a sweet scene. He held out his latex-covered hand for the boy to come to, and grasped the smaller one when it slipped into his. "Good bye, Doctor." He felt heat flare in his cheeks, more shy than his ward at this point.

"Goodbye Ms. Angela!" Pipped Canti, his three free arms waving to her until they slipped out into the hall and made their way home.