"RISE AND SHINE, KIDDO!"
Connie woke up with a scream as a airhorn blasted nearby, her hand fell from the sword when she realized it was only Jasper.
"Good morning!" Jasper smiled, ruffling her hair.
"What time is it…?" Connie asked sleepily as she smoothed out her hair, resisting the urge to lay back down.
"Dawn!" The big gem announced. "You have to be prepared for anything at any time!"
They were startled then when a loud boom of thunder shook the house.
"Like unexpected storms!" She cried, as if it proved her point. She hopped down from the loft and motioned for Connie to follow. "Let's do some training in the rain!"
"Jasper, we've been doing training every single day since I got home, can't we give it a break, just for today?"
"… I guess I have been a bit strict on it… it's just, I want to make sure you're safe from- SNAKE!" Jasper yelled, pointing to a wriggling something under one of Connie's empty flower pots. "Connie, show me your strategy!"
Connie quietly walked over after putting down her sword. "Easy, Jasper. Snakes don't have arms to lift flower pots, it may just be stuck."
She gently lifted up the flower pot and then laughed in surprise. "Aww, poor thing!"
"Connie, you do not coo at the enem…!" Jasper trailed off when she saw what was there. "Oh."
It was a little brown dachshund puppy with different colored eyes, the left being a sort of golden color and the right being icy blue. She had a bald spot on her chest in the shape of a diamond.
The puppy looked incredibly frightened, shivering in the cold and staring wide-eyed at them. She curled up when either tried to pick her up.
"Hey, it's okay, little one, I'm not gonna hurt you."
As Connie checked online for any missing puppies matching theirs, Jasper gently stroked its head with one of her fingers, it snoring slightly.
"I don't think there is anyone looking for her, and she doesn't have a collar so there's no one to get in contact with. She must be a stray." Connie muttered, sitting down beside her. "We better take her to the vet to check if she's alright."
"Mmhm." Jasper whispered as the puppy snuffled before curling up closer. "… She's just so small…"
"Hello there! Thank you for coming in to see me before taking this little one to the pound!" The vet smiled a little too cheerfully as she inspected the incredibly nervous pup.
"Why would I take the dog over to a weight? She can't lift it." Jasper muttered in confusion.
The vet gave her a puzzled look while Connie just laughed nervously.
When the doctor grabbed something out of her pocket though, Jasper suddenly bolted up, grabbing the woman's wrist. "Drop the weapon!"
"Jasper! It's not a weapon, that's a thermometer!" Connie cried, tugging on her arm to get her away.
"Connie, stay back!" Jasper yelled, shockingly looking incredibly worried that she'd joined the 'fight'.
Connie winched in surprise.
After Jasper was pulled off, the vet had checked for a chip in the little pup but there appeared to be none.
Connie noticed Jasper didn't even let the dog down to walk and smiled. "You really like her, huh?"
"Mmhm. She's cute, funny, really smart… But she needs to be protected, nobody can be allowed to hurt her."
The girl frowned. They'd only known the dog for a few short hours. Sure, she was cute but they hadn't seen any of the other stuff she'd mentioned. But the way Jasper looked at the pup told her what she needed to. "You know, she'll be needing a home… You wanna take her in?"
Jasper looked incredibly eager for just a moment but then her face dropped and she sighed. "I can't, I'm not fit to take care of… a dog…"
They headed over to the pet store which was open to animals as well. They grabbed food, a bed, and plenty of toys for both the puppy and Meowlon.
The puppy found another dog around her age and happily barked at it as if asking to play.
The dog bounded over to her but Jasper suddenly scooped her up before glaring at the dog.
"Jasper, they were just playing." Connie explained but Jasper looked incredibly unsure herself.
A few days passed and in that time, Jasper and Connie interviewed many people to find a good fit but none seemed to be a good fit.
"Too clingy."
"Too strict."
"Too coddling."
"Too neglectful."
Connie watched as Jasper turned away every single applicant until there was none left.
"Okay, send in the next one, kiddo." Jasper smiled.
Connie shrugged slightly. "There isn't a next one… Besides, it's late now."
"Oh, yeah, it is." Jasper realized, looking out the window. "Guess the little lady's gonna have to stay with us tonight!"
"Was that your goal all along?" The girl giggled, helping her clear the kitchen counter of resumes and pictures as Jasper began looking around for the little dog.
"Ye-I mean, no! I told you, I can't look after a dog!"
"But you want to." Connie smirked, following her as she peeked under the couch.
"Maybe I do but I still can't! I can't do all the things I'm supposed to…" Jasper trailed off and noticed the dog was gone from all her usual haunts she'd acquired that day. "W-Wait, where is she…? Connie, where is she?!"
"How am I supposed to-" The girl was cut off by Jasper frantically looking under pillows and furniture, knocking nearly everything over in her worry.
"What if she got lost, or locked in one of the rooms by mistake?!" Jasper cried, slamming every door that yielded a empty room. "What if one of those people took her when we weren't looking and isn't treating her like the princess she is?! What if… What if she ran away because I couldn't take care of her…?"
"Jasper, sit down, breathe." Connie whispered, placing her tiny hand into Jasper's large one. "I'm sure she's around here somewhere!"
"Maybe it's better she escaped, I can't take care of her…"
"Why do you keep saying that?! You raised me and I-!"
"And you were stolen from me!" Jasper yelled, whipping around, angry tears in her eyes. "I was tricked by another gem and that got you in danger a-and then they actually took you! It's not just that, I've put you in so much danger before, how can I take care of anything else when I know I might get it killed?! I thought I could take care of you and our team b-but I failed over and over again…! I can't do it, I can't grow attached to something and just end up getting it hurt like I always do!"
"Jasper…" Connie whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. She suddenly hugged her as tight as she could. "Jasper, don't you ever say you failed us ever again! Do you understand?! You did everything you could, but you can't keep the universe from throwing us into danger. Sometimes, people you care about get hurt and there's nothing you can do about it! You may have gotten us into danger, but you always got us right back out and learned from it! That makes you worthy to take care of us. This whole town… this whole planet, they don't know they have such a strong protector with such a big heart…But we do! Being scared you won't be enough for people… doesn't mean you should push them away. To the people who love you, you're enough…. You're enough."
The two sat on the couch, Connie curled up in Jasper's hunkered embrace that had always shielded her from the world.
"… But I'm never going to feel like it."
"I know." Connie said, full of understanding. She knew she would never feel it either, nor would she be enough when she had so much left to do to live up to her mother's legacy. "…And that's okay."
They sat there in silence until they heard a sudden whimper nearby. They were confused until the puppy suddenly popped up out of Jasper's hair, looking upset. She plopped her head down as if to comfort her big friend.
"You were in my hair?" Jasper whispered in confusion and disbelief.
"That makes sense, I did that all the time when I was little! It's comfy and holding onto it meant I was in one of the best places, with you."
Jasper chuckled before getting the puppy down. She noticed the bald spot in the shape of a diamond and nodded to herself. "If I'm gonna take care of this little one, I'm gonna need some medicine for this spot. But it does give me an idea for a name: Clarity, like we used to call the high-ranking gems, the people who needed the most protection and care..."
Clarity barked back, happy with the name and her new family.
Sorry this took so long and is so short! I havent had much motivation for this story in a while, plus I'm more suited to action then the slice of life episodes but I hope you guys like it and know I'll try my best to produce more!