Jay smiled as Ken ran up to him, face bright with a grin that said his younger brother was happy to see him. It would be hard on both of them if they didn’t have this time together. Ken spent all morning at the school and they both spent a good portion of their afternoon cleaning up the church to pay for his classes.

And the classes were important. If Ken didn’t go to classes then he’d end up in the same line of work as Jay: Dog Services. The least respected job on the streets. Well, almost. There were still a few things Jay refused to lower himself to. Jobs that weren’t really jobs.

Jay had learned to accept his place and his role. He was a dog, and he worked like a dog. Getting paid more would be nice; seeing Ken grow up healthy and happy was better.

“We learned about magic today,” Ken was babbling as Jay wrapped him up in a hug. “And how those with magic are found, and how they learn, and—“

Jay laughed. “Easy, Ken. I’m glad you’re learning. But we’ve got to get to work. Tell me about it while we walk?”

Ken gave a quick nod and a kiss to Jay’s cheek before taking his hand and walking towards the back of the brick building the church used as a schoolroom. Most of the students paid for their classes in coin; Ken was the only one who paid in labor. “Magic is soooo awesome. I wish we had magic like they do. Father Magus said that one of the wizards comes by the school every so often to test, but most families figure it out at home. ‘Cause wizards usually do magic without realizing it when they’re little. Did you ever do magic when you were little?”

“I’m not a wizard,” Jay reminded Ken sadly.

“But you – you know,” he frowned. Jay had told Ken that Jay’s job wasn’t something to talk about where others might overhear. It made for a few awkward conversations. “Comfort people?”

That was one way of describing it. Jay did offer comfort to the dying. “A wizard works his magic on me, and then I do my job. Then another wizard works magic on me to change me back.” It was how he managed to use magic without actually using magic. The wash of another’s magic spreading over his skin to poke and prod in uncomfortable places wasn’t exactly fun. A good number of dogs managed to learn how to activate their own magic; that made the transition easier. Jay’s own magic hated the circles and rules and rituals the common magic required. It was a bit wild, and a bit silly.

Like the warm flame puppy he had a hard time forgetting.

“But it’s still magic, and that’s awesome,” Ken said brightly.

“Yes,” Jay agreed with a forced grin. “Magic is awesome.”

Awesome was Ken’s favorite word lately. He’d learned it a little over a week ago and now anything he thought was great, fun, or wonderful was ‘awesome’. Jay hoped his fascination with the word would end soon because calling a death companion job ‘awesome’ seemed somehow inappropriate.

Ken ran ahead to open the back door to the church and look for the sisters who normally assigned them work. He might only be five years old, but Ken was smart enough to know the routine.

He was probably smart enough to do the routine on his own for a day or two.

“Goodness, aren’t you full of energy today!” Sister Lucille laughed as Ken burst into the back room. It was little more than a closet, really, and was where they kept most of the cleaning supplies and seldom-needed items. “Did you have a good time watching Lord Fyre return yesterday?”

“Yeah!” Ken said enthusiastically. “His flames were so awesome! There was this little puppy made of fire that ran all over and made sparkles!”

“Oh really? I didn’t get to go out and see the parade,” the sister admitted with a wink to Jay. “Can you tell me what he looked like?”

“He was on a horse,” Ken said seriously. “And he was taller than me on Jay’s shoulders. He was grown up.”

Jay did his best to hold in his laugh at the odd phrasing.

“And he had this really pretty blond hair too. He wore red clothes though, and he should have worn black. Blond hair looks better with black.” He nodded as seriously as a five-year-old could when commenting on fashion. “Raina told me that, and she knows everything about looks, you know. But none of that was as awesome as his fire! It was in the air without wood or anything, and even though it was really close it didn’t hurt!”

Sister Lucille smiled. “Well, I agree with Raina that you can’t go wrong with black. Unfortunately for Lord Fyre he doesn’t get to pick the colors of his uniform. That’s something His Majesty does.”

Ken frowned as he processed this new information. “So the His Majesty is his boss?”

“That’s right,” Lucille smiled. “The King is Lord Fyre’s boss, and Father Magnus is our boss. And we have to listen to our boss just like Lord Fyre has to listen to his. So are you going to be good and mop the floors for us today?”

Ken nodded his agreement since they didn’t really have much of a choice. Whatever tasks the sisters gave them they had to do.

The sister smiled. “Thank you, Ken. You do such a good job for us. I just know one day good things will happen for you.”

Jay really hoped so. He helped Ken get the bucket for the water and fill it, and then grabbed the hand brushes and rags they used to mop the stone floor. The church didn’t have a standing mop to use and scrubbing the floors was hard work. They would be on their hands and knees most of the afternoon.

They started up by the altar, and while they worked Jay found himself deep in thought. Ken was able to do a lot on his own now. He didn’t really need Jay to walk him to the church, walk him home, or do most of the tasks the church set them. If Father Magus allowed, he might be able to let Ken work alone one or two days a week while he took a longer job at Dog Services. Jay could make up the hours he missed at the church on a different day while Ken was in school—losing a day at Dog Services in the process.

Would it be worth it? Would it just balance out, or was there a chance he could get more?

There was a greater chance he’d get a less savory job. Those were usually assigned in the evenings, though, and not in the mornings. Jay never took evening jobs. What long-term jobs were available for lap dogs during the day?

And was it worth it? They had their routine. It worked for them. Their life wasn’t bad. There were only a few rare times when they struggled to pay rent or eat.

“Ken,” Jay said as he scrubbed at a strange stain between the pews. He needed to take his mind off dog work and focus on their time together. “Did you learn any letters today?”

“Not any new ones,” his younger brother explained as he wrung out a rag in the bucket. “We learned how to write a number today.”

Jay smiled as Ken babbled and they cleaned the floors. Ken loved to talk about his lessons and had even showed off a few of his letters in the dirt once. Jay was proud of his little brother. Learning from the church with kids his own age was good for him. Jay had learned letters from their mother, and he was somewhat limited in what he could read. Ken was learning in a different way that seemed very odd to Jay. What pleased Jay the most, though, was that Ken seemed happy. Yes, they lived in a drafty room that should have been torn down by briar bugs years ago. Yes, the misty rain and foggy nights meant they had damp blankets more nights than not. Yes, they barely got enough to eat and spent most of their time sweeping floors.

They were also—

No, they weren’t happy. Jay couldn’t say that. They were content, and they had moments of happiness. They had each other, which was something. Their parents were gone. Winter was hard. They were surrounded by drunks and gamblers. The people in this part of town had very little to lose. Curling up with Ken at night wasn’t the same as—

As having someone who loved him. Jay adored Ken. He loved his little brother. And Ken relied on him.

It wasn’t the same. Ken was a child.

Jay shook his head and kept scrubbing the floor. He’d given up on love a long time ago. One little parade wasn’t going to change his mind about that.