Dark with Enlightened Intentions (Steven Universe

Onyx smiled when Pyrite passed the question of whether she wanted to come to the store or not to her, which almost immediately answered it right then and there. "I'm doing just fine. Well, I'm doing fine now, that is." The smaller gem nodded. "Yeah, I've got no issues with coming in tomorrow. You all need the assistance, right?" She looked at the hand that grasped the gem of the monster, looking just a little remorseful, and then looked back up at Alena. "..I could board it up for you. After all, it kind of was our fault that it came to the store in the first place.."

"No. It wasn't." Arsen waved a hand in the air, dismissing Onyx's decision. "You've got your own job to do. Same with Pyrite. Me and Alena'll take care of the damages. It'll give me something to do instead of sitting on my ass, so there's that." He exhaled slightly, then crossed his arms, having that same grumpy face he always seemed to sport. "I still wonder where in the hell that monster came from, but.. Whatever, we'll figure it out in due time, I guess."
 
Pyrite put her on, flicking it up. She had to agree about what Arsen said about the gem monster-- all in due time... that could be said about a lot of things, actually. ... In due time, this town would be gone. So would these humans. Doesn't that mean she ought to enjoy their company rather than languish about what she left behind? "Ah wish ah could tell ya' where that critter came from, Arsen," she said, "But fer now it's taken care of." she gave a reassuring smile, "An' don't think ah'm about t' slack on my gaurdin' duties."

Alena decided not to dig further. Whatever they were talking about, 'poofing'... like Pyrite said. Taken care of. That... weird... coyote wolf thing was gone and wasn't going to break another window... unless something else decided to break it. Hopefully not, "So," Alena put a hand on her hip, "what the hell are we waiting for, Arsen? Let's get the shop fixed."

"As long as the car's still here, I could give you and Arsen a ride there." Malka offered, reaching for the car door.

Alena shook her head, "Nah. It's not that far a walk. Don't waste the gas."

Malka paused, "... In that case..." She looked to Pyrite and Onyx, "Do you two need a ride home?" She didn't know how far their home was, but she figured it was the least she could do after all the trouble that came with employing them.

Pyrite studied the mechanical... thing near them. It didn't stick out as much as it should have due to the excitement of everything else, but it didn't mean she was used to these... weird... carriages? Was that what you called 'um? But they didn't have a horse. She heard of 'horse power' before-- is that what humans used to measure how strong something was? "... If Onyx wants to." Pyrite shrugged, leaving it up to her partner about whether they'd take Malka's 'ride'.
 
Arsen looked up at Pyrite, listening to what she had to say for a moment, then gave a nod. "Right. Well.. You start tomorrow, I guess. New day, new chance and all that." Not knowing what else to say or do at that point, he just gave Pyrite a thumbs-up. He clearly wasn't good at bonding. "Sooooo.. Yeah." He turned over to Alena as she got his attention, scowling a bit. "Yeah, yeah, don't rush me. It was me who gave the idea that we should fix it, after all." And with that, Arsen got to walking with her back to the wrecked store.

Onyx seemed to be rather overjoyed at the thought of being given a 'ride' back home. But.. "Um, sure! But.. are you sure? You don't look all that strong.. No offense.. And to be perfectly honest, I'm pretty darn heavy.. I might even go on to say I'm heavier than 'Rite over here.."
 
Malka blinked, "... Um..."

Pyrite realized what Onyx thought she meant, "Onyx, she don't mean she'd go an' carry us," Pyrite explained, "she means she'd use that big ol' metal... thing there... t' take us home."

Malka nodded, "Sorry for the misunderstanding." she said, "That is I meant. I'll use my car to drive the both of you home. I mean, I could try to carry both of you, but... it'd be pretty tiring... hm..." she put a hand to her chin, "I wonder who would be able to carry all of us..." she contemplated, "... But anyways, the offer's still open if either of you need it."

"... So how's that thing gonna move, anyways? I see 'um move all th' time on them black roads-- one nearly ran Onyx over!"

Malka showed a clear face of concern at what Pyrite mentioned, "I'm glad that didn't happen! ... But to answer your question, it's the engine that powers it."

"An' that's what makes it go so fast? Huh." Pyrite said, still bemused by the contraption, "'S up t' you Onyx 'bout whether y' wanna take this thing."
 
Onyx blinked for a moment, and then her face showed an expression of understanding. "Ohhhhh.. Riiiiiight.. So we just go inside of it, right..? I don't really know how those machines work, honestly.. But if you're willing to show us, then, well.." She put her hands on her hips, nodding with a trustful smile. "Sure, we'll ride with you! Sitting in one of those machines sounds interesting and fun!"
 
"That settles it, ah'm comin' with Onyx." She looked at the strange machine... if Onyx trusted it, then she was willing to do the same.

"Just tell me how to get to where you live as I'm driving, and I'll take you to wherever it is." Malka said, opening the door for them. She gestured for one of them to get in.

Pyrite hesitated before climbing inside, settling herself in the seat. It reminded her of a covered wagon... but with a whole lot more covering. And comfier? Debatable. Pyrite's unfamiliarity with the strange machine made her slightly uncomfortable.

Malka walked to the other side, opening the door and waiting for Onyx to climb in before she'd go and start the car.
 
Onyx nodded readily and immediately stepped right inside as well.. and just like that, she was amazed with the interior of the car, making a few noises of utter awe. As soon as she closed the door, she immediately noticed that the windows at the upper half made for an excellent chance to explore the sights as they moved around inside. Not only that, but the seats were incredibly comfy. A comparison of the ship she flew to Earth in to this more conservative mobile machine they were about to take a ride in indicated that her butt has never felt more pleasant.

She looked to her side and noticed a metal clip attached to a belt of special material-- known as a seat belt to Malka-- and raised a hand to grab at it and pull it to her.. which made it extend. Fascinating. "Erm.. What are these for..?" She had to ask-- she completely forgot that she had to give Malka directions.
 
Malka adjusted the rear-view mirror, only noticing Pyrite and Onyx's unfamiliarity with everything when Onyx asked what a seat-belt was. Well, not everyone has ridden in a car before... Already she could hear Alena jeering, "They're seatbelts," she explained, pulling at her own, "You stretch it out..." Malka did so, "and click it in like this," she demonstrated.

"An' jus' what're they for, exactly?" Pyrite asked, looking like she might be a bit tangled up in hers.

"Well... in case anything happens, like, say..." Malka tapped her fingers on the steering wheel, "... a car accident,"

"Accidents? Like two of 'um bump int' each other an' ya'll say excuse me?"

"No-- no, just... sometimes... things happen," Malka seemed to be elsewhere, "And it's better to be safe than to have anyone get... hurt if anything does happen,"

"I get ya', ah get ya'," Pyrite said, not pressing further, "Now, Onyx, would y'mind helpin' me w' these seatbelts?" she was startled by the sound of the car starting.

"Oh, right, silly me, I almost forgot," Malka said, getting herself back to reality and looking back at them through the rear-view mirror, "Where do you two live, exactly?"

"It's some ways outta' town-- me an' Onyx spent a whooole lotta' time lookin' fer th' right spot-- didn't we, Onyx?" Pyrite bumped Onyx's shoulder.
 
Onyx tilted her head as she explained how a seatbelt worked to both her and Pyrite.. Pyrite especially, since it seemed like she was having trouble with it, let alone finding out what its purpose was. "Oh, so..." The gem pulled at the belt, then brought it across her like a sash before clicking it in like Malka had demonstrated. "Like this!"

Looking over at Malka as she mentioned a car accident, she noticed that she was.. rather distant for a moment. Much more different than her usual friendly demeanor. Perhaps something happened in a machine like this that she'd much rather forget.. in any case, she forgot about that topic and turned when Pyrite got her attention. "Oh, no no no, Pyrite, like this.." She showed her the correct way to put on her belt, clicking it in while it was draped across her chest.

"Huh? Oh, right.." Onyx seemed embarrassed answering the question, settling into her seat with a wry grin. "..Yeah, we did. Glad we found somewhere, though!"
 
"Thank ya' kindly Onyx," Pyrite said to Onyx for saving her from getting tangled in the seat-belt. It still felt a bit strange, as she'd never had anything really strap her in before-- you certainly didn't have something like this on a horse. But Malka insisted on it, so alright.

"Now, y' wanna go down th' road here..." Pyrite said, pointing and helping Onyx with the directions. As they continued on, it went from the area of the town to a dirtroad, to eventually getting to where Malka thought they might go off road, "An' stop here! It should be 'round here, shouldn't it Onyx?" she asked, recognizing the grassy field that they decided to call home, "Where we set up th' tent,"

"The tent?" Malka asked, a tad concerned.

"Well, there wasn't anything better 'round-- an' it's shelter enough fer us," Pyrite said, now struggling to get the danged seatbelt off, "Nothin' like sleepin' w' the stars over ya',"
 
"Noooot a problem, 'Rite." Onyx smiled at Pyrite once she was out of her small predicament. If this was for safety, then really, who was she to judge? Certainly, she didn't want to end up in an accident that'd leave her cracked. Though of course, she's more worried about that happening to Pyrite, and who knows how Malka would end up.. But that's a morbid thought for literally no other time.

As they moved through the town and eventually found themselves on a dirt road, Onyx immediately knew where they were, and could answer Pyrite accordingly. "Oh, yeah, it should! In fact, there it is!" Onyx spoke up, pointing at her window where their tent was. "It was all Pyrite's idea to get it set up; it works well enough!"
 
Malka looked over to the tent. She wasn't one to judge what people called home, but..., "I could try and look up someplace for you two, there should be some affordable housing available somewhere,"

Pyrite shook her head, "What for? Perfectly happy here," nothing Pyrite wasn't used to, "An' we'll be sure to be back to work tomorrow, that's for sure. Give us a holler if there's 'nother attack!"

Malka nodded, actually reassured by Pyrite's offer, "I'll be sure to, although I hope another one doesn't happen too soon... Anyways, you two have a good night! Tell me if you ever need a ride home again," she unlocked the doors so that they both could get out, and once they did, rolled down the window so she could say her goodbye before driving off into the distance, thinking that this would be the last major incident with these two, and that things would go back to their usual normalcy soon enough.