Jaina of the blue flight and Varian of the black flight

A Familiar World

Spring Sirensong  ——————————————

Outings in the seaside town were cold for Seraph’s first months of life. One can imagine her joy when it starts warming up. Of course, warmth isn’t the only thing awaiting her today... 

The masterpost for AFW can be found here. The chapter post for AFW can be found here.

——————————————

I wrote this entirely in one day! Wild. I think this is the most productive I’ve been on a chapter since... ever slkjfd Anywho! It’s some fluff with ser, in which she makes some very important friends. Hope y’all enjoy ;3c

                                                    ————

The past handful of months had been... interesting. For one thing, the shop was still in its beta stages. Turns out running a shop is hard for newbies. Evangel struggled to get stock to sell, much less show off her repair abilities. It wasn’t odd that her familiar stepped up. Seraph might not have had much experience in anything, but she was gonna do her darndest to help. While Evangel fretted with displays, Seraph got people to come in and look around. As the tailor worried over fulfilling orders, Seraph got customers to make them. Even while Evangel figured out an organization system for her creations and the shop, Seraph made sure their living space was put together. The kitchen was gonna look nice whether Evangel could cook or not! All in all, Seraph thought they were a good team. A great team! All they really needed was… more progress. More customers. More solid business plans, and less making things up as they went. Evangel was the one handling money. Seraph couldn’t help with the budget yet. She’d get there some day! She was working really hard to make it happen! But there was only so much she could do. After all, she was only five months old. Young even for a familiar. Made sense that she’d take breaks to play around.

Today, a break came in the form of a walk. Seraph was ecstatic to be heading out. Usually, she had to get all bundled up to go outdoors!!! But it was getting warmer. That meant she could slip outside in just a cute little sundress. Evangel might not be happy with warmer weather, but Seraph was loving it. She hummed happily as she skipped along, wings fluttering excitedly behind her.  “Thanks for takin me with you, mama!” she chirped. Her eyes shone in the new spring light. Her first spring!!! She’d never seen so much green before. She couldn’t get enough of it. “It’s so pretty out today!!!” “O-oh… its alright, I guess…” Evangel sighed. “Hopefully there’ll be something good for spring designs…” The sorceress had a clipboard clutched tightly in her hand. One of her special design work ones, if Seraph was remembering right. She was already eager to see the final products. “Maybe there’ll be flowers!!!” Seraph gasped excitedly. She hadn’t seen those growing since October! “Flowers come with spring, right??? You could draw some of those!!! And use them for dresses!!!” “Mmm… maybe…” Evangel fidgeted with her hood, eyes on the sidewalk. “But will floral patterns even be in this year…?” Seraph paused. Seeing mama sad made her sad. Being sad wasn’t fun! She didn’t want any sad on this nice day!!! Time to work some of her newfound magic. She stopped her skipping to reach for Evangel’s hand. She gave her a smile, patting her hand gently. “They will if you like em!” the hybrid said simply. “I know they will, mama! You’re the best at everything when it comes to clothes!!!” “Oh… thats so sweet, ser,” Evangel smiled, waving a hand. “Thank you…” Seraph just beamed back. Yes! There was that smile. It made her happy. It meant she was doing a good job. “You’re welcome!!!” she giggled. “I can’t wait to see what you make!!!” “Well, I’ve got to sketch first!” Evangel chuckled softly. The two continued on in contented silence. Past the shops, past the apartments, past the taverns and restaurants… all the way to the edge of town. Near the end of the main road, Evangel stopped. Seraph stopped too, looking up curiously. “What’s wrong, mama?” she asked. Evangel glanced at her. Sighing, she held out a hand. “We’re going up to the sea cliffs, sweetie,” Evangel reminded her. “They can be very dangerous. Take my hand, alright? That means you stay with me until I say we can stop.” “Oh!!! Right!!!” Seraph nodded eagerly. Her little hoof fit snugly into Evangel’s hand. Hopping from foot to foot, her feathery tail wagged in time with her wings’ excited flapping. “I’m gonna be right here, mama! Don’t worry!” “That’s my little doll,” Evangel smiled. Together, they started off towards the cliffs. Originator and familiar, off to enjoy the view. What more could anyone want?

The sound of laughter and singing joined the crash of waves. Evangel was off in a patch of budding wildflowers, sketching to her heart’s content. She’d told Seraph to go play. As long as she could see her mama, Seraph knew she could go where she wanted. So! She was having fun! Singing nursery rhymes at the top of her lungs was amazing. They echoed all around!!! Tumbling down the incline was just as fun. Her sundress could wash- she wanted to feel the grass and dirt on her skin! The little hybrid giggled to herself as she flopped backwards. Her wings spread wide on the ground, she hummed happily in the sun.  I wonder what other stuff I’ll see in spring, she wondered eagerly. Would she see more animals? More cool monsters? More neighbors? Or- or maybe she could start a garden! Evangel needed flowers to observe, right? And they were so pretty! I should bring some back for her!!! As she scrambled to her feet, though, something caught her attention. A sound. A low, melodic crooning. Like the breeze, or the sound a pan flute makes. But… different. It had this echo to it, swirling the sound into something she’d never heard before. As if the ocean itself were weaving through the air. It froze the little familiar in place. “Wh… what’s…? What’s that…?” she whispered. As she listened, it rose and fell in pitch. She could hear some sort of voice in there. Was this... singing? Her eyes widened in realization. It was singing. Absolutely beautiful singing. She knew immediately that she had to meet the person responsible. She had to. “Is… is someone there?” She called. Nobody answered. The song, however, kept going. Her ears flicked forwards as she looked for the source. It had to be close! How could she hear it so well otherwise? Sure enough, she determined it was coming from the cliffs behind her. So close!!! Her face lit up with joy, and she took a step towards them- -only to stop a moment later. … didn’t mama say the cliffs were dangerous….? Her mind twittered nervously. Seraph glanced over her shoulder. Evangel was still sitting in the patch of wildflowers. Sketching quietly. Back facing her familiar. She didn’t seem to hear the voice at all. Seraph took a peek at the cliff top again. It wasn’t too far away. She could get up there in minutes. And Evangel could still see her from there, right? So, technically… this wouldn’t break any rules. It would be fine to go up there, she thought, turning back to the cliffs. Just this once… Slowly, steadily, Seraph made her way to the cliff top. The song got louder as she approached. Sound and desire drew her forward. The grass went all the way up to the edge. It was a little weird to see it end so abruptly. She stopped before the very edge, of course. No need to stand somewhere so risky. Especially when she didn’t know how to fly.  She settled on her hands and knees, figuring she could take a peek this way. The haunting melody caressed her ears as she leaned forward. Just one peek at the singer… that’s all she wanted… just… one… peek… Seraph gasped loudly. Eyes sparkling, she stared down at the waves below. Something was sitting on the rocks. Or rather, someone. Someone with beautifully shiny fins, and glistening scales. Someone in soft, pretty shades of green and blue. Someone with little spots of pink and yellow along her back, and lovely stripes down her tail. Somehow, seraph knew exactly what she was looking at. A siren. And she was singing. Seraph couldn’t move from the spot. A siren! A real, living, breathing siren! Right there! She’d only seen mention of them in books at the library. The mention of their singing had made her feel warm inside. Like finding someone else who dedicated themself to your passion. Yes, they were dangerous. But she still loved them. She loved them a lot. Evangel had only ever taken home books about clothes, but music- and sirens- had been on Seraph’s mind since she learned how to read. She’d read all she could about them while they were at the library. And now… there was a siren. Right in front of her. She was absolutely spellbound. Setting her head on her hands, Seraph made herself comfortable. She was gonna stay there for as long as she could. The siren, meanwhile, seemed to know she had an audience. She’d sat up straighter, sending her song rolling far along the waves. One can imagine seraph’s sheer delight when a few more sirens surfaced. There were two of them now! No, three- four- five! Five sirens! All of them clustered on the rocks below. A blissful hum drifted from the familiar as they all began to sing. Their sound mixed perfectly… her own private symphony… … were they looking at her? Seraph blinked. Hastily sitting up, she hid herself in her wings. Peeking through her feathers, stared back in shock. They were! The sirens were looking up at her! They were too far away for her to make out expressions, but their song had changed. It was less wandering, and more… inviting. Encouraging. Welcoming. …. Are they… singing to me…? Quiet surprise continued as the sirens gathered closer. They were all such pretty colors, but varying ones, too. Like a bouquet of musical flowers. She just watched as they wove a song together. In the midst of their enchanting tune, the first started singing something new. It took Seraph a minute to recognize. When she did, she jumped a bit. Her nursery rhymes! She was singing her nursery rhymes! That meant- that meant they’d heard her singing up here! A siren is singing my songs to me, she thought, awestruck. A siren and her friends… they’re… they’re singing my songs to me… If heaven could come early, Seraph believed she’d found it. She shut her eyes, smiling softly. Just letting the music and joy wash over her. When the sirens’ song turned inviting again, Seraph found herself drawn to sing. She was small. She hadn’t been around for long. She could only manage to carry a simple tune so far. There were sirens singing down there. But, nonetheless… she let her voice join theirs. Just a little familiar, singing songs with sirens. In the moment… there was nowhere she’d rather be.

But, of course, it could only last so long. 

“SERAPH, GET DOWN FROM THERE!” a voice shouted. Seraph startled so badly, she nearly rolled off the cliff. Her wings slapped against the dirt as she scrambled to her feet.  The sirens below her quit singing, hopping off their rock. The familiar let out a cry of dismay as they disappeared under the water. Her new friends! Oh no! Glancing around fearfully, her eyes fell on the source of the yelling. Evangel was running up towards her. From the look on her face, she wasn’t too happy about where her familiar had gone. Seraph’s ears drooped anxiously as she approached. Oh no- mama’s so mad at me, she thought guiltily. “Seraph!” Evangel called again, once she got close enough. “What were you thinking, coming up here?! I told you it was dangerous!” “I-I- um- I-I’m sorry mama- I’m sorry-” seraph stammered, looking anywhere but her originator. She cowered away as Evangel got closer. But Evangel just scooped her up into a hug. A very tight, very worried hug. “Don’t you do that again,” Evangel murmured. “I thought you’d left me. Or fallen over the side. Don’t do that to me.” “I-I won’t, mama,” seraph sniffled, hugging her back. She buried her face in Evangel’s shoulder. “‘M s-sorry…” “I forgive you, sweetie…” Evangel sighed. Turning away from the cliff, the sorceress started back towards the flower patch. “Why did you go up there, anyways? What made you want to do that?” “I… um… h-heard a pretty song…” seraph mumbled. She pulled back to look at Evangel. Guilt was clear on her face. “I w-wanted to see wh-who was singing…” Evangel’s distressed expression seemed to soften at Seraph’s face. Or at least shifted to one of discomfort. “... oh… you mean the… sirens…?” She asked haltingly. Seraph nodded. “... ah.” Evangel shifted Seraph to her hip as they reached the flowers. Crouching down to grab her clipboard, she continued. “Yes, there are sirens by the cliff. But you need not worry. The cliffs are enchanted to keep their strange songs from bewitching people.” Seraph felt her face grow a bit hot. Strange songs? She fidgeted with her paws timidly. “W-well... i thought they were nice…” she whispered. Evangel hesitated a moment. Yeah, that was clear discomfort on her face. Seraph vaguely recalled she made that face a lot. Especially whenever her familiar wasn’t happy. “... mmm… perhaps…” the sorceress admitted. She tucked her clipboard under her free arm. “... did you… really like them…?” She inquired.. Seraph just nodded again shyly. Evangel was silent for a moment. Considering something. “... you know… there’s no harm in coming down to listen, sometimes,” Evangel ventured uncertainly. “As long as you don’t… you know… move too close to the edge…” Seraph’s eyes widened. Was she hearing this right? “S-so… I can come back?” She asked softly. “Hmm… yes. You can,” Evangel nodded. “Just be careful, alright?” Seraph’s face positively lit up. Beaming, she hugged Evangel again. “Thank you so so so much mama!!!” she bleated. “I swear I’ll be careful!!! Really! Cross my heart and everything!!!” Evangel chuckled awkwardly, giving seraph a pat. “Y-yes, well, I’m glad to hear it, but it’ll be later. We have to go get lunch now.” “That’s ok!!! I’m plenty ready for food!” Seraph chirped. She felt like she was riding on a cloud. As long as she could come back to that beautiful singing sometime, she didn’t care what she had to do. She leaned on Evangel happily, humming shreds of sirensong. 

The walk back from the cliffs was filled with quiet music. It may have been the first sirensong of spring, but it was certainly not the last.

A Regular Saturday

Summary: 

Amethyst had a simple agenda for the day: play games at the arcade, grab her lunch—a ham sandwich with chips—and then visit her mermaid friend.

A mermaid AU for the latest Amedotbomb.

Words: 2704

Also on Ao3!

Amethyst ordered her usual ham sandwich, also buying some chips on the side, grabbed the bag, and ran, the ocean just in view. Her sandals flapped against the boardwalk. The sun had began to set, and far less people populated the beach since the morning.

Teens certainly loved to check out the beach once the moon rose. It was early May, after all. Yes, there were plenty of visitors because the always delightful Summer Break had at last arrived for college students the previous week. Still, it was only at the start of June when the crowds really went wild. All that aside, however, this was a perfect time.

Amethyst's face lit up when she came to where the boardwalk diverged into another path deeper into the ocean. The boardwalk there held games and even a few small rides. And she would have been more than content with spending the rest of the afternoon—and her pocket cash—to play those water shooting games for a prize, and perhaps even surprise—

Not at the moment, though. She slid down the hill and walked onto the beach, then walked over a path of rocks that reached out toward the sea. She ended up under the boardwalk and walked into the very center, jumping back onto sand. She found a group of rocks and sat on one of the smoother ones.

Taking out her sandwich and chips from the bag, she put as many chips as possible in between the buns. It wasn't complete without them! She opened her mouth.

Then she heard it. A splash. A noise of surprise escaped her throat, and she put down her sandwich. Amethyst jumped to her feet, wearing a wicked grin at the sight of fins of a green tail peeking from the water. With a quick spin, she dug into her duffel bag and took out an old fishing pole she... borrowed from Pearl.

Amethyst hurled the line in the radius of where she sat the tail. The bait, which was a piece of ham, floated in the water. She leaned against a boardwalk support, whistling. When a blond head popped out from the water, she stopped.

"It stopped being funny the first time, Amethyst." Peridot grunted, eyebrows narrowing.

Amethyst burst out laughing, arms clutching her stomach and abandoning the fishing pole. "Dunno what you're on about. Still cracks me up," she said after recovering. She swung her feet to sit down again and again grabbed her sandwich. "Hey, girl! Wanna piece?"

"Thank you, I suppose, but we've discussed this already. I don't eat." Peridot shook off some seaweed that littered her hair and swam up to Amethyst. She rested her arms on the rocks.

"Have you ever tried? I'm sure you can?" Amethyst suggested.

"Well, we can. I've known merpeople whose curiosity beat their common sense and tried your human food. Whatever it was didn't go well with their systems." Peridot eyed the sandwich and stuck out her tongue. "We're picky, I suppose you can say."

"Pft, weird." Amethyst adjusted herself, dipping her feet into the water, and put the rest of her sandwich into her mouth. "More for me, then," she added, but the food in her mouth made it come out more mumbled than not.

Peridot squinted. "Humans require random pieces of substance in order to survive. How is that not weird?"

"Food's great! Don't knock it!" Amethyst defended, then leaned back. She sorted through her bag to retrieve a notebook and a pencil and pen. Placing the notebook nearly atop her legs, she said, "'Kay, what'd you do today, then? Besides not eat delicious food?"

Peridot shook her head. "Let's see... well, I did find an abandoned ship a few miles off."

Amethyst gawked, quickly distracted from her notebook. “Shut up! What was it like?”

“Well, abandoned—”

“So observant, Peri.” Amethyst fluttered her eyelids.

“And creepy,” Peridot added, completely dismissing Amethyst’s snarky remark. “It looks as if it sank centuries ago. Since I’ve only recently started journeying away from home, there’s so much I haven’t seen before.”

“Look at you, checkin’ stuff out. You gotta show me someday!” Amethyst exclaimed, leaning forward with excitement.

“Yes, let me just get my magical device where humans can breathe underwater,” Peridot teased, but still grinning.

“Oh, so you’re finally working on it. Great!”

"You'll have to be the first test subject."

"Worth it!"

Peridot rolled her eyes. "So what did you do today, then? See any abandoned ships out there?"

Amethyst shrugged as she scribbled into her notebook. "Hung out at the arcade, played some games, junk like that. Nothing special." Her voice was curt, eyes concentrated on her work which she angled so Peridot couldn't look. "My life's boring. If I was a mermaid, I'd probably... well, I dunno what exactly, but it'd still be cool!"

Peridot scoffed. "Oh, please. I've only been exploring recently, and I can only travel so far. Otherwise, my home has nothing to do! Humans have so much more, er, things to do! From what I've seen, you can do so much more!"

"I guess that's true, but do you ever talk to any other humans? 'Sides me?"

"Not really." Peridot shook her head after thinking it over. "At most, I come near the beach to see you and that's it."

"Aww, how sweet!" Amethyst feigned a moment of swooning.

"Anyway!" Peridot exclaimed, blush dusting her pale cheeks. "I don't meet a lot of humans, if not any at all. You might very well be the first, unless I met one and completely forgot. Which I doubt is the case. You're definitely the first one I've ever become friends with."

"... S-seriously?"

"Of course I'm serious."

Amethyst's gaze averted from Peridot, face feeling warm. In attempts to brush off her racing heart, she added hastily and with a burst of fake pride, "Aren't I special!"

"I-I guess! I mean, yes, but... you know what I mean."

"That's reassuring. Lemme have this one, P-dot."

"R-right." Peridot eyed Amethyst's notebook, which Amethyst returned her attention to and had kept it there for several minutes now. With a suspicious eye, she glanced back up at Amethyst. "What are you doing, exactly, with that tablet?"

Amethyst's body froze. "Uhh, nothing! Don't worry 'bout it!" she shouted quickly, face painted red.

"I'm not worried about it!" Peridot tossed her a lazy wave. "I'm just asking what it is."

"I don't want to show you..." Amethyst turned away, pouting.

Peridot pulled herself a few inches from the water. "Why not? What is it!? Amethyst! Come on!" she whined, clasping her hands together. "Please!"

"Oh, pft, now you know the word please! Fine!" Amethyst exhaled a loud breath, but pointed firmly at Peridot, who lowered herself back into the water. "But don't laugh!"

"So I'm not supposed to laugh?"

"Well, I'd rather you not."

Amethyst turned the notebook around and placed it on the ground. Peridot observed it, getting as close as she could with her limited movement. She squinted at it, almost grabbed it before Amethyst yanked it away, shouting she worried it would get all wet. Finally, Peridot hummed.

“Is that me? How did you do that?”

Amethyst stared at her, then back at her sketch of Peridot. Her eyes grew. “Are you kidding? Ya’ll don’t have drawing? Or just... art!? Tell me I’m reaching or something.”

“Art? No, that doesn't sound familiar. This sounds familiar to meep morps. They're basically things we make out of other things. But we don't have paper, for, well, obvious reasons.”

"Meep—'kay, not gonna bother with that." Amethyst shook her head. "But it's, ya know, close to that."

"Then you're making art of me?" Peridot's pitch elevated.

She bowed her head and placed her notebook neatly back onto her lap. "It's not that good." She glared at the way the eyes didn't align properly, and she could never get Peridot's hair right! She cleared her throat. "I mean, yeah, I am, but... eh, I like to do this junk in my spare time."

"I like it."

"You do?"

"It's me, so of course I do." Mischief sparked in Peridot's eyes.

Amethyst grinned back, snickering.

"But you haven't drawn just me, have you?"

Amethyst snickered. "Gosh, of course not. I've been drawing stuff before meeting you. I've got a couple in here. Wanna see?"

Peridot nodded, and Amethyst hesitantly offered her notebook to her, though giving her a small threat ("Get the pages soaked, and you owe me a new one... somehow."). Peridot began flipping through the pages, angling her body so that while she did so, Amethyst could see what drawings Peridot was looking at. "Wow," Peridot commented under her breath, making Amethyst blush.

There were a few simple drawings, like one of a frog that she had found and brought home with her on a walk one day (she named it Cthulhu because why not?), but Amethyst noticed the ones where she was most inspired to actually kind of try.

Peridot stopped at one of those and glanced over her shoulder at Amethyst. She pointed at the drawing of Amethyst's favorite animal. "Now what's this?"

"Oh, that's a puma!" Amethyst took back the notebook, quietly amazed it sustained no water damage. "I like me some tigers. They're pretty cool land creatures that run real fast. I should just bring a whole book of things humans with feet have that you nerds don't. Pearl probably has something. I can show you all kinds of things you're missing out on."

"That'll probably be a lot of things," Peridot grumbled, mood quickly and visibly deflated.

Amethyst sighed, staring at her mermaid friend for a moment. "I'm guessing the movies are wrong, then?"

Peridot glanced at her. “What movies?”

Amethyst smiled. She had explained what movies a while back, talking about her favorites—the House, though that was due to irony and irony alone, and anything with comic book heroes where they didn’t take everything so seriously! So she was glad Peridot remembered.

As for mermaid movies… Amethyst shrugged. “Ya know, the ones where they have mermaids, and they can magically have feet on land. The rules are different sometimes—can’t touch water, can’t be out after the moon rises, stuff like that. Either way, you'd be able to be sort of human and see a bunch of stuff you can't really enjoy as a mermaid.”

Peridot made a noise of distaste. “Then those are grossly inaccurate, at best! No, I’ve always been a mermaid. Never a human. I don’t know a single mermaid who could walk on land. There have certainly been myths, but they never have proven to be actually true. We've got fins, and that's it.”

“Well, there has to be a way, I'm sure,” Amethyst exclaimed, arms spread out, then lowered her voice with a paranoid look around. The sun had long since set, and the beach side had a tired feel to it. Not many walked the boardwalk at this time, but still! She pulled her legs back up to stand up. “I never knew mermaids existed until I met you! Ya’ll were just myths to me! Maybe there’s a-a-a witch or-or a alchemist who can give you the ability to walk on land whenever you want!”

“There’s never been anything like that," Peridot said sternly. "Don’t you think we’d know if mermaids could walk on land? Of course I’d want to be able to in order to… to…” Peridot stopped, voice growing quiet until Amethyst could hear nothing from her. Peridot just stared at Amethyst in a weird way that made Amethyst's chest flutter.

“To what?”

Peridot blinked. “Uh… experience, you know, human things,” she mumbled, much shyer than previously. "See what it's like in comparison to my world."

Amethyst smiled at her. “Heck, I’d love to show you everything... around here, at least. I mean, yeah, that kinda sucks, but… I still like hanging out with you, if it helps. Tail and all.”

“I would hope so.” Peridot flashed her a smug grin.

Amethyst laughed. Then her phone buzzed. She checked the time after retrieving it from her pocket. “Aww, shoot! Pearl’s gonna have my head if I’m late again! Ugh!” she groaned, grabbing everything and placing the pole and her notebook back inside her bag.

"You have to go already?" Peridot could not conceal her disappointment. "It feels like we just got here!"

Amethyst threw the bag around her shoulder and turned to Peridot. “Sadly, yup. I got stuff to do tomorrow, but maybe I can see you Monday?”

Peridot’s lower lip pouted out, but she nodded. “I'll be waiting. Don’t be late like this time.”

“I wasn’t late! How do you know how time works? You live underwater without any clocks! For all you know, I was ten minutes early.”

“We still have the concept of time, Amethyst.”

"I guess that's true." She paused, halfway turning to walk away, but she stopped. Her eyes grazed over the rocks she stood on. Water washed over them as the ocean levels rose. Tiny splashes of water tickled her feet. Something stuck to her mind, and she worried about saying anything…

“Is something wrong?”

Amethyst looked back at Peridot, flinching. Again, hesitating.

Peridot’s glare deepened. “I can tell that something's bothering you, so—”

“Why me?”

Peridot's eyebrow rose. “Why you… what?”

“It's just... I wanna know! How am I the only human you’ve ever been friends with? There’s gotta be way more interesting humans out there to talk to. And way smarter ones who could tell you about all kinds of things you'd probably like! People who, ya know, don't just waste their time doing nothing all week. Why is it me that you decided ‘hey, maybe we can be friends’?” Amethyst’s questions came out in a rush, but nothing was stopping her yet. She let out an awkward laugh and threw her head back. “Is it ‘cause we both have gem names or something? Something dumb like that, because I guess it could be worse but—”

"Amethyst.”

Amethyst realized she was rambling and felt her face burn. She glanced down at Peridot, who had this determined look in her eyes. Amethyst sat back down, hand sitting in her lap.

Peridot sighed. “I don’t know why you’re the one that caught my attention out of other humans. After all, you aren’t the first one who saw me in the ocean by chance and tried to investigate like a typical nosy human.”

Amethyst rolled her eyes. “Great. That really helps,” she mumbled with a grimace.

“Wait!” Peridot hissed, as if afraid Amethyst would walk away then and there. She sighed heavily. “I don’t know why, but… I certainly don't regret that. You are much easier to talk to than anyone—or anything, really—so I kept coming back. I don't care about 'smarter' humans or ones who don't waste their time, whatever that refers to. I just... liked you. And still like you, I should clarify." Peridot pulled her gaze away when she finished, blush brushing her cheeks again.

Words failed Amethyst. She could tell her eyes were beginning to water and shook her head, hoping her hair could conceal her moment of weakness.

Peridot recoiled. "Oh, shells! Amethyst, I thought that would be at least a little reassuring, but—" Her hand awkwardly reached out toward Amethyst's lap, but never got there.

"S-stop, stop. Don't worry!" Amethyst interrupted her, shaking her hands. "I'm fine, I'm cool. I guess I'm just freakin' over nothing." She threw out a quick breath of laughter. "Typical Amethyst."

"Sure. Typical Amethyst," Peridot agreed but with a deadpan. Then she smirked. "You should probably leave or else that Pearl will take your head. I'd much prefer seeing you return with your head."

Amethyst giggled. "I make no promises." She leaned forward one last time to say inches from Peridot's face, "Night, Peri."

"Good night, Amethyst."

Amethyst turned and ran back up to the boardwalk. She took out her notebook one last time, flipping back to her portrait of Peridot. Her pace slowed, and she smiled. Being late became less of a concern because she couldn't stop staring. It wasn't that it was an amazing drawing, but...

It was certainly one of her favorites.