ooc: I've kind of made up a little history between them. I hope it's okay.
The trees were thickly packed, so close that most touched branches. It smelled best when there had been fresh rain, which was why Kes liked it. She liked to go there, sometimes with Robin, others with Jube, or by herself. It was the 3rd place she'd thought of. The first two had been the roof of the forge and the other was one of the unharvested fields.
She heard Jube's voice call to her and bit her lip. Either he knew nothing and had just guessed she might be here, or someone had already told him. She didn't want him to know, didn't want anyone to know.
"No," came her voice, but it was hard to tell where exactly from because the trees were so dense, but it seemed to be in the branches, rather than the ground. "I'm not going back this time. There is no way."
She'd threatened only once before to run away. She'd stormed off before in the heat of anger or humiliation, but she'd always gone onto the roof of the forge and the beating of metal had calmed her.
This time felt like last time, but worse.
It was when they'd been small and her mother had said that she didn't want her to play with Jube. They'd not long started to talk and they were friends but to a child knowing someone for 2 minutes could make them your friend."
"He's a strange child," her mother hand said, Swan and Sparrow nodding their heads with their usual smug faces. They were of a similar age and never had much time for her. "Robin, you're to keep your sister away from him."
Robin had the same expression as today, pained surprise. She knew it wasn't his fault, but she felt mad as hell.
She'd screamed at her mother that there was nothing wrong with Jube and when her mother had tried to forbid her, she'd run off. She couldn't remember how old she'd been but no more than 6. She hadn't come here that time. She'd ran into the cornfield and Robin had followed, telling her to come home. She'd said no, stubbornly refusing, saying she was going to leave.
Jube had come that time too, quietly and kindly. Robin had tried to explain and Jube had been sweet and said it was okay.
She'd got angry and upset for him. He was trying to be kind and good, not wanting to get her in trouble, so she'd come flying out of the crops and had shouted at him.
"Don't you want to be my friend?!" she'd demanded.
He looked shocked and said that of course he did, but he didn't want her to get in trouble.
"I don't care what she says. You're my friend and she's a cow."
Everything went quiet for a few moments, her panting with anger and Robin looking shocked. Then they'd all began to laugh.
Jube pursuade her to go home and said they could be friends still, so she'd reluctantly gone home. Her father had been told what she'd done and had put his foot down with her mother. Jube and her had carried on being friends, though often Robin had to come too to "keep an eye on them."
Her mother had never understood that she was the bad one, not Jube.
But Jube was not going to convince her to come back.
"I'm leaving," she said, her voice soft now.