♡ 𐐪 ◜𝐅𝐄𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒◞ 𐑂 ♡

𝗰𝗿𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗴𝗲𝗺𝘀

【 ɢᴇᴍ!ꜰ!ʀᴇᴀᴅᴇʀ 】
❝ 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘺─𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘴𝘵 ❞
▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

                                 Steven was peacefully lying on his bed under his comfortable duvet, mindlessly flicking through television channels to find something that would catch his eye. Unfortunately, not a single program, even the shows he would usually jump with joy to see airing, didn't pique his interest. "What do you want to watch, Lion?" Steven turned to his large, pink animal companion resting next to him under the duvet.

He only released a brief growl before placing his head back over his folded legs.

Steven nodded. "Yeah, for some reason, nothing good is airing today." Or at least there was nothing that made him feel good. Turning off his television, he lazily hung his arms over the edge as his face pressed against the soft mattress. "Ughhhhhh! When are the gems coming baaaaaaack?" was muffled through the material. "Today is so...uggghhhhh..." No one word came to mind to describe the off-feeling coursing in the air like a knife cutting through cotton. All the young boy fathomed was the moment he woke up, which was much later than usual, he felt this heaviness in his gut that made him feel inclined to remain in bed. Not sure for how long, but considering that heaviness soon transferred to his heart, he thought he might as well stay there until a proper reason for him to get up came about.

And of course, as usual, his three best friends left him behind the moment an emergency called for them before Steven could even ask for any details. They merely relayed their typical response on how it was too dangerous for him since he is unable to even summon his weapon and blah blah blah. It was almost tiring to hear, but he understood their worries came from a place of love since they didn't want him getting hurt on their watch. He must admit, though, it sometimes filled him with insecurity that only grew every day. The point of being a "beginner" is to progress in strength, wisdom, and...whatever else Pearl babbled about; so how was Steven supposed to get stronger when he could never do anything?

Usually, he wouldn't think too deeply, and especially emotionally, concerning his very unconventional existence but something about today made Steven a lot more...sensitive, you could say. He instantly felt annoyed when the gems suddenly left him without so much of a good morning, he almost cried at the thought he would never reach the same level as his friends and team, and the fact there was nothing on T.V. to bring his mood back up made him want to scream.

Then the familiar sound of the warp pad activating tickled his ears. Despite the heaviness still weighing his heart (did it get heavier?) and the slight annoyance he felt, Steven excitedly rolled out from the duvet, fell on the ground, and immediately ran downstairs.

Maybe they brought something back for me! His eyes twinkled at the thought of what cool spear or other vintage gem artifacts his friends would have brought. Steven reached the warp pad between the kitchen and living room...then frowned.