Fourth Floor Common Room, Friday Morning

[seeks_truth]

Yesterday, Cassandra had made the terrible mistake of traveling across the causeway to explore the strange world that laid beyond it.

Today, she was paying the price.

She sat down on the floor in the common room, chunks of her armor in hand. She had some sticks and rags and other equipment, and there was determination and frustration visible in her brow. This, indeed, would be a daunting task; her first attempts at it made that clear. She sighed, picked up a small stick, and plunged it into one of the hinges of her armor. She wiggled it, nudged it, and finally produced-- a small sliver of rainbow-colored dirt and plant matter.

"Ugh."

She stared down at the many-colored grains all over her armor. This was going to take a while.

[[ open! ]]

Comments

[crimson_sister]

Lucille wasn't actually wishing her a good morning, but she wasn't wishing her a bad one either. "My name is Lucille Sharpe. And yours?" Presumably she had one. Lucille assumed she had a gender too, despite Roscoe's lecture on such matters.

[era_two_triangle]

"Peridot," came the reply. And then, because she'd actually had good luck with her full title and one of the island's more human inhabitants yesterday, she added, "Facet 2F5L, Cut 5XG."

Just 'Peridot' would do. It wasn't like there were a wealth of other Gems around that she needed to be distinguished from.

[crimson_sister]

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Peridot shouldn't take that literally, as Lucille didn't care that much, one way or another. "Is that where you are from?" She wasn't going to attempt to repeat whatever Peridot had said, besides her name.

[era_two_triangle]

"If you're asking if I'm part of the fifth cut from the second facet of Peridots, then... yes," Peridot replied, a little bemused. "But that's more a designation than an indication of where I came from. I came from the Gem Homeworld. Just as I assume you came from Earth."

That wasn't a question, really. Humans came from Earth. Except for Rufus, who came from basically-Earth-but-not-quite. It was all more or less he same to her.

[crimson_sister]

That was strange, obviously. "Are you a gem?" Not that Peridot didn't look like one, but Lucille wouldn't have guessed. She wasn't used to them being alive and talking.

[era_two_triangle]

"Well, of course I am," Peridot replied, gesturing to the stone in the middle of her forehead. "A Peridot, like I said."

She paused, and then added, "But I suppose most humans don't have experience with Gems. Even on the version of Earth we did come to, it's been some time since Gems visited last."

[crimson_sister]

"I see," Lucille said. The time and place she was from would probably make as much sense to Peridot as this did to her. "My mother had a necklace with peridots." It was technically Lucille's now, she supposed.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot hesitated for a moment, and then ventured, "Necklace?"

Gems didn't do jewelry, so much. For possibly obvious reasons.

[crimson_sister]

"A type of jewelry that you wear around your neck," Lucille clarified.

[era_two_triangle]

"An appearance modifier, then," Peridot said carefully. "Made out of... Peridots."

Lucille, that was horrifying.

[crimson_sister]

"I suppose you could call them that," Lucille said. "You have them too? I always liked that necklace." This was true, and also Lucille's attempt at conversation.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot, for the sake of interplanetary diplomacy, was going to try very hard to not make up some story about a pair of pants made out of Lucilles.

But the temptation was strong.

"We really don't have appearance modifiers on Homeworld," she said, instead. "Nothing but what's part of our bodies."

Her limb enhancers didn't count. Those weren't there for aesthetic value. They were tools.

"... Are humans where you're from in the habit of harvesting Gems, then?"

SHE NEEDED TO KNOW.

[crimson_sister]

Lucille would be impressed by Peridot's self control, had she known about the temptation.

"Yes," she said, not really considering that this might be offensive to a gem. "They are not living, however. It seems to be something that people on many worlds do, and the gems are considered quite valuable."

Lucille wondered if Peridot had met Thorin yet. The Dwarf was quite obsessed with mining, after all.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot had! Thorin had seemed pleasant enough, and they'd commiserated over both coming from the ground.

"... Oh," she said, and the relief on her face was practically blatant. "You use Earth gems. Dead mineral matter. Of course you do."

[crimson_sister]

"Yes." Lucille hadn't even considered that Peridot would have thought otherwise. "We are not savages who wear dead bodies around our necks."

We just keep locks of hair from the people we kill.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot spread her hands a little.

"I didn't know that," she pointed out. "Even Homeworld harvests Gems from time to time."

Homeworld was not a nice place.

[crimson_sister]

"Harvest?" Lucille asked with curiosity.

[era_two_triangle]

"You know..." Peridot waved a hand around for a moment, looking for words. And then just kind of gave up, reached to her forehead, and mimed plucking her Gem free. "Harvests. To put to use elsewhere."

[crimson_sister]

"You sacrifice them for the greater good?"

That was Lucille's interpretation to what Peridot had just said.

[era_two_triangle]

"Something like that," Peridot replied, looking thoughtful. "If their usefulness has run out, there are certain Gem devices that can make use of harvested Gems in order to improve their functionality. There's little point in keeping a useless Gem around, otherwise."

It was really quite pragmatic.

And also, terrifying.

[crimson_sister]

"And what determines its usefulness?"

This interested Lucille.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot shrugged her shoulders. This part, at least, was easy.

"We're all made for a purpose. Some Gems are warriors, some Gems are servants, or builders. I'm a technician. If we aren't doing what we're made for, then there isn't any point to keeping us around, is there?"

[crimson_sister]

"You have no dreams of being more than what you are? That there is more to the world than that?" Lucille asked.

[era_two_triangle]

"I have no dreams of being harvested," Peridot replied, plainly. "If there's something out there worth the risk of being locked in a mirror, or a... necklace... without my physical form for all eternity, I have yet to encounter it."

[crimson_sister]

"In my world I would expected to be content with marrying and giving my husband children," Lucille said, trying to clarify. "I have no wish to do that."