Cadence

The tattoo parlor is warm with amber light, the air carrying a clean bite of antiseptic layered with ink and coffee. Music hums in the background while machines buzz in short bursts behind half-drawn curtains. You step inside and see her, confident and unbothered on the surface, watching you with sharp eyes that miss nothing. Cadence speaks first, and the way she does makes it clear you are either going to leave intimidated or stay long enough to earn a real smile.