Work Text:
“Just a lil’ more…lil’ more…hey, hold still! How am I supposed to work with you wiggling?”
May offered a series of playful clicks, sensing the humor in the human’s tone. She continued squirming around in Axl’s lap as a brush tried to run through her messy brown hair.
“Oh, this a joke to ya, eh?” Axl smirked, managing to snip a little more of the girl’s hair off so it lined up with the rest. “Well, jokes on you, but I finished, anyway! What’cha think of that?”
The dolphin clapped her hands, flopping back onto the floor and easily slipping back into her open tank. She slapped her tail against the surface a few times for good measure, and swam back down.
“Oi, Jackie!” Axl turned to check on his co-worker. “Need a hand?”
The girl flashed a smile back at him. “Nah, I’ve got him! Finally.” In one hand, she held a fish treat just out of Sin’s reach, while the other trimmed his shaggy blonde hair. When the section was finished, she tossed him the snack. “Nice job, buddy! Almost done!”
Hair-cutting day was one of the more enjoyable chores at the aquarium. It was also one of the few that both Raven and I-no were willing to come down and help with. The added manpower made it easier to keep track of everyone, so the mood tended to be a lot more mellow, with less worry or something going terribly wrong before anyone could intervene.
“I never even know how to cut this right.” I-no grumbled, trying to pin Jam’s hair back as the carp squirmed in impatient annoyance. “Wouldn’t it be easier to keep it short?”
“Jam likes her hair long.” Axl replied. “If you cut it short, she’s gonna kill you.”
“Fine, fine. At this point I’m surprised she hasn’t gotten caught in anything.”
“Oh, give them some credit. Mer are very clever things.” Raven paused from giving Potemkin his buzzcut to go help I-no. The whale shark remained calm despite the interruption, staying propped up on his muscular arms by the tank’s edge. “I know you train yourself to think from a scientific standpoint, but you probably wouldn’t want to be pulled around, either.”
“Heya, El!” Jack-O started pulling out the lionfish, trying her best to keep the snipped-down barbs from snagging on anything. “Just a trim today, alright?”
Elphelt clapped her hands together and swished her tail, spraying droplets of water everywhere. She practically pushed herself against Jack-O, who flinched and held the scissors away.
“Someone’s excited! Be careful, don’t want either of us to get stabbed.”
“How has his hair gotten so long again already?” Axl was already busy trying to trim Ky’s hair. Unlike Sin, he was calm and stoic, sitting perfectly still as he was brushed.
“It’s weird, but he seems to like it longer lately, anyway.” Jack-O replied, getting started on Elphelt. “Ever since Sin showed up, he’s like his hair down his back.”
“Setting an example for the kid, maybe?”
“Maybe. Not sure what having long hair accomplishes, but-” she cut herself off, going back to brushing the pink-haired fish. “Relax, El, I’m being careful.”
The floor was quickly being hidden behind piles of multicolored hair. It was an odd sight, and Raven briefly had to run off and grab a broom to start sweeping the wet mess up into something a little more organized.
“That short enough for you?” Jack-O paused her cutting to get a better look at her handiwork. “Want it shorter, El?”
The lionfish ran webbed fingers through her hair, figuring out where it ended. She thought for a moment and started wiggling back towards her tank, chirping in approval.
“Taking that as a yes, then?”
“Oh, you’re done?” Axl glanced up. “Do us a favor and go grab the, ah, the purple can.”
The girl immediately stiffened up, then sighed as she slumped. “Fine. It’s in the supply cabinet, right?”
“Yeah.”
While everyone was busy finished up, she ran off towards the large storage closet in the corner. After less than a minute of searching, she came back clutching an old shrimp can.
I-no had an equally unpleasant reaction as she saw the can, expression growing suspicious and irritated. “You didn’t cheat, did you?”
“Sheesh, relax, I didn’t look.” Jack-O jostled the can, making the four wooden sticks rattle inside of it. “No cheating, I know.”
Raven was the only one who didn’t look outright upset, instead kneeling on the ground with calm detachment. “I suppose the fun can only last so long…”
“So who’s going first?” The can was shaken again. “I know I gotta go last now…”
I-no managed to beat everyone else over to the can, snatching one of the stick out of it. She froze, letting out a relieved sigh as she looked over the plain, unmarked wood. “Thank god.”
Raven and Axl managed to reach it at the same time. The silver-haired man tutted, shaking his head. “The statistics are always the same, I-no. What’s the rush?”
“Hey, I’m not the one feeding the little devil today, so I couldn’t care less about whatever you have to say.”
“It’s just amusing.” Raven pulled a stick out. “Unmarked. We’re supposed to be professionals here.”
“Yeah, relax!” Axl said. “Figured you of all people-…”
“Ooh…” Jack-O flinched, hissing. “Sorry, buddy.”
The man clutched a stick like the others, but instead of plain wood, the tip was stained with purple marker.
“I- ehehe…” Axl went pale. “Hey, Jackie, don’t suppose you could-”
“Nope.” She replied simply, taking all the sticks back.
The four of them looked over into the tank, though the steel grate and rippling water. They caught a brief glimpse of violet for a moment, before Bedman noticed them watching. His response was immediate, baring his sharp saw-teeth and diving deeper down to find a place to hide.
“…This is gonna suck.”
“I’ll go get the tranquiliser gun.” Raven turned and headed for the aquarium’s stairs, pausing before he reached the door. “On second thought, I’ll bring the first-aid kit, too. Probably gonna need it.”