Welcome to Gaia! ::

He nodded as his fingers fidgeted idly with his spoon, not wanting to eat so quickly that Serenity would feel strange since she still had most of her ice cream left. It knew it could be awkward to be the only one at the table still eating. "Mmn. Well I guess that's a differnce in our lifestyle expectations and the ability to meet it. I need to provide for myself and for the Prince. That means working, that means using my education. Of course, I'm a business major at the university, so I guess I'm intending to use what I'm studying."

The Prince nods slowly and he smiles a bit. "Oh, I see. I wish I could do something to help you then, Ian. But.. maybe Serenity enjoys taking care of you. Maybe Serenity loves you no matter what form you're in. If that's the case, then you shouldn't burden yourself with these down thoughts, right? You enrich your life, just as you are."

Gaunt chuckles lightly and he shakes his head slowly as Serenity scrambles to try to cover up what could have been seen as a mis-speak. He smiles softly and he reaches over to pat the top of her hand. "Hey, Serenity. Don't worry so much about it." He smiles softly at her. "I understand that you're an artist. You don't really need formal training. Besides, even though art courses and degrees exist, they're so subjective it's silly." He shakes his head and he chuckles. "Why, I remember a project I did when I was in highschool. We had to draw a paint can pouring something. So I created a scene in outer space. A dead planet, spewing lava from volcanoes. And the paint can floating out there in space, pouring life over the barren landscape. The people all around me said they loved it, it was an origional idea. The art teacher saw a look and wanted me to do something else. Said it was too dark." He rolls his eyes a little and he chuckles. "So I admire you for taking on art by yourself. Because in the end, the art is meaningful to you anyone else who comes along for the ride is bonus points. At least, that's the opinion I came to from that class."

Prince nods slowly and he bites his lip softly. "There has to be something.. something you can do.." He looked around a little, then rested his eyes on the spoon they were doing. "I.. I know you can't do everything, Ian. But. You can do the small stuff, right? Cups? Forks, spoons, knives? You can't do everything, but you can still help! And.. and.. I don't care if you're sick! You're still special and loved! Let that be enough!"

The outburst dragged Gaunt out of his conversation with Serenity. He blinked a few times, then he smiled softly. "Heh. I'm proud of Prince. He's being honest with how he feels. It's something that's not easy for people to do."

He smiles softly as he retrieves his hand. He chuckles softly at the compliment. "I thought it looked wonderful. But my point is that art education is based on subjective measures. It doesn't matter what you make, if the professor doesn't like it then you don't get a very good grade." He shrugs a little. "I used to have a copy of it, I had it on a ZIP disk, but the disk stopped working, and ZIP disks aren't really in use any more anyway."

The Prince giggled when he was proclaimed to be correct and half-glomped onto Ian, huggling him tight. "So cheer up, okay?"

Gaunt laughs softly and he nods. "I think he is a good guy. But.. he's still young and doesn't know much. So it's even better that he's attacking what is unknown to him with optimism instead of trying to hide from it. And I don't know what he was thinking by throwing ice cream. I'm sure it makes no sense to anyone but him."

It was Gaunt's turn to find himself with reddening cheeks when he received the compliment. He shrugs a little and he smiles warmly. "I haven't been at this for very long at all, Serenity. I'm not sure I've been around Prince along enough to rub off on him. But thank you, that means a lot to me."

Prince nods and he smiles as he releases Ian and he nods again, with more energy. "Yeah! I'd really like that! Your mom and my dad get to meet with each other more and we get to have fun with each other! We both get what we want!"

Gaunt glances down. It was hard to miss the conversation when Prince was being so energetic about it. He tilts his head and he smiles warmly at Serenity. "So, how about it? How about we start planning to meet up sometimes?"

The Prince laughed and threw up his hands joyously when Serenity proclaimed they could hang out. "Horray! I'm so happy! I can't wait to play with Ian in the park~! ♫♪"

Gaunt laughs softly and he smiles warmly at Serenity, also giving little Prince a pat on the head. "Alright then. So now all we need is a time and a place." He smiles softly and he tilts his head. "Since I'm not from Gaia, if you want to meet me there, I'd have to depend on you to help me get to where you want us to meet."

He nods and he smiles softly. "Anywhere will work, Serenity, really. I can either show you to places, or you can show me." He chuckles softly, and smiles warmly. "Just as long as we all have fun, I think I'd call whatever we'd do a success."

Prince nods and he smiles brightly. "Yeah! Lots of toys for us to play on sounds like a great time!" He was practically writhing where he sat on the table. "I can't wait!"

Gaunt nods as he leans back slightly against his seat and he nods. "Yeah, it's one of the biggest parks there. Not only does it have playground equipment, but also two tennis courts, a basketball court, and a small public pool. It's a nice place to go, though I don't usually go by myself because it's kinda lonely going alone. Or, it was." He smiles softly down at Prince.

Gaunt nods and he smiles softly. "Making a plan right now sounds great. The weekend is good, too. Because then I don't have any classes to plan around." He chuckles and smiles warmly, pulling out a knapkin and pushing it toward her. "You can put your email address on here, and I'll put it in my contact book when I get back to the university. And.. mmn.. as for what time.. Well, since we want to make a picnic out of it, around lunch or dinner sounds like the most logical choice." He chuckles softly.

The Prince blinks and tilts his head a little. "Pictures.. of all of us.. having fun together? I really like the idea, Ian, but how are we all going to be together and have pictures at the same time? Does the camera.. float around or something? Or do you tell it what to do and it does what you say? That sounds like an amazing camera!" He grins, not realizing how absurd it was that he said something like that.