Work Text:
When Olruggio awoke to a loud shriek that reverberated throughout the atelier, his snores came to a sudden halt and he slipped from his chair and crashed onto the floor with a heave, he got up moments later thinking something was horrifyingly wrong. Did something happen to the girls? Where was Qifrey? Had someone gotten into the atelier and done harm to them?
“Olly, keep an eye on Tetia, would you?” Qifrey loomed over his sleep deprived, hunched up body working on a contraption the night prior. “The others and I will be visiting Kalhn to replace some tools. She’s tackling a stomach-ache and is looking a little pale,” he informed, soft spoken as his light footsteps inched closer. “We will be departing in the morning. Don’t stay up all night.”
Stomping down the hallway, Olruggio glanced over to the windows leading to the grassy fields outside and cursed, marching forward to the girls’ chambers. It’s well past morning but a little before afternoon. Given the girls’ tight schedule, Tetia should’ve been up hours ago, and if not, has been. Another cry echoed in the silence, a pained wheeze muffled behind the wooden door, and Olruggio didn’t have the heart in him to wait.
“Tetia! Are ya alright?” he shouted, and when he heard no replies, he pushed the door open. “I’m goin’ in!”
He doesn’t walk often into Richeh’s and Tetia’s shared rooms, but he at least has a reference on how clean it should be when he sees the mess on the young girl’s side of the room, compared to the tidiness of Richeh’s bed and working station. He doesn’t find the girl inside, so his head turns towards the bathroom.
The door’s agape and he can see pink strands spill across the wooden floors. The worst of thoughts washes over him like a cold bath, and Olruggio rushes forward. “Goodness’ sake–Tetia!” he frets, panic clawing at him. He kneeled down beside the girl who seemingly hasn’t noticed him yet. When Qifrey said a stomach-ache, I didn’t expect this. The man flickers over her state. I’ll need to take her to the Healing Spire if this doesn’t go away on its own or gets worse.
“Tetia,” he pushes her short bangs away from her face. His fingers get catch in the dry strands and he gently removes them. “Hey, Tetia. Sweetheart, what’s wrong?”
Her hands clutch and grasp onto her sleepwear, face twisted with agony. From what he can see from his position, her skin’s flushed and layered in a thin sheet of sweat. Tetia shudders and uncurls, tears running over her nose bridge from where she’s laying on her side, and Olruggio catches the sight of a deep red stain where her hands had been concealing. He pauses and stares at the stain; a frantic heartbeat slowly coming back to a rhythmic pace. Oh, he realises this isn’t a stomach-ache like Qifrey had told him. Oh. Olruggio leans down and pulls her up gradually, bringing her to an embrace. It’s only then she blinks and realises that he’s there.
“Uhmnhhn…” she swallows, throat dry. “Master Olruggio...?” Her half-lidded eyes look up at him.
Worry pools unpleasantly in his gut. “Sweetheart,” he respires. “How are ya feeling?” He glances back at the stain and up at her face, shifting her legs to bring her more comfort –– given that she’s seated on the bathroom floor. Usually, he runs hot and the heavy clothing he wears strengthens that. Although, since he had awoken not only in his chair and had left his windows open, but the fright that surged through his veins when he woke up so violently made him ice cold. Against Tetia’s clammy skin, she eases into him with a groan. “Olly…”
“Yer holding up okay?” he nudges her. She smacks her lips and nods her head. “Everything hurts. My lower stomach hurts…” her shoulders shake and her voice raises several pitches. “T-there’s blood and I have cramps and it hurts so much,” her emotional state worsens and fresh tears streams down her face. Her arms grips onto his white blouse and weeps into it, discomforts overcoming her.
He doesn’t know what to do. It doesn’t take the most skilled doctors to figure out she’s on her period –– but isn’t it far too early for puberty? From what he recalls, Tetia and the others are between the ages eleven and twelve. Every girl enters puberty at different ages, but eleven seems untimely. Moreover, is it supposed to be this excruciating for them? This doesn’t seem normal.
He turns to his side and snatches the towel that’s hanging on a hook on the wall. He takes a hold of her thick, curly hair and wipes the sweat off her nape, feeling Tetia sink into him even further. Next, he brings the towel to her neck and wipes her bare shoulders, dapping at her temple. Her hair’s awfully greasy and knotty for a night’s sleep. Given the dull ends it must have been a few days since she last took care of her hair. Also, her clothes and – what he guesses – her bedsheets need to be changed.
Having that in mind, he gently moves her and helps her stand up. “Tetia, have ya ever been on yer period before?”
“Is that… is this what it is?” Her pained distress calms down, and her eyes look down and up in realisation. “Oh.” She blinks, then frowns. “Oh.”
So, it’s her first. He can’t imagine how it must feel for her. Olruggio turns her with care towards the shower. “What about this; while ya shower and wash yer hair, I’ll fix you up a fresh set of clothes. I’ll change yer bedsheets, tidy things up. We’ll have breakfast and enjoy a fine day off. Except if ya want to study spells, I will look over them regardless.”
The girl takes a hold of the towel and wipes at her forehead, letting the words marinate. Thinking over it and scratching at her nape, she’s brutally reminded of her current state. Her breath hitched and her free hand flies to her stained crotch, slipping put an “ouch!”. Blood flows down her clammy leg and Tetia kickstarts into action. “Hmhm! That suits me well––I can’t thank you enough, Master Olruggio!” She hops into the bathtub and yanks at the shower curtain.
Outside the bathroom, he can hear the sounds of birds chipper lively and land on the outer windowsill. He’s brought back into the moment and thinks back on breakfast, (or what’s considered brunch at this time). The showerhead turns on and the dirtied sleepwear dress sits outside the tub.
Before he leaves to tidy up and assemble brunch, he asks what she wants to eat.
Tetia spits out a, “uh–that one sandwich you made last week with Basjooroom fruit! Two slices please, one of the fruit and one with fried egg!”
With his foot out the door, she yells “could you toast the bread and make it extra yummy?”
Olruggio snorts and lets himself smile. “Sure,” and shuts the door with a gentle click.
Stripping the blood-soaked sheets and checking the mattress, seeing it is stained. He headed down to the kitchen to get himself a vapor bubble, bringing it back with him to the room. He holds the hook on the upper tray and parts it from the bottom tray, activating the mechanisms and allowing a bubble of water from the air’s moisture come to existence.
Tipping it closer to the stain, the blood separates from the mattress and swirls in the centre of the device. He continues this until the cushion is stain free, and even then, he takes a bowl with soapy water and a washcloth to ensure the colour and smell is truly gone.
Afterwards Olruggio grabs a new bedsheet – a dark coloured one, considering the current situation – and neatens her bed. Along with her pillows and duvet Olruggio changes those too. Tetia’s side of the shared work-and-bedroom looks a lot better than it had earlier, and the Watchful Eye spares a sigh.
The bathroom is still closed from when he had entered inside earlier to drop the spare clothes, clean underwear and a pack of pads.
He can’t thank Qifrey enough for buying a pack of pads for a time when one of the girls will eventually get on their period. Olruggio had expected Agott to be the first –– she could be. He hadn’t thought that they might not even want him to know or tell him –– not Tetia. Nonetheless, he’s delighted that Qifrey had thought of it thoroughly and bought a box.
Pleased with the end result he heads to the kitchen to make dinner. Grateful that it’s only him and Tetia today, making food for the two of them doesn’t take long at all; a quick swipe of butter and sear to the bread slices and cutting the Basjooroom at an angle.
Setting a pair of plates and mugs, the male whispers to himself. “Oh, fantastic that magic’s a thing.” Toasting Tetia’s slices extra crispy and pouring willow tree tea to her designated mug (merchandise from her favourite romance novels she persuaded Qifrey to buy her. It cost a pretty penny, something he can get with the meticulous and vivacious details and on the cup. It matches Tetia wonderfully).
When he finishes plating and brings them to the table, he keeps the cord that ties his flowy sleeves to his forearms. He doesn’t move to unfasten them, for he hears a holler from the bathroom.
Admittedly, he leaps up the stairs and rushes down the hallway, swinging harshly into Tetia’s space. “Yes? Something’s wrong?”
“Uhm!” Her voice echoes from within the bathroom. “You can enter! It’s only that, uhm… could you step in, please?”
He treads inside and spots the girl leaning against the edge of the bathtub, dressed, her towel wrapped around her shoulders to separate her damp hair from her fresh clean clothes. Her hands fidget in front of her lap, and she doesn’t meet his eye contact at first. “Could you uhm,” she hesitates. “The pain gets bad whenever I raise my arms too high above my head. It has spread to my back, too, and everything just sucks––“
“Tetia,” Olly says. “How can I be of help?”
She meets his eye and points at her hair. “Could you braid my hair?”
Her hair’s weighing down on her neck and there’s simply a lot of it. Light pink curls that threaten to tangle once more. Good thing he hadn’t undone his cords that’s holding his sleeves up, because he steps inside and bends low to get Tetia’s specific hair lotions and oils. “Not a problem. Anything to relieve you of pain, my girl.”
For the second time throughout this early afternoon her good mood resurfaces. “If you know how to do two huge Dutch braids that would be brilliant!” her expression beams, and Olruggio guides her out of the humid bathroom. “Aye, it’s nothing, really. You girls need to be healthy — healthier than me at least. I should be yer motivation to be up in wellness.” He deadpans to himself. Tetia erupts into laughter and nods at him. “Yeah–ha! Yeah, sure!” She giggles.
She then perks up and looks at him. “Did you take your prescriptions for your anaemia?”
The biggest ‘caught off guard’ expression overcomes him and he freezes up, whips her head at her unexpected reminder. “Oye–I had completely forgotten about that!”
By the time the others return to the atelier around dinner time with new sets of tools and contraptions Qifrey had gotten Agott, Coco, and Richeh, not forgetting some gifts and medicine for Tetia given her stomach-ache, their footsteps and loud conversations spills into the entrance of the home.
An attractive aroma of tea, particularly willow tree tea that Qifrey recognises with a whiff, butter and the general scent of savoury foods spreads from the kitchen and into the hallway. Coco excitedly calls for Tetia but goes still at the second syllable.
Agott and Richeh glance over to the green haired girl with a look, before joining her.
“Oh,” Agott lets out, hands motionless at her collar, eyes slightly wide. Coco lets out a quiet squeal and flutters her hands in front of her mouth, giggling to herself. “Oh my gosh that’s so cute!”
“It seems cozy,” Richeh adds and tilts her head, “and warm.”
“What’s the commotion, girls?” Qifrey asks and stands behind them where he looks into the living room. His eyes fixate at the two figures laying on the couch and his entire figure soften at the sight.
With his head leaning on the cushions behind him, Olruggio’s hair shields his eyes yet frames the sides of his face, his hand (loosely holding one of his Snug Stones, warming both of them contentedly) resting against Tetia’s back where she’s dozing off on his lap, wrapped around a grey-coloured blanket, the same one that loosely draped around Olruggio’s shoulders.
Her hair is out of her usual pigtails and rather fixed into two pretty Dutch braids that suits her incredibly well.
By the coffee table beside them, two places and two mugs stacked over each other, along with a prescription bottle for anaemia. A discarded novel book sits on the floor on a random page.
It doesn’t take the girls and master a second glance to figure out the scene. Coco tries to contain her squeals at the adorable, domestic view. “Awwww!!” she whisper-screams. “Master Olly and Tetia are cuddling! How sweet!” she tugs at Richeh’s shoulders, gently rocking her back and forward.
Qifrey smiles at the endearing scene and claps his hands softly to not disturb it. “It would do us no good to simply watch them sleep. Let’s test out our new acquired tools, shall we?” They soon head to their room after that. Qifrey allows himself one last look at them before busying himself with dinner. He had been a little worried about how Tetia had acted the night before, seeing her complain a little about her stomach.
Thankfully, Olruggio had been there to take care of her.