Chapter Nine: The Street Corner Symphony of Ink

"We should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh."
- Friedrich Nietzsche

It's amazing how some things can change a person's find faster than someone can say "hello".

For example, wine and beer are one of those things. For me, wine it just my little guilty pleasure that I can't get enough of. Beer, and any other type of alcohol, only enters my system when I've been changed, or I've had a very pissy day.

Then again, things like "love" and "hate" can also change a person's mind.

But, I'm getting ahead of myself. That's later on in my story, so I'll just stick to the basics of this chapter in my life.

So, to make it simply simple, this day was the beginning of the rest of my life.

And it was all because I decided to get something put on my shoulder that would last forever.

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Faye smiled. Her head was turned around as far as she could get it, but she could still see the fading black imprint on her back from the mirror that she had her back to. It wasn't everyday that an old woman would just stare at her back, using a mirror, and reminisce on the old days. It, the faded black imprint, would last forever, long past death until her skin was no more, but the memory of it would be imprinted in everyone's heart, just like it had been imprinted on her skin.

She could still remember the quick, steady buzz of the needle. The soft conversation that she had had, trying to ignore the pain of something like sharp glass scratching against her skin, was still fresh in her mind.

She could still remember the ache that she had had, and it lasting well over a month. Salt water helped, even if it was just a little.

Hm, it seemed like she was having another one of her writing urges yet again; funny how she kept getting those.

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It started out like all the others had for the past almost-three months.

I woke up.

I disappeared from the inn I had been lodged at – making sure to pay my respected fines.

I continued on with my way, but still stayed within the small town. Turns out, this was only a smaller part of a much larger city. And it turns out, that the large city was the port that I had been dropped off in no less than two and a half months ago. Funny how those kinds of things worked out.

I wouldn't admit until later on, but I was actually quiet glad that I had travelled farther away from the street of shops to smell the salty musk of the sea.

It took me almost three months, but I had traveled the whole island. And so, I was now back in the port town that I had been dropped off. Oh how I loved walking in circles sometimes. Now I had time to see the rest of the port that I hadn't gotten a chance to when I was dropped off. Who knew how many Marines would be around.

My heart began to ache suddenly when I saw a girl, just a bit younger than me, walking with her friends. They seemed to be having a girls' day out. The girl had a head of flaming red hair...

The death of Mia was still there in my mind, but it was beginning to fade. I could still remember her fiery red hair and laughter filled eyes. I missed all of her stupid moments. How she actually understood all those equations that go with math I'll never know. That's just Mia for you.

The same barely-dressed, impulsive, childish, once- tattooed Mia Kelvin. I could still remember when I had been there when she got her first tattoo. She was trying so hard not to cry as she grinned at me, waving off the pain as the guy ran the needle across the back of her neck. Mia had always had a fascination with tattoos; most of the guys she got into relationships with had many tattoos. Mia had just finally gotten up the courage to get a tattoo herself.

Mia leaved up to her name; rebellious, a child who wishes and goes for it. The shooting star she got as a tattoo helped prove that. And that was the first, and last, tattoo Mia Kelvin dared get on her skin.

That's when the sudden memory of Mia trying to talk me into actually getting a tattoo myself flashed through my mind.

"Please Faye?"

"Hell nah, Mia. Ya should be smarter than that. I dun't do those kinds of things."

"Just this once, though! Go against what others expect from you. It can be small, but PLEASE?!"

"NO, Mia. This is the last time I'mma telling ya, too. Now go and . . . do something! I have ta finish this order and ya're distracting me."

"Fine. But mark my words, I'm going to keep bothering you about it until you get one."

True to her word, Mia did bug me about getting one. We would have the same argument over and over again, but I wouldn't dare get one. Mia even went as far to design a tattoo that she wanted me to get. Of course, she found it amusing when my name, Faye, actually meant "fairy". So, that led to her constructing her own version of wings that would "fit your personality perfectly, Faye!"

Those were her exact words.

And here I was, actually musing over the thought of getting one. Well, it could be a slight reminder, even though I wouldn't DARE forget Mia, of her. And her unusual craziness that I missed so much.

Alright Faye, time to move onto a new topic.

Let's see… it was lunch time.

And my stomach was showing signs of begging for food so…

To the nearest restaurant!

If only it had been that easy.

So basically, I was stuck in a town, city, port, whatever you want to call it, with no idea of where I was going. I swear a group of guys were following me, but every time I looked there was no one but a few people going in and out of a few shops. To put it even simpler than that, I was lost. I never liked to admit I was lost, I was just stubborn like that, but I was.

In the end, I did what any person, who was too stubborn to admit they were lost, would do. I began making random turns down street after alleyway. And fate might as well have it that I ended up on that street corner.

The sign wasn't flashy, nor was the outside of the... it couldn't be called a shop since it looked more like a shack. It only made it worse that it was the only shop on the street; the others were boarded up or nothing but ruins now. This actually made me think twice about getting a tattoo now, but someone once said, "Never judge a book by its cover."

Too bad I was one of those people that did judge a book by its cover.

The Street Corner Symphony of Ink

That's what the sign said, and it was a nice name too. My mind could only come up with the conclusion that fate had led me to a tattoo shop. The thought of lunch was forced to the back of my mind as I grew closer and closer to the shop.

But I was still hesitate on actually going anywhere near the place.

I could see a man sitting at a desk that was in the middle of the shop. He had his feet propped up on the desk, and he seemed to be sleeping the way he had his eyes closed and head leaned back. Maybe I should come back later after I eat lunch. That way I could think over what exactly I was getting myself into and–

SHIT!

My foot was stumped against a loose piece of concrete as I slowed my pace toward the shop. It caused me to go flying forward, and the only thing I had to catch myself with was the door.

And to make my luck even better (or worse) the door opened when I leaned against it to catch my balance. This made a very annoying bell begin to ring, alerting the sleeping man until he was awake and trying to figure out what was going on.

The look on his face when he saw me was nothing but pure joy. It was like he was finally getting to eat after weeks of nothing, or finally seeing a loved one after years of being separated. It was as if I had just saved his life.

"Hi, there! Welcome to The S.C.S. of Ink! I'm Alastair, but you can call me Al. I'll be happy to help you with anything and everything that you need to know about tattoos! From our prices, to the different designs we have to offer. Of course your own designs would be perfectly fine too. Hey, you look familiar, have we met before? What's your name? Where do you come from? Is this your first tattoo or do you know what it's like to get one? Then again, you don't look like the kind of girl to–"

"Al, SHUT UP!"

I jumped a bit at the annoyed-sounding voice and looked to see a woman slipping out from behind a curtain that most likely led to the backroom of the shop. The man, known as Al and a bit of a rambler, rolled his eyes, but did actually keep quiet.

The woman, a short haired white-blonde woman who actually seemed older than myself and even had a few tattoos for herself on her arms and showing legs, huffed with annoyance and folded her arms under her chest. She looked to me, the awkwardly standing me who was still gripping onto the door trying to keep my balance, that was a bit frightened to say anything.

"Can we help you hun?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat and nodded. With a bit of courage that I was finally starting to build up, I stepped forward and let the door swing shut.

"Actually, yeah. I was hoping ta get a tattoo, but seeing as it's mah first time and I have nah idea offa what I'm going to need and knowing that it will probably hurt since I've seen a friend get one, I was wondering if you could give me a bit of info."

The white blonde woman raised a brow and glanced over at the happy-go-lucky looking Al.

"Well, hunny-child, I believe you came to the right place. I'm Syra, Al's my younger cousin so ignore him if you please. He gets a bit excited, especially since we haven't had a customer in the past few weeks. I'll be the one doing the tattoo since Al here is still in training and can't seem to sit still for more than a few minutes."

I nodded. My bag was dropped to my feet as I stood closer to the desk. Syra, the woman who I was starting to like since she sounded much like my Aunt Darien, grabbed a few books and plopped them down onto the desk. Al was just smiling; his teeth not exactly pearly white but they weren't a nasty yellow either.

"We got a bunch of things to pick from, and there isn't really much you needed to know. It just depends on the type of tattoo and where you want to get it. So, I leave you to flip through and–"

"Actually, Syra, I was wondering if ya could do a custom design for mah. I already have it with mah, seeing as I neva go anywhere without it. Could ya take a look?"

She seemed a bit surprised, but nodded anyways and pushed the books aside.

This is where I brought out my own book – the one filled with many works-in-progress maps, outfit designs, and even a few of Mia's doodles that she had snuck in there. One of the many doodles was the one of the fairy wing that she had come up with to make me get a tattoo of. My name was in the tattoo, seeing as the whole thing wouldn't really make since without it.

Syra rubbed her chin, glancing down at it and moving the book in a few different angles to see what it would look like.

"Ya know, this actually wouldn't look that bad on ya. I'm assuming you want it on your back right?"

I nodded without actually thinking about where I wanted the thing. So, I just took Syra's indirect advice and would get it on my back.

"Alright, color, size? We'll worry about price once we get there, but it won't go over about ten-thousand Beli."

It wasn't until now that I truly realized that I was in the beginning process of getting a tattoo. If Mia was alive, and I had actually gotten one without her being there to gloat about me finally giving in, she would kill me; even if the whole tattoo was designed by her and being gotten in her memory.

"Uh…" That made me think, though. What color? I wasn't going to waste all of my money on something that could possibly give me ink poisoning. So, just black? It was cheap that way, and if it faded I wouldn't have a huge patch of mis-colored skin. Then again, there would be a bit of space on my skin that was gray…

"Black… no bigger than my hand." Alright, simple enough. Syra nodded; she was already jotting down things and sketching out her scratchy version of the fairy wing. "Like I said, my back – left shoulder blade perhaps?"

Five minutes later, after Syra had finished musing over the drawing and making it a bit better – not daring to change too much about it other than the shading and a few curves to make it seem more 'magical'.

"When was the last time you had something to eat?"

I blinked at the sudden question. "Uh… I had an apple before I left my inn. That was about an hour after dawn."

Syra nodded and smacked the back of Al's head, motioning for him to get up. He did so, grumbling under his breath and rubbing at the now sore spot. Syra sat in the chair, Al muttering under his breath more and disappeared behind the curtain to the back of the shop.

"Now that we got the basics down, I can sketch this out within the next few minutes. Of course, it's pay before the actual tat is inked, so, pay up." I lifted a brow. How much exactly was I to pay? "Oh yeah… that'll be five-thousand Beli, plus an extra thousand for cream and bandages so the thing doesn't get infected, and I know you don't want to spend a month in a hospital, so cough it over."

Yeah, she definitely reminded me of my Aunt Darien.

"I'll throw in a additional thousand if we can keep this whole lil' thang a secret, and if anybody shows up asking for mah, ya know nothing?"

Syra tilted her head, almost looking like an innocent little girl – but the amused twinkle in her eye told me otherwise. "Who are you, again?"

It was a rhetorical question.

I handed over the three bills, a five thousand and two one thousands, and took the book back.

"Alrighty then. Let's set up. Off with the jacket and the shirt. Of course, unless your top can be stretched down enough for me to…"

I pulled off my deep purple coat before she even had time to finish what she was saying. The dark green and white blouse I had on was one of my own creations, meaning it fit me perfectly. My shoulders were bare, as well as the top half of my back (leaving a good amount of space for her to actually do the tattoo without me having to strip). Of course, though, anyone could still see the beginning of the long scar I had on my chest.

The story behind the scar was actually a very sad one – sad as in how pathetically stupid it happened. I had just left home, finally getting away from my ass of a father, and I was jumping from rock to rock on the shore of the island I lived in. Of course, it had just finished raining and the rocks were still slippery, I missed a rock, and went tumbling down onto a very sharp one, causing me to cut my torso (the length of it was almost the same as my forearm). I ended up fracturing two ribs, too, but it all healed pretty quickly. And thus, that was the end of that story. Now I might as well get finished telling this one.

Syra gave me a look, saying something along the lines of why do you hide your body when it's actually has some very nice curves?

"I don't need men staring at mah. I got bett'r things ta do then deal wid th'm."

"So you make yourself look like an ironing board on purpose? Clever and deceptive. I knew I liked you for a reason."

I couldn't help but laugh lightly at that.

"Alright, alright, getting back on topic. Just set your stuff down behind the desk and go sit in the third chair. Sit with your front to the back of the chair. That way I can actually get the thing on ya."

I followed her orders, and barely even ten minutes later, I was clutching the sit, trying my best not to move, as the buzzing needle began to etch a permant picture into my skin. Now I know why Mia didn't want to get another one.

HOLY SHIT!!

This was my first, and definitely LAST, tattoo.

Oh if only Mia could see me now. She was probably laughing at me in the afterlife anyways.

Screw her.

"OUCH!!"

"Oh shuddup you big baby. I'm almost done."

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A/N: le GASP! I actually UPDATED! Aren't you all very happy? Please give my story-baby's daddy, Eli, a BIG standing ovation since it was her that actually gave me the idea for the next two-three chapters. I had had the idea of this chapter all last week, but I just couldn't seem to write anything. So, Eli came into the picture.

In other news, this is the TENTH CHAPTER! And we haven't even gotten to the good stuff yet. ;D

Also, this chapter so so far the longest, so love me even if it isn't the best. The next chapter will come out soon since I know what I want to do. Plus, I have nothing to do all this week in Journalism, so I can work on this thing. :D

AND TO MAKE THINGS EVEN BETTER. My birthday is this Friday (Jan. 29th). I shall be fifteen, and taking the test for my driver's permit. –evil laugh- oh I can't wait!

Review please?

PS: (to Eli) I know you know the quote I used. ;D