<span style="font-weight: bold">"That your son?"</span>the barkeep asked. Riu blushed a bit, and looked up to see Larea turning a rather bright shade of mortified.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"I think she means to ask you to give the lad a job,"</span>said the giant foreigner from earlier, suddenly on the scene. Then he made made a comment (which might have been a joke) about wanting to give the boy a job himself. Apparently, if you were young and wanted a job, and your parents weren't with you, they better have died tragically before your eyes.<br/><br/><span style="font-weight: bold">"My name is Ahmaht. It is a pleasure to meet you," he added, looking straight at the boy. He knelt and offered his hand. "You let me know how your job turns out."</span><br/><br/>"Uh, yeah, thanks," he managed to say. "I will." Then Ahmaht smiled and asked the barkeep for a room.<br/><br/>Once he'd satisfied another customer, the innkeeper turned his attention back to Larea and the boy. "So what's your name, kid?"<br/><br/>"Riu Ve-- uh.. R-Riu. Just Riu."<br/><br/>The man raised an eyebrow. "Just Riu, huh?" The boy smiled nervously and nodded. The barkeep sighed. "Well, I can't say I like the idea of hiring kids," he glanced at Larea. "Like I said, kids should be outside playing, not stuck indoors doing work." He sighed again and rubbed the back of his neck. "But, I guess sometimes it can't be helped."<br/><br/>Wondering what sort of work he could give the boy, the innkeeper gave him a quick once over. "How's your memory, kid? Think you could take orders?"<br/><br/>"Ah! Y-yes, sir!" Riu said, nodding happily.<br/><br/>"How about a quick test, then?" The innkeeper started to list off several of the foods and drinks served, and their prices. Riu hurriedly dug inside his bag, pulling out some paper and the charcoal, then he started taking notes on what was being said.<br/><br/>"Oho?" The man said, noticing this. "Read that back to me, then."<br/><br/>The boy listed off the items mentioned and their prices, and the innkeeper grinned. "Not bad, kid. Alright, starting tomorrow morning, it'll be your job here to take the customers' orders. But for the rest of today, I want you both to relax. Got that?"<br/><br/>"Yes, sir," the boy said. He then found himself looking expectantly at the young woman, for some reason. He was also starting to notice that she was rather quiet...