@hochrot sent a letter !
unscripted.
frostwind had committed himself to the idea of never getting his brother back. whatever smooth tactics and fanciful ways kaeya spun the truth, or whatever courage he could muster to deliver news in the most blunt, callous way possible. it didn’t seem like enough for diluc, and so, fearing for his life, he’d stopped trying. the both of them had been like this ever since they were younger. diluc, with his fiery determination recognised by the pyro affinity itself, had always been a glowing manifestation of determination ... to frightening levels. long days and nights kaeya had happened upon his brother out training, hands bruised, skin beaten within an inch of his life, at his own hands, all in order to fulfil a dream he wasn’t sure was his own anymore. he’d thought many a time that if the children of teyvat dreamed like diluc did, then maybe it was a good thing that khaenri’ahns could not. not if it hurt them this way ... and kaeya, erudite, crafty as he was, would become stumped if he could not finesse his way out of a problem. long had the promise of alcohol and a bedmate lured him away from a problem where the only solution seemed to be repeating the process, over and over again, until it worked. wasn’t that the definition of insanity ?
to hear diluc had changed his mind, come to his senses, maybe that had been too much to hope for ? kaeya remained stumped, an unexpected variable in kaeya’s plots.
truth be told, though kaeya had always been ruled by his survival instincts, they were constantly at war with what he wanted, and what he desired. though he knew that keeping his secrets from diluc for as long as possible, that it was simply easier to keep him in the dark as long as he could, that it would be harder in the long run when kaeya was eventually called forth to fulfil his purpose, his longing to reconcile with the last remaining member of family that had once loved him was stronger than all of his common sense. he had always been a creature of instinct, no matter how intelligent, how afflicted with common sense he could be. perhaps blame the abyssal side of him for giving into the chaos of heart over head. some part of him had always known that if diluc ever came to rebuild those bridges that kaeya would forgive him in a heartbeat, even if he wouldn’t admit to it out loud.
he sees how hard it was for diluc to admit that he was wrong, and it’s ... amusing almost, to have the upper hand in conversations like this. still, kaeya kept a deliberately calm expression. his natural smile could have meant anything, but it wasn’t the antagonistic intensity that diluc coaxed forth so naturally. instead, frostwind jerked his head towards the wolvendom trail they’d met on, an invitation on neutral ground for a long chat, away from the winery, and away from mondstadt where they’d have to trust each other not to throw the other to the wolves. it was a good question, what he could do to earn that, seeing as kaeya thought that he’d paid in full already: an entire childhood of deception ... kaeya should have been the one apologising too, but ... that he was khaenri’ahn wasn’t only his secret to tell, to reveal more secrets to someone he didn’t entirely trust anymore was to put more people in danger, and yet ... kaeya knew that nothing worth fighting for was done so without risk. eventide would keep one more secret from diluc, the last one, he’d promise: that he had already forgiven his older brother in full. kaeya needed to earn back trust in turn.
‘ well ... it’s a long one, if you’re willing to stay and listen to all of it. ’ a sigh, frosty breath making clouds in the chilly winter air. ‘ have you ever heard of the eclipse dynasty ? ’
