Why, why does she do this to herself and let the shop manager schedule her for early shifts.  Rayne isn't much of a morning person, but you got to do what you got to do to keep a job.  Opening the shop, she goes in but keeps it closed for now.  Things need to be set up and cleaned sometimes, well her station anyways.  It wasn't her job to clean her co-workers stations.  


Dropping her bag on her chair she gets to work organizing everything and making it presentable before going to work on some sketches she wants to finalize before the clients come in later today or this week.  After everything is complete, the cleaning anyways, she goes to the door, unlocks it and turns the Open sign on.  She isn't expecting anyone to come in right away so she goes back to working on her sketches. 

Rivka opened the front door, and peeked in. Tattoo places really weren't her thing, as she'd never, ever, get a tattoo. She was afraid of needles in general, and Torah prevented it, for which she was glad. If friends ever pressured her to get one, she could just hide behind her Jewish heritage. 

She did like earrings however, and had long been intrigued by getting a piercing done at the top of her ear. She was still a big squemish baby about it though and had only today toalked herself into actually doing it. She'd done a lot of research, and this little shop had a good reputation for quality work and general cleanliness. 

She'd texted Luke on the way over, to see if he'd come sit with her, silly as that might sound. She also figured she was less likely to chicken out if someone she knew was also there. The little bell on the door had rang when she entered, and Rivka was now standing in the middle of the reception area. Her big green eyes were looking at all the pictures of work the place had done. Many of them were beautiful, but the thought of getting stuck multiple times to create that art was making her get rather pale. 


Rayne Blake  Luke Benson

Luke was fine being moral support. It was good, even. If a friend of his needed someone to back them up, of course he wanted to help. Also, he definitely wanted to make sure Rivka didn't cause a disaster somehow. She was so sweet but you'd think her mutant power was making things screwy. She was plucky though, he'd give her that!

She'd apparently done the research, picked out a good place, and seemed pretty excited, so Luke was feeling like this might go well. 'Might' because you never know what's going to happen.

The woman seemed to be drawing, so Luke didn't feel like rushing the person who would be poking holes in his friend. Honestly, he figured there wasn't much he'd do besides play on his phone. He couldn't get a tattoo obviously, or a piercing-the hole would close up too quickly. That was fine, anyway. He didn't see the appeal.

Instead Luke just kinda...stood off to the side after giving Rivka a thumbs-up of encouragement.

Rayne looked up from her drawing when she heard the door open not long after she opened the store.  Different, not many people came in this early unless they had an appointment and seeing as how the face peaking in was a girl and not a the biker she was expecting in a short while, she knew it had to be a walk in.  Rayne also knew that she had time to finish the line work she was working on when she noticed the girl was looking around the shop with wide eyes.  


Once she was done with the linework, Rayne placed the drawing back into her sketch book she had for clients, don't want to lose those, then makes her way over to the shop front.  "What can I do you two for?"  She knew that it couldn't be a tattoo for the girl, she was too young looking and the guy who walked in, there was no way he was getting a tattoo.  That just left a piercing, but she wouldn't assume anything.  

"Umm, ah, wanted to get piercing, top of ear?" Rivka peeped. She took hold of of her ear between two fingers more or less where she was thinking of having the piercing done. She'd thought about getting her belly button done, but had long since chickened out on that. While her English phrasing was a bit different and she had a very definite accent, she was fairly easy to understand. 

"Luke, he, ah, just here to hold hand. No like needles much" she confessed with a worried grin. She didn't consider that the way her broken sentence had come out, it wasn't entirely clear whether she was the one who didn't like needles or Luke. Though from her "frightened rabbit" look, it seemed likely it was her. 

"Would be able do now? Before panic and change mind?" Rivka stated honestly. She knew this shop had a great reputation, but the thought of what it took to get a tattoo, and being surrounded by pictures of said art, was beginning to make her a little queasy. Some future X-man she was... If the shop keeper was paying attention, her customer was quickly going from 'natural light complexion' to 'pale as a sheet'. 


Luke Benson Rayne Blake

Luke waved sheepishly. "Yeah, I'm just here for moral support." He turned to Rivka.

"You'll be fine. They don't let just anyone use those things." He grinned. There was a nonzero chance that he was going to make things worse, but it was pretty close to zero, hopefully!

"So..." He looked around the room. "I'll try not to get in the way. Anywhere I can just stand?"

Rayne never understood why the people who come to get a piercing grab the spot they want to get poked.  Well kind of, its nice to know where they want it, but still, words work just as well.  To each their own.  Eyes flicking to the spot that the girl wants pierced, she asses it quickly, really just wanting to know if she already had a piercing there or not.  


The girl gives her a slight grin, worried more like it, and she could also tell that this girl was going to probably bolt soon.  She had this frightened rabbit look to her and it was only growing as time went on.  "Don't worry, you would be surprised by how many people come in here looking for tattoos or piercings and don't like needles.  It more common than you think."  Rayne says with a easy grin trying to help her calm down a bit.   Someone nervous and scared never helped. 


The boy, Luke she heard his name was called, speaks up about only being here for moral support and her gaze flicks to him.  If he was going to be here to help her, Rayne was going to make him be with her, like by her when she pulled out her kit.  "If you are here for her moral support, then that means you will be standing beside her, holding her hand and letting her squeeze is has hard as she wants while she is getting a earing."  Switching her gaze back to the girl before her she gives her a nod.  "Yes I can do it now.  Did you bring your own earing that you wanted to start with or did you want to check the selection we have?"

Earring... Right! Probably ought to have one of those, huh? Rivka didn't actually say anything, but all of that played out on her rather expressive face. But it got her mind off of being poked. 
"Ah, no bring, let me look here please" she said, stepping forward to the counter. She began looking for a simple stud with an artificial topaz in it. Might as well go with her birthstone, she figured. "Looking for topaz? Not much expensive?" she  peeped, but she looked calmer now. Shopping she could handle. She glanced at Luke, tilting her head in a gesture of 'get up here, you big lug'. She couldn't quiz him on how something looked if he was on the other side of the room! 

"My name Rivka" she told the attendant, "what yours?" she asked with genuine curiosity. 

Luke Benson   Rayne Blake

Luke nodded. He could do that. He just didn't want to get in the way while she was like, poking holes in his friend.

He was a little distracted looking around at the room, but more just 'cause of the smell of...stuff. Cleaning supplies, probably. Not a great thing. He noticed Rivka looking over at him and started. "Oh, sorry." He walked over and stood next to Rivka, folding his arms and trying to look less awkward.

Luke did want to help, as best he could. He took a look at the gem Rivka was holding. Or was it a crystal? Well, it was, but he didn't know if it was a gem too or what that-focus!

"Hm...yeah, those look nice." Luke was not an expert on fashion, but he did know that girls typically didn't like being told they looked bad. It'd basically be a wild guess if anything he said was good, so might as well just go for path of least resistance.

Based on the girls reaction to her question of whether or not she brought her own earing said everything she needed to say and reached for the binder that held pictures of the earrings they held so she could pick one out.  Placing it on the counter, Rayne opens it up and pushes it at the girl slightly.  "Take a look."


When she asks for topaz and not expensive, Rayne doesn't say anything or help her search.   It wasn't her job to pick an earring out for her, it was her job to poke her with it.  Her and the client have different tastes and Rayne has learned to not help them with that until they have a few selections because it wasn't going in her body, but the clients.   "My name is Rayne.  Is there any that you like so far?"

"Nice to meet! Am Rivka, big Teddy Doll is Luke" Rivka chirped happily as she gestured in Luke's direction. Teddy bears and Dolls were more or less the same in her opinion, and she hadn't a clue that there was also a piece of clothing called a Teddy. "Oh, that one pretty..." she said, pointing to a nice blue topaz in a white gold setting. At $59, it wasn't cheap, but it wasn't horribly expensive either.

"Luke, what you think? Can see that one please?" she asked, pointing to the one in question, but it was pretty obvious she was hooked by the way she was happily looking at it. It also seemed to be having the desired effect of distracting her from the next step - actually getting stuck.  


Luke Benson  Rayne Blake

...T-teddy 'doll'? That was a new one, to put it mildly. Luke gave her a look, but didn't say anything. Later, though, they'd need to talk about that particular nickname. He smiled, just a bit embarrassed.

All that aside, Luke was glad to actually try to help out if it meant not being so useless. He took a look at the blue stone, then glanced over at Rivka. Then he returned his gaze to the stone. He actually thought that it was a good color for her, as far as his middling-at-best judgment could determine. And she clearly liked it.

Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think it'll look great on you." It took a sec, but then he noticed the price. Yeesh. He didn't know how Rivka could toss that much down just for an accessory, but if she'd saved up for this, it couldn't be that much of a stretch for her, probably. She wasn't asking for Luke's financial appraisal.

"I say go for it, if you like it."

Big Teddy Doll?  Rayne can't help but raise an eyebrow at that nickname that Rivka gives to the guy who came in with her, Luke.  After a second though, she shrugs it off and looks at the piece that she pointed to.  Back to business, besides, it wasn't her job to judge a nickname or appearance.  Just to poke holes in people and ink them.  


"Keep looking, I'll be back with that one in a second."  Rayne turns and heads towards the back to grab what she was looking at.  They don't keep the items at the front desk anymore.  People had sticky fingers sometimes, leaving with more than what they paid for.   After grabbing the sealed small baggie with the earing inside, Rayne comes back and places the bag on the counter.  "We keep them sealed until its paid for, that way no one else is touching something that will be for you.  Keep things clean."  Rayne says this so that they both know that no fingers have touched the earing so it is clear of other peoples germs, but also so that Rivka knows not to open the baggie until she pays for it.  


"Is this the earing you want?"  She did give her time to check out the book and with a glance at the clock on the monitor on the desk, she knows that her client is going to come in within a half hour.   Rayne didn't want to rush her, but she also didn't want to keep one of them waiting.   Plus, Rivka didn't have that flight look in her eyes or body language anymore, best to use the distraction while she can.  

Rivka picked up the baggie to look at the contents before nodding her head. She also held it so that Luke could see her pick. "Yes, like this one" she responded, before fishing her wallet out of her purse, to pay for the item and the piercing. There. Now she was committed. The idle thought of 'having (another) hole in her head' briefly flitted through her mind. She wouldn't say it though, as she was sure her father would say something to that effect the next time she saw him. 

"Okay, think ready." She gulped a little before adding "we do now?" 


Luke Benson Rayne Blake

Luke nodded approvingly. He was...reasonably confident his advice was useful. He didn't really know how girls wanted to look because he wasn't a girl, and he didn't really know what made girls ;good-looking' because...yeah. He was here for moral support, and anything else he did was just a bonus really.

"So where should I stand so I'm not in the way?" Luke glanced around the room. He figured Rivka was going into one of the chairs, probably, but that didn't leave a lot of room for him. He had no idea what getting a piercing required from the artist, so he wasn't sure what kind of space she'd need to keep clear.

Instead he just kinda casually shifted back so there was some distance for the moment. If he could get closer and Rivka needed his hand to hold or something he would, but he figured it was better to start out with some room than to have to move away.