Chapter Text
The rain is merciless as it hails down from the dark clouds above, cold and sharp upon your skin. You can feel the mud squelch beneath your back as you roll from your side onto your back, attempting to gaze up at the sky that seemed to mourn you. Your gaze is unfocused, lashes fluttering whenever a droplet hits too close to your eyes, causing you to screw them shut again in an attempt to keep them safe, brows screwed in pain.
You don't quite recall how you ended here - lost in a muddy ditch, your clothes damp and slick with dirt - but you consider how the hill side is an awfully cold place to die, feeling the rain wash away what you assume to be blood on your forehead.
“...Ma…st…er…” Your voice is weak, arm trembling as you raise it up to the clouds, the weather unforgiving still. It felt like the ground beneath your back was trying to swallow you whole, your consciousness slipping through your fingers.
-
“Olruggio!! Over here!!” The pale witch cupped his hands over his mouth as he hollered for his companion, dropping down to his knees at the edge of the smaller ditch. His pretty white fabrics were growing filthy from the amount of mud around them, but he could not find it within himself to care, his eye fixed on the small, curled up body slick with mud and what could be blood.
It made his own blood run cold, for some reason.
“It’s alright, you're alright.” He murmured to the child, hands sliding beneath their body as he carefully pulled them free from the pit of filth, the earth hissing as its prey was freed.
“...Fuck-!”
Turning his head, he eyed up his friend as he stood over them, one hand buried in his own dark hair, the look of utter horror in his eyes unmistakable.
“We must get them to a doctor immediately.” The pale witch rose, adjusting his hold on the child until they were in a more comfortable bridal carry, pressed up against his chest.
“...Right, right.” The Northern Witch nodded. “Kalhn ain’t too far from here, we can probably fly it if we stay close by.” He snapped his feet together, the soles of his shoes glowing a bright green before he lifted up into the air.
“I’ll focus on keeping the water off of us, you focus on keepin’ that kid alive.”
“Thank you, Olly.” The pale witch stood, snapping his own feet together as he too took off from the ground, waiting until his companion covered them in a bubble to prevent the rain from getting in their eyes as they travelled.
They flew, and flew fast.
It was, after all, a race against time.
–//–//–
Something finds you in the deep ocean.
It's cold,
It's suffocating,
You can't breathe-
–//–//–
You resurface in consciousness quite suddenly, bolting upright as you suck in oxygen that your body was convinced it didn't have. Doubling over, clinging onto the thick duvet that covered your body, you dissolve into splutters and coughs, left over sea-water dribbling from your lips. A door opened nearby, the hurried footsteps of a nurse growing closer as she grew startled by the noise.
“Oh, dear- There you are, you’re alright.” Taking a hold of your shoulders, she eased you to the side of the bed, pulling the bedpan from underneath the bed, tucking it under your face as you gag. Your body aches, nausea rippling through you in waves as your stomach tries to toss up stuff that isn’t inside of your body.
“There there, you’re okay. We’ll get you some fennel tea, hm?” The nurse sat close by, rubbing your back as you heave, tears burning your eyes. Clinging onto the cool metal dish, you pant for breath into it, hearing it echo back, slowly blinking away the tears that are trying desperately to slip down your cheeks.
You don’t know where you are. This doesn’t smell like the Great Hall, the scent of the salty sea isn’t as potent as it should be.
“...Where..?” Your throat aches with the effort of getting your words out, raw and sore, the taste of bile strong on your tongue still, so you spit into the basin.
“You’re in the town of Kalhn, at the medical facility.” The nurse explained as she eases you back onto the pillows, retucking you in. It’s awfully soft and comfortable, despite how out of place you feel.
A sudden knock pulled both of your attention towards the door that then creaked open, revealing the tall, lithe frame of a man. He wears a very pale grey cloak and pointed hat, like the clouds when they weren’t quite heavy enough for rain, but not perfectly white. He pauses, his visible blue eye blinking in surprise, mouth falling open to a small ‘o’ shape.
“My apologies, I did not mean to barge in.” His voice is soft, like that of a feathery pillow easing you to sleep. Your eyes slide down to his bent arm, a bouquet of wild flowers resting in the crook of his elbow. DId he bring those for you.?
Who is he?
“Not at all Sir!” The nurse rose, clasping her hands in front of her stomach. “I was just about to send for you, since the patient finally woke up. I will go get started on that tea.”
You reach out then, terrified, missing the nurse's skirt as she breezes from the room, leaving you alone with the strange man. He turns back, noting the terrified, wide-eyed look on your face.
“I should probably introduce myself.” He noted out loud as he came over slowly, setting the flowers into the vase sat on the bedside table by the patient's cot you reside in.
“My name is Qifrey, Qifrey the Witch.” He introduced, raising one hand up to capture and swish his black ribbon over his shoulder, before bowing to you at the waist.
“Myself and my watchful eye were the ones to find you in the hills, and bring you back here.”
You stare up at him, eyes wide and owlish, hands curled into fists, breathing forcefully kept controlled and slow. You would not panic now, even though the world around you was strange and terrifying - you were a big kid now, you weren’t small anymore.
“...Do you, recall how you ended up all the way out there alone?” He prompted, kneeling down to be at a more even height with you.
“...Alone.?” You croak, your mind struggling to keep up with the recent events. You bolt back upright, grabbing onto the lapels of Qifrey’s cloak, knuckles turning white.
“My Master-!! Where is my Master-!? Is he with you-??” Your voice breaks as you tremble against the older witch, the man catching your elbows instinctively to keep you from toppling over. His gaze clouds over with guilt, one eye darting between your two, dark and frightened.
“...We didn't find anyone else out on the hillside…my apologies.”
“...No…” You stare up at him, eyes filling with tears, before you drop your head back down. “No, nononono… My Master, my Master needs help- He- He was hurt-”
Qifrey gently lays you back down onto the bed, stroking your hair back as you curl up with a broken sniffle. Where did your Master go.? Why isn’t he here.?
“...I will go search again, alright? Perhaps I simply missed a spot when it was raining.” He soothed instinctively, watching as you gave in to his pets, the exhaustion and weakness still rampant in your body. He was awfully gentle with you, it was nice.
“...Please find him… He means a lot to me.”
Qifrey sat in the silence that followed as you fell asleep, your breath rasping in your damaged throat.
He rose once the nurse returned, leaving without another word.
–//–//–
“-Well, I think that we should return the child to where they belong.” Olruggio leaned onto the table, their empty bowls stacked on top of each other, a bottle of ale cracked open to share between the two men. Qifrey gazed down at his drink, the liquid capturing the light of the fire burning to the side of them, warming the entire Atelier. He frowned, swirling the drink, his desire for it lost.
“...Something troubles me about the child.” He admitted, setting his glass down. Olly looked up at him from where he was resting his head in his hand, unimpressed, his own glass downed and empty.
“Qifrey, you can’t do this again.”
“It’s all a bit convenient, a bit familiar, don’t you think, old friend?” He looked up at him pointedly, speaking quickly.
“A Witch goes missing - was likely killed - and they abandon the child in a muddy ditch without their memories fully intact.?”
Olruggio went silent, because he couldn’t dispute the claim. It did sound like him, after all. And that troubled him more than he was willing to admit - so he poured himself another glass instead.
“We should let the Wise one’s deal with it-”
“And let that child grow up in isolation?? Alone, forever looked down upon because they’re different?” He didn’t quite raise his voice, but there was a certain firmness to his tone that broke no argument as he leaned forwards, sat on his knees.
“...Please, Olruggio.” He breathed, clasping his trembling hands together on the table, almost looking like he was praying. Olruggio shifted uncomfortably, having a sip.
“I ask you, as my friend, not as my Watchful Eye.”
“...This could put the other apprentices in-”
“I will not let them get hurt.” He replied immediately, face set, hands white knuckled.
They sat awkwardly in the silence that followed, staring at each other in the low firelight for what felt like hours, neither one of them wishing to back-track on their side of the argument first. Still-
“...Fine. But if they come knockin’ on our doorstep, I will get the Knights Moralis involved.” Olruggio dragged his hand up through his hair, giving his shaggy hair a scratch as he admitted defeat.
“Thank you friend, you will not regret it-” Qifrey’s smile grew warm, a little relaxed - but not enough - his thanks was cut short by a third voice joining in on their conversation.
“Are we getting a new apprentice!?” A young girl with bright, pink hair appeared from around the corner, all but beaming with excitement, a blanket loosely wrapped around her shoulders. A quieter girl, with sky blue hair, sat below her and frowned as they were spotted due to her outburst.
“Tetia? Richeh? Were you both eavesdropping again?” Qifrey smiled over at them, though his shoulders were stiff as Tetia jogged over, Richeh pulling herself from the floor to shuffle over.
“Agott’s here too!”
“Don’t rope me into this!” The hot-headed girl whipped her head around the wall, eyebrows knotted together as she bristled. All three of his girls showed face, and he held a hand out to them as they joined the two men at the table, waddling into their spots like little ducklings.
“Yes, if they decide to come back with us, we will have another apprentice joining our Atelier.” He officially announced as Tetia squealed in excitement as she wrapped herself around Qifrey’s arm, bouncing on her knees. Richeh sat close enough to Olruggio to let their knees touch as he leaned on the table - Agott being the only one to sit alone.
“Will you three help me make them feel welcomed here? They have, after all, just lost their Master.”
The three gazed up at him with quiet, calculating eyes, before looking at one another, as if to figure out how everyone else felt about the situation before speaking out.
“We will do our best!” Tetia cheered, one hand raised as she sparkled with excitement - blinding everyone. Richeh nodded along, quiet as ever, fiddling with the sleeves of her night-wear as Olruggio wrapped his cloak around her lap.
“..Agott?” Qifrey prompted gently, turning to look at her. She sighed, her arms folded over her chest.
“Very well.”
“Good.” He smiled warmly, tilting his head to the side. “Now, let us get you all to bed.”
–//–//–
“...Come with you.?” You ask, looking up at the two adult witches. You’d been at Kalhn for a week now, recovering slowly - finally getting better. Your head still ached most mornings, the swelling on the right side of your head only just now beginning to go down, your memories utterly scrambled. You still couldn’t recall what had happened to your Master, or why you’d ended up in the ditch.
“Yes! We thought that you could settle down with us at our Atelier, since you seemed to dislike the idea of returning to the Great Hall.” Qifrey explained, kneeling down once again to be level with you.
“That way, we can try and help you regain your memories… and try to find your Master together.”
You search his gentle face for a while, before turning to look up at the Watchful Eye - Ollrugio, as you’d come to know him as, then back at Qifrey.
“And it’s temporary.?”
“Yes.”
“...Alright.”
You place your hand into Qifrey’s hand, watching him smile warmly.
“Let’s get you out of here, hm?”