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Qifrey hadn't seen Olruggio in days, so he was pleasantly surprised when the Watchful Eye finally emerged from his workshop, joining him in the kitchen just as he was cleaning up the dishes after dinner.
"Olly, so nice to see you! How are your commissions coming along?"
"Finally done for the season," Olruggio exclaimed, yawning, the dark circles under his eyes an obvious statement to his sleep-deprivation. "Just wanted to eat somethin' before I go to sleep for two days," he chuckled.
"There are some leftovers in the pot over there if you'd like, just warm them up," Qifrey said.
"Aye," Olruggio nodded, walking past Qifrey and making his way over to the cooking area. Qifrey paid his movements little attention, still focused on doing the dishes, so the sound of Olruggio stumbling over himself caught him by surprise, his head immediately spun around in search for his Watchful Eye.
Olruggio was standing by the pot, his back turned to Qifrey as his arms leaned against the kitchen counter. His shoulders were raising and falling in rapid movements, as if the pure action of walking across the kitchen left him short of breath. The dishes were promptly forgotten, Qifrey rushing over to Olruggio's side.
"Are you okay?" he asked once he could finally see the expression on Olruggio's face. But as an experienced teacher, the symptoms were clear to him before Olruggio could even say anything. Seeing the rosy tint on Olruggio's face, the labored breathing, and the way he held onto the counter for dear life, Qifrey promptly put two and two together, confirming his suspicion by placing a gentle hand to Olruggio's forehead.
"You're burning up," Qifrey said, voice seeping with concern. "You have truly overexerted yourself this time."
"Nah, 'm fine," Olruggio mumbled, shaking his head, his knees immediately buckling under him as if on cue. Luckily, Qifrey's reflexes were faster than gravity, catching Olruggio before he fell.
"I can see that," Qifrey sighed, placing one of Olruggio's arms over his shoulder and wrapping his free arm around his waist to steady him. "Let's get you to bed."
Somehow, they managed to get into Olruggio's room safely, and Qifrey walked him up the stairs, settling him down on the sofa by the window. He used a pyreball lantern to flood the room in a dim, warm light, setting it down on the stone wall atop the stairs.
"I don't think the hammocks are a good idea until you can stand properly," Qifrey commented. Laying Olruggio down on the sofa gently, he took his shoes off before tucking him in under a thick wool blanket.
Considering his further plan of action, he suddenly recalled the spell he'd drawn when Coco also had an exhaustion fever, and that it had helped her cool down. Yes, that would do.
"Just hang tight, Olly," he whispered gently, walking over to where his work station was. There were pages of paper still strewn all over the table, a pen and a bottle of conjuring ink placed aside the haphazard pile of unfinished spells.
Qifrey grabbed the pen and dipped it in ink, his lines steady as he drew—a water glyph in the middle, accompanied by two wind sigils on opposing sides of the spell to make the water float, followed by a few other types of signs to stabilize the spell. Closing the outer circle promptly brought the spell to life, and big drops of floating water materialized in the air, cooling the air around Olruggio. Hopefully it would be enough to bring his fever down and keep him comfortable for a while.
"Feels good," Olruggio hummed, looking up at Qifrey with glassy eyes, eyelids heavy.
"I'm glad to hear that," Qifrey said, the knot in his stomach finally relaxing a little. "Are you hurting in any way?"
Olruggio shook his head, finally allowing his eyes to fall closed. "Just sleepy."
"Go on and rest, then. I'll be here if you need anything."
Olruggio didn't take long to convince, falling asleep almost instantly. Qifrey didn't want to leave his side—what if he woke up feeling worse, or what if he needed something and tried to walk by himself, then got dizzy and fell down the stairs?
Qifrey didn't know when, but he eventually dozed off in the chair he'd moved over to sit by Olruggio's sofa. He'd always been a light sleeper, so when Olruggio started rustling about in the middle of the night, it was enough to wake Qifrey up.
As Olruggio sat up the sofa, his hands flew up to his temples reflexively. "Shit, my head," he muttered.
Immediately, Qifrey sprung up to his feet, his hand settling on Olruggio's forehead again to check his temperature.
"Still not going down…"
Looking up and around the room, he noticed the cooling spell had already worn off, and promptly cast another one. Although the spell had a soothing effect, cooling down Olruggio's hot skin, Qifrey started considering other approaches as Olruggio's fever wasn't letting up.
"Would you like some tea? I've got a mixture of dried tranquileaf and sleeping willow leaves, it should help with the headache and fever."
Olruggio nodded, desperate for relief despite barely comprehending what Qifrey was suggesting. His eyes were closed, but Qifrey still registered how his body relaxed slightly under the effects of the cooling spell, relieving him of the worst of the fever, if only for a moment.
"Very well, I'll be right back."
He stayed true to his words, reappearing in Olruggio's room a short while later, tea in hand. He had adjusted the temperature beforehand so it would be pleasantly warm and not scalding hot, and carefully handed the cup to Olruggio, who immediately took a sip.
"How is it?"
"Bitter," Olruggio noted, face scrunched up as he tried his best to ignore the acidic aftertaste it left in his mouth. He kept drinking, though, impatient for the promised relief.
"Oh, apologies, I should have foreseen that," Qifrey said. "I can go grab some honey—"
Olruggio shook his head, immediately wincing at the movement afterwards. "'s fine. Thanks."
He finished the tea just as the herbs were finally starting to take effect, and he handed Qifrey the empty mug as he settled back down under the blankets.
"Will you stay here?" he breathed out, closing his eyes once more.
"Of course."
Olruggio nodded slightly, satisfied with the answer.
"Your magic is so soothin', Qifrey. So kind." he said, right before drifting off to sleep, leaving Qifrey alone with his swirling thoughts.
Did he say that because Qifrey's compliment of his snugstone design still weighed heavy on his mind? Or did he genuinely think Qifrey's magic just as kind?
Qifrey barely slept during the rest of the night, eventually resorting to laying his head down on the side of Olruggio's sofa, arms crossed under his chin as fatigue finally overtook him.
He woke up to Olruggio staring at him, face awfully close to his, and he jolted upright almost immediately.
"O-Olly! Good morning," he said automatically, only afterwards looking out the window to confirm the time. The sun had only just risen, making it an uncharacteristic time for Olruggio to be up already.
"Need to pee," Olruggio murmured, still half-asleep.
"Of course. Can you walk by yourself?"
"Let's find out, shall we," Olruggio said, taking his time to move to a sitting position, then moving his legs over the edge of the sofa.
Qifrey was ready to catch him should he fall, but he was relieved to see he wasn't needed as he watched Olruggio stand up and make a few unsure steps on his own.
"Should be fine," Olruggio hummed.
"Alright. Why don't I get you a change of clothes in the meantime, so you can freshen up?"
"That'd be great. Thanks."
After rummaging through his wardrobe for a while, Qifrey did manage to find Olruggio a clean set of clothes, but he made a mental note for himself to offer Olruggio help with his laundry later—judging from the state of his quarters, he'd likely neglected some of his chores for weeks as a result of the insane time pressure he'd been under.
But it was all okay. Olruggio's health was what mattered most, and the rest could be dealt with once he was feeling better.
He folded the clothes into a neat pile and placed them on the sofa, just in time for Olruggio to return from the bathroom. He still looked a little out of it, eyes still a bit glassy, but the rosy tint of his cheeks was nearly gone. Qifrey approached him carefully, gentle palm to Olruggio's forehead once again checking his temperature.
"Your fever's gone down. How are you feeling?"
"Weak, tired. Got muscle aches as well," Olruggio sighed, "nothin' a few days of lying in bed won't fix, though." Seeing the clean clothes folded up neatly on the sofa, he reached down to grab at the hem of his shirt and pulled it up over his head without much preamble.
Qifrey's eye lingered on his naked torso longer than it should have, and when he realized he'd been staring, his heart skipped a beat and he felt his cheeks burning up red as he turned away to offer Olruggio at least a modicum of privacy.
"It's about time I go prepare breakfast," Qifrey said with his back still turned. "You must be hungry too, why don't I bring you some food?"
"I'm, uh, I could walk there."
"You shouldn't overexert yourself," Qifrey said. "You still have a temperature, and I'd recommend that you rest as much as possible."
Olruggio sighed, the sound of him sitting down on the sofa a cue for Qifrey to turn back to face him again. "Fine, fine, no need to lecture me 'bout it. I don't have much of an appetite yet, though. Just bring me somethin' small."
"How about some fruit, then?"
"Sounds great."
With Olruggio back under his blanket, Qifrey returned to the kitchen and got to preparing breakfast, cutting up some bread and fruit for the girls, one slice of bread with some mountain apples plated separately for Olruggio.
"Good morning, master Qifrey!" the apprentices greeted him, piling into the kitchen one by one just as he was finishing up on his preparations.
"Good morning," he smiled at them gently, placing the prepared food on the dining table. "Olruggio has fallen ill, and I need to make sure he's taken care of. Would you girls mind studying on your own this morning?"
"Is it serious?" Tetia asked, looking up at Qifrey with a worried look.
"Not at all, he simply overworked himself and needs some rest," Qifrey shook his head, easing the girls' worry. "If anything urgent comes up, I'll be in Olruggio's quarters, but I trust that you can look after each other in my absence."
"Of course!" the girls said in unison.
"Let us know if there's anything we can do to help," Tetia added. A slew of emotions tugged at Qifrey's heart; just as Olruggio cared for his apprentices, so, too, did the girls care deeply about Olruggio's well-being. It was comforting, in a way, to know that the people he loved most in this world would surely take great care of each other, even in his absence.
When Qifrey returned to Olruggio's room, carrying a mug of fresh tea in one hand and a plate with Olruggio's breakfast in the other, he found Olruggio fast asleep. Out of habit, he checked Olruggio's temperature, and drew another cooling spell when he felt his temperature rising again.
Using the wooden chair he'd been sitting on the entire night as a make-shift table, he placed the plate onto it. To keep the tea warm until Olruggio woke up, he recalled the spell Olruggio had drawn onto the snugstones and replicated the design onto a piece of paper—it wouldn't last as long as the snugstones did, but it would fulfill its desired purpose.
The warmth of the snugstones was much too kind for Qifrey to accept, but at the very least, it was something Qifrey could give back, by small, insignificant acts of care.
Knowing Olruggio was comfortable and resting, Qifrey returned to the kitchen and started thinking about lunch. Something simple yet nutritious, easy to eat yet filling was exactly what he needed to nurse Olruggio back to full health.
The rocklodge ginger porridge was a tradition, at this point; whenever his apprentices or Olruggio got sick, it was a go-to recipe to make them feel better almost instantly. Peering into the living room, he saw the girls deeply focused on their books, palm quires ready at their sides. Surely, though, they would welcome a distraction.
"Would you girls like to help me make bread porridge?"
"Of course!" The girls jumped up with excitement, eager to get away from their books for a moment. They eagerly followed Qifrey into the kitchen, immediately getting ready to work on the recipe they'd seen Qifrey make multiple times.
Qifrey was more of a supervision, really, and he watched with care as Agott and Coco prepared the pot, filling it with milk and pieces of bread, putting it over low heat and stirring the mixture once the bread had softened. Tetia prepared the honeytree nectar, drizzling a reasonable amount over the porridge once it was done, and Richeh cut up the rocklodge ginger carefully, removing the outer skin and slicing the ginger into small stripes that were easy to eat. They were then placed onto a separate plate so that everyone could decide for themselves how much ginger they wanted to add.
With the help of the apprentices, the preparation of the porridge was quicker than he'd expected, and since it was still too early to serve lunch, they let the porridge sit for a bit, allowing it to cool down and gain a richer, smoother texture. Qifrey used the bit of free time to check on his apprentices' progress in their studies, providing them with space to ask any clarifying questions they might have about the spells they'd encountered in their textbooks.
Lunch time finally rolled around, and Qifrey was quickly done with his portion of the porridge before he started preparing Olruggio's portion of the meal. He topped it off with a few extra slices of the rocklodge ginger, adding a few more drops of the honeytree nectar in an attempt to compensate for the increased amount of bitterness. Hopefully Olruggio would enjoy it nonetheless.
Returning to Olruggio's room, he was happy to see Olruggio awake, with most of his breakfast gone and his mug empty. He was sitting on the sofa, still diligently wrapped in his blanket, and leisurely flipped through one of the books stacked in piles all around his room—when he had the time, he quite enjoyed some badly written romance, sometimes even reading the especially terrible passages out loud to Qifrey when he had the chance.
"Feeling better?" Qifrey hummed, his lips curling into a faint smile as he approached Olruggio's sofa.
Olruggio nodded, setting the book aside and looking up at Qifrey. "Head hurts less. Must be all the tea you keep givin' me."
"I'm glad to hear that," Qifrey smiled, handing Olruggio the bowl. "The girls made this bread porridge all by themselves. Now, I know it's not your favourite, but you know as well as I do how beneficial rocklodge ginger can be for your health, so you should eat as much as you can."
"Yes, master Qifrey," Olruggio responded in feigned annoyance, but dove right in nonetheless, his body's hunger signals gradually returning to him.
Qifrey watched him as he ate, glad to see that he was finally doing better. He fiddled with the hem of his skirt, a sentence Olruggio had said half-conscious during the night still echoing loudly in his ears.
Maybe his magic, too, could be kind.