That revelation cuts short Antarcticite's wondering appreciation of the varied sea life around them. They look to Rutile through a school of silvery fish that dart out of the way as they step after their senior, bewilderment clear on their face. "I don't understand," they say--and then nearly lose their footing on a loose bit of rock and sand.

They right themselves with a wobble, flush with embarrassment, then look beyond Rutile to the outline of the reef in the distance. From where they're standing, it's difficult to make out any detail at all indicating whether it's alive or dead, and regardless, Antarcticite has never seen so much life teeming beneath the water's surface before anyway. "How could you have killed off an entire reef?"

They don't bother asking 'why'; Rutile might have a slight proclivity towards experimenting on living things for science, but killing off a lot of living things at once for no discernible purpose has never been in their nature. (Though, they must admit, it seems that much has changed about the gems in the years since Antarcticite was taken by the Lunarians.)