When she came out of the stone, it was almost soft and supple against her hands. Nothing like the manifestation of light that made her form, that gave her an identity - that was hard light. This place was gentle, a warm swath of earth piled up in tinted-pink clay.
The first thing Pearl did was turn around.
She extended a hand, careful and deliberate, using a single finger to trace a delicate outline along the hollow carving of her own body, marveling at the sharp edges and the beauty of the stone. This tiny thing, in this lonesome Kindergarten, it brought a swell of pride to her, coloring her cheeks dark pink. It was easy to admire, at how precise her lines were, and how clear her being had been traced into the universe. A little molten crown of hair wisped around and above her head, and even those refined lines set against the wall were crisp. She was made from this place. Certainly, it was but a speck in the vast Gem Empire, but it was all her own.
It was humbling.
All understanding of who she was rushed to her the moment she emerged, a strange set of primordial knowledge embedded in her middle, and in her mind. It would always be here that she learned what it was she was meant to do.
The moment Pearl spared there was fleeting, only long enough for her to smile wistfully at the spot, to commit the place to memory, something to revisit whenever she might need it.
Pearl turned on her heel and began to march down the vacant path in the canyon, towards the nearest warp pad, knowing a modest communications beacon would already be ready.
Upon her approach, an irritable Peridot looked up, and then away before her eyes even had the chance to focus on her.
"Requested or scheduled emergence?" She demanded.
Pearl raised her chin ever-so-slightly. "By White Diamond's request."
The Peridot punched in the information, half-way through when her hands froze. Turning, her green eyes were wide, strikingly filled by a sudden, overwhelming fear.
"Y-you're…? But that means…"
Pearl was, admittedly, confused by this reaction. She affixed her face with a wan smile and waited, patiently, for a bit of the color to return to the Kindergartener's face.
It did not take long for Peridot to snap to her senses, leaping up and muttering unintelligibly for a moment.
"Uh, yes. It had just been a very long time since… Yes. This way. No, wait," she had begun to step towards the warp pad, swiveling on the spot and pulling up a screen instead. "Let me get you processed."
Gathering her skirt lightly between each hand, Pearl's smile grew to one of sincerity.
She curtsied, bending low at the waist. "Thank you."
This colony, one of White Diamond's later claims, contained a small amount of atmosphere, and a light breeze made the hairs on the back of Pearl's neck dance, tickling her shoulders as she straightened. Almost in tandem, a fluttery sense of excitement bloomed in her chest, her mind racing as she wondered who she would be so privileged to serve.
It was a wonderful feeling.