All That Matters
Chapter 1: Who Are You?
It was harvest time on Homeworld. It was a very important event, for without it Gemkind couldn't continue the existence of their race or expand their empire. Among Gemkind every Gem has a purpose and function, which is usually determined by their size and type. There are even special types of Gems called Progenitors. Their sole purpose is to tend the Kindergartens and assist newly formed Gems in adjusting to sentient life. A new batch of Gem-lings emerged under the watchful eye of Progenitor Sunstone. The new Gems came in various sizes and colors which acted as indicators of what each juvenile Gem's function would be. One particularly large Gem-ling was one of the first to emerge. Her gaze rested on the twelve foot tall translucent Sunstone kneeling before her with a serene expression.
"Welcome to a marvelous existence, little Gem. I'm here to guide you to your proper place in Gem society. But first, please tell me who you are."
The orange Gem continued to gaze up at Sunstone's kind face, pondering her response. Finally the answer came to her from deep within.
"I am…Jasper."
"It's wonderful to meet you, Jasper. I see there are others who are awakening as well. Would you like to come with me to greet them?"
The newly formed Gem did just that, mostly out of curiosity. She wanted to see if there were others like her. This batch had lots of variety, but there was one thing that stood out. Although there were other large Gems, Jasper appeared to be one of the largest so far. It was obvious that many of the youngsters were intimidated by Jasper's size alone. At the same time, her wild looks and massive build contributed to that as well. Sunstone's gentle coaxing and motherly personality somewhat put the smaller Gems' fears at ease. The Progenitor was finally able to herd the little Gem-lings out of the Kindergarten to a common area where they would begin their training that would lead to their integration into Gem society.
The juvenile Gems were separated into two groups. The smaller Gems were ordered to follow a clear, slender Gem called Idocrase to an area of crystalline formations shaped like an auditorium about five hundred feet away from the Kindergarten. The taller Gems were sent to begin their lessons with Citrine, a yellow Gem with an imposing build. After the youngsters were settled in another large auditorium nearby Citrine formally introduced herself and ordered the juveniles to do the same. After stating her name, Jasper got a good look around at the young Gems around her. A lot of them were shades of red, yellow, brown, and orange. Most of them appeared to be pretty strong, as indicated by their solid builds. Jasper admired that fact for some reason, and noticed a growing urge within her to test her own strength against them. Next to her sat Carnelian, a red-orange Gem who seemed to be one of the few that weren't intimidated by Jasper's size. That was understandable since Carnelian was of similar height and build to Jasper. Two rows ahead and slightly to the left of Jasper was a Gem that had also caught her eye, though for another reason she didn't yet understand. She was about a foot shorter than Jasper with a slender, yet athletic build and had reddish brown, red, and cream colorings. As Jasper looked her over she felt an urge to get a hold of the shorter Gem, but not so she could fight her. She had no idea what she wanted to do once getting her hands on her, which Jasper found very strange. She was drawn to that Gem for a reason, but for the time being that reason was a mystery.
Soon after the Gems got all introductions out of the way their training began in earnest. Citrine began by testing each Gem's strength. Each was given the task of shattering stone pillars of various thicknesses. It was quite obvious that Jasper found the task quite enjoyable. Once she was faced with shattering a pillar as thick as she was tall, Jasper noticed something out of the corner of her eye. That same reddish-brown Gem was watching her. With the tiniest hint of a smirk, the strong Gem decided to show off a bit. It took two punches, but Jasper managed to crush the massive pillar to bits. She checked to see the reaction of the Gem that had caught her eye and saw that her pretty, light brown eyes sparkled with interest. Then, just like that, the moment was ruined when another Gem started talking to the pretty one with cream colored stripes. This caused Jasper to feel very much annoyed. The yellow-orange Gem contemplated kicking the offending interloper in the neck just to shut her up and stop distracting the one Gem that had her so intrigued.
'What did she say her name was?' Jasper wondered as the day's lessons came to an end. Citrine told Jasper she had done well in the strength test, but still needed further training. Although Jasper was proud of her performance, finding that fascinating Gem was at the forefront of her thoughts. As Citrine lead the group to what would be their temporary living quarters, which was similar to hostess housing on a military base, Jasper managed to catch up with the Gem that had caught her interest. She poked the reddish-brown Gem's shoulder while mentally noting how soft she felt. For a hot second Jasper's thoughts became a jumbled mess when the Gem turned to look her directly in the eyes. There was definitely something about her that caused something to stir within Jasper that at this point she couldn't explain. After a few seconds of awkward silence, the flustered young Gem finally spoke.
"Hi. I'm Jasper."
"Oh, hey. Umm…I'm Tiger-eye." Once again Jasper was struck silent. Tiger-eye's voice sounded so sweet that it caused a fluttering feeling within the taller Gem. Although Tiger-eye was physically strong, as she had demonstrated during the strength test, there was something about her that told Jasper that she didn't belong among this particular group of Gems. At the same time, Jasper struggled with her unexplained desire to be near Tiger-eye. "You did really good in the strength test."
"Thank you," Jasper replied while beaming with pride. "You weren't too shabby yourself."
"Yeah, I did pretty good with my skinny little arms, huh?" Tiger-eye flexed as she succumbed to a fit of giggles.
'Gah! She sounds so…cute! She makes me feel like I'm going crazy, but I can't figure out why!' For some reason that was beyond the yellow-orange Gem, this Tiger-eye brought out feelings of excitement and danger in Jasper. Something was telling her to get away from her, and at the same time she didn't want to pull herself away.
For the next several months this particular batch was groomed for battle by Citrine. During hand-to-hand combat drills, Jasper was often paired up with Carnelian, which irritated Jasper beyond reason. Her irritation grew when Carnelian took it upon herself to help Tiger-eye improve her stance. Tiger-eye appeared to be quite put upon by the gesture since she didn't even request the assistance. As the red-orange Gem took hold of Tiger-eye's arm Jasper's annoyance grew a thousand fold.
'Stop touching her, you moron! Can't you tell that she doesn't want you putting your hands on her?' Jasper inwardly grumbled as she headed straight for the pair. Tiger-eye was in the act of pushing Carnelian away, but that didn't seem to deter the over friendly Gem. Jasper yanked Carnelian away from Tiger-eye. Carnelian was about to protest until she saw the terrifying scowl on Jasper's face.
"Leave her alone! Can't you see you're making her uncomfortable?"
"If that's the case, why didn't she say anything?" Carnelian sneered as she glanced over at Tiger-eye, who rolled her eyes.
"Maybe because I thought slapping your hands and pushing you away made things pretty clear. But if you need me to say it, I will. Don't touch me."
"Oh, Tiger, sweetie, why you gotta be so mean?" Tiger-eye looked a bit hurt by Carnelian's comment.
"I'm not mean. I'm just being honest…"
"Tiger-eye, you don't need to justify yourself to this fool!"
"Hey, now, there's no need for insults!"
"Your very existence is an insult."
"Wow, that's harsh!"
"You haven't even seen the harsh side of me yet," Jasper responded in a threatening tone as she cracked her knuckles. Tiger-eye's melodious voice put the brewing brawl on hold.
"I wonder who that is talking to Lieutenant Citrine?" The rival pair followed Tiger-eye's gaze to see a tall, golden brown Gem conversing with their trainer. She had an air of elegance and grace that commanded attention. Her up-do was so well placed that every one of her blond curls was set perfectly. Her intricately patterned garments sparkled in the sunlight like a multifaceted gold and cream colored jewel. None of the juvenile Gems knew who she was, but they all could see that she was quite beautiful. As the breathtaking beauty made her way over to the trio none of them budged, as if their feet were glued to the floor. The golden brown Gem walked up to Tiger-eye to address her directly.
"Hello there, lovely. You must be Red Tiger-eye."
"Uh, yes, that's right."
"I'm Golden Tiger-eye. I'm here to take you to your proper home."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you don't belong in this military training camp."
"But…I like it here."
"That may very well be the case, but I'm sure you'll find your proper home much more appealing," Golden Tiger-eye replied ever so sweetly. "Now come along so these cadets can resume their training."
The reddish brown Gem's shoulders slumped as she looked back at Jasper and Carnelian, who still seemed to be in a state of shock.
"What if I don't want to go?"
By now Citrine had come over to intervene, nudging the young Gem towards Golden Tiger-eye.
"You don't have a choice in the matter. Orders came down from on high for you to go to your proper station. Now go on with your new trainer."
Tiger-eye still hesitated a moment until the golden one took her by the hand. She waved goodbye to her fellow cadets as she was lead from the training grounds.
"Bye. Hope to see you again soon."
Not long after the Tiger-eyes were out of view Carnelian boasted that Tiger-eye wanted to see her again.
"You idiot, she was clearly talking to me."
"Oh yeah?"
"Definitely! She didn't even want you to touch her!"
"Whatever. In case you haven't noticed, she didn't let you touch her either."
Jasper grew silent then slapped Carnelian hard on the back of the head. She wasn't about to admit that her rival had a point. Citrine called to the pair and barked an order for the cadets to fall in line. Jasper attempted to clear her mind and focus on the task at hand, but that lovely reddish brown Gem dominated her thoughts to the point of distraction.
'I really hope to get to see you again, too,' the cadet thought as the lieutenant called her back to reality. A slight frown crossed her face as she realized she had a long day ahead of her. The only thing that perked her up was that she was once again paired with Carnelian for sparring. That would provide the perfect opportunity to take out her frustrations on her rival's smug face.
Next Chapter: Tiger House