The Spark of Hope

Chapter 15 -One's Will To Go On-

(Alright first thing first, I want to thank you, we had hit another milestone on the book "A Vex Problem", we had hit over 3K reads which is bloody crazy to think about. So thank you for sticking with me for this long. Anyways on to the chapter!)

Third Person POV

Ruby stares at the moon through a window, sitting on the staircase. Snow is drizzling outside. Ruby checks on Blake, Weiss, and Yang, who are sitting on the rug and staring at the fire from the fireplace. Maria reads a book while sitting on the sofa and Oscar is pacing back and forth, the only member of the group not present is Mystogen. After checking on the other, Ruby stands up and walks toward Qrow. Qrow is sitting nearby the window, looking outside with his feet propped on the drawer.

"Storm's cleared up for now. We should be able to leave by morning," Qrow says.

"That's good," Ruby says.

"No... I don't have a good feeling about this place, especially with me around..." Qrow says.

Ruby looks down at a wine bottle on the floor with Qrow's hand hovering over it, then looks at him, "Are you... okay?"

Qrow scoffs, "Sure. Tell everyone to get some sleep. I'll wake you guys up just before sunrise," 

"Uh, Uncle Qrow," Ruby says.

"What is it, kid?" Qrow asks.

"Have you seen Mystogen?" Ruby asks, wondering about the Guardians whereabouts.

"He's been staying outside on the porch, after burying the bodies," Qrow says, "He hasn't come back in since," Ruby looked worried which caught this, "He's fine Ruby. Now go tell the others to get some rest,"

Ruby walks away as Qrow drinks from the wine bottle. Ruby pauses and looks back at him before narrowing her eyes downward. Back in the other room, the fire continues to burn. The book Maria is reading has a "III" on the cover, with the other two volumes on a nearby table.

"It's a diary?" Oscar asks Maria.

"The head of this household, Bartleby. Apparently, he and several other families founded this little settlement to try and live on their own. It sounds like it worked, at least for a spell," Maria explains.

"Grimm?"

"Just one of many hardships. Slowed down their farming, made everything harder... It's a shame, really. He seemed like quite the ambitious fellow, always thinking of new schemes to overcome the odds," 

Ruby walks back into the room, "Hey guys. Qrow said we should get some rest. We're gonna head out tomorrow,"

"Thank goodness," Blake says.

Everyone gets up to get ready to sleep. Maria hops off the couch, "Hmph, the last thing you'll catch me doing is letting some kid tell me what to do. Go to bed!" She says the last part in a mimicking voice before she scoffs.

Maria sits on an armchair, turns on the lamp next to it and continues reading from the book. Ruby shrugs and smiles before going to sleep herself. The fire continues to burn in the fireplace. Meanwhile, Mystogen sits on a chair outside on the front porch watching the white flakes of snow fall down slowly. Summer is standing next to him while Ghost was the opposite side hover next to him.

"So, I'm guessing we're leaving tomorrow?" Ghost asks.

"Most likely, storm calmed so we should," Mystogen says.

"I still have a bad feeling about this place," Summer says, "It just gives off this bad feeling if that makes sense,"

"Well, I guess it does," Mystogen says.