[CLOSED] well the answer is always the same- won't you please just let it be?

[slapfight]

Who: Peridot and Lapis
Where: The Beach
When: Backdated to the second day of the event
Rating: PG
Summary: Mirror Gem/Ocean Gem, but with Peridot instead of Steven, and 100% less stealing the ocean. And also 100% more dinosaurs.
The Story:

Peridot ran as fast as her tiny legs would carry her, choosing pathways that she hoped would be free of these stupid, giant reptiles, clutching the mirror to her chest like a sacred talisman. In truth, she could have released Lapis anywhere, but it felt better to do it near water. She'd feel safer there.

Hnngh. When she found the clods responsible for Wonderland, they were doomed. It was one thing to inflict all the other various torments on them, but putting Lapis back into a mirror is just callous.

She finally reaches the beach and only then, with the waves washing over her hard light feet, did she dig her fingers up underneath the gem to yank it away from the mirror.

"Okay, here. We go. Hngh. Just gotta- oof!" She pulls hard enough that she smacks herself in the face with her own hand when the gem comes free unexpectedly. Her arms pinwheel and she ends up on her butt in the wet sand.

The gem floats into the air and begins to glow and reform...

Comments

[imagemirror]

...And Lapis drops to the sand, unresisting as gravity leaves her in a heap on her knees. If she were human one might guess she was light-headed, but of course gems are always light, and any kinetic difficulty for them doesn't work that way. The barest exertion of physicality has become something alien. Finally, finally, finally, she can hardly begin to sort through it all.

Which is the most welcome kind of overwhelming imaginable, but -- if Lapis was confused before, this development came completely out of left field. Who, how, why? "What," is her first word, said to the ground not quite intentionally, but the voice she'd almost forgotten how to use comes out too quiet anyway. The mysterious savior is nobody she knows, obviously not another human but not any cut she recognizes either. Of all the daydreams she's entertained about being freed, this wouldn't even be a realistic one. But here it is anyway and it's impossible not to feel hope.

She doesn't try to stand up right away, but pushes herself up to sitting to peer at Peridot. Lapis's mirror eyes are wide; they make her expression harder to tell, or possibly she just needs a moment to remember how to make expressions. Her tone, however, is awed and wondering. "You knew I was there."

[slapfight]

Peridot has never seen Lapis's weird Mirrored eyes before, having only met her after her gem was healed. In fact, she's never seen a gem that's been cracked before, as such things were usually dealt with quickly on Homeworld. It would be unseemly for a gem to parade around barely functional, even if they could manage to maintain their form.

So she's a little surprised when Lapis's eyes fall on her, a 'hrk' noise escaping her throat, before she manages to push herself into sitting position. "Yeah. I, uh... Erm." Clearly Steven knew what to say here, but Steven always knows what to say. This is a delicate situation, and even if this may bear no consequences when the event is over, Lapis will still remember it, and she probably won't be pleased if Peridot handled this indelicately. "Welcome... back?"

[imagemirror]

That probably isn't actually the nicest thing anyone's ever said to Lapis at this point in time, but it sort of feels that way. She's had, you know, a rough few millennia. Confused though she is, her metaphorical heart soars, and she smiles now; it doesn't even take remembering how, or at least that happens automatically.

'Welcome back' is such a pointless, incidental little pleasantry. Which someone is taking the time to say to her because she is a person.

"Thank you," Lapis says, too full of feeling to be mistaken for a mere answering pleasantry of her own. That's definitely thanks for saving her. And, then: "Are you from Homeworld?"

If she were thinking it through, she'd already see a few problems with that, starting with the fact that Peridot is wearing a star and progressing through the pointless incidental pleasantries. She might also wonder why she even phrased it as a question; where else would a gem be from? Lapis... is not at her best, and she has a lot to process right now. Besides that, she really hasn't grown quite so cynical yet, has she?

[slapfight]

Peridot instinctively looks down at her star, and considers covering it up, before it occurs to her that there's no reason to, other than because it complicates already complicated matters. There are dinosaurs here.

Matters are just going to stay complicated.

"Um... About that," she starts strong, and then takes the time to stand up and brush herself off, which makes her lose her already precarious hold on keeping things simple (again there are dinosaurs- this was a losing battle). "Things are actually really, really weird right now, but it's okay! I'll make sure you're safe and nobody puts you in a mirror again!" To emphasize this, she picks the mirror up and attempts to smash it on the ground.

But it's sand, and Peridot doesn't have much strength, so all she's doing is slapping a mirror against the sand. She repeats this action a couple of times, and then just hurls it into the ocean. "There. It's gone now."

It'll wash back up in a few minutes.

[imagemirror]

It's impossible to see Lapis's eyes tracking up and down as Peridot whaps a mirror against the sand, but her growing befuddlement is evident. Not that she doesn't sort of appreciate the idea being gone for, but... what?

The real truth is, she phrased that question as a question because it was standing in for other more important questions, ones which are too fragile to ask. But it should have been a pretty darn straightforward yes-or-no anyway, and she's not sure what to do with the lack of an answer, except that it can't be a good thing. Not quite so cynical yet as she will be, but that doesn't mean she's overly trusting after everything. This person rescued her, and is even being bizarrely kind about it, and Lapis wants to let that be what matters, but what in the world is she trying to do? Who is she?

"'Weird'?" Lapis repeats skeptically; she stands up too, swaying once and still looking a touch unsteady, but she does it. "What's... going on?"

[slapfight]

"The truth is-" Peridot cuts in, abruptly, moving as close to Lapis as she dares, hands held up at the ready as if she's expecting to field a tidal wave with her bare hands. "The truth is," she repeats, more carefully, "we're nowhere near Homeworld, but that's okay! We don't need Homeworld. It's oppressive and-and suffocating. I'm a rebel gem, and it's okay if... you want to be one too?"

She's not sure where she's going with this. Everything has to be done in baby steps. Get her accustomed to the idea of no Homeworld, and then gradually introduce all the other variables to the equation that Lapis's mind is trying to map out after so long as a prisoner.

[imagemirror]

"You --" The unknown gem is barely making sense at all, but Lapis gets the important things out of it. Just like that, any remaining hopeful goodwill is overwhelmed; her eyes widen then narrow, and she reels back in answer to Peridot's approach, until she's at the edge of the water. "You're one of them." There's enough contempt in that word to indicate that she does, in fact, know what a rebel is.

So it's safe to say that didn't go over well.

This Lapis is marked more by desperation than fury, but she can still get pissed, and it's not like those things are altogether separate. "It doesn't matter what you say! You can't keep me here!" Her voice rises to a sharp-edged shout by the end. There is an ocean rolling at her back. One could easily imagine that ominous industrial percussive soundtrack kicking in as Lapis's hair is lifted in an unseen force, and perhaps the exact tidal wave which Peridot's bare hands can't field rising. Why did you bring her to water for this again, Peri?

.............But in reality, of course, nothing happens. Wonderland's ocean no-sells Lapis as it always has. She just doesn't know it always has. There's little enough indication that she even tried to do anything, but her head whips around to stare at the water, as if she needs to doublecheck that it's there. When she turns back to Peridot the look is of unmitigated horror. (Just how badly broken is she?) She takes another step back and hardly even notices when that puts her in the shallows.

[slapfight]

Oh.

The problem is that Peridot wasn't there when Lapis first awoke, and that might have given her some clarity, even if she knows darn well that Lapis's disdain for everything, includes both rebels and Homeworld equally. She sputters, desperately trying to find words to dial it back, and find purchase again, but she ends up getting panicked at the idea of being swept out to sea and flinches at the tidal wave that... Never comes.

She considers this, at the very least, an opening. She uncurls herself from bracing for the impact and opens her mouth to give an offering of peace, and...

...and she's interrupted by the sound of a devastating roar from somewhere nearby.

"Oh no," she whispers. Not this too. Not now.

[imagemirror]

By Lapis's estimation she was already pretty much fucked, so really, how much difference can a loud dangerous noise even make. The fact that her benefactor-slash-captor is so alarmed by it could even be a good thing for her, or it could be one more bit of disaster for the pile. It would be awfully nice if she at least had enough context to guess. But that certainly was attention-getting and intimidating, even for someone currently flipping her lid about other things.

She continues backing up into the water, which is all she really can do at this point. How that's supposed to help is unclear, but panic demands that she at least try. At the same time -- even though she distrusts Peridot, and frankly maybe should shout more just to spite her, Lapis obeys the universal instinct to lower your voice when something big and loud is in the area. "What was that?" she demands in a hiss, as if it's probably Peridot's fault their big confrontation just got interrupted.

[slapfight]

"It's one of those giant lizards," she hisses back, though her hiss is less demanding and more panicked, bordering on a whine. The ground begins to shake and just over the horizon she can see the figure of the huge, carnivorous monster. Even if it has no interest in eating them (nor can it), it's still big and capable of shattering them.

Instinctively, Peridot follows Lapis out into the water enough to grab her hand and start pulling. "We need to go. We need to go. Weneedtogo." Maybe if she repeats it with enough ferocity, Lapis will realize she's trying to help.

[imagemirror]

As Peridot approaches, Lapis takes one more step back. The point being made is sort of, you know, undeniable. Whatever monster that is is clearly both huge and coming closer, and the rebel who knows more about it is beyond terrified. But she's beyond listening -- she doesn't trust Peridot, she's freaked out about basically everything, and all in all, she's having a surprisingly bad day for someone who just got released from millennia of torment. She's about to continue the hushed argument, too, but...

It is at this point that her foot encounters something other than sand beneath the water; Lapis slips and falls, landing on her behind with a splash.

(Yes, she totally tripped on the freaking mirror.)

You... You know what. She's just gonna sit there and glare now.

Hey, Peridot, ever seen Jurassic Park?

[slapfight]

NO, AND SHE DOES NOT WANT TO LIVE IT EITHER.

The large dinosaur is sniffing along, looking for tasty morsels. It lets out another roar, so close now that it makes Peridot feel like her form will just be dissolved by the sound waves alone. Once it passes, she grabs her head and bites down a shriek. "Okay, I know you don't trust me. We're in a bad place and things are scary, but all I wanna do is help you. Can't you see that?" She frantically waves her arms. "I'm doing the best I can, Lapis!"

And that's all the movement it takes for the big t-rex to light on the pair of them, and then start running full gallop towards them.

[imagemirror]

Either Lapis is just totally useless in this situation, or she's decided that not moving is her best bet. There's nowhere to even run, anyway, unless they go further into the ocean, and with her already fallen over, it's easier to just lock up than try to make a break for it. The beast moves with such astonishing speed for its size that running -- on foot like plebs! -- may never have been a viable idea.

There's nothing the two can do but freeze up and pray as it charges directly at them. And yet, at the edge of the water it stops. Eyes firmly fixed on the gems, it cranes its head a couple times and waits for an excruciatingly long moment.

Jurassic Park aside, it's probably not actually true that t-rexes could only notice movement. Then again, these dinosaurs aren't paleontologically accurate either, so who knows, maybe that does apply. Staying still does make you look slightly less prey-like in general, and admittedly nobody can be stiller than people who don't need to breathe; halfway submerged in the water, these two could pass for any other bit of random detritus at a distance. The problem is more that sight is rarely the only factor.

...Lapis and Peridot also don't smell like prey. They don't smell like much of anything,* and the ocean brine easily overwhelms that too. They sounded a bit like prey when Peridot was squawking, but that's gone now. This all doesn't rule out the possibility that they might still taste like prey, but... the t-rex would have to get its feet wet to make sure. It's cold out, you know.

Finally, it huffs a disappointed little snort and lumbers away again.

They got lucky as hell.

* Fun fact: lapis lazuli smells bad when it's broken. It's got sulfur. Considering this one's been lying around for thousands of years, though, it ought to be fine by now.

LATER, IN THEIR ROOM...

[ssmisery]

The event is over. Lapis is back to normal. She's not taking it well.

She's sitting on the floor under the window, head on arms on knees, not looking outside or at anything in particular. The 'younger' Lapis of the past few days was of course not a different person from the Lapis Peridot has come to know, but she had some distinctions. Less jaded, more desperate; that gem still dreamed she might have somewhere to return to, despite all evidence. On the other hand, many things haven't changed. She sure seems to have been as strong-willed and temperamental then as nowadays.

To Peridot's frame of reference, this one might perhaps resemble the Lapis she once helped put in a cell for withholding information bordering on treason. Which is more good proof on both sides that they've changed a few times.

Whether it's immediate or not, when she's back to herself, Lapis ends up here in this spot in this mood inevitably. It's the only place she can be, and there's nothing she can do about that.

[slapfight]

Contrary to both her stubborness and her usual inability to step back when something needs fixing, close quarters with Lapis in a place that plays unfairly with both of their insecurities has taught her that she does need to let her have her space.

For a little while, anyway. It's an agonizing half a day before Peridot peeks into the room they share, outfitted in the comfortable familiarity of their barn that they might never see again, and clears her throat.

"Um... Lapis? Can I..." She starts, recalling the politeness that Steven showed when she was imprisoned in the bathroom and trying to replicate it when all her instincts say to fling the door open and offer a distraction immediately. "Can I come in?"

[ssmisery]

Twice now, Claude has come by to settle down by Lapis's side, only to get bored and wander back off when she failed to pay him any attention. This is the third time. Without looking and without thinking, she has reached down to rub his little forehead, for whatever that's worth.

She appreciates the allowance for time and space in theory. It's certainly her own inclination to be alone, and coming down off a jumble of disjointed memories might be overwhelming enough without trying to hold a conversation about it. And it's easy to feel hemmed-in in Wonderland. Still, while the solitude might help as far as sorting out confusion, it has yet to make anything about this one feel better. It's something of a limbo state of its own.

Lapis doesn't look up for Peridot either, but even in a bit of a daze she understands the question. This isn't anyone's first rodeo. "Sure," she says tonelessly. If nothing more, Peridot's company isn't going to hurt any more than Claude's.

[slapfight]

Peridot breathes a sigh of relief and scampers in, closing the door behind her so quickly it's a wonder if there's something dangerous in the hall she just escaped from. Nothing so dramatic, of course- she's just been pacing that hall so long that she's sick of the sight of it.

She lingers in front of the closed door for a moment longer, and then finally walks over to Lapis and sits down beside her, so that she's now gently sandwiched between a Siamese kitten and one very awkward Peridot who twiddles her thumbs and stares up at the ceiling.

"We should do something with the rafters in here."

She cringes as soon as she says it. Really, Peridot? Really?

[ssmisery]

"I put things up there sometimes," Lapis mumbles, not only failing to object to the tangent, but responding like this was an ordinary conversation they might have at any time. She merely sounds even less into it than usual. It's an actual legitimate answer, though. That's where her Wonderland possessions tend to end up.

Then again, even after a year she barely owns anything, and doesn't even want most of what she does have. They're just objects that ended up in her hands. She could stand up right now, throw it all out the window and do something else with the rafters in here.

But she's not interested in any of that either, so she brushes on past without thinking about it. "Will you look at my gem?" Again, as if that's just one of those everyday little things you ask a roommate to do sometimes. There's absolutely no rational reason for anything to be wrong with her gem (especially since, although time is an enigma, it's still probably pretty likely that it got healed again), but Lapis is way past minding that.

[slapfight]

"I miss my bubble already. It was a symbol of my first accomplishment as a Crystal Gem and-"

She was just blathering on, finding something to talk about, even if that topic is self-centered, only to be derailed by Lapis's question, more than her obvious disinterest (sometimes Peridot just talks to hear the sound of her own voice and break the strained silence, after all).

"-Oh. Oh, of course! Turn around." She knows that logically it has to be healed, but she still wrings her hands like there's something else that might be bothering her- a sign of corruption from Wonderland's rampant mining of data. Something. Anything.

[ssmisery]

Frankly, Lapis is in enough of a slump that it probably could be managed in her current position, but that's yet another thing she's not really thinking about, so she responds automatically. Maybe making her move is good for her, anyway. It's an awkward motion; her knees come down and end up bumping Claude out of the way, and since the petting wasn't that good in the first place, he slides out from under her fingers to find a better napping spot.

Lapis's back and Lapis's gem look the same as usual, of course. Although it's not like they often examine each other's gems closely. Despite everything that's currently awful, this really has to be a mark of trust, right?

[slapfight]

Honestly, Peridot's a bit more giddy than she should be about this once Lapis exposes her back to her and she's free to show a little bit more glee. This is what she's made for so not only is it a sign of trust- it's something she's genuinely good at. What better way of making Lapis feel better than to tell her how amazing the details of her gem are?

She doesn't actively touch the dark blue teardrop shape but she leans in close, hmming here and there as she notes how the fine facets catch the light. "Not a single crack. It was like nothing happened at all. And... Let's see." A few more hems and haws and she adds, suddenly excited. "Actually, Lapis, you should be proud of yourself! You have to be one of the highest quality Lapis Lazulis I've seen." She chuckles indulgently. "And I'm not just saying that because you're my favorite Lapis Lazuli."

It's a joke, but she realizes that it could easily still be taken as her mistaking emotions for facts, and she adds. "Literally. You have minimal calcite and pyrite inclusions. Pssh. All the other Lapis Lazulis I've seen are so flawed. Clearly, your kindergarten was concerned more with quality over quantity for its terraformers."

[ssmisery]

Lapis turns her head, but turning it far enough to actually look back in this awkward position would be an effort, and she's not in the mood to commit to it. Peridot's view only gains a crescent slice of her face, a suggestion of eyelashes in the window light.

"I know that," she says, with almost a touch of surprise through her numbness -- as though Peridot saying something so obvious and so irrelevant is confusing. She'd almost managed to forget exactly who she was asking here. And, of course, Lapis has heard all that before, a very long time ago. That used to be who she was. It's strange to remember that it's still true and that it doesn't matter anymore.

It is a tragedy of Peridot's life that, somehow, nobody ever seems cheered up by her telling them about their gemology. Lapis finds that she doesn't particularly want to hear more of this talk right now. With the inspection concluded, she turns around entirely, gem out of reach and troubled face forward. She doesn't feel like making eye contact, though, and instead her gaze lands, for no sensible reason, on Peridot's gem in turn. She gives a distracted, cursory "Thanks."

It's amazing how different this person looked to her just yesterday. (Which simultaneously seems like a long time ago, which is different from the actual long time ago when she looked different in a very different way. This shit is wild. But anyway.)

[slapfight]

"Huh?" Peridot leans back, frowning. She knows Amethyst didn't particularly enjoy hearing about her gemology, but she assumed it was because she hated being reminded of what she was denied by being overcooked. Lapis has no such issues- she's powerful and her gem make proves it. Any other gem back on Homeworld would be wielding such a high quality mark of status like a weapon.

But... they're not on Homeworld, and Lapis will never be in a position to have status of any kind, nor would she probably want it if she could. And yet, for Peridot, it still feels uncomfortable to be brushed off when she thought that's what Lapis wanted to hear, even if it was her own perception of it. "What's wrong? What did I say?"

[ssmisery]

In turn, Lapis is confused by Peridot's response to her response; wrapped up in her own headback?? as she is, she wasn't thinking about how she came across. She just moved in response to stimulus. And she doesn't know how to answer the question.

She shakes her head, which isn't an answer either but seems to be directed at herself more than anything. "It doesn't matter," Lapis says, and it's not clear whether she's referring to Peridot's perceived gaffe or the quality of her gem.

[slapfight]

"But it does." The trick here is communication, but Peridot is only barely touching on the idea, as opposed to realizing it's something that needs to occur here. It's the barest minimum of thought, enclosing around her, as she beats herself against the wall Lapis keeps forming between them whenever things get too bad.

The response to a stimulus isn't really the issue here- it's a combination of things, building until Peridot can no longer keep it inside.

"I want to help you, Lapis. I know you're going through things that I can't possibly understand, but I still want to try. You just have to let me. Please."