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Coco couldn’t sleep. No matter what she did, she couldn’t force herself to rest. Her mind was racing, still caught up in the events of the past few months at the atelier. She missed her mom, her village, and the peaceful joy of learning magic.
Even the outside world felt restless. The cold winter wind rattled against the window, the air was frigid even as she grasped her snugstone beneath her covers. She couldn’t recall how long she tossed and turned in bed, but eventually, she resigned herself to staying awake, throwing off her covers and walking upstairs to the study room.
When she came to the top of the stairs, she was surprised to find Agott bent over a thick tome, scribbling notes into a blank book beside it. She was clearly focused, not having noticed Coco joining her in the room until Coco cleared her throat and causing her to startle.
“Coco..! Why are you awake?”
“I could ask you the same.”
Agott sighed. “Studying. Master Qifrey said I might be allowed to take the 3rd test soon, so I need to be prepared.”
“Ah, okay.” The two paused for a moment, both not knowing how to continue. “You.. um… you shouldn’t study this late. Good sleep makes for better studying the next day, right?”
“I guess. But this is the only time I get to really focus on my own.” Agott then let out a yawn, her cheeks turning a bit red. “Then again, maybe I am a bit tired.”
“You know, when I was little and I couldn’t sleep, my mother would make me this drink. We might have the ingredients for it in the kitchen, if you wanna come along.” Coco offered.
“What was the drink?” Agott asked, standing up from her desk and hoping her interest wasn’t too apparent.
“A hot drink. It was chocolate and sugar in hot milk. Sometimes she put some spices in it to give it extra flavor, too. It’s really good.” Coco explained.
Agott thought for a second. “Sounds like something Tetia would like…” she muttered, then spoke up, “Sure. We just have to make sure to clean up. Master Qifrey would probably be upset if he found out we were using the kitchen this late without permission.” Coco nodded and took Agott’s hand. Together, the two crept carefully down the stairs, mindful of the squeakier steps, and made their way into the kitchen.
The atelier was dark, but with the moon shining through the window, the girls could see enough to activate a floatglow lamp, bathing the kitchen in its warm glow. The wind still rattled the windows, and clouds continued to flow past the moon, but the lighting of the stovetop quickly warmed the room’s temperature.
“First, we need to get the ingredients. You keep an eye on this, okay?” Coco said, placing a small pot of water on the fire. “Once it boils, call for me.” With that, Coco went off to the pantry, searching the shelves and picking out a few things, carefully gathering them in her arms. Agott noted the chocolate and milk, as well as the sweeteners in Coco’s hands, but there were a few other items that Agott couldn’t identify.
Coco moved comfortably around the room, much like their professors did. “She must have cooked often with her mother this way,” Agott thought. No, it was more than that. Coco had picked up mannerisms, movements, from Professor Qifrey and Olruggio. Even in her off time, even if she hadn’t realized it, Coco had been more observant as a student than Agott had been.
Agott kicked herself for thinking like that. Here Coco was, making a treat for her without any complaints, and Agott was critiquing her? It felt awful.
“Agott, could I get some help?” Coco asked. With a startled nod, Agott came further into the kitchen, standing by Coco. “Can you check this glyph? I don’t want to burn anything.”
The glyph was fresh, drawn onto the bottom of a mug. “This is to keep the drink warm, right?” Coco nodded. “Then you should shorten the signs a bit. The heat will be too much with their size right now.”
“Oh! Thank you, Agott!” Coco’s eyes shone with happiness, and Agott pushed the weird feeling in her stomach and chest away.
“It’s no problem. You should check on the stove, I can fix it really quick.”
“Right!” Coco handed the mugs to Agott carefully Coco returned to the stove, and Agott returned to quietly observing her.
Coco didn’t have any chocolate powders. Rather, she had the full pieces of chocolate that their professors used in sweets. She melted the chocolate in a bowl inside of the boiling water, mixing in a few spices and the sweetener. While it simmered, she filled a second pot with milk, letting it reach a tepid boil before adding the chocolate mixture.
“It’s ready! Here, pour some in with this.” She said, handing Agott a ladle and standing to the side.
“Thank you for this, Coco. You didn’t have to…” Agott said.
“It’s really no problem.” Coco responded, her expression darkening a bit.
“You mentioned you used to make this with your mother, right?” Coco just nodded again. Agott never really knew how to comfort people, but she stood firm by Coco’s side as she filled her own mug and turning to the window.
“Oh, it’s snowing!” Coco’s face lit up again. She walked to the window, carefully holding her cup. “I didn’t know it was gonna snow. Guess that’s why it was so windy tonight.” She pondered. Agott could only nod.
The two stood in silence for a while. Agott, having grown up in the Great Hall, was still not fully used to the cold air or the snow, but Coco adored it. She felt herself calm down for the first time that night, her hands wrapped around the warm mug as she watched the snowflakes fall onto the hills.
“Agott?” She spoke quietly to the other, not even waiting for a response. “Thank you. For joining me and… well, everything. I needed this.”
“It’s… it’s no problem. I didn’t do much to help.” Agott dismissed.
“Still. You just being here was perfect. I needed someone around, I think.” She paused for a moment. “And I have an accomplice in case our professors wonder who used the kitchen.”
“Hey!” Agott exclaimed, causing Coco to laugh. It was the first time she had felt so warm in a while. The night marched on as the two began to talk. All surface level conversations, discussing lessons and spells and winter memories, but it was perfectly comfortable. Soon, they would have to clean up and go back to their rooms, and come up with explanations for why they were awake so late.
But for now, it was just them, sitting by the large window of the kitchen in the dim light, drinking hot chocolate and enjoying each other’s company. And it was enough for them.