"Did y'all make sure you have wills?"
That left us silent before he smirked and chuckled like he'd told some sort of amazing joke. "You guys take things so seriously. Lighten up a little. At least I know you're not some average group of psychos."
He walked over to his work station as the lights went on at his movement before he gathered and laid out his tools. Moving the black chair, he gestured to it as his eyes landed on me.
"Ladies first."
I walked over to the chair with confidence. I sat down and looked at Rubin as he began to wrap my arms with leather belts that reminded me of restraints.
"Why do I need restraints?"
He was laughing again before he shook his head. "These," he began as he tightened the first strap, "are to make sure you don't destroy my entire shop and half the town with your burst of magic."
That made me frown, and I tried to ignore the butterflies in my stomach.
Before he could finish strapping the second leather belt, there was Elsa sitting on my arm and looking up at Rubin with those big eyes of hers.
"MewMew!"
He just stared at her for a long moment before his eyes looked at me with pure judgment. “My familiar has her own free will," I justified. "I didn't summon her. She decided to come to assist me."
"Right," he replied. "I'm sure you've dealt with far more painful stuff than a needle drilling into your flesh."
"Probably," I admitted while I further relaxed into the chair. "You seem like a big softy though."
"Don't go telling people that," he huffed as he walked over to the other side to get the straps all worked out. "I have a reputation to uphold and don't need a smart gir-"
"Woman," I corrected.
"Woman," he accented the syllables. "You guys are going to be a pain in the future. I can feel it."
That made Professor Phoenix laugh as she was standing across from us against the wall.
"You're only jinxing yourself, Rubin."
"Hmph." His straightforward reply followed with him finishing the last set of straps before taking a good look at me.
"Decide where you want it?"
I lifted my arm up to show him my left wrist. "Pulse point."
The way he stared at me was as if he didn't understand what I'd just said. He looked over his shoulder at Professor Phoenix. "Did you train her to be your mini-me or something?"
"Nope," she replied with an added shrug. "Brianne is just Brianne. Smart, unique, and knows what she wants."
I didn't get what the big deal was, but it had to be an inside joke since he shrugged and approached me once more. "You can put the barrier up."
"I don't think she'll surpass the restraints," Professor Phoenix suggested.
"That's what I said with you and look what happened?" he barked in annoyance. "My ass had to move down here."
"At least I helped you find a place." She didn't even seem ashamed of it as she smirked and snapped her fingers. Walls of pink went up, but they had a transparent quality to the energy which still allowed me to see my men as they sat outside of the protective wall.
"MewMew!" Elsa hopped onto my shoulder and rubbed my cheek with her furry one before she waited for Rubin to stand next to the chair with the tool in his hand. It was beginning to charge with energy, and I was becoming more aware of just how radiantly strong this man was.
He looked at Elsa before gently patting her little head with one of his fingers. She purred before she poofed out of existence.
"Where'd she go?"
"She can't stay if I want to circulate your magic properly," he reasoned. "Which leads me to ask you a final question."
"Shoot," I encouraged. "But don't you need to know what to draw?"
"I saw what you wanted. Got the exact image that will satisfy what you desire, but it's not like I need to see it. That part is in the job description."
Wow. He predicts what tattoo someone wants just like that.
"Out of all the places on your body, why the pulse point? Specifically, your left hand."
I wasn't sure how to answer, but I decided to just share my truthful answer.
"When I make decisions, I go by my instinct, but this one makes sense because our pulse point is another sign of life. It's a spot we can see at multiple angles, regardless of if we're writing, reading, doing any chore, or summoning magic. It's in a spot that represents life, but also is at one of the strongest points where magic gathers. You wouldn't know this unless you read ancient books from the early mage years. All royals always used their left hands because it was deemed special in comparison to the right. They emphasized that because the majority of individuals used their right hand, it was created by the gods to be a weaker side of the body because it's always engaging in activities before the art of magic. Energy and all forms of creative endeavors excel further with the usage of the left palm. By getting a magic incantation on your left hand, you increase the strength of magic that will gather in wait to be used. It won't hurt the individual either because the left side is used to gathering and storing extra energy. Finally, it's said that the left wrist was the source of an ancient star in mythology that gods would use as a symbol of magical strength. It's why our magic circles have stars which represent limitless light."
I took a breath and let it out before I stared at my wrist. "That's the logical reasoning, but to simply put it, a star has five points. Without even one point, the star is automatically incomplete," I began and smiled. "The four men you see there complete me. They were the Notorious Four that everyone ranked on a scale I never thought to balance. Yet, I somehow managed to not only be friends with them but fall in love. They accepted me, flaws and all, and watched me grow. They never belittled me or made me feel unworthy of their attention, affection, and devotion. They made me feel like I was the missing link to their star, and I guess I want to seal the deal with this tattoo."
Lifting my head, I looked into his eyes that danced with an intriguing shade of silver.
"Some may worry that we'll drift apart the moment we graduate and that life will force us to drift, but no matter the future, this tattoo will ensure that distance won't destroy this bond we've created in almost four years. The Notorious Four accepted me to be their queen, and now we're five beings who are destined to do great things one day. So I want the world to know it. When they witness our magic, they'll be reminded that we're a unit, and nothing will break us apart."
"You talk so boldly," he whispered and muttered, "No wonder why Aurora is fond of you."
He reached into the bottom part of his equipment table where there was a hidden fridge. He pulled out some vials that held a prism-like liquid and two vials of pitch-black.
"I'll grant your request, then," he stated with a slight grin as he acknowledged me with his eyes. "You've answered well. In return, I'll deliver more than you bargained for."
He disinfected the area before he did a quick sketch in what seemed like a minute flat. My jaw dropped at the image as I took in all the details I'd visualized but even better.
"Wow..." I whispered as he prepared the tattoo gun that would infuse my skin with the magic and ink.