Summary/content: Qifrey brought home another apprentice, and while Olruggio is a bit crossed, he keeps the door open for you to come inside. You, Qifrey's new student, find your new family and learn more about magic. But this is just a snippet of what that life looks like. No pronouns used for reader. No use of y/n or any other variation. Reader is around the same age as the other Qiflings (10-12). Reader is described as anxious in the beginning, but opens up more later!
Very much prompted by external forces, but not actually requested. @yumee-topia , I hope you like it :) This is just a quick drabble I did. Not super proud of it, but I'm also not used to writing the reader as a kid, so absolutely any constructive criticism is welcomed!
And this is being posted later than originally anticipated. I had plans that I honestly forgot about on the 2nd, lmao, and midway through writing the second part I started scrolling through tags on here.
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How did you get here?
~
“Qifrey…” Olruggio speaks. Quiet, exhausted, and harsh. He looks to the man in front of him, expecting some kind of genuine answer to come out of him. A defence for his case.
All Olruggio gets in response is a gentle smile, and a slight tilt of Qifrey’s head as he stays looking at the man in front of him.
Olruggio's eyes drift from Qifrey’s own down to where you latch on to him. You hid yourself under Qifrey’s cloak and your hands grip onto his waist from behind. You were an anxious one.
You make eye contact with Olruggio, shrinking back further into Qifrey for a moment.
“Hello, mister,” you mutter, keeping your eyes on Olruggio, but they strayed from and avoided looking at his face again. Never looking above his chest.
Olruggio sighs. “Just call me Olruggio,” his voice still came out tired, but less annoyed.
Annoyed, not at you, but at a fifth apprentice that Qifrey has brought back with him to the atelier. Perhaps this is just something he has to get used to; Qifrey bringing to the atelier apprentices like a wife or child bringing home a stray cat. There’s more contrast than compare.
Olruggio’s eyes flicker between you and Qifrey for only a moment longer before stepping aside, letting you two cross the threshold past him.
Qifrey thanks his friend, and begins to guide you to your temporary room. It was only a guest room, but it was getting late. Surely he would figure out a better arrangement for your sleeping and studying quarters come morning.
When Qifrey steps back into the heart of the atelier, Olruggio has his back against the empty fireplace, clearly waiting for his return.
“Another apprentice, Qifrey? Why?”
Qifrey looks to Olruggio as he asks his question. He smiles before saying, “I really do believe there is always room for another,” he walks closer, sitting in front of Olruggio, “and perhaps I wished to survey their wonder and expand it in the right places.”
~
One month under his wing-
~
“Master Qifrey,” you speak, peeking around the arch that forms between the kitchen and dining room.
Once you spot him over the stove, you stand to your full height, revealing the rest of your body from behind the wall.
Qifrey turns to face you, “Yes, what is it?” His brow arches lightly as you look up to him. He sets the kettle down, already having poured the hot water in his cup to make himself tea. “Do you need help with anything?” His voice remains gentle as always.
He always seemed a bit brotherly, or even fatherly, despite the basic relation of master and apprentice.
“Actually, I've been having a bit of trouble with my line work lately,” you grumble, gripping the white fabric that rests just above your stomach. You look down at the points of your shoes, unable to find the emotion you feel in yourself about your inability to draw a proper spell.
You then look back up to Qifrey. “I have asked for advice or help from the others, but none of it really seems to work for me. I even tried to ask help from Mister Olruggio, but—um,” your shoulders stiffen up a bit at the memory of Olruggio glaring at you as if he were a dead man revived before you could even utter out a single letter of a word to him.
Qifrey hums, laughing a bit at the last bit you speak, “I see. He can get a bit carried away in his work, leading him to be—well, tired,” he says the last word as if it alone would explain his friend’s habit.
Focusing back on the subject, he calls out your name, asking to see your hands as he holds out his own.
When you place your dominant hand into one his own, palm facing up, he crouches down to your level. Soon he starts poking at the palmer of your hand, then moves to feel and lightly rub your fingers.
After just a short moment, Qifrey hums before standing back up and asking, “Do you think it may have something to do with your pen?”
You look at him, and back to your hand. “I haven’t really thought about that being why.” You thought for a moment, “Though, Coco did ask a similar question. She also said she has a bit of trouble with her lines, too,” you bring your other hand to join the other, pushing your thumb into the middle of the other’s palm.
Qifrey only pats your head, putting your main focus back on to him, before he suggests, “Why don’t you sit on it for a little while longer?”
“Okay,” you nod.
“And,” Qifrey bends down, putting his other hand on his knee, “if it really is because of your pen, we can pay a visit to Kalhn and get you a new one. Easy fix,” he smiles down at you, closing his eyes.
You nod again, the action a bit more pronounced. You mirror his smile too, “Okay,” you say again.
“Now be on your way,” Qifrey walks back to the counter he left his tea cup on before looking back at you, over his shoulder. “It’s time you continue studying your spells,” he dismisses you from the kitchen. “Remember to know your limit,” Qifrey adds as you step back out into the dining area.
“Right, of course,” you fully turn away from him, making your way back to your workspace.
~
Turns out you had a minor case of a writer’s cramp from overworking yourself just a little too much. That, of course, got you a bit of a scolding from Master Qifrey when you two figured it out from your hand freezing up when he asked you to demonstrate a basic spell.
You two ended up paying a visit to Kalhn for a new pen anyway, though this one would be for more temporary and more limited use. Mr. Nolnoa did not have any pens made specifically for a writer’s cramp or anything “special” like that, but he was able to round out the tip of one just a bit for this case.
Master Qifrey had taken the newly customized pen out of your reach and put into his own bag when Mr. Nolnoa finally came back out with it in hand.
When you finally got the pen into your own hands, you tested it out immediately on the first thing of blank parchment you found back at the atelier. It definitely did glide across the paper easier than your former pen, and because of that, it required less pressure from your wrist. You still found that you preferred your original pen anyway, but you were still thankful for the kind of gift.
Qifrey does not have any need to worry further about you using your original pen, or even practicing too much, when you are getting over your cramp. He already had a conversation with the other apprentices about your small period of required recovery. Estimated by himself.
Richeh and Tetia, whom you share a workspace with, will remind you… Quite a bit. They worry about you, too, just as much as your master. Nobody in the atelier wants it to be a bigger case than what it already was, and not knowing your habits very well— well, they just wanted to be sure you were taking care of yourself as well.
Coco and Agott in this same case both stress that you shouldn’t overwork yourself for something that naturally takes time to get better at.
Qifrey agrees with it all, even mentioning at dinner, “It’s a good thing it was only a minor case.”
That you agreed with.
You agreed with all of them, and told them to not stress about your own predicament.
Qifrey very often sees that passion you share about magic with Coco’s own. He even has the fondest smile when he sees you two talking amongst yourselves about the topic.
After years of growing up together, you, Qifrey, and Olruggio part ways after passing the Fourth Test, each pursuing your own path while staying connected through letters. When a dangerous relic investigation leads you back to Qifrey’s atelier, the trio reunites and is drawn into a mystery surrounding a divided “wishing” artifact, forcing them to confront forgotten bonds, buried feelings, and the growing threat of the Brimhats, who will stop at nothing to obtain its power.
First art piece in a while… kind of nervous. I haven’t drawn in years, and in an attempt to have hobbies again, I tried digital art for the first time.
If you like this, I’ll be posting more on instagram @toast_sumi on instagram!
