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"You're getting restless," Glory pointed out. She gave him a kiss. "Go. Head out to the reef, relax, play with the shark, something. I need to stay here, the twins will wake up soon and they're going to need feeding again, but you can go outside and unwind for a bit."
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Léan looked like he wanted to protest, but he suddenly thought better of it and sighed softly, standing up from where he was. Part of the problem with him was that he hated being rooted down to one spot for too long. He had been a nomad for most of his life. Staying in one place for too long...it was just strange to him, and made him feel uncomfortable.
He headed outside and, after quickly shedding his clothes, fled back into the water. |
Glory knew he didn't like being rooted down, but there wasn't anything she could do but give him as much space as she could. The twins weren't near old enough to travel yet, and she doubted he would enjoy having them along anyways.
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Léan stayed outside for at least three hours. When he finally returned, he looked a little unnerved by something. When he found Glory, he quietly murmured something about not being able to find Aster, the stranger that had just recently been accepted into their territory.
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While he was gone, Glory worked on taking care of the children. She was in the nursery for a second time giving the twins attention when he got back.
"We can keep an eye out," she said. "If trouble starts, we'll take care of it. If any boats come into the area, everyone can scatter until it's safe again." |
Léan sighed and nodded, leaning against the doorway. His hair was still tousled and wet, seeing as he'd just stepped out of the water. He hadn't bothered trying to fix it up--he was far too lazy to do that.
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Glory gently settled Orion back down into his crib. Autumn was already napping again peacefully, and Glory was hoping she'd be able to catch another hour or so of sleep before they two needed attention again.
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((Time-skippin'.))
Winter soon passed. The months seemed to go more quickly, and as the months passed, Léan became marginally better with taking care of the children. He still had problems showing them affection, but he could now watch them properly while Glory was busy or sleeping and not get nervous. There were still no signs of Aster. For all Léan knew, he'd left. |
The months seemed to disappear to Glory, as well. Somehow, she'd managed to earn a diploma from school, so she didn't need to worry about it anymore and she could concentrate on her family. She hadn't heard anything about Aster, either.
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Now that the weather was warmer, Léan had taken to sitting on the rocks out on the beach and just relaxing and watching the ocean. That was where he was now. He was usually very relaxed when he was out here. Today, though...today he was sitting straight and scanning the ocean closely.
...Like he heard something... |
Glory was in the nursery with the children, taking care of them. The window was open, so she could hear if anything happened on the beach.
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Léan instinctively hurried back inside when he heard a boat in the near distance. Even when there wasn't any dangerous activity going on, he hated boats and preferred to be out of sight and earshot when one passed by.
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Glory heard him coming inside.
"Something wrong?" she called to him. |
"A boat is nearby," Léan hummed, rubbing his arms nervously. He always acted up like this when unfamiliar boats were in the area. Since the weather was growing nicer, more people were out boating and fishing.
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"How nearby?" Glory asked. More people were out boating and fishing, yes, but it was still strange to have a boat so near their beach. "Should we go out and take a look?"
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"Close. You can go out, if you'd like...I don't do so well around boats," Léan reminded her. He was already twitchy and nervous...if the boat pulled up to the beach--perhaps the crew was lost and needing directions--he didn't want to be out there.
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Glory went over and gave him a kiss.
"I'll go take a look," she said. "Keep an eye on the children? They're napping now, so they should be alright for a little while." |
Léan sighed and then nodded, with a nervous smile. He did not trust himself to behave like a human with a boat outside. He even started getting twitchy when boats passed by miles away and he could hear them...
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Glory went out the back door and went out to the rocks. She could see the boat a ways off, so she jumped out along the rocks until she was far enough out that a boat could get close without hitting the beach. Then she waited to see what would happen.
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Léan peered out the window at the boat. It was much closer than any tourist's boat would ever dare to venture...oddly, there were no signs of Archie or Damon, or even Lleu, near the beach. The three got along very well and had taken to hanging around the shallows together. Archie and Damon did not like boats and hid from one whenever it came close...
But Lleu...Lleu was not afraid of boats. He would hide boldly in plain sight and watch them pass with wonder in his expression. He was nowhere in sight...a sign that something was wrong? |
Glory watched as the boat got closer to the beach. It set her on edge, she k ew tourist boats never got this close to the shore. Something wasn't right.
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Léan watched the boat with an equal amount of wariness. For some reason, he wanted to chase it away from the shore. This was Glory's property, wasn't it? Couldn't she or her Nana chase the boat away...threaten to call the authorities?
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Glory watched the boat carefully.
"Are you lost?" she called once it was close enough she was sure the captain would hear her. |
The captain of the ship, a stern-looking young man with black-rimmed glasses, was a bit surprised to see her. "You shouldn't be outside, miss," he replied, simply. "Dangers lurk in these waters."
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"Dangerous waters?" Glory repeated. She looked thoughtful for a moment before shaking her head. "I've lived on this beach for a while. What could be dangerous around here?"
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