"Mmm. No? I mean, the degree, but - we're not exactly applying for jobs in a regular sense."

"Is there much real risk that when we are ready to start Hogwarts, people won't want to come because we're not credentialed?"

"Probably not," snorts Darren. "And it's annoying how it keeps eating our time anyway. So. Want to be college dropouts together?"

"I suppose so. Do we have a fake explanation or is it just 'later, guys, you can't handle the truth'?"

"Ha. We could make up something ridiculous."

"We won the lottery and are retiring to the Cayman Islands to while away our days with the joy of scuba."

Darren giggles. "Tempting, but people could look up the lottery and see that we weren't winners."

"My great aunt died and left me lots of money, and we are going to travel to Paris and immerse ourselves in the fashion scene?"

"Pffffff. Yes. That, let's do that."

"I'm pretty sure nobody will believe us. Exhibit A: your ability to lie comma lack thereof. Exhibit B: the fashion scene." She gestures at her jeans and t-shirt. "Let's be mysterious. We are dropping out for unspecified entrepreneurship."

Darren snorts with laughter. "Oh, well. I didn't need a ridiculous cover story anyway. Mysterious reasons, hurray!"

Snuggle. "Hurray!"

Snuggle! "We probably can't manage a sneaky daeva-made house without living in space or underground or something, but - indoors is completely doable. Soooo. Any furniture you've secretly been pining for?"

"...Hammock?"

"We can have a hammock! I've never had one before."

"A big one for deer-and-kitty snuggles."

"Heh, yeah. Comfy deer-and-kitty snuggles."

Purrrrrr.

There are, unfortunately, no sounds for deer contentment. He will stick with nuzzling. Nuzzle, nuzzle.

"We're closed, right? I thought I locked the door and flipped the sign."

"I certainly didn't open it. Let's go check. With scrolls. Because paranoia."

"Yeah." She grabs her binderful of standards, adopts her minimally incriminating midform, and desnuggles.