#ascendingocean

Rose had known that something wasn’t right. She had felt a sense of panic, dimly, and could feel her gem being used frequently, in an attempt to defend, to protect, to fight. It had all happened so fast, and then... there had been nothing. Stillness. Quiet. She couldn’t even feel Steven’s presence, and that... scared her. 

What was going on?

Rose wasn’t sure how long had passed with this empty feeling, but she began to feel... something, once again. An awareness, as though she was waking up from a long, long dream. She could feel herself taking form around her gem, large curls bursting free, white dress flowing out from all sides of her body. Blearily, Rose floated to the ground, and landed in a stumble, reaching up to touch her head.

“What..? What happened...?” 

Silence had fallen between the two of them, the dark quiet of the night interrupted only by the faint sound of rolling waves. Pearl enjoyed talking with Lapis; as much as she knew that her other friends would listen, they simply did not understand the heavy ache of homesickness that hung heavy within her chest at times. The suffocating nostalgia that looking towards the stars caused her. But Lapis did, and sometimes it was nice to be able to voice these things without someone trying to convince you that everything was alright. Sometimes, it was nice to simply have the validation.

Pearl had assumed that the long pause between her words and the other’s reply was for personal reasons and thus waited respectfully, only aware of the true cause when she suddenly became aware of the warm weight leaning against her. Pearl blinked, surprised, and then a wary smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. Well, that explained why Lapis had been speaking so quietly before.

She exhaled and tilted her head back, careful not to disturb the other. For beings who did not need to sleep, the universe had such a way of making them tired. Pearl blinked slowly a few times before her eyes finally closed, her body relaxing back against Lapis Lazuli’s beside her.

White Quartz squinted. She could barely see something blue, farther along the beach, but she couldn’t figure out what. It was vaguely humanoid, maybe a human? Or another gem? She wasn’t sure.

A stumbling silhouette walked through the tall grass that covered a hill. The orange and purple tones that painted a dawning canvas and the calming sound the waves made in the distance would be aggravating if it weren’t for the hopelessness the owner of said wandering feminine figure was experiencing. It was a pitiful view, there was no doubt to it. She was bracing herself, staring damply at the ground… at the leaves she was stepping on with her almost perturbed stance. Her multiple attempts to contact her home planet were successful, but it seemed her existence wasn’t worth anything given the time that passed. And there were no ships that could be envisaged in the horizon.

The viridian gem sighed. It wouldn’t be this miserable if she had a company… a good companion, that is. Those rebels? Out of question. Even if she stooped low enough to ask for harborage, it was presumable they would either kill her or worse, bubble her for eternity. Neither her escort nor her informant could be spotted, no matter how hard the technician searched. They were nowhere to be found. Thus, Peridot concluded she was alone and would either live her eternity exiled on Earth and become corrupted or jump in front of the Crystal Gems and beg for mercy vouching loyalty to their cause.

She wasn’t inclined to do any of those for the moment, so the chrysolite gem chose to move about aimlessly through the beach’s proximities, still longing for any kind of answer from Homeworld.

Something woke the emerald-colored gem from her empty reveries. A sound… a bubbling noise to be more precise. It came from far away but it was extremely loud and seemed to come from all around and just as rapid as it started, it faded. Then a resonating cry broke the silence. Something emerged from to ocean… something big, she guessed. Peridot raised her head and advanced to the top of the hill to better envisage from where the howl came from. A blinding light shone and disappeared. The waves were covering something the technician still couldn’t make out. The tide was strangely agitated, which made her frown a bit. Peridot’s curiosity made her get closer to it.

Now that the waves retreated a bit, the viridian gem figured that the body was Lapis Lazuli’s. Her mouth went gape. That meant Jasper might be close as well! Her eyes shone, she wasn’t alone anymore! She looked around, looking for any sign of the brutish gem but to no avail. Sighing with a tad of discontentment, Peridot lifted the azure gem as best as she could and took her to a cave she found and took as a refuge.

Send me ‡ for my character's reaction to yours climbing into bed with mine.

Ever since Amethyst had learned about the concept of sleep, she had been taking as many naps as possible around the temple. She could really nap anywhere, but she also had a habit of bringing things to the temple to sleep on, and there was a large pile in the corner. Cushions, Blankets -- really anything Amethyst deemed comfortable. Rose wasn’t entirely sure where it all came from, and she wasn’t sure she wanted to know. 

It had been.. a slow day. She had no missions to take care of, nothing to really do, and though she could have made a visit to her room, or maybe her fountain, she found herself growing curious about.. sleep. Humans did it often, there had to be some benefit, surely? And Amethyst seemed to enjoy it.. 

Carefully, Rose set up the cushions and blankets, creating a makeshift bed for herself. Lying down upon it, she pulled a blanket over herself and closed her eyes -- that was.. surprisingly comfortable. A soft sigh broke out of her, and it didn’t take too long for her to find herself drifting off. 

She felt herself stirring a little while later, feeling a small form shift up against her own. Her eyes opened slowly, and she glanced down in surprise, seeing that Lapis had climbed into her little makeshift bed with her. Though surprised, Rose allowed her to lie there, a small smile curling onto her lips. Lapis had been having a difficult time adjusting to joining the gems, and this gesture was sweet. Rose was growing increasingly fond of the water-based gem. 

Gently, Rose passed a few fingers through Lapis’s hair, closing her eyes after letting her hand fall. 

SEND A SYMBOL FOR MY MUSE’S REACTION TO YOURS:

✣ bringing them food

        There were times where Rose liked to spend some         time alone -- just to reflect, and her favourite place         to do so, was on the beach, looking out at the water,         during night or day. Either way, the view was beautiful.         A soft, content sight left the pink gem, but she was         mindful of approaching footsteps, and turned with a         small smile, observing as Lapis approached with --         food? of some kind..