(for intherealway) " Are you afraid?"
Steven’s hands shook as he stared at the ground, tears bubbling at the corners of his eyes, though to his credit not a single one of them was shed. The edge of the cliff stared back at him, a gaping chasm standing between him and where Pearl stood. A huge chasm that he was apparently expected to jump…Lost as he was in his anxiety, the sudden question caught him off guard, and he hesitated to answer. He could feel fear swirling in his chest, constricting his lungs like a snake and making his heart gallop far faster than it should. He knew that he wasn’t just afraid, he was downright terrified.And yet… He also knew what Pearl wanted him to say. After the incident with Sugilite some time ago he knew how badly she wished for him to trust her, to hold faith in her. Even now he could hear it in her tone, the worry that he didn’t have trust her enough.Now, he had never failed to believe in his adoptive mom, but she sometimes tended to forget how fragile a half human could be.For a moment he recalled chasing her across the floating islands as she fled him and Lion, and the lengthy fall he’d taken even then from a cliff too similar to this one, but he quickly pushed away the thought. This was different, it didn’t matter here.This was a training challenge, a smaller mission, just him and Pearl. What kind of Crystal Gem was he if he couldn’t do it? He’d disappoint everyone, he’d let them down…So he replied, steeling his nerves, swallowing hard, and calling back a slightly choked off “No, not at all! W-we’ve got this!”But that was a lie. Despite his best intentions, Steven was very very afraid. Pearl just didn’t have to know about it. @intherealway









