I Never Said Goodbye (DISCONTINUED)

Chapter XIV: Unexpectations

   It was night time and I was still wide awake. Solstice and Strigform had already fallen asleep in their sleeping bags. I, on the other hand, am on a tall tree and staring at the moon. The shattered figure kept me wondering what it looked like back at Patch. And how my family is doing. It's been 2 years since we left and normally, I miss them already. I didn't expect our search for my brother to take this long.

   "Can't sleep?" A voice behind me asked. "You can say." I said. His ability to teleport in ice crystals made the air around me colder which made me chill. He then appeared on my side, clutching me in a blanket.

   "If you're going to stay up all night, might as well use a blanket. I promised Tai that I'll make sure you wont catch a cold."

   "Your promises with Tai only make my worry for them grow."

   "Sorry." I chuckled. "What's wrong?" He asked, noticing my negative look.

   "Nothing. Just worried about Tai and the kids."

   "Hey," I turned to him. "Everything's gonna be okay. We'll find your brother, get him to a hospital then go back home." He explained. I just smiled. "Get some sleep, you deserve it." He kissed my forehead and left.

   I laid my body down on the trunk and drifted off to sleep.

   I awoke at dawn. We started travelling once more, asking people about Qrow. And so far, no luck. We ended up in Kuroyuri where someone actually saw my brother.

   "He was on his way to Mistral but he was in bad condition." The man said. "We took him in our home and treated him. But when he was healed, he took off." He added. "Sir, may you take us to your home?" He led us to a small wooden house.

   Then, a small black haired boy came running towards the man. "Father!" I noticed that he had a purple streak in his hair. "I had no idea you were a father." I said. "Lee." A woman with purple hair came in the room. "Ann," Lee greeted.

   "You brought visitors."

   "Hello, ma'am. We must assure you, our business here is non-violent. We are huntsmen from Vale. I am Raven Branwen. These are my comrades, Solstice Rose, and Strigform Hybern."

   "That's certainly good to hear. What is it that you wish for?"

   "Ma'am, we seek for my brother. Have you seen him?" I showed her a picture of Qrow.

   "Ahh, yes. The huntsman. We took him in the house and treated him. He stayed here for about 3 days."

   "Then what happened?"

   "He just left. Said he was off to Mistral. He did, however, leave this letter. And surprisingly, it was addressed to you, Raven." I took the envelope in her hands.

   To my beloved little sister,

          Good for you, little Rae. You found me. If your reading this, then it means your close to me. Listen, I'm on my way to Mistral and you have a key to the vault.

            I don't know where I would be right now but you should know that I love you. Please take care of yourself. Be careful. Thank you for understanding.

             I love you. Know that always.

Your brother,
Qrow

   I folded the letter. "Thank you for your help." I said, trying to hold back tears. "I must tell you, he was in very good condition when he left." Ann said. "Of course." I could hold back anymore. I ran out and ran to the nearest field. I screamed. I must've attracted a pack of grimm. I fell to my knees. "Raven?!" A voice called out. "Raven!" His footsteps ran to me. It was Solstice. "Rae, we need to go, okay. C'mon, let's go." I followed him.

   Night came as I stared into the fire. Solstice and Strigform had already drifted to sleep. The fire suddenly rose to unexpected levels. I stood, hand on ódachi, on my fighting stance. It then twirled and then revealed an image of my son. "Phoenix, how many times must I tell you to give me a warning everytime you do that." I freaked. "Sorry, mom." He sounded almost upset.

   "Sweetflame, what's wrong?"

   "Well, it's about me Yang, Robin and Ruby." I began to panic.

   "What happened? Are you guys okay?"

   "We're fine. It's just that...."

   "Just what?"

   "Yang and I got into Beacon."

   "What?!"

   "We got into Beacon. We all did."

   "Phoenix, I'm so proud of you. But wait, you're only 16 and Ruby's only 15. How did you two get in?"

   "That's a long story."

   "Well, I'm still proud of you."

   "Thanks, mom. Oh, by the way, dad wanted to know if you already found sometging about uncle Qrow."

   "We did and maybe we'll be home by next 2 months or earlier."

   "Well, if you find him, tell him to get better soon."

   "I will. I miss you Phoenix."

   "Miss you, too, Mom."

   "You should go it's way past your bedtime."

   "Kay. Love you, mom."

   "Love you too." With that, my son descended back into the fire and disappeared. I took in a deep breath and sighed. I looked over at Strig who had woken up. "Can't sleep?" I nodded. "You wanna sleep with me?" I stood up and paced towards him. Before I could get down, I heard a rustle in the trees. I decided to ignore it. I heard it again. This time, it was followed by a groan. I narrowed my eyes and looked into the darkness closely. I saw a figure walking towards us. Its red torn ended cape said it all. "QROW!!" I ran to him and helped him. He had cuts and bruises all over him. "SOLSTICE! STRIGFORM!" I called out. They ran to me.

   "What happened?" Strig asked.

   "Strepelia and the bandits. They took me... and they tortured me... they..." he collapsed. "Solstice." I called. "Where to?" He asked. "Nearest hospital." As he came in contact with me, he teleported us to Mistral's Hospital Center.

   "Somebody, please help us!" I shouted. They got him into the operating room. "Hi, I'm sorry but... may I burrow your phone?" The nurse handed me their phone as I used it to contact Tai.

   "Hello?" His voice made me happy.

   "Tai?"

   "Raven, you do know it's like 3 a.m. here back at Patch, right?" He said, groggily.

   "Sorry. Just needed to talk to you."

   "About what?"

   "Qrow. We found him." He sighed.

   "Is he alright?"

   "Barely. He's with us in the hospital now. He's in the ER. In surgery." He sighed.

   "That's good to hear. Is it all right if we go there tomorrow? I'll text you so that you know when."

   "Okay. Bye. I love you."

   "Love you, too"