Description

Panel One: A low-angle shot of Headmaster Johannes from Cal's POV. He looms from the dark stonework behind him, with the edges of his hat and one hand breaking from the edges of the panel. He's wearing tight-fitted, black leather gloves. As before, only one eye is visible thorugh the lenses of his plague doctor mask. He looks impassive as he reaches his hand, palm up, towards Cal/the viewer. Like his hat, his hand is breaking out of the panel and even overlaps some of the panel below. "It's a sign of trust," he says.

Panel Two: Cal looks at the offered hand with a mix of suspicion and confusion. His right hand is up, as though he's getting ready to reach out, but he's hesitating. The garden is behind him, bright and cheerful as always.

Panel Three: A wide panel with an all black background, featuring an extreme closeup of the Headmaster and Cal's hands as they shake, from the side. The handshake is more than simply firm; it's like a death grip, with Cal's fingertips clearly digging into the Hadmaster's glove, returning the tight squeeze evident from the creases on his palm. It is not a friendly handshake. 

Panel Four: A medium shot of the two of them in profile, shaking hands. The Headmaster is on the left, and Cal is on the right. The Headmaster is bent over slightly, with his left hand in a fist behind his back. We can now see that the back of his cloak has a large red cross on it. His eye is barely visible through the lens, but we can see that he is glaring as he says, "A pleasure to make your acquaintance." Cal is also glaring, although not as severely, as he says, "Likewise."

Author Note