Chapter Text
The smell of rain hitting the soil entered his lungs as Olruggio took a deep breath to calm himself.
The final night of Silver Eve was almost cancelled to another day due to the pouring rain and the committee was frantically running up and down to settle things as the rain kept pouring. Fortunately, several clockmarks later, the rain stopped and the committee had announced that the fair was going to continue albeit a bit behind the schedule. After all, the most important event for the Silver Eve was the final night when the witches showed their best magic while doing it in a showmanship way. Since it was opened not only for nobles but also for commoners, everyone was waiting for it eagerly. Furthermore, it’s also a perfect debut for any witches who wanted to sell their contraptions to nobility and be set for life. And that’s the reason why Olruggio was standing in line to enter the window-way that would bring them into the main venue on the main street of Ezrest Capital. He knew he would never take any apprentice, so another way to make a living was to sell contraptions. This way, his magic could reach more people and help them without needing him to be present all the time.
“I know you can do it. Your magic has always been so kind and thoughtful so I think people will welcome it gladly.”
That’s what Qifrey had said to him this morning while squeezing his shoulder as they ate breakfast. He smiled proudly and confidently like he knew it would end well despite Olruggio’s anxiousness.
Olruggio was not in the mood to eat as anxiety chewed him inside out as the main event of the whole fair came closer. Seeing his anxious friend, Qifrey dragged him to a secluded area and shoved some food he had packed to Olruggio. The black-haired witch stared dumbly at the food and Qifrey chided him.
“How do you expect to perform well if you’re hungry? Food is important, Olruggio!"
Qifrey sat beside him while he’s eating the packed food. The white-haired teenager was complaining about accompanying Beldaruit to some important events as the older man was preparing to take the seat of Wise of Teaching. Olruggio was listening half-heartedly as he chewed the food that was obviously prepared by Qifrey himself.
As Olruggio ate and listened to Qifrey’s stories, he felt his anxiety lessened and his nerves eased. His stomach managed to process the food and he didn’t feel like throwing up anymore.
“Since you’re so secretive about your Silver Eve’s project, I can’t really give you an input. But whatever it is, I bet the people will love it! Your effort won’t betray you!”
Olruggio opened his eyes and exhaled one last time as the committee opened the window-way and gave him the sign to proceed.
The black-haired teenager ran and leaped into the window-way and the scenery changed into a crowded street of Ezrest Capital. He landed on the floating disk perfectly and it started moving slowly. Olruggio used the momentum to scan the crowd to look for his best friend but couldn’t find him. As expected, he wondered to himself. After all, Qifrey was not a huge fan of the crowd. He just hoped he could see him perform from wherever he was.
As the floating disk moved, Olruggio saw the checkpoint and drew a wind spell behind his robe. When he along with the floating disk passed it, Olruggio closed the circle and a gush of wind immediately extinguished the torch on the street. Since it’s already night by the time they made their performance, the moment the fire was extinguished, the street was plunged into darkness. He could hear the confusion and fear around him but that didn’t deter him as he threw some tiny sacks filled with rocks into the ground and the ground lit up in soft light.
The panicked crowd suddenly went still as they looked at the glowing tiles in front of them. Little kids crouched down and stretched their arms past the barrier to touch the nearby tile and it also lit up. Their faces illuminated with soft light that reflected the twinkle in their eyes. Soon the adults also did the same and were fascinated.
“With this we don’t really need a torch when we go out at night.”
“The kids can go to the bathroom by themselves with this. Honey, quick raise the flags!”
“The light is so pretty and warm.”
With all of those comments thrown at his creation, Olruggio grinned smugly as he scanned the crowd plunged into darkness and only illuminated by the glowing tiles. His eyes caught a blur of white among the front crowd crouching but since the floating disk was designed to move towards a specific destination, Olruggio couldn’t stop and looked for more.
When the floating disk stopped, Olruggio hopped down and saw the accumulated points he had gathered. It was massive. More than hundreds of people raised their flags including the royal family. His mentor trotted towards him and cried proudly saying something along the lines of the royal family had commissioned him to install those glowing tiles in some part of Ezrest Capital. The details would be discussed after the Silver Eve festival with the chancellor and the Wise of Friendship expected him to come along since it’s his creation.
Olruggio was happy. Very happy that his creation had attracted a lot of people. He couldn’t stop smiling ear to ear as his mentor praised him in front of other witches who congratulated him for his stellar debut. A witch with amber hair approached him and started to ask a few questions. Parchment floating in front of her as her right hand ready to document Olruggio’s answer. She introduced herself as someone from The Witchly Affair, a popular newsletter among witches. She started asking about his inspiration and method of coming up with the idea, in which Olruggio answered diplomatically with his difficulty navigating the Great Hall when he first came around from the surface since the Great Hall was very dark. Then the woman asked about the technicality of installing the tiles before the height of Silver Eve and Olruggio shared his experience. Olruggio ended the impromptu interview with a sincere wish for his creation to help more people find their way in the dark. After the interview, he was surrounded by his peers congratulating him and several older witches saying they’re looking forward to working with him in the future.
Euphoria filled his body as he navigated through the crowd. His mentor was still crying in the arms of another teacher wailing about how proud he was. But among all of the feelings he felt now, he longed for seeing a certain someone’s reaction. A certain someone that actually kickstarted the whole creation in the first place. The answer he had given to the witch journalist was the best he could think of on the spot without revealing his feelings to a certain white-haired witch. Yet.
When he finally could escape the cheering crowd of witches of colorful robes, Olruggio fixed his skewed hat and tidied up his messy hair before making his way towards the place that he had thought where Qifrey was.
Despite the late night, people were still swarming the street with their beloved and family. Witches and unknowing laughing and enjoying the rest of the festival. The torches that he had extinguished previously had been lit once again. Illuminating the dark city once again to continue with the festive. When Olruggio arrived at where he’s sure Qifrey was last seen, he’s bumped here and there by people who were passing through. The black-haired witch looked around and found no traces of his friend.
So Olruggio continued his way down the street where the festival was not so crowded. He had remembered the path since he had been installing the glowing tiles a month prior to the actual event. He ran and ran until the crowd around him was less suffocating and skidded to a halt when he saw a figure cladded in a smoke-colored robe tracing the glowing tiles that he didn’t remember was installed there. The figure was kneeling on the floor while pushing the stone lightly and the surrounding area immediately lit up with warm light. The orange-yellow hue from the light illuminated the figure, making the contrast between the darkness surrounding him and the light-colored robe he wore even more striking than usual.
“Qifrey!”
The figure cladded in the smoke-colored robe turned his head and beamed towards him as he stood up. The glowstone was now pressed by his foot instead. Glowing softly. “Olruggio!”
Olruggio was in the middle of jogging towards Qifrey when he slipped and fell first to the ground.
Qifrey gasped and made a beeline to help his friend. He laughed teasingly. “Is the adrenaline from the performance finally wearing off and leaving you weak at the knees now?”
Olruggio nursed his head as Qifrey took out his handkerchief and handed it to him. The black-haired witch took it and cleaned his face with it. He could smell a hint of mountain apple scent on it.
“Maybe.”
No, it’s actually not because of the adrenaline. Instead it was because he was caught off-guard by the glowing tiles and the torches around them making Qifrey look ethereally glowing in soft lights. Combined with his white hair and blue aquamarine eye beaming at him, Olruggio’s heart skipped a beat and his mind went blank at the same time. Making him a fool in front of Qifrey. Fortunately he didn’t hit his head hard enough to have a nosebleed because it would be more embarrassing that way.
But since Olruggio was not ready to admit his feelings, fearing it would change their relationship. Olruggio just kept his feelings hidden in the deepest part of his heart until Qifrey’s ready. He just hoped Qifrey wouldn’t notice it since the white-haired teenager was a fickle person. One moment he could be as sharp as a knife, then the next moment he would be as oblivious as a brick. There’s no in between. Furthermore, this love talk never really surfaced in any of their conversations so he really didn’t know Qifrey’s opinion about it. Or if he ever thought about it in the first place. One thing he knew was that his heart had been set on Qifrey since he’s twelve and he didn’t think it would change in the near future.
“Let me treat you to a celebratory dinner. This is your first step to be a magic inventor and I’m looking forward to it!” Qifrey smiled excitedly. Happy for his friend’s success.
“Isn’t it supposed to be the opposite? I should be treating you to my success.” Olruggio smirked as they walked towards a nearby restaurant. The night deepened and the crowd had slowly dispersed. Leaving only a handful of people who wished to stay until the Silver Eve truly ended at twelve clockmark.
Qifrey hummed playfully. Face still adorned with a wide smile as excitement still permeated from his demeanor. “Let’s just say this is some kind of investment so I can ask you a favor if I ever need magic tools.”
Olruggio looked back at his friend. He would make as many magic tools as Qifrey wanted in exchange for that smile directed to him. He would even build him a house if he ever asked for it without any payment as long as he could stay beside Qifrey forever.
But of course he couldn’t say that so instead he just replied, “My fee is not cheap, you know.”