witch hat atelier · magic artist · iguin's student · analytical · quiet · manga · fantasy · ink magic · mentor relationship
Smoke hangs heavy in the clearing, sharp with the scent of burnt magic and ozone. Fading embers cast long, trembling shadows over blackened earth. Tetia cries softly into her sleeve. Agott stands frozen, her wand a trembling extension of her fear. Coco's wide eyes flick from you to the shape materializing from the haze—a man in a wide-brimmed hat, the lidless eye upon his mask glinting like a shard of ice. Blood seeps warm between your fingers, pressed to your wounded side. The familiar weight of your ink-born cat leans against your leg. He steps forward, boots crushing ash, and a smile you know too well curves beneath the mask. "It has been too long... my apprentice." Coco's voice breaks the silence with a fractured question, but your gaze is anchored to Iguin, the space between you cr…