Matt Cruse - Role in Airborn

Role in Airborn

Matt Cruse is a cabin boy on the Aurora, a large passenger airship that sails above the ocean, ferrying wealthy passengers from city to city. He chose to become a cabin boy because his father had worked on the same ship until falling off in an accident when Matt was twelve. During his second year on the Aurora, when he is fourteen, Matt meets and rescues the balloonist Benjamin Molloy, who later dies from dehydration, malnutrition, and heart failure. Before death, Molloy mentions beautiful creatures in the sky.

A year later, Matt meets the granddaughter of Molloy, Kate de Vries. She came aboard the Aurora because although Molloy's notebooks had described fantastical creatures, no one would believe in them, and she wanted to prove that what her grandfather saw was real. Matt reveals himself to be the rescuer of Molloy, and befriends Kate, who confides in him the creatures and her goal. Later, the Aurora is attacked and shipwrecked by pirates, and through coincidence, the crew and passengers crash-land on the island where Molloy had reportedly seen the creatures.

Matt and Kate later find bones of the creature while exploring the island. They name the creature, which resembles a panther with wings, the Cloud Cat, and takes back the bones. A typhoon hits, wrecking the Aurora, but Matt discovers sources of the much-needed lifting gas (called hydrium), and saves the day. Matt and Kate also catch sight of a living Cloud Cat, and Kate leaves alone to look for its nest. Worried that her absence would delay the Aurora's timely departure, the captain sends Matt and Bruce (who Matt regards as a rival) to fetch her back. They end up attempting to take a picture of the Cloud Cat, but their plans go wrong and they are separated.

Later on, Matt and Kate realize that the pirates who had shipwrecked them actually use the little island as their home base, and through coincidence, gets taken to the pirates' base. They plan to trick the pirates with fake identities, and then escape to the Aurora to warn everyone else. However, the pirates attempt to murder them after discovering their identity. Matt and Kate barely escape, and for the first time recognize the romantic feelings developing in between them by sharing two kisses. In the end they successfully save the entire crew and passengers of the Aurora through a series of adventure. Bruce, however, was unfortunately killed.

At the end of the book, Kate displays the bones of the Cloud Cat in a museum located in Paris, France, while giving a lecture. Matt meets with her, and then reveals that he is going to be attending Paris' Airship Academy to learn more about aeronavigation. He encourages Kate to consider Sorbonne University as her new place of study (because of Sorbonne's location in Paris), and takes her hand as they watch the Aurora depart atop the Eiffel Tower.