Boxer's eyes brighten as he watches her shift into liquid. Shapeshifting is something that gems can do, but for it to manifest like this is truly a unique way of doing it! It must have less strain on her body, since she's not actually changing her light projection...
He doesn't try to get away from her coils--just watches them as if he's interested to see what she does next.
As the speartip nearly pierces him, his hand wraps around the pole and stops it with the strength of his grip alone. From under his palm, an electric blue pattern akin to Earth-native circuitry spreads over the weapon. When it reaches Cinnabar's hands it forces them away like magnets of the same pole pushing away from each other with an electrical crackle.
"I could, but..."
Black Diamond twirls the spear, now laced with that circuit pattern, for effect. He moves forward, lunging at Cinnabar with noted agility, catching her neck between the prongs of the spear and pinning her to the ground with it.
"I'm not interested in hurting the gems I want to be friends with."
And he never stops giving them that genuine smile.
Diamonds aren't supposed to be friends with anyone. They're rulers. Conquerors. Leaders. Authority figures over all other gems. They were merciless killers, unflinching even in the toughest of situations.
He'd certainly been unflinching with that pin of his, it had been a strike that could have been a hit if he'd meant it. He's bound to give some kind of an opening if she plays along, so the opportunity to strike could still surface but...
Friends? What? There's a ripple of uncertainty that rushes through Cinnabar.
Black Diamond pulls back on the spear, freeing Cinnabar, and slinging it over his shoulder casually as if it had always been the weapon he'd produced for himself.
"What, did you think I crash-landed here on a broken ship, alone, to try to take over the rebel planet? Please."
He waves dismissively.
"If I was half the threat you think I am, I still wouldn't have done something that stupid."
Good to have that confirmed. Cinnabar gets to her feet; she immediately summons a replacement spear, not to strike at him with just yet, but to hold ready if she needs it.
"Why? What do you get out of this?"
He's a Diamond, made to rule. Always at the top of the heap, seemingly above the cares of the common gem. He was surely in line for a colony of his own sooner or later. Why would he walk away from that?
He looks away, rolls onto the heels of his feet, one hand in his pocket and clearly not intimidated by Cinnabar's new weapon.
"To be honest..." he rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "Don't know. It's all very new to me. But what I do know is why I'm here in the first place. It's kind of a long story."
He pauses, thinks about it for a moment, and tilts his head to the side.
"I said some things, did some stuff, and now I'm no longer welcome in Homeworld. Exiled."
At the very least, Cinnabar isn't rushing in for another attack. But she's also not about to just accept his claims with open arms. An exiled diamond, here on earth?
Cinnabar's reaction, honestly, shouldn't be surprising at all.
"You're lying." She pauses for a moment. "You have to be."
Because if he wasn't lying, that would make him an ally. A diamond as an ally. There was no way, it wasn't possible.
"Suppose it's to be expected. An exiled Diamond seems like a pretty far-fetched story to anyone who wasn't there to see it."
He brings up a hand to his chin, thinking about what he could possibly do. But all of this is very new, and he knows rebel gems have a culture very different to that of Homeworld...well, he supposes it doesn't hurt to ask.
Cinnabar raises the spear until its prongs are level with his chest.
"Were you followed?"
She believes him when he says he was alone only because her component gems have seen the wreck with their own eyes. That doesn't mean he can't have more ships in orbit waiting for his command.
"Yeah," he says with a nod, as if the spear wasn't there in the first place. "At least at first. Couldn't find any trace of them half-way through my flight."
He pauses, gives it some thought, then continues.
"I can't guarantee that no one is going to come looking for me. But on solid ground, no amount of soldiers they could dispatch would be able to subdue me."
He doesn't sound like he's bragging at all--just stating facts with a straight face. He is a Diamond, after all.
"If they ever want to bring me back, it will take no less than one of the other Diamonds herself. They've got bigger things on their plate than fetching an exiled gem from the rebel planet."
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no subject
He doesn't try to get away from her coils--just watches them as if he's interested to see what she does next.
As the speartip nearly pierces him, his hand wraps around the pole and stops it with the strength of his grip alone. From under his palm, an electric blue pattern akin to Earth-native circuitry spreads over the weapon. When it reaches Cinnabar's hands it forces them away like magnets of the same pole pushing away from each other with an electrical crackle.
"I could, but..."
Black Diamond twirls the spear, now laced with that circuit pattern, for effect. He moves forward, lunging at Cinnabar with noted agility, catching her neck between the prongs of the spear and pinning her to the ground with it.
"I'm not interested in hurting the gems I want to be friends with."
And he never stops giving them that genuine smile.
no subject
He'd certainly been unflinching with that pin of his, it had been a strike that could have been a hit if he'd meant it. He's bound to give some kind of an opening if she plays along, so the opportunity to strike could still surface but...
Friends? What? There's a ripple of uncertainty that rushes through Cinnabar.
"What are you talking about?"
no subject
Black Diamond pulls back on the spear, freeing Cinnabar, and slinging it over his shoulder casually as if it had always been the weapon he'd produced for himself.
"What, did you think I crash-landed here on a broken ship, alone, to try to take over the rebel planet? Please."
He waves dismissively.
"If I was half the threat you think I am, I still wouldn't have done something that stupid."
no subject
Good to have that confirmed. Cinnabar gets to her feet; she immediately summons a replacement spear, not to strike at him with just yet, but to hold ready if she needs it.
"Why? What do you get out of this?"
He's a Diamond, made to rule. Always at the top of the heap, seemingly above the cares of the common gem. He was surely in line for a colony of his own sooner or later. Why would he walk away from that?
no subject
He looks away, rolls onto the heels of his feet, one hand in his pocket and clearly not intimidated by Cinnabar's new weapon.
"To be honest..." he rolls his shoulders in a shrug. "Don't know. It's all very new to me. But what I do know is why I'm here in the first place. It's kind of a long story."
He pauses, thinks about it for a moment, and tilts his head to the side.
"I said some things, did some stuff, and now I'm no longer welcome in Homeworld. Exiled."
no subject
Cinnabar's reaction, honestly, shouldn't be surprising at all.
"You're lying." She pauses for a moment. "You have to be."
Because if he wasn't lying, that would make him an ally. A diamond as an ally. There was no way, it wasn't possible.
no subject
He frowns, and it's hardly mocking.
"Suppose it's to be expected. An exiled Diamond seems like a pretty far-fetched story to anyone who wasn't there to see it."
He brings up a hand to his chin, thinking about what he could possibly do. But all of this is very new, and he knows rebel gems have a culture very different to that of Homeworld...well, he supposes it doesn't hurt to ask.
"What can I do to earn your trust?"
no subject
"Were you followed?"
She believes him when he says he was alone only because her component gems have seen the wreck with their own eyes. That doesn't mean he can't have more ships in orbit waiting for his command.
no subject
He pauses, gives it some thought, then continues.
"I can't guarantee that no one is going to come looking for me. But on solid ground, no amount of soldiers they could dispatch would be able to subdue me."
He doesn't sound like he's bragging at all--just stating facts with a straight face. He is a Diamond, after all.
"If they ever want to bring me back, it will take no less than one of the other Diamonds herself. They've got bigger things on their plate than fetching an exiled gem from the rebel planet."
Black Diamond's shoulders heave in a shug.
"That's my assessment of the situation, anyway."