Scratching behind her dog's ears, Elaine pretended that Derrick had not just said that about him. "Such a good boy," she praised. When she eventually sat down she was even going to pat the couch to make sure that he hopped up with her. Cow hated being left behind on the full moon, but there was no way that Elaine could look after him when she was a merlin. Human brain or not she would still have a bird's body and she was not completely confident that her pet would not try chasing her if she got too close. Thoughts that she could have dwelt on for a lot longer if Derrick had not decided that they were suddenly going to sit. Yeah, this 'they' thing... was not working. Elaine could have broken the hold easily and moved to the chair, but that was like retreating and she had never been the sort to back down even if what was happening was not technically a fight. So she wriggled around a bit until she was comfortable and opened the bag so she could get started eating. If her mouth was full then he could not go in for the kisses. Well he could, but that'd be gross. There were limits.
"You know, things," Elaine replied vaguely, waving the cheeseburger she had already unwrapped in the air before she took a bite. She even had the good manners to chew and swallow before she continued talking. "Like working at the shop." She stuck her tongue out before tearing off another bite. Her behavior always got noticeably more... bird-like when the full moon was this close. Chewing needed to be thought about or else she was just going to rip and swallow. Something that had gotten her in trouble when she was younger and, while her parents were not there, Derrick always seemed to be a little iffy about her merlin behaviors. Natalisa never minded them... Elaine stopped chewing for a moment, eyes widening briefly as she found herself comparing Derrick and Natalisa. Natalisa had always given her that little smile when she said she was acting like a bird, but Derrick's face twisted a little bit and he had never been near as fond of her bird-form. And he had been one of the only ones to know about it since the Light of May had come along and made it 'acceptable'. Elaine found herself wanting to move off his lap after making that particular comparison, but she stayed where she was. "I have friends too, y'know, and I like spending time with them. You're the one who was busy last night." Rolling her eyes she flicked a bit of ketchup off her fingers. "Why were you so busy? Normally you're all about the night before the full moon."