Sunny and Moon - New Claws

Chapter 16: "Taming the Moon"

The training went on for one more week. Ruby would wake up early in the morning and train all day with Ber, until she felt she was ready to be tested. One would think that with enough training Ruby would be able to go home, but no. She had to see if she could keep herself calm during a full moon, or if she would go crazy and try to kill someone. As far as they had trained, Ruby seemed to be going perfectly well. But Ber still wanted to check with the actual full moon.

"How are you feeling?"  Carson had asked Ruby once.
They were sitting on a very strong tree, watching the sunset. Carson had told Ruby the view from that tree was amazing. And indeed, it was. The village was surrounded by forests, but there was a tiny space only a few people knew of, where you could see the river that crossed the whole village stretch into the distance. Carson and Ruby were sitting on that one tree that had perfect view of the river, flowing mindlessly across the land.

"Good, I guess." Ruby had answered.
She really was feeling good– the training had made her really confident, and eager to try out what she had practiced when the full moon came. However, Ber was not going easy on Ruby. And as nice as she was, Ber was demanding. Each lesson ended with Ruby either crawling back home and throwing herself to her bed, or fainting and having to devour a special wolf sandwich. All of this without having a chance to even say 'hi' to Carson.
Ruby didn't complain though. She thought it was too rude to complain to people who were doing so much for her, and she knew she had to work hard to get back to her parents.

"You know... I'm here if you want talk." Said Carson. He was moving his feet under the tree branch, keeping his eyes on the falling sun.
"And I know you're pretty tired, I mean, who wouldn't, but... you know... I sorta miss you."
Ruby's cheeks went bright pink. They faded away quickly, as she looked at Carson. His brown eyes looked brighter under the orange light. His face looked younger. He looked happier too. And in that moment, Ruby got a strange feeling on her stomach. It was not like that time when she suffocated before knowing she was a werewolf. It was different... like a feeling. Like the feeling of sadness.
She didn't want to leave the village. She would miss it. She would miss Val, Claire and Rolly. She would miss Ber. She would miss Carson. And soon, the full moon would come and she would be leaving them all behind, with no turning back.

Ruby didn't answer for a while. She turned her eyes to the sunset, and then back at Carson.
"I miss you too." She said, finally.
They both leaned in closer to each other, and Ruby rested her head softly on Carson's shoulder.

***

"ALRIGHT!" Ber marched across the dungeon, her hands behind her back and her feet steady.

Ruby was in the line of people who would be transforming into wolves under control for the first time in their lives. Luckily it was only a full moon, and not something worse. Like a blood moon.

"I don't want to scare you," Ber said, "but this is a real serious matter. You will be transforming into wolves under my watch for the first time. And you either stay calm," she glanced at some people, "or lose control." Her eyes settled on Ruby, making her feel like she was being stabbed by a million daggers. Was this her method for keeping people calm?
"As there is too many of you, I have assigned a watcher for each. They will have an eye on you, besides me, until the full moon is over, and guide you through the process. Understood?"
There were nervous nods from everyone.
"Alright. Pair up!" She said, and everyone went to get their watcher. Luckily, being The Chief's son, Carson was allowed to be a watcher even though being underage. There were two other children allowed to be watchers; Ber's daughters. They were frizzy haired girls with dark skin as their mother, and confident looks radiating out their faces. For some reason they sort of scared Ruby. They looked as skilled as their mom.