Peridot Facet 2F5L Cut 5XG (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
era_two_triangle) wrote2018-12-17 08:18 pm
era_two_triangle) wrote2018-12-17 08:18 pm
Beach City, Monday Evening, Fandom Time
It had started with a video chat. With Peridot and Lapis calling Steven, because Lapis was worried that Steven had lost his phone during his last escapade to Homeworld, but Peridot was like, "No way! He's probably just ignoring us."
It had... kind of gone directly off the deep end in short order. He'd mentioned that he'd been put on trial in front of the Diamonds. Not just Blue Diamond. Not just Yellow Diamond. Both Diamonds.
He'd mentioned that he'd run away.
And that had led to Lapis turning to her with a sort of horrified resolve on her face.
"Peridot, we have to leave Earth now."
---
Peridot was trying to talk Lapis Lazuli down when Steven arrived at the barn. What about their crops? What about their rewatch of Camp Pining Hearts season four? What about the TV and the meep morps that they'd made?
Lapis wasn't having any of it. If anything, she was just growing more and more frustrated with Peridot's insistence that there were so many things they couldn't possibly leave behind. And so Lapis had taken matters into her own hands, had drained their smaller-than-average lake, and had used it to form a bubble around the entire barn. Their lives on Earth thus far. TV, meep morps, keepsakes from Fandom and all.
"There," Lapis said, satisfied as she surveyed her handiwork. "Now we can bring our whole life with us: You, me, and all of our things!"
"Right," Peridot said in a small voice. A moment later, with a little more resolve, she added, "Right!"
"Well, let's get going."
"You're leaving right now?" Steven looked surprised. Maybe a little horrified as Lapis made her way over to hug him. "I thought that... I -- I don't know what to say."
"Goodbye, Steven. Good luck." She looked over to Peridot, who was doing a valiant job of fighting back the tears in her own eyes. This was going too quickly, it was too much. And she couldn't find words." "Peridot, don't you want to say bye?"
"Uhh..." Peridot balked. "Umm... Wait. Where's Pumpkin?"
Lapis frowned.
"She's not inside?"
"She was just standing next to me! We have to find her."
And so the search began. Lapis took to the air. Peridot and Steven took the ground, looking over hill and vale, wandering the woods in search of their precious wayward gourd.
They walked.
They walked some more.
They paused for a false alarm, digging what turned out to be a basketball from some bushes, and, as Steven dribbled the ball, Peridot started to talk.
"You know, I can probably still help you when I'm out in space. I'll just video chat from my tablet!"
"Uh," Steven grimaced, "t-there's no Wi-Fi in space."
Oh. Well. That was no good.
"Well," Peridot hedged, "maybe it's best if we can't reach you. If the Diamonds do show up and destroy the planet, we'll never know!" She looked at Steven hopefully. He looked back in concern. She frowned and soldiered on. "Lapis was very agitated when she heard you were on Homeworld. I was bending over backwards to make her feel better. Watch this."
It was reassuring to hear Steven's laugh as she demonstrated, falling over backwards and planting her hands and feet on the ground behind her.
"Oh, yeah," she affirmed, teeth slightly grit, "she loves this."
---
"Maybe," she mused a few minutes later as they walked back out of the woods, "it's good that we'll be away from everything where nothing can change, no surprises or developments. She's been through so much. She needs consistency."
Peridot and Steven stopped walking, Steven looking at her keenly.
"But what about you?"
---
It wasn't until much later, after they'd given up on finding her in the woods, that Peridot spotted a familiar vine peeking out from the stalks of corn. She called out after the missing gourd and gave chase, running into the field after her.
"Don't you walk away while I'm talking to you," Peridot admonished as Pumpkin retreated deeper in. A lucky reach, and she grabbed Pumpkin's vine, pulled on that, trying to haul her out. "Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do, like get jettisoned into space to live forever on a floating rock with a barn, and just us as for as long as time exists! Lapis needs us!"
"Peridot," Steven protested, watching in alarm as the Gem yanked hard on the pumpkin's tail-vine, "give her a second!"
"She's doing it to herself! Pumpkin, Do as you're told!" That was about the moment Peridot's grip slipped, sending her falling backwards onto the ground and Pumpkin running away to jump into Steven's arms. Steven looked at her, concerned.
"Whoa, Peridot. It sounds like you don't really want to go."
"I'm sorry, Pumpkin," Peridot murmured as she made her way over to join them, reaching out a hand to pat her in apology. "I didn't mean to yank you around. It's just... we don't have a choice in this."
"What do you mean, you don't have a choice?" Steven frowned in confusion. "Peridot, you should really talk to Lapis about this."
"I can't."
"What? Why not?"
Before Peridot could answer, Lapis came down from the air, landing on the ground in front of them.
"Oh, great. You found her! Now, let's go!"
Lapis turned, once again lifting the barn into the air. Peridot looked at Steven nervously, and Steven returned the look before Peridot turned back to Lapis and hedged, "Wait... Lapis? Pumpkin doesn't want to go."
"Pumpkin doesn't know better," Lapis pointed out. "We do."
"Actually," Peridot looked down at the pumpkin in her arms, her nerves jangling about inside of her nervously. "I... I don't want to go either."
The barn came falling back down to the ground with an impact so loud it made everybody but Lapis jump, the ground shaking under them, Pumpkin jumping from Peridot's arms to go hide behind Steven in fear.
"Peridot," Lapis' eyes scanned her, uncertainty and confusion on her face, "what are you trying to say?"
"It's just, if something happens on Earth, I want to be here for it!"
"But -- no! Why are you telling me this now!?"
"Because we're about to leave!"
"Isn't that the worst time?"
Peridot lifted a finger as though she was about to make some great point.
... She didn't have one.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Well, there are many things I should say," Peridot explained in a way that she thought was perfectly reasonable, honest, "but they would upset you, so in general, I don't say those things."
"Peridot, that's lying!"
"Okay, then!" Peridot drew in a deep breath. "The truth is... I think that we should stay, and if -- and if the time comes, if the Diamonds do come to wipe this planet off the star maps, I think we should fight for this life we've built instead of tearing it up out of the ground! I think we can win. I think you can win! Earth is our home now. Isn't it worth fighting for?"
Peridot reached her hand out, looking up hopefully at the taller Gem. Steven leaned in and tried to sound encouraging.
"What do ya say, Lapis?"
Nothing, for a moment. And then Lapis turned and walked away from the both of them, watery wings unfolding at her back, her voice gone icy cold.
"I am not getting caught in the middle of another war."
And with that, Lapis took off, taking the barn - taking Peridot's entire life on Earth - along with her.
Peridot stood there, staring at the crater in the ground where her home these past several months had been, and Steven reached to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go."
---
The bathroom. Peridot had spent a lot of time in this bathroom, back at the temple. She knew it well. This was where she had barricaded herself after Garnet had poofed her, after she'd escaped her imprisonment in the bubble, back before she'd earned a place among the Crystal Gems, instead of apart and against them.
The bathroom was as close to home around here as anything. Only... it wasn't quite right, even if Steven was setting up a big, fluffy blanket in the bathtub for her and Pumpkin.
"Wow," Peridot murmured, listlessly slinging one leg up over the side of the tub, and then just sort of oozing the rest of herself over and into the pile of blanket within. "Thanks."
Peridot didn't move for the longest time, then. Steven sat down beside the tub on the floor. Pumpkin joined him.
After a few more moments, Peridot finally ventured forward with the one question that had been eating at her ever since Lapis had stolen the barn away into the sky.
"What do we do now?"
[OOC: NFI/NFB for distance! Adapted from the Steven Universe episode, Raising the Barn. Hey look she exists! Kinda!]
It had... kind of gone directly off the deep end in short order. He'd mentioned that he'd been put on trial in front of the Diamonds. Not just Blue Diamond. Not just Yellow Diamond. Both Diamonds.
He'd mentioned that he'd run away.
And that had led to Lapis turning to her with a sort of horrified resolve on her face.
"Peridot, we have to leave Earth now."
---
Peridot was trying to talk Lapis Lazuli down when Steven arrived at the barn. What about their crops? What about their rewatch of Camp Pining Hearts season four? What about the TV and the meep morps that they'd made?
Lapis wasn't having any of it. If anything, she was just growing more and more frustrated with Peridot's insistence that there were so many things they couldn't possibly leave behind. And so Lapis had taken matters into her own hands, had drained their smaller-than-average lake, and had used it to form a bubble around the entire barn. Their lives on Earth thus far. TV, meep morps, keepsakes from Fandom and all.
"There," Lapis said, satisfied as she surveyed her handiwork. "Now we can bring our whole life with us: You, me, and all of our things!"
"Right," Peridot said in a small voice. A moment later, with a little more resolve, she added, "Right!"
"Well, let's get going."
"You're leaving right now?" Steven looked surprised. Maybe a little horrified as Lapis made her way over to hug him. "I thought that... I -- I don't know what to say."
"Goodbye, Steven. Good luck." She looked over to Peridot, who was doing a valiant job of fighting back the tears in her own eyes. This was going too quickly, it was too much. And she couldn't find words." "Peridot, don't you want to say bye?"
"Uhh..." Peridot balked. "Umm... Wait. Where's Pumpkin?"
Lapis frowned.
"She's not inside?"
"She was just standing next to me! We have to find her."
And so the search began. Lapis took to the air. Peridot and Steven took the ground, looking over hill and vale, wandering the woods in search of their precious wayward gourd.
They walked.
They walked some more.
They paused for a false alarm, digging what turned out to be a basketball from some bushes, and, as Steven dribbled the ball, Peridot started to talk.
"You know, I can probably still help you when I'm out in space. I'll just video chat from my tablet!"
"Uh," Steven grimaced, "t-there's no Wi-Fi in space."
Oh. Well. That was no good.
"Well," Peridot hedged, "maybe it's best if we can't reach you. If the Diamonds do show up and destroy the planet, we'll never know!" She looked at Steven hopefully. He looked back in concern. She frowned and soldiered on. "Lapis was very agitated when she heard you were on Homeworld. I was bending over backwards to make her feel better. Watch this."
It was reassuring to hear Steven's laugh as she demonstrated, falling over backwards and planting her hands and feet on the ground behind her.
"Oh, yeah," she affirmed, teeth slightly grit, "she loves this."
---
"Maybe," she mused a few minutes later as they walked back out of the woods, "it's good that we'll be away from everything where nothing can change, no surprises or developments. She's been through so much. She needs consistency."
Peridot and Steven stopped walking, Steven looking at her keenly.
"But what about you?"
---
It wasn't until much later, after they'd given up on finding her in the woods, that Peridot spotted a familiar vine peeking out from the stalks of corn. She called out after the missing gourd and gave chase, running into the field after her.
"Don't you walk away while I'm talking to you," Peridot admonished as Pumpkin retreated deeper in. A lucky reach, and she grabbed Pumpkin's vine, pulled on that, trying to haul her out. "Sometimes, you have to do things you don't want to do, like get jettisoned into space to live forever on a floating rock with a barn, and just us as for as long as time exists! Lapis needs us!"
"Peridot," Steven protested, watching in alarm as the Gem yanked hard on the pumpkin's tail-vine, "give her a second!"
"She's doing it to herself! Pumpkin, Do as you're told!" That was about the moment Peridot's grip slipped, sending her falling backwards onto the ground and Pumpkin running away to jump into Steven's arms. Steven looked at her, concerned.
"Whoa, Peridot. It sounds like you don't really want to go."
"I'm sorry, Pumpkin," Peridot murmured as she made her way over to join them, reaching out a hand to pat her in apology. "I didn't mean to yank you around. It's just... we don't have a choice in this."
"What do you mean, you don't have a choice?" Steven frowned in confusion. "Peridot, you should really talk to Lapis about this."
"I can't."
"What? Why not?"
Before Peridot could answer, Lapis came down from the air, landing on the ground in front of them.
"Oh, great. You found her! Now, let's go!"
Lapis turned, once again lifting the barn into the air. Peridot looked at Steven nervously, and Steven returned the look before Peridot turned back to Lapis and hedged, "Wait... Lapis? Pumpkin doesn't want to go."
"Pumpkin doesn't know better," Lapis pointed out. "We do."
"Actually," Peridot looked down at the pumpkin in her arms, her nerves jangling about inside of her nervously. "I... I don't want to go either."
The barn came falling back down to the ground with an impact so loud it made everybody but Lapis jump, the ground shaking under them, Pumpkin jumping from Peridot's arms to go hide behind Steven in fear.
"Peridot," Lapis' eyes scanned her, uncertainty and confusion on her face, "what are you trying to say?"
"It's just, if something happens on Earth, I want to be here for it!"
"But -- no! Why are you telling me this now!?"
"Because we're about to leave!"
"Isn't that the worst time?"
Peridot lifted a finger as though she was about to make some great point.
... She didn't have one.
"Yes."
"Then why didn't you tell me sooner?"
"Well, there are many things I should say," Peridot explained in a way that she thought was perfectly reasonable, honest, "but they would upset you, so in general, I don't say those things."
"Peridot, that's lying!"
"Okay, then!" Peridot drew in a deep breath. "The truth is... I think that we should stay, and if -- and if the time comes, if the Diamonds do come to wipe this planet off the star maps, I think we should fight for this life we've built instead of tearing it up out of the ground! I think we can win. I think you can win! Earth is our home now. Isn't it worth fighting for?"
Peridot reached her hand out, looking up hopefully at the taller Gem. Steven leaned in and tried to sound encouraging.
"What do ya say, Lapis?"
Nothing, for a moment. And then Lapis turned and walked away from the both of them, watery wings unfolding at her back, her voice gone icy cold.
"I am not getting caught in the middle of another war."
And with that, Lapis took off, taking the barn - taking Peridot's entire life on Earth - along with her.
Peridot stood there, staring at the crater in the ground where her home these past several months had been, and Steven reached to place a comforting hand on her shoulder.
"Come on. Let's go."
---
The bathroom. Peridot had spent a lot of time in this bathroom, back at the temple. She knew it well. This was where she had barricaded herself after Garnet had poofed her, after she'd escaped her imprisonment in the bubble, back before she'd earned a place among the Crystal Gems, instead of apart and against them.
The bathroom was as close to home around here as anything. Only... it wasn't quite right, even if Steven was setting up a big, fluffy blanket in the bathtub for her and Pumpkin.
"Wow," Peridot murmured, listlessly slinging one leg up over the side of the tub, and then just sort of oozing the rest of herself over and into the pile of blanket within. "Thanks."
Peridot didn't move for the longest time, then. Steven sat down beside the tub on the floor. Pumpkin joined him.
After a few more moments, Peridot finally ventured forward with the one question that had been eating at her ever since Lapis had stolen the barn away into the sky.
"What do we do now?"
[OOC: NFI/NFB for distance! Adapted from the Steven Universe episode, Raising the Barn. Hey look she exists! Kinda!]