Hello beautiful people! Yeah, I didn't post last week, but final exams are approaching and I like to procrastinate studying by staying frozen on my bed, so sorry about that. By the way, this is a really shitty chapter, I don't like it, don't ask me why, I just don't.
Anyways, I got accepted to get an art degree online (it's recognize by my country, but online is the best way to put it) so yay!
Also, I changed Kassy's name to Kassi, because it sounds more 'Grounder'. It'll take some time to update the previous chapter, so don't be surprised.
Anyways, bye!
Today was a big day for Tris. The day of her first tattoo as a warrior. Onya still remembered hers, how much it had hurt. She had to be brave in front of little Leksa, pretending it didn't hurt at all. It was a showdown; one tear and she lost her credibility.
Tris, meanwhile, had seen some of her friends go through the process of getting tattoos before, and to say the least, while she didn't say anything about it, she was terrified.
Onya was unable to offer her words of comfort. It was just a tattoo. If Tris was scared of the thought, she wouldn't last long on the battlefield.
Luckily for the girl, a distraction came running, her white hair disheveled.
"Hey girls! Wassup' with you?!"
"Oh. You're here. When will you finally get eaten by a bear?" Onya asked.
"Haha. Very funny. Bears don't exist."
Tris looked like she was about to start laughing.
"I hate to break it to you, but they do," Onya replied, a look of pity on her face.
"I know, I was just messin' with you. Anyways, where are you guys going?"
Tris bravely straightened up, her chin straight.
"I am getting my first warrior tattoo."
"A tattoo? Really? Damn, you're hardcore, kid. Up top!"
She held out her open hand and Tris slapped it, to Onya's surprise.
"Do all warriors have tattoos?" Kassi asked, hopping beside them as they set off again.
"Yes," Tris replied.
"Do they have meanings?"
"Some of them. Some indicate membership to a tribe. Others show that two people are married," Onya replied.
"Wait what?"
"What?"
"Where I'm from, we wear rings on our ring fingers. Way less permanent. What happens if you get a divorce?"
"You rip your skin off."
"Really?!"
"No!" Onya replied as Tris burst out laughing. "Not everyone gets tattoos to signify that they are wed, and when they do, they don't do it recklessly."
"Do people get tattoo just for the fun of it?"
"Not that I know of."
"Girl, you know me."
Onya frowned, and Tris followed suit, turning to Kassi who was peacefully braiding one of her own locks of hair.
"What?"
Kassi looked up at them, surprised to see them looking at her.
"Oh, you didn't know? I have a tattoo. Not because I belong to a tribe or because I am married, but because I was a dumb bitch and was bored."
"You got a tattoo because you were bored?!" Tris exclaimed, stunned.
"Yeah, wanna see?"
She grabbed the end of her tunic and pulled it up, revealing the skin covering her ribs. A few flowers and their stems were drawn in black on the white of her skin, finely and delicately.
"It's chamomile flowers. Very pretty," Kassi explained.
"Did it hurt?" Tris asked.
Kassi's eyes went up to meet Onya's gaze, as if she had just understood the girl's nervousness.
"Nah. Well, a little, but I guess it depends on your pain tolerance."
She seemed to think, continuing to walk the streets of Polis.
"You know what, I'mma get a tattoo too. Not a warrior's one, cultural appropriation's still a thing, but I think it's time I upgrade mine."
She winked at Tris.
"We'll do it together, cupcake."
Onya could see Tris' face relax slightly, as if relieved that she didn't have to face this alone. Leksa had not had her fear. Leksa walked into the tattoo artist's room with her head held high, convinced she'd been through worse. She hadn't been completely wrong. She hadn't cried, hadn't complained, but a drop of blood had beaded from her lower lip, which she bit insistently.
The tattoo artist, Dorian, glared in Natshana's direction. Obviously, he hadn't expected to see her here.
"We do not serve Skaikru here."
"Yeah, yeah, 'separate but equal', haven't I heard that one before," Kassi replied, rolling her eyes. "Anyways, I'm not here for your xenophobic ass."
She cupped her hands.
"Tomak, my main bitch, you here?!"
"What do you want?!" a voice yelled in response.
"A tattoo!"
Tris was already settled in the tattoo seat, as a man appeared in the doorway. A strange amused gleam shone in his eyes, he had a familiar air and Onya didn't know where it came from.
"You two know each other?"
"Yeah, that's Oxana's brother," Kassi replied. "He's even crazier than her."
"I'll tell her you said that."
"Try me."
Watching them push each other around, giggling like children, Onya wondered if it was a good idea to leave them unsupervised.
"Okay, well," Tomak said as he began to set up another work table next to Tris's, "what do you really want?"
Kassi smirked and leaned down to whisper something in Tris' ear, ignoring Dorian's glare as he prepared the ink and needles. Tris' face lit up, she seemed to forget all her anguish.
"Can I have some paper, please?"
Tomak handed her a piece of parchment and a pencil, and Tris began to scribble peacefully, erasing a few strokes with her thumb. Kassi, seeing her concentrating on her drawing, raised her head and winked at Onya, who looked away.
"There," Tris announced, and Kassi placed a kiss on her cheek before holding the drawing up at arms length, bawling that the Mona Lisa only had to cling to her frame.
On the paper, in black on white, was the constellation of Cassiopeia.
All in all, Tris had taken the pain well. It was probably thanks to Kassi, who had spent a long time, lying on her stomach, telling her nonsense. She didn't even seem to be aware of the needle pricking her back. Instead, she pretended to give Tris a 'pop quiz' on Gonaslagen. Tris had done pretty well, and Kassi was laughing at her mistakes, making her laugh her with her.
When Tris' tattoo was finally done, she sat up without a word. She didn't look happy, but she didn't look like she was about to cry either. She looked down at her arm, her chest swelling with pride.
It was then that a snore sounded in the room.
Tomak raised his head, giving Onya a bewildered look.
"Did she just fall asleep with a needle in her back?"
Tris clapped a hand over her mouth to stifle her laughter, Dorian suddenly looking a little worried seeing the sleeping Skaigada. What battle had she had gone through not to feel a needle under her skin?
Onya approached, and flicked her on the forehead.
"Wake up, Skaigada."
Kassi jerked her head up, ceasing to snore.
"Wat?"
"Your tattoo is done," Tomak announced.
"Already?"
"Bitch, it's been two hours."
"M'kay."
She finally sat up, only dressed in her funny clothes she called 'a bra' and her skirt. Tomak helped her see her tattoo in a mirror before bandaging her skin. Black on white, the Cassiopeia constellation was forever traced on her skin.
"Did you really fall asleep?" Tris asked.
"Myeah?"
"Didn't it hurt?"
"It did. But… Well, I watched a woman give birth to my kid. I think I can handle a tattoo."
Tris' eyes widened, moving closer to Onya.
"She's crazy."
"I know. We should lose her in the forest."
"I'm right here."
And Kassi ran away, screaming through the streets of Polis.
"Hey! Hey, Lexa! Wanna see my new bullshit?!"