An Awkward Reunion - Closed I. Topaz / Amethyst

[Imperial Topaz]

"Human metropoles... nothing quite compares to the level of tightly crammed residents, palpable anger, and the taste of pollution! It reminds me of the Forge, now that I think about it..." Topaz scratched her head thoughtfully, adjusting her crimson blazer. She normally wouldn't bother wearing human clothes, but 'Empire City' was prone to attracting large amounts of newly rebelled Gems - as they found this the first true taste of Earth life. Luckily, as she spent most of her time in an undisclosed underground bunker, most Gems wouldn't recognize her, and her looks could easily pass as that of a Quartz - a red spinel to be precise. Matching colored suit pants and black boots made up the rest of her outfit, and she twirled around to face her companion.

"My clarity." Phenakite said, posture stiff. "I am not one to question orders, but is this disguise necessary if you are already confident that other Gems will not recognize you?" Done perhaps by accident, Phenakite's outfit was more 'casual' in comparison to Topaz's formal look. Matching black boots along with jeans, a leather jacket, and a white undershirt. Phenakite's 'Quartz mane' was also on display, usually tucked in behind her helmet. Her eyes, as ever, were covered - though this time by a pair of rectangular sunglasses that the merchant had called 'retro'.

"There IS actually a point - rebels will see our outfits as a sign we are rebels, but if we happened to get stopped by Homeworld we can always just revert to show our Diamond insignias underneath." Topaz explained calmly, striding up to a nearby warp pad. "I have time off - and that means by extension you do as well, and although I love my Forge I think the Bismuths deserve a little alone time occasionally. The human mega cities are chock full of interesting distractions - and perhaps you could even try eating. It is hit or miss for most Gems, and I myself am quite the picky eater..."

The nearly one-sided conversation continued as Phenakite stepped up onto to the flat panel, with the Quartz occasionally inputting a comment or nodding, and before long they were at one of the outskirt warp pads - those constructed with hidden details in case of a hostile force. Using it for leisure would have surely been looked down upon, but Phenakite stayed quiet. A twenty minute walk brought them into the city and they were hardly spared a second glance and they wandered a bit aimlessly, before stopping as Topaz beckoned her into what appeared to be a small confection shop. Topaz had been idly chatting with her, and Phenakite froze up when she noticed another Gem in the room, earning a quizzical look from Topaz as Phenakite discreetly touched Topaz's hand and led her over to a corner table.

[Amethyst]

The tall, burly amethyst quartz lumbered over the rest of the commuters in the city, her huge spiraling hair giving her even more height while she sauntered down the sidewalk. Dark indigo eyes scanned the shops she passed, fiddling with the wad of money in her pocket-- today she decided to wear some clothes she actually purchased at a sports attire store; a matching black track suit with pure white stripes running down the sides, unzipped to show the Empire City Hawks hockey jersey underneath. It had been a struggle to find anything that would fit her without ripping to shreds; she'd already lost quite a bit of money paying for ruined clothes, but finally the store associate had found her something that just barely fit around her. Despite the tight fit, she liked the look of it, along with the comfortable basketball shoes she'd found to match. 

She waltzed right passed the bakery...then stopped, and backed up, peering in toward the beautifully decorated cake in the window. Her dark eyes widened at the sight of it's perfect edges, the swirling, mirror-light design, and the glistening fruit strategically placed over the top. She rushed inside and went to the counter, knowing in her heart that she needed to try that cake. Ame walked straight up to the counter and gave the silver belt a gentle ring. "One moment!" Someone called from the back.  

Ame leaned onto the counter with one of her elbows and looked over all of the delicious things presented in the display case under the counter, then her eyes flicked over to the two patrons who stepped in. Her eyes lit up, almost glittering; a chance to make new friends! The huge gem gave an equally huge grin to the two of them as they settled into their table, then lifted her arm to give a wave. One of them looked oddly familiar, and she pursed her lips,"Hey there, have I met you before? You a regular here?" 

[Imperial Topaz]

Phenakite, unsure of what to do, flicked her eyes back and forth between what was presumably an Amethyst and Imperial Topaz. She settled on sliding into a chair as Topaz gripped her shoulder, giving it a reaffirming squeeze that she had come to know as the - 'let me handle it' approach. Obediently sitting, Phenakite kept quiet as the red Gem stepped foward.

"No, actually, first time in this particular shop. I'm... Red Spinel, and the one over there is Phenakite. You're an Amethyst... aren't you?" Topaz kept a mask of placability, wanting to gain some more information about this Gem first. If she had approached them openly the way she did - it was safe to assume she wasn't Homeworld. A soldier Amethyst, no matter how rowdy, would wander deep into a human settlement and approach potentially hostile Gems. "Ah - excuse my assumptions. It is not often that we find ourselves among others of our kind, especially in cities such as these..."

[Amethyst]

Her brow rose slightly, this gem didn't look like any Red Spinel that she'd seen before, but then again Ame looked quite distinct from most amethysts, with her multicolored patterns, shorter than usual stature, not to mention her penchant for wearing human clothing. If this gem had seen her before, it was most likely that she would be recognized, but that seemed not to be the case. She gave a light grin, and continued to talk while the baker continued doing whatever they were up to in the back.

"Yeah that's right, I guess it's pretty obvious. Humans are catching on too, some of them even knew I was a gem before I said anything," She chuckled,"But you're gonna love this place, they make all kinds of things you're suppose to put in your mouth. I know, I know, it sounds weird, but trust me it's great! I'll share some of my cake with you gems," 

Soon the chef stepped out from the back with a smile on her face,"What can I help you with?" Ame turned, and slapped some cash down on the counter. 

"I need that cake in the window, ASAP," She grinned and turned toward the gems to whisper,"that means, as soon as possible!" it was clear that the amethyst soldier was tickled by human idioms by her quiet giggle. She then turned back to the baker who had a light smile on herself. 

"Sorry, that one is just for display, but I can grab you another premade?" Ame nodded and gave a thumbs up to the baker, before turning and sauntering over to the table. She grabbed a chair from another and plopped down with the other gems.

"Anyway, what brings you folks to Empire?" She gave a big, friendly grin.

[Imperial Topaz]

"N-no! Erm, I mean... no cake for me. Please." Phenakite burst out, facial features temporarily morphed into one of horror at the suggestion. "I don't do the whole eating thing. Or drinking. Or sleeping. I'm fine." Mumbling the last part, she stiffened up as the Amethyst made a move over to sit at their table. Topaz took back her original seat, giving Phenakite a controlled smile, in which she ducked her head down in response. 

Topaz's gaze was calculating, not that the crude Quartz would probably catch it. Something about her look was... off. Sure, defects like the height were common among rebels, but Topaz had a gut feeling that something was wrong. Regardless, she pushed it down with a fake but convincing full smile. "Seeing the sights, mostly. We haven't been to such a big human settle- er, city, before. What about you?"

[Amethyst]

Her eyes widened a little as Phenakite shot down the offer for cake rather vehemently, and Ame had to wonder what sort of bad experience this gem must've had with cake in order to react that way. She shrugged, that just meant there would be more for her, though she was a bit disappointed that she wouldn't get to share with that gem. Red Spinel on the other hand seemed neutral toward an offer to cake.

It was at Red Spinel's question that Ame took pause, and allowed her eyes to flick away. There was a chance that answering this truthfully would blow her cover, though there wasn't much cover to be had. Most gems who were walking around in Empire City were rebels, especially if they donned human inspired disguises, but one could never be sure. 

"Ah well, it's a shame you don't like cake," She gave a light, apologetic smile toward Phenakite,"But it's okay-- and that's great to hear, there sure are a lot of sights to see around!" She leaned forward and gave a smirk,"I might not know it like the back of my hand, but Empire City is...well, I've got a pretty good handle on it. You two looking for something in particular?"

[Imperial Topaz]

"Yes, actually..." Topaz paused, eyes flicking back to Phenakite for a split second beforel landing back on the striped purple Gem. "I've heard that this city has the largest... museum, was it... in the country. That is where my friend and I were headed after this quick stop to get our bearings." Phenakite said nothing, warily eyeing the Amethyst as she idly traced vague patterns with her finger on the wooden table. 

"Perhaps you could show us- oh!" A few soft dings and Topaz's keen vision caught the cake being placed on the counter, piled high with frosting and looking more than large enough to serve up to six people. "Your order is up, Amethyst." She smiled brightly, waiting for the other Gem to grab her food.

[Amethyst]

While she listened to the gem who'd dubbed herself as Red Spinel, Ame let her eyes trail over to Phenakite, lips pulled together with a bit of concern in her eyes. The fellow quartz seemed to be a shy one, or perhaps she wasn't feeling well, but Amethyst hoped to help cheer her up throughout the day. 

Then came the cake, and she lit up,"Oh, nice! One sec," She popped up from the metal chair, which slowly tried to spring back to its original shape, and almost seemed to be relieved that the gigantic super soldier had stood up off of it. She dealt at the counter for a moment before coming back with her cake, a big smile on her face as she inspected her purchase,"It's...perfect! Ain't it?"  

Her dark indigo eyes flicked back over to meet with Red's,"and a museum? That's where humans store all their weird old junk. Lots of weird things to look at, that's for sure," She chuckled,"They get mad if you touch any of it though..." Her eyes flicked away, she'd gotten a bit more than a slap on the wrist for dismantling some of the old biomatter they had neatly arranged, she supposed that she should've known better. "They even have a gem section, isn't that weird? But not like, for actual gemkind, just a bunch of shiny rocks sitting around in cases," She continued to stand with her cake balanced on one hand,"You want some of this, Red?" She ogled the pastry for a moment.

[Imperial Topaz]

"I suppose." Topaz replied, giving an odd look to the confectionery. "I'll admit, I actually have not really tried this whole 'eating' thing before. I suppose, if you were to be so kind to offer, that I shall partake in some."

Phenakite gave the food a disgusted look before simply sighing. "Pardon. Amethyst, was it? If you claim to be highly knowledgeable about this city, perhaps you would be in the possession of a few locations that you can recommend for us to stop at? Though I am not personally looking for something, Red... Spinel wanted to learn more about the dominant species that inhabit this planet." Was that laying it on a bit thick? The other Quartz didn't seem to be as big of a fan to refined speech as Phenakite would have liked, but it was probably easy enough to assume that her message was conveyed.

[Imperial Topaz]

"I suppose." Topaz replied, giving an odd look to the confectionery. "I'll admit, I actually have not really tried this whole 'eating' thing before. I suppose, if you were to be so kind to offer, that I shall partake in some."

Phenakite gave the food a disgusted look before simply sighing. "Pardon. Amethyst, was it? If you claim to be highly knowledgeable about this city, perhaps you would be in the possession of a few locations that you can recommend for us to stop at? Though I am not personally looking for something, Red... Spinel wanted to learn more about the dominant species that inhabit this planet." Was that laying it on a bit thick? The other Quartz didn't seem to be as big of a fan to refined speech as Phenakite would have liked, but it was probably easy enough to assume that her message was conveyed.

Weird repost glitch. I just turned the text white

[Amethyst]

The quartz gave a big grin to the red gem and lowered the cake,"Dig in," She said, and did so herself, grabbing a chunk of the cake and stuffing it in her mouth. While she chewed, she thought about what Phenakite had said, then swallowed,"Mm! So good!" She turned toward the door,"There is tons of stuff we could check out on the way to the museum, I'll show you there. If learning about humans is your goal, you've come to the right place!" She glanced over her shoulder and waved to the baker, then reached for the door handle-- she stopped short, realizing her hand was covered in cake, then she peered over to the other gems with an awkward smile on her face; she had learned quite a bit about humans during the months she'd spent exploring Empire City, and conventions of politeness were among the lessons she'd picked up. Getting cake all over the door handle would probably be off-putting to humans, so she swiveled on her heels, walked back to the counter to secure a hefty handful of napkins, speaking as she sauntered her way back over to the front.

"The museum is fun and all, you can learn a lot  by looking at the kinds of weird old things they collect, but if you want to see what humans are really like, you've gotta put your boots on the ground, and get into the thick of it," She swung the door open, and propped it open for the other gems to make their way through. 

[Imperial Topaz]

Topaz, more delicately than the purple Gem, took a plastic knife and swiftly cut a piece out, taking the small chunk in three big bites with a satisfied look. "I'll admit, I rather enjoyed that." She watched in slight bemusement as the Gem stumbled around a bit, seemingly remembering a bunch of human manners that otherwise came naturally. "Boots on the ground?" Topaz piped up, gesturing for Phenakite to follow to which the yellow Gem did without a second thought. "What exactly do you mean by that? I'm aware that the humans aren't really a static race, unlike... what was ours, but how much to know about them could there possibly be?" A small look of confusion as she trailed behind the rebel, out of the small shop and onto the big streets.

[Amethyst]

It brought a smile to her face to know that the gem enjoyed the cake, and as they filed out onto the street she began to stroll with some care as she balanced the tall baked good on her one hand. She held it out for the other gem to take more if she wanted it, and as they got to walking she was surprised to realize this Red Spinel was a good bit taller than she was. Though, she kept her observations to herself, and instead pondered for a moment before turning to answer the gem's question.

"Well, I mean, you can look at a shelf of random stuff all day, and make all kinds of guesses for why a person made those things. It'd be better to just go find the guy who made all that junk and ask him why he did it, instead of just making up guesses, right? I know it's not that simple, sometimes the guy just isn't around to ask," She shrugged,"But lucky for us your goal casts a wider net. Want to get to know humans? Walk up to one and ask em. Here," She glanced around until she spotted a couple of people standing around at a bus stop, chatting and laughing among themselves. She gave an excited grin,"Lets go talk to them!" Without waiting for the other gems to answer, she cruised right up to the stoplight and waited at the crosswalk, she seemed barely able to contain herself as she tapped her foot and grabbed another piece of cake to munch on.