Chapter Text
Riding in the bed of a pickup truck was not an experience, Pearl would call fun; every little bump sent them flying even the smallest of turn threatened to throw them over the side. Plenty of blankets and pillows thrown into the back of the truck cushioned the ride slightly, but none of that mattered when the teenagers behind the wheel drove like maniacs!
"Wooohoooo!" Steven cheers as they take a turn at high speed. Garnet grabbed the back of his shirt to keep him from flying off, her other arm wrapped snugly around Pearl's waist like a seat belt, securing the gem to her lap.
"Again!" The teen boy in the cab cried, egging his sister on.
"Yeah!" Steven encouraged.
“You asked for it.” The driver slammed her foot down on the gas and jerked the steering wheel to the right, sending the truck skidding through a puddle of mud, coating the truck, and the passengers in a thick layer of dirt.
This would be how she died, she was sure of it. She had survived in a crashed space ship, without a scratch. Just to be taken out by two kids on a gravel road.
"Why?" The gem questioned, sounding rather pitiful. With the back of her hand she wiped at her face in a vain attempt to clean off the mud. Surly there had to be a cleaner mode of transportation.
"I'm sorry," Garnet pressed her lips to peach hair. "You don't have a passport, so we can't fly and walking to the border would take days." Though days of walking was steadily sounding more appealing. Pearl still didn't understand the importance of a piece of paper with your name and picture on it. She looked longingly up to the sky. It was a shame; planes looked like they would be fun.
The truck lurched as it hit a particularly large hole, sending Steven tumbling into a pile of pillows.
Steven popped out of the mountain of cushions with a wide bright eyed smile. "Can we do this when we get home?"
"No." both Garnet and Pearl answered simultaneously.
"Awwww." Steven tried to stand once more; this time it was Pearl who grabbed him.
"Sit please."
Steven opened his mouth to protest but a cry of 'Hang on!' from the teens shut him up. The truck picked up speed.
Pearl wrapped her arm around Steven, keeping him securely tucked to her side, her other arm clutching Garnet for dear life. The truck crested over a small hill, taking to the sky. Mud flew off the tires, decorating the sky like cheep fireworks.
"Yeeee-hawwwwww!" The teens cried at the top of their lungs.
Pearl just knew this was the end.
Amethyst lounged in the shallows, enjoying the cool water on her belly and the warm sun beating at her back. The low waves barely high enough to lick at her chin. She lazily kneaded the sand, digging herself a cozy little nest. She could just lie here forever; at one with the waters, her mind floating unmoored.
"Mommy it's a kitty!"
"Get away from that filthy thing, Aiden!"
Though, she could really do without the pests.
"We should scare it away."
“It doesn’t seem to care about us, how the hell would we scare it off?”
She had no idea what these creatures were, other than the fact they looked a lot like a gem. They had the correct basic upright form, standing on two legs and have hands for manipulating their environment. No one individual in the crowed was the same as another; their sizes ranged from as large as a quartz to as small as a ruby, their clothing came in a large array of colour compared to the usual monotonous pallets that most gems stuck to. On the surface they looked a lot like gems, but something about them just seemed so different to Amethyst, something she couldn’t put a name to.
"Should we call the police or animal control?"
"Screw that. I say we get the military. I saw that thing doing at least 100m/h on the high way."
"It looks like its sick."
Huffing, Amethyst dipped her head under the waves, blocking out the nattering the best she could.
Don’t these things have something to do other spend all their time buzzing around her!
Why couldn't they just enjoy the water like her and calm down?
"Get a picture, Harold."
A large flock of the faux gems congregated on the sand, staring and pointing. Small furry four legged creatures ran around the crowed, barking up a storm and weaving between the bipedal beings legs. One of the little furry creatures broke away and ran towards her, tail wagging only to be grabbed and pulled back. Amethyst flicked her tail, splashing towards the crowd.
"Mountain lions aren't even supposed to be on the east coast."
"Cool."
"Dare, me to touch it?"
“It doesn’t look so tough.”
"Mommy! I want to pet the kitty!" One screeched.
That was enough.
Amethyst got to her feet, glowering at the flock.
"Don't you have something better to do?" She spoke in a deep growl, spittle flying as she hissed through her teeth. This was apparently not the thing to do, because as soon as they saw her long sharp fang people start to scream.
"IT'S RABID!" Amethyst flattened her ears, winced at the shrill tone.
"Get out of the water!"
People hastily ran, leaving most of their goods behind in the ensuing stampede. Some of the creatures pushed each other over in panic, stepping over one another in the frantic rush. A few literally crawled on their hands and knees.
"Get in the car!"
"Where are my keys?!"
"Helen!"
"The car!"
"Oh god. My KEYS!"
In less than 5 minutes the beach was clear of all but Amethyst, a singular gem like creature and a bunch of junk abandoned by the flock. Amethyst flopped back down, keeping one wary eye on the remaining creature. The fake gem (she really needed a better name) sat on a fold out chair, not really doing too much. Her hand moved a stick along a pad of some kind, but that was about it. She had short blonde hair and wore a type of pants that went up to her chest and fastened over her shoulders.
"I guess they don't know how to deal with a little bit of pussy." The blonde chuckled to herself. A sound Amethyst decided was much more pleasant than the high pitch shrieks the others made.
Amethyst rested her chin on the back of her arm and closed her eyes.
“What the hell was their problem?” she mused. The creature didn’t respond; not that Amethyst expected her to. She just continued fiddling away with her stick thing, unconcerned with her surroundings.
"Shit. Why didn't I bring my colour pencils? Grey really doesn't do you justice." She put down her stick and pulled out a black rectangle from her pocket, holding it up to her eye.
"Say 'cheese' gorgeous." Amethyst opened one eye, regarding the girl for a moment then rolling onto her back.
"There," she exclaimed proudly, smug smile endorsing her face in small wrinkles. "Now I can colour you in later. Just don’t tell anyone I cheated." She winked, tucking the rectangle back in her pocket and picked up her stick again. The gem watched as the blond held the instrument out as far as her arm could reach closing one eye and tilting her head. What was this thing doing?
The beach was quite with just the two of them. The blonde bobbed her feet as she worked; her stick scratching lightly as she dragged it across her pad. Amethyst closed her eyes, letting the sounds of earth lull her.
The moment didn’t last long, the blonde muttering and banging as she started to dig through bags. Amethyst looked in mild curiosity, barely bothering to open a singular eye. The first bag the women went through was discarded without a care, hocked over her shoulder, before grabbing a dark green one to her left. That bag was also chucked to the side, apparently even less interesting then the first, if the blonde’s grimace was anything to go by. The third bag met the game fate as the last two but on the forth bag a smile spread across her face, a look full of glee and mischief all too familiar to the gem. Perhaps this particular one was more gem like then Amethyst had originally gave her credit for.
"Want something to eat?" The gem perked up in interest. The creature smiles at her as she waved a small triangular package she had pulled from the bag in Amethyst’s direction. She threw the rectangle with all her might, landing the object within a foot of the gem. Curious, Amethyst trotted over giving the triangle a sniff, the smell was something she couldn't quite put a name to, but danm if it wasn’t enticing. Looking towards the creature for some explanation, she saw the woman rip the wrapping off her own triangle and take a bite. Getting the idea Amethyst bit in, not bothering to remove the wrapping.
It was like an explosion in her mouth! Hastily she took the rest of it in one gulp, her tongue practically singing at the sensation. She purred as another triangle was thrown at her, pouncing on the packet before it could hit the ground, tearing in with ravenous intent. The creature laughed, momentarily forgetting to eat her own share.
"This 'is' some really good ham and cheese." She dug through a pink and beige tote, pulling out a box. The box seemed rather plain and nowhere as interesting as the tasty triangles had been, but Amethyst patted closer curiously. The blonde took a small plastic tube of the front of the rectangle and stabbed it in the top. She put the tube to her mouth, moaning in delight.
"Hell, they even got the good apple juice. I should probably leave a thank you note for the family that left behind such awesome food." The women was completely relaxed with Amethyst sitting in front of her, going as far to pet the gem's head. Amethyst pressed into the touch, kicking her foot when her nails hit just the perfect spot behind her ears.
"Here." She placed another triangle on the ground, smiling gentle as the gem curled up by her feet and started to eat. Amethyst took her time with this one, savouring every last bite.
Amethyst was half way done eating when a police cruiser pulled up with its lights flashing. Another gem like creature hoped out, darker and smaller than the blonde with tasty treats. The small one had yet to start screeching like the flock, so Amethyst relaxed.
"Vidalia?" The small one called out, keeping a healthy distance between her and the giant cat. "What is that?"
"Hey, Rubes." Vidalia smiled at her friend, waving her to come over. She gestured vaguely towards the plethora of abandoned property littering he beach. "Take a seat, there's only about 100 of them."
"No, seriously. Why is there a freaking jungle cat at your feet?" Ruby rubbed her temples; she was much too tired for this.
"Isn’t she awesome? I'm gonna calling her Gorgeous." Vidalia casually scratched Amethyst’s head.
“What? No!”
“You don’t like the name?” She took on a mock tone of hurt.
"No! Don't name it."
"I guess it’s a little rude to just name something without asking; she might alreadt have one."
"We can't have this thing getting comfortable and hanging around town. It will chase away tourist."
"Come now, she's harmless." She lifted the big cats head, scratching under its chin and around the ruff of her neck. "See?"
"It's a wild animal, and not a healthy one by the looks of it."
Amethyst flicked her tail, slamming it against the sand.
"Oh please,” she rolled her eyes, “Just give her a pat and she'll warm right up to you."
"I'm not touching that thing!" her usually gruff voice squeaking as she rose her voice.
The gem bristled in annoyance; she had just starting to like these creatures, but of course they just had to get loud again.
"Touch the pussy cat."
"A skin parasite probably caused that discolouration."
"Come on Rubes, pet the pussy. I know you know how."
"No."
"No, you don’t know how? That’s not what Sapphire told me."
"That’s not wha-" Amethyst pressed her face into Ruby's hand, hoping to shut them up.
The officer’s eyes widened to the size of dinner plates and Vidalia half expected her to bolt like the tourist did. The diminutive women was made of tougher stuff then that and after a few tense heart beats she ran her fingered through the purple coat, marvelling at the silky texture.
"She's so soft." She whispered, barely above a breath. Her eyes sparkled in wonder.
"I know right?"
Ruby grabbed a nearby beach chair and settled down with her friend. Vidalia reached into the tote bag again, pulling out a couple of beer cans.
"Did you get a new bag?" Ruby asked, eyeing the big pink flamingo on the side of the bag.
"No." She snorted, tossing the can to the cop.
Ruby was about to say something, she really was. Instead she just sighed and popped the can.
“You know,” Vidalia mused, taking a swig of her warm beer, grimacing at the taste. “Having a big cat at your feet really does make me feel like a total bad ass.”
“You look ridicules.” Ruby snorted, tipping slowly at her own can.
“But I FEEL like a queen.”
“In those pants?”
“Hey! My overalls will be the next big thing.”
“Along with the paint spotches?”
“Of course, the paint is what makes them cool. We should get you a pair, than we can both be queens in our paint covered overalls.”