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The afternoon was devoted to private study upon Qifrey coming to them after lunch, fingers steepled as he explained, “Girls, it seems Olly is a bit under the weather. How about we take a break today and you practice what you’ve learned, hm? I’ll see your progress tomorrow. In the meantime, if anyone would like some tea, it’ll be brewing by the end of the hour.”
Coco found herself sitting in the loft soon after, the fresh stack of books Qifrey brought for her standing taller than her head as she stared down at the text. The more she looked though… she hung her head in defeat. She took a glance around the room, noting that Richeh was sitting nearby, scribbling small spells on a sheet of parchment. Tetia was moving around downstairs, knocking things around until her head finally popped up at the stairs. “Does anyone want to practice wind magic outside again? I just saw a figpear way up in a tree, and I thought it’d be a nice snack!”
“But we just ate lunch,” Richeh mumbled, though the lull of her head did indicate she was interested. Coco stood, brushing her skirt down nicely.
“I think that would be a great idea,” Coco replied. “I— I didn’t have it quite right the other day, but if the target isn’t so easy to blow over or anything, maybe I could–”
“Do you two think wind magic is going to be all you need for the next test?” Agott drawled. Coco looked over the railing alongside Tetia as they watched Agott put her shoes on to go outside. She cast a glance up at them, tapping the toe of her shoe on the ground to set it properly. Then she sighed, her hand gesturing vaguely as she said, “Isn’t that all you’ve been doing this past week, Tetia?”
Tetia blushed, rubbing the back of her neck. “You gave such an impassioned speech; how could I not!”
Agott’s cheeks burned with that and she shook her head. “It’d be wiser to not put all your eggs in one basket. Brushing up on only one type of magic will lead to weakness in the others.”
“Spoken like a true witch, Agott!” Tetia cooed, pumping her fist in the air as Richeh joined them at the railing, giving her own muted cheer in encouragement.
Coco giggled under her breath as Agott floundered for a moment, then straightened her uniform capelet, ducking her head a little as she murmured, “However, I have heard that figpears are good when someone is sickly…”
The three girls raced downstairs in an instant, though Richeh took her time compared to the others in order to make sure she was ready. When they were all dressed, Agott guided them outside after having waited for them, something that made Coco smile, a skip entering her step. As they all followed her down the dirt path toward the distant field where the trees dotted the plane, Agott turned to order with wavering sternness, “Fine. But if we are practicing, we are actually practicing. We should do our best to gather what we can with properly cast spells, for Olruggio.”
Tetia was the one to point out the tree, and the fruit, that captured her eye to this idea in the first place. She pointed toward the highest branches of a figpear tree where the most ripe of the bunch sat, and Coco could feel her confidence drop a little because… This was a far cry from their last outside lesson. The last time, the fruit was hanging so low that she could have wandered over and plucked it. If she had to guess based on the yards of fabrics she’s rolled in her lifetime… This was as tall as an unraveled bolt. She glanced at the others as they began observing the tree and readying their palmquires, and she rushed to do the same.
She gripped her pen tight, squeezing it in her fist despite the discomfort of the pen’s shape not settling right in her hand… then looked toward Agott, who was practicing her shapes above the paper. Right. She breathed out through her nose, then did as she’s seen them do a thousand times.
Tetia was the first one done, and they all paused to watch her attempt to turn a figpear off the tree… only for the gust to shake the branch and nothing more. They all inspected her spell, then made adjustments to their own. Agott was next, aiming her spell out as she said, “Tetia’s arrows need to be longer to reach that height– I suppose the wind itself isn’t doing us much favors, but–”
Agott’s spell battered the figpear down, but instead of whipping it back, the fruit knocked the branch as it fell through the leaves, plummeting straight down. It splattered on the ground and her face went scarlet. “Perhaps I overestimated it anyway.”
“We might need the Serpent's Bed of Sand again,” Richeh offered, tapping her chin in thought. Tetia squealed, hopping between her feet as she offered to set the spell up for them to begin knocking figpears down, but it was dismissed by Agott, who insisted everyone tries before they result in such a crude method. Her rush instead of insistence on perfecting the spell struck Coco, but she reasoned quickly that that’s not at all what was occurring. Everyone still gets one chance. Richeh was up next.
Using five little sigils to help guide the motion, she faced the spell up toward the tree. The branches trembled, whipping as a fruit was pinpointed on, but as it jutted out, it slapped against a badgering tree limb and met Agott’s fruit’s fate.
“Perhaps multiple little ones tampered with the range too much.”
“It’s much easier to work with things closer,” Richeh pouted, sulking as she stared down at her spells. “And things that are not so tiny.”
“And that just leaves you, Coco!” Tetia exclaimed, patting her back once. “I believe in you!”
You believe in me? Coco stared down at her palmquire, biting the inside of her cheek. Long arrows. A distinct twisting motion. Avoid the branches. Focus on the fruit and a clean exit…. That’s way too much to think about! She huffed, sitting crosslegged on the ground as she put the end of her pen in her mouth, brow creased as she tried to figure out what she wanted it to look like, or, well, how it should look like…
Tetia sat beside her, sighing as she laid her quire out, then fell back into the grass. Coco eyed her spell, then looked back to her own paper. She had to do this alone. This was her chance.
“Perhaps I should have tried starting with one,” Richeh muttered as she laid her own spells out in front of Coco, examining them for herself. Coco refused to look. Those were their spells. She had to give it a fair chance.
Agott peered over her shoulder. Coco jumped, face warm as she glanced over. “S-Sorry! I’m… I’m still thinking about it.”
Agott blinked, nodding as she reached over and set her palmquire down. “You are still grasping wind magic: you would need more time.”
“... Thank you,” Coco sighed. She held out her blank page, shaking her head as she tried to think about the shapes she used for the first wind lesson they had… But that was so long ago. She wasn’t as practiced. It takes time to add spells to your repertoire, and without experience and guidance, there’s only so much she could do. She ran a hand through her hair, then spared a look at the imperfect spells laid out in front of her.
… Her friend’s spells.
Her hand tightened on her pen.
That’s right. She can’t do it alone, just as everyone else couldn’t either now or at some point. To grow and learn is to accept, fail, and share knowledge to prevent other mishaps. Spells and progress are built on top of each other, and they all share a common goal. This wasn’t an actual test: she could still make her own spell that can work based on ones provided to her that didn’t. She knew what needed to be tweaked in order to work properly. If she looked at the ones in front of her and made the adjustments…
She began to draw. She laid a straight, even line like Tetia’s, though stretching it longer to match Agott’s. The curved lines were a little difficult, but Richeh traced a similar shape in the air with her finger, silently reminding her to mime the action in the air before moving forward. Then Agott, leaning against her shoulder a little, added quietly, “The twisting part of the spells appears to be misplaced in these spells based on the wind we are fighting against.”
“Right,” Coco whispered back, studying where it laid on each one before looking at her own spell. Admittedly… she didn’t really know where to put it, but given the amount of space blocked by the tree branches… Tartah briefly passed through her mind, and she remembered balance. She’ll just place more than one, like Richeh would do with casting multiple small spells. She smiled to herself as she drew them, earning a curious hum from Agott.
When she stood, the rest stood with her in anticipation. She aimed the spell toward the figpear, closing the seal and…. Wind burst forward. It tethered the pear in its gusting coil, twirling haphazardly in violent whips like a tornado before zipping back to Coco… alongside a bunch of leaves and twigs. She braced herself, raising her arms to block the onslaught, and when she was done getting thoroughly battered, she gasped, dropping her arms down and— the pear was hovering in the air before her.
Tetia grinned, handing it to her trembling fingers. “You did it, Coco! We have to go tell Olly!”
“I thought you wanted one for yourself,” Richeh butted in, but she was already gathering her supplies to bring back inside. Agott grabbed their other things as Tetia spun Coco in a hug, mindful of the fruit.
“That can wait until later; we have to give this to him now! He will feel so much better, and then we will be thanked and feel so much better too! Ah!”
The girls raced back inside. They hung up their cloaks, then headed straight for Olly’s door on the opposite side of the atelier. Brushbuddy had been away all day, and they soon heard his little chirps through the other side of the wooden door. He must have been serving as a nurse aide, Coco thought with a little smile as Tetia reached out and knocked on the door. There was some movement heard behind the door, the faint glowstone lights creeping closer until the ones just beneath the passageway lit and the door opened.
“Girls? Is something wrong?” Qifrey asked as he opened the door a crack.
“Nothing is wrong,” Tetia announced, then put a hand on Coco’s back, pushing her forward to present their gift. “We practiced wind magic outside and brought back a figpear for Olly!”
Qifrey peered down at Coco’s hands, his small smile never wavering as Agott added from behind the others, “I read somewhere that they can help when someone is sick.”
He leaned down and picked the figpear from her hands, turning it over in thought as he checked for bruises. When he found none, his brow raised slightly, and he faced the girls again. “That is true: it also happens to be just what we need. Would you like to come in?”
They all filed in one by one, Tetia leading with Coco close behind as Qifrey guided them up the stairs to where Olruggio was laying, his back propped up a bit from a bundle of pillows. Coco noticed he wasn’t squeezing or coughing as she was when she was sick not too long ago. Qifrey took to a stool near Olruggio’s side. He braced his hands on either side of the figpear, then split it down the middle in one clean motion.
“Figpears contain concentrated iron as well as a healthy dose of vitamins that help retain the iron,” Qifrey said, handing a slice to Olruggio, who eyed it, then looked to the girls all eagerly awaiting him. Pink crossed his cheeks as he tilted his head in thanks, taking the half. “It happens to have a mild sweet taste, but is easily overpowered by accompaniments. You may not have even noticed in the past with our desserts, but I tend to use them quite frequently when they are in season. Either way, that tree is a factor in why we decided to settle down in this valley: it’s one of Olruggio’s favored treats for his chronic anemia.”
“I expect none of you tried climbing the tree. It’s too tall and dangerous, even with sylph shoes, so don’t go trying,” Olruggio said with a vague warning in his tone, but none of the girls cowered as Richeh shook her head.
“No, we got it with our own magic.”
Qifrey’s smile grew a bit more. “Well, I did say to spend the day practicing: promising witches shine brightest when even in practice they think about helping others.” Setting down the other half of the figpear, Qifrey brushed his hands off on his knees, then held out his hand. “Here, in return, allow me to look over your spells for input. That’s fair for the deed done.”
When no one moved to supply their palmquire immediately, he tilted his head in light confusion until Agott stepped forward, always the one to lead the charge in terms of academics, and stated, “We can show you tomorrow as promised, but your guidance helped us know the spell and ideas for the situation. That, and Coco, who was the one to cast the perfect spell and teach us what we didn’t do properly.”
Qifrey sat up a bit straighter. “Coco? Is that true?”
Agott! Coco shuffled a foot closer, hands tangling with each other. Her head bowed, her gaze drifting to the floor. “Um, it was my spell that got the figpear, but I wouldn’t say I taught anyone! Actually… if it wasn’t for me looking over everyone’s spells and knowing what needed to be adjusted, I don’t think I’d come close to succeeding.”
“That’s just not true!” Tetai exclaimed, her cry echoing off the walls. “Coco thought of something we didn’t! Show him the spell!”
“Show him the spell!” Richeh badgered, and Agott took hold of her palmquire and handed it to Qifrey before Coco could grasp the exchange. She watched as Agott leaned back, tucking her hands behind her back, eyes straight as she awaited Coco’s judgement and… For some reason, her steadfastness and certainty eased the awkward curl in Coco’s shoulders.
“I see,” Qifrey hummed as he looked over the spell. It wasn’t long before he glanced up, crinkles around his eye as he said, “I haven’t quite shown you this yet: I’d say you all helped each other, didn’t you?”
“Yes, we did,” Richeh confirmed with a huff of pride.
“And credit where credit is due,” Qifrey said, sitting upright in his chair before dipping his chin once. “Thank you for your gift, and thank you, Coco-” Qifrey added with a delightful chuckle, “for helping lead the class in my absence.”
“Which you lot didn’t need to do,” Olruggio cut in once the girls stopped fettering from the praise and sensation of a good turn done. “I’m fine– They are clearly wanting to learn. Why don’t you continue another wind lesson if they are so eager?”
“A witch shines brightest when helping others!” Tetia parroted in a retort, her cheeks puffing stubbornly. “We wanted to help Olly get better, so we are going to!”
“Did you still have tea brewing?” Richeh asked Qifrey, who blinked in surprise, responding though it was drowned out by Agott butting in to Olruggio, “Do you remember how much we learned when Coco was in the hospital?”
“That day…” He paused, then scratched his chin. “That was a while ago. I don’t remember what I was helping you with.”
“That’s because you decided halfway through to make soup,” Agott said, though her voice lacked disdain, “so Master Qifrey wouldn’t worry over dinner the next nights and Coco could continue to heal up. What is any different about us wanting to help now?”
Olruggio appeared to think about that for a moment, then a scowl crossed his face, his cheeks growing darker as he rested the heel of his palm on his forehead, messing his bangs in the process. He spared a glare toward Qifrey, but it lacked the heat of actual anger. Qifrey only laughed, patting Olruggio’s arm twice in mock comfort.
“They got you there, don’t they?” Qifrey mused, then announced, “For those eager to help, there’s quite some things that can be done. We can collect more figpears for dinner, I can show you how to add more moisture to the air, or we can even create a modified Serpent’s Bed of Sand spell to fit this space. Are we still up for practicing our magic?”
“Yes!” The girls retrieved their pens and palmquires as Olruggio shook his head from where he laid. Tetia decided to fetch more figpears, winking at Coco as she took their finalized spell for her to use, adjust, and play with in order to collect the fruit without getting battered by leaves. Richeh announced she’d try smaller water magic seals to distribute the water differently, easing it in. Agott already was sprawling out Tetia’s spell, eyebrows knit as she thought about what adjustments to make. That left Coco, who held her components tight as she looked around at the others getting ready to enact the work needing to be done. She bit her lip, rocking on her feet as she decided where to be when Qifrey patted her shoulder. She turned to him, and he nodded out toward the others.
“You can go with whichever task you’d like,” he told her, “but it can be just as helpful to share your ideas and work together just as you did with the figpears. I’m expecting your assistance with looking over these spells. Can you do that for me?”
Coco beamed, nodding eagerly. Her eyes stung with the emergence of tears, but she wasn’t sad at all. Quietly, she crept over to kneel beside Agott and see what they were working with. Just as Tetia was about to shut the door behind her, Olruggio cleared his throat, “Girls?”
They glanced up, Tetia poking her head out from half-way up the stairs, her movements quick to ensure she caught every word. Olruggio’s face was still sickly, stained redder than his usual pale. His hands figetted with his partially eaten figpear half, and he cleared his throat one more time before announcing, “Thank you… for helping me.”
“It’s no problem! We want to!” Coco cheered.
“Ah! Thank you for thanking–”
“It’s nice to be nice–”
“We aren’t at our best unless we are all at our best,” Agott mumbled as she drew another long line.
Olruggio stared at them for a moment, visibly caught off guard by the sincerity of their chimed in responses. His fingers fidgeted with the peel of his figpear before he finally gave a small, embarrassed smile, glancing warily over to Qifrey, “... How did you manage to get such sweet students?”
“I have no idea,” Qifrey replied. “Aren’t we a lucky bunch?”