"I don't think this is such a good idea."
Ruffnut rolled her eyes and scoffed. "What are you blathering about, troll-brain? It was your idea."
But Tuffnut just shook his head, eyes wider than usual with terror. "Not all of my ideas are good ideas. I can admit that. I am humble enough to admit that every now and then one of my ideas is less than magnificent and maybe bordering on not-that-great."
Ruff just sneered as she shook up the bottle of black ink.
"What are you doing that for?" Tuff demanded.
"Your idea," she repeated. Her sneer did not fit with the surroundings one iota. The twins sat in the late morning shade behind their house, that nice little slant of shadow protected from the sun of an uncharacteristically bright Berk day. Somewhere nearby, small children were playing. Playing happily.
Tuff was not happy, and Ruff was well aware of that.
"Lift up your shirt," she demanded.
He wrapped his arms tightly around his waist and shook his head. "No."
"No?" His sister frowned.
He changed tactics. "I would never ask you to lift up your shirt, would I?"
She brought her boot right down into his toes, and he choked on a wail. "Lift up your shirt, or I will tell everyone and I mean everyone some completely made-up lie about you."
"Like what?"
"Like how you are a big baby." She cackled. "Hah! No, wait, that isn't a lie, it's the truth. That's okay, I'll tell it anyway."
Well, it had been his idea. Tuff gulped and slowly lifted up his shirt so his side was exposed.
Ruff opened the jar of ink. Then, from seemingly nowhere, she pulled out a needle. Just a sewing needle. Probably one of her very own. Small, silver, sharp. Like a sword. Like a very small and very sharp sword. Puncturing, stabbing, sliding smoothly through skin and flesh with blood pouring out…
Unable to stop himself, Tuffnut screamed. But he should have moved instead. In a flash his sister was on top of him, holding him down to the very dirt. "Oh, shut up!"
"Don't you dare touch me with that thing!" He sounded like a child, but he didn't care. All he could see was the needle.
And then, all he could feel was it. The prick in the side of his abdomen, the intense pain like she was shoving it through him right into his large intestine…
"Hold still!" Ruff exclaimed. "I barely poked you!"
He had to get away. He put his hand on her face and pushed. He won. He was free.
He jumped to his feet and began to run.
No more needles. Needles were bad.
"Fine!" Ruff screamed after him. "I'll tell the whole village you couldn't handle a little tattoo!"
Tuff almost stopped. Almost.
But there would be no needles for him.
The End!