RP:Tattooing Smoke

This is a Rogue's Guild RP.

Summary: At SoulsKin, Rynvale's premier tattoo parlor, Nort gets some new ink from Lita. Leo joins the fray to enjoy the atmosphere and discuss some current events.

Lita is seated on the workbench at the back of the shop, leaned back with one elbow propped against the table behind her, a lit cigarette pinched between her fingers in her lap. One leg lifted, toes poised on the knee of a gruff looking man sitting across from her, looking every bit her opposite. Cal is a smuggler by trade on good days, a friend. With loose fitted clothes and boots marred in dust and age, the cut of ice blue eyes the only thing to belie his years. Calloused hands tug at the bone charms of the anklet on Lita's foot as he eyes the cigarette in her hands. "What do you know about Nasar?" She asks for the twentieth time. "More 'an you, apparently." The man drawls, leaning forward to snatch the cigarette, though she tugs it away, lifting it to her lips. The pull of smoke fills the shop with the scent of cloves and spice and she exhales slowly. "I'm asking nicely." She pouts. Cal folds his arms across his chest to regard her. "Your nice is terrifying." She manages a laugh and hands him the cigarette back finally.

Nortengaal is whistling a little ditty, an aimless tune mixing a number of more recognizable things into an interesting amalgam of sound as he walks along, approaching the SoulsKin tattoo shop. It’s only been a couple of days since he was last there, commissioning a piece for his forearm, but he’s hopeful that Lita will be ready to get to the work tonight. If not that’s ok too, the chance to visit is also a good enough reason to swing by, as far as he’s concerned. Reaching out he knocks on the door, pausing a second before walking in, the tune trailing off into the ether as he lets it die out. It takes a moment for him to register the vamp champ in the back, view partially blocked by someone he doesnt recognize, but once he does he gives a little wave to go along with his spoken greeting. “Hey there. I hope i’m not interrupting anything.”

Leoxander was in the area. Well, duh. Probably inspecting the next door property or the beach space spread between the two villas, which wasn’t too far away to sense some activity in Soulskin. Especially when he got close enough to catch sight of the Bearman making his way inside. Reason enough to crash, he figured. The bottle of beer he’d been nursing for a while was chucked out toward the waves on the way - it wasn’t littering when that glass vessel could be some poor marooned soul’s only way of saying his farewells to the world beyond. He sped his momentum up to a lazy jog that allowed him to catch the door before it fully closed, sharp ears catching the therianthrope’s words. “The door would’a been locked or you’d have a knife thrown yer way by now.” He reassured before Lita or Cal could answer, the latter of which received a level look from the pirate because, well… he hadn’t seen much of him in a long while despite that he was working in the shop, now and then.

Lita leans sideways a bit to catch site of Smoke making his entrance. Probably it was that tune that caught her attention first though. Followed by familiar blonde hair, the pirate earning a smile for that remark as he entered. "Heya, Smoke." She calls out. "Not a thing, just talkin' shop." Cal grins, knowing that the newcomer's entrance means he skates Lita's questions for the time being. "Not done with you." She says, eyeing the smuggler as she nudges her foot into his knee. Cal's disposition with most people is more salt than sweet these days. Age has not afforded him Leo's sensibilities. He grunts a complaint at Lita but she turns back to Nort again. "Got the colors mixed for your piece if you've a bit of time." She offers. And then to Leo, "Mahri find you yet?" She trusted Nort just fine, would have dragged him along to Vailkrin too if she'd have found him the night prior in time. But she knows there are some things the she-wolf has wanted to discuss with Leo herself.

Nortengaal ’s ears twitch at Leo’s words as he turns a bit to regard the man with a slight grin, the only thing indicating that he hadnt expected the rogue to appear behind him. You know, for a guy with the senses he has, Nort sure gets caught off guard more often then he should. Then again, when you spend most of your time with rogues and the like, it kinda comes with the territory. “Hey Leo. Good to know.” Turning back to Lita he smiles excitedly, and nods with enthusiasm. “I do in fact; s’why I swung by.” He’s of course intrigued by her question to Leo, wondering idly what Mahri would want to talk to him about. But if it’s meant for his ears, he’ll hear it soon enough he’s sure, and besides, his focus is on the new ink he’s about to receive.

Leoxander went searching for Lita’s pack of smokes, but he also assumed the possibility that Cal had them, since he rolled them. Still, he couldn’t drink in the place, and maybe did have a sensibility or two since he’d been (mostly) decent at following her rule. Nevermind when she wasn’t around and he snuck his flask while earning the rabbit on his wrist, under the knuckles that said ‘LUCK’. “Was she s’posed to? Didn’t catch wind of either of you las’ few nights.” Maybe just the one night. He’d only recently returned from a trip to the mainland, himself. Whether or not he was successfully at stealing one of Lita’s stock, he moved back passed Nort’ with an offered slap of palm in the form of a handshake on the way, and found a seat somewhere convenient to lounge back in, looking a little weary, but probably from that trip. “S’prised you ain’t got a trophy case in here, yet.” A tease toward the vampire regarding her crown. There was probably some sketchbooks or flash work to rifle through if he needed to keep his hands busy.

Lita tugs her foot away from Cal's knee finally. "Perfect, come have a seat." She pats the chair next to her and swivels a bit to find the sketch of his tattoo she'd copied, only a bit more refined than his concept, done in a black and white gradient. "So, I know you want the duality concept we talked about, but do you want the one solid line down the middle, something jagged maybe looking like the two halves were torn apart or more of an effect of them bleeding into each other?" She spreads out three pages for him to see the various concepts she'd been working on. "And I know we talked about the red and gold on the striped half, do you want the wisps of smoke to be the same colors, or the purple, so they're more set apart? I can do like a deep purple into black fade, so it looks more like a highlight effect." While discussing the tattoo, Lita is vaguely aware that Cal has moved to offer Leo one of those hand rolled clove cigarettes, if he'd like, tossing a book of matches unceremoniously at the pirate. It's as much an introduction as he's likely to give. "We took a brief trip." She says, mindful of people other than Nort in the room. "But I know there's things she'd prefer come from her." She passes Leo a look. "Think she's gonna need some help gettin' stuff out o' Cenril if you're still friendlyin' up to the new mayor." She grins at the comment about trophies. "You think I'd keep such a priceless thing in a place like this? Look at you lot!" She teases. Cal huffs as he snuffs his cigarette out against his knee where the fabric is worn. "You ain't even worn it yet." Lita makes a face at the smuggler and tosses a pencil at him without looking, which he dodges. Glancing back at Leo he adds, "A'least I ain't the only one she keeps all them secrets from."

Nortengaal clasps palms in greeting with Leo as the captain passes by before stepping over to the offered seat next to Lita. He looks over the sketches contemplatively, holding each up to his forearm to see what it might look like on his skin. Each of them looks great, if he’s being honest, and the choice is a hard one. Ultimately though, one does look better than the others and he holds it out to her to indicate his choice. “This one, the bleeding effect i think is definitely the way to go.” And the colors, so many options to choose from with just a few particular applications. Nort rubs his chin stubble as he thinks on it, overlaying the colors in his minds eye. One decisive nod later, and a decision is made. “Purple, for sure. I think that’ll be the most striking, while still not being too distracting from the overall piece.” While he’s still half listening, more out of habit than anything else really, the sketches and imminent work holds his attention more than the other things being talked about around him.

Leoxander took that hand rolled smoke and caught the book of matches in his palm with a raise of his jaw to Lita’s business partner, or whatever he was claimed to be, in the rogue’s way of ‘thanks’. “Plannin’ on payin’ the witch her dues soon, in fact.” He murmured around the cigarette placed between his lips, the scent of sulfur striking their sensitive noses as he lit a match from the pack. Searching out a convenient ashtray (hopefully there was one on hand, otherwise he might migrate toward the door or use his left branded palm), he took that first toke and inspected the kretek as if he could see its unique flavor in those wisps of smoke before his exhale with a few words. “Not even a little hint?” He remarked to Lita, almost always in the mood to joke with his business partner and friend. Leo didn’t expect an answer and her change of subject brought in a deep breath into his lungs with a sigh before he took another drag from that gifted smoke. “When you been burned as many times as that woman has, you tend to ice up the walls. She’ll come around.” That might have been relayed to Nortengaal but he wasn’t certain their talk had done much good. Mahri needed to find her freedom before she tried to anchor herself to anyone. He knew his wolf-sister well enough to determine that. For now, he remained relaxed back away from artist and client but would inspect the tattooing at some point after he finished his cigarette.

Lita lets Nort take his time with the options, and if he wants something different, she's fine with that, too. She'd try to get his concept across well. She nods at his choice. "Perfect." She chooses a few jars of inks from the selection lined up at the back of the table- these are black jars to keep light out, the colors within having been smeared across the tops by a thumbprint. She chooses mostly varying shades of red, black, and a couple shades of purple, and one smaller jar with just the word 'smoke' scrawled across the front in white chalk. A few extra needles and she reaches for a piece of white chalk and Nort's wrist, steadying his arm across the table. She wipes a clean rag doused in disinfectant across his skin and sets to work sketching a rough outline of the image he'd crafted. She'd used stencils before, not unlike the temporary tattoos she made, for clients who couldn't sit still. But she doubts Nort will have that problem. She makes sure he's okay with the size of the piece before picking up the tattoo gun and dipping the needle into the pot of black ink. Glancing up at Leo again, she offers only, "It's not a bad thing. What's your business with the witch now?" Cenril made her nervous, with its affiliations to Xalious. She tries to sound reassuring, maybe it's more hopeful, but it's as much a hint as she can offer. She'd already betrayed the woman's trust once when it came to the pirate. She'd been forgiven for it, but that didn't mean she wanted to do it again. The tattoo gun hums softly against her palm and she turns her gaze back to the work at hand, working first on the solid black lines of the realistic half of the bear's head Nort had requested. Cal is eyeing the tattoo work Lita's doing, pretending like he's not listening to the conversation at hand.

Nortengaal settles into the chair, getting comfortable as Lita gets to work, starting with the outline. The first few seconds he has to actively keep himself still, unused to the foreign feeling of being stabbed a whole lot in a small area. Usually when he’s being stabbed it’s just the once, maybe twice if he’s having a particularly bad time, but he quickly gets used to the feeling and just watches her work. It’s actually kind of nice he decides, a sort of pleasant burning. As focused as he is on the tattooing, Leo’s words dont escape the bearman’s attention, and he shoots a look over to him with a little nod of acknowledgment. He’s gotten some really good advice regarding Mahri the past couple of days, a lot to think on. Now it just remains to be seen what sort of use he can make of it. Truth be told, he’s not in any particular rush to be partnered himself, so how things play out between him and the she-wolf arent on a timetable beyond that necessitated by mortality. Catching the eye of the other man in the room, Nort introduces himself, perhaps a tad late. “I’m Nort by the way. I’m guessing youre Cal.”

Leoxander shook his head to Lita’s question as he snubbed out the bit of that rolled cigarette out wherever was most convenient without making a mess of ash, glancing her way through the blonde in blue eyes. “Remains to be seen, Ace. Hopin’ for some decent accord that’ll set us up for easy travel an’ maybe a bit of side pocket for our troubles. Seems someone’s already had their target on her.” Maybe he didn’t reciprocate all those formal letters he’d intercepted regarding the mainland cities, but he kept track of who was hating who. Always a useful bit of information to keep close to the chest. As far as Cal, if Lita trusted him, Leo figured he could, too. The same that she afforded him in many cases when it came to new faces. Pulling himself onto a seat on that same surface or counter he usually occupied in Lita’s space, he listens to the introduction and studies Nortengaal’s idea come to life by Lita’s hand, giving the three time to exchange some words while the Captain obsevered and absently scratched over the faded snake and thorns on his left biceps under the cut of the short sleeve of a fitted shirt with a collar just high enough to hide the pendant on that true-silver chain.

Lita can practically feel Cal bearing holes into the back of her neck when Nort introduces himself and uses his name. Lita has no apology for this, but a slow smile spreads across her face mid-tattoo. "Stop givin' me that look, I offered him use of the room upstairs." Cal takes a deep breath and drums his fingers across his knee. "You keep collectin' strays, I'mma have to find new routes." A hollow threat, they both know. The smuggler's spent too many years using those tunnels and keep under the shop and Lita had spent the same amount of time making it safe for him to do so. "Cal, Leo; Leo, Cal." Lita nods from the smuggler to the pirate and back again to complete all the introductions and then raises a hand briefly, "Lita." 'Cause she likes to be included. She shrugs a bare shoulder at Leo's words and then sets back to work (not that she doesn't have more questions, just that she doesn't want to fudge this for Nort). The fur is easy, it doesn't have to follow any specific rules. Every few minutes she wipes a rag across the area to clear away excess ink, dipping the needle back into the pot before getting back to it. Since he's wanting the more bled-together look, she leaves the lines closer to the center of the panda's head jagged and incomplete. On the other half she mirrors the features but instead of fur, the outline here is more precise and deliberately two-dimensional. On the right side is just the basic outline of the head, the ear, nose, mouth and the larger patch of black ink over the eye. She leans up for a minute, stretching her shoulders back as she changes out needles and switches that black ink for the reds. She regards Leo for a moment. "And what happens if we settle an alliance with Vailkrin?"

Nortengaal very briefly considers being offended by the ‘strays’ comment, but decided against it with a slight shrug, more to himself than directed at the man. He cant really argue the point, considering his fairly transient nature and the fact that he currently only has borrowed spaces to call home. If the boot fits and all that. His attention returns to the work in progress, fascinated to see it coming together. It was incredible when he watched it happen with Mah and Lora, but it’s something else altogether when it’s his own skin being forever marked by the needle. A proverbial light dings in Nort’s head, and he smiles to himself. ‘Needles…yeah, that works.’ he thinks. It’s probably for the best that nobody can hear his thoughts, considering how little sense they’d make with no context. He wants to ask her how long she’s been doing this, but it seems it would be poor timing to ask at this point, so he’ll wait, instead waiting to hear Leo’s response to her question, sensing its weight.

Leoxander did shoot a glance at Cal when the man mentioned ‘strays’, a far sharper look than Nort’ had settled on. The bearman seemed somewhat new to the rogue life, but he was a fast learner. Leo hadn’t been the one to introduce his name or announce the other’s, but like it or not, the man was occupying an island the pirate had claimed as territory, now. While Lita might wear the crown, the rogue had the bite in his glare to warn without words, but slightly raised his jaw a second time as the vampire introduced them more formally. Cal had forked over a cigarette. Perhaps he would be wise enough to donate a second, and only if so would it be tucked behind an ear before the Captain looked back toward Lita’s work on Nort’s skin. “Don’t tell me that’s where you lot’ve been. I’ve heard a few rumors. Had a visit to the ship recently regarding ‘Miss Blackwell’.” And in a murmur under his breath, “Surprised she showed up for yer fight with all the gold pilin’ for her head.” Her question wasn’t answered immediately, but he eventually replied through a heavy sigh. “Depends who ends up runnin’ the place.”

Lita definitely would have preferred the artsy prose of conversation she'd had with Nort a few nights prior to the political mess of current affairs, but, Lita tended to draw hard lines when it came to who she told what about herself and her business and she wasn't used to changing that yet. So she'd stick to the art at hand and the let the pirate chew his words. Cal will toss the half pack of smokes he's left on hand when the pirate starts searchin' for another, likely to the future detriment of Lita who tends to steal them. From both men. Old habits. The red of Nort's tattoo is next. He'd wanted a stripe effect, so Lita uses a few different shades of red to shade the around the 'stripes', which are essentially just his skin sans ink. The effect is similar to what she'd use to draw out cords of muscle for more anatomical pieces. It's a more natural look and also lends the piece to being more cohesive. The chilling question it leaves the viewer with though is what might have happened to the rest of the bear's fur. There's no angry tears of skin or blood, nothing gory, almost leading one to believe this are very old wounds for the bear which have long since healed. If one were to think about the stories of tattoos, that is. She adds a bit of the red to the eyes as well and then trades the needles out again, wiping away more excess ink and giving Nort a minute to stretch his arm and view the work thus far. "You mean who's runnin' the place or just sittin' pretty up front like Cenril's last mayor?" This from Cal, who is not hiding a possible shade thrown for the current mayor. And Lita doesn't argue as she glances from the smuggler to Leo again. "Business in Vailkrin was personal at first, but leant itself to more political means. I've a personal stake here, I can't say no if Kasyr is reaching out." For the first time in a long time, being a vampire has made her feel more vulnerable, and she hates it. She dips a new needle into the purple ink finally and waits for Nort to resettle his arm so she can get started on the wisps of smoke on the right side, behind the bear.

Nortengaal is really digging the look of the piece so far, lifting his arm to get a closer look at a break in the action. “This is looking even better than i thought it would, i’m excited to see the end result.” He says, laying his arm back down in position so she can finish it. “How long have you been at this tattooing thing?” Political intrigue is fun and all, but he’s really curious and honestly, the politicing is not his forte. Oh, he keeps aware of things as best he can, but for much of his life if it didnt directly affect him, it didnt matter to him, whether it was politics or illnesses or really anything else. This is the first time in a long time that he’s had other people to care about who are in fact affected by whats going on in the world, and he’s struggling a bit to react and act appropriately. Even so, anyone or anything that threatens his new home or the people he’s come to care about is going to have an unhappy werebear to deal with, and who wants that?

Leoxander reflexively caught the pack like he did the book of matches, but he only took one and placed it behind the cuff of his ear, as predicted, before he placed the rest of the pack down on the counter beside him to leave it behind. “You seem knowin’ enough to fig’er out there’s been a lot of mayors an’ kings an’ all in between to know the seat changes quick. Everyone’s in everyone’s bloody business o’er there.” His attention shifted back to Lita when her voice pulled it that way. “Yeah, I know…” He inclined to agree with that remark regarding the revenant. “He’s helped us out here in the past.” It wasn’t Cal he focused on, then - it was Nortengaal. This was really a true test to his loyalty, keeping those words within those walls. He quieted when the bearman switched back to casual conversation, pushing himself out of that lean. Lita didn’t seem to need much assistance and he figured the twins were getting restless chasing night crabs off their turf. “I’ll check in on you tomorrow.” Whether he was speaking to Lita or Nortengaal was really either of their guess. Matches slid into his back pocket, Leo made his way toward the door unless any words or gesture might give him pause.

Lita is definitely grateful to have the pirate and the bearman in her corner. She's far more comfortable on an island full of lycanthropes than she is in Vailkrin. Though Cal would say it's far more shallow and she just likes to feel that much more special. "Hmm, since one of Leo's absences?" It's more a question because she can't quite remember which one and time is a funny thing. She's focused on the ink again, turning her hand in various directions against his arm to get those lines right. Not fire, but fire. The darker purple was definitely a good choice, makes an easy blend between the red and his skin. "Actually when I first came to the island, I wasn't much of an artist by trade. Did some sketching occasionally with work, but nothing like this." With the purple finished, she trades the needle one last time and this time opens the smaller pot of ink with his nickname scrawled across it. It's the gold she'd mentioned, a color blend she'd mixed special for him. It's a darker hue, to match the rest of the color palette, with just the hint of sparkle to catch the eye of an admirer in the right light. She might have gotten the idea from recent talks with the pirate, the execution hopefully would pan out just as brilliantly. "I sort of fell in love with Leo's shop back in the day. Not so much the tattoo work specifically, but the community he'd built around it. I wanted to be a part of it. But, wasn't in the cards, so in his absence, I opened the shop sort of in his honor I guess." She brushes the gold ink just inside the purple wisps of flame to highlight their movement and then adds a few similar highlights in the red shading around those stripes of skin, to mirror the effect. "Gross." Cal murmurs from where he shifts in his seat. He's heard the story before, and it never gets less cheesy to hear. Lita ignores him. And as the final touch on Nort's tattoo, she adds a glint of that gold ink to both of the bear's eyes right along with the red. She gathers the used needles, dropping them into a jar of disinfectant and uses a clean damp rag to wipe the last of excess ink from his forearm. She looks up then, offering Leo a soft smile and a wave goodbye. They'd talk again soon, hopefully.

Leoxander did hesitate for maybe half of a second as he heard Lita recall the ‘old days’ when the Jolly Roger was first established. There wasn’t much of anything to build on back then, but they’d still defended the place. Now they had that opportunity to build, at last. The expression on his face was reserved for himself; that mellow look in blues and the half smile that almost paired with it. He was still on his way out and they’d just see the back of his tow-head. But keen hearing caught the mention of honor, which felt pretty damn good, obviously. He wasn’t the type to work for titles, thrones or esteem, but the fact that the island was starting to fit together with each person being a piece like a puzzle, the fact they could have these moments in the Soulskin or the warehouse, the beach or the inn, the streets and forest, that was the goal. Dismissing Cal’s reply without another word, the door closed behind him and Leoxander disappeared, very likely to be seen again.

“Aww, that’s sweet.” Nort says, a counterpoint to the other man’s harsher “Gross.” What can he say? Nort’s a fan of cheesy stories, and this is a good one. As Lita finishes up the ink work, adding in a final touch of gold to the eyes, Nort smiles wide. “Good gods this looks incredible. Thank you so much!” Leo makes to leave the shop, drawing the attention of the bearman briefly away from the gorgeous piece, and he gives a little wave and a “G’night Cap’n.” After the rogue leaves, he turns his attention back to Lita and his brand new beautiful tattoo, turning his arm this way and that way to look at it from different angles as best he can. “I’m blown away Lita, for real.”

Lita is not always so great at accepting compliments and there might be a touch of color on those fair cheeks but it fades quickly, if it wasn't just a play of light, but she's grinning proudly, absolutely ecstatic that he likes it. She covers the entire piece with a thin layer of antiseptic and a gauze, making sure it's secured. "Keep it covered at least twenty-four hours, try not to wash it for a couple of days and if you need to wipe it off, use water, no soap, and don't scrub, be gentle. Let it heal. And if you have any concerns feel free to stop by again." She lifts a hand to his chin gently. "I am glad you like it." She claps a hand to Nort's knee and nods towards Cal. "I gotta have words with this one, but we can step outside if you're stayin'?" She means in the room upstairs.

Nortengaal nods at the instructions. He’s pretty sure he’ll be fine with his healing factor, but better safe than sorry, especially with something this precious. A moment of consideration follows her other words; he hadnt planned on staying here tonight, but he finds himself rather tired, and there’s no reason he cant use the space provided instead of crashing elsewhere. “I think i will be staying the night here, thank you.” With that, he flashes her a wide smile, and gives Cal a nod before heading up the stairs to crash for the night, careful to keep the tattoo safe and sound.