maskormenacelogs | screeching cherry red

Entry tags:

† kate kane | batwoman

screeching cherry red

WHO: KATE and NILL
WHERE: a tattoo parlor in Heropa.
WHEN: evening of 4/11.
WHAT: x-tremely belated birthday celebration featuring Nill's first tattoo.
WARNINGS: needles? Maybe mention of body horror/experimentation because DOGS.

This parlor, located at a corner near downtown, Kate had looked up online and found good reviews and photos of excellent ink they had done over the years. When she finally had time, as she promised Nill, the two take a trip down there. Naturally, Nill's appearance is the subject of interest among the artists, though Kate doesn't engage them ― not until Nill makes it clear she's alright with it. They're not here to be spectacles. They're paying customers.

Truthfully, knowing Nill's wings had been implanted in her had Kate wondering earlier if she's alright with more body modification, but as she thinks on it: this is her choice. She never had that right with those wings. It still gets her blood to run cold when she thinks about it.

"Do you know where you want the tattoo?" she's been staring at Nill's wings too long. How silly, now she's the one making a spectacle. She snaps out of it quickly enough, stripping off her sweater and down to her camisole as she takes a seat on one of the chairs provided.

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Coming to terms with her wings had been a long journey, and even now Nill sometimes still has nightmares about cold tables and bubbling test tubes. But the nightmares become more and more infrequent as the weeks pass, which has ultimately led to her standing in this parlor with Kate. Needles themselves had never really been the problem--just the thought of someone uncontrollable wielding one.

But this is a controlled place, and Kate is with her. Nothing will go wrong, she's willed herself to believe it.

In a very practiced manner, she ignores the stares of the people around them. Kate, she notices, but she can guess what train of thought her friend is following. This is just a larger step than many of the others Nill has taken, but she's ready for it. Without hesitation, she reaches for the back of her neck. It's a place not many people see, since she keeps her hair long and down most of the time, but that's an appealing thought. It will be for special occasions, or just her secret for a while.

The tattoo artists could be considered "frightening" in appearance for their stretched ears and tattoos stretching from their wrists to their necks, but when Kate mentions it's Nill's first time they take care not to push or force her anywhere she doesn't want to be. Their job is make sure the customer is as comfortable as possible before they begin tattooing the skin.

"Secretive." She flashes a grin. Why not; they had their secrets, didn't they? Maybe not from this government, but others. She adjusts herself on the chair and holds out her arm, a male artist pulling up beside her with his equipment ready.

"Are you still going with a bird?"

Nill takes a seat in a chair near Kate, simply following her lead. Except instead of her arm, she pulls her hair over her shoulder to offer her neck. A woman takes a seat behind her, and Nill feels a certain amount of relief. She's mostly worked through her issues, but there's still a certain amount of discomfort when she finds herself in any kind of vulnerable position.

The blonde nods and pulls a scrap of paper from the pocket of her jeans to show Kate before she hands it back to the artist. She's been ruminating on this for a while, and had finally come up with a design she likes. It's a simple drawing: three small, inked-in birds midflight. One for each person this has changed her life, but that's something she'll keep to herself. There will be room for additions. It's a thought she likes.

A trio is often representative of something, but Kate can't discern what that is. She could ask, but opts not to, allowing Nill to keep her secret. Instead, she reaches over to take Nill's hand and squeeze reassuringly. Neither of them liked hospitals, but here they are about to be pricked repeatedly by needles. Hospitals are entrapment, tattoo parlors are freedom. Symbolically, anyway.

"It's going to be fine," she says as her artist begins to disinfect the area of her arm she's about to get done. "You'll be surprised how fast time flies."

Nill shivers a bit when the disinfectant hits her neck, and reflexively presses her wings as close to her back as they'll go. Once Kate takes her hand though, she relaxes. A small smile even finds her lips. Kate has a way of making almost everything seem better. You're the expert.

The needles come out, but they aren't pressed against any body parts yet. Everything continues to get set up as Kate relaxes against the chair, pushing strands of her hair out of her face with her other hand. She could use a quick trim sometime soon, too.

"Blue bird, by the way." She tells the artist beside her, who nods along as she explains the design thoroughly, though he also turns to the paper she's provided him to ensure he'll get the ink right.

She looks back at Nill.

"After this we'll get some Chinese." And maybe some wine. She would have offered Nill a glass before they came in, but she couldn't chance it either.

A blue bird. That sounds nice--but Nill prefers the simplicity of the black ink. She doesn't think she needs to give her artist any further instructions, and besides, she doesn't ask for any. The design is straightforward enough.

A smile comes to Nill's lips, and she gives Kate's hand a squeeze. Deal. The artist turns on the needle and it begins to buzz, and Nill braces herself for the sting.

Kate flinches as the needle meets flesh and she stifles a groan in the back of her throat before she eases into the sensation. Honestly, she'll take this sort of pain any day over bullets and crowbars... and the occasional mini-explosives.

After the artist has made one final swipe across her neck and announced that she's finished, Nill looks up. Even though she's been talking to Kate nearly the whole time, she has been staring mostly at the ground, so as to avoid letting her friend see how she flinches. Nill can handle a lot of pain, but this is more concentrated than what she's dealt with before.

When she finally looks up to meet Kate's gaze, she smiles. Almost finished too?

She's long zoned out of the prickling and occasional sharp pain on the area of her arm where the artist works. She actually looks so at ease she may as well be falling asleep, but just as Nill's tattoo is finishing up, Kate and her artist are practically done on their end. He begins to carefully clean up the small traces of blood on her arm, disinfecting the surrounding area, and then placing the bandage.

She flashes a grin at Nill, trying to get a better look around to see what her tattoo looks like on skin.

"Let me see."

Nill waits until the artist tells her she's all set before turning so Kate can see her neck. The area is red, of course, but the birds stand out well against her pale skin. She glances over to Kate's arm, and gives an approving nod. Yours looks good, she says. How about mine? Even as she silently communicates, the artist is bringing over a set of mirrors so Nill can see her work.

Her grin only stretched from one ear to the other in response, eyes lighting up with quiet approval.

"They did a great job." It's crisp and yet sleek in its design, something Kate herself values when she's getting work done. She pats Nill's shoulder for handling the temporary pain like champ. "Gonna show it off to the network after?"

The approval is taken to heart. Nill looks up to Kate, and admires her a great deal. The tattoo had been at least partially inspired by her. Maybe after it's less red. And even then, maybe not. It may not look like it, but it's very personal to her, and she hasn't decided how open she wants to be about that yet. What about you?

"The swelling will go down. Don't touch it since it needs some time to heal."

Though the bandage covering the tattoos should prevent them from being smudged or damaged in any capacity. Kate looks back at her own arm where the redness is more visible against eerily pale skin.

"I'll show it off on the streets. That's good enough." She doesn't mention while she continues to interact on the network, she's careful to avoid wherever certain old friends have shown up. If she making her own entry, knowing her luck, she'll have to hold a conversation with another friend who's forgotten her.

She nods, looking at Kate's tattoo and deciding that she'll wear her hair up for a few days, just to be safe. She runs her fingers through the pale strands, realizing that her hair has gotten a lot longer. Maybe she should cut it instead. Maybe not as short as Kate's, but maybe a little shorter than it is now.

The smile that finds her lips is one of the few that isn't automatic or for show. Thank you for bringing me here. It had been a good birthday present, even a couple months late. But the apocalypse sort of puts a damper on celebrations.

Her hand extends to playfully ruffle the hair on Nill's head.

"You're welcome. I'm sorry we didn't get to do it sooner." Apocalypse or not, there's a lot she feels she has to make up for. They year hasn't been a smooth run so far and even before that with Dent...

She pushes that problem to the back of her mind. She's not letting that interfere with the celebratory mood. It's Nill's day and nothing's getting in the way of that.

"Now, where do you want to eat?" she adds as she digs into her purse for her card to pay the artists at the cash register.

Nill screws up her face in mock annoyance; she really doesn't mind the contact at all. Since physical contact is such an integral part of her power, she's gotten far more used to it than she had been in her own world. Having good friends like Kate had only helped her adjust.

She stands when Kate does, thanking her artist with a smile and a nod. She has to keep herself from reaching back to touch her neck--it still stings, but she almost desperately wants to run her fingers over the newly inked area, to see if it's raised or if her skin actually feels different. Instead, she places a hand on Kate's arm. Where is the closest Chinese restaurant?

She holds up the credit card and the artist punches in a few numbers before signaling Kate to swipe the card. He probably wonders why Kate and Nill don't use their other tattoos, but those ones leave a sour taste in her mouth.

"Let's find out," she says and after putting the card back in her wallet, reaches for the phone in her pocket. She lightly taps the map application on the screen, entering their current address to see what places are just around the corner.

... Alright, just not around the corner, but four blocks is nothing.

"You good to walk a bit?"

As Kate searches for a place to eat, Nill glances around at the people in the shop. There are men and women, old and young--she's amazed at how may people get tattoos. Even a year ago, the thought never would have occurred to her. But the destruction of the City and the imports' introduction to Heropa had made her think about a lot of things lately.

She turns back when Kate speaks, and nods with a smile. A walk will be nice.

After pocketing everything in their proper places and adjusting the purse around her shoulder, she slips her arm around Nill's shoulder to lead her out of the shop, but not before thanking the artists for their work and indicating she would be back in a week or two to get a touch up on her other tattoos. The tattoo on her right arm sorely needed it.

It's dead, humid air that hits them as the exit air conditioned surroundings. She fans her face.

"Fake New York might have been dirtier, but at least it never got this hot."

The heat and humidity hit Nill in the same way, and she exhales sharply at the change. She had almost forgotten how hot it was; the air conditioning had been a blessing, to say the least. Is it like this all year? She honestly hopes not. Just the thought of it makes her wings itch. Heat and feathers never really go well together.

"Not all year, but it is a hot state."

At least they were located by the Atlantic. Nevada's the driest state and she sure as hell is glad not to be there for the summer.

She withdraws her arm so she isn't crowding Nill and making her hotter with the heat pressing down on them from all sides, though she looks at her with a touch of concern filtering through her expression.

"You okay?"

Geography had never really been Nill's strong suit; while she was pretty good with figuring out cardinal directions, that was pretty much where her expertise ended. She blinks at Kate a few times before smiling almost apologetically.

Wings and humidity don't get along very well. It wasn't as bad as molting, but it was still pretty uncomfortable.

Kate glances back at Nill's wings, thinking about the extra weight.

"When we get back, we can go for a dip in the pool. Schnitzel can use it, too." Poor dog, even if she's cooped up in an air conditioned home. She'll probably have to take her to a groomer's before June to shave off the excess fur for the summer.

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screeching cherry red

sorry about the delay!

it's okay!

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do you want to skip ahead a bit?

sure!

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