conductor of the struggle bus [open]

[exuviiated]

[So, after he gets gracelessly dunked and... purified, he supposes, he runs.

Back to his little place in the slums, and there he hides out until he feels ready to face the world again. That comes with time and hunger, and finds him at the mall with what currency he's managed to get from pawning off things he doesn't need.]

Hey, is there any map of the mall? I'm-- I'm lost.

[Very lost.]

Comments

[diediediediediedie]

Oh yes, I forgot that humans are far less durable than Gems- Wait, you...perform dissections on yourself?

[She can't be understanding that right.]

What's a cadaver?

[exuviiated]

So, an animal corpse is a carcass, but a human corpse is a cadaver, so, basically, a dead body.

[That could have been phrased better.]

And I don't, no, but I-- well, I, after I got dunked in the fountain I spent a lot of time practicing my magic.

[diediediediediedie]

You have a word for that?

[Well, she supposes it makes sense.]

Gems don't leave bodies behind when we're damaged. I've...only ever encountered a dead human once, and I didn't get to spend much time around it.

[Let's just...dispense with the why and how of that incident.]

It would be better to practice on a live human anyway. Death just revives creatures around here, so it's a waste of energy to heal a dead body.

[exuviiated]

Yeah.

[And then he's quiet to allow her to talk. And since the dead human is only mentioned in passing, he decides to let sleeping dogs lie and move on.]

You don't leave behind bodies? Why?

[diediediediediedie]

Well, strictly speaking we don't actually have bodies. Our bodies are hard-light holograms that we project outwardly from our gems.

[She gestures towards the one on her forehead. See? Gem.]

When our bodies are too damaged to function we simply retreat into our gems to regenerate. So much cleaner than...Well, you know.

[exuviiated]

Oh. That's cool.

[He doesn't fully understand it, but that might come with time.]

Do you think your healing magic works on projections? Or gems?

[diediediediediedie]

Yes, I...had an opportunity to test it some time ago. It definitely works on our bodies. I'm not sure about our gems, but I admittedly can't think of a reason it wouldn't work on gems.

Not that I understands how it works at all...

[She's getting crabby again...]

[exuviiated]

Hey, hey, I don't know how it works either, only that it does.

[He holds his hands up in a hopefully placating gesture.]

Anyways, I gotta go eat something. Do you want to come with me? I mean, it's fine if you don't want to.

[diediediediediedie]

...Eat?

Oh, right. Gems don't need to do... [visible shudder] ...body function things, like you humans do.

[exuviiated]

Hah, yeah, if I don't eat I'll die. You guys are lucky.

[Is that a social faux-pas to gems? Mentioning body function things? He certainly hopes not.]

[diediediediediedie]

Yes, we are. Seems like an such an inefficient way to regulate your energy...

doggedly tries to make friends...

[exuviiated]

If I could bypass eating entirely, I would, believe me. So, y'wanna go try some with me anyways?

[diediediediediedie]

I will watch...Well, no, I will not watch you eat. But I'll be in the general area you eat in so we can discuss things.

[exuviiated]

Sounds good. What kind of things do you want to discuss?

[He gives a few seconds before talking again.]

I want to hear more about your physiology, if you don't mind.

[diediediediediedie]

I want to know exactly what I need to look for when I heal, but certainly.

[She's fine with discussing herself and her clearly superior kind.]

Ask anything about me you want to know.

[exuviiated]

Okay, so--

[He hums for a second.]

Not necessarily about you, but are you the only one of your kind here? IT must be lonely to be the only one...

[diediediediediedie]

...There is...another Gem here. yes. It would be great if she wasn't a complete traitor to all Gem-kind.

If she would stop actively hunting me, that would also be ideal.

yes, invite the alien into your home, aaron

[exuviiated]

But we're all facing a bigger threat now. Can't she put aside her aggression?

Well, if you can't find a safe place to stay, you can always come stay the night in my place. It's in the slums, last place anyone would expect.

Aaron, let this be a big ol' red flag for you buddy.

[diediediediediedie]

Well...yes, that would be ideal but I may have...further antagonized her by...critically wounding a human important to her.

...He forgave me, just so we're clear!

Hm...What do you mean by "slums," exactly?

[exuviiated]

Critically wounding?

[(Oh no.)]

I don't... I think that even if you were forgiven, that's not... that's a pretty bad habit.

...anyways, I live just east of the high rises. There's a fern outside my door.

[diediediediediedie]

There were extenuating circumstances. I have nothing really against humans as a group.

[In that she doesn't think much of them at all, but still.]

It was an accident, for what that's worth. Even if it's not that much, apparently.

[exuviiated]

That's... that's good. So, I still need to eat.

[Thanks to his protesting stomach reminding him of that.]

D'you wanna stick around, maybe try something? I know you said you don't have to eat, but...

[His voice fades out, and he shrugs.]

[diediediediediedie]

Then lead to wherever the food is.

[That's subtle polite hinting to Peridot.]

I won't have any, thank you. It seems like...far more of a hassle then it could be worth.

[exuviiated]

So, food court's over there.

[And he leads, hands finding his pockets.]

And yeah, no problem. 'S not like I'm going to force you.

[After a few seconds of quiet walking, he pipes up again.]

Does every gem look like you?

[diediediediediedie]

[Peridot simply keeps up, evenly and almost...robotically. She hardly needs to adjust her speed at all.]

Most Peridots look the same as I do, with minor variations. But a Peridot doesn't look the same as, say, a Pearl. And a Pearl looks different from a Ruby, but similar to other Pearls. And so on and so on...