Chapter 17: A Choice of Home
The question weighed heavily in the air as the group made their way from Beacon's grounds to their favorite café in Vale. The same one where they'd spent countless hours studying, planning missions, and sharing dreams of their future. Now, those futures needed serious consideration.
"Patch has been our home," Qrow said, his hand never leaving Lailah's. "It's quiet, peaceful. The kind of place where a child could grow up safe."
Lailah nodded, but her orange eyes held a hint of worry. "Yet the moment word spreads about a human-dark elf child... reporters, scholars, the curious, even the prejudiced – they'll all come looking."
"Then let them look," Raven interjected with characteristic directness. "Patch isn't just some quiet island. It's home to some of Remnant's strongest hunters." Her crimson eyes flashed. "Anyone meaning harm would have to get through all of us first."
Summer leaned forward, silver eyes earnest. "We've already started building our lives here. My house is almost finished, and Raptaryn..." she glanced at him with a soft smile, "well, we're planning our future here too."
"The isolation of Patch could actually work in our favor," Raptaryn added, shifting into analysis mode. "Limited access points, a tight-knit community, natural barriers. From a strategic standpoint, it's ideal for protection while still allowing Seraphina a normal childhood."
Taiyang grinned. "Plus, Signal Academy's right here. Can you imagine a better place for her to grow up? Surrounded by warriors who can teach her to defend herself, but also by people who've known her family since before she was born?"
"And," Summer added softly, "any future children she might grow up alongside." Her meaningful glance at Raptaryn didn't go unnoticed, nor did the way Taiyang and Raven exchanged their own loaded look.
Lailah touched her stomach gently. "Queen Hyuuan – my sister – she'll want to be part of her niece's life too. But perhaps that's another advantage of Patch. We can control who visits and when. Make it on our terms."
"Exactly," Qrow agreed. "We don't have to hide, but we can manage the attention. Build a life that's both protected and free." He paused, looking around at their friends – their family really. "And Seraphina will grow up knowing both sides of her heritage, with an aunt who's an elven queen and an extended family of the strongest hunters in Remnant."
"Not to mention the most overprotective uncle in all of Remnant," Taiyang teased, nudging Raptaryn, who actually blushed.
"I prefer the term 'appropriately cautious scholar-warrior uncle,'" Raptaryn defended, causing Summer to laugh and squeeze his hand.
Lailah looked around at these people who had become her family, feeling the rightness of it settle in her heart. "Then we stay," she declared. "We make our stand here, build our home here. And if anyone has a problem with a human-dark elf child..." Her orange eyes gleamed with determination.
"They'll have to deal with all of us," everyone finished in unison, before breaking into laughter.
As evening settled over Patch, visible through the café window, the island seemed to glow with promise. This was where they'd train the next generation of hunters. Where they'd build their homes and raise their families. Where a little girl with lavender hair and orange eyes would run freely, protected by love and strength on all sides.
The choice wasn't really a choice at all. Patch wasn't just an island – it was their fortress, their sanctuary, their home. And soon, it would be Seraphina's too.
To be continued in Chapter 18: Lailah and Qrow's Journey part 1