I own nothing. Not even this computer. Review.
Steven grunts as he drags the massive bag of coffee kernels up the hill. He finally deposited them next to the rest of the equipment. He turned on the hot water on the camper stove and poured three handfulls of the coffee grounds into one small bowl and then with a mortar and pestle he began to rub the coffee in the small mortar. He concentrated on it. Never smiling never moving.
He poured the coffee into a small silver metal pot and began boiling the water. He had his eyes closed as he added another smaller cup of goats milk to the heat and began to bring it to a simmer. Not a boil though, never a boil.
Steven finally began mixing the two together. The steamed milk went into Pearls favorite mug first followed by the coffee and just a hint of honey and sweet syrup. Steven studied the mixture for a few more seconds, quirked an eyebrow before finally smiling and popping his lips with his fingers giving a little kiss to the air.
"Steven Universe you outdid yourself." He whispered before wiping away a tear and popping it into his mound of hair. He didn't want to accidentally bring anything dead back to life again.
"Dude you are an artist. If you ever wanted to make a trillion dollars you should break into the coffee business." Amethyst said with all honesty as she took the mug away from him.
"You have a good point there. I know that Lars has a bakery downtown. I could open up a little cafe next door and sell his sweets! It's a perfect system!" Steven said in delight. He glanced around before shaking his head and chuckling. "Although I doubt I will do deliveries. This stuff has to be made fresh! That's why I carted it all up here. Well good luck with the rest of your lesson. Don't be afraid to call me if you need help!"
Steven said. He began to walk away with all of his materials tucked under his arm. He paused and turned back around to gaze intently into Amethyst's eyes.
"Seriously. If you need help just-"
"I get it! I get it! Now get moving dude!" Amethyst said kicking a bit of dirt back at Steven and chuckling as he walked into the woods and squatted behind a bush to spy on them.
Jasper glowered at Amethyst and then at Steven in his terrible hiding place. She frowned as Amethyst brought the drink over and persented it with a flourish.
"Ta-Da! Coffee! The most addictive drink on planet earth! It is tasty and terrible for you!" Amethyst said as Jasper held the cup in her hand in bored confusion. Amethyst sat back with a coy grin.
"So you want me to?" Jasper waited a few seconds expecting an explanation.
"You put it in your mouth and swallow." Amethyst said rolling her eyes. Jasper glanced at Amethyst in confusion before shrugging.
"Alright. If you say so." She crushed the mug within a second and stared at the ruined pile of prime porcelain as she let the boiling hot coffee drip down her hands and plop onto the ground.
"Okay that was easy enough. Now what runt?" Jasper said glancing between the coffee on her hand and Amethyst. Amethyst blinked and shook her head.
"WHAT DID I JUST SAY?!" Amethyst snapped out. Jasper looks in confusion before understanding dawned on her face. She quickly picked up a long sliver of cup and placed it in her mouth. She chewed and chewed crushing the mug into dust before swallowing. Her eyes lit up as she realized that she could actually do it.
"That actually wasn't terrible!" Jasper said slipping another mug shard into her mouth and chewing. Her eyes glancing around for more. "Not half bad at all!"
"I-I-I...Okay then." Amethyst sighs rubbing her forehead in amazement, apparently Jasper loved the flavored of crushed mug and coffee. Apparently enough to keep on chewing up the mug. Amethyst had eaten a lot of mugs in her life, they were incredibly crunchy. Still that hadn't been her first reaction when she found one for the first time.
"Why are we doing this again anyway?" Jasper asks through a big mouthful of chewed up mug and sickeningly sweet coffee. Amethyst smiles and stands at attention.
"I am glad you asked my pupil/therapist patient/sister from another kidnergarten-ter." Amethyst clapped her hands together with a grin. "Today for our attempt to reintroduce you into gem society is to learn a few new tricks about getting along with others." Jasper frowns in irritation a chip of mug almost to her mouth.
"Why would I want to do that? You all said that I could do whatever I want. And what if I don't want to get along with others?" Jasper snarls as Amethyst frowns back.
"Alright think of it like this. If you are nice to people then they will give you more mugs. And you like mugs right? Or at least crushing and eating them."
"I do like doing that." Jasper agrees crunching on another sharp chip that would have ruined a humans mouth. "So what's the point of this mug? And this...coffee?"
"Friends get coffee. That's just a thing they do. And they talk about their problems...their feelings..."Amethyst said rolling her hands over each other attempting to get Jasper to actually open up and say something. Jasper rolls her eyes in irritation.
"I have no feelings and the one problem I have is a small purple gem that insists on trespassing in my territory." Jasper responds with a snarl. Amethyst is about to protest but pauses when the bushes rustle. Out of them comes Steven with an apologetic smile.
"Hey! Sorry! Forgot a spoon! There it is!" He pauses and grabs a small spoon off of the ground before glancing at Jasper's dripping hands and the shards of mug across her knees.
"Is...everything...okay?" He says as the two gems glower at him.
"YES!" They snap out together. STeven shrugs and starts walking away, giving a wave over his shoulder as he left.
"Where are they going? What do they do when they're not here?" Jasper snarks as she points after Steven.
"Hopefully he's going to go hang out with his friends. Something that you will get to do with the gems you know here too. Very soon!" Amethyst said with a supportive grin as Jasper raises an eyebrow.
"There are others like them?" Jasper asks still pointing the way Steven had gone. Amethyst nods slowly, a few questions were bubbling in her mind about Jasper right then.
Amethyst then realizes something. She glances Jasper up and down before sighing.
"Do you...know any gems on earth? Like any that you might hang around with? Any that might be at little homeschool?"
Jasper frowns, she clearly doesn't want to answer the question. But Amethyst's frown is starting to irritate her so she might as well answer it.
"I know Pink...No wait Rose...NO! Steven...Not Pink Diamond anymore, or Rose Quartz. They're just Steven." Jasper growls out threateningly. As if she expects Amethyst to start complaining and isn't looking forward to it. Amethyst just raises her hands helplessly, knowing that she can't exactly reason it any better. At least Jasper was able to know that Steven was Steven.
"Okay. Steven. Do you know literally anyone else?"
"I know you runt."
"Do you not know my name?" Amethyst deadpans as Jasper glowers at her for a few moments. Unwilling or unable to answer.
"Nooooooo." Jasper mumbles out.
"Amethyst. It's Amethyst."
"Like that narrows it down. I've met a lot of Amethysts." Jasper grumbles before scratching her chin. "PERIDOT! I know that dignity-less traitor!"
"Really shouldn't refer to people like that." Amethyst scolds Jasper wondering if she needs to instate some sort of points system like those Pearl stickers from back in the day.
"Lapis." Jasper growls her fists crushing a stone nearby and little pieces of mug flashing from between her teeth.
"Forget her for now. Who else? "Amethyst says quickly changing the sore topic.
"That just leaves the war machine and the two pearls then." Jasper says sitting back satisfied before counting on her fingers. "So that's about Seven. Yep. Seven gems."
"So I'm assuaming that you mean Garnet. Not a war machine. Just super in love. Never call her that again." Jasper snorts in response.
"And two Pearls?"
"Steven's pearl and the defective one. The one with the sword and the spear?" Jasper said as if she was explaining to an idiot.
"Connie? Do you mean Connie? She's a human, not a pearl." Amethyst said as Jasper sits back in astonishment.
"Huh. She is remarkably tough for an organic." Jasper rubbed her jaw in amazement, this was clearly new information for her. Amethyst balks in distress.
"Did you think she was a pearl? Dude why would you think she was a pearl?"
"She is basically his servant right? Everytime I see her she is doing you know...Pearl stuff."
"DUDE! NO! That is not okay!" Amethyst says shaking her head. Jasper rolls her eyes. So she was being insensitive, who cares? It wasn't like the little organic was around to hear her.
"Okay so you know like five people. Myself included. We clearly have a very very very long way to go." Amethyst deadpans as she rubs her face. Jasper snorts again. It was actually getting to be sort of fun getting underneath her 'sis's' skin. If this was all it took to irritate her then she might actually be slightly fun to hang around.
Jasper chortles as Amethyst glowers at her in response.
"Okay so clearly you don't know a lot of gems and the few gems that you do know you have tried to murder. Horrifically. So I want you to go down to a party at little homeworld in a few days time to discuss stuff with the other students. And try to understand things from their point of view. And maybe make and meet a few new friends along the way." Amethyst says with a patronizing grin.
Jasper was about to snort but Amethyst holds up a hand.
"And before you say no just know that there are a few former soliders down there who have been known to spar every now and again. So you could actually meet a few partners that could be up to your level in a decent fight." She says with a smile. Jasper opens her mouth to protest and brag that there was no one stronger then her, that she was the strongest one there was. But then she stopped and thought about it for a few seconds.
She grins feral, like a mad dog. She stood up and cracked her knuckles.
"That actually sounds like a decent use of my time! I bet that I could beat up your entire loser school. But there might be a couple of war machines to test myself out against." Jasper chortles. Amethyst gulps wondering if the next part of the lesson will actually work.
"Okay, but it is still a few days away. And in the meantime I've got a little project for you to take care of. To prove that you are as tough as you say you are." Amethyst walks around behind Jasper's pile of rocks that she called a home. Jasper following with a frown. Amethyst pauses and gestures with a grin.
"Ta-DAH! You have no idea how hard it was to move this thing without you noticing." Jasper came to a stop as she stares at a tree, a large massive tree that was planted right in the middle of her empty yard. She glances at Amethyst and then at the thick tree trunk with a smirk.
"Alright, you want to see how strong I am? You got it." She brings her fist back with a smirk, revving herself up to shatter the trunk into splinters and send the leaves into orbit. She chuckles at the challenge. This was going to be too easy! And rather stupid since she had already cleared away all the other trees surrounding her territory.
"WAIT!" Amethyst cries out suddenly realizing what Jasper was about to do.
"STOP!" STeven bellows from his hiding place behind a large pair of bushes at the very edge of Jasper's territory. He tosses his hands up with a frown and visualized a protective screen, just as a pink shield appears in front of the tree and stops Jasper's hand just before it shatters the defenseless piece of vegetation. Jasper grunts and turns on Steven with a growl.
"I thought you left!" She grinds out. Steven chuckles and shrugs.
"I had a feeling something like this might happen so I stuck around for a little while?" He said nervously as Jasper just growls and shakes her head.
"So if I'm not supposed to destroy this invader what am I supposed to do with it?" She growls glancing down at Amethyst and then over at Steven with contempt clear on her face.
"Not destroy it. Raise it. Nurture it. Make sure that it grows bigger and stronger. Show us some restraint. Sure you could kill it with one solid blow. But it takes actual power to make it bigger." Amethyst says with a fake zen smile. Jasper quirks an eyebrow before glancing at the tree.
"But...I could just you know...kill it? GAH! Why won't you just let me kill it! I don't want it in my territory!" Jasper says nearly frothing at the mouth. She brought her hand back and flung her fist full strength. Only to be met by another pink wall.
"You are not killing it." Steven growls out. Amethyst steps between the two with a frown on her face.
"He's right. You want to prove to us that you're strong? Then show us your restraint and don't murder the tree. And just remember what I said, if you take care of it and work on it and nurture it it will grow bigger. Isn't bigger stronger?"
"Not aways." Jasper responds. Amethyst gags before she points at Jasper.
"You said you're the strongest one there is right? Well. I bet that you are able to raise that thing to be so big and strong that even you can't knock it down." Jasper raises an eyebrow, actually intrigued.
"Yeah? Well I bet you that I can't! Even if I spend a lot of time working on it and raising and training it properly! I will still end up stronger then it!" Amethyst nods back with a grin.
"It's a bet then! In one hundred earth years we will see who is right! You or me! I bet that it will be me!" Amethyst smiles as Jasper grins back like a polar bear that had just cornered a seal.
"And I bet that I can't!"
"Did she just...Jasper did you just admit to not being able to do something?" Steven chuckles as both gems turn on him with deep creases in their brows. Steven holds up his hands and walks away. "Just kidding! Just kidding!"
He slowly walks away as Jasper growls and turns back to Amethyst.
"One century runt. And then you're going to be eating your words." She said warningly as Amethyst just shrugs in response.
"Whatever. At least this means you have a bit of a roommate for one hundred years. It will give you something to do besides fling rocks around and eatting shards of mug."
"Are there any shards left? Those were...The sensation felt..."Jasper wiggles her fingers for a few seconds before Amethyst finally fills in the word for her.
"Good? Pleasant?" Jasper frowns for a few seconds before blushing and nodding. "We can see what we can do." Amethyst chuckles.
As the two walk back to where Jasper had dropped the shards Amethyst wonders just how the other gems were going to respond to Jasper's presence down at little homeschool, hopefully it would not be that big of a disaster...It couldn't be...could it?
"Eh these things normally turn out totally fine. Nothing to worry about! Although I should probably warn Peri...and Lapis..."Amethyst mumbles to herself as Jasper picks up the mug handle, studies it for a few seconds and then sticks it in her mouth and chews with a satisifed expression on her face like some sort of bear rooting for grubs.
I own nothing. Not even this computer.