Who Let The Dogs Out? (Ella)

[Ella Tate]

Ella laughed at Mason's response to her question. She gave him an eye roll, knowing he was only teasing. When he gave an overview of what she had originally thought was a lot of other things that wasn't a movie, she raised an eyebrow. "This is a...cartoon?" She asked. It couldn't be live action, it sounded too ridiculous to be a live action movie. "Well, I told you gummy bears were the bomb." She grinned lightly.

She gave an embarrassingly high pitched squeak when Mason almost knocked her over when Chowder jerked forward, leaving Mason in a pile of sidewalk rubble. "Oih." She bit her lower lip as it trembled from holding back a laughter. She crouched down and pulled the leash back while whistling to Chowder. "Come back here boy." She grinned when the dog turned, tilting his head a little before trotting back to the pair.

"Stop making Mason fall would you?" She chided the dog playfully, patting the top of the dog's head before pushing up, helping Mason up as much as she could. "And I really don't want to take that back." Ella said, finally letting out the chuckle she had been holding in. She slapped Mason's back a couple of times. "If I get pure gold like that, no way I'm ever going to retract my wish."

"Oh, oh my. I will most definitely try. But really, how could I? You're already oh so irresistible now." The dark-haired recruiter smirked and looked around at where they were heading, wondering if the coffee shop Mason was heading to was out of Pilot Ridge...

Promptly putting that in the back of her mind, she re-tied her hair into a messy ponytail as Mason spoke of his life before he came back to Hammel. "And now you're back here teaching...what chemistry? Are you sure you didn't come back for me, Mason?" She teased, laughing at Mason's butt bump. "Okay, okay...Mason, where is this mystery coffee shop you were talking about? My feet need to be elevated and I want to get rehydrated."

[Mason McQueen]

“No, it’s a live action movie. Like Salt and Black Swan.” Mason tried to keep a stern face as he said his statement, but the snort that came out soon after was just too much for him to keep in. Not to mention looking serious has never been his strongest suit either (which translates poorly when it comes to disciplining rowdy teens; probably why he never gets chosen for detention duty, something he’s rather thankful really). “You’ve never seen it? It’s a cartoon. Animated really. You haven’t seen kiddie movies lately? So that’s why you have this weird old maid vibe around you.” Unlike most of his peers, Mason is quite the cartoons kid; while he does enjoy a good action or romantic flick from time to time, it is from the simplistic (and sometimes cliché) feel-good children movies does he feel truly relaxed and satisfied. “Gummy bears are evil. So they should be eaten as soon as they come out of their jar.”

He shook his head in disbelief when Chowder ran back to Ella quickly with just one whistle. And he couldn’t tone the dog down no matter how hard he tries earlier. “I think Chowder has a crush on you,” he teased, laughing as Ella helped him up, “Just look at the way he stares.” True enough, his energetic ball of fluff is just standing still, tongue out and tail wagging brightly, his mouth seemingly in a big grin. “Remind me to talk to him when we get home. His problem should be rectified immediately.”

Darn it. He hates it when Ella goes all sarcastic with him. It’s not like he can do anything to turn her sarcasm around, can he? “Meanie,” was all he could say, making small biting/chomping actions to voice his dissatisfaction as they walked.

“Meh. Had I known you were here, I would’ve taught at Eisai. Or even Kocher. I’m actually thinking of asking to be transferred now,” he chuckled, sticking his tongue out in an ‘I-win-you-lose’ way. “Chem. With some AP Bio classes on the side. It’s fun, at times. But probably not as fun as going around the world and dragging students to Hammel.”

His face broke out into a rather red shade when Ella asked him about the coffee shop. “I…err…” She’s got him. Damn. “…I don’t remember. Sorry.” He gave Ella a weak smile as he unconsciously scratched the back of his head, trying to remember a clue to help their situation. “Do you know where…what’s its name again…Kabi? Gali? Jabi?”

Mason, you’re hopeless.

[Ella Tate]

She had never been bogged down with taking things too seriously; which was why it was funny she had chosen such a hands on job like recruiting. But as it were, Ella didn't take it to heart at all when Mason basically called her an old maid. "Hey, if I still look this good as an old maid, I am not complaining." Ella smirked.

Ella laughed at Mason's assessment as she crouched back down to scratch Chowder behind his ears. "At least someone does, right?" She let the dog lick her cheeks. "Oh my god that tickles." She giggled, wiping it off with her covered shoulder. Ella looked up at Mason when he told her of his plans for later. "Are you kidding me? If he has a crush on me, he's doomed for life. I'm pretty unforgettable. Aren't I, Chowder? Yes I am." She laughed when Chowder barked as if in reply.

As they started walking, his half-hearted "Meanie," made Ella snort before bumping him again with her shoulder. "Nice retort, mister."

"Oh ho ho, do you now? Oh you should just go to Fasl, it's on the other side of the world if you wanna be that far away from me." Ella laughed, liking the banter Mason was offering her. He was as much childish as she was and she liked people who didn't take things too seriously.

"Oh I hardly go around the world. It's just in the US. And I've only gone to three places so far and it's not like I can actually do anything there. It's airport, recruit's house, airport. Not that much fun but someone's gotta do it right?"

Laughing at Mason's blush, Ella slapped a hand over her forehead and shook her head exasperatedly. "Oh Chowder...isn't your owner hopeless? Is it Kali, Mason?" Ella asked, tilting her head sideways a little. "Because if it is then it's...thatta way." She turned around and pointed in the direction they had been walking from. "Shall we?"

[Mason McQueen]

Just when he’s thought he’s got Ella trapped, the sneaky suppressor slithers out without even breaking a sweat. Darn it. If only someone could teach him how to make effective arguments or something. “You wish,” he snorted, apparently lost for words. He gave Ella a light punch on the arm, laughing as he added, “You’re a cheater you know that?” No Mason, you’re just helpless.

“My gosh Chowder, stop being so cheesy with Thumbelina. It’s not healthy,” he chuckled as his puppy gave Ella a well-deserved licking. Deciding that the puppy wouldn’t really stop anytime soon, he promptly crouched down and lifting his dog away, thinking that Ella’s been slobbered with dog saliva enough already. “Doomed for life? Is that what you do to all your suitors? Keep them hanging on and all that jazz?” he teased, “I knew you were evil and malicious, but I didn’t know you were that evil and malicious.”

With all that he’s been through the past year, Mason’s made it a point not to take life too seriously. As Andrei has constantly reminded him before, it wouldn’t help the healing if he’s going to be all no-nonsense, sulky and brooding. And besides, he’s going to grow old early. Though he might not look like it, he has a certain sense of vanity buried deep within that mess of a hair of his. “I would’ve considered Fasl have you not told me about it. It’s like you have a hidden agenda for sending me there or something. I’m not that dense you know,” replied Mason, “Guess Yǒufú de rén’s the only choice for me now. Unless of course you have a sinister plan for there to me too.”

“That is pretty boring.” Though the fact that she has to face the potential recruit’s family, as well as possibly counteract a power gone rogue makes Ella’s job a little too overwhelming for Mason. Heaven knows how he’ll babble should he be asked to explain Hammel’s policies and all that. “I like riding airplanes though. Especially their in-flight meals and all that. And don’t you earn miles for your trips? That’s got to count for something.”

He shyly bit his lip and nodded. “Yeah, Kali,” he muttered as he flashed an embarrassed smile. Seems like Ella’s gotten the best of him again.

[Ella Tate]

Ella's eyebrows shot up when she was called a cheater. "I do not cheat. What are you even talking about?" She held back a smug grin. The punch didn't do anything to her but she stumbled over anyway. "Mason! How could you hit a woman like that!" But she laughed, showing she was just joking around.

"Chowder, continue being cheesy dude. You shall be my Ella-bot when you're home with Mason. So he doesn't forget me even when he's at home. It would work well with the bet he has with me dontcha think?" Ella grinned as Mason picked the dog up and continued walking. "Hey! That is so not what I do!" She poked him in the sides and snorted. "Oh yeah, you definitely need to shed some pounds, Pillsbury dough boy."

His thinking that her wanting to send him to Fasl was a conspiracy theory had her in stitches. "Oh no, don't go to Youfu. I've set up way too many death traps - uh I mean...yeah go to Youfu if you want." She shrugged with a grin.

She shook her head as she shrugged. "The places I go to aren't that far away so I don't actually earn that many miles and stuff and even if I did, I wouldn't know what to do with them but who knows." She grinned.

The shy nod and mumble softened Ella's grin as she slipped her arm through his and turned them around. "Come on, Chowder. Let's go in the right direction this time." She teased Mason, bumping him lightly.

[Mason McQueen]

“You’re a woman?!” Mason teased, coupling his question with extremely exaggerated arm and facial gestures. “Oh I am sorry for being so dense. Tsk tsk tsk,” he added, instinctively rubbing his arms as he felt a cold wind blew at them. In a town filled with untrained metas, couldn’t a weather manipulator make it sunny accidentally at least for once (they can make it extremely cloudy most of the time in his experience)? He’d love whoever that was if ever.

The man chuckled and shook his head violently at having an Ella-spy back home. “My little brother teases me enough with my body back home, thank you very much. I’d rather you stay and be my work-troll than have two home-trolls you know.” It isn’t exactly analogous to Chowder being Ella’s bot, but he figures it’s close. And besides, Ella let out another fat jibe at him anyway, so it has got to count. “Hey, no tickling. I’m extremely ticklish and I prefer not to be molested,” he laughed as he was poked, playfully swatting the intrusive hand away. “You sure you’re not some hellspawn sent by, well, hell to torment me?”

“You can always take me to a trip out of a country. Heaven knows I need a vacation from all the stress Verax (and Mia and Rhett and many others) are giving me.” Not that he hates his students anyway, but he thinks he does need some well-deserve break sometime soon. Else he’d probably just explode. And he knows no one would like to clean a giant ball of hair.

As if understanding human speech to a tee, Chowder promptly turned around, his leash partially wrapping around the man’s legs and almost tripping him, when Ella called. “I’m sorry,” the man said shyly, “I’ll treat you to two cookies now instead of one. And make you fat like me so you’ll be such a hypocrite now. A fat hypocrite at that.” Hooray for such childish arguments.

[Ella Tate]

"Oh haha you're so hilarious, Mason, oh my God my sides are cracking up," Ella raised an eyebrow before rolling her eyes at the absurdity of her conversation with her senior. It was like she was back in high school all over again. Only this time, she wasn't so awkward.

.....Much.

Ella chuckled at Mason's attempt at deflection and shrugged. "Fine, I'll let you off just this once. But don't think I'll forget about this bet."

She scoffed at the idea of Mason being molested, especially by a little thing like her. "Hah! I would not molest you even if I could." She then laughed at the hilarity of what had just come out of her mouth. "Mason, I can't believe you made me use the word molest." Ella shook her head in disbelief.

"Aww...your life is so hard." She patted his shoulder and shook her head in mock consternation. But really, she wouldn't actually mind giving up her points for him. It wasn't like she wanted them in the first place.

Ella laughed victoriously when Mason resorted to childish comebacks. "Oh Mason. Mason, Mason, Mason...admit defeat. It's the only way. I am the hellspawn from hell. You can't beat that."

The cafe finally came into view and Ella smiled. "There. That's the cafe. Come on, you owe me hot chocolate."

[OOC: What'd you think Jam, can this be the wrap?]