She blinked - once, twice - and snorted into her coffee.

"I'm gonna take that as a compliment." Meaning: she's plenty crazy, kid, but thanks for the vote of confidence. But it was never nice to scare the newbies and she cleared her throat quietly, took another sip to delay, and shrugged.

"Met some people. Signed up for a department. It helps to have stuff to do."

She squinted at him, a brief space in which she tried to figure out whether he'd be a good target for agricultural before she decided - prooooobably not.