A Tale of Two Brothers

4. Fire and Ice

<<  Trigger Warnings >>
Blood, Violence, Trauma

Everything had gone by in a blur. Before they knew it they had awoken in a weird room far away from each other. Diluc hadn't been frozen before, so he didn't know how to escape the icy prison. He struggled and wiggled the best he could, eventually breaking himself free after a good amount of time has passed.

The first thing Diluc had felt before the hard floor was an overwhelming sense of cold seeking up within his bones. It took him a couple of minutes to warm up enough to function. He was a shivering, shaking mess, soaked to the bone. All he wanted was his brother and to go home.

He feels something next to him, something familiar... someone familiar, and latches onto them the best he could. He starts to weep, silent tears trailing down his cheeks as he numbly holds onto his brother.

Kaeya was also very cold to the touch, still wet and frosty; teeth chattering and shivering. He pulled Diluc closer to him, holding him against his chest and keeping him there. He tried to give his brother as much warmth as he could, despite being half frozen himself. He ran his hand through the thick red locks of his, something he's seen Mr. Crepus do whenever Diluc was scared of upset. He held onto his brother, keeping close to keep the little body warmth given off. "Is okay..." he whispered, keeping quiet so the mages wouldn't hear them. He didn't want to mess with them right now, knowing how dangerous they could be.

Diluc had pulled himself into the embrace as much as he could, still scared but feeling safer with his brother nearby. The small comfort from Kaeya's gesture was helping a lot, calming him down a little. His hair was soaked, falling just below his shoulders. It would take eons to dry in this environment. It already took ages to dry normally. He sniffled, it took a couple minutes for him to calm down. "Kae... we.. we need to get out."

He wants to go home.

Kaeya frowned looking down at his brother. With his hair soaked, and the room temperature being cold as well, Kaeya was afraid that Diluc would get sick. It was worrisome, which ever since first meeting Kaeya had formed many caring feelings for his new younger brother. "We will... I promise. We will..."

He tried to reassure him, rubbing Diluc's back. Kaeya took a deep breath and went to stand up. He helped his brother stand, keeping him close still. The sooner they left the better... who knew what the abyss mages wanted. They were scary back in his home lands, and now wasn't any different. There was an old rusty claymore in the side of the room, worn down from previous uses... but it still looked good enough to use. "Look Diluc, a claymore. You like those right? You're better with them... more than I am. Think you can manage? I'll still be by your side to help, I promise."

Diluc nods into his brother's shoulder, getting up with Kaeya but electing to stay behind him. He followed Kaeya, allowing him to lead him around. His eyes did kind of light up at the claymore, a weapon could help them! They could fight the bad guys now! But... but Kaeya still needed a sword - would he be able to do it alone?

He shakily walked forward, and reached up to grab the hilt. It was freezing and a little heavy, but he still managed. He gives it a couple of small test swings, the sword was just about as tall as he was. The one he practiced with back home was a lot smaller for practicing... but he'd have to get used to this one. He gives a small nod, retreating back to Kaeya's side and gripping onto his hand. He didn't want to get separated again.

Hopefully Kaeya could find a sword laying around somewhere so he'd be able to help his brother. Diluc was still young, but so was he. However, he could see how Diluc put his faith and trust in him. Kaeya would make everything okay... he'd protect his brother until last dying breath if he had to. No one else has been this kind to him, so he would do absolutely anything to help keep  both of them alive so they could escape.