Everyone who knew Bismuth had a different opinion of her. Garnet thought her interesting, and furthermore one of the best Crystal Gems. Pearl thought of her as many things: strong, beautiful, and a friend. A close friend. Perhaps someone that could take up part of her heart, of Rose let go of some of her heart. Rose thought of her as a great fighter, in more places than one. Pearl found that out one night, after a long day of fighting.

Victory was a hard won prize, one that required many sacrifices in payment. They had lost two Emeralds, and four Citrines that day, and three of them would not be regenerating. While the majority of the army celebrated, Rose had returned to her tent, a dangerously sad anger in her eyes. Pearl had not followed. Instead, she paced outside her tent. What could she do for her? Was she supposed to do anything for her? Maybe she should ask Garnet. No, she couldn't. It was still awkward, at least on Pearl's end to hold a conversation after catching Rose bury her face between her thighs. She sat down across from her tent and produced her spear. She studied it as she waited.

It's blade was sharp, but never hurt as she pulled it from her gem. It always felt like a soothing touch to pull it out, like a sweet release that she had waited far too long to receive. It was simple too. Nothing as ornate as one might expect from a Pearl. It was just a blade, with a simple handle. She dropped it and reformed another. This one had a hilt with vines twisting up to bind it to the blade. Prettier, and still useful enough to be a regular design. She tossed it aside and started to pull out another when Bismuth started walking in that direction.

She yelped, the half formed sword lodging itself in her gem for one painful moment before she dissipated it. Bismuth hadn't seen her, she realized, as she ducked inside the tent. Pearl stood up. Should she go inside? Was she supposed to?

Something shattered and another thing caused a loud thud.

Pearl walked over, and waited beside the tent. She could hear some of their conversation inside.

"...lost. It was too much of a price. I'd rather…than have them do so."

Bismuth yelled. "You're not allowed to die! You are the rebellion, if you die, then…"

Pearl opened the tent up. Rose was glaring at Bismuth, who glared back. The room was a mess. The bouquet's of flowers that she had collected were scattered on the floor, some of the dried flowers detatched from their stems. A glass sculpture, gifted to Rose by a human that she had once saved, was shattered, the pieces glittering like gem shards on the ground. Her bed, though unneeded, was broken in half.

Pearl placed her hand on Rose's arm. She shuddered and pulled her arm away. The tension melted as Bismuth glanced down at Pearl and offered a smile.

"I've got a new sword design for you to check out, when you get the chance." She said. The irrelevent topic brought a smile to Pearl's face, though she said nothing. Instead, she looked up at Rose, whose face was hidden with curls.

"Pearl?"

"Yes, Rose?" She replied dutifully.

"Can you clean this up for me? I need to clear my head." Rose was walking before Pearl had replied.

"Of course."

Bismuth nodded at her and followed Rose out.

The mess wasn't too bad, she supposed. Cleaning was something that she was hardwired to like and be good at, and she didn't mind the satisfaction that came with tidying up a room. Still, seeing her room a mess, the artifacts of Earth broken on the ground left her with a strange feeling. She had seen Rose aggressive before; it was a left behind piece of her own programming. However, she was the one that had taken the aggression. She was the one who was ravaged by her kisses, held roughly in her grasp. It was Pearl's duty, her favorite duty, to do so.

She picked up a bouquet of yellow flowers, three of them crushed into dust. Picking out the flowerless stems, she placed it back on the table. Why did Bismuth follow her then? Was she sparring with her? Or was it something else?

Pearl hoped that they hadn't tracked down Homeworld gems on their own. Bismuth was hotheaded on her own. Combined with Rose's anger, they could really get themselves in trouble. Perhaps she should ask Garnet before setting out. She sighed and started picking up the shards of glass.

She could remember what had gone wrong. She knew that Rose remembered it better than she did. The battle had started out excellent. They had tracked the next target to the tundra, an arctic arena that was half built. It was supposed to just be builders and ornaments. Nothing hard. Nothing dangerous.

Garnet wasn't with them. Perhaps they knew that Rose had deployed her elsewhere. If she had've been there, they would have known that there were six Moonstones under the snow. They had appeared out of nowhere, bursting up from the snow to stab Rose's two Emerald guards. She had grabbed their gemstones before they fell. As the majority of the group went after the orginal target, the moonstones took advantage of their confusion. They ruthlessly attacked the citrines, the brightest gems of the group. They blended in so well, and froze their targets before impaling them slowly with snow. It was a hard won battle, but they had defeated them. The six Moonstones were now in the depths of the temple, bubbled and unable to cause more harm.

Pearl held the glass in her hand, unsure of what to do with them. The rest of the room was clean- or at least as clean as it could be with the bed broken. Exiting the tent, she exited into the dying sunlight. The ground before her was barely unsettled, butit was still enough to show the path that Bismuth and Rose had taken. She stared at it for a few moments. What if Rose wanted to keep the glass pieces? It wasn't inconcievable that she could find someone to put it back together. Pearl didn't want to leave it alone either; what if she forgot to tell Rose, and she got hurt because of it?

Pearl started walking. It didn't take long and was a relatively peaceful experience. And then she started getting close. A few of the bushes seemed to have been trampled. Pearl held the glass tighter as she pulled her spear free. This could be the signs of an ambush, or of an animal. Either way, she wanted to be safe. As she approached the opening in the undergrowth, the sound of a gutteral growl rang through the trees.

Another, softer one replied. Pearl pushed aside the bushes and drew her sword. She froze at the scene below. Bismuth held Rose down, her knee deep in the apex of her legs. Rose purred and growled all at once as she tried to escape. Finally overpowering Bismuth, she forced her to the ground and jammed her fist into her with no hint of the gentleness that she had shown to Pearl.

Pearl dropped her sword. It hit the ground with a thud before disappearing. She backed away and walked back to camp. It was only as she returned to Rose's tent that she realized that she was holding the glass so tightly. Her hand was covered in small cuts. She dropped the glass on Rose's desk and closed the flaps.

For a moment, she buried her face in the cover of the bed. The pleasent smell of Rose's namesake filled her nostrils. She knew this smell. She thought that she had known this smell, this person that she had devoted her life to. Maybe she was wrong.