As around two years later, the boys have only grown closer towards one another. They were almost inseparable by now, sticking at each other's sides constantly. Kaeya was now twelve while Diluc was around ten. Kaeya was now speaking much more fluently and even helped teach his brother his own language. Crepus has technically adopted him by now, hence not being about to find his own parents. Kaeya still hasn't said anything about him his origins, or why he had been sent to Mondstadt in the first place. He knew he'd devastate his family if he spoke the truth... so keeping a secret would bring much better results.
Currently, the two brothers were racing to their 'secret spot'. They stopped when reaching the tree they usually sat under, looking around the familiar area as they've always done. The dirt was soft and the grass was warm, a light breeze flowing through the air. The weather was perfect for a summer day.
However, a perfect day always has something in store for these two. What the boys weren't aware of was that a few Abyss Mages were down a couple miles from the cut off from Mondstadt and Liyue, testing out elemental combos. One a hydro mage, the other two were cyro mages. If the boys were to make too much noise or wander down the small stream, then the attention of the mages would be turned on them...
Diluc and Kaeya had been being taught the ways of battle over these past couple of years. Diluc, being the extra child he is, immediately took a liking towards the big swords - claymores, while Kaeya had taken a liking to the more classic sword. They'd left their training weapons at home today, since it was perfect weather for a nice day of relaxation and playing!
Diluc came down the hill shortly after Kaeya, their drawing rock had been covered and recovered by their drawings throughout the years. It had been worn down with constant use, making it's texture quite smooth. He had chalk ready, if they wanted to draw later on. He sneaks up on Kaeya and jumps onto his back, latching around him. Kaeya was still taller than him, their height difference had shrunk ever so slightly about by an inch or two. The impact wasn't very hard, he was rather easy to catch and despite having though he'd been sneaky he really wasn't. He latches on to his brother and gives and excited laugh. He takes advantage of beings latched to his brother to look for crabs. He's still scared of them after the incident from a few years back.
Whenever they'd head out to the city of Mondstadt, Kaeya had admired the knights. The Knights of Favonius; that's what they were called. Kaeya recalls hearing Crepus talk about them, and he would always ask to hear stories. It was just so cool! Kaeya wanted to be a knight one day, so he can protect Mondstadt from becoming like his old home. He's given up on the idea of what he was originally sent here for, knowing he wouldn't ever do that to his brother and new father. That's what got him into sword fighting in the first place. You'd have to be awfully strong to wield a claymore! Yet small little Diluc still wants to use one... whatever suits him best, he'd still support it.
"Haha! Hey!" He called out, laughing as he nearly fell over into the sand. Kaeya smirked, an idea popping up to mess with his brother. "Uh-oh! Look, a crab! It's gonna get you." He teased, having done that ever since he's found Dilucs new gear. Kaeya had his way with words, especially around others, now that he knew how to use them. "Come on! Want to go swim? It's too hot out here..."
Diluc had yelped and held onto his bother tighter at the mention of the crab. If he looked close enough, there was a teeny scar left behind from that event as a child. Upon not seeing any crabs in the nearby area, Diluc makes an annoyed sound and goes slack against his brother in an attempt to make him fall. Sweet revenge! Even if his plan winds up not working he still got to pester his brother. However, at the thought of swimming Diluc gives a nod, still refusing to let go of his brother's back, giggling every couple of seconds.
Kaeya laughed at his brothers reaction, finding it hilarious. His fear of crabs was always fun to poke around with. Though it wasn't long for his knees began to buckle and for him to fall into the sand. "Darn you." He pointed, rolling over in the sand while hugging him. "You are such a knucklehead."
"Now get up! Let's go swim, I'm getting all sweaty." He whined, trying to push his brother off. Eventually Kaeya got him off, kicking off his sandals and rushing into the stream. His clothes would be wet, but oh well.
Diluc lays face up in the sand for a moment before removing his own shoes and the chalk from his pocket and following Kaeya. The water was chilly, but a warm kind of chilly - perfect for the hot weather. It felt nice being in there, though he did slow down when he got in... he'd seen some of those crabs go into the water. He shrieks when he feels something brush up against his foot. He latches onto Kaeya again, this time in fear. "Something touched my foot!"
Kaeya held onto his brother with a laugh. "Is just a fishy." He told him, wrapping an arm around his shoulder. Diluc's fear of crabs... how foolish. Yet Kaeya would still be there for him and lie to make him feel better. He wouldn't ever consider thinking about telling Diluc about his origins... he could never ruin what they had.
"Come onnn! Les go!" He whined, dragging Diluc along the stream. However when he started walking closer to the abyss mages, he stopped and held his arm out to stop Diluc. Kaeya hadn't noticed them before... He knows what those are... and from bad memories too. He gulps, backing up and trying to take his brother with him. He had to be careful, not wanting Diluc to know about him or how he knew what these were, but also not wanting for either of them to be harmed.
Diluc had climbed down off of Kaeya and allowed himself to be pulled along, albeit he was reluctant. He wasn't sure if he liked the fishies brushing up against him.
He kept walking until he bumped into Kaeya's back, his mind in his own little world thinking about sword practice and drawing with his brother. He peeked out from behind him and froze, he'd heard some of the Knights talking about these guys. He hadn't done much research on them yet, but they matched the description pretty well. He was terrified. These were... were... something Mages? He couldn't remember the full name, but he knows they're bad guys! He grips into Kaeya's shirt, hands shaking.
Kaeya was still, looking unbothered by the sight of them. He was more worried for his brothers safety and happiness. Back home, seeing an abyss mage was far too normal. He had small memories of them and his people, and those rumors he heard were very scary. He looked down at his brother and shushed him, not wanting to be noticed. He grabbed his hand, leading him away. However, they were a tad bit too late.
Kaeya noticed it at the last minute, pushing Diluc out of the way before the hydro abyss mage trapped him in a little bubble. The cyro one then froze him in there, giving him an extra few minutes before it would thaw. Kaeya had immediately started to struggle, hitting the ice with his fist in order to try and get out. He hoped this would give Diluc enough time to m run away or get help.
Diluc continued to back up with Kaeya, eyes never leaving the scary Mages. When they noticed him he panicked, the feeling of being pushed into the water came next and the sound of freezing. Blinking the water from his eyes he sees his brother trapped and frozen right in front of his very own eyes.
"KAEYA!"
The shout was heart wrenching, tears sprang to his eyes as he looked at his frozen brother. The only thing on his mind aside from being frozen in fear was 'protect Kaeya'. If the ice shattered then.... then his brother would be....
The only thing within grabbing distance to use as a weapon was a flimsy stick, so he grabbed that and took a wobbly defensive stance.
One of the hydro Mages flung a bubble at him, which he somehow managed to evade, but he wasn't so lucky with the Cryo Mage. He was hit with a small Cryo projectile and was frozen himself, already soaked from the river.
Kaeya would be unfrozen in a few minutes, but until then he was stuck like this to watch Diluc from inside his ice prison. His mind was racing with fear, afraid that his dear brother would be hurt. He attempted to struggle out of his frozen state to go help him again, but before he knew it his brother was frozen right in front of him. It didn't hit him until later, that he was shivering and freezing cold. The adrenaline had been too high for him to even realize it before now. His main focus was on his brother right now, watching as they were now magically moved to the abyss' hideout. Now this is something that he hasn't seen before; how the abyss mages were transporting them in a little frozen bubble. He could still breathe, but he was absolutely freezing in this confined area.
Whenever they've reached the destination that the mages were hiding in, they were placed on the opposite side of the room from each other and left to thaw out. Kaeya was out sooner than his brother, rushing over towards his side while waiting for him. He knew that Diluc would be okay, just super cold in this state... all he had to do was wait. Then he could help his brother find a way out of here...