2007-03-20: To The Batcave

Starring:

Elena_icon.gif Cass_icon.gif Jaden_icon.gif Zac_icon.gif Randall_icon.gif Lachlan_icon.gif

Summary: There are no real words for the craziness of this log. Jaden tries to hire Elena as a publicist and build Cass a secret Batcave for research. Lachlan asks Elena about her procreative habits. Randall and Elena have a philosophical conversation while Lach and Cass wrestle over a note in the background. Everyone in this scene should be banned from scening with each other ever again. Seriously.

Date It Happened: March 20, 2007

To the Batcave?


Enlightenment Books

It was late in the day, with the sun sinking over the horizon. Classes are resuming now, but she has no class today. So after her earlier-than-usual shift at Starbucks, Elena moves along, crossing from west to east towards East Village. Cass will be around, and after the craziness from the last meeting, she figures while she can deal with Cass, she didn't know if she could handle the craziness that is Jack and Lachlan together in the same space.

It takes her a bit, but she finally makes her way to Enlightenment books with twilight setting in. The days were getting longer, which was a good thing. She often considered herself solar powered. Winters were the worst seasons for her in getting up off the bed to go to work or school. She spent most of her childhood thinking she was part bear.

The little bell by the door chimes when she steps inside. She is wearing a nondescript black jacket, her hood pulled down and shaking her thick, chocolate-brown hair, the loose waves spilling around her face as she makes her way inside. She has one of her baby t-shirts underneath, stretched over a tighter, longsleeved one. It is black on white, with the words 'D.N.A: National Dyslexic Association' on it, paired with sneakers and fitted, hip-hugging jeans. The irony of finding the shirt in her closet did not escape her.

"Cass?" she calls out, moving further inside. "You here?"

Thursdays, for some reason, are slow days for Enlightenment Books. Perhaps no one needs enlightenment on Thursdays. Cass has taken this slow period and the mostly empty book store to restock shelves and start to make a list of what she needs to re-order. While she has a pen in her hand, there are a couple pens and pencils stuck behind her ear and in her hair as well as in her pocket. She keeps forgetting where she puts them and ends up getting new ones. Then she sticks those somewhere and needs to get another one. It's a vicious cycle, really. There's probably a path of writing utensils from where she started to where she is working now. The notebook she cradles in her arms is filled with ISBN numbers, the sections those books belong to in capital block letters at the top of each page.

As soon as the door opens, the store owner looks up to see who the customer may be. Sticking her head out of one of the shelves, she waves to Elena and throws her a smile. "Hey Elena! I'm back here!"

"Hey Cass," Elena says with a smile. She has her backpack with her, slung on her shoulder as she trots over to where the other woman is working on the shelves. "I asked Peter Petrelli to meet me the other day. I warned him about the virus. I figured….since he was the one who told me about the cure the Company was developing, I thought I kind of owe him. Also, Hiro Nakamura managed to get out of the Kirby Plaza facility," she says, dropping her backpack and looking up at what she's doing. "You need any help?" she offers. She doesn't mind - after a couple of days of downtime thanks to the shoot out at her campus, she managed to spend that time talking to classmates, practice, working, and getting ahead on schoolwork. Add some socializing time, she actually looks pretty happy, and less exhausted than the last time she had visited EB.

Cass sticks her pen into the spiral of her notebook, where she'll likely forget where it is. She just shakes her head at the offer of help, though she smiles when she does it. All the information being flung at her makes her blink her eyes and then widen them. "Wow. So, that's good to know. The virus is…I don't know if it's anything that we can do anything about. Mohinder's working on a cure for it. Or, well, he was when I spoke to him last." She gets a sour look on her face when she thinks about /that/ particular conversation. "How did he escape? Do you know?" Now she's thinking back to the conversation that she had with her father. Did he have a hand in it after all?" "I'm glad you stopped by, actually. I had an epiphany and I wanted to run it by you to get your thoughts."

"He is?" Elena says, inclining her head. She really hasn't spoken to Mohinder since she barged into his apartment and he cooked dinner. "He's a pretty good cook," she tells Cass. But then she sits down on one of the stepstools around, hunching over and draping her arms across her knees. "I haven't actually spoken with him since I confronted him about working for the Company, before….you know. Everything else. I didn't think it'd be safe for me to talk to him. As for how he escaped? I have….no idea. Peter just told me he managed to teleport to where he was staying to let him know that he was okay. But apparently he escaped. And sure! What epiphany?" she asks, propping her chin on one hand as she looks over at the older woman.

"Jinkies!" The voice belongs to none other than the infamous Jaden Cain. Not that he's really infamous. Maybe Almost Famous is a better phrase. But then again, nobody -really- knows him. And that's why the exclamation of Velma's favorite word as he sticks his head in the doors is probably going to make people go: wtf. He has paid no attention to whatever other patrons are in the building, as he's managed to catch sight of books. Books. He likes books. Okay, not really. He likes comic books and that's the most important thing on his mind right now. Soon enough, he's pushing his way through the door and on into the inside of the place and looks around. "Viva! La Papyrus!" He holds his hands up to the sky and proclaims that paper will rule! Or whatever it means in English. "I swear, if I was a nerd, I'd be in heaven right now. El Oh El."

Cass blinks at that. "He's…okay. I would not have seen that. Yeah. The last time I saw him was when I was when I accused him of betraying us and locking Mr. Nakamura up. I…don't think he'd really be happy seeing me again." Moving over to one of the other stools, she runs a hand through her hair and finds another pen. Odd. Pulling that one out, she tosses it onto the counter for later. "Well, I was thinking. Maybe we should-" and then Jaden bursts into the store, totally interrupting her train of thought. Back to being employer and worker. She doesn't recognize Jaden, but she knows he's a customer. "Hi! Welcome to Enlightenment!" Her voice is chipper and welcoming. "If you need anything, feel free to ask!"

She looks at Cass curiously, until the door bursts open and Jaden swoops in like he owns the place. …then again, if she knew who he was, she would wonder if he wanted to -buy- the place considering the Cains were giant spenders around New York. At least that's what the papers say anyway. Elena looks over at Cass, and she grins, winking at her. "I'm not going anywhere for a bit," she tells her. After all, Cass had a business to run. And she loves books. So she stands up when Cass does, and starts browsing. She lingers around where Cass is, however, looking over the young man curiously. He looks…-really- familiar. She just can't place him for the moment.

"Actually, Madame, I do." This is Jaden trying to sound like Thurston Howell III. And it's a pretty good impression. Good enough that he could pass for a snooty somebody if he needs to. He finds himself sliding across the floor, waving at anybody else that may be watching him, as if he was Mr. America and ends up leaning on the counter. He shakes his head to get off Gilligan's Island, "I need anything and everything you have by Dr. Edward Cain." He pauses. "Wait, was he a doctor? I don't know. But he's really smart and dead and my father." Pause. "I guess he kinda' looks like me. If I, y'know, wore thick coke bottle glasses and a pocket protector."

Cass grins at Elena and nods at her. "I'll be right back," she assures her friend before she turns back to Jaden. The impression of the snooty Gilligan's Island man and then the rapid fire questions don't seem to phase her that much. "Edward Cain, hm? Well, I don't think so. Did he write about aliens? Or ancient religions? Or perhaps wiccan covens?" She's just listing a couple of sections off the top of her head. "Because if not, I don't think we're going to have it. But I'm sorry to hear that your father died." Even if he doesn't seem to be too broken up about it.

That was sad. Elena emerges from the back shelves in full view, dark eyes falling on Jaden and giving him a small smile. She'll let Cass field the business in her own store though. But she does start browing the shelves for something interesting. She finds a tome of local ghost stories, pulling it out and flipping the pages over. She's been scared by stories like these before, when she was a kid. This was until she discovered Science and how it was impossible for souls to come back from the dead because no one knew if souls actually existed. That is…until superpowers started emerging -everywhere-. Then maybe the impossible isn't so impossible. Maybe she could go ghost hunting on her birthday.

Jaden gives a shrug of his shoulders, he's definitely not going to be crying any night. Not at all. "Eh. Didn't know him. Met his lawyers though. Nice guys. Kind of boring though." He frowns and looks around the store. Not really moving from his spot and just using his eyes. "Guess I'm gonna have to look into Nerd.com or something. Does nobody have any good computer books? I've been to like thirty stores. Bought two of 'em. But not one person has a book by my father!" He shakes a fist at the heavens.

Cass watches Jaden's reaction to her news with amusement. "Well, the only books about computers we have here are about fairies being inside of them." She glances over to where Elena is still browsing to make sure that the girl hasn't left yet. "Or how they're trying to control our minds." She shrugs her shoulders. "What two books did you buy? I might be able to steer you in the right direction of what store to go to next." While she doesn't know every bookstore in New York, she knows quite a few. "What did he write about?"

"So. You're like Giles and this is the Scooby Gang headquarters? Not bad." Jaden pushes off the counter now and moves over to look at a couple of books on the shelves. He hasn't really figured out what he's looking for. "No, no. Not books. Bookstores. They were kind of cool and since I'm richer then Lex Luthor, I figured I'd buy 'em. It'll probably be in the paper tomorrow." He shrugs again, before turning back to look at Cass. "I actually don't know if he's ever written anything. He's just a nerd and he owned Evolution Software. I figure if anybody would write a book, it'd be him, right?"

"Awesome. Sounds like someone watches Buffy," Elena says with a grin, looking over her shoulder at Jaden. The pop culture reference isn't lost on her. She watched a lot of TV and movies when she had the time. Unfortunately she doesn't have much time for it now, not like in high school, but Buffy was quite popular while she was in high school and so she manages to tag into it. Now that Jaden's mentioned that though….she looks at Cass. She looks at the books. She roams back to the fact that Cass is a stupenduous researcher. Conclusion? Yep. Cass was like Giles. Only with boobs and is much hotter without the British accent.

Cass's mouth hangs open a bit when she actually understands what Jaden is saying. Then, regaining some of her composure, she quickly shuts it and tries to respond to him. "Hey. I'm not British," she retorts, blushing at the comparison. "And if you're Lex Luthor, are you a super villain?" Still a little flustered, she looks over to Elena for some girl back up. "Evolution Software? I think I've heard that name." She's not exactly the most tech savvy chick. A fact made all the more evident by there being no computer in the main bookstore. "Well, just because you're a nerd doesn't mean you write a book."

"Not this version of me." Jaden quips, before looking over at Elena and giving her a wink. He always winks. Why? He has no idea. And in a moment, he's twirling and hopping up to sit on the counter. He's not allowed, probably, but he also just doesn't care. If it breaks, he'll buy her another one. "He had to write /something/. Otherwise, this whole 'leave my multi-billion dollar company to my slacker son that I've never even met' angle is the worst plot hole I've ever seen." He reaches into his jacket and comes out with a plastic bag. As it unrolls, his vice is shown in full addiction. "Scooby Snack?" The bag is held out towards Cass, as a peace offering for his body being all over her counter. "I figure it's like this. I'm like… Columbo. Or Monk, right? And it's up to me to figure

"Yeah, Cass? Totally hotter than Giles," Elena remarks with a smile, twiddling with the book in her hand as she takes a step closer to the two talking, once more, yet again, attracted by the sheer power of Geekdom. She tucks the book under her arm, though she intends to look at it later after this conversation was over. But when Cass mentions Evolution Software, she blinks a little bit, and turns to look at Jaden. "Evolution Software? EvoSoft?" she wonders. After looking at it some more, recognition lights up her dark, amber-flecked eyes. "You're Jaden Cain. He was in the papers, Cass. From what I read in the Times, the shareholders went nuts over the declaration in his will because no one knew Mr. Cain had a son and…." And the fact that the kid was an unknown and a huge slacker. "…..didn't know…much. About him."

Cass snorts at Elena. "I don't have an accent, I can't be hotter." Rummaging around on the counter, the woman finds a headband and uses it to restrain her short hair. When Jaden jumps up on the counter, it startles Cass and she takes a quick step backward to avoid being kicked or landed on. There's no real danger of it, but it's an automatic reaction. She reaches into the bag and pulls out a 'scooby snack' but doesn't eat it yet. "What…are these?" They could be drugs for all she knows. "Clues aren't always found in books first. A lot of the time it's on the body or in the room the victim died in." She's seen these. "And you don't seem obsessive compulsive enough to be Monk." The name still is a blank to Cass, as she doesn't normally read the business section of the newspaper. This is a story that's at least /somewhat/ familiar to her. "Oh? Really?" She squints at Jaden, as if that will jog her memory. "Wow. So, what's running a huge company like?"

"Define 'running'. I mean, I make phone calls and spend money and stuff, but I don't know if I'm actually running it. But then again, I don't really care. It's my company and I'll cry if I want to, right?" Jaden flashes a smile and looks up at Elena as she tells his life story. "You're good. No relation to Miss Cleo, I take it?" He gives her a smile too, before grabbing a Scooby Snack for himself and munching away. Chewchew. "They're just cookies. I mean… you can't tell me you've never heard of Scooby Snacks. Like… what kind of horrible childhood did you have? I'm assuming you didn't have one." He frowns, feeling that this is a serious bad thing. Not having cartoons as a kid? Major suckage. "No wonder you run a bookstore."

"Yeah, but you have boobs, and boobs are superior," Elena tells Cass with a grin. She slides her hands in her pockets and she blinks at Cass as she braves a Scooby Snack. She can't help but laugh and cry inwardly at the same time. The Scooby references in her life were never going away. So she might as well sit back and accept it. "Hey, there's nothing wrong with running a bookstore," she says, frowning over at Jaden. "Especially if one happens to like books more than TV." At the last, she shakes her head. "No, not psychic. Not even a fake one." Her father, however… "I just pay attention to the outside world is all. You were in front page of the Wall Street Journal too. I think stock for EvoSoft dropped that week when the announcement was made since no one really knows you."

"Mm. Your company and the millions of people who work for you," Cass replies, always the conscientious one. Even to Mister Happy Go Lucky. Shrugging, she pops the scoobie snack into her mouth and raises any eyebrow to the rich guy on her counter. "Yeah, I meant what kind of cookies. The ones they feed Scooby were dog treats and I assumed you weren't eating those." She grins at Elena. "No, there's nothing wrong with running a bookstore. I quite like it."
"Actually, they weren't. Scooby Snacks were always cookies. That's why Shaggy ate them. But if you -really- want to get technical about it, there were two versions. A set that were actually dog biscuits and a set that were actually cookies. Either version worked on Scooby, but sometimes Shaggy would have to have his own Shaggy Snacks. Which were likely cookies but this is making me sound like a total dork right now, isn't it?" Jaden realizes that he's just rambled on about knowing too much about Scooby Doo and he returns to chomping his cookies. "Don't worry. These are the cookie version." He pauses in mid-chew. "I think." Looking at Elena at this point, he's frowning. "Hold up. Press rewind. I was on the Wall Street Journal? I caused stocks to drop? This is not cool. No wonder those old guys keep calling meetings about me when I'm not around. I saw this in an Adam Sandler movie once. Didn't end well."

"……yeah just a little bit," Elena says with a laugh, and winks over at Cass. "And she's right you know. Just because he died and mysteriously left you his fortune doesn't mean what you want to find is in the books. I think though you should hire your own private investigator and tag along with him in looking for clues and stuff if you want to know what really happened to your dad. Though that's kind of weird….I thought your Dad just….you know. Kicked it one day. It happens, you know? Doesn't necessarily mean something shady went down." And at the last, she nods. "Well….yeah. The press release came out, a fullblown story the next day….and EvoSoft stock fell. Usually when someone gets named a successor for a huge company like yours? Usually stocks go up because the Wall Street world in New York is extremely tight knit. Everybody who holds the power knows everyone else. So naturally people in the know were expecting someone with huge Wall Street credentials to take over after your father died, but when he passed on the business to you….and no one knows who you are…of course the stock was going to drop."

Cass just laughs at Jaden's explanation about Scooby Snacks, but it's not in a mean spirited way. "Not at all. You should meet my friend Nima. She owns the Secret Lair, just down the street. I think you'd really dig it." Yes, she just said 'dig it'. And she's not about to apologize for that. Having already swallowed a cookie - or dog treat - she coughs a bit at the 'I think'. "Um, well. It was pretty good for a dog biscuit." All this talk about stocks and businesses is over her head, but she does latch on to mystery and private investigators. "Maybe there was a plot to do something horrible and your father couldn't trust any of the people on his staff with the company, so he left it to you to pick up the pieces." This is an idea that she likes. Intrigue! "Or, maybe he just wanted to make sure you were taken care of." The boring answer, but one she feels the duty to toss out there.

"Oh, man, that would be so sweet. To be like the hero of the story or something. It'd be like if I'm like… Prince Adam or something. Man, all I need is a Power Sword and a pet tiger." He frowns a little bit, knowing that there's no way he could actually get his hands on a Power Sword. "Oooh. But I do have like an unlimited credit card thing? Does that count? Do I have the power?" If he forces another cartoon reference into this conversation, there's going to be all kinds of animated hell to pay. So his attention is thrown back over to Elena, since she seems to know more about him than even he does. "You're like… an expert on me. I'd ask you to marry me, but that didn't work out so well last time. So instead, I'm thinking maybe I can offer you a job as like my publicist. Don't rich guys like me have those?"

"Uh….well, usually those places have some sort of expense account, right?" Elena says slowly, blinking at Jaden. Part of her is facepalming. What the hell? Jaden was the youngest CEO in the history of the world to handle a multibillion dollar software conglomerate like EvoSoft and he doesn't even know if they have an expense account? Who the hell's been helping him with stuff? Didn't these guys have advisors or something? "I've been to the Secret Lair. My little brothers are huge comic book fans," she tells Cass with a smile. "I didn't know you knew the owner, Cass." Stars are aligning again….but not yet. At the last, she blinks, and turns red on the cheeks. "…wh….what? I'm not even out of college yet," she protests meekly. "For marriage or for taking on a huge job like that. Besides….I'd suck anyway. No, seriously. I give my opinion too freely. And being a publicist is all about 'spinning' the truth. All I do is read the papers. You can say the reporters are the ones who are the real experts on you."

Cass watches Jaden and Elena with renewed amusement. "I think you'd make a great publicist, Elena," she grins. "And, yeah. I've known Nima for years. Her twin brother, Lee, too. You've met Lee." That disastrous night of the rescue of Peter Petrelli. "Jack, uh, was not kind to certain parts of his anatomy." Just in case she needed a jogged memory of who Lee was of that crew.

"No. You're hired. I'm rich. I don't have to take no for an answer." Jaden just goes into his inside pocket and proceeds to pull out his checkbook. He's grabbing for a pen when he catches up to the other part of the conversation. "Wait wait. Secret Lair? I've been there!" He's forgotten all about the whole hiring Elena thing for the moment. Comics have been brought into the conversation. "You know the owners? Oh man, you HAVE to hook me up. You just gotta'. I'll like buy every book in this place if you hook me up." He should probably talk about what he wants to get hooked up with. "I'm tryin' to have this party, right? To announce this new medical facility thing, right? And the Secret Lair will be the BEST. PLACE. EVAR. to have that party. Please tell me you can make this happen." Cass just got a biggest fan. Oh wait. Elena. Jaden looks back over at her. "How much is tuition? I'll like take care of the rest of that for you with a stroke of my pen!"

"Oh, Lee! Yes…." Elena winces inwardly. "….how is he?" she ventures to Cass hesitantly. But when Jaden turns to Cass to remark on comic books, she breathes a sigh of relief. She was saved. And then….wait. No. She laughs and shakes her head. "I'm….on a full scholarship actually," she says with a laugh. "At NYU. So…..I'm really not paying anything for college, save for the things I need on the side for it, and I have a job for that." Who does that? A C-level executive hiring people he just met? Plus….well. He was rich. She didn't typically trust rich people. But there's something about Jaden that makes her laugh. Probably because he's a 12 year old in a 22 year old's body. She can't help but think EvoSoft is screwed, though. >.> "So comic books, huh?" she asks.

Cass laughs at Jaden's no taking of no for an answer. But then she's sort of swept up in the whole drooling over her contacts. "I…yes," she manages to say before he gushes on about the party that he's having. "I mean, you don't have to buy anything. I can introduce you to Nima and you can ask her about it. I'm sure she'd love to talk to you. And…you're opening up a new medical facility?" This perks Cass' attention greatly. This is so perfect for what she wanted to talk to Elena about earlier. "Really? Where's it going to be?" Something else she didn't read about in the papers. Or perhaps she just glossed over it. "I'm Cass, by the way. Cass Aldric. I know we know your name, but I don't know if you know ours." She'll let Elena introduce herself should she want to.

"I have no idea. All I know is I have to be there because all of EvoSoft's stuff is in there. So I have to come and make a speech. I was thinking of doing a rap though. Straight Eminem style, yo." Jaden hops off the counter now and does a little gangsta' pose. Except, coming from him, it looks completely and utterly out of place and beyond Wiggerdom. "Yo, I'm Jaden! Know what I'm sayin'! If you start bleedin', this is where you'll be stayin'!" He puts his hands in the air and waves them like he just doesn't care. Then he stops. "I'm guessin' you girls are down with OPP?" Looking around, he sighs a bit and can tell he's probably annoying the crap out of people. "Full scholarship? Sweet. You must be like a genius or something. They actually gave me a check -not- to come back to community college. I bought beer with it. Those were the days." A little trip down memory lane later and Jaden's hyperactive mind is thrown back on track. "So you gonna' work for me or what? Seriously. I can't keep up with all this stuff. I don't even know what a profit margin is. I'm screwed."

She blinks and glances at Cass at her wide-eyed look, and then Elena looks over at Jaden. "Wow, really? I think that's awesome," she says. "New York could use more hospitals….especially for the ones that can't afford healthcare," she says softly. The girl was studying to become a doctor after all. At him calling her a genius, she turns a little pink on the cheeks again, and rubs the back of her neck sheepishly. "…not really….I just study a lot, I work hard is all…." she says, suddenly bashful. How typical, call her hot and she barely bats an eyelash, call her a genius and she's all red. NERD GIRL. "Um…." Man. She's so going to miss Starbucks. "….if you don't mind me working part time? I have a full load at school, and I can certainly use the higher pay. I'm getting paid seven dollars an hour…." Oh god. She can't believe she's actually considering this. What if the guy was just high and forgets about this the next morning?
"Elena Gomez," she introduces, remembering herself. She extends a hand out to shake.

Cass giggles, but she checks around the store to see how the few people still here are disturbed by Jaden's rapping. Nobody seems to be, though he's getting an odd look here and there. "That's really, great, actually. Do you do…uh…rentals? I'm starting to do some scientific research and I need a space." She smiles as winningly at Jaden as she can. "I mean, since you're going to own it and everything." And since her friend is now going to be his publicist.

"Wait for it. I'm getting an idea. Like a major lightbulb here." Jaden smiles at Cass and presses his fingers to his head. He's definitely using his abilities here. Okay, not really. He's just a normal guy and well, it doesn't really seem like he can do anything special except squint a lot. "I got it! You own a bookstore. You have shelves. The place next to here is totally for sale. I can buy it, Tonka truck it and then use the space to build you like…" He smiles big and looks between Elena and Cass. "Is anyone else seeing a secret passage to a ultra gear tight sekrit lab?" He's already starting to make plans in his head for this, but there has to be some conversation with Elena. "As for you. You can start whenever. I need to know where you live. I'm gonna' come Meet The Fockers and drop off your Publicist of the Year packet. Which is basically a hot cell phone like mine." He takes a moment to pull his out and show it off. Shiny. "So that you can just be able to help me even when you're not like… able to help me. Text messaged speeches? Awesome." He rubs his hands together as he figures he's going to be good at this whole business thing after all. "Which one of these bookcases can we turn into a spinning entrance?" Oh lord.

…..wait. Jaden was ….suggesting to invest in a -Bat Cave-? In Cass's store? Elena stares at Jaden, and then looks over at Cass, and then at Jaden again. Alright. He was definitely high. And since he was a millionaire? He probably had access to the best stuff that came out of Jamaica. And wait, he needs to know where she lives? "Well….I work at a Starbucks in Lower Manhattan. I'm there almost all the time so that's -practically- where I live," she tells Jaden. Hey, you can't blame her for being wary and a little unconvinced that the young man was totally sane. "Wait…..I don't need to interview or anything?" she wonders. Oh god. What was she getting into? And then again if she took the job she won't have to break her bank to get everyone something nice for Christmas, especially since her list of friends just added a few more people over the course of several weeks.

Zac enters the store, and seconds after, his phone rings. He steps off to the side to answer it, but still looking at the titles on the shelves.

Zac blinks as he speaks on the phone, then blinks and looks at the phone as the other party hung up abruptly. "Yup. Definitely living in New York now." he mutters to hismelf, and looks to the shelves in earnest.

Cass watches Jaden with a smile and a raised eyebrow. "You want to build me a secret lab." It's not really a question, she's staring at Jaden in disbelief. And then she starts to laugh uncontrollably. "That's the best thing I've heard all month. But, really, you don't need to. I just need a couple of rooms in that spiffy new hospital you're dedicating. And if you let me, I'll totally make one of my bookcases swing out. Just for you. Though it'll just kind of swing out into a blank wall." She grins at Elena and her wariness of letting Jaden know where she lives. "You don't need to be interviewed, Elena, you're already fabulous." As Zac enters the store, she opens her mouth to welcome him, but he's already on the phone before she can do it. Deciding to keep an eye for when he's off the phone, she turns back to this very fortuitous conversation.

"No way. We're doing this. I'll have my… wait, do I even have a secretary? Well, I'll get one and have her draw up the papers. This is place is totally about to become nine more levels of awesome." He's about to say something else, when his phone rings. It shakes him cuz it's in his hand and he narrows his eyes at it. "… Crap. It's the Commissioner. Apparently, the Joker has escaped." He frowns and starts to make his way towards the door. "You." He points at Elena. "Starbucks. Tomorrow. Be there so we can get you fired." He looks back at Cass. "You. I'll be in touch." As he whisks himself away and through the door, the immortal words of Buzz Lightyear can be heard, "TO INFINITY AND BEYOND!" And it's followed up by, "WHOOSH!" and the pitter patter of sneakered feet as Jaden 'flies' away.

Randall wanders in, easing the door closed, and catching the tail end of Zac's non-conversation. "Reception cut out?" he asks, then glances over at Cass and Jaden and doubles over with amusement. Well, not literally, but he does lean forward and try to hold the response down to a reserved chuckle.

"I'll be…wait. WHAT? You're going to get me fi—wait, no! Don't do that!" Elena cries, horrified, running after Jaden only to stop at the doorframe, watching BatJaden fly away and yelling out the words of Buzz Lightyear. She can't help but stare. And stare. And stare, and she groans, thumping her forehead over and over and over on the doorframe. "Why?" she whimpers to herself, even as Zac is probably gaping over this Scene O'Bizarro. "Why do all the crazy ones end up getting my number?" Because she is, most probably, a masochist. She's starting to sense a disturbing pattern with the guys she meets who are around her age. One's a MASKED AND COSTUMED VIGILANTE, the other one's got a DOUBLE LIFE on paper (though she doesn't know this yet), and one who thinks his life is one giant Saturday Cartoon Special just offered her a job that may or may not have been under the influence of a Jamaican high. Not to mention half her acquaintances are denizens of the New York underworld, and the person who runs their 'headquarters' is Giles with Boobs.

Zac hangs up his phone, "For cryin' out loud. It's not like I try to mess with people. Sheesh." he looks at the shelves some more.

Just like Elena, Cass gapes when Jaden goes flying out the door with his promises and Buzz Lightyear calls. "I…wait! My bookstore is already nine levels of awesome!" Sighing, she puts a hand on her forehead. "I really need to learn when to keep my mouth shut," she sighs. Then, she gives Elena an amused laugh. "It's because you're adorable." It's her way of teasing her younger friend. "Well, this was certainly crazy." Looking up, her mostly dead bookstore has now got a few more people in it. Not exactly the best time to pick up the conversation she was having with Elena before. Smiling at Randall, she's a /little/ less crazy than the last time the two saw each other. At least she's not being carried out the door by a Scotsman determined to drink. "Welcome back. Looking for anything in particular?"

Randall pauses, eyeing Zac more closely, then Elena as she runs up toward the entrance. "Do you spend a lot of time hanging around here?" he asks of the latter, glancing over toward Cass as well as he continues. "I've been meaning to check out whether some mental ley lines might not be converging here— it /would/ make for a good location, after all, given the typical subject matter around here…" He sounds just as serious about this as Jaden did about his thing; there's even a similar current of exuberance about it, though you have to actively look for the subtle hints of body language to pick up on it.

Zac looks to Randall when he snaps out of his reverie and realizes he's being spoken to. It doesn't happen often. "Oh!" he shakes his head, "My friend was looking for a friend of hers because she's playing this show over in Brooklyn and I think she's either hammered or has the number wrong because both time she tried to call her, she got me instead. Now I think she's mad because she thinks I'm messing with her and I'm not. I don't see her friend anywhere around here."

"Oh my god. That's it. I so quit. What if he's serious? What if he gets me fired? I mean, I was standing there just listening to him and humoring him about a potential job and….oh my god what if he remembers in the morning?" Elena groans. "If he gets me fired I'm so screwed. I mean, is the guy for real? Does he even know -how- to pay staff members?" She watches Randall as he walks in. "Oh, the owner's a friend of mine. I was in the area," she tells Randall. She also looks at Cass helplessly. She can never look at her again without hearing an English accent. She folds her arms on the counter and rests her chin on her arms. Fired. He was going to get her fired. Oh Jebus save me.

Cass decidedly does not have a British accent. And she will kill Elena if she learns of that mental image. "I doubt he'll get you fired. And if he /does/ then you set your salary. He can afford it, I think. You think I want him to make my store into some sort of Batcave? It's already weird enough." She says that in a fond manner. She loves her store. "I wouldn't be surprised, actually. Tom was crazy about the location of this store. That's who owned it before me. Maybe it just totally draws people in through their subconscious. Or maybe it's just curiosity." She's not just humoring Randall, she's talking to him seriously about it, too. That's something she's good at. Finally, Zac is off the phone and she smiles at him. "Ah, hi. Do you need any help, sir?"

Zac looks over and double takes, seeing Elena. Oh. Hell. No. Ohhellno. He rolls his eyes a bit and walks over, completely casual. "Um..Elena? I'm Zac, from Starbucks, remember? Umm..I think something's up with the cell phone network because Jane just tried to call you but got me. Twice. I didn't realize you were here or I would've let ya talk to her." and then he smiles over to Cass. "Oh nah. I'm looking around, see what all ya had in here. But ya don't have to call me sir. I think I'm still too young for that." he chuckles.

Speaking of Scotsmen determined to drink, guess who's coming in now? Lachlan Deatley has a new friend! She's blonde and much younger than Cass, too. Shame she's walking on a leash and drools a bit more than the aforementioned woman. Bonnie is a young pup yet, but she's sizeable, hinting at the idea that she will grow still more before her life is through (hopefully). Her wiry coat and shaggy angular face distinguish her as an Irish wolfhound mix, but her markings (blonde with a dark mask and tail) suggest something of a German shepherd or similar. She's a /pound puppy/, there is no doubt. She's only been with her new master for one day, but she's already well-behaved and walks nicely on her leash and harness. As she enters the bookstore next to Lachlan, her long tail wags and her jaws part in a joyful grin. Ohboynewplacesohboy! The Scotsman at the other end of her leash takes a glance at all those present and grins when he spots Cass. "Hey, baby!" he calls in greeting to her. Then, there's Elena. Whom he hasn't seen since that fiasco in the bookstore /last/ time. The Scotsman can only grin wider. "Hey, Elena! Di'ye an' tha' boy make good use o' tha' rubber I gave ye?" If there are any other customers in the store, they now have an insight into the lives of this dynamic duo.

Lachlan isn't very quiet about his question.

Randall nods to Cass, absently tracing patterns with his fingers atop the nearest patch of empty shelf. "Could be both… each would tend to reinforce the other." Yes, he's actively calling the place a weirdness magnet. Well, if it quacks like a duck… He takes in the interplay between Zac and Elena, then instinctively doubles over all over again as Lachlan pipes up— and, not one to waste an opportunity, shoots a quick wave at Bonnie while he's down there.

…..oh my god. This was officially the worst day ever. Not only was some young CEO she didn't even know going to get her fired, but Lachlan just pranced in with a puppy, and broadcasted her NON SHAME in an entire store that's around 3/5s occupied by men. And even as some of the other sparse customers look up and stare at the scene unfolding before them, Elena turns so red she's almost purple. "I….wh…WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING. We're NOT like that!" Or are they? But it's true, they weren't dating. And she wouldn't just sleep with some guy, she was Catholic! And she stands there, wallowing in her shame. Oh my god. If it weren't for the fact that Lachlan had a poor innocent blonde puppy with him, she would've ninja kicked him in the face! …..or something similar. Like cry and make him feel really bad about it.

…and then she remembers Lachlan has no soul. Stupid Scot.

"No sirring. Okay." Cass takes due note of that around Zac. "And if you /do/ have questions, please ask. I'm the one who works here," she grins. And before she can be even more professional, Lachlan bursts in with his dog and his…asking about condoms. Putting her head in her hands, she just shakes it back and forth, as if trying to remember what she is doing with this man. "Lachlan." She has no idea how to tell him that it may not be polite to ask about rubbers without making it worse. "Elena. It's totally okay for you to just punch him. Or kick him somewhere it will really hurt. I'll hold the dog leash." She gives a somewhat pained smile to Randall. She's trying to bring SOME semblance of professionality back to her store. "I'm sure they do. Weird attracts weird. I don't know what in the world I did to attract this much, though."

The fact that his /totally appropriate and wonderful present/ went completely unused seems to cut Lachlan deeply. /Deeply/. The poor man is /shattered/. Or not really, but he does look rather flabbergasted. "Ye dinna— ? Yer no'— ?" And then he seems to decide on something and grins broadly, /devilishly/. "Ahhhh, righ', righ'. I get ye." As he approaches Elena, he ducks his head and lowers his voice: "If yer lookin' fer another, I've got some spares in m'pocket. Just got a new box the other day." With a knowing wink, he sets off for Cass just in time to catch her last statement, and he attempts to put his arm around her waist and offer a kiss to her cheek. "Yer just tha' bloody attractive, baby." It's a compliment! Sorta.

Zac smiles to Cass brightly, "I sure will." he looks to Elena, then blinks at Lochlan's condom remark, "Umm..just don't use the dry ones, eh?" he says more cautiously than anything. "I hear they hate that."

Randall shakes his head. "These days, rain slickers are deader than… dead," he offers, feigning cluelessness in a noble attempt to cut at least /some/ of the tension. "Umbrellas are coming back in a /big/, big way."

The teenager stares at them both. Dark eyes go wider and wider as Lachlan hits both herself AND Cass at the same time with one swoop. And then Zac, a near stranger, says his piece. Elena doesn't look red-purple anymore. Now she looks gray. There are no words. None. NONE. She's just standing there, stunned. It would've actually been less HORRIFYING if she just leapt on Cass's register and stripped her clothes off. None. NONE.
"/Lachlan/," Cass hisses at him. Keeping her voice low, she whispers in his ear, hopefully only loud enough for him to hear as to not embarrass poor Elena any further. "You know, in some places it's considered rude to ask other people if they're using condoms in front of strangers." While she's not really all that upset for herself - all her friends already assume she's only seeing Lachlan because of the sex, she's used to it now. "And this happens to be one of those places. Everywhere is one of those places." Zac and Randall get their own blank stare. Wow. This is really happening. "SO!" she says even louder to /hopefully/ get them off this topic that is slowly causing Elena to have an aneurysm, "How about some books. I carry some really great ones."

Honestly, Lachlan doesn't see anything /wrong/ with what he's said, so he is rather confused when Cass berates him. After all, discussing sex is quite kosher in his world, and even better in public places so all the world can hear about that nice piece of ass one had last night. He adopts a thoughtful frown and glances between Cass and Elena as though attempting to gauge his fault. Hmm. Now that he thinks about it, Elena /does/ look a bit, er, pale. After a moment's contemplation, he grins at the girl. "Sorry, Elena. Dinna mean ta … do tha'." He's not sure what /that/ is, really, but he'll apologize for it because he apparently Did Wrong. "Though, uh, m'offer still stands if ye wanna take me up on it." Just in case. Then he looks over at Cass again expectantly. Did Good?

Zac shrugs, deadpanning going right back to glancing on shelves. Sometimes it is really, really fun to be an actor. Especially one that's versed improv. "Anything good as far as books with monologues go, by chance?"

"Lachlan," Elena groans. "…..from this point on feel free to use your WHOLE box." She drags her collar down to show Lachlan and Cass the gleaming, golden crucifix resting on the dip of her collarbones. "I can't anyway, see? I mean….not right now, anyway." She hopes Lachlan gets it. DESPITE HIS MEDIOCRE INTELLIGENCE ROLL. And when Cass switches to a different topic, she casts her friend a grateful look. "Do you mind if I leaf through this, Cass?" she asks, lifting the tome of Ghost stories and legends around the State of New York in her hand. Some bookstores have a problem if you read the books in the store, and given Cass is the owner and her friend, she'll respect her policies.

Randall shakes his head, looking to Zac. "They won't, not now." Presumably he came in here with the intention of buying something, too, or at least browsing; but this is of more immediate concern, now. "If they ever did, then by now they'll have all gotten infected. Stage directions, photos, pencil notes in the margins…"

Cass sighs, but a smile breaks out. Well, it's a start. Wrapping an arm around Lachlan, she raises herself onto her tiptoes to give him a kiss on the cheek. She will train him properly yet. Yeah. Right. It's just so hard to stay mad at him when he looks all expectant and cute at her. Elena gets a laugh and a wave of her hand. "No no, of course. Please read. Oh! I've got something else for you to read, too." Turning around, she reaches behind the counter to grab her notebook from before and scribbles something down before ripping out the piece of paper and handing it over to Elena. She gives the other girl a raised eyebrow and a smile before turning back to customers and boyfriend and puppy without making any other deal of it. Back to talking to selling things! "I actually don't have any monologue books. There's a great shop up in Greenwich Village called the Shakespeare and Company, though, that has all sorts of plays and monologue books." She blinks at Randall. "What do you mean by that?"

You paged Elena with 'The paper says: I want to start a facility to help powered people without kidnapping them. You in?'

Good question. The subject of conversation has turned to books, so Lachlan is more than content to just stand and be arm-candy. He's very good at it. Look at how he stands! Lachlan is standing very well. Bonnie is standing very well, too, if by "very well" one means "actively and curiously investigating Cass' shoes."

"Hm?" Elena looks up from the book she is perusing, and is slipped the piece of paper. "Oh, passing notes, Cass? I feel like I'm in high school again. Tee hee." Yes. The girl -actually- says Tee Hee. She winks at the bookstore owner, before she unfolds the note. "Should I check the Yes box, or the No box?" Oh well, if she was going to get mocked for her lack of a sex life, she can tease everyone else in this room. Besides, as much PAIN as it was to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune, she loved Cass and Lach, and the craziness they brought whenever they were together.

Unless it turns out -she- was actually the point of insanity. In which case, well. She quits. FOREVER.

She takes out a pen and scrawls down something on the note. She picks up the book and moves deeper into the store, passing the paper onto Cass as she goes.

Elena pages: The Note reads: I'm in. I have something to show you when the others clear out. Do you have a computer?

Cass pretends like she's reading a note in a stilted and monotone voice. "I think Mr. Deatley is cute. History is way too boring." She grins and gives Lachlan's waist a squeeze before she stoops down to pet the doggie that has taken such an interest in her shoes. "Why hello there. What's your name?" Ruffling Bonnie's ears, she pets her enthusiastically. Glancing up, she takes the piece of paper, reads it quickly and then stuffs it into her pocket. "Yup," she replies to Elena in a nonchalant way. As if she was just riffing off her other jokes about note passing and the like.

Randall leans back against a wall, hands in pockets. (Hey, someone has to, now that Zac has wandered off.) Nodding at the passed note: "Aren't you supposed to fold it back and forth a couple of times to see what insult the boys get tagged with? Or am I getting my stereotypes mixed up again?" Oh, wait, Cass asked something earlier and he hasn't gotten around to answering yet. Well, of course this is the perfect time to catch up on that, now that she's thoroughly distracted with somehthing else. "Oh, you know. Mind over matter, sympathetic connections. If we keep having enough weird conversations, then the books will follow suit, right?" Right.

Awww, Cass thinks he's /cute/. Lachlan beams happily, but then the question of the dog's name is brought up — and he just beams more. The way to the dog trainer's heart is through his dogs. Among other things. "Tha's Bonnie," he replies. "Ye'll never b'lieve who gave 'er ta me." Bonnie is quite overjoyed to be given attention and readily returns the favor with all the exuberance of a puppy. She does stop after Cass gets the return note — but now Lachlan's curious. He attempts to get a peek, but Cass is too quick and he only manages to glimpse some sort of ink on paper. This will not /do/! "Oy, wha're ye two goin' on 'bout?" he inquires as he snaps his arm out to grab Cass' note-bearing hand. Aha! Caught. Wrasslin' time!

She nods to Cass, and Elena blinks, seeing the cute puppy. "She's adorable!" she says, crouching down to pet the dog as she looks up and blinks when Lachlan….reaches out and yoinks the note she passed Cass. She groans inwardly, but she can't help but grin. They were so cute together. Who knew they had chemistry? I mean, Cass was classy. Smart. Pretty. Owned her own business and was articulate. Lachlan……….well. Wasn't. Then again the old addage does look true as far as they are concerned: opposites attract. She scritches Bonnie's ears. "What breed is she, Lach?" she asks, and she blinks a little bit at Randall. "What, you mean like Destiny or Coincidence or Suggestion?" she asks from where she's crouched.

"Very nice to meet you, Bonnie." Grinning at Randall, Cass takes her attention off of the very cute dog to answer him. "No no, we talk about how cute we find the teacher. Then we talk about what a skank some other girl is. And then it's on to clothes." Yes, she remembers all this from high school. "Man, that explains so much about my life then," she laughs and then she's trying to pocket her note and Lachlan grabs her arm. That's not fair! She wasn't prepared for that! "Ack! Lach!" She's not giving it up without a fight. And while she knows that fighting only makes it all the more desirable, she can't just let it go. "Lemme go!"

Struggle makes things all the more enticing! Now Lachlan /knows/ he's onto something big, because Cass feels it's worth fighting for. He doesn't let go. In fact, he makes /further/ efforts to get the paper. His other arm comes into play, swinging around to grasp Cass' singular arm and effectively wrapping her up in some sort of awkward embrace. "Gimme the bloody paper!" he laughs, clearly enjoying this battle for supremacy. He shall be Note Master Triumphant!

Bonnie, meanwhile, is quite enamored with Elena, even if the question of her parentage is ignored by Lachlan and her leash is dropped in his epic war. She's quite excited by the "fight" and even yelp-woofs, long tail furiously wagging. Ohboyplaytime!

"Oh my god you're so cute," Elena says with a laugh, curling her arms around the puppy and hugging the blonde fuzzball as its mommy and daddy fight in the background. She looks just as enamored with Bonnie as Bonnie is to her. And so she is completely oblivious of the 'responsible adults' fighting over a passed note.

Randall laughs and shakes his head, stepping forward again and offering Bonnie the back of a closed-fingers hand to sniff at. It's not that he's averse to dogs, it's just that everyone else was already having such a good time with the googly-eyes gig, and he didn't want to crowd. "Well, you're not going to be lacking for entertainment any time soon, are you, huh?" He glances over at Elena and nods. "Something like that, yeah. 'As above, so below'. Or 'quantum entanglement', if you listen to the science types."

Cass squeals when Lachlan wraps the other arm around her in the attempt to get the piece of paper. "Lachlan!" Now it's not just keeping the paper out of Lachlan's hands, it's that she doesn't want him to win. Keeping a firm grip on her note, she decides to play dirty and with one arm wrapped around him, makes for the tickling.

Now this is a very /unmasculine/ position. Cass is probably one of the only people in the world who knows how to tickle Lachlan, and now she is using her powers for /evil/. The Scotsman jerks and twists with a sharp yelp of surprise, but he fights valiantly to hold onto the woman — and he loses. He's soon hunching over in a vain attempt to protect himself from the torture and finally winds up collapsing on his knees and rolling onto his side, laughing breathlessly. There he sprawls on his back to catch his breath. "/Fine/," he huffs. "Be tha' way!" He's not hurt.

Bonnie enthusiastically investigates Randall's hand and gives it a nice slobbery makeover to boot. New people make her happy! New people who like her make her happy! She is a very happy puppy.

"You mean like the chaos theory?" Elena asks, looking up at Randall as Bonnie the Puppy joins them, with her tongue lolling and tail wagging. She scrtiches her behind the ears, laughing. "A butterfly flits over flowers in one end of the world, a devastating typhoon happens in another? In Japanese culture, those fated to meet are said to be tied together by a really long, red thread on the pinky finger." She lifts her own and wags it at Randall, grinning all the while. "Maybe we all have one." Glancing down the puppy again, she laughs. "I always wanted a dog," she tells Randall with a grin. "But I can't afford it. We're not exactly made out of money." Said, of course, with a backdrop of two notesnatching adults.

Triumphant, Cass sticks that note right into her pocket and then kneels down next to the collapsed Lachlan with a huge grin on her face. Oh yes, she won and she will not hide the fact that she's happy about it. Forgetting that there are other people in the store and that there are even /friends/ in the store, she giggles a bit and leans over to kiss the Scot. "Aww. See, you just should learn not to mess with my awesome power." Yup. Very pleased with herself.

Randall holds his hand up as well, then shrugs. "Some similarities, some differences. Emergence of complexity--" Okay, maybe he should save the detail for when it's specifically asked for. "--anyway, they both involve things being weirder than they look on the surface. And yes, the shop does appear to be a focal point."

For fairies, one claps one's hands to bring them back to life. For Lachlans, one need only be a good-looking female and offer a kiss (or, alternatively, open a bottle of scotch within a 10-foot radius). Perks a Lachlan right up! He rests a hand idly on Cass' waist and sighs, grinning up at her. "Ye think so, huh?" But the fight is not over yet! He suddenly surges upward a bit, hands and fingers crooking into devices of inhumane tickle torture aimed at attacking the poor woman in much the same way she attacked him earlier.

"….you have no idea," Elena mutters lowly at what Randall said. And then she blinks. Whoops. Was that her inside voice? She looks over at Randall and grins sheepishly. "Well this IS New York, you know. A lot of weird things happen here," she tells Randall conversationally. "I mean, haven't you heard about the alligators in the sewer story?" She scritches at Bonnie, and buries her face in the middle of the puppy's ears. God. It's so adorable. And STILL with the adults horsing around in the background. She's taking the page out of Giles's book…..he's English. Hence if something insane happens, he just pretends it doesn't exist. Unless it tries to kill him. Cass and Lach aren't trying to kill her, so she manages an easy conversation with the guy she doesn't know as giggles, smooching and carousing in the background.

Cass gives a squeal of surprise at the tickling. She was, once again, unprepared for it. She had /won/ and that means no more tickling. Clapping her hands to her side, she tries to grab a hold of Lachlan's arms to push them away from her vulnerable sides and scramble away. "Not fair!"

Randall grins at Bonnie, then straightens up and considers. "I've heard that there /are/ alligators-in-the-sewers stories, but nothing specific." He continues to pretend like the other two aren't totally having a moment right in front of everyone, but it's becoming increasingly hard to keep that straight face. "You're right about New York, though, that's why I came here in the first place— back home was pretty weird, too, but I was too acclimated to it." Lots of people in California hold serious conversations about ley lines. And feng shui. And astral projection. And and and and and.

"S….so…you're…" Elena's words are broken up by her snickering. "…..trying to get some…." Snickerfit. "….fresh eyes on…." Snickersnicker. "An…older…place?" Randall can tell, the pretty teenager's face twisting to try not to laugh as they try to carry on a casual conversation while Cass and Lachlan are engaging in their antics in the background. "Have you found…anything….intere…interest….interesting…?" She can't take it anymore though. She buries her head against Bonnie's, and just laughs helplessly.

But Cass is not getting away so easily. Lachlan's hands are pushed away, but he surges into a sitting position and lunges after the woman when she scrambles away, attempting to (gently!) tackle her to the ground. If he succeeds, he'll be content to let the war end there and simply hover over his prey with a big fat grin on his face. "So, when're ye comin' ta see m'new place?" he inquires with an impish cant of his head. Outside of Bonnie, it's lacking in any female presence, and This Must Be Fixed.

Bonnie doesn't quite know why Elena is laughing, but she plops onto her haunches and adds a series of muted 'bow-wooooooos!' to the mirthful din.

Check and mate. While Cass is trying to get those grabby tickling hands away, she has no way to get out of the way of his surge forward to tackle her. And, to be honest, if she tried too hard she'd probably hurt herself. Woosh. In a second, the store owner finds herself flat on her back of the wooden floor. "Oof. You couldn't have just let me win and lord it over you for awhile?" she grins, obviously teasing. She doesn't make any move to push herself up off of the floor just yet. "How about tonight? I'll close up and head on over. I've got a few things I need Elena to help me with."

Randall allows himself a broad smile, now, shaking his head at the happy couple. "I think things here are a little /too/ interesting," he replies to Elena, crouching down to mouth another silent hey-there-girl at Bonnie. "You want to go get a Coke or something, let 'em have their moment?"

She looks over at Cass and Lachlan, smirking a little bit before turning over to look at Randall. "…yeah, sure. For a bit. Then I have to come back here and buy something," Elena says to the young man as she keeps scritching Bonnie. She sticks her hand out. "I'm Elena. I'm sorry, I didn't get your name and I've seen you around aways before." She ruffles Bonnie's ears once last time before she stands up slowly to slide her hands in her pockets. "Cass, OBVIOUSLY Lach's not going to leave you alone, so we're gonna go grab something at the store across the street -reaaaaaaaaaaaaal- slow, okay? But I'll be back."

"Yeah? Well a'righ', then." These are Agreeable Terms to Lachlan, who grins a bit wider before he drops those few extra inches for a quick smooch. "'ll finish gettin' the place ready fer ye." Coming from him, who knows what this entails? Best not to ask, probably. With that and a wink, he starts to bound to his feet — and then Elena comes back with her little quip and he hesitates. Because, well, the prospect of such things as "grabbing something across the street /reaaaaaaaaaal/ slow" is just too good to pass up. He glances at Cass inquisitively, expectantly, then eyes Randall and Elena again. It's clear what he's thinking: I'm not going to give one of my precious contraceptives to /you/, Sir Randall.

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