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"Caleb, Caleb, Caleb!" Both of Caleb's brown eyes slowly blinked open as he heard the chipper voice of his baby brother calling his name and felt his little hands roughly shake him.
"Caleb, Caleb, Caleb!" Little Philip continued to chant.
It was apparent that the smaller boy was excited about something.
Pulling himself upright, the blonde was greeted with an enthusiastic smile that rivaled the radiance of the orange-red glow of the sun.
"Yes, Pip?" he asked, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.
"A witch hunt is happening outside!" Philip replied in a zestful manner, directing a pointer finger toward the window.
Shifting his gaze outside, Caleb observed a handful of locals heading in the direction of the woods, some of whom were holding their pitchforks high in the air.
"We have to take part in it!" Philip tried to persuade in a heroic tone as he went over to the pillow on his bed and reached his hand under it, pulling out a stick.
"It's our sole duty as witch hunters to do so!"
He raised his twig high in the air with a sense of triumph.
Caleb, still half asleep, gave his brother a sleepy smile and sighed.
"Pip, it's a bit too early, don't you think?" he asked.
"It's never too early for witch hunting, Caleb," Philip happily argued.
"How about we go in the afternoon? I'm sure there will be another hunt happening by then."
After a yawn, Caleb readjusted himself and tried to drift back to sleep, but Philip wouldn't allow that.
"Caleb, don't be a sleepyhead! We have to go now!" Philip whined as he grabbed his brother's arm and managed to roughly yank him out of bed before darting out the door with him.
The older child uttered out a sudden squeak as he was taken aback by the younger's action and exclaimed, "H-Hey! Pip, we need to change out of our sleepwear first before going out!"
...
Philip, now a teenager, slept peacefully beneath the warmth of his cozy blanket as the rooster from outside greeted the break of dawn with a resounding crow, signaling the beginning of a new day.
He had recently purchased Matthew Hopkins' latest autobiography book with the money he earned from helping out at the stables titled, "The Ways of a Witch Hunter", and it was clutched to his side.
Suddenly, the bedroom door swings open swiftly.
"Philip!" Caleb beamed loudly as he entered the room and grinned ear to ear.
The brunette rose up from his rest with a tremendous jerk.
"What?!" he asked, his tone alarmed.
The blonde took note of the hardcover that Philip held tightly in his hands and blinked.
"Wait, you... sleep with a book?" Caleb pointed out with a confused expression.
Blue eyes swiftly glanced down at the hardback book before returning to look at Caleb.
A vexing frown slowly developed on the brunette's face as he tucked his book under his pillow while grumbling something under his breath.
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he sighed. "What is it, Caleb?" he groaned.
Caleb gave a smile at the unenthused expression on Philip's face and said, "I wanted both of us to be present during the witch hunt that's taking place outside."
A small group of locals were heading into the woods, some armed with pitchforks.
Philip let out a second groan.
"Caleb, let me sleep," Philip voiced in a mumbled, tired tone. "It's too early."
"It's never too early for witch hunting, Philip," Caleb happily stated. "You used to always say that!"
Philip could only roll his eyes.
"Yeah, when I was eight," he grumbled, returning his head to his pillow and shutting his eyes.
After letting out a sad sigh, Caleb soon smiled with amusement.
"Oh, Philip," the blonde began in a playful rhythmic tone.
"If you continue to lie in bed, you're granting me complete permission to pick you up and take you witch hunting with me."
Philip remained in bed, making an effort to ignore his brother.
"Very well, then," Caleb laughed as he approached the side of Philip's bed, effortlessly lifting him up and throwing him over his shoulder like a heavy sack.
"Let's get going!"
"HEY!" Philip yells as Caleb departs from the room with him. "What do you think you're doing, Caleb!?"
"I've already given you a heads up on what I was going to do, Philip," Caleb chuckled.
"PUT ME DOWN!" Philip demanded, kicking and screaming, but Caleb only continued to smile, humming a lively ditty.
"You are so immature! I hope the devil drags you to his chambers for this! ... AT THE VERY LEAST, LET ME CHANGE FIRST!"