#torchwitch

What had he been thinking asking this? What had he expected Olruggio to say? That he wished they had never met? That he wished to be a Watchful Eye to anyone but Qifrey? He shouldn’t have asked, the answer was too dangerous. It could break his heart or it could fill him with so much warmth the Silverwood inside him would react. Usually he was smarter than this, he would not let himself be lured in by this false sense of warmth and safety, but the evening they had spent together, cooking and talking.. Qifrey couldn’t help but look at his Watchful Eye with guarded affection.

Only Qifrey was aware of the truth in that moment, which was.. that Qifrey most likely wouldn’t be alive right now if they had not been thrown together by fate. Or not fate.. it was all Olruggio. Always has been. Ever since the moment Olruggio had saved him from drowning, their lives had been intertwined, attached at the hip no matter how hard Qifrey had tried to isolate himself. It would be safer this way, he had always thought so, that he would be alright as long as he stayed away from anyone that could be kind to him. It had worked well, back in the day. He had held Beldaruit at arm’s length, he had not made any friends.. until Olruggio. And he had almost paid with his life for it.

Back in that moment.. this one crucial moment, he had been fine with it. He would have gladly died if it meant Olruggio would be safe, he would have gladly died knowing he had one friend that trusted him. And truly cared for him. Despite everything. And then Olruggio had made that suggestion, no, not a suggestion. He had made a choice. To sacrifice his memory again and again to keep Qifrey alive.

Qifrey did not deserve this man, he knew that. And yet.. the gaze of his bright blue eye rested on Olruggio’s face and he was thoughtful for a moment. If this world had been gentler, would they still have ended up together? Part of Qifrey doubted that, because as painful as the thought was, a kinder world would not have put him in the hands of the brimmed caps. A kinder world would have allowed Olruggio to save the people lost in the snow storm. A kinder world would have protected them from pain. But then they probably never would have met and at this point.. Qifrey would have sacrificed everything if it meant he would get to have the most radiant star in his life.

The witch chuckled and he had to turn away for a moment, he held out his palm for the atelier’s brushbuddy to climb atop it and he gently ran his fingers through the soft fur. How could he say what he was really feeling and thinking? Telling Olruggio to stay away had been part of his self-preservation, and now his life was basically in Olruggio’s hands.

“If things had been simpler I think we would still share an atelier. Just without.. the occasional law-breaking hidden away from the Knights Moralis.”

Qifrey chuckled, turning back to his friend and he reached out to put the brushbuddy on Olruggio’s shoulder, brushing his fingertips over the other’s neck before pulling away.

CINDER TALKING TO NEO AND QROW DNFBDNFBDNF

Agott knew better than to disturb a witch that was drawing and working, but the young witch had not missed the quiet coughs coming from Olruggio’s workshop. It wasn’t anything unusual for the atelier to be empty except for Olruggio and Agott, as the latter rarely decided to accompany Qifrey when he took the other three of his apprentices outside to solidify everyday spells Agott could already draw with her eyes closed. And Olruggio kept repeating that he was not their master, plus, as always he had contraptions to work on, the deadlines approaching fast as he liked to point out.

She would likely never admit it but Agott felt quite lonely without any of the other girls here, or brushbuddy who liked to spread out on her papers, but without them here the silence only carried Olruggio’s pained coughs towards her even louder. She had not missed the subtle redness on his cheeks and the way his deep voice sounded slightly hoarse when they had met in the kitchen for lunch, but it sounded like his illness would only get worse overnight.

If Master Qifrey was here he would scold his friend and urge him to rest, but he most likely wouldn’t return with the others until come morning. Which meant Agott would have to make sure Olruggio would rest, or at least take a break. The both of them were similar in their personalities and desire to get things done, but somehow it worried her that Olruggio had such little regard for his health.

Quietly humming to herself Agott wrapped a thin blanket around her shoulders ere she sneaked into the kitchen, preparing a small serving of the soup Master Qifrey often made for the girls when they fell sick and balancing the full bowl in her hands she made her way towards Olruggio’s workshop. She knew she shouldn’t disturb him, it wasn’t her place to scold an adult, but maybe Olruggio would be able to see that she was just trying to express her worry and care for their Watchful Eye.

“Master Olruggio”, she says gently, almost shyly when she enters the room and approaches the man, carefully placing the bowl on Olruggio’s desk before she dared to glance at him. He looked awfully tired and exhausting, more so than usual, that was.

“I have heard you cough and… it made me worry about you. If you don’t have time to rest, maybe have some of the soup I made for you? If I did everything right it should be close to the soup Master Qifrey makes for us when we are ill and..”

The young witch looked down at her feet, feeling awfully embarrassed, she did not mean to claim her soup would be as helpful as Qifrey’s.

“I don’t think I will be able to sleep, would you mind if I.. study here alongside you?”

Torchwitch prompt: Roman hires a sitter, and the sitter just happens to be really attractive.

If Roman could have, he’d bring his three year old daughter with him to his next heist. He was pretty young himself when his parents first gave him a gun and a bank to rob. But Roman knew that giving a three year old a gun was not a good idea. He wasn't stupid.

That’s why he hired a sitter. Roman saw their ad in the paper, and from the description this Goodwitch sounded like she could handle Neo... maybe. Roman honestly expected an old grannie to show up. He was sure surprised when he opened the door to see a beautiful woman. She had this regal air to her that really attracted Roman.

Roman shook his head and focused.

“Ms. Goodwitch. I’m so glad you could make it. Not many babysitters work late hours, so you’re really helping me out here by watching over my little Neo at this time.” Roman explained.

“Of course. I try to work at all hours. I understand that some families have jobs at late hours. I’m just glad I can help.” Glynda stated.

Roman wrote his number on a slip of paper.

“Here’s my number if you need anything. I’m not quite sure when I’ll be back.” Roman informed her, “Oh, and a word of advice. Don’t let her get her hands on anything sharp. She will try to stab you.”

“Of course. You better be off, you don’t want to be late for... whatever your job is.” Glynda said.

Roman smiled before walking out the door. With one last glance over his shoulder, he said to Glynda.

            The sun had set, but the moon was new and darkness made the house into an inky black void. The mistress of the house had retired to her room, gone to bed in darkness, tired from weeks of work.