݁♬⋆.𝄞 Birds of a Feather
Qifrey x Reader x Olruggio
You return from a long trip to find a new young witch that has joined the atelier.
CONTENTS: meeting coco, likely inaccurate quadryphon behaviors, brushbuddy appearance, joyous family antics
WC: 1.5k
A/N: i feel like ive been gone for so long omg, been congested and lowkey sick so mbmb!!
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Coco had first spotted you while following little brushbuddy around the atelier at dusk.
You came out of Master Olly’s room. She’d never seen anyone go in there, not even Master Qifrey, so it was quite a surprise. Especially since the ominous keep out sign was stamped all across the entry way.
On top of that, you were wearing his cloak.
The girl stood, peeking out from behind a wall taking in your presence. All the while, the brushbuddy had no reluctance in walking up to you. Coco watches as you crouch to pick up the creature.
“This is your brushbuddy, right?” You asked, glancing up at her. The little one rests on your palms, looking up expectantly at you.
“It’s very cute.” You run a finger along its back. It purrs in response.
Coco slowly makes her way away from the wall, twiddling her fingers as she enters your line of sight. “I found it during my first test. Master Qifrey’s been letting me keep it here.”
“You must be Coco then?” The brushbuddy climbs up your arm and slithers around your neck. “Qifrey’s mentioned you.”
“He has…?” She stares dumbfoundedly. “Hopefully nothing bad then,” she mutters, a bit flustered.
“Not at all. He wouldn’t do that,” you chuckle, giving her a light smile.
“Well, I suppose I should introduce myself as well. I’m [Name]. I work alongside Qifrey and Olly in this atelier — I’ve just been out on a commission for a while. It’s nice to finally meet you.” You reach out a hand towards her.
She takes your hand and gives it a gentle shake. “It’s nice to meet you too!”
The two of you make your way around the atelier, talking along the way.
“Can I ask a question?” Coco says, clasping her hands behind her back.
You hum in agreement, “Go ahead.”
“How’d you meet Master Qifrey and Master Olruggio?”
“We all met as apprentices, but I grew up with Olly,” you recall.
“You guys must be super close then?”
“Yeah, I’d say so.”
“Is that why you’re wearing his cloak?” She points out.
You readjust the fabric resting on your shoulders at the reminder. “Ah, Well… mine kinda got ripped during my time away and when I told Olly, he said he’d fix it — even though I could just go to Kahln to repair it. Then he told me to stop whining about it and threw me out with his for the time being,” you explain.
“Sounds like something he’d do.” She remarks.
You chime, “Right? He always acts like he doesn’t care when he does.”
She ponders for a beat then asks, “Was Master Olly always grumpy?”
“You’d be surprised, he actually was the most social out of us three back then.”
“Seriously!? But he’s so…” Coco hesitates before finishing, “…closed off now! I never would’ve imagined that.”
“Perhaps that’s just what growing up does to someone,” you huff out a laugh.
When the pair of you reach the dining room, a new voice cuts in. “I thought I’d heard you.”
Qifrey dusts off his hands onto his pants and wraps his hands over yours, lifting it up to his lips and giving it a gentle kiss. “You’ve finally returned. And I see you’ve met our newest member,” he glances over at the girl standing beside you.
“That I have.”
“Coco,” she perks up at the mention of her name, “you’ll be learning with them tomorrow-”
“I never agreed to this??” You try to interrupt, however, Qifrey pulls you closer and you end up muffled by his neck. The burshbuddy lets out a noise of protest, climbing onto Qifrey’s head to avoid getting squashed.
“-So be sure to get a good night's rest, alright?” He says, ignoring you.
The girl nods, eyeing the pair of eyes in the fluff of his hair, which suddenly jumps at her. Coco lets out a shriek. The creature lands spat on her face, she weakly picks it off in embarrassment.
You peek over Qifrey’s shoulder. “...You alright there, Coco?”
Her face flushes and she scurries off with a wave. “Yeah! Just fine. Have a goodnight…!”
“Goodnight,” you respond, watching her run away.
You wearily turn back to Qifrey. “You’re funny if you think I’m teaching tomorrow.”
“The lesson’s up to you.” He gives you a kiss. You’re convinced he’s trying to coerce you.
You whine, “I literally just got back!”
“It doesn’t have to be anything special,” Qifrey gives you a closed eyed smile. “Just something to bring the girls together.”
You roll your eyes and jab a finger at his chest. “You seem enthusiastic, why don’t you plan something?”
“I already told Coco. You wouldn’t want to disappoint her, right!” He raises his hands in mock surrender.
“Don’t try to guilt try me.”
“It’ll be fun,” he concludes, changing the topic. “Why are you wearing Olly’s cloak, anyways?”
“Long story,” you mutter in defeat.
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The door of the atelier opens with a creak. Coco steps out into the light, slowly adjusting her eyes to her surroundings. Master Qifrey had called everyone to join him outside, just as she’d woken up. Agott had left swiftly following the call, leaving her by her lonesome to get ready.
She turns her head from left to right, scouting out anyone else. In due time, she finds everyone a little ways down the hill. As Coco jogs down the hill, a strong gust of wind almost knocks her off balance. Qifrey quickly steadies her with a gentle hand to her shoulder.
When the girl glances up, she finally notices a prominent figure highlighted by the morning sun.
You’re standing a couple of meters away from her, holding out a gloved arm to the sky. Coco angles her head up, spotting a bird cascading down, perching onto your arm.
The bird measures up to your head and stretches its wings, letting out a sharp squawk — the silhouette surrounding your figure makes you look virtually angelic.
Coco gasps. “Woah! Is that a gryphon?”
Tetia jumps in, “It’s a quadryphon. Gryphons have four legs while quadryphons have four wings!”
Richeh motions out a peace sign, “You’ve been asking about those even during the second trial. Are they your favorite or something?”
“Yeah,” Coco says, rubbing her head in embarrassment at her enthusiasm. “I can’t help but find them intriguing!”
Olruggio appears behind the three. “This one’s particularly special. It’s been with us since the beginning of our atelier.”
“Oh! Even Master Olly’s here today too,” Coco comments.
He lets out a sigh, “They practically dragged me out here, don’t think I had a choice.”
“You need more fresh air,” Qifrey chimes, “You should thank them.”
“We’re not having this conversation again,” Olruggio glares at the other man, who simply just looks away.
Qifrey clears his throat. “As Olly was saying, this little bird is our second guardian of sorts.” He adds on, “And they’re a glorified messenger.”
The green haired girl asks, “Does it have a name?”
“Most of the time we refer to them as ‘Voy.’”
“Oh, like a voyager! Since it’s a bird and all?” Coco mentions.
Olly turns to Qifrey. “I thought it was because they’re a boy and you couldn’t think of a cooler name so you just replaced the first letter.”
Agott finally speaks up. “Wasn’t it based off ‘envoy’ given it’s a messenger?”
“Didn’t Professor [Name] joke that it was clairvoyant too?” Richeh says, offering a new perspective.
Tetia looks between everyone, confused. “I didn’t know there were so many words with ‘voy’ in them…”
Eventually, all eyes trained back onto Qifrey, who starts sweating under their gazes.
Olruggio, noticing his discomfort, speaks up. “How ‘bout we just ask them? Given they were the one who named ‘em?” Without a single beat, he heads over to you. Qifrey lets out a relieved sigh and the rest of them follow Olly’s lead.
Voy immediately gravitates towards Olly’s presence, reaching out his head out towards him. He scratches the bird’s neck fluff and it coos in contentment.
“What’s the story behind the bird’s name?” Agott asks you.
You mull it over. “Honestly, I forgot,” you say truthfully. “I think it was just some random combination of letters that sounded cool.”
“But hey at least now there’s a lot of meanings behind it!” Coco encourages. Qifrey hums in agreement.
Tetia, who hasn’t been paying attention to the conversation, bursts out with unrestrained excitement. “It’s so cute! And fluffy! And amazing!” She scrambles around you, trying to see the bird at all angles. Richeh tries to calm her down before the poor bird gets scared away.
Olruggio shuffles around with his belt and finds a pouch of seeds that he hands to the girls. “You can feed him if you’d like. He won’t bite. Probably.”
Coco, Tetia, and Richeh jump at the opportunity and they take turns feeding the creature. Agott occasionally eyes the bird and pets it a few times; she doesn’t seem like she wants to leave yet, so it’s a win.
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