What should have been a simple life in the desert sand and stars becomes anything but. Haunted by dreams of a life of violence, and seeking answers as to why, Peridot and her friends find themselves caught in an ancient battle between Light and Dark...and find that the cost of being a soldier is higher than they might have ever thought.
Years later….
*laughter from the other room*
Fern: What do you say, Peri? Another dance?
Peri: Yeah!
Fern: Ah-ah! What do we say? Yes….?
Peri: Oh! Yes…please?
Fern: That’s right!
Fern, singing: Please and thank you are the magic words, the magic words~
Peri: *laughter*
Citrine: All done! Should we get going?
Fern: You betcha! What do you say, Peri-girl? You wanna go see Cousin Scar?
Peridot: Yeah!
Fern: Oh, and Cousin Pep, too?
Peridot: Yeah!
Fern: Welp, let’s go!
Citrine: Hey, I can carry her too, you know.
Peri: No! Wanna ride Mama!
Fern: The princess has spoken!
Citrine: Oh, you two are a riot. *laugh* Who are we to deny our Princess what she wants, hm?
Scarlet: Aunties!
Peppermint: You wanna show your Aunts what you learned, Scar?
Scarlet: Uh-huh! Watch!
Fern: Oh–you did it! Great job, sproglet!
Scarlet: *laughter* Auntie up! Up high!
Fern: We can do high!
Fern: She’s just a baby. Vampires don’t start displaying any signs of vampirism until puberty. She’s perfectly safe, for herself and others.
Citrine: Besides, everyone’s got a right to defend themselves, from anyone and anything. Maybe not as a first answer, but…if it comes to it, you finish it.
That evening….
???: Celestial! Get back here!
Peridot: *laughter*
Peri: …? Who you?
Fern: Why do I get the feeling that’s your parent, kiddo? *sigh* If you’re looking for an aqua kid, they’re in here!
Citrine: …
Citrine: Hey, boss, what’s up? …What? Oh, gosh, is he okay? How’d that even happen?
Citrine: He–okay, yeah, no…no, it’s not a problem. I’ll..I’ll, I’ll head for the Library right now. You tell Spangle to rest his foot. Yeah, see you later. *sigh* Spangle why.
Fern: Oh, my favorite sprog can go really very high can’t she–
Peppermint: Don’t call her that!
Fern: Whoa–hang on a sec, kiddo. Easy, Pep, it’s just a nickname.
Peppermint: It’s not just a nickname, it’s one more strange thing about her and do you know–ugh.
Fern: Okay, easy, easy. Start from the top?
Fern: What’s going on? You never minded me calling her that before…
Peppermint: That was before. Now it’s–look, she has a name, okay. Can we just stick to using that instead of some…cutesy, strange nickname.
Fern: Well, sure, but…
Citrine: Pep, what’s wrong?
Peppermint: Nothing.
Citrine: Don’t lie to me, sib. Middle of the day when there was supposed to be a playdate? You never got this upset over nicknames before, either. What happened?
Peppermint: I just said it’s nothing!
Scarlet: Auntie?
Fern: Ooookaay, let’s just…all take a second. Keep it chill, don’t scare the girls.
Fern: Pep, come on. You know you can tell us anything.
Peppermint: …we were…asked to leave the playgroup. Firmly asked.
Fern: Asked to…why? What brought that on?
Citrine: Did something happen?
Peppermint: ….
Citrine: Look, let’s sit down. The girls can play and we can sort this out.
Some time later…
Eternal Glow: And then they asked us to leave, for the safety of the other kids. Pfft. Load of crock!
Citrine: Oh, Pep…why didn’t you say something?
Peppermint: What good would have done? Not like any of us can change their minds.
Citrine: no, but–come on, you know Pen and Moony would be happy to bring Ribbon over, too.
Fern: …and you know they’re wrong, right?
Eternal Glow: Oh, we told them that! We threw the book at them, six different ways! They didn’t care. Safety of the kids, bah.
Fern: *sigh* Of course.
Fern: So the nickname thing…
Peppermint: It’s not about the name. It’s just…one more thing that makes her stand out.
Citrine: Pep…
Peppermint: I mean. Adopted, vampire daughter of two not vampires, Colors don’t match us at ALL, two not straight parents. Just…*sigh* Her deck’s already stacked.
Eternal Glow: And it’s not like Sixam would be any better for her!
Citrine: Okay, slow down, you’re not moving to Sixam! Fern, there’s got to be something we can do!
Fern: Like what?
Citrine: Like–I don’t know, teach people how things really are?
Citrine: If people knew the truth, then maybe…
Fern: You can’t change bigoted minds, babe. No amount of truth will change their opinions now.
Peppermint: Just…let it go, Cit. We’ll…just deal with it.
Eternal Glow: And there’s always Peri…and Ribbon, once Moony stops making sad eyes we didn’t tell her sooner.
Citrine: Guys…
Fern: …I can make some calls? There might be a vampire family or two somewhere nearby. She’ll need her peers, too.
Peppermint: …yeah, Yeah, that’d be…that’s a good idea.
Peppermint: …there’s so much we’re still learning…sometimes I wonder if this was a mistake.
Citrine: Pep, no, don’t say that…she loves you! She loves it here.
Eternal Glow: We’re all she knows. Maybe if she was with her own people, she’d be…
Fern: No. I promise you, she’s better off here. No one would be able to set aside who her birth parents were back in the Hollow. At least here, people love her.
Fern: That’ll just…have to be enough. For now.
Peppermint: …for now.
Later…
Citrine: Why are people so stupid, Fern?
Fern: oh, plenty of reasons. Why?
Citrine: Hating Scarlet for something she had no control over…just so stupid.
Fern: Oh that. Well….I guess they’re just scared.
Citrine: Of Scarlet? She’s a baby!
Fern: She’s a vampire, or the daughter of two…very powerful vampires.
Citrine: Who are very, very, dead.
Fern: Who ruled their community with iron fists. Fear takes a long time to fade, Cit. It was just…bad luck for her, that’s all.
Citrine: Bad luck. *snort* Right, because anything she can’t control is her own fault! Honestly…
Fern: S’not worth getting this worked up about. We can’t change their minds.
Citrine: I know, I know, I just–*sigh* I hate people who can’t see past the exterior.
Fern: Bigots and bullies, huh?
Citrine: I wouldn’t mind punching a few of those parents.
Citrine: Did you know there are whole forums dedicated to looking down on mixed berries? All for their colors!
Fern: Still? *sigh* I guess there’s always going to be hate in the world, but…it made you think about Basil, didn’t it?
Citrine: And people like him. Scarlet’s got a lot against her when it comes to guys like him, and so does Peri. I just…things should be getting better, not worse! Why won’t they just get better…
Fern: I don’t know, babe. I really don’t.
Fern: The best we can do is give them a chance. Teach them that their worth isn’t based on what they are, or the colors they show.
Citrine: And how to throw a punch. But only when you’re old enough, young lady!
Peridot: *giggle* Kay…
Fern: Oh, so you want our girl punching out bullies like you did?
Citrine: Why not? If that’s what it takes…
Fern: *amused snort* Citrine…
Citrine: Hey, it worked!
Fern: It got you pulled out of school.
Citrine: And led to us meeting, so. I”m good with it.
Fern: …well, she’s a little young right now, but…give her a few years and I can start lessons for her. Way I heard, you almost broke your thumb on Basil’s nose back then.
Citrine: Would have been worth it, but yeah. Lessons would be good.
Fern: ….you know she’s going to be okay, right?
Citrine: …
Fern: Citrine.
Fern: Visions don’t always come true.
Citrine: I just…I want her to be prepared. For whatever it is. I know–I know trusting her, supporting her, is the biggest thing, but…we can’t always fight her battles for her. She has to be ready to fight for herself
Fern: ….we’ll get her there, babe. The world won’t know what hit it. Just…
Citrine: What?
Fern: And in….and out…
Peridot: Whee!
Fern: *laugh* Oh, Peri…
*gate creaks open*
Peridot: Huh? !! Mama!
Fern: What is…okay who the duck are you.
Peri: *pensive noises*
???: Celestial! Oh, Watcher–
???: Celestial! Watcher, I am so sorry about him!
Celestial: Hi, Mama!
???: Oooooh don’t you hi Mama me, young man!
???: You are in so much trouble!
Fern: *snicker* No harm no foul. You okay with this, Peri?
Peri: Um…
Peridot: …yeah.
Celestial: *laugh*
Fern: Okay, well, scream if that changes.
Peridot: Kay…
-
???: I am so sorry. We just moved in down the road and I turned my back for a minute and–
Fern: Hey, hey, no worries! He made it here safe and….wait….it can’t be…
Fern: It is you! Caly!
???: Whoa–wait, hang on–
???: Fern?!
CItrine: Fern? I heard shouting, is everything…okay?
Fern: Better than okay!
Fern: This is Caly–we trained together back in the Realm!
Caly: And then you went and got yourself exiled! How long has it been?!
Fern: Ah, geez–five years?
Calypso: Too long! Come here, you stinker!
Citrine: I feel like I’m missing half the story here.
Fern: Sorry, sorry–let’s grab the kids and I’ll explain everything.
Citrine:So–wait, they asked you to leave because you had a kid?
Calypso: They asked me to leave because I had a kid with someone who wasn’t a Hunter. Master Chronos is…very specific about that. All bloodline matches must be made according to Council Guidelines, yadda yadda yadda…*sigh*
Fern: So you and Frosted…
Calypso: We didn’t even last the year, but between that and the court ordering shared custody…well, here I am.
Calypso: And of course the second I turn my back on this little rascal–
Fern: Oh, Caly…
Calypso: No, no, I made this bed now I lay in it.
Citrine: Well, yeah, but it doesn’t have to stay so lonely. We have a playgroup for toddlers at the park tomorrow…if you don’t mind a vampire being one of them?
Calypso: Oh, everyone knows that story. No, I’m sure she’s fine at this age.
Calypso: Bigger question: How did you two end up okay with having a vampire’s kid be your niece? After what happened back there…
Citrine: Well, Scarlet isn’t her birth parents, so…why blame her for that?
Fern: heh, the heart wants what it wants.
Citrine: There’s a story there, I’m sure.
Calypso: Oh, the usual. Whirlwind summer fling becomes starcrossed lovers becomes jaded couple who really should have stayed in the romance movies.
Fern: Ha!
Citrine: Well, we all make mistakes, but from the look of it you got something good out of that mistake.
Calypso: I absolutely did. Even if he turns my hair gray every day. *sigh* Right, so, that playdate? When and where?
Fern: Tomorrow, out at the Bloom. I can swing by and pick you up if you want?
Calypso: No, I’ve got a job interview in that area tomorrow, so I can stop in…may be a little late, though.
Fern: That’s fine! We’ll be there until sundown.
Citrine: What sort of job are you looking for? I have contacts, I can make some calls?
Calypso: Oh–thanks, but…honestly I’m just taking anything that’ll pay the bills right now. I’ll figure out what I want post-Hunt when we’re not going to be late on rent!
Citrine: Ha, Fern was the same way.
Fern: It’s not a skillset that changes jobs easily! *laugh* Well, now that you know we’re here, I’m always around if you need help. Or a spar.
Citrine: Oh, don’t start…I’m not taking two people to the clinic for broken bones!
Fern & Caly: Comes with the job! *laugh*
Fern: *amused sigh* Well, the kids get along, so it’ll be good for them to hang out anyway.
Calypso: Yeah, it will. Just without this one running away again! Oooh…no snack cake after dinner for you tonight, young man.
Celestial: *whine* Mama….
Calpyso: Nope! No mama! Well, see you guys tomorrow!
Citrine & Fern: See you tomorrow!
Calypso: Say bye bye!
Celestial: Bye bye!
Peridot: Bye bye!
Citrine: Well. That was a surprise.
Fern: A good one, though. Caly’s good people.A little scattered sometimes, but good people.
Citrine: *snort* I cannot blame her. Don’t you go getting any ideas, missy.
Fern: Oh, babe. I think it might be too late for that.
*gate shuts*
The next day…
Citrine: Alright, where is it…
*phone buzzes*
Citrine: Hm? Volcano? Oh, don’t tell me–
Citrine: No rest for the weary, I guess…Pop have you seen Fern?
Nova: Out back!
Nova: And one and two and twirl–everything okay?
Citrine: Yeah, just…work stuff came up.
Nova: Ah, geez–that’s it, good twirl!
Citrine: Fern? You got a sec?
Fern: Sure do! Find the carrier yet?
Citrine: Ah, no…
Citrine: I’m gonna have to cancel on the playdate today, love.
Fern: Eh? Why? You feeling okay?
Citrine: Yeah, I’m fine, it’s just–
Citrine: Spangle broke his foot.
Fern: What? How’d he do that?!
Citrine: Yardwork, apparently. He’ll be fine but it means he can’t do the interview that was scheduled for today and Volcano’s making sure he’s not being stupid so that leaves me and, well.
Fern: You’ve gotta cancel. What was this piece about again?
Citrine: Interviewing a mayoral candidate. I’m sorry–if I could give it to anybody else I would but ever since the Newscast merged it’s our job to do the fluff parts and there’s no one else.
Fern: Then there’s no one else and you do what you gotta do!
Citrine: I know, I just–
Fern: Babe, there’s two of us, remember? I’m fine taking Peri myself.
Fern: Besides–oof–besides, you can catch up when the interview’s done, right? It won’t take all day?
Citrine: It shouldn’t, no. It’s just…empty-headed questions, really.
Fern: Then it’s no big! You do your thing and catch up when it’s over. We’ll be there, or I’ll call and say we left early. Besides, this gives me a chance to do a thing, too.
Citrine: Oh?
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