Chapter 3
The cane tapped against the ground as Crepus made his way through the manor, the black veins that had been marring his skin for the past two or three weeks finally faded. The exhaustion in his bones was less than it had been in years, but that was not a result of the Abyssal Scourge being cured.
No, the reason he was feeling so bright again was the fact that the evening before had not been a dream, not a fantasy.
It was real.
Diluc is home.
He doubts that the joy of the situation will ever fade, that the happiness will never lessen in abundance. Both his sons are home, safe and sound, and his eldest has been returned after four long years. Not all in one piece, missing a hand, an eye, and a leg, but home nonetheless.
It took checking Diluc's room nearly seven times that night for Crepus to sleep. To convince himself that this is real. It is.
It's real. It's real, his sons are home and-
Crepus sniffles, wiping the brimming tears from his eyes. This house doesn't need any more tear stains. But oh, he can't help it.
The only thing any parent ever wants is for their child to be safe. Crepus had always thought, all those years, that teaching Diluc how to fight would do that. Training Diluc to succeed where he had failed, to never live with the same regrets as Crepus. He thought that was protecting Diluc. Yet when he had lost his eldest son, his sweet child, Crepus thought that's what had done him in. That Diluc was gone because Crepus had pushed too hard.
Had Diluc finally had enough of Crepus pushing him? Had Crepus done it all selfishly, instead of trying to protect his boy?
Those were his thoughts. His regrets.
When the Abyssal Scourge took root, Crepus wondered if that was it. If he'd die, never having gotten the chance to apologise to his son. Crepus' biggest regret will always be how he failed his children as the father they needed. Perhaps if he'd paid more attention, he would have noticed how Diluc never had an interest in Jean. Perhaps Crepus wouldn't have pushed them to get together.
Maybe things would have turned out better. If he'd made Kaeya feel safer, would his son have been comfortable sharing the purpose behind his abandonment? If Crepus had been a better father, if he'd done more, would those problems that caused so much pain have been taken care of before they could develop?
...
There's no use dwelling on what-ifs, is there?
There rarely is.
Crepus will be better now. He's been trying his best for Kaeya these four years, and now he'll try even harder.
Both his sons are home.
And fuck if Crepus lets anyone harm them again.
"Amber, you have been avoiding me." The Spindrift Knight declared, arms crossed and gaze frosty as her Vision. Her mark, her most formidable target, stood before her with a smile and laugh. Eyes bright as her namesake, the Outrider was bouncing like a rabbit in place. Pyro melting the creeping ice that radiated from Eula.
The outcast of the Lawrence Clan had bags under her eyes, and a fresh cut on her lip from a battle the day before. The Abyss Order found it an opportune time to send forces to the city, after so many had succumbed to the foreign illness. Nothing difficult for the captain, and the wound was merely a lucky shot. Perhaps the Abyss Order assumed that one knight captain couldn't possibly be that much of a threat, and thus had sent a force barely stronger than usual.
But while Eula could claim her wound minor, she'd loathe to extend that luxury to Amber.
Fresh scars littered the girl's form, bandages and wounds taking up more space than clear skin. Eula could recognise spots where Amber must have cauterised herself, places where Jean's healing hadn't been enough, and pin-pricks where something acidic ate away at the skin. White strands of hair, intermingled with brown locks that were cut short messily. A shoddy job that Eula had seen a few times before, no doubt an arrowhead used for it.
The headband that once gave the impression of a rabbit's ears was beaten and torn, the wire that helped the bow stand up straight now pulling it down like drooping ears. Goggles that hung around her neck were cracked and smeared with ash. Patches of her clothes replaced with fabric robbed off fallen foes, no doubt.
"Ah, Eula-" Amber smiled, her eyes somehow bright as ever despite the horrors she must have witnessed in the Abyss. Brighter even, her Vision seeming to blaze fiercer than Eula had known it to in the past.
"Don't start," Eula huffed, moving her hands to her hips as she cut off the Outrider. "You returned in Mondstadt yesterday evening, did you not? Explain to me why I have not heard word of you checking in with the church then. Or, better yet, elaborate on why you've yet to return to your home and rest?" The Outrider laughed, taking a step back and continuing to smile. Though now it grew wary like the rabbit was prepared to hop away.
"I was catching up on my work! I know I haven't been gone that long-"
"Precisely. Your absence was short, Amber. I imagine the paperwork on your desk has already been dealt with." Eula narrowed her eyes. "Thus, you will come with me at once. I imagine a relaxing bath will do you well, and then you'll eat and rest. I will not hear any complaints,"
"...Meanie," Amber pouts, crossing her arms but following after Eula as the woman turns around. "I bet I avoided you longer than Jean avoided Lisa,"
A correct assumption, Eula is sure. She'd seen the librarian's trail of static the evening prior, marching towards the Acting Grandmaster's office after the Anemo wielder had given her the slip. If Jean had avoided her fate, it would be a miracle.
"Addy, I think that's enough pancakes-" Elzer tried to say, before getting one thrown at his face. It tasted good, at least, and he gave Adelinde a thumbs-up for her phenomenal cooking, as always. The woman was pacing around the kitchen, whisking a fresh batter while flipping what had been poured. numerous plates of pancakes were being brought out to the table, where Crepus currently sat with a steaming coffee. He shook his head at Elzer, knowing the man's current endeavour was futile.
"Elzer, I thought you were intelligent?" Adelinde tsked, plating another fluffy creation. "We'll be serving Master Kaeya and Master Crepus's large appetites, the appetite of Master Diluc's fiery companion - of which I'm sure is voracious, Master Diluc who I doubt has had a good meal in quite some time, and ourselves," Adelinde poured the fresh batter onto the pan.
"...I'll fetch another pitcher of grape juice,"