Amira grabbed onto her portfolio tightly and got off the crowded city bus. It's not like it mattered to any one else, but it mattered to her. She needed to know that she could do it by herself. That people wouldn't make their decisions based on who she was or who she was related to or knew. It's the reason why she came to Echo Park and put distance between them and her.

She wanted to stand on her two feet.

So that's how she found herself heading into the best tattoo shop in town, according to all of Hector's boys. That's how she found herself dressed in a white button down and her best pair of jeans. It wasn't much, but it was better than showing up in her regular street clothes.

She stood in front of the window and fixed her hair in the reflection, telling herself that things were going to be okay. She could make this work. Sell a few of her tattoo designs and walk out of the store knowing that she made her first legit dollar.

Something about that statement both worried, scared and elated her. Amira took in a deep breath and placed her hand on the door handle, realizing that this could be the turning point in her story.

Shit, she thought to herself, as she pulled open the door and stepped into the tattoo parlor.

Skittz was working the front desk, she'd finished her last appointment of the day so she was on walk-in-duty. She was working half-heartedly on some flash work while she waited. She lost track of time as she sketched, only looking up when the bell over the door dinged.

In walked a smoking hot girl, all tattoos and piercings, and Skittz couldn't help her eyes flickering appreciatively over her curved body.

The woman looked a touch nervous, even with the devil-may-care confidence she seemed to radiate.

"Hey," SKittz said with a smile. "Welcome to the Pin-Up Parlour, what can I do for ya?"

As soon as Amira stepped inside the place, she felt at ease. She was definitely digging the decor and the soft music playing in the background. Not what she was expecting based on the outside.

She walked up to the counter and was surprised. She was expecting a big dude with tattoos and piercings everywhere. Definitely not this girl. The girl with the nice smile and an even nicer tone or voice. Smiled back, nervously placing her portfolio on counter top, trying not to seem so obvious.

"Hi, my name is..." She began to whisper and her voice cracked. She took one look at the attendant and cleared her throat, realizing that she had to do this. She had men killed on daily basis. She ran one of the biggest gangs on this side of California. She could sure as hell convince this nice looking girl with bright hair and warm eyes to give her a god damn job. Or at least buy one of her tattoos templates... or not to make her cry.

"My name is Amira. I was wondering if you had a few minutes to give my tattoo designs the once-over. See if you like anything or if one of them interests you?"

Skittz watched the girl, giving her time to gather herself. She clearly wasn't new to tattoos, so she had to be there for something other than the usual. She raised an eyebrow in mild surprise as she finally spoke.

"Sure, Amira," she smile, stepping out from behind the counter. "I can't promise you anything, but we're always on the lookout for new talent."

She went over to the small couches that served as the waiting area and took a seat, pulling her knees up to her chest. She took the portfolio and flipped it open, looking slowly through the designs.

"I love the color on this one," she commented, smiling reassuringly at the nervous brunette. "And this grey-scale shading is really detailed," she added, her eyes tracing the lines.

When she finished looking through the designs, she placed them on the coffee table and looked over at Amira. "Are you looking to sell these, or are they for a design or what?"

Amira sat down and watched as the girl flipped through the portfolio, her fingertips following curves and outlining designs she had spent hours working on. She looked at how at home the girl seemed to be in the shop, how she seemed to fit in.

She pushed her longs bangs behind her ears and smiled softly. "Times are rough right now. I'm just trying to make some money doing what I love and know best," she said, playing with the silver rings that lined her fingers.

"I get that," Skittz nodded, understanding Amira's reasoning. "Okay, so I can't promise you a regular job or apprenticeship or anything, since this isn't my place, but I can buy some of these designs for the shop, and maybe more if you have them," she smiled.

"I can talk to the boss if you're looking for a more permanant job, though. As for the designs, you have two options. Either sell them outright, in which case you should decide how much you want for them, or you can get fifty per-cent of whatever we make from the designs. Up to you."

Her eyes flicked over the other girl again, curiousity getting the better of her. "Did you design any of yours?"

Her face perked up at the idea of actually getting a real job. She understood that the girl couldn't make any promises, but she knew that it didn't hurt going out on a limb. "I think the smart business thing to do would be to take the 50% option. As for my tattoos, I designed them all. Took a lot of time and obsessing over them, but I feel like I'm finally complete."

Amira stood up and unbuttoned her shirt. She stood in front of her clad in a small tanktop, which she pulled up high on her stomach to show her the tattoos that crawled up from her waist, greeting both of them. She held her arms out, proudly showing her tattooed sleeves like they were war wounds, or in her case, war medals.

She couldn't help the smile that was currently plastered on her face as she turned in front of the girl. She hoped that the details and color work would secure the girls decision to speak to the head honcho on her behalf. She worked hard on her designs and every now and then, she would look in the mirror and discover something she had forgotten about- like the quotes she had written in print so small that they looked like scribblings to a wandering eye.

She was proud and she hoped that the girl could see that.

Skittz watched as Amira proudly displayed her work. She couldn't help but admire the other girls toned curves, but she focused and kept her thoughts purely on business. Obviously who ever had doen the actual inking was skilled enough to do her designs justice.

"Damn," she grinned. "If you can come up with more stuff like that, the boss will definitely be interested in giving you a job. WE get so many kids coming in who think they can draw that it's actually a shock when we get someone who can."

"Do you mind if I make copies of these? That way I can show Juan when he gets back. Unless you want to hang around...?"

Ami giggled and pulled her shirt down. "Thanks. I started out doing graffiti with the neighborhood kids and eventually that took off on its own. Been designing tattoos and car decals ever since then," she replied.

She slipped back into her shirt and weighed the options. "I have nothing better to do around here. Don't really know anybody other than my cousin and his friends. Other than that I sleep all day, spend my afternoons drawing and my nights at the local races, partying. What about you?"

"Sweet," Skittz replied.

"Eh..." she shrugged, getting up and head back behind the desk. She was happy to have the company. "Work all day here, spend my afternoons cleaning up after my cousin," she smiled to show she was half kidding. "I spend a lot of time at the race too, although I have to admit I don't know much about cars. I just like the atmosphere."

She opened her sketchbook, flipping to the page she was working on, then looking speculatively at the other girl.

"C'mon over and tell me what you think," she said indicating her drawing. It was a classic gypsy, with some cobwebs and a goblet worked into the design. It had been bugging her all morning. "Something about it is...off. I can't figure out what," she made a face.

Amira was glad that girl was letting her hang around. She was glad to have some sort of female interaction. Lately, all she could seem to find was skanks at the races and the ones that Hector brought home every night. She needed the female interaction.

She looked at the design that was sketched out and bit her bottom lip. It was a beautiful design and yet the girl was right- there was something off about it. Amira picked up a pencil that was lying on the table and rolled it back and forth in between her fingers.

"I hope you don't mind," she said, as she reached over to the design and began to work on it. "It's an awesome design. Pretty bad ass. I think it might be the shading and maybe some of the proportions. Other than that, it's something I would be proud to have inked."

"Go crazy," Skittz grinned, happy for the input. Something you had to learn quick - especially when your designs were being place permanantly on someone else's skin - was taking advice from other artists and not letting your ego get in the way.

She watched as Amira worked, the design slowly turning into what she'd been going for. "High praise," she smiled. "And yeah...proportions are my weak point I think. I can copy like nobody's business, but when I'm working on something original, it always takes me ages to get it right," she admitted with a shrug.

"Do you think you can handle the front desk? It's sneaky, but if we can show Juan you can handle the admin, he might be more likely to hire you on," she reasoned. She was normally nice to people looking for work, but for some reason she wanted to put in the extra effort with Amira. "You can sketch up designs while you wait," she grinned, sliding over the pencil pot and some paper.

"I think I can handle the front desk. My family always said I was a people person. And I promise I'll work my ass off," she said.

She smiled wholeheartedly and had a good feeling about this. The girl was going out on a limb for her, something no one had ever done for her. They always judged her. Either because she was female, Hispanic, or because of her tattoos. But this girl..... She saw beyond all that.

She grabbed a piece of paper and a pencil, beginning to sketch an image of an angel. "You know, maybe we can hit the races one of these nights. I'll introduce you to my cousin and his friends. And then maybe we can go out for a drink or a dozen," she said.

Skittz grinned at Amira's promise, managing not top point out what a fine ass it was she was going to work off. Since the desk was covered, she could get get the last of the cleaning up done before settling down to work. There were a couple design books scattered at the different stations, debris of previous sessions, and a few of the kits needed to be restocked.

"That sounds awesome," she grinned. "I'll love races, but it's not much fun going by myself," she shrugged. "Sometimes I can drag my cousin, but I swear it's like pulling teeth. He used to be really into them, he was part of some hot-shot team or something, but that was before I got into it," she shrugged.

"Hot shot team? Which one? My cousin's trying to go pro on the circuit but he's been saying that forever now." She liked this girl. She seemed to be someone she could hang out with.

Amira smiled at her, realizing that in her world she needed all the female friends she could get.

"Dom Toretto's crew. Used to rule the streets. Or so he says," she smirked. Vince may not have been on the circuit for a long while, but his ego was just as big. "They got into some bad business, and V. ended up locked up for a while," she shrugged.

"I don't know much about the pro stuff though. Hell, I don't know much about cars period. I just like the electric atmosphere, all the different kinds of people," she grinned. "Do you race?"