Lava churned around Ruby, thick and slow but powerful as it ate away the rugged face of the boulder, twice her size with sharp outcrops jutting out at odd angles and veins of different metals and minerals ringing the sides, that floated before her. To speed the process along, Ruby swam around the edges and dug her fingers into the surface, scoring deep channels for the lava to fill and eat away at. That done, she kicked off and watched intently as the rock oozed apart, different shades of lava bubbling from each vein. With the ease and grace of long-held experience, she wrapped her fingers around a single flow, a pale orange, almost yellow, and ushered it close to her side. The rock dissipated further, and Ruby continued the separation, amassing the desired shade of lava into a single mass until, minutes later, nothing was left of the original boulder.

Satisfied, Ruby moved her full attention to the lava she'd pulled from the rest, rolling her wrists in preparation for the next phase of her task. With a grunt, she pressed her hands into the edges of the blob, pushing them towards the center with intense concentration until a portion of the goo solidified between them. She pulled her hands back and eyed the result.

The nugget of metal was a quarter of the size of her gem, embedded in her left hand, pure enough for their purposes and already glowing orange again as it attempted to unravel into lava once more.

"Oh no you don't." Ruby muttered, pushing the metal back into the goo and repeating her original motion, pouring on the pressure until another layer formed atop the first. Then she did it again, and again, adding layer upon layer and checking the slowly growing ingot every so often, melting away any impurity too large to be acceptable. The ingot grew to about the size of two fists before she ran out of material, and Ruby looked it over one last time. Seeing no glaring mistakes, she grinned and tucked the metal under a single arm, casting about for the energy trail she'd left for herself to follow - a necessity for every ruby working the featureless expanse of the Inner Core.

Finding her trail, Ruby began the short swim to her room, waving brief greetings to the other rubies she passed and keeping her eyes carefully away from the occasional bright red glow of a mairus lure - she didn't fancy getting dragged who knows where in the Core to get who knows what done to her, thank you very much.

She breached the surface of the lava hand first, gripping the edge of the hole - curved and dimpled from the slight deposits of lava Ruby caused every time she surfaced - and dragging herself into open air. Clambering to her feet, Ruby then made her way to a pile of ingots at the edge of the room, each varying in size and shape but coloured the same dull gray. She ignored the lava that dribbled down her body, though she did wipe away the stray line that ran over her eyes, and settled the still glowing metal on the top of the pile.

That finished, Ruby spared a glance at the door that separated her room from the rest of the Outer Core, noting that the first of the four small lights at the top still glowed. Back to work it was then. She ambled over to the pile of boulders on the other end of the pool and heaved one into her arms. Before she could pivot and slip back into the lava stream, someone pounded on the other side of the door. Ruby yelped and fumbled to regain her grip on the boulder, but slipped past her fingers regardless. She jumped back only just quickly enough to avoid flattening her toes.

The adrenaline coursing through her from the near miss funneled into bubbling agitation as Ruby stomped to the door, pounding the button that opened it and swearing under her breath at whoever was on the other side. The sleek panel receded into the ceiling with a hiss, and the light from Ruby's room poured into the dark hallway, illuminating a smirking purple face and a messy cascade of silver hair.

"Yo," the visitor greeted simply, casually even, as if she wasn't at Ruby's door, a good three sectors away from the mining tunnels, while she was supposed to be working. Ruby's swearing rose in volume and she quickly tugged the gem inside, closing the door behind her.

"Amethyst." She hissed, shooting a frantic look over her shoulder at the door and turning to grip her shoulders, "What are you doing here? They'll stick you with triple shifts for seasons if they catch you out during your work shift. Especially with Forging just around the corner!"

Amethyst held her hands up in front of her, "Whoa there, Sparky! You know I'm the best sneaker-outer there is, they aren't gonna catch me anytime soon." She gestured to the still sizeable pile of boulders in the corner, "Besides, we have enough materials in circulation for now. They won't miss whatever I can dig up. But - uh - could you..." Her eyes fell to Ruby's upper arms with some trepidation, and Ruby followed her gaze, seeing the bright glow of lava still trickling down her limbs.

"Oh - right. Sorry." She quickly relinquished her grip on Amethyst's shoulders and took a step back, brushing the steaming trails from her limbs and doing what she could for the thick curls of her hair. Finishing that, she found her aggravation had mostly dissipated, though there was still enough to muster a half-serious glare when she noticed Amethyst lounging atop her boulder pile, somehow making the position seem like the most comfortable thing in the world, "Really, Amethyst, why are you here? Couldn't you have waited until our rest shift?"

"I could have, yeah. But where's the fun in that?" She grinned wide at Ruby's resultant groan, "'Sides, I thought you'd want to see what I got you last cycle as soon as possible."

Ruby paused, puzzled. Sure, she hadn't seen Amethyst at all last cycle, but she'd chalked it up to her friend's propensity to 'sleep' during the rest shifts. But if she said she had something… Ruby counted the days in her head as she walked over to Amethyst and frowned, "What are you talking about? The Traders won't be here for another two cycles."

"Weeeeell," Amethyst drawled, "I may have traded off a few things to a Citrine..."

"You what?" Ruby gasped, torn between feeling touched and guilty. Amethyst rarely parted with anything from her hoard, barring trade cycles, "Amethyst, you didn't have too. I could have waited two more cycles."

Amethyst shrugged off her concern, though she avoided eye contact and Ruby could see the flush across her cheeks, "Don't stress out about it. It wasn't like I traded anything important." A smirk curled the edges of her lips, and she glanced back, "But - If you're that worked up about it I could give it back -"

"No!" Ruby said, cheeks burning when she noticed Amethyst's triumphant grin, "I mean - let me at least look at it before I decide. You went through all that trouble after all…"

Amethyst laughed and jumped down from her perch, slinging an arm around Ruby's neck companionably, "That's what I thought. Lucky for you- " she stuck her free arm into the bag hanging over her shoulder, tongue out playfully as she produced a simply framed canvas, "I thought to bring it along."

Ruby's breath hitched and she reached forward with trembling hands, stopping briefly to look herself over again for any stray lava. She'd learned the hard way that paintings were, unlike the metal and stone she was used to working with, highly susceptible to burning at even the slightest drop of lava or a stray ember, and she wasn't going to need a second lesson anytime soon. Satisfied that she posed no threat to her prize, Ruby took the offering with ginger hands, turning it first one way and then another to see the strokes of paint from every angle.

The background was dark, as most of her paintings were, shades on shades of black and purple clouds - angry and powerful for all their soft edges. Streaks of lightning lanced between them, light where the clouds were dark, thin where they billowed, sharp where they blurred, the perfect contrast. Ruby traced the most prominent line with one finger, feeling her throat tighten and a familiar heat tug at the corners of her eyes.

"So… I'm guessing you like it, then?" Amethyst's question was soft, but Ruby nonetheless made a startled noise and pulled the painting closer to her chest. An embarrassed flush trailed up Ruby's neck when she regained some idea of the room around her, but she nodded minutely.

"It's beautiful, Ame." She said, hearing a relieved sigh in response. She returned to tracing the lightning bolt for a couple of seconds before she turned and made her way to a small shelf in the back of the room, as far from the lava pool as she'd been able to manage. Twenty or so paintings sat there in a neat array, and Ruby eyed them fondly before placing her newest one between a painting of a large stony column, the top obscured by thunderclouds, and one of a sparkling city in the far distance, surrounded by twinkling lights that dotted the sky. There was a beat of silence before Ruby, mind far away, said for the first time what she'd been thinking since the moment she'd started her collection.

"I'm going to see these one day."

Amethyst made a strangled sound behind her, like she'd just tried to lift a rock twenty times her own size, before it shifted into laughter, loud and long and at once very like Amethyst and nothing like her at all. "Hah, what're you talking about, Ruby? They're right there."

Ruby shook her head, turning around, "That's not what I mean. In person, Ame. I don't think I can settle for just the paintings anymore. I want to go - I want to see all of it with my own eyes."

Amethyst frowned, "You want to leave the Core?"

"Not forever!" Ruby was quick to reply, not missing the way Amethyst's shoulders eased, "Just long enough to see a thunderstorm for myself. Maybe even see the stars…" She trailed off for a moment, "But I'd come right back - wouldn't even miss a shift."

Amethyst thought for a moment, "You'd need to find a way out of here first."

"The Traders do it all the time," Ruby shrugged, a giddy buzz coursing through her as she planned aloud, "I'll follow one of them and figure out how they do it."

"You're about as subtle as a lava pool," Amethyst shot down, "You know how secretive they are, you'll get caught before you even leave the trade room."

Ruby huffed, folding her arms over her chest defensively, "Do you have a better idea?"

"Sure do." Amethyst leaned against the wall with a lopsided grin, "I'll tail 'em for you."

Ruby gaped, "Really?"

"Oh come on, sneaking out behind people's backs? Being the first Core gems in who knows how long to actually leave the place? Did you expect me not to help?" She rolled her eyes, "I get to come along, though. Just sayin'."

Ruby whooped and tackled Amethyst, who to her credit only stumbled a little despite the lack of warning, "You're the best, Amethyst!"

"Heh, well, I try." She responded, fidgeting beneath Ruby's hold, "Besides, someone's gotta keep you from falling down a hole or something."

Ruby pulled away and frowned, affronted, "That was once."

"I'm pretty sure it's been at least ten times."

Ruby punched Amethyst's shoulder in mock anger, "You're a jerk, you know that?"

"And proud of it." Amethyst returned. "So when are we pulling the great escape?"

Ruby fell into thought, then shrugged, "Probably after this next Forging is over. We only have a few cycles until it starts, and that's not a lot of time."

Amethyst scoffed, "I'm not waiting a whole 'nother season for this. I'll get the info next Trading Cycle, and we can go take a look around before the big work gets going."

"You know how busy it gets during Forging." Ruby said, shifting from foot to foot nervously, "Are you sure we can get out before we're pulled for extended shifts?"

"Trust me, we'll be fine." Amethyst reassured. A small ding drew the two's attention to the door, where the first light lay dark and the second gleamed merrily. Amethyst looked back with a grin, "But for now, let's go do something fun. I hear they're planning a game of lava stone in the quartz tunnels. You up for a few rounds?"

Ruby grinned back, wild and full to the brim with challenge, "Only if you're ready to lose."

"Ohoho, you're on, Sparky!" Amethyst darted for the door, hammering the button to open it and tumbling out into the hallway, deep blue light, nearly purple, quickly emanating from her eyes in reaction to the dark halls. "Race you there!"

Ruby yelled an incoherent objection and followed her out the door, casting a last, eager look to the shelf of paintings before pressing the door shut and barreling after the light she could see receding down the tunnels, her own eye glow flickering to life.

She'd get to see the real things soon enough.