She nods, smiling slightly. "Immensely valid. Are you planning to stay in town with us, while we're here, or just stay a night and head back?"

"I'd better stay in town with you, otherwise I'm worried you'll run into a witch or something on the way back. And, well, if I stay in town with you I might sleep in a bed instead of on the lakeshore, that's also nice."

"We'd certainly be glad of the company. The city guard might be worth checking out. You could work there while we work construction and repair."

She gives Torok a fond smile. "We've become rather fond of having you around. Perhaps you can claim one of the spare bedrooms once we build our house. Certainly better than leaving you to sleep on the lakeshore."

"...I'd like that," he says, touched and a little surprised.

"Divide and conquer, then? You talk to the guard, we talk to City Hall, meet up at the dumpling place in Market Square for supper?"

"I dunno how to talk to the guard. Ask at the gate? What if the gate guard is busy and doesn't want to talk to me? I guess I could go pay Arlen five gems to show me to wherever you're supposed to go if you want to join the guard..."

She shakes her head, kisses his cheek, and takes his hand. "Asking at the gate is probably the best way, but we'll handle it together. C'mon in with me, handsome."

"—wait, why the change of plan?" He's happy to take her hand, though, just confused.

"Because the puzzle of 'figure out who to talk to and what to say to them to get us both jobs' is fun for me, and I'm getting the impression it's not for you, and I'm not going to send you off on an errand if we're not strapped for time and I don't expect you to at least not mind the process. Plus, City Hall can probably tell us where you should go to to ask about joining, which may simplify things."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense."

She starts leading the way inside. "Don't wanna make you spend money on something that was my idea. I'd feel guilty, y'know?"

And we're back to bafflement, though he's following along cheerfully enough. "Wait, really? Why?"

"You're staying in the city partly to keep us safe on the trip back, you only need a job in the city because you're staying here with us, and frankly being the excessively generous one is my job. This whole trip is my idea and I don't want you to have lost out on money or resources in the process."

"Are you sure being the excessively generous one is your job?" he asks, but by this point they have entered the building.

A bright-eyed mouse-boy perches behind a massive oak desk straight ahead, tucked between the inward-curving arms of a grandiose double staircase. Benches line the walls, but no one is sitting on them. There are a couple of doors behind the stairs, and probably some more at the top.

"Evening!" says the receptionist. He can't be much taller than Arlen, and must need a stepstool to reach a sane height behind that beast of a desk, which by contrast looks definitely taller than Arlen. "How can I help you?"

"Two questions," She says with a grin. "One, can y'all make use of a girl who's fairly good at construction and repair but doesn't have tools of her own yet? Two, where should the handsome man beside me go to inquire about maybe joining the guard?"

"One at a time. I can get you set right up with a work trial tomorrow morning," he says, pulling a notepad closer to him and jotting down a quick note. "What kinds of construction and repair specifically? Carpentry? Stonework? Smithing?"

"I'm primarily interested in the first two for now, though I might wind up interested in putting my smithing skills to the test later on."

Scribble scribble. "Be back here tomorrow by two hours past dawn, better early than late. What name do I give the foreman?"

"Sable," she replies with a nod. "I'll be there."

"Right then, good luck. As for you," he turns to Torok, "how long have you been in the city?"

"...like two hours?"

A tiny smile quirks the corner of the mouse-boy's mouth. "Then I won't trouble you with directions to the guard house. If you're serious about applying, you can get a guide from the tourism office by the gate to show you the way, or go up to any guard you pass on the street and ask, though most guards you see will be too busy to walk you there. If you'd rather spend time than gems, I recommend waiting in Market Square for a few hours around noon."

"I think I can manage that!"

She smiles appreciatively. "Thank you for your time!"

And then, with a wave, she leads the way back out.