Léan nodded, unwillingly shifting out of the blankets. The scales on his tail were completely smooth...not dried out like usual.

Glory noticed that his scales weren't dried out like usual.

"That's weird," she commented. "You're not peeling."

Léan blinked, then stared down at his tail. He ran his fingers along the scales, slowly, but stopped that soon enough. The tail of a merperson was very sensitive, and too much of that could, er...arouse him a bit. "That is strange."

"That's really weird," Glory said. "It's actually drier than normal in here, because the air gets drier as it gets colder outside."

"Hm." Léan rested his head back down on the pillow. "...I'm not quite certain why I'm not peeling...maybe I'm getting sick?" His skin was hotter than usual--he was usually cold, but not ice cold.

"Don't ask me," Glory said. "I have no idea. It'll probably be good for you to be back in the water, though, right?"

"Probably. I should get some rest later, after we see if your mother needs Abrium," Léan asserted, smiling wearily. He shifted, so he could be picked up.

"Alright," Glory said, picking him up carefully. By this point, she didn't need to hit the lights as she went through the rest of the house. She was able to get from her room to the door without them, and she went outside quickly. It was cold, and still dark, since it was early, so she moved quickly down to the shore.

"I thought you said it didn't get cold around here," she teased gently as she set him down. She was already shivering a bit, but she ignored it.

Léan slid into the water easily. "I don't get cold," he responded, washing his tail over with water warily. If he was sick, he would have to watch himself. "At least, not that easily, anyway."

"It's freezing out here, so I'm going to go and take a really hot shower," Glory replied. She leaned down and gave him a kiss. "I'll see you later, alright?"

Léan arched himself up to make it easier for her to kiss him. "I will see you later." He seemed quite bummed that she had to leave. More so than he ever had been before.

Glory could tell he wasn't happy that she had to go, and it made her feel terrible.

"You know I don't like seeing you upset," she said. "Go find something to fill your time till I get back, it won't seem to long then."

Léan nodded, chewing his lip. He was determined to distract himself, since he didn't want her to get upset over him. "I will try to find your parents...I will see you later." He quietly slipped down into deeper water, to search for them.

Abrium was difficult to get. Archie had contacts in the nearest settlement, and could easily fetch some for Clarissa.

Once he was gone, Glory went back inside, intent on a hot shower and a clean, warm sweater. On a cold winter morning, there was nothing better.

Léan searched around for them, hoping they hadn't left, yet. He could fetch Abrium for her no problem, with his brother's help.

Azilis heard him coming before he actually saw him. Clarissa laid next to him, sleeping peacefully, so he carefully got up to see what the younger merman wanted.

Léan noticed Clarissa sleeping and kept his voice low. "She should take some Abrium--it's what's given to infants who can't see correctly underwater, if you don't recall. It will help her vision. Right now, it's probably blurry," he informed him, quietly.

"She mentioned something about that, yes," Azilis said. "Why do you mention it?"

"My brother has connections in the nearest settlement and can get it easily. He can be out and back in two hours--all you have to do is ask him," Léan offered, pleasantly.

"Alright," Azilis said. "Thank you." He paused for a moment. "You sound as if you've had to get it before."

"I have." Léan glanced upwards, back at the house. His expression changed for a split second from normal to sad, lonely...before it changed right back.

He hated not being able to spend time with her on land.

"Ah, I see," Azilis said. "I recognize that look."

Léan didn't answer him--the look on his face was enough to explain the whole story. One of them would have to change. Either himself, or her. It was inevitable.

The only known way to change merpeople into humans and replace their tails with legs was with the illegal potion that Léan had used to climb up on land with Selena, and that was only temporary...and not available anymore.

"It's probably not my place to say," Azilis said, "but if she's anything like Clarissa... She's already made her decision. Maybe you should talk to her about it."

Léan's shoulders shot up to his chin, and he flushed a brilliant shade of red from his cheeks to his ears. The problem was apparent. They'd briefly chatted about it, of course...but Léan clammed up whenever he tried to talk about it, or anything like it.