Tapendra left the staff room as the meeting concluded, rubbing his hands together absently. He had plenty to think about, certainly - and plenty to do. Dancing lessons? Merlin's pants, he was in trouble now. His mother had forced him into dancing lessons as a boy, when she'd been firmly of the opinion the she could marry him off to some pureblood and leech off the money, but he hadn't danced in a...well, in a posh way since then.

Somehow the ability to moonwalk didn't seem like it'd be useful for the Yule Ball.

He paused near the corner of the hall, absently loosening his tie and tugging at the neckline of his suit. He was going to have to track down one of the old giant gramophones, wasn't he? He hoped they'd survived the war, or had at least been replaced. The lack of music players was going to be a pain..as was the lack of records. He wasn't versed in classical dance music at all.

And he'd have to find a book on dance. Bollocks! Maybe if he got to the Library before Morgan returned -

He paused at the sound of footsteps behind him, turning slightly.

As soon as the meeting was over Gale's feet hit the floor and he pattered out. He felt the weight of it all very draining, and only half way listened. His insecurities made the man over his shoulder seem as though he were a thousand glaring glow worms, and far too distracting. Ignan had this way of making nearly everyone feel as though he were nothing but a small speck in his otherwise perfect sky, and that glare didn't stop. He felt it even when the meeting went on.

Gale hadn't missed the exchange between Ignan and Tapendra either, and already formed an opinion of the Astronomy Professor that couldn't be broken. Gale waited for the rest to clear, for the hall way to empty enough he could file in behind Tapendra and stalk his path. For one as often decorated in silver bells, Nightingale had a gift of being very silent. However, when his voice broke the stillness in the empty hall he didn't try to mask his anger.

"So what did you tell him?" He started out right, pushing his much shorter legs to try and keep up with the rather tall man.

Tapendra wanted dearly to sigh at the sight of Kesali. Ignan's glaring during the meeting was likely to evoke some sort of reaction, as he'd feared, though Tapendra doubted that Ignan's upset was over such a petty matter as an argument from over a month beforehand. Ignan was, usually, more subtle than that. As for what Ignan was upset enough to glare in from of the new Headmistress over - that, he wasn't sure.

He stopped, turning to face Kesali (and having, as usual, to look down to meet the man's eyes). There were a lot of things he could have said, but, a month on from their original squabble, he found himself less angry and more annoyed and confused. The man's logic was utterly nonexistent, to the point that arguing with him seemed pointless. Kesali seemed utterly oblivious to basic common sense, so appealing to that would be a failing tactic.

Tapendra was also not keen to loose his job. His face stayed politely impassive. "I'm sorry?" He asked, politely. Wasn't the best thing to say, he knew, right after he'd said it.

Gale's one good eye passed between Tapendra's in an attempt to properly read the expression. The over worked optic hurt as it always did, and though he had to squint often to see correctly that motion seemed more of a narrowing of his gaze out of anger. Gale puffed air, and looked appalled at how horrid Tapendra's behavior truly was.

"You're sorry? Really?" Gale moved around to face him, straightening as best he could to meet the man's eyes. His size didn't intimidate him, not much at least, but he did suddenly wish to be in Dietrich's shoes.

"I don't know what your problem is, Trishna, but it stops now." Gale looked more hurt than he did angry, and it killed him to admit that. "If you have something to say to me, or say about me. Say it to my face, and say it off school grounds." There was the anger, and Gale took a step between them to practically breathe hot fire down Tappy's neck, as he whispered, "That way I can properly defend myself."

Tapendra resisted the urge to rub his forehead, his hands remaining firmly by his sides. The man didn't know? He'd spent that entire night crying about Tapendra judging him for looking at him, insulting him right and left, implying Tulojow was incompetent to her face, and throwing around the most insane logic he'd ever heard, and he didn't know what the problem was?

Oh, to be that oblivious! It must have been a nice world Gale lived in, Tapendra concluded. He wondered what it was like. Perhaps the moon was made of cheese and nothing was ever his fault, and everyone else was out to get him.

Come to think of it, that seemed to be the world his teenage sister lived in, too.

"My only with you problem is your lack of professionalism, Miser Kesali," He said, coolly. "And I would appreciate if you did not do that," he added, as Gale stepped quite unabashed into his personal space.

"My lack of professionalism? I'm not the one who makes faces, and smirks with Professor Storm right in front of me? He glared at me the entire time we were in there! I don't know who you think you are, or what high horse you rode in on. But I can't have room for mistakes like that. This job means too damn much to me to let you get in the way of it. YOU were the one that came out of the woods with your wand drawn, and accusations in your eyes. Then at every chance you got you made sure to berate me for everything I did to help. You look down on me as if I'm supposed to owe you some great respect, some sort of favor, and as if the world should fall at your feet because of what? What Tapendra makes you so damn special?"

He was letting his anger get the best of him, despite how he kept his voice down.

"You are no different than I am. And you don't know a damn thing about me to have possibly formed any sort of opinion. And I've kept on Professor Storm's good graces until now, and find it kind of funny that all of a sudden he's smirking at you and glaring at me. For something that happened on a night we were off, and no body needed you at anyway."

Tapendra watched Gale flail and rail on, almost - despite himself - fascinated. The man really was like Georgiana, which did not speak well for him. Gale did not move, and so Tapendra took two steps back to clear his space.

He waited until the man seemed finished, blinking a few times and resisting the urge to sigh. Kesali was right about a few things, of course, but the rest...

"I apologise for pointing my wand at you, Professor," he said, and he meant it. "In the darkness, all I could see was a man knelt over an attacked and bleeding victim, and when I found the victim was a friend of mine, I over reacted due to an already high set of nerves. It was an offensive gesture, and I apologise for doing it." He took a deep breath, and his hands ended up in his pockets so that it wasn't obvious he'dcurcled them into fists.

"As for the rest - yes, Mister Kesali, your lack of professionalism. My incredulity came because you found my honest surprise and confusion at your actions offensive, and proceeded to insult me, accuse me of judging you, and then mock my concerns. After an initial defensive action and my confusion, none of my reactions came from anything other than your own behavior. You were also kind enough to announce incompetence on the part of our very gifted healer to her face, Mister Kesali."

He let his breath out. The urge to shake the man and see if maybe that would cause brain-cells to fire as overwhelming. "As for why Professor Storm was glaring at you - I cannot say. Ignan is not the sort to let private affairs be that public, and so I doubt our petty squabble had anything to do with it. If you wish to know, ask him yourself."

"As for the rest - yes, Mister Kesali, your lack of professionalism. My incredulity came because you found my honest surprise and confusion at your actions offensive, and proceeded to insult me, accuse me of judging you, and then mock my concerns. After an initial defensive action and my confusion, none of my reactions came from anything other than your own behavior. You were also kind enough to announce incompetence on the part of our very gifted healer to her face, Mister Kesali."

"Oh bullshit, Tapendra. You were the first one to point out my flaw by telling her he was on the forest floor...for some reason. When I already apologized and explained why. You don't take into account that I was in a panic. That I had just come off of the rush of fighting for both of our lives, and ran to the one place I knew was safe. That's home to me. And no you berated me the entire time for it. For taking him somewhere dirty, and dark. So don't you play that card, nor pull your poker face on. You don't mean a darn word you are saying, and you don't have to. I just want this to stop." He followed the man's lead and put his own hands in his pockets, to calm, and try and suppress his nerves.

"Of course I was defensive, Trishna,  don't you think it was awful darn convenient that you were there of all places at such a late hour in the night? Forgive me for not trusting you, but why would I? I don't know anything about you." Gale heaved a heavy sigh, and took a step back.

"And you know...after that I really don't care to." His voice was much quieter, "And I will ask him." No he won't. He'd rather hide in his room and rock back and forth.

""Of course I was defensive, Trishna..." The voice up ahead was Kesali, and sounded like he and Tapendra were having a disagreement. Ignan couldn't make out the rest, ambient noise around him interrupted. They were not far ahead, having come out of the staff meeting just before.

"And you know...after that I really don't care to. And I will ask him."

"Ask who, what?" Ignan asked, happening upon them in the corridor. He had a bundle of his papers under his arm, and was slipping his pocketwatch back into his waistcoat pocket from consulting what time he had left to finish things that day.

The Deputy Headmaster eyed his colleagues suspiciously, knowing full well that Tapendra and Nightingale didn't get on very well at all. He hoped they weren't attempting a full on argument in the middle of the corridor. As much as Ignan was fond of Tapendra, he wouldn't be best pleased.

"I catch the feeling the two of you are bickering. You're not beyond a detention yourselves," the older man informed them  dryly, his gaze shifting from Tapendra to Gale coldly, but not as murderously as before.
"Sandusky would be overjoyed to chain you both together."

Tapendra raised an eyebrow in surprise, though his face remained a mask of impassive disapproval. Kesali seemed unable to make his arguments without finding some way to subvert them with his own actions.

He'd have loved to have responded to Gale's arguments - the holes in them glaring enough to insert logic and detonate it - but it was the trailing comment that made him stare at Kesali dumbly for a moment. Convenient that he was in the woods? The hell was that supposed to mean?

Gods, the man had to be delusional. Actually, that would explain a lot, like where the berate-ment Tapendra had apparently put him under had come from. He remembered saying all of two snarky things to the man - whereas Kesali had seemed happy to keep sniping at him even when Tapendra was trying to focus on helping Darian. And if Kesali was complaining he'd gotten scowled at for mocking Tapendra, the man needed a severe strike across the face from reality.

Thus when Ignan appeared, even though the man was hardly sunny, Tapendra was very glad to see him. As much as he wanted to defend himself, it wasn't going to solve anything at this point; Kesali wasn't going to listen to anything he said.

"It would appear we  are, unfortunately," Tapendra said, his dry tone matching Ignan's - and in this case, the slight sarcasm in his tone meant for the older man, in a friendly sort of way. He made no reply to the other comment, largely because the image was quite terrifying as it was, and folded his hands behind his back, feet shoulder-width apart. "My apologies, Professor."

Gale had his back to Ignan, but felt his voice boom through him as if he were a cold wind. He froze in the force of it all, froze and tried to mask his fear. Instantly, he shut down. His whole body stopped, and his shoulders slumped. He hated Tapendra for his way of instantly knowing how to properly stand, and how to act. He hated how well-mannered he always seemed to be--at the right time. So perhaps it was jealousy that formed this distaste for the thee professor, but he still felt wounded from the redhead's sarcastic tone.

My apologizes , Professor

Ignan had this way of absolutely destroying  words as they came to his lips. Save for the cards he avoided speaking to the man. Instead his face fell, submissive and rather pathetically shut down. Dark lashes fanned over his winter white cheek much like a child facing the wrath of a parent, but his jaw clenched in a last attempt to keep his dignity.

"It's nothing we can't work through. Just a step out on the wrong foot no?" His accent was in full force, and he hugged his chest ready to squirm away.

"It would appear we  are, unfortunately, my apologies, Professor."

"It's nothing we can't work through. Just a step out on the wrong foot no?"

Curious. Tapendra seemed somewhat happy for him to chance upon them, yet Gale was anything but and seemed to shrink away from him like a first year.

He gave a sigh and looked from one to the other with a frown.
"Sixth year girls bicker, not grown men. Either hex the backside off each other in a classroom or give it a rest." His gaze rested on Gale, who would not meet his eyes.

"Kesali - colleague. Smarten up for a staff meeting in future. This wasn't the best impression you could make on Minerva McGonnagal was it now?" His tone was still formal, but not as accusing as before, and not anywhere near as murderous as his stare.

Tilting his head, he asked,
"Something wrong, Professor? Do I intimidate you?" Perhaps that would rile him into revealing that side again he had been tearing into Tapendra with.

A shiver overtook him, his thin shoulders shook as if chasing it away. His spine straightened, but it was a failed attempt. His heart hurt, his lungs felt cold, and he swore his ribs were folding in on him. However, when Ignan spoke of the meeting he looked surprised. He thought it went over rather well, but maybe he hadn't spoken enough.

"Smartin up...S-sir?" His shock fell away when Ignan continued, and he heard that haunting voice that betrayed him for even standing here.

Pull yourself together, Nightingale, man up. You bow down to no man. For once it wasn't his dead lover's voice berating him, it was his fire spirited father, who spoke now as if he were pinning Gale to the corner of a boxing ring. Who is he to you? What reason does he have to make you feel any less than what you are? You are a prince among these men.

It was times like this he missed his family the most. His people who did not judge you, did not turn you away, nor glare so openly. Even with the blood of another they still opened their minds and opened their arms to take you in. They washed your feet weary and worn, with their music, and your heart with their drums.

"Of course you do." He spoke so quietly, and nearly glared at the deputy headmaster with his confession.

Just something they would work through. Tapendra honestly hoped that was the case, really. Didn't mean he ever wanted to like the smaller man, but if it kept him from swooping down in the hallways...

Of course, Ignan's scolding hit home with him, as well, with something of the same effect as it had on Gale; only in Tapendra's case, he genuinely disliked displeasing Ignan on a more familial level. He merely respectfully averted his gaze to the floor for a moment, before saying in a quiet but respectful voice, "Yes, sir."

He shifted awkwardly from foot to foot as Ignan chided Kesali, glad to have the source of the glare discovered. Tapendra looked at the small man's state of dress, and even he had to admit it was a bit...well, a bit awful, really. He wasn't one to judge on that account, of course. Tapedra cared far more for the mind people carried with them than the clothes they wore. But...the salary here was actually quite good, and the man knew Darian. Surely he could have asked for the tailor's advice, at least.

Tapendra couldn't help it; he smiled at Ignan, the smile both humorous and warm. "With all due respect, Professor, you do rather make a point of being intimidating." It wasn't said at all unkindly, nor was it meant that way; Tapendra, even with the scolding, was visibly relaxing with Ignan there and he couldn't help but joke. "Professor Kesali's kept from running away from you for considerably longer than I managed last year, you have give him that."

"Of course you do."

Ignan tried not to look too pleased with that response, it seemed sincere enough.

"With all due respect, Professor, you do rather make a point of being intimidating. Professor Kesali's kept from running away from you for considerably longer than I managed last year, you have give him that."

Professor Storm gave an amused snort.
"I'll just have to make a point of cornering him more often." He told Tapendra and leered at the Charms professor comically.

"You're the mouse the plays dead, I believe Kesali - I could hear you had enough fight before I ran into you all. Trishna's just more your size to fight. Anyhow, I haven't the time to extend lengthy metaphors on character. Whatever it is, sort it out somewhere than a corridor, nobody wants to hear about it."

He regrouped his papers between both hands.

"Professors."