Léan seemed to see that. He cuddled a bit closer. "Perhaps you could try asking Viktor about Curry, now...and see what he says...we can stay here."

"Alright," Glory said. Taking her phone out of her pocket, she took a moment to think before sending the message.

Out of curiosity, how would Curry handle the... 'secret' about my beach? Humor me.

Viktor didn't take long to respond. He was bored, obviously.

You need his strength for somethin'? Viktor was quite sharp...it never failed. Not much scares Curry. So, at most, he'll need to sit down and drink something strong after finding out. He'd take it well.

Yeah, we want to manhandle someone into the tank, Glory replied. Stop reading my mind. And I'm thinking I should return that scuba gear to you. I don't need it anymore.

Haha, I don't need it back, if you want to keep it or sell it or something. You never know when it might come in handy. Viktor's chuckling could practically be heard over his texting. Weeellll, if you're looking to manhandle someone, Curry's your man. When do you need him?

I'll put it into storage or something, then, Glory replied. I have my own means of staying under now. Not sure if or when we'll need the manhandling, I'll get back to you on that.

Okey-dokey. Get back to me when you can, Viktor retorted, simply.

Léan, who could barely read English, was tilting his head. "...So...?"

"We'll let him know if or when we need Curry down here," Glory said, closing her phone, "and he'll talk to Curry for us."

"Oh...that's good." Léan closed his eyes. His tail was swishing back and forth lazily, the fin curled up slightly. "...Shall we rest a bit, and relax? Or should we try to talk to him?"

"It's up to you, really," Glory said. "Though if we talk to him, we might be able to convince him to let us sneak by and actually relax out there instead of in here."

Léan seemed frightened of being in the water near his father. Bad memories surfaced up in his mind. "...I...would not feel comfortable being anywhere near him in the water..." he murmured, softly. "I have been hurt and betrayed far too much to trust him in any way to stay away from us."

"I can tell you're not necessarily happy up here, either, but I won't argue with you on this one," Glory said, snuggling close to him.

Léan sighed. "I am less comfortable on land than I am in water...but at least...I am safe up here," he mumbled, in a strained voice. "I am not safe when he is nearby and free to move as he pleases. Maybe I am...but not in my mind. Never..." He slowly wrapped his arms around her, needing to be close. He didn't like getting upset like this.

Glory wrapped her arms around him, snuggling close to him and offering comfort.

"It's okay," she said softly. "I said I wasn't going to argue with you about it, you don't need to explain."

Léan let himself relax, finally. He closed his eyes, calmed down, now. "Okay...I'm better, now." He stayed as close to her as possible, liking the comfort he was getting.

Glory stayed close to him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're feeling better," she said softly.

Léan let loose a heavy sigh. "I...when it comes to him, I...just turn into that scared little kid again," he informed her, sadly. "I'm safe in here...so...I'll be all right." He paused. "Do you want to rest for a while? Maybe after a nap we can talk to him..."

"A nap sounds good," Glory agreed. It had already been a long day, and the two had gone through quite a bit, so she wouldn't be surprised if they both slept for a while.

Léan laid down, opening his arms slightly so she could join him. He was ready to relax for a while. "...If we do bring him in here, we will have to get your Nana used to the Song Of The Siren first..." he noted.

Glory laid down and snuggled into his arms immediately.

"That's going to take a while, though," Glory pointed out. It was one of the reasons she was so uncertain about the whole idea. She sighed. "He's just creating problems all around..."

"...We can cover the tank, as I suggested before, with a hard top of some sort," Léan mused. "It won't take her long to get used to it...resisting a stronger form of it, however, is different..."

"This is all assuming we can get him to agree to such a thing," Glory pointed out.

"True." Léan rubbed at his eyes. "We will have to get her used to it, anyway, though. Just in case..." He yawned, and settled down to nap.

Glory cuddled closer to him, more than ready for a nap as well. She fell asleep much more quickly than she expected.

Léan waited until she was asleep, and then he settled down, as well, drifting off into a surprisingly restful sleep, considering how close his father, and long-term abuser, was to him.