"Well, my tail isn't all dry anymore...so I feel better," Léan responded, almost automatically. He swatted a curious crab that had scuttled up to investigate him away.

Glory grinned when he flicked the crab away.

"First the horsefly, now the crab... you're just not having a good day with all those little biting things, are you?" she teased.

"I tend to attract little pests like that." Léan paused, then chuckled. "Crabs, biting flies...my brother...those sorts of pests..."

Glory couldn't help but giggle a bit.

"Be nice," she said half-heartedly. "He's your brother, after all."

Léan shrugged. "He's used to being referred to as a pest. Mostly by me, but that's just good fun, since we get on each other's nerves constantly."

"That's why I only put up a token argument," Glory said. "I figure neither of you really minds anyways." Another cold breeze blew off the ocean and she stood up. "Alright, I'm getting cold, so I'm going to head inside for a bit."

"I'd better get some food for myself. And I'll go scent-hunting while I'm out there," Léan yawned, reluctantly floating back into deeper water. "I will see you later." He ducked down and sped out to sea.

Damon stayed where he was. He was starving...but far too tired to join Léan in his hunt.

"Alright," Glory said. "My bedroom window is open enough that you'll be able to get my attention, if I'm still awake later." She watched him go, and then turned to go inside where it was warmer.

Damon stayed where he was for a good five minutes after Glory walked in, and then he finally, grudgingly, budged up from his spot and waded out to catch some slow, low-lying fish.

Glory went into her room, bypassing Nana, who was sitting in the living room watching TV and doing some sewing. Closing her bedroom door, she turned on her iPod system and turned the volume up. Setting it to shuffle, she listened through a bunch of her favorite songs, singing along with them. She wasn't half bad, in her own opinion, but she also wasn't about to sing for anyone else, either. She surfed the internet for a while on her laptop, killing some time.

There was some splashing outside about a half hour later. Léan had returned early from his hunt--he'd eaten plenty already, it seemed. He must have returned for some other reason...

((Silly posting glitch.))

Glory jumped slightly when she heard the splashing. It was dark out by now, so she couldn't see anything out on the beach. She opened her window a bit more so she could look outside.

"Alright, you've got my attention, what's up?" she called.

"I found the scent," Léan replied, simply. He didn't want to raise his voice so that it could reach her any more than he needed to. He figured she would want to keep it quiet from her Nana at this point, anyway...

Glory's heart skipped a beat when he said that.

"You did?" she asked. "That fast?" There was no way it was that easy...

"It's quite faint. I found it in the coral reef nearby. But he hasn't been there for over a month. There is a trail, but it seems long and spans over quite a few miles...out into sea. If you want to come with me, you will need a boat and supplies...I am not sure how long it will take me to follow the trail," Léan explained, pleasantly.

"I don't think it would be a good idea to go with you," Glory replied. "I have school and work here, remember?"

"There are two problems with me going by myself. I don't know how long I will be gone--it might be dangerous, and I might not be back for quite some time-...and once I find him, he may not believe me. And he might not come back, which I'd like him to do. Either you need to come with, or I need verifiable proof to show him that you exist and you are his...I'm not sure how we would go about doing that..." Léan mused. He seemed worried about going alone.

"I already figured you might be gone for a while," Glory said reluctantly. "I didn't have to like it, but I figured it would happen. And I would think that at least mentioning Clarissa would get his attention, if nothing else. You met my mother, she's not exactly a forgettable person. I have no idea what else to offer as proof, though..." she trailed off, brushing her hair back over her shoulders as it got into her face. "One of these days I'm going to figure out how to keep this all out of the way," she said, mostly to herself.

"I still doubt he will come back with me." Léan seemed at a loss as to what to do. Mermen, especially nomadic mermen, tended to be hostile to other, unfamiliar nomadic males. If Glory's father was nomadic, which it seemed he was, he wouldn't allow Léan to come near him, let alone trust him.

"I'm not sure what to do, either..." Glory said, running her fingers through her hair. Then she paused, looking at the black strands around her fingers. "Now there's an idea..."

Léan tilted his head slowly to the left. "Where is an idea?" he asked. It was rather awkward wording, but his point was evident. He watched her studying her hair, absently.

"It just occurred to me," Glory said, "and correct me if I'm wrong... But what if I gave you something with my scent on it to take with you? Like some of my hair or something?"

"That might work," Léan replied, contently. He was nervous of going alone, but if he had to, he would. He didn't want to drag Damon or Archie along--he couldn't tear them away from Eden just because he was insecure.

Leaning over, Glory took the small pair of scissors from the mug of pencils on her desk. Reaching behind her, she picked a lock of hair that wouldn't be noticable if it was missing and carefully snipped it off. She tied the long lock into a knot so that it wouldn't come apart and then made her way outside to give it to him.

"Would this be good enough?" she asked.