Long Road Back

Is this right?

~Angela

I tore the bathroom my little brother and I shared apart grabbing clean rags, a cup of warm water, tubed tree sap, and a leaf of a plant that I have long since forgotten the name but always remembered its sweet taste and how it helped to relax.

I walked back upstairs to find my guest completely passed out. Dry blood on his lip, hands, coat, the floor, and under his nose. I didn't want to wake him but I had so many questions and it would make it easier to clean his wounds if he was awake.

"Adam." I said quietly while gently rocking his shoulder.

'Wow. For being so thin he is quite muscular.' I thought in admiration.

He stirred slowly and his first response was to hold his head as his body slowly rocked back and forth as if he was dizzy or drunk.

I sat in front of him with my feet underneath me. I rested my hands on my lap as I waited for him to slowly come to his senses. He lifted one knee to put a foot on the floor to give himself some stability. Getting a little impatient I called his name again.

"Adam. I got the materials to patch you up. Are you well enough to look at me?" I asked.

His face slowly rose giving his branding a dramatic reveal in the light given by the candles in the hallway and the moon light from the window. Half his face glowed in crystal white light but the branded half of his face held a dark amber glow.

"Can I clean those wounds or would you feel more comfortable doing it yourself?" I said reaching forward with a wet towel to clean the dried blood on his face.

At first he flinched and bared his teeth like a scared, injured animal making me freak on the inside but I held my cool resolve on the outside.

"Fine." I heard him say as he moved to sit like I was and put his hands in his own lap.

He closed his eyes and I gently wiped his face clean being gentle as to not cause more bleeding from being to rough. I moved to put some sap into his open lip just steel it up so it could heal faster. I took the leaf and put a thin line of sap on it before pressing it gently to the inside of his lip. When my father did that for me I always flinched because it stung but Adam was as stoic as if he was asleep. Like he didn't even notice.

I cleaned the floor, his hands, and wiped the blood of his coat. That was when I got a good listen to he breathing and it was raspy.

'Oh oum. I hope I didn't collapse his lung.' I thought nervously.

I was still tired from healing the internal wounds from when I had found him but I mustered what I had regained and did a small amount of work. His breathing sounded better but he had a long way to go.

"There. Done." I said gathering the materials up.

I got up and walked away. He didn't even move. It wasn't until he thought I was out of earshot that he released the breath he was holding in one big sigh.

"Thank you." He said quietly before slowly standing and hobbling into the room I had put him in.

After I had put all the materials away I decided I wanted some answers so I walked back upstairs and knocked on the door to the room he was in. No response.

"Adam? It's Angela. Can I come in?" I asked politely.

After a while with no response I opened the door slowly letting curiosity get the better of me.

"Adam? Are you in... here..." I said slowing down as a saw the open window.

Anyone else would have just let him go but not me. He was not in good enough condition to wander the forest in his condition.

I ran down the stairs and grabbed my mother's twin kodachi's and my father's flint lock rifle before rushing out to find him. I thanked my father for teaching me how to track animals and for the gods who made it rain this morning leaving the ground muddy.

I followed his tracks slowly until I saw sets of beowolf tracks following him. I started to run after him until I found slowly dissolving body's of what used to be beowolves. Even in his rough condition, five beowolves were not enough to kill him.

'Impressive.' I noted before I pressed onwards.

I noticed a trend at every clearing I came to his tracks would wander as if he was getting his bearings before heading off towards the waterfall.

'Why would he be going there?' I thought.

As the night dragged on I found more dead Grimm from every species that inhabited these woods.

'How is he not dead yet.' I thought seeing a half dissolved Grimm ten feet up with a tree limb through its body.

When I finally broke through the brush I that led to the waterfall I saw him standing at the bank as water dripped off his body. He clenched his fist and teeth before turning and putting a hole through a tree. I was very afraid at that moment until I saw him collapse to his knees and put his hands on his face. I could have sworn I had heard him whimper before I started walking towards him. It was only until I was about two feet away did I realise that in the dark he was crying.

"Curse these wounds." I heard him state angrily.

"Adam?" I asked gently.

"You don't need to call. I knew you were there when I heard you break through the brush." He stated bluntly.

"What were you diving for?" I asked.

"I am looking for "Wilt", my chokuto. It is the sword of my great grandfather. Awarded to him as commanding general of the fanus in Mantle during the great war." Adam said with a smug grin before returning to being completely frustrated.

"Where have you searched?" I asked.

"In this pool of water where I though I had seen it fall." He huffed.

"Have you tried down stream just a little farther?" I asked but also hinted to him.

He looked at my funny. No more tears welled from his eyes and his anger seemed to disappear. Next I knew I was sprinting after him as he traveled as fast as his feet could carry him down stream.

A/N: And that concludes chapter 4! I hope you the readers have enjoyed the story so far and be on the look out for chapter 5 tomorrow. It is sure to be an interesting chapter.

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~SWR1463