Water Witch

Waking Up

Steven woke up slowly, warmth around his body. "Mm, what happened?" He asked himself, his eyes fluttering open. Steven looked around sleepily, still not fully awake. He found himself in a rather flat, grassy area, a few trees scattered about and the silhouettes of mountains visible in the distance. A few feet from him was a small river. His eyes widened as completely awoke, the memories of the passed three days flying through his head. The battle with Malachite, his father lying to him, Steven trapping himself in the bubble, all came back to him at once.

Steven tried to move forward, only to find his body restrained. "Huh?" He looked down, two blue arms wrapped around his torso. Steven heard soft breathing behind him, the air brushing past the back of his neck. It was steady, slow, calm. Steven gave a slight jolt as he felt something gently rest against the back of his head.

Steven turned his head back, finding Lapis to be the one who had made the contact, the blue gem having drifted to sleep. "Lapis…"

Steven quickly became overjoyed at the sight of his friend, the water gem finally free again. He had succeeded in keeping the Gems from getting to her. He would've turned around and hugged her, had he actually been able to move with Lapis' arms tightly around him. So, he settled with waiting for her to awake from her well-deserved rest.

Steven let out a small yelp as Lapis' hold on him quickly tightened, the water gem giving a small groan in her sleep as she pulled him close, a smile spreading across her face. Steven felt Lapis lighten up a bit, still holding him tightly, but allowing him enough room to breath comfortably. He couldn't help but find some comfort in it, her breath tickling him as it brushed past the small hairs on the back of his neck, her soft inhaling and exhaling the only sound he could other than the river that laid a few feet away.

At the thought of the body of water sitting before him, Steven felt his throat go dry and a powerful thirst came over him. Acting on his first impulse, Steven began to move forward again he could satisfy the feeling, only for Lapis to pull him back to her and hold him even tighter. Steven gave a frustrated groan. As much as he liked being able to interact with his friend, sleeping Lapis was not the most cooperative Lapis.

Steven looked back at Lapis again, the water gem still fast asleep. He gave up on trying to get out of her embrace, too weak to really put up an effort after his three days in the bubble. Instead, he decided to think about things.

He began thinking back to the Gems and his dad. They were probably worried about him while he was in the bubble. He also had probably hurt their feelings by not coming out when they had asked him to. He was out now though, so they knew he was okay.

Steven immediately took notice of something important. He wasn't even at home. This place was entirely new to him. Why am I... Steven looked back at Lapis. Could she have been... Steven didn't know for sure and he surely wasn't going to get answers right now.

Steven smiled. She could answer his questions when she woke up. He was sure there was a logical explanation for her taking him here. After all...

She was a good gem.
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"Steven!" Lapis sang happily, cupping her hands and yelling into the distance, her voice echoing back to her. "Come out, come out wherever you are!" She looked around the endless field of wheat after her call. Nothing.

She heard some rustling behind her, a smile stretching over her face. "Found you!" She put arms against the plants, parting them quickly. Her smile became a look of confusion. "Huh…" Steven wasn't there.

Lapis stood up, putting her hands on her hips. "I guess you're better at this than I thought." Lapis said. "But I'll find you sooner or later bud." She sang.