Agott asks Coco to keep it down while she studies, but Coco keeps making noise. Annoyed, Agott takes her work outside. She tries to create a pillar of light, but it doesn’t come out right. As she stares up thinking about the spell, it ends up attracting a bird. Back inside, Coco is also struggling with her studies. She still doesn’t have a new pen, so her drawing tools are holding her back. Qifrey notices and brings her into the kitchen, where he gives her stew from a magic cookpot that keeps food fresh by looping the moment it was made.
He then gives her a hands-on lesson. Using carapace yams, he tells Coco to cook one with fire magic. Her first attempt fails since the yam is too heavy and snuffs out the flame. She keeps adjusting the sigil, and after a few tries, she gets the yam to levitate and cook inside a steady fire. Qifrey explains the point of the exercise: if something is hard to learn, build it into your daily routine. That way, you’re always practicing. Coco takes that to heart, and soon Richeh and Tetia join them. The group later heads out for a picnic, and even when it rains, Qifrey easily blocks it with a barrier.
Meeting Olruggio
After the rain clears, Coco runs back to invite Agott, but instead runs into a stern bearded man at the atelier. Qifrey shows up right after and is clearly uneasy. The man, Olruggio, reacts immediately when he hears Coco is Qifrey’s apprentice. He grabs her and tries to drag her away, warning that they shouldn’t be involved with the Brimmed Caps. Qifrey quickly stops him using the water on the ground and insists they settle things inside.
Olruggio reveals he’s the atelier’s Watchful Eye, meaning he keeps an eye on Qifrey and the students to make sure no one breaks the rules. Every atelier has one. If things get out of hand, they call the Knights Moralis, the group in charge of protecting magic and keeping it hidden. Qifrey pushes back, saying if the Knights Moralis get involved, they won’t just fix the problem they’ll erase Coco’s memories, including her love for magic. He admits this is his fault for letting her learn their secret in the first place. Then he goes even further and says if her memories are erased, his should be too.
Agott volunteers
That completely shocks Olruggio and leaves him speechless. After a moment, he says he won’t report anything for now and heads to his room. Later, Coco’s brushbuddy ends up in Olruggio’s room, forcing them to interact again. When Coco goes to get it, she notices it’s no longer wet. Olruggio used magic to dry and warm it, and he does the same for Coco so she doesn’t get sick.
On her way out, Coco notices the floor reacts when she steps on it. She gets excited and learns Olruggio created the spell. After telling him a bit about her past, she thanks him and leaves. That moment helps Olruggio better understand what Qifrey meant about protecting her love for magic. Meanwhile, Agott is still training, trying to perfect her pillar of light so she can pass her next test and start taking jobs outside the atelier. That opportunity comes when someone shows up asking for Qifrey’s help. Seeing her chance, Agott volunteers to go with him.
