"No, no, you're not annoying...I was just wondering..." Léan laid himself out a little more to get comfortable and then closed his eyes, intending on resting for a while. He knew he wouldn't rest once he heard the sounds of the boat...he was terrified of boats.

Alice watched him lay out to rest. So she followed suit. She scooted out into the sun and laid down in the sand. She closed her eyes and let the sun warm her skin as she laid there. It was about thirty minutes later that she heard the sound of the boat off in the distance. Alice rolled onto her stomach and looked up at Léan knowing he wouldn't be relaxed anymore.

Léan relaxed with her, resting his head on his arms, for quite a while--he wasn't counting how much time passed...and then he heard the boat.

He jolted up, shoulders shooting up to his chin. His eyes were wide, as he fearfully scanned the surrounding area out of habit. Boats meant bad news. Boats were terrifying...

Alice scooted back up next to Léan. She would have put her hand on his shoulder, but she didn't want to scare him more. "It's alright Léan, You're fine." She said in a calm and soothing voice. She looked out at the boat and saw her brother pulling some tiny bottle blond behind him. There were a few other kids in the boat too. They would be out there long enough to scare any other mermaid away.

Léan's tail flicked back and forth, slowly. "...All right..." he replied, finally. "I believe you. I'm just not that fond of boats. Boats are bad news for my kind...my...my mother was pulled up in a human net, onto a boat. I never saw her again..."

His voice trailed off, and he looked down, shamefully.

Alice listened to him and felt her heart ache for him. No wonder he had been scared of her. She felt bad but she was unsure of what to say. "I'm sorry," She started. "I'm sorry for alot of things. Like your mother dying, and for the careless way humans treat your kind and your home. I wish i could change it. I wish most people weren't heartless bastards." She spoke softly not wanting to offend him or upset him, but what she said was true, it was how she felt. She wanted to reach out and put a hand on his shoulder in a comforting way, but she drew her hand back and let it fall to her lap. She didn't want to scare him anymore.

Léan cleared his throat, slowly. "...Well...all right, I do believe you. I just wish more humans thought like you. Humans as a whole are very selfish creatures...there are some good humans, but...still."

He looked up towards the sky. "Intelligence does not always bring goodness with it."

Alice nodded. "I know exactly what you mean. I wish i could change peoples minds about some things, but humans are self centered. They don't listen." She looked over at Léan and gave him a small smile. At least he knew she was being honest and he seemed to be opening up more. It was a small plus amidst the crummy conversation.

Léan relaxed more and more as time went by, though he still leaped up in fear whenever the boat accelerated rather rapidly out in the water. Bigger boats, such as fishing and whaling vessels, tended to scare him more...those were boats that had big nets and pulled in merpeople by accident...

Or on purpose.

Alice watched him jump every time the boat revved its engine. She scooted a little bit closer to him. "Don't worry, i won't let them hurt you." Alice meant it too. She would do everything in her power to keep Léan safe. She put her hand on his as gently as she could and only left it there for a moment before she pulled it back. She was trying to be comforting, but she knew how much he didn't like to be touched so she didn't want to push her limits.

Léan flinched just a bit when he was touched, but he didn't pull away--a good sign. He closed his eyes, his head leaned slightly in her direction. He stayed like this for a long time, just not moving at all.

He didn't know exactly how long it took...but soon, the boat was returning to shore, sounding like it was low on gas.

Alice noticed the small improvement in their relationship. She let a small smile on her face. She watched as James drove the boat around the rocky outcrops of the cove that sheltered their beach and he disapeared from view. She looked back over to Léan. "Well, the boat is gone. You can get in the water now." She offered him a smile. "Do you need any help?"

Léan nodded, and then pushed himself up slightly so that he was in an easy position for her to carry him, or drag him--whatever she wanted. "I can't get there on my own...I will do some scouting and see if the other merman is gone for good."

Alice turned around in font of him and move her hair out of the way. "Alright, Wrap your arms around my shoulders." She was going to carry him piggy back style, she was just worried about touching his tail, she didn't want to hurt him anymore. Alice knelt down like that until Léan made the move to touch her. It was all in his time, she didn't want to scare him.

Once he was finally on her back she carefully maneuvered down to the water. She waded in up to her waist before she let him go, wanting to make sure that the water was deep enough to cover him.

Léan hesitated, unsure of the way she wanted to carry him, but he eventually surrendered and reached up to wrap his arms around her neck. Once he was hoisted up, he clung to her for dear life.

The water was a welcoming feeling on his dried-out tail. He dropped from her at once, fluidly sliding into the water. He ducked under and swam in a few slow circles.

Alice smiled as she saw him swim around her. She dropped to her knees so that the water was about neck level on her. She dunked her head under the water once to get it wet and then she smoothed her hair back out of her face. "Are you feeling better now?" she asked with a grin when Léan finally poked his head up out of the water.

Léan had a big grin on his face. "I am...my tail is better, certainly..." He was shaking it out slightly, and some of the excess scales were slipping off of it. They were pretty and shone in the sun...

Alice looked down curiously as she saw a few scales slip off his tail and glint in the sun light. Tentatively she reached a hand out and picked up one and brought it up out of the water. "Is it alright that you are losing scales?" She looked at him worried.

"The dried-out scales fall off," Léan reminded her, idly. "It's fine. They just peel...that's all." He didn't seem to find her fascination with his scales strange...they were pretty, after all.

"Well that's good i guess." She let out a sigh of relief as she let the scale go and watched it sink down to the sand. "I wouldn't want my friend being hurt....well any worse than you already are that is." She gave him a smile. "So, how do you check if that other merman is around?"

"I have to search around the perimeter...do a quick swim-around," Léan replied, idly. "It shouldn't take me more than an hour. While I'm doing this, you might want to eat or do something worthwhile..."

"Alright, if you say so." She turned to walk back to the beach but stopped and turned back around. "Just don't get in anymore trouble okay? I'm going to worry about you." She admitted, her cheeks a bit red. "I guess I'll meet you back here in an hour then." She gave him a smile.

"I'll meet you back here," Léan agreed, before slipping underwater and heading out into deeper waters. The sea was eerily calm...but he kept his guard up while he searched the perimeter.

Alice quickly made her way up to the house and made herself a sandwich. after eating it and making sure that all her family was still gone, she wondered back down to the beach. She tried to relax, but the thought of the other merman out there scared her. She didn't want Léan to get hurt again. Alice walked over to the tail of large rocks where she had first met Léan. She waded out into the water some and climbed up onto the furthest rock out in the water. She just sat there scanning the ocean, looking for any sign or something.

Léan returned a few minutes after she'd wandered out onto the beach. He was a bit farther out at sea, floating on his back with his eyes closed. He was sunning himself, out of boredom.