Stars and Diamonds

Chapter 49: Reconcile

Sorry for the late update everyone. I'd like to thank everyone for their comments in the last chapter, its really nice to see there are still so many people reading. Thanks for sticking with this. That being said, i also want to say that i am getting a little burned out on this story, which is part of the reason this came out so much later than normal. Im taking a bit more time for myself, so writing is taking longer than it normally does. The next few updates will probably be weekly, instead of every three days like i usually do. I'll eventually pick back up the three days update, maybe after the next three or four chapters, or so, just until i don't feel like I'm dreading writing this. I don't want the quality of the story dropping just for the sake of getting out updates. I enjoy sharing Orange's story, but at the end of the day, I do this for fun, and I don't want it to stop being fun. But I'm definitely not abandoning this story, so don't worry. Hope you you all understand.

Orange sat on the side of Yellow's chair, legs dangling off the side as she twisted around to look at what the elder diamond was doing. She hadn't used Yellow's assistance to get up there, and Yellow had done little more than look up from her screen when the smaller Diamond had begun climbing up her chair, a dark eyebrow raised at what have must have been an amusing site as she easily enough pulled herself up and jumped over to the side of the arm. Yellow did not bother to move her arm as Orange sat down near her, proceeding to stare at what her fingers were typing out.

"What are you doing, Yellow?" Orange questioned, eyes not moving from the screen. Long lines of script covered the pale yellow screen, large blocks of text and the occasion symbol that indicated caste ranks, proceeded by a complicated image of lines and simple shapes she didn't quite understand the order of would appear. Yellow would adjust lines in these images and then add more text below it, explanations and lists of gem types, but no actual designation were added.

Yellow took a moment to respond as she corrected another line on one image, and deleted another entirely, displeasure momentarily twisting her lips downward. "Going over information on troops and formations."

"What troops? Is this about all the gems you're making? Am I aloud to see?" Orange asked in quick succession before Yellow could reply, swinging her legs against the chair, intrigued to see Yellow's more militaristic talents in use. The lines were confusing, and if it weren't for the specific directions in the script, she wouldn't have known what line was meant to do what.

"You may look," The older Diamond's voice was stern, looking at Orange for emphasis in her seriousness, "but do not touch the screen."

"I won't." The young gem promised. Shifting in slightly, practically using Yellow's shoulder as a pillow to lean against, she looked curiously at what was outlined. Now with a clearer view, the diamond read what could be seen before Yellow scrolled up to do more or revise what she already had. The descriptions talked about entire groups of gems, exact numbers listed, as well as destinations with specific coordinates, and where and what sector they would need to be. Looking at another imagine, Orange realized that the triangular symbols represented gems that were in charge of other groups of gems, these captain gems were listed by destination and color coded by outlines in one of three diamond colors. Even just having the head gems listed, Orange was surprised by just how many she was planning to use. What kind of invasion was this? "That's a lot of gems."

"They are more than just my own." Yellow explained, shifting when Orange leaned more against her, adjusting to accommodate the weight being pushed against her shoulder. "This is Blue's." She pointed out a certain section of the screen, and then scrolled up to show more gem symbols and instructions she had fleshed out and already corrected, "And these belong to Pink."

"Oh." The young diamond blinked, glancing over the information as she began to scroll back down. "You're creating strategies for them?"

"Yes. I have a call with Blue and Pink to go over what i have done, and must insure everything is correct."