Welcome to Gaia! ::

He had been able to wrap his mind around the fact that this building was sprawling in size compared to the small home-run clinics of the Empire. He could quell the urge to ask what, exactly, a Rheumatologist was or why it was that the white-clad human woman behind the desk in the front of the waiting area had pressed Baikou for her "last name" when 'of Heaven' didn't seem to appease. He could, even, try to ignore the strange chemical smells that hovered on the air as they had been ushered from the waiting area into a chilly sterile room filled with various implements and apparatus he didn't recognize.

What had finally managed to set Hitsuga off, however, and pierce any facade he'd been keeping about all of this being all right, was when the nurse had arrived to present Baikou with a thin scrap of material, asking her to please change into it for the duration of her examination.

.....which was why he was now outside the door, looking more than a little shellshocked, hands wringing at one another. Never, in ANY instance of his seeing a doctor, had an examination warranted disrobing.

Assuming the tentative call meant that she had finished changing, he hesitates outside for a moment before easing the door open and stepping back into the private office.

Does Baikou suppose this sort of thing is normal for Gaian doctors...? He doesn't--

He stops short, his eyes settling on her... eek

...and then quickly averting to the floor as he flushes brightly and turns away.

Sorry, he's so sorry, he didn't know she was still--

They had not told him much, he replies, the jittery tone of his projections suggesting he is conversing only because its something to keep his mind on other than her current state of dress (or lack thereof).

They had said that Hitsuga's involvement with the appointment and what might be done, if he was not family, ended as far as scheduling it for Baikou. And that his further involvement would be only at her consent.

He takes rapt interest in the several framed documents on the wall, perhaps making too big of a show of allowing Baikou as much privacy as possible given the situation.

He....does not suppose so, no. sweatdrop

But, he will stay for as long as Baikou would like him to, he adds, the projection flailing a bit as it tries to sound reassuring and then seeming to fall just short of doing so. If she--

The projected thought is cut off abruptly by a gentle rapping at the door which opens to reveal, on its other side, a friendly-looking human man with salt-and-pepper hair who is consulting the clipboard he carries.

"Good morning, Baikou...?" he says carefully. "Am I saying that right?" he asks, flashing her a reassuring smile, seeming to be testing the waters based on whatever has been noted in the files he carries.

Her demeanor clearly not lost on him, Dr. Brown keeps a careful distance from her for the moment, his reassuring expression not faltering, as he closes the door behind him.

"There's nothing to be sorry for." he responds jovially as he looks, again to the papers. "Nobody really ever wants to end up in one of these places, right?" he chuckles, casting a sidelong look to Hitsuga where he still stands near the wall, staring at the human male with mingled horror and fascination.

"The forms here say you're having some trouble walking, and some pain when touched? Would you like to elaborate a bit on that?"

Dr. Brown picks up his pen, scratching at the paper with it faintly as he notes down what Baikou says. At her question, his eyebrows raise as he lifts his eyes to regard her. "I probably won't be able to reciprocate it, but you can try me, if you like." he offers, clearly not a stranger to diverse ways of communicating in this world.

For his part, Hitsuga looks between a nigh-naked Baikou, the doctor, the back to Baikou, then back to the doctor. This scenario is all sorts of wrong to him....and for this complete stranger to be acting as if nothing is out of place somehow only compounds it gonk

Hitsuga is sorry. This is just... He shuts himself up, folding his arms over his chest to keep his hands from fidgeting, in a visible show of getting a grip on himself. Things are different here....things are different here.... he repeats this mantra to himself behind the wall of his mind until it becomes a meaningless drone of words.

Dr. Brown stops in mid-word in his note-taking, a minute array of expression playing over his face as his mind receives the projection. At length, making a curious noise as he reaches up to rub at his eyes with thumb and forefinger, he clears his throat.

"That doesn't seem very pleasant at all, no." he agrees, moving to the counter to set the clipboard aside. "Baikou, since this is your first visit, I'll do my best to make everything as easy as I can." he says, shifting his look to Hitsuga for a moment. "...for the both of you." the man adds with a smile.

"I'd like to start with some X-rays, just to have a look at your bones, and we'll go from there based on what we see."

Noting the twinge of fear, perhaps even used to it, Dr. Brown seats himself on the wheeled chair that sits near the counter, perhaps realizing how much taller he must appear than both Baikou and Hitsuga and that it likely isn't helping for calming either of them.

"You won't need to do much of anything." he assures her, assuming a reasonable tone that is carefully not condescending. "All an X-ray is, Baikou, is a machine that can see inside of you and take pictures of your skeleton. It doesn't hurt, it won't even touch you. I'll just need you to stand very still so it comes out clearly."