Barrel walked with her towards the lair, quiet at first as they headed for the main gate. He listened to her giggle and found himself joining her a moment later. His laughter died when hers did, lulling into an uncomfortable pause as they started on the main path. Barrel tried to think of something to say.

Should he apologize now? No, that was what dinner was for. Um...her day? She probably worked the shop; not much there. Hmm...[i]had[/i] she been to the lair? Barrel racked his brain for a moment. Right, that party they threw a few years back. But that had been a while.

The silence was starting to become too uncomfortable, and he couldn't think of another subject. Lair it was.

"So this is your...second...time coming over?" Barrel asked.

Wow. Aside from Carver and the twins, they [i]really[/i] didn't have other monsters over often. He thought of the lair's current state, with the instruments in their usual places and the miscellaneous furniture. He was suddenly grateful Lock kept it pretty organized for the band. There was no need to last minute tidy and try to make a better impression.