It's not dumb. [quiet, firm] Neither idea was dumb.

[she slides one hand against her forehead, dragging her hair back out of her eyes before glancing sidelongways at him] No way to have predicted things would have fallen as they did. Let alone that people would willingly sign up to the militia.

A time may yet come when a place like this will find use, whether we want it to or not. [you could never be too prepared - they'd both learned that through hard experience.] It's was productive 'way of coping', so don't sell yourself short.