Night has fully set in, the stars and moon shining brightly in the sky. The light from the full moon overhead makes the fountain shimmer beautifully. The calls of owls throughout the trees and the glow of fireflies in the bushes and grass lend a tranquil air to the area that no one truly feels. The gems and humans regroup back at the fountain; thankfully none of them had gone very far from the fountain when they got Amethyst's mass text, so it didn't take long for each of them to return.
As Peridot lands she picks up her trash can lid, runs up to the group and asks, "Did Amethyst really find Steven? Where are they? Is he okay? He's not hu—"
Garnet holds up a hand to stop her barrage of questions. "They're not here yet. We need to do our best to keep calm as she said when they do arrive." She holds her hand in her meditation pose and takes a deep breath and lets it out. Assuming she saw something in her future vision, the group all mimics her, taking deep breaths, calming and centering themselves for whatever they're about to see. Pearl hopes he's at least not hurt. Even with the fountain right next to them, capable of healing, it hurts her deeply to think of the young man she's raised, injured. She glances around the area, keeping an eye out for Amethyst and Steven.
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Steven is surprisingly easy to lead through the bushes. He clearly trusts Amethyst now, and is willing to follow as long as she keeps feeding him snacks. It only takes a few minutes of walking but when they reach the edge of the bushes and trees, in view of the fountain, he stops. In the dim light Amethyst can see Steven begin to shake in fear again. He's staring at the Rose statues, eyes wide, diamond pupils shrunk to pinpricks, and shaking like a leaf. Thinking quickly Amethyst ties her whip to a bush so Steven won't run off. The last thing she wants right now is for Steven to panic and run. She gets on her knees and makes him look her right in the eyes. It takes some careful encouragement for him to tear his eyes away from the statues, to look at her instead. When he does, his shaking subsides a little, relaxing.
"I'll be right back. Stay.'' She slowly backs away, Steven continues shaking again but doesn't move. Amethyst turns and runs over to the waiting group, wanting to get the explanation over with as quickly as possible. She doesn't want to leave Steven alone for long.
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He's terrified and he doesn't know why. The purple woman leading him is super nice, she fed him after all, but something about the area, especially those statues has him on edge. The way it feels like they're staring right at him, makes him feel intensely judged, and for what, he doesn't know. His focus on them is so intense, he doesn't even notice the group of people the lady runs to. He lays down so the bushes better hide him from view of those statues. He feels a little safer this way. Hopefully the purple gem comes back soon, he doesn't want to be alone here. He lets out a tired huff, when will this crazy day be done, he wonders. It feels like he's lived through a near lifetime of fear, despite knowing it's not even been a full day... He's also still hungry and the purple gem lady has the Chaaaaps.
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"There she is!" Connie exclaims, pointing to where they can vaguely see Amethyst kneeling with her back to them, talking to someone, "She must be talking to Steven." They see her slowly back into the fountain's clearing, before turning and running up to them.
"Hey guys!" Amethyst waves as she joins the group.
"Amethyst! Where's Steven?" Pearl steps forward and asks, while looking behind her for him.
Amethyst holds her hands up nervously, "I need you guys to trust me and do exactly as I say ok? Steven's real... Skittish right now, especially around the fountain for some reason. I'm gonna give you each some chips-"
"Amethyst, why are you acting so odd?" Pearl crosses her arms and glares at Amethyst. "Is this a prank?"
"Wha- No! I swear, just trust me!" Amethyst hands out most of the remaining chips to everyone, and has them all line up next to each other and away from the fountain proper. She then runs back to where she left Steven. It takes her a moment, but she finds him lying where she left him. Untying the whip from the bush, Steven sits up, and she begins working on leading him out to the open. He resists at first, but with Amethyst's encouragement, Chaaaps and being led along the perimeter, not right up to the fountain, he slowly follows. As they leave the bushes Amethyst hears a collective gasp.
"A corrupted gem?"
"But where's Steven?"
"That can't be him... Can it?"
Amethyst can hear them speaking quietly, but all her focus is on getting Steven to them and the food she gave them. She manages to get him to follow her to within a few feet of the group before his fear wins out, and Steven plants himself where he is, shaking. Good enough. She kneels next to him, blocking his view of the fountain as best she can. She pets his head gently and works to calm him and get him to sit. When he does, the group can see his gem on his belly, reflecting the light from the moon. Good thing it's nice and bright tonight, Amethyst thinks.
There's a tense pause as everyone is lost for a moment. Garnet is the first to figure out why Amethyst gave them all some of the chips. She slowly steps forward and kneels in front of Steven. He tries to back away, but stills when Amethyst places her hand on his back reassuringly. Garnet removes her glasses, so he can see her face more clearly, and holds out her hand with some chips. Smelling the chips, Steven's stomach grumbles and he carefully takes them from her hand, never taking his eyes off her face as he does. After eating the chips he sniffs her hand some more, and lets her reach her other hand up to pet his head. As she does, Garnet knows without a shadow of a doubt that this is Steven. His fur feels just like it did when she'd pat his head as a kid with his soft fluffy hair.
Slowly over the next few minutes everyone takes turns approaching and feeding Steven his Chaaaps. It feels weird to them, to be treating Steven of all people like a frightened animal, but right now that's kind of what he is. So they all carefully follow Amethyst's instructions and work to gain his trust.
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He's not sure what to think of all these strange gems and people around him. Some are scarier to him at first, than others. Like the big one with the rainbow hair, she frightens him, but the smile she gives when he takes the chips she hands him, warms his cold fear into something more like warm comfort, as if he could go to her for encouragement anytime. The small green one frightens him a little more, but the way she talks to him while feeding him her chips replaces that fear with something more like joy, as if he could listen to her ramble on about her favorite things forever. The others, his fear is a little more abstract, more like he's afraid for them, not of them. Like he's afraid he's disappointed them in some way. Very abstract and difficult for him to understand, so he's glad when that fear is overtaken by comfort. When the smaller human approaches him, he doesn't really feel much fear, just nervousness. She gives him a light kiss on the forehead while he eats the chips she hands him, making the nervousness increase, but not in a bad way. Then the tall balding human steps forward, there is no fear with him either, only a desire for support and love, all of which this human seems willing to give as he sings a quiet song to him while he eats his Chaaaps. He feels safe, he feels like he's home.
YOU ARE READING
Lost
FantasyAfter Little Homeschool's first graduation, Steven isn't feeling the greatest. He feels awful for causing a scene and ruining everyone's fun time. His emotions are out of control, and with them are his powers. He needs help, but will he get it in ti...
