Chapter Text
Olruggio was walking back to his and Qifrey's atelier after delivering his most recent commission, taking a shortcut through the woods. He would much rather use his sylph shoes or even call a pegasus carriage, but the snow and wind had created conditions dangerous to fly in. Honestly, if Qifery and his apprentices weren't there to worry about him coming home late, he would much rather spend a night in an inn even with his warming magic. And even then, the wind still cut into him. Thankfully the trees acted somewhat as a windshield, stopping the worst of it. He preemptively shivered at the thought of having to cross the unsheltered fields back to the atelier, slightly regretting his decision to not prolong his return by another day.
He felt that regret leave when he saw puddles of blood on the ground, staining the pure white snow with sickening shades of red. He runs closer, spotting a small figure lying under a tree. A silverwood tree that he knows wasn't there before. He would have noticed it, even if he only saw it at a glance while flying above. But he doesn't have time to think about it now, he needs to focus on the situation.
She was clearly a witch, her hand tightly curled around her pen in one hand, and a frozen bottle of ink her other. What looked to be the remains of a cloak was draped over, ripped to shreds and stained by blood and dirt beyond recognition of any colour or form. A soggy palm quire showed remains of attempts to cast fire spells, with the ink distorted from the water of the snow and paper ripped by pen. His breath caught in his throat at the sight, disturbed by the evidence of her struggle for warmth.
“Hey kid, please answer if you can.” He says while rolling her over onto her side giving her shoulder a hard squeeze to try and rouse her. Her green hair stuck to her face, clumped together with blood. Brushing it back revealed a nasty wound on her cheek, blood still slowly oozing out. Her lips are blue, but he can still see her breathing. He doesn't hesitate to cast a pyreball spell to try and warm her up, making sure to draw a more complex version that would not go out in the wind and the snow.
The girl's eyes slightly opened at the light, and she made tiny sluggish movements to try and inch closer to the warmth. Olruggio let out a sigh of relief, allowing himself to relax slightly. “It will be okay kid.” He says, trying his best comforting tone, mimicking what he has seen Qifrey do for his apprentices.
Despite all of the blood around, she seems to be relatively uninjured apart from her face. There were some odd cuts and burns, but nothing that looked serious. He knew face wounds bleed a lot, but surely not enough for all of the blood surrounding the area. He wraps his cloak around her, the warming spells woven within giving the girl enough strength to shiver.
“They’re gone. I failed, it's all gone.” The girl chokes out with a scratchy voice, clutching hard onto the cloak and bringing it closer around her body as she sits up. Olruggio paused, unsure what to say.
“It sounds like you tried you best. Let's get you inside and see what can be done, eh?” The girl nods, choking down sobs before quieting down. He felt relieved, he must have done something right to calm her.
“Right then, do you mind if I pick you up? It's a far way to walk and the weather is too bad to fly.” He says gently, holding his hand out for her.
“It- it's fine, I can walk.” The girl stammers out, waving her arms in protest. She attempts to stand up in her own, her legs quickly betraying her even as she uses the tree for support. He feels amused at the stubbornness despite the situation, he can't help but be reminded of a certain white haired friend of his.
“That doesn't seem to be so, have you reconsidered?” If she was one of Qifrey's girls, he would have scoped her up and taken her back already. Unfortunately with that not being the case, he can't exactly just take a girl not under their care. Depending on the type of people her family and mentors are and how she views him, he may as well be inviting himself to get investigated for kidnapping.
If she had any family or a mentor left. He tried to dismiss the thought, children at her age often get in all sorts of trouble and if Richeh and Agott are anything to go by, also often excel at sounding ominous over even simple things. Although he would still need to send in a report about her guardians, anyone who has a child that ends up in a state like that would need to be investigated before the girl can be handed back to them.
She looks frustrated for a second before raising her arms up. He takes the cue, picking her up with the cloak still wrapped around her. He resisted the urge to shiver himself, he had a feeling it might make her guilty for having his coat. Or maybe he was just projecting onto her how much she reminded him of Qifrey.
He walked back as briskly as he could, at some point borderline running as well as one could while carrying a child through the snow. He was thoroughly out of breath, and was glad the child didn't try to make conversation. It would have felt undignified to try and answer while gasping for air. In fact, he thinks she might have even fallen asleep.
He could feel her to begin to stir as he crossed the fields the atelier resided in, the wind just as bitter as he had anticipated. “Not far now.” He says, audibly winded. So much for preserving his dignity.
He practically tumbled in through the atelier door, the warmth enveloping them both.
“You came home earlier than I thought you would have today, I only just finished making the soup for today's dinner!” Qifrey called from the kitchen.
“Qifrey. Help, please. There is a child.” Olruggio says, trying to not shout. He places the girl in front of the fire, the living room thankfully free of apprentices.
“What? Not one of ours?” Qifrey responds before walking to the living room. He gasps as he sees the scene, running over to the girl's and Olruggio's side.
“Obviously not one of ours.” Olruggio gestures to her as he spoke.
“I can see that now I am in the room.” Qifrey snaps back, pinching his nose. “Now who might she be?” He asks, gentle this time.
“I ah, found her by a tree in the forest. The poor girls casting components had been ruined by the weather.” Ollrugio scratches his neck, suddenly feeling awkward for a reason he couldn't place.
“I more meant what her name was my dear.” Qifrey replies, exasperated. Olruggio replied with silence, and had the sudden realization of why he was feeling awkward.
“You do know the name of the child you took right?” Qifrey said sharply, Olruggio shrinking under the disappointed gaze Qifrey gave him.
“My name is Coco.” The girl, Coco, replied for him, lifting her head as she did, revealing her wound to Qifrey.
“What a lovely name. Mine is Qifrey, and his name is Olruggio if he hasent told you already.” Qifrey responds, gentle and soothing. “My, it looks like you have gotten quite the scratch on your face. We should get some bandages, clean clothes and take you to the healing spire as soon as possible. Or maybe after a bowl of soup to warm you up hm? Does that sound okay?” He continues with the same tone as before, but he gives Olruggio another pointed look.
“I can get some bandages!” Tetia chimed in, not waiting for a answer before running off. It seems like their girls had also heard the commotion and the living room has become less apprentice free without either of them noticing. Even Agott had come to take a look.
“Agott, would you mind bringing a bowl of soup over for Coco? And Richeh, She looks to be a similar size to you, do you think she could borrow some of your clothes?” Qifrey asks.
“Of course master Qifrey.” Agott replies, going of quickly to complete her task.
“I suppose she can, just for a little bit, but she needs to take a bath first.” Richeh supposes.
“Thank you Richeh, that is very kind of you.” Qifrey smiles. “Now let me draw you a warm bath. It should only take a few minutes for me to get it ready.” He redirects his warm smile to Coco, who looks more settled at the prospect of food and cleaning up.
Richeh walked up to her and Olruggio, tilting her head as she observed the new girl.
“Shouldn't you be getting some clothes now?” Ollrugio asks.
“Don't be silly, the is no point in getting clothes before the bath is ready.” Richeh states.
“I think master Olly has gained four master Angfrey points.” Richeh says after a few seconds.
“What?” Olruggio was so confused that he didn't even try to dispute being called her master.
“Four angry Qifrey points.” Richeh looks at him like it is the most obvious thing on the world.
“You think?” Olruggio says as he runs his hand down his face, already exhausted. And he has a feeling this day will only get longer yet.