Building A (Strange) Family

Ink II

Extensive searching online lead them to the smaller tattoo shops in Santa Carla.
Instead of patchouli like most shops Lilly had been in, the place actually smelled like lavender.
Maybe because it has calming properties, maybe it was because it was so different from her last experience, it set her at ease.

The man at the counter looked up as they whole group piled in.
Thor was in his upper fifties, probably tall when he stood, thin and wiry.
His long hair hung in a braid down his back and his beard had two smaller ones. He seemed to have walked right off of a viking longboat.

He studied them all for a minute, not saying anything.

"Hi..." David started.

"Wampires?"

Everyone froze, first wondering if they had heard correctly, then panicked a little.
Robert was the first to regain composure and spoke, surprising them all.

"Yes, actually..." he answered honestly.

Thor nodded and seemed a little upset.
"Sorry... no service."

Joel scoffed, unable to help his cheekiness, laughing a little.
"What? Racist?"

The artist actually chuckled as he stood and walked around the short counter.
They could now see his leather, handmade boots and really started to wonder if he wasn't a viking.

"No, no judgments der.
Dealt with quite a few of ya in my day. Just can't tattoo ya.
Silver is to soft a metal fer de guns. Wont work. Tried tree times."

The guys all started laughing, left to wonder just how many people actually knew about vampires and how many were actually cool with them.
Lilly just stood there with her mouth hanging open.

David placed a hand on her back and pushed her forward.
"Not a problem. The human is the one wanting the work.
She got taken in by a shyster of a tattoo artist a couple months ago and needs a positive experience."

Thor's face softened, taking Lilly's hand.
"How can I help, my lady?"

The guys all hung over the low counter, watching as Thor worked on Lilly's arm.
Lilly didn't mind them watching and Thor seemed tickled at their fascination.

Mark jumped the first time he heard the gun buzz and that caused Joel to jump.
They all laughed and Lilly realized she was the calmest one there despite being the one being worked on.
David was on the other side of her, holding her hand.
Her other appointments had happened in the daytime, so he hadn't been able to be with her for her other tattoos. This was new for him.
Now that he was there, he wasn't sure he wanted to be.

"You sure you're all right?" He kept asking.
Lilly had to stop herself from laughing, from moving as Thor worked.

"David, it's fine. You've had one before!"

"Wasn't this big!" He insisted.

Joel's eyes got bigger the more work was done.
"Is there supposed to be that much blood?"

"Der is tree needles goin' in her arm at tree tousand times per minute... Der's gonna be blood. What? De Wampire's squeamish?"

He anticipated the response and pulled away from Lilly as she and the others all burst out laughing.

By the end of it, Lilly had a an intricate lily on her arm, green leaves and white petals delicate despite having to cover over an ugly blob.

She stared at it, wrapped in plastic, as they walked across the town, entranced with it.
David had an arm wrapped around her and kissed her head.

"Regret this one?"
He grinned, teasing.

"Yup. Gonna wipe it off," she giggled.