Diluc eventually finds himself very slightly rocking Kaeya back and forth, as he used to do during the tumultuous first weeks after Kaeya had arrived into Diluc and Crepus's life. Kaeya would scream himself awake during the nights, plagued by nightmares more often than not. Never explaining what he'd seen or why it scared him so.
Diluc now realizes they must have been scenes, or even perhaps memories, of the Abyss. They say no one who has ever encountered the Abyss in its pure form are without such torments. He wonders if Kaeya has seen the creature he encountered tonight before as a child; was he taught to fear or respect it.
In the midst of these dismal thoughts, Diluc suddenly hears the familiar call of a falcon. He breathes a small sigh of relief and allows himself a weary grin; at last, she's found him.
He gently lays Kaeya, who remains unresponsive, down again and shuffles out from beneath the shelter. As soon as he is visible from the sky, the bird swoops down to him unbidden.
He holds out his arm to her as he has done for years, and the bird of prey gracefully lands on it; his arm dipping slightly with the weight.
"You took your time tonight." He ruffles her breast feathers affectionately, noting the evidence of her evening hunt on her beak.
He uses one hand to remove the tiny note he wrote earlier, from the confines of his coat and carefully attaches the slip to her ankle. She remains still and tolerant.
"I need you to go straight home this time." He says to her solemnly ". Go to Adelinde and do not tarry, Kaeya needs you."
She tilts her head in apparent understanding. Diluc knows she remembers that name as the one attached to the young teenager who used to spoil her with meat scraps back when Diluc had been in the process of training her.
It would infuriate him to no end, when she could not be disciplined because she was getting her rewards elsewhere. Kaeya'd thought it was hilarious, and kept doing it until he had been made to stop. Diluc knows that, even despite Crepus scolding him, up until he'd left, Kaeya had always had a scrap to entice her with when she was near and he thought Diluc wouldnt see. She'd grown as fond of him as a bird of prey could be.
She has always been a special bird and Diluc has cherished her company for near eight years now. He has confidence she will fulfill this request in his and Kaeya's time of need. Diluc only hopes that she will find Adelinde still awake to deliver his note to. Hopefully his failure to come home last night has kept the household primed for an incident.
He certainly is bringing them one.
He launches the falcon off and after circling above once, she leaves in the direction of the winery.
He goes back to check on Kaeya and finds his state much the same. Diluc draws him close, letting his head and upper body lay in his lap while Diluc continues to subconsciously rock.
He grows introspective as the time passes.
In all honesty, Diluc considers, the memories of their youth have never been lost to him. He hasn't grown selective amnesia of the substance of their childhood, only their importance in his life waned.
Kaeya, and all of his sad conflicting truths and his hurtful, infuriating lies, had rendered Diluc incapable of reconciling the image of who he'd always believed Kaeya to be with this new more conniving, less trustworthy, perhaps even more sinister version of the man.
And the importance of thinking about and actually trying, to understand these things once Kaeya had left the manor, had ranked as next to nothing in Diluc's mind.
He and Kaeya were done.
Until now, getting that sense of brotherhood or a semblance of the relationship they had once shared hadn't matter in the least. He'd had no patience for mending bridges.
Now, in the middle of the night, in the inhospitable dark and chill of Wolvendom, as Kaeya lays here, dying in his arms, it has never seemed more important.
With Kaeya's infuriating airs stripped away by fever and exhaustion, Diluc can't help but remember how he once saw him and realize that that person perhaps was never gone.
The previously attractive idea, of his life without Kaeya in it, has amounted to nothing but a short-sighted mirage of rage, and afterwards of indifference, that had no relevance to the real thing.
If Kaeya dies here now; if Diluc truly does stop having a brother, he'll be devastated. It isn't questionable at this point, because when all is absolutely said and done, despite the differences in their pasts and the diverging paths they took as adults, they were sworn brothers once and that should have counted for more than it had.
If Kaeya survives this night and lives to show up in the tavern again to provoke Diluc with his antics, Diluc vows to make the effort to try to find the person he used to know, beyond all the perfunctory bullshit that Kaeya clothes himself with every time they interact. He'll try to have a meaningful encounter with his brother more often.
Diluc pushes Kaeya's hair back from his forehead, checking the uncommon warmth pouring off him. His breaths are shallow and hot and no matter how much Diluc calls and shakes him, he will not wake.
Diluc refuses to dwell on the stack of hours ahead of them before he can carry Kaeya to the edge of Wolvendom, to the area he hopes will be occupied with help from the winery, come the crack of dawn.
Instead, he calmly sits under the rickety little box of sticks and thatch he's made and hums under his breath as he gently rocks Kaeya. The tune is one their father used to hum, whenever he painted by the fireplace in the evening or when he sat with them on bright summer nights, to watch the stars come up over the fruits of the heavy-laden vines. It is a tune that both Diluc and Kaeya, had grown to associate with home.
During the darkest part of the night, as Diluc's exhaustion and anxiety over Kaeya's continued unconsciousness grows, he hears the telling sounds of a roaming band of hilichurls, approaching from not too far in the distance.
He's been confident thus far, that he would be able to hold back any threat they may have encounter in the forest until now, but with Kaeya so completely vulnerable right now. Diluc isn't sure he can keep him completely safe anymore if he has to leave his side. If the coming group of hilichurls, is too large or includes archers or samachurls, one of them getting past him to target Kaeya is highly likely.
Diluc silently hopes that the group of them move on, but knows there is hardly a chance of that when the smell of blood hangs in the air so thickly. He silently clutches Kaeya more tightly to his chest, his burning brow pressed against the material of Diluc's soiled white shirt.
The noisy grunts of rowdy hilichurls looking for trouble, drifts closer, until Diluc is certain he is going to have to shield Kaeya as best he can and lead the pack of them away. Just then, the sudden growling of wolves joins the fray.
It is the sound of natural wolves, but still dangerous. Diluc remains on edge. But it quickly becomes apparent that the wolves are attacking the hilichurls. Diluc stays alert and weary, but hopeful that they may escape this misfortune.
The sound of the scuffle grows louder and closer until at one moment, the sound of a body crashing into the ground just beyond the clump of trees that have served to hide them from view, causes Diluc to startle and stare out into the darkness beyond their meager fire. But he sees no one and the rest of the sounds of the fight die down soon after.
Diluc sighs and looks back at the two great trees that have marked the main opening into their safe haven and suddenly goes still. A large white wolf stands between the trees watching him with serious, inky black eyes.
The wolf is huge and imposing, but it does not advance on him in the slightest. It only watches for a time, until a sort of understanding comes over Diluc and he quietly thanks it.
The wolf watches him a moment longer before leaving just as silently as it had approached. Diluc releases a heavy sigh and looks down at Kaeya's limp silent form.
He relaxes the tight grip he had on him, letting Kaeya sag away from his body a bit, his head tilting to one side. Diluc moves his arm out of the way as well, so he can pull away Kaeya's shirt to check that the wound has not started to bleed again through the meager bandaging, but it seems to be holding.
He gathers him close to his chest again and hovers a hand over his partly open mouth, judging the shallow quality of the breaths coming from him. They're rapid and weak.
Diluc feeds him a bit more of the water from the canteen and covers him with his own coat. Then he settles them both for the last of the wait until first light.
___________________________________________
Diluc jolts awake, in sync with the dawn as he has been all his life. He hurriedly looks down at Kaeya, still clutched to him, and checks his vital signs again. His temperature is much cooler than it had been a couple hours ago and a sheen of sweat is visible on his brow. It would appear his fever has broken. In fact, he seems quite cold, with a clammy feeling to the skin.
He checks his pulse again and finds it weaker than he expected and very rapid.
Diluc whispers to him to hang on, before leaving the confines of their shelter to scope out the area again. The sun is only just beginning to make itself known, a sliver coming up over the silhouette of Starsnatch cliff in the distance. But there is enough light to begin to see by, which means enough light to make it to the rendezvous point.
Diluc heads back and prepares to take Kaeya and leave this cursed place, praying that Scarlett delivered the message as intended, that Adelinde was awake to receive it, that its not too late and that Kaeya will not only survive this, but also make a full recovery. They've made it through the night but the worst may be yet to come.
He stoops down next to Kaeya and gently levers him into a sitting position. Then he gathers Kaeya's hands into his lap to keep them from dangling when Diluc begins to move quickly. Kaeya remains completely limp, his hair falling in sweaty clumps into his face. Finally, Diluc slides his other hand under Kaeya's knees and lifts.
They set out beyond the small circle of trees toward home.
Although the sun is steadily lightening the twilight sky, the going is still treacherous and Diluc stumbles a few times trying to move quickly, Even once falling to one knee to keep from dropping Kaeya and aggravating his wound. Its not even because he's heavy, because Diluc's claymore weighs close to the same amount. Wielding such a beast of a weapon means Kaeya's weight is not difficult to bear.
The problem is, with his arms occupied and with the frantic pace Diluc set for himself, its hard to compensate for the uneven terrain and the patches of dense darkness within the trees. But he presses on just as quickly, loathe to prolong the journey anymore than he has to.
Even throughout the travel difficulties, Kaeya stays alarmingly still. No sound, no movement, not even a groan of pain. The insistent, complete lack of awareness, weights heavily on Diluc's soul. A voice continually whispers to him, that it's because he's too late. All his promises have come too late. Kaeya is as good as dead.
Diluc has to refrain from spending an inordinate amount of time checking that his heart is still pumping.
It takes nearly an hour to reach the cliff edge of Wolvendom overlooking the winery. But he is greeted by the first decidedly good sign in this whole dreadful ordeal. His message was received.
Below him in the valley, set up with a cart, ropes, bedding and other supplies, are five employees from the winery. Strong men who have tended the fields and grounds of the estate since long before his father died, all on standby to help him. Diluc nearly staggers back with relief. He gratefully greets them with a shout and asks if everything is as he asked.
Braxton, his chief grounds man, a steady reliable man who has been with the household since both Diluc and Kaeya were children, shouts back in answer. "Both the Deaconess and the Acting Grand Master are waiting for you both at the house, well prepared."
Diluc breaths a sigh of relief. He glances at Kaeya, silently urging him to hold out a bit longer. The pallor of his skin is deadly without the flush of fever to add any color to it and he is very cold to the touch. Diluc studiously ignores the voice that whispers to him that it's too late. He addresses his men again.
"I'm going to dismount my blade to off set Kaeya's weight and glide down, hopefully all goes well and we can head home immediately, but I expect there may be some difficulties."
Braxton steps closer to the valley wall assessing Diluc's plan, "Why not land on this outcropping first instead of making the full jump?" He suggests "It will be a shorter, safer fall and we will be able to help you as soon as you land; From there the wall is not as sheer."
Diluc notes that what he says is true. The jump will be hard already, anything that can make it easier is much appreciated. He nods and crouches down to rest Kaeya on the ground and prepare for the jump.
"It is as you say." He materializes his blade into his now free right hand."I'll land there and then make my way down again."
He lets the claymore drop. The slanted point of the red and black blade sinks a full twelve inches into the soil of the sizable platform in the side of the otherwise sheer cliff wall. The man who comes up to move it out of the way has to struggle to handle it.
Diluc steels himself for the jump, double checking that he has made no errors in calculation, that there is no gross over estimation of his capabilities and that he will be able to deploy the glider within a fraction of a second of meeting air. He steps back from the edge two steps and calls out that he is ready. Then he rushes into the void.
Diluc prays that he can get enough air to keep from drifting back into the cliff face. But a different problem arises immediately after jumping.
The cord to release the mechanism that opens the glider jams. He is momentarily unable to pull the cord and the ground rushes up to meet him mercilessly. He hears a high-pitched scream from below.
A split second later, it unjams and the sudden drag jolts him so hard, he partially loses his grip on Kaeya. He over compensates trying to hold on and with so much of the drop lost to sheer falling, Diluc is unable to even out with out hitting the cliff face painfully while landing. He winches but refrains from crying out.
Two of his men immediately climb up to the small section of ground and carefully take Kaeya from him. Diluc doesn't completely realize what's happening for a few moments, as he sits quietly trying to gather his wits about him after the mild blow to the head.
"You're alright lad," Braxton bellows up to him from down in the valley proper. "We've got the both of you now." As the two men carefully pass Kaeya down to the others below, Diluc gathers himself and gets somewhat unsteadily to his feet. "Please be careful, he's lost a lot of blood". He tells them.
"Understood," Braxton calls back to him. The older man turns to his young son who had tagged along, as he hears Diluc opening his glider much more smoothly for the next descent. The young boy looks up at his father with wide frightened eyes.
"I need your swift feet today my boy." Braxton tells him "Don't worry about Master Diluc, he's fine. But I need you to run back to the house as fast as you can and tell Ms. Adelinde and the Deaconess, that Master Kaeya is in a very bad way. They must be prepared for the worst. We will be behind shortly." The child nods solemnly and takes off through the rest of the valley at a dead sprint.
Turning back to the commotion, he is just in time to receive Kaeya's prone form. Behind him Diluc drops the last few feet to the ground and hurries over. Braxton wheels the cart as close as possible and comes around to help maneuver Kaeya into the wagon without further injury and lays him on the collection of bedding they collected. He sucks in a breath when he gets a close-up look of the state Kaeya is in.
He has watched both of these boys grow up. He remembers the day Master Crepus found Kaeya pathetically wet and bedraggled, standing just beyond the boundary of the vineyard in the dark. He has watched sadly as the once inseparable brothers, parted ways after their father's death.
Kaeya had been no less loved for having been adopted, nor even for his sometimes strange, eccentric ways, and it was saddening to watch him leave for good.
Braxton has not seen Kaeya properly in years, only across the street or in the midst of conversation with someone else. He seems to have done well for himself, but seeing him here now, more dead than alive, blood smeared on his hands and face and so much, too much, on his clothes, is heartbreaking.
Braxton gently covers him with one of the woolen blankets they brought as soon as the other two men finish depositing him amongst the blankets that had been lain in the cart for padding.
Diluc watches on, worry etched across his face. He holds his shoulder stiffly, favoring his left side.
Braxton frowns when he notices. "Master Diluc, were you hurt in that collision just then?"
Diluc watches pensively as the men hurry to double check the harnesses and shut the gate of the wagon. He shakes his head. "I'm fine Braxton, thank you." He reluctantly draws his gaze away from his brother and the preparations to rush him back to the manor. He meets the eye of one of the oldest members of his household with earnest gratitude. "Thank you for getting here when you did."
Braxton nods solemnly getting to the front of the wagon to ride and drive the horses, he softly squeezes Diluc's shoulder as he passes. "Of course, sir." He climbs up into the driver's box. "Let's get him home then."
Diluc nods, face stern and closed off, a trait Braxton first observed the day after the previous master of the house had died. It is very common nowadays.
Diluc says nothing more, climbing into the wagon just as Braxton pulls off with one other man in the seat next to him. The pace is a fast trot before easing into a gallop. Diluc hovers over Kaeya, hand on his brother's chest the whole time.