Steven is Missing
Like a stoic giant, the temple outside the town of beach city stood. It had been there long before the town had, and perhaps it was for that very reason that the first settles of the town had decided to stay there. The four gems that resided there the town regarded as somewhat odd, but everyone had long grown accustomed to their presence.
Today seemed far lonelier than most days did in beach city, though none of the residents could quite place why that was. Perhaps it was the weather. Cold, stone grey clouds covered the sky, no threat of rain but projecting a feeling just as heavy. Or perhaps it was the changing of the seasons. As the days grew shorter and colder, it was a natural human reaction to feel just that little bit more somber. It was harder to feel cheerful in dreary weather, after all.
Or perhaps it was because the town's gem population had been by one.
The house built in front of the temple was wracked with heavy sobs. Pearl sat on the couch, her head buried deep in her hands. Her slender figure heaved with every breath she took, hot tears running down her face. Beside her sat Amethyst. The purple gem was trying to comfort her friend, but her façade was clearly starting to slip. Her eyes were damp, and her voice was starting to choke up.
Garnet was the most composed of the three present, content to seeming stare out into empty space. Her arms folded across her chest, she leaned back against the wall behind the couch. She remained silent, staying clear from the two gems to her right.
Sitting on the counter in front of them sat the source of their grief; the fourth gem in their group. He sat small and silent, not moving in the slightest. The pink quartz gem sat there innocently, seemingly oblivious of the boy that it was usually apart of.
"H-How could I let this happen?" Pearl cried. "I'm supposed to protect him."
"It's going to be fine." Amethyst took the pastel gem by the shoulder. "He'll just reform after while, right Garnet?"
"He's only part gem. Nothing like this has ever happened before." She said in an even, detached voice.
Amethyst turned her head downwards, then back towards her distraught friend.
"It's going to be alright." She was trying to sound hopeful, but even she was not convinced. The first tear rolled down her cheek, and she quickly wiped it away with her free arm. Pearl's sobs had become quieter, and now her weeping was barley above a whisper. Her hands had fallen across her knees, and Amethyst had laid her hand over top of Pearls in a comforting gesture.
Garnet summoned her gauntlets, and threw a hard right hook at the wall behind her. The wood cracked and splintered under the pressure, cracks snaking outward from the impact point. She held the gauntlet in the hole for a moment and took a deep breath, before dissolving it. She remained an outward appearance of stoicism the whole time, and upheld it as she walked through her door in the temple.
The other two gems remained in the room in somber silence. As the room grew darker with the encroaching night, Pearl gestured for Amethyst to return to her room. Some time to herself was what she felt she needed, and it wouldn't do for Amethyst to be her emotional sponge. That wasn't health for anyone.
Reluctantly, Amethyst took one last look at the pink quartz gem on the counter, before returning to her room. Pearl was left to her thoughts in the dark. She intended to wait by Steven until he came back, no matter how long it took.