So, I decided to try something a little different this time around, at least until Chapter 1 is scheduled to be posted. (Yes, I have a schedule now.)
Thanks to the fated decision of the audience on the Poll I made, we're going to be taking a trip to the delightful AU where Gems are turned Human! And yes, Onyx has a human variant now too! While her current design isn't ready to be released, her smol self will be very soon... You can actually see a sneak peek of it in the background. :3
This most likely won't be made into a full on story like the original AU, however, I might write more of these if you guys are that interested in these AUs.
Without further adieu, here is: "The Cold, Rainy Encounter".
Enjoy!
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The rain pelted against the sidewalk as the Diamonds were on their way home from grocery shopping. Usually, they didn't go together, but Spinel was feeling particularly energized today and White was afraid she wouldn't be able to handle Spinel's spunkiness all by herself.
"Spinel, dear, don't go running off by yourself..." said Blue, "You don't want to catch a cold."
"Stay under the umbrellas where it is safe." Yellow reminded the little girl with pigtails.
Giggling, Spinel swung her arms around White's and clung to her, "I know, I know."
White smiled down at Spinel, but her eyes darted away when she heard the soft sound of quiet sobbing nearby.
"Did you hear that..?" she asked Yellow and Blue.
"I don't hear anything." Yellow replied.
Blue glared slightly and shushed Yellow, listening in until she picked up the same sound that White heard a moment ago. She gasped with horror, "That sounds like a child crying..."
They turned left into a dark alleyway where a small child, no older than probably five years, was huddled up against the wall, staring at the ground beneath her bare feet as she hugged her knees weakly. She had messy black hair, dark skin, and wore a baggy shirt that was nearly torn to shreds, which covered her body that was nearly just skin and bones, indicating she hadn't eaten anything in a while. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, and the cold water dripped down onto her miserable face.
"What are they doing here all by themselves..?" Spinel asked.
"Good question, Starlight." White acknowledged, approaching the little girl, "Hello there."
The girl looked up at White with this empty gaze. She hadn't had direct human in well over a few weeks; this was apparent when White scrutinized the way she looked at her.
"What's a little angel like you doing out here on a cold, rainy evening..?" she asked.
The child didn't answer her question, making Blue and Yellow slightly concerned. When she tried to speak all of a sudden, this hoarse, raspy sound emitted from her vocal chords, showing that she was also very thirsty.
"Oh! I might still have that water bottle." said Blue, checking through her shopping bags.
"You left it in one of mine." Yellow reminded her.
"Ah, thank you, Yellow..." she thanked, taking out a water bottle that was still half full and holding it out to the little girl gently, "Go on, have a sip..."
The child looked at the water bottle, then at Blue, before snatching it out of her hands shakily and opening it, slurping up the entire half a bottle without hesitation. Her action, despite a bit uncalled for, made Blue and White laugh.
"Feel better..?" asked White.
The child nodded slowly, but still couldn't speak. It might've been possible that this girl didn't know HOW to speak.
"White, we can't just leave her out here..." said Spinel.
"Heavens no, sweetie," she replied, "the poor dear will catch a cold, especially with just that baggy, torn rag she's wearing."
The child stared down at her shirt, looking back up at the nice, warm-looking clothes that Spinel and the Diamonds were wearing. Blue and White looked over at Yellow, who had an extra raincoat draped around her shoulders.
"Hmm?" she noticed the other two looking at her and sighed, "Oh alright... Here."
She threw the spare coat around the small child, who gratefully huddled into it. She had been shivering for a while, so it was nice to get some warmth finally. When she got comfortable, she noticed White reach one hand out to her. The small child looked up at the woman in innocent confusion.
"Come with us," she beckoned, "You shouldn't be out here in the rain all by yourself. It's not safe."
The small child stared at White's hand hesitantly before shakily stretching her little hand out to take hers. White smiled and gently pulled the girl under her umbrella with Spinel.
"Come, let's get you home." she said.
As they were walking, the girl felt a pair of eyes constantly staring at her from time to time. She looked up from the ground and noticed that Spinel girl was smiling at her.
"Hiya! My name is Spinel! What's yours?" she asked, beaming gleefully.
"Spinel, I don't think she knows how to speak." said White.
"And in any case, what have we told you about staring..?" asked Yellow.
Spinel sighed, "It's not nice..."
The small child felt a sense of ease and relaxation around the Diamond family, but she still couldn't bring herself to speak up.
"I do worry though," Blue said, "where are her parents..?"
Yellow scoffed, "Wherever they are, Blue, they clearly didn't want her..."
"It doesn't matter where her parents or anyone from her family is..." growled White, "We can be her new family."
Her comment made Spinel gasp excitedly, "Ya mean I'm getting a little sister?!"
White smiled and patted the gleeful child on her head, "Yes, Starlight..."
"Yippee!! I always wanted a sister..!" cheered Spinel.
"Relax, dear..." Blue reminded her, "You'll scare the daylights out of her."
As Blue commented that, Spinel noticed that her new sister was clinging to White and hiding behind her new mother, terrified by Spinel's boundless energy.
"Oh, hey, it's okay..!" Spinel said gently, "Sorry, I'm just super excited to have ya around as part of the family... Err... Hey White? Blue? Yellow? What are we gonna name her?"
"Hmm, good question." White replied.
"How about Agate..?" said Yellow.
White turned and gave her an 'are you kidding me' face. "She's much more refined than that Yellow." she replied.
"How about Rose?" Blue suggested.
Now it was Yellow's turn to criticize Blue's name choice, "Blue, that's worse than my suggestion! Do you want her to turn like SHE did..?" she subtly implied someone else in her sentence so that the little one wouldn't catch it.
".... No."
"Alright, that's enough bickering." said White, snapping her fingers, "I've got it..! How about Onyx..?"
The small child responded to the name by looking up at her new Mother. White smiled and stroked through her hair gently, making Onyx nuzzle her hand slightly.
"She likes it!" exclaimed Spinel, "That's good, right..?"
"Very good." White replied, "Then that settles it... From this day onward, Onyx will be a member of our family."
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Okay, so I know that wasn't my best writing piece. It's just hard to write a story based on a human AU where there's NO fiction relevant whatsoever at least in of plot like alien space rocks.
The cover image below is only temporary.
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