Tapendra found his way down to the ground floor, having changed from his rather unprofessional attire to a far more presentable suit. Tapendra being Tapendra, it wasn't as professional as it might have been, but the vest and shirt were actually well taken care of and he had clearly made the effort. That counted, right?

After the chat with Sasha, he found himself...calmed, to an extent. The beer (well, vodka) had been doing most of the talking the night before. Now, with time to think as he changed and a clearer head, he doubted Maiko was stalking the boy. It didn't seem like her at all, really. Best to hear both sides and formulate a plan, he supposed, because - no matter what the boy said - he did need therapy.

He was convinced one of the worst criminals known was a good person to have in his life, for Merlin's sake. That...that needed to be worked on.

The hallways were quiet but still echoed with the distant din of the students leaving lunch for their first classes. His own started in a few hours, and so he had to hope this meeting didn't take that long. And that the counselor was in, and hadn't ducked out. Or that she wasn't busy with a student, or -

Oh, bugger that. He found the door and knocked, rubbing his knuckles afterwards. "Miss Biladaeu-Yukawa, are you in?" He called, since it seemed only fair to give her some warning.

Maiko had been sitting at her desk, reading a rather hefty letter from her brother. He was doing well in school. No, he didn’t find any cute boys to snog. Yes, he was striving to grow and become a self-actualized human being. No, he did not need another care package from his sister—that sort of thing. She was about to pull out some parchment and send him a reply when she heard a knock on the door, and professor Trishna’s voice. She put down her paper and opened the door, greeting him with a curious and mildly confused smile.

“You look nice for someone who got drunk last night.” She said quietly, so that others walking through the hallway wouldln’t overhear. The counselor doubted that Tapendra wanted any of his students to gossip about such things. She motioned for him to ender,  closing the door behind him. Mai took a seat, crossing one leg over the other casually.  She raised  an eyebrow inquisitively. “You do not usually come to my office unless you ‘ave something to discuss.” The last time he visited, it was about her taking Sasha out of his class.  “Is it about Mister Schalgenweit?”

Maiko didn't seem angry about any of the events the night before, despite being accused of stalking a student. People can say stupid things regardless of whether or not they were intoxicated. At the very worst, she was concerned about Tappy's relationship with Sasha, that it was more of a fatherly role than a professional one. It wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but because Sasha had so much going on, she wondered if Tapendra could actually handle it. She didn't know the tall professor well enough to make an accurate judgement.

Tapendra stepped into the office, his snort at her comment covered a bit as he adjusted his tieclip. "Only with the assistance of Mrs Nogg's Kill-or-Cure Hangover Potion," he explained. "Tastes like drinking liquid asphalt, but it does the job remarkably." Come to think of it, the texture was asphalty as well. Bletch.

"Yes, it is to do with Schlagenweit," he said, walking to her spare chair. He didn't sit, but rather leaned on the back, arms folded along the chair's top. "I apologize for my tone last night, Miss Biladaeu-Yukawa," he added, sheepishly. He smiled, slightly. "Debating school matters with the assistance of vodka and burbon wasn't the best of ideas, it seems."

He drummed his fingers for a moment, trying to figure out what to say. There was a lot he couldn't say, a lot he could, and a lot that needed to be said that fell into both categories. "Mister Schlagenweit has expressed upset and discomfort with your counselling to me several times, you see - and for him to get worked up about something in that manner is rare. I was hoping you could tell me what's going on, from your perspective." He tilted his head, slightly.

Mai nodded politely and relaxed, though she hadn’t even realized that Tapendra’s presence had caused her muscles to tense up. “Apology accepted. I am sorry that I didn’t respond maturely. Alcohol rarely influences people to do smart things.” She grinned and put her hands on the top of her knee and listened to what Tappy had to say. It was as she thought; he came to discuss Sasha. As Mai watched his body language, he seemed to struggle to figure out exactly what to say, so he kept it simple. Alright,  that gave them something to start with. She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. 

She was conflicted, in a different way. On ethe one hand, she did not want to betray Sasha’s confidentiality, but on the other, whatever she knew about the student, his head of house probably knew about. In fact, she was certain that Tapendra knew Sasha far better that she did. Whatever information that Sasha had given her (as little as it was), she was certain that Tappy already knew. It didn’t take a psychology degree to figure out that Sasha was paranoid  and secretive with some deep, severe problems that he wasn’t handling in a healthy way.

“I… Do not usually talk about my clients.” She explained, “But this is a unique situation.”  Maiko stood up and walked over to her desk, tapping her wand a few times on a drawer. It opened and she pulled out a small file. The pages looked blank, but the writing was visible when she ran her wand over the page. They were not normal letters—it looked like scratches and dots and squiggly lines. It was a cipher of her’s, purely phonetic, and the phonetics were not English ones, but French. She went through a great deal to keep a student’s confidentiality when writing notes for the future.

“At the beginning of the year, I did spend a bit of time focusing on Sasha, but no more than I did other students who seemed troubled.” She said simply, “We did mostly small talk, with quick short answers. I brought ‘im food, though I didn’t pry. I do not push my clients to talk about subjects they do not want to talk about, with exceptions. I was able to make some observations about ‘is behavior, but you do not need to be a counselor to notice.” She looked at the paper, “On September sixteenth, I brought him food in the astronomy tower. I asked ‘im what his plans were after school, and we discussed muggle schooling.  Then he told me ‘is ideas about researching ‘ow science and magic are connected.” Mai shook her head.

 “When I asked what I could do to ‘elp, Mister Schlagenweit quickly became paranoid and assumed that you and I ‘ad discussed his future plans. He acted like that he ‘ad told you a secret and that he thought that you told me what he said.” She was still curious as to what in the world Tapendra and Sasha could have been talking about, but she didn’t want to pry. Sasha didn’t tell her, and he wasn’t ready to tell her. “He thinks I ‘ave something init for me if I try to ‘elp him, something other than my paycheck, I assume.” She shook her head. Mai was a counselor because she genuinely enjoyed helping people, and she found the human mind and human behavior to be incredibly fascinating. 

“It did not go over well. I left gave ‘im space and left” Maiko looked up at Tappy, still not used to the fact that she had to literally, look up at him in order to make eye contact. “The most contact I ‘ave  had with Mister Schlagenweit since is… Giving ‘im the occasional meal.” He was so skinny and looked underfed! “I’ve also given Baldur a treat or two. “ She smiled, that dog was so easy to please. “But, I assure you, I ‘aven’t been stalking students.” Maiko laughed a little bit at the thought.  “Is that the information you were looking for, Tapendra?”

Tapendra, unknowingly, had the same thought process as Maiko - albeit with a much darker tone to it. He probably did know far more than she did, and most of it wasn't good. Oh, he knew the boy's odd eccentricities to some degree; but he also knew the truth of Sasha's recent involvement with the sinister Kronos whom, Tappy felt, was the source of much of Sasha's problems. Either way, the boy had plenty to hide.

He was still as she spoke, though his gaze followed her to her files. The story sounded...well, it matched Sasha's other than on most of the key points. Her general assessment of the boy was spot on.

"He and I spoke this morning, just before I came here," he said, carefully. "I asked him what the matter was, again, and explained I was coming to see you. He seems to feel you're out to get him, in essence - that you're prying into his personal life. He is...intensely private. But..."

He looked up at her, a hand coming up to cup his chin so he could rest as he leaned against the chair, "I agree that you're not stalking him. And he does need to eat more. That said...I'm not sure that the occasional meal is helping - emotionally, I mean. He's been more high-strung that usual lately."

Running his hand through his hair, he let his breath out. "Would it help if I told what I know if him?"

She nodded, he felt like she was out to get him. Strange. Maiko would have suggested a different counselor then, but there weren’t many options, if any, in the wizarding world. Sasha wasn’t a muggle, and if he found a counselor that worked but was a muggle, the counselor wouldn’t be as effective due to the statute of secrecy. It simply was not a pleasant situation for Sasha, or anybody who cared about him and felt helpless when it came to supporting him. She would need to find a different approach, or simply wait until he was ready to talk to her—if he would ever be ready to talk to her.

Mai was glad that Tappy didn’t have the impression that she was the weird-creepy-stalker type.  “I will leave ‘im alone completely for a while, but you need to understand that I can’t just ignore ‘im. I will keep observing Mister Schlagenweit, but I will be less direct and refrain from approaching ‘iim.” It couldn’t hurt to try a different method and take a few steps back. The ball would be completely in Sasha’s court—he would have control over whether or not he sought help. And that was part of what he needed—a sense of control over his own life.  Mai pushing herself there wasn’t going to help matters, not at this point.

She looked at Tapendra carefully, “It will only ‘elp me understand Mister Schlagenweit better. It will not ‘elp him directly.” Maiko was implying that it could help Sasha in the long run, if she knew as much about him as possible so she could counsel him properly. Still, Sasha was not in a mentally good place at the moment, and he could react to just about anything in a paranoid, unpredictable fashion if the situation wasn’t just right. “Tell me as much as you can, without feeling guilty about betraying ‘is confidence.” Mai still felt like Tapendra was attached to Sasha, and she didn’t want to encourage anything that would damage the trust that Sasha may have had towards his professor.

 

Tapendra could do that, he felt. Most of what he knew that was sensitive was of a nature that he wouldn't breathe a word of to just about anyone - certainly not to Maiko, even under these circumstances. If Sasha wanted these people to know things then he could tell him himself - Tapendra wasn't going to say anything unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Sasha is..." Deep in his thoughts, Tapendra didn't notice he automatically switched to using the boy's first name. "Repressed, I suppose, though I'm sure you picked up on that. He's very much out to please, to the point that it's hard to tell when he wants to do something versus feeling like he has to do something simply because you asked him to. His family was one of those very..." Tapendra snapped his fingers as he thought. "Very competitive types, I suppose - they set high standards and Sasha does his best to reach them, and genuinely fears disappointing others."

He rubbed his chin again, trying to think of how to put it. "He over-stresses himself, in other words. And even with - well, with his family dead, he applies those standards to himself still. I've tried to get him to dial back on it, some, but nowadays he seems to use it to cope."

She listened to Tapendra carefully—was he trying to help her, or was he just spurting out what he already thought she knew? Then again. Tapendra had no way of knowing that she had spoken to Jacoba about the Schlagenweit family—unless Jacoba herself had told him. It made sense that Sasha was out to please. His home life, when his parents had been alive, wasn’t exactly a nurturing one. She had already suspected that his heavy workload was a coping mechanism—what better way to hide from your own thoughts, than to keep your mind busy?

Maiko was silent for several moments after Tapendra stopped speaking, taking in the information he had given her. It made her wonder if that was truly all that the professor knew about Sasha, or if he was holding back due to some loyalty. Either way, she appreciated that he was talking to her about it now. It showed that he had some sort of limited trust towards her regarding the situation. She felt like not only was his full schedule a coping mechanism, it was a way for him to feel some semblance of control over his life.

Still, those thoughts were some she was not going to share with Tapendra. Partially because of confidentiality, and partially because she was not one hundred percent sure.

“Thank you for sharing this with me.” Maiko finally said, “Now tell me, just ‘ow close are you to ‘im? Like a father? A brother? Close friend?” Mentor, perhaps? But his reaction when he was drunk, saying he wanted to adopt Sasha, revealed that he viewed Sasha as more than just a mentee.

Tapendra hesitated, and the pause was obvious and glaring. He wasn't sure how to answer that question - both from a professional standpoint and from a truthful one. As a professor...it was unprofessional of him to be close to Sasha, generally speaking. Getting friendly with students was fine, but to be... whatever they were...wasn't really proper of him.

At the same time he wasn't about to let it go that easily. Sasha was the sort of child Tapendra found endearing, and - well - he was so much like he had been at that age. And with Sasha's newest revelation, probably a bit too much like him, situation-wise. As well as naivety-wise.

"I - don't really know," he confessed, finally. "Sometimes, it seems...just friendly? And then it's...not."

Frowning, he finally sat down, flopping into the chair with a thud. Sighing, he smiled ruefully. "I don't know where I stand with him, to be honest with you. Some days, as I said, it just seems friendly. Mentor-like, really? Others, it's more parental. And he doesn't - he seems to have issues with the Professor hurdle, I suppose."

“What do you mean,” she said slowly, carefully, “What do you mean, when you say that Mister Schlagenweit has problems with the professor ‘urdle?” Maiko inquired, wanting a bit more clarification.  Sasha and Tapendra were close, but yet there was still a hurdle? Perhaps the hurdle wasn’t just the professor title. Or maybe the hurdle was viewing Tapendra in a position of power—Sasha was the sort who felt like he needed to be viewed positively by others, especially authority figures. If he viewed Tapendra as an authority figure at times, it could definitely be a hurdle.

Maiko stood up and opened one of the cupboards to pull out a couple of owl head mugs that hooted quietly. She set them on her desk next to a teapot that had already been there, and tapped the pot a few times—steam began to come out of the spout. “Sugar with tea?” She offered,  taking the lid off of a sugar bowl. She wouldn’t take no for an answer, and she knew that when he drank tea, he also had to add an obscene amount of tea. Mai suspected that she would have to refill that sugar bowl after their meeting. She poured the cups and the owls squeaked before going silent.

Nuts. He'd said that as a stream of thought, not thinking too much on what he'd meant. He knew what he meant, of course, but...well, it was a lot harder to explain it Maiko, wasn't it?

He sighed, looking up from where his gaze had fallen when she asked about tea. He nodded with a relieved smile, glancing at the cups as they hooted. He couldn't figure out if that was cute or kind of disturbing. But...well, half of his muggle tea cups probably met that description, didn't they? At least they didn't screech in pain when filled with hot water.

"Four spoonfuls of sugar, please," he said, giving in and sitting down in the chair, elbows on his knees and hands cupped together. He started automatically twisting his wristwatch, and then finally - with his thoughts a bit more collected - he answered.

"The hurdle's...well," he said, sniffing. "He respects authority, and seems to have a line he doesn't feel is appropriate for him to cross when it comes to him being casual with professors. He hasn't shown any discomfort or object when I talk to him casually, but..." He paused. "On reflection, five spoonfuls. Haven't had any caffeine yet," he said, then sat back.

"Basically, we'll be talking and he'll be being open, honest - then sometimes he'll just...remember that line exists, I suppose? And," he clapped his hands together. "It's like a clam closing. I can't get anything out of him. There's not quite a pattern to it, really."

Admittedly, now he knew the reason for most of that. Unsurprisingly, knowing made things a lot worse, rather than better.

Four spoonfuls of sugar. Of course.  “Are you sure you don’t want six?” Maiko replied dryly. She herself had a sweet tooth, but it was nothing compared to the Astronomy professor’s.  Five spoonfuls was hefty compared to her measly two-and-a-half. Maiko listened as Tappy spoke about authority and whatnot. Of course. Form what she had heard from Jacoba, Sasha was raised in a situation where he had to listen to authority, which was his father.

She frowned slightly when Tappy described the ‘clamming up’. There was no pattern to it. Nothing to set him off, make him go silent? “Are you sure there aren’t any triggers that cause ‘im to shut down?” Maiko inquired, though she didn't expect an answer. It was a question that was meant for Tapendra to think on, not respond to. “Even if there’s no pattern to it, there’s a reason. Or many reasons—it’s not usually one. Watch the behaviors. You’ll find the pattern. It might be complicated, but you’ll find it.” She shrugged. “I do not ‘ave anything more to say on the subject, but thank you for showing me a different perspective."

Mai took a sip of her tea. “We should try to go out again sometime, now that this is all cleared up. With Aileen, of course.” It might take some poking and prodding, but if she had convinced the blonde to go once, she was sure she could get her to go again.   

Tapendra ducked his head guiltily when she shook her head at him. He liked his tea sweet! And most other things sweet, actually, now that it got mentioned...

He sipped it silently as she spoke, heeding her words thoughtfully. There was a pattern, he knew, but it was one he could hardly confess to her - under just about any forseeable circumstances. Malvivicus was a secret best kept between himself and Sasha.

"Thank you," he said, surprised this had gone as well as it did, frankly. The previous night had set him up for getting tea thrown at him, rather than served.

He smirked at her suggestion. "Well, there is a usual meet up at the Three Broomsticks. But I'm not sure you'd get Aileen out again too easily..." Admittedly, she could probably use it.

“I ‘ave my ways. She will go with us again!” Maiko insisted. “I just need to put on my sad eyes and tell her that I don’t ‘ave any friends. It worked last time.” Maiko did have friends, though they weren’t necessarily staff members. “She’ll warm up to the idea, as long as I don’t try to flirt with ‘er again.” But it was oh, so very tempting. There was something very attractive about the ice queen—and anyone who thought otherwise was absolutely wrong in Maiko’s narrow opinion.

“The Three Broomsticks sounds wonderful.” She much preferred the atmosphere there to that of Signature. It felt more down to earth and homey, and the other place just felt foreign and bizarre. “I wouldn’t mind drinking again as long as you don’t ‘ave any other issues with me that you’d like to bring to light.” Mai stated, her tone light and jovial. Though the next time Tapendra called her a stalker, she would try to brush it off as a joke. Unless he insisted. Then a drink might be thrown at him.

“We could always tell Aileen that we’re taking ‘er shopping, only to lead ‘er to a bar?”  Maiko wasn’t sure how well that would work. Aileen would probably be suspicious that Tappy would go shopping with her.

Tapendra laughed, sipping his tea as she insisted she could get Aileen out. Somehow he doubted the same exact tactic would work a second time - especially if flirting was involved. He still had mixed feelings on the flirting, he'd have to admit to himself - it was a bit...well, he wasn't exactly going to protest it happening with him around, sort of, but part of him did sort of want to protest. Especially if Aileen didn't like it.

He raised his eyebrows a bit, smiling slightly in obvious embarrassment. "None I can think of," he said, tone an embarrassed mutter. In the light of morning - and post hangover cure - he did a feel a little silly for saying that. And sorry. Sasha being worried about it was a concern, but for different reasons. And half of the boy's reasons couldn't be shared with Maiko.

He kind of wished they could be - gods knew a therapist that was actually in the know would be invaluable. Tapendra could and would do all he could, but he didn't have any sort of training.

"Shopping for what?" He asked, a little more lightly. "I'm not even sure what she goes shopping for that would somehow require all three of us."