Crystal Facets

Prince D

It had been nearly a week since Branch and Trollex had the heart to heart, and the trolls seemed to be getting along better than ever. They had watched many of Steven's adventures from afar by now, and were now confident that they knew how to help.

Steven's missions seemed to be dangerous, and he nearly always came back with a tear of some sort in his clothes. So Barb, Prince D, and Cooper opted to take on that task. Branch was in charge of food with Delta, and Trollex and Trollzart were often brought along for being the lookout. Poppy usually switched groups, depending on what she was needed for that day.

Today, D and Cooper had decided to keep an ear out for any happenings, and learned that another of Steven's shirts got torn on a mission, and they decided that now would be the best time to test out their new plan. D smiled at his twin brother, letting his ears drop again. "I think they're heading out, what do you think, Coop?"

Cooper was practically bouncing. "I think so! I'll go grab Barb and we can head down to the living room!" They had gotten so used to how sound traveled here now that they could pinpoint where Steven and the "gems" usually were.

They had picked up calling the group of females; Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl, the gems thanks to hearing Steven referring to them as such. Barb had been so happy to know someone else realized that the three were named after gemstones she had been nearly intolerably giddy for an entire day.

D didn't have much he needed to get ready, as he didn't tend to carry much. He preferred being light and maneuverable, just in case he needed to get out of dodge quickly. As he waited for Cooper and Barb he made his way towards the hole in the frame, taking a peek outside.

He couldn't hear anything, not even that distant hum that Steven had. He had been trying to figure out what was so different with Steven to anyone else he'd heard.

The few other creatures he'd gotten a chance to listen to so far had very little internal music. Steven's dad had sounded like Barb, but an older style. That meant he was inclined to rock if it wasn't his only type of music. The young girl that Steven had brought home the day Trollex traveled to the beach had sounded like Trollzart, but more modern. That set her with Classical.

The gems sounded... similar to Trollex, but fully electronic as opposed to partially organic. They sounded more like synthesizers than any sort of creature he'd heard before. Pearl had sharp, organized sounds, Amethyst was chaos incarnate, and Garnet was... somehow erratic and loud, yet also calm and mellow. It worked well as a single tune, but it was still different enough to catch his attention.

But Steven was something else. He had a calm, organic sound similar to pop, with the sharp tones like a Synthesizer. Almost like he was half organic, and half... whatever the gems had. He had been periodically trying to place the music, or at least figure out what it meant, but... he was stumped.

He perked up when he heard Barb and Cooper approaching, and smiled at them. "You two ready to go?" When they both nodded, Barb bouncing excitedly on her heels, he motioned for them to follow him outside. "Right, let's go then!"

D already knew the coast was clear, but took a peek just in case. Once he was certain no one was left in the house, he walked out fully. Cooper ran towards the top of the stairs, practically vibrating. "Come on, you two! We're burnin' daylight!" He began to leap down the stairs, causing D and Barb to give chase.

Once they reached the bottom, D took a look around. He could see that Steven and the gems had left in a hurry, so whatever it was must have been important. He could see a scrap of red fabric hanging off the table, and began to make his way over towards it. "Hey, check this out! I think that's Steven's shirt."