Chapter Text
Getting injured by fire is not exactly the type of thing that happens to witches who specialize in fire, but accidents happen.
Olruggio is careful. Always careful. Fire is dangerous even when it’s controlled, and pyre balls are no different, especially in the hands of overeager apprentices. Precisely why he was sitting in on this particular training session, keeping an eye on Coco, Tetia, Richeh and Agott as they summoned fire over and over.
“It’s not going to listen to ye,” Olruggio finally snapped when a frustrated Tetia demanded her fire stop going out. “It’s fire. It’s a force, not a person.”
“Master Olruggio?” Coco said in a pleading voice that Olruggio instantly knew meant she was about to ask a question. “Mine isn’t lighting…”
Well, that was interesting. No nagging question, only pure curiosity. Progress, he mused to himself as he shuffled over to peer at the paper. Sure enough, the sigil was there and the ring was closed, but nothing had happened. “Huh,” he said thoughtfully.
There was something off about this one- perhaps the ink or the pen- Olruggio didn’t know which, but all of a sudden, the paper sparked and a ember flew off it.
He froze. “Oh, dear. Qifrey? Water, would ya?” He said, trying to keep his voice calm. Qifrey glanced up just in time to see the paper spark again.
And again.
Then, without warning, it sparked one last time before shooting off a massive column of flames, blue in the center burning severely hot. The apprentices shouted as Qifrey jumped up, water sigil already in hand.
Too late, too late, too late, Qifrey’s brain sang as he watched in slow motion as Olruggio flung himself in front of Coco, shoving her back from the fire and sliding directly into the blast.
Olruggio’s scream was ragged and pained as Qifrey doused the paper in the fastest water sigil he could summon.
Too. Damn. Late.
When the steam cleared a moment later as Qifrey rushed over, it revealed Olruggio lying on a pinned but otherwise unharmed Coco. He was screaming, an unnatural sound in the peace of the fields. Tetia, Richeh and Agott jumped to their feet as Qifrey desperately knelt beside them. “Coco!” He cried out, brain automatically checking his apprentice first.
“I- I-“ she gasped, tears suddenly flooding down her face. “I’m okay!” She choked out, sobbing. “I’m okay! Master Olruggio- it’s all my fault-“ she was interrupted by Tetia and Richeh, who came up behind her and began to tug her free from underneath the screaming man. “My fault, my fault,” she whimpered as she was pulled out into the arms of Tetia, who was trembling as she stared in horror at Olruggio.
Qifrey wasted no time in ripping through the layers of cloth in the way and summoning a new water sigil, a cooler one, which he touched down to the burned skin when it was exposed to the air.
A fresh, shriller scream escaped Olruggio, and Qifrey winced. “I’m sorry, my friend,” he said out loud. “Richeh, go back to the atelier. Fetch a stretcher,” he instructed. His apprentice nodded once and took off, her shoes clicked together to connect the seal on them.
“Agott, can you get them home?” He asked urgently, turning towards Agott, who was caught somewhere between concern for Olruggio and Coco, who was shaking badly and still whispering about it being her fault.
“Agott?” He asked again, and she shook herself. “Right. Yes,” she said, coming over to tug on Tetia’s arm, who looked up with teary eyes. “Home,” she slurred, clumsily getting to her feet and pulling Coco up with her, whose sobs hadn’t subsided. Agott tucked an arm around Coco on her other side and the trip began to walk towards the distantly visible atelier.
With the girls handled, Qifrey turned his full attention back to Olruggio, who had stopped screaming and had settled into making a low moaning sound that made Qifrey’s chest ache more than the screaming had. “Hang in there, Olly,” he murmured, passing the water over the full length of the burns. “We’re going to get you help.
It felt like an eternity before Richeh came back riding their floating stretcher, with Agott flying beside her. “Richeh, help me get him on the stretcher,” he commanded in a tone most unlike the one he normally used on his students. Perhaps that was why Richeh nodded silently and dismounted, hurrying to Olruggio’s uninjured side as Qifrey prepared to lift him. “Agott, return to the atelier. Open a windowway to the great hall,” Qifrey said, wedging one hand under his shoulder and the other under his hip. Richeh matched him on the other side as Agott nodded firmly and took off speedily back towards the house, her super-powered shoes propelling her forward.
“Richeh, on three. One, two, three-“ Qifrey grunted as they lifted in tandem, Richeh nudging the stretcher under Olruggio, who had fallen silent but whimpered when he was moved. “You’ll be okay,” Qifrey said, trying not to panic. “The staff,” Richeh said softly, holding it out to her master.
Qifrey nodded thanks and promptly straddled the end of the board, pushing off with the staff towards the atelier. Normally he would worry about abandoning a student like that, but Richeh flew just behind them.
When they reached the atelier, Qifrey swiftly brought the stretcher inside and steered it over to the windowway, which Agott had spun to the great hall. Agott herself was with Tetia and Coco, still sniffling, and Richeh landed neatly beside them. Qifrey looked around wildly and, for the very first time in front of children, swore. “Shit. I can’t- I can’t leave you alone.”
Tetia’s eyebrows raised, and Qifrey was sure he’d hear a mouthful about curse words later, but Agott was already speaking. “We’ll come with you. We promise not to be any trouble,” she said, and Qifrey didn’t have time to delay so he groaned and charged ahead into the hall.
One witch dragging another lying injured on a stretcher, trailed by four apprentices asleep moving at a dead sprint was sure to catch attention, but Olruggio’s breathing had turned ragged and his eyes flickered. “Stay awake,” Qifrey pleaded as they kept running.
“‘M not… sleepin’…” Olruggio mumbled sluggishly, wincing. “Dontcha… worry.” Qifrey almost laughed- his friend, in grave danger, telling him not to worry. “Do be quiet,” Richeh said to Olruggio, frowning at him.
When they finally skittered up to the healing spire, all five runners were breathless and panting, but Qifrey didn’t hesitate. “Sinocia!” He cried out, bursting into the spire and startling several healers throughout the room. “Sinocia!” He yelled again, and the woman appeared breathless. “Qifrey, that couldn’t be you yelling for me?” She said incredulously. “It is! What’s happened. Olruggio!” She yelped, seeing the stretcher for the first time and the ragged apprentices. “Qifrey, let me take him. Right away. Ermille! Fetch cloth and cold water!” She shouted behind her.
Qifrey stumbled back slightly as Sinocia promptly took over the stretcher, floating it away with a swiftness that rivaled their race through the hall. “My, Qifrey,” an older-looking healer said, putting her hands on her hips. “You look as though you’ve run for an age. Those children, too. Let’s get you some water.”
“But Olly-“ he broke off, shaking his head. “Yes, of course. Ah, girls, come drink,” Qifrey managed, gesturing them forward to where the kindly woman was offering them each a glass of water.
He accepted and drained his own as the girls huddled together on one of the free beds the healer offered them to sit on while they waited, then finally took a real glance over at them.
Tetia and Richeh were leaning slumped into each other, clearly exhausted from the adrenaline coming down, but Agott was sitting up with Coco resting her head on her lap, looking anxiously down at her. Coco’s face was still red around her eyes and nose, the evidence of tears still on her cheeks. There was an empty expression in her eyes that made Qifrey almost not recognize her.
“Coco,” he said softly, kneeling before them. Agott glanced up, but Tetia and Richeh were pretty much asleep in a ball tangled together by now. “It’s alright. It was an accident.”
She shook her head weakly. “But I hurt him. Everyone gets hurt because of me,” Coco said miserably. Agott stiffened, her face twisting with guilt, and she brushed a gentle hand across Coco’s forehead, pulling her bangs out of her face. “No!” Qifrey insisted. “I’m sure Olly will say the same thing when he’s well again. It was not your fault.”
Coco blinked, and her lashes were sticky with tears again, so Qifrey decided to leave the subject alone for now. “Please, don’t blame yourself,” he said softly, rising to his feet.
Sinocia appeared at the top of a staircase and beckoned to him. “I’ll be back in just a moment,” he said quickly, hustling over and climbing up.
“How is he?” Qifrey burst out, barely within earshot. Sinocia tilted her head up a little. “You can come see. He’s much better now we’ve dressed his burns. They were second degree- could have been so much worse,” she said. “He’ll make a full recovery, albeit with some new scars.”
Qifrey’s entire body sagged with relief. “Oh, thank goodness,” he said, dragging one hand across his face as they climbed the rest of the stairs. When they finally reached the top, they emerged onto a platform with several curtained-off beds.
Sinocia led Qifrey over to one of them and pulled back the curtain slightly. Inside, Qifrey glimpsed Olruggio’s dark hair against the pillow, lying on his stomach and bandages crisscrossing his torso. “You did a good thing getting here so quickly,” Sinocia said softly. “We gave him some light sedatives. The pain will be agonizing for a while yet, but when he wakes up hopefully it will be bearable.”
Qifrey sighed. “Alright. I should probably take my apprentices home, but…” he hesitated, looking at Olruggio drugged on the table. Sinocia tugged the curtain closed and put her hands on her hips, staring Qifrey down. “Think of your children first, Qifrey. You can come back tomorrow, when he’s awake and at least sitting upright. Right now you have four small children who need you more than he does. I promise,” she said, clasping one of Qifrey’s hands in her own when she saw him wavering, “That I will watch over him. And protect him with my life.”
Qifrey closed his eyes and nodded. “We’ll go home,” he repeated dully. “And we’ll be back first thing tomorrow morning.”