Trudging through gatherings of thin coastal grass, under the ominous luminosity of the largest moon, Padparadscha moved through the land's darkness with still-unfamiliar ease, her battle-worn sword clattering behind her legs.

To think I was plagued by mere shadows only days ago, and now...

Focusing on a distant orb of light, slowly moving along a path worn along the coastline, the elder gem began into a slow turn.

...Walking under the dark of night, with little to fear. How I've longed for this freedom again.

Drawing closer to the glowing object, a smile slowly bloomed on her features as the figure of a gem was discerned, with freely-drifting red locks and silver orbs floating, captive in her proximal control.

And you, the one rarely seen in any season...

Lips parting, waiting for the right moment as she continued on an intercepting path, Padparadscha then quickened her pace.

"Cinnabar."

Watching as the gem halted and whirled around from an unexpected voice, the silvery blobs floating around her spiked with alarm, only to draw still, mirroring the gem's apprehension.

Passively meeting her stare, Padparadscha studied the elusive gem as she drew closer.

"Its been quite some time."

...So please, don't feel the need to run away.

Drawing to a slow halt, a short distance apart from each other, Cinnabar's arm drew across, clutching her elbow.

"Four hundred years."

"Mm. So you do remember me."

Head lowering with a nod, Cinnabar's eyes drew shut, and Padparadscha remained patiently still.

"...It is wonderful to hear you speak after so long."

Eyes flitting open, the gem silently looked aside, tucking her chin into her shoulder.

"Why are you out at night?"

Blinking from the direct question, Pad looked up to the crater-scarred moon above.

"Because I chose to be."

Mouth drifting open, Cinnabar peeked back through locks of her hair.

"You must be feeling better... To be active without the sun."

"Quite so. Rutile has done wonders to this old body of mine as of late."

Following the drifting movements of suspended globules of mercury, combining and separating in perpetuum, Padparadscha then exhaled from the following silence.

"...I suppose you're busy. But the real reason I am out here now, was specifically to converse with you."

Head rising, Cinnabar slowly blinked.

"I've been meaning to for some time, actually, but I've been having trouble staying awake long enough, much less being able to move myself. Do you know what that's like?"

Brow furrowing from the query, the dark red gem remained silent.

"I'm sure you're well aware that I have been plagued by incompletion for a majority of my existence. Born with a fault beyond my control. I want you to know... That I understand your loneliness."

"You've been absent for two hundred and thirty years. How could you understand?"

Head tilting aside, Pad's smile remained, unfazed from the rebuttal.

"Obviously our circumstances differ in many ways, but I know what its like to be trapped, helpless... Isolated in an unforgiving realm of existence."

Waiting for a reaction, Cinnabar simply remained silent, allowing the elder to continue.

"I've been asleep for such long periods... Hundreds of years at a time. So long in fact, that I've seen the same memories many times now. It is stifling, and haunting... Being bored of your own past, and being unable to escape, or speak, or do anything, because you can't even awaken or move."

Keeping a firm hold on Cinnabar's attention, Padparadscha eyed her pointedly.

"Being so far away from everyone, just because of who we are and what we're made of... It is a very familiar qualm we share, and I want you to know that... I am here for you. Whether you care or not, I will listen to anything you wish to say."

"And if I have nothing to say?"

"Oh I'm sure you'll find something. I can't imagine there being nothing of interest over these past few years."

Noticing a small bodily movement, Pad's eyebrow rose with a discreet flicker of interest.

"I'm sure someone besides myself has encountered you as well."

"Yes. Some have."

"Anyone special?"

Cinnabar's lips parted, only to draw shut, and her surrounding orbs of silver slowed with hesitation, only to resume their prior movements.

"No."

"Are you sure?"

"Very."

"I can't imagine I'm the only gem that's sought you out, in the dark of the night."

"Asking me to return. To go back... And I'm sick of it."

"I'm not asking for you to return. I'm simply here for your sake, and perhaps... To help you, however you may need."

Shoulders hunching, Cinnabar's vision plummeted to her feet.

"I already had someone promise me that."

"Oh? Who?"

Turning away, her expression grew wistful, picturing teal-green colors sparkling beside another gem's prismatic radiance.

"...Phosphophyllite."

Mouth opening with genuine surprise, Padparadscha remained silent.

Phos... Has spoken to Cinnabar? And by the sound of it, made a promise that's remained unfulfilled.

Crossing her arms, and stepping aside in a slight lean, the elder reflected on several newer conversations with the young gem.

Come to think of it... That little pebble is in love with a certain Diamond... And with everything that's taken place with Rutile's experimentation... Little Phos seems to have gotten quite distracted.

Eyes meeting several moments later, Padparadscha's expression softened as Cinnabar's hand drifted free from her arm.

She's spoken nothing of Cinnabar. My, how priorities change when love comes into play.

"Phosphophyllite is only three hundred years old. That one will have plenty of time to redeem herself."

"I doubt she will do so."

"Give her time."

"I already have... And to wait years to receive an apology... Makes it worthless."

"But an apology at all still has value."

"Hardly."

Sighing gently, Pad's fingers drifted along the length of the tie beneath her chin.

"I see your trust in the others remains contested."

"Because they all go on, making the same motions every year... Knowing but never questioning."

Remaining silent, from the familiar-yet-unspoken subject known throughout the school's walls, the elder gem squeezed the fabric of her shirt's collar for a moment.

I know. We both know of Sensei's implicit relation to them... And even after two hundred and thirty one years asleep... Nothing has changed.

"Well... No matter how you feel, or however much you may distrust the others... Keep in mind that you are loved dearly, to this very evening."

Vision lowering to the bare path worn through the grass, Cinnabar's eyelids settled shut as Padparadscha's footsteps began into the distance.

"...Never lose sight of that."

END.

Hey readers, hope you've enjoyed this shiny geologic exploration of overcoming your own faults! I've had a fantastic time writing this and reading the amazing reviews several of you have left. As far as I can tell, this story has reached all of the points I planned on covering, and I am tentatively considering a sequel... But that may be dependent on the future of the anime, and will certainly take some time to happen as I have other stories planned that will consume time and creativity in the coming future.

Also, yeah. Main ships aside, Cinnabar hasn't been left out of the picture, and certainly hasn't been forgotten by the ever-awesome Padparadscha. Stay tuned!

~ C. Betchimov