Ink and Holes, Friday afternoon

[betterthanaplan]

"Hey man," the tattooist greeted as Duke came in. "It's been awhile."

It took Duke a beat to remember what he meant. Right, they slept together a few times last year. "It has! How's it been?"

"Can't complain." He tilted his head. "Squirrels say you're tight with your girl, so I'm guessing you're here for ink."

Duke's smile became several times more real. "I am," he agreed. He lifted his right arm and pointed to the inside of his bicep, across from the skull and butterflies. "A couple caterpillars. Maybe kind of circling each other in a oroborus kind of thing?"

The tattooist nodded. "Grab a seat. I'll sketch something out."

"You're the best."

[open, yes!]

Comments

[okteiviakom]

Octavia showed up a fair bit later, with a small bag from Turtle & Canary.

"Ha yun. How are things here?"

[betterthanaplan]

Duke looked up with a grin. The tattooist glanced over, eyebrow raised, and smirked faintly, then returned to his work.

The tattoo was taking shape on his arm, fine black line work outlining two thick, realistically drawn caterpillars, one for a monarch and one for a luna moth, forming a little spiraling circle.

"What do you think?" Duke tilted his chin towards the sketch on the tattooist's tablet computer. He'd talked Duke into adding color this time using a watercolor technique; lemon yellow and lime green and bright, aqua blue quite literally splashing across and through the line work.

[okteiviakom]

Octavia came over to peer at the sketch. Her soft, quiet gasp betrayed her thoughts even before she said anything.

"En's meizen, jaka," she murmured. Though, right, that was a compliment the tattooist might like to understand, too. "That's amazing."

[betterthanaplan]

The smirk became a grin as the tattooist nodded. "Thanks."

"Grab a seat, gona," Duke said, gesturing with his free hand. "Whatcha got there?"

[okteiviakom]

Octavia pulled up a chair for herself, on the opposite side of him from the tattoo guy. "This," she said, as she pulled a bottle of water out of the bag. "And these."

Grapes.

No cheese, though.

[betterthanaplan]

"Grapes," Duke said. "The perfect tattoo snack."

When he'd gone out to throw her sword while she was gone, he'd brought grapes.

[okteiviakom]

But he'd also had them when Octavia had given him a fashion show. Clearly they were versatile fruit.

"I think you told me that once," she said, as she offered him a bunch.