carter bennett ( human ) . (solepurpose) wrote in light_of_may, |
There were plenty of people who would think less of the Bennetts for the way they raised their children. There were those who might see it as cruel and unfair, perhaps even barbaric. The Bennetts did not go on vacations or throw birthday parties, they did not visit friends' houses for play dates or sleepovers, there were no school trips or dances or proms or anything of the sort. Bennetts were home-schooled -- strange enough in the United Kingdom without taking everything else into account -- and for all intents and purposes kept separate from normal society without isolating them completely. They had to have social skills in order to exist in this world, they couldn't function without integrating themselves into society but at the same time they couldn't afford to immerse themselves in it fully. The Bennetts had struck a fine balance for a long time, perched precariously on a knife's edge for generations, but it suited them just fine. They never completely, they knuckled under and pushed past adversity and complications and did the job they had each and every one of them been born to do. Carter, for his part, had never thought of his life as lesser to any degree, he had loved and been loved, his parents had cared for him and every single one of his siblings and cherished them all dearly until the end, whatever ends they might have met fighting for what they believed in. Looking back there wasn't a single thing he would change outside of those losses and sacrifices but not at the expense of innocent lives or defeated evils. Carter knew what he had been born and raised to do and had never once had he even considered that he might have been cheated out of any other kind of life.
Someone who travelled and encountered as many different people as he did was bound to pick up a few things along the way so when she bowed her head with her hand at her chest that way Carter recognised it for what it was. The fact that she was a Buddhist had no impact on their conversation really but it was still a fact he was going to file away along with her name and anything else he learned about her here today. That was just how his mind worked.
Keeping quiet while the waitress hovered at the side of the table none too patiently awaiting Kammie's order Carter kept from eating of his own meal just because it seemed polite to him to do so, resting his elbows on the table's edge and loosely knitting his fingers in front of his chin in a posture that was very much relaxed and content. At the same time there was a subtle readiness, the finest threads of tension through his back and shoulders and arms that would tell anyone who really looked that he could launch himself into action at the first sign of trouble. Not that he was expecting it here, of all places, but you never knew. Only once the waitress was gone and Kammie turned her attention back to him did he say anything else, having to think about his answer before he gave it. "Not really," he ended up saying with a small laugh and a shake of his head. "It's best not to get carried away," he went on, "and having a small number makes them that much more special when I do get to indulge."