Pearl

The Builder

Bismuth had done exactly what Rose had told her: She walked into the village, and when asked who she was by the humans, she replied by saying she was one of Rosy's friends. The humans smiled and showed her to a large house, saying that's where Rosy was staying. Bismuth had walked in and went to Rose's room. She sat on the bed a thought.

Bismuth felt something had changed in her when Rose had asked what she wanted to build. But she couldn't identify it. She looked around her. The building, she thought, was rather simple. She picked up a clay vase painted with wavy blended blue lines in varying shades. She examined it, then threw it on the ground. It broke into pieces. Bismuth laughed. She took a glass cup and smashed it in her hand. She giggled. She went and walked downstairs to find more things to break when she heard a knock on the door.

Bismuth froze halfway down the stairs. Who could it be? Could it be the humans, wanting to kick her out? Or could it be Rose?

There was another knock. "Bismuth?," came a soft voice. "Bismuth, it's me, Rose. Could you let us in please?" Bismuth hurried down the stairs and tried to open the door. But she opened it the wrong way and ripped it from it's frame. She threw the severed door to the side.

"Rose!," she said, delighted. "And..." She looked at Pearl, who was giving the looking stunned, shocked, and ready to throw something as she gazed at the broken door. "Are you supposed a Pearl?" Pearl snapped out of her trance and looked at Bismuth, taking her in. The builder Gem had an ebony apron over a white shirt, and she wore maroon pants and brown boots. Her hair was multicolored, and held by a purple headband. She had bluish skin and broad shoulders, and was around the size of Rose. Pearl glared at her.

"Yes, I am," Pearl responded curtly. One of Bismuth's eyebrows raised. "Oh, and you can't just rip out doors."

"Well then how was I supposed to open it?" Pearl gave an exasperated sigh and went to the oak door lying on the ground.

"This is called a doorknob," she said, gesturing to the object, "And you turn it and pull if you want to open a door." Bismuth shrugged.

"I'll fix it." Ignoring Pearl's protests, Bismuth picked up the door and hammered it back into it's frame. "There. Good as new." Rose clapped.

"Bismuth that was great!" She looked at Pearl, who sighed again.

"I guess that was okay." Rose shrugged.

"Well, I thought it was pretty cool. Anyways Bismuth, you said you wanted to make weapons?" Bismuth nodded her head vigorously. "Great then. The humans have a place in a big mountain called the Forge, where they make their weapons. I say we start there." Bismuth looked at her inquiringly.

"Are you sure human stuff is going to be able to make Gem weapons?" Rose shrugged again.

"Well have to find out, won't we?"

☆☆☆☆

The climb to forge took hours and would have been extremely difficult for humans, but for the three Gems, it was breeze. The mountain that the forge was on was giant, and was also a volcano. Pools of lave bubbled into some of their paths, forcing them to walk around them. But finally, they reached a cave where the forge was located.

"This is it?," said Bismuth. Pearl scoffed. Rose walked over to a switch, grinning.

"Pull it," she said to Bismuth with a smile. Bismuth walked up to the switch, puzzled and pulled it.

Immediately, the Forge started to rumble. Then, with a sound like a waterfall hitting rock, lava pored down from holes in the walls, set torches aflame, and boiled in small pools under their feet. Bismuth gasped as she saw assortments of metals and wood piled upon tables. She ran up to them, then to the lava. Putting the metal in her hands, she drenched it under the lava, then ran to the desk and put it down there. She grinned as she turned her fists to hammers, then pounded on the metal.

"What are you making?," asked Rose.

"You'll see soon," said Bismuth. "But it might take me a while."

"Well then if that's the case, Pearl and I have more business to attend to." Pearl looked at Rose.

"We do?" Rose looked back at Pearl.

"Of course we do. We need to recruit more Gems." She waved goodbye to Bismuth, then walked out. Pearl nodded curtly to Bismuth and followed her master. Bismuth waved back and then pounded the glowing metal once more.