Home is so Far Away

But I'm learning that I want to stay...

[misplaced-ruby]

[Rose Quartz] "Are you busy?" Rose Quartz asked in a low tone, hoping that the other gems wouldn't overhear her since she wanted to slip away unnoticed. "I would like to show you a place full of machines, it's loud and overwhelming at first though, but... It's fine if you would rather not go with me." There was a mischievous grin plastered to her face and a twinkle in her eye from merely speaking of this little adventure.

“Not particularly,” was Ruby’s first response, tone just as quiet as Rose Quartz’s as he glanced down at her. He couldn’t really fathom a guess about where she wanted to take him, but with one look over to the other gems in the area, he was sure it would be more enjoyable than here. Even if it was as loud and overwhelming as the smaller gem claimed.

“There is no reason I would rather not go with you. Lead the way,” he said, making a small gesture for her to start walking. In the back of his mind, Ruby mused over whether the look in her eye would end up being a good thing or a bad thing…

[smolrosequartz]

Seeing him insert the coin into the game’s slot made her turn towards the screen so she could hopefully explain how to mess around with it. Considering their height difference, it should be easy enough for him to see over her head, and she figured that waving him over would get him to stand directly behind her. “Come closer and look at the screen. You’ll have to grab the stick on the left and hit the buttons on the right…” she explained, turning both ways to grab each of his wrists then she forced him to position his hands as she instructed.

“You see the warrior standing there with his weapons drawn? You will have to move him with the stick and you have to fight with the buttons… Do you think you can manage on your own for now?” Rose looked up at Ruby while wearing a small smile on her face, “I’m sure you can figure things out as you go along.”

[misplaced-ruby]

Following her instructions, he stepped behind her, hands resting on the controls as he watched the screen. This seemed simple enough, much easier than controlling the ship he came to earth in. It looked like the warrior on the screen was only allowed to move certain ways, and the limited buttons meant their attacks would be limited as well.

...Okay, he was pretty sure he understood. “I think I can manage, Rose Quartz,” he affirmed, looking down and mimicking her smile. This should be easy to figure out and master! He could handle this, though he did wish things were a little quieter in this place. Starting out slow, Ruby took control of the small virtual warrior, testing out what all the buttons did before nodding to himself and really focusing on the game.

[misplaced-ruby]

[Rose Quartz] "Are you busy?" Rose Quartz asked in a low tone, hoping that the other gems wouldn't overhear her since she wanted to slip away unnoticed. "I would like to show you a place full of machines, it's loud and overwhelming at first though, but... It's fine if you would rather not go with me." There was a mischievous grin plastered to her face and a twinkle in her eye from merely speaking of this little adventure.

“Not particularly,” was Ruby’s first response, tone just as quiet as Rose Quartz’s as he glanced down at her. He couldn’t really fathom a guess about where she wanted to take him, but with one look over to the other gems in the area, he was sure it would be more enjoyable than here. Even if it was as loud and overwhelming as the smaller gem claimed.

“There is no reason I would rather not go with you. Lead the way,” he said, making a small gesture for her to start walking. In the back of his mind, Ruby mused over whether the look in her eye would end up being a good thing or a bad thing…

[smolrosequartz]

Rose softly clapped her hands out of excitement, taking care to be a little quieter after the fact, then she stepped closer to Ruby to take hold of his hand and practically dragged him in the direction of the Arcade. “I’m so happy that you’re coming along, Ruby… This place is fondly referred to as Funland Arcade, but I thought that it might… Well, interest you at least a little bit.”

Upon arriving to the scene, the small gem released his hand and took off in the direction of the fighting games. It was easy to ignore the loud music and screaming children since she’s been here before, but she figured that it would be a rough experience for Ruby’s first time… So with that thought in mind, she stopped in her tracks to turn around and face her friend, then handed over a small coin to keep his attention focused on herself. “You have to place these tokens in the slots to make the machines work, okay?”

[misplaced-ruby]

If nothing else, Ruby could certainly say the place Rose dragged him to was... interesting. She hadn’t been exaggerating as much as he thought she might’ve about the noise and everything. It was disconcerting. Some sort of music was playing, but it was at war with the sounds of small earthlings and some of the machines in the building. This place was called an ‘Arcade’?

Feeling a coin getting pressed into his hand, he brought his wary gaze back down to the pink gem, nodding slowly. “...Okay.” Taking the coin, he held it up and flipped it around in his hand before focusing back on the machines it was to be fed to. Were these coins a fuel source to the machines then? Or perhaps they had functionality closer to that of a key? A temporary key, for it seemed he would lose it after one attempt...

[misplaced-ruby]

[Rose Quartz] "Are you busy?" Rose Quartz asked in a low tone, hoping that the other gems wouldn't overhear her since she wanted to slip away unnoticed. "I would like to show you a place full of machines, it's loud and overwhelming at first though, but... It's fine if you would rather not go with me." There was a mischievous grin plastered to her face and a twinkle in her eye from merely speaking of this little adventure.

“Not particularly,” was Ruby’s first response, tone just as quiet as Rose Quartz’s as he glanced down at her. He couldn’t really fathom a guess about where she wanted to take him, but with one look over to the other gems in the area, he was sure it would be more enjoyable than here. Even if it was as loud and overwhelming as the smaller gem claimed.

“There is no reason I would rather not go with you. Lead the way,” he said, making a small gesture for her to start walking. In the back of his mind, Ruby mused over whether the look in her eye would end up being a good thing or a bad thing...

[misplaced-ruby]

[Blue Lace] "Shouldn't you be trying to run away still? It'll be fun to watch, at least."

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your artificial gems?” Ruby barely glanced at Blue Lace Agate, crossing his arms. The other gem was one of the reasons he tried to avoid lingering near where the “Crystal Gems” made their base.

[bluelacebaby]

“And you call us oafs.” Did Ruby seriously not see the point? No, Blue Lace doubted that. This… their house guest (who was surely aware he had long since overstayed his welcome) was doing this on purpose. There was no way to miss how upset the calling it a collar made her! You’d have to be a blasted fool to miss that and… well, Ruby certainly wasn’t as bad as Sea Glass. “I knew you were uncouth, but I’m amazed.”

“If you’re smart enough to figure that out, I’m sure finding some use for all this… junk,” Junk seemed to be his go to word for anything Homeworld, including Ruby himself. “Will be no problem.”

[misplaced-ruby]

That was it, he was leaving. Time to go back to the kindergarten he called his base. He didn’t have to put up with this stupid Agate. “Finding uses for this severely outdated equipment is not the issue. But if you want me to leave as much as you act, perhaps you should try making a suitable, stable ship. Or perhaps you lot shouldn’t have destroyed the home warp.” Turning on the heels of his gravity connectors, Ruby set off for the nearest warp pad. He was done dealing with the blue gem.

[misplaced-ruby]

[Blue Lace] "Shouldn't you be trying to run away still? It'll be fun to watch, at least."

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your artificial gems?” Ruby barely glanced at Blue Lace Agate, crossing his arms. The other gem was one of the reasons he tried to avoid lingering near where the “Crystal Gems” made their base.

[bluelacebaby]

His brow went up at the word collar, Blue Lace knowing full well what weight the word carried. Shifting his weight slightly, he moved a bit closer to Ruby as he interrupted their… conversation to instead comment on that quickly. “You know, red. If Calcite calls it a communicator, it’s a communicator.” Stupid Homeworld jerk and his gross views… probably thought it was okay to keep other gems as a pet, even. “Then I guess you’ll have to make it work, sooner rather than later.”

“I can think of more gems happy to see you leave than otherwise. You know that, right?” He said this casually, as if he was being friendly as can be.

[misplaced-ruby]

Eyes narrowing, Ruby shifted again, putting more space between him and the other gem. Irritating clod didn’t seem to understand personal space. “What the geode calls it only speaks of one of it’s functions. She could very well find a similar device if she only wanted a communicator. What she has, however, is a collar. It is a fact not open to dispute.” The idiotic Agate was acting as if he knew more about Homeworld technology than the actual Homeworld gems.

“I am well aware you could do that. It’s not necessary when I am fully aware of my standing with others on this blasted rock,” he said, jaw clenched.

[misplaced-ruby]

[Blue Lace] "Shouldn't you be trying to run away still? It'll be fun to watch, at least."

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your artificial gems?” Ruby barely glanced at Blue Lace Agate, crossing his arms. The other gem was one of the reasons he tried to avoid lingering near where the “Crystal Gems” made their base.

[bluelacebaby]

Blue Lace chose to rest his chin on his palm, eyeing Ruby with a dull, bored expression. His jaw clenched momentarily when Rose’s… opinion was brought up and his gaze swerved, finding something that didn’t anger him quite so much to look at. “Mm. Even she can be wrong. It’s rare, but apparently.” A tight smirk, furrowed gaze back at Ruby once again “You’re an exception. If you’re really so unhappy with the tech here, maybe Calcite’s… communicator will be useful.”

Then, as an after thought. “I’m sure she’ll be happy to be rid of you, too.”

[misplaced-ruby]

Ruby scoffed. Who was he to speak down about the apparent leader of their group? And besides... “The geode’s collar is hardly any better than the gem tech left on this planet from before. Even one that has communication abilities such as hers.” Just how dim was this oaf? There was hardly any tech in the collar in the first place, nothing even worth the investment he’d need to actually take the thing from Calcite.

“...I’m sure she would be,” he agreed, touch-stumps pressing into his skin.

[misplaced-ruby]

[Blue Lace] "Shouldn't you be trying to run away still? It'll be fun to watch, at least."

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your artificial gems?” Ruby barely glanced at Blue Lace Agate, crossing his arms. The other gem was one of the reasons he tried to avoid lingering near where the “Crystal Gems” made their base.

[bluelacebaby]

“Those two? Unlike you, they can take care of themselves.” Ruby’s reply had earned a scoff and eye roll. Apparently with nothing else to do, the blue gem was plenty interested in prodding at their guest. He leaned forward against whatever was nearest, eyeing Ruby. “At least, they’re smart enough to tell where they’re wanted~”

[misplaced-ruby]

Shifting his weight away from the other gem, Ruby took to lightly tapping his touch-stumps near the gem on his left arm. If Blue Lace really wanted him to leave, he’d have to force him. “You’ll find I am fully aware I am not wanted here,” he said, somewhat irked. “However, Rose has made her stance clear, and there is only so much possible with the incredibly outdated technology you have on this planet.”

[misplaced-ruby]

[Blue Lace] "Shouldn't you be trying to run away still? It'll be fun to watch, at least."

“Shouldn’t you be taking care of your artificial gems?” Ruby barely glanced at Blue Lace Agate, crossing his arms. The other gem was one of the reasons he tried to avoid lingering near where the “Crystal Gems” made their base.