a/n: hahaha lower case is now my new branding i guess.

~

"thank you, steven!" for the first time in the last thousand years, her view was cleared, like a fog had lifted. everything had cleared, everything became sharper and cleaner. the stars clearly made the constellations that lapis had memorized during her time on homeworld. the way home was so much easier now, with the stars and her gem fixed.

"no prob, bob." steven said with wide eyes and a strange look of surprise on his face.

"it's...lapis." she didn't understand some of the things that steven said, but she trusted him. after all, he released her from the mirror, and healed her gem. he just had some questionable friends. she rolled her shoulders, tesing how her wings felt after thousands of years. it was strangely familiar and easy.

she pushed off of the surface of the water, giving her an extra boost. with a few flaps, she was off the water, and was heading towards the stars. the stars seemed to grow brighter, and her future felt so much closer than just a few minutes ago. after a few hours, the atmosphere thinned, and the air chilled. only after a few more minutes, the air would have been unbearable for any human, but for a gem, it was only a little more than a slight irritation. the vacuum of space was barren, and freezing. after so many years on earth, it was like a slap to the face. it was so familiar, but so surprising after thousands of years.

her wings started to frost over, but the constant movement of the water kept them from freezing completely. as the excitement of escaping earth slowly faded, the movement that she was making felt mechanical. after what seemed liked years of flying, she turned back to see how far she had gotten.

the earth was little more than a pale blue ball now, smeared with white. the earth was small enough to easily fit in her hand. she turned to the stars behind her. they were shimmering softly, unaware that they were the only guide back to her home.

the stars were so far away.

lapis could feel her chest tightening. she was trapped between two worlds, one that she was familiar with, and one that she wished she was still familiar with. the stars continued to flare, cold and distant.

lapis felt hopeless for a moment. the earth had been her prison for so many centuries, it was familiar, but it was a horrible place with horrible memories.

but homeworld must have changed so much in the past thousands years. technology was always marching forward, the discovery of new gems and colonies always shaped the way life was lived in her old home.

there was a crushing sense of loneliness. she felt like an outcast in both worlds. what would homeworld hold for her? her diamond would not be happy with her going missing but what other choice did she have?

she could stay.

she looked at the pale blue dot behind her. the stars that outlined it and made it so much more beautiful than anything that homeworld could offer.

but homeworld... it was where gems belonged.

without a look back, she continued flying.