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It wasn't an official request, not the kind that they got from the towns sometimes. But there were rumblings of strange weather to the south, of unseasonably cold weather that had destroyed crops and left some of the townsfolk desperate. It was only a matter of time before someone came to their door, Master Olruggio had said, so he might as well go look into it now before the situation got too bad.
It hadn't quite reached Coco's village, but it was close enough to be scary. She demanded to come along, and Master Qifrey encouraged her to, saying it would be a good opportunity for her to practice warming spells. But it wasn't a job that required six witches, so he stayed home with the rest of the apprentices so they could continue their studies.
They had flown most of the way but now they walked the path by foot, searching for anything out of place. Master Olruggio followed a few paces behind Coco as she wandered from one beast warding tower to another, checking them in the way Master Qifrey had taught her.
A few more steps forward and Coco shivered, a chill suddenly piercing through her layers. Master Olruggio stepped up beside her.
"Got cold, didn't it? Did you bring your snugstone?"
Coco pulled her robe tighter around her shoulders. "No, I gave it away."
Master Olruggio chuckled. "'Course you did. Here."
He produced a snugstone from inside his robes and handed it to Coco, who eagerly took it and held it against her chest. Then he flipped open his quire and summoned a pyreball that he held out in front of him.
"That cold came on awfully quick, it didn't feel natural. Stay close, and keep your eyes peeled."
Coco nodded and fell into step beside Master Olruggio, close enough to brush against his robes. There was a strange tension in the air, and Coco did not like it one bit. Something was wrong.
Coco looked up, jumping a bit when a single snowflake landed on her nose. "Oh, it's snowing."
Master Olruggio frowned. "That can't be right, it's way too early for snow." But sure enough, gray clouds filled the once-blue sky with alarming speed, and soon enough the snow falling from the sky was undeniable.
Master Olruggio came to a sudden stop, holding a hand out to make sure Coco stopped with him. When he spoke, there was an unmistakable edge of alarm to his voice.
"Coco, I think this is somethin' bigger than we thought. We need to head back. Now."
They quickly turned around, but they had barely taken a step before the world was drenched in white. In an instant the snow had multiplied and whipped into a frenzy around them, stinging Coco's eyes as she strained to see through the shroud. She clung to the snugstone like a lifeline, but lost track of Master Olruggio as the brutal winds caused her to stumble and fall.
"Coco? Coco, where are you!?"
It was Master Olruggio's voice, it had to be, but it was so shrill with panic that she almost didn't recognize him. She pushed herself to her feet, calling back, "Here! I'm, I'm right here!"
Suddenly he was there, and he was scooping her into his arms, cradling her half underneath his robes. It was disorienting but she didn't resist, clinging to him as he whisked her through the storm. They came to a sturdy stone wall that blocked the worst of the biting wind, and Master Olruggio crouched beside it with Coco still held to his chest.
A sudden warmth surrounded her, and Coco looked over to see a ball of fire on the ground that appeared to be chasing away the snow in a dome around them, snowflakes seeming to hit an invisible wall before instantly melting away.
Coco was relieved to see that they were out of immediate danger, and went to pull away from Master Olruggio's grip.
He did not let go.
"Master Olruggio…?"
She looked up at his face, and her body felt chilled again at the absolute, undeniable terror etched into his features.
He wasn't looking at her; his vision was fixed somewhere outside their warm dome, on the snow still swirling angrily around them. She noticed for the first time that he was trembling, far too violently for the cold to be to blame.
Coco had never seen Master Olruggio afraid. Not like this. Even when that giant leech had threatened Ezrest, he was still himself. He looked like a completely different person now, huddled in a corner, eyes glassy, entire body racked with tremors.
It was scary. If their situation was bad enough to freak him out that much, how much trouble were they in?
"Master Olly?" she tried again, wriggling to try and face him, "You're scaring me." But moving just made him hold on tighter, and he made a pained noise that might have been a sob.
"It'll be okay," Master Olruggio said, voice shaking, "I'm gonna save you."
Coco was really scared now. Was there that much danger? She started to panic. What would happen to her mom if she couldn't save her? Would Master Qifrey do it? But even if he did, she would have to be alone. Coco had promised she wouldn't leave, but she did and her mom was going to wake up and be all on her lonesome.
Tears prickled at the corners of her eyes, and she tried to fight them but she couldn't, so she buried her face in Master Olruggio's robes and sobbed. He was warm, but he was still shaky and it just kept reminding her of how scared she was.
She wasn't sure how long they were huddled there, the storm continuing around them. The storm was too loud to hear approaching footsteps, so she didn't even realize someone had joined them until she heard a gentle, "Oh, oh dear…"
Coco jerked her head around to look, and there was Master Qifrey, holding up a lamp encasing a pyreball. He was surrounded by a bubble that kept the snow at bay, and if she were calmer Coco would have wondered if it was the same spell he used for the rain.
"What are you doing here!? You shouldn't be here!" It was Master Olruggio, and he sounded angry. Why was he angry?
He made a noise that reminded Coco of the time an injured scalewolf had wandered close to her village. "I don't know if I can protect both of you!"
Master Qifrey's brow pinched with concern. He knelt down in front of them, placing the pyreball lantern to the side.
"Coco, are you hurt?"
Coco shook her head, wiping the tears off her face. "No, I'm okay. Um, Master Olruggio is holding on a little too tight, though."
Master Qifrey turned his attention to Master Olruggio, his voice firm. "Olly, you need to let go of Coco."
Master Olruggio made another pained noise, but he didn't resist when Master Qifrey pried away his fingers enough for Coco to slip free. She didn't go far, plastering herself to Master Qifrey's side.
Master Qifrey looked really worried, but it occurred to Coco that he didn't look afraid. His back was to the storm, and he didn't seem to even be thinking about it. All his attention was on Master Olruggio, who still looked more frightened than Coco had ever seen him.
Suddenly it clicked: they weren't in danger. It reminded Coco of when she was small, and she was scared of the dark. She would cry and cry when it was bedtime and her mom went to douse the candle in her room. Her mom would hold her and promise her there was nothing to be afraid of, that the room was still the same even if she couldn't see it. If she really couldn't calm down, her mom would stay with her until she fell asleep.
"Olly." Master Qifrey's voice was gentle but unyielding. "Look at me. Look at me."
Master Olruggio lifted his head and looked, eyes still glassy but more focused than they had been.
"Olly, what can you see? Describe it to me."
Master Olruggio blinked a few times before answering. "...You. Your face. Your glasses. You have some snowflakes on your eyelashes. Your hat is missing and your hair's all messed up. You uh, probably left home in a hurry."
Master Qifrey nodded encouragingly. "What else?"
Master Olruggio glanced around the space. "Coco's here, too. There's two pyreballs, mine and yours. Yours is in a lantern."
He looked past them to the storm, then squeezed his eyes shut as if trying to forget he saw it.
Coco thought about her mom, holding her while she cried about the dark. She scooted over to Master Olruggio's side and wrapped her arms around his middle, squeezing him as tight as she could.
He opened his eyes again to look down at her, confused. She smiled.
"You haven't described me yet!"
Master Olruggio laughed, and it was such a relief to hear it. "You've got gold eyes and green hair. It's gettin' a bit long, you might ask to cut it soon. Oh, and it looks like you dropped the snugstone."
He picked up the contraption and held it out to her. She accepted it and shoved it into her robes, before immediately going back to hugging him. He smiled and wrapped an arm around her, but very loosely.
Master Olruggio looked at Coco, then at Master Qifrey, then ducked his head so he wasn't looking at either of them. "...Thanks."
Master Qifrey smiled, relief clear on his face. "I'm glad you're feeling more yourself. The edge of the storm isn't far from here. Do you think you can walk? I can handle any casting."
"I can help too!" Coco chimed in eagerly.
Master Olruggio was a little unsteady on his feet, so Master Qifrey took one of his arms and Coco took the other. They only needed to walk for a few minutes before they reached the edge of the storm, and from the outside they could see how unnatural its formation had been. They went from a solid wall of white to a mostly-clear sky between one step and the next.
Master Qifrey was worried over what could have caused it, but he was more concerned with escorting the two of them home. Once they were back, Master Olruggio declared that he needed a nap, but rather than go to his room he took a blanket to the couch. Coco sat on the floor with her back against the couch armrest, staring into a cup of marktea.
Coco was alone in the study space that she and Agott shared, practicing her pyreballs. There was a knock at the door, and Coco yelled, "You can come in!" without looking up from her frantic scribbling. She closed the circle on her spell, and made a sound of triumph when the pyreball took on the vague shape of a dragon before fizzing out.
There was a chuckle from behind her, followed by, "Looks like Qifrey's rubbin' off on you."
Coco spun around and grinned. "Master Olruggio! Did you see?"
"I did! Great work." He motioned toward her. "Mind if I join ya for a bit?"
Coco nodded, and Master Olruggio sat down crossed-legged beside her. He picked at one of his sleeves, and she noticed for the first time that he seemed nervous.
"Coco, I owe you an apology for the other day. You were dependin' on me to look after you, and I let you down. I'm sorry."
Coco shook her head. "It's okay! You made sure I didn't get lost or freeze, and everything turned out okay."
Master Olruggio gave her a tired smile. "You're a good kid. I'm not looking for you to absolve me or anythin'. Just wanted you to know that I'm sorry for scaring you, and for not keeping my head when you needed me to."
Coco fidgeted, unsure how to respond to the apology if he wasn't asking for forgiveness. Then an idea occurred to her, and she looked up at Master Olruggio with a big grin. "If you really want to make it up to me, help me figure out this spell so I can surprise Master Qifrey!"
Master Olruggio chuckled. "All right, scoot over and show me what you got."
He helped her review the sigils and signs in her spell, gently correcting her mistakes and recommending improvements. When Master Qifrey came to fetch them for dinner, the stars were shining outside.