Snowman’s Luggage: Diluc ~ Friday 12/17/4162

Diluc sneezed, tucking his nose into the crook of his arm. He pulled his backpack from his shoulder. Stretching onto his toes and with one hand to hang it on the hook his parents had assigned him. He shrugged out of his overcoat and neatly hung it over his pack. He tread from the boot room, barely able to contain his excitement. This was the first snow day they’d had since mum passed last year. He’d gotten all the way to the foyer when he heard the melancholy notes of Crepus’ guitar lilting down the stairs. It brought him to a pause for only a brief moment when the sound of movement in the study pulled him back to task. He happily trotted to the door, and knocked twice as he exclaimed.

“Da! Da, it’s snow day! There’s no class at the academy today! Do you want to come outside? We can Build a snow fort again like last year!” He was beaming as brightly and convincingly as possible. Da had been in a terrible state since mum had passed. But today was going to be the day he changed that. He refused to let his beloved da, the strongest and bravest lycanbuck in the world, sit inside sad and lonely.

There was a soft shuffling and Diluc pushed open the heavy oak door to peek inside. Shuffling his way was the elderly maid, a sweet natured leobuck who’s knees creaked and gave her away when she was around corners. 

“Oh! Hullo, Diluc dear. Did you say something, love?” Her thick accent was usually welcoming. But it did little to suppress the amount of wilting in Diluc’s posture.

“Hello, Lottie. Is Da home? It’s a snow day…” Diluc’s excitement withered till the sentence fell away as the elderly doe gave him a  sad smile.

“I’m sorry, poppet. Your father had to step out to tend some very important matters. Would you fancy a cuppa?” She tried very hard to be cheerful for him. Diluc always appreciated that about her.

“Yes please.” He let her guide him from his father’s study with a gentle hand on his shoulders and left him in the parlor while she fetched the tea tray and kettle.

He tried not to sulk, really he did. His mum had taught him that sulking wasn’t a helpful way to sort out one’s emotions. But Da and Creep sulked a lot. And it felt like it was only right for it to be his turn. He sat on the floor, arms crossed under his chin on the window seat gazing outside. There were children all out and about on the streets. Laughing, playing and carrying on. Parents in tow, held tight by tiny mittened hands. Diluc cruel his striped tail around his side and chomped down hard on a sob that threatened to push through his fragile composure. 

“Tea’s getting cold, Tweedle Dee.” Came a raspy voice from behind that made Diluc jump.

He whipped around, brows furrowed as menacing as possible.

Crepus raised his brows a second before he let out a sputtering laugh. “What’s with that face? You look like you’re going to-” His chortling stopped as Diluc began to cry and bury his face in his knees. 

Lottie tottered in and berated the red haired teen with a feather duster. “Oh, now just look what you’ve done! Gone and made the poor lad cry, you goon.” She swatted him a final time. “I’ll go and fetch some biscuits, yeah?” She said as sweetly as she could to Diluc.

When she was out of earshot, and when Diluc had managed to gulp down a few breaths, he said, “I don’t want biscuits, I wanted to go build a fort with Da.”

“And? Why can’t you?”

“He’s not here.” Diluc shoved his face back into his knees.

“You could go and ask your friends-”

“They’re with their mums!”

“So build it yourself.”

“No!” Diluc’s tiny wines were muffled by his thick grey jumper.

Creep let out the most exasperated sigh, and slumped into the chair beside his brother. He picked up Diluc’s cup and sniffed the tea before taking a sip, wincing at the taste. “Eugh, how does an 8 year old like this stuff? There’s no sugar!”

Diluc poked his scrunched face up from his arms. “It’s how mum drank hers!”

Creep nodded his head. “Ah. Right.” 

They were quiet for a moment. Lottie gracefully set a tray of holiday biscuits before the two, harassing Crepus again with the duster which he tried to bite in retaliation.

“I just wanted to hear him laugh again.” Diluc said quietly.

Creep grabbed a pair of biscuits and stuffed one into his mouth, slapping the other onto his brother’s head inciting the response of a kick. The two batted back and forth with tails and paws, stopping when the ottoman was bumped and the tea set rattled, threatening to summon Lottie with a mess. They waited for the sound of her tell tale knee-creaking and when the moment passed and they didn’t hear it, they let themselves giggle and scarf down another biscuit.

“Da’s just busy.” Creep finally said. “He’s still trying to figure things out since mum died. He’s hurt. Give him time.”

“I’m hurt, too.” Diluc sounded so much smaller than an 8 year old as he admitted it. He shoved his palm into his eye to erase a tear.

“We all are.” Creep added quickly, trying to keep his younger brother from tearing up again. “You said you wanted to build a fort, yeah? Well, go do it! Dad can come home and be impressed with- oh c’mon why the face again?”

Diluc let his hands fall limp at his sides and paddled his paws. “Dustin Dulaney said he’s gonna break what I build, and he won’t if he sees da with me.”

Creep rolled his eyes. “Dustin Dulaney can go lick a dumpster. Or his sister, ‘bout the same thing."He elbowed his brother who he knew was trying not to laugh at the insult because it was ‘impolite’.

“Will you come with me?” Diluc squeaked. He’d never asked his brother to do much of anything with him. The two hardly interacted except to fight or quarrel over mundane things.

Crepus regarded Diluc, his blue eyes searching his brother’s for something and he sighed. “I dunno’...”

“It’s ok if you don’t want to.” Diluc replied. “I know I'm annoying.”

Crepus didn’t reply. Diluc was aware he also didn’t object. 

Dee sat his teacup on the saucer and stood up. He brushed the crumbs from his hair and jumper before picking up the tea tray. “Thank you for talking with me though. I know you’re busy too.” He totted off into the next room, leaving his brother sitting in the chair staring off into the distance.

Hours later, as Diluc lay on the floor of his bedroom staring at his ceiling a loud thud broke the silence. He snapped up, another thud echoing from somewhere above. Muffled curses from the hallway drew him to his door and he creaked it open a smidge to peer out.

Crepus stepped backwards down the pull-down ladder to the attic hauling a large trunk with him. He managed to ease its descent enough that when it landed on the floor with a heavy wallop, it didn’t burst open. Creep stretched his arms above his back and twisted. In doing so, he caught Diluc’s gaze. Dee closed his door and braced his back against it, waiting for his brother to inevitably shove him aside and berate him for spying again.

Instead, when Crepus came to the door, he made a hearty knock and invited him out. “C’mere! I want to show you something!”

Diluc was suspicious. But his curiosity urged him out the door and into the hall anyway.

Crepus beckoned him to the trunk. Inside were a pair of old-world style sleds made of wood and rope, and a collection of bits and baubles he couldn’t make sense of. A hat, scarf and black rocks that filled his palm. 

“It's the snowman’s luggage.” Creep said, attempting a voice full of mystery and awe. It made Diluc feel too much like a baby.

“It’s a junk trunk, Crepus.” Diluc rolled his eyes.

“No. It’s the Snowman’s luggage. Let's go take it to him.” Creep ruffled the curly black hair between his brother’s budding red horns.

Diluc swatted at him. “What?”

“Go get your jumper and meet me in the boot room!” Creep grinned and closed the trunk, heaving it up onto his hip with considerable effort.

Diluc scurried into his room and pulled on his jumper before scampering down the stairs after his big brother. He slid into the boot room, still confused as to what Creep’s big idea was, but followed him in donning his overcoat, boots and hat. He made for the door when Creep caught him by the hood. 

“Gloves, wee man.”

Diluc shoved his hands into his pockets.

“Mom said you can’t go out without gloves, remember?”

Diluc pulled the red and grey mittens Lottie and knitted for him from his pack and shoved them on his hands. Holding them up for his brother’s approval.

Creep laughed, and wrapped his scarf around his neck, pulling it under his chin and knotting it like Da always did. Diluc impatiently doing little ‘tippy-taps’ as mum would call them, on the tile floor.

“Ok, let’s go.” Creep reached over Diluc’s head and opened the door, releasing his younger brother out into the 2 feet of snow at the bottom of the steps.

“So, what are we doing?” Diluc asked as he made a little heart shape in the snow with his shuffling feet.

“Well, first, we need to build our guests!” Creep announced with the cadence of an actor. “Fetch me his head! I’ll make the body!”

“On it!” Diluc answered.

The two saluted each other and set to work. By the time Diluc had a decent sized head, similar in size to his own, Creep had already rolled the largest body segment and was onto the middle. He set the head beside the other ball and stole the middle piece from Creep, who let out a gasp and chased him around the yard. When they finally assembled 2 towers of blobby, person shaped snow, Creep turned to the trunk.

“Now, we have to give them faces! We can do the fashion show last.”

They dug through the trunk, grabbing handfuls of supplies. Diluc’s snowman ended up with cats-eye marbles for his eyes and a row of buttons for a mouth. Creepus had made his from a pair of black rocks, an old red clown nose and a length of ribbon to form the mouth. Despite the cold seeping through the wool mittens, Diluc giggled away, adding bits of straw to the top of his snowman’s head for hair. Creep scavenged the hedges of their tamed garden for twigs and branches that would make suitable arms. A broken bike chain necklace here, an old tablecloth for a cape there, and soon the two brother’s stood proudly before what could only be described as the most horrendous looking snowmen on the block.

‘Well, I think we earned ourselves a treat don’t you?” He cuffed his brother’s shoulder.

Diluc made for the door. “Yes! Let’s see if Lottie has any biscuits left!”

Creep laughed, scooping Diluc up by the middle and tossing him over his shoulder. “No way! I want a real treat!” He said, spinning in a circle while Dee kicked gleefully. “I was thinking Callaway’s for some cocoa, you fancy that?”

“Really?!” Diluc’s shrill voice squeaked in excitement. “You never take me to town!”

Creep righted him and let him plummet to the snow ground. He shrugged and stepped over him in his path to the sidewalk. “Yeah well, unless you want that to stay you’d better hurry up!”

“You’re the one who put me here, you muppet!” Diluc cried.

“Grab the sleds!” Creep called back.

Diluc dove for the wooden sleds and bolted after him, latching onto Creep’s arm and playfully attempting to gnaw it off.

They settled down as the neighbors shoveling their paths gave them curious looks. And Diluc fell into line beside Crepus. He regarded his brother closely, still unsure of what caused this sudden change of heart. Maybe he was bored of being in his room all day. It didn’t matter. Because right now, Crepus was walking beside him, a confident 18 year old who’s black horns had fully fledged, his thick red hair sneaking down to his shoulder blades. Diluc would never admit he thought his brother was cool. He wanted to be like him one day, and cool people didn’t need to tell other cool people they were cool. Diluc tried to imitate his brother’s walk, focusing a little too much on the way his hips and shoulders swayed and almost losing balance. Creep steaded him.

“What are you doing?” He asked.

“Trying to figure out how you do that?” Dee answered.

“Do… what?” Creep raised a brow skyward.

“That!” De gestured to all of him as he began to walk again.

“Walk? Wee man, you were doing just fine before you tried to be a goose.” 

Dee scoffed. “No, I mean- you make walking look…” Oh no he was going to have to prove he was lame. “Cool? I dunno.” He shrugged, giving up.

Creep bellowed a hearty laugh. “You think I make walking look cool?” He asked it in a disbelieving tone.

Diluc was too embarrassed to do more than nod.

“I think it’s the coat.” Creep said casually. “Dress to impress and all.”

“Yeah.” Diluc replied.

Across the road from Callaway’s Cafe was a park. Laughter and music drifted with the snow from the small lake the RavenHurst Community Center had turned into an ice rink. As they exited the cafe, Creep let the door jingle behind them. Diluc held his hot cocoa in both hands, relishing the warmth. Crepus noticed his gaze and nodded. 

“Let's go check it out.”

“No. It’s ok.” Diluc hesitated, pushing his back against his brother’s side. 

“Oh come off it. You’ve been staring at the park the entire time we were in there.”

“I don’t want to.” Diluc looked down.

Creep put a and on his hip and squinted as he double checked the crowd. “Ah. Dustin’s over there, huh?”

Diuc nodded.

“Well, I’m not letting a knob like him ruin our fun. Stick with me, wee man. He’ll leave you be.” Creep gave his baby brother a wink and started off. Diluc followed along nervously.

The crowds at the park thickened the closer they came to the ice rink and the open grassy fields. They stopped by a group of teens that recognized Creep and hailed him over. Diluc stood, looking longingly up at the tall hill, torn between his cocoa, his brother’s side and the urge to dive down that miniature mountain at full speed.

“Who’s the twerp?” came the scratchy voice of one of the ‘bucks. 

“This is Diluc, my baby brother.”

“I didn’t know you had a brother.” One of them gasped.

Creep shrugged casually. “I am a mystery to behold. Anyway, I’ll catch you later. That hill has the Eigengrau name all over it.” He motioned for Dee to follow as they waved in parting.

“You don’t tell people about me because you’re embarrassed, right?” Diuc asked as they marched up hill.

“I don’t tell people about us because they don’t really care.” Creep corrected. “They see our name and our house and our dad and only see what they can get out of it, bugger all about us.” He set down his sled, and made a show of acting like he was setting a trajectory.

“So, you don’t think I’m annoying?” Diluc piped up.

“Oh you’re definitely annoying. You’re my little brother. It’s like your whole job.”

“Creep, you know what I mean.” Diluc said, setting down on his sled and look over his shoulder.

“Nope!” Creep beamed and shoved Diluc’s back, sending him screaming down the hill. 

“Creep that wasn’t funny!” Dee shouted as his brother wiped out at the bottom, his white teeth gleaming behind his smile.

“No it was awesome! I bet I can make you go faster, though!”

Diluc couldn't resist the eager energy in Creep’s voice. He joined him in barreling up the hill again. He wasn’t sure if he was actually faster the next time, or the time after that, but he believed it. Other students from the primary academy Diluc attended had come up to ask them where they got their sleds, and Dee felt his heart swell with pride when he heard Creep say their grandfather had made them. Diluc had been a wall flower at school, always too shy to approach or ask to join a game, but here in the snow,he felt like he might actually fit in. His brother raced his friends, dodgin snowballs as they whipped them about. But despite the distraction, he never missed meeting Diluc at the top of the hill. They rinsed and repeated till the sun began to set and their faces were red from the wind and the snow. 

Diluc coughed into his sleeve, and Creep bent down to wrap his scarf around his neck, loosening the knot so Dee could tuck his nose into it for warmth. 

“Allright, Dee man, let’s get home for some dinner.” He led the way, his leather gloves clasped over Diluc’s soggy mittens.

“I wonder if Lottie made chili tonight.” Diluc pondered.

“I hope it’s cottage pie.” 

“Oh, that’s better actually.” Diluc agreed.

Halfway home Creep stopped to lift Diluc onto his back, trudging home with his brother and their sleds the rest of the way. They waved to their snowmen as they entered the yard. Kicking the snow off their boots on the stoop and peeling themselves out of their winter gear in the boot room. As they entered the foyer, their father stood at the stairs. One hand tight on his cane, the other folded behind his back and a stern glare bore into Creep.

Diluc could feel the tension the moment their eyes met and decided to insert himself first.

“Da! Da! Creep and I build snowmen. Did you see them?!”

Vesperias’ red eyes shifted to Diluc, expression softened but not by much. “I did. The attic is off limits, need I remind you both?”

Creep sighed but Diluc cut in, determined to let their father’s sour mood ruin the evening. “It was a snow day today! I wanted to build a fort with you but you weren’t home. So Creep hung out with me like, the whole day!”

This seemed to catch their father by surprise, gazing down at his youngest son. “Did you? Forgive me my absence.” He tossed a glance at Crepus. “I’m glad your brother was home to enjoy the time with you.”

“Yeah, it was so awesome! Is dinner ready? I’m so hungry!” Diluc grasped his father’s free hand and tugged him gently towards the dining room. “Let’s go sit! We can tell you all about it!”

Whatever upset his father was holding in melted, his shoulders relaxed and he allowed his youngest son to pull him from the stairway. He slowed only a moment to reach out and beckon his eldest, patting him on the back. “Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it” Creeps words were tight, but he offered what he could of a smile to his father.

They talked, for the first time in a long while, at the dinner table. Vesperias asking about their days. The boys answered. It felt good to be there together like this again. Diluc’s tail swept back and forth merrily, even Creepus seemed to smile at the retelling. All the while their father nodded and listened, chiming in here and there with his usual one or two word replies. Diluc wasn’t sure if this was a sign of change for their little family or not. Or, if maybe tomorrow things would go back to how they were. Sad. Lonely. But he wasn’t going to think about it tonight. Because tonight he was at home with his father and his brother, happy and warm. And tonight his father would pull down the old projector and slides of their grandfather in the days when humans still lived on the surface, and they’d see photos of how the skycity and Ravenhurst were built. They’d see the day he brought home the half-animal looking child that became their father. And Diluc would fall asleep by the fire, head on his brother’s arm as he two talked about everything and nothing. Because for tonight, they felt like a family again.