Carnelian watched the altercation play out, hoping it would end with everyone unharmed. The new Quartzes were probably still unused to their environment, and that usually meant conflict. She kept her focus on the Pearls, thinking about what she could play to complement their dancing.
Amethyst huffed a bit more, she surely would've liked to bounce the younger Quartz around a bit, Lavender Pearl thought. But her Mistress seemed to decide against pursuing a conflict and instead drags Lavender Pearl back to her position. The tall gem is gentle in comparison to usually and Lavender Pearl is glad for it. The dancing will be worry enough without being handled too roughly.
Gray Pearl stood at attention through all this. Standing behind Onyx, she could probably look without alerting her master, but it wasn't really worth the bother. Sounded like one of the new Quartzes was being ... young. That was fine. She'd either get away with it, or be reprimanded, but the Pearls weren't likely to be affected. No one really cared too much if a Pearl got scuffed up a bit. She knew Smoky Quartz was a bit of a firebrand - no pun intended, to be sure - but she also knew how vital Smoke Pearl was to her master's day-to-day affairs, so in all likelihood her Pearl would escape unscathed ... perhaps with a tongue-lashing for 'being in the way'. She had to carefully restrain her impulse to roll her eyes at the Lavender Pearl, though. Such lack of self-control. Inconsistent training, she suspected. Pearls were, after all, whatever their owners made of them. Onyx had huffed at the commotion, but hadn't made any moves. Gray was slightly surprised, to be honest. Usually Onyx was the first to get into a brawl. Clearly she was on her best behaviour tonight. She had to admit she was curious about one thing: from what she could hear, Smoke Pearl had smacked straight into another Gem. The clumsy recruit had apologized to two Gems. She'd heard Smoke speak, but not the other Gem - and if they were saying anything now, it was hidden in the growing chatter as the hall was beginning to fill near to bursting. If it had been a high-ranking Gem, there would have been far more of a commotion than just bumping into a Pearl. Everyone would roll their eyes at the new Quartz apologizing to a Pearl, and she'd be educated about that, but no one would give it a second thought. So who was it who wasn't talking? Very strange. There were at least two dozen Pearls in Gray's immediate field of vision. She wouldn't be surprised if there were a further two dozen in the crowd. While not every Pearl would be participating in the commemorative dance - some owners were notoriously snobby about allowing their Pearls out in the public arena - she expected at least three dozen would be. They wouldn't all fuse together, of course - the sheer size would be ridiculous - but it would certainly be a spectacle.
Almandine was late. And she hated being late--and of course, she blamed it purely on Rose Pearl, for not helping her to get ready fast enough, or something along those lines, even though Rose Pearl knew she hadn't been the one who'd taken an hour to fix their physical form up. No, that was Almandine, not that Rose Pearl was allowed to say anything about it. Well, strictly speaking, she could have said something--she simply knew better than to speak unless spoken to, and to do things she wasn't called upon by Almandine to do. Almandine huffed and forced her way through the crowd, leaving Rose Pearl to wince as she walked in her master's wake, quietly apologizing to each Gem her master had shoved aside. Almandine, typically refined and poised, could be very rude when late or when upset--and right now, she was both. She'd missed her chance to mingle with the Diamonds, and Rose Pearl knew that she would be getting a tongue-lashing for it later. Even though it wasn't her fault. Rose Pearl resisted the urge to sigh--sighing now could cause Almandine to become even angrier, with her Pearl showing 'unwanted behavior'. Sighing was apparently a sign of rebellion now. Or something like that. They arrived at the spot Almandine had spied from across the room at long last, and Rose Pearl heaved an inner sigh of relief, though outwardly no change was visible on her features--she was just glad she wouldn't have to apologize to any more Gems, and thankful that her master's high-ranking status as an aristocrat of White Diamond's court protected her from being yelled at by other Gems. They knew better than to touch a Pearl of an aristocratic Gem. Glancing around surreptitiously, Rose Pearl spied at least two dozen other Pearls, including some who appeared to have been part of a commotion they'd just missed. Well, that was lucky--Almandine hated commotion, and would likely have reprimanded all involved, whether her Pearl or not. In any case, Rose Pearl could see at least two dozen other Pearls, quite a few, although she knew not to be surprised--this was quite the event for high-ranking soldiers and other high-ranking members of the Diamonds' courts, and quite a few people here had Pearls. Several of these Pearls, she knew, would be forced to dance and fuse together at the end of the night--something Rose Pearl honestly wished she could be a part of. She longed to fuse with another Pearl, to be bigger than their masters for just a few moments, with the actual power to do something that wasn't just stand around and look pretty, or dance for the amusement of others. Not that the fusion wasn't for the amusement of every high-ranking Gem here, but....well, part of Rose Pearl had always longed to experience fusion, whether at the will of others or not. Naturally, the only way for a Pearl to get that sort of wish granted was to be part of a forced fusion of other Pearls--no one but a Pearl would dare fuse with another Pearl, and no Pearl would ever fuse except at the behest of their master or another high-ranking Gem. Shaking herself slightly to distract herself from these thoughts, Rose Pearl assumed her position behind Almandine--Almandine was short, and Rose Pearl tall in comparison, and Almandine hated being overshadowed by her Pearl, so Rose Pearl was supposed to stand next to but slightly behind Almandine, so that it was very clear who was in charge here. Not that anyone would have ever doubted it was Almandine--one look at Rose Pearl and they knew what she was, and a Pearl could never be in charge of anything. Rose Pearl lifted her head slightly to catch the light, forcing herself to look as pretty and graceful as possible--after all, that was her purpose, to look pretty and graceful and make Almandine look good for having a pretty ornament with her. Diamonds, but she hated this.
Just across the room was a very pretty pink Pearl. Lavender Pearl caught her eye and winked, friendly. Hey there! Let's have fun dancing together! her eyes seemed to say.
While Smoky Quartz was distracted, Smoke took the opportunity to scope out who, exactly, she might be dancing with. Nearby, she saw a Lavender Pearl, who seemed excitable (might have to dance slighter faster to keep up?), a Gray Pearl (seemed calm and reasonable enough, shouldn't be a problem), and a pair standing together near a Spinel (really? two Pearls? She doubted they would end up dancing with anyone but each other, if they danced at all.) As she looked around, a slight commotion started up in the back. Someone was late, and apparently very upset by it. When Smoky Quartz turned to see what it was, Smoke did too. The new arrivals were an Almandine and a very tall Pink Pearl. Smoke briefly contemplated how a dance with her would go (she'd have to stretch, probably) and nodded her head at her, almost unnoticeably. It wouldn't do to be too animated, of course.
Tektite smiled up at Citrine, genuinely relieved. "Thanks!" she said. "I probably shouldn't actually be here, I'm just a Tektite and I wasn't invited, but I hope that's okay?" And then she realized what she'd said. Well, shit. Curse her lack of a filter.
Rose Pearl glanced around for a moment and noticed a Lavender Pearl winking at her in a friendly manner. She hesitated, then smiled at the other Pearl--friendly, but not suggesting anything beyond that. After all, it wouldn't do to suggest they'd be dancing together when they wouldn't be. Rose Pearl was about to resume her position, eyes forward, when she noted a Smoke Pearl nodding at her. She paused, glanced at Almandine, and then nodded back very briefly. Unfortunately, this nod was noticed by Almandine. "Eyes forward!" Almandine hissed. How would it look to the others if she couldn't even control her Pearl? Rose sighed inwardly and then clasped her hands in front of her, facing forward. But when she was certain Almandine wasn't looking again, she glanced briefly back at the Lavender Pearl and Smoke Pearl. They would probably both be dancing....oh, how she wished she could join them.
Smoke winced when she saw the other Pearl get reprimanded. She hoped that she hadn't gotten her in trouble. It would figure, wouldn't it. Deviate from the schedule in the tiniest of ways and ruin someone else's night.
Lavender inwardly winced with sympathy, though she couldn't let it show on her face. Poor Rose Pearl! Hopefully she'd get to apologize properly once they were dancing.
Smoke hoped that she'd get to interact with Rose Pearl later on, to apologize for getting her in trouble. Right now, it seemed like Smoky Quartz was moving towards the Amethyst and Lavender Pearl. Following at her side, Smoke tried to catch the other Pearl's eye.
Lavender smiled a bit because that is what you do when you meet new people. Was she going to dance with Smoke Pearl? How exciting! And scary, the other Pearl always looked so serious and proper... "Well, Smoky, No need to thank me for helping with that upstart pebble", Amethyst growled, grinning at the Quartz. Lavender herself said an almost inaudible "meep", at the volume of her Mistress' voice.
Not every arrival had a Pearl trailing behind them, of course, but enough did that it was almost enough to make Spinel stick out. Almost, because Spinel prided herself on not sticking out too much anywhere, even here on homeworld, and she was small enough to mostly escape notice in the crowd of Quartzes. She was mostly here to watch, and so far, even watching wasn't interesting. Aside from one of the new Quartz tripping into a Pearl, nothing noteworthy had happened. Quartzes, Quartzes, Pearls, a small scattering of lesser gems, another Spinel, and of course the usual degree of Beryls and Sapphires clustered around the Diamond, hoping for a chance at Her attention. Their Pearls would be much more used to dancing and fusing together than would those of the Quartzes who were rarely off the front lines, at least, so they would probably be the finale. It was much easier to be cynical about the constant cycle of homeworld and the military when you had somewhere else to go, if you didn't manage to get caught as a spy and shattered before you got there. Skirt brushing the back of her knees, Spinel ducked under the arm of yet another Quartz (who didn't even notice the tiny infiltrator) and walked over to crouch down between the musicians and the dance floor. She'd discovered a long time ago that it was the only way a small gem like herself had any hope of actually seeing the dance. As long as she didn't block anyone's view, no one really cared, but being too close to the Quartzes when they got excited tended to result in "innocent" poofing from being stepped on. Few Quartz liked the idea of being out-ranked by someone so small, even a Spinel. She wondered if they would make any of the Pearls sing - it was doubtful, at a new commissioning, that was usually reserved for promotions - and tried not to envy them too badly.
Smoke nodded in return to Lavender's smile. She seemed nice, if a bit energetic. It would require speeding up, but dancing with her wouldn't be terrible. "I could have handled it, but it was nice to not have to. It would have been a waste of time," Smoky Quartz said. She continued with some grumbling about improperly trained and incompetent upstarts. Smoke wished that the two would keep their voices lower. Lavender seemed uncomfortable, and she couldn't blame her.
Carnelian spotted the small red Gem as she made her way towards the little group of musicians. She was confused when the other Gem stopped in front of them, crouching down so as to be out of the way. It was nice of her, but she wasn't sure what her intentions were. Nervously, she reached out and brushed the arm of the the-Spinel, maybe?-her touch light. "Oh! Are you, uh, here to join us?"
Spinel looked up, her hair just barely falling into her eyes as she watched the Carnelian - one of the musicians, from the look of her. "No," she said. "This is just a better view than over there - " She wasn't so rude as to gesture at the Quartzes on the other side of the dancing area, but there's an incline of her head in that direction. " - When you barely come up to a Quartz's waist."
"Well, Sure. But my little Pearl was freaking out. I like them delicate but, Stars, does that make them whiny. Anyway, How's it going, Smoky?" Amethyst chattered away, not paying much attention to Lavender who had allowed herself a bit of a more relaxed posture. The willowy purple gem waved the tiniest bit at Smoke. "Hi!" she mouthed, making no sound.
Rita pointed quickly towards another Spinel she noticed. "Ma'am. You look amazing with two of us while another Spinel has none." Rita hoped the flattery would do well as she continued to try and fail to pacify Maggi by giving her a small toy to play with. "Of course", Pink Spinel replied nonchalantly to the green pearl, "Follow me pet, its time to show you off." Rita nodded and held her hands behind her back so she could squeeze and twitch them without it being too noticeable. Sure she was sure her owner wouldn't crack her for the defaults she was sold with, but she wouldn't hold it past Pink Spinel to poof both her and Maggi to show off her strength at the party.
That almost made Spinel smile, both her loyalties in agreement. It was good that a musical gem took pride in her function, and good that she enjoyed it. She nodded her head. "Though hearing is hardly the point, with so many Pearls gathered up. The music is just their dressing." It's a little harsh, but she sounds almost sad about it. The music, to her, at least seems to be the superior entertainment.
