"It seems like it could be a fun job! Going places, meeting people. I hear some dungeons are really pretty." She looks around at the grungy walls. "...not this one, but some of 'em."

Snort.  "This... place... has... an aesthetic sensibility."

"You know, I will give it that. It sure does."

Giggle.  "I am honestly sometimes appealed to by - it's hard to explain and I gotta stay frosty - but there are places in cities and like industrial-vibes stuff that I think are pretty, that other people think are ugly."

"Oh, yeah, I can see that. I mean, maybe. Guess I don't know if I'm thinking of the right stuff."

"Whatever stuff you're thinking of I think we're on the same page.  I'm very in favor of de gustibus not disputanding."

She giggles softly. "In Latin, even!"

"Real authentic Latin," he deadpans.

"Close enough, in my opinion."

- he wants to make a joke about her having low standards that also somehow incorporates the phrase "taste in men" but it's not coming together and also holy fuck, Bryce, you cannot say that type of shit to a dungeon kidnap victim you are rescuing.  Uh - "What are you studying?"  He has been basically talking about himself this whole time anyway.

"I'm an English major because I make great decisions and am gonna have career opportunities comin' out my nose for sure."

"Oh no!"  He giggles ruefully.  "What made you wanna major in English?  I mean that in a perfectly neutral non-judgmental way."

"To be honest with you I think I just never got over my childhood dream of growing up to be a librarian. But it turns out being a librarian is like pretty hard actually. Much less sleepin' on piles of books like a dragon than I thought when I was five. So an English major is kinda the next best thing."

" - oh, that's kinda sweet."  And cute.  Wait is it okay to say sweet but not cute?  Whatever.  "What do you do with an English major?" - blink.  He feels like he's heard that somewhere but he can't place it.

—a little snicker, as though she has thought of something not entirely appropriate to say in response, but then she says, "I think mostly not much. I dunno, maybe Lenore'll pester me into actually trying the librarian thing for real."

"I guess if I were gonna guess how to become a librarian, English major makes sense as a first stop.  Is Lenore pester-y?  Pestersome.  - oh, a pest!"  He doesn't literally clonk himself on the forehead but he makes a similar sort of head movement.

"Only in the good way. Like a sheepdog, not a flea."

He sporfles a little in a weird way that sounds both charmed and a little concerned.  "Do you... need a lot of... herding?"

"Maybe kinda yeah."

"Is it... too personal if I ask what kind?  I guess the librarian example is - illustrative."

"I don't think it's too personal? You seem nice. And you're rescuin' me." She smiles and ducks her head a little, embarrassed. "I kinda have trouble standin' up for myself? I also just fully forget to eat dinner if I'm too busy reading some weird stuff I found on the Internet."

" - you don't owe me anything for rescuing you," he says, quickly, firmly.  "This is my job, I get paid, and I'm doing it to help people and not as a - interpersonal bid."

"Nah," she says, cheerfully. "Like I don't owe you owe you, for sure. But it sure the heck makes a positive impression. Like the exact opposite of catchin' somebody spiking my drink at a party. Says nice things about who you are as a person. And I think you just gotta deal with that."

He sporfles again.  "Ffffuckin' got me there, I guess, okay."  (He could split hairs about this if he tried but this girl seems to know what she's about, and he has, you know, nonzero insight into his personal foibles even at his age.)  "Weird stuff on the internet, huh?"

She giggles softly, blushing. "Dangit. Why do I always end up bringing up the weird Internet stuff."