"Like I said, it's probably none of my business," Azilis said. "She's old enough to make her own choices, and if she's anything like her mother, she's made her choice already."

"...Er...I-I am afraid that I cannot bring that up...I will have to let her bring it up again..." Léan admitted, sheepishly. "I clam up. I have problems talking about things like this, or about my feelings. I'm not quite sure which is worse for me..."

"And do you think she will bring it up?" Azilis asked. He'd only known Glory for a little while, so he honestly didn't really know how she behaved normally.

"...That...I am not sure of." Léan's mood dampened a bit. He wasn't sure if she would bring it up. If she was very determined about it, there was a chance she would try to bring it up...even more so if the house was empty.

"Then perhaps you need to bring it up yourself," Azilis said. "It doesn't take a genius to see that she adores you, and she is probably just as uncomfortable with your separation as you are." He was referring to Glory going to school, something that Clarissa had told him about.

Léan's shoulders shot up to his chin again. There was an alien, almost fearful look in his eyes.

...Was he...afraid...of things like that? Being wary to bring it up was one thing...but if he was afraid, something must have had to have happened to make him feel that way. He was recoiling, almost like he was afraid he was going to get hit or something.

"There's something else, isn't there?" Azilis asked after a moment. The younger merman was acting strange, and he wanted to know why.

Léan stayed frozen where he was for a moment. Then, he rapidly turned tail and fled, out into the rocks. He almost bowled right into his brother, who had curiously wandered out to see what was going on.

Archie watched him swim away, frowning and looking concerned.

"Well, that was... unusual," Azilis murmured. It wasn't hard to see where Glory got some of her speaking habits, even though he'd never been there to teach her.

Archie peeked back in the rocks for a moment. When he didn't see him, he turned back and blinked at Azilis, puzzled. "What happened? Did something bad happen?"

"I'm not entirely sure," Azilis replied still trying to figure out what had happened himself.

"What were you talking about?" Archie asked, instead. He only knew of a few topics that scared his brother. Léan was not easily scared.

Azilis explained what had gone on, hoping to get some sort of explaination.

Archie nodded once he was finished. "Anything like that is sensitive for him. He's never had a mate, never had a genuine interest in it, though he has had crushes...he just flat-out fears stuff like that."

It seemed he was trying not to let on anything about why he was so afraid, for some reason.

"There's something else there, isn't there?" Azilis asked. Maybe this time, he would get some sort of answer. "It's obvious they adore each other, I'm not sure I see what the problem is."

"Er..." Archie bit his lip. He and Léan rarely talked about their past, but Azilis seemed persistent...and he did deserve an explanation. He took some time to explain what had already been explained to Glory. But he went a bit farther.

"Our father was just fine until our mother died...I was pretty much the hyper child, and the timid child. That came from his side of the family--the fear of humans, the hate for 'em. Léan takes after our mother. Our father took a special dislike to him, since he reminded him of our mom..." He trailed off, bowing his head a little bit and looking skittish. He was hoping he wouldn't have to explain more.

"I see..." Azilis said slowly. He still wasn't sure how that pertained to Glory, but it was obvious he wasn't going to get any more answers right now.

"That, combined with..."

Archie proceeded to explain about what had happened with Selena in the past. About how Léan had been hurt, and betrayed.

"...He's afraid that she will hurt him...that he will hurt her...and that everything will be ruined, if I had to fathom a guess. My brother has problems expressing his emotions. He doesn't even want to think about them. It's hard for him..."

"Anyone can see that she would never hurt him," Azilis pointed out. "I've barely known her for a few days and I can see it."

"He knows that. But he can't accept it. He's terrified...still, even after all this time," Archie sighed, eyes downcast. "I don't understand..."

"They're both going to be miserable like this until one of them says something," Azilis said.

"I'm well aware of that...I don't think it's going to be him. He's afraid..." Archie looked back out over the rocks. "I don't like seeing him so scared. He's never scared."

"And she's already left for the day, I think," Azilis murmured. "Clarissa said that Glory probably won't be back until the afternoon. I'm inclined to believe her, since she would know best."

Archie sighed, wrapping his arms absently around himself. "I...should go look for him. I don't like the thought of him being alone while he's upset."

"By all means," Azilis said. "I'm not stopping you."