Humans Are Encountered

Tattoos

Zork'ak had not seen the humans without their protective clothing before, but, as xe stood at the bottom of what Steve called a cliff, all the humans  were in various states of undress, the males having foregone their upper coverings and the females wearing smaller versions of their usual clothing.

Xe had been invited to go cliff diving with the humans, but xe had not asked what it entailed. Well, xe did once, and Steve laughed, telling Zork'ak that xe would find out when xe got here.

Xe stood looking up at the tall structure, many of the humans already climbing up it. There was a small path wrapping up to the top that they followed.

"You good?" Adam clapped Zork'ak on the back.

Zork'ak nodded, walking with Adam a good distance behind the others. Xe turned to look at him and noticed a dark patch on Adam's side. "What is this?"

Adam raised his upper extremity, exposing the right side of his center. There was a small animal on there, not unlike Wren's phalsydy, with a silver fabric fastened around its neck. The fabric was tied at the top, and the end pieces hung down slightly. Xe could see lettering on one of the end pieces, but it was not in a language xe knew.

"It's a tattoo." He dropped his arm back down. Zork'ak gave Adam a look that conveyed xe did not know what that was.

Adam chuckled. "It's like a picture or symbol you want etched into your skin."

"You do what?" Etching something into an outer layer would be painful.

"Well, you go to a trainer person and show them what you want, and they'll take these needles and inject ink, which is this substance that we use to write when we don't use technology, under the skin."

"You purposefully put a foreign object underneath the protective layer of your body?"

"Yeah. It's a weird thing, I know, but that's how it happens."

"Is it not painful?"

"Mine was a little. It depends where you get it and how big it is."

"And what is its purpose?" Adam opened his mouth but Zork'ak waved xer talons. "It doesn't have one, correct?"

Adam busted out laughing. "It can. People will use it to commemorate a loved one or have something special close to them."

"Do you not have objects and photographs in your possession?"

Adam laughed again. "Yeah, we do. It's just a thing. Mostly, people like how it looks."

"It's another one of the 'fashion' aspects?" Zork'ak was peering down at the ever growing distance between xem and the ground. They were almost to the top, and Zork'ak could see a large collection of liquid below.

"Yeah, you could say that."

Zork'ak shook xer head. These humans. "What is yours for?"

"Oh." Adam peeked down at the tattoo, moving his arm out of the way. "My mom died a few years ago, and she always called me her conejito, which means little bunny in my native language. So I got a tattoo of a little bunny like the one I had as a pet when I was little."

"This is a 'bunny?'" Zork'ak leaned in to peer at it, the two having stopped at the top of the structure a little behind the others.

"Yes. It's kind of like Wren's pet. Except fluffy and not really harmful. They can scratch you, but its claws aren't that bad."

Zork'ak nodded. "Why is it that she called you a, uh-"

"Conejito."

Xe nodded. "Yes. Why would she call you an animal?"

"It was just a nickname. Parents will call their kids something that is little and sweet things." He shrugged.

"And this?" Xe pointed to the lettering.

"Oh, well that's a bow," he gestured to the fabric, "and the words say 'to the one I love the most.'" Adam was moving towards the edge, where the others were waiting. "The ribbon is silver because I lost her to cancer, brain cancer." He swallowed hard, looking out across the liquid.

Zork'ak opened xer mouth to further inquire, feeling the most comfortable with asking Adam for such detailed information, but Steve approached. "You ready?" He interrupted, appearing next to Adam.

Adam grinned. "Always ready."

"Oh, I wasn't talking to you." Steve's eyes were focused on Zork'ak. "I was talking to Zor."

"Ready for what?" Zork'ak eyed the humans suspiciously, noticing their wide grins.