Day 4 Earth time...
Days in Hyrule... 71...
Pearl yawned and leaned against Amethyst's shoulder; her eyes closed. The smaller gem glanced over with a blush and continued stirring the meal in the pan. "Grub's almost up."
"Don... call... that..." Pearl murmured. "Gross..."
Amethyst chuckled. "Well then..." she cleared her throat. "Breakfast is served, m'lady." she said in a nasal but posh accent.
Pearl chuckled and groaned. "Just put it in my stomach... too tired to chew..."
"Get in mah belly!" Steven grinned, grabbing his bowl eagerly.
Garnet chuckled. "Pearl, come on. You've got a big day ahead, and you need to eat."
Pearl sat up, taking the offered bowl from Amethyst. "Ugh, don't remind me... It feels like a school day..."
"Have fun, play nice, and if any of the other kids tease you... try not to stab them." Connie managed to hold a serious face for a full five seconds before she joined the others laughter.
Pearl snorted. "My father couldn't stop me from trying. You have no chance."
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As Garnet collected the bowls, Pearl sighed. "That's better... Welp, back to bed..."
Amethyst pulled her back down. "Nah you don't."
"Lemme sleep!" Pearl groaned.
"Tchtchtch..." Amethyst tutted. "So lazy..."
Pearl groaned and closed her eyes. "Ah, sod off... I've earned it." she shifted slightly to lean against Amethyst. "Actually, stay. You make a good pillow."
Connie raised an eyebrow. "You know, there's something I've noticed recently..."
"Yeah?" Steven glanced at her as Garnet put the now clean bowls inside.
Connie nodded. "Yeah..." she waited as Garnet sat back down. "Pearl's acting a lot more... casual, than she used to. I mean... Pearl usually doesn't say things like... gonna, wanna, lemme... that kinda thing."
The group went quiet and looked at Pearl.
"That's true." Garnet said quietly.
Amethyst glanced down. "Yeah... She's usually way more uptight than this. Pearl, what gives?"
Pearl shifted. "Goddess put me back the way I was when I left, including organs... I was sixteen. They gave me my teenaged brain back." she groaned. "So I don't particularly care about proper grammar and crap like that anymore..." she blushed. "I'm also been swearing way more than usual these last couple of days... But it's not like I do it in front of anyone." she half-shrugged as she sat back up.
Connie nodded. "Yeah, that does actually explain a lot."
"Pearl's a teenaged dirtbag." Amethyst laughed. "Stars, that's priceless!"
Steven grinned. "Pearl's not much older than me now."
Pearl groaned. "Only physically... Ugh... I'm still thousands of years old, Steven. I've just... been reset, in a way. As a Gem, I had no reason for a brain, it just slowed me down. I got rid of it pretty quick. So despite all the thousands of years I spent in your realm, my brain wasn't around to experience it, so it didn't grow and develop. And even if I did keep it around, it probably still wouldn't have changed much, because Gems don't mature like humans do. Which is why I still look exactly the same as I did when I left Hyrule. Having my brain back means that it's able to influence my behaviour again. Because it's hasn't changed since I was just a stupid sixteen-year-old, it's causing me to act like a sixteen-year-old again." she sighed. "So any moment now, I'll probably start staring at tits." she looked at Amethyst. "Nope, too late." she grinned.
Garnet and Connie burst out laughing as Steven and Amethyst blushed.
"Pearl!" Amethyst groaned, using one hand to cover Pearl's eyes. "You perv!"
Garnet snorted. "Bismuth used to call her the 'Pearlvert'." she smirked as they all glanced at her, Pearl blushing. "Cause she never minded getting a face-full of tit."
Pearl huffed. "It's not my fault that Rose and Bismuth were both huggers. And that they kept forgetting about the height difference. Or that I wasn't dumb enough to complain about it." she added with a grin.
Garnet chuckled. "That's fair."
Pearl stood up. "I love ta go swimmin' with bow legged wimmin..." she sang, breaking off to laugh.
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As Pearl adjusted the final strap, she nodded. "Okay, pretty sure I'm ready to go now." she glanced around. "So, what are you guys planning to do today?"
Connie nodded. "I'm going to try to find somewhere to clean our clothes. And maybe have a bath, or a shower... I'm starting to feel kinda gross here."
"Yeah, me too..." Steven nodded. He paused to sniff his shirt, scrunching up his face. "Ugh... I smell bad..."
Amethyst nodded. "I could use a wash."
"Me too." Garnet added.
Pearl paused. "There's something I'm forgetting... Hang on..."
As they waited, Pearl suddenly clapped. "That's it!" she looked around. "Uh, sorry. I found something the other day. But then I got injured, and was exhausted. Then yesterday, I had the fact that getting the sword was life-threatening, and the revelation that I'm a descendant of some ancient hero... This completely slipped my mind."
"As slippery as your mind is..." Garnet smirked.
Pearl rolled her eyes. "Cram it. I found a small hot spring. Not too far from here, actually."
Connie's eyes shone. "Pearl. You're not going anywhere until you show us where it is."
Pearl glanced down at her. "...That's fair. Come on then. It's already morning, we should be able to make it by sundown."
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Pearl lead them outside, and pointed towards the nearest tower. "It's just beyond and to the south of that tower. Umm... Wait." she pulled out the slate and checked the map. "Let's see... We might be able to reach it by walking... that way... set a beacon... Okay, follow me."
She led them across the flat ridge to the west of the house, sliding down into a narrow gully and up the other side. Pausing to check her map, she nodded and ran across the grassy field, the tower to their right. Pausing, she quickly fought off two Keese and a blue Chu. "Remember, don't try to reach this during the night, or there'll be Stals and giant swarms of Keese to deal with..." she added.
Spotting the Moblin on the path nearby, she hesitated. "This way..." she whispered, pointing to the right.
The group slowly walked along, going to the right of the small stone tunnel to avoid a Bokoblin.
Leading them through a narrow pass between the mountain ridges, Pearl turned and ran up the boulder strewn hillside.
"Okay, there's a bit of climbing here, but it should be too much trouble." she whispered. "But remember, there's a Moblin down there." she pointed. "So try to keep quiet."
Once they could walk normally again, Pearl lead them around the top of the rocky mountain-top towards a grass-covered part of the mountain. The goat ahead of them was suddenly startled, and three large blue blobs jumped from the ground. Pearl rolled her eyes. "Those are called Chus, by the way. They're not too much hassle, so even when they come back after the next blood moon, you should be able to easy deal with them."
Once the Chus were dispatched, Pearl lead them up the side of the small outcrop ahead. "There." she pointed. "That's the hot spring." she looked back towards Hateno Village. "There are a few monsters along the way, yes, but as long as you avoid the Moblins, and only come here during the day, it shouldn't be too much of a problem for you. And you have Connie's sword and her training of course."
The group followed her over and stared at the small steaming pool. Connie tested the water with a finger. "God, it's perfect..." she breathed.
Pearl nodded, reaching into her bag. "Okay, there's something I need to tell you first." she pulled out a handful of strange looking plants. "This is what, in my day, we called soapweed. It creates a lather when wet, and is excellent for cleaning. It can remove stains, without taking away the dye, and was a staple in every Hyrulean housewife's home. I managed to find some in my travels, but I kept forgetting why we needed it..." she blushed. "It's also usable on skin, and prepared properly, also makes a pretty decent toothpaste, without the minty fresh breath."
"Good, cause my teeth feel gross, and I forgot to bring any toothpaste..." Steven sighed.
Connie nodded. "Yeah, same here."
Amethyst grinned. "Aww, and you brought everything but the sink too..."
"To be fair, we didn't know we'd be stranded this long."
Pearl nodded. "However, I have to warn you. Amethyst... this is mostly for your sake. Don't eat it, swallow the foam or anything. It's great for cleaning, yes, but it's external use only. People have died being silly with this stuff. You're human now, so this will kill you if you try to eat it."
Amethyst paled, nodding. "Okay... I won't try it."
Pearl nodded. "Good. I have some time, so I can try to mix up some toothpaste for you. Here." she handed them each one of the plants. "Steven, Connie, if you have any mugs or cups in your bags, take them out now. Once the paste is ready, we'll be needing them to rinse and spit."
The two kids quickly rummage through their bags, Connie pulling out two mugs and Steven bringing out four. They passed them around quickly before returning and grabbing their own toothbrushes.
Pearl smiled. "Okay, fill the mugs up now, or the water will be soapy and dirty. Put them aside out of the way." she shrugged. "You may as well jump in fully dressed, get everything clean at once."
As Garnet settled into the water with a sigh, Amethyst jumped in with a whoop, splashing them.
Connie held the soapweed in the water, rubbing it gently with her fingers for a moment. "Wow... It really foams up..."
Steven rubbed the plant across his chest and under his arms, leaving a trailed of thick soapy bubbles behind. "Yeah, it smells good too."
As the group started to scrub, Pearl sat down on a rock and pulled out a few items. "We used to use this stuff all the time, when I was young. It was pretty much the most effective cleanser we had. I'd glad that it hasn't gone extinct." she pulled out a bowl and paused, rummaging through her bag for a moment before pulling out a wooden spear. "Well, I guess these will do for a mortar and pestle... I would have brought the one from the house, but it's used to prepared food, and you don't want any of this stuff getting mixed up with a meal." she started using the handle of the spear to grind the soapweed down in the bowl. "I can always toss this bowl, or mark it for soapweed preparation only."
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After a while, Pearl nodded. "Okay guys, toothpaste is ready. Everyone who didn't bring a toothbrush, get a bit on your finger. It's just as good; it's how we did it. Just remember, don't swallow the foam. Spit it over there or something." she pointed towards the side of the cliff before scooping up a bit of the paste for herself.
Steven and Connie darted out of the water and grabbed their mugs and toothbrushes. Eagerly, they dabbed a bit of the paste on them and started brushing. Garnet, Amethyst and Pearl did the same with their fingers, and the group fell silent for a moment as they brushed and watched the sunset.
After a few minutes, Steven sighed. "That feels much better."
"Dental hygiene yo." Amethyst nodded as Garnet gave a thumbs up.
Connie ran her tongue over her teeth. "That's a relief. My parents would explode if they knew I went three days without brushing..."
Pearl gargled and spat off the cliff, sighing as she washed her finger in the remaining water. "I'll try to keep an eye out for more soapweed. The paste that's leftover will keep fine for a while, so feel free to use it while I'm gone. But try to put it in a drawer when you get back to the house. It keeps better in the dark."
"You're not gonna have a wash?" Amethyst called.
Pearl stood. "I've been so waterlogged, and I keep getting caught in the rain or having to swim, so I haven't really had a chance to get dirty. So I don't actually need a wash yet." she shrugged. "Anyway, you can get back pretty much the same way we got here. Just watch out for those Moblins, and you'll be fine."
"Don't forget to come back to get us before you try to get that sword." Garnet said.
Pearl nodded. "Yes, yes, I know..." she rolled her eyes as she pulled out the slate. "Just get cleaned up, you stinky weirdos, and I'll try not to die today." she examined the map. "Hmm... I might go... there today. Yeah." Glancing up, she smiled. "Stay safe guys, and I'll see you tonight." she gave a quick wave before she vanished in a stream of blue light.