The Ear-ening
The vampire behind the counter motioned for Aaron to wait a moment while another mage, a girl with puffy red eyes, hurried out from the left partition. The vampire gave her a sympathetic look and waved Aaron into the one the girl just vacated. She put a small box on the counter, filled with a lotion and replacement bandages, and explained how to take care of the tattoo.
“First time tattoos are always the worst.” The vampiress commented as she rang the mage up.
“At least the design you wanted was simple enough for a single session though.” Behind the partition, an older man was just finishing wiping down a leather chair that resembled ones from a dental office. The man himself was balding and glasses hung around his neck. A simple black short sleeved shirt showed off the various tattoos decorating his arms and neck as he messed around with his station. From here, Aaron could see the other three sections were immaculate, completely untouched and missing equipment. The man looked up, squinted at the boy briefly, and let out a surprised chuckle.
“Well I’ll be damned. A blood and flesh Starag in my shop.” He shook his head in disbelief.
“Thought that girl was taking my leg when she said it but I put it on the books on the off chance since the Sinnenodel name was all moseyed up to it. Good thing I did, eh? Bet that snotty brat out there would have been real pissed.” He laughed again before he smiled kindly at Aaron and stretched his hand to shake Aaron’s.
“So kid, what’s your name? Mine’s Jacob and I run this little shop.”Some of Aaron’s dread came creeping back when he was motioned behind the partition, though of course he hid it well, looking around the area to occupy himself. The stations were clean and organized, a small comfort, though save for one they looked unoccupied. Aaron wasn’t entirely sure what to make of the place, but he figured it would be to his benefit to keep an open mind.
The man at the occupied station was welcoming, but Aaron found himself momentarily transfixed on his myriad of tattoos. He’d never seen anything like them, covering practically every square inch of his arms, and he had to wonder what it must have been like to get them. Judging by the teary-eyed girl who’d been in here before him, Aaron could only assume it hadn’t been pleasant.
He remembered himself at the man’s greeting, smiling humbly at his comment and briefly wondering if he’d get a similar reaction every time he met someone new.
“Aaron. It’s a pleasure,” he introduced himself, shaking Jacob’s hand. His grin turned a little sheepish, free hand coming up to tug on his left ear.
“Your shop is impressive, although I must admit that this is all pretty new to me.”“I reckon it is. They keep your family all nestled up snug as a bug in that palace with not even a peep of you all. Think it would do some people some good to see you aren’t just myths made up by the vampires.” Jacob shrugged as he patted the leather chair.
“Take a seat, Aaron. Standing up ain’t goin’ to do you no good here.” He pulled a chair out for himself and sat across from Aaron, making no move towards his tools yet. He opened a drawer from the desk various implements sat on and pulled out a pitcher and two cups. He poured them each a glass and tapped on them, muttering an incantation. Instantly, steam rose from the cups and he passed one to Aaron.
“Go ahead and drink a little. First time for anything is always nerve wracking and a little mulled apple cider always calms my nerves.” Jacob sipped at his own with a content sigh.
“So, Miranda tells me you have a bit of a life magic resistance. Why don’t you tell me about that?”Aaron sat as Jacob indicated, wondering if there was any truth to what he said. Did some people really think his family was just a myth? It seemed silly, but he supposed he had no way to be sure. After all, until arriving at the Academy the rest of the world might as well have been myth to him. He watched with mild interest as Jacob charmed two glasses of cider, thanking Jacob for the one he was given and taking a sip mostly to be polite. It wasn't unwelcome, though, and the gesture did put him a little more at ease.
“Oh, right,” Aaron replied at the mention of his resistance, shifting a little in his chair to tap his pommel.
“There’s not much to tell, really. A big part of my training was swordplay, and since I usually learned things the hard way, I was no stranger to the life mages back home.” A nostalgic smile briefly found its way to his lips as he remembered a few especially dumb trips to the life mage from his teenage years, then faded again.
“Why, will it pose a problem?”“Not particularly. Just means we can’t use magic only for this.” Jacob shrugged, still making no move for his tools as he sipped at the drink.
“If you hadn’t any, I could do this whole thing with magic. Costs a pretty penny but I doubt that’s much of a problem. Just have to convince your skin that’s how it’s supposed to be but if you’ve already developed a resistance, your body won’t take too kindly to that line of thought. So we have to make a small hole and then I can work with it while your cells are all confused and such. Only catch is, it’ll always heal back with the hole. Even if you slash it, the hole won’t seal itself. Gotta use magic to put it back.” Jacob explained. It was much more complicated than that. It took someone with plenty of skill and control to even consider attempting it but Jacob had plenty of practice when he was still under the heels of the Astorios. It was how he eventually managed to escape their yoke.
“Nope. It won’t be a problem at all. But if you’ve learn things the hard way, I doubt this’ll bother you anyways. Feels like a little prick, not much else. I’ll easy away the sting soon enough anyhow. Wish I could figure out how to do it with tattoos. Right pain in the butt with people tryin’ not to twitch but oh well. Such is life.” He finished his drink and picked up the box Miranda placed back here while he had been working with the previous client. He flipped it open and let out an appreciative whistle.
“Interesting choice you made here. This is some fine jewelry but I didn’t take you for someone so flashy. But the good news is, you won’t be needin’ the stud unless you’re going in for a fight. Ear will be all healed to wear the proper one right away so don’t worry about that at all.” He set the box back on the counter, open and facing Aaron. There were two earrings in the box, one small silver stud set with the Sinnenodel crest and another one on a fine silver chain and ending in a small emerald set above the scroll of the Sinnodel crest.
“I guess devotin’ yourself so wholeheartedly to your new family is admirable.”Aaron had to fight down the shiver threatening to crawl up his spine as Jacob went over the piercing process, and his fingers absently tapped his glass, a small outward indication of the anxiety creeping back up on him. He wasn’t really sure
why it bothered him so much, either; it wasn’t the pain that concerned him, and he could handle blood and broken bones with little more than a flinch, but something about sticking jewelry into himself made his stomach turn. Maybe he just wasn’t a fan of putting holes in himself on
purpose, though he didn’t care to think hard enough on it to find out.
He watched Jacob pull out the box, raising an eyebrow at the mention of “flashy.” The talk of studs and fighting didn’t make sense until the box was turned to him, and his eyes widened at the sight. Jacob wasn’t lying; the craftsmanship of the earrings was extraordinary, and if Aaron’s guess was right, they were cast in solid silver. No wonder Varis had been so impressed at the speed at which they’d arrived, Aaron would have guessed it would take weeks to make them to Sinnenodel standards. Still, Jacob was right. The stud alone was more than Aaron would ever wear of his own volition, and the long one - presumably the one he was meant to be wearing most of the time - was beyond noticeable. It was nearly as long as his finger, for crying out loud!
Jacob’s talk of devotion pulled Aaron out of his head, though a sad sort of weight fell over him as it did. Jacob seemed to think he was doing this of his own volition; either that or he was pretending to save Aaron a little dignity.
“...Thank you,” Aaron replied finally, though he was a little more stiff than before as he summoned his court smile.
“I’m nothing if not loyal.”He spared another wary glance at the earrings and Jacob’s equipment before shifting in his seat again and clearing his throat.
“So, is there anything else I should know before we get this done?”“Sorry, sorry. Told ya more than you really needed to know anyways.” The older man barked out a laugh, wheeling the chair around to Aaron’s side. He deposited a small piercing gun, sterile wipes, and the box on a small metal table attached to the chair.
“Just get my mouth running sometimes. Alrighty, now just relax for a minute. I’m going to sterilize your lobe real quick now and then I’ll mark the spot so don’t flinch when you feel it.” Jacob talked him through each step he took as he did, giving about 30 seconds between each instruction. He gently marked the spot and then wiped it away, leaving just a faint dot, and then picked up the gun.
“Now, I’ll make a quick puncture with this. Like I said, it’ll only sting for a few seconds until I get my magic around the wound then you won’t feel a thing. Gotta give ten minutes or so to encourage everything to grow right and double check it and then you’ll be right as rain. No long term care or anything.” Jacob explained, bringing it up to his ear and pulling the trigger gently, piercing the ear. His magic reached out from his fingertips almost immediately and his face went blank as he worked, letting the trigger go slowly until the piercing implement finally came free and he moved it away from Aaron’s ear entirely.
“There we go. All done.” Jacob exclaimed merrily as he wiped at the hole once more with sterile wipes just to be safe.
“So, this earring here has a little clasp on the back of it to help stay in. Lose that and it’ll be a right pain to keep it in your head.” He held up the longer one, displaying the clasp on the back.
“Did you need help getting it in the first time or you think you’ll be just fine? Gotta mirror right here if you want one.” The man held the hand mirror up for Aaron to use.
The seconds of anticipation before the little gun went off were definitely worse than the piercing itself. Aaron flinched a touch at the sudden sting, but Jacob either didn’t notice or paid no mind, and like he’d said, the pain disappeared almost immediately. A few minutes later and there was no lingering soreness, though Aaron did bring his hand up to his right ear to investigate the change. There was the slightest of bumps in the middle of his lobe, but no swelling, though the thought of a
hole in his
skin was still not the most comforting one.
He considered asking Jacob to help him put the earring in, but dismissed the idea just as quickly. He’d need to know how to do it, might as well start now. It couldn’t be that hard. Gingerly he took the earring from Jacob, pausing another moment to examine it again, and carefully slid the clasp off the back of the post, taking care not to drop it. It took a few jabs and a few head tilts in the mirror, but he got the earring through, fumbling a moment with the clasp before he finally got it secured. He took his hands away slowly, distantly worried that the earring would fall out the minute he let go, but it held, and he took a moment to stare.
The chain was long enough for the pendant-charm-part to fall just below his hair, flaunting the Sinnenodel crest proudly to anyone who happened to look. The emerald setting glinted just so in the light, as if to draw more attention to it, and the silver shone starkly against the gold of his hair. It felt a lot heavier in his ear than it had in his hand, and it swayed with every little tilt and movement, sometimes even touching the side of his neck. Aaron could already tell the swinging and swaying would get on his nerves, but for the moment he was more concerned with how utterly foreign it looked. It wasn’t “jewelry,” that much was clear. It was a tag. Varis might as well have gotten “Property of Varis Sinnenodel” tattooed on his forehead.
But, again, Aaron reminded himself that this was not the time or place for brooding. All told, Jacob had done an excellent job - clean, quick, and nearly painless - and it would be rude to return the favour with bitterness. So Aaron smiled, offering his hand for the older man to shake once more.
“Thank you, it looks excellent,” he commented, speaking more about the wound than the earring.
“Is there anything else you need from me before I get out of your way?”“Nope. We’re all set on this side.” Jacob shook his hand again and gave Aaron a friendly clap on the shoulder.
“You come now if there are any problems, okay? And if I hear about any issues and you didn’t, I’ll be sure to hunt you down now. Now go off and do whatever you young folk do for fun these days.” Jacob laughed as he escorted him out to the front of the counter.
Aaron couldn’t help but smile at Jacob’s antics and nodded.
“I will,” he agreed, offering Jacob a wave and thanking Miranda on his way out.
