The First Age

"You shooting for something with all these compliments?"
she said, shoving him in the ribs.

He gave her a big grin. "Hey. I am student of beauty. And when I see it, I have to say something."
He laughed to show he was being mock-seriousness while really still complimenting her.

At the table, she carefully touched the peace he was working on, almost tracing the lines of the feathered serpent. He watched her carefully. She was very skilled and he was curious as to her thoughts. "Nice,"
she said and he knew she meant it.

He was satisfied with that. It was very different than what he normal did, but he was proud of its alienness. Then she pulled out her work arranging it on the table. As always, her work was brilliant. As his eyes went over them- the vibrancy of the colors and the detail of the lines- he was impressed. She was explaining the location and size. And already in his mind he was imagining drawing with his gun, the contours of her arm and bone, the grain of the skin, the flow of the ink into it and the blurring.

"Unless she's a little person, I think the details will be visible. Shouldn't be much distortion, if any."


The door dinged and he looked up. A pretty girl came in, dressed in dark colors and immediately started talking. Despite the somber clothes, it was like a spring breeze had blown into the store and he smiled. She seemed to know Lucas' latest project- and the looks she was shooting at him said that she'd like to be the next one, for sure. That guy, Sergei laughed to himself, shaking his head. Oh well.

She came over to Thal and their greeting were quick before Rune was exclaiming over the drawings. Between the two of them, it seemed like the shop had been hit by a whirlwind. He liked it.

"So, Serg, what do you think? You're the one gonna do it, eh?"


He feigned insult. "Serg? What, do I look like, a hairdresser to you? Course with a pretty girl like you, I might put some color in it. I think it'd fit."
Then he gave her a wink and a smile. "Nice to meet you Rune."
Then, looking at the drawings, "They're beautiful of course. It IS Thal, after all. Question is how it will shrink and fit on your forearm. Take that jacket off and let me have a look."
He looked at her as if considering. "If you have Popeye forearms we won't even need to shrink the drawing down."
A smile to show he was joking.

Serg was quite the cat. All brusk and prickly to look at, but as soon as he talked, he melted like chocolate under your tongue. Yummy. Who knew tattoo guys were so ... distracting?

Rune pat Thal on the shoulder as they complimented her work. She was crazy talented, and Rune was more than in the girl's debt to have an original piece.

Serg asked to see her arm, and Rune obliged. As requested, she had a tank top on underneath, but immediately curled her arm up and flexed. "Pop this in your eye!"
she barked a laugh and relaxed, ready to go where told.

Aria had been days away from 16 the last time she sat in a chair like this. The pain was a non-memory, almost like it had never happened. How she managed it was pretty much beyond her, the control of her abilities she did not have. Aria could not remember actually getting that tattoo itself. She remembered sitting down and leaving with the newly fashioned knotted snake on her forearm.

The only explanation was that Father Dimitri had knocked her out. It made sense, he'd known of her ability, he'd known of her lack of control under emotional situation. She had killed that boy after all. She'd killed him with such an innocent gesture, she could have killed the tattoo artist. Fear welled up even greater in her mind. She didn't want to hurt Lucas.

Lucas spoke to her and she tried to answer the best she could through the fear. He was trying to make it easier, but her fear overrode that at the moment. Could she handle this? She hadn't thought it through completely. But it was too late. Lucas was preparing her, she closed her eyes and just focused on what his hands were doing. Nothing else. He asked her about the placement. She smiled and looked, he'd drawn it, he'd know. She nodded.

Knowing what Lucas was trying to do made a difference, he made her smile. And then he wanted her to count backwards by 3s. She couldn't drop into the state she wanted counting, it was counter intuitive to her. Aria imagined the single flame in her mind and started counting backwards. "100, 97, 94, 91, 88, 85, 82..."
She humored him, but when the gun hit her skin and the needle pierced its first mark Aria gasped. He told her to keep counting, she couldn't. "Can't."
She shook her head. She trusted him, but she had to do this her own way.

Aria closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and completely relaxed. The pain was sharp and she knew it would become overwhelming if she continued with Lucas' way, he was trying to distract her like a normal person. She smiled, she was far from normal. Aria embraced the flame she'd been taught. She pushed the pain into it and left nothing to feel. Everything became nothing, and something all at the same time. She was one with the chair, Lucas, even the others in the room. It was a warrior's mentality. She could feel the pain flitting on the outside, her hunger, her fear, everything just at the edge of the flame, but there was nothing but her and the flame. The peace and the solitude, she embraced the quiet. The world tried to press in on her, the need for the pain pressed the hardest, but Aria was stronger, she hoped.

The quiet was nice. "Pop this in your eye!"
Aria couldn't help but smile at Rune's exuberance.

Rune shucked her leather coat and then her hoodie so that she was wearing a tank top. He couldn't help but notice that she looked mighty good in that thing. Between the utility pants and her build, she looked like she could kick some serious ass.

As if she'd decided to confirm his impression she curled her arm and flexed. "Pop this in your eye!"
He laughed.

Grinning he said, "Hey now! Careful with that thing. You gotta conceal and carry for that?
Smiling, he gently took her forearm in his hands, mentally measuring. As he did he spoke. "What gym you hit? I train over at Gracie's. Good sparing over there. Should come by some time."
He could just encircle it with his fingers. She had good muscle. Skin was good too. There would be very little ink bleed. The detail would show.

He let go of her arm and said, "Nice spot, good skin. You have enough room and the detail will keep."
He nodded to the table. "Any of those Thal did will work. So make your pick there, sporty."



Edited by Lucas, Sep 3 2014, 11:54 PM.

The counting hadn't working for Aria and for a moment he'd wondered what to do. But she must have done something because when he looked up, her eyes had been closed and she was breathing evenly. Well, that was good.

His mind returned to his work, drawing the outlines of the dragons carefully, always wiping, always checking the lines and the bleed. After a bit of time, his perspective shifted, as it always did. Her flesh stopped being flesh. It became a canvas and he was drawing on it. Only it was a living canvas, warm and responsive. And his tool was a gun and needle, jabbing deep into the skin. The tattoos always cost something in blood, a sacrifice for the owner, the pain inflicted and willingly suffered for an eternal image. He felt almost holy as he worked, the priest placing the communion wafer in the mouth, it becoming the blood and the flesh of God as they communed with him.

Time drifted by unheeded.

Thalia grinned at Rune's effusive compliment, but in true British style chose to say little beyond a polite, "Glad you like them."
The fact she seemed happy for Sergei to do the work pleased her, though. She hadn't wanted to dictate to Rune - it was up to her which artist she chose to immortalise the image on her arm - but the guy was was fantastic at what he did. She popped up from her chair to hover as they poured over the designs, but drifted off while they got down to the detail of placement. Rune had a couple of options to choose from, and Thalia didn't want to influence her decision. It should be hers alone.

There was plenty in the shop to distract anyway, with all the pieces on the walls. The hum of the needle made her feel lethargic, and memory tickled the edges of her thoughts, but that sound also kept it at bay. A barrier of ink and blood. She was curious as to what Aria was having done, but didn't want to be rude. The woman seemed deep inside herself, and Thalia knew for a fact how much those things hurt, so her gaze swept over the two at work, and returned to the designs on the walls.

Rune scoffed. Da fuk was a concealed carry? But she soon got over it once talk came around to gyms. "Uh, don't got a gym. And I'm not really into sparring."
She wasn't gonna fist fight a monster. Shit, she was smarter than that. "But don't think that don't mean I can't knock you on your ass, Serg."
A wink went along with the taunt. Just cause she didn't see much interest in sparring (or fencing or any of those other fancy sports) didn't mean she wasn't a vicious scrappy fighter when need be. "But if you're asking me on a bro-date, get our pump on, yah know, I'd be down with that."


She settled into a chair where Serg could work with her arm. They talked shop for a while, specific designs or ideas where he could translate Thal's 2d work into 3d contours. No major changes. The tree branches, for instance, might twist or curl at slightly different angles in one version or the other. The violet flowers might cluster a little closer together in one spot and highlighted differently on another. Then there was the snake itself, nestled in the violets. Serg didn't have much opinion on it, but maybe to suggest a slightly different 'expression' on its face. Rune was pretty much into all his suggestions. He and Thal were the artists, not her. She was just the canvas.

She figured he'd need to go work on the drawings and transfers. Or maybe their shop had a laser system that projected the image onto her skin. She didn't know what to expect, but by judging the look on Aria's face, it was gonna suck. Oh well. Everything in life worth doing sucked to get it done.

Sergei laughed at Rune. "Guess you got some pep in you. I'll be sure to step quietly, ma'am."
Then he winked at her.

"But if you're asking me on a bro-date, get our pump on, yah know, I'd be down with that."


He looked at her quizzically? "A bro-date?"
He made it a point to lean back and exaggeratedly look her over, even making sure to look around like he was checking her out from behind. With an innocent smile he said, "I'll be honest. I haven't seen any bros as cute as you. Definitely got the curves."
His smile became a full on grin and he laughed. "But yeah, sounds fun. You can show me how to bench and stuff."
He laughed.

Then they got down to brass tacks. The design she'd chosen had a large tree with many detailed branches. There were also a cluster of violet flowers. But the most interesting aspect was that in among the violets was a snake, biting its own tale. He'd seen that design a couple of times. But here, amid the flowers, it looked almost hidden, deadly. As if a person could miss it until it was too late. He was curious as to its meaning. Usually- aside from the dumb drunk ones that people got on whims- tattoos were very personal and meant something.

As he discussed the changes that might occur in the image as it was projected from a flat 2d surface to the gentle curve of her arm- as well as the expression of the snake. Looked almost grinning.- he took the image and ran it through the processor. It projected the image on her stabilized arm. "You good with the location?"
At her nod, he processed the button and the outline appeared on her skin. It was a temporary thing, using similar principles to a copy machine, if he remembered correctly. In any case, there it was, ready for him to trace.

He sat down and put his gloves on and scooted his chair as close as possible. He was gonna be here for hours and made sure that it was a comfortable position for both her and him. He would be in her space for a while and she needed to be still. He looked her in the eye and made his voice the same reassuring comforting one he did for all his clients. "Alright. I'm not gonna lie. This will hurt at first. But gradually you will get used to the pain. It will fade to a background sensation."
His eyes softened and there was a twinkle in them. "But the body compensates. After a while, you start to feel a real sense of pleasure start from where the tattoo is being drawn and emanate outward. For some, it can almost be sensual."
He smiled at her and pointed to the full sleeves on his arms. "People can become addicted to that feeling."
He patted her shoulder. "You're a tough gal, remember? You can kick my ass, after all. Power through the first few minutes and soon enough you'll feel the pleasure of it."


He started the gun and the buzz of a second one- Lucas was still busy with his little project over at his chair- filled the shop. Then he dipped it in the black ink well. Then, just as he touched her skin, he asked- to distract her from the sudden pain- "Pretty cool design. Seems like it could have all kinds of meanings."

Lucas zoned out. It was in interesting feeling, knowing how hard someone was working on something that there was very little on their mind, it reminded her of the way Dane had been a quiet calm. Aria was thankful that the darkness hadn't decided to rise at the mere thought of his name. Aria doubted control was there, that it was under control. The deep mediation was likely the cause. But Aria could feel the pain starting to make cracks in her safety net, but she was fine for the moment.

Aria could feel Thalia wandering around. Rune was settling into the chair, and getting started. The additional amount of pain, made the bubble push in farther. It was getting harder to keep herself to herself. Control was slipping. Aria could feel it.

She took a deep breathe and opened her eyes and looked at Lucas' progress. She hadn't realized so much time had passed. Lucas was about 1/3 of the way done with the dragons. Aria smiled at him. He didn't really see, he was so involved in the work. Aria spoke softly. "I need a break. You don't want to me to lose control of the pain. And I don't want it passing to you."


"It's ok Aria. Take whatever time you need. You're doing good."
He was understanding, Aria wasn't sure why he was so patient with her. They'd only met yesterday, but it didn't feel that way.

Aria glanced over at Rune, she appeared settled into her own inking. "Rune, I heard you've been bumping elbows with the rich and elite. Got to meet Jaxen Marveet, eh? He all the tabloids say he is?"
Now it wasn't exactly the topic she really wanted to approach Rune with, but it came close, and talk of the rich and famous was something girls typically spoke of, at least when one girl meets one of the richest and one of the 'most eligible bachelors in Moscow. Not that Aria cared who he was. He was only of interest for his name on a certain list of gods that were being hunted. Yet Mr. Marveet still lived. The question was why? Aria didn't think she'd get an answer here, but the topic should put Rune's feelings about the man and their encounter right there for easy pickings.

((Thal feel free to ask Aria or take a look, rude or not she won't care hehe)

Aria spoke softly- "I need a break. You don't want to me to lose control of the pain. And I don't want it passing to you."-
and it broke him out of his concentration. He looked at her and then at the clock.

"It's ok Aria. Take whatever time you need. You're doing good."
Truth was, he had forgotten about her special...needs, once he'd started. He was in that place again, where time did not exist. Nothing did except the art and the needle and the ink and the skin.

He sat back and started to clean his needle and refill the ink wells. Aria called out to the girl- Rune was it?- something about the richy richs of Moscow. He thought it odd, but said nothing. Sergei was stooped over Rune's arm, inking her, while Thal wandered the shop, stopping at this or that piece on the wall. He looked from his wells to Aria's turned face. This was the first time it had gotten too much for her, when Aria'd had to stop him. They still had a ways to go.

As he worked, his eyes periodically flicked up to Aria. She was pretty. There was some definite chemistry there. The other girl was pretty hot too. And of course Thal. He smiled and looked back to his work. Kind of a lucky day, really. Three hot girls all walk into his shop roughly at the same time. He chuckled at the thought, eyes flicking to Aria and Rune once more. He saw Aria turn her head to look at him and he smiled at her. Yeah, definite chemistry.

When she felt ready, he would start again.


Edited by Lucas, Sep 11 2014, 04:44 PM.