Connie woke up the next morning to the sound of growling.
She yawned and rubbed her eyes before propping herself up on her elbow. She blinked a few times to clear away the blurriness, noticed Steven was no longer beside her, and turned to look at the source of the noise. Lion was standing by her feet, crouched down in a defensive stance, his back facing her.
This wasn't good.
Hesitantly, the girl stood up and walked along Lion's side, gently brushing her fingers along his fur. His head shifted to look back at her for just a moment before it turned forward again. The growling never stopped.
Connie froze.
Backed into the corner of the room was Steven, down on the ground, growling right back at Lion. He was positioned in a way that showed off the spikes on his back and his tail was thumping against the wall in agitation.
However, that's not what stopped her. What stopped her were the changes.
Not only were his eyes pitch black, but what looked like thick plating traveled along the top of his corrupted arms. Long spikes stuck out from his shoulders, and there were two large, sharp, curved teeth protruding from either side of his jaw. Connie took in a sharp breath when Steven's eyes fixed on her. There wasn't even a shred of humanity in that gaze.
She felt her chest tighten and she gripped Lion's mane.
"Lion, t-take me downstairs," she choked out. Lion looked at her again, then quickly but gently lifted her up over his head. His eyes were on Steven as he walked to the stairs, a snarl on his face, then he was through the doorway.
Greg had started making breakfast not too long ago, and Amethyst was lying on the couch. She sat up when Lion hurried down the stairs from Steven's room. He rounded the corner of the coffee table and crouched down to allow Connie to slide off his back, which she did slowly, and she almost fell over when she hit the floor.
"Connie? What's wrong?" Amethyst asked, jumping off the couch. Connie was shaking and her breaths were short and fast. She tried to answer but no sound came out so instead she just leaned against Lion and shook her head.
Greg had looked away from the stove when he heard Amethyst's concerned voice. "Whoa! Okay, hold on," he said a second later, shutting off the burner before running over. He grabbed onto Connie, who now looked like she was about to collapse, and helped her stand up a bit straighter.
"I know what this is. She's having a panic attack. I'm going to take her outside for a bit until she can calm down. Amethyst, do me a favor and go check on Steven, something must have happened," he said, and Connie nodded a confirmation. "Do you want to go outside?" Greg added, and Connie nodded again.
"Alright. Uh, be careful, Amethyst."
"Right."
Greg started to lead Connie to the door while the Gem ran up the stairs. She stopped at Steven's doorway, feeling uneasy. She didn't hear anything…she wasn't sure if that was good or bad. Cautiously she entered the room.
Silence.
She looked around and saw Steven in the corner, poking at his teeth. He looked up when he felt her gaze on him, staring back with eyes all black.
