Eridan sighed heavily as he operated the small pen-like device in his hand, another customer's arm yet again resting in his other. He was currently detailing an unfinished tattoo on his friend, Karkat Vantas', arm. It was of the Cancer zodiac sign with a scythe sticking through both openings in the symbol. His friend had requested it as custom made so Eridan had to design it a few times before Karkat decided on one of the many ones the Ampora drew. He'd just finished the blade of the scythe and put down the pen, re-sterilizing the now finished area and then putting the plastic over it.
"Noww, don't take off the plastic until I text you to do so, alright?" The boy asked with his unusual accent, stuttering over his w's and v's.
"Alright." Karkat nodded, speaking with his usual rough, shouty voice.
"And if you wwant it filled in you need to come back tomorroww." Eridan spoke again.
"Alright." Karkat replied once more.
Eridan nodded, patting the shorter boy's arm and sending him off and out of the shop. He could hear a bit of the music playing from the shop that was next door from his own in the plaza. It was 'Brand New' by Ben Rector and he actually liked the song quite a bit. He'd ended up humming it and eventually mumbling the lyrics as he traced a tattoo of a violet rose on his arm. His friend who worked with him, Korey Tourmaline, had done it for him. It was just one of the tattoos advertised in a frame along with a bunch of others on a wall in the waiting room of the shop. It was a simple rose with no stem and it was advertised as white on the picture, but you could get it in any color.
Korey had told Eridan they'd given the tattoo to another person recently but in yellow; They'd also detailed it was the guy who worked in the flower shop next to the tattoo parlor that he encountered every day once they got to work, considering they both had to be at their jobs at the same time each day. Korey also arrives with Eridan and has seen the guy countless times before but only for two reasons: One being that they have no car and needs Eridan to drive them to work, and two being that they lived close to the flower shop worker.
He continued tracing the tattoo on his arm, wondering if Korey told the guy with the same tattoo as him that he had the same one. He doubted they did, but there was still a possibility. He sighed when he finally noticed he was half-singing the words to the song playing next door, ceasing his mumbled lyric reciting and looking to the person who'd just arrived at the parlor. It was his ex, Feferi Peixes. They were still friends after they broke up and now she was kind of like who Eridan went to when he had a problem. She'd texted Eridan and told him that she'd be there in a bit to get a tattoo of a fuchsia cuttlefish she'd designed herself, and she'd sent the boy the image so he could look at it for a bit so he was ready. He went to go attend to her after noticing her with a small smile.
