Greg's got some emotional sorting to do.
He wasn't going to lie. It was hard. It was even worse when that the gems told him about the time that Steven was kidnapped and was taken to Homeworld for something he didn't even do. He couldn't fight gem logic. Now it's eaten into Steven completely, so Greg wasn't in any control of what he could do. He never had been. Occasionally, he wished he could have been a half-gem, so he could better equipped to help both Steven and Connie...reality sucked.
He could take care of the human side of things for now and the fact that Snow handled the Maheswarans far better than anyone expected did give a little bit of relief. Connie still did come to him on occasion. She was a busy girl now. He felt sorry for her situation...but he was mad at himself at not being able to know what to do and having no power to do anything. Hiding the frustration was easy when he was around people. Venting it however, was hard too. He had the small group of people from Beach City he could talk to...though they wouldn't be able to fully understand the mishmash of dilemmas he had with the gems. They were good people with ordinary lives. He did not wish to trouble them.
The Gems moods were even more soured. More than once he'd come around, seeing Pearl on the verge of tears constantly, Amethyst doing her own thing and Garnet doing her own thing, but knowing deep down, she was just as bothered by it all. Worst thing was, was that this wasn't their fault either. It was no ones. He couldn't blame Steven either. The others might, like he straight up abandoned them again. The idea of Steven feeling like he'd hurt everyone and left to protect them was so...like and not like what he'd do at all. Maybe he was his mother after all.
Each night, after closing the wash, he'd sit at the back of his van like he normally did and looked up at the stars. Where did Steven go?
A different night, to where he decided to see Snow Quartz the next day. For what ever his mind decided what it wanted to do. For whom ever his eyes needed to see. For whom ever had ears to listen.
She was isolated, which was arch-typical of a gem to begin with but for her, he felt the trip would be worth it. A nice nights drive to the mountains and all rugged up in a white jacket on top of a maroon sweater on top of his black shirt. It wouldn't take that long. For what ever his internal whispers of his thoughts told him, that despite the hectic environment, she was presumably the easiest to speak to. Connie was fine too, but he needed...a sense of maturity that the youth of today couldn't fill. Not to say Connie wasn't mature, but he felt like he could talk to Snow about the things he wouldn't be able to speak to children about. He had taken her out, to see parts of Beach City and to meet some of the human occupants where they got along like wildfire.
There was lot...and not a lot to say about Snow. She wandered into their lives at an interesting time. Talking and dancing with her inspired a familiar feeling. A feeling left behind in years gone by...it was something in her honest, green eyes. A light with no real name. It was a feeling, both pleasant and unpleasant, as it dived into ancient memories left un-visited for the last fifteen or so years. Painful, joyful; the pick of melancholy that plucked at his heartstrings. It hurt. A lot.
He arrived at her premise sometime in the afternoon. Her place looked modern enough as he wondered what magic she had to use in order for the place to safely sit on the edge of the mountain. There was a made road path with an edge guard that twirled around that Greg was glad was in place. One slip and slide of his van and he would have been done for. He approached the door and knocked three times.
"Hey Snow uhh..it's me Greg. Ya home?" He called.
No answer.
He should have called. Did Snow even have a phone? Why didn't he think to call? Maybe she didn't? No. Snow should have had a least...no she was a Gem. He kept forgetting that. Greg sighed as he turned around to head back to his van, until he heard the sound of a warp pad go off nearby. He looked to his left, seeing Snow with Dori as they appeared among the tall, pine trees. Ah he was just in time. He ran up to them, although a bit weirded out on how Snow's knees were facing inwards and were wobbly as she leaned on Dori with one hand and had her other on her stomach. She tried walking forward, only to fall over. Greg bolted forward into catch her, forgetting she was a little larger and a head taller than him, but by this point he was used to it that it never bothered him. He put her arm over his shoulders and could smell the scent of booze on her breath. She'd been drinking?
"I got ya." He assured her.
Before he could even ask, Dori was kind enough to open the door with her mouth to let them both in. Once inside, as Dori closed it again, he went down into the living area and cautiously put her on the couch. Her head leaned back as he went to put his jacket on the chair nearby, her eyes opened up to where Greg standing there in front of her.
"You okay?"
She shook her head, then got a scope of her surroundings.
"Oh shorry Mr Universe...I visited an old friend tonight." She slurred.
It was day time though. Her friend had to have hooked her with something...could gems even get drunk? He used to get wasted when he was younger so he knew how to deal with hangover remedies and so forth. Just not with a gem. He'd hoped Steven wouldn't go through a phase like that, but the best he could do was just give him advice to go by if he'd ever planned to when he was older.
"Nothing wrong with that." He said with an awkward smile.
"You need anything though? How much did you have anyway?"
Snow made a flirty giggle, before she stretched out and slapped her arms over the back of the couch as she leaned back.
"I dunno. ten? twelve? Ridge wanted me to try her goon...what ever that was..I'm like.. like...heh...I'm like you have goons? Then she goes nah mate...its a bag of wine. Aussie tradition."
Aussie? As in, she went to Australia of all places? Explained the time zone she was in. He looked at Dori who could only shake her head. Just as he was getting better to understand gems new stuff always comes up. She swung her right hand around and patted the cushion next to her as she grinned.
"Come...come sit with me Greg...I needed...I need to talk to you. It's important."
Greg twiddled with his fingers as uncertainty struck him. He made the decision to come here to begin with, so he might as well do it. He had to be careful though...he's dealt with friends who have been over the top after a few, so he used the same caution with Snow. He shrugged and promptly sat down next to her. His back was straight as he had his hands on his lap. Nerves ate away at him at a snails pace.
"Ridge told me some...something we might need to know. It's about Steven."
Of course he'd pay full attention to that. Or he could humor her.
"A lead?" He queried.
Snow's nod was hazy but it was there. She leaned back at looked him with the attempt to look serious with her half-lidded but twitchy eyes and swirling head.
"Ridge...Ridge said something about a Blood Moon that only ever gets shown in the Southern Hemisphere." She explained.
"I saw it with my own eyes. It's Aura was huge enough to be seen from Earth. I have a feeling he could be...he could be on the Moon Base."
That made a lot of sense. Steven didn't take his ship there though. So how could he have gotten there to begin? He must have had help. Surely.
"We've gotta let the Crystal Gems know this. We've scouted all over the place. But they always forget to check the moon." Greg suggested.
She shot up from the couch, wobbly as expected.
"You're right...lesss go." She declared, before she fell over again. Greg panicked as he grabbed by her waist to prevent her from slamming into the coffee table. She was left with a stunned face as Greg put her back in the couch. He was thankful that this had to more to do with her drinking as opposed to her normal, calm and collected demeanor.
"Not until you're sober." He told her firmly with a hand to his hip and a pointing his index finger at her.
A long heaved sigh indicated her displeasure of being told what to do. It was the right thing to do.
"Sober? How long does that take?" She questioned.
Oh brother. A while? An hour? A few hours? Who knows. He's never even witnessed a drunken gem. He'd always believe they didn't have the squishy parts needed for that to be even plausible. He took a deep breath and sat back down next to her and crossed his arms. He wanted to be annoyed and angry, but that would bring up all the internal grief and resentment he'd piled up lately. Snow didn't deserve that. Yes, she did something silly and it did prompt exasperation on his part, but it was a human act to do. Drinking ones sorrows away made have had the pain go numb for the short term, but then you'd add regret to the top of the pile. Temptation slipped by as it did, but Greg never really got the point where he'd actively go out to do it. He needed to be there for Steven and be the good example.
"I'm sorry Greg." She said softly. She tried sitting herself up on the couch, straightening herself to Greg's position.
"Don't be." He answered, tone low with the aforementioned regret sprinkled on already.
He felt a finger on his furry cheek and felt them heat up, as his eyes went to his left to see Snow leaning over to touch his beard. She had her elbow on her knee that supported her holding her head as she smiled. Greg pursed his lips, uncertain of what he should do. She stopped shortly after, then cradled her face in both of her hands as she slouched over. Dori had lit up the fire place in the meantime, somehow and lumbered in front of it.
"You're still putting the blame on yourself, aren't you?" He asked her.
She nodded once.
"They warn us not to intervene...and look what happens. One of the Diamonds just...how do you even screw up so badly?"
Greg tried to recall her explaining on how she needed to do this on her own. The Crystal Gems insisted on helping her out. A mission gone badly, very badly. No one anticipated how horrible the result was gonna be until it was too late. Could he use the excuse, 'it could've gone worse' in this instance? He could see the warm orange glow light up her softened face as she stared into the flames, that metaphorically charged into his gut. He swallowed. It get warmer in here after all, but it didn't explain the quickened pace of his heart beat.
"It's the trade off for being a Diamond. You're like this royalty, then all the drama starts. Like out of some bad tv show." Greg noted.
He loved Rose for who she wanted to be. For her being Pink Diamond didn't flake him out at first, since his main concern was Steven. He had spoken to the gems like Ruby and Amethyst about all this. Pearl refrained, as per her norm. It opened up a lot of unseen doors for everyone, especially Steven. Amethyst voiced her concerns once to him, saying that in gem terms, he's considered a Prince if that general idea of what Diamonds were, had been put into a tangible context. Thinking about all the things Rose hid from him was to protect him...but they didn't anticipate the amount it would give Steven in the long run and how much it would hurt him. He deserved to know the truth out of everyone. Greg did get a bit angry over it, like fire to skin, but how could Rose have known what could have happened? She only prepared so much for him; only that there was so much baggage one could handle. Steven was, what, fifteen now? He was getting older and wiser and he still had to cop the blasts shot by people much older of than him and to put him on this huge pedestal he was forced on. Luckily much of the larger issues were solved but still. He would always be proud of Steven, growing up and even making mistakes and resolving to fix those mistakes. He was just a kid at the end of the day and no kid should ever be put through what he did. He just wanted family to be family, nothing more.
Now Connie had to go through it. Good grief.
What had it all boiled down to?
She buried her face into her hands and started shaking, as he began to hear her whimper. He had his hand hovering her back for some time, with his emotions that roiled and swelled for a long while. He didn't want to do this without her consent. He looked at the fire himself. Come on Greg, think. You help people and help comfort people all the time. Why was this any different from those occasions?
"Snow?" He voiced calmly.
"You...you can cry on my shoulder if you want."
And that was the best idea you could think of?
Snow leaned up and inhaled as she wiped tears off her face, before turning to him with a less than straight face. Her face was puffy as Greg was anxious for her to take a move. Offer was on the table now and if he took it back he'd look like a heartless jerk. A pang shot off something fierce within him as she gave off a minor smile. Tiny but extremely potent and effective.
"You're too sweet..it's not necessary." She said.
A little bit of him was disappointed, but he was glad to see her smile at least.
"I'm not being a very good Snow Quartz right now."
And Rose wasn't a very good Rose Quartz either, as it turned out.
"Eh...sometimes keeping up an act can get real tiring. That's why it's nice to let loose once and while. Give yourself time to relax to and to be who you want to be. And if you need to vent then so be it." He told her.
She raised an eyebrow as she looked at him up and down with just her eyes on her still head.
"Talking about me or yourself here?" She questioned, blatantly. She propped her elbow on the back cushion and she leaned on her side and had her left hand on her lap as she crossed her legs. She was a lot more relaxed in this state as Greg was unaware that his eyes were hooked with hers. Another pang reverberated through him as he subconsciously denied any type of feeling he had right now.
"Anyone really." He answered.
He didn't expect her to take his right hand when she did and in doing so sent ripples from her touch. She looked down at his hands and fingers with her half-vacant stare and rubbed the top of his fingers with her thumb. He noticed that Dori had vanished from the room, presumably for what ever reason.
"I'm sure these hands have seen a lot. Gems hands are less interesting. You can see the age and the way your skin is highly detailed the older it gets." She said, her voice low and soft.
Greg felt his cheeks heat up again as she did so, in such a delicate fashion. He took off his sweater and threw it on the same chair as his jacket. She blinked as she glanced at him, then realized what she said.
"Oh shoot, I'm sorry, did I offend you? I meant, you're, well. I uh..." She apologized, all wrapped up in fluster.
Greg just chuckled and gave her a smile, taking her hand into his own and interlocking his fingers with hers. He had to admit, he hadn't felt this way in a long time. Not since...Rose.
The thoughts dawned on him finally, being able to translate the treasure's chest worth of feelings from older texts. Once looking back to their dance at the temple and their time spent in the facility; which was where he partially understood his own ideas on the matter. It was pretty heavy on his heart, disrupted by his own worried thoughts on Steven. It would have been more obvious otherwise. After months of non-stop searching, he was exhausted. He didn't have the stamina like he used to in his younger age, so he just wanted to relax as obligations did make him tense up on a daily basis. This however, this had been growing on him for a while and it never went away. The similar sensation of trickling torment that flowed into torching torture.
"No you didn't." He told her. "For me it's not so much as keeping up an act, it's just about being strong for those you care about. That can be just as hard."
His mouth said one thing and his subconscious thought another as found his hand sliding up her arm, as his head leaned in on its own accord.
"Sometimes...I do feel like a human in a gems body. Could be why I find humans more relatable than my own kind." She said as her own head got closer.
A trail of thought he could have mistaken her for quoting someone else. Didn't matter if she was human or gem; she was gorgeous, he'd admit. He'd say that about all the women he'd meet, but for what ever reason, Snow was increasingly...
"Be who ever you want to be, Snow." He told her, his voice getting lower by the moment.
A curved smirk from her drove him insane, as his heart threatened to escape his chest.
"As long it's not a Diamond, I'll be what ever." She said with a joking snort.
He made a subtle, awkward, chuckle before Gregs hand found it's way to Snows face; his eyes half lidded and darting between both of hers as their noses almost touched. A chill permeated as he felt her breath breeze on his beard. He rubbed the side of her chin with the palm of his hand before he shut his eyes and closed the gap between them; with an explosion on his nerves that were set a flame as he felt her mouth on his. Soft pops filled the air while her hands and arms were wrapped around his neck, with rising fingers that played with his long mane. He dared to delve his tongue to push past her bittersweet lips to find her own, which emitted a stifled moan of surprise that reflected from her throat. Electrical pulses grew from the contentment of their closeness, the wetness of her mouth and her light skin as he dragged his hand down back to her waist, with the other one touching her face. She'd shuffled herself to make it easier for him, sitting on his lap and put her knees to his sides and putting her behind on his knees. She moved herself forward, returning her hands behind his neck as he put his hands around her again. His core was fuming with all sorts of unlocked agony and turmoil of the pleasurable sort, especially when she moved her kisses to his neck that turned into small nibbles and worked on that for a moment, then returned to his lips. It was weird. It was like he was in his twenties again; hearing her giggles that were like songs of old legacies to his ears. He responded in kind, stopping briefly as they touched foreheads, feeling her heated gem in the process.
"Greg..." She muttered, breathless.
"Yeah?" He replied, the same as he kept rubbing her back.
"I feel something poking me down there..." She said, bashful.
It took Greg a moment...or at least the lower ended feeling until he got it. He got hit with the whirlwind of ideas and perception of his surroundings that made his eyes go wide and his face redder than normal. He then gently pushed her back, suddenly expressing guilt over the situation. He was not going to take advantage while she was in this state, all the while he was incredibly conflicted on how he really felt about it all.
"I uhh...oh no... We definitely should not head in that direction." He told her, considerably embarrassed about the whole thing as he tried to cover it with his hands. She sat there, perplexed and somewhat sad at the notion of rejection.
"I'm so sorry...I trust you...but I feel like I want this mysteriousness, but I trust you know what you're doing." Snow responded. She slid off him and back on to the couch. Greg made a sigh of relief. He shouldn't have been surprised, knowing how much she'd had and the way it influenced people. It was her limit of human knowledge as far as Greg knew; he'd want her to be coherent and straight laced to ever consider going that way. He brought her in close and put his arm around her body and put his his hand in her waist and let her lean on his shoulder with the prior offer still there. His heartbeat mellowed but skipped as she rested rested her left hand on his chest.
"Let me know if this makes you uncomfortable. I also need to understand what this means...so I'm open to constructive criticism."
It amused more than it worried him. But then it made him think about the times he had to help Rose understand humans overall and the complexities of life that he could advise based off of personal experiences. Life experiences that he also had to find on his own. The thought trail of Rose made his mind go into caves of conflict he hadn't visited everyday. The most important questions were put to him. How much of what he was feeling was part of self-indulgence to cope with a stressful situation? Was he just in the same mental capacity as Snow to be doing this? What did he really feel for Snow herself and the most hard-hitting for him was...was he ready to move on?
Snow understood loss so she had to have some idea...he wanted to cling on to Rose's memory, even years later and it just hurt so much more than it helped. Love is a tricky spice.
"It's not about being uncomfortable. I mean, it is but it isn't." Greg explained.
"You're a War Veteran yourself. There's memories, both good and bad, that are hard to forget and some that are even harder to let go."
Snow pursed her lips. While it did look like she was weaning off as her tone became less slurred and more controlled, he needed to control the situation to make sure she knew was getting herself into. In this space, she didn't. He was happy to just talk and open up. A task simple but still intimate.
"That is true. Reminders of a past...they are but servants to curate what we know has formed part of our foundation. Videos in our minds to play when we do and when we don't want them to. There's always the unseen trigger, the unseen finger that pushes the play button when it wants to. It pushes the thorns deep or it makes the sun rise, either way, it wakes us up." She said so poetically Greg wished he could write them down.
"If this is about Rose...I'll understand...there is a lot to talk about people you once knew and are now gone from our lives. Flickering flames on a still lit candle that you so viciously guard."
He found it hard to discover what he wanted for himself. He figured giving back to those who needed it most were far more deserving. Snow herself was so bent on trying to get a hold of concepts she feel she should know. They were two sentient beings with enough of a foothold on their standings. Greg could no longer deny his attraction to her, however, other small barriers barred his path.
"I've mourned her for so long and it's like...what do I do now?" He queried.
That was the million dollar question. He felt her rub his hand with her own.
"Do what you feel is right..." She said, then moved her hand to his chest.
"What in your heart is right for you."
He had half the nerve to ask her how she felt. The concept of hearts only few gems could understand.
"What about you?" He questioned. He's had to deal with Gems who aren't always on the same page as humans. Just as humans weren't always on the same page as Gems. Snow could talk the talk, but could she properly process what was happening?
"Do you even...get what this is? I don't want you going in on all of this then suddenly find yourself disappointed or left wanting. Don't do it for my sake. You're a person; you have freedom of choice."
She blinked, then looked towards the fire as she sat up again, returning to her proper poised position with her hands returning to her lap.
"You're right. I don't get it. I want to." She replied. He'd almost forgotten that she did mention her desire to understand more about...
"Because I know the topic was brought up by several gems I'd met up with. Fusions...even speaking with Connie of all people about it, if you remember our discussion...then I thought about what you said...but, I honestly...I'm not sure what to believe."
Ah yes, their talk by the fire place at the Beach House. Greg agreed that Connie was a smart girl. Even then she'd be limited due to her age and general inexperience. He didn't doubt her love for Steven and his love for her. Which made it all the more depressing to think about. Steven wanted happiness and love to be spread with everyone. It's due to that, that he ran away to begin with.
"As I mentioned back then, Connie's still young. As we get older, some of us want to find our way in the world and it often starts with dealing with other people and our relationships. There's no easy answer to everything because a lot of the time you need to discover it for yourself. People expect to fit into some neat category and the truth is blurred. One persons answer isn't always gonna be the same as another." Greg explained it to her.
"Connie said something like that too. So what's your answer then?" Snow put forth, rather bluntly if Greg could say so himself.
He had none. At least, nothing he could put in at that very moment. His answer stared at his face all his years go, with those beautiful eyes and curled pink hair. Now it sat right next to him with those keen, green eyes and straight white hair. Was it the right one, however.
"Now...well, one doesn't tend to need that found straight away. We can simply talk and find that out on our own. See where it goes, go with what our guts tell us...if you're okay with that." Greg said as he took her hand.
Snow smiled warmly, one that could light up a million bulbs.
"I'd like that very much so Greg." She replied.
It definitely had been a long time since Greg had even done any of this. They spent the rest of the day just talking about what ever came up. It was nice for a change of pace, as he got her to talk about her line of gems and more about the Snowsongs they created and how she tried to get a hold of any of her fallen kins songs in case they were shattered. She had no Snowsong of her own, figuring that she had better things to worry about than to write songs, but their earlier jam and creation indicated her enjoyment. Like before, they could write more with just the two of them (As it was mostly Steven and Connie showing Snow how it was done). She was well spoken and the phrases that entered into his ears as the softest instruments were worthy of being put into beautiful melody. He'd brought in his guitar from his van in the mean time, while she got papers and a pen, stunned at his sudden enthusiasm to write all of a sudden.
He'd also brought in his record player and a stash of vinyl cds and debated which one he'd like to play. Once decided which one he wanted to use, he took to moving the coffee table to the side and placed the player on it and dropped the needle. Something soft and slow paced was fine to begin with.
She waited there in the middle of the room as he took the initiative to dance. Right hand in her left, her right hand on his shoulder and his left hand on her waist as they started off slow, absorbing the glow on her face and loving every bit of it. It didn't matter that she was slightly taller than him. He was used to it. Writing was like dancing in a way; created through cautious edits or going with a flow that just sounded right. They needed both to encapsulate the entirety of the creation was supposed to mean. In the midst of the journey of discovery, he could say without doubt, that it had been one of the best evenings he'd had in a long time.
It allowed him to lead his mind to the more pleasant aspects...and to alternate ways to help out. Using the word War Veteran earlier sparked an idea in his mind. He could no longer sit around and do nothing just because he was human. If Connie was allowed to be trained than so could he. He just needed a teacher.
Greg wrested control of his life from then on, thanks to being able to vent to Snow. She was a bit surprised at his willingness to fight, but okay with it. If he was to truly be capable of saving his son, being there for others and...well, piquing and exploring his newfound relationship with Snow, then he needed to improve. He was older, but not beyond the point of saving himself. The next day, he'd visited Garnet at the Beach House, who was just as stunned that he wanted help, though he'd figure she'd be the first to realize what went on. He'd go to Pearl, but...
"Greg, you need to realize what you're getting yourself into." Garnet voiced with her understanding yet fretful tone.
He nodded. If there was anything he was sure of, it was this.
"I do. I mean, I don't like standing around and doin' nothing while the rest of you search. It seems lazy for me to take it the easy way." He told her.
Garnet had her head on straight most of the time. After all, she translated concepts to him for it all to make sense in a way.
"You're his father...someone he looks up to for wisdom we can't give to him as gems." She admitted.
He could get why she'd be hesitant. At his age, most people would be.
"Exactly. If I'm to be a good role model for him, I need to get back into shape. I...I know it's a tall order to ask."
She looked down and pondered. Humans were fragile, squishy beings. He was willing to do what was necessary in order to not be a burden.
"It's not tall at all. It's short, actually." She said. Greg wondered if she took his words literally.
"Being on the battlefield is nothing short of dangerous and deadly. But I know how good you were with the Guitar during the Light Prism incident."
Only that they needed it for the occasion. Greg ended up putting that goodness knows where and had honestly, almost forgot about it. It'd been upgraded prior to the aforementioned incident as part of an experimental procedure by Peridot and Pearl. Then they never used it again. He'd gotten his fair share of adventures during that time and just never bothered doing it. Tiring, but that's what made it so important to fix that. So that he could have the strength and endurance like he did in his youth. It may be exact but any kind of improvement will do. As long as he could give anything to help the gems out. Especially if the point came where they had to possibly go offworld again...as he had the deepest feeling they would.
"So I can stay in a support role...if required...I dunno...I feel so useless right now so I want to be prepared for what ever happens. I have every right to help my son and...you guys. You're all family."
She remained silent, as one would expect the unheard thoughts of her and her component gems rustling and debating the details in their mind.
"I can help you get into shape at this. I've been meaning to have Jasper have a training partner."
Jasper?
"You can't be serious." He questioned with disbelief.
Garnet shrugged.
"I can be." She answered.
"I'd been taking Snow Quartz's example with her Labradorite. You don't have to fight together but if you're going to be a support role, you'll need to learn the different types of support you'll need to provide. We'll need to speak with Bismuth about remodeling that Guitar of yours."
It was a bit much. Greg had to suck it up and accept her advice. He'd have to find the guitar to begin with, that ol' trusty thing that they'd used once before. Come to think of it, he'd need armor too. Another piece he'd have to ask Bismuth to do.
"Thanks Garnet. It's been hard. Really." He admitted.
She walked up to him and grabbed his cheeks with the palm of her hands, seeing his reflection in her visor.
"You're one of the few humans we trust." She told him.
"You've trusted us with Steven for years. All I will request of you, is to continue to have that faith as we do in you."
He nodded. It was truth and while mistakes were made and maybe a few regrets here and there, it had been an endless count of lessons that had been learned. By everyone.
"Just don't push yourself too hard."
He chuckled.
"Yeah, yeah I'm only human. Lets get started."