Carving, Needles, and Sushi

**Avis** · Jan 12th, 2015 02:17 AM

Avis liked waterfood. A lot. When thinking about the texture, the taste, the variety it came in (both in the sea or freshwater) and all the ways it could be prepared, what wasn't there to love? Sashimi was her favorite, though. It was like the purest form of fish that she could think of. Not that she didn't enjoy sushi as well, the little rolls with the treated seawood and rice and all the other little additives, but sashimi was what she craved most often. Ironically, the difference between sushi and sashimi hadn't been apparent to her until today, when the chef had pointed it out to her, but she didn't feel embarrassed about it. That was just how learning went.

Besides, both were on the menu. She turned the folded paper list over in her hands, her right thumb gently rubbing the paper, feeling it's tooth. It was nice paper. Would be horrible for folding, but she still liked it for some reason. Maybe it was just a sign of being bored. She had arrived pretty early. Fen water eyes lifted from the printed rows of food items and scanned the restaurant again, trying to catch sight of the person she was meeting.

Jan 12th, 2015 01:55 PM

Sight and Shield

Damascus arrived at the appointed place at the appointed time to find the Councillor already lying in wait within. She entered the establishment and walked over to greet Avis, Mella’s head tilting to survey the room as the Shaman closed the distance between herself and the Mastigos.

“Hi Avis.” She offered the other willworker a smile as she drew near.

**Avis** · Jan 13th, 2015 12:26 PM

"Damascus, hey," Avis replied, setting her menu down and gesturing at the seat across from her. "Thanks for meeting me. I really appreciate you taking the time to talk about this stuff."

The councilor's eyes flicked down, not to anything but away from the other Mage's gaze, though they flicked back up after just a few heartbeats.

"So, um, how should we start? Like I said, I've never really approached this kind of stuff like this before. Most of it I just...did on my own."

Jan 13th, 2015 04:12 PM

“Not a problem, I’m still spinning my wheels trying to get set up, it’s nice to have a break from the routine.”

Damascus noted the Councilor’s eyes flick down and away from her own as she accepted the proffered seat. She’d seen that look before; a lot of people liked the idea of getting a tattoo, but few thought about it beyond that initial appeal and a few offhand notions of what 'might be nice'. So when the Shaman asked them what they wanted to have permanently inked on their flesh all they were left with were questions.

Okay, it’s not really permanent any more, but with the cost and the risk of scarring it may as well be.

“I guess we start like I would with anyone else in this situation. I’ll ask you a few questions and if you like we’ll go from there.” The Shaman paused in setting her sketchbook onto the table before her; considering the other woman’s uncertainty it might be better for them to have something to eat while they chewed things over. “Would you like to order first?"

**Avis** · Jan 13th, 2015 10:06 PM

"I'm assuming that doesn't count as one of the questions you mentioned," Avis returned with a half smile and a snerk. Her fingers plucked up the menu again and her eyes quickly scanned it once before she dropped it again.

"But, sure, let's order first. I mean, it's kinda appropriate, don't cha think? That we talk while eating? Like, we're about to talk about flesh being cut, but we'll be doing it while something that's also been under the knife, but not just under the knife, but very specifically, artfully, and expertly put under it. It's, uh, not quite life imitating art, but I like the similarities." A graceless shrug was offered and Avis picked up the menu again, but she didn't look at it, just gently rubbed it between her thumb and forefinger. Clearly a soothing gesture.

"Anyways, get whatever you'd like. I'll pay. Least I can do for the, uh, consultation," she said as the Waiter approached to take down their order. Avis ordered several dishes, more than she could eat, and then handed her menu over, reluctantly, and waited for Damascus to order her food.

Jan 14th, 2015 05:26 AM

Damascus grinned. “How wise you are Councilor; perhaps we should order Fugu to further the analogy?” She winked. There were less than two dozen restaurants in the country that served blowfish and the nearest one was in L.A, though Avis was unlikely to be aware of that fact. Why was she? The Shaman had briefly contemplated cooking the thing before concluding that, while she was fond of fish, she wasn’t prepared to spend three years in training and apprenticeships just so that she could prepare that one. There were plenty of other fish in the sea, and less elaborate ways to kill yourself too for that matter.

She noticed her familiar getting a little twitchy this close to a source of her influence.

Well, I’m having a meal, why shouldn’t she?

Damascus raised her menu and, in a gesture akin to reading out her options aloud, spoke a few short snatches of Japanese. •”Go and eat, we’ll be fine, don’t be too long.”• With a bit of luck Avis would just put the language slip down to cultural nostalgia.

Mella let out a sound of approval before scrambling down from her shoulder. As the scrabble of their claws on the flooring faded beneath the background hum of conversation, the Thyrsus turned her attention to the menu in earnest.

You may regret your generosity Councilor, my appetite can be quite voracious...

After the waiter saw to Avis’ order the Shaman proffered her own request; some Nigiri, Norimaki and a sizable portion of Sashimi, all in all enough to feed the pair of them had Damascus been someone else entirely. As the server departed with their menus she moved to address the issue at hand.

“So my first question, and you'd be surprised by how many people are thrown by this, is usually; why do you want a tattoo?”

**Avis** · Jan 15th, 2015 12:03 AM

Avis' brows rose slightly when Damascus lapsed into what she assumed was Japanese. Based off of the environmental context, she figured that was the most likely bet. Thankfully, it was an assumption which was confirmed when the other Mage ordered very explicitly and with absolutely no trouble from the menu. Avis didn't comment on it, though. Wasn't any point, really. Just something to file away. She was more than happy to talk about why they were actually there, after all.

"Tattoo, huh? I guess that means you're not willing to do the other route," Avis said with a shrug. "Ah well. Tattoo might be better anyways." A hand, pale and lightly speckled with scars reached out and grasped her water glass, lifted it to her lips then brought it back down again once the Warlock had taken a sip. Her tongue flicked out, wiping any errant moisture away, and her eyes flicked off to the side.

"Well, I've always kinda had a...fascination, you could say, with changing the appearance of my skin. Mainly because of an accident that I had when I was young and for a long time I've been embarrassed about the scars it's left. I've kinda alternated between trying to hide it or trying to do the whole "badge of pride" thing. I even tried doing my own version of scarification, but that didn't really help. People don't really respond well to that kind of thing. Which, I know it's kinda silly. Like, I know it's just a meat suit. It's just a transient, decaying robot, basically, and it doesn't really matter, so why give a fuck," Avis explained, a bitter smile appearing for a moment, "but it's hard to forget about appearances or people's reactions to them. So, basically, I'm thinking that if I go into it this time with a professional's input then it might make a difference. Maybe it'll help me turn the page. Maybe not, but there's a power in symbols, as I'm sure you know. If I can make this the right symbolic act, that might change things."

Her eyes flicked back up. "And let's leave the camp stuff at home, ok? It's just Avis."

Jan 16th, 2015 01:15 PM

Damascus watched the Councilor thoughtfully, mulling over how to direct her words.

She doesn’t want my commiserations, she’s heard all that before; what she wants is to move past this.

“Avis then, Damascus is a bit of a mouthful isn’t it? How about Dami?” She flashed the other woman a brief smile before continuing. “Good answer. Tattoos are about symbolism, an idea condensed and expressed through design. They’re about sending a message to someone else and more importantly, to yourself. What I want to know is what message you would like to send, then we can work through personal and cultural images associated with that concept to find something you feel fits.”

She paused, wondering whether her next few words would be made in error given the Councilor's apparent disdain for their flesh. “Avis, if you really want us to look into scarification then we can. It’s your body and as far as I’m concerned you can do what you like with it. I’ve seen some impressive results, along with some which have made me wince and some very unhappy customers. Scarification is very much in the go loud or go home camp. While I have a lot of experience with tattoos, and though I’ve seen it done and have an understanding of the procedures involved; It's not something I've previously done myself. You’d essentially be my guinea pig.”

**Avis** · Jan 19th, 2015 12:34 AM

A corner of Avis' mouth twitched back into a brief half grimace before she shook her head. "Yeah, you're right. Better to stick to something you've got expertise in before going further afield. Tattoo it is then." She lapsed into silence then, eyes drifting over to stare at her water glass, and glimmers the light made as it passed through the liquid and it's translucent prison. Slowly, her fingers spun the glass on the table, both for the cool contact the perspiring glass made on her fingertips and to watch the spots of light dance over the wall next to their table.

"Well, I'm curious, actually," Avis finally said, looking back to Dami for the first time in some minutes. "What's your view on appropriating stuff? Like, say I wanted a design that's from a culture, or religion, or whatever, that I'm not super educated on. What stance do you, personally, take? Cause, on one hand, there's a lot of danger with appropriating stuff. Meaning can be lost, or bastardized, and that might destroy symbolic power. But, also, what if those symbols, themselves, have already been appropriated and changed? What if they filtered down from on high and now no one really knows what the true meaning is? Or is that a bullshit excuse? What's your take? I mean, you must have to deal with a bunch of ignorant assholes everyday who want all sorts of shit tattooed on them when the only thing they know about what they want written on their flesh is what they've read on Wikipedia."

Jan 20th, 2015 09:47 AM

“I’d say get familiar with it. You don’t have to take a course on the subject, but do a little research into what it is you want to use; if you happen to know anyone from that background then I’d try asking them. As for the risk of bastardization, yeah, it does matter if you’re trying to send a message to others as we discussed. But the most important thing, and I realize I’m laboring the point here, is what the design means to you.”

”I don’t tell the people who come in adamant that they want ‘This, here’, without knowing what it means to others to get out; they know what the symbol means to them and if they won’t take my advice they probably won’t care what anyone else thinks about them either. Symbols themselves don’t have one concrete meaning in most cases, take the Swastika as a for instance; is it the symbol of the Nazis? Is it a character in the Chinese alphabet? Or is it the family crest of a Hachisuka clan?”

The Shaman shrugged. “I do like to do a little research into it if they’ll let me. Symbolism is important to me, in my ‘extracurricular activities’ I often find myself dealing with the representations of various concepts.” She tilted her head, trying to remember whether she’d confessed an interest in the working of the Shadow to the Councilor.

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2015-01-12 13:30:59	Damascus rolls 8 to cast Ephemeral Shield (Gno + Spi + HS) (10 Again)	4, 9, 8, 2, 2, 1, 7, 9	3 successes
2015-01-12 13:28:58	Damascus rolls 8 to cast Second Sight (Gno + Spi + HS) (10 Again)	3, 1, 5, 1, 4, 9, 2, 9	2 successes

Carving, Needles, and Sushi

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