[center][img]http://i.imgur.com/VHym13f.png[/img][/center]

“Won't you stay a while longer?” a soft voice beckoned. Carlo turned around to plant his lips on the forehead of his companion, then resumed dressing himself. 
“I'm afraid I can't, lady.”
“You've been gone for months and have to leave not a day after you've arrived. What's a woman to do?” she whined, although one side of her lips was curled into a grin. That same half-grin had seen Carlo cave to her before, something about that face igniting his deepest urges.

Lauretta was a fine lover. Carlo would not admit it to himself, but he admired her passion; sometimes, she was so wild that it was hard to tell if they were lovemaking or brawling. Perhaps it was her mannish build that kept up with him. Although attractive, Lauretta was clearly not of the same stock as the typical noblewoman. She was solid, with a striking, aquiline face and a strength that could rival his own.
But she could never be a wife. Carlo was only a son of a craftsman, an ex-soldier, and now a Hunter. No, it could never be. In any case, he knew he was not the only one that visited Lauretta. Her station required knowledge of the gossip of the courts, the affairs of the Rossovian aristocracy. The bed was one ticket to keeping well-informed.

“If I dally, they will either come looking or leave without me. Both would be embarrassing.”
“Would it be more embarrassing than you in bed last night?” Lauretta giggled. Carlo sucked in a breath and looked away. She'd gotten the better of him, and he knew it.  
“Alright, I understand,” she said at last. She rolled over, pale breasts slipping out from under the bedsheets.
“But if you could spare more than one night every six months-”
“I'll make an effort to visit you whenever I can. You know that.” He kissed her again, and after a final few words of goodbyes, grabbed his belongings and left.

[center]----[/center]

“Lethodus! Is that you?” Carlo waved to the Hunter over the crowd of revelers. It'd been too long since he last saw Lethodus, a man he deemed a competent and honest Hunter. On closer inspection, Balthier was with him. Fitting that they should be the first two to wait together. 
Lethodus, Baltier,” Carlo nodded to his companions after squeezing his way through the throng. “It's been some time, hasn't it?”