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Glory watched warily as he swam around the rock, ready to hop back onto the beach if she needed to. That was exactly why she chose a rock so close to the sand.
"You going to just keep circling all day?" she asked dryly after a moment. |
He paused after a long moment, then shot out backwards a few feet, away from the rock, and poked his head above the water with a grimace. It seemed like he rarely stuck his head out of the water. Instead of speaking, he simply stared at her, almost like he was looking directly through her. He had a constantly sour look on his face.
Well...it seemed he gave his foul attitude to Léan, as well. |
"If you think that's scaring me, it's not," Glory said from her place on the rock. "I take two steps back and I'm on dry land. I have the advantage there."
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The man sneered at her. "You humans think you are so fearless, so invincible," he retorted, in a deep, rumbling voice. "Take away your fancy technology and weaponry and you're nothing..."
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"I was actually referring to the fact that I can actually move around on dry land, but okay," Glory replied. She wanted to dangle her feet in the cool water, but she didn't dare. She didn't trust him not to pull her in.
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"I can move around on dry land just fine, thank you. I can pull myself along," he clarified, loftily. "You should put him back where he belongs. Even an imbecile like him doesn't deserve to be marooned on dry land."
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"I did what he asked me to," Glory replied evenly. "Besides, we're only here for another two days, at the most. Then we head back home. The islands are beautiful, but I still have a soft spot for home."
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The man's eyes narrowed. "It should be common sense for him to stay where he belongs. And home wouldn't happen to be where I almost followed him back last time, would it?"
Where Archie was...and where Damon, a sitting duck, was... |
"How should I know?" Glory retorted. "I don't know where you've been." Of course, she could make an educated guess, and the chances of her guess being wrong were pretty slim.
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"It is, isn't it? And you're protecting it for some reason," he mused, frowning. He shook his head after a moment, making a mental note to start heading back there as soon as possible to investigate. "I think you should stay away from my son. Failure or not, no son of mine needs to be near humans."
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"Again, I have no idea what you're talking about," Glory said. It was technically true, since he never specifically said the location, and she wasn't about to give away any details at all about Archie and Damon. As soon as she was back inside, she was going to call home and warn them to find somewhere to hide.
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"Whatever you're protecting must mean quite a lot to you." Suddenly, he dipped below water and hid underneath one of the rocks again. A sound began to drift up from under the rocks. It was what Léan had unintentionally been doing earlier...
But this time, it was purposely meant to try and hypnotize her, to coerce her into the water. And since it was from an older, more experience siren, it was a bit more mentally invasive, and alluring. |
The sound slipped into Glory's head, almost without her noticing. The only thing that saved her was that she recognized it, from hearing it before. It took a lot of willpower, but she managed to shake herself out of it.
"No," she said, "nonono, stay out of my head!" Standing up unsteadily, she forced herself back onto the beach. She didn't even stop to grab her things, she just ran inside and slammed the door. She laid a hand over her racing heart, and shook her head to try to clear it. "Bad juju..." |
Léan poked his head up out of the water in the tank, puzzled at the terrified look on her face. "...? What is it? You look frightened..."
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"I refuse to go back out there without ear plugs," Glory stated. Then she remembered that she left all her things out there, and her cell phone was with them. "...Which means I need to find ear plugs if I'm going to get my stuff." She shook her head. "Creepy mind-control songs..." she muttered.
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Léan's expression darkened for a moment before he shook the dark look off. "If he doesn't notice you out there...he won't sing. It should be fine if you sneak out there, or are in disguise."
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"I don't really care about the clothes and the towel," Glory said. "I just want my cell phone, because I need to call home. Apparently, he wants to take a closer look at our beach." Digging into her bag, she pulled out a pair of jeans and another shirt and tugged them on over her bathing suit. Glancing out the window, she weighed her options. Maybe she could be out and back before anything else happened... She had to chance it if she was going to get her things back.
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Léan's shoulders went up to his chin. Immediately, a look of worry washed over his face. He feared for his brother and for Damon, most of all, since he couldn't move too quickly at the moment. "I'd say that is rather important...maybe you should disguise yourself."
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"Already on it," Glory replied as she twisted her hair back. Looking around, she spotted a pair of Selena's sunglasses on the nightstand between the beds and she snatched them up. "I'll be back in less than five minutes," she said as she slipped the sunglasses on. They would have to do.
She made her way outside quickly, her entire attention on her clothing and towel sitting on the beach. Walking over to them quickly, she grabbed her things, making sure the phone was still in the pocket of her shorts. Once she was sure she had it, she ran back inside. "I can't believe that worked," she murmured as she went back into the room and took the sunglasses off. "That's the oldest trick in the book." |
Léan looked relieved once she returned, unharmed. He feared for her safety, and was glad to see that she was all right. "...He probably left already..." he realized, frowning. A new fear started to creep up into his mind.
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"It would still take longer than a phone call to get from here all the way home," Glory pointed out as she dug out her cell phone. Quickly, she dialed home.
"Hello?" Nana's voice answered. "Nana, I need you to take the phone outside," Glory said, foregoing the greeting. "It's important." "Hello to you too, Glory," Nana replied. Glory could hear the door opening, and then there was the beach breeze across the phone. She could hear the water in the background. |
There was a slight pause, in which there was light chatter between Archie and Nana. Then, Archie took the phone. "Hellooooo?" He sounded cheery, as always.
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Glory put the phone on speaker so that Léan could participate too.
"Hey," she said. "Think you can sit still for five minutes while I tell you something important?" |
"Oh, sure, sure. Is Léan there? Tell him I said hi!" Archie spouted, the sounds of splashing in the background. His tail must have been 'wagging' back and forth.
"I'm right here, yes..." Léan muttered. Archie's cheerful nature always felt strange to him. Why was he always so happy? |
"Archie, focus," Glory said. "Five minutes. Listen, you and Damon need to find a safer hiding spot than the rocks around the beach. Apparently, your dad has taken an interest in the beach. I tried to tell him there was nothing interesting about the beach, but it didn't work."
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