Library, Monday

[intotheout]

Thanks to her conversation with Peridot in class, Tip spent the first chunk of her shift today looking up geology, specifically the way scientists had come up with to identify different minerals.

Well shit. Geologists did lick rocks after all. She was never going to hear the end of this.

[open!]

Comments

[era_two_triangle]

And, true to her word, Peridot was sliding into the library sometime in the early afternoon.

And yeah, Tip was never gonna live that rock-licking down. But then, neither was Jason, so she was in good company.

"I'm here!"

And she had Pumpkin tagging along behind her, because if she wasn't in class, she was probably with Pumpkin.

[intotheout]

"You are!" Tip said, already bracing herself for the smugness. "Hi Pumpkin! Who's a good gourd?"

Pumpkin made an excellent delaying tactic.

[era_two_triangle]

"Pumpkin is the best gourd," Peridot decreed as Pumpkin barked and ran over to greet Tip. "And she knows it, too."

Because she was spoiled rotten.

[intotheout]

Of course she was! She was adorable!

"Heyyyy Pumpkin!" Tip cooed, bending down to properly greet her. "Hi! It's been a little while, huh?"

[era_two_triangle]

It kind of had been. Peridot needed to stop being a little rock goblin and start being social or something. Which Pumpkin's excited barking and wiggling was meant to convey as she jumped up to give Tip the warmest hello a little pumpkin could manage.

"She probably missed you," Peridot said easily. "She misses everyone."

Except possibly Steven. But the Steven thing had involved trauma and a gardening spade.

[intotheout]

Gardening was clearly evil.

"Haven't gotten out much, huh?" Tip asked. "Neither have I."

It was just so much easier sometimes to hibernate in your room when you weren't learning swordplay or going to class.

[era_two_triangle]

"I got out for the... boat race... last week," Peridot offered. "And I'm here every Wednesday!"

She paused.

"How much is much?"

[intotheout]

"It's a pretty relative term," Tip admitted. "I think most people around here just use it to mean 'doesn't hang out in common rooms anymore'."

[era_two_triangle]

"Oh." Peridot blinked and mulled that over. "... What if you never really spent much time in there to begin with?"

[intotheout]

"Then they'd probably still say you're not getting out much, but for you it'd be normal, so whatever."

[era_two_triangle]

"Huh." Peridot nodded, and then looked around. "So, have you been looking for geology books since class?"

[intotheout]

"I am a girl of my word," Tip said with a nod. "I think you're going to enjoy what I found."

And then be smug about it forever.

[era_two_triangle]

"I will?" Peridot perked up a little bit more at that. "Let me see, let me see!"

This, of course, came with an excited little skip from foot to foot.

[intotheout]

Tip sighed, and slid one of the books over. It was still open to the page that talked about how saliva was good for quick rock cleaning, and that taste could help you identify rocks. "There's a whole bunch more, too," she said quickly. "With stuff about, like, carbon dating and things."

But Tip figured she should get the licking part over with first.

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot leaned over the book and read. And then tilted her head and read it again.

And then looked up at Tip.

And she snickered.

[intotheout]

Tip rested her head on the desk. "Shut up."

[era_two_triangle]

Peridot's little snicker turned into a little cackle.

"You're the second person in two weeks to ask me about licking rocks," she said, somewhere in there, "but it isn't just me!"

AHAHAHA! YES!

[intotheout]

Well. At least she wasn't alone.

"It isn't just you," Tip agreed, unable to help a small smile at Peridot's glee. "You want to borrow the book so you can show it to the other person too?"

[era_two_triangle]

"Yessssss," Peridot agreed, giving a little wiggle. "He was worried about germs."

What did a Gem have to worry about germs?

[intotheout]

". . . I mean, that's fair, for a human."

[era_two_triangle]

"But he knows I'm not human," Peridot pointed out. "I'm not even organic."

[intotheout]

"Yeah, but we can have trouble looking outside our own species for reference sometimes."

[era_two_triangle]

"Well, he should know better," Peridot muttered, wrinkling her nose. "Especially now that I know that your species does it, too."

[intotheout]

"I didn't even know our species does it too," Tip pointed out. "And we're actually pretty good at resisting germs anyway, but some people worry about that sort of thing. You just kind of have to . . . deal."

[era_two_triangle]

"Deal," Peridot echoed, looking back down at the book. "I can... deal."

Possibly by shoving this book in Jason's face and cackling at him, too.