Tapendra paused by the office's door to adjust his tie, habitually. He'd waited several days to come and see the new Counselor; now, having met with the Headmaster already, he was free to go and find out exactly what she'd wanted with Sasha that had necessitated pulling him from his class.

Of course the delay had been for...obvious reasons, on Tapendra's part. It was nice to be human again, and the horse form had only faded that very morning in a rush of joints reversing direction and rapid growth. And no clothes. Thank Merlin that hadn't happened in front of students - though as he'd quickly realized, this mean he'd been naked in from of them the whole time.

He'd locked himself in his quarters for hours after realizing that, and even now, hours later, he blushed profusely at the idea. How completely inappropriate! Just...he shouldn't think about it. At all. Ever!

Tapendra's tie now considerably over adjusted, he smoothed his hands down the front of his ensemble. His new teaching clothes fit his tall form very well, the dark colors accented with blue that brought out his eyes. It'd been a good purchase - as it had been be, given the price Darian had asked for them. Aileen hadn't been able to find any criticism! Tat meant they were good by default.

He knocked on the door, and opened it enough to stick his head in, smiling politely. "Counselor Yukawa?" He asked. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything - I, err, sent a note?" He hoped it'd gotten there ahead of him, but considering he'd given it to his cat to deliver it was possible it hadn't. "I was, err, hoping to talk to you about Schlagenweit?"

It had been a long, busy week for her already. She had dealt with several different students, was up late doing research on multiple potions, psychology, general healing magic, and all sorts of fun and happy stuff. Despite the fact that she was not a morning person, Maiko was very surprised when she woke up, and discovered that she had slept through breakfast. She kept some snacks in her office, so they would tide her over until lunch. However, she did feel like it was unprofessional of her to miss breakfast, even though it wasn’t exactly required.  Today, she wore a simple purple knee-length dress that had a high collar, and lace sleeves that went down to her elbow. Although the dress was slimming, it was impossible for it to hide her natural body shape. Her robes were hung up on one of the chairs in the office.

Maiko had managed to pull her curly hair into what looked like a mix between a braid and a French twist. It was obvious her hair was wildly curly, but at least it was somewhat manageable today. On her feet were simple, comfortable black flats, and her legs were covered up by grey nylons. Moments before Tapendra knocked on her office door, she had just finished reading a chapter on treatments for chronic migraines. She glanced up at the door, her green eyes not at all hiding her confusion. There wasn’t an appointment, and students did not tend to come at this time—usually it was the hour before dinner, or right after breakfast where she seemed to be the busiest. She did receive a strange note from a cat that was sent to her from the adorable little horse. However, she doubted that miniature horses could knock so loudly.

Then she saw the face of a young man with striking blue eyes. She was not familiar with this face, and raised her eyebrows at him. “A note? Oh! Avec le chat?” Maiko stared at him in confusion, “You are not a ‘orse.” She stood up and opened the door further, welcoming him in. Maiko closed the door behind him, and sat down on her desk. It was then that she realized that this man was taller than expected. So much taller. He was well over a foot taller than her,  “Merde. You are ‘umongous!” She exclaimed, jumping up from her desk and standing close to poor Tappy, comparing herself to him in height. Maiko was so shocked and taken aback by his appearance, she had completely forgotten about the student, Sasha Schlagenweit.

The high-energy response probably should have been expected, given what he'd seen of her before, but Tapendra still blinked in surprise and stepped back. "Err," he said, ever so intelligently. Color slowly came to his cheeks.

"No - I, uh, turned back earlier," he said as he stepped into the office, looking down at her she closed the door behind him. Evidently she had the same idea - as he stood next to him and, apparently, marveled at his size. Tapendra responded in the manner that was ingrained into his personality: He blushed deeply, and muttered a sheepish, "I'm sorry." Being tall was not something he particularly enjoyed. He missed being a young teenager, when he'd been slightly shorter than everyone - he could blend into the crowd so easily! Now he stood out like an overgrown weed.

An awkward pause followed, and he cleared his throat, smoothing down his clothing again. He took a small step back in a polite short of way; after all, there was only so close you could be to another person before it got uncomfortable. Mostly for him.

"I'm sorry for dropping by so suddenly - I didn't expect to not be a...well," he changed that topic quickly, the nervousness in his tone painfully obvious. "You seemed concerned about one of my students? He said you talked to him about his schedule?"

Maiko smiled deviously when Tapendra Trishna started blushing. Really, it was almost strange to see an adult with tan skin blush so heavily. However, she took that as a sign to take a couple steps backwards. She didn’t want to scare him too much during their first real conversation. “Don’t be sorry. Ladies like a tall man.” She gestured towards a chair, inviting him to sit down. If they were going to talk about Sasha, she had a lot she wanted to discuss. Maiko also wanted to learn as much about this student as she could, without being too intruding. “Do you want some water, or tea?” She inquired, motioning towards a teapot that she kept on the windowsill. With magic, it was fairly easy to reheat, so it would require no effort at all for her to give him some.

“Do not worry about dropping by so suddenly, either. I like visitors.” The woman gave Tappy a large, genuine smile. Though, her expression changed to one of deep concern when he mentioned his student. Sasha. Of course he was curious, he was his teacher. She had pulled him out of class. “I did speak with Mr. Schlagenweit. I believe it is in his best interest to keep all the classes he is currently enrolled in.” When she was speaking calmly, her French accent was less noticeable, though she did leave out the occasional ‘h’ sound.

“I do ‘ave my… Concerns, regarding ‘im though. Are you the ‘ead of Ravenclaw?” Maiko tilted her head to the side in questioning. She would not feel too comfortable discussing the student, if Tapendra Trishna, or ‘Doctor Trishna,’ as Sasha had called him—was not his head of house. She would only express her concerns with the head of house, or the headmaster in order to provide student confidentiality. Unless, of course, it was a life-or-death situation.

Tapendra’s blush only deepened at her comment. He never considered himself desirable and to have his height be a factor wasn’t reassuring.

Tea. The mere mention of it made his mouth water. How long had he eaten nothing but grass? Carrots and apples had been a good snack but horses just didn’t have access to the flavors that humans did, did they? The poor creatures.

“Tea would be lovely. If you’ve got cream and sugar, all the better.” Tapendra loved tons of sugar in his tea or coffee, as most people were quickly made aware when he upturned the sugar bowl into his cup and drank it happily.

He stood awkwardly, unsure what the procedure she wanted him to follow was – did she mind if he sat? Thankfully her questions gave him something to ponder other than his crippling social awkwardness.

“I am his Head of House, yes,” he said, carefully. He disagreed with her assessment on Sasha’s classes, however, and wondered if she was aware of the other extracurriculars the boy had.

“We all have concerns with Sash – with Mister Schlagenweit,” he said, which a sigh. “Are you aware of his circumstances, Miss Yukawa?

She immediately grabbed the teapot, some cream, and a little bowl of sugar, along with two spoons. She set them on her desk, and then grabbed two little teacups from one of the cupboards in her office.  “Call me Maiko.” She insisted, “Or Mai, whatever suits you, really.” The counselor insisted. She didn’t mind when students called her by her last name, but otherwise, her last name felt unfamiliar and clumsy. She truly did not enjoy it.

Maiko poured a little bit of tea in each cup, and put some cream and sugar in her own. She motioned towards the tea, inviting him to help himself to the sugar and cream. “Sit down, the chairs are comfortable. “ She almost felt like she was bossing him around, and hoped that she wasn’t coming across that way.

“Good. I’m glad you’re the ‘ead.” She nodded, though her eyebrows furrowed together, causing a small little wrinkle to form in between them. Others were concerned about him, and apparently the young student was under some trying circumstances.

“I assumed he was under a great deal of stress, or had been through some sort of trauma.” Maiko replied, letting out a small sigh. “Monsieur Schlagenweit was visibly upset at any mention of dropping classes. He believes that he needs to take them all, along with being a Prefect, and President of the Muggle Appreciation Club.” She paused, “I believe keeping ‘imself busy, is the only thing keeping ‘im together. It is the way he copes.”

Maiko took a sip of the tea, and watched Tapendra carefully—her eyes were kind, though they were unsmiling. This was a serious topic, and no joking matter. “I am not aware of his circumstances, but I would like to discover what they are, if you would be so kind.”

Tapendra sat, picking up the offered tea cup and the sugar bowl and mixing in a good half of the sugar with a manner that suggested this was completely normal and habitual. "Thank you," he said, smiling.

He drank as he considered how best to reply - pausing to add more sugar. To say Sasha had experienced some sort of trauma....where did you even start? The boy attracted trauma like others attracted fortune or...dogs attracted fleas, or something attracted something very common. Tapendra wished that wasn't the case, of course. Sasha's life seemed to have calmed down for now, but how long would that truly last?

Of course, the choice of where to start was...difficult. Tapendra had the feeling that the trauma is Sasha's life predated the actual dramatic events; every time the boy flinched when Tapendra put a hand on his shoulder or patted him on the head was a silent testament to Sasha's home life having been of the abusive sort.

"Schlagenweit has indeed suffered trauma - considerable trauma," he said, sipping the tea again. "Most of which took place last school year, I'm afraid to say. As you're no doubt aware, his was found with the body of his friend, the unfortunate Miss Grosvenor." Tapendra had only been at the school for a few weeks then that incident occurred.

"But even before that - he was kidnapped by the dark wizard Kronos Malvicius and held for several days before being released; no one really understands why, other than the old bastard having found Schlagenweit interesting." His tone was dark for a moment; if there was anyone Tapendra had the urge to punch in the face (aside from his own enemies) it was that old freak.

"And his family was killed in December," he said. "Sash - Schlagenweit was the only survivor. He killed the man who did it." He sighed into his tea, and his smile was quick and cold. "And he was attacked by Miss Foley in March - a werewolf with whom he new shares several classes."

He added more sugar to his tea. "As I said, some trauma doesn't cover it."

The corners of her mouth turned up slightly when she watched Tapendra pour an obscene amount of sugar into his tea. It reminded her vaguely of her mother, who had not been able to drink anything remotely caffeinated without depleting all the sources of sweetness within a week. “You’re welcome.” She replied, though she felt like she ought to have been thanking him, for reminding her of such a sweet, petite little memory. The longer it had taken the teacher to reply, the more serious Mai assumed Sasha’s situation was, and the small smile that had appeared on her face disappeared in no time.

When he spoke, it was with great care that she listened, and processed what Professor Trishna was relaying to her. The longer he spoke, the paler she got. By the end, her hands were shaking. She was absolutely disgusted—not with Tapendra for telling her, not with Sasha for being the victim, but disgusted at the young student’s unfavorable situation. He lost a friend, he lost his family, he was kidnapped, and he was attacked by someone he had to see every day. She felt a great deal of empathy, and Sasha’s pain reminded her of old wounds that had healed long ago. Maiko set down her tea, knowing that it wasn’t best for her stomach to take in at this moment.

“No one should ever have to go through that.” Her accent was practically gone as she focused on her words. “I would say, suffering is the best word for him.” Maiko said softly, looking intently at her co-worker’s face. “Monsieur Schlagenweit does not trust easily, but it seems that he trusts you to an extent.” Maiko brought her hand to her face, and massaged her temple.

What was she supposed to say? Maiko wondered how she could possibly word the jumble of thoughts that were floating around her head, until she focused on one idea. “Doctor Trishna,” She recalled Sasha telling her that Tapendra here was a doctor by muggle standards—“Or should I say Professor? Either way, would you agree with me if I said that Sasha may not feel comfortable being alone with ‘is own mind?”

Tapendra sipped his tea, then paused and blew on the surface of it to cool it. His somber attitude was somewhat derailed as his glasses promptly fogged up, and he had to set his tea down to wipe them off. As a creature of habit, he proceeded to do this on his shirt, rather than with the rather stylish handkerchief that was folded into his waist coat's breast pocket.

"No," he agreed. "They shouldn't. I've been...restraining the urge to make him see a shrink. But as you're probably aware such services aren't so common in the wizarding community." He'd looked for one - really looked - but they were so damn rare. Most of them worked with people who'd been hexed or who were actually insane or dysfunctional in some manner, anyway - and so weren't ideal to Sasha's situation. The wizarding community's reaction to lesser afflictions, such as depression or PTSD, seemed to be "Get over it."

Which was so much easier said than done. He knew that far too well, having tried to find that sort of help for himself and having to give up. The fact you couldn't tell a muggle shrink everything certainly hurt their ability to console or aid. He'd seen one when his wife died, though, and it was one of the reasons he'd been able to pick himself back up - even if he'd had to flub the truth a lot.

He tried the tea again, this time with his glasses tucked into the breast pocket of his waistcoat. It wasn't too hot now, and so he drank, deciding it was fine on sugar as well. However, he stopped with the cup on his lips when she called him Doctor. That  - he hadn't been addressed as that by a wizard since...actually, since ever. It was jarring and the confusion that sprang to his face was yet another sudden break from the somber expression he'd had.

"Err," he said. "Professor works better in this context, Miss Yu - " He remembered her request, and his flush returned slightly as he corrected himself. "Miss Maiko."

He sat back. "Schlagenweit and I are - friends, of a sort. I'd like to think he trusts me, but he's..." How did you even begin to describe the odd trust and tension between the two of them, when Tapendra himself didn't understand it? "We come from very different backgrounds, you see. Sometimes I don't know if he trusts me, or he's just obeying an adult's request, you know?"

Setting his tea aside, he began to fidget - playing first with his cuff links as his gaze remained steadily on her. "I don't know if he's comfortable or not, but my money would be on not. At the same time, he's overloaded himself to the point where I worry about the effects it'l have on him - physically and physiologically."

It took her a couple minutes, but finally she was able to pick up her tea and continue drinking it. Maiko was one of few who could drink liquids at almost any temperature, and therefore did not need to blow on her tea in order to cool it. She finished up her cup, and set it down on her desk, unsure as to whether or not she wanted more. Either way, Maiko figured it was best to give her fellow staff member a response. “I feel like the wizarding community could learn a bit from muggle soft-sciences.” She replied, “Though, many muggle shrinks—“ She cringed at the word ‘shrink.’ To her, it did not describe their jobs very well. After all, psychologists and counselors were supposed to help people grow, not regress. 

“Let me rephrase that. Decent muggle counselors are equally difficult to find.” Maiko stated, “Many of them are behaviorists, or Freudian. Freudians are the laughingstock of modern psychology. That’s not to say that Freud is unimportant, ‘e made great strides in the realm of psychology… But ‘is research is outdated.” She realized she was getting off track, and flushed a little. “Sorry, I… Adore psychology. Ma Mère was a talented psychologist.” She rushed to get back to the subject, realizing that the more she explained, the more off topic that she was getting.

Maiko gave Tapendra a weak, apologetic smile, and then continued. “Monsieur Schlagenweit must trust you to some extent, if you know so much about him.” Though, she did note that he told her a fair amount, just through body language. “I agree that he is pushing himself…. Ah, too much. Right now, ‘e seems to feel like it is the only thing ‘e has.” Finally, she decided to pour herself some more tea, and she motioned towards the teapot, inviting Tapendra to help himself, if he wanted more.

“If there are effects on him psychologically, there will be physical symptoms. Sometimes, they take longer to surface. I feel like I would like to see Sasha again, perhaps I should arrange a weekly meeting time with ‘im?” She was not sure if it was a good idea, because it might add too much to the boy’s schedule. However, Trishna appeared to think that Sasha needed help that wizarding remedies could not give. Deep down, Maiko also agreed. However, she did not want to seem too weird or eccentric.  Muggle sciences were very questionable in this society, and generally were not trusted. Mai was still very much involved in the muggle world; she grew up there, just as much as she grew up in the magic community.

Tapendra smiled slightly; glad and surprised to have someone agree with him, for once. The usual response was "What in Merlin's name is a shrink?" or, even worse, "What can they do that some shock spells can't?" The scientist in him had to admit that shock treatment did actually get results - but it also wasn't sure a cure for everything, like some wizards assumed.

"No doubt about that," he said, nodding at her politely. "I don't mind. I'm rather interested in muggle sciences myself." Understatement of the century! But now wasn't the time to gush about science; he had important topics to cover. He could gush about science later.

"I tend to take an interest," He admitted, "So I seem to know more about many of the students than others do." He was sure Sasha trusted him - it was to what extent that he didn't know for sure. "I find it hard not to want to help when a student so clearly needs it." Encouraging people to talk to him wasn't so much a hobby as an addiction, now. Tapendra tended to swoop down on people, observe their problems and then rather doggedly try to solve them. It got him in trouble more often than not.

He sighed, interlacing his fingers, and his expression turned darkly humorous. "When would you schedule the meetings?" He asked with a snort. "But in all seriousness - I'm not sure an official meeting is a good idea. Sasha,"  Thinking as he was, he didn't notice or correct himself, "Seems to have a...how to put it? A high desire to please. I think checking up on him in an official manner will just put more pressure on him, because he's going to want to look like he's succeeding and so that'll just add to the pressure he puts on himself."

His fingers found his beard and he played with the hair on his chin absently. "I think you'd be better off stopping by when he's studying or something like that - I think he'd find it less stressful if it's clearly a personal concern and not..." He trailed off and frowned.

"Sorry. I just don't think being upfront or official that we think he can't handle things is going to help. But at the same time it does need to be said." He picked up his tea again. "I've been trying to get him to drop Muggle Studies or Divination; he's got enough he's going on that having one less class should be a help."

He liked science? Well, she learned something new every day. Maiko wondered if he was a muggleborn as well, or if he was one of few wizards who just held a deep-seated interest in muggle culture.  Of course, she should have known with his mention of shrinks, and how hard a decent one was to find. Maiko couldn’t help but smile when he told her that he took a particular interest in students. “The best teachers I’ve ever ‘ad, were the ones who cared about me.” She said, “And even if they weren’t the best, they were the most memorable.” If teachers cared, Mai felt like more people would try harder in their classes, or would be more willing to ask for help when it was needed.

When would they schedule a time?

Maiko figured a time could be scheduled in the late evening, but she did not want to deprive Sasha of his precious sleeping time, if he got any sleeping time to begin with. She had to pull him out of a class to get a chance to talk to him. But from what she was hearing about Sasha from someone who knew him well, she figured that Tapendra was right in his statement, that the student would not do well with scheduled meetings.

She raised an eyebrow when he called Sasha by his first name. He had been avoiding calling the student that ever since the beginning, and now it slipped. Maiko viewed this as a hint that perhaps, Monsieur Trishna and Monsieur Schlagenweit were closer than either of them were letting on. However, Maiko did not comment on her thoughts, not wanting to make her co-worker feel uncomfortable

“You’re absolutely right, of course. You know him better than I do. Better, it seems, than most staff do.” She swished her tea around in it’s cup in thought, comfortable with the silence between them. “I will need to stalk him to figure out his studying ‘abits.” Maiko said this with a deadpan expression, though it was meant to be somewhat of a joke. She wasn’t going to stalk the guy, but she was certainly going to figure out when his free time was, and casually stop by the library during those times.

“Divination is rubbish, if you do not have the passion for it, or if you are not a seer.”  Maiko stated honestly, for it was something that she truly believed.  “With ‘is string of bad luck, I don’t think ‘e will want to drop it. I feel like he may want to gather any information ‘e can about what the future ‘as in store for him. And don't be sorry about your 'onest opinion. Your thoughts are important, too.” Maiko was slipping in and out of her accent, though she did not notice.  Maiko set her tea down pulled a piece of parchment and a quill out of her desk drawer, and looked at Tapendra inquisitively. “When is Monsieur Schlagenweit more likely to be at the library?” She was going to write notes for herself. Although her memory was good, she did not want to take any chance of forgetting.

Tapendra grunted in a polite sort of manner. "I'm sure he'd appreciate the attention," he said, tone  equally deadpan as hers. Then he gave in and smirked.

"In all honesty - randomly chatting with him might be best," he said. "Just swoop down on him while he's studying or eating lunch or something - and don't do it too regularly. Just make it seem like a casual check in, and it'd likely work out better than a scheduled meeting or regular visits." He cocked his head. "And get in with his friends - they can tell you what he won't." Spying on the kids didn't sit well with him - but what else was there to do?

"Our old professor felt that way too," he said, with a soft chuckle. "I'm not so sure about Miss Cosmos." As for if it was useful or not...that was a different topic, now wasn't it? "And at the same time - he's no seer and he's gotten low grades in the subject. Incorrect messages foretelling doom could just make him feel worse - and Divination is never exactly accurate. It's always vague and Sasha does not handle 'vague' very well, or so it seems."

He sipped the tea again, pausing to refill it. "I really don't know. He seems to spend his spare time in the Ravenclaw or...he studies in my Tower, too."

As Tapendra spoke, Maiko began to write notes down about Sasha, so that she would not forget them in the future. Although she had an exceptional memory, it did not mean that she remembered everything. Also, Maiko did not know Sasha that well, and any help that she could get from Professor Trishna would certainly help in both the short term and the long run. She glanced up at him, and appreciated the little smirk. Well, it looks like this teacher had far more personality than it seemed. Maiko decided right then and there, that she wanted to attempt some sort of friendship with the guy. After all, she wasn’t going to be leaving Hogwarts anytime soon. It was a stable job, and she liked it much better than St. Mungos.

“Hm, The more you tell me, the more I am convinced that Divination is something that he absolutely needs to drop.” Maiko stated, “It’s enough to drive someone mad, especially if they’re looking for doom. Often times, if you look for an event to happen, that is all that you’ll see in tea lives, or any of that other shite out there.”  She looked down at the notes she had written, and her eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. The beginning of her notes had been legible, and referred completely to what Tapendra had been saying, the middle was completely irrelevant, and then at the end of the notes, it got back onto the topic of checking up on Sasha.

Maiko wasn’t sure if she should share it with Tapendra or not. There wasn’t any proof that what she had written had anything to do with Sasha, but at the same time, her gut told her that it had everything to do with that tortured soul. Between all the notes, there were two sentences written over and over.

”There are hidden truths. It is not over; it has only begun.”

“Well, that’s fun.” Maiko said sarcastically. She picked the note up and showed it to her coworker.”I’m not one hundred percent sure that it has anything to do with Sasha, there’s no physical evidence. My intuition is rarely wrong, ‘owever. It could be something little, it could be something big. I’m only growing more concerned about this boy, and I will do my best to help ‘im.”

She wished that they could talk about something fun and relaxing, like people who built friendships often did. However, the situation was too serious, and she wasn’t sure he would have been welcome to such a sudden change in topics.

Tapendra settled for a agreeable nod. His experiences with Divination had been short lived; after a rather entertaining first few classes he'd turned out to have not inner eye, and after his crystal ball fell and broke the arch of his foot, he'd called it quits. He'd kept up on Astrology - not very passionately, of course, but still - so he wasn't as out of his depth as he might have been, but still.

She handed over her notes and he looked at them with unmasked but polite bewilderment. "I'm sorry, I-" He started, reading the page before he found the sentence that was the one he assumed she was referring to - the one on hidden truths. He started at it for a long moment, and then smiled politely.

"I'm afraid I don't understand - your intuition? What does that mean?" He asked, eyebrow raising. "What does it mean, it has only begun? That sounds like a prophecy." Which was sending off alarms in his head.