Forsake my morals in order to acquire the knowledge I seek.

🎁: Name one thing that never gets old or loses its charm for you.

Their answer was immediate: “Reading.”

Lapis brushed their hair back behind their right ear as they leaned slightly forward as if they were about to tell a big secret.

📕: Do you ever run out of things to be curious about?

“I wouldn’t dream of it.”

A single brow rose on Lapis’ face as they took in Phos’s question, an intrigued smile appearing all the while.  The concept rolled around in their mind before they opened their mouth to speak again.

“My intellectual curiosity is not something that can be satisfied,” they explained in a gentle voice.  “Every time I learn something new, more questions appear right before my eyes.”

"This is peculiar.  I did not expect I would ever meet another Lapis Lazuli.  Sensei once explained to me that fully formed gem duplicates were a rarity.  Did you come from the Beach of Beginnings recently?"

Unbeknownst to Lapis, the gem in front of them was absolutely nothing like their kind.  They were in for quite the surprise.  They had an inkling that this person was different from the norm due to their lack of a shimmer all throughout their body... Lapis was not going to jump to too many conclusions quite yet but the fact that their body seemed a lot more crystallized than the stranger's, by comparison, was also alarming.

The invasive artificial multi-colored lights and busy thrum of the Hive made it nearly impossible for Lapis to rest at night.  They have not yet adjusted to the excessive luxurious lifestyles people lead inside the bustling concrete landscape in the low light.  Back home, when the moon came out; one stayed in their quarters, slept, and waited for a new day (out of sight from Lunarian eyes).  Basically, none of the gems were capable of any strength in the darkness, Lapis included.  There were only a couple oddball gems who braved a lightless existence.

Cinnabar, the gem cursed with mercury poison, was one of them.  Admittedly, it was difficult for Lapis to imagine or comprehend that Cinnabar has managed to remain in one piece as long as he has.  He only had a hardness level of two and yet their enemies never 'took a liking' to the gem.  Truthfully, Lapis could not say anything on the matter.  It was too difficult and tedious to make use of someone with such a seemingly meaningless existence.  The path of a loner was not something Lapis could make use of, so they disregarded the other gem rather early on.  It was not an action out of malice, of course.  Mere self-interest.

But finding Cinnabar in the same captive situation they were in was a completely different story.  There was strength in numbers when it came to facing off against the unknown (every war strategy book they ever read told them so).  And as they stared at him, arms folded across their chest, Lapis wondered if their sibling would cooperate with their whims.

"Cinnabar, do you think it is wise to try to go back home?"

District Epsilon was where Lapis Lazuli imperatively needed to station themself.  It was not difficult to obtain information about the entire district carrying secrets of ancient civilizations.  Different takes on history, culture, structures of government, types of people: all embedded within the walls of a location buried by the hands of man.  Scrolls, tomes, and books carrying secrets left unearthed to rot and wither beneath solid concrete and pollution was a crime to them.  If they were to begin their research on where they ended up; it would surely be found amidst digging through the lost Temporal archives.

What they did not expect to find, amidst wandering around the housing of the district, was one of their own.  The sight of the fellow gem made Lapis pause in their digging of frayed torn-up documents, immediately intrigued by the other person's presence.

Initially, Lapis was lost for words.  The other gem's abnormal composition was remarkable.  Truly, their appendages were things Lapis only dreamed about during their marveling research of inclusions.  

An uncharacteristically bright smile graced Lapis' features as they set their papers down, before gently gesturing to them with a wave of their hand.  "Phosphophyllite.  3.5.  At times, referred to as Phos.  The last time I saw you, ages ago, you did not look like this at all."  

They paused again.  Perhaps the subject was a sore one.  After all, Lunarians were typically the cause of such misfortune.  Their siblings only lost parts when the people of the moon were involved.

"Dare I ask what happened to you?"

"The additions to your structure are fascinating, though I would imagine your inclusions had a difficult time adjusting to the changes.  I do not believe any gem has ever been able to withstand so much change.  I always knew it was possible to attach new parts to replace any missing pieces stolen or destroyed by the Lunarians but I have never seen it done."

Lapis did not waste time in coming toward them, analyzing their structure by circling them with dancing, searching eyes.  "Agate attached legs and oh...  Gold and platinum alloy arms."  They hummed.  "Interesting."

Bright green eyes peering through the snowy curtain, accompanied by long white hair draping the tree's dead branches; the stranger blended into her surroundings adequately.  They were impressed.  If this person was attempting to keep herself hidden in the trees, she was doing a great job.  The only flaw in such a plan was Lapis' heightened awareness and observational capabilities.

Besides the situation itself, what were they looking at, exactly?  This stranger's physical characteristics told them enough that this person was not a gem, one of the animals, or a Lunarian.  The lack of knowledge and certainty made them ever so slightly apprehensive as they approached, a questioning expression on their face as they stared up at her.

"I assume you do not mind the dangers that come from climbing trees in the winter time," they said, amidst thoughtfully tapping their chin.

"I know those eyes."

The words leave their lips before they can hold them back.  Despite the vagueness in the statement, they did not mind saying it.  There was no urgency to take it back or hide the thought away.  It was eery how comfortable they felt in the company of someone they were unsure they knew.  For Lapis, forgetting a single person was an abnormality.  There was no way this gem could have slipped past their radar entirely undetected.

They sighed, "The familiarity I feel, standing in front of you now, is unmistakable."  A little taken aback by how fast their mind was racing to find the name of the person standing in front of them, Lapis' mouth formed a thin line.

The only image their memory put before their mind's eye was Ghost Quartz, confusing them further on why their inclusions were so set on regarding this person as their closest companions...  But that couldn't possibly be an accurate assessment of the situation at hand.  This person looked nothing like Ghost Quartz.

A somber expression appeared on their face, though a soft smile appeared on their face.  "You make me think of my dearest friend...  Or should I say, friends?"

Their thoughts left a dull ache in their chest.  Loneliness was a feeling Lapis was unfamiliar to, but they supposed this was what it was like to feel it for the first time.  They could not remember the last time they were without Ghost Quartz standing dutifully at their side.

A life spent around gems who frolicked and danced rambunctiously made them prone to searching for those who were the opposite: people who were more like them, who preferred to lead a life outside of the cookie-cutter mold.  Subtle expression changes on other peoples' faces, in particular, always caught their attention.  The man, standing a short distance away in the park, caught their attention right away due to that fact.  Everyone else they saw within the past several minutes had someone accompanying them or were involved with something of importance.  

Lapis' heightened senses were consistently able to pick out the interesting ones from a crowd, the ones who lingered and observed and did not make their way inside various social circles until the right moments arrived.  However, the results of their natural observational skills were never exactly what they anticipated.  They always reached for the truth without any hesitance or restraint.  Sometimes, however, it was best for them to second-guess themself.  Unfortunate, indeed, that they never learned how.

"You look like me," they told him.

Whenever they gazed past the skyscrapers and countless other buildings, the snow-covered terrain and the dark evening sky seemed to blend into one.  There wasn't a shred of the horizon to be seen by the wandering somnolent gem.  The frozen "chill" that washed over their body in a gently falling curtain slowed their movements throughout their quest for finding their siblings (in truth, the only way they could detect the drop in temperature was their increasing drowsiness and the snow falling around them).  Every so often, Lapis looked back to observe their disappearing footprints; checking on how much the snow picked up.  Evidently, the storm was getting worse.  Though, not enough to deter Lapis from seeking their companions.

An obscured figure, though familiar in shape and size, caused Lapis to halt in their tracks.

"Oh, my, Antarcticite," they greeted, pleasantly surprised to find one of the more mature and skillful gems was in the city.  The company of the ally who maintained the demeanor of a soldier, who was powered by their greatest weakness, darkness, would surely serve Lapis well.

"You were the last person I expected to encounter here," Lapis admitted as they strolled over to them with arms folded.  In comparison to the composed and most likely strengthened Antarc, Lapis wobbled and swayed against the rushing winds.  Internally, they cursed at how obvious it most likely was to see how drowsy they felt.

Lapis pushed their hair back after making their way beside them, a small smile on their face.  "This will be helpful, I'm certain.  You probably know more than me in regards to our situation," they suggested, blinking a couple of times through the snowflakes to look at their fellow gem with a bit more clarity.

Lapis rested their chin on their hands as they stared at the box the surgeon was inside.  Evidently, this person was not a Lunarian at all, unless everything they knew about the Lunarians was an absolute lie.  Lapis doubted that possibility.  There was no way they had access to being able to move bodies from one world to another.  The moon was merely a natural satellite; a rock that orbits around the Earth.  And there was nothing to gain from devising a social experiment that would be enough to justify the relentless attacks their kind has suffered for thousands of years.  A social experiment was something Lapis would cook up; not the Lunarians.  But then how was it possible they were able to catch Lapis Lazuli when they were in the middle of a battle with the Lunarians?  Did it have to do with the transportation of matter the surgeon was addressing?

They rose a single brow.  Ah.  Did this mean everyone on that battlefield was in this place?

A thin smirk appeared on Lapis' face when the surgeon stated that they wanted to see something interesting come from their actions.  "You will have to be more precise than that, Rima Hoervich.  I need to know what I am expected to do in this place.  How can I properly obey your request when these details you have given me are so vague?"  They pointed at him accusingly as they spoke, their eyes narrowing all the while.

They were surprised to find that the person disappeared from the surface of the box in the next instant.  Unfortunate.  Lapis stook up from the large metal platform they were laying on to examine the contraption with their hands on their hips.  They reached up to tap their right pointer finger a few times on the device's surface, studying it thoughtfully.  It reminded them of a glass window, though, it had a different feel to it.

However, when the door beside them flew open, Lapis turned away from the 'window' to look outside.  Without thinking amidst their confusion and disarray, Lapis stepped out.  As a consequence of their carelessness, the door banged closed behind them, no longer allowing Lapis any more access to study the room they wound up in.

But as they looked around and studied the seemingly endless towers and the different types of organisms briskly walking around them, Lapis knew there would be so much more for them to get to the bottom of.

"How irritating.  I have no idea where I'm supposed to start with any of what lies before me.  None of this is familiar," Lapis mumbled, laughing a little deliriously despite the rising anger they were feeling at this moment.  Feeling a little overwhelmed and uncharacteristically unsure of themself, Lapis pulled on their hair as they looked around themself before pushing it back behind their shoulder.