Glory stood up.

"Alright, I think I'm going to go collapse in bed now," she said. Clicking on the screen of her phone, she used it as a flashlight.

Léan nodded, and curled up on the couch as comfortably as he could. He was very relaxed, and prepared to go to sleep. He pulled the blanket up over his chin.

Heading back into her room, Glory practically fell into bed. The late night caught up to her, and she was asleep almost immediately. She slept deeply all night, and fairly late into the morning. She woke up to some splashing from outside and she sat up so she could look out her window.

Archie was outside again, laid out in the shallows and taking a nap. He hadn't slept all night; most likely, he and Damon were up celebrating all night and fussing, though quietly, over Eden.

Léan was still completely out, sprawled out on the couch in a funny position.

Glory opened her window, ignoring the fact that she could see her breath in the chilly air.

"You waiting for something out there?" she called.

Archie leaped up from his spot, where he'd dozed off. "Huh-whaaaat? Oh. Hi! I was wondering if you have anything waterproof that we can wrap Eden up in. She's cold."

"Waterproof?" Glory asked. "I don't know, I'll have to look. Why does it have to be waterproof?"

"Babies of our kind can't go above water for a week after they've been born. They'll get sick," Archie replied, frowning. He didn't want her to get sick. She might not survive getting sick so young.

"No, I meant would a regular blanket be alright, if I found one?" Glory clarified. "Does it have to be waterproof? Because anything I could find, short of a plastic tarp, would get wet, and a tarp is rough and stiff and not what you're looking for."

"It would have to be a blanket that could last a week underwater," Archie replied, tail swishing back and forth excitedly. "When a week passes, all three of us will come here to return the blanket."

"I'll see what I can find," Glory said. "I'm sure I have something that will survive a bit of waterlogging." Getting up, she went to dig in her closet. She knew she had a few spare blankets in there that she wouldn't miss. After a few moments, she dug out an old cotton blanket, worn soft with use. She hadn't used it in ages, so she wouldn't miss it for a week or so. Leaving her room quietly, she padded down the hall. She heard Nana in her room, talking quietly, so Glory figured she must be on the phone. Quietly, she went out the back door to the beach. The sand was cold to her feet, but she ignored it. She went to the shore and held the blanket out.

"Here," she said. "I haven't used it in a while, so I know it won't be missed."

"Thanks!" Archie took the blanket, then smiled and waved at her. "Bye-bye! I have to get this back, now!" He ducked underwater with the blanket rolled up in his arms, heading back to their hiding place.

Once he left, Glory quickly made her way back inside. She was glad to get off the cold sand, and she brushed her feet off before walking into the house. She could still hear Nana on the phone, and she caught a few fragments as she walked by.

"...-ary...think you...should discuss this..."

Glory was curious, but she knew that Nana would tell her if it involved her, so she went back into her room.

Léan was still asleep. He would probably wake up in the next twenty minutes or so. He hadn't slept long, but he'd slept deeply.

Glory jumped slightly when there was a knock on her door. She turned to see Nana in the doorway with a phone in her hand.

"Glory... Clarissa wants to speak to you," Nana said. Immediately, Glory's mood went from cheerful to cold and she took the phone.

"Hello?" she said flatly. She could hear a bit of fidgeting on the other end.

"Gloriana?" her mother's voice finally asked. "Is that really you?"

"Who else would it be?" Glory asked. Her mother hadn't spoken to her in years, and frankly, Glory didn't mind.

"You sound like you've grown so much... How was your summer?"

"Mom, you haven't cared about my life since I was eight," Glory said flatly. "Why do you suddenly care now?"

"Your grandmother says you've been spending a lot of time on the beach," Clarissa said. "That you've made some... new friends."

"I have, in fact," Glory replied. She didn't like how her mother sounded like she knew exactly what she was talking about. "What's it to you?" She heard her mother hesitate.

"I think..." Clarissa started hesitantly, "I think It's time I told you something that I should have told you all along." Something about how she said that set Glory on edge.

"What do you mean?" she asked. Clarissa took a deep breath, and then began to explain. As she listened, Glory started to go a bit numb from shock. She couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Gloriana?" Clarissa asked when she finished. This jolted Glory out of her thoughts.

"We need to talk," Glory replied. "Because that's just not something you should hold out on." With that, she hung up the phone, not able to deal with talking to her mother anymore.

Léan had woken up a minute or so before Glory had gotten off the phone. He was curled up on the couch like a napping kitten. He hadn't heard any of the conversation between Glory and her mother. He had noticed when Nana had walked through the living room, but nothing else. He stretched himself out, finally, and yawned, widely.

He didn't see Glory anywhere, so he assumed she was still sleeping, or occupied.

Glory didn't notice when Nana left the room. Her mind was spinning, and her mood had already tanked completely. She sat on her bed with her back against the wall and her knees up against her chest.

Nana went into the kitchen to make herself some breakfast. She noticed that Léan was awake, and decided to take a bit of a gamble.

"I think perhaps you should go and talk to Glory," she suggested. "I think she needs someone to talk to who would understand, and that person isn't me."

Léan frowned, then stared at the wheelchair that had been left in the room. "I have no idea how I'm going to get myself on that, and it wouldn't be possible or practical for me to try crawling there..."

He studied the wheelchair for a long while, puzzled. He wanted to go and help, but he couldn't figure out how to properly use the strange contraption in front of him, or how to get on it.

Going over to the couch, Nana moved the chair so it was facing the couch and engaged the hand brake.

"Brace yourself on the arm rests, and pull yourself into the chair," she said. "The brake will keep it from rolling until you pull the lever back up."

Léan attempted to, and then nearly fell. "Gah..." He shook his head, and then was finally able to vault himself over onto the chair. He fumbled with everything for a moment, and then he grabbed his tail and tucked it under him. He spent the next few minutes simply attempting to master controlling it, circling around the living room.

Nana went back into the kitchen, leaving him to practice. She hoped he would be able to talk to Glory. Glory was understandably upset at her mother, but Nana knew that Glory wouldn't want to talk to her.

Glory sat on her bed, just kind of staring into space as she thought. Absently, she twisted her ring on her finger, just to give her fingers something to do. She couldn't believe her mother would keep something so important from her...

Léan sighed in relief once he got the hang of controlling the wheelchair. He turned it around and quietly wheeled down the hall, trying to remember the way to her room from memory. When he reached the door, he paused and then knocked. "May I come in? I've been practicing with the chair...thing..."

Glory looked up at the knock on the door, and was slightly surprised to see Léan.

"Yeah, you can come in," she said. She moved over a bit to make room on the bed. She looked at the phone lying on the bed and set it on her nightstand before she could give in to the urge to throw it across the room.

Léan took his time, trying not to die en route. He wasn't that comfortable with the chair just yet--he would need more practice. When he did reach her bed, he raised himself up off the chair and plopped down next to her, looking concerned. "You look like something is bothering you."

"Hm?" Glory glanced at him. "Oh... I just talked to my mom. First time in years, and she decided to drop the biggest bombshell in history right smack on my life." She rested her chin on her knees, not sure if she wanted him to hug her or not.