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The sound of the turning of pages filled the library as an orange gem sat hunched over a desk. Moonlight shone through the window, criss-cross shaped shadows slowly creeping throughout the room.
Sardonyx had been reading the logs all night at this point. They were sure that they'd be tired, considering the fact that there was less light outside, but they were surprisingly energetic. In fact, they were as rejuvenated as they had been earlier in the day. Strange, Sardonyx was usually the first to doze off.
Thankfully, they didn't have to worry about other gems bursting into the library while they were trying to focus, since everyone usually goes to their rooms after nightfall hits—save for the occasional scholar. Sardonyx was peculiarly interested in studying the logs. Even they didn't know why. They chalked it up to excitement for their new job, but they couldn't deny that it was interesting reading reports from a gem that was no longer with them.
They couldn't tell much about Sinjarite from the logs, since 99% of the information (the remaining 1% being random, unsolicited commentary from Iolite) was about the winter duties themselves or reports on Lunarian sunspot types. The only thing that Sardonyx could say for sure was that Sinjarite's handwriting was much more pleasant to read than Iolite's (which was way too elaborate and fancy!).
Sardonyx set down the book of logs that they had been previously reading, having just finished it. They were about to pick up the next one that Serendibite had given to them, when they heard footsteps approaching the library.
Opalite blearily walked into the room, but their eyes shot open in surprise upon seeing Sardonyx.
"Ohh, hey, Opalite!" waved Sardonyx, too energetic for the time of day. "I was wondering who'd be up at this hour."
"Ahah, um, I could say the same to you," Opalite awkwardly chuckled, fatigue seeming to take a toll on them. They had always managed to get perfect sleep. "What are you doing? Are you studying? That's unlike you."
"I finally managed to get a new job!" Sardonyx proudly declared.
"Really? That's great, I'm happy that you were able to," Opalite wearily smiled, taking a seat on the stool at the table across from Sardonyx.
"Yep, Black Opal said that I could do winter duty. Serendibite told me about Iolite and gave me these books so I could learn about it. It looks hard from what I've seen, but I'm sure it's wayyy better than reporting the weather," Sardonyx shuddered as if they had seen an army of Lunarians invade and destroy the entire school.
"I heard that Iolite wasn't always only awake during winter," Opalite quietly mentioned, earning a surprised look from Sardonyx. "I-I mean, I don't know whether it's true or not, since I've never seen them awake in my lifetime, but..." they trailed off, eyes fixated towards the moon.
"Whoa, really? But why would they suddenly just fall asleep during the other seasons? Why specifically winter?" Sardonyx questioned eagerly. Now they wanted to know more.
"I... don't exactly know," Opalite continued, "but I do know that there is a way that gems' inclusions can be strangely altered beyond repair, so it could have something to do with that."
"What is it?" Sardonyx tilted their head.
"You know Torbernite, yes? The gem who's radioactive?"
"Oh, yeah! I actually ran into them earlier toda-"
"Avoid them, please," Opalite's expression morphed into something more serious. "They're too dangerous."
"Of course I know that, but they seem nice!" retorted Sardonyx.
"I've talked to them a lot, since my inclusions aren't of the... average gem," Opalite despondently glanced toward the moon again, "and they're not very pleasant to talk to once you get to know them."
"But they told me they didn't want to hurt anyone, so I don't see what the problem is?"
"No gem wants to hurt another. I can assure you that even Elbaite doesn't, as much as they try to appear otherwise," Opalite sighed as they held their head in their hands, "it's just... I- I don't know."
"Did something happen between you two?" Sardonyx quietly inquired.
"...Maybe, but- I don't really want to talk about this anymore," said Opalite as they shook their head, crestfallen. "Anyways, as I was saying, Torbernite's radioactivity can permanently alter the way that a gem's inclusions behave, so it wouldn't be too far off to say that Iolite encountered them once."
"Hrm, that makes sense," grumbled Sardonyx. "I wonder if that could have happened to me."
"Let's hope not," Opalite sighed, "if you didn't come in with or get too close to them, then you should be okay."
"Yeah."
The room was brought to silence and the two gems blinked at each other, neither having anything else to say. The sounds of the few bugs outside buzzing were the only things breaking the stillness.
"Sooo, uh..." Sardonyx struggled for another topic, "why are you here? It's pretty late out, and you always get perfect sleep."
"Moissanite wanted to try something a little different for this year and had the idea to make a memorial for the gems that we've lost, so I came here to search for some things for it," explained Opalite.
"Oh, that's cool," Sardonyx yawned, clearly thinking otherwise. "Now that you mention it, I don't think I was ever told about all the gems who were taken away."
"Ah, well, I'm not sure about all of them, but there are eight that I know of," Opalite sheepishly remarked, "there's Sinjarite—who you probably already know about from the logs—, Citrine, Aurichalcite, Nephrite, Pink Diamond, Azurite, Spi-"
"Oooopalite! Where are youuu?" the loud, sing-songy voice of Corundum filled the hall, and Sardonyx could have sworn that the red gem was even less affected by the lack of sunlight than they were.
"...They're looking for me," Opalite exasperatedly whispered. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you this, but White Zircon wanted to make sure that we're all asleep so we can get enough rest for tomorrow, since we'll start preparing materials for hibernation. I, um, forgot about it, so now I'm running."
"Why not just go and turn yourself in?" replied Sardonyx in another whisper. Not that they would ever turn themself in, of course, but it was a little peculiar for someone like Opalite.
"I ran away in a... moment of impulsivity—yes, I know, surprising for me—and it's kind of embarrassing to be caught. I guess you're in the same situation as I am, so we should probably both hide," Opalite explained in a hushed tone, and Sardonyx nodded.
It would be too risky for them to hide somewhere else outside the library, so the two gems dashed to the back of the room and found an inconspicuous spot behind a bookshelf to hide in.
Although it hadn't been the clearest to Sardonyx at first, it was very obvious now that the lack of sun was impairing Opalite's general abilities when they saw just how slowly they were moving. Sardonyx assumed that they were just more tired because it was a huge shift from their sleeping schedule. They were about to speak, when Opalite suddenly collapsed backwards.
"Yikes!" Sardonyx grunted, barely managing to catch the other gem by their collar. Then, in a stroke of bad luck, their ears picked up on the sound of someone else entering the library.
"Hey, Opalllliiiiiite!!! Are you in here?!" So much for "good sleep." Sardonyx couldn't see the gem from behind the shelf, but it was quite obvious to anyone who heard it that the voice belonged to Corundum again. Sardonyx froze, knowing the slightest movement could give themself away.
They could hear the clinking of shoes, and a little bit of shuffling around, before Corundum sighed, "I for sure thought you'd be in the library! Hmph, I'll find you in the strategy room then!"
The clattering of heels filled the air for a few seconds before fading off into the distance, and Sardonyx let out a huge sigh. Opalite still wasn't showing any signs of moving, so they decided they would try and sneak them to their room.
An act of kindness like that was pretty unusual for Sardonyx, and they didn't know why they were doing this either.
Maybe as thanks.
But for what?
Sardonyx quietly struggled to drag Opalite across the library floor (why did everyone have to be so heavy?!) and peeked out the entryway of the library. No sign of any other gem. They continued along through the hallway, trying to keep a fast pace while also not making too much noise—which was hard enough when you were trying to transport an unconscious individual—before reaching the stairs.
Sardonyx groaned in despair as they glared up at the square-shaped spiral stairs looming above them.
This'll take a while.
After much heaving and ho'ing, Sardonyx finally managed to reach the top of the steps without damaging Opalite. "Never again," they muttered to themself.
The second floor held all of the gems' personal rooms. They didn't really hold much purpose other than a place to sleep, in Sardonyx's opinion. Only thing left to do was find Opalite's room and put them in it.
Sardonyx tip-toed across the hall, careful to not be seen or wake anyone up (how unfortunate was it that the entrances to everyone’s rooms were mere doorways?), until they reached Aquamarine's room, which Sardonyx knew was right next to Opalite's. Thankfully, Aquamarine was asleep, so they could sneak past it and enter Opalite's room.
Sardonyx wished they could describe the room as something different, but every gem's personal room looked identical, with the "bed" built into a hollowed-out part of the wall being their main feature. Sardonyx let out a breath as they set Opalite down onto the thin blanket atop the bed, relieved of the stress burdening their arms. Any more, and they would have broken for the second time that day.
They didn’t spare a thought to the fact that a simple lack of sunlight wouldn’t be enough for a gem to suddenly lose consciousness.
Sardonyx creeped out of Opalite's room and headed to their own—which was, as said before, identical. To their surprise, they still weren't tired. Even so, they didn't feel like changing out of their uniform, but wanted to think through all the events that had occurred that day. That was the most interesting day that had ed by since... that time when Elbaite got scared of a butterfly and fell into the pond two weeks ago.
Sardonyx flopped down on the bed (luckily, the blankets had softened their fall) and began to replay the events in their head. Looking back on it, there were some things that didn't make sense—even the smallest little bits.
Why was Torbernite walking in the fields, during the day, no less? Why was Parisite, who nearly always spends their entire day in the workshop, absent? How on earth did Serendibite and Serpentine manage to acquire some of the remnants of an ancient civilization from likely, at the very least, a million years ago in almost pristine condition? Why was Corundum—who had the attention span of a literal fish—of all gems, chosen to search for Opalite? And why hadn't they come after Sardonyx, too?
At this rate, the more Sardonyx thought, their head was sure to explode.
Well, it'll probably all make sense in the morning.
With that, they made an effort to go to sleep.
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It turns out that Sardonyx did not sleep.
The first thing they was when they groggily... woke up(?) was the familiar scenery of Serpentine's office, and they soon noticed they were lying where the gems were usually fixed.
"Hey, Sardonyx, are you alright?" piped up a voice near them, which they soon realized belonged to Moissanite. They were also accompanied by a certain worried Opalite. "I went to go wake you up, but when I entered your room, your entire head was shattered."
Oh, my head really did explode.
Well, that explains why they suddenly blacked out despite still not being tired.
"Yeah, I'm fine!" Sardonyx confidently waved their arms in the air after sitting up as if to prove that they were, in fact, fine.
"That's a relief," Moissanite wiped their forehead, "I have to go attend the strategy meeting. Don't go getting yourself hurt again, okay?" The overly-shiny gem smiled and ran away towards the strategy room as their hair split light into thousands of colors, leaving the other two alone.
"I don't really have much time to talk, but, um," Opalite spoke up, "what happened? I walking to the bookshelf, but nothing after that. All I know is that I woke up in my room."
"You sorta... stopped moving for some reason, so once Corundum left the area, I brought you back to your room without getting caught."
"...Thanks," Opalite donned a small, heartfelt smile despite the sense of hesitation in their voice. "I should probably go help them gather materials for hibernation. I'll see you later." Opalite followed the path of Moissanite, Sardonyx being the only one left in the room.
Sardonyx sighed, wanting to think over everything again, but eventually ended up deciding not to put more pressure on themself. They still didn't feel tired. Moi and Opalite probably wanted them to rest, but they weren't fatigued in the slightest. Sardonyx stared out through the windows, noticing the lack of clouds.
…They still had to do weather reporting until winter.
Ugh.
At least they didn't have to actually say the reports, just write them down.
Sardonyx dragged themself off of the table and out of the health room, reluctantly making their way to the study space. Normally, they would stall and make up any and every excuse there was to not do their work, but they didn't want to risk giving up their new job.
Sardonyx sat down on the tall stool, grabbed their notepad, unenthusiastically jotted down some very vague descriptions of the clouds and lackluster predictions, and left for the fourth floor to check what was going on in the hibernation room. That would be more interesting than giving a full report, anyway.
"Gwah! Gotcha!" Parisite and Golden Sheen Obsidian were playing tag with the sheets for hibernation while they waited for the patrollers to come back with more materials, and White Zircon was scanning the area to make measurements for setting up the room.
"Sardonyx, where have you been?" curtly inquired White Zircon, clearly not in the mood for any shenanigans today.
"Well, ummm, during my sleep, I sorta... exploded?" Sardonyx uneasily grinned as White Zircon raised an eyebrow. "I was in the health room after I woke up. But don't scold me for not doing my job, 'cuz I just finished my report before I came here!"
"At least you did what you needed to," White Zircon said, "but we're in need of all the help we can get, right now. Sphalerite used up almost all of our fabric doing whatever useless frivolities they partake in, so now we're in a shortage and need to collect more. I'll allow you to help us collect the plants, but if you encounter any sunspots, do not, under any circumstances, do what you did last time and ring the bell."
"Sir, yes, sir!" Sardonyx shouted—earning an unamused look from White Zircon—and sprinted back downstairs to go outside.
The bright sun shone down on the land, verdant grass swaying in the wind. A few butterflies flapped around, and the shrill calls of birds pierced the air. Sardonyx didn't know much about any of the plants; where they grew and what exactly each one of them was used for were unknown to them. They knew that some of them were for fabric, dye, or making powder, but that was the extent of their knowledge.
Sardonyx aimlessly wandered around towards the West Plateau, where they found a few flowers. They recalled during the strategy meetings from when they actually gave reports that the West Plateau was where the Lunarians most often appeared, but oh well. There wasn't much they could really do about it.
Sardonyx rooted up a couple of white flowers, hoping that there would actually be some use for these—it wasn't as if they were concerned about it being of use, though. They were about to move on to the next area, when they saw a couple of other gems strolling around.
Chalcedony and Aquamarine seemed to also be searching for plants. Aquamarine was loudly boasting about the time that they were once able to drive off a Lunarian sunspot by themself (Chalcedony didn't appear to believe the story), but stopped when they saw Sardonyx.
"Hey, Sardonyx! Did you learn your lesson yet?" Aquamarine crossed their arms, "I mean, not that I care about it, but it would be trouble for us if you didn't," they sighed.
"Maybe, maybe not," Sardonyx smirked. "Are you guys searching for materials or whatever, too?"
"Yep, we are. Why did Sphalerite have to go u all of the fabric?! They have no self control," Aquamarine shook their head.
"It's not as if you have any, either," Chalcedony spoke up from the ground, where they were examining a black flower.
"What, it's not my fault those shells looked like they wanted to be picked up!" retorted Aquamarine. They were pretty notorious for picking up random seashells on the beach, but refusing to even step in the water for one second. "Anyways," they turned to Sardonyx, "I bet you don't even know what the 'ade' plant is!"
"I do!" Sardonyx stuck out their tongue. "It's... um... the plant that you... uh..."
Aquamarine crossed their arms with a victorious grin.
"I don't know why they're acting like they know everything about the plants now, because I just told them what it was twenty minutes ago," Chalcedony said offhandedly, who was now being given a betrayed look from Aquamarine. "The ade plant is this black flower, which is used to make black dye."
Now Sardonyx was the one with the smug expression.
"Those white flowers that you're holding right now are used to make fabrics, and they're generally used in clothing," Chalcedony pointed at the plants in Sardonyx's arms. They were about to speak again, but the horrified expression on Sardonyx's face made them quickly whip around in the opposite direction.
There, in the sky, a sunspot had started forming.
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i don't even what i would have wanted to say at the end of this one because i wrote it a while ago (and chapter 6, too) but this one might be a bit longer than the other ones
i couldn't be bothered to put effort into the drawing for this chapter and i still don't have an idea for the one for chapter 6, but for some reason i've already completed the art for chapter 7, of which i'm still in the process of writing (spoilers, the plot finally progresses some :skull: )
ads ruining my format as always
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