"Run!"

Peridot didn't even know who yelled the order- stars, it might have even been her--but she took off behind the others as they pelted towards the rescue vehicle. The wind raced past Peridot's face like a whip, the humid, sticky air making each intake of air feel like she was ingesting cotton.

She wasn't sure who was ahead or behind her because she suddenly had a very dire case of tunnel vision, the speck of light at the end being the glittering yellow headlights of their rescuers. Unfortunately this rendered her rather clueless as to where her boots were stomping, and at least twice she had to be caught before she fell face-first into the earth, saved first by Garnet yelling orders and then by Pearl, features hard with resolution.

The vehicle was coming up fast, but Peridot thought that Nyumbani-Dunia was faster. A crash of thunder on the growling horizon sent flames up Peridot's spine as she fumbled, watching the Jeep slow to a crawl. In the driver's seat was a lean, lanky boy with gauged earlobes who couldn't have been any older than Peridot. Next to him was a uniformed safari staff member, shorter and heavier, with curly blonde hair. "Come on!" The driver hollered over the frantic rumbling of the engine motor, flagging the sprinting group over. "Nyumbani-Dunia isn't slowing down any! C'mon!"

"Lars!" Steven cried out, having apparently recognized the driver. But the driver's name couldn't matter less to Peridot at that instant. She was not about to be lioness chow, not when safety was so close.

Pearl was the first to reach the vehicle. She elegantly jumped into the first available seat, motioning for the others as Garnet flew in beside her, followed by Greg who hoisted Steven up with a huff. He went in shortly thereafter, followed by Amethyst in the next seat over, before Lapis claimed the last row with a grunt of effort.

Peridot was pulled in last by Lapis, onto the furthest seat in the back as the door slammed shut behind her and the car vaulted off with the screeching of tires and the crunching of soil.

"Are you all okay?" Lars shouted from the driver's seat, gaze snapping back to observe his panting, ragtag band of rescues. "None of you got a piece taken out of you by the crazy lady lions?"

"I can't feel my legs," Amethyst wheezed dramatically from in front of Peridot and Lapis, leaning onto Greg as she tried to regain her breath and her bearings. "But, otherwise, I'm feelin' pretty okay."

Steven made a mewl of a sound, hands wrapped tentatively around his right ankle. Garnet was on him in an instant, gently pulling away the boy's hands and pinning her lips assertively. "Steven has a cut on his ankle," she revealed, fingers gently pressuring a swollen slash on Steven's pale foot.

"Here," the woman sat beside Lars offered, leaning back from the passenger side and handing the crew a first-aid box. Suddenly the vehicle lurched to the side, earning a few startled shrieks out of the riders as the woman spun on Lars. "Lars, are you insane?!"

"No less than the angry wild cats trying to jump onto the Jeep!" The skinny man spat back without venom, knuckles turned white with strain as his head stuck out the window. "Wild cats that are getting very close to us, Sadie!"

Peridot, short of breath, dared to take a peek outside her window, and immediately snapped back into the safety of her seat, practically clinging to Lapis' side. "One of them is right by the rear-side tires!" She hissed. She hadn't seen which lioness it was but that didn't matter because whoever she was, she was right there and she was not here to make acquaintances.

Lars whipped the vehicle around again, like he was on a tight roundabout, and Peridot felt herself slide into Lapis, the momentum of the shift pulling her heart up into her brain as it howled with fear. "Be careful!" She seethed, her frustration rooting from the primal trepidation that coiled in the pit of Peridot's stomach. "You'll flip the Jeep over at this rate!"

"I won't!" Lars clipped back, sounding miffed by Peridot's misgivings. "Just hold on!"

"What do you think we're doing?!" Pearl shouted back, hands gripping the ceiling rails with the conviction of someone much brawnier than she. "We need to get out of here!"

Lars' vehicle roared vivaciously as the Jeep tore through the grass, natural shrapnels clattering against the windshield as another rumble of thunder crashed through Peridot's ear drums. It was Garnet who pointed out the macabre pool of clouds decaying in the blood-red sunset sky, as dark as the dismay that made Peridot tense to the touch.

"Do you think driving into that storm will remove Nyumbani-Dunia from us?" Garnet shouted to Lars, but Peridot couldn't see his face as he turned to stare out of his side mirror. "It might," he charged, calling for the group to hold on tight as he sped towards the broiling mass of thunderclouds.

Peridot took a sparse glimpse outside once more, mindful not to let a single part of her face stray outside the safety of the metal framing. This time she was able to see who exactly was in hot pursuit of the vehicle. "Jasper!" She blurted through gnashing teeth, promptly scooting back along the seat towards Lapis. "She's still on us!"

There was an incensed roar that Peridot had to assume came from Jasper outside, followed by the obedient baying of the other lionesses. "What're they gonna do?!" Peridot whispered, her voice a higher octave than normal. "What're they doing now?"

Her response was not Lapis' voice, but rather the monumental force of the vehicle being rocked to one side. Peridot screeched, arms flailing to get as far away from the Jeep's window as possible as a shaggy, maned face emerged in her window, amber eyes sharp as flame as a huge paw swooped in. Lars strained with the steering wheel as the Jeep clattered back onto four wheels, the sheer propulsionary force enough to knock the attacker off.

"Ha!" Peridot beamed wildly at the door as she heard monstrous claws scrape fruitlessly at its surface as Jasper was bounced off of the side door, a vexed growl making it very clear she wasn't happy about it. There was a thud of a heavy mass hitting the ground running, and Peridot could make out wisps of reddish hair whipping just below the window frame. "She can't get to us when we're all the way over here!" Peridot realized breathlessly. "Oh stars."

. . . As it turns out, that thing that she was sure would blockade her and Lapis from Jasper's claws was only a thin sheet of metal separating her from sudden death. Peridot's stomach felt like it dropped through the bottom of her seat when a huge paw hooked into the handle of the door, and when Peridot heard it pop open- and the door following shortly after- she knew she was dead.

The sky roared as Jasper's furious claws sunk into the edge of the seat as the maned lioness heaved herself into the moving vehicle, a snarl ripping out from her throat as Lars pointedly swerved the vehicle to try to dislodge the beast. Peridot didn't feel her weight being sloshed around in the back seat. She couldn't even hear the others screaming for her because her heart was thundering too loudly.

She didn't even realize Jasper had grabbed onto her until she was being yanked out of the gaping door.

Her voice was left back on the Jeep seat next to Lapis- whose voice was the only she could register as her pulse bellowed in her ears, pain shooting through her back when she felt her spine grind against the metal frame of the door's edge. Pain engulfed her bad knee as she felt the monumental force of the lioness thrash and continue to drag her out from the vehicle, and despite just how unclear and incoherent her shellshocked thoughts were- she was able to register that she didn't. . . feel like she was being punctured by huge, slobbering teeth.

She noticed that a moment too late though, as the only thing left of her in the Jeep was her head. Her arms quickly flew down to cover her face as she prepared for a harsh, painful impact with the ground- but the ground, or her arms, never came. Strain knotted into her left arm muscles as she stole a panicked glance upwards, and in her tear-blurred vision there was Lapis Lazuli, holding onto her hand with as much power as Jasper had on her leg.

Peridot realized she'd been screaming, because she couldn't hear Lapis' terrified orders over the sound of her own outcries. "Peridot! Your leg! She's got your prosthetic!"

What? Peridot looked down her body to the foot currently trapped between Jasper's clenched jaws, and sure enough, it was her metallic prosthetic limb that was being crunched- not her actual flesh and bone! But stars, that didn't mean the pressure being exerted on her knee wasn't absolutely killing her!

"Wh-wh-" She sputtered, not quite having regained motor controls quite yet. "What do I do, what do I do?!"

"Kick her off!"

"Kick her off?! Lazuli, are you crazy?!"

Lapis' teeth dug so tightly into her bottom lip that Peridot could see crimson welling between the chapped creases, her head sharply flying up to the others in the Jeep who were watching Peridot's attack with horror. Her head flew back to Peridot then, rich brown eyes somber with determination. "Do you trust me?"

Another roll of thunder distracted Peridot from what she'd asked. "What?"

"Do you trust me!"

Peridot swallowed thickly. The pain that was progressively reaching up her leg and into her abdomen from being pulled from both directions dulled her thought process, but even so, the faith in her voice betrayed all of her discombobulation. "Yes."

Immediately Lapis moved into action, pulling Peridot further into the Jeep with a groan of effort. Peridot felt herself shift upwards, inch by inch, until suddenly- "whoa!"

"Trust me. . ." Lapis growled, teeth bared as she essentially crawled on top of Peridot and leaned out of the vehicle, a willowy arm outstretched to try to reach for the fastening on Peridot's prosthesis.

"What're you doing?!" Peridot yelped, her delirium not quite helping with registering the fact that Lapis Lazuli was currently on top of her and sticking her face out in the open where it could be crunched by a lion. "Wait-!"

Her frightened yelps were quickly joined by the concerned voices of the rest of the safari crew, Lars and Sadie included, as Lapis lurched outwards.

It must have been only a heartbeat, but Peridot felt as though time stretched for eternities in that moment.

She felt the familiar constraint of her prosthesis socket loosen, followed by the click of a clasp and socket unravelling, and suddenly, Peridot was being yanked back into the safety of the Jeep, the car door slamming shut behind her. A stifled cry escaped her jaws when the crown of her head collided with the opposite side-door, body reflexively curling in on itself as hands raced to cover the thudding spot.

"Peridot!" Came a voice that should have been familiar, invading her muddled senses as she looked blearily up at a dark, freckled face framed by blue bangs. "Peridot, are you okay? Can you hear m-"

Peridot's lips were suddenly on Lapis', successfully rendering the blue-haired woman silent. The embrace was a raw entanglement of tastes: blood, sweat, and a hint of salt that briefly reminded Peridot of the ocean. As quickly as she had come upon it, though, it stopped, and Peridot was reeling backwards to grip at the window frame for support as she tried to still her thrumming heart.

Peridot kind of knew how impulsive that had been, but anxiety be damned, this woman had just saved her life for what must've been the umpteenth time. A useless lesbian could only do so much when all these emotions were just rolling over her, not unlike the brooding storm clouds that they were speeding towards. Lapis was still frozen in place where she'd been kissed, a hand risen up to conceal her lips.

Both of them ignored how the rest of the crew was absolutely losing it. Even Garnet was grinning ear-to-ear! Despite how raw adrenaline still had a hold fastened onto Peridot's lungs, she recognized the mortification that made her face blossom with colour. "What're you looking at?" She snipped stubbornly to the others, who pointedly looked the other way- all except for Amethyst who was making a lewd, knowing gesture before finally turning the other way. Peridot tilted her head back at Lapis, trying to figure out if she'd moved. . . closer in the past few seconds.

She didn't have time to consider it much, because another ominous clap of thunder reverberated through the air. The hair on her neck bristled with apprehension when Lars called their attention to the fact that they were about to head into the mouth of the storm.

Amethyst was the one to stick her head out of the door next, her fluffy hair whipping in the aggressive artificial winds. "Jesus, they're still right behind us!"

"Are they falling back any?" Greg inquired, but got a vigorous shake of Amethyst's head in response. "Nope. I think they're even angrier."

"Seriously?" Steven piped up, weaseling his way across Garnet's lap and trying to peek outside to see Nyumbani-Dunia, but Pearl stopped him before he could. "I really wouldn't advise sticking your head out in the open- any one of them could jump up and snatch you out?"

"But Peridot's fine now!"

"I'm- uh- currently without a leg-" Peridot spoke up from the back, but was readily ignored by the flustering crew up front. Another callous roar split the coming night, deepened by the darkness that was quickly engrossing the vehicle as it plunged into the mouth of the storm. Peridot hadn't expected such a sudden progression, especially not when she suddenly felt hot, muggy raindrops sputtering against her back.

Again, the raincoat she had stored in her pack would have been mightily handy right now.

Sadie, seemingly the most well-tempered of them all, took a sharp glance out of the rear-view mirrors, and told them what she saw. "Most of Nyumbani-Dunia's stopped!"

"What do you mean most of them?" Pearl asked. "How many are still following?"

"I thought cats didn't like water!" Steven butted in next, giving a small gasp of surprise when a raindrop flew in and dimpled his nose. "I know my Lion doesn't. . "

"You have a lion?" Peridot choked from the back.

"Oh, no, he's my cat! Totally normal cat. Well, except he's really big and really fluf-"

"No time for that!" Lars' commanding voice sounded in from the front, drawing everyone's wide eyes and pounding ears. "I'm headed towards the gorge. The Diamonds are still on us."

Peridot wanted to throw her head back and kick her foot like a child at his dire tone of voice. Couldn't the crew just catch a damn break? "Wha-who- who are the Diamonds?!" She shrilled, feeling as patient as she did not look.

"And where's Jasper?" Lapis panted after her, taking a look out the back for herself.

"Um-" Greg began to speak, but settled instead for making an alarmed holler when the Jeep skidded through a slippery pool of mud. "The Diamonds; they're the. . . betas of the pride, you could call them? They, uh- whoa!" There was an ominous thunk on the Jeep roof, one that made Peridot's heart copy the sound as she watched a dent form in the metal. Everyone, for once, was utterly silent as the thunking progressed towards the front of the Jeep. A sleek, angular lioness' face suddenly materialized right in front of Sadie's part of the windshield, brownish-yellow fur smeared over with mud and debris, teeth fully bared. "Yellow!" Sadie yipped, shrinking back into her seat as one of the Diamonds tried to smash in the windshield with her muzzle.

"Sadie!" Lars gritted his teeth, knotting one set of fingers around the wheel as he tried to grab for something Peridot couldn't see. "Get off of there you crazy she-lion!"

Amethyst was the one to howl next, jumping a foot off of her seat when she looked outside her mirror to see a pale-furred, almost albino-like lioness with icy eyes and thick fur that bunched around her throat jogging in pace with the door. "We got a white chick over here!"

"Blue Diamond!" Sadie informed over her shoulder, never taking her eyes of off the lioness on the windshield. "They're sisters!"

"Sisters with a superiority complex," Lars muttered from beside her, having given up on finding whatever it was he's been reaching for and fixing his hands firmly on the steering wheel. "Hold on tight! I'm gonna take another swerve!"

"Not again," Pearl whimpered, holding a bit tighter onto Steven as the Jeep veered sharply to one side, successfully knocking Yellow Diamond from the roof and stopping Blue Diamond in her tracks, both letting out provoked, maddened bellows.

"That'll teach 'em!" Lars sneered, focusing his attention back on the wet, blustery savannah ahead of them. Peridot didn't know what he saw then, but his face was blanched thoroughly of colour. "Oh."

The dip in his voice made Peridot's stomach weigh down, like she's swallowed a brick. She was afraid to ask what he'd noticed. "Oh what?"

Sadie must have been the first to see what the driver had seen, sucking in a breath. "Brace yourselves!"

"For what?" Steven's voice, something innocent in the middle of this chaos, was quickly drowned out by the crunching of worn tires against damp rock and spitting out mud in their wake.

Suddenly Peridot was flying above her seat, just barely managing to stop herself from crashing into another metal frame as the Jeep drove off the edge of a yawning ravine. She was sure she was wailing now, because she could hear her voice joined in the terrifying cacophony of screams as the Jeep dove down into the gorge.

They hit the ground hard. Even the Jeep gave a noise of protest as it made contact with the soddy, rainswept soil, and for a fearful moment Peridot thought they were about to lose another functioning vehicle. Fortunately this one was more resilient than their last, as after a moment it seemed to catch on and begin tearing up the ground and racing into the ravine.

Pearl was the first to speak, having picked her voice up before anyone else could even muster the strength to breathe again. "Why exactly are we taking this- whoaa!- specific route?" She inquired with a cry as Lars swiftly evaded a dead tree that sat in the middle of the pathway. "There's only one way to go! What if we're cornered?"

"We won't be," Garnet informed from beside her, hands secured firmly on the frame of her door. "This gorge opens up later, doesn't it?"

"Took the words right out of my mouth," Lars said from the front, looking like he was smirking from the angle of his cheeks. "But we're not outta this yet. Hey- you in the back!" Peridot started, looking up to see Lars' purposeful eyes boring into her from the rear-view mirror. "Me?"

"No, the blue lady next to you!" Lars clipped. "Are they still after us? The lionesses?"

Now it was Lapis' turn to looked startled, quickly moving to check through the back window. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but-"

"Lemme guess, they're still after us?" Amethyst sighed loudly.

". . Yeah."

"Fantastic," Peridot muttered to herself, taking a moment to look back with Lapis. The Diamonds had wasted no time in bounding down the trail of water-swept boulders that the Jeep had thankfully roared over without incident. Their fur was clogged with twigs, leaves, rain, and mud, but the substances masking their fur did nothing to mask the fury in their gazes. Despite how they still seemed intent on chasing the vehicle down, Peridot noticed they were getting farther and farther away. "They're losing speed, and fast!"

There was a collective sigh of relief from the others, herself included, before they sucked the relieved breath right back into their lungs when Lars slammed harshly on the brakes. The tires squealed unhappily as they ruptured the unstable earth, sending the entire crew vaulting forward in their seats.

"Why'd you stop?!" Amethyst clamored, picking herself up from the dirty floor of the Jeep. Peridot couldn't help but imitate her sentiment because why in the name of all things holy had they stopped? "The Diamonds will catch up!" She joined in, but was completely ignored by Lars, who was staring straight ahead of them. What could possibly be- oh.

Not ten feet away from the bumper of the vehicle stood Jasper, her gingery pelt extended to its fullest length despite how the rain poured down from the reddish, bruised clouds and clung to her broad frame. Each individual hair on her mane was bristled with ire, and the look in her yellow eyes made Peridot's amputated limb ache with the memory of having her prosthesis taken.

It was still for a moment, save for the constant pounding of the rain held at bay. Jasper was the one to break the silence, her breathless snarl cutting through the rainfall as she began to pace towards the Jeep. The entire group tensed, waiting for the maned lioness to break into a sprint and tear into them, but the beast raised her head up, ears raised high with consternation.

"What's she doing?" Peridot whispered rawly to Lapis, her voice only loud enough for her ears to hear. Lapis shook her head cluelessly as Jasper stood still as a statue in the middle of the ravine. Another rumble of thunder shook the ground, except- this time, the ground kept rumbling. "What the-"

"Stampede!" Lars hollered, adjusting his mirror and showing the others the huge, swarming mass of wildebeest pouring down the ravine pathway they'd come in from. Their thundering hooves echoed in the ravine, bouncing off of the muddied walls and their braying rising up through the rain. Peridot just had to take this specific group's especially bad luck with a grain of salt at this point. "Drive!"

Lars didn't wait for a second order, foot slamming into the accelerator as mud sprayed up behind the vehicle. The crew jarred at the sudden stimulus, thrown back into their seats as Lars dove around Jasper, ignoring her whipping snarl of aggravation. Peridot could feel the pounding of the wildebeest as they flooded down, down, down into the ravine, aimlessly baying and hollering as they crowded in. She had a weird sense of deja-vu, making her lips pinch with thought.

Steven's ragged gasp drew hers and Lapis' attention as he pointed forward, ahead of the Jeep where two huge trees were crookedly positioned in their pathway. "Lars! The trees!"

The trees were wide, with their branches swinging wildly in the storm. If they got stuck there, between the trunks, they were goners. If Nyumbani-Dunia didn't ever get back to them, they would be crushed by the wildebeests. "We're not gonna make it!" She shouted over the stifled muttering of the others when Lars made no attempts to turn around.

"We'll make it," Lars asserted, eyes narrowing as he pushed harder on the gas pedal as they sped towards the haggard gap that Peridot was sure was way too small for the Jeep to slip through. Peridot didn't have the will to challenge the driver again, instead resorting to clinging to her seat with all the strength she possessed- no, wait, that was Lapis she was clinging onto- as she and the others braced for impact.

The sound of metal crunching and scraping left as soon as it came. The Jeep pressed through the opening, forcing its way through and careening forward, through the branches and the bush. They teetered precariously for a moment before the tires leveled again and Lars tore off towards the dusky light that had emerged at the end of the gorge.

Peridot quickly let go of Lapis with a stammering 's-s-sorry!', ignoring the way her heart skipped a beat when Lapis steadied her as she tried to get a look at the trees they'd crunched through. She could spot out three forms trying to pass through- one ginger, one gold, and one white- before they stopped and snapped at the wildebeests as they broke through the barrier, sending branches clattering haphazardly to the slick earth. The beasts at the head of the stampede seemed spooked by the splintering crashes, veering to an aggressive stop just in front of the trampled debris.

Peridot could no longer see Jasper or the Diamonds in the giant herd of wildebeest, but she could hear the lioness' enraged baying competing with the thunder that saw them out of harm's way.

". . . Saved by the guys who killed Mufasa," was Amethyst's final remark, watching through the back window as the Jeep and all its inhabitants sped to safety.

The crew reached the rescue hostel no later than ten at night, escaping the run some time after driving out from the ravine. Steven had fallen asleep against Amethyst's shoulder, whose head was resting on top of Steven's, heavy eyelids drooped down over weary eyes. Garnet had remained awake and watchful, while Greg and Pearl talked quietly to one another until they reached the rescue centre.

Peridot had shrunk back into her seat, having taken off her overshirt and wrapping it around her now very missing leg. Lapis had squeezed in some time ago, the two of them sitting in companionable silence. If companionable was even a sufficient term to describe it, given the way Peridot's stomach rolled giddily when she could feel Lapis' body heat bleeding into the space between them. Peridot wanted to speak up, to ask about their, um. . . moment, after Lapis had pulled her back into the Jeep earlier. But when she opened her lips to try to say something, Lapis only gently nodded her head, like she understood. Peridot noticed that she was blushing, too.

Greg carried the sleeping boy out from the Jeep when Lars rolled to a stop in front of the doors to the tiny clinic at the edge of the hostel. Garnet prompted Peridot to follow to get some form of apparatus for her leg, an offer that Peridot accepted with a small huff and flush as she hobbled out of the vehicle. To her surprise, Lapis followed after her, a slight smirk on her lips. "You're going to need help getting in there," was all she said as she allowed Peridot to hook an arm around her neck and led her inside.

As it turned out, the clinic didn't have any custom-made prostheses for Peridot to readily use, but she wasn't all too surprised. She accepted a singular crutch, hoisted it beneath her armpit and was led by one of the staff into the housing quarter of the hostel.

Peridot didn't even care that she was still in her damp, sweaty, and probably odorous clothes when she collapsed onto the bed, Lapis happily following suit in the bunk across from her, falling face-down into the mattress. The last thing Peridot remembered seeing before falling asleep was the tear-shaped scar peeking out from behind Lapis' shapely shoulder blade as her chest softly rose and fell.

. . .

Morning came too quickly. Peridot awoke from a deep, dreamless sleep, her body incapable of movement until she opened her eyes and gave a resentful grunt at the light streaming in through the traditionally patterned curtains at the end of the room. She squinted against the brace of what had to be late morning, struggling to put her glasses back on her nose and making out her surroundings.

Amethyst was still asleep a few bunks away, snoring with a pillow pressed into her face. Peridot assumed sleepily that the pillow was Pearl's doing. Across from the snoring woman was Steven, readjusting the bandaging the clinic had given him last time to properly conceal his cut. He seemed to notice Peridot had awoken, sending her a bright, timid smile and waving his hand.

Peridot waved groggily back, rolling over to collapse onto her back as her eyes lingered on the bunk directly across from her. Lapis was still asleep, thick blue hair stuck every which way, and with a wry quirk of her lips, Peridot noticed that she was snoring too. Heh.

Peridot moved up from the bunk and shuffled out of the hostel room, finding Pearl, Garnet, and Greg at the hub. They had obviously spruced themselves up a bit, hair cleansed of grime and wearing fresh safari uniforms that the staff must have lended to them. Greg was the first to notice Peridot, sending her a spent smile and waving her over. "How're you holding up, kiddo?" He asked when she arrived. "Sleep well?"

"Mm-hmm," Peridot murmured. "How long have you three been up?"

"Garnet and I have been up since dawn," Pearl admitted, sounding a little sheepish. "We wanted to be sure we could contact our parties back at the main reserve camp and let them know what happened, and where we are."

Garnet nodded. "I called your department as well, Peridot. They're relieved to hear you're well- they made arrangements for you to return on a home-bound flight tonight."

Peridot should have been jumping for joy to hear that. She'd be escaping this ruthless outback, and shoved back into the comfort of familiarity. So. . . why did she feel like her chest weighed a few pounds heavier as the three beamed down at her?

"Um- wow, thanks, uh," she bumbled, itching awkwardly at her temple. ". . How am I going to reach an airport? How will I get through without my passport or documents?"

"The reserve is sending a cab down to pick you up soon," Greg explained, nodding towards Garnet for confirmation. "We'll hitch a ride back sometime after- we'll need a bigger cab than the one they had available at seven in the morning."

"As for your papers," Pearl started, "another vehicle is trying to return to where we reported our Jeep broke down to retrieve our belongings. Or, well, what might be left of them. Something should be salvaged from your pack." Pearl sighed contentedly, fingers cupping her cheek thoughtfully. "Oh, it'll be lovely to get back to civilization. And getting my camera back! There were so many birds I'd never seen out there."

"Your biology team said they would cover for you if the system gives you any trouble on the way back," Garnet finished. Peridot felt marginally better after learning she'd be walking through airport terminal gates with at least half of a plausible identity. Steven emerged from the bunking quarters at that moment, yawning a bright 'hello!' to the conversing group of four.

"G'morning, Stu-ball," Greg greeted, walking over and looping his arm around the boy's shoulders. "We were just talking about what we're going to do now. Peridot's gotta head out in a bit."

"What?" Steven balked, spirited expression muffling behind a look of dismay. "Already?"

"Not for a little bit longer," Garnet consoled. "The cab has to arrive first. They need her back home."

Steven's shoulders sank, making Peridot feel culpable, for whatever reason. Admittedly, Steven's sprightly behavior had grown on her, so she felt compelled to plead her case to him with a benevolent look. "Remember I'm still only a state away? I live in Delmarva, too."

The boy perked up at that, glistening eyes twinkling with elation. "Oh- yeah! That's right! Dad, Garnet, Pearl- can we visit her sometime? Pleeeease? The capitol's only two hours away!"

Greg shared a look with the other two women, and Peridot had to wonder who exactly took care of this lively boy. "Sure we can, bud," the father said at last, winking at Peridot as he went to pat Steven's head. "We'll make room somewhere to pay her a visit."

"That'd be. . ." Peridot spoke up for herself then, hand raising as she considered the precautions she'd need to take and measure if these. . . she wanted to claim them as strangers, but, they weren't strangers anymore. They were friends now. The thought made her feel lighter. "That'd be fine. But make sure to tell me when you're coming. Please."

Steven cheered, running over to wrap his arms around Peridot. "Oh, thank you, Peridot! We'll see each other soon, promise! Oh-!" The boy detached from her, leaving her a little dazed, and turned around and dug through a bag Peridot realized he'd been clutching in his hand. "Here! One of the nice ladies here gave me a bag full of snacks- take these for your trip back!"

A few protein bars were thrust into Peridot's face. She tried hide her enthrallment at the notion o eating something, but she was sure the way her hands sped to accept them gave away her excitement. "Thanks, Steven," she whispered graciously, resisting the urge to tear open one of the confectionaries and devour it right then and there. She'd wait for the cab ride, where she had no one but a driver to judge her.

The group sat in the lounge for a while after that, each trading details about what they would do when they returned back to Delmarva. Peridot wasn't exactly sure what she would do when she reached the biology labs again; she had no records to show for work, but she sure had the experience to prattle on about to her colleagues when she got there. Maybe she'd base her term paper on her experiences; that would definitely bump her up a few academic points.

The cab prowled up to the front of the hostel before long, and Garnet got up to lead Peridot to the entrance as she waved good-bye to the others. She murmured her thanks when Garnet held open the door as Peridot emerged on her singular crutch. A white safari cab was waiting for her under the fabric overhang, the driver emerging to open the door. Peridot could read 'Rhodonite' across the name tag on her crew shirt. "I'll take you back to the central camp so you can get to your flight before tonight," Rhodonite explained as she popped open the backseat. "I hope."

"Off you go," Garnet smiled from behind her, hand resting supportively on Peridot's shoulder as she shifted her embrace on her crutch. "I'm glad to have had you with us. I'm sure the others would agree."

"Even when I almost got us killed?"

Garnet chuckled. "Especially then. Now on you go, your flight back to Delmarva will leave at sunset tonight." Peridot staggered towards the open car door, pausing before she could enter, and took a glance back at the hostel doors. The chances of ever seeing any of them again were particularly slim; Delmarva wasn't a big state, not really, but she always had her hands so full of one thing or another. . .

Her mouth formed a tight, saddened line as she turned her back to the hostel, hand bracing the edge of the doors as she began to scramble inside. She paused, though, doubt clouding her gaze. Lapis had still been asleep when she last saw her, so. . she probably wouldn't be coming to send her off. Some part of her chest ached with an unfamiliar cold, like someone had doused a newborn flame with ice water.

"Wait, Peridot!"

Peridot threw herself off the seat and spun around, the flame rekindling in her chest as Lapis threw open the doors and slammed to a halt in front of Peridot, a hand flying to pull back her wild blue bedhead. She looked like she'd literally been pulled out of bed and her face was completely flushed with red. "Here," she gestured quietly, holding out her hand and handing Peridot a folded slip of paper.

Peridot stared at the slip of crinkled yellow paper in between her fingers and looked up, but Lapis was already making her way back inside the rescue hostel. The electric blue hair she'd grown so used to. . . or, no, daresay grown fond of-- vanished behind the closing hostel doors.

Her eyes went down to the paper again, unfolding it to reveal. . .

"Her phone number," Peridot breathed, her voice higher than she would have lived to admit. A surge of excitement fizzed through her, the bubbly reaching from the tip of her head to the tips of her toes. She'd gotten Lapis' phone number! That was a good sign! A very good sign!

Peridot practically twirled around (losing her balance in the progress and fell, but got up, blithe and undeterred!) and made haste for the cab door, hands just grazing the seat before she stopped dead in her tracks. . and gave a high-pitched, petulant groan she was sure everyone in this blasted continent could hear.

"My phone was in my pack!"

Author's Note.

Aaaad FIN!~ Don't worry about Peridot, she bought a phone as soon as she got home and rung her girl up. She's trying to make due until the others mail her documents back overseas.

Hey! Thank y'all so much for reading! I began this story last week and the words just kept on flowing- I didn't even know how it would end, it just sort of found one on its own! Be sure to let me know if y'all liked it, and let me know if you want to see any other kind of Lapidot fic (it's what I'm better at, hh)- whether they be canon-verse or AU! Have a great day!