Welcome to Gaia! ::

Hm. Everything seemed to go back to Carver's wife. But that was to be expected, right? He'd been a dedicated husband, and it'd been a big part of his life.

"Calling him a parasite seems a little harsh," she murmured, finishing off her punch. She felt a little warm, but that could easily be explained by the crowd. "You met your wife when you were 19?"

"Oh, yes," he said. A funny sort of smile moved around his mouth; maybe it was nostalgia. "I was in the military at the time. We met... ah, it's a boring story, I won't eat up your time with it, it sounds like prattle to me now. Anyway, we were married a year or two later, and then she had her discharge, and went travelling, and later I did, too. Frankie was a good woman. I think you would have liked her, Natalie. She was the only person who ever got Admon to behave, I'm afraid, so the world keenly feels her loss. - My recommendation to you is not to get married so young, of course, but you have a bright future ahead of yourself."

"Neither time nor inclination, I suppose," Carver said, and by this time Natalie knew him well enough to know when he felt awkward - and he laughed a little. "Frankie wasn't very maternal. I think maybe if she had been older, she would have liked the idea... Maybe. I mean, Admon didn't like the idea either," he said, totally mystifyingly, gabbling a little. "So I suppose... Well. I showed you her picture, didn't I?"

Ina, however, didn't seem to. She cocked her head with a perk of her ears, blinking her golden eyes at him. Gavin was a hero...? "If you hero..." she began, as if the words were hard to find on her tongue, "Why you not out fighting badness?" Isn't that what hero's did? It sure sounded like fun, being a hero...she wanted to be a hero too! She wanted to have fun! There was nooooo way she was going to be left out of this. Well...if Gavin was really a hero, anway. Otherwise she probably would easily let herself bedistracted by other awsome things.

"A camera?" Carver sounded a bit perplexed. "Well, I suppose I can work the button but I haven't had any formal training. I do have a couple of disposables up at my flat. Why do you ask?"

"Oh! Oh, of course." His smile blossomed at her easy request. "I can click the 'flash' button, whatever you like. Of course, Natalie. I'm your devoted cameraman."

He took the cup away from her, gentlemanly; if he had sniffed it, probably he would have found out Admon's not-so-clever ruse. "Maybe the gardens? Or somebody's room? Somewhere with light, anyway... you don't want it to be tonight, do you? I mean, we can do any time that's convenient for you, I mean. I'm at your service... especially when I don't look as though I'm about to key somebody's BMW with the anarchy sign and listen to Motley Crue."

"Is there even a beach near here? We might have to make a road trip out of it," Carver agreed brightly, and decided to refill Natalie's punch and get a cup for himself. "I don't think there's a full moon, .... though, ... er, there will be, it's not as if they go away forever."