Work Text:
The atelier was quiet as everyone worked, with the girls scattered to four different corners of the workshop to practice their craft. Qifrey supervised them quietly, his eye jumping up occasionally from the book he was reading to observe them carefully.
None of the spells they were working with were dangerous, but anything could be dangerous if not handled properly. Qifrey wasn’t one to leave things to chance, especially when it came to his students.
That was how he noticed Coco, her face calm with concentration as she drew her symbols. His newest student, the one who hadn’t grown steeped in magic and its secrets. Her hand was steady, her attention focused, and her passion and curiosity were unending.
Qifrey loved all his students, thought they all had potential, but there was something about Coco’s fresh perspective and willingness to question anything and everything that had him marveling at how far she might go. She was a sprout that only needed a little bit of encouragement and guidance to flourish all on her own.
Qifrey was happy to provide that, as much as he was able.
And then Coco’s concentration broke, as her hair fell into her eyes when she tilted her head downwards to draw a sign at a new angle. She blew it away at first, but it fell right back into her eyes. She reached out and brushed it back behind one ear, tracking ink along her cheek as she did so.
The lock of hair slipped loose the moment she titled her head another way, breaking her concentration yet again.
Qifrey smiled. That wouldn’t do; he stood from his chair, quickly retrieving two things he thought might help: a wet cloth and a simple bobby pin.
Coco’s focus was so complete that she didn’t even notice him approaching, not until he stooped in front of her and asked, “Coco, may I?”
She blinked and looked up, the movement leaving a stray mark in the circle she’d been trying to draw. She sighed and discarded the paper. “What is it, Master Qifrey?”
“Your cheek,” he said, tapping his own and then nodding down at the wet cloth. “And your hair.”
“Oh!” Coco sat up, then nodded quickly. “Sorry, I was trying to concentrate…”
“Nothing to be sorry for,” he assured. He brought the wet cloth to her cheek, gently cleaning away the inkstain from her skin, then pinned her hair back with the bobby pin. “There, that should help. If you need more bobby pins, just let me know.”
It was a staple of being a guardian for girls or anyone with longer hair, after all.
Coco beamed at him. “Thank you, Master Qifrey!”
With that, Coco returned to her studies and her practice, her focus uninterrupted. Qifrey returned to his chair, content to watch over the growth of these promising young sprouts.