Ink Exchange [IC]

[trollthumper]

The night was silent. That was a rare enough thing.

He'd been patrolling for the past few nights, just to make sure. There'd been no murders in Freedom for the past few nights, so there was likely to be a dearth of restless souls seeking justice. There'd been a few accidents, but none of them had resulted in a dispirited soul bound to this earth -- either their affairs were in order, or they hadn't achieved cognizance yet. Even the cemeteries were rather quiet -- it didn't seem like there was a soul in Freedom who didn't want to actually be there.

The police band was quiet. There were no disasters coming in over the news. It was actually... peaceful. It was weird. It would likely get weirder later, but that was later. He actually had a few hours to himself.

So Eric LaCroix -- not Nick Cimitiere -- went out onto the streets of Riverside once he got out from work. He'd been meaning to get some of the tattoos on his arms touched up for months, but things had always been so chaotic, he never had the time. Now would be a good chance to catch up...

[Sandman XI]

Knight's Ink was getting pretty good business lately. There were a few rooms in use. Wesley had gotten a few requests for the modifications tonight. He was making a tidy profit off of it if he did say so himself. In a few hours he would be combing the streets looking for dangerous criminals, but now he was just your normal everyday average body artist. The bell rang as Eric opened the door. He got four or five random greetings from the waiting area/shop. Wesley noticed the guy as the one from the Cafe with the band... Carnival of Souls. It was pretty good. Wesley was a bit eclectic in his taste of music. He got up from the counter and called someone over in his steed. He walked over to meet Eric. "Welcome to Knight's Ink," Wesley said reaching a hand out, "I'm Wesley Knight. How's it goin?"

[trollthumper]

"It's going fine," Eric said. He recognized Wesley from a few stops into the Black Petal, and he'd seen him around town a few times -- sometimes as Eric, sometimes as Nick. "I've been meaning to get some ink touched up for months, and this place came highly recommended." He turned up his right arm, showcasing a jackal-headed man carrying a curved sword on his inner forearm. It was finely outlined, but empty. "Wasn't able to get it colored before I came back up from Savannah."

[Sandman XI]

"Thanks," Wesley said with a smile, "We get a lot of business from word of mouth. It's very flattering that we come highly recommended. Must be doing something right, eh?" He chuckled. He nodded in appreciation of the work. It looked very well done. Very surreal artistry, something that he could appreciate. "That's very awesome," he said inspecting it closer, "Of course I can touch it up for you. Though, is it purposely uncolored? I know some keep theirs very minimalistic in color for reasons unto themselves."

[trollthumper]

"It was more a matter of priority," Eric said. "Time slipped away from me while I was down in Savannah, and I wasn't able to book an appointment to get it colored before graduation. Then I started getting settled into life back in Freedom, and... well, it got away from me again."

[Sandman XI]

Wesley nodded to him, "Time gets away from us all once in a while." He remembered the last time he saw Caroline. It had been a while. Maybe I'll call her up after this. "Crystal," he said looking over to a young urban woman talking to some of her friends, "You wanna take the front?" It wasn't really a question that needed to be answered, she nodded and went to the counter where Wesley was sitting before. Wesley looked to Eric, "I think we have a room open now if you'll follow me. We'll get you set up." The walk back was swift, they passed a few occupied rooms. "Lots of business tonight," he aside glanced to Eric with a chuckle. "Here we are," he said with a smile while ushering Eric in, "Just what we need. Give me a bit and I'll have it set up."

[trollthumper]

"Not a problem," Eric said. He took a look at some of the other art on display, and idly gazed over some of the sample sheets. Always good to get an idea for future visits. "Looks like you've got everything running smoothly. It's great to see a shop find its rhythm. Knew a few places in Savannah that did good work, but always had a bit of trouble getting into the flow."