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"I gathered that much," Glory said dryly, referring to the suitcase. "Thanks for letting us use the pool."
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"No problem. Just lock the door. If anyone knocks, you can shoo them away," Viktor yawned, stretching his legs out.
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Glory studied the tank for a minute or two.
"Now..." she murmured, mostly to herself, "how to get you out of the tank..." |
Viktor watched her for a moment, then stood back up, semi-unwillingly. "You want me to help? I'm tall enough to reach over and in the tank."
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"You're still hungover," Glory pointed out. "I bet if I whistled, your ears would start bleeding. You should just sleep."
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Viktor frowned. "You'll need a ladder, then...no idea where you'll be able to get one, though. I think I can still help...as long as I stay balanced. I'm not stumbling or anything, am I?"
True enough, he seemed perfectly fine. |
Glory thought for a moment, turning a few ideas over in her head. She wasn't sure she liked the ladder idea, since she was uneasy with carrying Léan and climbing down at the same time. She really didn't want to drop him.
"Léan," she said after a minute, "this might sound dumb, but if I pushed the bed over here, would you be able to hop out of the tank onto the bed?" |
Léan stared at her for a long moment, like she was insane. "...? Won't that drench the bed with water?" he asked, matter-of-factly. "I don't want to do that. It would be a difficult jump for me to make, and I might end up destroying the tank."
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"Like I said," Glory replied, "might sound dumb. I just don't like ladders much. Probably because I don't like heights much, but still. We'll figure something out."
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Léan nodded, hovering around near the middle of the tank. Even leaning over the edge of the tank caused to it to tilt a bit, unsteadily. Something would need to be done about that.
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Glory said down, thinking. She could see how unstable the tank looked, which made her even more reluctant to get up next to it on a ladder. Suddenly things looked difficult.
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Viktor seemed to be thinking, as well. Once again, it looked like hard work--he wasn't fully rid of alcohol just yet. "Maybe...a net would work?"
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"A net?" Glory repeated. Somehow, that didn't seem like a good idea. She remembered LAST time Léan came in contact with a net... It wasn't pretty.
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Léan had recoiled at the mention of a net, and a deep scowl had set itself on his face. Of course...
Viktor had no idea that Léan's mother had been killed by a human net. "...Unless it's the only option, please...no nets..." he murmured, a strained tone to his voice. He hated nets... |
Glory saw Léan recoil, and she didn't blame him.
"Just nix that last idea," she said to Viktor. |
Viktor nodded, frowning. He reluctantly began to form another plan in his alcohol-laden mind. "Hm..."
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"And I'm all out of ideas now," Glory muttered.
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"Maybe you should just let me try to lift him. Even if I do stumble, I'll make sure he falls on the bed and not the floor," Viktor promised. "I can't think of anything else..."
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Glory looked at Léan.
"It's up to you," she said. "I'll go with whatever you want." |
Léan gave Viktor a funny look, like he didn't fully trust him. Then, he heaved a great sigh. "I'll allow it...but only if you supervise," he informed Glory, nervously.
Viktor stretched his arms and strolled over to the tank, glancing at Glory. "Whenever you're ready..." |
"I'm not going anywhere," Glory said, standing up again.
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Viktor rolled up his sleeves, then reached over into the tank, once Léan made his way up to the top. With a bit of effort, he heaved him up out of the tank, almost losing his balance. But, he regained it quickly and stood there, looking funny with a dripping-wet merman in his arms. "Where do I put him?"
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At Viktor's question, Glory went and opened up the giant suitcase.
"I can dry it out later, it's no big deal," she said. |
Viktor gingerly set Léan down in the suitcase, then scrambled off to the bathroom to grab a towel.
Léan shook his hair out, then ran a hand through it, frowning. "That was...semi-unpleasant. At least I'm out, now," he murmured. His voice had, of course, lost that echo-y quality it had had when he was underwater. |
"It's better that I wasn't the one to try to go up and down that ladder," Glory pointed out. "I didn't trust myself not to drop you."
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