Hornet

See? Its impossible to win. You just have to know which numbers to hit.   "You've probably scored so many free drinks from this trick. No drunk asshole is gonna catch that."   Well, you'd be surprised. Sometimes people catch it on the second go around like its obvious. Some people are just more clever than others, I guess.   "Well I know you're clever enough to not let me forget about owing you a drink for the secret then. Rolac, they get another on me."   "*grunt in acknowlegdement*"   (It wasn't until I reached out to grab the fully filled flask that I noticed the hammered half-orc stumble next to me and land on the bar, that I noticed that they were about to come into contact with a part of the cloth around my arms that had loosened up a bit. I'm surprised I was able to avoid contact 3 pints in."   ...   "Y'know, if you wanted to cover those up, I might know a guy."   Hmm?   "Oh, come on. You avoid people touching your tattoos like they're gonna rub off if someone so much as breathes on them. Those raggedy bandages aren't doing you any favors there, either."   My... tattoos? ...I-I mean, I suppose, I-   "Listen, none of it is my business, but take it as a gesture of goodwill. This '31' game is gonna net me more than enough free drinks to pay for whatever this might mean to you, trust me."   (Card games bring the realness out of people. You might think you got scammed and tell them to fuck off. You might remain aloof and go along for the ride until they get their free drink or 5 silver from you. The people who show real interest in what's going on, now those are the ones you can keep around. This guy seemed genuine enough for me.)   Are you always this welcoming to everyone you meet, Caius? I mean, you met me no more than 10 minutes ago.   "I guess the trick is just that good then?"   (I've definitely handled my fair share of setups. But to lead so confidently with something like that tells me that this dude knows something I can use.)   Tell me about this 'guy'.   "Oh, only the best tattoo artist in Nyre! Ol' Quillen can hook you up with tattoos of all styles, sizes, colors, you name it."   So what does this do for me if I might already have tattoos then?   "...Have you heard of magic tattoos?"   ...Go on.   "Quillen has a very special craft with his tattoos. People who he inks up come out on the other side with powers that they didn't have before. Some people can turn into ghosts, or grab on to stuff from a distance like an extendo-arm type of shit. There's a story that one chick literally turned into a Changeling thanks to her tattoo. That being said, people who don't know how to manage or control these new powers obviously can't be trusted with keeping them out in the open all willy-nilly, right?"   I think I see what you're getting at here. This Quillen has some more efficient way of covering these mar- er, my tattoos? What makes what he has any more special than what I come up with?   "Any good chef needs to have good methods, right? You can't just throw stuff in a pot and call yourself a cook. It takes care and finesse. Quillen has been keeping reckless motherfuckers in check for over 120 years now. Whatever method he comes up with, I ~promise~ you, it will be substantial enough for you to invest in."   (I mean, he's doing a damn good job of selling me on it. I've been struggling with this shit for almost 50 fuckin years. Its about time I finally handled this the right way... If there even is a right way, at least...)   Alright, alright, I'll go meet your guy. Just tell me how to find him.   -----------   (Ok, honestly nothing could have prepared me for the concept that a fucking harengon is THE tattoo guy in all of fucking Nyre. They can't even fucking get to their own skin??)   "Are you the one Caius told me about?"   As long as he isn't telling you about any other Joe Schmoe who he sends your way.   "Caius is a good lad. He knows how to pick out the right people... but it looks like I might be the right person for you, judging by that coverage situation you got going on there."   Yeah, he told me something about how you're the guy to go to for covering up tattoos.   "Perhaps I might be. Depends on if you're willing to commit to it."   Commit to what? Wrapping something around my arms? Like I'm doing now?   "Listen. People only cover up tattoos for 2 reasons. They either don't know how to control it, or they don't know how to explain it. Both happen too late to change anything. So I always tell everyone who comes my way to cover a tattoo that they need to commit to keeping it hidden the same way they recklessly chose to commit to having the tattoo in the first place. The decision was already made, so you need to own up to the way things have to be now."   (If only he knew that this wasn't my choice. But I guess I'll go along with it.)   You're setting this up like its an entire process the same way the ink itself is. What am I looking forward to here?   "The way someone covers up their tattoos has to be just as meaningful to them as the tattoos themselves. Why do you have your tattoos?"   (I probably should have thought about this conversation before putting myself on the spot.)   To defend myself, I guess. I've just never been able to control it.   (Not the whole truth, but not necessarily the truth at all either. It'll do for now.)   "Bit off more than you can chew, aye. Wouldn't be the first time that's been handled in this shop. Its a common logic, loading up on powers you ultimately can't control for the sake of defending yourself and those around you."   So what's your plan on wrapping these up without undermining how I'm supposed to protect myself?   "Hmm... you seem the nimble type, aren't ya? Toss this around for a while, let me know how it feels."   (There is no shot this fucking rabbit just threw a rope at me.)

Only living things are hurt by these marks. I have to keep reminding myself that I can still function and handle other things that don't have a freakin pulse. The last time I fuckin' melted a goddamn weasel because it accidentally touched me while I was trying to feed it. Poor thing was already on its last legs and couldn't feed itself, what was I supposed to do? I let it die on its own or put it out of its misery tryin to save it?? This shit is NOT fair man. I need to figure out how to keep this shit under wraps...   Shit. I should have just wrapped this up with some kind of cloth or some shit. FUCK man, that woulda saved so much trouble... It's only living things that get fucked up anyways. That might actually be the way to keep it locked up. Locked up...   ...   Is this some kind of sick fuckin joke? My family is gonna lock me up on top of a cliff for a whole fuckin century, trying to hide me away from something for whatever reason, and then when I'm free I'm stuck with these marks that I HAVE to keep hidden away? Who the FUCK thought this would be funny??   ...   Ok, the last thing I want is for these stupid marks to give me any kind of leeway for them. I can never forgive them for keeping me cooped up the way they did. I don't care what it was for. I don't care what they were keeping me from, or whatever they were keeping from me. I'm free from them now.   Surely this isn't a result of that, right? This has to be coincidence. This fuckin inky shit has nothing to do with leaving the compound. There's just no way. I know better than to believe some kind of nonsense like that.   Doesn't make it any easier to think about though...