Scene #4299: Gems in Unexpected Places

Owner	Pose
Rose Quartz	Rose Quartz is a great many things. Curious being one of them. Since the unification, she's wandered this new world. Many vistas to explore and people to meet. Like this place. It seems unbearably rural, compared to her Crystal Temple, and she sticks out like a sore thumb... Which is as it should be. Humans need someone to look up to! And she does stand out. With her big poofy pink hair, generous curves, and spotless white dress, she stands out vibrantly amongst the earth-tones of the... Earth... Kingdom!
Toph Beifong	The north western area of the Earth Kingdom is still recovering from a century of warfare that plagued this world. Some years have passed since then, but there are still things that need to time. Lots of small villages have recovered, but the larger cities take time. It's still bustling with life however, with humans wandering to and fro in their daily tasks. It should be clear that they aren't complete strangers to the multiverse, but they still regard the tall and pink woman with curiousity as she wanders the city centre. Unlike her, the humans look far less impressive in their more toned down colours of green and yellow, mute colours that don't really stand out. Sure, there are some people who are clad in more intricate clothes and wear jewellery, but they seem to make a point of not addressing the gem that towers over them. It's only when Rose arrives at the market place that somebody calls out to her. A young, female voice from behind. "Hey! Giant Lady!" Should Rose look back, she should notice the owner of said voice easily enough. A five foot tall girl who appears to be in her early teens. Like the other people she's clad in green and yellow, but her clothes are a bit more vibrant, though somewhat dulled by dirt and mud. Her feet are bare and dirty, and she's got black bangs obscuring part of her face. On her back she's carrying a large backpack, and in one hand she's carrying what appears to be some wrapped up food. "What's a gem doing here?" the teen asks her directly, though by the tone she sounds more curious rather than accusatory.
Rose Quartz	Rose looks up, blinking in confusion for a moment. She smiles down when she spies the little girl, barely half as tall as she is. As she gets closer, it becomes obvious that she also wears no shoes, though dirt seems to avoid sticking to her feet. "Well hello there little one." she says with a smile. "The people here don't seem to know what gems are. It's surprising to find someone who does. As for what I'm doing here, I'm exploring of course. There is so much more of the world to protect now, I simply had to see it all." she says. Her voice is gentle and warm, and the soft rustle of her dress sounds like its exceedingly fine. "But tell me, how could you tell I was a Gem?" she asks, looking at the girls blank, sightless eyes. "You are blind, and I don't believe I was talking to myself."
Toph Beifong	If this was a Homeworld Gem, then chances are they would not be leaving the people alone without doing something sneaky. As it is, this big lady merely seems to be sightseeing or something. When she's addressed in such a manner, the teenager arches an eyebrow, looking as if she's about to say something. But she seems to decide against it as Rose continues. Instead she raises her free hand and points directly at Rose's stomach. "Because you have your gemstone right there. And because I've met some other Gems before. You're... not of the Homeworld gems, are you?" It sure doesn't sound like it, with how she talks about protecting the world. "Are you a Crystal Gem?" Garnet and Pearl /were/ talking about a missing Amethyst... Well, since she seems friendly enough, then why not do this properly? The hand that was pointing at Rose lowers. "I'm Toph Beifong, I'm with the Union. And you happen to be in my home country, so... pardon my curiousity, Giant Lady."
Rose Quartz	Looking (and feeling) exceedingly surprised, despite her lack of heartbeat and breathing save to speak making it difficult to tell, Rose Quartz looks more closely at the girl. "You must have some sort of magical ability... Probably connected with the Earth. But yes," she says, sitting down on a mossy boulder nearby, "I'm the leader of the Crystal Gems, Rose Quartz. It was over five thousand of your years ago that we won your worlds independence and safety from the Homeworld Gems who wanted to suck the life from it."
Toph Beifong	Somehow Toph looks a bit smug when Rose points out the probability of her having magical abilities. "Hey, you're in the Earth Kingdom. You haven't seen any earthbenders yet?" she chuckles and gestures to the people around them in the market. Most people carry on with what they're doing, but some are watching them intently without interfering. Rose Quartz...? It's clear that Toph looks a bit surprised at hearing that name, then a look of dawning realization settles on her face. "Oh! Pearl and Garnet mentioned you!" By the looks of it, it wasn't in a negative manner. "And yeah, I heard about that war too on one of the other Earths. They kinda differ, the one I currently live on is different from this one, though I head back here now and then for various reasons," Toph states as she reaches up to scratch the back of her neck.
Rose Quartz	She smiles, her cheeks dimpling slightly. "I imagine Pearl talked about me a great deal. She and Garnet are two of my oldest friends... Who are still around." she says, going a little quiet. "But yes, it is very nice to meet you, young one. Perhaps you can explain to me this 'earthbending'. I grow plants to fight for me. Is it anything like that?"
Toph Beifong	Two of her oldest friends who are still around... well, that sounds somewhat troubling. Just how many Gems turned against Homeworld really? It's something Toph doesn't know, and well... it's not the right thing to ask about, is it? Toph's expression falls further when Rose speaks again, and she lets out a sigh. "I'll explain it if you stop calling me that. I might be really young compared to you, but I still have a name. And it's easy to pronounce compared to some of the other names I've heard around the multiverse." Being called 'young one' isn't the worst thing, but... seriously, she's not /that/ small, is she? She's fifteen now! But yeah, let's get to explaining bending. "In this world there are four nations based on the four elements. Water, earth, fire and air. And in each nation there are those who can manipulate the element of their country. The Fire Nation has firebending. The Water tribes has waterbending. The Air Nomads... well, they had airbending. And the Earth Kingdom has earthbenders. Of which I'm the greatest," Toph adds as she jabs a thumb at her chest.
Rose Quartz	Rose laughs, clapping her hands together. "Toph, isn't it? Well, Greatest Earth Bender, it is a pleasure to meet you. Pardon my asking, but where are your parents. Surely they don't let you wander around on your own. Even without a war in the offing, it's dangerous for children to be wandering around without a chaperone."
Toph Beifong	The blind teen nods when Rose repeats her name, confirming it. "Nice meeting you too, Rose." Though Toph's expression turns a bit blank when the Gem inquires about her parents. A second or two passes before she speaks up. "I don't need a chaperone, and my parents know what I'm doing. I'm fine, I've been on my own before. If I could fight to stop the war in this world, and if I can fight for the Union now, then I can certainly wander around my home country," the girl points out. "I'm no regular kid, I'm an Union Elite."
Rose Quartz	Oh she's so precious! "You must be, to be allowed out on your own to fight a war." she says, in a tone that very clearly sounds as if she's humoring Toph. "So tell me about this war that you fought in? It sounds interesting. You humans always seem to find such interesting reasons to be violent towards each other."
Toph Beifong	Okay, Toph is clearly looking a tad annoyed as she hears the tone Rose is using. "Okay, listen up... I wasn't 'allowed' to fight in the war, I ran off and did it because it was the right thing to do and because I was needed," Toph states, her tone firm as she points a finger directly to Rose's face. "So no need to patronise me, okay? Secondly, you might think of the war as interesting, but this world was in a whole heap of trouble because some high and mighty lords wanted to use their political power to bully the rest of the world. It wasn't interesting, it caused a genocide, lots of pain and destruction that people are still hurt by!" Here she gestures to the people around them. Seriously, what's with this Gem? Pearl and Garnet were never patronising towards her. And sure, she knows some Gems look down on humans. Rose might not mean anything bad by it, but... it's not something that sits well with the young earthbending master.
Rose Quartz	With a sigh, Rose shakes her head. "I know all too well what war is like. Which is why I say it's interesting. I want to know what starts them, and how to stop them." she says, tilting her head back to look up at the slowly darkening sky. "Did Garnet and Pearl tell you how long the war for your planet lasted? Over a thousand years. Imagine, a hundred of your lifetimes and more, spent fighting those that I once called friends, of burying the shards of my shattered people." she says. "Whether you were needed or no, I still don't approve of children going into battle. You should be playing with your friends, having fun. Being children..." she says. "I wonder what it's like sometimes. Gems simply exist. We do not 'grow up'."
Toph Beifong	"Well, I don't think they're interesting," Toph says with a huff and turns her head aside. "They start because some people are too full of themselves and think they're better than others, they don't stop and think or they're greedy." It's a gross oversimplification, but then again... that's how the young earthbender thinks. "And no, they didn't tell me. Not my planet, there haven't been any Gems fighting on this world. Humans live all over the multiverse." Is that an eyeroll? Quite possibly, as Toph lets out a sigh. More people not getting it, huh? "Whether you approve of it or not doesn't matter, there are lots of young Elites who fight. My parents know about it and they allow it. And some of us fight because we love it. I'm too old to play, I'm fifteen years old, and I'm not a kid. Besides, I'm better at fighting than most adults." So there. Though Toph looks pensive when Rose seems to muse what it's like to grow up? "Growing up is being told what you can and can't do without being allowed to decide for yourself. And all you want is to get old enough so you /can/ decide for yourself."
Rose Quartz	Rose takes a moment. "Perhaps you are right. If you have fought for your people and your world, you're not as young as some. Goodness. Humans, able to fight for themselves. I never did think I would live to see the day, as the saying goes."
Toph Beifong	Of course she's right! She mostly is, of that Toph is certain. "Even kids can fight if you have the guts," she responds with a nod. Not that she is a kid! Not anymore. "And humans can fight just as well as anybody else. There are lots of strong people in the multiverse, ranging from robots, humans, various animals, magical beings and whatnot." Anyway... "You wanted to see bending?" Toph says, her mind moving back to Rose's request from earlier. The blind girl brings up her foot a bit and hits the ground with her heel, and the earth underneath Toph's feet rises. What might be similarly curious is how the people around them don't seem to care much, as if this was totally normal. Which it is. Earthbending is a normal thing to see here.
Rose Quartz	Rose's eyes light up as she claps delightedly. "Perhaps it's a little out of your interest, but you would likely make a fantastic gardener. Can you sense the health of the earth? See where there are rocks in it? Where it is sick?"
Rose Quartz	She thinks quickly. With a few Earthbenders like Toph, she could even heal the great scars in the land left by the kindergarten!
Toph Beifong	All it takes is a simple tap of her foot and the earth sinks down again. Though the question makes Toph arch an eyebrow. "I'm not really into gardening. I've kinda messed up enough lawns around," she admits with a shrug, apparently not feeling too guilty about it. "As for the earth, I can sense if there's stuff in it that shouldn't be there. Like... crud. Not magical stuff. And I can sense everything in it. Animals digging on it, all the people walking around us, that bug by your left foot..." It's all said as if it's no big deal. To Toph it's simply how things are. "As for sickness, well... that's kinda relative. Magic curse and stuff like that I can't tell, but if there's anything changing the earth itself in a physical manner then I should be able to tell. If not you might wanna get a magician or something," she adds with a shrug, then unwraps the food in her other hand and takes a bite.
Rose Quartz	She nods a little, fertile mind racing with the possibilities. "There is a place in my part of the world where the earth is... Damaged. In a very fundamental way, the life and power were sucked out of it to create Gems. Do you think you could come there with me some day to see if you can help heal it?"
Toph Beifong	Well, that sounds like a reasonable request, doesn't it? "Are you talking about a kindergarten?" Toph asks, then nods. "I could fix the holes and such there yeah, that's easy. I'm a little busy nowadays though, I'm on my way home again after being on the road for a while, so... we can talk on the radio or something?" the girl offers. Fixing up old kindergartens shouldn't be too hard, considering she's seen one of them before.
Rose Quartz	Rose Quartz nods and goes to give the smolbender a hug. "I can't thank you enough. It would... do my gem good to see those parts of the world made whole again." she laughs, in much higher spirits now. "Err... Radio?" she asks, tilting her head to one side. "I didn't know the radio was for anything but music."
Toph Beifong	When Rose steps forward with the clear intention of hugging her, Toph moves her hand forward... shifting the earth Rose is standing on backwards. "No hugs. But yeah, I'll get it fixed once I have some free time. And if you talk with any of the multiversal offices around you can get a radio easily enough, it's for talking on the channels. Mine is off now and then, but most of the time it's not that hard to get a hold of me. For now I better get moving back home, I promised I would be back by dinner time. Nice meeting you, Giant Lady!" With that the blind earthbender raises her free hand in a casual wave, then she takes another bite of her food before she heads on through the market place, easily making her way past the booths and people in the vicinity.