The Twelfth Moon || ✔️

17. The Tattoo

"We're already in one, anyway. Besides, my life has been getting kind of boring. Smashing some Fire Moon wolves surely would make things more interesting," she winked. I liked Lotta, I realized. I had only known her for a few hours by now, but her positive attitude was so dominant and contagious. I thought I might have found my first friend in Death Moon. I hoped that was the case, at least.

Lotta and I were talking about some other idle chat after Lotta had decided that this conversation too, was too grim for our celebration. Vince came to interrupt us, saying he had a design ready for me to look at. He offered me the paper and I was looking at an absolutely marvelous design.

"It's the cycle of our Moon," Vince explained as me and Lotta were admiring his work of art. "Symbolizing you counting down the days. I also added in some water. Like The Dancing Wolf, the water dances around our Moon, extinguishing fire, since you are no longer Fire Moon."

"It's perfect," I whispered.

Lotta shrieked in excitement and clapped her hands. "Oh, let's get started then! You've really delivered again, Vince."

"Did you expect anything less of me, Lotta?", he joked as he motioned for me to follow him. I brought me to the back of his shop, where a large chair waited for me. As I sat down, Vince asked me where I'd like the tattoo.

"It would be perfect on your spine," Lotta chimed in. But she didn't know how mangled the skin on my back was, she hadn't seen all the scars that covered it. It would ruin the beauty of the tattoo.

"No, not my back." Lotta and Vince nodded, as if they understood, even if they couldn't. I thought about it for a while. But the only other body part I could think of, was my right arm, just below my wrist. I tried to imagine it there, and it looked perfect. Vince and Lotta agreed, saying that the arm would be fitting too.

Vince took my arm and hauled up my sleeves. He drew a simple sketch of the tattoo on my arm, that would serve as a guideline he told me. He then reached towards his working bench nearby, where he pulled out a large, pin-looking thing and a little jar of black ink. "Ready?", he asked.

I nodded, even if I felt stressed about it. I had heard of how painful this process could be, and the large instrument he was about to use didn't comfort me in the slightest.

And when Vince drilled the first splatch of ink on my arm, I flinched at the sting that followed. As I looked down, I could see he had barely even drawn something, but it already hurt quite a bit. I dropped my head in the headrest, bracing for the pain that would add up. Lotta grabbed my left hand, and squeezed it gently. I squeezed it back, or rather crushed it, as Vince kept going at it and the sting in my arm intensified.

Time went by, where Lotta tried to distract me with some more idle chat, but however much I appreciated the attempt, it hadn't helped me think of anything other than the pain. Just as I was about to stop, tell Vince we'd finish it another time, he told me he was done.

I looked down at my arm, where the black picture now filled what had once been empty skin. The tattoo looked even more beautiful on my skin than it had on paper. "Thank you, Vince. I love it."

"My pleasure. Thank you as well, I don't owe Lotta any favors anymore now."

Lotta rolled her eyes. "That's only a matter of time, Vince. Enjoy your few days of peace and quiet before you come knocking on my door again."

"I might not do that if you're going to use my favors to get free tattoos," he sighed. "This one is not an issue, but let's not make a habit out of this."

Lotta tsk-ed. "Alright, alright. No more free tattoos."

We left shortly after. Lotta had asked if I wanted to go out with her, but I had told her I was too tired tonight. The last few days had asked a lot of me, and my body yearned for some sleep. She dropped me off at the Manor, where she escorted me to my room, before she went back out to the city.

Lotta had explained how the lamp in my room worked. I had to turn the little handle at the bottom to the left to light the white fire, and if I turned it to the right, or if I covered the tiny hole at the top of the glass, the fire would disappear.

I was looking at my new tattoo some more before turning off the lights. And as I looked at the different Moons, with the water circling around it, all I could think after I turned off the light was one, simple thing.

I am no longer Fire Moon.