cinnabar.

[nonbelligerent]

Comments

[nonbelligerent]

I can always clean up afterwards, but it's your choice.

[globs]

[ on one hand, they feel nice and warm inside, being actually invited into someone else's home. On the other hand, they know he shares this room with another person, and they also know that they'll make a big mess that probably won't be as easy to clean as he's imagining, even without the corrosive aspect. ]

... Let's talk somewhere else.

[ and they don't want to ruin things if they don't have to. After a second, they add hurriedly: ]

I mean... if you're okay with that... I don't really care either way...

[nonbelligerent]

Of course. Where would you like to go?

[globs]

[ oh, they have to make the choice... ]

Maybe... those springs. There's usually no one there at night.

[ they spend a lot of time there because of it. ]

[nonbelligerent]

All right. You know the way, then?

[globs]

[ they nod, then turn to start leading the way, a little awkwardly. ]

You're not busy?

[nonbelligerent]

I have time.

[he literally just told lune he was busy today but WHATEVER HE HAS TIME FOR CINNABAR.]

[globs]

[ SHESS!!!!!!!!!! ]

I'm not interrupting your practice?

[nonbelligerent]

No, it's fine. It tires me out anyway, so I shouldn't do it before a trial.

[globs]

[ right. the trial. Cinnabar just nods again, seeming to accept that as an answer.

The hot springs aren't too far away, luckily; they're quiet for most of the journey, not knowing what to say, as usual. Just like Cinnabar said, there's no one around. Rather than getting into the springs, they carefully walk around them, finding a cozy crevice in the rock face to stand in, instead - although they make sure to stay standing in the moonlight. They'll fall asleep if they don't get direct light in the evening. ]

... How do we make this stop happening? We need to think of something.

[nonbelligerent]

[he follows, allowing cinnabar their silence.]

We do. Unfortunately, I'm not sure just yet.

[globs]

We'll all be gone soon if we don't find a way soon.

[ they try to be cold and clinical about it, but they can't help sounding a little worried, too, especially as they look back over at Shess. They want to protect their friends - and that includes him, now, too, not just the other gems. ]

Have those two said anything about where the Corruption is coming from?

[nonbelligerent]

No. Not unless they keep expecting us to travel to different worlds like this.

[globs]

[ they knew about the different worlds, but that was it. ]

... Is the only way to "purge the corruption," like they said, to let it infest someone and then kill that person, then?

[ they frown. ]

They made it sound like the ones that died weren't truly dead. But... I don't know if I believe that, either. Even if it is true... That's cruel.

[nonbelligerent]

Right. If their souls are still lingering, then that could be a cruel fate...

Though a group of us learned something in one of the previous worlds. A message: "Maybe there are other ways to snuff out the darkness if we keep getting rid of it as it spreads."

[globs]

Huh? [ they didn't know about this. Not talking to anyone sometimes has negative effects. ] Who was the message from...? Or did you simply find it?

[nonbelligerent]

They encountered a native from the world who told them that. They were forcibly removed from the area before they could finish interrogating him, though.

[globs]

[ of course. Cinnabar looks slightly frustrated, but what can they do? At least they learned something. ]

Let's hope he was telling the truth. Otherwise... We'll just be waiting here for weeks, until either we destroy all of it or it destroys all of us.

[ ... They pause, then frown again, deeper. They sound like Phos did, now, and they don't like that. ]

[nonbelligerent]

I don't know if destroying all of it is the right solution, but it's definitely true we have to make sure it doesn't destroy all of us.

[globs]

I wonder if doing that is even possible.

[ they've been at war their whole life with an unknown entity that's been slowly whittling down their numbers. It's hard to imagine actually making progress here for them. ]

[nonbelligerent]

Do you think we're doomed to lose, then?

[globs]

... It's hard for me to believe in something like a happy ending.

[nonbelligerent]

[...]

Well, life isn't usually sorted neatly into "happy" endings or "sad" endings.

[globs]

I know.

[ a beat. Gems aren't used to "endings" at all - their conflicts tend to be as endless as their lives, going on and on without resolution until they lose all meaning. Cinnabar is no different. ]

What about you? Do you think we're doomed to lose?

[nonbelligerent]

From a cynical perspective, we may have been brought here to personally lose but for the universe to win.

Whether things will absolutely go that way or not, it's too early to say.