Ink and blood

[Scharda]

Letting the long metal spike rest on her wrist, carefully holding it by its blunt end with her right hand, the shaman let the point slowly trace the green skin with painstaking precision. Each tap of the metal point leaving behind a small dot of black ink that would mix with drops of blood as it slowly seeped from countless small cuts.
Around her on the ground stood several bowls of ink ranging in colour from crimson red to black and perfect white, a few pouches of herbs still laying next to them though all seemingly arranged into specific orders. Another five metal spikes had been carefully laid on a separate small blanket and next to those stood a bowl of clear cold water, a wooden figurine in the shape of a wolf holding a burning stick of incense.

”Almost done” Scharda said, her words slightly muffled due to the metal spike clutched between her teeth, a drop of blue still lingering on its tip. They’d been at it for a good five hours now and she was feeling the toll of it just as well as the orc grunting at her as the spike hit another nerve.
There was something spiritual about tattooing but no one ever claimed it to pleasant, and even an orc would admit to a slight discomfort after a few hours of having his skin stung with razor needles.

”Slow..” the warrior said, a slight smirk on his lips though as he shot Scharda a sideways glance over his shoulder. The shaman grinned in return and placed the spike down on a separate blanket before taking the one between her lips and dipping its point in the blue ink again.
”Perhaps” she said with that grin that always seemed part of her expression, that confident, strong and somewhat smug grin that you either came to love, or hate. ”But this is art my friend. And you wouldn’t want it to look like some gnome scribbled across your back now do you?”

The warrior chuckled though was quickly silenced as the flat of a hand smacked him a cross the back of his head. He was twice as broad and twice the bulk of the woman currently attacking his back with needles and ink, yet she showed no fear in correcting him and he, in return, remained motionless.

”Do that again and I’ll stab you just to make a point” Scharda said.
”I thought that was what you’d been doing for the last eight hours….” the other orc muttered.
”Five” she corrected him, pulling back slightly and tilting her head to the side as she eyed her work much in the same way one would expect a painter to view a canvas. ”Learn to count or admit I beat you at the last Brewfest”
”Ha! Beaten at drinking by a woman? Never!” the warrior grumbled though there was something playful about his tone of voice.

The shaman chuckled and shook her head with a wide grin, reaching for a clean rag and the bowl of water, placing it in her lap as the spike with the blue ink was laid down next to the black one.
”Stubborn -and- stupid tsk tsk” she smirked. ”Good thing you’re strong or you’d be a complete loss” Scharda chuckled teasingly, wetting the rag in the water before carefully wiping it across his back. The blood, sweat and excess ink disappearing to reveal the full extent of her work, a simple nod of her head indicating that she was indeed pleased with the result as she dropped the rag back into the bowl and placed it aside. The excess colour staining the remaining water a dark blue-black.

”Tell me what you think” she said, handing the warrior a mirror before reaching for a policed metal buckler she always kept with her tools, holding it up so that he’d be able to see his back in the reflection.

The orc lifted his chin, turned his head this way and that as the smile on his lips slowly widened into a broad grin at the sight of the intricate pattern now decorating his back, a dire wolf, the colours of snow and ice, emerging through clouds of white with jaws open as if about to leap. A true Frostwolf.

For a moment he was silent, then his voice turned into a roar as he turned around and picked the much smaller woman off the ground with minimum of effort, laughing as he gave her a spin and nearly lost hold of her for a brief moment.
”You do me honour shaman!” he bellowed, lifting Scharda up high as if she was a mere child. ”A tribute worthy of a warrior indeed! Say what payment you want and you’ll have it”

”Well, we could start with putting my feet back on the ground” the young orc chuckled, staring down at him now that he was holding her up high. ”As for payment, how ‘bout you re-forge my shield?”
The warrior blinked as if not quite grasping what she’d just said then shook his head at the realization of what he was doing, placing her down on the ground as carefully as his massive hands could manage.
”Nothing more?” he said with a hint of puzzlement to his voice as the shaman dusted herself off.
”Well, no” Scharda said, straightening her west slightly before moving back to her makeshift workplace and kneeling down. ”I broke my shield last week, a bloody squid shattered it with his hammer before I shattered his skull with mine. And, well, I really can’t afford a new one right now so I thought…”
”Then a shield you shall have. I promise you my best work!” the warrior cut her off, Scharda resting an arm on her knee as she looked back over her shoulder at him.
”Oh I’d expect nothing less” she said with a chuckled as she threw him his shirt and then turned to gather her materials.
”Just remember; no going swimming for a week, wash your back twice a day -and- remember the ointment, every day after you’ve washed. Oh and Tok…” she added, turning around as she got back up.
”Make me a shield I can actually lift”

The warrior flashed her a sly grin.

-

((So yeah, Scharda's a tattoo artist, so if anyone's interested in an IC tattoo just give me a poke and I'll see what I can do. The tattooing itself is done IC and the actual tattoo is provided in the form of a description fitting a Flag RSP description. As usual, my own description is way too long,b ut i can write much better short ones i promise ^^)

[Morgeth]

((Lovely story, and I must say I haven't seen an orcish tattoo-artist so far, so it feels very original and new for me! Hoping to see more of this, both storywise and IC.))

[Claws]

Nice.

Love the Tag also

[Gorewolf]

you've always been great at writting, nice work here   

[Mazguul]

(( Ooooo! Now there's an idea! A tattoo artist of all things Perhaps a Mazguul might come visiting and asking if she ever finds out.

I have to admit, I do enjoy your style of writing - makes for a well written and very enjoyable experience.... I am jealous... please write mine for me too ))