"You're welcome," Glory replied. "Go on to sleep. I'll probably end up camping out in here once I manage to find my bedding again." Stretching, she felt some of her joints pop back into place. "I'll figure out how to explain to Nana in the morning."

Léan nodded wordlessly, noting in the back of his mind to prepare himself for a possible 'old human female freaking out' sort of wake-up call.

"I will do that..." Her hospitality was still surprising to him. She'd come out in a raging thunderstorm to help him and even invited him into her...nest? Cave? Home? He wasn't quite sure what to call it...

His weariness was making his thoughts clouded, so instead, he curled up more and drifted off into a surprisingly cozy sleep...

Glory padded quietly into her room and took the pillow and blanket from her bed, and her cell phone from the nightstand. Hitting a button, she illuminated the screen, and used it light a flashlight to make sure she didn't trip on anything as she made her way back to the bathroom.

Her pillow and blanket made a surprisingly comfortable bed on the bathmat. Setting her phone down next to her pillow, Glory fell quickly into sleep.

She slept lightly, too aware of both Léan in the room and Nana Sue in the next. Finally, when she woke up for the third time around seven, she got up and walked quietly into her grandmother's bedroom.

"Nana..." she said softly, shaking her grandmother. "Nana, wake up. I need to tell you something."

"Gloriana?" Nana Sue murmured as she woke up. "What time is it?"

"Just after seven. I need to show you something, but I need you to promise me that you won't freak out, alright?"

"Gloriana, what are you talking about?"

"Look, Nana," Glory whispered, "This is really kind of important, and I swear neither of us are crazy. Just come with me."

With a bit more coaxing, Glory was able to get her grandmother out of bed, and to the bathroom.

"Remember, you promised not to freak out," she reminded Nana Sue. The woman nodded, and Glory opened the bathroom door.

"Oh my word..." Nana Sue gasped.

Léan hadn't stirred throughout the night, but upon hearing the gasp, he stirred a little, opening his ice blue eyes. This was what he wasn't looking forward to, at all.

He sat up a bit, balancing himself on the side of the tub, and slowly met the older human's eyes. His tail began to swish back and forth slightly, once again showing he was tense. However, it was worse this time around because he had nowhere to escape to in case something happened.

Would she attack him? Flee from him...? Like they all did...?

Gently, Glory started to steer her grandmother towards the kitchen.

"Come on, Nana," she said softly, "I'll make you that tea you like, and we can talk." Once Nana Sue was out of the door way again, Glory looked back at Léan. "I'll leave the door open. Just yell if you need anything."

Léan nodded wordlessly, curling back up a bit in the bathtub. He was still very tired.

Despite this weariness, which radiated throughout his entire body, he stayed somewhat alert, straining his ears to hear what they were talking about.

"Gloriana, I think you need to explain this one to me," Nana Sue said as Glory started to make tea.

"I think everything sort of speaks for itself, Nana," she replied as she set the mugs on the table. "I really don't know what else I can say besides the fact neither of us are crazy." Here, she gave a wry grin. "I went through that one yesterday."

"Oh dear..." Nana Sue said softly.

Léan swished his tail back and forth, resting his chin on the side of the bathtub.

Who's to say he wasn't the crazy one, and this was all just a very strange dream?

Giving up on that idea, he sighed and shifted a bit, scowling at his tail. Due to being out of water for so long, the scales were beginning to dry out and peel, something he hated. But, for now, it gave him something to do. He idly picked at the peeling scales as he listened to them converse.

((I'm so sorry it took me so long to reply... I was in the hospital since your last post yesterday because I was getting my appendix out.))

Glory sipped her tea as she let her grandmother absorb everything.

"I don't think this is what the people in the system had in mind when they wanted me to move in with you, Nana," she joked softly. It had the desired effect with Nana Sue cracked a smile.

"I think you're right, Gloriana," she replied. Glory rolled her eyes.

"Nana, I keep telling you to call me Glory..." she said.

"Alright, alright, if you insist," Nana Sue gave in with a grin. "So... what are you going to do about your friend?"

"As soon as he gives the word, I'll take him back out to the water," Glory said, shrugging. "He said he got caught in a net... it was made of fishing line, which was weird. Most nets are made of rope, right? Or mesh?"

Nana Sue nodded.

"They are. A fishing line net does sound unusual. Perhaps you should head to the library and do some research?"

"I was planning on it."

((D: Oh my! What did you get it taken out for? Are you okay?))

Léan listened to them, brow furrowing in confusion.

What were they saying? He'd gotten tangled in plenty of nets like that in the past...they were made of that tough 'fishing line' material they spoke of. But, they only seemed to come from boats out in bad weather, or out in very odd places. It was almost like the boats were searching for oddities...

He shifted, the peeling scales on his tail making a grating, crackling noise as they brushed up against the side of the bathtub. The sensation that gave him tickled, and he smiled a bit.

((I'm fine. I had appendicitis, which means my appendix was infected and had to be taken out before it burst. We caught it early, so everything went well))

Finishing her tea, Glory stood up.

"I need to go change," she said. "Once I'm dressed, I'll make breakfast. It's only fair, since I woke you up so early, Nana."

"Are you sure, Glory?" Nana Sue asked. Glory nodded.

"I'm prefectly capable of making eggs or pancakes, Nana," she teased gently. Nana Sue smiled.

"Alright."

Grinning back, Glory put her mug into the sink and then headed towards her room. On her way, she poked her head into the bathroom.

"Let me know when you want to head back, alright?" she said to Léan.

((Ooohh, ouch. :( My dad had that last year, actually, and had to get his appendix removed, as well. I'm glad they caught it early!))

Léan looked up, still nursing his wounds from the net. He nodded slowly. He still felt quite awkward being in a human abode.

"I don't think I'll be moving for a little while...this...thing--bathtub," he added, eyeing it, "...does it fill with water? My scales are drying out, and I would like to get some water on them before I shed..."

As he spoke, his stomach grumbled a little bit. He pretended it never happened, looking a little embarrassed.

Glory blinked.

"I'm not sure why I didn't think of it earlier," she said. "See those knobs there?" She pointed to the taps. "Turn them to the right to turn on the water, and to the left to turn the water off. Red is hot, blue is cold, so you can adjust the temperature. It's not salt water, though, I'll warn you now."

She heard his stomach growling and grinned a bit.

"If you can give me an hour, I can head out to the store and pick something up for you, if you want. We have a distinct lack of edible fish in the house."

Despite his intent to ignore his hunger, Léan's tail swished back and forth in interest.

"I don't have to eat fish...I could eat anything," he offered idly, turning to fiddle with the knobs on the tub. "I'm willing to try anything..."

He seemed to be growing more comfortable as time passed, but he was still nervous...

"Alright," Glory said, "then breakfast will be ready soon. I'm probably going to make pancakes." Stretching her arms, she over-extended her elbows until she felt and heard the satisfying pop. "Did you want me to bring you anything to do? I can't imagine you're not bored..."

Léan's brow furrowed. What in the world was a pancake?

And was he bored? Come to think of it...what did humans do for fun? He'd never seen them swim with dolphins or anything of the sort. He'd seen them fishing, of course...and swimming while there wasn't any wildlife around...he'd even seen a group of them throwing around a brightly-colored disk to each other once. Though, he'd seen them scuba-diving in coral reefs. Disturbing the wildlife.

Léan didn't particularly like coral reefs. They were a tad too colorful for his tastes. Not to mention crowded. And oftentimes, he'd have to compete with sharks and manta rays for a spot to hunt, or even rest.

As he pondered this, he managed to get the water running, tilting the knobs appropriately, if not a little clumsily, to get the proper water temperature--not cold, but not hot. He seemed to relax as soon as the water started filling the tub, returning moisture to his dried-out tail.

"No...no, I will be fine," he assured her calmly, though he was a bit curious. "I can amuse myself. It's no trouble."

"Alright. Let me know if you change your mind, alright?" Glory replied. "Don't let the tub overflow, alright?" Heading into her room, she dug through her things, not having unpacked her clothing before. She was amazed at how much more comfortable she felt in a pair of jeans and an old t-shirt, as well as proper underthings. Tying her hair up, she made her way back to the kitchen to start on breakfast.

Making breakfast was a fairly mindless task, so Glory let her mind wander. Nana Sue was right... Fishing line nets were unusual. Fishing line was designed to be invisible under water, but it always did more harm than good, which is why it wasn't used for netting. So unless someone was intentionally trying to catch beings like Léan... Shaking her head, she flipped the pancakes and put the thought from her mind for the moment.

Léan obliged, turning at the knobs once the tub was sort of full.

He was right--the water, despite it being salt-free, was working wonders for his poor tail. Releasing a sigh, he sank down inot the water, resting the back of his head against the side of the tub.

This was turning out to be quite a strange experience.

Once the pancakes were ready, she put together three plates, making sure her grandmother's plate had the fresh fruit she liked and her own plate had a small cup of syrup. Then she brought the third plain plate in to Léan.

"Breakfast is ready," she said as she handed him the plate. "If you don't like them, let me know and I'll make you something else."

Léan eyed the plate as he took it, slowly. Obviously, he was not used to eating off a plate. Or using silverware, for that matter.

Instead, he lifted one of the pancakes up with his free hand and nibbled on it curiously. To his surprise, he found that he liked it, and slowly, but surely, he began to eat at a semi-normal pace, still not touching the silverware.

----------

((BRB. I have to go eat.))

Glory grinned and started on her own pancakes. She wasn't sure if he would like them or not, but it was obvious that he did.

"I may not be able to cook much, but I can make pancakes," she said. "Nana can cook much better than I can, though." Carefully balancing the plate on her lap, she made sure not to spill any of the syrup on the floor. It always made a nasty sticky mess when she spilled it. "Are you sure you don't need anything to amuse you? I'm sure I can find something."

Léan looked up wearily when she spoke, just starting on his second pancake. He seemed to be focusing on something outside.

"No, I will be fine," he assured her, lifting his head a bit, ears perked up slightly. "You should be expecting company in a few minutes," he added suddenly. "My brother must be worried about me. He knows I like this shoreline. If I am right, he should be arriving here in the next few minutes."

"Meaning that this is probably my cue to go out and check, hm?" Glory asked. Putting down her plate, she stood up and stretched. "It must be nice to have a brother... I'm an only child. My mom wasn't exactly what you would call a real 'mothering' type." She picked up her plate again. "Let me go and put this in the sink, and then I'll head outside and see what's going on."

Léan nodded, shoving the rest of the second pancake in his mouth and holding his plate out to her. He swallowed thickly.

"My brother is identical to me, but is a coward. He might have his mate with him--I've never seen his mate, but I've heard he has one, now," he offered, trying to scrounge up as much information as possible. Then, he remembered something.

That's right. Arcturus was even more wary--actually, afraid--of humans than he was. Léan thought, and then he reached down to one of the still-dry scales on his tail, wiggling off a fair-sized piece. He held it out to her. "Take this with you," he suggested. "My brother is terrified of humans. He will trust you if you have proof of my trust. And this is it."

Glory took his plate, but blinked at the scale.

"That was just the least bit bizarre," she said as she accepted the scale. "I've only ever seen snakes and lizards drop scales like that." She slipped the scale into her pocket. "I'll go put these in the kitchen, and then I'll go out and sit on the rocks. The water is probably still cold from the rain, so there's no way I'll go swimming, though. If your brother does show up, what do you want me to tell him?"