"What do you think, Lenora?"

"I think we've got plenty of time and I don't mind a bit of pain, but if the money's not that important to you, flip a coin?"

"I think I need to learn budgeting while I can. We'll go for manual, Eva."

"Alright then." 

She touches her quartz pendant, and a long couch made of black vinyl appears, along with a stool beside it. A bone tattoo-iron with a reservoir of shimmering black ink held in a crystal bauble appears on her desk.

"If my first volunteer will lay down?"

Lenora goes first, giving Thorn a thumbs up.

Eva lifts the iron, and settles onto the stool. 

"Turn your head away from me, please. This is going to sting." 

She presses the cold, smooth bone against the skin, and starts the needles piercing. They jab the  ink into a dark line beneath the skin, which Eva drags out into an elaborate pattern of three chevrons with flared edges, and a spike driven down through them. A mark of assured confidence in the face of magic that would make them more mutable. 

She has to pass over the spine a few times, always careful of the bone, but there is pain and there is drawn blood. After the tattoo is done, Eva passes her hand over it, and the red skin heals and settles. The blood vanishes a moment later. 

"Most of the pain should be over with," says Eva, "but it'll still be sensitive. Favor it for a few hours."

Lenora hums quietly during the process. "Can do. Will hair bother it? Got a mirror around?"

She manifests a pair of floating mirrors, simple sheets of silver, and places them so that Lenora can see. "Try to keep your hair off it, yes. It won't endanger the tattoo but it might smart if you let the hair irritate it continuously."

She manifests a second couch, and gestures to Thorn. "Your turn."

Thorn lies down on the second couch, a little anxious-looking. "I'm beginning to regret going the cheap way, but I can't back down after Lenora's already gone. Do your worst."

Eva brushes Thorn's hair aside and gets to work. 

Thorn hisses as the tattoo-iron passes over her spine, then visibly exhales. She endures the work less sunnily than Lenora, but she manages nonetheless.

Eva sets down the tattoo iron, and wipes injury and mess away with a single wave. 

"Same instructions as for Lenora."

"Thank you." 

She looks to Lenora. "How did I do?"

Lenora does her hair into a loose bun and admires her new tattoo for a moment. She'd never get something like this just for adornment, but if it's useful...

She holds Thorn's hand after the first couple hisses of pain. And kisses the top of her head when it's done. "Just fine. I'm pretty stoic. Tattoos hurt a surprising amount, though."

She smiles and ducks her head.

"I've never been a fan of needles. Vaccinations in the unit were always kind of fraught for me. But..."

"If I can clear my head from starsickness, it's worth some pain and discomfort. And I had you there with me." 

"Aww, that's a bit sappy, but aww." It deserves another top-of-head kiss. "And now we shall both be free of the sky's intruding notions of what we ought to feel. I only regret I didn't realize we could do this sooner."

"I think I get to be sappy about my lovely girlfriend. That's, like, a clause in the Girlfriend Contract or something." 

She stretches, goes to rub the back of her neck, stops. "That's going to annoy me all day, I can tell." 

"I reserve the right to do the same if I feel like it then. If you wear a loose hood or high collar, maybe that would help?"

"Maybe. I think I'll leave it for now." 

She brushes a hand through her hair and lets it fall. "Ugh. Still bugging me. At least the actual damage is healed, now my nerves just need to get on the same page. Still, we do what we can. I'll head out and get started purchasing an engine."

"I still have to finish working out. Here, take the coin. Can't hurt."

She digs out the Ancient Coin from her pocket and flips it to Thorn. "Thanks for the upgrade! Bye!" She says to Eva, walking out the door.

Eva laughs. "I like her."

"She's my girlfriend, of course you like her." 

She steps back out the door, waves casually to Lenora on the way past, and goes out into the city to seek engine bits and pieces. She'll start by inspecting and picking out a Spatchcock to buy later.

The one she found earlier with a solid hull but no propulsion is still there, and still costs 500 Sovereigns, totally empty. There are a few slightly more and slightly less dilapidated models in the 450-550 range. The slightly cheaper ones mostly appear to have cosmetic flaws or be missing a few fittings, nothing critical. But there's also a Spatchcock with... Most of an engine, selling for 750 Sovereigns.

It is so hard to avoid the temptation to just buy a Shivering Jemmy and Levitate it into place for the rats to look at. But her visible magic is foreign and dangerous to use here, She goes around and confirms the prices from the other stores for a scout, an engine, fuel, supplies, nice uniforms...

She has done the math once before; she double-checks it.

The math still checks out. 500 or a bit less for a hull, 350 for the engine, 60 for installation if she uses the Clatter Rats for fitting. 40 Sovereigns in food and 40 in fuel for eight days' travel, assuming about 15 mouths to feed. Ordinary ratings want at least a Sovereign a day of pay - and she needs at least four hirelings to run things safely, making six total including her and Lenora.

Abraham's Engineering doesn't sell partial engines, but perhaps someone will have an idea just how much needs to be fixed in the Spatchcock hull with "most" of an engine.