First Ink

[Elanora Brennan]

Today was the day, Nora had been wanting to get a tattoo for as long as she could remember but she didn’t want to get just any old thing. She loved tattoos but believed they should mean something to the person getting it. She couldn’t understand those people who walked into a tattoo parlour and just got any old flash art from the walls put permanently on their skins. True she didn’t have a deep and profound meaning behind the tattoo she wanted, but she had done her research.

She had the sketchbook in her gear sack which held the design she had been working on for the last few months as she rode toward Ink on the Vine. She didn’t have an appointment but she wanted to get some quotes, figure out time frame for the piece and in general get to know the artist a little to make sure she was the right artist for the job.

Turning the corner the shop came into view ahead and Nora eased her motorbike into one of the too small for a real sized car spaces out on the street. She felt nervous as she killed the engine and propped the bike on its side stand swinging her leg off. After removing her gloves and helmet she stowed them in the gear sack withdrawing her sketchbook instead.

Hugging it to her chest slightly, her head went down staring at her jeans as her red hair fell loosely around her face. She took a deep breath and walked up to the door of the studio. Pushing the door aside she stepped into the little shop, it was clean and tidy which was a good sign to Nora, there was wonderful artworks all on the walls, none of that cheap and nasty flash art she detested.

She was so busy looking at the room she almost didn’t notice the girl in the room or pick up on her power right away though once she did she was intrigued. She could get a vague sense of the girl’s power, it definitely tied in with her art but she couldn’t pin it down, it wasn’t one she was familiar with. She tried to ignore the pulsing behind her eyes from the power sensing and smiled a slightly timid smile at the girl.

“Hi I was wanting to get some information about getting a tattoo done?” even though it was a statement it came out sounding like a question. Nora wasn’t very good at this whole social thing anymore. She stood near the doorway clutching her sketchbook unsure if this was a good idea anymore. Nora didn’t like showing her art to people much and here she was thinking about getting it permanently on her skin. What are you doing! Ran through her mind on a loop.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Today was, by all accounts, a regular working day for Lucy. The rush of an incredibly busy month wasn't something that settled so easy, but when it came to the presence she had here, there wasn't much choice. From what she'd learned in her time here already, Christmas was the time for passing easy cash between relatives, and the border to the new year had people strolling in with resolutions that needed physical expressions.

For the time she had, she found herself behind the front counter. Availability was as it was; putting herself in the line of sight was only logical. And as a person dragged themselves through the door, Lucy watched the way they watched the adjacent walls. Gauging the space before the people was good. It was the reason examples were slung on the walls. Catching bright eyes in her dark ones, she raised her eyebrows, finding no need to give a greeting when she started the conversation.

She recognised the accent right away. Nothing from the familiar cities of her home country, at least. The revelation put a quick grin to her mouth, lips tugging upwards at the corner with a familiar sense of knowing.

"I'm free enough." Lucy replied in turn, raising a hand and waving her inward. In the same motion, she left the sanctity of a counter space, stepping around to be a little more available. Easy inspection of the ink manipulator showed tattoos from her fingers to the various characters up her left arm, "What can I help you out with?"

[Elanora Brennan]

Taking a calming breath Nora stepped closer to the woman in the shop as she in turn stepped out from behind the counter, Nora pulled the art book away from her chest some mentally prepping herself to show her work and request it as a tattoo. It helped her to show this women when she recognized the presence of an Australian accent in the girl, she wondered which part of Australia she had come from, maybe if she agreed to do Nora's tattoo she could find out. She was proud of this piece she had to keep mentally telling herself as she flipped her book open to the correct page turning it to show the women.

"I was kind of hoping to get this done on the outside of my upper left thigh, I totally understand if you want to put your own spin on it I know it can be challenging copying other peoples work" She spoke somewhat softly but loud enough to be heard. The image she showed was a bit of a stylized owl with keys hanging from its claws. She had designed this for herself when she had decided it was time to stop living in the shadows so to speak. Nora had always loved owls and had done some research into them finding the symbolism associated with them matched what she was and what she wanted to be so well she just had to get an owl, she had decided to add keys to the drawing to remind herself she needed to unlock her future.

*Note drawing is not mine belongs to the amazing Becstar Creative Artist I just love her work!

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Lucy raised her eyebrows almost knowingly to the book she seemed to be carrying. The natural penchant she carried for artwork left her home riddled with similar sorts. And no matter who was about to be the recipient of a glimpse, it was always personal. Despite the usual, notoriously harsh way she could be around most people, work provided a different subtext entirely. She was interested. She always had to be.

There was an almost meek presence to the girl with the similar accent who was clearly striving for a shot of change. Stories over why anyone ever got a tattoo were usually those that filtered through not long after ink was first pressed into the skin. "Well, you gotta live with it for the rest of your life." Relatively speaking, of course. But even in the time where they lived, these things still felt incredibly final; "Cause I don't have to change a thing about it. It'd be just like that if that's what you're keen for."

[Elanora Brennan]

Nora smiled, she was secretly happy the artist didn't need to change anything she did want it to be as close her what she had designed as possible. "Thank you, yes this is definitely what I want, I was thinking with a little bit of purple and blue shading added to the owl if that is possible?" Starting to feel a tiny bit more relaxed as the artist hadn't made any remarks about the work not being good enough.

"So do I need to book an appointment for sometime? I'm Nora by the way, nice to meet you" She rambled slightly feeling awkward and uncomfortable not knowing the process of these things, and feeling bad for not introducing herself when she first walked in. Was that something that even needed to be done at a tattoo shop? She wasn't sure but what's done is done so she stood in her jeans and a bike jacket waiting for instructions as to what the next step was. She figured she probably should have called ahead and booked an appointment but she had wanted to meet the artist before committing to one.

Despite her social anxieties she felt good about this artist, she had a cool look to her, and seemed to be from first impressions pretty easy going and like she wouldn't judge Nora for being the awkward person she was. The fact that she didn't want to change Nora's drawing gave her even more points in the shy redheads books.

**Finished tattoo for reference once again all the amazing Becstar's work

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

"Absolutely. Anything you need." Lucy replied instantly. There was comfort in the obvious agreement that coincided with someone who just couldn't make a mistake on something so serious. And given the World of Warcraft sword imprinted on her right arm, she easily wasn't a person to judge over what another person ended up wanting.

"Lucy. Serrano." She greeted in response, completely blanking and oblivious to the lack of a recently attached second surname; "Hey." A glance upwards from the drawing in question so she could give something of a smile in response. Even she had totally forgot to give a name before they started talking. "And that sorta thing's totally up to you. I don't have anymore stuff booked in today, but you're looking at sitting for a few hours and you'd totally have to get a bit of your kit off."

She looked downwards instinctively at the jeans she'd decided to wear. It wasn't exactly a mistake, but few people were interested in hanging out with the ink manipulator pantsless. "But I can always draw it up, if you're keen, and you can have a think over the sketch." She offered, raising her eyebrows at her own suggestion. At the very least, it would give her something to do and company for a little while longer.

[Elanora Brennan]

Nora couldn't help smiling at Lucy, she was so easy going it almost made Nora forget how non easy going she herself could be. She was so excited by the fact that the girl might be able to do the tattoo for her today, the sooner the better she thought privately to herself. She didn't want to end up changing her mind out of fear, never having had a tattoo before she wasn't sure what to expect but she did know when it came to needles she wasn't a fan. She didn't faint or freak out over them or anything like that, so long as she never saw the needle and stayed looking at a blank wall while all the prep work and the actually stabbing part was being done she was perfectly fine.

It was when she watched the process that he had panic attacks, usually silent ones running through her head, occasionally ones severe enough to make her leave without the needle being administered. However that hadn't happened since developing her wall staring coping mechanism.

She noted Lucy's glance down at her jean covered legs, and the comment about getting her kit off. "That's okay I think I can cope with that, if you could fit me in today that would be amazing, I kind of figured where I wanted it would require that, and well Jeans are the only real choice on the motorbike, at least if you don't want your skin to be grated off in an accident..." She pulled herself up stopping her rambling there, after so long being a recluse apparently she only had two settings left in her mind, dead silence or rambling idiotic train wreck, she definitely needed to work on that she thought silently to herself.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

A statement wrapped in a little concept about a motorbike had Lucy's eyebrows raising. It was a deep enough curiosity that she had to find a kind of intrigue in it, but she pressed her lips together to stop herself from grinning in that interest. "Yeah, I can see why you'd wanna avoid that." Lucy replied with a short enough laugh. Given the way she looked, any damage would just be a shame.

Lucy was clever then with the way she approached the next subject. Artists and their work - however new or old - had that slightly strained sense about giving it up. She barely pressed a hand to it, but the second she made contact with any kind of paper a myriad of works were flagging her attention without sight.

"Can I take this? I won't rip the page out or anything, I just need to copy it. I'll have it back to you in a few." She explained, confidence rocking her tone of voice. Tracing for anyone was something of a chore, but the most minor groves to a piece of paper by weapon of choice made the entire process a lot easier for someone who had such a unique set of skills. "You can hang around, if you want. Give good company while I'm working." Or she could leave and come back when it was done. Really, such a thing was up to her own preference.

[Elanora Brennan]

Nora noticed the eye raise when she mentioned the motorbike it wasn't uncommon, even back in Australia motorbike riding was a more male dominated past time and it often surprised people to hear she rode or to see it in person on occasion as well. Nora smiled lightly and nodded her head at the tattoo artist’s comment about wanting to avoid having her skin grated off. She had seem many articles about motorbike injuries and had also witnessed a few first hand from her mum’s friends who also rode.

Her first instinct was to pull away as the girl reached for her sketch pad but she forced herself not to and to instead pull it away from her body and toward Lucy's hands. She felt nervous as the let go of the sketch pad and watched it in the hands of another person, but she was also excited. Nora wasn't sure what she wanted to do, she didn't know if she was very good at being good company, but she didn't want to stray too far either in case she lost her nerve.

"I can try and be good company, I need the practice" she finally said laughing nervously at herself, it was somewhat easier for her in a professional setting but she still felt like she failed on the whole social level. "I can always find something to do though if it is distracting for you to have me here" she added, personally she drew better alone but she guessed a tattoo artist would be more used to completing their art with an audience, still she felt the need to offer the girl a chance to send her away while she drew if it was easier for her.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Tattoos made people nervous. Lucy learned that incredibly quickly; few would have a first time story like hers, and that was probably for the better. If nothing else, she had an interest in giving a good experience for something so seemingly daunting. She was careful to take the sketchbook away from its owner. She was even safer when it was completely in her possession.

"Nah, c'mon, you'll be fine." Lucy replied. After all, she was incredibly used to dealing with an introvert on a daily level. This was simply a more standard denotion of such a fact. A quick wave of her free hand and she was already taking familiar steps past the counter and to the closest available lighting box. Pressing the page to the surface, a traceable sheet covered over the top. And with a pen in her hand she started making quick work of the detailed page.

"You could always start by telling me where you're from. Maybe even how you ended up in Vermont, but I reckon I could take a decent guess."

[Elanora Brennan]

Feeling a little better about having to not being a potential pain in the girls butt by hanging around she shifted her weight before deciding sitting on the little couch to the side might be the least awkward thing while the girl got to work. Perched on the edge of the couch still not totally relaxed she enjoyed glancing around at the art on the walls, her eyes moved back to Lucy when she asked where Nora was from and how she came to be in Vermont.

"From Western Australia originally I came to Vermont for the same reason you do I would assume, to attend Hammel" she said not even thinking about the fact that the girl had never actually told her she was powered, Nora just knew because of her own power and she often forgot to consider the fact that she should probably wait for them to tell her they had a power instead of just blurting out that she already knew about it. However Nora wasn't good at diplomacy anyway, shutting yourself off from the world will do that to you.

"Did you do all these?" she asked absently pointing to the walls her attention had drifted back to them, "they are great" she spoke with true appreciation in her voice.

[Lucy Serrano-Blaise]

Pursed lips worked in tandem with a nod of her head to the side; Lucy would never have guessed she had anything to do with the other side of their mutual country, and perhaps that was the point. She rolled her shoulders back out of an instinct at the name of her prior high school. It always carried the kind of bitter sweet nature that would be expected from a story like hers. It wasn't nice to fail multiple times, but it was forgivable for the fact that she wouldn't have met her significant other by any other means.

"A few, yeah." She replied easily, "I mean, I don't own the place, but being the second chair in a two-chair shop's got its perks." With a slight raise of the pen in her hand, she indicated to a few idle prints on the wall. How shaded colours seemed to blend with an almost unnatural perfection. "You got your passport on you? It's a formality thing." She added lightly, but she didn't bother to look up. Without the proper identification there was little she could do today, but musing over the sketch was comfort enough.

"And while you're digging for it, you could tell me what got you into that school in the first place, if you want." The corner of her mouth dragged upward to the grin she couldn't help but wear; "I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours."

[Elanora Brennan]

Nodding with understanding Nora looked at the images Lucy gestured toward and was amazed by just how well they blended together. “They are amazing” she said with true appreciation before looking back at Lucy when she mentioned a passport. A frown creased her facial features slightly, “I don’t but I do have my motorcycle licence on me… is that ok? If not I can totally go home and get it, we don’t live far” she said wondering if she should be getting it out of her pocket of grabbing for the bike keys and racing home. Worse case she would have to wait for another day to get the actual tattoo done but that wasn't too bad since she originally hadn't thought she would be able to be fit in today anyway.

“I got shoved in there because turns out I am a meta sensor, pretty sure I would have been better off not going in the first place though” she answered the question curious to see what this girls power was, she could sense it but she wasn’t familiar with the feel of this power as she hadn’t been around it before so she couldn’t say what the actual power was, all she knew at this stage was that Lucy had a power.

She sat perched on the very edge of the couch poised to either reach for her licence in her pocket or get up and leave to retrieve her drivers licence from the filing cabinet at home. she figured it would be best to wait and see which option it was going to be before springing into action and possibly making a fool or herself.