Citrine noticed the little Tektite around the same time as the Pearls, and broke out into a broad grin. "Hey, you made it!" She bent down a little, so she wasn't looming quite so much - behind her, Hematite left her to her excitement and moved into the centre of the ship where Gray Pearl indicated - and gestured to the Pearl held in Melo's hands. "I could bubble your friend, if you want? It means they might not be able to come back when they want to, though. Maybe you could just put her in a bag or something, if you've got one?" This last was directed at Melo, who she asked with a gentle and friendly tone.
Tektite grinned at Citrine--she had always seemed nice. "Yeah!" she said. "I'm here." She looked down at her own feet for a moment before looking back up at Citrine. "It's crowded, though. Too many Gems."
"Oh! Yeah, maybe you could find a bag in the back room with all the costume stuff. I'm sure there's one somewhere in there, and someone can keep it safe while we do the missions." Melo smiled a bit at Citrine and Tektite. She liked these two.
Lavender smiles happily. She's so glad all the gems she's with are smart and nice and have good ideas! "D-do you think she will reforms soon? I h-hope she isn't too scared." she asks.
"She'll reform when she's ready," Gold replied, adding under her breath, "although if I were her, I'd be terrified." She failed to realize the others could probably hear her.
Lavender's head snapped up, eyebrows drawn together, her lower lip trembling. She looked at Gold, hurt. "W-why do you always say such mean things?" she gets out, voice with that special pitch Amethyst liked to call 'Kicked Whiny Pebble'.
Gold looked at Lavender for a moment, considering, before sighing. "I....sorry." Then she looked away and pulled her legs up to her chest, hugging herself. She honestly wasn't sure why she said what she said, but...it was true! If she was Baroque, she'd be scared out of her wits! Surrounded by strange Gems with your owner gone....it was scary!
"W-we don't want to hurt anyone..." Lavender mumbled and looked away. It was probably unfair of her. Gold didn't really want to be here after all. And she was in danger, too, now. Everything was such a mess!
Gold sighed. "I know you don't." And that was all she said. After all, Lavender and Rose and Melo didn't seem like the types to hurt anyone...but the Hematite? Citrine? How was she supposed to trust the higher-up Gems, who were more prone to wanting to hurt people anyway, and how was she supposed to trust the Gem who'd crushed Amber, or the ones who'd taken her with them?
Melo hugs Lav a bit tighter. "Maybe whoever rescued the pearl should keep the bag with them then, so she can at least see someone more familiar when she reforms." Melo looked at Gold, remembering how scared she was when they first found her. Maybe she could try to sympathize with Gold about that... "Y'know, I was accidentally pulled into this too...I guess I've kinda merged into the group pretty quickly, but...I started out hostile believe it or not, and no-one tried fighting me, even though I gave them more than one chance." Melo paused unsure, and shrunk back into Lavender a bit more. "I know it wont be the exact same for you.. but... try to believe that we're not going to hurt you." She grabs Lavender's hand again for comfort, as that was really hard, and she really hoped she hadn't messed it up. ((OOC: "this pearl" baroque))
Gold looked at Melo. "...I know you won't hurt me. Or Lavender. Or Rose. Or Gray. Or...well, any of the other Pearls here, I guess. But..." She trailed off, and looked away. She was scared of Hematite and Citrine, if she was being honest, and she was still somewhat scared in general, and she didn't even want to be here. As much as it was nice to know that she could at least be useful at some point with some of her knowledge, she wished she was safe, at home, with Amber. Sure, Amber never treated her all that well, and yes, Amber had told her time and time again that she was useless and stupid and had never even let her do anything or tried to train her, but at least at home she knew what to expect....right?
"I j-just want no one to be hurt anymore. I-i w-want all of us to be happy and okay." Lavender sniffs. She's so, so glad about the solid weight of Melo being cuddled against her right now. The other Pearl is grounding and comforting and she gladly squeezes Melo's hand gently and re-assuringly. "I-i don't know Hematite well, but... Citrine is very nice. S-she wouldn't ever hurt any of us on p-purpose." she adds, quietly.
Gold looked at Lavender and her voice hardened as she said, "Hematite crushed Amber." Hematite, in her eyes, had stolen her last chance at going home--she wasn't about to forgive the other Gem for that. Maybe Citrine could be trusted, but Hematite...no. She'd crushed Amber, and thereby sentenced Gold to being an outlaw, never allowed to go home or feel actually safe again.
Lavender winced and ducked her head. She didn't want to be reminded about that! She... it was scary to think about. That... gems were crushed... By their allies. She didn't want to harm any of the non-rebellious gems either! She jsut wanted to be left alone with her friends! It... it shouldn't have to be like this.
"I dunno if I'd be any good at watching Baroque," Tektite admitted, frowning. "My supervisors always used to get mad at me on Homeworld when I lost focus on boring things. N-not that Baroque is boring, I'm sure she's cool! But...uh...yeah." She looked away, blushing.
"It's normal for you to be frightened," Spinel says to the Gold Pearl, trying to be reassuring in her own, strange way. "You're a civilian. Almost all of you are civilians," she adds, with a glance around the group of Pearls and the little Tektite. Hematite is so old that standard casting is meaningless, and Citrine young enough that even as a Quartz, she hasn't really seen combat. Thinking of it makes Spinel sigh. She's really gotten herself into a mess. "And lower-ranked civilians at that. I do understand what it's like, the first time you act on your own." She can remember, before she made the choice to go undercover for Rose Quartz and that rebellion. "But I think that every Gem has a part of themselves that they've been hiding because it doesn't fit what they're supposed to be, and I think, in time, you'll be glad that you had a chance to find it."
Lavender sits, drawing her shoulders up and trying to hide behind Melo as best as she can, Mulling over Spinel's words. "... I think... I-i think hiding is no good, maybe? It hurts." she whispers.
Tektite nodded. "It's really tricky," she said. "And I was never any good at it. And people always got upset when I didn't hide the parts of myself they didn't like, but...I think I felt a lot better?" Her voice was shaky, uncertain. Part of her wondered if maybe hiding those bits of herself would've been better for her, but now wasn't the time to dwell on that.
Spinel nods. "That's what we're really looking for, I think. If the Diamonds allowed us to express ourselves and be who we are, without hiding, then things would be different. Better. But they're not going to do that. So where you fall on the divide... It depends on if you think your hidden self is worth fighting for."
Gold frowned, trying to process what Spinel was saying. A...hidden side of herself? She considered it for a bit, and then shook her head. "I...I don't think I have that," she mumbled. "I'm...just an average Pearl. I'm useful if I can be, but I don't...have anything more to me."
