❝ you know, steven, ❞ ruby grumbles the words and he weaves around yet another stalagmite ( a recently acquired term to add to his vocabulary, thanks to steven ), his expression dropping as he nearly runs into the damned thing, ❝ this isn’t as glorious as i’d imagine. how do you manage this so often? it’s so... dark. and i feel so filthy! ❞ he vocalizes his complaints despite the overly dramatic tone of it all, quickening his stride to keep up with his companion. steven trekked through the cave so naturally that if ruby wasn’t so fed up with unfavorable the state he was in, he might actually be impressed.
he tries to direct his thoughts towards their goal as he stumbles after steven like a baby deerling: precious, beautiful gemstones. who better to seek them out with than steven, the gem master himself?
steven stone: a name and face all too familiar to the ruby-eyed coordinator. yet, while they had yet to connect on a personal level beyond the formalities of working alongside each other, ruby found himself curious about the champion. he doesn’t quite understand why and he’s not about to admit underlying interest with mr. stone─ after all that’s happened, ruby doesn’t know anything about him other than what he knows about his public figure: a battling and archaeological genius.
it was for that reason, ruby was almost excited when he had to opportunity to seek a cave for gemstones alongside steven. well, and because he’d get new accessories for his pokémon afterwards.
❝ you do know where we’re going, right...? ❞ he questions, directing his flashlight at the barren walls of the cave. no sign of gems. a low rumbling halts any further unnecessary complaints. ruby’s eyes narrow as he looks away from steven, pointing his flashlight towards the direction they had come from. the rumble steadily increases, earning another frown from the coordinator.
❝ hey, what is that─? ❞ before he can acquire an answer, the rumbling turns into a roar of crashing. ruby doesn’t have to be an expert of caves to realize what’s happening.
the cave was collapsing in on them.
instinct takes reigns as ruby darts forward, running from the collapsing debris behind them. he doesn’t speak, doesn’t need a command from steven to know to get away in order to avoid being crushed. the dust being thrown up paired with the darkness makes it nearly impossible from ruby to know where he’s running. he can’t hear steven over the cries of the cave, but he trusts the champion can hold his own.
he’s not quite sure how far they’ve gone─ luckily the path was pretty linear, before the rumbling eases up a bit. ruby doesn’t take any chances, keeping up his quick pace, following the outline of steven’s frame. as the noise fades, ruby slows. he’s panting by the time they come to a stop, now hearing only faint sounds of tiny rubble falling behind them.
ruby rubs at his eyes─ now watering due to the amount of dust the collapse raised up. he brushes off his coat but to no avail. he turns to look behind him and takes a few steps back to stand beside steven, his heart falling.
❝ we’re... ❞ he exhales slowly, exasperated, turning to finally look at his companion, ❝ we’re trapped now, aren’t we? ❞
