Pearl opens up to Snow
Who knew in such a short time frame, that all reality could unwind due a young halfbreed and his ambitions?
You would think that having thousands of years under ones belt, it wouldn't cave to those with microscopic life experiences.
All Pearl could think was this what Rose..what Pink wanted. Her head took forever to wrap around that very asinine concept. To develop and grow and be able to change.
It was in recent times she had begun to see the benefits, to explore the inner desires of the self throughout time. She even hated to admit that Greg meeting Rose and loving her and creating Steven was the true beginning of the great changes to gem kind as a whole.
For what seemed an eternity of holding secrets for her, being her sole confidant, became unraveled in an instant her son started poking around. The curse of humanity, leading them to stick their noses where they don't belong. It was amazing how they didn't die off a long time ago. But Pearl knew her place. She obeyed her liege without question.
As Steven grew however, she could eventually see what Rose was talking about. Steven could connect people better than any normal gem could. He taught both sides about each other, taught them many lessons they themselves would never even begin to know they needed. He surprised them time and time again with amazing feats they never thought possible.
It was inevitable that he would discover the truth. The aforementioned curse would take hold of him and lead him in directions most gems would fear. Only because they thought he was too vulnerable and immature to see the dangers. Pearl was prepared to wait until he got to adult hood to allow him to make reasonable decisions. But again, he was half of his mother and it evolved to the stage where it was time to let him know.
Then they went to Homeworld. A lot happened, but she noted his maturity, his incredibly powerful stance that he was only one in that position to try and convince White Diamond to cure the corruption. They won in the end, but not without Pearl feeling more much guilty about it all than she had ever been.
So now seeing a Snow Quartz in her presence, telling Steven stories that he so craves. She knew exactly what a Snow Quartz was capable of and that her Labradorite had to be close by.
Once Snow finished off her story, one about the infamous Lillim incident, Connie had to leave, as it was late as is. Steven took her outside, offering to walk her home.
In the meanwhile, Snow became fascinated with her, wondering if she could have a chat.
"Please Pearl I know you're a wealth of information. Unless Steven does not wish you to reveal secrets." Snow told her, trying to keep protocol.
For someone to just talk to her like this, was different. A Snow Quartz hungered for data, data Pearl would love to her own hands on.
"But he did say you're...in his word, super smart. You're different from most Pearls I've met. I'm curious."
Maybe this was the sole reason she didn't like Snow Quartzes. They were considered the most aberrant of gems; they were allowed to sate their inquisitive minds and not get shattered for it.
"There's a lot that's happened over the years. Homeworld knows the truth now so the other Diamonds would leave us alone in peace. But it seems they just can't help themselves can they?" Pearl said with disdain.
The frosty gem frowned.
"No...that's not... I'm ordered to observe and help, nothing more." Snow iterated.
"You're a Pearl, you of all people should know about oaths and loyalty..."
Was she questioning or worse, mocking her actions?
"If you're here to to criticize us then leave. You know nothing of Earth and our history! How the war changed our kind...how it changed us! We're no longer bound by Homeworld's regulations and while Steven thinks change will come, it won't come as quickly as he expects it too...even...'
Even if the changes were considerably life altering, especially when it came to the Diamonds, Pearl wasn't going keep her hopes up. She knew Garnet felt the same way.
The paler gem crossed her arms, then smiled.
"I'm sorry if I've offended you, I'm not here to do any of that. Information is my trade."
Snow had to put Pearl at ease. Her anger was justifiable in accounts to the amount of surface level trauma she was showing.
"This world has its beauty and its fury like any other world. But this one is special enough for the Diamond Authority to mark as special to them. I mean, I can see why. Pink Diamond's become a small human child...but then when I spoke to her...him and his friend Connie, I was confused by his existence. But then they broke it down for me..." She explained.
It then had Pearl awaiting her answer, as if a final call was to made about it.
"It was still perplexing, but at the same time amazing. Who could have thought cross breeding was possible?"
Pearl rose an eyebrow, noticing concern.
"That's gonna become practice now isn't it?" She queried, sounding a bit off about the idea.
Snow shook her head.
"No. I think the way that Pink Diamond had done it may have been unique to her. I can't speak for other gems if they decide to go down that path." Snow answered.
Not to mention how the mentality of their kind were more interested in self-preservation.
"But enough about that. You were Pink Diamonds Pearl yes? I know it would be unkind of me to ask your history with her. We can talk about anything you like and I'll be happy to answer anything...within reason and protocol."
It was interesting to see Pearl surprised at Snows offer that she had stammered over to what even ask her to begin with.
"Do you expect to me to tell you absolutely everything in exchange?" Pearl questioned.
No. Not...in this sense. She's seen how ripping the truth out without trust gained hurt people more than it saved.
"No." Snow replied.
"I'm happy for now to just...talk."
They walked along the beach with each other in the brisk breeze. The sunset crept through the blooming pink clouds and streamed onto the calm ocean, spilling onto the beach with the waves. The sands of the worlds she'd traveled to varied in texture and colour. Some were home to beautiful and terrifying life forms that lorded over them.
Turns out though, Pearl and Snow had a lot in common. Shared knowledge about Homeworld and other planets. They laughed over what was once considered normal and now considered silly and strange. Both admitted that just being around organics that they discovered so much more. Each step into the sand was a revelation that they existed together with those who would have the same sensations with everyone else who's stood in the same spot before. They all had this space together.
"It's amazing how you understand both gems and humans, as well as anything fleshbound. You're the general antithesis to what we've been made to believe." Pearl commented.
It does seem that way, once Snow looked at it closely.
"I've only met one of your kind...but you're, dare I say, more human in manner than most gems I've encountered from Homeworld. Snow Quartz development was quite controversial from what I can recall."
That's...a funny way of portraying her.
"I'm impressed of your perspective of humans and life in general had been warped within a such a small amount of time. Not in a bad way I mean." Snow said.
But she wasn't wrong about the development side of things. There had been trial and error with Snow Quartzes and an incident forced their hands in a certain way. But Pearl needn't worry about that.
"We have Steven to thank for that. Even before then was his father. The one who had enchanted Rose and...well, created Steven as a result...it's hard to realize the Curse of Humanities influence occasionally." Pearl continued.
"Curse of Humanity?" Snow repeated.
Pearl then laughed, then looked into her hands as they stopped walking.
"Oh it's just a vacuous term I heard once. You should know this from seeing it all the time, but...I never said it around anyone else. It's been a debate for a while now. Are humans a good or bad influence on us? Being on this planet as long as I have, I have seen humanity evolve into this...obnoxious race. But then there's the few who stand out among the rest, those who have the power to change your mind. Because we're...we're stubborn and locked into this mental stasis...that we needed one of their youngest and one of our youngest to call it out to us. How in the galaxy do we have carried so long without it? Do we still need it? Where will it take us?" Pearl continued.
It was a term Snow had heard before. By another Snow Quartz. A well defined Snow Quartz. Ignoring that for the moment, they sat down in the sand as Snow felt the grains between her fingers and watched the waves as they washed over the shore.
"From my experiences, it's not exclusive to humans. Apprehension is not foreign. It's always been the development all those who can walk and talk and think for themselves. We've seen all types come and go. We're used to believing that we're the best the Galaxy has to offer. We'll wait for a hundred, a thousand or ten thousand years for results to shine through. In that time, we lose so much more and we don't even know we're losing it." Snow told her.
The expression Pearl showed was a mixture of stunned and puzzled.
"We lose the best of what we ignore and push away. Has there ever been a time you've ever derided any of Steven's needs or expectations because you think it's a silly human thing?"
The Crystal Gem was left to ponder in her own thoughts.
"I've never fully understood humans as a whole. We're taught the basics and the run through of the hows and whys. His father did most of the necessary parent teaches their young training. But...time spun so fast for me to begin to nail down much how had forced me to run into dead ends, only for Steven to...just pull us in the right direction. And maybe not all of the directions were right...but..." Pearl said, contemplating her feelings on the matter as she dug her fingers into the sands.
"I'm guilty of all that could have been handled much better. We're meant to be the better gem...set an example. At the end of the day, I still ended up in servitude because it was easier to be in that position than anything else I had ever tried."
The Pearls aura turned cold as she started to well up in tears, dragging her hand through her hair. The humans had sayings. 'Old habits die hard.' Snow had to be taught that it was meant to be an ironic statement.
"I'm not made to be a leader. I always directed that to Garnet when Rose went...I'm not a pioneer of anything extraordinary. That was not what I was meant to do."
Instinct vs logic. The nature of one who has been there and is used to doing what they're told to. Snow could understand how hard that was to break.
"We're all created with some kind of small, yet significant reason as to why we're here. It's not always going to be the way we want ourselves to be seen. I'd bet most gems will go through that and hold onto what ever they can because it is theirs to have. But we're not allowed to divert from the norm. We're not allowed to break from who we're supposed to be." Snow explained.
"But you know, I've seen humans go through that same exact path. People condoned to be rulers or slaves. It's not unique to us. They will often fall into a hole that was made for them, because, that's whats expected of them. Follow or be followed. Doesn't necessarily have to a hierarchy to define. As Gems, we understand that we cannot be anyone else, no matter how much we may want ourselves to be the next Hessonite or the next Emerald..."
"Or the next Diamond..." Pearl continued.
Snow laughed. She preferred to be infected with humanity.
"But you know, being here...reading into the history of the Crystal Gems and for all recent events that had transpired, Pink Diamond had definitely aspired to explore everything because gem kind can be better. She could have planned this from the beginning..."
That statement made Pearl giggle as she wiped away a tear.
"Pink, heh... never thought things through properly. That's where her son gets it from I'm sure." She joked.
"She planned things to be fun and enjoyable for others because she adored life, no matter how much it cost her. In the end, she was willing to...give everything of herself to become a part of that which so wanted so much...to contribute to, in her words 'taking life and leaving a miracle behind.'"
Reports did say Pink was, in strange terms not often put into writing by some, but kind of a goofball.
"But I won't deny she set the stage in an attempt to connect gemkind to other species, to get them to see their beauty and worth."
It was then when Pearl explained the time she had introduced Pink Diamond to earth life due to her desire and enthusiasm to talk with the newly created Amethysts. Something Snow Quartzes would warn against doing. Where was the allocated Quartz?
"That does sound like a catalyst to me..." Snow commented.
"Knowing her for such a long time, you'd have better insights than most."
She detected Pearl feeling uncomfortable with that notion as she sighed.
"You would assume a Pearl knows everything about her Diamond. I wish that were the truth." She said, forlorn.
Snow then smiled. The current climate would have tipped the previous on its end, exposing much to the surface but yet, still hiding away the secrets of the unheard.
"What about Steven?" The Quartz questioned.
"You've practically would have known him from the beginning as his caretaker. Surely you know what he's like...what he was like."
Mentioning Steven brought warmth back to Pearl's aura as her mind turned to a fondness she had in her head.
"It's been a bag of mixed feelings and mistakes. Mostly positive and some happy accidents." Pearl said. Snow would have hoped as such.
"You have to keep reminding yourself he's not a full gem. It took all of us a while to realize this...and some...of your previous words come to mind. We've had to guide each other through the worst, even then we're not even close to fully understanding it all."
As a Snow Quartz, Snow knew that very much...it was their gems ambition to learn as much as they can and to share it. It was time to connect to Pearl's heart.
"The journey is more important than the destination. A human taught me that once." Snow admitted.
"Discovery is part of that journey. Whether it means facing your fears or acknowledging that you're wrong once in a while, is within that growing path. It doesn't matter how long we live for, we're all in that together. Growing. Always."
Silence, besides the crashing waves.
"Pearl?"
She looked at the Crystal Gem who was staring at her with huge eyes, tears and pursed mouth, shaking as if she wanted to say something so badly.
"Are you okay... woah!"
It wasn't out of the question that repressed emotions could be unhealthy, but the way Pearl started bawling her eyes out, wrapping her arms around her and crying into her chest was the least warranted of actions one she could have chosen, but Snow decided to let happen. Not to mention the small blush she felt creeping on cheeks.
"That was so beautiful! Where have you been all our lives?" She wept.
Snow reciprocated the hug and gave out a pleasant smile, though thoughts were beginning to build about another issue. One she'd need to find out about.
"Constant collection and distribution, dearest Pearl. All I can do, is hunt for answers to unheard questions."
One thing Snow didn't understand, which Pearl brought up, was Earths Snow Quartz. Once a colony had been finalized and the planet ran out of resources, they abandoned said planet and moved on. When reading up about Earth, the colony was abandoned but the world itself still had plenty of resources to use. Which meant the Snow Quartz that was allocated to it would have remained put.
She'd traveled the Earth before, but once in the footsteps of her mentor during the Gem War. She would have had to be in the command of Pink Diamond at the time at behest of White Diamonds orders. Was she destroyed? Corrupted? Perhaps. But the alarms had been sounded so she would have had been evacuated when the Diamonds unleashed their final attack on it.
Snow stayed up with Pearl all night, discussing their findings and laughing. She'd reached out to Pearl successfully. There was much Pearl could offer and much she could offer for Pearl. It was clear Pearl loved Pink Diamond, but became disenchanted over time, seeing her son becoming much more than anyone had anticipated. It was obvious that Steven influences were widespread with all the stories Pearl could muster. It wasn't until the sun rose the next day that lead Pearl to cry out they had just went on for hours, losing track of time when in the cusp of just good ol' gem talk.
The two parted ways as Pearl returned to the temple. Snow had more researching to do, with Pearl recommending visiting the local library, even if it didn't compare to what they had talked about, if Snow was still hungry, then she could read instead to sate her appetite.
So she did just that, although growing concerned over the overlapping thoughts from before as she walked back into town. She put her cowl back on to hide and could sense Dori near her.
"The Pearl put some ideas into my head Dori." She said to her companion, was walking invisibly beside her.
"This was the planet Milky Quartz was allocated to, from what I can remember from long ago. If I could find out what happened, it should allow me more insight of what really went on."
The Labradorite nuzzled her hand in comfort. She knew Snow was far more interested in finding out about Steven and Connie than going down that road. It's got nothing to do with her mission, but...
"That Curse of Humanity...it bites hard...a gnawing insatiable parasite...no...Milky...that can't be true."
She'd arrived at the library, although she was subjected to stares and comments but otherwise was left alone, despite there being several gems being there as well. The place was small compared to archives she'd visited once before, but she liked how humble it was and the silence that allowed you to hear flicks of pages and subtle sounds of writing as pens waved around paper. She browsed around, both fiction and non-fiction. Both equal in value. She wondered if there was anything of interest to her. She then saw one book that caught her eye and went to reach it, only to feel a bump from a green arm.
"Hey watch it!" She cried out.
Upon a briefly glance, she recognized this gem as a Peridot.
"My apologies." Snow stated in embarrassment.
The Peridot was left stunned at Snow, who was wondering why she staring at her like that. The green gem was left shaking and gasping extremely slowly as she raised her hand to point at Snow's forehead. To her horror, Snow's cowl had accidentally fallen off, who then felt her cheeks go warm again.
"You-you-you-you...you're a S-Snow Quartz?" Peridot stammered in hushed tones.
Snow put a finger to her lips as she was frightened she'd be noticed.
"Shhh...keep it down."
I wonder if Milky ever found out about the term, fangirling...