Xenolith

Ch 3

Diamond awoke in a room completely unfamiliar to them.

The bed the gem was sleeping in was laid in the middle of the room, a firm mattress beneath and a thin blanket as a cover. Morning sunlight shone through a side window, though the taste of it was slightly...different...due to a clear sheet of what looked like crystal.

So was that all a dream?
Diamond didn't know what to think.

Carefully, Diamond slid out from under the blanket and stepped onto the floor, surprised by two things then.

First, when looking down, they saw that the floor was made of long sheets of shiny wood. How there was so much that it was used as a floor, Diamond had no idea.

Second, the clothing they wore was a strange boxy gown that was a bit too big for Diamond's small frame, just barely clinging to their shoulders. It looked nothing like the pajamas the gem was familiar with, and feeling a breeze where there shouldn't be one, really wanted them back right about now.

They scanned the room for a different set of clothes, but when they turned his gaze to the window, they became completely enraptured by the sight before them.

Outside was a large stone courtyard surrounded by the white walls of a large castle, though straining their neck, realized that they were actually in that very castle. The courtyard itself had a large figure in the middle of two people atop a terrifying monster with a long face and claws. But what drew their sight the most were the countless people milling about as they watched.

They all looked so different from each other, and few even looked remotely like gems themselves. Some were small and lithe like Dia was, and others were big and broad like Sensei. Some looked like they had strange fluffy growing coming from their heads and backs, and others seemed to be gathered around strange glowing-blue objects that they would stare like like books.

It was more people than they could fathom being in one place, existing even, and just looking at it all made them feel dizzy.

As Diamond kept staring at the scene before them, a knock disrupted their thoughts.

Their head swiveled towards the noise, seeing a closed door that was made of dark wood like the floor.

There were plenty of trees outside, maybe they just don't worry about that kind of stuff here...wherever 'here' is...

Another round of knocking brought them back to the present.

Who could be behind it? Sensei? Another gem? Lunarians? Anything was possible like this.

The mystery person knocked on the door once more, and that's what steeled Diamond's resolve, opening it to reveal who was on the other side.

What greeted them was a tall figure with short grey hair and a cane in his hand, a pair of black circles held in front of his eyes and wearing a black suit with a green sweater. Diamond had never seen somebody who looked like this before, but the closest thing that came to mind was Sensei himself, if he was less imposing and not bald.

But while Diamond looked upon him in shock, the figure looked towards them in fascination.

"It seems you're awake now. Would you say that you're alright?"

Diamond nodded reflexively. This person didn't seem like he wanted to harm them, but his demeanor didn't reveal much.

"Good. I'd like to ask a few more things if that's alright with you. Can I come in?"

Again, Diamond nodded reflexively, finding it difficult to take it all in.

"Thank you," he said, sitting down in a nearby chair, while Diamond sat back down onto the bed. "I am Professor Ozpin, head of Beacon Academy. May I ask for your name?"

"My name is Diamond..." they said nervously, twiddling their fingers as they found it difficult to look this strange person in the eye.

"I was a member of patrol with my younger partner Bort...but I don't even know where I am now."

"So you don't even know where you are..." Ozpin held his chin thoughtfully. "Does the name of my academy ring any bells?"

Diamond shook their head no this time. Ozpin still looked composed, but it was obvious that he was even more curious of Diamond's situation now.

"That so..."

Ozpin's stare grew in intensity, as if trying to look into Dia's very soul. Diamond finally locked eyes with him, noticing his irises were a deep brown, unlike his silver hair. It wasn't unheard of for eye and hair color to not match, but it was unusual.

"You truly are something peculiar."

"Um...I'd say the same of you!" Diamond said, immediately regretting how probably it sounded and tried to backpedal, "I've never seen anyone who looked like you before."

"Never? So was the place you grew up filled with people who look like you?"

"Yes. We do have differences, but we all look very similar thanks to Adamant."

"I see. So this Adamant figure makes you look alike?"

They nodded, "Mhm. He chisels us when we're born so that we're all equal in appearance and look less like raw mineral."

"...And this 'Bort' person you mentioned before, the two worked together to patrol. What for, exactly?"

At this, Diamond explained to him the basics about where they came from— a crescent island where they and their fellow gems lived and fought against the lunarians who hunted them to make into jewelry on the moon.

Dia left out their and Bort's dynamic, however. They told them of the two-part watcher-fighter system, but didn't tell him which part a mighty diamond like them took up.

Ozpin listened with rapt attention, letting Dia speak almost without pause, only asking when he felt appropriate. He was more and more fascinated with each word, but Dia felt a kind of apprehension lay at the surface. It was the same for Diamond, too— if it was all new to them, how much was new to the Professor?

When Diamond finished, they looked to Ozpin with a bit more confidence than before.

"I told you about where I came from, tell me about where I am now.