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"If you settle any differences now...then...there won't be trouble later, as long as you don't challenge his position as alpha or anything. I'm sure not going to...Léan's a strong leader..." Archie closed his eyes.
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Emy assumed he was talking to Monty, so she stayed quiet. Though looked between the two sort of strangely.
Monty sighed and nodded slightly, raising a little. "Where's he at? I need to talk to him sooner or later." |
Archie looked at Emy curiously. He wasn't sure where his brother was. He would stay behind...he didn't want anything to happen, but it was between the two of them...
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Emy flicked her tail slightly, looking a little nervous now. "Well...I don't think you should go now...maybe later...he might get angry if I let Monty go over there when he said he wanted to be alone for a little bit." He didn't say that outright, but that's what she got from it.
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"It's not good to leave him alone when he's like this, though--that's the thing," Archie pressed, frowning. "It gives him time to dwell on things, and then his temper will flare up again...trust me, it's happened time and time again..."
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Emy seemed to not like the idea, but she slowly nodded. "Fine...I'll show you..." She started to move away, not even looking to see if he was following.
Monty smiled slightly to Archie, then nodded slightly. "Don't worry, I'll make this work." He gave him a quick hug, then followed Emy. |
Archie watched from a distance, worriedly, after returning the hug.
Léan was where he had been before. Just as Archie had warned, he had started to dwell on things again, and was just beginning to reawaken his annoyance when they showed up. He lifted his head, looking grim, wary, and unhappy. But he didn't make a move to attack. His stance was domineering, inadvertently saying 'I'm the alpha, and you are below me.' |
Emy looked a little worried and wary when she saw that he was starting to do exactly what Archie had warned about. She said nothing, just staying off to the side, flicking her tail slightly.
Monty nodded slightly to Lean, then just stayed there for a moment. "I have a question. I understand that you are very protective of your brother, but why get so angry just from someone trying to comfort him?" |
"I do not like anyone getting that close to him, unless I know them very well," Léan replied, his face twisted in a scowl. "I don't want him to be hurt. He's much more vulnerable than he thinks he is."
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Monty tried his hardest not to just blurt out Archie's secret, clenching his fists slightly. "There is something bothering him, I'm trying to make him feel better and take his mind off of it." He looked straight at Lean, trying not to make him feel threatened, but Lean was starting to make him angry. "I wouldn't hurt someone I cared about, not for the greatest prize." He looked at Emy a little, making her sort of flinch and look away.
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Léan felt threatened anyway. He straighted his back out, to look taller than he really was, and his tail raised up from the rock it had been laying on. "You have a week to prove to me that you aren't going to harm him in any way. If I see you do..." He didn't finish, seeing as he knew Monty knew the warning well enough.
He budged up from the rock, and then sighed softly, a sort of relief washing over him. |
Monty didn't see how a week would prove anything, but he just nodded slightly with a small irritated look on his face, then swam back to Archie. He didn't want to leave him alone too long.
Emy hadn't moved from where she was, sort of thinking about why Monty had looked at her at that moment. It made her slightly unnerved. |
Léan seemed to feel that the issue had been resolved, and he relaxed, closing his eyes. "...I will give it a week, and see what I think..." he murmured, quietly.
Archie seemed to have found a friend to play with. An overly-friendly puffer fish was hovering around above him, swimming in circles around his raised hands. Though they were terribly poisonous to eat, these particular fish were friendly to merpeople. |
Emy didn't really feel comfortable just being there, sudden terror overwhelmed her and she darted to Lean and clung to him. She was shaking slightly. It seemed to be something she'd been keeping in for awhile.
Monty found him with the pufferfish and it only made him chuckle softly at the scene. |
Léan blinked, and then wrapped his arms around her in a comforting manner, tugging her closer and gently entwining their tails together. It was an embrace of comfort, of trust.
Archie noticed him and waved, cheerily. The puffer fish, which eternally looked like it had a smile on its face, continued to poke and prod at him, wanting to play. |
Emy tried her hardest to keep in the terrified tears, then she just burried her face in his neck and shook slightly. Though, his comforting was making her feel a little better.
Monty chuckled softly and came close enough to get to him, but stayed back to watch the two play. |
Léan nuzzled her neck gently, and then closed his eyes. He accepted her clinging, and comforted her affectionately, hoping to make her feel better.
Archie eventually made his way over to Monty, the puffer fish following him. |
Emy calmed down mostly after a few minutes. She was still sort of frightened, but she tried to not show it. "I'm...sorry." She whispered softly, loosening her hold on him.
Monty grinned and looked at the two. "You two are adorable." |
Léan patted her back, softly and affectionately. "It's fine, it's fine..." he assured her, gently. He seemed to have calmed down a great deal.
Archie patted the puffer fish--since it wasn't puffed out, its spikes weren't pointed outwards, and it was not dangerous. "He's overly-friendly. Most of them are!" |
Emy smiled a little at Lean. She whispered softly as she rested her cheek on his chest. "I love you..." She never expected to hear it back, so she just stayed there enjoying his touch.
Monty chuckled a little more. "Seems like it." |
Léan's response was to bring his hand to her hair, and stroke it gently. He could not bring himself to say it. Not yet. He had to fully mean it...and when he was always so unsure of his feelings, it was hard for concrete emotions to develop.
After a few more minutes of play, the puffer fish grew tired, and swam away, back to the coral reef to rest. Archie chuckled at it, and then sprawled himself out. |
Emy loved the affection he showed her, not minding that he couldn't say it.
Monty smiled and watched the pufferfish swim away, then got close to Archie. "Hey." |
Léan closed his eyes, purring softly under his breath. He loved the contact, even though he usually wasn't fond of touch.
"Hi." Archie's tail flicked back and forth--a sign that he was happy to see him. |
Emy smiled and nuzzled his chest slightly. He was really purring, it was so cute. It was something she hadn't expected, like in the car a long time ago.
Monty smiled at him. "How're you doin?" |
Léan yawned, stretching himself out, and then closed his eyes. He was getting restless, staying in the same place. Nomadic tendencies were kicking in. He liked to travel...and it bothered him, staying in one place for too long. If everyone else wanted to stay, then he was fine with it...
"I'm okay. What about you?" Archie rested his chin in his hands, regarding him with curious eyes. |
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