The Onyx Recruit

Wide Awake

The Gems headed to their rooms as night fell. Steven decided to go to bed rather soon since he wanted to get up early to keep an eye on this new Gem.

The problem however, was that he couldn't get to sleep. It was just impossible. He was too excited. He would twist and kick and turn in all kinds of ways under his covers to try and get comfortable, though it didn't seem to help. Maybe some warm milk would help?

As he slid out of bed, Steven was quiet in his advance towards the kitchen. He didn't want to alert the Gems, since eating or drinking anything later in the night was quite advised against. Mostly due to the nightmares that they were said to cause. Though it wasn't anything big, it was just enough to get him to sleep.

He poured some milk into a mug and set it in the microwave. However, the luminescence of the microwave caused him to miss the glow of the gem emerging from their protective hiding place.

Steven yelped, startled to find a set of two large shiny orange eyes staring at him from the counter. He was so startled, he dropped his mug. Though the massive masculine gem had shot his arm out and caught it before it could make contact with the floor. After it was cushioned in his hand, he set it on the ground before crawling backwards to go hide back around the counter, where Steven couldn't see him.

"H-Hey, wait big guy!! I'm not gonna hurt ya!" Steven told him while putting his hand out to show that he truly meant no harm. His display to save or prevent something of his from being destroyed made him feel like this wasn't a bad Gem.

He put both of his large black fluffy hands on the edge of the countertop, before bringing his head up to look at him. Steven smiled before taking the cup from the floor and bringing it up for him to see.

"There you go... Did you want some? It's good!" Steven encouraged him before putting the mug on the countertop.

The gem flinched at his closeness, but did not flee. He climbed up onto one of the chairs, albeit somewhat awkwardly due to his stature, and leaned forward to sniff at the mug. Steven could see now just how large he was. He was mostly jet black, some nice bright oranges, reds, and yellows mixed into his fur. His long black and orange hair had stray strands standing up in awkward places.

His eyes were wild, filled with slight panic as they darted off to inspect the area. Steven wanted to help him calm down, but that was going to take an obvious amount of effort.

Steven pushed the mug a bit closer and the gem slowly took it into his hands and brought it to his lips. The gem kept his eyes on Steven the entire time he took a gulp. He blinked with the realization that it would not harm him, and began to drink more, some dribbling down his chin.

"Yeah! You got it!" Steven grinned before taking a few steps to stand at his side. He was relaxed now, and didn't show signs of being afraid as his tail took to wagging.

"So, uh, you've got a name right?" He questioned, and the gem now found himself staring into an empty cup. He stayed like that for a few moments before turning his head, as if suddenly realizing that Steven had indeed asked him a question. He shifted around, scratching at the back of his head, rubbing his shoulders, and doing other stuff that told Steven he was thinking. Then his face seemed to brighten in the time that he remembered it.

"Uhm...On.....Onyx.." His voice was raspy, sounding more worn out than that of the voice of someone who'd been screaming for hours.

"Onyx? Not bad! I'm Steven."

"Say...van...?"

"No, Steven."

"Stav-un."

"Closer, but, uhm, maybe we can work on that." He said with a goofy smile before grabbing another cup to get more milk for himself.

Steven sat next to him, and Onyx seemed to welcome his presence. He didn't want to press into his past right away as the Gems said it was rude to pry. Even if he did know them, he knew it was disrespectful and made some uncomfortable.

"You seem really tense." Steven told him, and he looked down to see his yellow tipped toes curl in response. He pulled his legs up so that his paws settled on the chair as well.

"Not much of a talker. Well, that's okay. I have a friend like that." He said as he set his cup on the countertop.

Onyx gave a nod before looking away from him.

I want to know why the boy had brought me here. Was he trying to make me lower my guard? What would even be the point? He happened to come across me in the first place, so it didn't seem like he was out to hurt me.