Sylverblu said
"This?" Sylvia said while removing an apparent splinter fromher hand.She turned around and leaned on the edge of Gavin's seat, removing her jacket to show both a white T-shirt with the small words, 'Faith is the world's best joke, and it's sad because so many people fall for it,' and an intricate tribal tattoo that stretched from her right hand to her shoulder and across her upper chest. The spiral on her hand was apparently the tail to some great bird, which looked as though it was falling out of the sky. There was an arrow lodged in its neck, with a bit of blood at the point of the wound. Enscribed in small calligraphy by the Phoenix's throat were the words, 'Nihil sit ut vivat in aeternum'"I got this when I reached that point in my life when bad things started happening, and good people started getting hurt. Particularly, my brother. Unexpected, I know, I got upset when was killed." Here, Sylvia's playful, sarcastic tone was exchanged for one of exhaustion. "He always thought that he'd live forever, you see, he was at a point in life where he thought that nothing bad could happen. Then he died. So, yeah, the situation is pretty self explanatory. The Phoenix, this mythical immortal bird, thinking it is invulnerable, is shot down by something as simple as an arrow for its ignorance to the harsh realities of the world. It had grown to believe that there would always be second chances. But you need to earn second chances, they don't just come naturally. The Phoenix grew lazy, always knowing that if trouble came to it no harm would be befallen. Therefor the Phoenix lost its privilege, having stopped earning its immortality. This is two things to me. It is my personal reminder to never get comfortable, and my message to the world to watch its back, because trust is a dangerous thing."Sylvia sighed, flicking the splinter off somewhere onto the floor of the train."The farther you think you are from death, the easier it is for it to sneak up right behind you."Sylvia thought about Gavin for a moment, and looked up to him, saying, "You know, ," she chuckled, no longer speaking with malevolence but teasing him, "You can call me Eve if you want."
Gavin became silent, his face showing deep thought. "Wow, that's...something. What do the words mean? What language are they in? I've never seen anything like them before." He stared at the tattoo, and the longer he stared, the more complex it seemed to become, spirals within spirals.
I wonder how guilty I am of this. He looked up at Eve. "It's incredible." The metal unexpectedly stopped midway through an arc, falling to the floor with a loud
clang. "What's the tattoo made of? How did you get such bright colours? I've never been able to find the kind of pigmentation..." He bent to pick up the metal, watching as it flowed up to his shoulder, where it formed into a silvery thrush and sat, occasionally cocking it's head.