She's Putting Together A Team (Lay the Very Best - Chapter 411)

Brandy was proud of her partners that she didn't come back to complete chaos. Morgan had her Pokédex and was frantically typing on it, while

Brandy was proud of her partners that she didn't come back to complete chaos. Morgan had her Pokédex and was frantically typing on it, while the others sat to her side.

Dani had been wedged in between Sparky and Calcine, and already had a lot of black lipstick kisses all over her face. Calcine tilted up Dani's chin, eyes smoldering, then leaned in with deliberate slowness. Dani froze, hands pressed nervously to her lap, and at the last second, Sparky nudged Dani's shoulder with a little jolt that made her squeak and half turn to look. Calcine claimed her lips on one side, Sparky stole them from the other, and Dani turned her head back and forth rapidly as she tried to work out which way to go.

"Point to Dani." Sparky said, "She's in the lead now."

Brandy frowned, baffled as to how that was a point. Sparky pulled away with a smug slight hum, and Calcine was already waiting for Dani to turn back toward her, diving in to plant more black lipstick kisses on her face. Then Sparky was given one of them a jolt and slid in to steal another kiss from Dani for herself.

Dani gasped, laughing helplessly, caught between the pair, but she didn't try to pull away. She just kept letting herself be passed back and forth, caught in the rhythm of the game. Sparky announced a point now and then, but the reasoning behind it all was baffling.

Brandy shifted her weight, muttering under her breath. "Am I interrupting?"

Nobody answered her. Sparky just shot her a sly grin over Dani's shoulder before swooping in again, and Calcine was far too focused on trying to paint Dani's face with kisses.

Much as sitting on all three of them would feel good, Brandy was happy to let them play games, sliding up next to Morgan and waving to Chew and Nibbles.

"Look who I got."

Morgan flipped shut the case of Brandy's Pokédex and threw a wing around her, tugging her close in one smooth motion. Brandy let herself be drawn in, the feathers brushing soft against her cheek as Morgan's warmth pressed into her side.

"I saw it all. You did good," Morgan murmured, her voice pitched low so it only carried to Brandy. "Who taught you to be such a shrewd gambler?"

Brandy's cheeks warmed, though she tried to hide it with a cocky tilt of her chin. "A pretty witch, she's kind of a big deal."

Morgan leaned up her head, her lips grazing under Brandy's jawline before she nuzzled in and pressed a slow kiss on her chin. "My trainer. Very talented."

"See, this is why we shouldn't bond Chew. This is gross." Nibbles said, hopping up onto the table and sitting down with her legs splayed out, stealing a half-finished drink for herself.

Chew made a few quick signs and then leaned in and bit the edge of Nibble's glass, tipping her head up and downing the stolen drink in one.

"I'm sure you would love to be smushed by the Gothy Carkol, but let our girl Dani have her fun."

"Oh!" Dani spoke up from somewhere between Calcine and Sparky, they'd both dove on her, and only bits of her orange hair were bobbing above the pile. "Hey, Chew and Nibbles, I hope you're doing well! I had sex!"

"Niiiiice," Nibbles clapped, and Chew dug into the pile to pull out a hand to give a high five too. There was a giggle from somewhere in there, but with what Sparky and Calcine were doing to her, it might not be because of Chew's antics.

"Was she good, Brandy?" Nibbles asked, taking a second drink and catching Chew with a tentacle when she turned and dove to bite onto that too.

Brandy relaxed into Morgan's feathers, letting the tension bleed from her shoulders. Demolishing Rosa had stretched her muscles out, and it was good to take a breather. "Dani was lovely. Great kisser, a lot of potential. Satisfied an itch nicely."

"That's our girl." Nibbles beamed, and she poured the drink into her mouth as Chew snapped at her raised arm, held back by a chokehold from her hair tentacle. "I'm glad she's getting everything she deserves. You've no idea how much work she put in for all of us, and it was impossible to get her to take her fair share of the rewards."

"I'm willing to be strict about that," Brandy smiled, "All my partners deserve the world. Speaking of which, Morgan, do you want to tell them why they're here?"

Morgan's dark energy talons brushed lightly down Brandy's arm before resting on her hand. The long claws slid into the cracks and closed to give Brandy's hand a squeeze. "I noticed you got a gold token. I think the way this gym works is you lose to Vivi and then you have to collect those gold tokens for something."

"Rosa said we could have anything we wanted if we got ten", Nibbles said. "We're on five, Chew was going to ask for a-"

"Night with a big-titted goth?" Brandy said and got an enthusiastic thumbs-up from Chew. You had to give it to the Barraskewda; she knew what she wanted. Looking at Calcine in her goth get-up, Brandy totally got it too. Calcine looked like she'd been put on this world to fold women in half, and Brandy was eager to show how flexible she was.

"So if we were doing this normally, we'd collect ten and then ask for another shot", Morgan said, passing Brandy back her Pokédex.

"Who did you dex?"

"Just some extras. I told you, you're going to need a whole team. Speaking of which! Chew. Nibbles. You know the plan?"

"All I got told is we're robbing the place." Nibbles grinned, the Mareanie pouring two drinks together to make a horrible-looking swirl of black and pink. She sniffed it, then poured that one into Chew's waiting mouth. "That's enough to get us on board."

"Perfect. I'm still seeing who I have for this, but I'll explain everything once we get started."

"We're not going to hear the plan?" Brandy asked, tipping up the brim of Morgan's hat so she could sneak under for a kiss.

"We're plotting it right under her nose. I know she's listening to us somehow," Morgan grinned. "So I need to keep the plan in my head for now."

They could have gone elsewhere. Brandy wasn't fooled for a second. Morgan wanted Vivi to know this was coming. Morgan had taught that trick: when you're losing the game, raise the stakes and win your own way instead. This was as much about Morgan's pride as it was about getting Brandy a badge.

Brandy didn't mind. Morgan deserved to be proud, she was a smart bird, and when she put her mind to something, she could pull off the most ridiculous tricks. Being caught between Murkrow and Honchkrow schemes would be quite fun.

"We're going to go find Shay now," Brandy said, "So finish up kissing Dani, and stop scheming for a little bit."

"Shay could be good for the team."

Brandy rolled her eyes. Like Morgan would ever stop scheming. "Well, try to scheme in Shay's direction. We promised Professor Joan that we'd find her. Chew and Nibbles know the places she'll be."

"You're getting a tour of all the ladies who love my tongue." Nibbles nodded, flexing that ridiculously long blue thing at Morgan. "You'll be very jealous."

"We have a Dani," Morgan sniffed. "We can out-tongue you."

"Hah! Dani's good, but she's not that good. I'm a Kalosian too, thank you." Nibbles pounded her chest. "And Chew's bites get all the girls moaning."

Brandy knew these two enough to use Morgan's wing to push Chew back, feathers sweeping like a curtain that blocked the Barraskewda's lunge.

"Alright, alright, enough roughhousing," she said firmly, standing up and clapping her hands together. "We've got things to do. Dani can come up for air, and Nibbles, keep your tongue to yourself. Until later at least."

Calcine made a disappointed noise but peeled herself off Dani's cheek, leaving one more smudge of lipstick behind as a final mark of victory. Sparky followed with a triumphant little zap that made Dani squeal, then bounced back, arms folded smugly. Dani herself looked dazed, her face covered in black smears, but she was grinning ear to ear.

"Good game," Dani sighed happily, wiping at her cheeks with the back of her arm.

"Come on." Brandy nodded to the Casino's massive entrance doors. "We're moving out before Vivi finds another way to mess with us. Shay's waiting."

Chew and Nibbles exchanged a glance and shrugged, clambering to their feet and dabbing the stolen drinks off each other with table napkins. Morgan stretched out her wings and mean-mugged Vivi across the room, while the others helped haul Dani up.

Brandy thumbed her Pokédex case open as they started walking, scrolling through the most recent chats. Morgan had asked Saffira and Branwen, but they seemed busy with something from their frantic exclamation-filled posts about how they'd call back later. She'd urged Maple to go to the gym so they could talk, which made sense. Mercury had got a message telling her she wasn't invited, which honestly just seemed to be causing trouble for Brandy rather than actually helping.

That just left ...

Oh no. She hadn't.

"Morgan," Brandy said, and looked up to see the Murkrow already running ahead for the doors.

"What did she do?" Calcine asked, sliding in by Brandy's side, Sparky hanging off her side, and Dani in a princess carry in her arms.

"Scheduled her own ass panelling when I catch her," Brandy growled. "She's invited my parents."