Cats & Dogs

"And according to the-"

Shhhhhdup

Max looked up and narrowed his eyes at Elle sitting across the table from him. She looked back, smiling innocently, one hand covering the silver coin she had been playing with. "As I was saying," Max continued, "According to the archives-"

Shhhhdup shhhhdup

Max looked up again, but this time Elle didn't acknowledge the glare he shot her way. "Are you going to continue?" She asked, sliding the coin across the table and slapping her other hand over it to stop it before it slid off the edge. The only other movement besides her hand was the flick of her eyes as she watched the shiny object move through the open space.

Max shut the book he had been reading out of and reached across the table, banging his hand down on the coin midway through its journey. "Do you really have to do that?"

Elle looked up from his hand clasped over her toy and met his eyes with a defiant head tilt. "Yes." Without looking down she batted his hand out of the way and flicked the coin across the table again. She caught it in one hand as it slid off the table without breaking eye contact, then tossed it up over her head and caught it with her other hand. "Are you going to continue reading your book?" She asked sweetly, grinning widely.

"Are you going to stop playing with that stupid coin?"

"Oh," Elle reached forward casually with the hand not holding the coin, "you mean this coin?" With a flick of her wrist she revealed the coin from behind Max's ear.

"Yes. That would be the coin." Max muttered, not at all impressed as he picked up the book again. He set it down again a moment later when Elle started spinning the coin across the table on it's edge. "Where did you even find that?"

She tilted her head slightly, an indication that she heard him, but kept her eyes on the coin.

"Is it supposed to have a hole in it?"

The coin's spinning slowed until it fell onto it's side and Elle finally answered Max's questions. "Found it on a chain in a giant spider that was really a box."

"How in the world did you figure out it wasn't a real spider?" Max laughed.

"Knocked it off a table to see if it was dead." She shrugged like this was clearly the most obvious answer.

"You just knocked it off?"

"Yeah. And it didn't move so it was dead."

"Oh. My. Gosh! You're as bad as the cat!"

Elle cut a glance toward the grey tabby sleeping in the top to the Monopoly box. "What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that you are essentially a cat. You get stuck in trees. You're attracted to shiny things. You like boxes. You sleep 18 hours a day. You hunt at dusk and at dawn. You walk around yelling for no reason. You literally hiss at people that make you mad. You think you're evil reincarnate, but actually you're a ball of fluff. Face it, you're a cat."

Elle rolled her eyes. "That is all rather general. You could probably say most of that about most of the Hunters in the Tower."

"Then all Hunters are actually cats. That's it. We've solved the mystery."

"Okay." Elle leaned across the table until she was nose to nose with Max. "If Hunters are cats then Titans are dogs."

"What? No way."

"Yes way. You take commands happily. You require treats as motivation. You guard things obsessively. You "bark" at strangers. You chase your own tail. You're incredibly loyal. You do that head tilt thing when you hear a funny noise. You fetch things. You're protective of your food. You are elated whenever somebody you like enters the room and you bristle whenever someone you don't like comes in. You're a dog. Titans are dogs."

"Just because we're loyal doesn't make us dogs."

"Then just because I hunt at night doesn't make me a cat."

"Yes, you are a cat!"

"Then you're a dog!"

"I had a lot more concrete reasons than you did."

"What other reasons do I need? Takes orders. Motivated by treats. Fetches." Elle emphasized each point by poking Max in the chest. She had pushed back her chair and was standing now, still leaning across the table, her forehead pressed into Max's. "If I am a cat, then you are a dog. We're both animals now. Get used to it."

Max stood, pushing his chair back loudly as he stepped away from the table. Elle continued to lean across the table, squinting obnoxiously up at him. "Maybe Titans aren't dogs. Maybe we're something cool, like wolves or those old mythological whats-a-whoosits."

"Nope. Dogs are cool enough anyway."

Charle walked through the room, patting the old tabby on the head as she passed. "What are the two of you arguing about now?"

"Elle said Titans are dogs."

Elle stuck her tongue out at Max before turning to Charle also. "Only because Max said I was a cat."

Charle looked the two over before beginning to pick up the scattered pieces of their ill fated Monopoly game. "Sounds legit to me."

Max's protests were drowned out by Elle's yell of triumph. She moved to the end of the long table to help Charle fish a silver shoe out from under a chair. They placed the torn up, folded board into the bottom half of the box and tossed the other stuff on top of it. Charle briefly regarded the cat, but decided to let him sleep. It would be better for the box if they waited for the cat to voluntarily move.

"What does that make Warlocks?"

Elle caught Max's panicked look and the two started backing toward the closest door. "What do you mean?" She asked, voice shrill.

Charle merely laughed at her friend's antics. "If Hunters are cats and Titans are dogs, what are Warlocks?"

"Uhhh… Well…" Max started awkwardly.

"How do you label something like that?" Elle continued. She was almost to the door.

"Right. Yes. See- Uh- Unicorns!" Max launched himself through the open window as Elle whipped the door open and the two dissapeared from Charle's sight at the same time.

Charle looked down at the sleeping cat and laughed. "Jokes on them. I brought back pizza and now it's just the two of us left to eat it."

At the mention of food the cat opened his eyes and stretched, meowing softly.

"Hm, Elle really is a cat."

~ASDFGHJKL~

Hello! I am back. School started so I have a reason to know what day it is which means I will probably be updating this more often, especially considering I tend to write weird things when I'm procrastinating. Charle's fireteam is back again because I love them. Also, they are now officially known as "The Caterers" and they will probably appear again later. Enjoy this cuteness and please please please tell me what animals you think the different classes are (and your reasons if you have them) because I'm curious. I think next time will include Eris Morn so prepare yourselves for that ;)