Another Day

Slivers of sunlight fell through the cracks in the curtains and fell onto Lucien’s face. He rubbed at his eyes, stretching out his legs before sitting up and stretching out the rest of his body, yawning sleepily. Today was another day. He swung his legs around and his hooves sank into the soft carpet as he stood. He strode over to the mirror, looking himself over, his eyes lingering on the scars on his chest. He didn’t think he’d ever be fully used to it; having a flat chest. But he loved it nonetheless. He’d wanted it for years but had never had the opportunity to make it a reality. Alexei, his boss, made sure he did when he moved to Raukar. He finished dressing and made himself a cup of earl grey tea before heading down to his shop. He turned the sign over, indicating he was open for business for the day and unlocked the door. He then sat at his desk with his tea and a sketch pad. He scratched out a few designs; he’d been wanting a new tattoo but he’d be struggling with what to do for it. He was looking over the bat design he’d sketched when the bell on the front door chimed. He looked up, smiling brightly. “Mister Adderline!” He greeted, standing and hurrying to the man’s side. “How can I help you today?” He asked. The man waved him off with a chuckle. “I told you to call me Alexei.” He smiled at him. “I want to get a new tattoo, but I’m having trouble deciding exactly what to do… I-I want to honor Nikolai…” he said softly. Luke nodded, not answering right away. By this point everyone knew what Nikolai had done; betrayed Alexei and his gang, but it was clear Alexei had truly been in love with the man. “I can work on some sketches, sir. Did you have any ideas at all for it?” He ran his fingers through his short teal hair. “I want it on the back of my shoulder.” He began. “Maybe… blood Diamonds…?” Luke smiled softly at him. “Red diamonds were his favorite. He had his Jewels tattoo customized to be red.” He told him. “You know that though.” Alexei smiled sadly. “Yeah…. I’d like the blood diamonds then. Do you think the design would be ready this evening?” He asked, leaning on his cane. The dainty nodded. “Yeah. I’ll be sure to have it ready for you, boss.” “Thank you.” He nodded promptly and left the shop, his peacock feather tail brushing against the ground as he walked. Luke sat back down at his desk; now he had something to do. And it had to be perfect. Despite what Nikolai had done Alexei had loved him and the tattoo in his memory had to be perfect. He sipped at his tea, switching to a new blank page and began to doodle little diamond designs. They had to sparkle and shine. They had to be perfect for the boss. He swung his legs as he worked, his tongue poking out past his lips slightly and his little deer tail twitching happily. He loved his job. He loved helping people and he loved doing memorial tattoos even more. He himself was covered in them; both of his arms were covered with sleeves under his clothing. This right had bats flying up his arm, in memory of his tribe that had been murdered by the notorious monster hunter. And his left was completely covered in various flowers, in memory of his best friend whom had also been a victim to the hunter. He’d loved flowers and had once told Luke how he’d wanted to be a florist some day. So the floral sleeve was the only option to properly represent the lilac bat. He turned his attention back to the design, smiling softly. He thought it was perfect and would look really nice on Alexei's pale skin. He just hoped that the man would agree. He spent the rest of his day doodling up designs for himself and random things he thought would make tattoos. Occasionally a new gang member would wander in for their Jewels’ tattoo and he’d quickly obliged; he’d done so many at this point as the gang’s only tattoo artist that he could practically do it in his sleep. As the sun began to set the peacock hybrid came back into the shop, his hands leaning on his cane as he stopped in the waiting area while Luke gathered up his materials and the design he wanted to present with him. The dainty hurried out, gingerly offering the design to Alexei. “I-is this Okay?” He asked softly, his voice meek. Alexei smiled fondly. “Yes. This is perfect.” He assured him, clearly holding back tears. He’d never seen the man cry so this was new and it unsettled him a bit. “Well if you take a seat in one of the chairs I’ll get to work.” He smiled at him, as warmly as he could manage. The peacock obeyed, leaning in the chair so his back was to him and he stripped off his shirt. “Thank you, Luke.” He said softly. “This really means a lot to me.” Luke waved him off, preparing the needle to begin his work. “It’s no problem sir. I’m glad I can be of help.” He’d been with the gang since he’d moved to Raukar a few years ago. He’d never been the type to be involved with anything illegal or violent but Alexei had built up a safe-haven for people like him who weren’t accepted for who they were in other parts of the country. Hybrids, monsters and humans all walked side by side here without worry of persecution. Your sexuality and your gender was just another part of you and no one questioned it. And it was all because of the Jewels Kingpin that sat in his parlor. For that reason alone Luke had no problem being on the gang’s payroll. Puls he got to do what he loved for a living; art. He sat back after a few hours of work, humming to himself with satisfaction. “All done.” He grinned, handing a mirror to Alexei. “Be sure you like it.” Alexei took the mirror, strategically moving it in place with the hanging mirror on the wall to see the finished piece. “Wow…” he muttered, tearing up a bit. “It’s perfect, Luke.” He told him, handing the mirror back to him and taking his hand. “I love it. Thank you so much.” He told him. Luke smiled warmly up at him. “I just want to help, sir. It’s my honor.” Alexei handed him a hefty tip and parted his ways with the dainty and Luke was left alone in his shop once more. He cleaned up his tools and locked up the door. He’d had a successful day today and he was pleased with it. He headed back up into his apartment, opening up a book after changing into more comfortable clothes. Today had been a good day. And tomorrow would be another.