((You're totally good!))

Kalen couldn't find a proper retaliation for her point toward the whole it was a quest thing. He really didn't feel like it was a quest, a lot more like it was a mission. But the gods didn't often believe in missions, just quests.

His hand lifted, pushing through his dark hair once again, tousling the brown locks across his forehead. Oh they sure could tell them where to go, the gods just didn't because heaven forbid they do anything useful for once.

He shoved his distaste down his throat and into his chest before exhaling slowly. For a moment, to stifle and ignore those feelings, he watched her fiddle with the leather strap on her bag. It wasn't quite a ladies purse, not a bag or a clutch, it was... a satchel.

"I..." he hesitated for a moment or two. "I think I can manage," Kalen said slowly, flashing her a careful smile. "All I'll need is a guitar and a hat."

Would he wear the hat? No. It would just be for money. The guitar was closer to a lyre, which according to the myths, his father had made. It was close enough of a modern equivalent that he had a fairly solid proficiency with the instrument.

"Hope you don't mind waiting a little bit sometimes while we scrounge up some extra funds," Kalen finally snorted, his smile far more sly and playful.

Janet was slightly confused by how he suddenly brought up the need of a guitar and a hat in the future. The hat would be easy enough to find, but a guitar… She could honestly say she had no idea about that one. She enjoyed music, but she didn’t quite understand how it would help much unless he had some card up his sleeve that she didn’t know about, which was very possible when she thought about it.

“Hope I don’t mind- Oh, I really am dumb,” She groaned as she finally understood what he had meant, running a hand over her face in embarrassment, the smirk on his face not helping at all. He was going to play for money, which would be interesting to see play out.

Janet took a deep breath to compose herself before actually replying to his question, dropping her hands back to her sides. “No, I don’t mind waiting for you in the slightest. I could possibly pick up some odd job here or there to help out as well.”

“So,” She hummed after a few seconds, looking down the street then back up at him. “Time to find that greyhound I’m guessing? We should have plenty of time to talk more so we can plan, so that’s not a huge concern at the moment at least.”

Kalen's eyes flickered for a moment, the confidence wavering for just a blinking second as she looked back at him in confusion. There was blank confusion, the way she stared back at him before clarity crossed her face. There was a faint blush that touched her cheeks as she rubbed it away with her hands.

He tipped his head back and laughed briefly, a loose and light chuckle that shook his shoulders. Kalen finally shook his head, winding down once again. "Oh don't worry about it, it was a little bit on the random side," he mused, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand. "I... I mean, you really don't have to," Kalen added briefly before squaring his shoulders as she refocused on the task at hand.

"I think we should," Kalen agreed, nodding once. "In theory, if I remember right, there is usually a building that signifies a Greyhound stop. Since we're in Los Angeles, the land of Stars, I imagine there should be one somewhere nearby."

Or so it made sense at least. His piercing green eyes scanned around the street for a moment before deciding to turn to the right, opposite of Janet, and begin making his way down the sidewalk. Kalen's gait was a little bit strange, walking with confidence but the faintest almost hint of a limp to his right leg. It was hard to notice, but if compared to everyone else, he had a bit of a lopsided gait to his swinging walk.

If he just walked, which he didn't. Kalen often turned back and toward Janet, grinning and keeping an eye on the much shorter woman. "So, not from around here, you say," he prompted after approximately a minute of silence. "Where are you from then?"

Janet could feel her cheeks heat up as he chuckled but she couldn’t do anything about it, after all she had kind of walked into that and it wasn’t like he was making fun of her, so did it really matter? She just sighed again and shook her head in fake disappointment at herself, but there was a small smile on her face.

“No, I like the work, it keeps me busy.” She admits sheepishly, starting to fidget slightly as he looks around their surroundings.

She nods slowly when he points out the fact that there should, hopefully, be a building nearby and it did seem like a sensible enough assumption. Los Angeles was a very popular place so public transportation like that shouldn’t be too hard to find in theory.

When Kalen started walking off to the right she followed pretty easily and she was fairly sure that if she somehow lost sight of him it wouldn’t take long to find him again because of his height and a slight oddity of his stride that was barely noticeable. Janet wasn’t sure if she felt intimidated by that fact or grateful, but at the moment she’d count it as a blessing.

Janet made a face as he asked where she was from, making her think how she had just been snatched from the place she called home not too long ago. She couldn’t blame him for being curious though, that would just be hypocritical.

“I’m from a smaller town in Pennsylvania,” She replies after a moment, her tone holding a hint of fondness for the place. “You won’t find it on a map most likely, but it's nice enough there and the trees are beautiful in the fall. The people there are kind, guarded at times, but they have their reasons. How about you?”

Janet hummed quietly in agreement as he commented on her home. She guessed it was an interesting place, but growing up there took away some of its intriguing qualities and you could only explore the same shops so many times before you knew them well enough to help the owner stock shelves. So she had spent her time working and reading, doing anything honestly to keep her occupied.

She tilted her head towards him slightly as he spoke, noticing how he didn’t seem fond of talking about his home and that he changed the subject after an awkward moment, making a note to herself to not bring this back up for a while if she didn’t have to. It was a mystery that wasn’t really for her and could be solved over time if treated right.

“I don’t mind at all.” Janet replied, walking a little faster to stand next to Kalen. “I work, well worked I guess, at the dinner in town as well as at the library on the weekends. So nothing too interesting, unless you think the town gossip and the rare fistfight between the town troublemakers is exciting.”

Janet focused on her pace as she tried to match Kalen’s stride, letting that be her main concern for the moment.

“So,” she started hesitantly, unsure of whether this would be a touchy subject for him. “Do you have a job or something you do? You don’t have to answer that question if you don’t want to, okay?”

The way she sped up to keep up with him was one of the first things he caught wind of. It wasn't too hard for him to switch, softening his gait to a swinging walk instead of the powerful sort of march that really said he had a place to be. It was far more comfortable and approachable in nature.

A diner in town with the libraries on weekends. It didn't sound like too bad of a deal, after all. Learning on weekends, for free, listening to all the hot gossip and watching the brawls but never a part of them? Oh, she must be so much fun to actually talk to ... if one knew the town. He'd probably get to that point someday.

But the hesitation in her voice as she adjusted the question to him was a little surprising at first. Kalen tilted his head for a moment before shrugging. "I mean, I was in school, last half year of it too. I was working on becoming a teacher, actually, for the small town I lived in. I hadn't quite decided between history or music... I figured I'd deal with it when the school got back to me on what they needed most," Kalen chuckled softly.

"Work-wise, I did a year or so of mechanics sort of work, snow-shoveling in the winter and during the summer, when there's no snow, I'll do life-guard work."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "It's... easier not to think of things when you're busy, y'know? Anyways, in reality, it's up to you what you want to do--oh there," Kalen gestured with his right hand. "That looks like a library."

Janet’s steps faltered slightly in surprise as Kalen slowed his pace for her, she hadn’t been expecting that but she appreciated the change, it was very nice of him she thought.

“Hm, school,” She wrinkled her nose, remembering her time in classrooms. There had always been too much drama and homework in her opinion, if she wanted to learn something when she was younger she would go to the library or ask her dad. But she had to admit that it was nice to hear that he wanted to become a teacher for his hometown. It was kind of sweet in a way and made her smile. “Well, you’ll do great, someone’s got to teach those kids about the revolutionary war or how to play a flute.”

“So, you do a bit of everything then? You must be a great friend to have around, especially if you’re having engine problems.” Janet joked upon hearing what he did for a job, but got distracted when he pointed out the library off to the right, the building successfully capturing her attention.

“It’s big,” She mumbled mostly to herself, looking at the library in excitement before taking a step towards it and glancing back at Kalen. “Come on, we have research to do,”

School. Everyone seemed to have a different opinion on it. Some were good, some were bad, some were less than helpful. He didn't particularly care that much it was just something easy to do, easy to get and steady more or less. Which was all he really cared about.

"I'd probably teach them more about singing. I don't know much about woodwind instruments. Or brass. Or most strings--y'know," Kalen chuckled, shaking his head in amusement. "But I do a little bit of everything. It's a lot more fun that way."

The library was... huge. His head and neck craning back just to see the tip of the top of it. Much larger than the library he knew in his old town.

"Research," Kalen confirmed. "You research the gods, I'll look for golden apples. If we can combine our research, we'll be better prepared and, hopefully, figure out where to go from here."

Or... so he hoped at least. It sounded like a good idea at the start. Which probably meant it wasn't a good idea. But he'd worry about that later.