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The ocean is considered unpredictable, fierce, merciless, unforgiving, vicious, and a number of other adjectives. It's a force of nature that simply couldn't be controlled, and anyone who tries to tame is doomed to be dragged under into it's vast abyss
Yet, there's another side to this force. A gentle one. When the sky is cleared once again, the surface of the gentle waves glitter and sparkle, almost as if diamonds had been carefully sprinkled by an unseen force. And on these days, the currents obey the guidance of the oars and drifts it's passenger across it's smooth surface. It's quietness is boundless with the occasional chirps of seagulls flying overhead, of course.
Schlatt has witnessed these two sides of the coin countless times before, and is somehow always able to appreciate the beauty of both. Weather it be the sound of heavy rain splashing against the flat surface of blue, or the faraway sound of dolphins leaping in and out of the water.
However, he couldn't say that his accomplice possessed the same recognition. She was halfway draped over the side of their shared boat, face buried in the crook of her arm.
"Don't fall asleep on me now, Katie." He lightly taped the side of the boat with his shoe, hoping to at least trigger a gear in that head of hers to start turning.
"M' not.." She mumbled sleepily into her pink sleeve, curling into herself a bit further to better suit the boats small structure.
Schlatt couldn't help the scoff that slipped through his lips. "You sure? Because you look pretty fucking comfortable."
"Just resting my eyes.. For a bit."
The ram let out a half-grumbled huff of disbelief, ultimately resorting to using one of the oars he has been relentlessly operating since they've started this voyage to splash her in the face.
Noticing the oar only a few seconds before the impact, Katie fell back onto the opposite end of the boat- nearly smacking her head on one of the built-in seats. "Fuck! Mr. J, you asshole!" She shouted loud enough for probably Poseidon himself to hear, resulting in Schlatt releasing the oars to clamp his hands over his ears. "Jesus! Scream it to the world why don't you?" He shouted back, nearly matching the same volume.
Katie ignored him, focusing her attention on her now half-soaked pantsuit, which she glared at like it had personally offended her. "You could've just tapped me awake like a normal person. You know that, right?" She sent a glare over his way as she removed her glasses, vigorously wiping them down with her sleeve in frustration.
"Yeah, well, something tells me that method probably wouldn't have worked on you." He tossed one of the vacant oars over her way, which she (thankfully) caught before it could smack her. "Now, get back to it."
Katie grumbled something under her breath and rolled her eyes as she positioned her oars back into place.
Schlatt usually goes on these sorts of trips by himself, just so he could enjoy the silence and calmness of the ocean. But, after Katie's little "incident", post-KFC disaster, he didn't exactly feel too comfortable leaving her by her lonesome with her own devices.
He knew full well that Katie was capable of taking care of herself. She was a grown woman after all, and he has certainly seen her scare away possible threats by waving her diamond knife around. He would probably have to teach her how to use that thing soon so she doesn't try doing her "spin attack"- which is where she just rapidly spins around with weapons in both hands.
Is watching her spin around like a blender blade hilarious? Oh, absolutely. But, he also didn't want to deal with having to patch her up every single time she does it.
Speaking of "patching up", his eyes darted to her arms. The gauze bandages he had used to fix her up after the fall had began bleeding through. That night, he almost went through the whole entire roll just to cover all her wounds.
Schlatt was no stranger to gore, blood, or exposed tissue, and was rarely ever bothered by it. He could probably watch someone get their head sawed off while eating a tomato. But, for some reason, he had felt his stomach drop when he first got a good look at all of her injuries.
For once, he was the one to break a moment of silence between them. "Katie," He huffed. "I'll have to change those out once we get on land." He motioned to her arms with his eyes, although she definitely could've pieced together what he was referring to without assistance.
"Oh," Katie paused, glancing down at her white arms with an expression Schlatt couldn't quite decipher. He was able to catch the faint glimpse of the slight eyebags she has been slowly starting to develop. "it's honestly not even that bad! I can't even really feel anything there anymore. So, there's no need." She boasted, cracking that cocky smirk he was far too familiar with. Something in his chest warmed a bit at the sight.
"That's nice to hear and all, but, that wasn't a question." Katie's head snapped up. "I'm changing those weather you like it or not." The blondes mouth hung open a bit, her rowing motions coming to a hault.
"Seriously, it's fine!" She waved a half- dismissive hand. "You're being too serious, MJ-"
"Don't call me MJ." He cut off.
"See! Too serious." Katie crossed her arms, a slight pout already beginning to form across her lips. Schlatt just rolled his eyes with an annoyed groan, deciding the drop the whole conversation before one of them had enough and threw them selves overboard.
An easy silence fell between them after that, the gentle billowing of the waves helping abate the atmosphere and ease the two of them back down from their small argument. The sun had already begun disappearing into the horizon, specs of stars beginning to scatter across the darkening sky.
"Katie, y'know which constellation that is?" Schlatt pointed up at the night sky, clusters of stars twinkling brightly for those who rely on them for guidance. "Pffft, of course I do! They call me the astronomer, you know that right?" She scoffed.
"Uh huh.. Then you can tell me it's name, right?"
"How about you tell me it's name instead? Just wanna confirm you know also so I don't confuse you too much."
"Octans."
"Damn, didn't expect you to get that! Smarty Mc Smarty Pants over here."
"Katie I'm lying, that's the little dipper. You can even see octans from here."
.....
"Okay, sure, maybe my star sighting skills have gotten rusty over time.."
Schlatt didn't push further, deciding to silently bask in his own small victory.
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"Ow- do you have to wrap it that hard?" Katie hissed, her free arm tightly gripping the arm of Schlatts couch. "Yes, that's how you keep blood from flowing out. Also, don't rip up my fucking couch."
"You can fix it, doesn't look too expensive."
"Are you calling me poor?"
"Well I'm not calling you rich."
...
Schlatt suddenly pulled the bandages tight around her arm, earning a sharp yelp and several curses from the blonde.