Today Wulfenite awoke to silence.
She was used to waking up at regular intervals, sleeping at the same time and generally having a routine for her rest, and so she decided that there had to be a reason that she was awake at 1AM in the morning.
She got up and quietly shifted to her wolf form, stalking out the door as silently as she could, glancing back at Denver only once before trotting down the stairs quietly and shapeshifting into a small cat. She balanced precariously on a beam above the shop's public area, peering down at the place in mild curiosity.
In the window was someone who appeared to be Emma, but was the wrong colour. Her skin was a pale white, and her hair, instead of being the colour of ripened wheat, was instead as black as midnight. Wulfenite found that the expression on her face seemed strangely adult, as if hardened by experience.
Just then, Denver hammered down the stairs and laid eyes on this strange not-Emma, his eyes going wide. He opened the door, and she stumbled in, collapsing onto her knees.
"Emma?" he asked cautiously, his face twisted in confusion and concern. "What happened to you?"
"I..." her voice was odd, raspy, as if she were faking a cold to mask her voice. "...don't know what happened. Help..." she drew in a shaky breath and pulled herself in close, rocking quietly back and forth.
Wulfenite peered down at her, and with a start she noticed the Pearl on her navel that was quickly hidden beneath her shirt.
A gem. A hurt gem, too. I bet she came here looking for me.
Wulfenite hopped down from the roof and landed in front of the not-Emma, her eyes staring into hers for a few moments.
"..." The not-Emma declined to comment, and Denver patted her back gently.
"It's Wolfie, she just shapeshifted," Denver explained, and the not-Emma nodded mutely. With a shaky hand she reached out, and Wulfenite stepped forward and laid a paw on not-Emma's stomach, making her snap back as if stung.
"Emma?" Denver frowned. "This isn't like you. Are you sure you should even be up and about? Why didn't you just call me?" He looked at Wulfenite, who shook her head.
"Hello, Pearl," Wulfenite said calmly. "You are among peaceful gems and humans. I highly advise dropping your transformation."
With wide eyes, not-Emma gulped and turned to Denver, who had backed away a step. She sighed and let a brief flash of light envelop her - and there sat a Pearl.
The Pearl.
Her eyes seemed a lifeless, her limbs even thinner than usual, her petite frame frail and fragile compared to the pure power she pulsed so many years ago. Regardless, it was her, and Wulfenite was paralyzed briefly from the realization.
"Please help me," she begged, her voice still raspy, but distinctly musical; Wulfenite nodded numbly, and with a brief flash she was back to her base.
"The Wulfenite," she said quietly, letting Wulfenite inspect her gem. It was common knowledge that in an emergency Wulfenites were natural doctors; it simply wasn't efficient, however, to heal gems, and so the ability was never used save for on dreadfully important gems.
Wulfenite paused. "You've fractured your L-Y1 holographic visualiser, which explains the glassy eyes," she nodded. "It's a common one. The bigger fracture along from north to southeast is hedging on your colour output from output 2X6 to 3Y2, but otherwise you're just feeling weak from holding up a projection from a broken gem." She nodded numbly. "You have two options; allow us to keep you here, where I can work slowly on helping your gem regenerate on its own until it can replace the missing sections, or allow us to see if we can find the legendary Rose's Fountain. It's up to you which one we try."
"You really think Rose's Fountain exists?" She murmured, gripping Wulfenite's arm for support.
Wulfenite nodded. "It's your best bet if you don't want to be regenerating for at least a year."
She shivered at the thought of waiting so long, and replied, "Rose's Fountain it is... but can I go home first?"
Wulfenite nodded. "Denver? Head back to bed. I'll take care of this." Denver was about to protest, but Wulfenite interjected, "If I'm not back by sunrise, find Emma and go looking for the Fountain with statues of a curly-haired woman." He nodded numbly and walked up the stairs, sparing them one last glance before going back into his room.
Wulfenite silently helped the Pearl to her feet, hooking an arm under hers so that she could lean onn Wulfenite's shoulder for support. She walked outside and into the open air, allowing the Pearl to steer them in the right direction. After a few minutes, the Pearl said quietly, "You're the Wulfenite."
"I don't know about the Wulfenite," Wulfenite chuckled, "but I definitely am a Wulfenite. You can call me Wolfie."
"Wolfie," she repeated, pausing for a moment to rest her pained limbs. "Wolfie." She played with the word a bit, rolling it around, and nodded. "Thank you, Wolfie."
Wulfenite hummed a non-commital answer as she shifted to help the Pearl regain her balance. "Do you have a name?" Wulfenite asked suddenly, shifting her curiosity to the rebel.
"D-Desdemona," she replied quietly.
"Desdemona," she parroted back, confirming she got it right. "It's a beautiful name."
Desdemona merely blushed lightly at the praise as they walked, and with a slight tug she pulled Wulfenite towards some apartments.
"Emma lives here," Wulfenite commented idly, briefly getting distracted. She shrugged and held the door open for the Pearl, who dipped her head in passing and hopped her way up the stairs carefully, Wulfenite right behind her. They reached the third floor hallway, and she turned to the second door on the left, gently touching the doorbell and putting one hand on the wall for support.
The door was flung open abruptly, and out stepped a Sunstone. His clear amber eyes darted between them, and then snapped back suddenly to lock fearfully onto Wulfenite's bulky frame.
"Ah...Ah..." She mouthed something quickly, then hardened. Summoning her knives from her sleeves, she cried, "Let her go!"
"It's fine," Desdemona murmured, patting the Sunstone's shoulder gently. "She won't hurt us. I'm sorry, Wulfenite, but he gets like this sometimes."
Wulfenite nodded numbly, glancing between them. "Right. It's okay." She watched Sunstone with a spark of curiosity as she began to lecture the Pearl in the middle of the hallway, simultaneously sending worried glances at her gem. Her body, instead of having the Peridot-esque uniforms she was used to seeing, was marked in swirls and dots all over, the dots being particularly dense and noticeable around her nose. Her gem was located in her left hand, and she hissed when Desdemona patted it gently.
"Calm down, Sunny, Wulfenite helped me." She looked up at Wulfenite with a glowing set of eyes which sent a nostalgic pang through Wulfenite's gem. She smiled back helplessly, unsure how to react.
"You sure this gem's okay?" Sunstone hissed maliciously, gripping Pearl's hand tightly. Wulfenite sighed and let Desdemona do the talking.
"Yes, Sunny," Desdemona groaned. "Geez, you've got to learn to trust people."
"My reasons are legitimate though!" Sunstone refuted. "She's the one who told the Diamond Authority about the mission! It's why the war ended ambiguously!" She cried, sending a glare in Wulfenite's direction.
"I've never even met any of the Diamond Authority," Wulfenite said honestly. "I was neutral during the war."
"See?" Desdemona said pointedly, eliciting a few rejected grumbles from Sunstone. "Come on in, Wolfie. You can tell Sunny here about everything that's happened." Wulfenite nodded, following the Pearl into the small living space and pacing up next to her.
"Say," Wulfenite whispered into Desdemona's ear, "is she always like that?"
"He," Desdemona corrected, "and yes. He is." She shrugged. "The moment he warms up to you he'll be going all over-protective mode on you, trust me. He's a good gem, really." Desdemona patted a seat gently and then sat down delicately across from Wulfenite. Sunstone finally closed the door and stormed over, sitting down next to Desdemona with an audible thump.
"Sunny, stop sulking," Desdemona said curtly, and this made Sunstone's sunny attitude become even better. He turned away and fumed in the corner of the sofa.
Desdemona sighed in exasperation and gave up. "So... how are we going about finding Rose's Fountain?"
Sunstone jolted upright, peering at Wulfenite with intense curiosity, and she replied, "I... know of a gem who has the skills needed for some decent reconnaissance. Otherwise, we're stuck searching and following rumours." Wulfenite shrugged. "I wasn't a member of the rebellion officially... I merely did not align with Homeworld."
Sunstone frowned and returned to giving Wulfenite mistrustful glances. Desdemona took the news better. "Anything you can do to help me heal I would be thankful for forever."
"It's best to get you better as soon as possible," Wulfenite agreed. "but I've got to head back to Denver. The search will begin tomorrow. Until then, I've heard that there are some flowers made by Rose herself somewhere in town. Keep an eye out for them, I'm sure a tea made from them would work a bit."
They lapsed into silence, but soon were saying goodbyes when Wulfenite realized the time.
She'd have to continue her search tomorrow.
A/N: I'm not very happy with this chapter, but oh well. You guys deserve something after my silence.
My education's gone awry, so updates will be very slow. I'm sorry...