A faint glare followed Des across the room. Muttering to herself as she dropped into the chair and attempted to find even a pinprick spot at the desk that wasn't overburdened. Grumbling continued as she failed and simply started clearing a spot of her own. Stacking papers, another glare was slanted towards the water cooler. "Got some stuff I gotta be doing'", mimicked in a high falsetto, uncharitably not like Des' own husky tones at all. "Gotta be lounging and gossiping is what." Shuffling papers, glancing at them only briefly, just enough to manage to put them into some kind of coherent order.

"Des is gonna get me neck deep into some sorta trouble. I just know it!. It's those eyes of hers. They just positively glow with trouble at times. This Amal woman .. I've heard about her. Can be sweet as honey, then bite you in the bum. And it's gonna be *my* bum she snaps into!"

Shuffle, shuffle, stack and re-stack. Condensing the piles of scattered papers into something that at least looked workable.

"My bum .. I'll have to have all my breeches remade! And I won't be able to sit while I call duels, never mind tending bar .. not that I sit there anyhow. But I won't be able to, even if I could!"

Jal's temper was slowly burning itself out as with an evil grin, she realized that she'd completely organized Des' desktop. Reaching into a drawer for paper and pen, that grin grew. "Will serve her right if she can't find a flamin' thing! Dragging me in here just because I was telling her about that strange lad leapin' about in the Inn. Saying she'd seen that I write a fair hand and could 'wrangle this steer' with one hand tied behind my back!"

It hadn't been true anger anyway. Des was her friend and Jal really had been intrigued by the idea of writing more than reports and keeping up Brig's paperwork while he was away. And much more intrigued with the idea of this than the piles of trade paperwork still waiting for her in her room at the Inn. And she should have known that even mentioning her intrigue with the notion would send Des full sails billowing. But that was something she admired in her friend. She was a person of action, not only words. And she believed in giving to the community, no matter her personal status socially. And that gold or silver was never the issue when something was going undone. She did what was needed, and did it without slacking. Ideals that as a person gained Des more respect and genuine friendship than wealth or titles ever would. Ideals that Jal had been brought up to hold dear too. And to be known as one to be counted on no matter what was something Jal wished to be held dear for as well. So here she was ..

In a newspaper office. Sitting at a newly cleaned up desk. Paper before her, pen in hand and words flowing from it's tip with little thought. Things of interest, Des had said. Things she could verify, either through reliable witness, or from her own eyes. Things that would interest the community. That would protect them with information, when needed. Distanced from the hubbub around her, Jal wrote. A absent thought that maybe .. just maybe her adored bum would perhaps remain intact. Detached even from her writing to a small degree, enough to judge it cold bloodily even as her hand added emotion and color to what was penned.

Aye .. mayhap this wouldn't be too bad after all. The true test would come only if she retained a whole bum after Amal looked her efforts over.