Steven groaned. "Could we take a break? We've been walking forever." He than added dramatically, "If we don't stop I don't think I could go on much longer.."
Connie turned to look at Steven. He did look tired, and they had been walking for a while...
"Okay, we can rest for a little." she finally decided.
Lion stopped and Steven cheered in joy. The half gem half human leaned against a stone wall and fell asleep. Connie looked at the boy. He could handle all this magic stuff so effortlessly; while she was already nervous. She then turned to Lion, who sat next to Steven in a protective way. After a few minutes of thinking she sat next to them and it was her turn to close her eyes.
•••
"Connie! Connie! Connie!"
Connie jolted awake to meet a worried Steven yelling her name. "What-" she started but Steven cut her off. "There's a gem monster! Lion's fighting it off, but I think we should help him." he looked at Lion, who was in fact fighting a magical gem creature that looked similar to a giant spider. "I don't think it has a gem, so there could be more!" he added.
Connie blinked twice, as if it would help her adapt to the situation, then unsheathed her sword. "Charge!" she yelled, running towards the gem spider, Steven right behind her.
The sword fighter made the first move, slicing one of the creature's legs off. It was already weak from fighting Lion, and it seemed that it couldn't take much more damage. She struck it a few more times, dodging when it tried to attack, and that, along with Steven's help and Lion's roars, was enough make it poof.
Connie then leaned against a wall, panting. She placed her sword back into it's scabbard. Steven walked over to her. "Connie? Are you alright?" he asked her quietly. She nodded, took a few more deep breaths, than walked up to him. "That was really cool! I can't wait to get to the boss!" she stated, brimming with joy. Whatever Steven had expected her to say, it wasn't that. "Then onwards!" he shouted, and they continued to follow Lion.
•••
They had encountered many more gem spiders, though most of them weren't very hard to poof. Still, it was exciting for Steven and Connie. They felt proud of the fact that they could protect each other without the other gems' help.
Lion suddenly stopped. "I think he found something!" Steven shouted. He stopped where Lion stopped to see what the pink goofball was looking at.
Lion had stopped walking near the entrance of a room. It was too dark to see inside, but Steven was sure that the spider monster with a gem was somewhere in the darkness. He looked at Connie. She grabbed the handle of her sword.
The half gem, pink lion, and young girl cautiously walked in. Torches suddenly lit up, illuminating the room. In the center was a large gem spider, the gem located on it's back. The creature had many eyes and legs, and most of it was a dark shade of blue.
It screeched and ran towards the three.