"Well, here we are, folks." Beth glanced back at us as the doors of the transport wagon opened on their own, "Enjoy your stay, and thanks for the tip."
"Waaahhh..." I gawked at the nostalgic gates.
"Sir?" Beth lightly laughed at my amazed reaction.
"Lune?" Cecily too woke me up from the trance, "Hey, we can't leave until you do, y'know. You're the closest to the door."
"A-Ah, right!" I quickly shook it off before jumping out of the wagon, "But can you blame me? This place, it's just the same as it was two decades ago!"
"Hrmph..." Dad grunted a bit, "No the hell it's not. There's no way it's the same."
Yeah, you say that, but I'll bet if we had cameras back then and snapped a picture of that time, we could definitely just put it in front of us and compare the two without issue. That's how identical Whitehood is from back when I was still living here. A village off to the side, completely enshrouded in thick trees to the point where you'd rule it off as a national park, untouched by man. The bazaar that's a bit separated from the main housing areas, the large and crumbling stone walls which I used to consider ginormous now barely even feels like a fence. Seriously, who were they trying to keep out, gnomes, gnelves, gnoblins?
"Livestock, dear." Cecily noticed me staring at the stone walls, "Those walls are to keep the livestock in, not people out."
"How'd you know I was thinking about that!?" I jumped before inspecting her Iris, "You ARE a Yellow Iro, right? Y'know, Yellow and Brown are quite similar shades when put under a light source..."
"Ahem." Dad had us not dawdle for too long, "Pick up the pace."
Sighing at him as he turned his back to us and kept moving, my mother couldn't help but profusely apologize at almost every step of the way since we left the restaurant. Seriously, it's not your fault, ma. I'll admit there's some fault in me for not being more amicable towards him, but no matter how you slice it, you're really not the object of our anger. Well, maybe Cecily's still a bit suspicious until we meet that Latham, but I believe you!
"Sorry about him. You know how grumpy he can get at times..." She looked down before adding onto our earlier exchange, "Oh, but that reminds me, Lune! What exactly IS your Iro?"
Overhearing her mention something he probably wanted to ask himself, but missed his chance to, dad also glanced back as if to listen in casually. That ass, I feel like he stopped being angry ages ago, but his pride is stopping him from just calming down. Eh, he's the one embarrassing himself, not me, so I'll act like I haven't noticed yet.
"Oh, I died in the war and got these sick Rainbow Eyes when I revived." Is what I wanted to say, but the fact that such a story is totally unbelievable held me back in time.
Really, how do I even begin to explain it? I left Whitehood in pursuit of change, and change I got in the form of my Iro converting... multiple times, too. Obviously, someone converting from one Iro to another isn't anything unusual. It happens all the time, though usually only once or twice for any one person. I guess you could say I was the anomaly in that scenario. But then, they don't know I'm practically good friends with a God, nor that Cecily and the gang quite literally went to the top of the Southern Peak just to meet all the Gods and wish for my revival. But then, if they're not gonna trust my words, whose would they...?
"T-The doctor." I squirmed as I made up a lie on the spot, "Yeah, I totally forgot to mention that, sorry."
"What doctor?" Cecily asked in a quiet whisper.
"Shh! I got this!" I whispered back before returning to lying to my parents, "Yeah so, you know how my Iro never converted as a kid?"
"Yes?" Mom raised an Eyebrow.
"Well, about a couple years back, my Iros just sort of went Rainbow like this on their own one day. Worried, Ed and I ran to this one doctor who is rumored to specialize in Iro conditions."
"A doctor that specializes in Iro conditions?" Dad looked mildly interested by this point, "There's no way such a person exists. You boys probably got scammed."
"How rude, we never get scammed!" I sprinkled in an extra lie, figuring why not as I continued my story, "But nonetheless, the doctor said it's actually pretty common in people whose Iro never converted for more than 2 decades."
By this point, Cecily was really trying her best to hold back from laughing and giving me away, with Cene giving me a confused side-Eye. Looks like even he knows I'm not telling the truth. Obviously, there's no such doctor, and that isn't the reason why my Iro turned Rainbow. But I know my parents, they trust no one but the doctor. Hell, I remember one time I got sick and they immediately started packing their stuff to take me all the way to Haggles to get me treated by a medical professional. I hated the idea, and by the time we made it there, I was already fine and dandy, yet they still wouldn't believe me until the doctor said so. We ended up wasting that entire day walking to and from Haggles for no reason at all just because of that belief of theirs. That's why I know they'll believe me this time!
"So you never once converted all this time?" Dad raised an Eyebrow, "And your Eyes just... started corroding into that Rainbow color?"
"Uhh, yeah." I nodded as Cecily practically wept from the hilarity, "That's one way of looking at it."
It seems like talking about my Iro naturally revived the conversation between my parents and us. It led to the next topic of Cecily's Yellow and Cene's Green Iro, but sadly the stories ended when we got to my parents, who are both proud owners of Brown Iros. It was around this time that we had made it to my old house, still untouched even after the war, and opening the door, we found...!
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
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"Latham, come down here this...!" Dad hollered as a bucket of water fell from the creaked open front door, dousing him completely in well water, "Augh, shi-! Ugh, Latham!"
"Bahahahahaha!" A kid that looked to be no more than 13 jumped out to point and laugh before his face grew sour, "Aww, the guests didn't get splashed? Lame..."
"You're Latham?" I pointed to him, "I don't care who you are or what connection you have with my parents, but if even a single drop of water fell on Cecily or Cene, you'd get your ass handed to you."
"Eh?" He realized something I didn't before growing livid, "Wait, those names, you're-!? W-What the hell is he doing here!? You two, explain yourselves!"
"Do we know you?" Cecily tilted her head a bit.
"Shut up, hag!" He insulted her just like that, "I didn't ask you, I asked mom and dad why the hell this guy is in front of my Eyes right now!"
"Eh?" We stood there shocked, "H-Hold on, why are YOU calling my parents mom and dad...?"
"Sigh, this is what we wanted to tell you, Lune." Mom gently grasped dad's hand for reassurance as she revealed to me, "You actually have a younger brother."
"H-Huh?"
"He's 13 now, so he was born sometime when you were 16." Dad added, "I get you boys are shocked and confused right now, but... Please learn to get along."
"This kid...?" I looked back at the annoying brat that kept sticking his tongue out, "...is my brother?"
"Dammit, didn't you get the letter?" He crossed his arms angrily, "You left mom and dad without a care in the world and never bothered to come back, so what made you think we would care in return!?"
"So you were the one that wrote that letter...!" Cecily couldn't believe her ears.
"Yeah, and you were supposed to heed it!" He shouted, "You ruined mom and dad's life, y'know?! As far as I'm concerned, you have no right to call yourself a Grimheart, and frankly - Reading our last name stand annoyingly right next to your stupid names made me sick to my stomach!"
So this is what they were hiding. While on the hunt for me, they must've had Latham. Dammit, this is kinda annoying me now! Just what the hell does this tyke know about me and my parents' relationship?! You mean to tell me an asshole who douses his parents and guests with water as a cheap prank before mockingly pointing his fingers at us is related to me? I'd rather die again than ever accept him!
"Latham, you've got it all wrong." Mother tried calming him down, "Lune did leave us, but we never once considered his actions life ruining."
"Yeah right, and all those nights you'd spend crying over him!?" He revealed, "Or how about how dad always got quiet and sad whenever I asked about my older brother, huh?"
"....."
"It's only when you forget about him that we actually resemble a normal, happy family..." He sulked before suddenly running away, "Ngh! You better leave as soon as possible, or I'll kick you out myself!"
"Latham!" Mom cried out for him.
"Nah, let him be." I sighed, "But man, I got a brother, huh?"
"Daddy, that kid called mommy a bad wowd." Cene looked furious, "I wanna hit him!"
"Don't worry about it, Cene. I didn't take it to heart." Cecily consoled him, "But this is quite the surprise nonetheless. I was always on good terms with my brother, so I don't really know how to help you in this situation, Lune."
"Help? What for?" I shrugged, "The brat said it himself. He doesn't like me, and frankly neither do I. Besides, I didn't come here for him."
"Lune, please don't say that." Even dad was defending the kid, "Latham's a good-well, a decent kid. He just misunderstood you, that's all. Please, if not for him, then for us, try to spend some time getting to know him while you're here."
"So even you can't bring yourself to admit he's a good kid." I smirked.
"Yeah, well. He's kind of a mischievous prankster..." Dad smiled as he scratched his rugged beard, "As you can clearly see from my drenched clothes."
As everyone laughed at his little witty remark, there was just one thought on my mind - Dad's face is weird. It's oddly contorted, or rather - He's laughing. He's laughing, but... honestly. Nothing like the countless times he's laughed before when I was a kid. Once again, those words of my younger brother popped into mind: "It's only when you forget about him that we actually resemble a normal, happy family..."
"Then, I'll try and get along with him for the next couple of days." I ultimately gave in to their demands.
"That smirk you just can't help but show isn't making you sound all that convincing, dear." Cecily giggled.
"Well, he DID insult my dear wife in front of my face. I'll be nice, but that doesn't excuse him fully." I smiled mischievously, "They say the best way to befriend someone is to dabble in their hobbies, so all I'm gonna do is pull a few pranks back."
"Lune, cheh..." Dad had a mix of both anticipation and dread on his face, "Don't go too far. Just enough to give him a taste of his own medicine."
"You're condoning your sons to start a full on prank war?" Cecily raised an Eyebrow.
"Well, can't say I wouldn't like to see that snarky boy get knocked down a peg or two." Dad chuckled, "And besides, pranks are, at the end of the day, something to laugh and bond over. If I get to witness the day my boys can laugh together over their little acts of tomfoolery, then I'm all for it."
Couldn't have said it better myself, pops! Then, little bro, prepare for a full on assault, cause this general from the dead is officially declaring a prank war on your ass! I can't wait to see who has the last laugh...!