we've got it going on Who: Ren, Remy, Austin, Imogene When: Tuesday, 2pm Where: Dog-Ink Tattoo & Piercing
It was after two already, which meant that lunch was over, most of the morning customers had come and gone... and for the moment, the shop was relatively quiet. Ren hung the phone up and knelt over his scheduling book, jotting down notes for an appointment he'd just finished making. Fairly soon, he would need to take a short cigarette break, get a breath of fresh air, get away from the people he'd spent most of the day with. Not that he didn't like his employees, but Ren was fairly short-tempered, and working wasn't exactly something he enjoyed for more than a few hours at a time.
Austin burst into Dog Ink, short of breath. He had been rushing around but finally he and Darcy had gotten Grace's room almost finished. He had some unpacking to do to put away her clothes, shoes and toys but for the most part, they were done and the room looked fantastic. He really couldn't thank Darcy enough. He was going to have to think of something special to do for her sometime.
The first person Austin saw when he burst in was Ren. "Oh hey. I'm glad you're still here." He walked over to where Ren was bent over his appointment book and waited until he was finished with the note he was making. "I wanted to let you know that my parents are actually bringing my daughter tomorrow so I won't need any time off to go get her. In fact, since I'm more or less moved in, I think I'm here for good. Great news, huh?"
Imogene looked over and scowled from where she was attempting to re-organize a shelf. Her oversized t-shirt already had dust caught on it from the day's cleaning, but otherwise the teenager was remarkably presentable. For her. She still went barefoot, so long as Ren didn't call her on it, which she hoped he wouldn't - she really hated shoes. Anyhow, who was this? Another employee, a customer, or just one of the boss-man's friends? Well... Ren didn't seem to have that many friends, and a customer probably wouldn't be so informal, so... employee. Imogene took a moment to ponder what exactly the inked wonder's job might be, then snorted dismissively. "Gonna introduce us, Ren?"
After she had done something she promised herself she'd never do again, Remy tried her hardest not to be uncomfortable around Ren. The day had gone by pretty smoothly and she was currently laid back in her chair with a book, barely paying attention to the going ons of the shop. Mildly interested when the door banged open she looked up to see the new guy, Austin who replaced Dante. She glared at him before returning to her book, she didn't like him on principle. Dante was a friend and now that he was gone and replaced she couldn't bring herself to like this new guy, who kind of seemed like a slack. She was no one to talk though, not now, laying around in her chair and waiting for something to do. Remy could be the model employee, but with such a small town and little work to be done most of the time, she could usually be found reading a book.
Ren looked up as Austin came in, finishing up what he was doing before he finally set the pen down. "Oh yeah?" he asked, looking up with pursed lips. "That's really good, actually. Great news." He honestly hadn't given it very much thought, but having a piercer around starting now sounded, well, good. Ren glanced to Imogene and Remy, shaking his head at the former girl's question. "I'll introduce you when I'm damn ready to. Jesus, Gene." He snorted briefly. "This is the new guy. Austin. He's our piercer, so you be nice to him." To Austin, he gestured toward each of the girls in turn, his eyes lingering on Remy for too long. "That's Imogene, and that there is Remy. Gene's mostly on clean-up right now, until I get my papers all in one location. And uh, Remy is another tattoo artist." As though he needed the extra moment to think about it.
Austin smiled at everyone. "Nice to meet you all." He had briefly met Remy before and of course Ren. This shop was tiny compared to his old one that had had several tattoo artists, piercers, receptionists, assistants, etc. But he was just happy that he had a job and he would hopefully be able to support he and his daughter.
Imogene grunted and turned back to the shelf, standing on her toes to try to reach all the dust. She wasn't really one for 'nice to meet yous' or, well, nice anythings. But after a moment her stomach reminded her just how much she wanted to keep the job "Hullo." She gave a slight nod in Austin's direction, though she didn't look back over. "What, afraid I'll run him off?" She gave a little half-smirk. It'd be fun to try. But again, she was behaving today. Honest.
Looking up from her book, Remy looked over Austin with lazily and judgmental eyes. "Pleasure." she said before returning to her book, not really wanting anything to do with him. He could have been the nicest guy in the world and she wouldn't have cared for him much. Remy had only met Imogene passingly this morning, she didn't mind her, she was much better than Geth who didn't do anything other than sit around and look at the wall. "Hey, do I have anyone later today?" she asked Ren, not looking up from her book. She didn't think she would really look at him yet, make eye contact and all that.
"Well, aren't we a happy bunch today," Ren commented dryly. He glanced to Remy, noting her display and sighed, rubbing a hand over his rough jawline before dropping it to the schedule book in front of him. "Yeah, you got a three-thirty appointment with that Fletcher kid. Y'know the one, the redhead, all freckled and goofy looking. I think he's sweet on you." Ren smirked, giving her a hard time because... well, it was his job. "And Austin... I already scheduled you some stuff for later on this week. You might wanna look it over." He passed the book to the new hire and smirked. He was looking forward to having a full staff again. It wasn't easy trying to run a tattoo and piercing shop without a piercer.
Austin definitely took notice at the tension flying around the room. No one seemed to be welcoming him with open arms or anything. He mentally shrugged, not really wanting to get involved in whatever little drama was going on in the shop. He was here for one reason and one reason only: to make enough money to provide for his daughter. As long as he could do that, he didn't really give a flying fuck about the personal issues that were evident.
He grabbed the appointment book from Ren and looked it over. "Looks good. Thanks, man." Since he didn't have anything this afternoon, he sat in the waiting area and stretched out his long legs, ankles crossed. Unbeknown to him, he had purple paint on his arms and elbows and a little spec in his hair.
Huh. And Ren had told her to clean up. Imogene squinted at Austin for a moment before deciding the shelf was clean enough and dropping her dust cloth in the bucket at her feet. "You got a broom or something? Fucking hate vacuums." They were far, far too loud. But the floors in here had been sorely neglected, and she didn't have anything else to do until someone got around to showing her how to book appointments. Besides, she'd have a reason to avoid... whatever the hell was going on between Ren and Remy. The two had been walking around on eggshells all day, and she was almost certain that this was... unusual. Neither of them seemed the type for it, even with the short time she'd known both of them. Frankly, Imogene didn't want details, she just wished she wasn't stuck in the middle.
"Who wouldn't be, Ren? We're at work!" she said patronizingly, flicking her eyes over to him for a second before returning to her book. Resting the book against her chest, Remy tried to remember the person Ren was talking about. Half the time Remy didn't really pay attention to the faces of the people she had to tattoo, what was the point? She wasn't going to see them again unless they came in for a touch up or possibly another tattoo, she would sooner recognize her work than the actual person it was on. "I vaguely recall someone with red hair," she said in a bored voice, rolling her eyes at the lame retort. "You can do better than that, that was just weak." she added, returning to her book again.
"Yeah, no problem," Ren said to Austin, waving one hand in a quick, dismissive manner. It hadn't been a big deal to do it, and he figured he would take initiative anyway. Turning to Imogene, he gestured toward the back of the store where there was a short hallway with a bathroom and a closet. "Back there. Check the closet. There should be more cleaning shit... brooms, mops, all that. You should make sure you're good and familiar with all of it." He smirked to himself a moment before Remy's snotty comment hit his ears, and all too quickly the light died in his eyes. His mood changed just like that, just as easy as though a switch had been flipped. He glared at her openly before snatching up his cigarettes to take them outside. He needed a quick step outside of all of this, or he was going to end up killing someone. It wasn't like he'd made her jump onto his cock.
Austin wasn't sure what the hell it was he had walked in on. There was an awful lot of tension and he hated tension. Ren disappeared and Austin stared after him, wondering if he should go after him or stay seated. He decided to just stay where he was and not get involved. The last thing he wanted to do was choose sides in a fight he knew nothing about. He felt strongly that if he went outside after Ren, he'd be picking that side.
Not really sure what he needed to do since he didn't have an appointment for a couple of hours, Austin thought about getting a tattoo. He hadn't gotten one in a while but figured that now might be the time. "Hey Remy, want to tattoo me?" he asked with a smile.
"I'm sure I will." Imogene rolled her eyes and went over to the closet, rummaging about until she found a broom and dustpan. That'd do. She started sweeping everything closer to the front door, stepping aside only to let Ren out, wondering who the hell had pissed in his cheerios. He looked damned angry. She reminded herself never to get on this guy's bad side, and wondered exactly what the poor girl over there had done to deserve that sort of reaction. She didn't really want to know, but she was getting curious. Thankfully she wasn't a cat, so she kept her mouth shut.
Oh! A distraction. Excellent. She turned when Austin mentioned getting tattooed, raising an eyebrow. "Do employees get discounts?" It was certainly something she might be interested in. You know, after she had enough money for food and all.
Remy glared right back and then rolled her eyes as he walked away, she was starting to get sick of his little tantrums. She really wished she didn't sleep with him, it always messed things up and made everyone uncomfortable. Returning to the book, she found she couldn't focus on the words and with a sigh she tossed the book aside. Remy arched an eyebrow at his question, she didn't really want too but she didn't have anything else until later this afternoon and she was sort of itching to tattoo right now, just to get her mind off the complete shitfest that was going on between her and Ren. "Depends, what did you want done?" she asked, swinging her legs over the side of her chair and sitting on the edge.
"I want the phrase 'This Time Imperfect' along my collarbone." Austin unbuttoned part of his shirt to show her. "I don't want it too scripty and I do want it to be a pretty good size," he explained.
The phrase perfectly explained this point in his life. It was an imperfect time for so many things, but particularly for he and Darcy to start something super serious. He knew that he liked her and she liked him, but with all the changes in his life, he didn't want to introduce Grace to yet another change. Somehow he had a feeling that he was going to be powerless to stop something from happening with Darcy but he still felt strongly about this tattoo and it's representation of where he was in his life at this time.
Imogene huffed a bit as her question was ignored. "Don't mind me, just the cleaning lady." She turned to attack a particularly dusty corner with her broom, still keeping an ear on the conversation. Sounded like an awfully daft thing to want for her, but she was much more of a picture person. Words always sounded awkward, and never came out the way she wanted them to. What did that even mean, anyway? Before she could really stop herself, she voiced her thoughts out loud. "What the hell is 'This Time Imperfect?" She wondered if it was some band she'd never heard of. There were a lot of those.
Arching an eyebrow, Remy looked at Austin and then shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah, why the fuck not?" It would be a nice distraction, she loved tattooing and it had already felt like too long since she had done it. Hopping off the chair, she walked around to her station and started getting ready. "Well?" she said in a bitchy voice, looking at Austin with annoyed looked and then turning her eyes to Imogene. "Settle down, kid. You'd have to ask Ren about the discount." Remy hadn't asked herself if employees got a discount, Ren didn't seem the type to give anyone a break like that. She didn't really care what his tattoo meant, which is why she didn't ask, most of the time she didn't, but now she'd have to hear all about it because Imogene had asked. Remy shot her an irritated look and continued on gathering things together.
Austin went to her station and took his shirt off, sitting on the table. "You want me up or down?" he asked. He turned to give Imogene a smile. "I don't know about a discount either. I haven't asked. Sorry." It didn't seem as if Imogene had been welcomed with open arms either. Maybe that's just how the shop was run. "It's a song by AFI," Austin answered her question. "I love the song." And of course his other reasons but those were going to stay private.
"'Scuse me for thinking someone here might know." She glared right back at Remy, not being one to back down easily, or apologize for that matter. If her attitude was a problem, well they could just... kick her out. Oh, right. Imogene broke the glare first, turning back to her sweeping "Not like I could afford one, anyway." The blow to her pride hurt a bit, but she really did need the money. For important things. Like shoes, and maybe some beer (if she could convince anyone of legal age to buy it for her). She glanced over at Austin and shrugged. "Whatever floats your boat. I've heard worse reasons, I guess." It was rather difficult to tell whether Imogene was being intentionally rude or if this was just her personality, but she was trying, by some definition of the word.
Rolling her eyes at the girl and her attempts at trying to glare her down, Remy continued on with getting everything together. She was never one to be easily intimidated, not after her childhood and definitely not after living 8 years in New York City. "Laying down, probably," she answered in a monotone voice, resisting the urge to roll her eyes. She never particularly like AFI and while she wasn't a music snob, she couldn't help the 'oh brother' look that crossed her face momentarily. "Any specific font you had in mind, colour?" Remy suddenly realized she couldn't start a tattoo with out some kind of information on how the guy wanted it to look. "Save up a little money, and I'll see what I can do." Remy said to Imogene, not looking at her and shifting uncomfortably. It was an odd thing being nice, even if she didn't really know Imogene all that well but she was trying too, to be nicer. Besides, she was young and as far as Remy knew, she didn't have any family.
Ren chose that particular moment to return from outside, coming in while tucking his cigarettes into his pocket. He looked over to Remy and Austin, lips pressed tight together as his tongue ran along the inside of his mouth. He didn't know quite what to think about what he was seeing, but decided he didn't really care enough to bother with saying anything about it. Instead he moved to sit down in the piercing chair nearby, leaning to the side to watch. Turning his attention to Imogene, he followed her as she swept silently. His mind was on other things right now, though mainly the encounter with Remy, the heated drunken night they'd shared. Would she have ever done that sober? Ren wasn't really sure why it bothered him, or why it was on his mind at all, but he couldn't force himself to abandon it.
Austin laid down as she instructed. "I want black and something not scripty but not block, somewhere in the middle. And I want the letters to be two to two and a half inches tall." He knew the drill, more details the better for the artist and for the client.
He frowned when she scoffed at the reason for his tattoo. How unprofessional. He was aware that not everyone appreciated AFI and that was fine, but as a tattoo artist, she should keep her opinions to herself. He really hoped she wasn't this unprofessional around normal clients.
"Yeah. When I save up." Imogene could live on very little money for an extended period, but she was looking forward to having enough for some niceties. As much as the concept intrigued her, tattoos were on the bottom of the list. Her main concern was food, and perhaps a tent for when the weather turned sour. "...thanks." She looked up as Ren came back in, pausing a moment later to dump her full dustpan in a nearby trashcan. "Can I watch? Haven't taken my break yet." The last bit was added with a sidelong glance at Ren. He was, after all, her boss. If he told her to get her ass back to work, she would.
"You're going to have to be a bit more specific on font, dude," she said, screwing her face up in concentration. Remy reached back and picked up a book of fonts she had sitting around and handed it to Austin. "Here, look through this." She flicked open a bottle of black ink and waited, looking to see what kind of font he'd choose. She'd like to say she wasn't that unprofessional around clients, but she really was, most people over looked it though because she was good at what she did. Remy knew she was a bitch though and had gotten over that fact a long time, she had actually embraced it.
All Remy did was nod her head at Imogene before, looking out the window and waiting for Austin to pick his font.
Ren shrugged easily and leaned back in the chair to watch as well. He was frustrated about the tension between them but knew that there was no real way around it... at least not right now, not while there were other people in the room with them. "Yeah, I don't really care, Gene. Just make sure you don't go over, or I'll have to kick your ass." He smirked over to where she was and debated sending her off to grab him coffee -- just because he had that kind of power. "Where the fuck did all the goddamn people go in this stupid town," he grumbled. "Gonna go outta business at this rate." He rolled his eyes and picked up the nearby phone, considering ordering pizza just to give himself something to do. Glancing to Remy, he wondered then if maybe he should invite her to dinner sometime, to talk... or... no. No, he wasn't going to do that.
Austin sighed and flipped through the book. He would have much preferred if she'd done her own font as an artist, but whatever. At this point, he just wanted to get the damn thing done. He'd seen enough of her work to know she was good and had stupidly thought that getting a tattoo would be a way of relieving some of the tension in the shop. He would have gotten this particular tattoo anyway, as it was perfect. "Okay, this one," he said, pointing to one of the fonts.
Imogene nodded and leaned the broom up against the wall, walking over to find a chair to perch on. Sure, she'd seen people get tattooed before, but it was interesting. And simply a break from the monotony of cleaning around here. Besides, if she was supposed to be working with customers eventually, she should familiarize herself with the artists' work, right? She tipped the chair back a little, balancing easily on two of the legs, and watched from a polite distance. She wasn't quite mean enough to attempt to mess Remy up deliberately, no matter how funny it might be in the short term.
It was typical, that someone like a piercer was ignorant enough to assume that saying something like 'not too scripty, but not block' would be enough to help out a tattoo artist. She was permanently inking this on to his skin, she wanted to be sure of what he wanted, or else it was her neck on the chopping block. It he'd picked a font and the said something to that effect, she could have sketched something out and it would have been no problem, but he didn't. Remy scowled to herself as she turned around to sketch out his font choice before putting it on transfer paper and showing it to him. "This good?" she asked, flicking on her gun in preparation. Lettering was easy, Remy could do it with her eyes closed but she never wanted to test that theory more than right now.