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Still not coming to terms with what happened years ago, Agott decided to make it her life's mission to find Coco, no matter what the cost.
And the cost was practically her own life. Sleepless nights, intrusive thoughts about how she took her for granted. Telling herself it was practically her fault, now that Coco's head now adorns the accursed brimmed hat. Barely was the inspired witch 15 before she got swooped away by one of those evil spawns of hell. Agott hated herself. Loathed herself. It was one of the cases where she hated being so indifferent to everybody. To Coco, especially.
She wasn't stable, the whole atelier knew that. Qifrey tried his best, but to no avail. Olruggio, who was closer to Agott, couldn't even come close to breaking the polished titanium walls inside her chest. The mourning she was feeling, even though she knew Coco was very much alive and well, just not physically here to tell her,
“Agott, you're so amazing! How'd you do that?” or maybe even, “I wish I can be as meticulous and great at magic as you, Agott.”
It was eating away at her chest. Her appearance, rugged, her usual short fluff of curls, grown more into a lion's mane. Eyebags were heavy, movements so sluggish that even Tetia and Richeh were affected by it. Her mind was conjuring up the sickest, meanest things about what Coco would have felt during that moment, being:
“Why weren't you there to help me?”
“Do you not care for anybody anymore, Agott?”
“You're not suited to be a witch if you don't care for the others around you, Agott.”
“I hate you.”
“She's right, I hate me too.” Breathing deeply, she props her cheek onto her knees, hugging herself into a ball, her line of vision directly on Coco's bed. It was messy, a blanket all about, magic ink stains on it from Agott's days of draping it around herself while practicing her sigils. A significance to her because of how it still smelled like Coco. But in the present, as of now, the scent was long gone.
It's been three years, after all.
Agott closes her eyes, gripping at the fabric of her pants as she buries herself deeper into her arms. The atelier has since been too quiet for her liking, despite saying all the time to the cheerful witch that she was being too loud. The hatred for herself deepened from that thought alone.
Everybody was helping Agott in their own way, tracking Coco. But their efforts have been concluded as null, halting it by a mile. Their main place of suspicion being Kalhn.
Speaking of, somebody knocks on the door, Qifrey's voice muffled. “Agott, let's grab new supplies.” In her response, she just complies. Knowing she needs exposure. If she wasn't outside, she'd lose even more hope trying to find Coco.
Stepping into this witch village again after a few weeks, the wind that blew hard gave Agott a shiver down her spine. She followed along, with Richeh by her side. While Qifrey and Tetia were out to buy new bottles of ink. Coco's brushbuddy, which is now being taken care of by Richeh, was wrapped around the witch's neck. Yet its curious self hops onto Agott's shoulders, making the life in her eyes reignite just a little, her hand gently rubs on its chin (if it even has one). And the brushbuddy reacts by wrapping the rest of its body on her neck.
“The brushbuddy missed you, Agott.” Richeh comments as they stop by a bakery. “It appears so.” A dry chuckle forms from the purple eyed witch, making Richeh smile softly. It comforted Agott that some parts of Coco stayed within their atelier.
“Tetia also said she made a lot of new spells which she needs your intake on. But Richeh already thinks they're great.” An attempt to continue the conversation, yet it didn't hold for so long, as Agott sees streaks of light follow a path. She gives the brushbuddy back to Richeh, making her confused.
“Agott?”
“I need to buy new ink, I almost forgot.” She interjects, her walking speed evolving to a run as she races against the sparkles of light.
“But Master Qifrey and Tetia are at the Starry Sword already!” Richeh’s shout fell on deaf ears as the more Agott ran, the environment changed to her reactions. Her feet are now implanted on glowstone paths, her eyes widening from the sight. Her head tilts upwards, and she sees Coco sitting on a pillar. Her brimmed cap adorning a grayish black with tassels.
And before she could even say anything, the brimhat descended to the ground, the path lighting up on the contact of her feet.
“Coco..?” A weak, voice-cracked call-out of her name was not the first impression after three years Agott wanted. Her appearance changed drastically. She was taller. Seemed fuller of life, and the worst of all, genuinely happy. Never knew that she'd be bawling in front of her long-time crush.
“You look like a lion, Agott.” With a smile, the purple eyed witch chuckled as Coco runs both her hands on the latter's fluffier mane, eyes meeting hers, her hands then meeting her elbows, pulling Agott into a hug as the oh-so indifferent witch hugs back, their respective hats falling off as her hands grasp at every single inch of the fabric of Coco's clothes, a hug so tight it didn't seem to affect her. Agott's face, buried onto the latter's shoulder, made the black uniform damp from her tears.
“Don't leave me, gods, please don't leave me ever again.” A choked out plea leaves the sobbing girl's mouth. In which Coco responds with a whispered, “I won't, I promise.”
Minutes of silent hugging turns into a fit of laughter as Coco pulls away, smiling as she looks at Agott thoroughly, the way she wasn't blinking for as long as she could, as if she was deathly afraid of losing her once again. The bags under her eyes, the way a bittersweet smile is adorning her face as her thumbs rub off the still-flowing tears.
“I want to go home with you,” Agott expressed, all while leaning onto the brimhat's touch. The statement made Coco's eyes widen a little. But she calms it down with a wistful smile. “Sorry, Agott. I can't. This is my home now.” She refers to the giant labyrinth, her hands retreat back down to her sides, making Agott wipe her own tears.
She knew Coco would answer like that. After all, they've probably brainwashed her in the span of those three years. There was probably no point in trying to pull her back, so she just gives the brimhat a defeated smile.
“Do you hate me?” A big question for someone who looks so small right now. It gives Coco another surprised expression, which she conceals with another gleeful smile. “Now, what made you think I'd hate you, Agott?”
“I thought you'd hate me for not being able to save you.” With clenched fists, she finally brought what she was feeling right out.
“I'd never hate you, Agott! But to be honest, at first, I just wished you were just there to save me. But at the same time, I like it here.” Coco's gaze hesitates as she speaks. She couldn't bear to look Agott in the eye when it came to talking if she hates her now. Her eyes solely on the glowing stone beneath their feet.
“Will you ever.. Come by to see me?” Agott just understands. Feeling relief that what she was thinking about earlier has been all in her head.
“Would you like me to?” At first, Agott's eyes brightened up by that, making her fiddle with her ink stained fingers. But she feels a bit deflated a little while later.
In truth, she wants Coco to herself. She wants Coco to only see her, and only her. She knows it's extremely selfish, and it's stressing her out, but she's just pushing it down, praying she doesn't say it out loud.
“..I don't know.” Was her answer instead.
“You seem unsure.”
“That's because I am.”
“You want me for yourself, don't you?” Yikes. Was Agott that obvious?
“Don't put words in my mouth.” She grits her teeth, feeling herself get embarrassed, but Coco only smiles, taking a step forward and planting a soft kiss on her lips, in which Agott was too stunned to react. And before she could even reciprocate it back, the latter was looking oh-so innocent again, looking around the labyrinth, playing coy.
“You said to not put words in your mouth, so I just kissed you instead.” She retorts, in which they both chuckle out, a blush still evident on Agott's face.
“Insufferable.” Covering her mouth with a hand, she looks at Coco with furrowed eyebrows. A sign of sarcasm.
“I know! Isn't that my best trait?” A smile too wide was something Agott would die for to see it again and again.
“Yeah.. I guess it is.” Agott chuckles, and approaches Coco, placing a gentle hand on her cheek, and rubbing its thumb over its skin. It made the latter flinch, but immediately became comfortable over it. Agott takes that softness as a small go signal to break the tension between them and go for a kiss she's been yearning for, and Coco smiles into it, finding herself reciprocating it.
But to Agott, it felt hesitant. Not in a stunned way. But it almost seems like something was going on. Yet, this feeling is still something Agott wants to be in forever. She feels secure. Finally feeling something other than the deep dark depths of her doubtful mind.
After a while, Agott pulls away, and both of them are flushed by it. Cheeks reddened and they smiled at each other again. “So pretty,” is what Agott always thought of her when they're this close. Never in her mind that she thought of her as evil. Even as a brimhat. It gave her a sense of ease to learn that Coco is still the Coco she knew.
“If we meet again, what would you like to do?” The brimhat asks, and Agott already went to think, excited that she closed her eyes to think deeply about it.
Until she opened her eyes, only to see a circular piece of paper in front of her. The accursed sigil of the memory loss spell visible to her.
“C..Coco?” Agott’s voice cracks, visibly shocked, the light from the spell starts to glow..
“Agott.. I hope you can understand.” Coco answers with a defeated smile, her hand slightly shaking, holding the paper, her eyes visibly blurring with unshed tears. And before she knew it, She fell into Coco's arms, wherein the brimhat held her dearly, her eyes losing its light once again as she stared onto the glowing stones beneath Agott's feet.
“Just know I only did this because I love you.” Coco whispers were muffled, yet it fell on deaf ears anyway. No use sweet-talking a person she just took the happiness away from.
She then kneels down, Agott's body still in her arms as she hugs her for what seems like the last time. She grabs her pointed hat, placing it back on her head.
“I'm really sorry, Agott.”
She kisses her forehead softly, laying her body down her lap as she places a circular paper, where a teleportation spell is on it, and Agott's body disappears back into the empty streets of Kahln.
Wiping her tears quickly, she grabs her brimmed cap, securing it back onto her head as she walks down the road in the labyrinth, to reach two large doors.
She pushes one of them open, to reveal a statue of Agott Arklaum sitting with one knee up, her expression soft as she rests her head on her arm, while her free hand holds a book. Seemingly reading it.
She approaches it, placing a hand on its cold cheek, it's so lifeless, yet it makes Coco feel at ease. She rubs her thumb on it, as if replicating what Agott did to her earlier.
“I'll see you again soon, Arklaum.” Her tone melancholic, She hugs the statue, as if she was yearning from the start all over again.
A new presence fills the empty, echoing room, as Coco lets go of the statue, and only a hand is on it, pressing itself on its head. She tilts her head to the side, seeing Iguin, who seems to have just entered the labyrinth.
“If you aren't careful, you'd accidentally make her forget everything she knows. You know that.” Iguin scolds, in which Coco just looks back at the statue.
“Don't worry about it. I have perfected it by now.” She just replies, seemingly uninterested in the conversation happening.
“You do know that, that's been the twentieth time. How long are you going to keep this up, Coco?” Their voice was gruff. That probably means that she should stop mourning and focus on the matters at hand.
“..I don't know.” Coco replies, tone blank as her hand goes back to her side, as Iguin signals for her to follow. It was time for a practice session with the Brimmed Caps. Anything to hone her physical prowess, after all.
Whilst walking, she gives the Agott statue one last look, before pulling her cap down to hide it from her peripheral view. Because she knew she chose this path. She knew she was a monster, and had to keep Agott away, yet she just kept toying with her, but at the same time—she really did love Agott.