i was thinking that you could be trusted

Since his arrival in Darrow, Zhuge has been careful about what types of odd ends and jobs he picks up for extra income. One thing he knows is that he's never really been one for regular hours, preferring instead a job that gives him the freedom of focusing on what's needed in the moment. If he knows what end his work is going to support, he doesn't mind working around the clock — if anything, he does it by choice. He's been asked to become a performing artist by people who probably assumed that his robes were some type of costume. He's been asked to work on calligraphy, or to teach Chinese to an ethnic group that mirrors his own in so many ways, and yet differs in their awareness of that culture.

But the most enjoyable pastime of all is indeed when he gets to be a student, studying long hours in his criminal justice courses. The rules that govern a city or region are often telling of its people, and he finds himself fascinated by the trial process in Darrow, spending hours in the criminal justice department of the university with heavy books and a dictionary by his side.

It isn't long before he manages to test out of his degree. It's an option that he's noticed only seems to be available to people such as himself, who have magically appeared in Darrow, as an option for them to quickly return to an approximation of what they did in their respective worlds. Armed with a new criminal justice degree and a recommendation from the professors whose office hours he visited, Zhuge heads to the police department for a job.

And ends up with a better offer than he expected.

Staring at his badge curiously as he descends the front steps of the department, Zhuge winds up sitting on a bench a couple of blocks down, enjoying the sun of the day as his pigeons step about and peck after a few scattered crumbs on the floor. One of them, seeing a person approaching, decides to be so bold as to fly up to her shoulders.

"My apologies," Zhuge says with a smile. "She is very bold bird."