Steven sleeps much better this night. Yellow Diamond arranged for some bedding to be brought in by the pearl he'd met earlier; although it was only a pile of blankets, it was a large enough quantity that he could pile some and lay on them, with one blanket each left over for wrapping himself in and using as a pillow. He was still worried about saying something he wasn't supposed to, but the kind slender gem was familiar, and Steven was lonely, so he asked the pearl where she found them.
As it turned out, blankets weren't as rare a commodity as he'd assumed, based off Jasper's ignorance and Peridot's failure to get him any. The pearl called them thermal regulator cloths- which was just an overdone and silly thing to say, in his opinion- and said they're used often enough for comfort in her court.
Steven asked her name, next, wondering if she had any details like Peridot's cut and facet ID. She told him she was "a pearl, belonging to Beryl Facet 34F, Cut 7XY." Steven didn't like that answer very much.
He knew he couldn't say anything, in case it bothered Yellow Diamond, so he allowed her to leave, thanking her very much for his thermal regulator cloths.
Steven wakes slowly, stretching out among the blankets. He rubs sleepily at his eyes, turning to check if it's the same guard watching him, and flinching back in surprise at the new gem gazing curiously through the bars.
She flinches too, startled by his reaction. The gem, sitting crisscross on the floor, collects herself and smiles. It's not a reassuring gesture. Her smile is a little disconcerting, stretching out further on one side than the other, and not quite reaching her eyes. Her mouth is also filled with markedly sharp yellow teeth, which fit together perfectly, top and bottom rows slotting between each other instead of overlapping like his teeth do.
Her gem sits on her head, embedded in her right temple, and is a cloudy white. Her skin is vaguely translucent, making her veins a much more visible blue-green.
"Hello,"
"Hi," Steven says, sending a smile back.
She seems delighted by this, and this time, her eyes crinkle, making the expression seem more genuine. She marks something down on her screen, which hovers at an angle above her lap.
"Sleeping, were you?" she asks, finger sitting over the screen in a way that makes him thinks it's not just a conversation starter.
He nods, and she types once more.
"Uhm, who are you?" Steven asks, tentatively.
"Spodumene," she tells him, "well, one spodumene. I understand you live with no duplicate gems?"
"Yes..." Steven says, "my friends are all different kinds. I'm- I'm not supposed to talk to strangers. I'm not sure what I am allowed to say to you."
"Oh, don't worry about that," Spodumene tells him, "I have Diamond clearance to be here. I'm assigned to study the hybrid."
"Hybrid?"
"You, of course," she says, clacking her sharp teeth together in another smirk.
"Oh."
"I've brought food!" She tells him, pulling a box from behind her, "They still contain the nutrients provided by Peridot F5's files, but experimented with a little. If you feel in danger during digestion, remove them from your system into the waste area they provided you with and let me know what felt off, ok?"
Steven eyes the food warily, shooting the same look to the gem before him. She doesn't seem to notice- or care, if she does- waiting expectantly for him to take a bite.
...
Pearl's unenthused about following Yellow Diamond's orders, but she'll admit she does feel better cleaned up. She feels more like her usual self, and Pearl hopes it will bring strength with it that she's been lacking since that night the ship landed.
Pearl's disappointed to find that Steven isn't in the room when she warps onto the satellite. She supposes the threat of hurting him is enough.
"You look nice," Yellow Diamond complements, pleased that Pearl has followed orders.
"Thank you," Pearl plays along, "may I please ask where Steven is?"
"He's at his cell. I've given him bedding," she says, waving her hand upwards, "he's being given food, too, watched by my best spodumene."
"Spodumene?!" Pearl repeats, dropping her polite facade.
"She's just testing a few claims you made in regards to his biological system," Yellow Diamond says, ignoring Pearl's tone, for now, "you may have met- she's a veteran of the war on earth as well."
Pearl struggles to not let her worry show too heavily. She never never met any spodumenes during the war, but she's heard of this one. They wouldn't have met, unless Pearl had been one of the unlucky gems to end up back in Homeworld's clutches. Spodumenes weren't for fighting, and unlike the Crystal Gems, the Homeworld gems stayed within their designated roles.
"She- she's not going to hurt him, is she?"
"You think so poorly of my gems?" Yellow Diamond asks, "she's not malicious. Her job is to study the hybrid, not to hurt him."
"Will studying Steven hurt him?"
"I'm unsure. It's less likely to if you were truthful."
Pearl lets out a shaky breath. She was mostly truthful. If anything, she exaggerated his fragility, which means they're less likely to do anything that could get him killed.
It's clear enough they want to know if they can bring Rose Quartz back. Pearl spoke honestly- that she did not know if it was possible. Removing his gem could kill him and not bring her back, for all they knew. Gems take things slowly, unlike humans; they live a long time. Pearl knows Yellow Diamond isn't going to rush into anything. If she'll ever see Rose again, she'll know she has time to do that. For now, she'll keep Steven alive.
"You did well, during our last session," Yellow Diamond says, "hopefully, you'll continue to cooperate, so we don't have to mess up that pretty face of yours again- or the face of the hybrid."
Pearl scowls.
"You always were exceedingly loyal to Rose Quartz- it seems that's true in any form she takes," Yellow Diamond laughs, "though you don't speak to him as though he's your leader- did that title pass to you, Rose's second in command?"
"It was Garnet," Pearl says, touching her gem gently with two fingers, a show of respect for the fallen.
"The fusion?" Yellow Diamond laughs; Pearl sees red, "You really were a motley crew, weren't you? It's interesting that only the most defective of defects survived on your end. The stunted Amethyst should have been in charge, if anyone. I hear she's doing well with one of my senior Amethysts."
Pearl keeps her expression neutral, but she's relieved to hear that Amethyst is not only alive, but that Yellow Diamond thinks she's cooperating.
Pearl knows Amethyst. She's too stubborn to even listen to people she likes , most of the time. At least she's playing it smart- Pearl was half expecting her to have already been shattered for her insolence.
"It's not like she has any use to my team physically, as weak as she is, but she's now started providing us with information," Yellow Diamond brags, "and we didn't even need to harm her, or the hybrid. She's talking all on her own."
Pearl listens, frowning. Yellow Diamond takes it as a sign that she believes her, and continues.
"She's told us that Steven's half human- the offspring of one she knows. Rose apparently liked a lot of humans," she says, "she's also mentioned being subordinate to you- a pearl- and the fusion. She's told us, in detail, about some of the artifacts you collect. The Shooting Star, the Hourglass, the Cross. You've been gathering supplies, to make another go at us, hoping to build your army but failing to fix any of the corrupted gems that you keep in Stasis..."
Pearl lets her reaction show on her face, this time- a displeased expression. Most of this is true, but Amethyst knows Pearl never wanted to have to battle again. It's definitely a play to get them on her side, but Pearl's unsure why. It could just be that Amethyst knows it's hopeless to fight, a truth Pearl has trouble accepting, but it could be that she's got something else planned.
Amethyst has heard a little about Homeworld's ruthlessness, but Pearl now wishes she'd told her more. She suspects Amethyst's reasoning is the latter, but for her friend's sake, Pearl almost hopes she's just betraying them.
It won't go well for her if she tries anything.
"Why don't you tell me now," Yellow Diamond says, straightening in her chair, "about what you and Rose did with my Betas."