Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was a moment, an event really. The first vacation from Turn the Page in four years. Sure, she'd taken some days off here and there for vegging and recharging the batteries, but she'd never actually left the store completely. Like a mother hen afraid of leaving her roost, it was with equal parts glee and despair that Kaithala had departed from her beloved Seattle.

The plane trip down to Sacramento wasn't so bad, you know if you didn't count all the worrying and double checking of her figures for stocking and labor budgets for the store while she was away. It got to the point where she'd growled at her lap top and had the lady sitting next to her eyeing her wearily. Halfway through the trip she switched from her laptop to her Zune and let the "dulcet" tunes of Metallica take her cares away. Of course they supplied their own worries, mainly how she'd cope with a needle poking her several THOUSAND times. But it was too late to turn back now for her. This s**t was happening... period.

In Sacramento, she picked up her rented vehicle. a hot little red convertible. She'd asked for one specifically. If she was only going to take this one vacation she was damn well going to make it worth it. With trusty mapquest directions in hand, she made her way through the maze of the city to find her hotel. It, too, met her high standards of vacation, complete with lake sized bed and jacuzzi tub. With any luck she wouldn't be the only one using them over this trip...

Finally, she changed her top out for a backless halter and picked up her purse. It was time... god... she wasn't afraid of the needle... of course not...

It didn't take nearly as long as expected to get there and that did little to ease her nerves as she'd had less time to prepare. Taking a deep breath, Kai opened the door to the establishment and stepped into her future.

Yup, this was the place.

"Well I suppose that means I've made it." Kai grinned widely. Yeah, it was obvious even without the voice for confirmation that this was Ace. "Guessed it in one. I'm Kai, you must be Ace, I'm so happy to meet you in the flesh." Easily Kai stretched her hand, forcing it not to shake. She was still fighting off a bit of the nerves.

It was a nice place, the parlor was clean and there was the distinct sound of classic rock playing from somewhere. A very good sign. "I hope you don't mind me just dropping by like this. I suppose I should have called in first but I was just way too ******** excited to sit around at my hotel, however posh it may be."

She glanced over a the man leaning against the doorway. She assumed he would be Nate, but didn't bring it up. Would suck to embarrass herself right off the bat. "I'm a bit of dummy about the process so, hope you don't mind walking a dumb a** through it." She added cheerfully.

Kai could be honest, she had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from smiling too hard at Ace. She really hadn't expected the other woman to be so... small? Not that it was a bad thing, no sir, but it was a bit of a surprise. She had such a big personality, but then again sometimes it was just that way. Anyhow it didn't especially matter.

She shook Nate's hand and grinned. He was a handsome sort and it was in her blood to appreciate such matters. Still, she'd keep him off limits for the time being. That'd be just a little too complicated for her nice and easy way of life. "I am, I'm so excited about this. The little fan-girl in me goes 'squee' at the very idea of having a Metallica inspired tattoo." She laughed gently at herself. She could be such a putz sometimes.

The sketch Ace had done was beyond amazing. Beyond words really. It was exactly what she'd wanted and it didn't look silly or fangirlish, honestly if you didn't know the songs you'd have trouble knowing it was even Metallica inspired. "It's ******** amazing!" Kai exclaimed with obvious delight. "You're ******** amazing!" She added looking at Ace. "I do like the band idea, I hadn't even considered but that's great! Although, I probably wouldn't go so far as to put a swastika on it... hmmm... maybe the Metallica ninja star? You know the one I'm thinking of? Was on the discs for Load and Reload?"

"Oh well, I can say that I'm a little pleased that it wasn't so obvious. It was meant to be masked well, thought not like I won't blab about it to anyone who shows even the least bit curiosity in it." Kai laughed a bit at their banter. These were obviously two people extremely comfortable with each other and their affection showed easily under the surface. A great partnership from the looks of it. In an off handed manner she wondered if they were doing the horizontal tango...

"Hmm I didn't know that, about it being a symbol of peace in some religions. That's pretty interesting, but still I think I'd rather leave it out. Most probably aren't as open minded as you and I'd prefer to not have stones thrown at me while walking down the street." She said it with a laugh, mischief twinkling in her eye. "I think it'd be ******** rad to have the ninja star on there, give some more recognition to the band since they are the inspiration of it all."

Her eyes were glued to the sketch. It was more than she'd been hoping for and for the first time since walking into the place, her nerves began to abate. Yeah it'd hurt like a mother ******** to get done, but looking at what was to be, it was going to be ******** worth it.

"Please," she said holding up a hand, "if you get me started talking about Metallica there's no telling when I may stop. We could be here until next Tuesday and I still wouldn't have shut up." Kai had the grace to chuckle at herself. "I just feel that a tattoo should have meaning beyond, 'Oh hey that looks cool.' Not that there's anything wrong with people who get them for only cosmetic purposes, that's just not my style."

Kai didn't really understand the whole business about stencils and what not, this being her first time and all, but she didn't have to tell Nate that. "Well I've got that beautiful rendition of the Titanic sinking on my a**, but other than that this'll be a new experience." She couldn't even hold the joke for a second and her face cracked and laughter slipped out. "Oh man, sorry I couldn't ******** pull it off. Nah, this will be my first tattoo. I was really ******** nervous on the way over and the plane trip down but the more I realize that this is exactly what I want the less nervous I get. I've come to the point where I can accept that it's going to hurt like a mother ********, but the results will hopefully be worth it."

And hell, it wasn't like she'd wasted the money of the plane trip, car rental, and hotel stay just to come down and leave without getting her ink. That alone could've very well pushed her over the edge into getting it. But above all it was pure undiluted want.

Kaithala beamed at him. "Well if we're talking passion for bands, I'm your girl. Although I think it's moved past passion and is quickly edging its way into uncomfortable obsession. But at least I know it. The tattoo however is, well it's something that really speaks to me. It just so happens that I'm lucky enough to find the material in Metallica. Heaven's way of smiling I suppose." Kai looked wistful for a moment, that was if she really believed in a heaven.

"Oh do you now boy-o?" She giggled girlishly at his pun. "Has anyone ever asked you to drop your dockers and prove it?" A bit of a nefarious grin crossed her face. "Because I'm willing to be the first..."

The singing from somewhere had Kai grinning and laughing.

"Hold on to the feeling!" She added in her own voice.

Kai's lips twitched as she was powerless to stop them. OH, so they were going to play this game were they? Well that was fine, she was the kind of person who played it well, or rather she thought she did. "Well alright then captain, drop your drawers and let's have a looksie shall we?" A rolling laugh bubbled up out of her throat. It was such a ridiculous situation but it did wonders for making her smile.

Whatever it was Ace was doing, Kai was wondering if she'd get back in time to see if Nate actually followed through with the request. It would either be one of the funniest moments of the week or the most awkward.