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Pearl narrowed her eyes and marked a large map. “So, once we get off the warp right around here, it’s only about a mile walk to the old gem temple. Now, we haven’t had time to clear this area, so I’m not entirely sure what we’re up against. I believe there are only two corrupted gems here. Two Ambers were sent on a mission at the beginning of the gem war and records show they’re some of the few left who have not yet been recovered. We don’t know what these gem types are like when corrupted, so we are going to need to keep our guard up. Think we can handle it?”
“Just two gems?” Bismuth asked confidently. “We’ve got this.”
“Okay!” Pearl stood up, ready to take on a new challenge. While most corrupted gems had been healed and uncorrupted, they would occasionally find some that were seemingly lost to society. “Keep in mind, because our resources are currently limited between the two of us, we’re going to have to poof and bubble them to bring them home before we can heal them. It’s not the ideal method, but it’ll have to do for now.”
“I hope I’m not rusty.” Bismuth said, rubbing a hand on the back of her neck.
“Oh please,” Pearl cooed. “You were bubbled for over 5,000 years and you didn’t skip a beat when you came back.”
“If you trust me, I trust me.” They exchanged a smile.
They headed towards the warp and found themselves in a dense forest. Trees were so high which didn’t allow for much light to illuminate their path to the temple. Even animals were scarce. She saw a deer lurking behind a tree but that was all to be seen. There were no bugs and the sound of birds was even non-existent.
“Wow, I wasn’t expecting this. It looks like this place has been untouched by humans for decades. Has it always been like this?” Bismuth asked. She surveyed her surroundings. Thick grass passed their knees, and the single deer scurried around in the distance.
“No, a few trees maybe, but it wasn’t like this. Stay sharp.”
They pushed through the forest. What was only a mile in distance, it felt longer because of how hard it was to get through the greenery. After some time, they stood in front of a large, abandoned temple. The front of the temple was covered with roots that blocked off any possible entrance. They searched for a way in before a thought came to Pearl’s mind.
“You know, I think I remember there being an alternate way in from behind. Follow me.”
At the back of the large structure, there was a small opening, just big enough for Pearl to fit in through.
“It doesn’t appear you’ll be able to get in this way. I’m going to go inside and search for a way for you to come in. Stay here.”
“Pearl, I don’t know about this. Are you sure you’ll be okay?”
“Of course, don’t worry about me.” Pearl smiled and patted Bismuth on the side of her arm. Bismuth blushed. Noting this, Pearl broke contact and shyly bent down, crawling through the back entrance. Once she was inside, she called to Bismuth. “Bismuth, can you hear me?”
“Yeah! What’s it looking like in there?”
“It’s hard to see…” Pearl responded through the wall. “There should be something in here that… ah!”
Bismuth heard a loud thump and the once small entrance extended, big enough for Bismuth to walk through. Pearl stood inside, proudly grinning.
“I’m surprised this still works. Gem technology is pretty incredible.” Pearl stepped back and took a few moments to look around. While the temple looked big from the outside, it felt even bigger inside. Pearl shined a light from inside her gem, illuminating the space further. Nature had taken over the inside as well; it was dark, but they could make out a small amber-colored gem in a far corner.
“Hey, over there.” Bismuth whispered. “I only see one.”
“It’s possible they got the numbers wrong but be on the lookout. Let’s approach very carefully, we don’t know what state she’s in.”
They walked quietly towards the gem cowering in a corner. She was clearly corrupted, her once beautiful form covered in dark orange and green spots. Once they were close, Bismuth bent down, extending a hand. The gem looked up at them, screeching and then running away out of sight.
Pearl made her spear appear, cautiously looking around. A corrupted gem could pop out at any moment. Another screech was followed by the corrupted Amber jumping from a nearby ledge and onto Bismuth. Pearl narrowly avoided hitting Bismuth, her spear entering the body of the gem. She poofed on impact. Bismuth took a few deep breaths and began to compose herself.
“Thanks, Pearl, that thing almost got me.”
Pearl nodded and picked up the gem, sending it off in a small bubble. “It doesn’t look like there’s another gem here. I’m sure they got the number wrong. It was only the one.”
“Okay, well. That was easier than I thought, I guess.” Bismuth finally stood up and brushed off her shoulders. After getting onto her feet, another gem rushed out of the darkness and attacked Bismuth, knocking her back down swiftly. Pearl readied her weapon and pushed the gem out of the way. Once it was at a safe distance from Bismuth, she struck the corrupted gem with her spear, bubbling it and sending it off. She turned around to check on Bismuth who was still on the ground.
Bismuth was on her side facing away from Pearl. When Pearl got closer, she noticed that she was clutching her chest. Pearl leaned down and examined her, placing a soft hand on her shoulder.
“Bismuth? Is your gem okay?”
“I don’t know.” Bismuth tried to sit up but slipped back to the ground. “I feel kind of weird.” Suddenly, her form glitched, sending her head jolting back. “Oh no…” She took her hand off her chest and looked down at her gem. There was a crack extending from the top right, all the way down into the middle. “Ah, dang it!” She glitched again and then gripped her head in pain.
“Oh, Bismuth.” Pearl wrapped her arms around the large gem. “We have to get you back to the temple.”
Bismuth stood up carefully. Pearl tried her best to help support Bismuth’s weight while they made their way back through the forest, to the warp, and finally to the temple. Once they were home, Bismuth collapsed. Everything went black.
Hours passed when Bismuth came to. She was laying on the couch in the temple, Pearl looking down at her. Her gem was fixed, as they always had diamond essence on hand for situations like this, but Bismuth still wasn’t feeling too well. She wanted to get up, but Pearl pushed her back down.
“Now now, Bismuth. Just rest. It can take some time to adjust even after the physical form of your gem has been healed. I’m going to have to keep a close eye on you for a couple of hours while you recover. You’re not going anywhere.” Pearl smiled and moved aside some stray hairs from Bismuth’s face, making sure that she was comfortable. “Can I get you anything while you’re here?”
“Your company is all that I really need.” Bismuth admitted, a happy expression passing over her features. Pearl blushed a bit and turned away. “Sit with me, Pearl?”
“Of course.” Pearl joined Bismuth on the couch and rubbed a hand on her head, soothing her friend. Pearl didn’t know that Bismuth had feelings for her despite Bismuth making it rather obvious. The feelings were mutual from Pearl, but both were too shy to act on them. It wasn’t until the moment where Pearl felt particularly more drawn to Bismuth, even more than usual. Maybe it was her nurturing nature that brought up these feelings again, she didn’t know, but she was happy to be here with Bismuth.
Bismuth leaned over and rested her head on Pearl’s lap. Pearl stroked her head, playing with her hair. Bismuth reached out and took her hand, swiftly intertwining fingers.
“Bismuth?”
“Shh...” Bismuth stopped her. “This is helping me feel better.”
Pearl blushed again and held her hand tighter, thumb stroking the outside of her hand. “Is this okay?” Pearl asked.
“It’s perfect.” Bismuth said.
“What about this?” Pearl asked. She leaned down towards Bismuth’s face and planted a kiss directly on her lips. She backed away but remained a couple of inches from her face.
“I think that’ll help me heal really fast if you keep doing that.” Bismuth laughed.
Pearl pressed her lips into Bismuth once again. Even though neither had a stomach, it surely felt as though butterflies danced inside of them. Bismuth’s hand grazed Pearl’s cheek and moved to the back of her head, pulling her in deeper.
“Is it working?” Pearl wondered aloud, her eyes filling with stars while she looked at Bismuth innocently.
“I don’t know, try again.”
Their lips met once again, each gem melting further into the kiss with each passing second. None of them wanted to stop, or even knew when it was an appropriate time to stop as it was their first time kissing one another.
Bismuth sat back on the couch and wrapped an arm around Pearl. She stared lovingly into Pearl’s eyes, wanting desperately to pull her into another kiss.
“I think I’m going to need a few more days of this until I’m all better.”