Stars and Diamonds

Chapter 6: Hurt

Watery, deep orange-rimmed eyes were cast down to her hands as they laid facing up in her lap, warm tears freely falling onto her palms and the bottom of her tunic as they rolled off her wobbling chin, her shoulders shaking as she tried to push back her tears unsuccessfully. Two large, light blue hands encircled her, fingers meeting behind her and holding her in place on the larger gem's lap, a silent comfort as she cried.

Her voice was thick and trembled when she finally managed to speak, "She doesn't want me around anymore."

"Oh Orange," One of Blue's hands moved from behind her, one large finger was placed under her chin and gently tilted her head up to meet her lowered gaze, "That isn't true. Pink loves you, but this is her first colony. She doesn't know how to split her attention between you and it. Just give it some time."

Orange gave a loud sniff, her brows twisted together, accentuating the lines of stress on her reddened face as she pushed her finger away, her head turned to glare at the wall to her right and angrily wiped at the tears still freely sliding down her face with the back of her hand. "All she ever does is talk about those stupid organics and how wonderful her colony is. She cares more about those organics than she does about me. If I was shattered, she wouldn't even notice until you or Yellow told her."

"Don't say such things, Orange!" Blue's voice was oddly high pitched as she scolded her, eyes wide and alarmed. Blue's felt like her gem had plummeted into ice, twisting her stomach into knots at the image of a tiny orange gem in broken pieces at her feet that formed in her mind. It twisted her gut more to imagine Yellow's pinched face as she buried her feelings behind a stoic façade, Pink's large eyes sad and watery, reddened from crying so much, and herself hunched over and crying into her hands over the little pieces of the smallest diamond. It took great effort to push the images away and not dwell on how the very thought hurt her deeply. She did not wish to live to see a day that one of them died.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, her expression turned into something more calm, hoping to soothe the young gem in need with her own soft and serene emotions. Her aura slowly and gently reached out to touch at the flickering orange aura before her, orange flames snapped and pushed back, hissing and unyielding to her efforts, and for a moment it worked. The flames kept the large body of sloshing blue emotion that was her own at bay. Though it was subconscious, they were only natural mental barriers that lacked any conviction to keep her out and thus eventually relented under her constant prodding, it was still a surprise to have such a fight put up against her for that long. Ultimately, Orange's mental strength was no match for hers and those flames were eventually engulfed in the watery blue, turning a once wild, rapidly moving blaze into a languid flickering flame, rolling slowly around her.

She watched as it took a moment to actually take effect, but Orange slumped slightly against her, looking less angry and simply worn out, but even the tight pinch of her brow and clenched fists showed she still fought against it. Orange was so strongly willed, or maybe it was simply a unique ability of her own that she was able to block and fight against Blue for so long, either way, it could only be expected from a fellow Diamond. It was simply another thing Blue could mark down on a list that proved Orange was just like them. But as much as she was a Diamond, she was still so young and inexperienced in what she could potentially do, it was no surprise to Blue that she could only resist for so long.

Once she deemed Orange was sufficiently subdued she continued to speak in that same gentle tone she had used before, "Orange, you know that isn't true. Pink would be absolutely devastated if you were shattered." She moved her hand to stroke the soft tangerine colored hair that stuck up oddly on her head, tacking on, "We all would be."

Orange was quiet while she brushed her hair with her fingers, her flushed cheeks pushed into her lower belly as she grabbed fist fulls of her robe. When she finally spoke, her voice was low and she sounded so lost and unsure, Blue's hand paused briefly at the heartbreaking sound of it.