BIG BITES
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In which Qifrey, Olruggio and Beldaruit have an apprentice who likes to bite and chew to soothe their needs.
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⋮ ♯; ⤷ Relationships .ᐟ Qifrey x apprentice!reader, Olruggio x apprentice!reader, Beldaruit x apprentice!reader – all separately, all platonic
⋮ ♯; ⤷ Content warnings .ᐟ no warning! just a reader with strong oral fixation
⋮ ♯; ⤷ Word count .ᐟ 2,883 – 960 per char on average, but longest one is probably Olly's
⋮ ♯; ⤷ Author's note .ᐟ i loooove platonic fics, so i decided to write one myself! i kept on biting stuff to self-soothe since i was little and i think many can relate! ฅ^•ﻌ•^ฅ
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˗ˏˋ ★ ― QIFREY ‼
The whole day was gloomy and dark. It was pouring cats and dogs outside and the ugly cold from was seeping into the atelier. Of course, Master Qifrey made sure to light up the fireplace, the fire battling the distraught atmosphere that the weather brought on.
While no-one was outright upset in the atelier, everyone felt a bit down with the ongoing dark sky and heavy rain. Especially one apprentice, who was currently sitting at the living room table.
Qifrey, like a right master should, tried to bring some comfort to all of the inhabitants of the house. He made sure to brew a calming chamomile tea and bake some sweet cookies. Doing rounds around the atelier, carrying trays of cups of tea and some plates with the cookies to all the apprentices.
One plate and a cup even made its way to Olruggio's room, who, despite feeling grumpy about being interrupted, welcomed such a sweet treat. One last delivery remained, which was you.
Your dear master knew you were studying in the living room, right next to the cozy, warmth-bringing fire that soared in the hearth. You were a very studious apprentice, eager to learn new spells. And such hard work should be rewarded!
He decided that he would sit with you and share the cookies and tea. Sure, perhaps there was an ulterior motive of getting you to take a break, but who cares? As long as your tummy is filled with sweets and your mouth is smiling, all is good.
"There you are, darling! Still studying, hm?" his soothing, and quite enthusiastic, voice comes from behind you. He comes around you and crouches down.
He hummed as he pushed some of your papers to the side – naturally, he did it gently, to make sure he didn't ruin your work. Qifrey lays the tray onto the table and looks up at you.
He finally had the chance to take a good look at you. Your slightly furrowed eyebrows, your scrunched up nose and the everlasting bites you administered to your fingers. A small frown of his own came onto his face.
"Darling, won't you even look at me? You're studying way too hard," he offered a small smile, but a hint of worry could be heard in his voice. His face softened further once you did look up at him, all confused. "Hi, there. I brought some snacks. I thought we could share them together," he reaches out and pinches your cheek.
Finally broken out of your daze, you look at the plate of cookies. Oh. Sweets!
"Um, sure, I just... I need to...," you mumble as you look back onto your paper. One spell was giving you a hard time. Or perhaps, more like your hand was. Why was it so wobbly? You unconsciously bring your hand back to your mouth, biting away at your nails once again.
"Ah, ah! Don't do that, sweetie," Qifrey immediately reaches out and gently cups your hand with his, blocking it from your mouth, "Biting yourself like that... you will hurt yourself. I can't let you do that, now can I?"
Seeing your furrowed brows he softly chuckles, more out of worry than anything else. "You're biting your hand while you're anxious. It's quite common, don't you worry. But I cannot just let you damage your pretty hands like this!" he tried to ease the atmosphere a bit, just to make sure you don't feel scrutinized.
"Um- But... I...," you slowly look down at your hand. You did bite it quite a lot. Your nails were quite ruined and uneven. A little "oh" escapes your lips at the sight, but a cookie is quickly pushed into your hand.
"Here, eat up! Your Master knows just how to help you," Qifrey ruffles your hair and gets up, leaving you to munch on your cookie. And you do, eating the sweet treat. In the end, you did like them. You weren't so focused on studying anymore.
After a couple of minutes, as you're sipping on the tea, Master Qifrey comes back carrying a small trinket. You promptly look up at him as he sits down next to you.
"Look here, darling. It's a chewing toy. You can bite this instead of your fingers, okay? It will save your hand and your teeth as well," he proudly shows you the chewing toy. It was mostly flat, cut out into the shape of a bunny.
Qifrey looks at your face as you observe the toy, taking it up into your hand carefully, turning it around to inspect it.
"Go on, try it out," he encourages you. With a glance up at him, you bring the toy to your mouth and try biting into it. It wasn't bad at all. Soft enough to partially sink your teeth into it, but hard enough not to bite through it.
You hum before you completely get lost in the sensation. Biting and chewing on the toy.
Qifrey smiles at the sight. You were so cute. Quite like a teething puppy. With a kiss to your head, he leaves you to your ministrations, happily sitting next to you, enjoying his tea while you enjoy the new toy.
˗ˏˋ ★ ― OLRUGGIO ‼
It was no use. Olruggio was trying, he really was, but the sheer inability, of the man before him, to listen and actually understand what Olruggio was telling him, was driving Olruggio mad. He loved to help people, but sometimes, the Unknowing weren't quite understanding of the fact that Olruggio really couldn't bring them the stars from the sky.
"Listen, I understand what you want, sir. But I'm not able to just... magic such a thing out for you. I would be very happy to take on a commission for you, but I'm afraid that I just cannot do it today," Olruggio tried once more, hoping for a miracle.
He could feel your small hands gripping his cloak. Understandably so. The tall man in front of Olruggio was quite loud and a bit aggressive.
This wasn't what Olruggio planned. He wanted to take his apprentice out to the nearby villages for a field trip, to show you more hands on magic. And to also show his life out of the commissions he gets paid for. But quite a rich man – some noble of some sort, was very adamant about getting Olruggio to create an illusion of the night sky on the ceiling of his child, that he could just freely turn on and off for the night.
"Well, you're a witch, are you not? I know you're able to do it, so why don't you just go and do it?" the tall man basically growls at Olruggio, getting more and more agitated.
Olruggio sighs. He didn't want to subject you to more of the aggressive demeanour of the man. While he would like to prepare you for inappropriate and very pushy customers, so you were able to stand up for yourself, he knew this wasn't the right situation.
Your master glanced at you. He could feel your grip on his robes tightening, he could see the slight shiver to your stance and the way you were chewing at your coat.
"Right. Sir, I'm not able to do it today. It's too late. I must go take care of other things," Olruggio puts on a very unconvincing smile, "Here, take the card. You can write to me for a commission!"
He doesn't let the man repeat his demand. Olruggio simply picks you up and leaves. Very quickly. As he rushes through the streets, trying to find a quiet spot, he keeps on glancing at you. You were still chewing on your robes. What was that all about?
Soon enough, he finds a back alley with a bench. With a sigh of relief, he sits you down on it.
"Unbelievable! These mo-... These men are quite insane!" Olruggio groans as he rubs his eyes, crouching down in front of you.
You were still very anxious. That man was so mean. And as a result, you kept on chewing at the neckline of your cloak, trying to self-soothe. Olruggio looks up at you.
"Oi! Stop that. You're gonna ruin your cloak," his hand tugs the fabric out of your mouth. He watches, quite worried, as you seem to get even more nervous.
"...Uh... you alright, sweetheart? What's wrong?" Olly lets go of your cloak, and rather puts his hand onto your cheek, cupping it gently. "...you didn't like the guy, did ya?" he softly hums, his face turning bit solemn.
The shake of your head and your teary eyes stirs something in Olruggio's chest. You were his apprentice, he loved you dearly. And seeing you so distraught because of a man made him angry, upset and worried all at once.
"Com'ere, sweetheart," his voice drops down into a comforting murmur as he picks you back up, letting you bury in his neck, "Shh, it's quite alright. Master Olruggio won't let anything happen to ya."
Olruggio's body was naturally quite warm, and you could feel that even though his clothes. It was so comforting to hide yourself in him. But even so, you still felt scared and you couldn't stop yourself from chewing on his cloak.
Your master noticed that almost instantly, making him frown. What was up with you?
But as he keeps on watching you, he slowly starts to realise that this wasn't really a one off thing nor a new one. He did see you chew on various objects many times. It's probably a coping mechanism or something like that.
Olruggio wasn't sure what to make of it. He hasn't been around children much, other than Qifrey's apprentices and none of them had such a habit. But he was your master and he would take care of you. Always.
"Hey, dear, you keep on doing... that... bitin' stuff, I mean. Could you tell me why?" he asks, trying to see if he could just simply get the answer out of you.
"I... I don't know...," you mumble, letting go of his cloak and pushing your face back into his chest. It was dumb, wasn't it? He already told you to stop.
"Must be an unconscious thing then," Olruggio mumbles to himself, frowning a bit in thought, "Well... suppose it calms ya down, no? You like to bite stuff? Get like a... need to do it, sweetheart?"
A calm, quiet atmosphere of care settles around you two, easing your worries and making you nod.
"Ah... I see. How about this? Master Olly will make ya somethin'. Somethin'... soft, hm? So you can bite something else than your cloak. Otherwise you'll be out of cloaks. All of them will be bitten through!" he plants a tiny peck to your nose before he begins walking, "Don't worry now, sweetheart. It'll take ya home now. No use standing here, waiting for that pest to come find us."
˗ˏˋ ★ ― BELDARUIT !!
Beldaruit was an old man now, having to deal with many apprentices and many people over so many years But still, even after years of work, he could never stop being fond of seeing his apprentices focused on their work.
It was something so sweet and so adorable to him. How their brows creased a bit, how their eyes narrowed, how they seemed to be absolutely unaware of their surroundings. Really, the sight reminded him of a little kitten trying to focus hard on learning how to hunt.
Beldaruit was smiling ear to ear as he observed you. He meant to do a few other things, but seeing you curled up above your paper, trying to figure out a new spell was something dear to him.
As you racked your brain, attempting to create a very new spell, you brought the ending tip of your pen into your mouth. You wanted to impress Beldaruit, or at least gift him something he'd like. But you weren't quite sure what it could be. An illusion of a dragon? Or perhaps flowers made from pristine ice? Or...
Beldaruit's face softens into a look of exasperated love. He has seen you chew on your pen a lot. You do it... quite often.
He takes up his notebook and his pen, quickly scribbling a spell. A delicate bird of light comes to life, flying around the room. After a few turns, the bird flies towards you, straight into your nose, bursting into soft and tickling particles.
You jerk your head back at the unexpected, but not hurtful, assault by the bird. Your head turns to your master after a beat.
"There you are, sweetling," Beldaruit practically coos at you when he sees the light flush of your cheeks, "My, my. How cute you are... come closer, would you?"
"No way!" you immediately protest and plant your palms against your cheeks, "You're just gonna pinch me again!"
"Ah! Such hardships I face! My dearest little student doesn't even want my affections now! What will I do?" he dramatically sighs, but even in his flare, he couldn't stop the small chuckle bubbling out of him.
"Don't you worry, I won't pinch you if you do not wish me to, dearie. But even so, won't you come to me?" he beckons you closer with a soft smile.
Your hands slide off your cheeks, but with an indignant little huff you get up and walk to his horned chair. Beldaruit reached out to pet your head gently. What? He might not pinch you, but he couldn't just ignore such a cute baby like you!
His other hand comes to yours, tenderly taking your pen out of it and rotating it around. The bite marks were prominent on the wooden handle.
"Oh, my sweetling, have you been starving?" your master jokes as he turns the pen in his hand once more before looking at you. You blushed even more. He often teased you about this habit.
"Hm... are your teeth okay? Tell me, have you chipped any of them?" Beldaruit's soft hands cupped your cheeks. While he liked to joke around, there was a very real wordy in his heart for your health.
Your embarrassment slowly left your body as you see his kind expression. When he sees the shake of your head, a sigh full of concern leaves him. His lips set a kiss to your forehead.
"Your master has something better than wood for you!" he offers you a smile as he pulls out a wrapped candy for you. You don't wait even a second before you take the candy. Very happy to eat it.
Beldaruit couldn't help himself, he plants another kiss to your head before inspecting your pen one last time.
"My darling, Master Bel will have to take your pen for a while. I'll get the handle changed out," he says, his voice filled with fondness, "I think we can get you some teething guard on it too."
"I don't need a teething guard! I'm not a baby!" you instantly perk up, glaring at the old man. Such a view made Beldaruit chuckle. Weren't you just the cutest thing ever?
"Ah, I suppose no, not when we're talking about your age... but, sweetling, did you know? You're my baby!" he coos at you, his finger caressing your cheek, "And, my darling apprentice, you mustn't be so embarrassed. I didn't mean to offend you. I just thought that... well, since I, surely, won't get you to stop biting your pen, I might as well make sure it doesn't hurt you."
Another indignant huff leaves your mouth, which in turn makes Beldaruit smile widen.
"Ah. I get it. I won't force you to have it. I just thought it might ease the strain on your teeth, dearie," his hand finds your head once again, ruffling your hair, "Don't be mad at me, my sweet apprentice, I truly didn't mean to offend you."
"Well, I... I don't know! I'm not... I don't think about doing it," you mumble, tugging on your robes.
"That's fine. Truly, it is. I do not mean to chastise you, sweetling. Your biting habit is nothing to be embarrassed about. Forgive this old man, he teases you way too much," Beldaruit's face turns apologetic, "I won't do such a thing anymore. Come, show me your spells and I'll give you more candy. Would you like that?"
With a little puff to your cheeks, you give him a nod. Taking his hand you gently pull him towards your desk, and he gladly follows, giving your hand a comforting squeeze.
You gather your papers and hand it to him. A natural smile comes to Beldaruit's lips. Checking the work of his students was another activity he loved. Watching them grow and better themselves made his heart clench with pride.
As you master happily looked through your work, your eyes fall onto your pen on his chair.
"...Master Bel...? And... the- the teething guard, how would it look?" you whisper, your hands finding your robes again. Your head lowers, hiding from Beldaruit's eyes.
"Oh... probably just some soft material wrapped around the tip of your pen, that's all. Or perhaps just making the whole tip from a softer material. We can go to the pen maker together, how about that, sweetling?" his voice was a soothing sound to your ears.
Your sheepish nod earns you a firm kiss to your forehead.
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⋮ ♯; ⤷ Thank you for reading!! Hope you enjoyed. .ᐟ