Im not far in the manga so i don't know if this is quite accurate im sorry!
The forest around Beldaruit’s cottage shimmered with the late-afternoon glow that only magic-rich places seemed to hold. You had lived here for months already as his first apprentice, long enough to learn which floorboards creaked the loudest and which shelves hid sweets behind the spellbooks. When Beldaruit announced he would be taking on another child, a quiet, sharp-eyed boy named Qifrey, you weren’t sure whether to feel proud, threatened, or just curious.
But any unease melted quickly.
Qifrey arrived carrying a satchel too big for him and a hopeful determination that made something in you soften instantly. He listened to everything Beldaruit said as though each word was a treasure, but the moment the old witch sent the two of you outside to “burn off some of that child-energy,” Qifrey’s serious expression broke into the kind of grin only kids can manage.
You led him through the trees, showing him the lively market, the mossy stone you used as a lookout, the creek where the water ran cold, and the patches of ground where Beldaruit let you practice drawing trial shapes. Qifrey watched you draw a simple illumination glyph in the dirt, his eyes widening when it sparked to life.
“That was amazing.” he breathed. “Did he teach you that already?”
“Yeah,” you said, puffing your chest a little. “Stick with me and I’ll show you the best stuff before he even remembers to teach it.”
Qifrey laughed, light, breathless, unguarded. It was the first time you heard him laugh like that.
The two of you spent the day learning the landscape together. You raced through the pines until your lungs burned, tried to skip stones across the creek, and took turns poking the strange glowing mushrooms that squeaked when touched. Qifrey kept asking questions about magic, about Beldaruit’s habits, about the land and you answered them as though you were the authority on everything, though you knew only a sliver more than he did.
When the two of you returned to the cottage covered in dirt, pine needles, and triumphant smiles, Beldaruit looked up from his mortar and pestle with a long-suffering sigh.
“I send you out for an hour,” he groaned, “and you return as forest spirits.”
You and Qifrey exchanged a conspiratorial glance, already a shared language forming, and burst into laughter.
That night, the two of you sat on the cottage roof while Beldaruit prepared dinner. The sky stretched wide above you, dotted with early stars. Qifrey swung his legs over the edge.
“I’m glad he took me in,” he said quietly. “And I’m glad you’re here too.”