Buying a cultivation vessel tattoo

Yadra's method of haggling mostly involved entering a shop as loudly as possible with an arrogant expression of someone pretending to understand what they were looking at on her face. The artist in the shop was a beta, as most permanent shopkeepers tended to be, and she was naturally courteous to the group visiting her.

"One of your finest tattoos, for my companions favorite new toy." Yadra said.

The tattoo artist nodded. "What kind of tattoo?" She gestured to her own body, which was covered head to toe in coiling dragons, magic symbols, and images of divine entities.

"A cultivation vessel's tattoo." Alea said. "That's what she is to me." Alea jerked her thumb to Thali.

The tattoo artist nodded. "Perfect. I've done quite a few of those these last few weeks. It seems like half the town has been betafied with all the mystic artists coming into town for the Throbbing Immortal Fist School's trials."

Alea ended up having to pay the tattoo artist five gold and chose between several designs.

"Hmm... Thali's already submissive enough, so i don't' think I need the submissiveness package. How about this one that lets her store Resolve longer?" Alea said pointing at a specific design.

"An excellent choice for a loyal cultivation vessel." The artist agreed. "You'll be able to store three times the amount of Resolve in your vessel if you choose that tattoo."

Thali preened at the level of confidence and trust her mistress was showing her by bestowing her with a tattoo that would let her contain more resolve.

"The tattooing process can be a bit intense for a beta, as magical tattoos mark not just the body but also the spirit. Please hold your beta down." The artist asked.

Alea did as she asked and the artist marked out a triangle on Thali's abdomen for the tattoo. She loosely dotted in some guidelines then picked up her pen and started marking Thali as a cultivation vessel for all to see.

Contrary to Alea's expectations, Thali moaned the whole time she was getting tattooed, and the artist had to wipe away the wetness between Thali's legs several times to keep herself from getting dripped on as she worked. When she was done, she offered the pen to Alea.

"See that portion of the tattoo right there? Please write your name as best your able. It will help tie your beta's spirit to you through this." The artist produced a small sigil. "This is a unique symbol to you. Eventually you can get it tattooed on yourself as a master's tattoo, but for now you can just carry it as an item."

Alea accepted the sigil and pocketed it as she wrote her name on her beta.

"Am I really a cultivation vessel now?" Thali asked hopefully. "Am I really yours, Mistress Alea?"

Alea rubbed her cultivation vessel's head fondly. "You sure are. Mine forever."

Before they left, Alea asked the artist if she took house calls. Alea would need tattoos for Jenna and Kass eventually, but she wanted to keep both private for the time being. After making a few arrangements, Alea happily left and rejoined Yadra, who'd gotten bored and started walking around outside midway through the process.

"All done with your little slut, squirt?" Yadra asked. "Where do you want to head to next?"