Melo blushes a bit, glad Lav couldn't see it since she was sitting behind her. She then (sheepishly, but kinda excited) says "Sure.. I guess I don't really have a safety belt, so arms can work fine." She giggles a bit.
Gold, who'd already strapped herself into one of the seats earlier and hadn't bothered getting up to get a disguise, as she wasn't going in anywhere, frowned at the other two Pearls. Such indecency! ...well, that's what Amber would say, she thought with a sigh.
Lavender giggled as well, putting her arms around Melo. She caught Gold's frown and tried to smile encouragingly. This was... nice! Gold should also be part of the nice things! If she wanted to that is.
Spinel opts not to take a seat, instead latching a hand around one of the handles beside the door. As long as no one else is in the area, she's small enough that she can dangle pretty safely there even if the ship throws her around. She probably won't come loose; she's been through worse. "Just keep a good grip on each other, you two," she says to the pearls snuggling up with each other.
Citrine made a face when Tourmaline suddenly kicked them out on their collective butts, but Hematite only shook her head and they followed the Pearls out back to the stolen stealth vessel. She was about to go in when she noticed her - friend seemed too small now, after Iron Pyrite - was hanging back, held by Wrist Gem. The other Hematite looked more serious and stoic than ever, hand unmoving from Head Gem's arm. "You go, Citrine. We will stay." Head Gem bared her teeth, a rare show of temper, and tried to yank her arm from her twin's grip. "Let go!" "No. We must talk." Wrist Gem stared at her, one of the speaking glances that only those who had fused for decades could achieve. "Stay." Head Gem sucked air in through her teeth, then yanked harder. Startled, Wrist Gem finally slipped and Head Gem pulled free, glaring. "You may be all too much of a coward to see the world as it is, not how it was, but we are not the same." Wrist Gem stepped back as though she had been slapped, expression shocked and raw. Head Gem - Hematite, Citrine's Hematite, the only one that mattered now - turned away, and took Citrine by the upper arm, leading her into the ship. "Come. The Pearls will need some extra muscle." The young quartz stared back over her shoulder, where the other Hematite was still standing on the tarmac like nothing more than stone. "But-" "We. Are. Going." Citrine blinked at the diamond in her voice, then gulped and nodded. A Quartz and a Hematite barely fit in the narrow space of the entryway, but they had fit before and they would again.
Lavender watched Hematite and Citrine enter with anxious frown. "U-uh d-did you argue?" she asked, voice tiny, cuddling Melo closer. It was just in case the lift-off was especially turbulent, she told herself, not because she felt safer with someone else right there. Arguments were bad news.
Melo saw the Quartz and the Hematite squish through the entrance, and noticed the anger in the hematite's face. When Lav cuddled her closer she grabbed one of her hands, to try and reassure her. Of all the people to get mad, it just had to be the strong ones with fighting experience, didn't it?
Citrine felt a spike of anger at Lavender and Melo's flinching, but it was all directed at Hematite, for making them worry - and a little at herself, for forming Iron Pyrite and that rift in the first place. She gave the Pearls one of her big, reassuring smiles. "It's alright, guys, don't worry! The Hematites just needed to get some stuff out before they decided to split up, is all. Nothing anyone else has done, okay?" She tried to project as much 'what, me? I'm not a Quartz, I'm a marshmellow' vibes as she could while still being broad-shouldered and well, herself. Behind her, Hematite's fury was quickly quenched behind her usual mask of stolid peace.
"O-oh. Uh. I hope she will be alright?" Lavender offered, unsure. She tried to smile back at Citrine but ehr smile was wobbly at best.
"We- I will be fine," Hematite said, and smiled at Lavender. It was small, and equally as unsure as the Pearl's, but it was genuine enough. "You have nothing to worry about. I am sorry we concerned you so."
"A-ah!" Lavender gasped and buried her face in Melo's hair to hide. After a few seconds she sneaks a look at Hematite. "N-no need to apologize..." he mumbles.
Melo smiled back a bit at Hematite, and relaxed her hand a bit in Lavender's.. and then lavender gasped and buried her face in Melo's hair. Melo jumped a bit, but relaxed soon enough.
Spinel raises her eyebrows at the argument between the two Hematites, but doesn't say anything to it. "Just get yourselves secure," she says to the two large gems. "And probably low to the ground near the center of the ship, if possible. You'll put us offbalance if not."
"Yes please," Gray chimes in over the intercom. "Actually, if Hematite could stand right smack dab in the middle of the ship," - a particular strip of emergency lighting flashes, indicating exactly where Gray means - "and if Citrine could stand just in front of her, then I'd be a very happy Pearl." The ship thrums loudly under their feet, and the floor seems to swim lightly beneath them: the landing gear have disengaged, and they are floating. Gray worries at her lip. She's been tracking the defense forces ever since she strapped in, and they're getting close. Melon has mercifully thrown up some sort of jamming signal, and so the squads are criss-crossing the area to find them visually. Gray has already initialised the stealth systems, but they're chancy so close to the ground, and the ship barely got any downtime before starting up again. She's already humming nervously in her head, calculating weight distribution and fuel ratios and just how precisely she's going to be able to turn this thing with seven-- no, eight Pearls, Baroque still wasn't in - and six other Gems (presuming Opal came along and didn't try to hide or bluff her way out of trouble), one of whom was so massive she could have been a fusion on her own. Come on, she thinks, we're still missing three and I don't want to leave anyone behind...
Tektite was still confused, cradling Baroque's gem in her hands. Stars, did she wish she knew how to bubble gems--it would make this so much easier. What was even going on? Shit, now was not the time for questions. She hustled onto the ship, careful not to drop Baroque, and curled up against the wall, feeling terribly overwhelmed. Why did the ship have to be so damn small?
"S-sorry about this... a-ah what was your designation again?" Lavender mumbled at the small green gem, trying to be gentle. "D-do you want to give us that Pearl? You don't have to h-hold onto her?" she offers again, though she isn't sure how to take the Pearl herself, her hands full of Melo already. And she is unwilling to un-hug the other for mroe reasons than just flight security.
Tektite pulled up her screen and typed, holdig the Pearl in one hand while she poked at the screen with the other. "MY DESIGNATION IS TEKTITE FACET 3X5Y CUT 4IE." She paused for a bit, adding, "THAT WOULD BE GOOD YES."
"Tektite. Got it." Lavender tried smiling gently. "U-uh I kinda have my hands full... Melo? C-citrine? A-anyone?" she asks, kinda helpless and looks around.
Melo, hearing Lav and the Tektite's conversation, offered her hands out for Tektite to put the gem in. She also didnt know how to bubble gems, but she could try keeping it safe while Lav stopped her from tumbling around.
Tektite handed the gem over to Melo. "Thanks," she managed to stammer, still overwhelmed but deeply grateful. She didn't want to break poor Baroque--well, not break her more, she supposed. She couldn't wrap her head around how Coral had commissioned her...it just seemed mindlessly cruel.
