3571/Paging Doctor Beifong

Paging Doctor Beifong
Date of Scene:	27 December 2015
Location:	New York-199999
Synopsis:	Peridot needs a healer for her gem, or so she thinks. Toph prescribes mud.
Cast of Characters:	20, 836

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Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    While it's technically still Christmas, the earthbender is out and about from home, giving her adoptive parents some time together. They do tend to get oogie during the holidays, being all kissy with the mistletoe and crud. Besides, being cooped up inside all day is not something Toph prefers. So out into Malibu she goes!

    Most places are closed today, but there are still places to get something light to snack on. One of these places is a small cafe not too far from the beach, and Toph is seated outside, munching on a pastry and sipping on a cool drink. There are some people about, including some paparazzi like always. Well, as long as they keep their distance and don't bother her they are welcome to take photos. It's not like she's ashamed of anything she's doing anyway. It might even be more fun fodder for her to troll with later if people comment on her snacking and working on her metalbending.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot was incognito. A difficult task for someone who had lime green skin color and large diamond shaped hair. She had robonoids scouting the city for her, having actively been seeking out Toph, and keeping a radio silence. She wore a dark green trench coat with a small discrete yellow diamond on the lapel. It was the largest piece of earth clothing she could think to replicate with her gem.
    She had also made her visor opaque, so they were like dark shades that covered most of her face, and more importantly, her gem. She did not want to be easily identified on this outing. This made the paparazzi's avoidance of Toph all the more useful. The green gem herself had been on the news more than once.

    She had secreted away her remodeled transport pod in an abandoned warehouse and had set some turret robonoids on automatic to defend it from being interfered with.

    So finally she approached Toph. Her alien holo-matter easy to detect for the earthbender. The gem on her forehead being a beacon in a muted wold. The collar on her trench coat raised, her head down. "..D..Dirt wizard." She started, in a hesitant voice as she stopped awkwardly in front of her. "I have found you." She cleared her throat. "I.. need to talk to you in private."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The moment she senses some familiar vibrations, the feel of unique earthen materials approach, Toph blinks, her eyebrows raising in surprise. Wait... don't tell her...

    The voice only confirms it however, and Toph visibly sighs where she sits, setting down her pastry onto her plate. "What are /you/ doing here, Cloderella...?" she asks. Somehow she doubts the gem is here to create problems, not during the truce. If it was Jasper, then maybe. But Peridot is too cowardly and too smart at the same time to do something that stupid. She hopes.

    The request to talk with her in private however was unexpected. For a moment Toph is tempted to snark and comment on it being the holidays and she's not even doing any lessons nowadays besides playing Christmas songs on the guqin. But that's mostly to make Pepper smile and sit down instead of rushing around. But then again, there's something in Peridot's voice. And she doubts she would go through the trouble of searching for her, even coming to Malibu unless she deemed it important enough. Surely she should know this is Iron Man's hometurf, and any Feds coming here actively seeking trouble have to be prepared.

    So the earthbender lets out a sigh of defeat. "Here on the sidewalk, or should I bend us up to the roof of the building? There are some paparzzi down the street, but I doubt they can hear us."

    It's probably for the better that Toph can't tell that the gem is wearing a rather bad disguise, otherwise, she might snark about it.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot looked around, she spied the lurking paparazzi down the street. Behind her visor her eyes narrowed into scorn. She held little regard, or fear for the mass populace. Briefly she ha considered that the safest thing to do was to just have her robonoids make short work of the humans and their click-boxes. Peridot didn't even know exactly what they were doing, she didn't know what tabloid even was. However, she had learned by now that anytime a lot of click-boxes were pointed and her, and started clicking- It was only a matter of time before humans with guns showed up. Or worse, elite's who she'd be at the mercy of without Jasper around.

    But, that sort of response would defeat the low-key purpose of her visit. She looked up. "The roof, yes. That will be suitable for my needs. I do not wish to be spied upon. I have come without my warship... however I have contingencies in place to assure my safety, if the natives get hostile."

    "It's best that we give them no provocation to invite their own doom." She folds her arms.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Up to the roof then. Toph nods, then lets out an amused snort. "They aren't hostile, they're just dunderheads." Morons in normal speak. "There are tons of celebrities around here, and humans love hearing gossip about famous people. What food they eat, what clothes they are wearing, what they say and crud like that. It's just annoying, but it was worse in the beginning after I was adopted," Toph shrugs as she rises from her seat, then walks towards the alley next to the building. There she assumes an earthbending stance, and with a kick stomp to the ground an earthen staircase rises up next to the building, leading up to the roof.

    Leading the way, Toph ascends the stairs. "Besides, it's the truce. Acts of aggression aren't allowed now until the beginning of January, so if you did something to harm the people here I would be the least of your worries. SO!" Once they are up on the roof Toph turns towards Peridot. "What did you want to talk about with her highness, the almighty Dirt Wizard?"

    If somebody gives her a name like that she sure as hell is going to have fun with it!

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Hnn.." The truce turned out to be rather useful for Peridot. A brief moment in time where she was assured she could work in the privacy of her warship without someone breaking into her warship and assaulting her. again. She had a vague understanding of what Toph was describing, however soon she filed it away in her mental folder where she usually stored 'trivial earthling nonsense'. Where it would soon be half-remembered or outright forgotten.

    She walked up the steps carefully. She could have just as easily flown up to the top with her helicopter fingers. But, that would surely give her away as the the rampaging alien that had assaulted various human colonies around the planet.

    Once on the top of the roof she begins her standard paranoid ritual. To systematically check behind each weather vane, the roof access segment, she walked the parameter and took a Robonoid out from her trench coat and dropped it onto the ground. It spouted four legs and begin to meander about before Peridot gave it specific instructions. "Alert me if anything approaches this location. Have my escape pod lock onto my coordinates and extract me if you detect abnormal energy spikes." She looked around once more before turning her attention to Toph.

    The fingers floating at her side, curled into a fist. "I... hope you appreciate the gentle nature of this meeting. For multiple reasons I deemed it unwise to enact a forceful extraction. Mostly due to the truce. You are a formidable being, however given enough planning, there are very few whom I believe the combined might of Homeworld forces could not extract and imprison. I suspect you will believe me when I say I do not make a habit of under estimating opponents."

    "Ultimately however I have chosen a peaceful route to attain what I need. I uh.. have uh.. that is I.. need your help." Slowly, steadily she raised her fingers to her face and took the opque visor off from her head. She looked exhausted, though Toph may not be able to directly see that. "With.. my gem."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    As Peridot begins inspecting the roof top Toph blinks, then flops down by the staircase... and begins picking her nose. Man, talk about being paranoid...

    But the earthbender doesn't speak nor disturb Peridot in her silly little ritual, and it's only when she speaks to her that Toph raises her head and listens, all while her pinkie finger is digging around in her right nostril. Though Peridot might notice that the blind girl doesn't look exactly convinced nor thrilled about the prospect of being captured by gems. "Yeah yeah, I appreciate not having to deal with trouble during the holidays and my days off. Though really, if you tried to do something like that I would not make it easy for you, and the Union, not to mention my parents," she points out, "would be nearly as troublesome as I would be. So as a friendly warning... don't. I'm not about to seek you out unless you give me a reason to do so." Sure, Peridot isn't Union, but she has no reason to be mean to her.

    When Peridot reveals she needs her help though, Toph arches an eyebrow. "Need my help with what?" Nothing more is said as she 'sees' Peridot reach up to her visor, and when she speaks again, her eyebrows furrow slightly, and she pulls her finger out of her nose before she pushes herself up and walks on over. "Did something happen to your gem?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Agreed." She answered. "Too troublesome, would also increase the difficulty of attaining your cooperation, and though I am certain I could easily trick Jasper, I don't want her to know anything is wrong with me."
    "Everything that happens to me, happens to it!" She answers when asked about her gem, reaching up and touching the stone gently. "I have been having... problems." She opens a compartment on her arm, and takes out two white pills dropping them into her mouth. "Increasing paranoia, anxiety. And this blasted.. crude earth medicine turns my thoughts into an unclear haze. Stars take it.

    "My body is an illusion, so whatever is wrong with me it has to be my gem." She moves directly in front of Toph, grabbing her shoulders with her disconnected fingers. Her brows furrowed. "You have to fix it! Use your stone powers like you did before." She points at her gem with her other hand. "My planet has beings like you. Who can manipulate earth matter. Some of them can heal gems."

    "You must extract whatever... poison is infecting my gem. It's where I think, where my consciousness lies. Maybe you can extract it, fix whatever damage has been caused- maybe it's below the surface. I need to be like I was before I arrived here on this miserable ball of rock. I need to be sharp again!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    If it's something Toph wasn't expecting, well.. this certainly qualifies. To hear Peridot outright admit she's suffering from paranoia isn't too weird however, as it's something she seems to be all the time. But anxiety? To the point that she takes medicine for it?

    The young earthbender looks confused where she stands in front of Peridot, resting her hands on her hips as she listens to the gem explain her problems. Though when Peridot reaches out and grabs her by the shoulders Toph tenses just slightly, raising her hands a bit. "What... you want /me/ to /heal/ you?" she asks, just in case she heard her wrong. In her world healing is something waterbenders do. They are gentle, flowing and all into that tender loving care thing. There is nothing tender about earthbending. So that somebody directly asks her for help like this is alien to Toph. Well, she did help undent another metallic Unionite before, but this is kinda different.

    For some seconds the blind girl only looks stunned and in disbelief, though she eventually sighs and pushes at Peridot's chest. Give her some room! "First of all, I've never used my bending on one of you guys like that. I mean, I inspected Pearl's gem, but I never used my bending on it... but fine." She points down to the roof. "Kneel down and I'll take a look at your gem at least." Since she's begging like that.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot seemed unwilling at first. She was just as uncomfortable with this as Toph. But, to her credit she treated the earthbender like an adult. Her culture didn't have kids, after all. Accidental courtesy born out of ignorance. It never occurred to Peridot to talk down to others because of their age. She made judgement's based on competence and strength. Two things her home planet celebrated.

    However she had come this far. She had already seen a human once, but to see not only a human, but one who was by all means an opponent. The meaning behind the disguise, the hostile regard for paparazzi. It made sense.

    The last time they had spent any time together they were the same height. But, now that she had her limb enhancers back. she towered over the small earthebnder. Peridot kneels down and tilted her head up. Unfortunately for her, however, most of her problems had little to do with her gem at all despite all the blame Peridot places on it. If it were cracked, that would be something Toph could possibly actually fix given enough time and concentration. But, her gem seemed whole.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's easier when Peridot kneels down, and Toph reaches out her hand to place it on Peridot's forehead.

    ... wait, wasn't that the same hand she used to pick her nose with...?

    The blind girl closes her unseeing, milky green eyes, a look of concentration on her face. And while the situation might be uncomfortable for the homeworld gem, she will note that nothing is actually happening to her gem. Seconds pass, Toph's hand remains in place on top of Peridot's forehead and her gem, and the earthbender seems pensive as she clearly focuses on what only she can sense with her bending.

    "Nothing's wrong with your gem from what I can tell... no cracks, no impurities." She withdraws her hand.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "None?" She asked, squinting. "No.. There has to be something!" She goes on. It wouldn't have been good news, but she desperately wanted Toph to find anything. Cracks could be mended, impurities could be drawn out. Any physical malady Toph could have detected there would be a mechanical solution that Peridot could work out.

    She holds the kneeling position for a while before falling backwards into a sitting position. Her knees pressed into her chest. She bit onto one of her floating fingers. "It's not my gem, but it's still me." Her voice trailed off into a strain. "I'm just going to be this way forever." She chewed absently.
    
    "It's just going to get worse and worse. Until I finally make a mistake and get shattered." Her breathing grew more and more erratic. "And no one would care." Her fingers grabbed onto her head, save for the one between her molars. Seemingly more talking to herself. "I've.. been doing nothing but trying to save my species. But why? Every gem on this planet hates me." Her eyes clenched shut, squeezing out a few tears as a full blown anxiety attack wrapped its' fingers around her neck. "And the one who did't hate me. The only one who didn't want to kill or usurp me is probably dead. Gone... left me alone with Jasper."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I can't sense anything with your gem. It's similar to Pearl's, and she's fine. I can tell if there's stuff in anything of the earth, and your gem is complete. Heck, a gem collector would probably say the same," Toph concludes and rests her hands on her hips. When she feels Peridot flop back on her butt she arches an eyebrow. As Peridot continues rambling, she raises the other. On and on the homeworld gem goes, and the erratic breathing does not escape Toph's notice. Some seconds passes as Peridot rants to herself, but suddenly Toph's eyebrow twitches, and she raises her foot, kicking it down onto the roof.

    "Oh, jam a rock in it already!" she barks in an authoriative manner, and she points her index finger right at Peridot's face. "Pull yourself together, put on your big girl panties and /think/!" Unlike Peridot the blind girl is as determined and confident as one can get, and it shows on her face. "If you let stress get to you, then you're not doing it right! Listen to yourself!" Toph leans down, getting pretty much in the gem's face unless she pulls back. "You're going to be fine, and who cares what that dunderhead body guard of yours thinks? She couldn't find her way out of a bag!"

    Then she pauses before letting out a sigh. "... seriously, you think nobody would care? Are you dense or something?" With that Toph turns and gestures for Peridot to follow her. "Get off of your ass and follow me."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Periot doesn't pull away, but she does rub her face with her mechanical forearm. She had also become increasingly emotional lately. Another symptom of her ordeals. Her society was one of tightly regulated emotion, and she had no one to reign her in.

    She also had no clue what panties were. The names of most clothing articles escaped her. True fabric was a rare thing, nearly all clothing were simply projections from her gem to emulate what she saw. "Will those help? How do I put those on?" She ask in a shaking tentative tone. Taking the phrase rather seriously.
    
    As Toph gesture for her to follow, Peridot pushes herself back up to her feet and rubs her arm gently. Slowly she begins to follow after her. "Jasper hates me... but she's the only one who could possibly understand me. Everything else is just so.. alien."

    Still, she follows, folding her arm under her chest. After walking too far from her discarded visor, it vanishes in a puff of green smoke.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Oh right, she doesn't know that saying either. Toph lets out another sigh as she leads the way. "It's a figure of speech. It basically means that you need to stop acting like a child and just focus on doing what matters instead of whining about little details." As for understanding and what not... "You think the multiverse wasn't alien to me to begin with? I laughed when they first talked about the technology here, about the fact that there was an alphabet for the blind. Everything was alien to me too, but just because people aren't the same as you doesn't mean they can't understand you, dunderhead."

    It seems Toph is pretty determined right now. "You are stressed out, you need to relax. So we're going to a spa nearby, Pepper usually takes me there to relax now and then."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "I suppose." She considered briefly about the idea of humans being alien to other humans. She supposed that's what the crystal gems were to her. Familiar aliens. At the mention of technology, Peridot grimaced. "I laughed too, but for different reasons."

    Instead of asking what a spa was, she created a holo-panel with her fingers. Half-heartedly she begins to tapping at the screen. "What good will... -this- do?" Her tone raises. "Mud... cosmetic abrasive filing." Her face contorted a little as she lowered the holo-pad after she decided she had seen enough.

    "This is a waste of..." She sighed interrupting herself. She was about to say time, but what was she going to do? get back to her mission? She didn't feel like working for once. "..eh.. fine.."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "The biggest thing in my world when it comes to technology is steam, magnets and such. We are more used to using bending for stuff anyway," Toph says. What she seems to focus on however is Peridot's comment about not believing that a spa visit will help much.

    "It's supposed to help you /relax/. Lying in hot mud is pretty nice." People scraping your feet is less nice, that she will agree with. "They even have nice fruit drinks that taste really good. Now come on."

    Maybe it will work, maybe it /will/ be a waste of time. But it's worth the try if the paranoid gem can relax. Sure, she might be aligned with the Feds, but... something about her makes the stubborn earthbender feel kind of sorry for her. Peridot /did/ steal her glove by accident, yet... it's not like she's rotten all through somehow.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "I'd have to take off my limb enhancers." She says uneasily. Disarming herself in the midst of the humans sounded like a dangerous endeavor. "This had... better work." She murmurs but otherwise continues to follow.

    At the prospect of fruit drinks, Peridot is unable to hide her initial interest. She had recently learned that drinking liquids was not as bad as it sounded. Food was still a disgusting concept, but...

    "I can do without feet scraping." She agreed.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It doesn't seem like Toph is worried when she heads down the stairs, holding up a hand and waving her hand as if waving off any concern that Peridot has. "Relax, Cloderella. You're under my protection for today, and the spa workers aren't out to hurt you." At least not intentionally. "It's the truce, and the people here in Malibu are more concerned with going to the beach, eating fancy food and gossiping about famous people. Not to mention celebrating Christmas."

    Once Peridot is down the steps Toph kicks the ground again, making the stairs sink back down into the concrete, and then she begins heading down the street. "This way."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot looks around. "I wouldn't be so sure." She grimaces. "I've crossed many humans who labor under the mistaken impression that they own gem technology. They seem to take offense to our reclaiming of our own property. A typical reaction from a thief, but a problem for me either way."

    She followed down the street, constantly checking over her shoulder and looking around sharply. "My enemies lurk in every shadow. My one respite may be that they foolishly believe Jasper is in charge since she is more often on the ground while I stay in the ship. A last ditch ploy I intend to use if I am ever captured by morons."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "I doubt there's any gem tech in these parts anyway, considering this is another world," Toph assures Peridot as they wander down the street past the humans who are outside today. It's not as busy as it usually is, but it isn't entirely quiet either. Some people look at Peridot, but they don't seem alarmed. It's more like they consider her a curiousity.

    "You really think everybody is out to get you, huh?" Toph asks with a snort. "You honestly think you've pissed off that many people? As if. There are other Feds who are worse than you. Like that homicidal walking rust bucket." It appears that Toph is walking towards a nearby building that seems to be partially made with marble, and over the front door is an entrance saying 'The Golden Palm Spa'. By the looks of it, it isn't a cheap place.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "You are correct. There is no short supply of disagreeable beings within the confederacy." She goes on, rubbing her chin. "To that end, I am grateful that they are so eager to take some of the attention off me."

    "But there are many within the union who would wring my neck, given ample opportunity. If they knew what a vulnerable position I am putting myself in." She touches her neck with her fingers. "I've raided many bases and installations in my time here on this planet. I have been forced to make due." She looks up at the golden palm spa with a measure of distrust. A whole building dedicating to something as frivolous and gross sounding as a mud bath. Peridot was somewhat baffled at the concept.

    "Such is my situation. I really only came to this planet to check on an abandoned scientific experiment. Therefore everything I have to work with is woefully ill suited for my new mission. I'm doing the job of ten Peridot's." She holds up her fingers to indicate the amount. "If those other Peridot's could see me now. Walking around on the planet, surrounded by the natives, drinking things!" She laughed uneasily. "Oh, they'd be ostracizing me for entire solar cycles. Taunting me behind my back- if I'm lucky. Disdain the likes that will outlive most heavenly bodies." Her shoulders slump.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    So there are more peridots out there? Something about that thought makes Toph shudder, imagining just how awkward it would be with several of dense gems who don't understand jokes and references... better not think about it too much, the blind girl decides, not seeing the point of commenting much on it. "Yeah yeah, now move your ass. It's time for less babble, and more relaxation."

    Once inside the spa, Toph takes clear control. From the moment the two are greeted by the smiling lady at the front desk, one who seems to recognize Toph from before. There are some other customers here today, but there's still room for some appointments for the earthbender and the gem. The latter does get a curious glance, but nothing more. First up, it's the mud bath. After a quick shower and getting wrapped up in a towel, Toph waits by the mud baths for Peridot to catch up. "The mud isn't getting any warmer, Cloderella!"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    Peridot returns any strange looks with furrowed brows. She wasn't very experienced at looking intimidating, but she was an observant gem. She had spent enough time with Jasper to know how to adopt her mannerisms. Chest out. Shoulders squared. Stern look. No appliance escaped her suspicious glare. Every hair dryer looked like it could possibly become a vaporizing heat-ray. Her default assumption for most things was that they were a weapon. Or, that they could be weaponized.

    However some of her confidence melts away as Toph suddenly leaves her. She had been too wrapped up in identifying threats to notice. "Wait-!" She calls out as she noticed she was being left alone. "Ahh.." She grumbles as her brows arched in sudden mild panic.

    Her trip through the shower is far less smooth. "This.. is Peridot." She starts, talking into the recording device on her arm. "My side-mission to heal my gem has lead me into what appears to be some manner of..." She looked around the shower. "..decontamination chamber. This is of little surprise given the massive amount of microbial life on this filthy planet. Far less appealing than the more sterile air aboard the Warship. Logging coordinates now."

    She takes several more notes and observations, possibly coming off more creepy than intended- before approaching the towel station. She knew what these things were. The humans kept putting them around their mid-sections. But to Peridot's eyes they were wearing them wrong. After all Jasper wore one of these all the time. "You! You appear to be the textile quartermaster. I demand a cape of my own." She pointed to the towels.

    Soon, she joins Toph. However she is wearing the towel around her shoulders like a cape. Perhaps a little proudly too.

    Now it was time for her real test of courage. Looking down at her mechanical limbs. Her brows begin to knit with anxiety. "A true testament to my desperation. I now.. under my own cognition... leave my limb enhancers. If I die, please see that this log is delivered to the warship so that it may one day be delivered to Yellow Diamond."

    "...P-Peridot. Facet 5. End log."

    And with that she takes a deep breath, and presses a button on her forearm. First, her floating fingers are retracted back inside of her gauntlets which release her forearms. Slowly they float to the floor next to her leg enhancers. She jumps to the ground next to Toph, the two were now roughly the same height. Her face was full of determination. "..Okay, now what?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Perhaps it's a good thing Toph made a promise to protect Peridot, and well, Toph herself is pretty relaxed, even if she doesn't have the same body language that certain brute gems would use. Then again, she is familiar with Earth culture unlike the homeworld gems.

    Man, Peridot is taking ages to get showered, isn't she? When the gem finally appears, the other people around does give Peridot a weird look. If the blind earthbender was able to notice her companion's weird fashion statement, she would without doubt comment on it. What she does however is note that Peridot seems to be talking to somebody, as if making a report of this trip. "Are you seriously making a report out of a simple spa trip? Or recording a diary or something?" Toph asks, hands on her hips. Though she does note a name there. Yellow Diamond? Huh. Sounds like somebody fancy. At least Peridot takes her limb enhancers off, and once she's standing properly on the ground Toph motions for the gem to follow her. "Now we take a nice mud bath."

    With that the blind girl steps forward, then /jumps/ into the waiting warm mud, towel and all. Sure, some mud splashes around, but knowing Toph, she could probably have made a far bigger mess. And probably has at some point. Within a second the girl's head emerges, and her hair is absolutely covered in mud. Why, she doesn't even bother wiping it away from her eyes. Instead she lets out a content sigh, tilting her head back. "Aaah. This is the life!"

    Trust Toph to enjoy water as long as it's combined with earth.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Of course I am." She answers fairly quickly. "I am neck deep in enemy territory." She squints as she looks around. "Indulging in strange customs- customs which are completely undocumented to my people. If I am to be shattered, I'd prefer to be shattered for the sake of increasing the volume of a database somewhere. A most noble cause."

    Then Toph seemingly leaps into the mud! Peridot takes a step back shielding herself with her forearms. "Ah!"

    She briefly looks over the scene. Was it that simple? just leap in? She bites her lower lip. "Supplementary log note. Humans appear to be.. so enamored with their planet, they will collect segments of earth, wet it, and lather themselves in the ensuing... concotion." She looks down, realizing she was taking a log note into her forearm, not her enhanced limb. "Hnng.." Her brows furrow as she looks over her shoulder at her discarded enhancements.

    Slowly she kneels beside the mud pool and reaches out. Touching the mud with the tip of her index finger. The first time she had ever touched mud with her real finger. and methodically she sticks her foot in. A shiver immediately running up her spine.

    She is far more slow about it then Toph, but eventually her other foot goes in. Steadily she slides down until she is emerged up to her neck. All the while making uncomfortable squeaking sounds. For the moment she is completely still, her eyes wide and her pupils small.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It seems like Toph is focused on the mud, just enjoying the warmth it gives. Though when Peridot starts making her way into the mud, she does speak, her eyes still closed. "This place might be Union aligned, but as long as you're not making trouble, then nobody will bother you. And I told you, I won't let somebody shatter you unless you do something to harm people here, remember?" Toph reminds her. "As for spas..."

    Toph reaches up with one hand, and some of the mud bends in response, shaping itself into what appears to be various triangular shapes. "People, not just humans, like to relax in places like this. Not everybody likes mud baths, and not everybody loves the earth so much that they will bathe in it. That's just me, being a typical dirt wizard." Heh, the term is kinda funny to use. "But many people like the warm feeling, how it loosens up stressed muscles, the fact that it cleanses the skin and the smell. This is clean mud after all, and the water is pretty nice too, I admit." With that she turns more towards Peridot. "Just try closing your eyes and focusing on the warmth, lean back against the edge. There's no way you're going to freeze in here." Then she pauses, reaching her hands up to wipe away the mud from her eyes. "Do gems even get cold? I never got to ask Pearl and Garnet."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Clean mud." She says drly. "Seems to me a conflict in terms." Peridot watches her make triangular shapes. "However, I understand the point you are making. It is a matter of preference for your species. Understandable. Even gems have varying preferences based on their type."

    "Since we are a space faring people, we do not get cold very easily. In fact, we simply cannot be killed by freezing temperatures. However, our bodies can be damaged by prolonged exposure to extreme cold. And we can made uncomfortable. Some gems are exempt from these guidelines."

    And then she attempts to take Toph's advice. "Close my eyes... focus on the warmth." She repeats out loud, like she was reading an instruction manual. Her eyes close, her tense body begins to relax.

    Mentally, she sees Jasper for a while, causing her brows to knit. Then she sees Lapis, her friend who was still missing. Making a concentrated effort, Peridot pushes them out of her head.

    Her brows settle as the warmth continues to envelope her, and she finally seems to relax. "Hm... it seems the magical properties of this... mud is having a beneficial effect.."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "That's just because you don't understand earth, really. Many think that dirt is dirty, but there are different types of dirt too," Toph states as she goes back to her bending, starting to make a small mud castle. "So... are there many gem types? I've only met four types. You, Jasper, Pearl and Garnet." Maybe this is a good chance to learn more about gems in general. It does make sense that extreme cold and warmth can damage them, really. "It all depends on what minerals you are made out of, right? And some gems are more fragile than others too from what I've noticed." Trust Toph to have experience with some types of non-talking gems from her earthbending.

    It's easy enough to notice that Peridot is gradually becoming less tense as she focuses on relaxing. There's a small effort there to not mess with her while her guard is down, but hey, she's already stressed enough, and that's not why Toph brought her here with her. Instead she too focuses on relaxing. "There's no magic in this. It's just nice. Like snuggling up in a clean bed when you're tired. Or eating really tasty food when you're hungry."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Those are both things I have no experience doing. However, Steven made it a requirement of his capture to have such things. I obliged. Though the food storage units we raided were not happy about it. Nyeh heh." At the very least, talking about successful assaults seemed to help her relax.

    "There are of course many gem types. You've only seen a small fraction of them. It's a shame you won't get to see Homeworld. WIth your abilities you may be able to appreciate its' true splendor."

    "Garnet however isn't exactly a type. We don't have gems like her on Homeworld who are constantly fused. She is composed of two gems, Ruby and Sapphire." Peridot rubbed her chin idly, forgetting that her hands were covered in mud. "Rubies are common soldiers, we literally have thousands of them on Homeworld, Sapphires are more rare."

    "Pearls are high-end servants, making the Pearl you met an anomaly. In reality you haven't seen a single gem doing its' intended function. Myself and Jasper included. I would never be this close to the planet under normal circumstances."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "You should try it sometime." Toph twists her hand slightly, and what appears to be an ice cream cone shapes itself out of the mud. "There's a nice ice cream shop not too far away from here, it's got about 50 flavours." Which means that she's only tried most of them so far.

    When Peridot mentions Homeworld, Toph cants her head. "What? Maybe there's a mission there sometime." If they need to go there sometime it would make sense for her to go along, after all. "I imagine it's mostly made of earthen elements. How large is it?"

    The talk about Garnet being a fusion though does make Toph blink, and she turns her head. "Oh yeah, she told me that. And why not? It seems like Garnet is happy, would have made sense if other gems liked being fused." So sapphires are rarer than rubies. "So there are more of some gems than others then?" As the Pearl she's met is being referred to as an anomaly however, Toph lets out a snort. And she raises her hand, letting the mud forms collapse back into the mud. "Seems like that's something you have to deal with too, huh?" Her expression is serious, and the blind girl... actually looks annoyed for a moment. "There are many humans who think they can tell others what... their intended function is to be." There is a moment of hesitation before Toph speaks up again. "What would you say my intended function is?"

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Well for us I mean, that's mostly true." Peridot says as she looks upward staring at the cieling. The ice cream had interested her somewhat, but the topic of Homeworld itself had managed to help relax her. Though she missed it, talking about it helped keep it a tangible place. "We are all born with a purpose, that is a simple objective fact about our species and our culture. I was made to be a technician. Pearls are made to order. But you only get one of you're really high ranked. Like higher ranked than a soldier."

    At the topic of Tophs function, Peridot looks to the blind earth bender. "Well given your powers, I think it'd be a no brainer. Gemetically speaking.. that is to say, if you were a gem and not a human." Her head tilts. "You'd be high-ranking probably. Definitely in Yellow Diamonds court." Peridot laughs. "You'd be miserable if you worked for someone like Blue Diamond and her aristocrats."

    "Given your impressive strength and battle power- I don't know if you'd rank higher than a Jasper, but you'd be up on her tier I think. Possibly personal guard for the Diamonds themselves or maybe commanding a planet conquering unit. You wouldn't be the first gem who could control the earth, but it would guarantee you high-standing with the warrior caste." Peridot didn't see Toph's small size as much of a disadvantage. Plenty of strong gems were of their size.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Gem society sounds weird, though also familiar. Akin to Earth Kingdom high society, with ranks, hierarchy and people being told what to do depending on what they appeared to be. Pearl had talked about that, hadn't she? How Pearls are were servants, expected to simply follow orders...

    Toph is quiet as she lets Peridot use logic in order to think where she'd fit in gem society. So there are more diamonds...? Are they all colour coded or what?

    Either way it seems Peridot has made her guess, and Toph doesn't nod or shake her head. Instead she responds in a calm voice that doesn't quite manage to mask the bitterness underlying her words. "Despite my powers, despite the fact that I'm the greatest earthbender, the fact that I'm blind," 'defective' as Peridot had put it the first time they met, "and that I'm a girl made people expect me to become a quiet little lady." Her expression should convey exactly what she thinks of that idea.

    "I was expected to sit still, I wasn't allowed to leave my home lest they be worried that I might hurt myself, they assumed that because I was defective I was unable to fully master earthbending. The only thing I was good for was to look pretty, be quiet and do as I was told. Heck, that I would be nothing more than a decoration my entire life. Maybe I would have had to marry some other noble." Toph pauses briefly, then she points up at her eyes. "Would this have affected my standing in gem society if I had been one? Sometimes you have to speak up against what you're expected to be, because it can be dead wrong. Seems to me that Pearl did that, as she's capable of doing so much more than taking orders. And I can do far more than sitting on a chair, wearing pretty dresses and just nodding my head."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Well that just sounds like a waste of resources." Peridot answers after a moments thought. "If they expected someone with your abilities to not do anything." Peridot grinned and pointed at herself. "But that's why my diamond, Yellow Diamond, is so great. She would have saw your potential, and let you wreak havok upon the enemies of homeworld. She wouldn't have cared that you were blind."

    "Much like I don't care. I care only about results.Which brings me to the Pearl. To her credit, she has... garnered an impressive array of battle tactics that I would not have expected of her kind. She of course, only made the mistake of abandoning her home planet to follow her rebellious Quartz leader. Another trait of Pearls. I doubt she'd have ever become a rebel, if it weren't for Rose." Peridot's tone isn't ill-natured exactly. Merely pragmatic.

    "Still. I wouldn't fight her if I didn't have an arsenal of gem-tech behind me. Therefore I can see the point you are making."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "It's not just about wasting resources," Toph says with a sigh. "It's... about doing what you want to do. What makes /you/ happy. I wouldn't have been happy doing what they expected me to do, and I doubt Pearl would have been happy that way either." It sounds like Peridot /really/ looks up to this Yellow Diamond. "Would she have cared that I wouldn't have wanted to take orders from her?" There are few people she care to take orders from to begin with, and most people should have noticed that the young earthbender has a problem with authority, even if she's become more accustomed to it.

    "Pearl is strong. And sometimes you need to abandon those you were with if they're doing the wrong thing. A buddy of mine was royalty and next in line to the throne of a nation that was at war with the rest of my world, but he left it in order to fight against the people rebelling against his father. Because his father was totally nuts," Toph states frankly. "If people are rebelling, then that means that they see what's being done as wrong. Have you ever asked yourself /why/ they rebelled against Homeworld?" Toph wonders curiously.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "Why?" Peridot shifted a little in the mud. "Well... I always knew it had something to do with the dominant species at the time. Not every planet we conquer even has intelligent life."

    "And no, Yellow Diamond would not have allowed you to refuse an order. They shatter gems for far less than that. I could be shattered just for doing... -this-!" She gesture vaguely. "But, they aren't here. And they will be unable to deny the results of my visit once I have gathered the tangible results."

    "Beyond the exact reason, I can say for certain they probably didn't handle the entire rebellion thing properly. Those gems react to anything with violence. They've been blowing my things up before they even knew what they were!" She puffs her cheeks out. "If they handled the rebellion that way, which is no stretch of the imagination... I think if they had gems with cooler heads, they'd have arrived at a more peaceful solution."

    Peridot clears her throat. "But.. enough about them. You are smarter than I initially gave you credit for Dirt Wizard." Peridot looks Toph over briefly. "I have been sufficiently calmed down I believe in part due to this mud bath."
    "And given your new found prowess for thought. I've formulated a new plan." Her brows furrow in concentration. "Maybe you can... help me. Help me make Kindergarten. You are uniquely equipped!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    That comment makes Toph arch an eyebrow. "What? They shatter you for relaxing and having fun?" she asks. "Yeah, even a better reason for why I would have left. Rules are meant to be broken at times, really."

    "I don't know the entire reason myself either, but they did it to protect their Earth. And protecting those who need it is the right thing to do. Heck, if somebody bullied somebody weaker, I might react with violence too if needed. If you abuse your power to hurt others, then you're a total dunderhead if you ask me. Perhaps the reason the Crystal Gems reacted with violence is because they weren't given another choice, ever consider that? Maybe Homeworld didn't give them a chance for peace. I mean, conquerors aren't exactly known for being nice, you know?" Then she frowns. "Why were Homeworld trying to conquer Earth anyway?"

    Oh great, now she's in a think mood. Perhaps it would have been better to just shut up when they first entered the mud bath. "I'm glad the mud bath is helping at least..." she mutters, inwardly wondering what the crud the gem has planned now. When Peridot voices her suggestion though, Toph can't help but let out a loud and undignified snort. "Really?" The blind girl leans back against the edge of the mud bath, resting her arms behind her head as she closes her eyes. "I think you already know my answer, and /why/."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "No, no no. Listen!" Peridot says raising her hands, palms out. "I'm not here to conquer earth, and I never was." She starts, moving towards Toph. "You can help me achieve my objective, and no one has to get hurt! All I'm trying to do is keep my species off the brink of extinction. That's all I want. This isn't about Homeworld, or rebel gems.. or even some Confederate plot. This is just about survival of my kind. Keeping an anchor point for us on this planet while things get sorted out."

    "The old rules are out the window. The crystal gems were reacting based on out-dated information. And, I won't even lie and say Kindergarten did not damage the planet in the past. It did." She goes on, talking quickly.

    "But, this is a new planet. One that is gigantic. It would take trillions of kindergartens to even start to hurt a planet this size!" Peridot flexes her arms out to illustrate her point. "I only need one. You can help with that, you can... manipulate the ground, so the resources we need become more concentrated. Speed up the process."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The claim that Peridot doesn't intend to take over Earth is heard, though considering she's not a human it's pretty hard to determine whether she's lying or not. Though she's not exactly thrilled about the topic, that much Peridot should be able to tell from the girl's face. "Extinction? Are there that few gems left...?" she inquires. "And you make it sound like you're intending to make one on /this/ planet. That would never fly with the authorities, it would be seen as an act of aggression, and SHIELD would be all over it. They were tightasses about /me/ moving here and becoming an official citizen, and the worst thing I've done is to bother paparazzi who won't leave me alone and shove cameras up in my face!" She raises her hand from behind her neck, giving a shrug. "There are people everywhere on this planet, as well as wildlife. I have made a promise to not do something that can be seen as hostile, and well... making a huge canyon with weird machinery in it is a oneway ticket to the evening news. You can't do stuff like that without people finding out."

    It doesn't seem like the gem understands how politics work, does it? "It doesn't matter where you want to have one built, even if it wasn't on this planet. It's something I would have to discuss with the Crystal Gems to even consider it. There's no way I would do something like that without having all the knowledge necessary to make an informed decision. I mean, I've seen the kindergarten on the Earth the Crystal Gems come from. You might not have any hostile intentions, but who's to say that Yellow Diamond won't show up and command them to conquer something? Maybe Jasper will show up and bully them into joining her," the earthbender points out before she makes a quick movement with her hand, part of the mud raising up for her to rest her feet on. At least Toph /looks/ relaxed.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "I chose as remote a location as I could possibly find." Peridot says gripping her hands into fist. "There are no gems left. Myself. Jasper. Pearl.. Garnet.. With two earth-gems who are now missing, Lapis and an Amethyst. The number of gems has only gone down."
    
    Peridot's eyes water, almost cartoonishly so. "The humans will try and stop us, but they won't understand. They won't want us getting a foot hold. But, the gems-- even the crystal gems will understand! Even if they are traitors to the diamonds, they don't want our species to be extinct any more than I do."

    "As for Jasper. She is a bully, but she isn't a leader. She wouldn't know the first thing about leading a group of newly emerged gems. She will always need me for that. When it comes to our mission, I -can- control her. And Yellow Diamond is dead for all I know!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Man, she's... tearing up? Toph sighs slightly where she sits, reaching a hand up to rub at her forehead. "No matter how remote it might seem, the earth is being watched at all times by satellites that are in orbit around the planet. There's no way it wouldn't be noticed. And what makes you think your species is going extinct? Aren't there more of them on Homeworld?" Sheesh, this is really getting to Peridot, isn't it? The earthbender wishes they had talked about other stuff now that they're here to /relax/, at least that was the intended purpose of bringing Peridot here.

    "Maybe Jasper will adapt too, even if she seems a bit too predictable. Maybe she is just enough of a bully that she would take the newly emerged gems, seeing them as important to fulfil the mission?" With that said the blind earthbender reaches up to pick at her nose. "Either way, this isn't something that you can persuade me to do /here/. So, what do you think of mud baths? Seems to have helped you relax so far." Considering she seems less stressed.

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "It's on the part of earth that came with me and the crystal gems. The humans there are less... territorial. Less advanced. If we go to the humans for help, they're more likely to cage and dissect us than help us. Even if they do help us, it'll be while we're in containment fields. Regulated. We can't have our entire species living like a caged animal."

    Her expression goes serious. "Jasper is not smart enough for any of that.. but If.. Jasper does anything. I can stop her. I have a weapon... a weapon that can stop any gem, no matter how powerful. Instantly. it would even drop a Diamond! Jasper would never see it coming from me." Peridot goes on, seemingly it was far too serious a topic for her to be brushed aside too easily. And even without lie-detection, there was certainly conviction in her tone.

    "You don't... you don't have decide now." Peridot goes on. "Come with me, and we will talk to the Pearl. There is no one else on this planet who hate me more than they do. If they can see the logic... the need in what I am doing too. If I can get at least one of them to help me. Will you agree to help me?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    It's easy enough to hear that Peridot takes the topic seriously, all right. And the way she talks, her choice of words, well... it certainly shows that Peridot is determined and possibly worried. And finally she seems to get an idea that actually makes sense to the earthbender. "I will come with you if you decide to talk with Pearl, but I make no promises and I will respect her opinion and include i in my own decision."

    It does make sense with how paranoid Peridot seems to be, to think that humans will capture gems and treat them like science experiments. It explains why she is so nervous around humans here, even if they aren't doing anything antagonistic. For now it seems like Toph is done with the topic though, and she is also done with the mud bath as she pushes herself upright again and moves to get out of the mud. Once out of it, she moves her arms to her sides, then does a quick motion with her hands... and all the mud covering her drops off, even if the towel she's wearing still has some darker spots on it. "Now come on, we're going to the sauna."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "You won't regret it!" It wasn't an outright 'yes'. But, Peridot seemingly was just happy to have someone possibly in her corner. Being surrounded by people who hate you was tiring. "A whole generation of gems will have you to thank one day. If you decide to help us, that is."

    Peridot likewise clumsily climbs out of the mud bath, and shakes like a wet dog while on all fours. Kicking the last bit of mud off her leg. She simply tosses the towel aside from one of the Pearl-esque spa servants to take care of.

    "Yes. We have conquered the pit of mud. Let us now challenge the sauna." She cracks her knuckles, beginning to drag her limb enhancers loudly and clumsily across the stone floor. Couldn't leave those unattended, after all. Besides possibly being stolen, they were also weapons.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Maybe she will regret it, who knows? But there's no way in hell she's going to even consider something like this without doing her homework first.

    As Peridot moves out, Toph reaches a hand out... and then with another motion of her hand she bends the mud off of Peridot. The gem's choice of words does make her smirk slightly. "You might want to leave your limb enhancers in the locker, it would be easier for you. Besides it's stupid to bring metal with you into the sauna, it gets pretty damn hot in there."

Peridot (836) has posed:
    "I just... want them close... But I will leave it outside the entryway." They were not un-like Peridot's life preservers. A floaty in an ocean of treachery. She was doing good to swim without them, but perhaps she wasn't completely ready to be more than a stones-throw away just yet. At least she was making progress.

    "Now, what exactly a sauna?"