Glory was still blushing as he spoke.

"Well," she replied, almost back to her default sarcasm, "that gives new meaning to the term 'love bite', I guess..."

Léan nodded, chewing his lip. He knew she wouldn't react well to the idea, which had been why he hadn't brought it up. He didn't know what to say to her, now, though he wondered what she was thinking.

Was she even still considering it, after hearing the process...?

Glory thought about what he said, turning the information over in her head. If she ignored the 'love bite' part of the process for a moment... well, even if she didn't ignore it, it still seemed worth it.

"I think I would still do it," she said softly, mostly to herself.

Léan stared at her, then coughed. "Are...you sure about that? We'd have to...you'd have to..." He looked incredibly nervous. If that was going to happen...he didn't know how to reach that point...

"I'm not talking about right now," Glory reassured him hastily, blushing brightly. "Just... maybe. Eventually."

Léan nodded, thinking that was the case, but he looked even more nervous, now, though he kept his tail stilled beneath him. He had absolutely no idea what to say...

((sorry, had to finish a paper))

The sun had finally set by this point, so Glory stood up.

"I should head back inside," she said softly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

Léan nodded. "I...yes, I suppose so," he agreed finally, seeming lonely already. Archie and Damon were off playing by themselves, still visible but farther out than they had been.

Glory saw his face fall and hugged him

"You know I'll come back," she said. "I haven't run off yet, right?"

Léan nodded wordlessly, leaning a bit. He still seemed a little lonely, but...he would be all right. As long as she did actually come back. He didn't think he could deal with being betrayed again. It was an ever-constant fear of his, no matter what the situation was.

Giving him one last hug, Glory made her way back to the cottage, making sure not to trip over anything in the dark. She would trip on her own feet if she wasn't careful. She was looking forward to a good night's sleep, but she felt oddly empty. Almost as if she wanted someone to cuddle with...

Léan acted quite the same. He hovered almost completely around shore, not wanting to leave for some reason. He didn't head back out--instead, he laid out on the rocks, still lingering by the shore...

Glory slept soundly, although she spent the night curled up tightly, trying to ease the yearning ache in her heart. She woke up in the morning snuggled deep in her bed, and for a few minutes, she debates whether or not to get up. Eventually, the sight of her dry bathing suit draped on the back of her door made her get up and get ready to head out to the beach.

Léan had spent the entire night in the shallows, curled up and sleeping in about thigh-high water. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep, because he couldn't settle, but he was asleep at the moment. He was curled up like a small child, his head resting on the end of his tail and using it as a pillow. The rest of his tail was curled around him.

Stepping out onto the beach, Glory stretched and walked quietly to the shore. She grinned when she saw Léan still sleeping.

"How cute..." she murmured to herself. Stepping into the water quietly, she made her way to him and nudged him gently.

"Rise and shine," she said softly.

Léan grumbled in his sleep, swatting at her hands wearily, but playfully, opening his eyes briefly and then closing them. It seemed he was doing this on purpose. He was still underwater.

Grinning, Glory leaned down and started to tickle his sides.

"Come on, sunshine," she said, "time to wake up."

Léan half-squealed and squirmed, finally uncurling himself and poking his head above water, shaking his hair out. "That was a dirty trick," he commented, idly, but he had a smile on his face and looked amused.

"It worked, didn't it?" Glory pointed out, sitting next to him. "I wasn't about to try to haul you upright, so that was the next best thing."

Léan grumbled some more, folding his arms across his chest. "Oh, fiiiine," he retorted, an eyebrow raised, tail flicking back and forth. "That would have been most unpleasant. I sleep like a sunken long most of the time. I'm not even fully awake, yet..."

He stretched his arms out, yawning.

"I know what it's like to sleep like the dead," Glory agreed. "I do it all the time. Nothing short of a hurricane can wake me up. Aunt Cassidy used to complain that she couldn't wake me up all the time." She shrugged. "Not that it matters now."

"Arcturus used to throw things at me," Léan chuckled. "I have a tendency to kick out and smack people away when I'm in too deep of a sleep and someone attempts to disturb me. I gave him a black eye. Without meaning to..."

"One of my cousins stepped on me, once," Glory offered. "She thought she broke my ankle, but I didn't even twitch. I woke up the next morning, not even so much as a bruise. I had no idea until she asked me how nothing broke."

Léan nodded, looking content, but a little tired. "Arcturus and Damon are still asleep...I believe," he mumbled, looking around for them, and even ducking his head underwater to check for them. "They are usually up by now..."

"You don't look so awake yourself," Glory commented. "You want me to leave you be so you can go back to sleep?"