Saturday 12/8/07 Who: Mikhail, Sydni When: Late Afternoon Where: The Dmitriv-Wilson apartment What: Mikhail has a gift to share with Sydni Warning: Cavities. Maybe.
Today had been one of those long days where Mikhail couldn't decide by the time he got home if he was more tired or sore. His back ached, as he knew it would from having been hugging a tattooing chair all day. His skin didn't really hurt, though. He felt by now he was impervious to tattoo needles, despite the one on his back being fresh and new. There had never been ink upon that skin aside from at the base of his spine where it read "Russian Soviet Navy" in Russian. But now there was something better, something spectacular drawn upon his flesh spanning from one shoulder blade to the other and reaching halfway down his spine.
It took hours. Mikhail had sat at the studio in relative silence, only answering questions asked of him. He wasn't a big talker in general, as many knew, and it was not like him to talk to strangers. Still, the men and few women at the tattooing parlor were nice. They gave him a discount for working at the school, which was a bonus because it was an expensive piece of work. All of the labour and artistry put into such a magnificent design.
Returning back to the apartment that afternoon just before dinner, having told Sydni early that morning he'd be gone all day, he removed his jacket carefully. The ride back had been worrisome, though he knew his new portrait would not be worried from his loose shirt. He had more faith in the people who did the job than that. And he had experience himself. In addition to the new ink staining his back, he had added another yellow star to his arm earlier in the week. It fit in so well with the others it was like it had never been out of place. Fenrir may have enjoyed knowing that he had a place to belong, even if it was in memory amongst fallen comrades upon Mikhail's arm. As always, he'd done that job himself.
"Sydni," called the Russian as he hung his coat on a hanger. Between his back hurting and not wanting to stretch the skin and his failing vision, he nearly missed the rack. Fortunately, he did not. "I am back."