I Want To Lay the Very Best!

11 – Warm Feelings

11 – Warm Feelings

Returning home triumphant wasn't as big a deal when your hometown was Turrfield. The cozy village of stone buildings and slate roofs belonged on a postcard, beautiful in its simplicity. The air was fresh, and the sun was warm but not too hot. A small stream ran along the edge of town, fed by a waterfall in the mountains, often a favorite for locals to swim in.

The still-soaking mess that was Brandy didn't exactly look like a returning hero. More like Sparky and Calcine had fished her out of that stream and were taking her off to the market to weigh and sell her.

Whatever, Brandy knew she was a winner, and that's all that mattered.

"Okay," Brandy said, still feeling the day's aches in her legs. "What do you want to do? Turn in the dex-data and go shopping? Hang out a bit?" Brandy gulped and added at the end in a rush, "Visit my mom?"

"What's that last one?" Sparky said, "You don't want to do that one. I want that one!"

Brandy looked to Calcine for support, and the grey-freckled rock lady just shrugged. Foolish of her to expect more, really, Calcine seemed happy to go with the flow when she wasn't blistering hot and horny.

"Swear, I'm the only trainer who gets bullied by her Pokémon. " Brandy kicked her boot against the dirt road, sending a few stones skidding away.

"Hah! You're definitely not," Sparky cackled, "But it's still fun, even if it's unoriginal."

"It'd make more sense to go home for you," Calcine said. "You cleaned up nicely, but some warm food before anything else will improve your mood."

"That's very reasonable of you. I'm almost willing to believe this isn't just an excuse to see my Poké-mom,"

Sparky snerked. "You call her Poké-mom. That's adorable."

"Rock Types are reasonable," Calcine said, ignoring the imp beside her. "if you like reasonable, become a Rock Ace. You could build an excellent team."

"Ugh, a solid but boring team." Sparky groaned, "She's going to get Fire in her soon anyway, Brandy, then she'll liven up a bit. Don't let her slide you into becoming boring. Focus on getting us some Poké-mom's Poké-meals."

"Expecting my mom to cook for you? Well, if you insist," Brandy said, voice syrupy sweet.

Sparky wasn't sure why she was talking like that, but her fur prickled at the idea she'd just stumbled right into a trap.

---

Brandy's mother was busy, but that didn't stop her from cooking. The three sat around the family table that'd been moved into the study room, forced out of the living room by a small forest of packing boxes. Brandy didn't come into the study very often. Her human mother's computer was set up here, and she'd never had much luck playing around with it. Her Poké-mom didn't either, so they just left it to gather dust while her mother was out being all Professorly.

Sparky was kicking her legs under the table, sparring with Calcine as they watched the tall Volcarona ladle a soup pot, the smell of vegetables and spices fusing together in the air. Calcine watched Sparky and Brandy shift in their seats, eyes tearing up as the spicy scents wafted through the air.

"It smells delicious," Calcine said. "Will it be too spicy for you?"

"No, I love the heat," Brandy said. "You kind of have to when you got a Volcarona for a mom."

"Yeah," Sparky fussed her fingers together, fidgeting as all her eyes squinted at the soup pot like it was going to be her end. "Love that sort of thing. Me too"

"Oh, don't be so shy, Brandy! You've got two beautiful women fussing over you now. I'm sure you'll be annoying your parents with how loud you are soon enough."

"Deserve it. I missed so much sleep. What's with all the boxes, though? You moving out?" Brandy mumbled, offering her spoon to Sparky since she didn't seem to be eating. Four blue eyes flicked between it and her spoon nervously. Behind her, Calcine licked her spoon clean in an unnecessarily showy way, black tongue curling around the metal as she gave Sparky a smug look.

"Going to move in with your mother in Motostoke, now I don't have to look after my little Larvesta! You're free to come and go as you please."

Brandy opened her mouth to thank her mother, but not wanting to be outdone by Calcine, Sparky chose that moment to bite down.

Talk got a little tricky after that.

---

Sparky had her head stuck under the sink faucet, all four blue eyes a watery mess as she tried to cry out the mouthful she'd just had. Calcine held back her hair as Brandy commiserated with her, rubbing circles on her back.

"You should have said it was too hot," Brandy said. "You don't have to like it just because I do."

Sparky groaned, turning up the cold stream on her tongue until it splashed all over the bathroom.

"I'm surprised she isn't coughing up fireballs," Calcine said. "She's hotter to the touch than I am."

"I liked it," Sparky said, voice garbled by the water. "Just got me by surprise."

"Really, it's fine." Brandy wrapped her arms around Sparky's stomach and gave her a comforting squeeze. "It's cute you can't handle spicy food."

"We should have expected it, really. Bugs have a weakness to Fire."

"Fuck you both. Eat my ass." Sparky coughed as water shot down the wrong hole, shaking in Calcine's grip.

"You sure?" Calcine said, "My tongue's pretty spicy right now. It'd just make it worse."

Sparky flicked a hand at Calcine, and yellow tufts of her fur flew off her arm, forming little four-legged bugs that raced under Calcine's shirt and began biting away. Calcine smacked at her shirt as she tried to shake them free, but they bounced right back after each smack, an excited chitter as they savaged her with little pecking bites. The Rock Pokémon dropped to the floor, gasping as she tried to stop herself from breaking into a fit of ticklish giggles.

"Infestation!" Brandy gasped. "That's your third move. Oh, that's so weird."

"You're weird. She's weird. Dating a pair of weirdos," Sparky griped, rinsing her mouth with more water. "With poor taste in food."

Brandy laughed. Far as she was concerned, they both deserved this after all their teasing. "Still want to fuck me tonight?"

"I want to die," Sparky mumbled, "Then after I've done that ... yeah."

"Well, I wasn't planning to become a Ghost Trainer, but I'll see what I can do."