163 – Cooked to Perfection

163 – Cooked to Perfection

People were trailing off to find out how badly their office desk had gotten ruined or taking off home with full bellies and happy hearts. As with all good things, there was a mess to clean up after. The Maid outfits finally got put to use doing actual cleaning.

"Not meaning to be a pain, but you missed a bit," Morgan said as Brandy cleaned a table surface with a wet cloth. Morgan pointed to the other side of the table. "At the edge."

She had? Brandy was determined to do a good job and stretched over to get at it, recleaning with a few strokes. She couldn't see anything.

"You got special eyes, too? What you looking at?" Brandy said, feeling the wind flutter around her skirt as she bent over the table.

"Murkrow eyes are extra special," Morgan said with a happy sigh. "We've got an eye for the fine things."

Brandy squinted, picking out the detail of the plastic surface, looking for anything she'd not touched. She kicked her legs up to lean fully over the table before hearing the sound of a camera click. Brandy narrowed her eyes as she glared back at Morgan, who just took another photo of her.

"You're evil." Brandy huffed. "A criminal maid."

"For a nice view of your butt, I am willing to commit many crimes." Morgan grinned. "But I did this one for your benefit."

Brandy wiggled her rear at Morgan, making her do a choking, chirrupy laugh that was actually really cute. Hiding her embarrassed face behind her wing.

"My benefit is it? I think you're winning on this deal so far."

Morgan flourished Brandy's Dex in the air and then picked at the screen with her fingernails, making soft, tappy noises as she very slowly typed out a message that ended with an amused grin. "I'm going to do a magic trick for you. Listen carefully."Fôll0w current novÊls on n/o/(v)/3l/b((in).(co/m)

It wasn't going to be a technical one. Morgan was awful with her Poké-dex. But after a moment, the Dex pinged, the sound of a message coming in. Then another ping followed, ringing as Morgan held it. The pings picked up speed, increasingly frantic as a wall of quick messages flooded across the screen. Brandy squinted and tried to pick one out.

SweetTreat: Full pic! Morgan! I beg!

"You're sending Maple pictures of me." Brandy said, "How is that magic?"

"Well, you look absolutely magical, but you've missed the trick. I'm sending incomplete pictures of you." Morgan said, "And we won't reply anymore for an hour."

Brandy gave a slow, cautious nod. "You think it's a good idea to tease my girlfriend."

"I know it is. She's going to hate and love me so much for this." Morgan cackled. "I'm going to work her into such a frenzy she's going to tear your clothes off with her teeth when you next meet."

A warm flush crept into Brandy's cheeks at the thought. "You're awful. A terrible person."

"No, I'm a hot Witch," Morgan said, tipping her pointy hat. "And my Trainer isn't appreciating the spells I'm casting."

"The absolute worst."

That felt good, Brandy swinging her legs as she watched Spitfire fuss over the poor journalists. Only slightly distracted by Morgan and Calcine pouring pitchers of water over Cinnamon, steam rising from the Ninetales as she moaned happily at the cooling off.

"Not the only one," Blaze continued. "Zipper told me what happened. They're in trouble, but I think Nexus is more intrigued by what happened to them than the damages."

"Mom would let someone bulldoze her office if they were interesting," Brandy said with an embarrassed laugh. "That happened once, with a Bewear when ... actually, I don't want to tell that story."

Blaze laughed. "Now I'm curious."

"Ask her! I'm not saying it."

"I will." Blaze nudged Brandy's arm. "When you're gone, I'm not cruel. You are a very unique Trainer, Brandy. Most of the good ones I meet have an intense focus and drive to improve. A fire in their heart."

Brandy touched her chest, feeling her own heartbeat. Was that her? She had a drive for sure. She'd go to any lengths for her partners if it made them smile. But improvement? She hadn't really focused on that, more fit it in around the fun.

"I can see from your face you don't think that's you," Blaze said, tapping Brandy's chin. "Relax. It's not a bad thing. A lot of Trainers get into this thinking they can force their Pokémon into their image and end up disappointed and burnt out. You let yours breathe."

"I just want them to be the best they can be," Brandy said, squeezing her maid dress. "Calcine to find more confidence to speak up, Sparky to feel needed and loved, Morgan to express herself. I know it's not-" Brandy waved a hand, trying to find the right word and failed. Blaze let her off the hook, tickling Brandy's mouth with the burnt tip of her long blonde ponytail until she giggled.

"Don't apologize for doing right by them." Blaze chided, "My trial isn't about skill or technique. That's for others to worry about. Mine is about your heart, if it's strong enough to endure. Being a Trainer isn't easy. There'll be heartache, losses to deal with, and always a large swell of emotions around you. You have to be strong enough to ride that wave and still take care of your Partners. Bring smiles to faces, even when it's hard work. So look again at Spitfire."

Spitfire had just the biggest grin. The golden-eyed snake-woman's tongue flicked between her lips as she menaced the poor journalists with the sheer weight of her enthusiasm.

"You put in the work, endured a lot, and everyone came out smiling. If I didn't give you your Fire Badge, would I be able to give one to anyone ever again?" she pushed the red jeweled flame badge into Brandy's hands. It was small and didn't feel warm like Calcine's fire stone, just a little trinket.

But if it represented all the effort she'd put in, then Brandy was happy to have it. Giving a happy little sniff as she hugged it to her chest. "Thank you for this. And for giving Calcine one, she earned it too."

"She cares for you a lot and never lost sight of that. She earned it." Blaze said, putting an arm around Brandy to pull her in for a hug. Calcine and Morgan were pretending they weren't watching, but they were. It was so obvious. They were smiling too and that, that was perfect.

"You got something good going here, Brandy. Whatever it is, it's working. I want to hear about it all someday once you get it all worked out, and I'm being serious. Don't give up." Blaze patted her arm. "Also, you look hot as sin in that Maid dress. You can keep it, more than earned."

"I'm not sure it'll last," Brandy smiled. "The celebration will put me in the Poké-center, I think. I still haven't met the giant robot sister who is meant to be in on it."

"Spitfire will want in on it too. You might want to prebook that center bed. Ask Spitfire for a good place to go, though. She knows a lot of great spots." Blaze said as she slipped off the table. "Also, give me back Lixi before you go! I need her to corral Cinnamon before she savages someone."

"Sparky has her." Brandy grinned. "I can't control Sparky."

Brandy looked at Calcine and Morgan and waved her fire badge at them. Now they'd got permission to look, they all cheered for her, running over to congratulate her.

"But I know just the women who can."