A Tale of Two Brothers

3. An Icy Discovery

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.