It felt a little odd to Miranda to awaken with the feeling of a warm naked body pressed against her, let alone two. For a moment she smiled to herself, snuggling against both Erika and Samantha as best she could, a feeling of deep self-satisfaction filling her as the courier felt a sense of vindication. 'Derrick never had much of an interest in holding me this way, let alone staying the night,' Miranda thought with more mirth than bitterness. Opening her eyes, slanted rays of sunlight were already shining into the room through one of the large bay windows, and the day promised to be clear and pleasant if the deep blue/white blur beyond Miranda's range of vision was any indication. Feeling no urge to move, and hearing only the faint sounds of the other's breathing, Miranda smiled, closing her eyes once more despite feeling quite awake. 'They'll probably insist that I have breakfast,' she mused inwardly, sighing contentedly as Samantha suddenly snuggled closer in her slumber and Erika's fingers twitched slightly in her sleep, unconsciously brushing against the courier's breast, 'With any luck, though, they'll prolly stay asleep for at least another hour... I should be able to eat by then...' *** An hour and a half later, breakfast was served in the main dining hall. Though there was another for more formal or private occasions, Erika seemed to prefer to take her meals with the rest of her live-in students in the pleasantly adorned room. With the row of tall windows along the curving east-facing wall opened to the warm Spring air, the plethora of gardens that Celadon was famous for filled the hall with a not-unpleasant cacophony of scents, setting off numerous conversations speculating as to which gardens were responsible, and gossip as to whose would win the various competitions that were held every year. As the trio entered, Miranda stiffened a bit, glancing at the darkly varnished hardwood floor while trying to keep her head up as she felt so many eyes upon them. Samantha merely grinned, waving occasionally to those who stopped in their conversations long enough to give their morning greetings as Erika serenely nodded, smiling softly to the chorus of well-wishers as she all but glided across the room to the head table. As they approached, Miranda felt even more self-conscious, swallowing down her nervousness as they walked around the long table, somehow managing not to trip over the hem of her lavender kimono. "They're just jealous," whispered Samantha as they sat down in the ornately carved high-backed chairs depicting coiling ivy and flowering vines at the long wooden table. "That doesn't help much," Miranda chuckled, stepping around Erika as the Gym Leader instructed her to sit at her left and several others joined them after greeting Erika politely. Once the chatter had settled back into a low murmur once more, the kitchen staff began bringing out carts with covered plates which they quickly and with almost frightening efficiency issued out to all present. Miranda's eyes widened, however, as she noticed the varied dishes which were served, shaking her head the courier quickly realized that the those in the kitchen had prepared each meal individually with each student's preferences in mind. "You really think of everything here, don't you?" said Miranda in a low, shaking her head in amazement the white clad group cycled in and out of the kitchen and one of them approached their table. "I try my best," replied Erika modestly, her mysterious emerald green eyes glancing in Miranda's direction as the girl glanced hesitantly at the covered plate she was soon offered, "But I'm afraid I wasn't entirely certain what you'd appreciate the most for the first meal of the day so I had our chef improvise a little." Miranda merely nodded as a simply enormous glass of orange juice was set down before her before the metal cover was lifted off with only a touch of melodrama. Her eyes then went wide as Miranda glanced down at the plate, inhaling the scent of her simple cheese and jalapeno omelet and marveling at the fact that her toast wasn't the slightest bit burnt. "Your intuition never fails to astound me," the courier chuckled, causing Erika to shrug, a small, modest smile upon her face. "We've had a few girls from Lavender, actually," said Erika with a touch of amusement, "So it wasn't hard to deduce your preferences." "Sorry that we couldn't arrange to have the place haunted in time, though," added Samantha teasingly, making Miranda laugh into her orange juice. "I can do without the ghosts, actually," she assured, resisting the urge wipe her mouth with her sleeve and quickly taking up one of the dark green napkins instead, "From what my aunt tells me, they can be rather dangerous when they wanna be." Erika nodded thoughtfully for a moment, exchanging a quick glance with Samantha. "Any pokemon can be dangerous given the right circumstances," she replied almost to herself before turning to face Miranda, causing a nervous smile to cross the courier's lips. "Y-Yes, I suppose-" she began, stammering as Erika gave her an all-knowing look, the woman's eyes seeming to peer into the girl's very soul. "Thus I want to challenge you yet again, Miranda Lilcamp," the Gym Leader said in a rather formal tone, including her head slightly, Erika's tone becoming every so slightly embarrassed, "I'm afraid that the previous battle was unfair and cannot be entered into the record as a victory in my favour." Miranda set her fork down, staring at Erika for a moment as she tried desperately to stammer out a reply. "Wha-? Uh, how?" Erika sighed softly, shaking her head slowly as though holding back a sudden harsh wave of guilt. "With all the woes you carried with you into this city, you were in no condition to concentrate on the match," she said in a low tone as beside her Samantha tried to hide her grin around a glass of milk, "It was very foolish and selfish of me to take advantage of your weakness and to force you into a Gym Challenge that you were not ready or prepared for. But now that you've had time to relax, and talk about the problems that burden you so, I feel confident that were I to challenge you this time, that both you and your pokemon would live up to your full potential." Miranda stared at Erika for a moment before remembering to close her mouth, and glanced over at Samantha who had suddenly taken an interest in something the girl to her right was saying. Turning her attention back to Erika, however, Miranda jumped a little in seat as she found the Gym Leader once more looking directly into her eyes. "Do you accept, Ms. Lilcamp?" inquired Erika in a humble, yet formal tone. "I do indeed!" agreed Miranda, grinning broadly as she gave Erika a quick nod, laughing as she almost lost her glasses, "Any time you're ready, I'll be there." Erika smiled, giving a slow nod as she returned to her own breakfast. "Very well then," she intoned, "An hour after we're done here, we'll meet in the arboretum." Miranda glanced down at her plate, shaking her head at the strange elation she felt at getting a second chance. 'This isn't like me,' the courier pondered inwardly, stealing a quick glance at her hostess, 'Ah well. It'd be amusing to see the look on Joshua's face when I show him a Gym Badge. He'd probably have to quickly come up with some story about why I shouldn't try for any more or something! Ah well, it'll make him feel good to think he's helping me out, and it'll teach him not to be so hard on me next time we do a job together...' "Alright then!" Miranda replied, grinning broadly, "It's official! I'm so there...!"
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