@goldenbeastkeeper
They were in no hurry to head out to the desert, to investigate the place Lion told them about. Especially not after the way everything went down with Bismuth.
Pearl is hesitant to do it now, at the start of July. Mere days away from-
The corrupting light flashes in her mind, and she has to close her eyes and carefully control her breathing, four seconds in, hold, four seconds out. She puts a hand on Garnet's arm to be a guide as they walk through the sand, since she's walking blind with her eyes closed.
Garnet knows this time of year is difficult. It's not exactly enjoyable for her either; they've talked about it before. But they can't just stop everything every year for this. They manage, and Pearl can manage now. But stars, she wishes they weren't doing this in July.
❝We're here,❞ Garnet says just as they stop, so Pearl doesn't run into her.
Pearl doesn't open her eyes yet, as she hears Steven and Amethyst start to rummage around.
❝Are you okay?❞ Garnet asks quietly, and Pearl nods.
❝I only need a second,❞ she responds. ❝You know how this time of year is.❞
❝Mm.❞ And then Garnet walks away from her too.
❝Hey, who's Nora?❞ Steven shouts, and Pearl opens her eyes.
❝That was the other name Rose and your father had in mind for you,❞ she says, searching around for Steven in the crumbled building, but her eyes catch instead on the large pink structure on the other side of the only intact wall.
❝Her ship-❞ She gasps, before her hands clasp over her mouth.
All this time. All this time. Pearl had assumed that the other three Diamonds took Pink's ship with them! That if she still had it, Rose would have SAID SOMETHING!
Rose knew how trapped Pearl has felt on Earth at times. And she still had her ship. She just let Pearl suffer for no reason. It's not as if Pearl wanted to go home, just out there. To visit, to feel like she had the choice to live on Earth, rather than being stranded.
She takes several steps backward. No one has noticed her distress yet, too busy picking through the piles of stuff Rose has left here. She can't let them see. It's not as if she can explain. Not really.
They don't know that it's Rose's ship.
Lock it down. Stop breathing. Control it. DON'T FEEL IT.
She grabs her own wrist to forcibly yank her hand away from her mouth, and heads over to Garnet.
❝Garnet,❞ she says low, and urgently.
❝You can't handle this today?❞ Garnet says, before Pearl even finds the specific excuse to leave now.
❝I'm sorry. I thought I'd be able to but-❞ She points at the ship without looking at it. Pink Diamond's ship. ❝I can't.❞
Garnet takes off her visor, looking intently in the direction Pearl is pointing. ❝... Is... that Pink Diamonds ship? Did Rose steal it?❞
She looks back at Pearl, who is working very diligently to not completely break down right here. To keep the feelings under lock and key.
Garnet knows that Pink Diamond is a very bad topic for Pearl. That she's easily and deeply upset by any mention of her. She doesn't know the half of it, but that has, at least, made it easier to avoid the topic over the years. And it's an out, now.
❝... Go. It mostly seems like junk here anyway. Aside from... that. We can handle it.❞
Pearl doesn't need to hear it twice before taking off. Garnet will explain for her to Amethyst and Steven.
She barely away from them when the tears start, and even in a full sprint, she's sobbing by the time she reaches the warp pad.
ALL THIS TIME. Rose still had her ship ALL THIS TIME. THE ENTIRE TIME.
She warps out, going up to the temple hand, because hopefully she won't be disturbed up there.
She could just claimed to have stolen it, as Garnet immediately assumed, if she was worried about the others asking questions. She didn't have to hide the ship from ANYONE.
She especially didn't have to hide it from Pearl.
She hid it from Pearl. Why would she-
Get it together Pearl. They're not going to be out there forever. You CAN'T BE LIKE THIS WHEN THEY GET BACK!
WHY WOULD SHE HIDE IT!?
Stop- stop- stop- AH SHE'S SUPPOSED TO CALL VALOR!
She fumbles her brand new phone out of her gem, and it takes several attempts for her to open the contacts and call him with how badly her hands are shaking.
She doesn't really have much coherent to say when the call is answered, choking out something about Lion and the desert in between sobs, clinging to her phone like a lifeline.
