Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Was so much blood really necessary?

Agott starts shaking as her eyes go over Coco. She didn't expect that the Order would ever go this far. Sure, they often don't care about what they saw as long as they're sure that they saw it, but this…

Coco's entire face is one bloody mess. The nurses are forced to replace her bandages every half an hour to prevent her from bleeding out. One moment she's conscious and the next she isn't.

This is horrifying to watch.

Agott gently takes Coco's hand and starts running her fingers in comforting circles on the inside of her palm. It'll be okay. She'll live.

‘You don't have to stay! In fact, I'd encourage you to leave…’ Sinocia explains, a worried expression on her face.

‘No. I have to. Someone has to stay with her.’ Agott answers without looking away from Coco.

‘That someone doesn't have to be a child…’

‘Both our masters have more important things to do.’

‘More impo- their apprentice is bleeding out! Well, Qifrey's apprentice, I guess. Ah, you get my point!’

Sinocia grabs a chair and takes a seat next to Agott.

‘Do you have a problem?’ Agott finally looks at her. She is beginning to bother her a lot. How can she complain while Coco is in a critical condition right in front of her? Now isn't the time for negativity.

‘Of course I do!!! Where are those two anyway!?’

Agott ignores her after feeling some movement beneath her finger. She draws a tiny little heart, despite not really knowing whether Coco will be able to process it.

She doesn't remember the last time she felt so stressed. What happens if Coco somehow doesn't make it? What would the world look like without her magic to brighten everything?

Agott refuses to imagine a world without Coco. Because a world without Coco has no chance of being a nice one. What would be the point of living in it if it's guaranteed to be dark and cold? Coco is the light of Agott's life. No light means that nothing good will ever happen again.

Most of the blood is coming out of her right ear. The doctors confirmed that it was badly damaged and that they aren't sure how it could've affected her hearing.

Those monsters did this to her. The monsters who dare consider themselves the images of justice.

Agott will get her revenge. As soon as Coco wakes up. First she has to determine the severity of her revenge. It certainly isn't going to be anything light. Not for doing this to Coco.

They will regret the rules they worship so willingly.

~

‘I will kill him!’

Olruggio struggles to catch up with Qifrey. He's flying way too fast. Coco must've shown him how to draw the same spell she uses on her sylph shoes. It's great that she's able to teach her master something but-

‘Qifrey! Wait! Think about this first!’

He shouldn't have left the girls alone. Especially not after everything. He knew he was making a mistake, and yet he refused to turn around. Surely Sinocia will be able to keep the girls safe until those two return. He owes her his life. If anyone will care enough to keep an eye on them, it will be Sinocia.

‘There is nothing to think about. You saw what happened with your own two eyes.’

‘You'll escalate the situation!’

Qifrey suddenly stops, and Olruggio bumps into him, causing them both to fall to the middle of a random street full of all kinds of witches. Well, that's one way for rumors to spread.

He quickly dusts himself off before offering Qifrey a hand. He takes it.

‘Escalate!?’ Qifrey shouts at him. Actually shouts. There aren't many times where Olruggio can recall his best friend raising his voice at him. ‘He nearly killed Coco! She might be dying right now! I have every right to escalate the situation!’

Witches start pointing at them and making comments. Oh great. As if on top of everything that has happened today they needed more.

‘Qifrey. Think about how this might affect y-’ Olruggio pauses after noticing the pure rage inside of Qifrey's eye. There is zero emotion in it other than malice. He isn't even sure whether he's speaking with Qifrey right now.

His friend's breaths are slow but long. Qifrey has forgotten his hat back at the hospital, and there are many rips in his cloak from when he fought with a certain someone. He's never looked like such a mess before.

Olruggio understands. He really does. He would also love to knock the life out of Easthies, but someone here has to think about the consequences of doing that. It doesn't matter who deserves what. The point stands that Easthies got physical with a child and nearly killed her. It was wrong of him to do that, even given his status. But that shouldn't mean that he deserves the same thing to happen to him. Olruggio mostly worries about how that would affect Qifrey both as a teacher and a witch.

‘I need to find Him.’ Qifrey says in a low tone, eye looking off into the distance.

‘We will find him. I promise. Just, let's get to the girls first. They need us.’

He blinks, the distant expression slowly fading. Good. His Qifrey is coming back to him.

‘But if he escapes…’

‘Utowin won't let him.’

If there was anyone Olruggio trusted to keep Easthies under control, it was Utowin.

~

Easthies looks up from the ground. His vision is blurry. And red. Similar red to the one of his uniform. This specific colour has followed him his whole life, hasn't it? One way or another, it always shows up.

He tries to run his hand through his hair but then pauses.

No. He can't do that. If he does, he'll feel the bloody crusts beneath his fingers. And then his mind will start going to all kinds of places. Ones he'd rather stay away from.

Why must there be so many paths in life? Everything would be so much easier if there were a single one. Or two, if it must be. But…this? No… Something is wrong with the world. You lean towards one side too much and it swallows you whole. Easthies wasn't sure whether he liked being swallowed.

That girl might be at the core of it all.

He had his suspicions for a while now. The green haired apprentice of Qifrey isn't a typical apprentice. No. She's something sinister.

And today, he got his proof.

He was waiting for this moment for too long. Everyone told him he was imagining things. It was frustrating having to constantly be lectured about making false assumptions. He felt it in his blood that the girl would go down the wrong path. Or perhaps she has been on it since the very beginning.

‘So… What? You're not even going to explain yourself?’ Utowin says from his left.

Right. Utowin. He's here for some reason. Hiding with Easthies in an abandoned apartment within the Great Hall. Abandoned because he erased the memory of its owner not long ago.

‘I don't see what is there to explain. We both saw the same thing.’ Easthies doesn't recognise his own voice. It sounds like it belongs to somebody else.

He feels Utowin turn his head to look at him.

‘Dude, you nearly beat a child to death.’

‘For good reason.’

‘There is never a good reason to beat someone up!’

Utowin never made much sense when sharing his morals. There could be plenty of good reasons to harm a child. Would Easthies have done it if it was so wrong? He only feels that it's wrong because those around him tell him that. Why should he care about what the others think? They are too sensitive for their own good.

‘She was talking to a Brimmed Cap.’

‘Yeah, but-’

‘There can't be any objections. She was speaking to it in a casual manner. That's not something you look into. It's a matter that must be dealt with swiftly before the virus spreads nation-wide.’

Utowin stays silent after this. Maybe he even leaves the room. Easthies can't tell. His vision is still red, and it doesn't look like it'll fade away any time soon.

He slowly begins to close his eyes.

Utowin wouldn't rat him out, would he?

No.

And that makes Easthies wonder why and how they're on the same side.

Easthies gets up and uses the sink to wash his blood soaked hands. He nearly throws up as he watches the blood come off.

~

Tetia is about to hurt somebody.

Master Qifrey and Master Olly still haven't returned from wherever they went. How could they leave Coco like that!? She's very angry at them.

Richeh is, too. Tetia has been watching her create a super long ribbon for the past hour. She claims it's to use to strangle Mr. Easthies. Tetia fully supports this.

It's boring sitting out here in the middle of the Great Hall hospital and waiting for something to happen. Whether it be Coco waking up or one of her masters returning, she didn't care. As long as something happens.

‘Hey, what do you think really happened?’ Tetia asks Richeh.

‘With the brimmed cap?’

‘Yeah. You don't think that Coco actually…’

Richeh shakes her head.

‘No. Coco doesn't seem like the type of person to stab us in the back.’ She stops drawing for a second and looks up at Tetia. ‘Do you not trust her?’

Tetia rubs her chin.

It's precisely because she trusts Coco that she believes that something is up.

‘I'm just worried. She has been acting very strange these last few weeks… you know?’

Richeh grips her ribbon tighter.

‘Yeah. I know exactly what you mean.’

She has been smiling way less. And has even forgotten to feed the brushbuddy a couple of times. Coco never forgets to feed Brushbuddy!

Maybe all that hanging out with Agott is starting to change her. Tetia has never been able to get along with Agott. They are on neutral terms, but since Agott prefers to keep to herself, Tetia wouldn't consider her a super close friend like her other two fellow apprentices.

And besides…

Tetia is scared of Agott sometimes. She and Richeh had to step out of Coco's room because the blood made them feel uneasy. And the stench inside the room… gross. Agott doesn't seem to mind at all. And has been staying there for hours now.

How does a person do that? It's incredible. Tetia wants to be by Coco's side. To comfort her. To tell her that everything's going to be alright. But she can't.

Well, at least one of them is able to do it. Some comfort is better than no comfort.

‘That fight between Mr. Easthies and Master Qifrey was pretty intense.’ Tetia comments. She must talk or else she'll start worrying. No one said anything about whether Coco will survive. And Agott's lack of presence could mean anything. Maybe she's dying at this exact moment…

‘Was it? I wasn't looking.’ Richeh responds. Her full attention is on the ribbon in her hand. Tetia is starting to wonder whether she'll actually use it. She assumed she was joking at first.

‘it was!’ Good. Now she has a good opportunity to talk. Talking is good because it forces a person to only think about the words that are coming out of their mouth and nothing else. Just what Tetia needs. ‘You really should've seen how Master attacked Mr. Easthies.’

‘Really? What did he do?’

‘What didn't he do is a better question… I didn't know he could get so mad!’

‘I always knew he had it in him, to be honest.’

Tetia raises her eyebrows.

‘What makes you say that?’

Richeh looks around before scooting closer to Tetia. She leans next to her ear, and begins to whisper.

‘Remember that time he threatened Mr. Easthies with the epic Raincleaver?’

Tetia gasps out loud, earning a few concerned looks from the nurses passing by.

‘You're right! Mr. Easthies totally deserved it. Both that time and…’ She pauses. He did deserve it, right? Even if Coco was involved with the brimmed caps, that wouldn't mean that she immediately needed to be punished. And so violently? No, no. Definitely not. Yuck.

Tetia gags at the memory of Coco's bloody face. Richeh just stares at her.

‘Are you girls doing fine?’ A voice pops out from Coco's room, addressing the two of them. Sinocia. This might be her 10th time doing this. Except now she seems more relaxed than the last 9 times she checked up on them. That should be a good thing, right?

‘Is Coco?’ Tetia asks, getting up to her feet.

Sinocia seems to bite back whatever she was about to say. No…

‘Why don't you see for yourself? There isn't as much blood anymore. I promise. And we also opened the window so-’ but before Sinocia can finish, Tetia is already shoving her way past her, dragging Richeh along.

~

Feeling like you're underwater is one way to describe it. The most accurate way Coco can think of at the moment. And on top of that, she isn't too sure whether she's awake or still dreaming. It's like a part of her isn't present at the moment.

She looks around the room, trying to make sense of everything that is happening around her.

Nurses. Doctors. Oh, that's Sinocia. Coco remembers her. Tetia and Richeh are rushing past her towards Coco. She grins at the sight of them.

And then she notices some weight lying on her chest. She recognises the dark curls immediately and immediately goes to touch them.

Agott jolts up and looks around the room in panic. It looks like she had fallen asleep at some point. Her eyes immediately soften at the sight of Coco and she smiles. For a second, Coco forgets about the pain.

Agott's mouth moves but Coco fails to understand what she's trying to say. She can make out a few sounds but connecting them to specific words feels like too much for her right now.

People are talking all around her. The drowning feeling keeps getting worse and Coco's head feels like it might explode at any point. Her left… Her right… The foot of her bed… There are too many sounds!

‘Agott…?’ She says, trying to figure out what's going on.

Tetia and Richeh move to the right side of the bed. She recognises Tetia mouthing her name…

They all look so happy to see her. Coco smiles despite all the pain.

‘Coco, can you hear us!?’ Tetia shouts out of nowhere. This forces Coco to cover her ears immediately. Upon touching the right one, she notices a thick layer of what appear to be bandages.

‘Yes! Just…’ she groans in pain. She shouldn't have touched anything.

Agott immediately turns to Sinocia and begins shouting at her, the other two join.

Coco tries to read their lips but fails. Has the world always been this noisy? If yes, then how did she miss that?

~

Qifrey feels destroyed by guilt. Olly is right, how could he leave the girls alone? Their current wellbeing matters so much more than getting revenge. He should know this. Messing up so much is going to make the girls lose their trust in him. He can't have that. He's supposed to be an adult that they can rely on.

What would he do without Olly? He'd probably be dead. His star is always there to light the correct path.

He looks slightly down at Olruggio as they make their way back to the hospital in the Great Hall. He has refused to let go of Qifrey ever since he caught him. Holding hands isn't something Qifrey is too comfortable with. Not by choice, anyway.

Thankfully, stressing over Coco is able to keep the parasite in control.

Oh, Coco. What was she doing? And most importantly, why wouldn't she mention anything to him?

He's a horrible teacher if his students don't go to him first.

Once they finally arrive and get taken to the room in which they placed Coco, Olruggio lets go of Qifrey's hand in an abrupt manner. Qifrey doesn't mind it much. He deserves it.

‘There you two are!’ Sinocia shouts from within the room. She immediately shuts her mouth as soon as the words come out, for some reason.

Qifrey's entire body freezes as he sees the state Coco is in, and the worried faces of her fellow apprentices do little to reassure him that everything is fine.

This shouldn't keep happening. How many times has he been through this exact same scenario? He's doing a horrible job at protecting them.

He slowly walks over to Coco, taking a seat next to Agott near the bed.

Something that he immediately noted as he went inside was how quiet everyone was. Which is unusual for a hospital.

He turns to Sinocia, who points to her right ear.

Oh.

‘Are you feeling better now, Coco? I'm sorry I didn't think about how overwhelming this must be for you…’ Sinocia begins as she readjusts the pillows behind Coco, helping her to sit upright. ‘We don't often get cases like…these. What even happened?’

Olruggio sighs from behind Qifrey.

‘We don't know much about the details, but one of the Order members attacked Coco. The others are currently looking into it and trying to track him down.’

‘A Knight Moralis did this!? That's horrible!’ Sinocia's surprise prompts a clear discomfort on Coco's face. Qifrey gives her a blank stare.

‘Sorry…’ She apologises. ‘I just, I don't know what to say. You witches scare me sometimes.’

‘The Knights are the scary ones. She did nothing wrong.’ Agott immediately defends.

That's when Qifrey notices Coco's hand in Agott's. It reminds him of how desperate Agott was to come with him when he decided to go after Easthies. He's pretty sure that she's the reason Easthies walked away with a bloody face. She allegedly threw somebody's vase at him.

He wants to scold her for it, but it would make him a hypocrite. They'll talk later. And when they do, he'll make sure to praise her bravery while also reminding her that it wasn't the most clever choice at the time.

‘Well, if you need me to testify about the severity of her injuries, don't hesitate to ask.’ Sinocia says after a long silence.

‘Thank you. We appreciate everything that you do.’ Qifrey tells her while pulling out his pen from underneath his cloak.

‘What exactly did he do to Coco?’ Olruggio asks. He probably noticed.

Sinocia lets out an exhausted sigh as everyone's eyes turn to her. Good.

‘Well, based on the scars all over her body, it would seem as if somebody kept trying to stab her. The weapon went inside her ear numerous times, and we really tried our best but…’

‘Coco is deaf!?’ Tetia exclaims

‘Come on. It can't be that difficult to stay quiet.’ Richeh complains playfully as she wraps her ribbon over Tetia's mouth. It is very effective.

‘Not entirely deaf. Her left ear shouldn't be affected. And her right one technically isn't fully destroyed, but most of the hearing in it is gone.’

Qifrey doesn't dare ask whether it can be restored. He isn't going to make that mistake again. Especially not with Coco. Hearing the answer might have crushed him, but he won't allow it to crush her.

He subtly shakes his head when Tetia and Richeh look at him, seeking the same answer.

It breaks his heart.

This is on him. He should've noticed that Coco had been hanging out with the brimmed caps. He could have prevented it. He is her master, for goodness’ sake.

‘Go on.’ Agott says to Sinocia. Out of all of them, she appears to be the calmest.

Sinocia crosses her arms and sits at the foot of Coco's bed. The look she gives her can only be described as pity.

Qifrey recalls Beldaruit looking at him the same way at one point in his life.

‘There…isn't really much to say. I'd definitely recommend not yelling around her. It could contribute to headaches that may lead to more severe mental health issues.’ Sinocia explains

‘Mental health issues …?’ Agott's hand goes to Coco's face. She moves a strand to the side very gently and allows her hand to linger for a moment longer than she would normally allow it to. Sweet. Qifrey smiles at that.

‘We've had patients who experienced similar problems who… couldn't handle the distorted noise so they…’ Sinocia gestures to her neck and does a throat slitting motion. Qifrey can feel Olruggio furrowing his brows at the way she described it. He's trying his best not to do the same for the sake of keeping a positive environment for Coco to come back to.

‘What are you suggesting?’

‘That you all take very good care of her until she gets used to this. Don't stress her out too much. And… maybe calm down with the lessons a little?’ She looks at Qifrey and Olruggio.

‘I'll pause the lessons.’ Qifrey says, turning to look at Coco. He's almost done with drawing the seal. He only needs to add a few more symbols. ‘I don't expect any of my apprentices to do anything other than rest when in such critical condition.’

Sinocia nods before raising an eyebrow at Olruggio.

‘Why are you looking at me…?’ He asks her.

‘And you? You'll stop your lessons too, right?’

‘Lessons? I'm no teacher. You know that.’

‘Sure you're not.’ She rolls her eyes. ‘I wonder when you two will stop denying it.’

Qifrey wasn't sure what ‘it’ was. Olly probably doesn't know either since he isn't saying anything. He leans on Qifrey's chair.

‘Can you leave us alone for a moment? To discuss what happened in private?’ Agott asks. Richeh and Tetia nod along, all three pairs of eyes filled with urgency to find out what happened.

Coco stirs in her awkward state of being barely conscious.

‘Of course. No problem. Oh, what was I thinking? It's really none of my business. I'll let the nurses know not to come in.’ And with that, Sinocia leaves.

Qifrey immediately checks the spell he's been working on now that it doesn't matter anymore whether somebody sees him. It's decent. The lines are straight enough. It should work.

He readjusts some parts that he messed up and gives it a good look. His skills in these kinds of spells aren't as developed as he would've liked them to be. They require details he isn't able to see with his eye. The best he can do is guess and hope that it's fine. Minor mistakes shouldn't alter the main function too much.

‘What kind of spell is that?’ Agott asks as her eyes go over the seal. Qifrey isn't surprised by her confusion. He's yet to teach them these kinds of spells. Maybe he should start with the outlines. They could become very useful very soon. Richeh and Tetia peer over the bed to see.

‘A noise barrier. Once I close it, anything that touches the bed enters a field with little to no sound.’ He explains.

‘Huh? But won't that make things worse?’ Tetia asks.

‘On the contrary. Some peace and quiet could give her a peace of mind. Many of those who are deaf in one ear end up finding ways to make themselves fully deaf for more comfort.’ Olruggio says as he slowly sinks to the ground. He lays his chin on the arm rest. Poor thing. Must have stayed up late last night.

Qifrey feels bad for dragging him through the Great Hall. It was just meant to be a simple trip to show the girls the special types of ink not sold at the Starry Sword. Ones he was going to use in his next lesson. Olruggio insisted on giving them a personal lesson since he was very familiar with the ink in question. Qifrey should've pushed more for him to stay home.

‘Comfort? Isn't it better to have some hearing than no hearing?’

‘That would depend entirely on the person in question.’

The seal looks fine. The worst that can happen is that not all noise gets blocked out. He can fix that if that's the case.

He closes the ring after making sure that no one except for Coco is touching the bed, and nothing seems to happen at first. Qifrey leans back into his chair and carefully assesses each one of his apprentices.

Agott is very fidgety. Rightfully so. He feels exactly the same if not worse. She doesn't know what to do with her hands when she isn't holding Coco's.

Tetia's frown isn't something anyone sees often. She, without a doubt, feels horrible for what happened to Coco. Horrible, but… something else is there. Tetia must also be suspecting that the meeting with the Brimmed Cap was real. Agott doesn't seem to care much about it. To Agott, nothing matters at the moment other than Coco. Qifrey bites back a teasing remark to spare Agott from embarrassment. Those two can be so sweet at times that it makes his roots grow, only ever so slightly.

He adjusts his glasses and as subtly as possible tries to cover the right side of his face with more hair strands. He often wishes he could grow longer hair just so that he could hide behind it when the world becomes too much for him to handle.

Richeh is stuffing the ribbon she had around Tetia's mouth into her pocket. Qifrey doubts that she created it specifically for Tetia. She definitely had something, or rather someone else in mind. Looks like he'll have to talk with her, too.

When he finally looks at Coco, he can't stop the memory flashing right before his eyes.

He and the others had arrived at the scene too late. Easthies had Coco tied to a tree and was clumsily using his spear to stab her. Luckily, he kept missing the vital areas. Most of them, at least.

Qifrey had pulled out Raincleaver and would've definitely thrown it while aiming at the Knight Moralis’ head had Olruggio not stopped him.

They allowed Easthies to escape.

But not for long. He won't kill him, but he will do something.

If Qifrey can't kill him, he'll find a way to ruin his life. He'll contact Beldaruit and have him stripped of his title. He'll spread so many nasty rumors that no one in the Great Hall will ever want to hire him for anything again. He'll-

‘Ow, ow, ow!’ Olruggio yelps.

It is only then that Qifrey notices that he's been running his hands through Olly's hair. He must've started pulling. Good thing he put up that sound barrier.

‘Oh dear, I'm so sorry!’

‘Eh… I think I needed that. Can barely keep my eyes open, and falling asleep now wouldn't really be appropriate.’

Everyone stares at him.

‘You can sleep, Master Olly. I-I won't mind!’ An unsure voice finally says.

~

Coco is slowly returning to herself. Enough of her consciousness is back for her to speak. Or at least she thinks she's speaking. She can't hear herself. Why can't she hear herself? She begins to panic, looking around at everyone. Their mouths are moving and they're all looking at her with all kinds of expressions.

Agott, Qifrey, and Olruggio seem relieved.

Richeh isn't reacting much, per usual. But her eyes are wide.

And Tetia looks worried.

Coco tries to speak again, and nothing comes out. She tries screaming.

…

The others look at her as If she were some puzzle that needed to be figured out.

What is going on…?

Agott suddenly grabs a notebook and writes something in it before handing it to Coco with a concerned expression.

‘Master drew a sound barrier spell on your bed. He thought it might help you. Are you alright?’ Coco feels less panicky as she reads Agott's shaky handwriting. She nods before turning to Master Qifrey.

‘How did you do that?’ She writes, handing him the notebook. He looks at it before looking up at her, shaking his head with the inner corner of his eyebrows raised.

‘I'll tell you all about it when you recover. Do you prefer the spell?’

She definitely did. Her head felt so much clearer. The pain still persisted but it wasn't as bad. Definitely manageable.

‘Yes. Thank you.’

Tetia snatches the notebook from Master Qifrey's hands and begins writing down something furiously. Richeh takes a step back in fear, letting the ribbon fall. Tetia isn't usually this angry.

Does she know something she shouldn't?

Master appears to ask her something, but she doesn't respond, and instead only speeds up her writing pace. They all have a conversation that Coco can't understand.

She looks to Agott, who hasn't said anything.

Agott then points to Tetia and shrugs before placing a comforting hand on Coco's shoulder. She then does the gesture for letting out a deep breath.

Understandable enough. Coco leans into the touch, placing her hand over Agott's. She blushes at that and looks away.

Finally, Tetia gives her the notebook.

~

Richeh watches as Coco's eyes widen for a split second. She exchanges a quick glance with Agott that confirms she saw it too.

Tetia's handwriting is horrendous. Richeh wasn't able to read most of it from behind her. But she did come to one realisation.

Something was up with Tetia. She normally worries a lot whenever anyone gets hurt, but there is something different about her reaction now.

She hasn't stopped bouncing her foot all day. While they were outside, it bothered Richeh so much to the point where she had to excuse herself five different times to walk around the Great Hall for peace of mind. And now she's doing it again.

Richeh is terrified. Both for Tetia and of Tetia.

~

He had been expecting Easthies to act out at some point. He just didn't think that it would happen so soon. And out of nowhere. And…and so violently. Gross.

Utowin fails to understand why this makes him so sad rather than angry.

‘And you're sure that you don't know where he is?’ Luluci asks him.

‘Why would I know?’

‘I don't know. Maybe because he's your best friend? Well, I guess not anymore.’

‘...What are you implying?’

‘What? You're not going to announce me as your new best friend?’

‘You want me to be YOUR friend?’

‘I thought we were already friends…?’

That, they were. Utowin smiles at the confirmation.

Easthies never once called him his friend.

He pauses mid air.

…

‘What's wrong?’ Luluci asks, stopping just a few meters ahead of him. She turns to look at him.

‘If I were to turn around and say that I forgot something, would you believe me?’

She stares at him.

‘Like, listen, this thing is very important. We won't be able to track down Easthies without it.’ He explains.

Horror fills her eyes.

‘Did you put a tracking chip in him!?’

‘What- No! What even- Nevermind. Will you let me go?’

‘Will I?’

‘Will you?’

‘Do you know what you're doing?’

‘Do I?’

She pokes him in the head with the lower part of her spear.

‘Well, you better figure it out.’

With that, she turns around and continues flying on her own.

~

‘I'm telling you, we don't know what happened. We noticed that Coco was missing and went to look for her. When we found her, she was tied to a tree with Easthies in front of her. He was holding some sort of metal object. Pretty obvious what happened if you're asking me.’

Orluggio crosses his arms, nearly losing it as he explains everything to Beldaruit again and again. However, he's glad to be having this conversation with him rather than Vinanna. He really isn't a fan of her. One wrong move and Olruggio might end up in a worse shape than Coco. He remembers her chasing him around with real weapons whenever he and Qifrey got in trouble. He's been doing his best to avoid her since then.

‘What I fail to understand, Olly, is-’

‘Don't call me Olly.’

Beldaruit frowns.

‘Olruggio.’ He corrects himself. ‘What I fail to understand is how you lost her in the first place.’

‘She…’ How DOES he explain this? ‘Uh-’

‘She's been kidnapped. That's what I gathered from the situation, at least.’ Agott says.

Olruggio turns to look at her. He specifically told the three of them not to say anything and that he had it all under control.

Her posture is stiff, but her voice is full of confidence. Olruggio isn't too sure whether this will be enough to fool Beldaruit. As strange as the guy is, he's still one of the wise.

‘Kidnapped, you say?’ Beldaruit repeats, a hand going to his chin. ‘Who would do such a thing?’

‘Obviously Mr. Easthies! He won't stop targeting Coco!’ Richeh jumps in.

‘Yeah! Shouldn't you be looking into him instead of Coco?’ Tetia adds.

This is going to be one long day. Olruggio can only hope that Qifrey has managed to find out what happened with Coco.

All they know is that Easthies had her tied to a tree while attempting to kill her with his spear. All that while screaming something about the Brimmed Caps. They all agreed not to mention the last part to Beldaruit just in case he decides to believe the order over them. Beldaruit was a confusing man at times.

Why would Easthies physically attack her? Erasing memories is one thing, but this? Olruggio isn't sure what to make of it.

~

Coco isn't used to Master Qifrey being angry at her. Never once before has he looked at her with such hatred in his eyes.

She should be upset, right?

Any apprentice would feel very guilty for upsetting their master, but Coco doesn't feel any of that. Instead, she stands firm with her decisions. She doesn't mind it it makes him hate her.

He hands her another note.

‘I understand that you're only trying to help, but please, you need to stop getting yourself into trouble for my sake. I told you about my secret because I couldn't keep lying to you. I never intended for you to try and fix this. You can't fix it.’

She rips the note into tiny little pieces and throws them at her master's face before picking up the pen.

‘I thought you said anything can be fixed with magic.’

‘This… Coco... You're going to get yourself killed.’

‘Why are you of all people being so hopeless!? You're supposed to be the one who encourages me to keep going even when I don't see a way out!’

He reads very slowly, and then sets the note down on the bedside table. Her master looks at her with an unreadable expression on his face. Then, to her surprise, pulls her into a hug.

Despite feeling very annoyed with him, she returns the hug, and begins to cry.

All she wanted was to prevent his eyesight from fading away. The only way she could do that was through forbidden magic. That's what she realised after hours of research.

So naturally, Coco managed to get a meeting with one of the brimmed caps with the help of Custas and Ininia. She knew how dangerous it would be. She considered all the risks and still decided to go through with her plan because her master deserves it.

Did he seriously expect her not to do anything? Probably not. He knew deep down that she was going to try something at some point. He must feel so horrible for not being able to stop Coco. That guilt is likely the only thing allowing him to hug her at the moment. She cherishes every second of it.

‘The spell.’ She says, unsure of whether her master hears her. ‘Remove it.’

He pulls back and starts writing again.

‘Are you sure?’

She nods.

The moment he wipes down the seal, Coco can't stop herself from groaning.

She can hear sheets rustling with every little movement. Even breathing causes them to make some sort of noise. It's like her hearing in her right ear got significantly better after the other one got ruined.

This reminds her. Didn't her master mention something about his eye getting more tired than a typical person's eyes would?

Will she deal with similar issues in regards to her ear?

Coco can feel the headache coming back, but she does her best to act normal as she wipes the tears off her face and pulls away from the hug to properly face her master.

‘I don't regret it.’ She tells him, struggling to get used to the voice she always had.

‘You should. I'm not worth losing an ear over.’

She can tell that he's doing his best not to raise his voice.

‘Well…’ Coco starts, putting a smile on her face. One her master immediately recognises. ‘At least we are matching!’ She exclaims. Even speaking loudly feels messy. It makes the hearing difference way more obvious than it needs to be.

‘The right ear and the right eye…’

‘At least you're not suffering alone anymore. You may not be able to tell the others, but… know that I'm here.’

‘Coco…’

‘Don't look at me like that. I'd gladly lose all of my hearing if it meant you could keep even the smallest bits of your sight. And I'm sure that the others would do the same without missing a heartbeat. Don't you dare blame yourself for this. Your problems are everyone's problems. We are an atelier. We are supposed to stick together through things like this, even if sticking together may seem difficult at times.’

Master Qifrey unsurprisingly gets up and takes a few steps back.

‘Go ahead and turn into a tree right now. I'll go to the Brimmed Caps and do all I can in my power to turn you back.’ She tells him, crossing her arms.

Did she go overboard? She can't tell if he's uncomfortable because the roots are making their move or if there might be some other reason for it. He has never been the type to accept people doing things for him, so that could be another valid explanation.

‘Alright, then.’ He carefully says before taking a deep breath and removing his glasses.

Coco has gotten used to the scars and the occasional branches sticking out of where his eye used to be. This time there is no sign of the tree.

‘Does it feel nice?’ she asks. ‘To be yourself?’

‘Nothing ever feels nice. I think you've been plenty mean today. Care to stop?’ He teases.

‘Mean!? Master, you're the one who has been scolding me for like an hour!’

He sits back down in the chair, burying his face in his hands.

‘I suppose I should expect similar treatment from others.’ Coco realises.

‘Especially from Agott.’

‘Not if she doesn't find out.’

Except she totally will find out and hoping that she won't is basically grasping at straws.

Her master looks up at her, eye filled with devastation despite the soft expression he puts on.

‘Coco…What do I do with you?’

~

Richeh has been tasked with keeping Tetia away from Beldaruit after she threatened to burn the entire Great Hall down if he dared to try to paint Coco as the bad guy.

Richeh is already done with her.

Richeh must find a leash and tie Tetia to a pole.

She looks down at her hands.

‘Oh you are NOT putting that thing on me!’

Richeh snickers. She wasn't really going to, but now she might. Her smile fades.

‘Why would you say that to one of the three wise!? You made things look so much worse for our masters. And for Coco.’

Beldaruit might consider putting all four of them elsewhere since Master Qifrey and Olruggio managed to lose Coco so easily.

And Coco's alleged connection to the Brimmed Caps…

Richeh doesn't like how all this sounds. What if Mr. Easthies wasn't lying to get himself out of trouble?

‘I'm sorry- There is just so much happening and I panicked-’

‘A simple sorry isn't going to fix whatever you just caused. Did you see how concerned Beldaruit looked?’

‘I didn't want Coco to have her memories wip-’

‘What is it with you Tetia!?’

Tetia pauses for a second and bites her lip as she looks at Richeh. She's going to start crying, isn't she?

‘I'm scared…’

‘We're all scared.’

‘No… I'm scared of what this means for us Pointed Caps… a member of the Order meant to protect us hurt Coco, and now her memory might be erased… This can't be right… No. I can't accept it…’

Ah. So this is finally happening.

Richeh hugs Tetia.

‘There is never a right or wrong.’

‘But us pointed ca-’

‘You said it yourself. It can't be right.’

‘Richeh…’

~

After some time has passed, Olruggio, Agott, and Beldaruit come out. Tetia immediately gets off the ground and runs towards them, desperate to see everyone's faces and see what she'll be able to gather from them.

‘But as I said, I'm afraid I won't be able to keep Coco entirely safe. Vinanna would likely like to speak with her as well, regardless of my report. You know how she is.’ Beldaruit explains as the world around Tetia freezes.

Beldaruit doesn't seem to mind this. And Master Qifrey, being his former apprentice, means that he doesn't mind this either… but no… Master…He's supposed to be different.

She looks at him. His face is calm. Calm because he doesn't care or because Coco will be alright?

But will she really be alright?

This is horrible. Something is very wrong with the pact. Coco doesn't deserve any of it. She should be resting and Tetia, along with everyone else, should be looking for a way to help Coco regain what she has lost.

How will they do that?

Using any magic on the body is a serious violation. Is there really a way to get back Coco's hearing if they can't draw on her.

‘Are you okay, grandapprentice?’

Beldaruit places his hand softly on her shoulder. The gesture makes her realise that she hasn't been paying attention to the conversation at all.

‘Don't call me grandapprentice!’

He dramatically slumps over, fake crying.

‘I can't call anyone anything anymore… Qifrey has chosen such a mean family…’

‘Maybe he doesn't like your strict rules that only benefit the privileged.’ she crosses her arms. It is only then that she realised that the others have left already. From the corner of her eyes, she can feel them waiting for her.

‘My rules? You think that I'm in a privileged condition?’

‘Yes.’

He spins around using his sealchair, a serious look on his face.

‘I understand your frustrations, Tetia. But I can't do anything.’

‘Liar! You're one of the three wise! You must have some power over the system!’

Beldaruit shakes his head, looking a little too annoyed for Tetia's liking.

‘I'm afraid I don't. All I can do now is pretend that Coco really did get kidnapped and didn't run away on her own.’

Tetia takes a step back.

‘You…don't believe us?’

‘Of course I don't!’ He chuckles. ‘Olruggio came up with the same lie every time Qifrey got involved with the Brims. I decided to ignore it then because I couldn't stop either of them from whatever they were doing.’

‘Couldn't you have protected them from the Brimmed Caps?’

‘In my condition? No. If I had told someone else, word would have gotten around. And then things would've gotten very ugly… So here's my advice, little Tetia.’

He offers her his hand, and she hesitantly takes it. They begin slowly heading towards the others. Richeh is standing in front of Master Olly and Agott, trying to stop them from interrupting Tetia and Beldaruit's little chat.

‘Ignore it. If an evil is good in your eyes, always ignore it and let the events play out on their own.’

But she couldn't.

She refuses to sit around and do nothing.

~

Agott nearly fainted of relief after seeing Coco happily chatting with their master. She was smiling. That smile often showed up in Agott's dreams. It was nice to see it once again after all the horrors Coco has experienced today.

She runs towards the chair next to her master and takes a seat.

‘Hi!’ Coco greets her.

The spell seems to be gone. Agott glances at Qifrey, and he gives her a reassuring nod.

‘Hey. Seems like you're doing better.’

‘Yeah… I'm slowly getting used to it. Just, please make sure to use a softer tone? And… maybe don't talk one over another?’

Coco seems a bit nervous whenever she makes requests. She doesn't know that Agott would gladly fight a dragon for her if she were only to ask. Something so simple means nothing for Agott.

She smiles at her before pulling her into a tight embrace, making sure not to touch the area around Coco's right ear.

‘I was so scared that you wouldn't wake up…’ Agott admits in a soft whisper, her voice breaking. ‘I was ready to turn to forbidden magic to get my revenge on Easthies and I-’

Coco returns the hug, nearly crushing every bone inside of Agott.

‘Hey. I'm fine. You won't be beating anyone up.’

‘Agott may not. But I might.’

Both of their heads turn to look at Master Qifrey.

‘At least allow me to help…?’ Agott jokes. It feels strange coming out of her mouth. Jokes were something childish. And yet… she didn't care at the moment. Nothing mattered now except that Coco was alive and well. She'd gladly crack jokes every minute of the day if it meant that Coco was fine.

‘No one's getting physical. Come on, Qifrey. You're better than this.’ Master Olly says as he playfully shoves Master Qifrey, nearly making him trip.

‘Hey.’

‘Behave.’

‘Don't treat me like I'm some dog.’

‘You acted like one not long ago. You freak.’

Richeh giggles at their masters’ interaction. Tetia is surprisingly quiet. Could it be the blood? She was always the sensitive one out of them four.

‘You're just embarrassed that so many people saw us.’ Master Qifrey tilts his head in challenge.

‘O-of course I'm embarrassed… I'll lose clients.’

‘Is that really the true reason?’

Is Master Olly seriously blushing?

Agott's eyes go back to Coco. She seems alright for the most part.

‘Want to go on a walk? Just you and me?’ She asks her.

‘And us two?’ Richeh interrupts.

‘We are going to hold hands and then maybe kiss.’

‘Oh, ew. Nevermind then.’

Coco blinks at Agott, clearly a little shocked.

Their two masters are still deep into their playful banter. Agott doubts that they'll mind if she and Coco were to leave for just a short while. Maybe they want them to leave.

However, Agott can't shake the feeling that something is wrong with Tetia. She hasn't been acting right ever since she handed Coco that note she wrote. Coco ended up burning the note and giving Tetia a very nasty look, which made everyone's eyes go wide. No one has mentioned it yet.

How should any of them even comfort Tetia? Usually she's the comforter.

Whatever. Let the masters and Richeh figure it out. Agott must first discuss something pressing with Coco. And it can't wait. Not any longer.

~

‘It itches…’ Coco complains while scratching her bandaged ear.

‘Don't touch it too much. You'll make it so much worse.’

Coco wished she could stop. It's unbearable. Soon she'll press her head against a rock and-

Agott suddenly grabs both of her hands.

‘You were meeting up with a Brimcap.’ She tells her. It's not a question.

So that's why Agott kept taking her to different parts of the Great Hall. Of course. How can Coco ever doubt Agott's brilliant mind? She was looking for a quiet place where nobody could overhear them.

And she found one.

They sneaked onto some balcony secluded from the public, facing the depths of the ocean through a large window. It's a very nice view. Different kinds of fish swim by every few seconds. Coco could stare at them forever. The only thing stopping her is Agott.

The deep blue from the water is making her purple eyes light up in an unusual way. They're beautiful. How had Coco never noticed the beauty inside of Agott's eyes?

‘Coco?’ Agott drops Coco's hands, trusting that Coco will stop scratching. Alright. She'll give it a go.

They're supposed to be talking. This was never intended to be a simple walk. This should do the job of distracting her enough from the itching.

‘You're right. I was.’ Coco leans against the railing, looking at the fish. There is an interesting white one that is swimming upside down that catches her attention.

Agott sighs.

‘Were you going to tell me?’

‘No.’

The fish slowly sinks lower and lower with each flap of its tail. It's devastating to watch.

Agott leans on the spot next to her, looking down at the bottom. Or at least what should be the bottom. There's no light on the lower levels. Who knows how deep this water actually is?

‘I knew that you would figure it out on your own.’ She tells Agott.

‘The others did too. Why didn't you confirm it with them as well? I'm nobody special.’

‘You're very special to me.’

Agott bites her lip in embarrassment.

‘You're only saying that. You don't mean it.’

Coco leans her head on Agott's shoulder and continues to observe the fish.

Despite struggling so much, the fish never stops trying. It probably knows that it's sinking. Its rapid tail movements that keep increasing in speed make that rather obvious. It knows that it can't swim up, and yet it keeps trying and trying.

It's an adult fish. The size of it is too big for it to have just been born. How has it survived for so long?

‘I do mean it. And I'm going to prove to you just how much I mean it.’

Coco feels Agott's head move to look down at her.

‘Prove? How?’

‘I'm going to tell you something, and then I'm going to trust that you won't tell the others. You're special because I never should've shared this with anyone. Secrets like these are only shared with special people.’

‘...Are you planning on joining the Brimmed Caps?’

‘What do you think?’

‘Yes.’

‘No. I asked what YOU think. Not what made sense.’

‘Then…’ Agott pauses for a second, Coco allows her to think while she focuses on the fish.

It's slowing down its movements. There's a good chance that it will die sometime soon. And Coco won't be able to witness it because of how much it has sunk already. Who cares about a fish at the bottom of the ocean? Most prefer ones that they can see. Dolphins are a good example. Since they often come out to greet humans. Does this mean that dolphins are better than this one fish? No. Not really. Why would the fish care about humans and what they think?

‘You aren't. Sorry, that was a very messed up assumption. You'd never join them, regardless of what they offer you.’ Agott finally says.

Coco smiles and removes her head from Agott's shoulder. She makes eye contact with her.

‘So why was I meeting up with one?’

‘Because you had some business with them.’

‘See! You are special!’

Agott's eyes seem to lighten up more at Coco's words. It is then that Coco remembers what Agott told Richeh before they left and blushes. Agott must've thought of it too, since she's slowly turning as red as a tomato.

‘W-will you tell me what that business was?’ Agott asks, breaking eye contact.

Coco understands why she would look away. She leans against the railing again, this time not facing the ocean. She doesn't need to worry about the fish. Because she knows that there are many ways for a fish like that one to survive. And Coco has an idea she strongly believes to be true. Or no. She knows it's true.

‘I already answered that question.’

‘Right. You did. Hey, can't-’ Agott pauses after accidentally raising her voice. ‘Can't you be more direct…?’

The fish has friends. Friends who will help it move wherever it wants to move. They don't do it because another fish is paying them in snacks, but because they care about the white fish. Just because it swims upside down doesn't mean that its value in fish society should be based on that. Or on anything, for that matter.

‘Master Qifrey is a silverwood host.’

~

Easthies begins to feel a little better as he steps into the lake. Far, far away from the Great Hall. The water here must be so dirty. It's clear, except that doesn't mean that he should trust it.

He only got inside after watching some animals come by to drink. They all left after they saw him. How bad does he look that not even a rabbit would look at him?

He doesn't dare look into his reflection in the water. He's afraid of what he might see. Will it be Easthies or something else entirely? Perhaps he has turned into some beast.

‘Easthies!’ A voice calls out from somewhere.

They found him, haven't they? This is it, then. The best he can do is accept it. Perhaps they'll execute him. That would be a very comfortable punishment. Though he definitely deserves worse.

If he can't fulfill his job, then there is little for him to look forward to in life. Not even Utowin wants to stay by him. Utowin, who defended him in every single scandal. Easthies doesn't blame him for finally giving up on him.

Utowin is too kind for his own good. He's well liked by most people in his friend group. While Easthies doesn't even have any friends. Perhaps it is Utowin who is showing the others where he is.

Ah how tragic that would be. Having the nice guy be his final push towards the edge of the cliff.

Easthies wasn't sure what Utowin was. A friend seemed too far-fetched. A companion? No, that's a synonym for friend. Coworkers? If only their views aligned.

Utowin is-

‘Utowin-!?’

Easthies is barely able to lift his head up as Utowin crashes into him, knocking them both down into the water.

As soon as the cold hits his head Easthies nearly screams. It's so cold. And- Gah! The dirty water is touching his face! And hair!

He struggles to lift himself out of the water. Utowin is pressing him down with his knee.

So this is how he is meant to die? By drowning in some dirty lake?

Easthies can't help but feel like this is exactly what should happen to him. Every single second of pain in which his lungs feel like they're about to explode. Why is he still fighting? What's the point? Utowin is the one who's about to kill him.

Maybe this is how it is meant to be.

He inhales.

~

Something is very wrong with this guy.

Like, very very wrong.

Who the hell just accepts being drowned!? Does he have no instinct to fight for his life?

Utowin just barely managed to drag an unconscious Easthies to the shore and give him fresh air inside of his lungs. It might be the most awkward thing he has ever done. He never even learned how to properly do this. He was skipping class when his master taught it.

They're both resting under a bridge, Utowin leaning against the wall while the fool lies down next to him.

Utowin tries poking Easthies with a stick. He shouldn't be dead. Some water came out of him after their mouth to mouth. That should be a good sign, right?

Come on. Come on. Come on.

Maybe he should try again. He leans down again, grabbing Easthies’ face and leaning in. This does feel a little bit like kissing.

He presses their lips together again, which is when Easthies abruptly sits up, hitting Utowin in the forehead. He stumbles back a little.

‘Ow! What is wrong with you!’ Utowin asks.

‘What's wrong with me!? What were you-’

‘I was trying to save you!’

‘Save me!? Do you think that this is some fairytale!?’

Utowin rubs his head. For someone who was unconscious moments ago, he sure still has a lot of strength in him.

‘Not really. According to fairytale rules, you should be mesmerised by me after I've saved your life.’

Easthies coughs a little, spitting blood into the lake below them. He looks horrible. His hair is all tangled. Clothes ripped. His face is anything but the usual block of cold ice that Utowin is used to.

He should've never left Easthies on his own. What was he thinking?

‘Tell me what happened.’ Utowin says after Easthies has calmed down.

‘What would be the point of it?’

‘You'll have one person who believes in you.’

‘...Okay?’

‘Tell me. Whatever it is. I'll stay on your side. I'll gladly defy Vinanna.’

‘You're a horrible Knight, Utowin.’

‘Says you.’

Right now the title of a Knight Moralis didn't matter anymore. What were morals, anyway? Utowin never felt like it was the right thing to erase people's memories. In fact, he had been wanting to find a different job. Perhaps teaching or something. The only thing that had been stopping him was Easthies.

And now…

Vinanna isn't going to excuse this. No way. Utowin is only willing to excuse it because he's his friend. Friends stay by one another when they're going through things, regardless of how messed up said things are.

And Easthies was his friend. Utowin wouldn't leave him alone. Now or ever again.

‘Yes. Says me. Because I'm not one anymore.’ Easthies says as he turns to face Utowin. He looks scared. Terrified, even.

He begins to take off his gloves with very shaky hands, revealing a spell inked into each of his palms.

‘What the…!?’

‘They ruined me.’

‘Easthies what the hell is this!?’

‘That horrible Brimmed Cap appeared from out of nowhere and-’ he looks to the ground, choking on sobs. ‘It drew on me. It drew on me and then it controlled me-’

Utowin has never felt more speechless in his life. Of course Easthies wouldn't hurt a child. He is a bit too extreme when it comes to the pact but he would never go down that path.

But, honestly, if he had… Utowin still would've returned. He hates admitting it, but it's the truth. As twisted as it makes him. Perhaps that would mean he's worse than Easthies.

The seal on Easthies’ palms looks very complicated. Utowin isn't able to tell what exactly it is. If he had better spell reading skills then he would've chosen a different career path.

He grabs one of Easthies’ hands and runs a finger over the seal. This must've hurt a lot. Mentally and physically.

‘Utowin, I didn't want to hurt her… My hands moved on their own… they-’

‘I believe you.’

‘You shouldn't! Because maybe I-’

‘I believe you. Now come on.’

Utowin gets up and offers Easthies his hand.

‘What are you doing…?’ Easthies asks him.

‘The only thing that I can do right now.’

‘You're going to hand me over to Vinanna?’

‘No.’

Easthies immediately grabs his hand. He's shaky on his feet, but at least he can walk.

Hopefully Luluci isn't going to get too mad.

~

Coco, despite her headache and distorted feeling, doesn't remember the last time she felt so at peace within the last few months. Ever since her master told her about his curse, she had allowed it to eat her from the inside out. She felt horrible. She knew she had to do something.

Being able to tell Agott definitely made her feel better. Like a huge amount of weight was lifted from her shoulders. She can almost breathe properly.

Agott's reaction was exactly what Coco expected. Shock. Crying. Questions. Acceptance. And then she asked Coco what the two of them could do to help.

To that, Coco had no answer. If the Brimmed Caps refuse to help, then where else should they look? If only they could find a source with all forbidden magic and then study it. That way they wouldn't have to risk their lives.

Coco sighs. To her it sounded silent, but apparently it was loud enough for Agott to open her eyes.

‘I'm happy you told me.’ Agott whispers to her.

‘I'm happy, too. Just…’

‘Just?’

‘I hate thinking about it. Knowing that he can just… become a tree. Remember those nightmares I told you about?’

Coco used to have horrible nightmares where she would wake up screaming, drenched in sweat. Every single one of them was the same. She saw her master standing inside of a white room with his arms spread wide open, and Coco always immediately hugged him without a second thought. Then he would turn into a tree, breaking the white room and causing it to shatter. Coco woke up each time she fell into the darkness that was left.

She feels like those weren't just dreams. But warning of what's about to happen.

‘The ones from a few months ago?’

‘Yeah.’

‘...They weren't about your mom, were they?’

‘No. I haven't dreamt of her in a long time… a bit messed up, isn't it?’

Agott very carefully covers Coco's head with a blanket.

It's the middle of the night and everyone is asleep. Well, everyone except for them. They're lying in Coco's hospital bed, facing each other.

‘Don't say that. You're allowed to worry about Master.’ she pauses. ‘He's kind of like our parent, isn't he?’

Huh. Coco supposes he was. Doing an apprenticeship is similar to getting adopted. And since Coco had no parents…at the moment…

Yeah. Master Qifrey is kind of like a dad to her.

‘Is that why you didn't lash out at me after I told you the truth?’

Agott chuckles. Coco barely realises it from underneath the blanket. The only clue that she gets is that the bed shakes a little.

‘I would've done the same in your position.’

‘I think everyone would have. Tetia, Richeh, Olruggio. Maybe even Beldaruit.’

‘I don't know about Beldaruit.’

‘Huh? Why? I got the impression that he really cared for our master.’

‘He does. Just not as much as we do.’

‘What makes you say that?’

Suddenly, the bed begins to shake a lot more than it should when a person laughs. Coco tries to take the covers off her head but Agott stops her.

‘If he did, he would've searched harder.’

The bed.

The bed is falling. Somehow.

Why is the bed falling!?

What's happening!?

~

Agott hadn't been able to stop thinking about what Tetia had written to Coco. So what did she do? She cornered Tetia and convinced her to explain herself. If Coco couldn't tell her what was up, then Tetia will.

She hoped that it would be nothing. Or something minor. But she decided to trust her gut feeling.

Tetia acting strange isn't something any of them know how to handle. Better to see what's up before something horrible happens. Agott tried to leave it to the others but simply couldn't. She had to find out what was happening on her own.

As soon as the bed teleports, Agott uncovers Coco's face. She looks horrified. They should've definitely used another way of transportation that didn't involve hiding it from Coco. Tetia also instructed Agott to take both her and Coco's rings off so that their masters couldn't track them. This doesn't look good from Coco's perspective. Or from Agott's.

Agott doesn't know much of what they're doing either. Tetia had asked, no, begged Agott to trust her on this. And since Tetia seemed desperate enough, Agott did everything she told her to do. They were like family. Why wouldn't Agott trust family? Family that actually loves and cares about her.

Richeh stayed behind to make sure that their masters wouldn't find out. Tetia drew a teleportation seal on the bed, and Agott? Agott distracted Coco. She felt bad about lying to her like that. At least it made them somewhat even… Agott was a little angry that it took Coco so many months to tell her about Master Qifrey.

Perhaps if they had visited the Brimcaps together then things would've turned out differently. Agott could've protected her.

‘What are you two doing…?’ Coco asks in a suspicious tone. She looks around and makes eye contact with a very nervous Tetia.

‘You said you didn't want to meet me.’ Tetia explains. Agott looks at her. Coco originally refused this? ‘So I had to improvise…’

‘Tetia-’

‘I want to help you! Let me do that!’

Coco clearly seems disturbed by Tetia's yelling. Does Tetia even notice? Agott has a bad feeling about this. Her eyes go to the teleportation spell written on the bed.

‘This isn't the right way to do it…’ Coco cautiously gets off the bed and grabs on to Agott for support.

‘The right way?’ Tetia laughs. ‘You really believe in that?’

‘Of course I do-’

‘Then why did you meet up with a Brimmed Cap without telling any of us if it was so right?’

Agott and Coco exchange a quick glance of worry. Coco shakes her head ever so subtly.

‘I…’

‘Just give in, Coco!’ For a split second, the Tetia they both know and love appears to be back. ‘If it weren't for Mr. Easthies you could've gotten what you were looking for! Was it your mom? A spell to help her come back? They can help you with that!’

Coco begins shaking her head and taking a few steps back. Agott has no choice but to follow. She certainly isn't stepping forward. Her hand makes its way towards Cocos. Her grip is tight, almost equal to Agott's. They are both terrified of what Tetia is up to.

‘Where are we, exactly?’ Agott dares ask.

‘I don't know. Some secluded area.’ Tetia replies.

They were surrounded by dead trees with little to see in the distance. Maybe it was the darkness, but the place does not look familiar one bit. It's like something you'd hear about in a tale meant to scare children. It felt eerie.

‘And… you know the way to get back?’

‘No. You agreed to this. Why are you being skeptical?’

‘I agreed without knowing that Coco had already refused. What is it that you want to do?’

Tetia turns her back towards them, waving to some strange figure in the distance. It is then that Agott realises how many strange figures are around then. Every little corner of the woods has something staring at them. They may have no visible eyes, but Agott can feel it. She pulls Coco's closer.

If only Agott hadn't left her drawing equipment at the hospital. Everything happened so fast and she didn't get a chance to grab anything.

But Tetia… Tetia still had everything on her. Unlike Agott and Coco, Tetia had her equipment, her cloak, and her hat. They were freezing in the pyjamas they were offered at the hospital. Simple white gowns with oversized sleeves that did little to offer warmth. And Tetia… why wouldn't Tetia make sure that they were properly dressed before teleporting them here…?

A witch appears next to tetia, bowing down.

‘Greetings, young witches.’

Agott steps in between the Brimmed Cap and Coco. Coco wraps her arms around Agott's waist, digging her nails into Agott's flesh. She barely registers it.

‘Who are you!?’ Agott demands to know. The witch is way taller than her, but that doesn't mean she won't hesitate trying to punch it. The majority of their face is covered, except for their mouth. There is a thin veil attached to their cap, swallowing them whole from head to toe. They're also wearing robes with multiple layers meant to hide their figure, similar to what these types of witches normally wear. Only this one looks scarier than the others.

‘That's not important. What matters is that I'm here to help, if you'll allow me.’

What a strange voice. Neither masculine nor feminine. But something else entirely. Agott had never heard anything like it before. Is this witch even a human?

‘They've already consented to it.’ Tetia tells the witch.

‘Oh? Well, that makes things a whole lot easier, doesn't it?’ They take a few steps closer. Agott isn't sure what to do.

‘No one consented to anything!’ Coco shouts.

‘Have you even heard of my offer?’

No one says anything.

‘Little girl.’ They point to Coco. ‘Your ear doesn't seem to be working properly. Are you aware of how little effort it would take to fix it?’

‘Coco don't listen to him.’ Agott whispers.

‘It's a simple spell, really. I only need to properly prepare you for it.’

‘Prepare…?’ Coco repeats.

‘It shouldn't take long. You might feel a little tickle here and there. But after everything is done, your hearing will be good as new! I could also adjust your left ear so that they're balanced. Oh and while we are at it might as well look into that heada-’

Agott throws a pillow from the bed at them. The only thing she's able to grab. All of the figures surrounding them look like they're getting closer. What did she think she was going to achieve with that…?

She grabs another pillow just in case.

‘I'm going to ignore that.’ The brimmed cap tells her, taking another step closer.

‘I won't let you touch her.’

She can feel Coco shaking behind her.

‘You can't do much. You're defenseless, little witch.’

Agott is about to signal Coco to run. Run anywhere as long as it's far away from the brimmed caps. But before she gets a chance to do that, she feels somebody take Coco. She turns around only to see one of the figures, or rather shadows, dragging her away. Agott throws the remaining pillow at them.

‘AGOTT!’ Coco screams, falling to the ground as the shadow drags her away. Her fingers dig into the dirt, struggling to stay where she is.

Her screams echo throughout the woods.

Agott turns to the witch who had successfully distracted her from Coco.

‘TELL IT TO LET HER GO!’

The witch just stares.

‘TETIA!’

But Tetia doesn't seem to care.

Agott rushes and tries to grab Coco, but fails to get there in time. The shadow launches her into the air and a few other shadows surrounding her.

The screams that then come out of Coco are the most horrifying things Agott had ever heard in her life, right next to the fact that her master might slowly turn into a tree. She keeps shouting Coco's name over and over as tears steam down her face. There is nothing she can do. Nothing at all. She's useless.

Just like her mother said. Agott will never contribute to much. She's merely a person who exists. Nothing more.

‘PLEASE…’ Agott begins to beg, getting on her knees. ‘PLEASE LEAVE HER ALONE!’

The witch steps in front of her, and appears to look down.

‘Just be patient. It will be over soon. Your friend will be good as new.’

‘SHE NEVER WANTED THIS!’

Agott makes eye contact with Tetia again, and like some feral cat, pins her to the ground and begins going through her cloak's pockets after taking it off. Ink…paper… Come on… She must have some. How else did she draw the seal?

‘Get off me!’

‘You made a big mistake, Tetia.’

She stops squirming from underneath Agott.

‘...Just wait! Wait and see!’

But she can't. How is Agott meant to wait? Coco is in pain. An immense amount of pain, judging by her sobs. Her voice had begun to crack with each scream as more and more shadows started to swarm her in the middle of the air.

If Agott were ever asked to describe what hell is like, she decides that this would be an accurate description.

Finally, she finds Tetia's ink and notebook.

Now all she needs is to-

‘COCO!’ Agott shouts.

All the shadows disappear, and Coco starts to drop from the sky as blood splatters everywhere all over Agott's clothes. She rushes to catch Coco, throwing the ink and paper to the ground, only to barely miss her.

She kneels down in front of Coco, grabbing her bloody face.

‘Coco!?’

Coco begins to cough violently. Agott helps her to sit up and she immediately begins to vomit out blood. All Agott can do is hold her hair back and hope that she'll be fine.

‘Take it easy.’ she tells Coco as she leans her forehead on her shoulder. She feels as though she might faint.

This is so much worse than the injuries Coco sustained this morning. If she loses any more blood she could die. And they're probably so far away from the Great Hall. Why would she trust Tetia…?

Agott lifts her head as soon as Coco is done vomiting. Her breaths are slow but heavy, similar to that of some beast. Agott begins to gently wipe the blood off of Coco's face with her hand.

‘It's going to be okay. Do you hear me…?’

Coco nods and then reaches towards her ear.

Agott's heart stops.

Instead of her right ear, there is a leaf with roots sticking into her head. It looks strange. The leaf itself is pointy with a sturdy structure. The wind is blowing both of their hairs into all directions, but the…ear… doesn't move.

‘Loud and clear.’ Coco responds as chuckles echo in the background and Tetia leaves with the Brimmed Cap.

~

Richeh has grown sick of waiting for the others to return. Why does she have to do the boring job? Whatever it is Tetia wanted to do to help Coco, it better have succeeded. Then they could all go back to living their lives.

The hospital room looks so empty without the bed. There is only a bedside table left. And some pictures. Couldn't they have put more effort into designing these? People are supposed to feel safe in the hospital. The pictures make Richeh want to bleed out and die.

One is just a bunch of shapes put together meant to represent a crying person. There is no colour. It feels lifeless.

The next one is of fruits. Again, colourless. Is colour that expensive? The masters have a bunch of it back at the atelier. Surely if they can afford it then a hospital can too.

And the final one… Richeh doesn't even know what it's supposed to be. It's a bunch of scribbles. They call this art? Maybe it's meant to show how depressing life can be when you're sick or hurt. Richeh isn't sure how these helped anyone feel better. She will have a chat with the doctors in the morning. Right now, she can't risk anyone accidentally coming into the room and seeing that everyone is gone. And that they took the bed with them.

Richeh sits on the ground and begins to draw a few small spells to pass time.

Her part in this is as equally important as everyone else's. And yet… she can't help but feel left out. What if the others are in danger? Only Tetia brought her drawing equipment. If they were to face any wild animals, things could get ugly. Richeh would feel horrible. She doesn't deserve to be the only one locked up in a hospital room.

Before she can think about it, her pen begins to write words instead of symbols.

She rips the paper out and slides it under the door into the hallway before making sure that she's locked inside.

There is a small window at the top corner of the room. The others couldn't fit through, which is why Tetia decided to use teleportation.

Richeh, however, might be able to squeeze through.

Being the smallest out of the group isn't always a bad thing. There are many benefits to it.

She must make sure that the others are fine.

Richeh throws the ribbon that she had made earlier this morning and makes sure that it is securely attached to the window, and then she begins to climb

~

Qifrey runs his teeth across Olruggio's neck, watching him tense from beneath him. He has to be very careful. Way more than usual. The walls inside of the hospital are very thin, and Olruggio can occasionally become a bit too loud as his mind goes blank.

‘W-wait…’ Olruggio whimpers.

‘Should I stop?’

‘Should we really be doing this in the first place?’

‘You initiated it, Olly.’

Olruggio covers his face with one hand. It takes Qifrey an intense amount of focus not to give in and let the tree swallow them both whenever he does that. It's cute. Such a simple gesture and yet it means everything.

Had the parasite not existed, Qifrey doubts he could've ever let Olruggio go after getting him in a position like this. This is the closest he'll ever get to be. Closer would unfortunately kill them both.

‘Yes… but now I realise that a hospital room with a squeaky couch isn't really ideal.’

‘You're so spoiled.’

‘What!?’

‘Shh’ Qifrey gently bites him, sinking his teeth into his neck enough to gain a reaction out of him without leaving marks.

Olruggio groans, throwing his head back to allow him easier access.

They've been going at it for a while now. Neither of them could fall asleep, so Olruggio suggested a way of relieving stress. One that almost always worked. Qifrey gave in very quickly despite the risk. Sometimes even he felt a little too stressed for his own good. It is only during moments like these that he is able to allow himself to unwind, if only a tiny bit.

If one day he somehow managed to remove the parasite…No. He shouldn't let himself hope. This is good enough.

Neither of them ever acknowledged what this made them. Perhaps Olruggio assumed that Qifrey didn't want more from him. That thought alone is enough to control the tree whenever they indulge in their urges. Not fully, but barely enough.

Oh how easy it would be to look him in the eyes and say the three words that are constantly replaying themselves inside of Qifrey's mind whenever they are together like this. But he can't. It could ruin everything.

‘Qifrey…?’

‘Hm?’

‘How…how do you always have so much energy?’

He wondered that, too. Perhaps the tree enjoys this as much as he does. Apparently going for more than one round each time isn't exactly normal. He sometimes worries about being too much for Olruggio. Both in the sexual and general context.

‘It's because I don't drink as much as you do.’

Olruggio seems to really think about his words for a moment.

‘And…’ Qifrey starts as he slowly lifts his head to look Olruggio in the eyes. The moonlight from a corner window shines directly at them.

His star. Olruggio was nothing less than the brightest star in the sky. Or in other words, the sun. Qifrey's sun. And no one else's. Not now, at least. If his star were to move on one day, Qifrey would let him. Encourage him, even. This life is too good for him.

‘And?’

‘And…’

Qifrey hadn't noticed the window before. And he really should have. Because it just so happens to be the perfect size for an apprentice to climb out of.

And the room next door should be very similar to the one they're in.

Oh no.

~

‘Tetia?’ Richeh can't say that she's surprised. She expected Tetia to do something like this…but the Brimmed Caps?

As soon as Richeh dropped down from the window into a field and folded her ribbon neatly into her pocket, Tetia appeared before her. Out of nowhere.

…

‘I forgot about you. Sorry.’

Richeh frowns at that. She stares at the massive Brimmed Cap standing next to Tetia. They are covered in some strange dark liquid that Richeh can't really recognise in the dark, even with the moonlight hitting them.

‘Where are Coco and Agott…?’

‘They'll return eventually.’

‘Tetia…!?’ A weird stench is making Richeh feel uneasy. Wait…stench…

Hasn't she smelled something similar not that long ago…?

…

Why is Tetia fine with this!? She was feeling sick just this morning at the sight of Coco! Something dark lingers within Tetia, and Richeh doesn't like that one bit. ‘Where are they…?’ She asks again.

‘Alive. That's all that matters, right? Oh! And Coco's hearing is back!’

The smile that spreads across Tetia's face sends shivers down Richeh's spine.

‘Is it, now…?’

‘Mhm!’

Richeh could return and get her masters. If anyone would know what to do, it would be them. She could get there in less than a minute with her sylph shoes. Coco had modified them so that they would be faster. The question is whether Tetia will wait for her.

‘Who's your…’ Richeh gives the Brimmed Cap a nasty glance ‘Friend…?’

The friend appears to grin, sharp teeth glowing from underneath its veil. Richeh has to hold back from screaming. The fact that it's night makes this whole encounter so much more worse. Maybe she should scream. Surely someone will hear her? But no… no the doctors will then also encounter the Brimmed Cap. That could lead to too many questions.

But…maybe…they should have questions.

‘They're my new master.’

‘What!?’

‘Master Qifrey wasn't able to help Coco…but they… they were. That's enough for me to go with them. Think about it, Richeh! They have no restrictions. Can you imagine how many sick or hurt people we'd be able to help if we knew what spells to use!?’

Richeh would have loved to consider this option, were it not for the blood.

Where are Coco and Agott? And what has this monster that Tetia considers her master done to them?

~

Coco isn't sure how to feel. Her hearing has never been better, even before Mr. Easthies damaged it. She swears she can hear colours now. And red might have the ugliest sound of all. Whenever she looks down at her bloody hands, her mind goes to dark places. Places she wasn't even aware existed inside of her body.

‘Tetia…’

Agott turns to look at her.

‘I thought I told you to relax.’ She tries to sound playful but fails. Coco doesn't comment on it.

How is she supposed to relax?

‘She doesn't know…’

Agott sets the ink and pen carefully on the floor. She grabs the cloak that Tetia had discarded and drapes it around Coco, who immediately tenses at the gesture.

‘We'll get her back. Or she'll come back herself.’

‘She won't… She has chosen a side and there is nothing we can do to bring her back.’

‘Coco… What are you saying…? What happened to always finding a way to make things right?’

‘How are we meant to make things right if there are so many different definitions of right? How do we know if we are right?’

Agott sits down next to her, leaning her head against the tree. She looks so exhausted. There are bags under her eyes and the sleeves of her dress have so much more blood on them than Coco's. Coco feels bad for allowing her to clean most of the blood. Agott is doing way too much for her.

This hurts.

"Do you think that what they did to you was right?’ Agott asks.

‘No…’

‘Then it's wrong. And if Tetia thinks that she gets to decide that for you, then we must find a way to speak to her again and protect her from the Brimmed Caps. She never meant any evil. She's simply angry that you don't see her efforts.’

‘You're acting like you didn't help her with this plan.’

That manages to shut Agott up. Coco regrets her words immediately.

‘Forget it. If only I hadn't turned to the Brimmed Caps for help, none of this would have happened. I should have at least taken you with me.’ Coco stands up and walks over to the seal that Agott has been working on.

‘Let's not play this game. I don't like it.’

‘What game?’

‘The one where we argue over whose fault everything is. It won't bring us anywhere...’

Agott was right. Their main goal should be to find a way back to their masters and Richeh. Reversing the teleportation spell drawn on the bed should do the trick, but after the bloodbath, most symbols got erased. Agott did an incredible job at restoring them, but Coco can't let her do all the work.

She runs her fingers over the seal. The blood has dried, so it shouldn't stain.

‘I'm sorry.’ Coco says, refusing to make eye contact with Agott. She knew that it would cause her to break down crying again. They couldn't lose any more time sinking deeper into despair.

‘I love you. I really do. But sometimes I wonder just how far you'll go for the people around you.’

‘I thought we weren't going to play this game?’

‘I'm not blaming you. I just hope that you'll let me help you with Tetia.’

Coco turns to her.

‘You thought I wasn't? Why?’

‘I just…I want you to lean on me more. Let me help you when you're struggling. Stop being so selfless all the time. I don't care if you put me in trouble.’

‘You're all bloodied up.’

Agott crosses her arms.

‘I don't mind getting bloodied up as long as it keeps you safe.’

From the look in her eyes, Coco fears that Agott may be talking about something else.

~

Olruggio briefly considers bashing his head against the wall for being so careless. He's a horrible master and an even worse watchful eye. Qifrey ran out without saying anything. Olruggio later found him frozen in front of Coco's room where the girls slept. They had left a note.

‘We are working on a spell to help Coco. Please do not disturb us.’

And Qifrey, being the type who worries a lot, did choose to disturb them. Which was a good thing, because no one was there. The window was open and they somehow got rid of the bed. What could they possibly be doing with the bed? The sleeping bags of the other three were still there, so Olruggio doubted that the nurses moved Coco to a different room for tests. The other would have followed. And their rings… for some reason three of them left their rings. Locating the fourth one could be a trap. It didn't seem like the safest idea to simply look for it.

He wanted to come with Qifrey to look for them around the Great Hall. But he didn't. Couldn't. Someone had to stay just in case they came back. Also, the Knights Moralis still had business with them. They took Olruggio to an interrogation room and told him to wait.

And wait he did. It felt agonising. Qifrey and the girls could've gotten themselves into trouble yet again and he isn't able to do anything. How is he supposed to explain this? Perhaps it's best if they all ran away similarly to how Alaira and Euini did.

But before he can plan an escape, Luluci enters the room. She immediately takes her cap off, revealing rather messy hair.

Good. It's her. That's not too bad. She's the one who can be most reasoned with.

‘It's always you people, isn't it?’ She says, wiping the sweat off her forehead as she takes a seat across from Olruggio. The room is quite dark. No light except for the lamp in the middle of the table.

Olruggio doesn't say anything.

‘You know the deal by now. Similarly to Lord Beldaruit, I'll ask questions.’

‘Right.’

‘First of all… Where are the others?’

‘That's what Qifrey is trying to figure out.’

‘They're missing?’

‘Yes. We woke up and went to check on them only to find that they were gone.’

‘Why would you check on them in the middle of the night?’

‘They were being too quiet. Two of them normally snore.’

‘The lack of snores woke you both up?’

‘Qifrey woke up first. He has trouble sleeping. Feel free to confirm with Beldaruit.’

Luluci takes out a large notebook and begins to write things down.

‘And… you two slept in the same room?’

‘The hospital didn't have many available rooms. The girls all also shared one, as you know.’

‘Did neither you or Qifrey hear anyone open the door?’

‘No.’

Olruggio nearly visibly exhales as Luluci puts her notebook away while nodding. He hid all the evidence of the girls leaving on their own just to be safe. He burned the note, closed the window, and duplicated a bed from another room that he later managed to bring where the girls were.

There should be no sign of anyone escaping or coming in. Which means that only one conclusion seems plausible.

‘You know, it really is strange.’ Luluci murmurs. ‘All these problems with your atelier…’

‘Not much I could've done in this case, unfortunately. Please forgive me.’ There was absolutely more he could've done. Like for instance, he could've controlled himself around Qifrey. Never again will he initiate anything. They're just two friends and nothing more. This is the universe directly telling him that.

‘Oh, no. Don't misunderstand. If anyone is suspicious then it's Qifrey. You're fine.’

‘...Why him? He's looking for them.’ Not good. Not good.

‘He could've staged a fake kidnapping.’

Olruggio stands up.

‘What is it with you people always seeing him as some criminal!?’

Luluci grabs her spear and gets to her feet as well.

‘I'm going to have to ask you to calm down.’

‘I'm not going to calm down! You can't always blame him whenever something goes wrong. As his watchful eye, I can reassure you that-’

‘Why do you defend him so much? What happens when one day you're wrong about him?’

‘That day won't come, because I know him.’

‘Do you?’

‘You're the ones who refuse to give him a chance. The Qifrey I know would never do something so sinister.’

Luluci lowers her weapon. Her eyes are sharp as she looks at Olruggio. He notices her eyes slowly begin to soften. Something he has never seen before when it comes to the Knights Moralis doing their jobs.

‘I sincerely hope that you aren't allowing your feelings to cloud your judgement, Olruggio of the Torch.’

‘These feelings are there for a reason. You should know that.’

She seems caught off guard.

‘M-me!?’ She steps back, nearly knocking down a chair. ‘Whatever do you mean!?’

Olruggio raises an eyebrow, scratching the back of his head.

‘Utowin. Rumor has it that you allowed him to escape together with easthies.’

Luluci coughs a couple of times before putting her cap back on. She's clearly thrown off guard.

‘What a ridiculous rumor. Utowin is searching for him like the rest of us are. He'll turn him in.’

‘He won't. And you know that.’

‘...’

‘You need to find a better job if it clashes with your love for those around you.’

She doesn't say anything.

~

Marked. He was marked. They drew on him. And worst of all, they can control him. They can make him commit heinous crimes, and not a single person would think of him as innocent. No one except for Utowin.

Easthies has been unable to stop biting his hands. He stopped caring about the pain a long time ago. There are so many other important things.

If he rips the spell out of his skin with his teeth, will he be free? There is a slight chance of him making the spell worse by messing with it, but is there something really as horrible as being controlled? He was like a puppet. A toy for the Brimmed Caps to play with.

‘Will you stop doing that?’ Utowin holds his hand in a way that stops him from biting it. He snarls at him.

‘No.’

‘You're like some puppy. We are going to have to either wrap your hand or put a cone around your neck.’

Easthies didn't understand why Utowin was trying to help him. He couldn't be helped. No amount of effort will erase the markings upon his hands. He only agreed to come with Utowin because he got on his knees and wouldn't stop begging like a child until Easthies agreed to listen.

And now, every time Easthies considers throwing himself off a building or jumping into a lake or any other easy way out, it's as if Utowin can read his mind. He always looks at him and waits. And only continues walking when Easthies reassures him that everything is fine.

‘I'd despise the cone.’

‘I'm sure you would.’

‘Will you tell me where we are going? I don't recognise this path.’

Utowin smirks.

‘We, my dear friend, are running away. We'll find another continent to live on. And we'll get new identities. I'll dye my hair green and you'll shave yours so that you're bald and-’

‘I did not agree to shaving my hair.’

‘I'm joking, Eas. When something sounds too unbelievable to be true then you shouldn't take me too seriously. Laugh a little, maybe.’

‘It wasn't funny.’

‘Well, still. Sometimes you should laugh even when things aren't funny.’

‘Why don't you shave and *I* dye my hair green?’

Utowin stops, forcing Easthies to bump into him. He wasn't paying that much attention. How can he? All he can think about is biting his hand or using a spear to cut the entire thing off.

‘Are you seri-’ Easthies nearly dies right there on the spot at the sight of a black ribbon swirling in the wind in the distance. A ribbon he has grown sick of seeing. He refuses to lift his head further up.

‘Oh.’ Utowin says rather awkwardly.

‘Master-!’ A little girl's voice exclaims.

What was her name again? Coco was the green one. So this… Yeah, he has no clue. He makes eye contact with the man next to her. He looks like he's ready to attack Easthies once more. Seems like this is how he's going to go. Alright. No complaints. Let this freak be the one to do it. Easthies imagines people spitting at his tombstone years from now on and-

Qifrey's eye focuses on Easthies’ hands. He didn't try hiding it since this specific village they're passing through rarely gets witch visitors. And because hiding it would mean pretending that everything was fine. It wasn't. Everything was far from fine. Things will never be the same again. How does a person simply accept that?

‘What a strange coincidence.’ Utowin says, pulling Easthies in super close as if they are close friends.

‘You're the one who hurt Coco.’ The little girl points out, giving Easthies a death glare before turning to tug on her master's robes. ‘Don't beat him now. He-’

‘I know.’ Qifrey says.

They both look very tired. Does Easthies look the same? He must look so much worse.

‘Don't mind us. I'm bringing him back to the Great Hall and-’ Utowin starts.

‘No you're not.’ Qifrey responds.

‘Yes I am. That's my job. What, do you want to experiment on him or some-’

‘You're clearly on the run. Either you stay here or I'll contact Beldaruit immediately and share our location.’

Great.

~

Richeh had nearly died of joy after seeing a familiar figure fly out of the hospital. She immediately started drawing subtle firework spells to draw his attention.

Unfortunately, when he came down, Tetia and her new master were gone. Richeh explained everything she could to Master Qifrey before they began searching for the other two. They looked into every nook and cranny inside of the Great Hall before expanding their search area. They left the underwater structure and decided to look inside villages around it.

Which is when they happened to run into Utowin, and Easthies, who for some reason has seals drawn onto his skin.

Master Qifrey insisted on inspecting them. Watching him threaten to blackmail the two made Richeh realise that there is a side to her master she had never seen yet. Similar to the one Tetia recently showed.

Richeh suddenly begins to feel very uneasy as the four of them sit in a circle on the outskirts of the village.

This was the guy who hurt Coco. Richeh doesn't really recognise the other one.

Why isn't master acting more hostile? Richeh doesn't feel like it would be appropriate if she did something. Choking him with her ribbon would be a little too far… but… Whatever master is doing is way too little. He's being nice and understanding. Do the seals really excuse all of his actions?

‘So, what you're saying is, you never did anything to hurt Coco?’ He says after Mr. Easthies finishes explaining himself. Richeh never pegged him as the type to stutter so much.

‘No. All I did was tie her to a tree. And then…then I-’

‘Alright. That's enough. We've explained ourselves.’ The orange haired guy interrupts. ‘Now tell us what's stopping us from reporting the two of you. Running away as well, perhaps?’

‘We are not cowards.’ Richeh tells him, sticking her tongue out. Master doesn't seem to mind.

‘Oh? Then this must be interesting.’

~

Agott erases the seal again. This isn't working. And why must drawing on hard surfaces with a pen be so hard!? If only she had one of those fancy pens Master Olly used for his contraptions.

It's been way too quiet ever since all the shadowy figures began leaving one after the other. She almost wishes they were there. Something about being alone in the middle of nowhere sounded worse than being surrounded by strange shadow-like creatures, regardless of how harmful they may seem.

Her eyes go to Coco. She's not entierly alone. That's what matters most.

Coco has been acting very strange ever since the Brimmed Caps gave her a new ear. Her hearing got so heightened to the point where she's convinced she can hear Agott's head turn. It was a little unsettling having her flinch and look up whenever Agott moved.

Lying on the ground and drawing spells with Coco is meant to be fun. Agott remembers looking forward to when both of them would be free so that they could think of new ideas together. Their little period of peace. Now, she's dreading it.

Coco has been trying to think of a new spell to bring them back rather than help Agott redraw the one on the bed. She suspects that maybe Coco's too mad to work with her. It was about time for Coco to get mad at something. She's always beaming with joy. Or at least before this whole deal with Master Qifrey.

Agott still isn't sure how to feel about it. She pushes the feelings that threaten to rise down where they belong.

No.

Bad feelings.

Now isn't the time to be getting emotional.

‘Maybe we should use forbidden magic.’ Coco says after a long while. The tone of her voice has turned softer ever since she regained her hearing. Agott also tried matching it, just to make sure that she doesn't bother Coco too much.

‘If only we knew how.’

What a strange thing to admit without a second thought.

‘We could experiment with what we already know.’

‘It could kill us.’

Coco sprawls herself on the ground, looking up at the night sky.

It's sad, seeing her be so hopeless. Agott picks up a few spell pages Coco has crumbled and thrown away. The lines aren't as straight as they normally are. And they keep getting worse with every one that Agott looks at.

She lies down next to Coco, and very carefully tries to hold her hand. Coco accepts it. Her hand is so cold.

‘Tell me a little bit more about Master.’ Agott encourages her with genuine interest in her voice

She chuckles at this. Good. Wasn't Agott's intention, but still good.

‘He's been your master longer than he's been mine.’

‘The parasite.’

Coco's smile slowly fades. Agott can't help but stare at her instead of the sky filled with stars above them.

‘There isn't much I know other than what I told you. If he feels fully at peace with himself, the tree will take over.’

‘And if the tree takes over…’

‘Then he's dead, technically. Or I guess it depends on whether the tree would take over his mind. He did mention having a lot of headaches, so...’

Agott hates to think about how surprised she was to find out that master told Coco before he told any of them, but now, the more she looks at Coco, the more she sees the resemblance between the two. Of course he'd feel more comfortable telling Coco. Coco can make just about anyone open up, regardless of how hard the walls they've built up are. Agott would know.

‘Have you done research?’

Coco turns to look at her. Eyes empty.

‘Of course I have. That's all I've done these last few days. And can you believe that he discourages it!? Acting like he doesn't want to live…’

‘He doesn't want us to worry.’

Coco scoffs.

‘All that while he sometimes worried himself to death. Have you seen him the other night?’

‘In the kitchen? Yeah.’

Agott was quite taken aback by the scene. She got up to use the bathroom and witnessed her master drawing spells in the dark. He wasn't even looking at the paper. His head was elsewhere.

Next to him was a Vapour Bubble. Judging by how wet his hair was, Agott assumed that he kept splashing himself whenever the spell failed or something like that. She considered trying this tactic, but quickly changed her mind after she saw the agony inside her master's eye.

‘Goodness, Agott. It's a bit late for you to wander around. Is everything alright?’ He asked her.

‘Are- are you alright?’

He never answered the question. He simply got up and put his things away.

‘You girls need to stop missing so much sleep. First Coco and now you…’

Agott hated being dismissed like that, but a small part of her is slowly beginning to understand why he did that.

‘What were you doing back there?’

He knelt down in front of her and gave her a reassuring look. He was so silly with wet hair. Kind of like Brushbuddy after playing in the rain.

‘I forgot to draw some exercises for tomorrow's lesson. I'll be done soon. I'm sorry if I woke you up.’

Since then Agott has been observing his every move more carefully than she usually did. When he woke up. When he went to sleep. If he slept at all. Surprisingly enough, he seemed to get even less sleep than Master Olly. And yet he was able to function just fine for the most part.

And now she…knows. So whenever she looks back at all his unusual behavior, she can't help but wonder if the parasite has something to do with it.

‘I'm so terrified of what the future holds for any of us.’ Coco muses while turning to lay on her side. Her new ear sticks out in a very obvious way. How will they hide that? Perhaps an invisibility spell? But then her entire ear would be gone… they'll think of something. Agott will gladly spend as long as it takes looking for a way to save Coco from all the staring eyes and potential arrest on suspicions of conspiring with the Brimmed Caps.

‘Don't be.’ Agott tells her, reaching out to play with Coco's hair. She doesn't seem to be comfortable with the touch, but she doesn't shy away either. ‘Coco, look at me.’

She does.

‘We are going to find a way to get through this. We'll get rid of master's parasite. Tetia will return to us. And you…’ Agott takes Coco's face in her hands. It's a good thing that it's so dark. Otherwise Agott would've looked so ridiculous with how much she's blushing. ‘I'll find a way to put a smile back on your face again.’

Coco's eyes widen in what appears to be genuine surprise.

‘And… what happens if we can't do any of that?’

‘We won't reach that point. A point where you can't do anything at all to keep moving forward simply doesn't exist. You know that better than anyone.’

‘...I suppose I do.’

‘So let's get up. Lean on me if walking is a trouble. I think I could carry y-’

‘You want us to walk all the way back to the Great Hall!?’

‘What else are we supposed to do?’

They were soon going to be out of Tetia's ink. Wasting all of it on attempts that may lead to nothing wouldn't exactly be the wisest thing to do. What if they end up needing magic for something else?

‘I just…’

Ah.

Right.

Coco's ear.

If anyone at the Great Hall sees it, she'll be questioned endlessly. They could connect this to working with the Brimmed Caps.

Agott gently runs a finger across the edge of Coco's new leaf ear. It's as tough as it looks.

‘That tickles.’ Coco says with an uncomfortable expression. Agott stops immediately.

Was it really only her ear that they messed with? It's almost like they took the light out of her as well. Her demeanor has shifted entirely. Agott almost can't recognise her anymore.

She knows that deep down Coco is still Coco. She only needs someone to remind her of that.

‘We don't have to go back to the Great Hall. We could go back to our atelier.’ Agott tells her, almost whispering.

‘Our masters could get in trouble…’

‘It's their job to protect us, even if it means getting in trouble, isn't it? And even if it wasn't-’

Coco smiles for just a split second before biting it back and sitting up.

‘Okay. You've convinced me. That was very lazy of me. Let's go!’

Before Agott can register the sudden mood shift, Coco is already up on her feet, looking around the forest clearing they're in. She sways a bit as she walks. Should Agott allow her to move so suddenly given how much blood she has lost?

‘You don't think that we are on another continent or in some place similar to where the Tower of Tomes is located, do you?’ Coco turns to ask her.

‘No. I highly doubt it. The trees are native only to Zozah. And I don't see the point in leaving us somewhere else if they so badly want others to discover forbidden magic.’

‘Wait!’

Coco's eyes light up. She rushes over to Agott and kneels down, shaking her by the shoulders.

‘Leaving us behind…behind!!! Agott, behind!’

What on earth is she talking about?

‘Behind…?’

‘We can go back in time! Or no- not back in time but-’

She's zooming all over the clearing, looking for something. Back in time? Wait-

Coco returns and begins drawing using their last bits of equipment. She rips off two papers and begins drawing two seals Agott has grown to be familiar with.

The counter-clock spells.

~

These are without a doubt spells used to control a person. The symbol in the middle represents a hand in a fist, indicating that the marked person is being controlled in some way. Their captor should have a similar seal on their hand with a closed fist, since otherwise the spell wouldn't work. That's something worth noting.

Easthies isn't his usual self, but that doesn't necessarily mean that somebody has fully taken control of him. The captor should only be able to control his hands.

Which would mean that he didn't hurt Coco.

The ones who did were the Brimmed Caps.

‘Hey? Are you good?’ Utowin asks Qifrey.

No. No he isn't good. He turns to look at Easthies. At his tangled hair. Bruises on his face.

‘Forgive me for what I did.’

Both Easthies and Utowin seem surprised for some reason. Even Richeh doesn't look like she expected this.

‘It was me who hurt your apprentice. You have every right to be angry at me.’ Easthies explains, scratching his palms.

‘No. I don't. I made an assumption without thinking things through. I should've known that they were at fault…It's always them… they-’

Richeh tugs on his cloak.

‘Master. We have to look for the others. We don't know if we have much time.’

She's right. Now isn't the time to be bothered by these two. From the looks of it, they appear to be running away. They've switched out their crimson red cloaks for basic brown ones. Qifrey assumes that this was Utowin's idea. If anyone's ever going to be on Easthies’ side, it will be him.

During their early childhood days, Qifrey never understood Utowin. Why protect somebody like that? Maybe that's how people feel about Qifrey and Olruggio. The two pairs may not be as different as Qifrey assumed.

‘You're right. It's nice that we got that part cleared up, but I don't think that it will help us in our search.’

He picks Richeh up, allowing her to sit on his shoulder. She holds on tight, wrapping her arms around his neck.

‘Wait!’ Easthies shouts right as Qifrey is about to take off.

‘I won't mention that we met each other, if that's what you're worried about. It's the least I can do. Or no…’ He begins to dig through his pocket before fishing out a ring.

‘Surely you're not-’ Richeh starts, clearly concerned.

‘Will this bother you, Richeh?’

She thinks for a moment. If she says no, then he won't do anything with the ring.

‘Do you know what you're doing?’ She asks.

‘I believe so.’

Her gaze goes from Easthies to Utowin. They both seem rightfully puzzled.

‘Okay. Do it. But wait’

Richeh snatches the ring before pulling out her drawing equipment. Qifrey keeps her from falling using both of his hands as she draws a duplication spell and uses it on the ring. She gives one back to Qifrey and the other to Easthies.

‘These will help you locate us should you ever need something. Just press the button and a light should guide you to one or all of us, depending on whether we are together or not.’ She explains.

Easthies takes it, immediately analysing it from every angle. Qifrey doesn't blame him for being so cautious of magic after everything. If anything, he feels pity for Easthies. They're similar now, in a way. Both are people destroyed by the use of forbidden magic.

‘I'm sorry, Easthies.’ He tells him as he launches into the air with Richeh.

It's a bit harder to fly like this, but he'd rather struggle than worry about Richeh pushing herself too much. The entire time she has been struggling to keep her eyes open.

He is going to rip the Brimmed Caps to pieces. Once he comes face to face with them, he doubts he'll be able to hold back.

He will make them suffer for all they've done.

‘Did you expect this from Tetia, Richeh?’ He asks her to keep his mind in one place.

‘What if I said yes?’

‘May I know why?’

‘...I did suspect that she turned to the Brimmed Caps. But I didn't stop her. I thought that if they could help Coco then… would it matter what side they were on?’

‘It wouldn't.’ And only if they actually helped her, which Qifrey isn't too sure of.

He's about to ask more questions when all of a sudden a light entirely blinds his eye. He pauses in the air and looks around, trying to figure out where it's coming from.

This hurts. He can already feel his head beginning to ache.

‘Master!’

No. She can't be getting suspicious now. Out of all times why did his glasses have to stop working n-

‘Your ring!’

Oh.

Oh thank goodness.

He looks down at his hand. Or at least tries to. He can't see anything. Only this agonising light. He hasn't had the heart to explain to Richeh that lights bother him.

‘Why would Easthies already be calling us?’ He muses.

‘...It's not pointing towards them.’

…

‘Where is it pointing, then?’

He feels Richeh remove one of her hands from his neck, presumably to look at her own ring.

‘Right there!’

Guess not.

‘Wait. I think I got something in my eye. Is the area below us safe to land on?’

She doesn't react for a little longer than a second.

‘Yeah.’

They land and he gently puts her down before turning away and taking off his glasses. A stronger seal should do the job.

‘Master, is everything alright?’ he feels her tug on his robes. He has to hurry.

He quickly pulls his sleeve up and stabs himself with his pen before proceeding to use the blood to draw over the seal on his left lens. It quickly disappeared with the help of the invisible ink engraved in the lens.

‘Master?’

‘Don't worry. A leaf just got stuck in my eye.’

‘I can take it out for you.’

Why must his apprentices always be so kind?

‘I appreciate the offer. But I got it.’ He turns around to face Richeh.

Much better. A little too good.

He has never used blood to enhance his vision. Perhaps he should have. Some things in the distance are still blurry, but everything else has never been more defined. Did Richeh have bloodshot eyes this entire time?

‘Look. It's pointing towards the Great Hall!’

It is.

He picks Richeh up, carrying her this time.

‘Why don't you take a quick nap until we get there?’ He suggests with a smile. Both because he genuinely worries for her health and because he needs some time to calm down with no one talking to him.

‘But master-’

‘It's alright. You've done so much already, Richeh. I'll wake you up if we find anyone.’

It doesn't take her long to give in and decide that sleep does sound good, regardless of her worries.

Olruggio must either be in trouble or he found one of the missing three. Since Olruggio isn't the type to call for help, it must be the latter.

Or maybe he is in trouble. And it's so bad that he decided to signal the others.

~

‘Wouldn't this just bring us back after some time?’ Agott asks, eyes glued to the spells. Did Coco mess them up?

‘Yes, but we can have someone track us down as the spell brings us back, that way they can REALLY bring us back once we destroy the spell.’

Agott looks at Coco. Is she going to call her idea silly? There is probably some sort of flaw in it. Coco can't think straight at all. Her mind is going to all these places and they're scaring her.

“This…This might be a good idea. But what happens if no one is able to track us?’

‘Then we keep repeating the spell again and again until we have memorised the path.’

Agott keeps looking at the two seals for a while. Coco is unable to read her expression. Perhaps it's the lack of sleep. Some people are able to fall asleep with their eyes wide open. Coco saw Master Olly do that once.

She reaches out her hand and taps Agott on the shoulder.

‘Ago-’

‘Won't this mean that you'll have to go through all that torture again?’

‘Well, yes, but-’

‘You're not doing it.’

‘What!?’

‘You stay here. I'll use the spell.’

‘That's not fair!’

Agott places her hand over Coco's in reassurance.

‘Do you trust me?’

“...I do.’

Agott smiles before grabbing one spell and stuffing it in her pocket. She sticks the other one on her forehead and gives Coco a quick peck on the cheek before the spell activates.

~

As soon as the spell begins tracking down each one of Agott's previous steps, she realises three things.

First being that this spell is very uncomfortable and that she might become very disoriented at some point because of how fast it's going.

Second being that she has no clue how far back the spell will go. Coco simply drew a basic counter-clock spell and Agott decided to just take it off once she seemed to be near the hospital in the Great Hall. This will be hard to do since she can't see anything she recognises with how fast everything around her is moving.

And third…

Explaining that kiss to Coco might be the worst of them all, because even Agott herself doesn't quite understand why she did it.

Goodness gracious.

How much time has passed? Maybe she should take it off and hope for the best? She can always stick it back on. Hopefully Coco is fine. Leaving her alone wasn't ideal, but she isn't entirely helpless. There is still some ink and a single sheet of paper left.

Agott takes a deep breath. Or at least she thinks she took a deep breath.

Her mind still works. She can hopefully think of something in time. She slaps herself.

And then it hits her. Both literally and figuratively.

The rings!

She takes the spell off her forehead and immediately crashes into somebody.

~

‘Agott!? Where did you come from!?’

Olruggio stares in disbelief as Agott nearly falls to the ground. He manages to catch her just in time.

‘Master! Where are our rings!?’

He immediately begins digging through his pockets before fishing one out.

‘Coco's, too!’

He is so confused. But he does as told while quickly entering a supply room closet to hide from everyone until he figures out what's going on.

Agott puts both rings on a finger before looking around. Olruggio hands her the spell that appeared together with her.

‘A counter-clock spell. I hope you understand that-’

She pushes him away from her.

‘Listen. The spell will fade away soon. I don't know where Coco, er, I don't know where either of us are supposed to be now. We will activate the rings, so please-’

She fails to finish the sentence, because the spell immediately forces her to return to her previous position.

Olruggio is speechless.

Clever kids.

~

Coco has started attempting to pull out her hair ever since Agott left.

Such darkness is nothing like Coco would've expected it to be. It's so so so much worse.

She must stay strong. Because if Agott returns and…

…

Even crying seems like it would make things worse.

How has Master Qifrey been dealing with this for years?

~

Qifrey gently places Richeh on top of her sleeping bag in what used to be Coco's hospital room. His ring is glowing towards the room next door, where he and Olruggio stayed. Or at least in that direction.

He looks at Richeh for a moment.

No. He can't leave her alone. He's lost three of them. If she disappears too, he'll never forgive himself. He quickly draws a seal meant to keep predators away and adds a human figure in it. He gently places it on top of Richeh before immediately getting launched out of the room.

A nurse gives him a strange look as he hits the wall facing the now shut door.

‘I tripped. Please excuse me.’ He says as he dusts himself off.

‘Any luck finding your apprentices?’ The nurse asks him.

‘No. Not yet…’

She hands him an envelope.

‘It's from your friend. What a charmer he is…Say, he wouldn't happen to be single?’

The question throws Qifrey so off guard that he drops the letter and has to bend down to pick it up.

‘We've been married for a decade.’ They weren't.

‘O-oh! I just thought you were coworkers or something!’

‘We are.’

‘Wait so-’

‘Married coworkers. Witches don't mind it as much.’

After enough staring, the nurse leaves. What an inappropriate question. And coming from a nurse. Ridiculous. He'll have to have a word with someone about how the staff treats the people that come in here.

He waits until her footsteps fade away and makes sure that no one else is approaching before opening the letter.

‘Stay where you are. I found Agott and Coco.’

Qifrey follows the light into the other room, only to find a ring on the table.

Tetia's.

Feeling so much relief all at once is dangerous for him. He wonders if he'll ever be able to fully experience it.

He frowns.

No. He won't. This is as good as it gets. Wanting more never leads to anything good.

~

‘Yeah…this definitely looks like forbidden magic.’ Olruggio says as he examines Coco's ear. ‘But you can hear well?’

She nods.

Agott is so happy to finally see anything other than those dead trees in the middle of nowhere.

It didn't take Master Olly that long to find them. They were located in an abandoned forest not that far away from where the Great Hall is. Upon his arrival, Agott begged him to first leave the woods before asking any questions. She was so sick of them, and what made things even worse is how depressed they made Coco look.

They chose to walk until they reached a small restaurant. It was mostly empty because of the hour, and the owners just so happened to be one of master's past clients. It's nice to have one good thing happen today.

Agott sits across from Olruggio and a Coco who is very detached from reality. She has been tapping her finger against the table ever since they sat down.

‘We'll need to hide that if we wish to return to the Great Hall.’ Olruggio says, concern written all across his face.

‘I'm assuming you'll need to use a certain type of magic for that.’ Coco's voice is entirely expressionless. This is the first time she spoke ever since Agott returned.

‘Or I could buy you a bandana. There should be some stores nearby if I remember correctly.’

‘That works’

Master Olly stands up and puts his cap on. He speaks to the owners who have been listening from across the restaurant before leaving. Something about making sure neither of them leave. Or to come and get him in case somebody comes looking for them.

‘Any colour preferences?’ He asks her.

‘I'm fine with anything.’

And with that, he leaves Agott and Coco alone.

The restaurant is very warm compared to the outside. There is a little fireplace in a corner.

Agott stands up and offers Coco her hand.

‘Come with me.’

Coco gets up but doesn't take Agott's hand.

‘I thought we were supposed to stay here.’

‘Fireplace.’

She looks at it.

‘Oh, fireplace.’

She takes her to the fireplace and they sit in front of it side by side, staring as the wood burns away.

‘How do you think master explained the blood on us?’ Agott asks her.

‘I don't know.’

This isn't getting them anywhere. Whatever Coco experienced while surrounded by those shadow people couldn't have been anything good. It seems as if the more she processes I the worse she gets. Her screams still echo all throughout Agott's thoughts. Every time she tries to think of anything else, they play in the background like some sick melody.

She's alive. That's all Agott can be happy about at the moment. She has been refusing to think of both where Tetia and Richeh might be.

Coco is all that matters.

Agott doesn't like how little she hesitates when admitting that. She loves both girls dearly, but something about Coco is different. Special.

‘I'm sorry about that kiss.’ she tells her.

‘Please don't ever do anything like that again.’

Agott opens her mouth but nothing comes out of it. What is there to say?

‘I-I wasn't thinking straight. Don't… don't get any ideas. Everyone does random things when their mind isn't in the right-’ a quiet sob forces her to stop. ‘Coco…?’

‘I can't do this…’

‘Hey, hey, hey, what's wrong?’

How did she manage to mess up again!? She's about to touch Coco but quickly decides against it.

‘Agott ... Agott, they put a silverwood parasite inside of my head…’

~

Olruggio managed to find a light brown bandana. This should work for now. He understands that Coco might not be too comfortable with being drawn on after everything that has happened. They told him all about the Brimmed Cap that took Tetia and about what it made some of its friends do to Coco.

Agott was the one who explained everything.

And Coco… refused to speak. Like they had killed her and left the body in a soulless state. Something is very wrong with her. Not once since meeting that child did he see her look so upset.

He opens the doors to the restaurant and immediately spots the two girls in front of a fireplace. Hugging. And-

Oh it's that type of hugging.

There isn't much he can do. He can either give Coco her bandana and ruin the moment or walk by pretending that he saw nothing.

He was never good at this type of thing. Giving people comfort. He will gladly spend hours sitting at his desk thinking of a contraption but hugging always felt awkward.

This is definitely Olruggio's own fault. As a kid he remembers hugging everyone without thinking much about it. After he became friends with Qifrey, a lot changed. Mainly because Qifrey didn't like hugs and even started crying once over one. Things haven't been the same since for Olruggio. He began overthinking every little interaction.

Now, even when he does hug Qifrey, it feels strange. Like he doesn't want to be hugged but accepts it to not be a bother.

Why must Olruggio always think of Qifrey?

He sighs before walking over to the girls. He drapes his cloak over them.

‘We'll leave in 5 minutes. I'll wait outside.’

Agott nods, holding a very tense Coco.

Tense.

Like a certain someone.

He blinks the thought away and shakes his head as he walks over to his clients.

A lovely married couple. A man and a woman. Olruggio hated being an inconvenience and stopping here with the girls for just a short while. They were wide awake now, whispering about what the nice witch could've possibly gotten themselves into.

He peeks into the backroom of the restaurant where the couple was patiently waiting.

‘Hey. Sorry about suddenly dropping in.’

‘It's really no problem.’ The man tells him. ‘But…what happened? What's with all the blood? Did you get attacked!?’

‘We…’ Yeah, no. He can't do this.

He takes the two memory spells out of his pocket.

~

Richeh wakes up at the sound of familiar voices in the hallway. She turns to face the door and yawns.

That was an incredible nap. What time is it? She looks around only to realise that the hospital room doesn't even have a clock. She throws her pillow against a wall.

‘Where is Richeh?’ She hears someone ask. It sounds like Coco. But… different. Is Tetia with them?

She gets up only to see a spell fall off of her.

Richeh vividly remembers Master Qifrey reassuring her that he'd wake her up.

Why would he lie about something so important to her? Why would he allow her to sleep while he and Master Olly found the others?

She rips the spell in two before leaving the room.

Coco and Agott's eyes turn to look at her. Master Qifrey probably knows that he did something wrong, which is why he isn't here with them. Yeah. That must be it. She'll have to think about how many angricheh points to give him considering that he knows he messed up.

‘New hat?’ She circles Coco, examining her bandana. It's a pretty brown colour. Almost orange. But she's wearing it in an unusual way since it appears to be a little too big for her head. ‘I like it.’

Both her and Agott's are wearing cloaks that aren't theirs. Coco has Olruggio's cloak while Agott seems to have Tetia's. Or at least Richeh assumes that it's Tetia's. Agott wouldn't allow her clothes to have frosting traces on them.

‘Are you alright? Did anyone try to harm you while we were gone?’ Coco asks.

‘No.’ At least not in the way Coco would think.

Coco tilts her head.

‘What happened!? And why isn't Tetia with you!?’ Richeh demands to know.

Both of them look at the ground.

‘Is she-’

‘She isn't dead.’ Agott confirms. ‘But…’

‘But!?’

‘She went with the Brimmed Caps.’

So Richeh was right.

‘I don't suppose our masters went with them too…?’

‘No. Master Olly went to fetch Master Qifrey. They should be here soon.’

Richeh wants to ask what's up with the bandana, but Agott shakes her head. Why can't she know? Did the Brimmed Caps shave Coco's hair? Is she embarrassed by it? She doesn't need to be. Richeh will shave hers too if it makes Coco feel better. And she'll also convince everyone else to do the same.

Poor Coco. Richeh really liked touching her hair. But it's fine.

~

He knew long before hearing their voices coming from the hallway.

A familiar feeling inside of him kept threatening to take over more and more as time passed by. It could only mean one thing.

He felt it once before. With this Custas boy Coco had befriended.

And now it's back.

Logically speaking, anyone could've chosen to go to the hospital. It's morning. New patients arrive every single day. Ones that come from all across the peninsula. Witches who refuse to be treated outside of this place.

But there is also a chance.

A chance that would make a lot of sense considering who they've been dealing with.

Qifrey has curled himself into a ball in the corner of the room. He's not sure whether he's still himself.

Panic should be good for him. Why isn't it helping!?

He's under the water. Deep under the water. If anything goes wrong he'll drown.

He lost his apprentices. He ruined their lives. One could've died today. Maybe one IS already dead.

He will never be able to give Olruggio the love he deserves. He's simply a timebomb waiting to explode and ruin those around him.

He-

He feels something tap on the arm.

He lifts his head.

‘Qifrey…? Do you hear me? Qifrey…?’

Olruggio. He's here. Why is he here?

‘Pardon me. I must have fallen asleep.’

He doesn't look convinced.

Qifrey gets up on his feet, holding onto the wall for support. This isn't good. He can barely walk. Faking feelings is one thing, but faking proper walking? He hasn't learned how to do that one yet.

‘Look at me.’ Olruggio grabs his face, which does little to help. The entire room is spinning and words are barely making sense.

The girls are outside in the hall, talking to each other. If he doesn't show up soon then they'll start to worry. He can't lose control now. Now is the worst possible time to give up. He needs to be there for them.

‘Qifrey!’

He blinks once. Twice. Thrice. Olruggio is so blurry. Even with the enhanced spell on his glasses.

‘Hah… I really need to get more sleep.’

‘Yeah. You do. We all do. Tell you what, you go rest. Everything is fine. The girls are fine.’

‘How fine?’

‘...They are alive. Qifrey, please, they're not the ones that are currently struggling to stand. Here-’ He guides him towards the sofa and helps him sit down. Every movement feels so foreign to him. Like his body isn't his own. Like he's staring at it from a third person perspective.

‘Was it Coco…?’

Olruggio freezes.

So it was.

Qifrey takes one deep breath just to make sure that his lungs aren't full of leaves.

He can manage. This will be fine. He's slowly getting more used to the feeling as time passes.

He's been able to survive for so many years. Why should he give up now? Especially when the girls need him. He's their teacher. Giving up simply isn't an option.

‘Did you talk to the Knights Moralis?’ He asks Olruggio.

‘Yes. Luluci gave us a heads up to leave whenever we find the girls. Said she'll cover for us.’

‘But we didn't find all of them, did we?’

‘No…’

‘Tetia is still out there.’

Tetia…

He stands up, gathering all the strength he possibly can. Olruggio visibly looks concerned.

~

As soon as Coco locks eyes with her master, she can tell that he knows.

That's when she realises that she probably shouldn't be anywhere near him. She remembers how he could barely stand when in the same areas as Custas. Putting on that fake smile is probably killing him right now.

His eyes go over her bandana. And then to the others.

‘Did you seriously fall asleep while waiting for us?’ Richeh teases, though it does sound like she is a little offended.

Her master awkwardly chuckles before kneeling down.

‘I can assure you that I was awake the entire time.’

‘So why did it take you so long to come out?’

‘Okay…I admit. Maybe I doozed off just a little…’

Coco feels Agott tense from behind her. She probably figured it out.

‘Richeh, we are all tired. Cut him some slack.’ Agott says. She sounds like she usually does. No sign of worry whatsoever. Coco always envied how she could do that so effortlessly. Not even Master Qifrey could do it as well as she does. Coco should ask her for advice. She'll urgently need it.

Richeh doesn't say anything to that, and instead just stares at the master with her arms crossed.

‘Well, are we ready to leave? Does everyone have their things?’ Master Olly suddenly says, peeking out of the room he and Master Qifrey were staying in. Even he isn't acting like his usual self. He looks like he saw a ghost not long ago.

Coco worries that she is hallucinating. Or dreaming. She'd prefer dreaming.

‘But what about Tetia?’ Richeh shoves past Coco and steps closer to her masters.

‘Looking for her in our current state isn't exactly the best idea. As soon as we've rested we'll try to find a way to track her down.’ Master Olly tells her.

‘I don't want to rest while a fellow apprentice is in danger!’

‘We don't know if she's in danger. The Brimmed Caps wouldn't take someone unless they planned on using them. I do believe that she'll be fine given her current standings.’ Master Qifrey joins in.

Fine? Fine like Coco is fine? Like he is fine? Unless he has a reason to suspect that they wouldn't implant a seed inside Tetia…

Has he given up on Tetia? Does he believe that she can't be saved anymore?

Tetia…

No. Giving up too soon is simply pessimistic. Master knows this.

They're all arguing about Tetia. It doesn't feel like an argument. No one is yelling, but… they're all so angry. Coco has never seen them act this way.

Agott leans her head on Coco's shoulder.

‘Go outside. I know how to deal with this.’

‘Agott…’

Okay. She asked for Coco to lean on her more. She can do that. She can be selfish even though it deeply pains her. Pain is a good thing right now. She wouldn't want to cause more trouble for the others.

Coco heads downstairs and the further away she moves, the louder the voices get. At one point they simply shut up. Somebody probably threw down a noise barrier spell similar to the one master used on her so that no hospital staff overhears anything.

Coco bumps into a few nurses and doctors on her way out. Some ask her if everything is alright. Others compliment her bandana. One asks if her masters are thinking of getting a divorce anytime soon.

As soon as she gets outside she finds a bench and sits on it.

What a day.

Leaving Agott alone was very mean of Coco. If anyone knows how much fights bother Agott, it would be Coco. There were times where she would comfort Agott after she had nightmares about her family fighting.

But Coco had no energy to care much about anything right now.

She couldn't be the Coco that cheers everyone up. Not today. Maybe never again after today. Ever since those shadowy figures violated the inside of her head, she hasn't been the same.

How has her Master been fine with all of this? Being a host feels miserable. She's scared of pausing to take a deep breath because what if that's enough for the tree to grow? She doesn't want to be a tree. She wants to continue studying at her master's atelier. With the others. All together. She wants to find a way to fix her mom and be happy.

Is happiness too much to ask for in this world?

She grits her teeth, looking at the ground. This isn't right. Ruining her life, or anyone's by putting a parasite inside of them isn't right.

This is so much worse than being unable to hear through one of her ears.

Coco reaches out to touch her new ear. The leaf. The disgusting, inhumane leaf.

It works, but for how long? Will she begin to lose her hearing after the roots get triggered a few times? Just like her master is losing his sight?

They really are going to suffer together.

Except he suffers more each time he's with her. For whatever reason.

Why wasn't Custas bothered by her master? Why isn't she? The parasite may not always be the same… Or master's case could just be very special.

As she ponders about all that she knows about the silverwood, she notices somebody approaching from the corner of her eye. For a second she hopes that it's Agott, but no.

It's her master. And he's carrying her cloak and hat.

He stops in front of her. Looking a little less distressed than before.

‘Stand up.’ He tells her.

She doesn't.

‘Stand up, Coco. You won't hurt me. I'm fine.’

‘You won't fool me.’

‘I'm not trying to. I can reassure you of that.’

Coco stands up very slowly, watching for any sign of panic on her master's face. He masks it well.

He places her cap on her head, right over her bandana. He adjusts her new accessory so that it properly covers both of her ears without looking like an obvious attempt to hide something unusual.

Next, he gestures for her to lift her hands up. She does, and he helps her into her cloak, making sure that everything looks neat.

‘You're really okay…?’ She asks him after he smiles at her.

‘As okay as I can be. It hurts, but I'll manage. We'll both manage. I promise you that, Coco.’

She digs through her pocket, and finds the last sheet of paper inside of it. The one she carried all the way from those woods. Next to it is a bottle of ink.

‘I never knew how literal you were when you spoke about the roots moving. They… they really are wiggling…ugh…’ her hand shakes as she draws a seal.

‘Coco…’

‘I should've searched harder. Or went with the Brimmed Cap instead of Tetia. I failed to help you.’

‘It isn't your responsibility to-’ before he can finish, Coco's spell does an awesome job of splashing him in the face.

She hugs him. As tightly as possible as the roots begin to grow. Just a second longer. A second and then she'll-

He hugs back before abruptly pushing away and pointing to her bandana.

There is a hole.

A hole made by a branch. This isn't going to be easy, is it?