You don't owe me

Y

Yvan

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  • How many years had it been since the Howlite began to wander the seemingly endless rock called Earth. Days turned into weeks into years. Everything was blurry ever since she abandoned the both sides of the gem war that encompasses the small planet. Then again, this life she was forced into was made my herself. She hid her wild white hair and body underneath a black cloak, through the chalky grey streaks still showed through on her face and hands.

    Howlite tended to hide in the shadows of the growing human race as she carried on with her own business. Searching for the fallen gems of the war was all she ever did. Cracked, shattered, even ones who had simply retreated into their gem. It was a lonesome and near worthless job but it was all she had to keep herself sane, after all, no one else was searching for the fallen so it might as well be her. She found it ironic as someone who would capture and crack gems, even shattering them at times, would turn to find them in hopes of healing them.

    It was a foolish attempt at righting her past.

    One night, when the stars twinkled in the sky and the moon vanished from sight, the lanky gem found a strange object. The dim light was just enough to have it shine despite it being nearly covered by dirt. Gently, she picked it up. To Howlite's surprise, it was a book yet there was a gem embedded into it's cover. Her fingers ran across the dark blue gem, wondering if she could get it out. "Damn humans.... always messing with us," she mumbled under her breath, trying to pry the gem out. It took a while, and a large amount of cursing, till the ocean blue gem was finally pried away from the book. Howlite dropped the useless object and held the gem in her hands, looking it over. "You seem okay, that's good," she said, smiling at it.


 
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Being alone for thousands of years took it's toll.

Deep within the realm of her gem, Tanzanite had fallen into a haze. It was preferable to staying fully awake for all those years. When all she could do was wait for the day she would be released from her gem, life got incredibly boring. The only thing she could to was become lost in thought. Which she did.

It had begun with her worrying about her friends. Had they escaped Homeworld? Or had they fallen like her, confined to their gems for centuries? Or worse?

She couldn't bear to think of her friends being destroyed.

Eventually, worry was replaced by idle daydreaming until Tanzanite was completely unaware of the outside world and it's occurrences. After all, what was the point on dwelling on it? There was no hope for her being found, after all.

So, when she was finally released from the book that had held her for so long, she wasn't paying attention.
 
She tucked the gem into a small bag tied to her waist, after wall, it was the best she could do for the gem at the moment. It was situated among dozens of other gems; some cracked, a few shattered, and only one or two that showed no damaged to them. Howlite didn't know how to bubble gems, it was never something she learned in her whole life.

At least she was lucky enough not to have a single on reform on her time on earth, well, at least not in a humanoid form. Their had been plenty of gems who came back in their corrupt form. Angered and scared and she always had to face the brunt of it.

Howlite didn't think differently of the blue gem lodged into book other than it was strange, she just hoped that it wouldn't reform on her. There had been rumors from Homeworld of gem enemies being used against their wishes. Forced into objects to provide information or to be used against their own kind. With the wind blowing through her bleach white hair, Howlite pulled out the strange gem, wondering if those rumors might be true. She held the gem close to their face and whispered, "Did humans do this? Or was it our own kind? Were you forced into that book?" Howlite just realized she never glanced through it's ancient pages, the wanderer only wanted to get the gem out. Oops, she thought to herself, well... I doubted that book wasn't important. Hopefully.
 
At some point, Tanzanite had become aware that she had been pulled free from the book.

Despite the revelation, Tanzanite was still in a haze. Shaking off the cobwebs in her mind would be no easy task and it was not one that she wished to perform. After all, what would be the point? Being fully awake would only cause pain.

Still, all that jostling was rather annoying.

By the time the movement had stopped, Tanzanite was much more awake than she would have liked. Awake to realize that someone was speaking to her.

"Our kind..." She thought, slowly mulling over the words. "Not a human..."

A gem. Apparently a safe one.

She was free.

Without thinking of the consequences, without thinking about leaving behind her haze, without thinking at all, her gem began to glow.

Her gem rose into the air and began to form the girl that had been trapped inside for so long. Short hair, a tunic of sorts, leggings, and boots, all in varying shades of purple.

She formed completely, then collapsed.
 
Howlite jumped back at the sight of the light rising from the gem. She pulled out an ax from the gem located on her chest, fearing that the gem would reform into a monster. Despite seeing it turn into another gem, especially one that wasn't cracked, she refused to let down her weapon.

She stood there, wondering if she should help the gem. When was the last time she saw an actual gem? How many thousands of years had it been? It was too many to count was all she knew. She took a few steps towards her before kneeling down next to her. "Who are you?" she hissed at the gem. Distrust took control of her actions instead of doing the sensible thing, like help her. "Are you with Homeworld or Rose?"

The gem didn't know what to expect from the girl. Hopefully she wasn't on either side since Howlite was a traitor to both and would be seen as the enemy. "You know I can easily shatter you? Speak."
 
Tanzanite blinked, raising her head to meet the other gem's gaze, only to immediately duck away from the harsh glare.

"I..." Tanzanite replied, her voice faint. She cleared her throat, preparing to speak again, but stopping herself. The other gem could be with Homeworld. The very idea of going back to that awful planet shook her to her core.

"Who are you with?" She asked, struggling to keep her voice from shaking.

Her fingers went to her gem, which was located on the inside of her left wrist. She was in no condition to fight, but she absolutely refused to go back to Homeworld. She'd defeat this gem, then make her way to Rose. If she was still alive.

"Stay positive." She told herself. "There's no use in worrying right now."

Of course, her attempts at reassuring herself were futile.

What if Rose was dead? What could she do now? There was no way she would survive on her own. Was the war still going? Was this gem a soldier? And on and on it went.
 
"Both... and neither. I suppose I am both your enemy yet ally." Howlite cocked her head at the strange gem, looking her over. Her white covered her eyes, except for glimpse Tanzanite was able to see her haunting white eyes before they were covered. It was strange since the gem couldn't tell which side she belonged on since there was no symbol sported on her clothing. Something like that was nearly unheard of for gems; only wanderers, deserters, or traitors didn't sport a symbol.

With a sigh, she stood up, towering over the newly formed gem. Her grasp on her ax tightened as she glared down at the gem. "Now that I have answered your question, answer mine. Are you with Rose or are you with Homeworld?"

It drew silent between the two for a few moments before Howlite spoke up again. "Answer me or I will shatter you."
 
Tanazite considered her options. Pledging her alliance to either side seemed like a terrible idea at the moment. So, she decided to take the middle ground and hope the other gem didn't actually try and attack her.

"Neither as well." she replied. "I've been in that book for many years. I don't think I can say I belong to either side of the war at this point. Or has it ended already?"

Tanazanite fell silent, fearing that her question had angered the gem further.
 
The gem thought it over for a few moments before seeing that whoever stood in front of her meant no harm, though she kept a firm grasp on the ax. "That is quite some time you've been in the book." Howlite looked down on the gem, wondering how she even got there.

She stopped thinking and got on with the rest of her answer. "The war ended thousands of years ago. Rose's army was nearly destroyed when I left it and Homeworld had retreated since they lost too many of their own too. I don't know if any gems from Rose's army currently remain, I cannot answer that. I do know that there shouldn't be any more Homeworld gems on this planet."

"I am Howlite by the way." She smile at her, though it was a tad forced.
 
"Tanzanite." she replied, forcing her own smile on her face.

"Is there any point in tracking down Rose, or did she fall in the war?" she asked. "I would like to find her at some point. It's better than wandering for entirety."

She paused. "What have you been doing since the war ended? Just moving around?"
 
"I do not know... perhaps? I haven't seen Rose since the final battles on this planet, I do not even know where to begin looking for her." She let out a deep breath, letting her weapon disappear. "Or whatever is left of her." To be honest, the gem didn't know if any of Rose's army were still around. She left them long ago to follow her own way.

Glaring down on Tanzanite, she spoke of what she'd been doing. "I collect gems. Both shattered and cracked and even a few intact, like yourself. I suppose it's the best thing that I can do considering what I have done. So I do guess I have been 'just moving around.'"

"And what of you? Why were you in that book?" she asked.
 
"What I have done?" What does that mean?

Tanzanite's musings were stopped short by the other gem's question. She froze, completely unsure how to respond. Could she tell the other gem about her attempted escape from Homeworld? Would she try and take her back? Then again, she had all those gems with her, so maybe not...?

"It was a punishment." Tanzanite finally said. "I don't know if it was supposed to be this long of one, but well, here I am."

That sounds pathetic. she thought, mentally cringing.
 
Howlite looked over the gem, confused at what kind of trouble she could possibly cause. She was with Rose's army after all so she couldn't be too weak. "Homeworld... sounds like something they'd do, doesn't it?" She took a few steps towards the gem, dust rising up with each step. "But your freedom is long overdue, isn't it? And luckily, they will not be coming back as far as I know."

"You're quite lucky they did not shatter you. To be forcefully bound to an object, that is something so many would wise for compared to their fates." Reaching down to the pouch tied to her side, Howlite pulled out bubbled gems.

They were in bubbles that barely secured them but upon closer glance, they were all severely damaged. Shattered, cracked, portions of gems, and even one that seemed as if was crushed into powder. "Homeworld can be quite cruel," she mumbled, "I can assure you I am not the same." Carefully, she tucked them back into the pouch till something could be done with them.
 
Tanazanite nodded, biting her lip slightly as she did so. The gem was certainly dangerous, that much was clear. Still, she had no apparent relations with Homeworld. She relaxed slightly, but didn't dare meet the other gem's gaze.

"Homeworld is cruel." Tanzanite murmured. "I never want to go back. And I never want to pick up a book again."

Her purple eyes flickered upwards to glance at the other gem in front of her. Her hair was bleach white, almost painful to look at. The rest of her body was in varying shades of the same color. Combined with her tense expression, Tanzanite would have easily mistaken her for an authority figure back on Homeworld.

"Now what?" Tanzanite asked, her voice barely audible. "Do we find Rose?"
 
She scratched her head, thinking if that would even be possible. She hadn't seen a crystal gem since the war, the likely hood that even one survived was slim, even if it was Rose. Humans were cruel to gems and were know to cause them great harm and she feared those gems would have been hurt long ago by human hands.

"I suppose we can, I am doing nothing better anyways. Unless you would rather search for Rose on your own." Howlite wrapped her black cloak around her, hiding her pale limbs. "I believe they are only a few moons away from here, that is unless we can find a working warp pad. Most, if not all, are damaged."

Howlite wasn't sure what to feel towards the gem but she didn't seem to pose much of a threat. It was odd being near another being, especially a gem.
 
It seemed that Tanzanite didn't have much of a choice in the matter. Isolation would have been her first choice, but crossing a foreign landscape alone was a highly unappealing option. Best to have a companion, even if said companion was a dangerous and unknown being like Howlite.

"I'll go with you." Tanzanite replied. "Going alone doesn't seem like the best idea."
 
She smiled, not often did another being, let alone a gem agree to be around her. Howlite's smile reveled a set of bestial like teeth but quite honestly, they didn't seem that threatening. Finally the gem let her ax poof away, leaving her hands free.

"That's smart, humans are not... fond of us to say the least." Howlite knew how humans reacted to gems: fear and anger. The least she could do was protect this gem till she came across Rose or any of the rebel's followers. "But don't worry, I won't let any get near you."
 
"They're that bad?" Tanzanite asked, her eyes wide. "I thought humans were supposed to be docile creatures. I didn't think they'd try and hurt us..."

Suddenly, she was a lot less apprehensive of following Howlite. She had no desire to encounter a human; she was exhausted and not even remotely ready to fight.

"Where are we anyway?" she asked. "Doesn't this place have countries or something?"
 
"Near a large forest, that's all I know. I didn't take my time to learn this planet's politics. Anyway, those places come and go every few decades or so. It's pointless." She said. Clearly the gem didn't care about this planet despite living on it for thousands of years.

True, there were humans that enjoyed gem company but most saw them as destructive and unknown beings, which is why she strayed away. Causing her to fall severely behind in understanding human culture. Perhaps this time traveling to find Rose's army might be valuable in learning about human ways, that is if Howlite decides to get close enough to the fleshy creatures.

"I believe their base in only a few moons cycles away, maybe even less. It's been so long since I've been to that place." She glanced down at the smaller gem and smiles. "It won't be too long, I promise."