Lapis flew while Peridot did that weird propeller thing. The water had gotten lighter, not a deep blue, but closer to a turquoise. Lapis hoped they found land soon, the it was almost time for the sun to set, and Lapis did not want to fly in the dark. Neither gem said a word to each other, each silently thinking to themselves.
Peridot was wondering how she got here. She was going to look for Jasper and instead she was going off to who-knows-where with her informant. This really hadn't been a wise decision. It all seemed so random and unplanned. She usually planned everything out, but this time.. she hadn't. Why hadn't she? The technician found herself unable to explain. Lapis Lazuli was so odd to Peridot. Ever since she she was assigned to work with Jasper and the blue gem, she had found Lapis just went with things. She never seemed to plan out anything, she just took what was coming as it happened and dealt with it. That's sort of admirable, she supposed. Peridot had always planned things out, payed attention to details and been painstakingly precise. She was created to build, to invent, to repair, so she had been created with traits that would help her excel at doing those things. It was logical. Lapis was almost her polar opposite. She was carefree, emotional. She had the chance to have her own personality. She hadn't been created, she had been split off from another gem. Her personality was hers. She got to be however she wanted to be. Peridot found herself wishing she had been able to have that same opportunity.
Lapis was existing. She was allowing herself to be. The soft ripples of the cool water underneath her, the way the air faintly stirred with every flap of her wings, the breathtaking scent of the saltwater around her. It was all so beautiiful, and it was all here. She hated Earth, but now, in this moment, Earth was beautiful to her. And then, opening up her senses again, the faint woosh of the large palm trees fluttering in the wind, the beautiful light colour of the sand, different from the tan of the beach at Beach City. Land. she thought, smiling. Wait, what?
"Peridot!" she said. "Land."
"I noticed." was the response.
Lapis watched for a few brief seconds as the green gem began to descend and quickly followed, exhaling. The soft, fine sand underneath her bare feet felt wonderful. She knelt on the edge on the small little island they had found, dipping her hand into the water. Peridot shuddered as Lapis did so, and the petite gem couldn't help but give a few small giggles.
"Are the other peridots made of metal?' she asked idly.
"No," said Peridot. "I was created specifically to manage Yellow Diamond's tech so they created me a bit differently."
Lapis gave a small hm. "Is that why your hair is a triangle?"
"Wha-?" Peridot said, blushing. "What's wrong with my hair?"
"What?" Lapis said, straightening her back, and realizing what she had just said, and giving a few nervous chuckles. "Nothing's wrong with your hair, Peridot."
"My hair is not a triangle!" Peridot continued obliviously."
"Peridot.
"Sure, it's triangular, but it's not a triangle."
"Peridot."
"I like my hair, thanks. Do you even know how much hair spra-"
"Peridot!" Lapis paused. "What about hair spray?"
"Nothing about hair spray! Are you even criticizing the brand of hair spray I use now?"
"..no? Listen, Peridot? I didn't even mean the thing about the hair spray. Er, the triangle? What? You confused me."
"I like my hair and my hair spray!" Peridot said defensively.
"What even.." Lapis massage her forehead. "You make my head hurt. I'm searching for wood."
"Why?" Peridot asked.
"To build a house," Lapis answered. "Are you helping or are you still talking about your 'triangular' hair?"
Peridot gave Lapis a look that can only ever be described as a death glare. "Clod."
"Hairy Peri."
Peridot's face changed into an expression that can't be translated into words, and will never be able to be translated into words.
The two gems searched for a lot of wood over the course of two days, having no need for sleep.
"What's that?" Peridot asked.
"A parrot." was the answer, accompanied by rolling eyes.
"What is this 'perrit'?" Peridot asked suspiciously. "Why is it pretending to be me?"
Lapis stared at Peridot with utter incomprehension. Peridot literally knew next to nothing about earth and the blue gem was beginning to find it very funny.
"...what." Lapis said finally.
"You call yourself a peridot?" Peridot was saying, glaring at the parrot.
It took Lapis 5 entire seconds to understand what was going on.
"ParrOT, not perIDOT!" Lapis burst into laughter as she spread some mud along the grooves of the wood to keep it together. "You're too much! I am officially calling you Parrot from now on and there is nothing you can do about it."
"It's better than Hairy Peri," Peridot muttered, blushing with embarrassment. "Your horrible nicknames never fail to irritate me." the green gem was carving the wood with a sharpened stone. She was making all sorts of stuff with the extra wood from building the house. She frowned. It was nice staying on this island, and forgetting everything that was going on for a short while. Sooner or later, she knew they would have to remember that the Crystal Gems were out there looking for them, that Yellow Diamond might send gems here to eliminate them all, and that Jasper would murder Peridot for escaping without her and Lapis for keeping her trapped when they had fused.
"What was it like to fuse with Jasper?" Peridot asked after a moment.
Lapis's cheerful grin faded. "It's like how fusion always is. Just harder, because the other gem is always fighting to separate from you."
Peidot frowned. "How does fusion always feel?"
Lapis looked over at the technician. "You've never fused." she smiled softly. "It's hard to explain. You're not one gem, but you're not exactly two gems either. You're like.. a feeling of strength, or of unity, of friendship or of togetherness. Or of love."
Peridot observed Lapis for a while. She seemed to be remembering something, perhaps from long ago. Her eyes were distant, but happy.
"Or," Peridot looked up, as Lapis continued speaking. "A feeling of hate, anger, or bitterness."
The green gem frowned as the mood darkened. "Does my hair look okay?" she asked, trying to change the subject.
Lapis frowned. "Seriously?" she rolled her eyes.
Oops, unsucessful. Abort, abort! Peridot thought.
"It's kind of messy, if you must know." the petite gem told her.
Peridot summoned a can of her favourite hair spray from her gem. She had 17 cans of it stored there, in case of emergencies. She sprayed it on her hair and began smoothing it down.
"You keep hair spray in.." Lapis began, before starting to laugh.
"It's not funny," Peridot said. "One day you'll have an emergency and notice the one thing you need is hair spray, and I will have it in my possesion."
"You're the biggest dork I have ever met in my entire life."
"I don't know what a dork is, but I do not like the sound of that word, so I request that you refrain from calling me one." the green gem responded.
"Ugh." Lapis groaned, still laughing a little bit.
Peridot frowned. "I need something soft for the couch and bed. Preferably something that can keep itself together for the bed, but something similar to cotton will probably do for the cough, and perhaps something for the outside, so that we don't have to sit directly on the cotton-like substance."
"Parrot.. I'm only going to ask you this once. What are you doing?"
"I am furnishing our temporary home. I have also set up what the humans have termed Wi-Fi."
Lapis would have facepalmed if her hands weren't caked in mud. "We.. have no use for this.. Wi-Fi at all. We don't have cell phones, or computers, or anything similar. What's even powering this?"
"I would prefer to not discern my secrets." Peridot gave a small, close-lipped smile.
"Why are you creating things we have no need for?" the blue gem asked.
Lapis sighed. Peridot was so weird. It was almost as if she had this weird need to fight everything and build whatever she could, even if it wasn't necessary.
"I am creating these things because.." Peridot answered. "Because.. well, I don't know."
Lapis sighed. Why did she bother to let Peridot come on her trip of being away from everyone and everything? She appreciated the technician's efforts but it seemed like she was spending a lot of energy on insignificant, unnecessary things. If she really wanted to, Peridot could be spending her time following orders and doing what she was created to do. Instead, she's here. With me.. Lapis frowned.
"Peridot?" she asked.
Peridot looked up. This must be important if Lapis was not calling her Parrot. "Yes, Lazuli?"
"Just remember if you ever want to, you can leave and go look for Jasper, or eliminate the Crystal Gems or whatever it is that you want to do. Being here is a very big risk, I just want you to remember that."
"I am aware." Peridot nodded. "I have carefully considered and evaluated all of the risks of each choice I have. Me and Jasper's chances of eliminating or subduing the Crystal Clods are low, and punishments for Yellow Diamond are often distributed for small things, so something like this will certainly not go unpunished. Being here or choosing the Homeworld Gems both ends in punishment. I believe, in the end, I would rather have done something I want to do for a change. If my gem is shattered because of it, at least I will have done something I want to do, instead of blindly following orders."
Lapis was a bit surprised. Peridot had really thought all of this through, and probably wouldn't change her mind.
"That's pretty honorable." she said quietly.
"Yeah yeah, well, there are clods wherever I go, so what difference does it make?"
"You'd be surprised." Lapis smiled, taking a few steps back, and looking proudly at the house. It wasn't the neatest or the cleanest, but it was strong, sturdy, and weatherproof, and would certainly do it's job.
"Not half bad," Peridot said, emerging from inside the house, testing the door as she walked out. "Of course, I helped make it, so how bad could it really be?"
"You're horrible." Lapis deadpanned, glaring at her.
