diff --git a/docs/authoring-guide.md b/docs/authoring-guide.md
index d3f486d..94bb315 100644
--- a/docs/authoring-guide.md
+++ b/docs/authoring-guide.md
@@ -361,8 +361,12 @@ construction-args channel — `args` configures it BEFORE `bind`:
 
 `tz` is `chrono_tz`'s own exact, case-sensitive IANA name (`"berlin"` refuses;
 `"Europe/Berlin"` accepts); `open` is strict zero-padded local `HH:MM`
-(`"9:30"` refuses; `"09:30"` accepts) — the accepted string IS the canonical
-form, no normalization. Giving `Session` no `args` at all refuses the `add`
+(`"9:30"` refuses; `"09:30"` accepts); a `Count` arg (`LinComb`/`CostSum`'s
+arity) is a plain positive decimal — no sign, no leading zeros (`"03"`
+refuses; `"3"` accepts). The accepted string IS the canonical form, no
+normalization — and note the deliberate asymmetry: each kind's canonical
+form is its domain's conventional notation, fixed-width for wall-clock
+times, minimal for numbers. Giving `Session` no `args` at all refuses the `add`
 op (`node <name> is missing required arg "tz"`) — an arg-bearing type never
 silently enters the graph half-configured. `aura graph introspect --node
 Session` lists both declared `arg` rows with their kind and hint text before
diff --git a/docs/glossary.md b/docs/glossary.md
index 9370278..3abe727 100644
--- a/docs/glossary.md
+++ b/docs/glossary.md
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@ Entries are alphabetical.
 
 ### arg kind
 **Avoid:** ArgKind, construction-arg type
-The closed vocabulary of construction-arg value shapes (`Tz`/`TimeOfDay`/`Count`, #271) — deliberately NOT a `scalar base type`: args are bootstrap metadata, never streamed, so the two closedness axes stay separate. Each kind's accepted strict form IS its canonical form (an exact IANA name, zero-padded `HH:MM`, a plain positive decimal count) — there is no normalization layer, so a near-miss string refuses rather than being rewritten.
+The closed vocabulary of construction-arg value shapes (`Tz`/`TimeOfDay`/`Count`, #271) — deliberately NOT a `scalar base type`: args are bootstrap metadata, never streamed, so the two closedness axes stay separate. Each kind's accepted strict form IS its canonical form (an exact IANA name; zero-padded `HH:MM`; a plain positive decimal count, no sign or leading zeros) — there is no normalization layer, so a near-miss string refuses rather than being rewritten. The per-kind forms are deliberately asymmetric (`"03"` refuses as a count while `"09:30"` requires the pad): canonical is each domain's conventional notation — fixed-width for wall-clock times, minimal for numbers.
 
 ### atomic sim unit
 **Avoid:** atomic unit, sim unit