[OOC: This is a thread just for fun, open to one, no fighting or anything going to take place. Just wanted to make it cause I could lol]

She had finally scraped together enough money! Since she had heard of this Larka had wanted it done, it was just amazing to not go through with, and it would give her an added advantage in some fights. Not to mention it would be incredible fun!

Along one of many streets was a little mostly outdoor store, there was a small indoor area but it was mostly living space and storage for the owner. Outside were a couple of chairs and a table, all set up neatly and kept incredibly clean by the proprietor of the service. She was a nice woman who was in her early thirties, well trained in what she did, which was what Larka had wanted, and she came highly recommended.

So, at the moment, Larka was sitting on a chair backwards, leaning forward on it with her shirt up and over her neck exposing her back. The woman was skillfully working on Larka's back, using needles, magic and special inks to work on a large tattoo on Larka's back. ”How are you doin', sweetheart?” The artist asked as she got more ink on the two needles she was magically controlling with her mind, making it so that she could work on both halves at the tattoo at the same time.

”Alright, I've been looking forward to this since I heard about it.” Larka replied glancing back but otherwise keeping still, not wanting to move and ruin anything. She had been sitting here already for three hours under the needle, intent on having it all done in one long go, and Celeste knew where she was in case she needed Larka.

”Well, you are good at keeping still, if you need a break or a drink or something to eat and we can stop for a bit.” The artist replied with a smile, the two needles moving so fast they were blurs as they pushed the ink under Larka's skin. ”I have to say, you're the first one I have done such a large work on. Most of the time people only want something small, a little fire light or something, something convenient for their lives. I'm looking forward to seeing the results myself.” She continued.

Larka grinned. ”So I'm your first then?” She teased. ”I dunno, the idea just came to me when I heard of it so I started saving the money for it.” Larka was getting two large raven wings tattooed onto her back, and they started from her shoulder blades down to her lower back and almost the full width of her back as well. However, that wasn't all, under the feather work of the tattoo, the artist had already inlaid magic infused ink. The ink would act as a conduit for what little magic Larka did have, acting as a focus for the spell that the inked in ruins on her skin untimely created. So when Larka forced on the ruins and her limited magic, the ink and the ruin shapes they were in would shape the magic into the final spell; raven wings would grow from Larka's back allowing her to fly. She'd have to learn and get used to it, but it would work, she was assured many times before starting, and she was desperately wanting to try it and see what the work looked like for her own eyes. All of the pain would be worth it, she thought, once it was done, and Larka was able to ignore a lot of the pain. Her eyes were partly turned to red, however, since the needles still caused tiny wounds and they added up very quickly and the artist once in a while wiped the seeping blood away.

She still had a couple more hours of work yet, the outline of both wings were done, now the artist would start sharpen the outlines and then work on the details of each feather.

The sound of the parlor door opening was followed by the tinkling of a bell. It was a convenient little mechanism where a bell was placed perfectly so whenever the door opened it would announce an arrival. A rather weather-beaten woman poked her head in through the doorway, looking left and right before the rest of her came in. To Larka it would be a familiar face; by chance Shiloh happened to cross paths with the mercenary today. Looking down at a scrap of paper written in shorthand, she then saw the proprietor. Seeing that she was already preoccupied, she hesitated before speaking up. "…Hello? I'm looking for the owner. If you're busy, I'll just come back another time…" She saw someone getting a tattoo, but since Larka's back was facing her she didn't recognize the woman. She did notice that this person only had one arm however.

Scanning the place, she sidled over to find an out-of-the-way place to sit and wait whenever the owner had time. The matter she was here for wasn't particular urgent, but if she could get the chance to speak with the tattoo parlor owner it would help her immensely. She was looking for somebody who had shown up on a bounty over in Canelux. One of the distinguishing features was a bat tattoo, but since most places considered marks on one's body as a symbol of servitude and shame, there wasn't much she could do in finding information there. Parvpora in general was more liberal in most places, so she might as well start where she had a higher chance of success. Earlier that day she had asked around for the tattoo parlors in the city, and spent her day visiting each and every one. If possible, she wanted to find out who had done a tattoo matching that description and who their client was. It was a shot in the dark, but if she couldn't produce results she'd just drop the request and leave the bounty to someone else.

Watching the tattoo artist work, she was surprised that her current customer was having such a large one being worked into their skin. She didn't keep watching for long though, as she started getting phantom sensations all over her back as she saw the needles prick. It was a downside of being overly perceptive.

[OOC: Obviously this will be set after a while after our thread with Celeste :)]

”Getting there, sweetheart, you're doing fine.” The artist commented with a smile as she worked on Larka's back. For her part Larka was wanting this done, not only since she wanted to test it, but because it was getting uncomfortable now, being in one position for so long and having those needles working so fast in her skin.

The little dealy that announced when someone came inside rang but the artist never took her eyes from her work, which Larka was thankful of. When the newcomer spoke Larka put on a puzzled look at the familiarity of that voice, while the owner of the little parlour spoke up. ”Have a seat, sweetheart, I'll be with you in a bit, I think we're about ready for a break anyway.” She replied but since she didn't stop working right away Larka didn't move, not wanting to ruin the work that had been done.

After another ten minutes or so the artist stopped her needles and carefully wiped the ink off of them for now. She carefully wiped Larka's back getting the seeping ink and blood wiped away for now and smiled. ”There, you can get up and walk if you want, just don't stretch out.”

Larka stood asking. ”How long once we start again?”

”Hm, half hour, maybe a little more.”

By now Larka was turning after that quick exchange, and before the artist could see to her new customer Larka still with her shirt over head from her back, saw who it was that was there. ”Shiloh!” Larka blinked, what were the odds? Larka smiled as she walked over. ”I thought the voice was familiar when you came in. How have you been? And what brings you here? Decided to get some ink for yourself?” Larka asked with a smirk and not hiding her curiosity either, she remembered their time in the underdark when Larka had found Celeste.

The artist chuckled lightly looking between the two women who seemed to know each other. ”Indeed, yes, what can I do for you, sweetheart?” She asked.

[OOC: Feel free to control the artist as you like for your end, and no rush for a reply I won't be around much this weekend.]

Hearing her name, Shiloh's head followed the voice to see a familiar face looking back. She stared for a few seconds before realizing who it was. "…Larka?" Good, she hadn't forgotten. Usually if she met a person once their names slipped her mind, but almost dying and managing to return from the Umbral Depths with a former prisoner left a deep enough impression. "It's been…a while. How is she?" The last and first time she had seen Celeste, the elf woman was in bad shape. Casual conversation still proved to be a weak point for her, so when she was caught off guard like now, her delivery was stiff. In response to Larka's question, she shook her head. "No, I'm here for work-related reasons. I'm not the type for tattoos." Something about having an easily identifiable mark on her body didn't sit well with the rogue, as she preferred to keep as low of a profile as possible. It was her old habits still hanging on back from a time when she had a legitimate reason to worry.

Addressing the tattoo artist, she pulled out a small folded parchment. "Yes, you see I wanted to ask if you knew anyone who had a bat tattoo done recently. It should be on their arm, circling the upper portion between the elbow and the shoulder. I don't know which arm, unfortunately." The owner of the parlor thought for a bit. "…No I don't think I've done that kind of design before. Animals are pretty rare requests for ink, and even then almost no one would want a bat. I can ask around and see if anybody else knows. It will take a while to spread the word, so if you come back in a few months I might have some information by then." 

"Oh… I see. Thanks anyway." It was still a bit disappointing, but now was probably the time to let this one go. She didn't want to mention why, as mentioning looking for a wanted person probably wasn't tactful. However the owner's curiosity had been piqued and the woman then asked her: "By the way, any particular reason why you're looking for someone with that tattoo?" It seemed like the cat had already escaped from the bag long ago, so there was no point hiding it now. She knew there was a risk of being asked. "It's nothing personal. There have been reports of a person with a tattoo matching that description being wanted for some unsavory business, so it's best to stay alert. If you haven't, then that's probably a good thing." 

Bounties for people were the most troublesome of the bunch. This was why she didn't take those types of offers often. The amount of time and effort put in for the reward wasn't as profitable or secure as a bundle of less dangerous requests. Besides, it was better to keep her nose out of that business anyway. She had a very specific image which she intended to build, and the last thing she wanted were assassination requests. When she had begun her career as an odd-jobber, she had to turn away offers like those all the time. Eventually they petered out as they found other takers, and she did not want to relive the hassle she had worked hard to get out of. Usually she'd politely take her leave if she didn't find what she was looking for, but today had been tiring and she wanted to rest for a while.No one else was waiting, so making the parlor look more busy wouldn't hurt the owner's business.

Larka smiled when Shiloh remembered her name and asked of Celeste. ”She's well, thank you. Her mental state has stabilized and her sleep cycle is almost back to normal, she's not sleeping thirty or more hours at a time anymore.” Larka replied with a grin then asking if Shiloh was here to get some ink of her own done.

But it was work that brought Shiloh here instead, and she addressed the artist now, showing a drawing of the tattoo one of her marks had, hoping the artist knew the person. It was a bat, and she listened as Shiloh explained what it would look like on the person, but the artist wasn't aware of anyone with that work on them.

The artist then went back to work on Larka's back, asking Shiloh why she was looking for someone with that tattoo on them. Larka now facing away from Shiloh on the chair, grinned guessing the answer before it had been given. ”Sounds about right for you.” Larka spoke back to Shiloh as she winced from the pain, it was like getting stabbed a thousand times in seconds with the way the needles were going and they weren't going in that far. ”So, Shiloh, what's new with you these days?” Larka asked out of curiosity.

After that talk was finished the artist leaned back from her work as the needles stopped. ”There, we're done.” She informed Larka with a smile before carefully pouring warm water on Larka's back and using a soft towel to clean away the excess ink and any blood that had seeped out. After that she opened her palm just at the base of Larka's neck and a white glow appeared and she carefully lowered her hand downwards healing the needle marks as she went. ”Okay, go ahead and try it if you want, I'll admit, I'm very curious myself.”

Larka smiled and stood her raven wings done she placed her shirt back on normally. Glancing to Shiloh the Reaver focused that little bit of magic she had into the ruins under the actual wings on her back. After a moment two raven wings appeared on Larka's back, a full span of a dozen feet between them, and Larka smiled. ”Oh, that's just amazing!” She exclaimed tentatively bringing her left wing around and touch it with her hand, even the artist did the same. She looked to Shiloh. ”You like? I thought of it a while ago and finally saved up enough to have them done, should come in handy I think.” Larka chuckled as she started to flap the wings making wind and kicking up some dust.

”Blah, stop, please, not inside!”

”Oh, sorry.” Larka stopped and apologized. ”Now I need to learn how to use them.” She looked to the artist. ”Thank you again.”

”You're very welcome, come back again if you want anything else done.”

Larka nodded and then looked back to Shiloh again. ”Wanna head outside and watch me fail at flying for a bit?”

"That's good to hear. I'm sure she'll rebound quickly to make a complete and full recovery." Celeste–the elf they had rescued from the drow in the Umbral Depths, had been in an awful state up until her release. But if she was able to still hold on and stay alive after all that suffering and torture, then she would certainly recover. It was expected. It might take time, but it could be done. Trying not to look as Larka's tattoo was being created, she eventually closed her eyes. She could still hear the sounds of pain, but not being able to see it take place reduced her senses. "Well, I've finally settled down more or less. Bought myself a flying house so I don't need to worry about hiring muscle to keep people off it. I purchased my airship after I got back to Adeluna from our expedition. It was pretty expensive, but at least I can save on inn fare and transport fees from now on." Business was running like usual, and she'd soon be able to have her coin purse at the same level it was before her first major investment.

Hearing the tattoo artist mention the inking was done, Shiloh opened her eyes and saw two wings down the sides of Larka's back, made in ink. They then changed into real wings, and she marveled at it as the mercenary did the same. "It's amazing, definitely'll give you more of an edge in combat. They'll never see it coming when you hit them with this. Still not a fan of getting permanent marks on my skin, but it looks good." They both left the shop as their business there was done. When Larka asked if she wanted to watch her practice flying, she nodded. "Sure, let's go somewhere that'll have less collateral damage. I'm not sure if I'm right or not, but hitting the ground's a lot less painful than hitting a stone wall." 

Taking a brief break from work would give her time to think about something else for a change. The past few months were hectic with Glaciem around the corner. Time really had flown. She had bought a canvas and a box of paints out of curiosity once. Never used it since they were purchased, but maybe now was a good time to break them out and give them a try. A while back she had found a new hobby that was able to completely grab her focus like training did: sketching. Whenever she would sketch, it was like she was somewhere else for a moment. Like time had stopped, and everything was suspended. She still wasn't very good at the whole, 'socializing' thing but people like Larka didn't mind as much like others would.