[The Equinox] Entering The Equinox (Solo)

by **Wart** on June 23rd, 2012, 9:57 pm

23rd of Summer 512

Wart made the sad realization that morning while she was gathering up supplies to go painting a certain outcropping of rocks on a distant point near the docks. She had strapped on her belt, as usual, and went to grab the small jars of paint she would put in it. Reaching for the red, she noticed that there was very little left at the bottom of the jar. Looking through her other assorted jars she saw that their levels weren't much different. Eh... don't matter I'll just get more out of the drawer.

Walking to the other side of her small bedroom she opened up the top drawer of a dresser. It had never actually held clothes, which usually just ended up on the floor of her room till she bothered to clean them. Instead it was home to the things that were more important to her, her paint, her brushes, and her chalk. This top drawer held the larger jars of paint, which she used to fill up the smaller ones that fit into her belt. Her face fell on seeing them. Every single one was empty.

... That's right... Used the last of it to fill em all last week. Gods... She ran her hand through her hair. Paint wasn't horribly expensive. If you wanted something cheap. Good paint, though, especially with as much as she used, could add up real quick. She thought about it and determined she only had, at most, around 70GM. It'd be plenty to get paint to last her the week but she was running low on food, too. Not to mention one of her brushes was getting frayed and had nearly ruined one of her last paintings.

With a resigned sigh she sat down on her bed, her face in her hands. "Guess it was coming eventually. I'mma have to get a job."

The idea of working for someone else was, at best, repulsive. She didn't take orders from anyone. Especially not someone who was to be considered "superior" to her. She had gotten by so far on finding her own odd jobs, doing a tattoo here or there, helping someone who needed something moved. Wart however didn't have the patience, nor the people skills, to find enough work to really get her by.

Leaning back on the bed she fiddled with the brush that had been on her belt, trying to think. She could work on the docks? No, most of those sailors who have enough money to pay decently won't hire a woman to do the grunt work. And I ain't mopping or any crap like that. Maybe find work at the university? Ha! For stuck up scholarly pricks? Yeah right. Then, in her mind appeared the image of an old little tattoo shop she'd seen her first day in Zeltiva. Wart sat up, trying to remember it.

"That's right... Some pervert bald guy was standing outside whistling at me. Let's see... Started with an E... Ether--Ekto--Eq-Equinox!" She stood as the full picture of it flooded back to her, the shabby little sign up above the door, the faded black lettering. Pacing she continued to twirl the brush in her hand. "Huh not a bad idea. Do some tattoos, get better at em and make mizas in the process. In essence I have people paying me to let them be my personal canvas." Wart smiled at this thought. Slipping on the boots near her bed, she laced them up and left her belt on the bed. Wearing her usual brown shorts and sleeveless white shirt she opened the door and left her home, ready to find this tattoo parlor and start earning her way to more paint.

by **Wart** on June 26th, 2012, 8:34 am

Yep. Dump just like I remember it.

Wart looked up at the small building. On her face was an expression of complete distaste and general disappointment. She was no professional in architecture, advertising or business. But she knew that if she had to paint a picture of a tattoo shop, it would certainly not look like this. And so she analyzed it as such.

Dirty, worn, no clear label as the sign is barely readable. Huh would work if you were going for something ominous, abandoned or haunted even, but for that you would need colder colors. And to look rugged, you're gonna need at least one bold element in here, most likely the sign. As it was, the sign merely said "Equinox Tattoos" in chipping black paint. Maybe they'll give me a bonus if I redo it for them. Wart scoffed shaking her head. Hell it looks so bad I'd do it for free just to get rid of this sign.

Suddenly a man walked out of the front door a few feet away from her, laughing at someone behind him. Immediately on seeing Wart he smiled wide and called out to her. "Hey lovely, watcha doin over here all by yourself?" It was quite obvious he was looking her up and down.

... Oh Gods its the pervert. He was an older, thick bald man, heavy and muscled. He wore simple pants and a black short-sleeve shirt, revealing arms covered in tattoos of women, most of them very scantily clad. Wart quickly made the decision that she had to show this man that she wasn't about to be affected by his obscene remarks and walked right towards him. The look of complete and total aversion was obvious on her face and her eyes were a dark, storming red. Her steps were quick and bold, her hands automatically readied in fists. The man, seemingly unaffected by her expression, stood there still smiling.

"Alright, I ain't got time for this, so how bout you do us both a favor and save it for the next desperate floozy, huh? Now I need to see the owner of this place so if you wouldn't mind moving. Now."

The man stared at her for a moment, a single eyebrow raised and a slight smirk on his face. Abruptly he burst into a laugh. Wart was enraged.

"What you think I'm joking?! Look I'll gladly - "

"Hold up little lady. Hahaha I Hahahaha I'll gladly move for you but its not going to do you any good."

"What - What are you talking about why not?!"

He laughed harder than before. "Because I'm the owner!!"

... Shyke. She hadn't even started the job and already she had insulted who would now likely not become her employer.

The man finally calmed from his fit of laughter, "Oh man that's great. Hahaha I haven't heard a response like that in years. Ah but the look on your face right now though!" Laughing again he smacked her on the arm (Why must everyone do that...) and started turning for the door. "Well come on in then. Hahaha oh floozy that's good Hahaha..."

Wart rolled her eyes, frustrated and angry at being laughed at like this. But now she knew who he was, she couldn't lose her temper and snap at him again if she wanted any hope for a job. And so, though reluctant, she followed himself inside the small tattoo shop.

by **Wart** on June 27th, 2012, 3:54 am

When Wart entered the tattoo shop, she found it very hard to believe it was the same building she had seen from the outside. The stone floor was clean, and the brick walls were covered in different murals that actually looked like large, colorful tattoo designs. Unlike a lot of the buildings she had been in, it was quite well lit. There were many windows around the store, letting in plenty of sunlight as well as large, simple, black round chandelier hanging from the ceiling, that held about twenty candles. Along the walls to her left and right were four different stations, two on each side. At each were large chairs whose backs were all reclined back. A stool stood beside them, both facing a large mirror next to drawers covered in different tattooing supplies.

As Wart's eyes adjusted to the new lighting, she realized that there were people occupying three of the stations. A woman on the left was bent over a drawing, a man next to her reading a book, and man to the right staring at a paper he had in one hand, tapping his chin with a pencil in the other.

"Hey vagiks. Guess what lovely little flower I found outside." Wart automatically shot the man a look of contempt. What on Mizahar is wrong with this man?!

The guy with the pencil looked up, smiling. "Hahaha I'd'no, Lewd, looks like tha' flow'r wants ta rip yo'r throat out." He looked young, maybe a little older than Wart, with dark skin, wild black hair, and blue eyes.

"Ha you should've heard her outside, vicious little thing demanded I let her by to see the owner." He and the one sitting both started laughing. Even the other boy over on the left allowed a small smile.

Gods this is annoying. Wart was getting to the point that she was very ready to turn around and go find a job cleaning some idiot's ship. "Oh you know you are all just so funny we get it alright can we move one now?"

"Da-am hey cool down man we don't mean nothin, just playin' a'right?"

"Hahaha, no, she's right, down to business, you come with me. How bout you clean that dump of a station while I'm gone, huh Tongue?"

The boy turned in his stool and put down his pencil. "Haha sho' Lewd."

The man, "Lewd," as the boy had called him (Makes sense, the petching creep) lead Wart to a door at the back of the shop. He swung it open and stepped back, revealing a room in complete and total disarray. There was a large desk in the center, and a wooden chair behind. It was covered in papers, some stacked, some in disorganized piles. Even worse, were the bottles, everywhere. Some wine, some beer, others simply glass bottles reeking of some sort of alcohol or another. Wart wrinkled her nose. The smell was unbearable, somewhere between a mix of alcohol, dead fish, and acid. He gestured for her to sit down on a chair a foot away from the desk. She tried hard to keep herself from voicing the many comments on the putrid state of this office that brewed in her mind, but she couldn't help plugging her nose.

Lewd, who seemed to be totally oblivious to the sight and smell of his own office, went around and sat at the other chair. "So I'll assume you're looking for a job, yeah?"

Finally. "Yeah. I ain't professional or whatever, but I can draw and I can paint, and I've done my own I know how to do 'em, so I'll learn on the job, easy." The man's expression was, for the first time, serious. He leaned back in his chair and seemed to study Wart carefully. Not one to be intimidated or nervous about such a thing, she sat there staring right back, tapping her fingers on her leg. After a moment he sat up, his arms crossed on the table.

"A'right now look. If you haven't noticed we don't exactly get hoards of business every day. So we really don't need all that many tattoo artists. Thing is, this is Zeltiva. Port city. At any time a certain ship comes in, trade booms, anything can happen and we end up with a flood of customers. And, lucky for you, we got one extra spot. You mighta seen that we got one empty station available. But here, we don't just give jobs away. You gotta earn it. Get our approval, you know?"

Wart nodded slowly. Made sense. Don't want some wanna-be artist takin up the job. She smiled at the thought of a challenge. Art was her element, and she knew she would breeze through this easily. "A'right then. What do I gotta do?"

by **Wart** on June 29th, 2012, 9:39 am

The chair screeched against the floor as Lewd scooted back and started searching through the drawers in his desk. "Ah-ha!" Finding a brown case, he lifted it onto the desk. He flipped the little clasp and opened it up. On one side of the case were needles of four different sizes and a few bottles of ink, a few clothes laying under them. The other side held sheets of pig skin and a few tubes of what looked like a paste of dark, mushed up plant, which tapered off into a narrow hole. "Well first of all, you're gonna have to show me that you can tattoo at all."

As Wart had previously told the man, she wasn't an expert tattoo artist. She was, in fact, just above being a very beginner, but she knew enough that she could do a basic tattoo on pig skin. Everything here she had used before, namely on herself, except for the tubes. These, she had never seen before. Picking one up she turned it over.

"Uh what is this stuff?"

The man smiled, obviously expecting this question. "That there, that's a special mixture o' mine. I see ya' got plenty of temporary tattoos you use plants to dye right? This here's like that, but it doesn't last so long and comes off with..." He took a moment to dig in his desk drawers again. Coming back up he set down a bottle of bluish liquid. "This! Also my own special mixture. See you use these tubes to stencil the design on the skin and it won't infect like a lot 'a other painting or drawing stuff can. You squeeze it out and draw it on, let it dry, scrape it off and it leaves the stencil. Then you do the tattoo, dab some o' this blue stuff afterward and its gone without a trace." Lewd sat back, obviously very proud of himself. "An' I guarantee you can't find this stuff anywhere but here, cause I don't sell it. Equinox exclusive."

Huh... Wart couldn't help but at least be a little impressed. She thought back to the tattoos around her eye, and how hard it had been to simply do them without any sort of outlining of the design prior. Looking back up she set the tube back in the case.

"So I just tattoo the pig skin. Anything specific?"

"Nope, you make your own design."

"A'right. Simple." Wart shoved some papers aside to make room on the desk. She took one of the pig skins and spread it out so that it was nice and flat. The only inks available in the case were black, blue, yellow, and red. Just keep it nice and basic, black and one color's enough. But what for design... She was good with basic shapes, that was all she had really done so far. She knew, however, that people coming here were gonna want more than the kind of stuff she had around her eye. Ah I know.

Immediately she took one of the smaller tubes of Lewd's paste from the case and leaned over the skin, getting close, her arms against the desk. With small, quick strokes, she began. Wart could see it, the image she had in mind. Each squeeze from the tube onto the skin brought it closer to being. Small strokes, the way it'll be tattooed, round that off, straight there, line, curve, further there, up, flare, down, line, curve... After a time she became completely lost in focus, forgetting the man across from her, the room, the shop around her, even the repulsive smell. It was she and her art, nothing more.

Finally Wart sat up. Dry then scrape... In the case was a small, thick, rectangular piece of paper. She took it, assuming it was for removing the excess paste. Now she'd have to wait for it to dry. As she sat there her eyes flicked around the pig skin, the inks, and the needles, planning, designing the tattoo in her mind, filling in details.

After a few chimes, the paste had dried. Using extreme delicacy to keep from any smearing, Wart scraped all of it off. It did indeed leave a nice, dark stencil on the skin, as Lewd had said. But this wasn't the time to admire that. Now the tattoo.

Taking the black and blue ink from the case, she opened both of them up and set them on the desk. Next she took the smallest needle, holding it securely in her hand, then a cloth from the case for her other hand. She was slightly nervous, having planned something quite a bit more complex than what she had ever done before. Drawing the design onto the skin was easy, she could do that in her sleep, but applying the tattoo... Wart dipped the needle into the black ink, preparing for the outline. She was very careful, going through each action in her mind, piercing the skin, then dabbing off excess dye. With a sigh, she started.

Tap tap tap tap, dab dab, tap tap tap tap tap tap, dab dab dab, more ink, up up up, dab dab dab, now around and down around and down, dab dab, up again up and, dab dab, more ink... A bead of sweat had formed on her forehead. After wiping it off, she finished up the outline. Now the inside... black parts first.

Without a moments hesitation she took another, slightly bigger needle, and she went right back to it, piercing the skin, dabbing the dye, dipping into the ink again, and repeating. When she had finished all of the areas that needed the black ink, she wiped it off of the needle and dipped into the blue ink. She continued on with the process, carefully filling in all of the color.

When the color was done, she took the bottle of liquid and opened it. It smelled strong, definitely containing a hint of alcohol. She dipped some of one of the cloths into it, then very carefully and gently wrung it out over the tattoo, lifting one side so that it could run off. Any remaining traces of the pasted design were gone, leaving no damage to the actual tattoo.

FINISHED! She put the needle and the cloth down and breathed in deep, only now realizing that she had hardly been breathing during the whole process. For the first time since she had started she remembered the man who had been watching her the entire time. Looking up she saw that he was leaning over, examining her work.

"... Well?"

He took the pig skin and flipped it around. "... What is it?"

Indignantly she stood and looked at it with him. "Uh Open your eyes its a petching fish." The image she had imagined was a small fish with fins on top and bottom and a wide tail, with black stripes and a blue body. What had resulted seemed more like a strange, winged-snake.

After a few seconds of staring at it, Lewd laughed. "Hahaha well, I'll just have Tongue give you a few lessons and you'll be fine. That focus you had there was what I was really looking for. Though perhaps a little much, you may want to breathe next time."

"Wait so... I got the job?"

Lewd set the pig skin back down on the desk. "Now now, I didn't say that darling. I'm saying you've got my approval." He smiled wide. "Remember, I said you gotta get 'our' approval. You've still gotta prove yourself to everyone else."

Wart froze. "You mean... I have to do tattoos for all the others out there?! What is this a petching joke?!"

Coming around from his desk, Lewd shook his head, very obviously happy with Wart's reaction. "Nope. Right of passage, initiation if you will. Everyone's done it. Haha and its highly unlikely that any of them will be requiring tattoos for their approval." Opening the door he pushed her out. "Now come on, let's get you formally introduced."

by **Wart** on July 2nd, 2012, 8:42 pm

Wart winced at the sudden change in lighting. She hadn't realized how much darker it had been in the office.

As soon as she had walked out the door, the boy from earlier, Tongue, swiveled around in his stool and smiled.

"Well, Lewd, she ain' yellin' or stormn' out? M'guessin' this means 'nitiation time then ya?" He stood up, obviously quite eager for whatever this was. For the first time the two people on the other side turned around and looked at her.

"Yep. Time to approve our newest recruit." Those two each stood, the girl obviously reluctant to leave whatever she had been working on.

Lewd went around behind his employees and proceeded to introduce each of them. He started with that first boy. "A'right well, you already met Cordo here, or as we like to call him, Tongue. I'm sure you're smart enough to figure out why." Here Wart finally got the chance to get a good look at him. His eyes really stood out from his dark complexion, and he had a dolphin tattoo on his arm. Svefran, then, for sure. Of all the different races she had encountered, Svefra tended to be one of the few she respected. They were independent and worked hard, but at the same time they were very carefree. This one, however, talked a little too much for her liking.

Next, Lewd moved onto the only other male employee. "This here is our own little slice of divinity. Tobias, or 'Eth.' You ever seen an Ethaefal? Well he ain't one but its as close as you're gonna get when it comes to humans." Wart was far from being one who "checked people out," but she couldn't help but see what the man meant, especially since the boy wasn't wearing a shirt. His hair was golden blonde, his skin was flawless, and his muscles were perfectly toned. On his chest the word "hope" was tattooed, and there was a small candle on his bicep. When his back had been turned towards her, Wart had also noticed two large wings tattooed onto his back. No doubt religious. Despite this slightly deterring little point, she couldn't help but think that she wanted to go and include him in one of her paintings. Subjects like this were nearly impossible to come by.

Finally there came the girl. She was very different than the other two in expression. While Tongue was smiling at her in a slightly creepy, mischievous manner and Eth was simply giving a kind, calm smile, this girl had absolutely no emotion on her face. She seemed to just look at Wart, not really caring or purposefully not caring. She was apathetic. Nothing more. There was something familiar about her, however. Her complexion, the blue eyes, the tattoo. She looked just like Tongue. The only difference was that her hair was up in dreadlocks colorful dreadlocks... I like that. and she had other tattoos on her arms and on her neck. They must be related. "Lat but not least, Coral. We call her Coal. She can come off a bit of a rock, but..." Lewd lifted the paper she had been working on and displayed the work. "She's always turnin out diamonds." It didn't matter what Wart was feeling in her analysis and bias against these people, she couldn't help but be immediately impressed. From one perspective it was a ship on the sea. But if you looked at it just slightly differently, it was an undersea scene, with fish, plants, dolphins. ... Skyke that's brilliant...

"And now there's you. So watcha name, lovely." All of them stopped and looked at her expectantly.

She had a hard time tearing her attention from the drawing, and answered, still distracted. "Uh Wart." I wonder if she plans to shade it and if she

Her thoughts were interrupted by a burst of laughter. "Wart?! Yo' names Wart?!?! Da-am Lewd we can' even give 'er a nickname she a'ready got one!!"

If she had looked like she wanted to rip Lewd's throat out earlier, the look she now gave Tongue was one of brutal, vicious murder. She stepped towards him, getting right in his face. "If you don't petching shut up they're going to have to change your name to mute."

"A'right a'right, Tongue she's right, shut up already. But miss Wart, you might wanna watch how you talk to someone who's gonna be deciding whether you get to work here or not." Lewd crossed his arms with a smirk. Wart rolled her eyes and stepped back.

"Whatever can we just start then?"

"Yep, Eth, as per usual, you get to go first."

by **Wart** on July 3rd, 2012, 9:25 am

Eth stepped forward. It was painfully obvious that he didn't want to do this. The faint smile he showed said "I'm sorry. Its nothing personal. Its just the way it is, you know?" He sighed and shrugged. "Kelp Beer?"

Tongue sighed, shaking his head. "Man Eth, a'ways goin easy on em an' doin the simple one."

Laughing, Lewd stepped through and headed to his office. "I'll get it."

"Kelp Beer?" Wart had heard stories about the stuff. All she knew was that it was some drink some place in Zeltiva served, and that it was supposedly disgusting.

"Yeah." Eth answered. "You don't have to drink much, just a cup." The way he looked at her as he said it told her that he badly wanted to believe that she could do this.

Before Wart could say anything else, a horrid smell had entered the room. When she turned, her hand immediately covering her nose, she saw Lewd holding a mug of some rotten looking green liquid. That explains most of the smell in his office. The stench reminded her of the day she had stumbled on some corner in the city where a bunch of rotted fish had been tossed. And she was going to have to drink it. Wart smiled, removing her hand. Back in Avanthal, travelers to the city would place bets on her, to see whether or not she could eat or drink the strange, exotic stuff they had brought with them. As a kid, this was where she made the majority of her money. Even those travelers who had morals regarding children being used as such couldn't help but give in to Wart's fiery little attitude. It even came to the point that most of what these people put wagers on was some sort of alcoholic drink of another. Her mother didn't know this, of course, but Wart had basically been experimenting with alcohol from around the age of 9. Awful stench or not this'll be simple.

Immediately Wart approached the mug, took it in her hand, and proceeded to chug its contents.

She was not prepared for the taste.

Of course it was to be expected that the taste of the drink would have to have some resemblance or another to the smell. But this... It was as if that pile of rotting fish lying in the street had been dipped into a pool of animal carcasses, then dipped into the saltiest part of the ocean. Wart choked, barely managing to swallow what she could, then shoving the cup back at Lewd, still more than half full.

"Gods what in Mizahar is that petching shyke made of?!" Behind her Tongue was laughing himself to death, clutching his ribs. Eth looked concerned.

"I- I'm so sorry, are you alright? I can it can be a different task I didn't mean to..."

Wart ignored the both of them, fighting hard with her stomach, trying to keep the stuff down. "Gods honestly why would anyone drink that?!" At that point she started to feel the alcohol spread through her body. It was very concentrated, a lot more than most of the drinks she had ever had before. She froze, blinking. "... Huh. That's why." She smiled and snatched the cup back from Lewd, quickly draining the last of the Kelp Beer. When she finished she shook her head, grimacing again at the taste. When she showed the now empty mug to Eth, he nodded, looking relieved.

"Done. She's got my approval."

Lewd laughed. "Well I'm impressed. Even I have a hard time keepin that gunk down. Strong stuff though, that. But that's only one out of three. Coal?"

Wart had almost forgotten the girl was there. By the time she looked over at her, Tongue was over there whispering something in her ear. Her usually stoney face was broken by the slightest smile.

by **Wart** on July 11th, 2012, 5:20 am

Coal looked up at Wart with a look of just slightest amusement. When she spoke you could hear some resemblance to Tongue, but her voice was more smooth, and notably devoid of emotion.

"Go ou' ta the docks 'n hit a man 'cross the face with a fish."

Wart blinked. "Excuse me?"

Tongue readily stepped forward to explain what was very obviously his idea. "Iss' simple, look, go ova to da docks, you fin'e a fish, you fin'e a man, you hit 'em wit' it." His smile was devilish as he spread his hands out. "Easy peasy."

It wasn't so much the task itself that she didn't like, but the fact that she had to go so far out of her way to do it. She was perfectly fine with hitting someone at random, she'd done it plenty of times, though admittedly not with a fish. "Great. Well. Whatever then. Be right back."

Rolling her eyes she turned and headed toward the door. In her mind she planned out what would happen. A fish would be simple to find, there was always something dead laying out nearby the docks. Plenty of people around too. Whoever she smacked would likely be looking to start a fight, so she'd have to be ready for that. She could find some poor sap who wouldn't expect it and be stunned or wouldn't look to be fighting back, but what fun was there in that? If she was going to put up with doing crap like this she may as well enjoy herself with it and take the chance to beat the shyke out of someone. Just as she reached the door, though, Tongue stopped her.

"Now hold up. Me 'n Coal gotsta go wit ya, make sure ya do it right. An one mo' thing - you can't hit 'em afta' that, and they can't hit you."

Wart froze, her fist and jaw clenched in irritation. "Uh huh. So you expect them to let me hit em with a petching fish and just go on my way right?"

"Nope. Knowin' them people they gonna wanna knock yo' head off, and so will e'ry body 'round em. You gotta run. An you gotta make sure they don't follow you back 'ere and find out you from the shop." Lewd likely appreciated that last comment, as those people made up the bulk of his business.

With a frustrated sigh, Wart gripped her hair, eyes closed. She hated this. She could hit someone, yes. But to run from a fight?? Like a petching coward?!?! Bratty little vagik probably planned it that way knowing it would annoy her. But she wouldn't turn it down, she couldn't give him that satisfaction, as much as she hated it. Turning to face him she smiled venomously. "Fine then. Lets go."

by **Wart** on July 11th, 2012, 7:23 am

It was the middle of the day, so the docks were busy as usual. Wart walked calmly and subtly through the people that she passed. She got the occasional weird looks that were common on seeing her eccentric markings and colors. But otherwise, she wasn't given much attention. Her eyes swirled around her usual purple and stormy red, her skin buzzing. She had hated the idea of this whole task at first, and maybe it was the alcohol from the kelp beer, but at this point she had almost become excited for it.

Tongue and Coal tailed her from a distance, close enough that they could see her but far enough not to be perceived as following her. Lewd and Eth had chosen to stay at the shop.

Her eyes swept the crowd, seeking out the perfect victim. She had already picked out a couple of options, a man who seemed to be making repairs to a net and one who was moving crates. Finally she spotted him. It was a burly sailor, shaggy black hair, svefran from the look of his tattoos and the eyes. He looked to be just a few inches taller than Wart. With him were two other sailors, one with long brown dreadlocks, and one with a greying beard. They were all drinking, the dark haired one leaning back against some railing.

Wart made her way toward them, slipping through the crowd in a direct line. On her way she passed a barrel of fish with a woman standing next to them. She was distracted, arguing with some kid. As she walked by, Wart very subtly slipped one of the fish, a long, meaty silver one. She stopped a couple of feet away. In their boisterous talking and laughing the men took no notice of her, the dark one facing away from her. Looking back she flashed a smile to Tongue, who had stopped with Coal and watched eagerly, leaning against a building. He smiled back, nodding.

Wart got her footing ready. She knew the Svefra, she'd seen and she'd been caught in the bar fights. They stuck close to eachother, these other two guys, they wouldn't take someone hitting this guy and running lightly. She might have a slight advantage, as intoxicated as they seemed to act, but she'd have to be ready to get out of there, fast. They were muscular, but bulky. With a small head start, she could probably outrun them. She prepared her stance, remembering every bit of the small amount of training she had in Avanthal.

Her eyes narrowed. Time seemed to slow. With her left hand, she tapped the man on the shoulder. With her right, she gripped the fish tightly, moving her arm back and preparing for a strong backhand swing with it. The sailor looked back, confused and annoyed to be distracted from his friends. He hardly had the chance to look at the one bothering him before a loud, wet smack marked the fish hitting him across the face.

"What the petch-"

Immediately Wart wheeled around and ran as hard as she could. This was against her every instinct, but the outcries from the man and his companions, as well as some confused outbursts from people around her, fed the adrenaline that flooded her veins. She wove through the crowd, avoiding the people who blocked her path. Behind her she could hear shouts of graphic expletives and threats from what she knew were the three sailors chasing her down, and distantly, the loud laughter of Tongue.

Her boots hit the ground hard and fast, the muscles in her legs propelling her forward. She wasn't an amazing runner by any means, and though the adrenaline helped her in maintaining a high speed, she knew she couldn't outrun these guys forever. As she headed away from the docks, more and more buildings passed by, confused groups of people moving out of her path and that of the people behind her, some watching confused, some shouting swears at her for running into them. She ignored them all, eyes frantically looking for her chance.

Wart took a sharp turn down an alley, then turned again down another street. The men kept pace, still yelling words she couldn't even understand, their drunkenness obviously feeding into their rash anger. Finally. A house was coming up, one with a wooden ladder up to its roof. On reaching it she lept up and pulled herself, scrambling to climb up before the men reached her and moved it from under her. She barely made it, throwing herself onto the roof just as she felt the people below her pulling it away from her feet.

Without wasting a second she got up and took off. The gap between this and the next building was small, and she jumped it easily. She continued to the next roof, then the next, not daring to look behind her. The next building had a section of it that extended to a second story, with an area of roof going around it. She made her way to this, moving around the taller section and hiding behind it. With her back against the wall she took a moment to catch her breath. Her heart pounded furiously and sweat dripped down her face. Wart tried to quiet her rapid breathing, straining to listen for any signs that the men had kept up with her here. Nothing.

Wart smiled and laughed, running her hand through her hair. Gods this is stupid. The rush from the chase put her on a sort of excited adrenaline high. This wasn't something she'd really ever felt before. In a fight, it was adrenaline fed by anger, violence. Here it was, as she said, stupid. She ran away, she got away with doing something stupid, and she made fools out of the people following her. Must be what it's like being a thief. She shook her head, laughing again.

Finally having caught her breath, Wart looked out from behind the wall she hid behind. No sign of anyone. Now with less urgency she was able to move to the roof next to her where she had spotted a ladder that led down to the street below. She recognized the area, the shop wouldn't be too far from here. Keeping a careful eye out for the sailors she made her way through the streets back to the tattoo parlour.

by **Wart** on July 12th, 2012, 7:20 am

The moment the door swung open, Wart was met by loud clapping. Everyone looked like they had been waiting for her, even Coal and Tongue, who obviously beat her here. She grimaced, not enjoying the attention. Laughing at her reaction, Tongue moved to her side and put his arm around her shoulder.

"That. Was great. Hahaha ya' know I've tried stuff like that on otha' 'nitiates, they backed out e'ry time or got all mad n left or butchered it. Ah but you - I was thinkin' you'd go for some easy lil' wimp or beat em' up all crazy but Gods! I thought they was gonna kill you an you ran like nothin' Hahaha me n Coal o'er here dyin tryin' ta keep track of ya, finally gave up came ta' the shop n hope you come back alive!"

"Yeah alright great real fun." She couldn't help the smile on her face but she pushed Tongue's arm off of her shoulder, now just wanting to have this all over with already. "So do I get approval from you two or what?"

Coal nodded her approval, but Tongue crossed his arms, stepping back and looking at her. "Hold on here, you got her approval a'right, an that was real impressive an all, but you ain't got mine jus' yet." On hearing this Wart's temper immediately flared, her eyes becoming a deep crimson and her hands balling into fists. Without another thought, the adrenaline rush still lingering within her, she launched herself at him.

"ARE YOU PETCHING KIDDING ME?!" Eth quickly stepped forward and pushed her back, holding her arms as she fought to pound the smirk off of his face. "I DID ALL OF THAT YOU STUPID LITTLE VAGIK THAT WAS YOUR PETCHING IDEA YOUR TASK THIS IS SHYKE I AM NOT GOING TO PLAY YOUR STUPID LITTLE GAMES FOR YOUR AMUSEMENT!!" Even Coal raised her eyebrows, shooting a warning to her brother. "Cordo..." Lewd might have interceded, as strong and violent as her protests were, but Eth was undoubtedly the strongest among them, so he stood back, his eyes narrowed wondering where this would go.

"Wart please its okay he doesn't mean it okay he's just playing around really you don't need to-" Eth's attempts to make her stop were pointless, she only wanted to hit him more. This was so stupid. All she wanted was to apply to get work doing tattoos. Having her actually do one made sense, sure. But all of this extra nonsense, this was pathetic. A waste of a day. She Hated wasting time like this. And she was done putting up with this little Svefra punk. She stopped fighting against Eth and glared at Tongue with an expression of venomous loathing.

"You're lucky you've got him here to hold me back you little brat. Now what do you want."

Tongue smiled, his obvious cockiness showing through his smile. It was very apparent why he was saved for last in this whole system of trials. He was not about to let anyone become a part of this shop without fighting their way in and earning their place. His approval was required, and he was going to get as much entertainment out of it as possible.

"Not much. Iss' nice 'n simple. You're gonna streak. To the docks n' back." Eth suddenly let go of his grip on Wart and turned to him. "No Tongue really this is just getting ridiculous she already did the other one..." But as he argued against it Wart smiled. If he expected her to back down he was dead wrong. He wanted her to go streaking through the streets then fine, she began to strip off her clothes right then and there. She felt absolutely no shame about being seen like that. Her figure wasn't anything extravagant, it was just about what you'd expect from someone as lean and flat chested as she was. She wasn't overly vain or proud of her body but she wasn't uncomfortable about it either. She just didn't care. So off it all went. First her shirt, her shorts, her undergarments. With a quick unlacing of her boots, she pulled them off and set them on the pile as well. By the time Eth turned around she was stark naked, one hand on her hip and her face completely apathetic.

"...oh..." His face flushed a deep red and he very quickly turned back and walked away to the back of the room. Both Tongue and Lewd simply burst out laughing hysterically.

"Gods woman! Just strip right there in the middle of my shop!! Hahahahaha well Tongue get this over Hahahaha with you're Hahahahahaha gonna get me accused of prostitution!!"

"Ah man Lewd I d'no tha' migh' jus' boost yo business righ' there!"

Rolling her eyes at the immaturity of the two she interrupted. "A'right, naked female, hilarious, shut up already, Lewd, if I'mma do this, get me more of that kelp crap." This was far stupider than anything she had ever done, and some alcohol was the only thing that was gonna make it any easier.

"Ah Damn Eth look what you've done now we've got a naked alcoholic hooked on the stuff!" Laughing and shaking his head he turned around and headed to his office. Eth was still standing silently in the back, having become very interested in inspecting the tools in the supply closet, the red remaining in his cheeks. When Lewd returned he handed a full pint of the same, putrid green liquid as before to Wart. She took it and threw her head back, trying to chug it all without actually tasting it. Miraculously, she finished the glass before having to shove it back and clutch her stomach for a moment, resisting the horrible urge to gag.

After a few moments the feeling subsided, and Wart was already feeling the effects of the alcohol. Standing upright again she sighed.

"Well, I'll be right back then."

by **Wart** on July 13th, 2012, 6:47 am

Wart stopped just outside the door and simply stood there for a moment. The sun was warm against her bare skin, and the slight breeze felt amazing. She stretched, almost wondering why she didn't go out like this more often. The alcohol was obviously doing its job in her mind, all the spontaneous anger from before gone. All that remained now was the task at hand, running to the docks and back. Sure she'd just been there, sure this was all a waste of time, sure she could have been working or doing something productive that would get her the paint that brought her here in the first place. But petch it all, she was drunk and naked and was going to get this job no matter what the stupid Svefra kid inside threw at her.

A short walk down the steps and she readied herself, getting down in a runners stance. A woman with a small boy were approaching. On seeing Wart's "condition" the woman abruptly swept up her child and hurried the opposite way, eyes wide. Wart only smirked. One... two... Three In that instant she took off, heading towards the docks in the most direct route through the streets. All around her were people reacting to her abrupt appearance. Children's eyes were being covered, men whistled and shouted obscenities, and women were swearing and muttering insults.

Paying them no mind she continued on, her bare feet landing in quick thuds against the ground. A time or two someone actually reached out trying to grab, or perhaps restrain and stop her. Well. Tongue gave no rules on this one... The next time this happened it was just as she was reaching the docks. Some random arm in the crowd shot out and grabbed her by the wrist. Ready for it, Wart wrapped around and grabbed it, pulling its owner out into the road and preparing a fist in the other hand.

"Oh. Shyke."

It was the dark haired sailor. The fish one. As he looked at her his face lit up in recognition. "YOU!" Her reaction at first was to run, as she had before. But then she smiled, realizing the opportunity she'd been forced to deny. Without hesitating she turned and gave him a hard kick to the side. The force pushed him back and allowed her to wrench her arm away from his grip. It seemed the kelp beer had slowed her down just a little, however, as she was completely unprepared for the return punch he suddenly launched, landing directly on her shoulder. Her eyes on fire, Wart looked up at him, ready to go full out when she saw his two friends from before making their way through the crowd. A grimace and a low growl, and she resigned to have to run from the fight, yet again.