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 Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 6:43 pm
  This is a RP between Jianyu [Kuro] and Sara [Biki] Please do not post. Setting:Sara would like a tattoo; and who better to go to?
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:08 pm
It was the middle of the day and the warm son was beating down on the city, many Noble ladies were walking the streets with fan's. Though Sara was still wondering around in her fur's, her skin had more than enough room to breathe around her stomach and arms. Besides, she had grown font of her hat and only really liked to take it off when she was indoors. Her skin was tanned and better at resisting the sun than pale Lunarian's. In any case it was a lovely day, it seems like the God's were smiling on her. It was a special day, and she liked the fact that they had been blessed with good weather on such a day.
Today was the day Sara was set to get her first tattoo. She had thought long and hard about what she wanted and then waited a long time to make sure it was something she could live with forever. Sara was not a stranger to body paint, when she did her dances to Tengri she often wore it on her skin, now she was going to get the marks on herself permanently to show her commitment to her studies. Starting with a sun around her belly button, if she could she wanted it in blue ink since it was her favourite colour, black would look too heavy on her dark skin in her own opinion. She was too much of a happy person to have such a harsh colour on her body.
She was walking a familiar path, towards the home of Jianyu for that matter. When she heard about the shop and his alternative profession she felt the need to take her business there. She knew Jianyu would take care of her and she would prefer someone she knew to touch her. She was still horribly shy around strangers and she felt such things were better done when you felt at ease. She came to the door of the studio and took in a deep breathe, she knew this was going to hurt. Sara did not like pain and since she was not a fighter and, thus getting into fewer battles, did not have as high tolerance of other people. She just hoped she could keep a brave face.
She opened the door and wondered inside. Taking off her cape she looked around a little sheepishly. Nobody had seen her just yet, she still had time to run.
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 7:38 pm
No amount of whining, wailing, or pleading was going to get him out of this situation.
"Mother," Jianyu said, for what felt like the fourth time in as many minutes. "I told you - I need to go and prepare for - "
"Prepare for what exactly?" said Ehuang sweetly, all but batting her eyes at her oldest son. "The wedding isn't for another few days; you're perfectly able to commit to your duties at the shop without fear of being overwhelmed or left behind.
"That is not," said Jianyu. "What I meant - "
"Off with you! Off off!" said Ehuang cheerfully, completely disregarding any protests that might have been made on her son's behalf.
Which was how, an hour later, Jianyu found himself in one of the back rooms at the Qian Tattoo House, working on the design of a tiny rose on the neck of a beautiful young Legion woman whose hair was raven black and as silky as gossamer.
"Just a few more minutes, and I'll be done," Jianyu murmured distractedly, eyes narrowing as he frowned at the design. It was just a fraction too dark on the left side, so he darkened the right side, attempting to balance it out. It worked out rather well, and Jianyu was pleased with the effort.
"All done," he said, once he had cleaned and bandaged the skin. "You're free to go."
"Do I have to?" asked the woman, who's name was Thi. She gave Jianyu a fluttering, sultry look, leaning closer to him to toy with his hair. "I don't have have to go if you don't want me to."
"Getting married, my dear," said Jianyu dispassionately, easily lifting Thi's arms from his shoulders and giving her a placating smile. "However, you are free to attend our wedding if you so choose."
She gave him a mildly exasperated glance, grinned, and then bounded of, shaking her head as she popped through the door. No sooner had she left than a familiar darkhaired girl poked her head into the room.
Jianyu glanced up from the floor, where he was washing the instruments. "Yes, Chuntao?"
His sister blinked owlishly down at him. "Your next appointment is here."
"Go ahead and send her i - Sara!"
A familiar dark haired young woman had entered the room, her long, sweeping lashes ringed around her pale, gentle eyes. Jianyu grinned, pushing himself to his feet and taking both of her hands in his, bending down to kiss both of her cheeks in greeting.
"Well, this is certainly a surprise. Are you my next appointment, then?" he asked, lifting a brow in amusement. "Come to get a tattoo, have you?"
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Posted: Tue Aug 23, 2011 8:39 pm
"Okay, I erm-" She meeped unsure as she was called into a room. She was never good in strange places, anything outside her usual routine put her on guard, even as a Conduit. All in all, Sara was a bit of a control freak and new situations scared her, always had done, always ill do. Though admittedly when she entered the room to see Jianyu it made her feel a lot more at ease.
She smiled as he greeted her, returning his gestures and keeping a hold of his hands. It was too late to run away now. "Afternoon Captain." She greeted, bowing her head slightly. Feeling butterflies enter her stomach, she suggested they not stay there long though. They might get stabbed if they were not too careful. By sharp needles at that, suddenly this felt like a bad idea. Needles were so... pointy.
Though she would not change her mind, she wanted this. She would just have to be brave, even if it was out of character for the shy Mongol. "I know who'd have thought, little old me. Though I have to admit I am nervous, you are not going to laugh at me right? I am not as brave as I may seem. I also tend to talk a lot when I am uneasy, which is probably not a good thing right now. But yes, I am here to get a tattoo. If you would be so kind." She was trying her best to make her words make sense, however they just all came out all jumbled. Even around him she was nervous. Hopefully as the time past it would get better, she was sure it would. If not Jianyu was in for a session of hell.
She let go of his hands to make a circle around her stomach, her belly button in the middle "Well, what I want is a sun, a clear centre with long wispy flares, going around here, in blue... I like blue, its such a calming colour. Like the sky, and the ocean. Though water and air are really clear, its funny how that works. Erm... do you like blue?" She asked letting out a small chuckle, it was a good thing her new attire left her stomach visible. It saved her the embarrassment of feeling too exposed.
She rubbed the back of her head looking to the side a little. "I must sound silly, I told you... I ramble when I am nervous." She stated yet again. Feeling a small blush come to her cheeks.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:16 am
Jianyu's brows rose, dropping his hands from Sara's to reach for a cloth. "Laugh?" he said mildly, then shook his head, wiping his hands on the towel. "No, it would be ill-natured of me to find humor in the fact that you wish to do something such as get a tattoo. I cannot pretend to understand the reasons why people do the things they do, but it is of no business of mine to deduce that anyway. You have come to me for a tattoo, which is something I would be very happy to give you. Please, if you will..?"
He gestured towards the pallet in the center of the room, similar to the sleeping mat he slept on while at home, though without the extra blankets. "And have no fear of rambling; Yue herself talks a great deal, and I find it both highly enjoyable and quite illuminating. Please do not think you cannot speak candidly in my presence; I enjoy much conversing while working. It keeps me awake, you see."
Jianyu gave her a reassuring wink while heading towards the cabinets to gather the necessary materials. A few bottles of ink, some carefully selected paint, three brushes, two needles of varying sizes, some bandages, and a large, deep basin filled to the brim with a clear, sparkling water. He set them all down on a small wooden tray beside the pallet where Sara was sitting, then settled himself down beside her, indicating she should lie on her back.
"Blue is a magnificent color," he said agreeably, scrutinizing her bare stomach with the expression of a man calculating something. "How large would you like it to be. Big? Small? Do you wish for the flares to reach your hips, or up to below your breastbone, or do you wish it to remain small and simple?"
The professional mode had appeared, and Jianyu pulled a brush from his tray, dipping first into a small tub of white ink, then the water, then bent his head over Sara, tracing a very faint outline.
"So tell me, Sara," he said conversationally as he worked. "What made you wish for this design? Any particular reason?"
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 8:02 am
Sara's pale eyes followed him as he directed her towards his station in the middle of the room, taking her place where indicated, the moment was almost surreal. She looked around, taking in the strange new environment. She looked over in his direction as he got his materials ready, she eyed what he was brining over, ever curious. She thought that it would be different in some way, though she did not know much about tattoo's. She looked at him and nodded, leaning back to lay down. making sure her hair was pushing out from under her and fanning off the end. There was nothing more uncomfortable than trying to move your head whilst your hair is being held down by your body.
She chuckled slightly and looked up at the roof as a ever so familiar name was mentioned. "I do not think I can talk that much." She smiled, resting her arms and relaxing them by her side, trying to make her breathing as shallow as possible so her stomach was not moving up and down. The best thing she could do was relax and let him work his magic. "Speaking of Yue, I hear you worked on her not too long ago? I have not seen her since, what did she get?" Sara always kept her ears open for rumours, lately she had come a little bit of a information whore. Constantly asking the spirits to keep a eye out for goings ons and then to report to her as soon as they had news. A lack of information could be deadlier than any blade at the end of the day and she did not want to ever be caught by surprise.
When he asked her what size she tried her best to explain. "Well it is important it is a circle, so a circle around my belly button, with a flare coming down to where my shirt line starts, then the same distance all the way around if that makes sense. I want it as big as it can be before it goes egg shaped." Her makings had no set design, every person painted them differently so she was looking forward to Jianyu's interpretation of them. ( Though Biki says this is the design he is doing: [x] When the brush touched her skin she noticed that it tickled a little bit, she bit her lip not to laugh and to keep still, she had always had incredibly sensitive skin.
A odd fact about Sara was her skin was cold, all the time. People who had contact with the dead usually had cold aura's and the stronger that connection got the more they felt like a corpse themselves. Sara had never noticed this, it was the way she had always been. Though it might be something new to the Captain.
She tried to keep a straight face when he asked her about the design. "I am a Tsam dancer, its a kind of religious performance done by my people. As a Conduit it is pretty important I know the rituals in order to appease the spirits and keep the God's happy. During these times we are meant to dress in ceremonial robes and some of us chose to paint symbols on our bodies. I guess I just want mine to be a little more pediment. To show how dedicated I am to it, I mean the spirits have been with me my whole life, it is about time I showed them some commitment." She explained the best she could. She did not know if he would know what such rituals were, they were many religions and practises in Lunaria, Sara thought there was truth to all of them. Though that conversation might be a bit too deep for the moment.
She herself followed Shamanism. A smaller religion which addressed the spirits. For no other reason then it was the religion her parents followed. In a odd way it kept them close to her heart.
"So Captain, do you beleive in the spirits? Or do you think its all in our heads. I will not be offended by how you reply, everyone is entitled to a opinion. I am sure many people find me crazy for believing such things." Sara reminded herself, that many people thought Conduits insane or liar's - they did not hear what she did, feel what she did. If they had nothing but faith to base there opinions on she saw why they were so reluctant to beleive.
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Posted: Wed Aug 24, 2011 7:37 pm
Jianyu had not thought Sara would be the type to get a tattoo, to be quite honest. Her calm, quiet demeanor suggested that she would be more prone to things such as hair decorations, rather than ink on skin. However, he had tattooed many other people, none of which he had originally thought would want one, so it should not have surprised him that even the most unorthodox person would want one. He was quite happy to oblige; however, just as he tattooed Yue, he disliked causing those he cared for pain. And Sara, despite the fact that they were still relatively new friends, was rapidly becoming closer to him. It pleased Jianyu; Sara was precious to Yue, after all, which meant that he himself would need to get used to her around, and so far it had proved to be not difficult at all.
"No, my dear, Yue talked to distract herself," he said lightly a smile touching his lips. "We neither of us wanted her to feel the pain of the needle, since her tattoo was a particularly intricate one, so we talked in order to give her something else to focus on."
Jianyu gave a nod as she asked, and another faint smile touched his lips, this one followed by a wink. "I'm quite certain she will show you herself what she got," he said, then added, in a purposefully normal voice "Her abdomen will be a little sore, however."
Leaving Sara to wonder, Jianyu listened quietly as she described her intentions. It seemed like a simple enough design, and as he leaned over her, the brush moving in slow strokes around her navel, Jianyu pressed his hand flat against her stomach, holding her steady. Sara's skin was oddly, cold, but thrumming with the beat of her heart.
Her question was an odd one for him. He contemplated it for a moment, then said thoughtfully " I do. I have seen too much and learned too little to fully understand what happens, but I can't deny that I do believe that some sort of spirits exist."
The basic outline done, Jianyu reached for the first needle. Sitting cross-legged beside Sara, he said quietly "This will most likely hurt a little. Do not thrash about, and stay calm. Keep your breathing deep and even, and concentrate on something else, such as the sound of my voice, or the thoughts of someone like Yue whom you can trust."
Carefully, slowly, Jianyu inserted the needle beneath her skin, drawing the first line.
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Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2011 10:52 am
She knew that Yue would go for something elaborate and impressive, after all she hardly did anything in half measure. Sara could imagine her getting some huge dragon with fire and smoke and one million scales. It seemed like the kind of basassery that Yue was accustomed to, though admittedly she was imagine Huang's tattoo for some strange reason, she wondered if Jianyu had also done his. Sara made a mental note to bug Yue until she revealed it on their next meeting, she would even wear a dress and refuse to show hers before she did. Maybe she could even sneak a peak by inviting her to the hot-spring, all was usually on show there. Thinking about such a plan made her feel a little like a pervert, she blushed a little wondering how Jianyu would take the news she was scheming to catch his wife if the nude. One way or another, she was seeing this tattoo!
The brush tickled her, she could feel her lips twitching and laughter trying to escape them, though she bit down on her tongue to keep it from breaking free. Sara was terribly ticklish, specially around sensitive area's like her knees, stomach and ribs. She was sure the giggling would stop as soon as that needle touched, a small part of her was still dreading it. When he told her to stay still all she could do was smile at him politely. "I will try." She gave a nervous chuckle in a small mouse like voice, before bracing herself for the first touch of his instrument, her eyes drifted over and rested on him, she could not see what he was doing - so instead she would observe his movements and facial expressions.
Sara had deluded herself into thinking this was going to be pain beyond anything she had ever felt. It came as a relief when the needle hit her skin, it was less painful than getting a dagger in her collar bone, less painful than having to seal a wound shut, it even was not as painful as breaking her leg. It was uncomfortable, it was irritating however nothing that she could not handle. She bit her lip and closed her eyes, trying to fall into the rhythm of his hand, she needed to settle and find a happy place in her mind. Her toes curled as did her fingers, though she did what he said and remained still, despite the jabbing feeling in her gut.
When he said that a distraction might help she pounced on the chance of asking him questions. "So, I have shared my reasoning, is there any stories behind your own tatoo's? Or were they purely for aesthetic purposes?" She asked curiously, she had only now seen the two under his eyes but Yue had told her he had many more. She was not about to make him strip off in the middle of his shop, however she would not mind hearing about them. "It must have been interesting growing up with such a profession being passed down in your family. If my father would have been a tattoo artist, I might have got my first a long time ago." She continued, her breathing was still hollow, after all she did not want her stomach to move about too much.
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Posted: Mon Sep 12, 2011 10:06 pm
Tattooing was an art form for which one had to have not just a steady mind, but a steady heart as well. It took a lot of concentration for the artist in question to not be disturbed, nor sickened by the fact that they were inserting a needle into another human being's skin. It was not a profession for all, especially not the faint at heart. Jianyu himself had spent a long time training himself to feel neutral, to not sway to the very basic desires of disgust at what he was doing. Being a part of the Legion forces had helped significantly, however. He had seen worse things at war, which meant that he had long since forced himself to keep those feelings at bay. Perhaps it was not a positive thing; perhaps it was disheartening to know that he was so fine tuned into being unfazed by the blood and the carnage, but that was how things were when one was a Legion captain.
Lunaria was at war - that much was unchanging.
"There are many stories behind mine," Jianyu answered Sara lightly as he traced another line, this one curved around her navel, forming the side of one triangular ray. "The two beneath my eyes are the marks of my alliance with the Legion; I received them when I was twelve, from my father."
He gave her a wry smile. "A painful experience, to say the least. The face is a very tender area, especially in the cheeks, and I did not get out of bed for a week. But it was to show my allegiance to my cause, to prove that I would fight for them."
Dark brows lifted briefly, then settled back down, Jianyu working slowly, but carefully. "It was curious, yes. As a child I was most interested in what my father did, but he would not let me enter until I was ten. He told me that it was not meant for children, not meant for the whims of those who did not understand its meaning."
A small shrug made his shoulders rise and fall, the expression on Jianyu's face gentle. "He was right, of course. I have several more markings. The two butterflies that are on the insides of my wrists are symbolic of my mother - beautiful, yet with a delicate strength unbeknownst to most. The biggest tattoo, across my back, is a marking of my family as a whole - lines that work together to form one unified being. And there is another, on my stomach, that is for my father. And on my shoulder is a hawk - my favorite animal, a symbol of freedom, strength, and courage."
He did feel the need to mention the one tattoo he tended to try and forget, etched on the small of his back.
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Posted: Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:47 am
"I can imagine so." She stated at the comment about the ache in his face after his cheeks were done, her eye twitching from the pain on her stomach. It was a feeling she could not really describe, the more the needle hit her skin the more uncomfortable it got. A stabbing pain which built up over time and left the area red and raised. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on his words. That was, for now, the only thing that seemed to distract her. He had such a calm voice, it was soothing and soft.
She listened to his explanations, they did indeed tell stories. It was interesting to think that by that one question she had learned so much about him. "Jianyu... why did you decide to fight for the Legion?" She asked with somewhat hidden motives. Everyone seemed to have a reason to fight these days, be it for their family, their beliefs or their home and traditions. Sara had never really had a choice, it was the Legion who her parents gave her to, she had always been told that was what she was and she had never really questioned it. Sometimes she wondered if she was even that useful to them. Captains where in the thick of it, defending what they believed in. Sara instead kept her head down, healed and sat back praying that those close to her would live. Praying that the next body to come in was not one of her friends.
She hates the moment when she lifted back the sheet, sometimes a face would appear in that split second and her gut wrenched when she saw Yue or Huang or sometimes even Jianyu. Then when it faded she sighed relief and felt happy that it was someone else who died, that happiness was something she always felt guilty for. Why should she be happy that someone else had died? Just because they mean nothing to her does not mean that someone else was not feeling the pain she had avoided.
She felt useless most of the time. Stuck between two worlds. She did not want anyone to die, be them Legion or Noble, she knew well enough that alliance counted for s**t when you were a corpse. However a person's legacy was a whole different matter, she was still looking for a reason to fight for. A reason which told her that this was where she was meant to be. That it was the right thing to do. She might have had all the reason in the world, she had been betrayed before... however she could not hold a group of people accountable for the selfish actions of Mei and Cais. Kiran, Sank, Bataar. They were not like them, they were good and meant just as much to her as her Legion companions.
Did that make her a bad person?
She trusted Jianyu, in a different way to what she trusted Yue. He was the kind of person who she knew would set her in the right direction, who always would have a answer that she could believe in. She was once told that there as no difference between a Noble and a Legionary, just the difference between a good person and a bad person.
She had been so confused lately she hoped that in some-way he could guide her. "At the end of the day, I am too used to seeing the aftermath. I tend to wounds, I help the dead pass on. I see the blood, the tears and watch people fade in their final moments. I see the result but never the cause, I do not see why people are willing to do this to each other and why they had to end up in such a state. We are doing the right thing? Jinayu? " She needed to hear it from someone. She needed to know that all this death and hatred and struggle was not for nothing.
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