The end of term had arrived and Avalon had settled in well. Despite Faragonda's concerns that he would suffer from the mental trauma of being held captive for so long, he had few problems. He usually recovered from stressful events quickly and this was no exception. Remembering his way round the school also took him little time, as the evening he spent locking up the school with Palladium had been embedded into his memory. The small details that had been pointed out to him, such as the chips in the ceiling cornice from a skirmish many years ago, or the position of a tree from the view of a certain window, had become landmarks to him until he had learnt the routes between individual classrooms. For times when he couldn't pick out his guides all he needed to do was to ask someone for directions. All of the students and staff were willing to point him in the right direction, and some offered to accompany him until he knew where he was. The only noticeable concern he still had was Palladium. They had spoken to each other after that evening, but he was disappointed to be no closer to befriending him. The elf had seemed distant and their conversations had none of the depth of the first - it felt like he was only being humoured. There were times when Avalon could hardly get a word from him and he learnt that at these times it was usually better to leave him be.

Though he felt that he was by now used to his new teaching environment, he had agreed when he left the medical wing to meet Faragonda the following Friday to discuss whether he felt able to return to teach the next term. Admittedly, he hadn't been sleeping well and there were still moments when he was alone in which he felt as though he was being watched, but these passed quickly. It helped to carry with him a small stealth knife that he liked to use in situations where his usual was too conspicuous - he knew that no-one on site was supposed to be carrying any form of weaponry but he felt that, given the situation, it was understandable. That didn't mean that he was going to tell anyone about it, and he considered leaving it in his room before he went to find the headmistress in her office. He decided that it was probably the right choice and regretfully unbuckled the harness and sheath that he had worn under his shirt. Neatening himself up again he left his room and headed to the office, concluding that even without her finding out, carrying a weapon into her office would imply a lack of trust and make it seem that he hadn't recovered emotionally.

By the time he reached the office Avalon was glad that he'd left the knife in his room, as he felt certain that even under his shirt the harness wouldn't have escaped the headmistress' scrutiny. The office door was half open, as it usually was when she wasn't busy, so he knocked and went into the spacious office. Faragonda was sitting at her desk writing something with a small, posted fountain pen. As he walked in she said,
"So, Avalon. How has your first week of teaching gone?"
"It has been a little surreal, actually. It's more like I've woken up with amnesia as my notes are all in order, and my lesson plans followed almost to the letter."
She looked at him thoughtfully.
"Well, the impostor certainly did its job as the students have still been learning in your absence. How have you felt?"
"I've felt quite comfortable. The students have been very forgiving about my situation, and the other members of staff are making sure I know what I'm doing and when."
This seemed to satisfy her, as she recapped and put down the pen she was holding - fine gold nibbed, red and brown marbled in such a way that it looked like wood, and of a make that he couldn't identify, much to his annoyance.
"That's just as I'd hoped. I've spoken to the nurse and she tells me you've not had any issues with your health, and you've been eating and sleeping as normal - is this still the case?"
"Yes, I've been well."
"Good. I take it then, that you're quite happy to come back next term?"
"Of course! That was the original plan, and so I'm staying with it."
She smiled at his enthusiasm.
"You'll also be wanting to continue making friends with Palladium, I'm sure."
She said this with a tone of amusement, which threw him a little - was there was anything particularly unusual about his trying to be friendly?
"Well, I'd like to..."
His confusion must have shown in more than his voice as Faragonda elaborated,
"Your efforts to talk to him haven't gone unnoticed, Avalon. He's quite shy, so you might have found him unwilling to talk. It doesn't mean that he won't; especially if you carry on making those efforts."
Uncomfortable, he shifted in his chair. He hadn't thought that he'd done anything out of the ordinary.
"Does he not interact with other members of staff?"
"When he feels sociable, yes. Most of the time we leave him to his own devices."
"Have I done the wrong thing?"
"I don't think so."
"...I'm sure you have a lot to get on with, so if there's nothing else you'd like to mention I'll leave you to carry on."
"No, I've said everything I wanted to. I'm just glad you're able to stay."
He stood up and left the office, still wondering from which maker that small pen came. He could have asked her, but he felt like that would be giving up. After his many years spent researching and collecting pens from the various worlds he'd visited, finding something he couldn't identify was quite frustrating.

Turning his mind from these disheartening thoughts he made his way to the staff room, thinking about what Faragonda had said about Palladium. He could see why the elf had been reluctant to talk, being unused to others paying him much attention. What the headmistress had said about carrying on trying to talk to him, however, he was less certain about. To deliberately talk to someone when they were not comfortable with it seemed to be an unfair route to take, even if it would faster accustom that person to everyday conversation. But then there was the other side of the argument. Just because the elf struggled to talk to him, it didn't necessarily follow that he didn't want to talk at all. In fact, there had been moments when Avalon was certain the elf would have said more if he had allowed himself to do so. The question was, therefore, not one of talking to him any more or less; rather, he had to work out how to put him at ease.

Once he arrived at the staff room, Avalon was pleased to see Palladium sitting at a small table in the corner of the room. He could see that the elf looked to be in a brighter mood than usual and didn't seem to have much to do, so he went and joined him. As promising as the opportunity had looked, however, the outcome was exactly the same as usual. He sat, the elf hid his discomfort neatly behind his manners, they made small talk - once again, Avalon could see him holding back - and then the elf left. The disappointment he felt was noticed by the leprechaun on the sofa nearby. For all that he looked absorbed in the textbook he was annotating, Wizgiz had been paying close attention to the almost one sided conversation next to him.
"Are you all right?"
Avalon was surprised by his asking, but replied in turn,
"Oh, I'm fine. ...I just wonder whether or not he actually likes talking to me. He seems nice enough, but he's very quiet and doesn't stay around very long."
"He likes talking to you. He's just trying hard not to be intrusive. He's also a little shy, but I'm assuming you already knew that."
This did nothing to allay his doubts.
"I knew he was shy. Why does he think he'd be intrusive by interacting more?"
"I don't really know. Maybe you should talk to him about it."
"I couldn't do that! He'd be mortified!"
"I suppose I could talk to him. I'll be subtle."
For some reason, the idea of this worried him more than anything else.
"Are you sure?"
"Do you want to be able to talk to him or not?"
"I do, but I don't want to put him off. It's a little... Childish..."
"Don't worry yourself about it, Avalon. He's so quiet that it usually takes time for people to get to know him."
And with that, he got up and followed the elf out of the room.

Ending up in the situation of having nothing urgent to do seemed to have become a habit that Avalon had developed, and he was growing more and more determined to break it. To take his mind off the combined concerns of Palladium and the conversation that Wizgiz was likely to be having with him, he got his lesson planner out of his bag and thought ahead to next term. Alongside his planner, he also got out the prussian blue, embossed leather pen sleeve that he kept safe in a pocket at the back of the bag. He had been pleased to find it in his office when looking through his work, as he knew that the impostor would have brought it. The pen inside had been a gift, tailor made for him by a friend, and he used it more than any other pen. It had a 1 mm italic nib and a white marbled barrel, with prussian blue bands above the grip and at the end the pen. His friend had made it for him as a congratulatory gift after his status as a paladin became official and he saw it as one of his most valuable possessions.

Whilst Avalon was busying himself with his lesson planner, Wizgiz had gone to find Palladium. The elf had hidden himself at the back of the potions laboratory and was reorganising the already organised shelves of ingredients, in the hope that anyone who came looking for him would only give the room a cursory glance and not spot him. What he had not planned for was being sought after by someone who knew where to look. When he heard the light, skipping footsteps at the end of the corridor he knew he need not have bothered hiding at all. Moments later, Wizgiz had arrived in the room and was hopping up onto a desk at the back.
"Palladium."
"I know what you're here to talk about."
"Do you now?"
"I know you were listening to our conversation."
Wizgiz raised his eyebrows, apparently surprised by his perceptiveness, and cut straight to the crux of the matter.
"Then would you explain to me why when the handsome new teacher makes an obvious effort to be nice to you, you're not giving him the time of day? I know you're trying but really, I didn't think you were as bad as this."
"I need time. I cannot rush myself."
"What sort of excuse is that?"
"It's not an excuse!" He closed his eyes for a moment to calm himself after his outburst and continued, "I just need to gauge the situation."
"'Gauge the situation'? What's to be gauged? You've coped fine during the rest of the term - in fact, you've done better than you think you have. What's your problem here?"
"...I'm not sure."
At this point, Wizgiz realised he'd been a little aggressive in his questioning, as he could see that Palladium was genuinely troubled. He softened his tone and said,
"He cares about this, you know. I think he'll be rather disappointed if he feels that you're not interested."
"What do you mean? What are you implying?"
"I'm implying that the obviously interested paladin is feeling rather rejected before he's started making advances."
"So... You mean that..."
"Oh, Palladium. I don't have to spell it out for you, do I?"
The elf's face reddened as he understood the meaning of these unsubtle hints and he turned away in embarrassment. He made a show of neatening the equipment on a nearby shelf, but it only served to make his self-consciousness more obvious. Satisfied that the message had sunk in, Wizgiz left Palladium to regain his composure. He hadn't intended to to be quite so abrupt; there was nothing more he could say on the matter that would be of any comfort so he felt it would be best if he returned to the staff room and left his colleague in peace.

When he reached the staff room he found Avalon sitting where he'd left him. The paladin looked up as he approached and asked,
"Did you speak to him?"
"No. I went to the bathroom."
"Oh."
He looked down and fidgeted with his pen.
"I'm teasing you, Avalon. Of course I spoke to him."
"What did you say?"
"What I said is between him and myself. Rest assured though that I made things clear to him."
"What things? Do you think we've made it worse?"
"Not at all. I think you need to relax and stop worrying about this - I do know how to talk to him. And stop asking questions - if you want to see the result of the conversation I'd advise going to see him yourself."
This eased his concern a little, but he couldn't help but ask one more question.
"Does he know that you spoke to me before him?"
"I didn't tell him, but he knew I was listening to your conversation and so he might have put two and two together. Though on the other hand he might not, and he might just think I'm doing my usual 'getting-involved-in-other-people's-business'."
"I can't imagine why he'd think that..."
By this point, the leprechaun had fished out of his bag a rather blunt pencil and a tired looking diary. More tired than it should have been after only one term of use, but he wasn't known for being particularly careful with his possessions. Avalon winced internally at the sight of the blunt pencil, but said nothing. He carried on with his planning, as he knew there would be no question he could ask that would get him any more information.

Once Wizgiz had left the laboratory Palladium stopped his reorganising. There seemed to be little point in carrying on as he usually kept everything in order anyway. It had felt like a good excuse to leave the staff room, and that was all he really needed. He could only cope with socialising with others for so long and talking to Avalon had finished him off. Though... It was quite reassuring to feel that there was someone who wanted to talk to him regularly. Even if he did not want to interact, the thought that someone was making the effort was comforting. Then he remembered what had been brought up only minutes ago - to others his appreciation was imperceptible and he was at risk of alienating someone who was taking an interest in him. With this realisation came an odd feeling of loss, as though he had all ready missed his opportunity. Before his mind could attenuate his self-enforced state of positivity further he decided to take his satchel up to his room, gather a few necessities and spend the rest of the afternoon out in the forest.

As lessons had finished at break, and class 'admin' at lunch - after a certain point it always felt more like a class debate over why report slips had to be signed and returned and medical forms checked - there was more time left in the afternoon than usual. Palladium relished the thought of being able to spend longer in the forest and clear his mind of the emotional detritus that had accumulated there during the day. He left his satchel by the desk in his room and found the small shoulder bag he took with him when herb gathering. He took out most of the small vials and test tubes he usually carried, as well as various other small tools only he had a use for, and replaced these with his wallet, a scrying mirror and a small flask of fruit flavoured water. Though he was not likely to use it he felt it was better to have his wallet than not, especially if he ended up in the town during his wandering and wanted something to eat. As he readjusted his jacket and put his bag over his shoulder, however, a new thought occurred to him. Perhaps he should see if Avalon would want to come with him - he had expressed an interest in the forest, and it would reassure the paladin that his offers of friendship were not being declined. Yes; that seemed to be a good idea.

Eventually tired of his lesson planning in the staff room, Avalon had been putting away his notes and planner when Palladium returned. He hadn't expected the elf to come back any time soon after his uncomfortable departure earlier, but realised that he wasn't carrying his usual work satchel. As he approached, Avalon asked,
"Are you going out?"
"I am. I was wondering if you had anything planned this afternoon, or anything in general to attend to."
"Why do you ask?"
"I fancied spending a little time in the forest to clear my mind and was wondering if you would want to come with me. I remember you mentioning going hiking at some point, but I don't believe you'll be doing that until you've regained the stamina you must have lost recently."
Avalon's heart leapt. Once again, he had been saved from the threat of impending boredom and as a bonus, had been offered the opportunity to find out more about his introverted colleague. He was also glad that Palladium had considered his reduced stamina - as much as he hated to admit it to himself, he still wasn't back to full health.
"We won't be out for too long then?"
"Only as long as you are able. I take it that you're interested, then?"
"Of course!"
The elf's face lit up and for the first time, Avalon could see exactly what was on his mind. There was relief in his smile, not only from the acceptance of the offer, but from finally accepting Avalon's friendship. The tension left between them from a week of constrained conversation melted with the warmth of the elf's happiness.
"I thought it would be an agreeable way to spend an afternoon, but company will definitely improve it further."
"If you could give me a few minutes to fetch some things from my room I could meet you in the main office to sign out for the afternoon."
"You might want to wear something warmer than your blazer, too. It's getting colder outside."
They left the room whilst agreeing on how long they'd be out and when they'd head back. Sitting nearby in his usual place on the sofa Wizgiz allowed himself a moment of pride. Another week of putting up with those two struggling to talk to each other would probably have been too much to bear.

Author's notes:

-*Says story is mostly about Palladium; spends more time writing about Avalon* - I know, I know. I just couldn't bear to write a chapter filled with little more than angst and insecurity. I also feel that Avalon never gets quite as much attention, and as this story really does focus more on Palladium I'm over-compensating a little in the 'prologue' chapters.

-What's the deal with the pen descriptions? Though Avalon is a battle ready paladin I like to think he'd have some sort of hobby that didn't involve combat. He teaches magical philosophy, so he must have some academic interests. I felt that he'd be a 'pen is mightier than the sword' sort of paladin. Literally.

-I have been reliably informed that the grip on a pen - possibly fountain pens in particular - is called a section. I'm still calling it a grip because it is, technically, the bit you grip, and it's a more user friendly term.