Like a Sore Thumb ... (Intro/Open)

[Hematite]

“Where … am I?”


So, yes it wasn’t her most intelligible idea to leave what she had considered to be -for the past several hundred millennia at least- her homeland. But, to be honest she had to find out what was going on with this world and go in search of any rumor or information regarding Homeworld and its influence here as of late. But apparently it wasn’t the smartest of ideas. She had some cities back in the Lands of the Rising Sun, but they were not like this one. Though it wasn’t nearly as crowded, it was still very large in comparison, it didn’t help that she couldn’t fly around here either. In fact, and this was quite odd, but not only has she been foot-trekking for days now-but she’s been holding her human disguise for what felt like even longer-this by far was her record as she normally never had to hide her true form like this for so long.


“Nice cosplay!” – “Wow, your Kimono is beautiful!” – “Dude, this is like, the 21 century, the hell are you wearing?” – “Huh … must be a tourist.”


Why was everyone looking at her so strangely? Well, unbeknownst to our lovely Hematite, dawning a deep scarlet kimono with a Wagasa to match (A form of oil-paper umbrella,) while walking the busy streets of this bustling city disguised in her human form was considered to be a little outlandish. Though she remained somewhat safe from the eyes of a human (though still quite suspicious looking), to another gem it may be less convincing, not many humans walk around with grey, almost lifeless flesh-tones -unless they were a zombie-extra in a movie-nor stood out so aptly as a sore thumb. “What in the world is a cosplay?” She thought to herself with some curiosity as she passed another human gawking at her curiously.


Well, if there was at least one comment she could give about this city is was … that the human’s here were quite attractive. She had been blushing ever since she entered. So many shapes and sizes and … it was almost too much. She wondered though, how many gems hid out among the city goers, she pinged a couple times with sonar-but she got nothing. One thing that made her quite nervous was that, essentially, she had defected. Gems wouldn’t be insane enough to battle within the city would they. Maybe here she was safe?



Whatever, right now what really mattered was finding info on the going on’s and what not.




((Still working on the drawing for her kimono and stuffs, but when she is in her human disguise it isn't super hard to tell she isn't actually human. Also, whenever she pings her Empath sonar, things close enough that are gems can feel as a cold shiver. Have fun! She also moves her hair over her top three eyes so they don't stand out. ))

[Paddy]

Whether or not she appeared out of the ordinary was over the head of the sapphire, pacing her way through the crowd with her diagnostic apparatus hovering at a comfortable length in front of her. Some humans rubber-necked to get a glance at the tiny pink figure and her state-of-the-art Homeworld technology, but there were many gems who had garnered fame here; among them were Chip, Morion, Bloodstone-- and because of them, Padparadscha felt safe to traverse the place with her loyalist pride out in the open. The added benefit of it being daylight was also reassuring, as she had a hunch she might not be the victim of yet another attempted mugging with so many witnesses about.  

She was on a mission, as usual. Though, this one had a different flavor than her normal work. Having been contracted by the tower once again, she was on her way to return the results of her investigation of human-related activity. Her face was buried in her dossier as she went over her check-point list for another time, making well sure that she had thoroughly covered every base. The humans she'd been sent after were much easier to track and gather evidence on than a typical gem, but the ease of the mission almost made it harder to accept that she'd truly completed her objective.

In her periphery, a tall, carmine figure caught her eye. Her pace slowed and she eyed the shape of an oddly dressed human. In previous endeavors here, she'd seen street performers dress up in bright costumes or paint their skin to be the color of concrete, but she'd never quite been able to wrap her mind around it. There was something about this human that was particularly off, but she couldn't quite place her finger on why. The sapphire was too far away from this other being to get an analytical reading on her. Was it the way she moved? The way she seemed to stand out in the manner she regarded the others? Padpara was utterly perplexed, and her curiosity was on fire.  

Her nerves lit up-- a cold prickle raced down her nape. She jumped, her head swiveled as she tried to track down this uncanny feeling, as if she were being watched by something more than the lower Earthling forms around her. Then, her eyes shot back to the woman in red, trained on her with laser focus. Something was indeed off. 

[Hematite]

By now, Hematite’s face had went from somewhat content to bored. This city seemed to have nothing but human’s walking about, which wasn’t necessarily horrible. Honestly, what kind of gem could she run into nowadays, maybe she should just turn around and …


… Oh, no …


What, was that? Her sonar pinged something and instantly her head stiffened as she straightened up. The eerie uncomfortable feelings of another gem’s emotions rushed over her like cold water and to make matters worse she panicked in the moment. Her stride halted almost instantly at the dismay of someone behind her who scoffed impatiently and walked ahead of her. The alien sensation of one’s feelings rushing through her was one thing, but she could feel the curiosity-they were surely interested in her! And, unfortunately she knew exactly where they were. Her head shifted slowly and in a moments' gaze she met eyes with what was for sure, more than 100%, another gem across the way. But, why? And how, so out in the open? Have humans and gems truly integrated this well already? Suddenly there was this nervousness overcoming her and you could see it in Hematite’s eyes clear as day. A certain fear.


This gem she saw was surely of pink hue and well, not the tallest. That could mean all sorts of things but even more terrifyingly so, that she was a part of a certain regime and not just any! But as any gem knew, height wasn’t everything in their race-it was all about status and even moreso, your allegiance. And what was worse was that she was looking dead at her! Hematite swallowed pure anxiety, twisted on her heel and made to walk-off … except.


That was a horrible mistake. You see, one thing Hematite couldn’t hide was her gemstones, not the ‘one,’ but ‘three,’ gems. One at the base of her sacral, another at her neck and the last at the back of her head. She made one more backward glance at the gem showing her obvious distrust and started haphazardly troting off: running geta wasn’t impossible but it was certainly uncomfortable and it didn’t help that it was so crowded too! Unfortunately, she also forgot one other thing, her sonar wasn’t deactivated either.


She’s just a klutz isn’t she?

[Paddy]

The being seemed to freeze in the seconds that the unsettling feeling had seeped through the sapphire. One slender brow arched. Then, her eyes caught the glinting gems embedded in the woman's back as she flipped around to withdraw into the other direction. Some sort of fusion? Nonetheless, a fusion who apparently wanted no part in conversation with her. That seemed to suggest several things about this stranger; if the gem was suspicious before, she was a full-blown suspect now.

With a quick gesture, Padpara did away with her dossier and brought out her recording devices. Though she was technically on the job, she'd finished her prime tasks so early that there was plenty of time for her to try to get to the bottom of this highly questionable turn of events. She took brisk steps against the flow of the crowd, keeping her eyes and her documentation on the fusion as she scampered away. It was easy for the sapphire herself to duck around the humans, but being surrounded by them made it difficult to keep track of her suspect. The bright color of her dress filtered through, but seemed to be gaining an advantage against the sapphire's short legs. Her pace picked up, the rhythm of her feet clicking faster against the concrete. She clenched her teeth as she began to lose sight of her target-- and darted out off of the side-walk, into the road. 

She of course knew the danger presented in doing so, but rushed across the road anyway, trusting her natural defenses. Human vehicles hurled to sudden halts in her wake. The people inside honked horns and called out of their windows at whatever had just run out in front of them, depending on their own discretions. But Padpara was focused only on the blaze of red that flickered through the movement of people as she made it to the other side of the street, and ever more quickly pursued the suspect.    

[Hematite]

“Excuse me! Sorry! Excuse me please! Ack! My toe! Ow! Sorry!”



As her head would swivel back every here and then, she realized quite quickly that the strange little gem was not only in pursuit of her, but seemed well equipped, and enough so to traverse the crowd nearly without problem. It didn’t help that her pursuer wasn’t the tallest of gems, though she didn’t blend in well due to her coloration-her height left her in most of Hematite’s blind-spots who would only notice her in a moment’s flash. Even more strange was that Hematite swore she saw some kind of gizmo’s floating about her. What kind of gem is this? Were they weapons, why were the human’s about giving not even an ounce care?


She pinged her sonar again, and the feeling she was struck with confirmed her fears, this gem was determined at this point and certainly held that interest in her. What should she do! She was starting to panic and it was at this moment she heard a car horn, her gaze went to the streets along with many other onlookers and she watched the small gem rush across the street, all the while looking her way- in fact at this point they’d be meeting each other’s gaze. The grimace on Hematite’s face would have shown how utterly shaken she was at this point. But then again, it was only one gem, should she confront her?



But, then where there is one there could always be more … and this gem certainly held the specs of some kind of informer or scout. Even if she was somehow blending with humanity, it made no sense how she could do this without an ounce of disguise. Unless … did Homeworld have some kind of hold here in the city? It sounded crazy to her, but that was the only thing that made sense, or that humans were far more oblivious than she thought. Well, if that were the case!


What happened next elicited an array of gasp and shocked shouts from the pedestrians commuting around her, one shouted in shock, “Holy ****!” as the Hematite’s gown changed colors in an instant, becoming a darker motley grey-the kimono fused like ferrous liquid to her lithe figure, and some parts even came apart to become her long iconic hair, her antennae and combat visor suddenly appeared and the umbrella even slinked away in the illusion. Instead she wore now a bodysuit of types and stood out as alien as ever.


Showing agility, impressive enough even in the eyes of a gem, she launched into the air and with the aid of her hair which lashed out like several arms, gripped a light-post and brought her close enough to cling to it with ease. She scaled up enough so that she could see her pursuer across the street. But Hematite remained quiet, watching her reaction, oblivious to the countless human’s reaching for their tablet phones an attempt to make a nice video.

[Paddy]

For the moments that her eyes met with the other gems', Padparadscha realized that her target was thoroughly alarmed. From her behavior, assumptions could be made about her allegiances. Though most gems in the city were affiliated with M-Tower, those gems showed little qualm with openly traveling in the city. But, there were gems who had slipped into the Empire City underworld, deftly evading the influence of those they worked against. This fusion could be on anyone's side, but the suspicious manner seemed to allude to a more insidious intention. Still, without a comprehensive analysis, pinning her down proved to be troublesome. So had been this short pursuit.

It seemed the gems were making quite the scene; anyone who was perplexed by the sapphire's traffic jam had their attention ripped away as the fusion made her swift transformation and flung herself into the air. For Padpara, the humans were of no consequence. They were lower life forms, cluttering around their natural habitat, making simple endeavors more difficult. They served more as a nuisance than anything as the small gem tried to keep her eyes on the now dark shape, perched atop the street lamp. She shoved her way through the crowd, though her slender physique made it difficult to get through. Perhaps one day she could try to teach these crude primates how to show proper respect and make way for a sapphire, but for now she was focused on her self-appointed objective.

She'd never seen a fusion like this one, and knew that the combination of power between three different gems would be a challenge to deal with. There was no way for her to know what this chilling feeling she had could be attributed to, but she wanted to pin it on the fusion. Surely a violent confrontation should be avoided, but there was no telling how this gem would react in any kind of situation. She stumbled out of the throng of people, and cleared her throat. 

"Ah, you...seem a bit lost, comrade!" She began, calling up to the gem, "Do you need assistance?" She had a few centuries of practice with her inviting smile, honing it for the use of placating her targets. Beneath her warm expression, her ire-tinged curiosity demanded to know the who, why, and how. 

[Hematite]

As soon as she found a comfortable position to perch on this lamp, her hair almost cuddled her, taking the shape of something akin to spider legs as it anchored her against the lamp-head. But the position did not come with some defenses, as a few bundles of hair had taken on almost insect-like scythes which pulled back in ready to strike at any moment. And, as the other gem grew closer, her hair only seemed to tighten around her moment by moment.

"Ah, you...seem a bit lost, comrade!" Hematite’s strangely shaped ears were met with this as she watched the gem close in and get a better look at her. "Do you need assistance?" The gem didn’t answer right away. Though it would have been difficult to see her eyes through her battle visor, they had narrowed on this gem the moment she opened her mouth. Comrade? It was obvious Hematite was a fusion; even more disgusting to Homeworld-an abstract one, in her eyes she was an abomination to them, or at least she thought she should be considered so. Hematite’s eyes locked dead on her as she released another ‘ping,’ with her sonar and her alerted look became more disapproving. That smile was warm enough but there was an eerie cold sensation behind this gem’s emotions, an obvious intent that showed she seemed indifferent at least towards her.

“Lost, maybe. It’s more that I’m out of the times.” Hematite asked and then peered around at the human’s around them. “You could offer me some questions. Even a name would be appreciated at this point.” She wanted to tell this gem more than anything to stop smiling, it was more than unnerving to sit here and feel someone’s ire and see such a convincing smile on their face. Little to her knowing, some of earthling around them had pulled out tablet phones, and were watching the show in awe.

[Paddy]

The moments that passed through the silence (but for the murmuring of humans) put her increasingly on edge. It was clear that this other gem was on edge too, she seemed to be reeling up, readying herself. The sapphire's fists clenched as she prepared for the possibility that she might have to summon, and use, her own weapons. The thought only made her mood more dire. Waiting to see how the gem would take her words pushed her nerves further, time crawled by as her own recording device documented the event.

The sapphire's eyes flickered around the crowd, and she realized something a bit alarming herself. The humans' technology was something she didn't concern herself much with usually, but now, it seemed that many of them were using their devices in a pointed manner, much like how she used her holoscreen apparatus. It would be rather unsightly for her, one of the only padparadscha in the system who wasn't a rebel, to be recorded giving out her designation while trying to reason with someone who was very likely a rebel themselves. She crossed her arms, brows furrowed as she glanced around the group. Then, the fusions voice cut through the buzz of the city, and Padpara's gaze flicked back up to meet the other gems'.

There was something positively unnerving about this gem as she spoke. The sapphire had never seen a cross-gem fusion in her life, and she couldn't imagine what the purpose of it could be. Many lower caste gems were accustomed to the use of fusion in combat or building, among other trades, but they normally didn't stay that way for long. This gem must've been on some kind of mission. Otherwise, the pink-court aristocrat couldn't wrap her head around it. Why? How? For now, she shoved back those questions. There would be time, she hoped, to figure it out. 

"Ah, perhaps we can find a more convenient place to discuss?" She said, unraveling her crossed-arms to appear more open. What little the mysterious gem said seemed to reveal a bit of truth in her words; she was being genuine, and that, the sapphire could appreciate. 

[Hematite]

Hematite could sense it, this gem was growing more and more anxious by the second. But, also, there was a seemingly strong amount of hesitation, as her 'pings' kept letting off, she realized this gem didn’t want to fight her; she could feel her apprehensiveness and even moreso a sense of self-preservation. Well, at least they were on the same page in that light. In fact Hematite visibly let up a little, it seemed the two wouldn’t be attacking each other ... at least anytime soon.

“Duuude! I’m totally putting this on Youtube!” She heard below her and then looked back to see human male pointing some kind of device at her. Suddenly a batch of white-hair lashed out and snatched it from him, which elicited some shocked faces and shouts from the people around them. She eyed the device with some curiosity. “Nani’ga?” she says in a guttural-confused mutter and then grew disinterested rather quickly, with a swift flick she threw it into the air and off into the distance. “MY PHONE!! THAT’S A SUNGSAM I8! NOOOOO!!!” he shouted as he took off to follow it.

Let’s just say it was wrecked at this point.

"Ah, perhaps we can find a more convenient place to discuss?" She suddenly heard and turned to see the gem looking at her with some disgruntlement. She could sense the gems interest in her, but Hematite was sure it wasn’t for the reasons she originally assumed. Her eyes shifted about and she saw a rather shady building off in the distance, it looked like it was under construction, or abandoned and in process of being renovated for better purposes. She pointed to the building, not with her own limbs, but instead with some of her hair which took the form of an arm and hand with almost perfect anatomy and pointed to the structure across the street.

“There,” she mentioned aloud, “I’ll go ahead.” She said with a rather distrustful backward gaze. She suddenly threw herself into the air using her hair as a kind of launching apparatus and right when you thought her hair could do no more, they transformed into long fluttery-wings which she used to soar towards the highest window with ease, climbing inside. No wonder it was being renovated, it smelled of mold and the floors were covered with broken glass. It honestly looked mistreated in every sense of the word. It was dark, which was perfect for her. Though she wondered if she was going to need it. She kept getting weird vibes from this gem, and it was making her nervous, seriously what had been going on while she was living comfortably in her rural forest? 

[Paddy]

People stumbled back as the man's phone became a casualty. While some were discouraged enough to flee the scene, others bravely continued trying to document the event. They gawked when the being flew through the air, capturing what they could of her before she disappeared into the building. Though most began to scatter, an intrepid few took steps toward the abandoned structure themselves, phones still recording.  

Padparadscha's brows shot up as the fusion made off toward the chosen destination. Unfortunately for the sapphire, flight was not one of her talents. She wasn't particularly fond of heights either, but she'd do what she had to in order to gather information about this peculiar gem. It had been quite the relief that this stranger seemed to accept her offer, but it was still a wild-card situation. She swallowed, rolled her shoulders back to release the tension in them, and stepped toward the building. As she did, she calculated the strategy she would undertake once closer to the fusion.

Firstly, she tried to determine why this building had been chosen. The most overt reason being, of course, that it would be secluded and hard for humans to reach. But, Padpara knew there could be other reasons. She had to be prepared for anything, and would need to be as careful as she could be with so many variables up in the air. Secondly, she'd have to decide how she would get up there. The abandoned building's doors and windows were boarded up but for a few open spots here and there. She didn't want to quite give away her capabilities, but she'd have to either scale the building, or break in. There were numerous pros and cons to each, but she decided on an amalgam of the two.

A boiling hot orb of plasma generated into existence in front of her, and she stretched it, then lashed it out toward the nearest open window. She grabbed onto her rope of molten liquid, and used it to pull herself up through the opening. It was still much farther down than the one the fusion had chosen, much too far out of range for the sapphire's ability. But, once she was inside, she began looking for a flight of stairs. She peered around the corner, and found her way to one. It was caved in, but that didn't stop her from making her own plasma footpath to get over the damage. 

Around and around she went, trying her best to conserve the use of her plasma, until she made it nearly to the top. This had been quite a hike, but she managed her composure as she emerged above the stairwell, and settled her eyes on the fusion. It seemed the nearer she was, the more perturbed she felt by the chill that emanated around the aura of this gem. Nonetheless, she cut into her documentation to pause it, then turned to face the fusion.

Her impulse was to give a Diamond salute, but she stopped herself short. "Padparadscha 10C8A 8QE," She stated simply, careful to leave her titles off of it. Though giving her designation could possibly be a disadvantage, it could also be to not. "To whom do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?"

[Hematite]

Hematite decided to simply sit and wait, using her white-locks as a kind of padding as she sat cross-legged on them and relaxed some. It took a while, she almost thought the gem wasn’t coming but then she swore she heard something. Her ears caught the sound of steps, motion, the building creaked as someone moved through it and eventually she could feel the presence of the other gem getting closer through her abilities. There was certainly anxiety or nervousness from the other. Hematite tried to put on a more relaxed appearance, even as her eyes narrowed to a light that beaconed from the hand of the gem as she rose above the stairway.


What an interesting ability, she was unsure if what she was seeing was some kind of hard-light or something else but it was certainly bright enough to light up the room.


“Padparadscha 10C8A 8QE,” Hematite almost winced when she heard this, there was some worry on her face as the gem both revealed her name and her designation. How many years has it been since she, no the gems who made her up had used such commands. To be honest she had only called herself Hematite for one reason, it just felt right. In some respects this fusion was a form of quartz but even still, it wasn’t a truly designated one. "To whom do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?" Padpara asked her and the gem became visibly uncomfortable as she looked away.


Hematite sighed with discontent, her hand sliding up to her visor, a small ‘click,’ could be heard as it unhinged from her ears and then vanished in a wisp as she looked back at the gem. Her five eyes locking on her intently. “You might be expecting a designation, even an inkling to my allegiance.” She started, the timeless remorse written all over her face, “I … we, forgot that a long time ago. I am Hematite. To the humans of my land to which I governed and watched over, Usagimegami.” She took a sudden noble turn, as the cross-legged position she was in straightened up, and her legs cupped each other in lotus position.


“Please, excuse how I’ve been acting. Seeing gems act such a way-as you have acted, around earthlings. It’s almost daunting to me really.” She recalled that where she lived, it had remained not only rural but old-fashioned over the many years. Yes the humans had spread and built cities off into the distance, her homestead remained untouched, sacred to many who lived there-a tourist site even. So, unbeknownst to most gems, she was unaccustomed to the humans here.

[Paddy]

It was good to be cautious, and her plasma took a lot of time and energy to conjure. But it also took the same to maintain, and it could also seem intimidating if she wasn't careful with it. She decided that this interaction could go more smoothly if she put out her light, and kept the ability concealed. The orb of glowing hot plasma faded from existence, letting shade fall over the room, but for the sunlight that filtered into the dusty air.

She stood, straight backed, hands clasped, and feet together as she listened to Hematite, and stared back into her almost threateningly alert visage. It certainly felt as if she were being watched by many, the uncanniness in the air continued to rankle her nerves. Though the gem's words were truthful as far as she could tell with her senses, the sapphire found her mood growing darker as she spoke. The fusion seemed to be a runaway, and ancient one by the sounds of things. But, this possible enemy wasn't making any sudden moves for the time being. She was being surprisingly compliant, even. So many questions were roiling around in Padpara's head that she couldn't grasp onto one or the other for a moment, she simply stood in silence as she processed what was said. Then, carefully, she then mulled over her own word choices.

"Hematite," She echoed, curtly, though she made every attempt to keep her calculating thoughts internal. "You've been tasked with the governance of humans?" It seemed unlikely, but she knew that some gems had been given such jobs as per their Diamond's request, too keep track of the things. "It would seem you have more experience with the creatures than I, then. I have been told that I should be more cautious about them, though they're simply an enigma to me," Her smile brimmed, as if this were just any other pleasant conversation.

"Usagimegami. I haven't heard that, is it a sort of gemstone, perhaps a human designation for one?" Lithe hands unclasped as she made to take a few steps closer, sweeping her eyes across the gem to get a better read on her. The analysis of a gem she'd just met was always somewhat difficult, but everyone had their tells.

[Hematite]

There was a moment of silence, it seemed Padpara was trying to garner words to say to her. Hematite’s eyes held their own emotional content, one seemed calm enough but there was nervousness in the others. Even hematite couldn’t avoid the truth at this point, she was a derelict deserter. She ran away from war-or should one say, the gems that made up her fusion did.


"Hematite," her ears were met with and she almost seemed to awaken from a trance, she was so lost in her thoughts she almost didn’t hear. "You've been tasked with the governance of humans?" Hematite’s gaze showed her reluctance to answer. "It would seem you have more experience with the creatures than I, then. I have been told that I should be more cautious about them, though they're simply an enigma to me …"


"Usagimegami. I haven't heard that, is it a sort of gemstone, perhaps a human designation for one?" If she wasn’t in such a solemn mood, she would have started giggling after that, but there was guilt in her voice as she spoke up, “No. I have not. Any honest gem should know one like myself is … abominable in the eyes of a Diamond.” She looked up at the gem with a rather stoic glare for a second, then it lightened up as she went to say, “Well, not the humans of this region no. Humans are complicated creatures. Maybe not on a technological scale, but most certainly on an emotional and spiritual one. The humans I’ve become most fond of reside far from here, on another continent entirely.” She sighed, “The continent I have been hiding away on for centuries now.“


“After my self-exile, the gems that made me were lost in those lands, eventually our loneliness drove us to fuse by accident. The human’s there spoke a strange language, they accepted me - thought I was some kind of forest spirit. Apparently I looked like a rabbit to them, that is why they called me Rabbit Goddess, ‘Usagimegami,’ and worshiped me. I made many relations with them, many types.” If a gem with grey flesh could blush she was doing it now, if Padpara chose to press on about that particular subject, she’d be sure to stop her there. But she told her what she needed to know, which was moreso than she’s told most gems.


But she felt it to be necessary, perhaps her story could enlighten this other gem as to why she seemed so out of the times. So far, the ‘pings,’ from her sonar only registered nervousness and curiosity from the gem, but also a certain dutifulness as well. She felt this feeling much like that of the samurai of her time, who struggled to appease their Shogun’s and masters. Even as she grew closer Hematite only seemed to rescind inward. She hoped she could possibly calm the gem enough to get some answers from her, but it seemed first she would have to explain herself.

[Paddy]

It was difficult to hold her composure as Hematite made her confession. That settled it; without a doubt, this fusion was an enemy, not sent on any kind of assignment. On top of that, she'd managed to choose the particular word that Padpara would have used herself to describe such an act. To maintain cross-gem fusion, without any kind of Diamond-given purpose, was not only preposterous, but prohibited by the authority of their creators in the majority of circumstances. Abomination indeed. But, she was a self-assured sapphire, who was herself on a mission. Aside from that, her years working in the judicial courts had made her world-view a bit more expansive. Of course she didn't like it, but there was something more to her aversion to seeing this gem-- no,  three gems, who, for one reason or another, had decided to stay as one. Something about that prickled at the back of her mind as she thought of certain encounters she'd once had before. It unsettled her, she shoved the thought away. 

She stared back into the gem's glare, and chose to let her own two eyes speak for her. Perplexed as she was, there was more to learn about this fusion, so she continued to listen in silence. The story that Hematite gave behind her human-given title was even more confusing, but she wasn't completely lost. Not knowing what a rabbit or a spirit was didn't help, but she'd heard of gems being exalted by humans-- much in the way that Chip had become a famous defender for Empire City, this Hematite seemed to take on a similar burden of fame. But, unlike Chip, she did so outside of the law.  

It was irksome, how difficult this gem became to read as she grew more withdrawn, but it was equally galling how utterly honest this story seemed. Admitting to several crimes in front of a judicial court gem was brazen indeed, but perhaps this gem was so ancient that she'd not been introduced to her model of sapphire. 

"I'm not sure of spiritual. But I have spoken with researchers who have said something similar of the humans. Interesting life-forms, to say the least. I can't say I've ever known relations with such creatures, however. I've seen my relations with gemkind to be more fruitful," She tried to keep her tone conversational, but her irritation prickled under the surface, gnawing at her more intently. Her mind ruminated, attempting to piece together where her irritation was coming from, so that she could more effectively stomp it out. Was it that this was a group of rebels who had managed to slip from justice, despite the boldness of them? Was it what Hematite had said? Was it the mere sight of this renegade fusion, who made Padaparadscha think about things she didn't want to contemplate right now?

"So," Her words were more edged. In front of the sitting fusion, the sapphire paced with measured, slow steps to help channel away her frustration,"Usagimegami. Or Hematite. I have to wonder. Have you not sought to reconnect with the Headquarters? You mention self-exile," Though she could guess as to why, she wanted to hear the words of this fusion on the subject. Still, it was difficult to hold back the tide of questions in her, that would more overtly give away her own motives in this endeavor.   

[Hematite]

Yes, it was honestly obvious at this point. Well, to a gem who could read emotions? What she had said had definitely irked the gem enough so that there was a stream of frustration, anger, even hostility coming from the gem. Her story was an obvious excuse to try and waterdown a renegade’s confession. And it certainly earned her some ire from this gem. Unfortunately, for Hematite at least, she was unaccustomed to the new times-or even the old, really in terms of hierarchy. The gems that made her up were initially specialized combat gems who weren’t very knowledgeable of these things considering they were thrown into battle directly after walking away from their kindergarten.

She was at a disadvantage in that regard.

"I'm not sure of spiritual. But I have spoken with researchers who have said something similar of the humans. Interesting life-forms, to say the least. I can't say I've ever known relations with such creatures, however. I've seen my relations with gemkind to be more fruitful," Something she said christened a strange reaction from Hematite; yes something she said had triggered this gem, her eyes widened as she grimaced immediately, "So, Usagimegami. Or Hematite. I have to wonder. Have you not sought to reconnect with the Headquarters? You mention self-exile," Hematite’s answer did not come immediately, in fact before Padpara had even finished there was a chuckle beneath her tone that slowly surfaced into an audible laughter; slow painful laughter that was rife with a certain irony. She looked up at the gem, all her eyes displaying some kind of emotion, each one pained, saddened but blatantly amused at the hilarity of what the gem just said.

“You answered your own question,” She says with a grim tone, wiping a tear from her face as she stood up and crossed her arms, “You find your relationship with your own kind so fruitful?” There was actually now some anger in her voice as she spoke up and took a step towards Padpara. “That’s only because you’re still useful. You were lucky, you were made with a use. You weren’t in anyway disfigured or incapable of meeting said purpose. Because if you were, you wouldn’t be here right now. You would have been shattered.” She pointed to herself, “Me … We, weren’t so lucky. We were created with a purpose, but our creator failed to create us to meet the standards of that purpose. What use is a combat gem who cannot fight? A warrior with no strength of mind or body is meaningless in the war-zone. My self-exile wasn’t just of our own accord, it was a choice we made because we knew they would have dissembled everything we were and turned us to dust,”

She started to laugh as the sense of it all hit her at once, “You, you are something else. I feel so sorry for you. You’d best hope in the centuries that pass, you never lose your purpose. You might end up like me … or worse.” She wondered, how silly most of the upper-warden level gems were. How could they not see it? How many of them are created to replace another-that wasn’t even a world within a battlefield, it wasn’t even a place of causalities. Grand Hierarchy gems had to meet their purpose to a letter, or be replaced. That simple. It was no different than the humans of this world who sought so much power they would destroy their closest allies in order to attain it.

Humans … Did she want to even explain the relationships she had with them to her, this gem would probably never understand. That sense of companionship, the knowing that they watched over you as you did them, that feeling when they looked you in the eyes and knew you would be them for them. Their lips, their eyes … it, embeds itself in you. In ways that was unexplainable.