Work Text:
Even before Coco joined the atelier, there had always been night owls aside from Olruggio himself.
Agott had been one when she first joined, so completely and utterly fixated on trying to prove herself, and she almost never came out of her room for the first week. Qifrey had somehow managed to coax the little girl out, though it had taken her even more time to warm up to Tetia and Richeh.
The atelier is quiet, aside from the gentle flickering of the flames beside Olruggio’s desk. He’s sure that Qifrey is still awake downstairs—the man hardly sleeps, either, yet has the audacity to get on him for not having a proper sleep schedule.
He grabs the small orb of flames, letting it hover above his palm as he makes his way down to the rest of the atelier. Olruggio is alone when he opens the door, head peering out. As the atelier’s Watchful Eye, he needs to make sure that Qifrey and his apprentices are taken care of. Really, his duty is more than that, but this is the part of the job Olruggio enjoys the most.
Tetia and Richeh are fast asleep in their bed when Oluriggio checks on them, but there’s a gentle light streaming from the crack in the door that leads to Agott’s and Coco’s room. He pushes the door open gently, peering around it, and his entire demeanour softens.
Both Agott and Coco, fast asleep against their desks, magic keeping a light glowing despite them both being out. He makes his way into the room, setting his own orb down in order to gently move the girls back to their beds. Neither of them wake, though Agott does immediately role over with a soft noise, and Coco seems to smile in her sleep.
Olruggio puts the light out, grabbing his orb as he does so, then slowly exits the room. He shuts the door as quietly as he can, a small smile on his own tired face.