Rubin looked over to him as he landed on the black floor.
"If you fell from that height, you'd probably cause an earthquake, and we don't really have time for that," Finnick reasoned with a taunting smirk as he moved to put an arm around me. His eyes darkened then as his smile spread further.
"And the next time you insult our Notorious Queen, we surely won't stand by and watch."
"So much for children," Professor Phoenix said in pure amusement before she walked over to Rubin and patted him on his shoulder. "I'll cover the cost and give triple the pay due to it being off hours. What do you say?"
He moved his fuming eyes over to Professor Phoenix, who sweetly smiled at him. I wondered if their relationship was far more than "friends" but regardless of their connection, he sighed and grumbled, "Fine! Only if you stay after."
"Sure." She shrugged. "I'm done with my class today."
He bobbed his head slightly before he glanced over at us. "Decide what you guys want. Can't be too big either. I have an appointment in a bit," he declared and turned around. "If you're new to what this is, I'm one of the top magic tattoo artists for demigods. I'm booked years out, so be thankful to be getting my services. Try and determine a tattoo that is unique and has deeply rooted meaning to you all. The more connected it is, the stronger its power."
He looked over his shoulder for his final statement. "If you're all getting the same tattoo, remember magic tattoos that are exactly the same will bond you all together. Not only does it heighten your senses, but it also allows the mental connections between you all to thicken in times of stress and uncertainty so that communication can be encouraged without the use of one's mouth. Only close teams do matching tattoos because it's permanent. You can never remove them if y'all drift apart, so think wisely."
When none of us had a word of objection, he looked away. "You have ten minutes. Aurora? Can you come and sign the legal document bullshit? I don't have time to read all the warning, you-may-die nonsense."
"Sure," Professor Phoenix replied with a sweet smile and then looked at our questioning looks. "Not everyone can handle magic tattoos. Therefore, there's always a waiver to sign just in case they die. Small details."
"Right," I replied. "Alright. We'll get to thinking."
She gave us a pleased look and followed Rubin into the back that had an office in the far corner.
Once again, all eyes were on me, which I expected this time. I grinned in a bit of excitement. "We're getting tattoos!"
They all grinned before we seemed to chuckle at my delight at the realization our reward was magic tattoos from one of the best artists in the industry.
Best for demigods. Wow. This feels like more than an honor.
"Bri," Connor moved to hug me from behind, before whispering in my ear. "That was hot as hell."
"Really?" I turned my head slightly to see his smile that made my body tingle.
"Very hot," he emphasized and kissed my cheek. "I'm getting used to you switching back and forth."
"I agree," Kaito replied. "Do we all carry some sort of dark part of ourselves?" he pondered.
"I've been wondering about that," Finnick replied as his eyes looked around at the various artworks on the wall. "Sometimes I sense a dark essence within me, but I'm not sure yet if it has its own identity."
"I haven't sensed anything yet," Connor admitted as he held me a little tighter.
"I think you're the only one left to claim a jewel," Finnick acknowledged.
"Brianne doesn't have one," Kaito pointed out.
Finnick pointed to his chest. "I'm not sure about it, but I think she does. Back when I got mine, she had some sort of jewel, almost like a prism crystal."
"So like Sailor Moon," Jax concluded.
My smile grew at the comparison, which made Kaito chuckle. "Someone's happy about that."
"Sailor Moon is goals. If I get to have a shiny crystal that saves the world, I'll accept it with open arms," I stated with pride.
"I guess we'll find out when we need to," Jax suggested. "We're entering territory we haven't really ventured into other than to protect ourselves. I'm sure once we graduate, we'll get the answers we've been patiently waiting for."
He looked to Connor and reached out to pat his shoulder. "And I'm sure the time will come when your crystal will show up as well."
"I know," Connor replied. "Thanks for the reassurance."
"What tattoo should we get?" Kaito brought up the prime purpose of us standing here. "It's permanent so it better be nice."
"Don't let Finnick choose or we'll be here for the rest of the day," Connor acknowledged.
"Hey. That's not true," he whined but thought about it. "Okay, maybe more than a few hours. So let's make Red choose."
"I can cho-" Connor began and Jax interrupted.
"No. The last time you chose a tattoo, it was some ugly turtle on its back."
"That was when we were like six," Connor huffed.
"Yes, but it was pretty damn ugly," Kaito noted. "Finnick hated it."
"You said you liked it!" Connor pointed at Finnick, who shrugged.
"I didn't wanna hurt your feelings, but it was damn ugly. I think I cried about it or something, so my brother used magic to make the colors different, like some pastel thing, and gave me ice cream as a bonus. Good times."
"You guys are assholes," Connor complained but was smiling from ear to ear. "Brianne. You have something in mind?"
It wasn't hard to answer, but I gave it a moment anyway as I recalled the rose that had granted us this rare opportunity.
"Why don't we get a black rose that will shift into multiple colored petals when we use magic?" I suggested as the image seemed to blossom in my mind with ease. "A black rose that's at the peak of blooming...encased by a crown...and maybe Notorious Five to seal it all together?"
I summoned my wand not a second later as I moved it to draw in the air with a sparkling golden thread of magic. The quick air design came together until the sketch was floating within our circle.
The others admired it like I did, and Jax pointed to the NOTORIOUS lettering at the top part of the drawing. "That should remain black, even when the magic awakens its power," he suggested and lowered his pointed finger to the FIVE at the bottom of the image. "While the bottom can transition to different colors, like a rainbow."
"‘Notorious’ reminds us that no matter life’s circumstances, we carry darkness within ourselves," Kaito whispered as he stared at it.
"While the bottom emphasizes that no matter how dark life can be, there's always a chance to see a glimmering rainbow of hope," Finnick carried on.
"Especially when surrounded with friends," Connor concluded.
We seemed to be in agreement just as Rubin and Professor Phoenix returned.
"Everyone ready?" she inquired as the magic image began to wither away.
"Yes," we replied as we laid our eyes on Rubin, who was wearing a black apron, gloves, and a face shield.