Work Text:
“It’s trying to get the ink stains off your palm,” Agott commented, rubbing her own hands together, which were caked with dry splotches of ink. The girls littered the ateliers kitchen, it was a strange place to be congregated but the weather was dull outside and they had been in practically every other room today.
Agott and Coco had been cooped up at the dinner table for a few hours now, studying along side one another. Paper and books had accumulated in heaps and mounds around them. Coco giggled, giddy and kicking her feet as she teased the creature, keeping her palm firm and flat on the table while it tried to burrow itself underneath to sniff at the ink. She was running out of steam for study, addled with sleep and leaning towards bleary eyed silliness.
“Evening, girls,” a woman’s voice rung out quickly from behind them, strangely out of breath. She made her way into the kitchen, grabbing a loaf of bread and block of cheese that had been left on the counter from dinner and darting off down the hallway towards Olruggio’s atelier. She did not stop to look at the girls at the table, nor at Tetia or Richeh (who had been bickering about how the cutlery should be organised in the drawers.) Tetia dropped onto the floor from the shelf she had been hanging from.
“She’s still here? It’s been almost a week now.” She said, no snide in her voice, only curiosity. Agott put her pen down and leaned forwards, chin resting heavily on her knuckles and a pensive expression plastered on her face.
”A companion of Master Olly. They’re making something. Master Qifrey won’t tell me what it is.” She seemed almost dejected by this, her voice prickled with anticipation. She was ever inspired by the contraptions Olruggio thought up, and a bit sad to have not seen him for more than a couple of minutes at a time these last few days.
In the time it had taken Agott to mope about a lack of an Olruggio to show her spells, Richeh had approached the table. She scooped brushbuddy up and flipped it around gently in her hands.
“We could fly up to his window, take a look.”
Agott made a disapproving noise, leaning back in her chair. “His curtains will be drawn… and besides, that’s quite an invasion of privacy.”
Richeh curled her face up, no fun at all. The four went quiet for a moment, collectively deducing a way to peek at the new contraption without being cursed. There was a shuffling of clothes from the hearth where Qifrey had settled himself on the floor, and was now adjusting to sit up in a straighter, more authoritative slump.
”You needn’t spy, he means only to surprise you,” he said fondly.
He enjoyed watching them think as one body, even if it was plotting to break into Olruggio’s room. Although upon a brief moment of reflection Qifrey capped off his sentence, gazing down at his hands. “Although… It would be nice if he joined us for a meal.”
.
A few clock marks passed, Coco had lost all inertia for study and was splayed out on the carpet beside the fire, warming her rocking feet and looking up at the beams on the roof. At the table, Agott remained, yawning. The tea Qifrey had bought her was not muffling the fact she was growing weary. Richeh had long since taken herself to bed, feeling no need to linger with such quiet, dull company. Tetia sat in front of Qifrey, nestled in a pillow with feet kicking impatiently as he plaited her hair. It wasn’t much time at all before the girls trickled off down the hallway and upstairs to sleep, leaving Qifrey by himself, cross-legged and contented. His head hurt a little.
Busied chatter suddenly filled the hallway, then the grinding of stones; which Qifrey identified as the window-way, and then a strange quiet. Olruggio’s head poked out from the hallway, and then the rest of him. He looked quite dishevelled, hair unwashed and skin pale. His eyes glinted with ambition, despite the deep grooves that housed them. Qifrey looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to say something but Olruggio merely nodded his head at him and walked towards the front door.
“It’s nearly midnight Olruggio, why are you going out?” Qifrey questioned, furrowing his brows in confusion, mildly wounded that the man would not greet him.
At the same time Qifrey declared it, Olruggio seemed to realise the time on his own, as upon opening the door he was greeted with the expansive black night sky and the cold that followed. He made a noise and closed the door, turning to peer guiltily at Qifrey. He knew the pale witch disapproved of his habit of working so long he forgot the time of day, and felt he had earned the look he was giving him.
He slunk over to the hearth and let himself flop on the couch in a rather unflattering position. They looked at each-other for a moment in silence before Olruggio said “Evening.”
Satisfied to have been greeted, Qifrey replied with a curt echo. “Evening.”
Olruggio readjusted himself on the couch, lying on his side and propping his head up on his hand. He was buzzing and worrying the inside of his cheek with his teeth, clearly very excited. He was waiting for the go ahead to spout his achievements, he could tell Qifrey was a bit annoyed with him and didn’t want to start prattling. From the carpet came a sigh and a softening face. Qifrey leaned forward on his hand, elbow on his knee, and smiled a permission at him, watching him expectantly.
“We think we’ve got it now, finally,” he said quickly, unable to contain his pride. “We just need to adjust th’ lens. So I was going to go into Kaln to try get one made before Imreyente came back tomorrow morning, but…” he looked out the window at the overwhelming darkness. “suppose everyone’s asleep by now,” he chuckled. Perhaps it was the lack of sleep, or the high of achieving something so grand, but Olruggio was uncharacteristically giddy. Qifrey took notice and felt something cold knot in his stomach.
“You must be very proud, you’ve been working hard, too hard even,” Qifrey said, clasping his hands together in his lap.
From the couch Olruggio scrunched his face expressly for a moment at the punctuating remark, but couldn’t help smiling and gazing at Qifrey half lidded. He stretched his arms over his head and kicked his feet up over the couches armrest with a grumble. Popping the air between his vertebrae with a few cracks.
“Do you want a drink? I haven’t seen you in a bit and Imreyente is back at the hall for th’ night.”
Qifrey lowered his head and smiled, shaking his head and fidgeting with his fingers.
“You should bathe and go to bed, I’d hate to keep you up any longer than this,” he said. His voice seemed genuine, but Olruggio could tell he wanted some pushback. He’d known the man enough to peg that he got antsy when they didn’t debrief every now and then.
“C’mon, we haven’t hung out all week. I’ve been up long enough, another hour wont hurt.” His chin pressed against his chest as he looked down, scrunching the skin on his neck in a way that made Qifrey smile weakly.
“Well then, we should get something good out,” Qifrey smiled, standing up from the floor, and walking into the kitchen. He felt Olruggio’s gaze follow him as he went. He drew out a bottle of willow-grape wine from the far ends of a cupboard and Olruggio rubbed his hands together. His head was rolled over the back of the armrest and he grinned at Qifrey upside down.
“You must be exhausted to be acting so silly already. Did you and Imreyente drink?” Qifrey commented as he sat back on the floor, closer to the couch this time, and began pouring the wine into a pair of loop chalices.
It was not even a full hour, nor a full bottle before Olruggio fell asleep on the couch. He had curled himself around one of the cushions and was now drooling on it steadily. He had been making mumbled attempts at conversation, replying to Qifrey’s stories with enthused grumbles and the occasional nod of his head. But he could not force himself awake in a spot so comfortable. Qifrey looked at him, contemplative. His face plastered with fondness, but tension made itself obvious in the crease of his eyebrows. He raised himself from the floor and rubbed a hand along aching hips. Olruggio had offered him a spot on the couch or a cushion (“But you are lying on it?” Replied with ”I’ll just put m’legs on you.”) but he had denied both. He suspected Olruggio would not rise from his spot until the morning and did not want to get trapped.
.
“Is he going to get up anytime soon? I’m excited!”
Tetia’s voice rung out in a whine from the kitchen. Truth was, he had been awake for a while now, and was simply enjoying the way the sun hit him from the window. He felt like a sunbathing cat. Someone must have lain a blanket over him somewhere in the night, as he was tucked in and cozy by the fire. Although by now it had burnt out to a few hot coals.
Qifrey’s reply came quieter, accompanied by the clink of plates and metal cutlery against the table. ”He’s been working tirelessly, I think we can give forgive him a little bit of a lie in.”
Impatient groans filled the kitchen.
”And besides, is this any later than he wakes up on a normal day?”
A pause, and then reluctantly affirmative hums.
Were his sleeping habits really so noticeably awful? He shuffled in place a little on the couch. It was always so difficult to pry himself away from his commissions when he knew someone was waiting on him. Especially if the work strayed away from the typical high-society jobs of floating glasses or other wholly unnecessary magical trinkets. When a community of elders asks you to engineer pathways that rid themselves of snow so they needn’t shovel at the expense of their bodies, how is one meant to sleep soundly until the job is done? Even if the pay was menial or not there at all, those were the jobs that lingered most in his mind.
He stretched his arms out from the blanket and up over his head, scrunching his eyes closed one last time before squinting at the room. That’s enough lying in, the girls excitement had well and truly infected him too now. Not everyday he makes something purely for the fun of it, purely to do something with a friend. Almost as soon as he opened his mouth to yawn Tetia was at the arm of the couch standing over his head, pink curls bouncing into his vision.
“Good morning can you show me what you made now? Master said it’s done.”
She asked boisterously without pause for breath or any intent to inquire if his dreams were sweet. He almost wanted to slink back into the couch and close his eyes again, just to tease, but a cursory glance at the half-wall over the couch revealed 3 more eager pairs of eyes. It would be too cruel to deny, even for him.
“Mh, yes. I’ll get it out once I’ve eaten, okay?” He murmured, his voice still thick with sleep.
He was followed almost toe to heel into the kitchen. Olruggio always appreciated the meals Qifrey made, even if it was something regular. The security of a warm meal made him feel like he could crawl back onto the couch for another three clock marks, and still there would be food for him when he rose. Qifrey was good like that. The room was deathly silent as he ate, everyone’s eyes gouging into his skin. After a moment of surveillance he huffed in mock outrage and put his spoon down with a clatter.
“Stop watching me eat! I’ll go as slow as I please! Go outside and pick some flowers for me aye?” He shooed his hands at the flock of colourful heads that surrounded him.
“They’re completely necessary for my contraption to work. I cannot get it done without them. Got it? The prettier the better, away with you.” He resumed his meal as the girls filtered out. Agott peered behind at him and squinted, eyes laced with suspicion. Richeh paused in her tracks at the door. She pointed a finger at him as he scooped stew into his mouth.
”You’re a poor liar Master Olly. Your ears get all red,” She said without fluff before turning tail to follow her peers. She still must’ve wanted to pick flowers, or she would have certainly dug her heels into the floor. Qifrey turned to him slowly, amused. Olruggio peered up from his seat with eyebrows raised almost to his hairline. Then he scoffed, chuckled and turned his head back down to his breakfast.
“She’s right you know, it’s a very clear tell,” the taller man took a seat across from him, sliding a cup of tea matching his own across the table.
“Yea, shove off,” Olruggio murmured, working some roasted vegetable onto his fork. Conversation naturally dried out. So they sat in the silence, drinking their tea while Olruggio made now fast work of his food. The sound of the girls rung out familiarly over the fields surrounding the Atelier.
”Out of curiosity, what’s become of the glass you needed made in Kaln? You mentioned it last night, no?” Qifrey perked up suddenly, leaning his chin on clasped hands and breaking their streak of quiet.
Olruggios spoon halted on the way to his mouth. His face took on a pained grimace, his eyes scrunched shut and eyebrows knotting together. Without words he slowly lowered his forehead to the table and whined, the sound gravely and defeated.
“I forgot. Unlike the flowers, it definitely won’t work without that damned lens.”
Qifrey clicked his tongue and gave the mans shoulder a cursory rub, standing up and gathering their dishes off the table.
”The girls have been patient this long, i’m sure another clock mark wont kill them,” he tried, stacking the plates and cups into the sink to be washed.
“It’ll kill me,” he complained. “As fun as it’s been i’m ready to be told what to make again. I can only handle so much excitement.” His voice came strained and odd as his cheek pressed into the table.
“Would you like me to go for you? Write down what you need and I’ll be here and back before you can blink!” Qifrey leaned down, bending almost 90 degrees to meet his eyes from where he was slumped and wallowing. Olruggio looked at him and pursed his lips, contemplating his kind offer.
“Nah, I better do it. If they make a mistake I’d need to be there to iron it out.” He sat up and reached over to pat Qifreys arm and thank him for the offer, but the front door was noisily flung open.
Imreyente had returned. “Slept in! Sorry! Sorry! I know I said i’d be back at the crack of dawn but everyone everywhere wanted to talk to me at the hall!”
The tall orange clad witch hopped frantically into the Atelier, trailed closely by Qifreys curious apprentices. She began rummaging in the pockets of her robe looking for something, still muttering her apologies.
“Imreyente, slow your roll a bit ‘m still waking up.” Olruggio scratched at his neck, straightening his spine. Qifrey looked a bit stunned, gathering his bearings from the shock of the sudden intrusion.
“Wake up faster!” She produced a small glass lens from her pocket, “I took the liberty of getting this made last night, thought you’d be too slow.”
”Oh you are brilliant. How did you manage to find somewhere to make it so late?” Olruggio praised loudly, all but leaping from his seat to hurry down the stairs. Qifrey trailed behind him, a few paces behind.
“Magic never sleeps, my friend,” She responded, beaming with pride.
Clenched his jaw, Qifreys eyes flickered to Agott. The young witch seemed to be considering this statement very closely.
“It should! Rest is very important for any good work. You can’t be at your best without a rested mind and body.” He perked up, the educator in his voice ever clear. He wouldn’t have the poor standards of relaxation infecting their society passed on another generation. What restless company he kept. At the censored telling-off, Imreyente turned her head around at all the little bright-eyed faces looking at her.
”Urp- of course. Sleep is good, need sleep, very necessary for a good work life balance. Always get your clock marks in or your seals will be...” she considered briefly, but was too tired to conjure an interesting word. “Bad.”
The room went awkwardly still for a beat before Olruggio went “ack” and grabbed the lens out from between her fingers. He twisted it back and forth like a coin.
”Well. Don’t see why we’re hanging around in here. Let’s head outside and test it. One of you girls fetch me some paper, about…” He lifted his hands and made a box with his fingers “This big. A few sheets should do.”
“I’ll get it!” Agott blurted, the excitement in her voice palpable as she scurried off down the hall.
.
The girls gathered out on the grass, squirming with anticipation as Olruggio was fetching his contraption. The sky was relatively clear, save for some sparse clouds dotting the far horizon. The sun beat down on their little heads, so they had all put their caps on even though they weren’t going anywhere beyond the atelier.
“Agott what do you think it will be?” Coco fidgeted with the buttons on her sleeve, swaying on her feet. They often didn’t get much time with Olruggios contraptions. Working deadline to deadline meant they often ended up shipped off almost as soon as he finished them.
Agott considered her answer for a moment, looking at the parchment neatly stacked between her fingers.
”Perhaps some sort of automated spell maker. Something for mass producing seals.” She said, voice small and thick with contemplation. “Would explain why he needs paper.”
“Doesn’t that remove the whole point of spell casting though? Not drawing it seems… strange.” Coco looked down at the developed writers callous on her finger, the ink stains beneath her fingernails.
“Not particularly Master Ollys style either.” Agott agreed.
“Well perhaps something like that could help people who struggle with their hands… I know the repetitive motion of drawing spells hurts sometimes, and my hands are perfectly fine.” She stretched out her fingers, clenching and unclenching them into tight fists.
Agott opened her mouth to protest. The pain of drawing was a vital part of learning to be a witch, it would be wrong to cheat out of it. But she met Qifreys eye, and could tell he would disagree, almost predicting the words in her head. She did not much want a gentle lecturing today, so she shut it again and mulled over the words in her head.
“Astute idea Coco. Always thinking of others.” Qifrey praised from his spot leaning against the frame of the front door. Imreyente had plopped herself on a low bench nearby, head leaning on the brick and knocking her hat forward over her eyes. Holding a small blandly decorated box in his hands, Olruggio shimmied by him and outside to join the girls. They flocked up to him like birds, getting up on their toes and shuffling shoulder-to-shoulder to try and get a good look. The lens Imreyente had bought was fixed tight to one end of the box.
“What does it do? What’s the glass on front for? Is it some sort of special telescope? There are no stars out!” Tetia listed of questions and statements at a frantic pace. The heels of her boots clacked against the concrete as she hopped back and forth between her feet.
Olruggio put a finger to her forehead and nudged her back so he could walk properly outside. He was grinning with glee. ”It makes pictures. Or rather I hope it does, I’ve yet to try it with the new lens,” He said, holding it up beside his head for the small crowd to see. Then he smiled wickedly. “Who would like to try first.”
Again Agott opened her mouth and began to raise her hand, but Richeh was faster on the uptake. Both hands springing up at once as she scurried in front of the others and over to Olruggio.
“I want to make a picture first. How does it work.” She demanded, looking up at him with glistening eyes.
”Well I thought i’d make one of you first,” He responded, moving a pace back and taking one knee so the contraption lined up with Richehs head. “Got your flower? Thought it’d make it more interesting.”
Richeh nodded quickly a few times, holding forward a fistful of cornflowers shed picked and lifting them up to her face and hiding behind them. The stems were a bit bent from where they were clasped. ”I knew master Olly was lying. It’d work just fine without the flowers.” She mumbled from behind the petals, one eye squinting at him grumpily.
“You can give me as many points as you’d like, but I think you’ll find…” he mumbled, adjusting something on the box and lifting it up to his face, “It’ll be worth my little white lie. Stay real still now or it wont work right.”
Richeh held her breath and locked her shoulders, turning herself into a statue as a flash of light filled the space for only a second, then silence. She slowly lowered the flowers after a bit to see Olruggio fiddling with the top of his contraption.
”Was that it? Nothing happened, it only flashed!” Tetia whined from the sidelines, looking at Richeh who looked equally unenthused.
“Did it break Olly?” Qifrey called out from where he was sitting back by the house with Imreyente. Her head was rolled over onto her shoulder, the pom-pom tip of her cap poking Qifreys cheek. Sleep really was important.
“On the contrary.” He pulled out a piece of paper from the top of the box, it was a bit damp. “Come look.”
The barrage of heads once again circled Olruggio, squealing in unison.
“It’s Richeh!” Coco exclaimed grabbing Agotts shoulders and shaking. Agott herself looked utterly mesmerised, eyes wide and jaw slack. Richeh tugged at Olruggios arm to get a better look and he turned the paper towards her. It was a perfect copy, she stood with shoulders tight and flowers covering her face just as she had only a moment ago.
”It’s Richeh,” she parroted and held her hand out for the paper, which was deposited gently in her palm.
He looked at her, gleeful that the shine in her eyes came from something he had made. “Careful now, it’ll need a bit to dry and develop properly. Best to keep it somewhere out of the sun while it finishes up so the colours stay-“ Before he could finish Richeh took her picture and ran over to where Qifrey was sitting. She lifted up his cloak and dove under it to create a pocket of shadow for her picture, eyes fixed on its colourful surface.
Agott looked at him hopefully, voice unusually small. “Could you make one of me?” Standing back again Olruggio nodded enthusiastically.
“Course! We can take as many as we want, need to test it on lots of things.”
As Olruggio tinkered, resetting the mechanisms, Agott straightened out her dress. Holding in front of her torso a few pristine sweet violets, clearly picked with care. The girls all took turns getting a photo, Tetia insisted she get one up close citing that she wanted to see her eyes properly. It produced quite a funny image, her eyes widened and face strange from the lens.
“You look a little like brushbuddy.” Coco commented as they huddled around the photo. “That’s a fate I can live with,” she chirped back confidently.
Agott turned to Olruggio, who was standing a ways behind them and looking around for something else to make a photo of. “Master Olruggio, might you teach me how to use it? So I can make one of you.”
“Well, seems fitting doesn’t it.” He deposited the box gently into her outstretched hands. She held it rigidly, as if one wrong move would break it. “Now, the raised circle at the top. When you press it down it completes the ring that sets the whole thing in motion yeah? So just point the lens towards what you want to capture and the push it,” Olruggio explained. It all seemed quite simple, but Agott still hesitated. She wondered feverishly about all the intricacies that went on inside it, all the delicate spellwork and long hours put into it.
”Don’t worry, we made it real sturdy,” he comforted, patting her shoulder heavily. He stood up straight, straightening his spine and puffing out his chest. “How’d I look?”
Agott tilted her mouth to one side doubtfully, but lifted the device up.
“If you look through the little hole at the back you should be able to see me upside down. As long as you can see me in frame it’ll come out right.”
She hummed affirmatively and slowly pressed the button down. As soon as it reached the threshold and completed the seal it clicked and fired with the sound of a completed seal, flashing with light that was over in an instant. Olruggio bustled over to her side, the excitement of seeing himself captured in his own creation catching up to him all at once.
Agott lifted the parchment out and held it up to him.
”Is that really what my beard looks like?” He exclaimed, touching his face. “Hell, I need to neaten up a bit.”
Qifrey was suddenly hovering over them, Richeh still tucked beneath his side and under his cloak. “Back to bed after all this I think,” He commented. “Look at your poor eyes. We can make a better looking one once you’re all rested up.”
“Whatsat supposed to mean.” Olruggio said squinting at him.
”It means you look like death Olly,” Qifrey chided.
Olly jutted his chin out and scowled, snapping back “I think I’m rather handsome, thank you.”
“Two things can be true!” Qifrey pat his cheek and got a glare back.
He tucked the contraption under his arm and stroked at his stubbly chin.
“Maybe I’ll shave it all off again, since you want to be smart.”
Shrugging, Qifrey tossed him a wry smile. He wobbled a bit as Richeh pushed out from under his cape cave to stand between them. “It’s sad you couldn’t have any photos of you when you were little Master Olly,” Richeh mumbled. She still had her photo held lovingly in her hands, clutching it to her chest.
Olruggio hummed a low note, mulling over her words as he turned around the developing picture of himself in his hands. Then, pausing, he grinned and stick his finger up excitedly. He thrust his contraption into Qifreys startled arms and sprinted off into the atelier, waking Imreyente with the sound of his shoes and the gust his cape threw at her. His sudden departure left everyone quite dazed.
.
”Oh look how big his eyes are!” Coco exclaimed, pointing at the young, painted Olruggio.
He beamed with pride. “Beldaruit got it done of us a bit before we took the third test, insisted he wanted a keepsake before we were all grown up. But I ended up nicking it before we moved out here.”
Feeling a shadow dawn on her head Agott craned her neck to up to look. Qifrey was leaning over her to get a look at the painting, hands clasped around the contraption. She looked at his face carefully, then back at the painting, and then over at Olruggio. It was a small piece, only covering a portion of Olruggios chest when he held it up. It was of him and Qifrey when they were still apprentices at the hall. Olruggio had a bright eyed smile on his face and an arm slung affably across Qifreys shoulder. It was odd to see Olruggio tower over her master, so much optimism radiating from his person. She had lived with the man long enough to know his everyday behaviour and facade of gruffness was nothing near his more gooey interior, but it was still strange to see such youth in him.
“You’ve almost swapped faces,” she observed finally. The other girls darted their eyes back and forth between the men and their younger painted counterparts, chattering in agreement. It wasn’t a stretch to say. Olruggios demeanour was a far cry from the grinning strong shouldered young boy in the painting. He had adopted a more permanently worn out look in both his face and body. His heavy coat weighed on his shoulders and made him look slumped. Little Qifrey looked dim, eyelids hung and jaw tight. His head at an odd angle from where he let it hang lazily off his neck. Perhaps the years of teaching and blissful isolation had pacified him to hold more tenderness in his expression, more strength in his spine.
“I’m inclined to disagree. You still hold nearly all of your boyish charms, Olly,” he mused, looking at the bedraggled man fondly. Olruggio was scratching at his neck as he compared the new photo with the painting.
“Yea, yea. You can still be a broody prick sometimes, if you really want to,” He murmured.
Qifrey grinned. He really did feel deliriously happy, albeit a little awestruck by how old they had both gotten. His hands found the ribbon of his hat and he gripped it in his fist.
“Still furiously fidgety too.” Olruggio observed.
”Leave me alone, you are a nasty man.”
“I am not! I can’t do a thing without you doting on how kind I am. It’s maddening”
”You love it.”
Coco smiled at the easy banter that flung between them ”You’re both still boyish! You act mature but you’re so silly,” she said gleefully. Her mind flickered to Custas and Tartah. The men in-front of her bickered almost exactly as they do.
Tucking the painting gently under his arm, Olruggio considered this. It was nice to feel so at ease for a moment, looking at the bright young faces surrounding the place he had built. He often did feel like he hadn’t grown out of his childish mind, guilt ridden and full of the youthful desire to help everyone. It drove him to work hard, helped him do good. “Life would be a lot dimmer if you I had just left my childhood completely behind. Just because you grow up doesn’t mean you’re a completely new person,” he said, rubbing again at the jagged hair on his chin.
Agott clenched her jaw and bit her bottom lip inside her mouth. She didn’t like how she was now, why was it so bad to want to leave an unsatisfying version of herself behind? She never liked when her masters got so preachy about enjoying childhood. It was an annoyance to her she couldn’t wait to grow out of. Richeh however nodded furiously, waving her photo in the air.
“Richeh will be this way forever.” She inflected all the words with tenacity.
The black capped witch grinned at her, he always did enjoy engaging in these discussions with her. It satisfied some younger lonelier part of his mind. He knew he was not always one to practice his own preachings, but he could at least help iron out poor thought habits in the girls. “Growing up does mean losing all of this Richeh, it means getting more of this Richeh. Wouldn’t that be good? All of what you believe in now and all of what you are now will be an important part of what you become.”
He glanced at Agott, who was very pointedly looking at her shoes to avoid being dragged into unwanted conversation. He wouldn’t push it, he knew she was as stubborn as she was smart. If he tried to bombard her with lectures and thoughts she’d nod along, and then expel it all from her head the second he stopped. Such a driven young witch, he always worried about her tripping and falling without any faith in herself as a person to fall back on. She met his eye for a moment before she clenched her jaw and looked off in another direction. It was about time for him to go out and celebrate with Imreyente, he pondered. Straightening his back, Olruggio plucked his contraption back out of Qifreys hands and held it out to Agott.
“I best be off, promised Imreyente lunch after we were done with this.” He said as she took it again, confused. “I taught you how to use it, yea? Want to teach the others while him out?”
Agott flushed, trying to suppress her shock at the responsibility. Olruggio trusted her with his hard work while he was away. ”Of course, I remember,” she said confidently, ears bright. She would not squander this opportunity to prove herself.
“You’re a very capable girl, you should know. Be proud of that, proud of what you are now.” He pushed her cap down over her forehead and took a step back before walking back towards the Atelier.
The girls gathered around Agott, looking at her eagerly. Maybe sometimes it was okay to delight a bit in how she was now, a responsible young witch who could teach her peers something new. She straightened her shoulders and began pointing out the parts of the device, explaining with fervour how the image should appear through the lens.
.
It wasn’t too late when Olruggio returned, the kitchen was in a post-dinner state of disarray that Qifrey was methodically clearing up. The capped man shouldered through the front door and dropped down on the carpet by the hearth.
“You are much earlier than I expected you’d be, I didn’t leave you much for dinner,” Qifrey peered over the wall at his puddle of a friend.
Olruggio made a noiseless attempt at a response from where his face wash mashed into the floor, but waved his hand dismissively. “Too tired for a real celebratory bender, I ate my weight in bread while we were out. ‘Ll be fine.”
Lowering himself more gracefully onto the couch, Qifrey prodded at Olruggios side with his shoe. “Your turn on the floor,” he quipped. After pausing for a moment he recalled an earlier thought fondly. “Wasn’t sure you kept that painting,” he said quietly. Olruggio rolled onto his back and glanced pensively at the white haired man above him.
“Course I did, we’re cute. I just don’t keep it out. Anything I leave on the wall catches a stray flame eventually,” he said, stretching. “No incident with my contraption while I was out I gauge? You don’t look guilty.” Qifrey shook his head and dragged his knees up under him, lounging.
”Agott did think she broke it when the parchment ran out and it stopped producing anything, that was a brief panic.”
Olruggio hummed and turned his cheek to the flame. A beat passed before he opened his mouth again. “You’ve got a nice handful of potential under your wing here, Qifrey,” he said gently.
Smiling weakly and wringing his hands on his lap, Qifrey made a thoughtful noise. ”You are very good with them, too. You’re like…the foundational sticks of my little nest.”
“Quit it,” Olruggio snipped, reddening.
Qifrey thought about the painting again, glancing into the licking flames beside them. It instilled a rich spectrum of emotion in his chest to see the pair of them so young. Their hat ornaments were in their initial places from before their agreement was made. The thought of it made him feel quite ill, but still Olruggio’s young face filled him with warmth. The same man was lounging on the floor of the atelier they had built with their own hands and their own magic, what he wouldn’t give to enjoy this life wholly forever. He hoped Olruggio’s contraption would give his apprentices captured moments like this to hold on to when they came to be independent, leaving his branches and taking flight.