Sunny and Moon - New Claws

Chapter 8: "Carson" - Part 3

Ruby blinked a few times, trying to process what was going on.

"H-how did you find me?" She blurted out.

"Uh... Footprints." He said.

"Footprints? I don't think I-"

"Nevermind. The point is that I found you, and we are going back to the dome." With that Carson took hold of Ruby's arm.

"No." Ruby said, releasing her arm.

"What? It's warm in there, and safer than here. C'mon, let's go back."

"No. I have to get back to my family." Ruby said simply. She just wanted him to leave and let her go home.

"No. You can't go back to them. It's dangerous. You could've killed one of them-"

"Killed? What are you talking about?"

"Oh, right. I haven't told you."

"Told me what? Are you crazy? We barely know each other! Do you even know my name!?"

"...No. Oh, god, I shouldn't have said that. But seriously. You have to go back with me. There's a lot of stuff you need to know and-"

"No! Leave me! I'm tired of your weird secrets and stuff. You know, I can't even trust you. You are just a weird boy, with a weird imagination because you live isolated from everyone in a dome in the middle of the woods!" Ruby shouted that last part and stuffed her sandwich on a backpack. When she looked back up at him she saw his cheeks had flushed pink and his eyes were a little watery.

Maybe she was a little too harsh.

Ruby was about to apologise. She really was. But she didn't. She had the final word and she wasn't spoiling it.

Carson cleared his throat.

"Fine. Go back to your family. But I warned you."

He turned around and started to walk away.

That's when Ruby got really self-conscious.

"Carson, wait! I'm– I'm sorry."

That made him stop.

"Please– I'm just a scared girl in the middle of the woods who misses her family."

The word 'family' seemed to make Carson flinch. He turned around and got back to Ruby.

"Apology accepted." He said once he reached her. "And I'm sorry too. I've been overwhelming you with so much stuff– I'm probably just confusing you."

Ruby nodded at those words. It was partly true.

"I'm Ruby, by the way." She said.

"So, Ruby. Do you want to get back home? Do you really love your family that much?"

"Yes."

"Then I need you to trust me." Carson's stare seemed to darken with those words. He was being truly serious. Ruby nodded.

"I'll... I'll trust you."

"Alright then. There... There is something you don't know about. And it involves you. I can't tell you what it is– not here– but I can tell you if we get back to the dome. It will explain a lot of things. And after I tell you, you can get back to your family. Alright?"

The sky had darkened. It wasn't noon anymore. The stars had gone out and the sky was still a shade of light blue. Carson's eyes looked shinier under the light of the moon, and so did hers.

"Fine. I will go with you. Just promise me everything will be ok."

"I promise."

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End of the Carson marathon! So these were some chapters in which Ruby and Carson have a process where they end up "trusting" each other. (It's just the base of their trust) You get to know Carson a bit, but from the next chapter onwards you get to really know him. This was just an introduction to him, thus the name of the chapters.