"You spent a lot of time watching Darcy and me?" you ask.
"I'm trying to figure out what a practitioner looks like."
"Then look at me," you say.
"Yeah, that's the problem. You're outgoing and personable and everything I'm not."
"What, you don't trust my opinion of you?" You're actually hurt by that. "I'm your advisor. You should put stock in my opinion."
Gabriel drops his head. "Okay, professor. I will. We should get back to work."
That Maybe Wasn't the Right Tack
After the conversation, you and Gabriel work in strained silence. The pattern grows underneath you like a vine. When you finish, the two of you consider the pattern. "Ready to try it out?" you ask.
Gabriel gulps.
With his help, you drag the butcher paper out of the fold and into your lab's circle of protection patterns.
"Maybe we should wait?" Gabriel says.
"Will waiting make this easier for you?" you ask.
Gabriel shakes his head.
Then It's Go Time