Shiller and Natasha arrived near the farthest ice cave. Shiller set his chair down and motioned for Natasha to sit as he crossed the ice cave to arrange another chair.
Natasha sat in the first chair, unwinding the tangled fishing line. "Indeed, partnering with you was a good decision, Doctor. The group has been completely charmed by the joy of catching fish, there's no trace of gentlemanliness left."
"You have to be patient with these gentlemen who don't get the chance to fish all year round, it's their rare opportunity to reveal their wild side." Shiller walked over to pick up his own fishing rod, took off his gloves, and started to organize the fishing line.
Natasha appeared to be lowering her eyes to adjust her fishing rod, but her attention remained on Shiller's hands, particularly the veins that were occasionally exposed when he was pulling the fishing line.
"Lady, what are your thoughts on fishing and hunting?" Shiller, seeming casual, asked while baiting his hook.
"It depends on the context." Natasha had baited her hook and was now fixing her fishing rod. She stopped her movements, as if recalling something, and said, "The beauty of fishing lies in waiting, while that of hunting lies in pursuit."
"Generally, I prefer movement, to have control in my hands." Natasha slightly raised her nose, revealing a hint of wildness beneath her full and luscious lips.
"Or to put it another way, the pursuit of blood excites me. Threading through streams and woods, finding every possible trace, finally catching the dying prey, tearing them apart, transforming them into my own energy. Primitive and brutal, yet adrenaline inducing."
"What exhilarates you the most, the kill?"
"No." Natasha shook her head and said, "I never deliberately torment my prey and find screaming grating. I prefer to end them swiftly, a sharp thrust to the throat. Neither do I take any interest in the corpse."
"To be precise, as I gradually comprehend their traces, I can imagine their diminishing chances of survival. The power to kill grows gradually in my hands as I move forward. This sense of control fascinates me."
"The control over another's life is the ultimate control." Shiller concluded and continued, "When hunting, the ignorant prey always hopes for survival, oblivious to the imminent danger. But at some point, you know it's already dead. This information and the hierarchy make you feel superior."
"Very accurate, Doctor." Natasha smiled and said, "A rather violent way of seeking pleasure, maybe that's why I've been able to make the Black Widow renowned."
"Are the majority of your prey male?"
"There's a small portion of females as well." Natasha shrugged and said, "The number is small due to personal preference, most are for mission purposes."
"The majority of them are just disposable objects for amusement, but there are a few that made a deep impression on me."
Natasha flashed a playful grin. The suggestive look in her eyes hinted at her uninhibited demeanor, but once she mentioned that those few left a deep impression, Shiller knew, it was not about sex.
"So, let's talk about fishing, Doctor." Natasha initiated another topic.
Their conversation was like a chess game, where they took turns to move pieces. But the ease of the conversation masked the competitiveness, making it appear as simple chitchat.
"I prefer fishing to hunting." Shiller looked up at the fishing line shimmering in the sunlight, "The hunter understands the prey, the angler understands oneself."
"People often say, anglers are wrestling with their own patience. The fish are never our opponents, they will bite if you are patient enough."
"But it often requires some sophisticated philosophy as well." Natasha pointed out, "Choosing the right rod, the right bait, and the perfect spot at the right time."
"Correct." Shiller nodded and said, "This is what makes fishing interesting. Everything is done in preparation. When it comes to the climax, everything is hidden beneath the water surface. I would rather call it civilized violence."
"Interesting." Natasha commented on the idea and continued, "So violence masked by civilization is no longer violence?"
"I wouldn't say that, but I'd think this process of masking transforms violence into something else. The emphasis isn't on bloody conflict, but on carefully setting the stage, patiently waiting, and the indescribable excitement when you finally reap the expected harvest."
"Doctor, you always seem to be hinting at something." Natasha looked into Shiller's eyes and said, "Are you also hiding truths beneath the surface of these simple words?"
"Aren't we all?"
"I should point out that I'm here fishing with you, not hunting with me." Natasha immediately regained control of the conversation, "You have to be more explicit to allow me to appreciate the allure of fishing. Otherwise, I'll have to bear with the bragging of Nick and Steve about their catches."
"What do you want to hear?" Shiller asked.
"More about emotions."
"But I don't offer emotional consulting."
"That is curious." Natasha suddenly burst into a radiant smile, squinted her eyes looking at Shiller and said, "I've never heard a psychologist say that. Don't most patients come for emotional consulting?"
Shiller pushed his glasses up again, seemingly trying to find an appropriate position for them on his nose bridge, then he had to say, "So, I'm not a doctor."
"Then who are you?"
"I am Shiller, obviously."
"Ha, yeah, back to the multiple personality thing." Natasha spread her hands, took out a pack of cigarettes from her jacket pocket, and said, "What do you represent? Violence?"
"Do I look violent?" Shiller leaned backward, resting against the back of the chair, looking up at the trembling fishing line at the tip of the fishing rod in the wind.
"You look very civilized, too civilized." Natasha tossed her cigarette pack aside, exhaled a puff of smoke, and said, "Even a bit overly gentlemanly. If it were the previous doctor, he would have gone to help Professor Charles resolve family matters or jest with those two fishhead guys, without waiting for my invitation."
"Why would you think the previous doctor isn't interested in you? Do you think your charm isn't enough to impress me?"
The question sounded suggestively, but Natasha knew clearly that Shiller was adept at burying the truth under words filled with subterfuge, and not just a thousand feet deep.
The beautiful female agent tucked her red hair behind her ears and said, "The key to him not being interested in me doesn't lie in me, but in him, or should I say, you."
"What about me?"
"You won't get any confusion, sadness, or anger that you expect to see in others from me. I have accepted all that reality has given me in a straightforward manner, and even found some fun in it. We are of the same kind, so you are not interested in me."
"What about the sexual aspect?"
"Don't joke around." Natasha expelled another puff of smoke, her gaze fixed on Shiller's eyes, saying, "For the craziest madman in the entire universe, physical pleasure isn't even one-thousandth as exciting as the completion of your complex plans."
"And what now makes me somewhat uncertain is..." Natasha lowered her gaze, removed her cigarette from her mouth, her hand resting on the edge of the chair; her fingers lightly tapped on the end of the cigarette. After shaking off the ash, she finally said, "Some of the focus I've never felt from you is making a return, making you more like a normal person."
"Then what did I originally seem like?" Shiller, seemingly intrigued, leaned back in his chair, looking at Natasha's face and asked curiously.
"A... thing." Natasha tucked in her chin slightly as she thought out loud, "Like nature. It exists around me but is rarely noticed. All the sides of you that I see are just a small part of the entirety, and the rest is so vast that it doesn't hold any attention."
"Do you think it's better to focus on great things? Or not?" Shiller turned to grab the thermos in his bag, asking seemingly inconsequential.
"I'm not sure, but at least you look better now." Natasha held her chin between her thumb and index finger, scrutinizing and even staring at Shiller unabashed.
"You let us all see a person called Shiller again, not just an existence."
"This isn't entirely a good thing, ma'am." Shiller unscrewed the cup lid and said: "When nature shows its mighty power to you, it means a disaster is about to happen."
Natasha didn't seem nervous at all; she flicked off her ash, lowered her head and chuckled, then with a playful glint in her eyes, turned to Shiller and said, "Compared to seeing the real you -- Schiller Rodriguez, disasters don't amount to much. The calamities I've faced in the past didn't make me clearly see anything marvelous… Care for a smoke?"
Shiller saw the look in Natasha's eyes cast from beneath her red hair. Her gaze wasn't really twinkling, and her invitation wasn't really inviting, he was about to reply when the fishing line on top jolted violently.
"We've got a bite."
In Schiller's bedroom on the second floor of Hell's Kitchen's Psychological Clinic, Loki's fingers stopped on the spine of a book on the bookshelf. The book was the "Complete Book of Norse Mythology".
Seemingly moved by a will not her own, Loki took the book down, only to find it distinctly different from most of the other books on the shelves; it was older, showing more signs of wear.
Loki opened the first page of the book, where a sketch was drawn of the Father of All Gods, wielding thunder, leading all gods. Odin looked very heroic, as always.
But beneath the picture, there was a line made with ink that had long since dried -- "A great king, a failed father. But the former is neither the cause nor an excuse for the latter."
Loki's eyelashes quivered, and her thumb pressed hard on the first page, leaving a thumbprint. Then, she rushed to erase the mark with magic, nervously glancing around as if worried she might be caught.
Then, she flipped a few pages further, and found an image of Thor, with another note: "Will be a great king, but he might prefer to be a good brother and father."
Loki felt her heart pounding in her chest like a drum, she swiftly turned the pages to find her name, above which she saw a sentence.
"Will never be a great king, but she loves her brother and her father more than she loves the throne."