It was nearing 1 o'clock when Shade finally dragged himself out of bed and got dressed.  And while he was still a good guy, his good boy dressing habits had changed.  He grabbed the first pair of baggy jeans he saw and a pullover long-sleeve shirt with a zipper in the middle.  He liked this shirt, it let him see the tattoo he got for his sister better.  Now that he was thinking about the tattoo, he realized he hadn't heard from Sky in a while, last postcard said she was in Brazil.

He grabbed his faithful messenger bag, still the one he used in school, but now it was a little faded and there were a couple worn spots on the shoulder strap.  Shade grabbed a random bunch of pictures, headed out while stuffing them in his bag, and locked the door behind him. He put on his hat and walked towards the entrance of Knockturn Alley.  He hadn't actually been in there before, but then again, he didn't have the need to.  However, he had a plan for today and so he headed down the alley until he found the place he was looking for.

There it was, the Inkwell.  He'd not gotten his tattoo at a professional place, his was done at home from a guest at his parent's bed and breakfast, guy had some talent and so him and his sister had both gotten one that day.  Free of charge too, only because Shade's parents didn't charge the guy for his room either.  Taking a calming breath, he opened the door and walked in.  The atmosphere was almost perfect for what the place was. 

He didn't call out hello or anything, just wandered around for a minute before deciding a "Hello" wouldn't hurt.

Dietrich was downstairs when he heard the entrance bell jingle lightly upon entry of a patron. He glanced at the ceiling, looking away from the pencil piece he had been working on in the inking parlour. It was an idle thing - lush roses and thorns that a frequent customer had owled ahead about for next week. The wizard set down his sketchbook and headed for the stairwell.

       "Hello?"

It was a young fella, wandering around the reception floor like he only had half an idea of why he was there in the first place. Dietrich grinned in greeting. "Hey. You looking to get inked?"

Kinda early in the day for walk-ins. Those usually came in at night, when the thrill of being spontaneously needled seemed a darker and more attractive one. He went around the counter where their records were usually kept, glancing at the newcomer curiously.

Shade looked at the person who had appeared behind the counter and got a little nervous for a moment before he remembered why he was here.  "No, no ink today.  I was actually wondering if you could use some help."  He stepped closer to the counter.  "I'm Shade, by the way, and I was looking for a job, but no one really wants to hire an artist, so I came here."  He hooked his thumbs into his pocket.

"I just decided to go for it and ask if you might be hiring someone."he finished as he adjusted his messenger bag.[1]

1.	OMG, that's horribly short. I'm sorry.

Shade? He guessed people named their kids all kinda things. Dietrich leaned his hip against the counter, arms crossed, as the kid explained what it was he came here looking for. A job. Didn't seem to mind it was in Knockturn either - but anyone can get used to the place, given enough time.

"I don't hire just any artists. This place has standards, y'know?" he jerked his head at the general interior of The Inkwell; they were a well-established parlour even before he came to own it.

That didn't mean he wouldn't consider new blood. Would be nice to get more time to himself, with the wedding coming up and all that. "Got any pieces I can look at? How's your charmwork?"

Shade shrugged off his messenger bag and winced as it fell immediately to the floor.  'Sheesh, I don't need to look like an amateur punk,' he thought to himself.  He picked it up and pulled out the few random drawings he had grabbed before he left his place.  They were a bit rumpled, but you could still see the images[1] just fine.  "Here's what I grabbed, but I have more if you want to see them." Shade walked forward and set the drawings down on the counter next to the man.  Try as he might, he could not remember the man's name.

"As for my charm work.  I won't lie, it could be better, I was always better at Transfiguration than Charms, but although I'm a bit rusty, I catch on quick." He sounded like someone just out of Hogwarts, begging for a job, at least to his own ears he did.  "My sister was better at Charms than me." He mentally smacked himself, this guy didn't want to know what his sister was good at.  He couldn't help it though, she was on his mind all the time, being his twin and all.

1.	refer to Shade's polyvore from his first post

Dietrich accepted the rumpled drawings with a snort, looking over them with a deceptively mild eye - yeah he had some natural talent going on but he'd need work if he wanted his stuff on people's bodies. The older wizard handed Shade back his work, and then moved around the reception desk to pick up a pack of cigarettes from behind.

He'd ignored most of the other things the kid was claiming.

"I can teach ya better charmwork. You won't be inking nobody until you're charming daffodils out of your ears." Dietrich lit a cig with his wand. "Pay isn't much, 'specially if you're still learning but it'll get you by."

They made good money at The Inkwell anyway, and didn't have much rent to pay on account of the lease still having a good number of decades on it. He offered his free hand to shake. "Dietrich Eisenberg. You call me Dietrich. When you wanna start?"

Shade looked a little sheepish as he took back his artwork and shoved back into his messenger bag.  He was shocked that Dietrich was offering him a job already, even if it would be just to learn the trade.  "I can start anytime really, not doing much with my life these days." Shade said and rubbed a hand across the back of his neck. 

He rubbed his shoe across the floor as he stood there, "I'm really not picky about how I start out either." he said and then mentally smacked himself.  If that wasn't the easiest way to get the worst job, then he didn't know what was.  "I mean... nevermind.  Sorry, I'm a little nervous." Again, another mental smack... he really sounded like a total goofball right now.

"Monday," he told the younger wizard as soon as he knew the kid didn't have much else going on. "You come in at three in the afternoon and you leave before the night rush hour at midnight, got that?"

Dietrich began to mess around with some of the record books behind the desk, taking out a couple of thin ones before hunting down a self-inking quill. He didn't look up as he scribbled down the new apprentice's name, though the corners of his mouth twitched in amusement at how clearly anxious Shade sounded. They could fix that. All it took was getting used to.

"Don't worry about it. You got a last name?" blue eyes flicked up, narrowing a little. "Real or fake, doesn't matter."

A thrill rushed through Shade as the older man decided to give him a chance.  Monday... he'd better start drawing again to get in some practice before then.  "I'll be here."

He watched him as he looked like he was searching for something and pulled out a quill.  "Name's O'Connor."  He absentmindedly rubbed the tattoo he had over his heart with his sister's name in it.  Maybe he should get another one or a few.  He never really minded the process.  Actually, he'd wanted more, but his parents had put their foot down at only one.

[1]

1.	I know it's short, but I'm at the library and people were staring at me...