Tanya nearly skipped to meet Amy by the Wards. She felt the tattoo gun bouncing on her hip with each step, and that only made her happier. It was finally getting somewhere. These tattoos could be her way to anywhere she wanted to go.

She saw the blue-black haired girl in the distance and waved.

They both ran, meeting in the middle.

"Tanya, I have good news!" Amy said. Her grin stretched ear to ear, the hollowness in her cheeks masked by a lively flush from the breeze and excitement.

"I do too," Tanya said, grinning.

"Really?"

"Yep. You first."

Amy took a deep breath. "I have a Class!" she yelled, jumping up and down.

Tanya gasped, grabbing her arms and jumping with her.

She'd not reacted to anything like this since an old friend said they were getting married in the before. It felt good.

"That's wicked, Amy! What is it? How'd you get it? Tell me everything."

Amy held both palms out. "Search and Rescue."

"Interesting," Tanya said. That sounded like someone getting trapped. Her attention turned to the rest of the group. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yep," Amy said. "Sid over there had just gotten his Class, Parkour Ranger and—"

Sid looked up at his name and hobbled over, half using a golf stick as a walking stick and half straight hopping. His large afro bounced as he did. "Are you telling the story?" Before Amy could answer, he turned to Tanya. "She was awesome. We were at the roundabout further down, and these fucking scary monsters race down. We know they're keeping an eye on us, but shit, man, there's nothing like seeing one in your face."

Tanya hummed and nodded in agreement. She was trying to piece together more about these runs from what he was saying. At the back were 3 people walking at the back of the masses. She recognised one of them as a telekinetic older lady from the Estate's foyer. They must be supervising, taking them in groups, and giving them the chance to prove themselves Worthy without too much direction.

"I had a sword and thought I'd get something soldier-y," Sid continued, "That's what I go for in video games. But I just drop it and run, trying to scale a broken wall nearby—"

"That's when the entire thing just comes down around him," Amy said through laughter.

"Hey! I got to the top first."

"It was actually very cool," Amy admitted.

"Me and my mates used to do parkour all the time in highschool. I didn't realise it would ever be useful. I got my Class right before I fell."

Tanya looked between them. "The suspense is killing me. What do they do?"

Amy used her hand to bring up her interface, the same as Tanya had at the start. It made her smile.

"My first Ability is Thermal Instinct. It's like those thermal goggles you see in wilderness shows! Then I got Extract. It lets me pull people towards myself."

That sounded incredibly useful. Tanya asked, "Is it Unique?"

"Uhhh, how do I know that?" Amy said, squinting.

"It's an Achievement called Unique Circumstances," Tanya said.

Amy shook her head. "Nope."

"Me neither," Sid said.

Tanya shrugged. "Doesn't really matter." Then, "Go on, Sid.'

"I got Scale with Style first. It's ace—lets me climb walls like Spiderman. After Amy saved me, I got Fall with Style." Sid pursed his lips, posing. He put too much weight on his injured leg and cursed, hopping madly.

"Here, let me," Tanya said. She summoned a Vitality bandage and a Strength one, helping Sid wrap them both around his leg.

His eyes became saucers.

"What the hell kind of Class lets you do that?!" Sid yelled.

Tanya and Amy both laughed.

Tanya recounted the tale of getting her Class and what some of her Abilities did. Slowly, more and more of the teens came over to listen too. They then offered up their own stories of getting Classes or things they'd seen. About half of them got a Class on this trip, and from the casual shrugs, having to go back a few times was apparently normal. They'd done about 5 of these so far, and one of the guys had been to all of them because he kept freezing up. He laughed about it, firing out self-deprecating jokes like a stand-up comedian.

At first, Tanya had assumed that most of this group being teens was a coincidence, or just a friendship group wanting to go together. But as they spoke more and more, Tanya realised it was in a bid to keep them safe. Most of their parents had unlocked Classes, but the protected teens hadn't. Children were the even larger majority, but they hadn't tried these trips with them yet, worrying about how easily it could go wrong.

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By the time they reached the shop, Tanya knew most of them by name. She and Amy stopped by the parlour, while the others continued onwards. They had tried to badger their group leaders for a tour around The Wyrm and Needle, but they were on a tight schedule.

"Proud of you guys! The rest of you will get 'em next time. Sixth time's the charm, Patrick!" Tanya called down the street.

Patrick laughed and waved along with the others.

Amy let out a happy sigh. "That was great—oh wait, you had news for me too, right?"

Tanya rubbed her hands together. "I can fix your tiger."

Marcy stopped in the doorway, hand poised on the door handle.

"Really?" she whispered.

"Yep. I have the Ability to modify tattoos now. Safer now too 'cause it shows up on me interface."

Amy turned around fully, and her eyes were welling up. "When?"

Tanya grinned. "Let me grab my gear an' get comfy in the back."

Amy didn't need to be told twice.

With a crack of her knuckles, Tanya gathered the things she needed for the tattoo and met Amy in the back. She'd expected excitement or at least nerves, but the only emotion she could see on the tired girl's face was relief.

"Any idea what you want me to do with him?" Tanya asked.

"You can't get rid of him, can you?"

"Sorry, I'm afraid not. Would be risky for me to try without a skill or line in a skill guidin' me, I think."

Amy bit her lip. "I guess I just want to control it fully. I want to know everyone is safe."

Tanya thought for a moment before pulling up her Interface. Changing it to a wolf or dog was the first thought that came to mind; that way, it would follow instructions. It felt like it would be a tricky conversion with the difference in proportions. She continued to brainstorm until her mind wandered to Fifi. Not all dogs were easy to control.

Tigers were in circuses sometimes. Maybe by making it a trained tiger of some sort—Tanya dismissed that thought before even considering it. It still sounded like too much risk.

She decided her backup plan was to make it a teddy tiger. It would be useless, which Amy may prefer, but she wanted to pitch at least one option that allowed it to stay functional for protection. Now that Amy had a scouting Class, having a distraction was all the more lucrative.

Tanya went back to the drawing board.

What makes something dangerous… hunting instincts? Autonomy? All animals are like that though. Even the most domestic can injure you—

That's when she got it. Animals would always have an element of unpredictability, but robots? Robots could be programmed exactly.

"You got something?" Amy asked.

Tanya realised she had a shit eating grin on her face.

"Two options, I think. First, there's as close to getting rid of it as I can. I make it a teddy bear."

Amy looked confused, but after a moment, she nodded. "It might still summon, but it would either be unable to fight or do it poorly?"

Tanya tried a few intention options on her interface.

"Yeah, either. I could give it some secondary use if you wanted to, like calming children if they hold it. Makin' it a secret weapon of some sort is technically an option too, but the imagery doesn't really go with what it does, which makes it riskier. I could guarantee it wouldn't be dangerous, but then there's a chance it doesn't work at all."

Amy smiled. "I like the idea of a kid being able to hold it. The other?"

Tanya held up her palms as if presenting the idea. "Robot tiger."

Amy laughed.

"No, I'm serious. If it's a robot, you can control it exactly. I could have it be smart enough to do something specific like run until it finds a monster, then run to try and get it to chase, or give it more specific stuff with a controller for you or somethin'."

Amy tensed. "I don't know. You're certain it would be safe?"

Tanya again looked at the Interface. "Yep. I can make it so that any weaknesses are all in the control difficulty or accuracy department. Worst case, it might run into walls a bit or need some practice, but it won't be dangerous."

Amy's brow was still furrowed.

"I don't have to give it anythin' violent at all. I was thinkin' more distraction than actually bein' able to fight anythin'."

Amy nodded slowly.

They both sat in silence for a while, Tanya giving Amy some time to decide. She went to pour them both a glass of water, and when she returned, Amy looked up.

"It would be more useful, wouldn't it?" she asked.

"Robo tiger? Probably. If you were savin' a kid or maybe even a stressy adult, the teddy could help, but in that situation, you're probably better off using all your attention to get them out rather than chuckin' this around. Better traumatised and alive, eh?"

Tanya meant it as a joke, but Amy didn't laugh. She looked deep in thought.

"I'll take the robot tiger."

Tanya placed the glass on the side table beside Amy on the tattooing chair. Then she perched on the cabinet beside her. "You sure? The other option is closer to gettin' rid."

"I saved Sid today. It felt good. Maybe the tiger could save people, too." Amy sounded like she was trying to convince herself.

"I could come up with more ideas."

"No," Amy said, sounding more sure of herself. "Do it." She lay on her stomach, pulling up her shirt to reveal the tiger tattoo.

Tanya briefly considered trying again, but she could see the resolve in Amy now. They'd just go in circles. Tanya hadn't tried making adaptations to an existing design yet, but she hoped that even if it was harder, it could still be possible as a worst-case option.

With a swipe of disinfectant across Amy's back, Tanya was ready to tattoo.

• • • • • • • • •

It was one of the first tattoos that reminded Tanya of the before. They took frequent breaks with no rush. Amy winced when it got near her shoulder blades. They spoke about both of their weeks, which was normal if you ignored the content anyway. Like any life change, it became less about the death-defying monsters and more about the guy Amy thought was handsome and the way that Tanya hoped her new business could get them another monster core. In all of this focus on the Wards and trading information and defences, Tanya realised that maybe daily living things had taken a backseat.

When the tattoo was done, Amy said. "That's it? No big moment or anything?"

"You might feel woozy when you stand up 'cause of the Vitality drain, but yeah, that's it."

Amy stood slowly. "Was more dizzy after the first time," she joked.

Tanya whistled. "Yep, a full back tat will do that to ya."

Amy craned her neck to see, and Tanya guided her to the mirror.

The tiger was mostly left intact. Tanya had instead worked on key focal points: cogs and wires beneath the faux flesh on one side of the face, visible lines at the joints to show it was anamatronic, and wheels on the end of each paw. Her final eureka moment had been to add a wheel on the end of the tail too, for better steering. Plus, it looked wicked.

They went outside to test it. The street was quiet except for the wind, howling down the street like it was a wind tunnel.

"I just… Summon it?" Amy asked.

"Like the cage but focus on the tiger instead," Tanya said. "It's different now. You don't have to be scared."

For a second, nothing happened, then the familiar pulsing of the tattoo against Amy's back. It just looked like inky light.

Before it was even fully formed, there was a flicker of blue light spread across the pavement. The tiger appeared with a sharp metallic growl—like something from a kids' toy—and immediately shot forward, straight into a recycling bin. It clattered, corrected itself with a weird whirring noise, and took off again, wheels whining as it zig-zagged between parked cars. Amy laughed so hard she had to hold her stomach. Tanya could hear the relief in the noise.

"It's like a drunk Roomba," she said.

Tanya grinned. "Fast, though."

The tiger did a wide loop and skidded to a stop beside them, tail-wheel spinning lazily.

Gone was the strange parchment two-dimensionality. Gone was the wide-open mouth. Gone were the smooth predator movements.

"It's perfect," Amy said, and Tanya could tell that she meant it.

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