Isabella approached the counter, her eyes scanning the holographic catalog of designs.
Her fingers brushed over the images, but she had a vision in mind.
"I want a tattoo,"
She replied, her voice steady.
"A black raven encompassing my right shoulder, upper arm, and breast. And on my left thigh, black roses with thorns tattoos."
The old dwarfs whose hair and beard were already white eyes shimmered with understanding.
"An elegant choice. Tattoos can carry great significance, Is there a meaning behind these symbols?"
Isabella nodded as she contemplated her choice, truthfully she didn't know why she chose those designs.
"Not really I just feel like It."
The dwarf artist grumbled In displeasure. "Very well. Please have a seat in the preparation chamber. We will begin the process shortly, also lower down your tank top and thigh."
Isabella followed him to the chamber, where she was made comfortable on a reclined chair while she exposed her perfect skin without any blemishes or damage.
The room was adorned with soothing ambient music, and the walls displayed holographic landscapes from various planets.
The tattoo process began with the alien artist using neon ink that glowed in various colors as he carefully traced the intricate designs onto her unhealthy pale skin.
Isabella felt a slight, almost soothing, tingle as the ink was applied, and she watched in fascination as the black raven took shape on her right shoulder, upper arm, and breast, while the black roses with thorns blossomed on her left thigh.
Throughout the process, the dwarf artist occasionally engaged Isabella in conversation, sharing stories of travelers he had met and the symbolism of various tattoos.
"My tattoos actually come from a humanoid-type primitive culture that my ancestor visited once"
The dwarf whose tattoos were of Nordic origin said proudly as he dipped his tattooing machine's needle Into the neon Ink bottle.
"Humanoid? How do they look?"
Isabella who got curious about the primitive's appearance asked because, In the Milky Way galaxy, there weren't that many species that could be classified as humanoid.
"Hmmm from what my great great great great great grandfather Thor told me they are taller than us dwarfs, but come short compared to demi-humans but unlike them they don't have animal features and their skin mirrors mine with some of them having the same skin color as dark elves"
The dwarf said as he pressed the needle covered In Ink against Isabella's skin.
"Do they have any traits that make them special?"
Isabella asked.
"G*ds no they are even weaker than us purebred dwarfs, their average lifespan is 40 galactic standard years, and all they know is how to smelt iron at least that's what my grandfather told me when he visited their world a dozen hundred years ago."
The dwarf laughed his ass off causing Isabella to become puzzled.
"If they're so unremarkable why would you cover your body In their culture's tattoos?"
Isabella asked genuinely curious.
"Hahaha they might be weak, short-lived, and primitive but let me tell you those Thraens are a force to be reckoned with especially when It comes to their family their men will use their teeth and nails to fight to the last man In order to protect their women and children no matter who their opponent Is even If It's a g*d"
The dwarf explained genuinely fascinated at humanity's will to fight.
"But at the same time, they are the most bloodthirsty and craziest motherf*ckers my ancestor Thor encountered during his raiding days even orcs pale In comparison"
"You're kidding how can any race be more bloodthirsty than orcs?"
The schoked Isabella asked as the dwarf wiped away the excess Ink from her breast causing her to wince In pain.
"Phew! Those psychos kill, pillage, and r*pe each other on a daily basis for the simplest things, heck they fought holy crusades just because the same g*d they believed In had different names In their religions"
"But at the same time, they can be the kindest and most selfless people In the galaxy, after my ancestor Thor crashlanded on the planet and almost died It was the norseman or at least that's what he called them that pulled him out from his spaceship and nursed him until he could stand on his two feet"
"After he was healthy enough to fight he actually organized a raiding crew and set out to pillage the first village he encountered"
"By the time his clansmen came to pick him up an entirely new religion had already formed with my ancestor becoming one of their gods because of his exoskeleton armor and power hammer that could discharge lightning"
The dwarf said as the final touches were made, the luminescent ink settled into her skin, creating a stunning contrast against Isabella's pale vampiric complexion.
The raven's wings seemed to stretch across her shoulder, and the roses radiated a sense of rebelliousness.
"You're pulling my leg right?"
The suspicious Isabella asked.
"Nope It's a true story, If you want you can visit them they are just three star systems away though even I'm not sure If they are still kicking or have already exterminated themselves with weapons of mass destruction"
"The last one who decided to visit them after hearing about them, what was his name hmmm Adolf something a half-bred mongrel between a dwarf and a light elve said that the Thraens had Invented nuclear bombs and we're on the verge of all-out WW 3 after he came back once his t*ird r*ich got defeated"
"Phew! Let me tell you that mongrel Is the most xenophobic racist c*nt I had ever the displeasure of meeting he actually wanted to forcefully uplift the Thraens after conquering their whole world and embark on a crusade to exterminate all purebred dwarfs and elves"
The dwarf artist cursed as he spewed out a gulp of saliva to the side.
"And that was almost 80 years ago so they might as well have already exterminated themselves with nuclear bombs, I wouldn't be surprised If they did"
The tattoo artist said as he marveled at Isabella for her vampiric physiology.
"I'll be damned lass your race's supernatural healing is truly remarkable,"
He remarked as he wiped away the excess ink.
"Your tattoos have already fully healed, you can hit the shower right after you leave my shop"
The dwarf remarked as he put away his tools and took off his gloves allowing Isabella to cover herself properly.
"Say, can you give me those primitives' exact coordinates?"
Isabella asked out of the blue not knowing why she did it herself but her subconsciousness was telling her to do It.
"Oh? interested, let me tell you a secret after my ancestor boasted about his adventures during his audience with you're dread lord who Invited him to raid a neighboring empire also went to take a stroll, and guess what he became the most Infamous vampire In their myths and legends"
The dwarf poured dirty water on Isabella's father while grinning from ear to ear completely unaware that he was actually speaking to the said dredlords heir.
"I see..."
Isabella muttered with a funny-looking face after learning about her father's dirty secrets.
"Here also here she bill"
The dwarf said as he moved his hands In the air causing his eyes pupils to light up In blue because of his cybernetic lenses.
As he did Isabella's pupils glowed reder as a holographic HUD that only she could see appeared In her view with Thraes coordinates and the bill.
"Thanks"
Isabella said as she paid the credits she was due and left the shop but not before stopping against the person-sized mirror to admire her tattoos.
Only for her stomach to growl In protest.
"Urghhh, I really need some blood bags"
Isabella muttered to herself as she stepped out of the shop and beelined straight to the nearest clinic.