Léan nodded idly. "I'm going hunting...I'm still hungry."

With that in mind, he swam around in a circle, eyeing her. "Will I see you again? Or are you going to pretend this never happened?" He thought she would chose the latter. What sort of human in their right mind would want to see him again?

"It's not like I know anyone else around here," Glory pointed out reasonably. "There's no point in pretending this didn't happen, I'm not going to be able to forget about it. Of course, if you're not comfortable, that's your choice." Standing up, she stretched. "I don't want to get rained on, so I'm heading inside."

Léan arched an eyebrow, tail swishing back and forth with interest.

"I never said I was uncomfortable. Just tense. You're not afraid of me?" he asked, skeptical. He'd heard stories of humans befriending his kind in the past, sure...but those friendships, or even courtships, rarely ended happily.

"Why would I be?" Glory asked. "I take one step back and I'm on dry land." A low, soft rumble of thunder made her glance at the growing storm. "...Right. I need to close the windows and make sure my car is closed up."

Léan's eyebrow went up further. This was a bit of a surprise.

"...I see. I'm going to leave to hunt...that, and I have a meeting to attend to..."

Today was his 'Meeting Day.' Once a month, he would reunite with his twin brother, who lived about two hundred miles up, a few miles away to catch up.

"You do that," Glory replied. Turning, she headed inside, closing up the windows as she went.

"Gloriana?" Nana Sue asked. "What are you doing?"

"There's a storm rolling in, Nana," Glory replied. "I'm just closing the windows. Where are my keys?"

"On the mantle," Nana Sue replied. Grabbing them, Glory quickly went outside and made sure her car was closed up. She was just closing the car door again when the sky opened up and started to drop fat raindrops on her. Squealing in surprise, she raced inside.

Rain was something Léan loved and welcomed. It made the water cooler, and sometimes warmer.

As soon as she left, he swam back out into the deeper parts of the ocean, hugging the land without being seen. He swam for quite a while, grabbing and snacking on tiny fish as he went.

His twin was even worse with humans than he was, but he liked to watch them--that was something they shared, along with their names. Léandre Arcturus and Arcturus Léandre...

Glory went about the rest of her day as normally as she could. The storm raged outside, rattling the windows and the power lines. A particularly large flash of lightning lit the house, and the electricity went out.

"I think that would be our cue to turn in for the night," Nana Sue quipped. Glory laughed.

"I think you're right, Nana," she replied as she dug out a flashlight. Bidding her grandmother good night, Glory went into her room. She wanted to open her window so she could hear the ocean again, but she didn't in favor of staying dry through the storm. It was a pity, though... the ocean was soothing.

Léan wasn't too far away from that beach--he'd been swimming at a leisurely pace. He continued to do so, a content look on his face.

He heard the storm overhead, of course. Storms tended to comfort him, as long as he was far enough below the surface that the churning swells didn't affect him.

As he looked up to the surface, he failed to notice where he was going, and before he knew it, all movement was halted. He froze, looking around him a bit frantically, and then he tried to get away. Once again, a human net from a fishing boat, down below the surface, had caught him.

Of course, the boat above him was having some trouble, due to the swells. He was hoping it might sink so that he could get away.

After tossing and turning for a while, Glory finally kicked off the blankets and got out of bed. The storm outside was finally starting to taper off, so she felt safe enough to open her windows again. Leaning on the windowsill, she looked out over the choppy ocean. Way out, behind the storm clouds, she could see the faintest glimmer of stars. She sighed softly. This was something that city living just didn't offer.

Lucky for Léan, the boat was having a lot of trouble. Finally, the ship leaned lazily to the left and capsized, spilling all its contents overboard.

The net snapped from the pulley on the ship, and Léan was able to swim away. The net was hanging off of him, and due to the rough material it was made of, it had cut into his skin, creating lattice-style cuts all over his body and tail. Fearing he'd bleed to death, Léan sped back to the beach.

He managed to make it there, though he was bleeding into the water so badly it was turning red at the surface. He crawled up onto the shore, exhausted and bleeding, and collapsed there, breathing heavily. He wasn't in good shape, and he hoped she would see him before he bled to death.

Glory's gaze sharpened when she saw something come out of the sea and collapse on the shore. What in the world...? A lingering flash of lightning lit the beach, and she could see that it was Léan, and he wasn't looking good.

"What the...?" she gasped. Fumbling with the flashlight, she ran to the linnen closet and grabbed the package of bandage rolls, and then ran outside.

He looked really bad, and Glory wondered what had happened. Carefully, she did the best she could to patch him up.

"What did you do to yourself?" she asked softly, if only to break the tense silence.

Léan could barely move, and he was breathing heavily. He didn't respond, at first--instead, he tried to get out of the net.

Most of his upper body was free, but the net was still bound around him, cutting into his skin.

His voice was a weak rasp. "Net...fishing boat...capsized...please, get it off of me..."

Glory nodded absently, already working on it. The fishing net was made mostly of fishing line, which meant she couldn't break it with her hands. After a few moments of fruitless trying, she bent down and broke a few of the lines with her teeth. After that, most of the net fell away easily. Carefully, she tried to bandage his cuts.

"Well, I'm sure we'll hear about the boat once word gets to the news stations," she said. "The water is warm enough, and I'm sure they had life rafts or something... Idiots, I bet they thought they could handle the storm."

Léan simply laid there, still for once, regaining himself. He often had nightmares about getting caught in fishing nets, pulled up, and possibly raped or killed. He was near helpless on dry land.

A thought suddenly struck him, and he lifted his head weakly. "My brother..." he murmured, attempting to turn and head back out into the ocean. He was far too tired and hurt to go back out there, though...

"I think not," Glory said, gently laying a hand on his shoulder. "At least take the time to rest first. The storm isn't even completely over yet." To emphasize her point, she pulled at her now-soaked nightclothes. "I wouldn't be surprised if you attracted every shark from here to Japan on your way here. Wouldn't it be best for you to rest a little?"

Léan gritted his teeth a bit, but his arms wobbled beneath him, and he collapsed onto the sand again, coughing.

"...Fine. I suppose you're right," he agreed grudgingly, barely moving. "But there is one problem. Where do I rest? I certainly can't stay on this sand for too much longer, lest I make it look like colorful clay."

Indeed, the sand was beginning to turn a brilliant shade of crimson around him. The water certainly wouldn't be any better...

"What about your little cave under the rocks?" Glory asked. "I can't think of any other places, short of the bath tub inside... And I would rather not give Nana a heart attack."

Léan was still breathing heavily, almost completely still.

"I'd rather not be in water," he replied, seeming tired. "That won't help my wounds...I need to rest on dry land..."

"Well... I might be able to explain to Nana, if you want me to take you inside..." Glory replied slowly. "That's the only thing I can think of. I don't know the area well enough, I've only been here a couple of days. Nana is trustworthy enough, I think..."

Léan grumbled to himself. He certainly wasn't in the mood to meet more humans.

"If there isn't a window or something you can sneak me through, then fine...but don't expect me to be sociable...I'm in pain," he agreed unwillingly, closing his eyes and wincing a bit.

Even talking hurt--the cuts on his torso stung, like they were on fire.

"I think you're entitled to be not sociable," Glory replied. "It's the middle of the night, Nana's still asleep. I'll explain things to her in the morning. And if you think I can lift you through a window, you're crazy. Through a door is the best I can do. Do you trust me enough to let me get you inside?"

Again, Léan grumbled. He still did not care for humans, but this one didn't seem to be hostile.

"...Go for it," he mumbled after a moment of contemplation. "But if you drop me, be prepared for my verbal wrath..."

"I won't drop you," Glory assured. Carefully, she picked him up off of the sand, trying not to aggrevate his cuts. She made her way as quickly as she could inside, pausing every so often to make sure she didn't wake Nana Sue. Once she was sure that her grandmother was still asleep, she went past the woman's bedroom and into the bathroom. Hitting the light switch with her shoulder told her that the electricity was still out from the storm, so she felt her way to the bath tub with her feet and laid Léan in it as gently as she could.

Seeming relieved to be out of the storm, Léan didn't protest the whole way inside.

He kept his mouth shut, as well, when she lowered him into...what did she say it was...the bathtub? He'd never seen one before, and he couldn't really see it now, due to it being dark. But, it was comfortable in it, and he shifted a bit to get comfortable, curling his tail around him and using it as a pillow.

The dry air did feel better on his cuts, as he had expected, and he closed his eyes, settling down to rest...

"Thank you," he yawned, tired.