Chapter 8: Vegetables With Issues

The market square was located near the where the land sloped downward towards the ocean at a somewhat abrupt angle. Not far beyond the dozens of small stalls set up by merchants were the docks, visible mainly due to the tall masts of the sailing vessels that went out daily to harvest fish from the sea, and above the noise of venders attempting to harvest credits from tourists, the sound of an approaching plane could be heard.

"I can't believe that thing still flies," sighed Miranda, shielding her eyes from the pale yellow orb of the sun and trying to make out the logo on the side of the plane as it tipped from side to side in its all too fast descent.

"It must be older than Joshua," chuckled Misty as the plane circled overhead, its propeller smoking dangerously as it prepared to make a water landing on pontoons that didn't seem seaworthy.

"Not much else is," agreed Miranda with equal mirth as a group of people ran by with fire extinguishers, heading down the long slope to the pier, "Still, it's the fastest way to get anything to Porta Vista, I suppose."

"I've been there," her lover commented, suddenly very interested in the little candy skulls one of the venders was selling, "Nice place so long as you avoid the reef."

"So it is true then?"

"The giant tentacruel? Yup. It's true," Misty chuckled as Miranda got the salesman's attention and paid for a handful of the bizarre candies.

"Hm. Strawberry," she commented, popping one into her mouth and offering a few to Misty, "Anyway, I guess it's true what my aunt was saying last Halloween. Apparently the Earth's ambient mana level's gone up 3% over the last five years or so. It's supposed to cause all sorts of bizarre things to happen if it keeps up, and I guess giant octopi would count."

"Err, pass," said Misty, cringing a little at the thought of actually having to eat one of the multi-coloured, little grinning skulls, "But hey, since when do Lav'Brats think something's strange?"

Miranda glanced at the top few floors of the Tower, visible as a dark looming shape just over the low rooftops of the ramshackle buildings that all but cluttered the street. "Okay I admit it," she conceded with a wry grin, ignoring the peculiar red glow in one of the Tower's distant windows, "I'm a hypocrite. But hey, I'm used to ghosts and dragons, and living next to a forest that people don't go into at night. Gigantic tentacled monstrosities from the deep are your department, dear."

"Hey!" laughed Misty as they navigated the maze of stalls, finally coming to the area where the farmers sold their goods, "Lavender's closer to the ocean than Cerulean City is. And I'll have you know that he's the only real sea monster I've ever encountered."

"Just teasing, dear," assured Miranda, her tone thoughtful, "But as long as we're on the topic, there's something I should really ask you in advance..."

The water-trainer took pause as she caught the pensive tone to Miranda's voice. "Ask away, dear," said Misty, her tone going serious as they moved closer together to allow an old woman with a whicker basket full of squawking birds pass them on the narrow street with its light purple cobblestones.

"Well, it's about tomorrow night..." Miranda replied nervously yet willing herself to hold her lover's gaze, "As I said, tonight Aunt Laurna's doing that whole 'History Of Lavender' thing for the kids, but tomorrow she's doing a more serious one for the adults. Now I know you don't like ghosts, so I'm not going to ask you to accompany me, but I really enjoy the show she and Viper put on and all, so-"

"Shh," chuckled Misty, placing her index finger over Miranda's lips, amused by the nervous tone in lover's voice, "You worry too much. Look when we first met, you told me that the League badges you have are just trinkets, pretty souvenirs of your travels. You've no intention on challenging the League, yet you've followed me to what... ? Three gyms so far?"

"Four if you count Cerulean," added Miranda with a bit of a smirk, sliding her arms around Misty's waist.

"Okay," the trainer agreed, returning the embrace, "Four. That's pretty good for Miss 'I don't take this seriously the way some people do'. So basically, you've done this all for me. And, well, I think it's my turn to do something that's just for you. You want to go to the thing tomorrow night, then I'm coming too. You'd just better promise me that you'll hold my hand the entire time!"

Miranda sighed heavily, half wondering how many times it was possible to fall in love with the same person. "Well then," she promised melodramatically, "on that night, the only force upon this Earth that could possibly hope pry my hand from yours would be your telling me to let go."

Misty sighed contentedly, half wondering how she survived so many unpleasant years without Miranda's kind words. "You spoil me," she replied, smiling as Miranda's arms held her a little closer.

"I'm just retuning a favor to a friend," the courier replied reminiscently, "To make certain that all those I hold dear don't suffer from low self-esteem."

"That's an interesting promise. But I think I can live with it," said Misty before adding teasingly, "So? Is there a story behind that? Or did you loose a bet?"

"'I only gamble with my life'," Miranda quoted with a nervous laugh, "But no, seriously, the first time I was in Celadon City, and I had a delivery to the gym there. And back then, I wasn't quite the person I am now, but Erika helped me out a bit. A couple of her students even managed to get the tangles out of my hair..."

"Really?!" inquired Misty with a tone of false astonishment as she pushed Miranda back a bit before staring up at her mock amazement, "Wow... They must have had carpel tunnel syndrome for weeks afterwards!"

"Hey!" laughed Miranda, pulling a lock of her dark hair down between her eyes and staring at it, "It's not that bad is it?"

"I know," her lover chuckled, reaching up with both hands to ruffle the courier's hair, which had a life of its own on a good day, "Just making sure you don't get too conceited with all that self-esteem you picked up before you met me."

"Hm, I think your right," Miranda replied in mock worry, at last turning to see which vender had the best prices on the ingredients they needed to pick up, "With someone as wonderful as you in my life, I'll probably be an ego-maniac by the time I'm twenty-five!"

"No... I think one of those in my life is quite enough," laughed Misty, taking Miranda's hand, as much for comfort as to not get separated.

Her lover nodded in agreement, deciding that it was better to not have that conversation due to an old Lavender Town superstition. "To speak the name is to invoke the power."

"So do you think these tomatoes look angsty enough?" she asked instead, picking up one from a large display of varied produce, "Or is simply sullen and morose?"

"Actually, I think that they're just kinda depressed," the merchant commented with a bored shrug, accepting the handful of plastic credit coins Miranda handed him without further comment.

"I keep forgetting this is Lavender Town," replied Misty as they walked away and headed directly towards the stall that held stacks of small wooden cages containing a few dozen clucking mundane chickens, "People just accept weird stuff, don't they?"

Miranda nodded. "You either learn to ignore it or like it," she replied in a tone that was both happy and sad, "Sure, some people leave and never look back once they're done school, but most of us Lav'Brats never completely leave home."

An old woman with one milky white eye glanced up at them and smiled with a toothless grin as they approached. "Bob's making something special, I hear, eh," she cackled, setting down the enormously long, multicoloured scarf she was knitting as she spoke.

"Yes, ma'am," replied Miranda with a nod, "we're just getting a few things for him."

The old woman glanced at the two of them and chuckled as she indicated a small stack of sturdy, yet mismatched egg cartons imported from elsewhere. "Well, just be sure to return the container when you're done," she said simply, without asking for payment, "Those aren't easy to come by, ya know!"

"I'll be sure to bring you a few next time I'm through here," said Miranda in amusement as she chose a carton of twelve brown eggs, "And thanks!"

"If I'm alive to see you again!" the old woman laughed, going back to her project as the stepped back into the flow of people.

"One of your relatives?" inquired Misty once they were out of earshot.

Miranda shook her head. "Nope, she's just the owner of that farm we saw on the way into town," the courier explained, standing on her toes in an attempt to find their third and final destination, "She was probably at the Council meeting with Mom this morning..."

Miranda's words trailed off for a moment as a sudden thought struck her. "Hey, I wonder if Uncle Frank's transfer makes him Lavender's highest ranking Pokeforce officer?" she mused, recalling that the town's previous police chief was planning on retiring.

"Gee, I guess he'll have to change his name to Jenny," commented Misty, receiving an amused yet alarmed look from Miranda.

"You know we don't actually have one of 'those'."

"No? Really?"

"Never did," replied Miranda with a noncommittal shrug, "I guess there's only so many to go around or something. And Lavender's so small; that the most we've ever had was three cops. Wow, if he is the highest ranking of the three, that means he has a seat on the Council... Poor mom!"

"Poor Lavender Town," added Misty with a chuckle as they found a booth that sold large burlap sacks of flour, "It'll never be the same."

Miranda nodded in agreement, smiling reminiscently as she handed her lover her burden and hefted a bag of flour onto her shoulder after purchasing it. "Well, he's from here so I don't think he'd do anything really bad," the courier said thoughtfully, "Besides, if he tries anything funny the rest of the Council can just out vote him. Or if he really does something stupid, say like NOT marry my Aunt Laurna, I'm sure that between her and my mom they can convince the rest of the Council to vote him out of town."

"You're not going to let him live that down, are you?"

"Not a chance," said Miranda in a serious tone as they headed for home, "it took them forever to admit they liked each other in the first place, and then when she finally has to propose to HIM, he panics and leaves town!"

"After meeting your mom, I'm actually surprised that he came back," Misty added.

"I'm surprised he's allowed back in the house," agreed Miranda, finding it hard to stay mad at her favorite 'almost' uncle, despite his faults, "But I suppose Aunt Laurna had a hand in that. I mean, if it wasn't for him, she'd probably be one of those strange old women who lives alone in a big house full of meowths!"

Her lover cringed at the thought before adding, "Well, he does have a way of getting other people caught up in his craziness."

Miranda nodded in amusement. "Yeah, so I can't fault him for that," she explained, "My dad helped my mom, and Frank helped Laurna. In a way I suppose it worked out reasonably well."

"And you've helped me," added Misty as the crowds began to thin once they reached the main street, "And now I'm helping you. Must be a Lavender Town tradition or something."

"I can deal with that," commented Miranda, setting down the burlap sack and rubbing her shoulder, "But carrying this thing another four blocks, I can't."

"Want some help?"

"That's the idea," Miranda replied, snapping her fingers dramatically as she flicked her wrist, somehow causing a small gray and black ball to appear in the palm of her hand, "I just hope he can contain his excitement..."

Misty took a step back as the ball expanded in the courier's hand and immediately popped open. For some reason, however, the ball didn't activate as it should have, instead the pokemon inside rose up from the interior as a dark fog that congealed to form Wraith.

"Haaa!" laughed the haunter in happy excitement, flinging his hands wide as he turned to face the Tower.

"Not so fast, mister!" came Miranda's stern maternal tone, "You can play with your friends after, right now you're the only one here with telekinesis, so I need your help. Okay?"

Wraith turned to his trainer with a sad look, inflating the lower half of his face to resemble a hugely pouting lip, but only succeeding in making the woman laugh. "Terr..." he agreed as Miranda lifted the heavy sack again and the ghost lightened the load with a small portion of his mental might.

"That's better," commented Miranda, smiling happily at the haunter, "Thanks Wraith."

The haunter grinned toothily as Misty gave him a thoughtful look. "Do you suppose he was a psychic type when he was alive?" she pondered, trying not to react as Wraith popped out one eye and began playing with it like some kind of morbid yo-yo.

"There's no way of knowing, really," Miranda replied, smiling inwardly as a tourist dragged her child across the street by the arm, all the while the little boy kicked and flailed in an attempt to run over and "pet the ghost", "Although that's where the smart money is, I suppose. But don't ask me where his machine affinity came from, though."

"Everyone needs a hobby," Misty chuckled as Wraith glanced at the little boy and exclaimed something in pokespeak that made the mother scream and the boy laugh, "What'd he say?"

Miranda shrugged. "Oh, something about 'Swallow your soul, swallow your soul.'"

"Again? He really needs a new catch phrase."

"You bet... !"

Bob ran out the kitchen the instant he heard the front door swing open, a huge mixing bowl tucked under one arm as he frantically stirred the contents. "Miranda!" he exclaimed in a rapid tone as the silhouette of his stepdaughter appeared in the doorway, "You guys are just in time! I really need to get started on supper, and I still have all these cookies to make to hand out to the kids in a couple of days, and I-! Ah! Miranda Lilcamp, please tell me that's YOUR haunter!"

"Um, yeah," Miranda replied quizzically as the door to her mother's office swung open automatically and Vivian rolled out into the hall to see what the fuss was about, "His name's Wraith. I thought you'd met him?"

"That was a year ago, dear," corrected Vivian with a partially amused smirk as she caught Wraith's eye, "Back when he was a gastly."