As you thought, your parents go crazy about your shoulder length hair. Your mother asks how you cut it so perfectly, and you reply with, "the sword," and her eyes widen.
Since they seem uneasy at the actions as of late, they bombard you several 'are you okay?' questions.You answer them all the same, with a resounding, 'yes sir,' and a, 'yes ma'am.' But it's fine, you get it. Whose parents wouldn't be freaked out that their daugther's best alien rock friend has been abducted by his own kind.
Because of the long Summer break, you are able to train twice as hard with Pearl. Even if she still dismisses your demands to travel with them to Homeworld.
"But ma'am, it'll be a great training experience! I'm getting so much better with my sword, so we'll surely be able to take dow-"
"Ms. Maheswaran, I deeply apologize, but this is just too dangerous. A human? On Homeworld? How would the diamonds take a liking to that?!" Your teacher interrupts you, it had been the third time that day. But you oblige since she is still experiencing grief. Though being called 'Ms. Maheswaran' was getting on your nerves.
"But ma'am, what about Lars?" You murmer, barely hoping she'll hear your small voice. Because of your emotions tackling each other like dummies, you can barely hear your own voice above them.
Pearl peers down, with a mixture of grimace and regret on her face. You back away slowly, fearing you've caused her too much chaos. Your teacher stands there, staring down at you. Probably fearing the amount of time she put into training a puny human such as yourself, but you stop.
Standing your ground, you get down on one knee. Looking straight at her, you hold your sword with both hands, being careful as your mentor's emotions rapidly change.
"Ma'am, I'm not like other humans! You know that, and I understand if you don't want me going to Homeworld. But I need to be there for Him! To fight by his side! The Earth is my home too, can't I help protect it?" You finish, your eyes wandering to her face. Noting her broken facial expression, you get back up quietly.
You fear you've provoked her, fearing you've ruined a great friendship, and lost a confidant. You wish you take back your words, but you know it's too late. As your mentor's eyes wander to something that's not you, you consider leaving the training facility.
Sheathing your sword, you go to exit the ruins. Your statement replays on repeat inside your mind, taking you back to the day you first learned how to use that very sword.
"Connie wait." Eyes widening, you turn back around. She stands there, rubbing her shoulders glumly. Tears flowing, you count each one that falls. 3, 4, 5. Dropping your blade, you run towards her and give her a tight hug. You know she really needs it.
Through clouded face, and sinus-ridden snorts she conjures up a few words. Releasing her from the hug, you begin to listen.
"I'm sorry! It's just...with Homeworld attacking, the Diamonds coming back, and those stupid gems they keep sending to terrorize us is all too damn hard to keep up with! I...never saw Earth more than a speck of dust. But in her eyes, it's everything to me
She says, and you can't help but fall apart at each sentence she choked. Soon, tears begin to stream from your own eyes, making it harder to see her.
Pearl walks over to the Arena's bleachers, sitting down, she wipes her blue eyes. Gazing upon the rose pink sky, you assume she's collected her posture back up. As you peer at her, you realize you've never experienced the quietness of this place. Sitting down next to her, she looks down at you. She smiles.
"What is ma'am?" You ask, confused.
"I guess, Earth really isn't a waste of space, but rather, something that just needs to be trained." She says, that grin never leaving her face.
"And it seems I've already done that." She adds.
You don't a smile similar to hers, twidling with fingers nervously, you nod, "Thank you, ma'am!"
"Pearl is fine, Connie." She chuckles.
Blushing a small shade of red, you nod again, a quiet sigh escaping your lips. Getting up, you go to the exit to retrieve your sword. As you pick it up, Pearl begins to speak again.
"Thank you Connie, really, I mean it. You've become such an important asset to Steven's life, and I can't thank you-"
You raise your hand to stop her, turning back around, you reply, "Really, Pearl. It's fine, you don't have to."
She stares at you, confused, she walks over towards you. Getting to your height, she places her hands on your shoulders.
"Connie? You do realize how important you are to Steven, right? You're a team, I mean, you both fused! What more isn't there to say?"
Standing back up, she places a hand on your sword.
"Look, it's not just Steven's destiny, he shares it with us all," her eyes sparkle, "and you're the biggest part of it."
Your mouth is agape, your eyes lit up like the stars in the night sky. You're astonished by your mentor's words, not to mention a bit embarrassed by them. More apart of his destiny than even her teacher? How in the quartz can that be possible?
Removing her hand from the blade, she grabs your shoulder, and ushers you towards the portal.
"Come, Connie. That's enough training for today." Following her lead, your smile still stands as you beam at your sword.
OoOOoOoOo
Transporting the both of you back to the Temple, you notice three familiar faces bombard you and your teacher.
Apparently, Garnet just finished explaining what had happened the night before.
Author's Note••••
Thank you for reading! I'm so happy with the sweet comments I've been receiving, which pushed me to get chapter two out as quick as I could! Chapter three will hopefully be arriving around the beginning of next week, so I'll probably be doing a longer chapter than this one.
Anyway, who's the three familiar faces? It's not hard, actually, it's pretty obvious.
Okay, thanks for reading!
