Chapter Text
It only happened briefly, at first.
Qifrey had been taking a look at the books they had available at their atelier. He'd brought a couple to their kitchen, piling them up on the counter. He wouldn't have to worry about using that surface for a few more hours anyways, since he'd just made the girls lunch.
In his hands was one of the books - the one he was currently holding had a dark gray, hard cover, with no patterns or even a title to indicate the contents of said book - the only thing that was out of place from the surrounding monotone dull gray was the spine, which had a silver sheen. The pages were a rusty yellow, that made a crinkly sound when turned. Across him was one of his beloved apprentices; the newest one.
Coco was the one with him in the kitchen. Each of the other girls were in their respective rooms, save for the green haired young witch, who decided to come out to the kitchen to practice drawing her spells and experimenting with carapace yams, just like she'd done in the past. She was trying to improve her fire spell so she could help Qifrey with cooking in the future, (along with helping out other people with her magic) and seeking out his guidance in the process.
She was sitting on a dining chair stationed close to the table, brows furrowed in concentration, focusing on the task that she'd assigned herself. Qifrey had merely suggested that she practice, but didn't tell her specifically in what form, so she resorted to what he'd taught her the last time.
As Qifrey glanced up from the book, he saw out of the corner of his eye that his student even had her tongue out due to the intensity of the study session. Her focus was immense, it seems. He smiled, stifling a laugh, and closing his eye in the process. She truly was diligent, along with the rest of them. He was proud of his girls.
He had to open his eye though, since in the following moment Coco had called out to him.
"Master Qifrey, could you take a look at my seal, pretty please? I don't want to keep burning and screwing up these precious and potentially delicious carapace yams..." she said while her lips wobbled unsteadily in her typical manner that she did whenever she was unsure. Her question cut through the comfortable silence that had settled in the air, surrounding the atelier. It was quiet. He wondered what the others were up to.
"Of course." Qifrey hummed in response, snapping the book closed with a resounding small 'thud' that the object made from the impact. He was ready as always to lend a hand to his apprentice, walking over to the table while keeping his eye on the drawn spell on the paper Coco had in front of her, taking note of the other, either burnt or scrapped ones. He leaned forward to look at the drawing, and though absentmindedly, but he assessed it, looking it over and skimming through the delicate lines of the drawing while putting a hand on his chin in a thoughtful manner.
None of the runes seemed out of place or were abnormal - well, maybe the outer, unclosed circle was a teensy bit wobbly, but other than that... There wasn't a thing he could point out. As he thought, Coco had improved a lot lately.
He opened his mouth to give her the usual praise that he made sure to tell each of them when they did well, when-
Suddenly, all he saw was black.
He blinked.
Then blinked again.
Multiple times, trying to dispel the darkness that enveloped his vision.
Yet it remained.
His vision had cut off, for whatever reason.
A small, almost imperceptible 'Huh?' was all he could muster. Why couldn't he see? The seal was gone. So was Coco. Along with the atelier.
He could feel his heart drop from his rib cage down to his stomach, sinking like a rock in a well. His hands started perspiring, his usually dry skin gaining an uncomfortable, clammy feel, which only amplified his feeling of helplessness and vulnerability.
All the while, he said nothing. He just froze in place, powerlessness creeping up on him, digging its claws into his tainted flesh.
All of this occurred in under a few seconds.
However, at the lack of response, Coco looked up at him with a questioning gaze, her eyes glinting in worry, along with curiosity.
"Master Qifrey?" she asked quietly, trying to gauge how she could possibly have managed to ruin the spell to the point that her teacher would remain completely silent and offer no response.
Qifrey immediately stiffened at her words, not daring to turn his head towards his beloved apprentice. His single (usually still somewhat good) eye darted across where he thought the paper would be, desperate to make it convincing that he was merely analyzing the spell and that he could still see. Perhaps Coco wasn't the only one he was trying to convince.
However, he couldn't come up with a response. Suddenly, his tongue felt too big for the cavern of his mouth, almost giving him the impression that he was being choked (which he wasn't, surely he wasn't, this was just a nightmare, and he should try to breathe,) as he felt the looming dread sink into him - reaching into the deepest, darkest depths of his mind.
He didn't speak.
He couldn't speak.
His lips trembled. Has what he'd been fearing finally come? Trepidation had almost claimed him fully, and the tremors that traveled through his body were proof.
In the meanwhile, Coco just kept staring at him, unsure of what to make of the situation.
Qifrey had almost turned on his heels and left without a word, already trying to get his feet to move, as the tension was palpable and could be cut with a knife - he would've done it, were it not for the fact that his vision suddenly made a comeback and the exact moment he was going to leave. One of the soles of his feet had already slid on the lining of the floor to get away, and then he came to his senses.
He blinked a couple times to refamiliarize himself with his vision, letting out a pent up sigh, shoulders sagging in relief and feeling his heartbeat slow. So, he hadn't completely lost his only remaining means of seeing this world, after all.
He licked his dry lips, before finally answering. As he gulped, it felt like sandpaper going down in the column of his throat.
"I'm sorry, Coco. My mind was somewhere else." the white haired man said in a faux calm tone, one that did not resonate with what amount of fear he was still feeling at that moment.
He then took a look, this time a proper look, at the spell, and making sure it wasn't what made him lose his vision suddenly. He hadn't heard of a spell like that. And while Coco has performed forbidden magic once, he would not believe she would... No. He digresses.
"It looks alright. Good job, Coco." he said after a moment of pause; in his usual kind and comforting tone - choosing to rest his warm palm atop the crown of his student's head.
He then quietly followed after with,
"Keep practicing. You're getting better at this, Coco. I have something to do now, but carry on with your duties, and keep up the good work." he successfully kept the panic out of his voice.
That was the first time that had ever happened. It certainly caught him off guard, and while it could've been worse; for example in the amidst of a battle, but the same goes for the opposite - it could've been better if it happened while he was alone.
He supposes he should be thankful it even came back.
His feet carried him to the front door.
He sighed, for the umpteenth time that day. He left the atelier without another word, heading somewhere Coco didn't know. He closed the door behind him with a soft 'click.'
She, at the time, thought little of it, but it was still weird for Master Qifrey to randomly lose focus, especially when he was being asked for his assistance.
Coco stared at where her teacher had been just a moment before, having stated that he was going somewhere. His apparition was still present in her mind. She scrutinized the door, hoping that maybe if she stared enough he'd come back.
She was broken out of her trance when Agott came descending down the stairs. The other girl had her usual neutral expression set on each step of said stairs, one which she wore so much that Coco was convinced she thought it was mandatory or something. As she was walking down, Agott spotted the other apprentice, her eyes widened for a fraction of a second, then settled back to normal, all without Coco noticing, who had closed her eyes and smiled warmly in greeting to her fellow housemate.
The dark haired student ignored her, and went on her merry way. Though, before she could completely disappear out of her view, Coco turned her way and called out to her.
"Hey, uh... Agott?" She asked, voice filled with uncertainty.
"What is it?" she inquired in a bored tone. Busy as always, no time to deal with her.
Coco fidgeted with the strings and tassels that were present on all of their attires. She loved rolling them around in between the pinch of her fingers when she felt insecure. It offered her a sense of comfort.
"Have you ever seen Master Qifrey suddenly..." she paused for a bit, making Agott raise her brows - with no further change in her otherwise pristine mien, "Look out of it?"
Agott's expression soured a minuscule amount. She hadn't been seeing their Master as frequently as of late, but she also hadn't noticed anything. Could there be really something up with Master Qifrey? Or was Coco just paranoid? Why was she even dwelling on what the other was saying? She should know better.
What did she mean by 'look out of it?'
She opened her mouth to answer, but before the words could come out of her mouth, they were interrupted by the usually lively witch present in the room.
Coco just laughed it off nervously and tried to steer the conversation away from the glaring matter that only she was aware of.
"Nevermind. I must've been imagining things. He's been really busy, so no wonder he gets tired here or there..." she said, scratching nervously at her face.
Before Agott could answer, she had already scurried to the stairs, almost zooming up to the upper level and stopping at the end to look at the other, then leaving the older to her devices without another word.
Huh. Weird. But when is she not?
Agott huffed, and turned to do whatever it was that she'd come down from the upper floor from for.
'Well, if something was up with Master Qifrey, surely Master Olruggio would know,' she thought.
Right?