2025-06-22 - Biting The Bullet

It has been... quite some time since the solemn person of Xanthe Thielemann darkened the doorstep of the Quill and Ink tattoo parlor. OK so, no, she will have not ghosted Kairo, who had so kindly agreed to ink her. Heavens, no... but when the season amped up and she was doing more and more shows? (Which aren't ideal to navigate, with fresh ink that needs to heal.)

Simply put, Xanthe kept in communication with Kairo.. and when the artist had to disappear for awhile himself? She passed along nothing but wishes of good luck. Life happens, and it's important to be supportive of friends.. even new ones!

SO! Things were postponed til' the summer. The marching of time was more akin to a jog, taking us from the end of January to.... now! In June!

Better late than never!

---

As the door eases shut behind her, Xanthe fiddles with the end of her moonpale braid as it is slung over a shoulder. "Hello? Anyone home?" Her voice is friendly, albeit a bit anxious.

Kairo had to dip back to San Diego to deal with some family drama that he didn't really elaborate much on, but he kept in touch via text with Xanthe to let her know that he was still around and that he would be back at some point. Eventually, whatever had drawn him back to the west coast settled and he'd returned. Now he was back at the shop and back into the routine of things.

In the front of the shop, one of the employees who mans the reception desk greets Xanthe when she comes in and then nods toward the back. "He's in Room One, waiting for you. Feel free to head on back. Would you like a drink or anything?"

If she does, then she's provided with a drink of coffee, tea, water, or a can of soda from the fridge in the shop. Then it's back to where Kairo is setting up with her stencil and getting ready.

"Just water, please." Xanthe decides, offering a smile and a dipping of her head in gratitude as she leaves the desk and goes to find Kairo. Room One? Roger!

Giving either the wall or door jamb a gentle knock to announce herself, the aerialist lifts the bottle of water in greeting. "Hey Kairo! Long time no see.. everything work out alright?" Is asked as she uncorks the drink and takes a long swig.

Xanthe is dressed for comfort (drawstring sweatpants, tanktop and slip-on flats) and ease of accessing the imminent location for the ink: the small of her back, JUST up high enough to NOT be a tramp-stamp, TYVM. The crude, dark lines of the botched tattoo stand out in glaring, obnoxious clarity.

Kairo offers Xanthe a smile when he glances up from where he's getting things settled. "Hey," he says and then says, "As best they could. How have you been?" He gestures toward the chair, set up at a comfortable height for her to climb on and make herself comfortable with a little table to one side for her to set her drink and phone and anything else she wants access to while they work. "Whenever you're ready, hop on up. I'll set up the stencil and you can take a look and we'll make sure it's the way you want it. Then I will get to work." He then gestures out the hall and to the left. "There's a restroom around the corner if you need it. If you want to take a break at any point, let me know."

"I think I'll be alright. I didn't have any coffee." Xanthe says warmly, making for the chair after hanging up her bag. She sets down her water, her phone; she climbs into the chair and takes up the optimal position for Kairo to work his magic. "No pee breaks needed. We hope."

They hope.

She wriggles despite herself, excited to see the stencil. But in the meantime, she lobs a question Kairo's way, "Do you have a large family?"

"Alright," Kairo says with a nod of his head. "Just let me know if that changes." He waits for her to get settled and then asks, "Okay for me to touch?" He then arranges her clothing and settles the stencil in place over the old tattoo that they are working to cover up, extending some of the lines and working the old ink into the new pattern. Once it is in place, he angles a mirror so that she can see it in the mirror on the wall.

"Yeah," he says, "Pretty big. Lots of cousins. You?"

Once she's settled with everything, he pulls his rolling stool over to settle on to start the work.

"Absolutely fine." With regards to touch... and indeed, as Kairo sets up the stencil upon her flesh, Xanthe isn't bothered in the least. She will wait patiently until things are juuuust about ready for go-time. Hawk-like eyes flit towards the mirror; her smile is shy and earnest. "That's fantastic."

"Not very large... the whole lot of them are still back in Virginia." Ooooooh. "Though, my younger sister works here at the park as well. Eunice.. have you come across her before? Works custodial?" Hopefully her 'little' sister has been making some friends! (Ugh, such a big sister thing to think... Eunice would have her head if she knew of her (Xanthe's) concerns.)

A gentle breath... the lower back shouldn't be too painful!

Once Xanthe is satisfied with everything and they've both settled in, he begins to work, his attention focused on what he is doing as they converse. "Don't think I've met her," he says when she mentions Eunice. "The name isn't familiar, anyway." Which doesn't mean he hasn't seen her. It's possible that he has and they were never introduced. "But that could be cool, to work in the same place as your sister. You like having family around?"

He has no trouble making idle conversation as he works. "Mine's back in San Diego," he says, of his own family. "Most of them, anyway. Lots in SoCal, some scattered around other places. But San Diego's where we all go back to."

"It's nice to have her close," Xanthe says fondly as she eases into the mindset that one must attain, when they're about to be stabbed thousands of time by a tiny set of needles! Set up as she is, the fleeting hint of a shadowed expression is likely not noticeable. "We butt heads, but that's par for the course for sisters, I suppose." No need to bend Kairo's ear where the.... what is it, exactly?

That low that occasionally arises, between Eunice and Xanthe. Not quite rivalry; not quite jealousy...

"I would love to visit SoCal sometime. I've never been to the West Coast."

Kairo nods as he works, settling in with the machine buzzing away. If there is any expression on her features, he doesn't notice. He'd be more likely to notice if she tenses or not than any face that she makes at the moment. "Pretty much all siblings, I figure," Kairo says, about butting heads. "Most people in general. Don't think I know anyone who can get along all of the time."

"Yeah? You should go then if you get a chance. Balboa Park's a good place to go. Lots of museums if you like that sort of thing, the San Diego Zoo, sculpture gardens. If you're into spooks, there's a Ghosts and Gravestones tour of San Diego that's fun."

Resting her chin atop the length of her forearm, Xanthe finds herself soothed by the sound of the gun, and Kairo's casual chatter. She is a naturally-curious sort, enjoying to hear about others' lives. But 'lo, to ask too many questions might paint her as 'nosey' ... plus, Kairo is busy!

"I will note this... maybe someday life will take me further West, but for now I'm here for the long run." Beat. Not a twitch or a tremble when the needles hit sensitive flesh (granted this part of the body isn't too bad.)

"Have you been to the East coast before?"

Kairo doesn't seem to mind the conversation. It doesn't seem to interrupt his work any or distract him from what he's doing. From time to time there's a little pause as his focus is on the art more than what they're saying, but he circles back around to it once he's finished whatever detail piece he was in the middle of doing.

"I'm pretty much here for the long run, too, though I go back from time to time," Kairo says. Obviously. Since he did not that long ago. "Yep. New York, Boston, Miami, Orlando.. been out that way for a few different conferences and tattoo shows."

SPOKE TOO SOON! A tiny wince as the tattoo gun alights over a particularly sensitive patch of skin, but it's fleeting. Xanthe seems to be pretty tolerant of discomfort! She exhales softly, turning her head to rest her cheek against her forearm.

"New York is intense.. I have an uncle there, he's as tough as an old boot." The young woman muses, hanks of moonpale hair (pieces not tied back) fluttering about upon currents that aren't actually there. There's a good reason as to why she restrained her hair!

"I hope you get to see Virginia Beach sometime. You seem like the sort to really thrive in the sun and sand."

Kairo pauses when she flinches, giving her a moment or two to breathe, and then he goes back to work without making much about it. She'll let him know if she needs him to stop, so he continues to lay out the pattern of the tattoo and then to fill it in as he goes.

He seems grateful that she's got her hair under control. He wouldn't want to get it caught in the machine or pull it while he's working. "Yeah? I have a couple of cousins who live there in Brooklyn. They like it. I've visited the a couple of times."

There's a slight pause at her comment and then he laughs, "I'm going to assume that's because I'm a SoCal boy."

Ooooh that would be AWFUL.

Imagine that pretty mop being pulled into the mechanisms?! Oooooof, then things would really go on their ear. Or on the floor or... yeah, we're just gonna be careful.

Kairo's laughter quirks up the corner of Xanthe's lips, "Absolutely... I know, I'm channeling Captain Obvious here. But hey, when I think of artists, for some reason I just think of sunny places, and the sea. If that even makes sense."

"You never know," Kairo says. "I could be one of those brooding types that likes the dark and the rain." Despite is current location of work on the Boo'edwalk, he doesn't really give that impression though. Then he asks her, "What about you? What's your ideal climate?" as he takes a small break to wipe things down and then starts again.

"The dark, and the rain." Xanthe repeats, 'Ok.. not quite dark, but definitely rain. Especially Fall rain, just after a hot summer. I wish I could bottle the smell of petrichor." She muses, "Besides, I burn to a crisp in the sun." The fair-skinned aerialist admits.. she does appear to have the light skin tone of one who is either blonde or red-haired, off-site.

"I'm an autumnal baby, if you couldn't tell."

"It is a cool smell," Kairo agrees, "Nothing quite exactly like it." He glances up when she mentions burning to a crisp in the sun and says, "I'd believe that. You have a certain vampire quality to you," just a little teasingly. "I was born in December," he says, "But I like the warmth. Maybe because I was born in the cold."

"What?! Vampire?" Xanthe blinks, before countering: "I've worked hard for this shade of pale, thank you very much. Too much time under the lights of the big top. I wish my coodinator would have us do more outdoor shows, then maybe I won't look like an underdone piece of toast." Laments the white-haired woman.

"When in December? Are you a Christmas baby?"

Kairo laughs and says, "I am sure that you did! Dodging ever beam of light throughout the whole park has to be a challenge." But when she describes herself as an underdone piece of toast, his shoulders shake and he has to stop so that he doesn't mess up the lines on her tattoo. "Oh no," he chuckles. "You do not look like underdone toast. You are gorgeous." He then goes back to the linework, answering, "No. The eleventh. So, enough before that I used to actually get a party instead of being lumped in with Christmas."

She's gorgeous!

Xanthe flushes, right to the tips of her ears. "That's the work of the park." Grin, "I wish I could get this color naturally, out of a bottle.." Granted, to achieve that color of white would involve frying her hair with bleach and we don't want that.

"Ooohh that's always a struggle... the near-Xmas birthday. My sister and I made it easier on our folks, and aimed for before and after December." Xanthe smiles warmly against the flesh of her forearm.

"Yeah, the near-holiday ones and the near-sibling ones where people just want to lump you together for convenience," Kairo says with an amused smile. He once more focuses on the work for a little bit, leaning back to survey the progress and then forward once more to continue working each bit of that old tattoo into the new design with careful precision. "When's your next show?" he asks curiously, glancing up for a moment and then back. "I haven't actually been out to the circus yet."

"Hmmnn..." Xanthe exhales gently, managing to remain perfectly still.. as if she relishes the chance to not have to do much beyond acclimate to the discomfort of the needles. The woman turns her head a smidge to peer over her shoulder, right when Kairo looks back down. "I tend to have them Friday and Saturday nights, though I've taken tonight off." Ah hah, today is Saturday! She grins a bit, "I don't think flying with fresh ink would feel all that good. The tights would be murder."

Propping her chin back upon her forearm, Xanthe continues, "Though the week is pretty fluid. Depends if I have to stand in for another performer, or if we're booked... but Fridays and Saturdays for sure."

"Yeah," Kairo says. "I'd advise taking just a little time off to let things heal up a bit before you've got any constricting clothing rubbing against it. But you should be back in the air in no time." There's a nod at the schedule and he says, "I'll have to take one of those nights sometime and come by and see the show."

"I'm usually here during the day, late mornings to mid afternoons and my evenings are pretty free unless I have someone coming in that specifically wants a later appointment, but those aren't that often," he explains.

"Roger that. I'll old-lady it up tonight, crack a trashy novel, drink tea. While laying on my stomach." Unsaid: she has the haircolor for it! Kekekeke.

"Someone else can take my airtime, it's really alright. Good karma, y'know? Maybe it won't itch as terribly, while it heals!" Whereas cramming fresh ink into tights just sounds terrible. Terrible. "Worse than my own potential discomfort, I would never seek to disrespect your work like that!"

Did her head just perk? Xanthe's smile is friendly and earnest, "That'd be great. It really is a night out, if you have anyone you'd want to invite."

"Sounds like a good way to spend the evening," Kairo agrees.

He then laughs when she says she would not disrespect his work. "Good." He doesn't sound terribly serious, but does seem to appreciate it, nonetheless.

He glances over toward her and one brow rises just a little bit. "Is that your subtle way of trying to find out if I'm single?" he teases.

See... it's a good thing Xanthe kinda has her head together, because Kairo's query catches her WAY off-guard! Maybe during her 'dark' days she will have kinda had a mini-freakout, but now? A soft puff of laughter through her nostrils as she presses her forehead to the back of her hands. "I walked into that one. I mean, now that we're on the topic, maybe I can ask proper. Is there a partner in your life? That way I can ensure you both have great seats."

Cough.

"If not, well, I'll make sure to don my most flattering leotard." Which is all of 'em!

Kairo has no idea what he could have possibly walked into there, but seems glad for the laughter rather than a freakout as the reaction. That's probably more along the lines of what he was going for. "No," he says. "There's people I've gone out with once or twice around the park, for food or coffee or something, but nobody I'm seeing regularly."

He shifts position slightly to work on the nearer side of the tattoo, making steady progress as the design evolves, traces of the original disappearing into the new lines and shapes. "So, just a good seat for one," he chuckles. "And I look forward to seeing your most flattering performance."

Did Xanthe just feel a lil' ol' tingle of glee, when Kairo confirms that he is not attached? Well sure! But she's not going to retire to her apartment and start dotting her journal with hearts, x's and o's... promise! Does Xanthe even keep a journal? (No, she doesn't. She used to, but not in the manner one would expect.)

No noooo she just wants to be respectful, is all! It's the right thing to do!

"I'll text you some dates and times, and you just pick what feels right.. sound good?" The white-haired performer offers.. then finally relaxes. Bonus: the endorphins are kicking in! What more could a girl want?

"Perfect," Kairo says when she offers to send him some dates and times so he can come and see her perform. He then falls quiet for a little while to return to the last few finishing touches of the tattoo. Once he's done, he lets her take a look with a mirror reflecting into another so that she can actually see her back and the work that he's done there.

It's skillfully done and when it heals? The old tattoo will blend seamlessly into the new. Until then, he gives her some care instructions and a little bag with his card and a note to text him if she has any questions or if she has any trouble while it's healing.