The grass was warm underneath him, wildflowers swaying in the breeze. It was the perfect day to set the girls loose and just let them be. Qifrey was never one for rigid lessons anyway, but today especially he just wanted to girls to experiment and have fun.

Tetia was trying to teach Coco how to draw the runes for cloud magic. Tetia's fluffy pink hair almost blended in with the tulips they'd nestled in. He could hear Coco's excited giggling carrying on the wind. A few paces away, Agott was trying to draw the right rune combination to make flowers bloom.

And you were here. A witch Olruggio had rescued from a flood and brought to the atelier, and now Qifrey's partner. His first partner ever, in fact. The complexities of Qifrey's life had never allowed for dating or comfort.

But after meeting you, he'd found that he wanted to try.

You had Richeh in your arms. The blue-haired witchling had expressed interest in the orange tree growing beside you, so you lifted her up to pick one. Her smaller legs swayed joyfully as she grabbed and orange for herself. Richeh stayed settled in your lap to peel it, content with her prize.

"I did it!" Agott announced suddenly. The sullen girl rarely expressed excitement, but the freshly bloomed daisy in front of her seemed to move her.

This was Qifrey's life now. A lovely partner and four lovely apprentices who were practically his--

Qifrey coughed suddenly, quickly turning to hide his face. Silverwood leaves sprouted from his mouth, suffocating and vile. His rare moment of peace had allowed for some sprouts to grow sour in his belly. Quickly, before you could notice something was amiss and try checking on him, he chewed and swallowed the leaves.

Puff, the atelier's brushbuddy, crawled into his lap curiously. The ferret-like creature tilted its head as Qifrey sighed and turned back around.

"I'm alright, little one," he murmured, petting Puff. "Just a cough."