An exciting chapter ahead (Ruby/Sapphire combined POV, just a heads up): Sorry for it having taken me so long to upload; I just got my Wacom tablet, which obviously kept me preoccupied for a while. Thank you guys for being patient!
R- Just...don't think about it; it's okay.
Who cares, anyway?
Back on homeworld, there was always the option to take out your anger on another gem; but on a ship, and amidst an intensive journey? No; that was not the time...
Besides, I'd grown out of rough housing and causing trouble. I'm bigger than that now.
Punching bags saw no mercy as a result of my maturity, though; and training arenas had become my happy place, on planet, and the ship.
Home is home, after all.
And, thankfully, with another day away from the brat, another day spent the way I wanted to spend it.
Today wasn't any different...
Not until now, that is.
S- This better turn out the way it's supposed to...
Amber wanted to begin our training as soon as possible; completely contradicting my expectation of her disregarding the idea, and instead becoming absolutely ecstatic over it.
"As soon as possible" apparently also meant the beginning of the very next cycle...
And, of course, during the exact same slot of time by which Ruby was occupying the arena.
Good move, Commander; good move...
She had her reasons for it, I'm sure.
Just like I had mine.
Not that Ruby was all too happy with it, though.
But really, what choice did she have? It's not like she can avoid the inevitable.
And neither could I.
R- Another day...
Of course she had to mess this up for me too. It's what she seems to do best, after all.
You'd think we'd be in a better place after the time we've spent together. A place where she doesn't ravage my life.
Think again.
I paused from my rhythm (punch, kick, jab, repeat...) to glance from around the heavy bag, only to have my eyes met with the sight of Sapphire and Amber.
Promptly after my initial and quite bewildered stare, Tiger and the rest of our group made an appearance from around the corner.
Great. Just...great.
They're doing this on purpose, aren't they?
I turned back, nearly hiding behind the heavy bag once more.
Sadly, though, that alone wasn't enough to avoid being seen.
My name was promptly called by none other than the gem who got me into this mess in the first place, her accent thick and bellowing through the metallic room.
Not like I can pretend she didn't see me.
I'm not one to hide from Amber anyway...
Tossing my head back and groaning, I stepped from the obstruction, allowing my weapon to fade into sparkling-nothingness.
My eyes stared defeatedly at A, almost to say "Okay, you caught me".Unconsciously, my gaze shifted to Sapphires as she stood with her hands crossed in front of her apron. Then, to Tiger, Lemon, and everyone else's, who all looked at me happily, strangely enough. A bit of awkward exchanges in eye contact made me speak up, as I quickly dismissed the bubble welling up in my throat with a small cough:
"What're you guy's doing here...?" My eyes locked with the royal's bangs (where I assume her eyes are) as I spoke
"Well..." Amber interrupted my thoughts by placing an arm around the blue gem, who looked really uncomfortable with the exchange in her stiffness amidst the hug.
"Sapphire's 'gonna train with us" She finished, a wide smiles creasing across her face with her eyes crinkling into near nothingness.
"Surprise!" Lemon and Rhodi chimed in, waving their hands comically.
"Wha-What?" I questioned, sounding more surprised than I intended to.
This is damn near offensive...
"Yeah, our 'lil foreseer's gonna learn to fight" Tiger continued, chuckling at the small, excited gems to her side as she stepped behind Sapphire to place a hand on her shoulder in what seemed to be pride.
Too proud...
The grimace I made involuntarily made everyone rather unsettled as they exchanged glances with each other, and with the regal; though, she stood stoically, barely moving except for the parting of her lips.
Now's not the time to blush, Ruby...
I don't even have a response for this...so I just...walked away.
Past the heavy bags, the weights, and past the gems.
I didn't throw a fit like before. There wasn't any use in being mad.
They were...Well, trying.
Trying to take my feelings into account, to involve me, and to get along with the regal.
They aren't doing this to be pugnacious. They're...helping Sapphire.
And, probably trying to help me by engaging her in my interests, quite honestly.
It was a good tactic, it...sort of worked, but I was still upset about it; it was still hard not to be...
Should I be?
They didn't chase after me, or call or yell. A small whisper of my name came from Amber, combined with sighs from the rest of them, but that was it.
Trying to help...Trying not to force.
Right before I could even try to activate the lift, I heard the familiar speech from Amber and T that I haven't heard in what felt like a whole millennium.
Which, of course, distracted and interested me.
This is a dumb move...
The words faded together when I pivoted my head around the corner to find A and Tiger standing side by side in front of the gems, Sapphire standing front and center of the bundle.
"Fighting isn't about physical strength entirely, but a combination of it mentally and emotionally too. To learn to fight and to be good at it, you have to be more than your external attributes. To be a warrior, comes from inside. From the very core of your being. Though, the strength does help..." Tiger paused from her educational lecture to take stance with the stout commander, her face still angled towards the group, yet away from where I stood in the entryway "Allow me to demonstrate"
A bow was given as their gems began to glow; A look of awe seemed to grasp onto Sapphire, while everyone else had an expression of boredom planted on their faces.
Amber's form changed from her original CDR and uniform attire into her training garb as she twisted, pivoted and nearly danced into the change; the same going for T.
Their outfits were nearly identical besides the color schemes, both similar, in a way, to the jumpsuits by which the head servant Pearl had worn when we first saw her.
Both of them looked into the face of their opposite as they broke from their transformation and into the spar, gems still aglow (and, at this point, Amber's hair had lifted from her non-existent second eye to expose the gem)
Tiger threw the first jab, Amber leaning from it quickly without even needing the assistance of sight as she bent below the fist. Tiger spun swiftly, the palms of her feet making a faint shuffling noise against the floor as she shifted to the back of A. They moved gracefully, it seemed, not making a single sound as they fell into the sync of their duo; ending their match with T grabbing A's small, chubby fist in her palm, their bodies intertwined neatly and symmetrically, as they turned to look at Sapphire with nothing short of ecstasy.
Of course, the group clapped, though the regal's response to it was quite delayed.
I guess it is sort of "amazing" to see warriors spar if you haven't before...
The applause died down (and so did the hollering from Lemon) to let Amber speak once more.
"So" she breathed a pause as she slowly broke from the intermingled stance "It's time for practice, yeah?"
another lull, and Tiger was standing near the regal, her hands on her hips to accompany the wide grin of jagged teeth.
"Sapphire...Who's your first victim?"
I'm going to break the "first day of training" chapter into two parts, so I can get some content out while I write; the next one is going to be waayy more exciting (and hopefully not too fluffy), so I'm sorry to do this, but you're stuck with a cliffhanger for now!