Why had he agreed to this? Friends and their bloody favors. He should have told Dolly to get stuffed. Or, more accurately, politely lied that he was busy.

The Gala hadn't even been that bad. It was this not-so-unspoken expectation that he could provide engaging conversation that was the issue. Intelligent engaging conversation, at that. He'd spent most of his adult life suffering the after-effects of not being able to do that and now they sold him on his ability to do it -

Didn't help whomever this was had paid some astronomical amount for this, too. He'd stared at the number in  horror and, over the last few days, had come to the conclusion there was simply no way to give this woman her money's worth. Not without secretly being Casanova, anyway. Which he was extremely confident he wasn't, clever disguises or not.

Darian had helped him get dressed, at least, so he could be reasonably confident he looked acceptable. That was about all he could say, really. He'd been trying to think of some acceptable excuse for not turning up most of the day, and had even considered asking Darian about using polyjuice and going in his place. But as much as Tapendra was sure Darian was capable of turning up and being interesting at someone for an hour and a half, he didn't really trust Darian not to then sleep with the poor bird. And that was not something he was going to deal with the aftermath of, ever.

They'd been sent to Calaveras, a quite nice place in Diagon Tapendra had never been to before. He'd heard plenty about it, of course - Dolly certain frequented the place enough - but it looked pricey, and all he could remember about it really just involved the werewolf attacks. And its overabundance of skulls. Standing where he was, that second bit seemed deserved - the skull motif was everywhere.

He stood by the entrance stairs, then, Darian having since withdrawn. It was so terribly tempting to flee before the embarrassment he knew was coming. But aside from Darian and Dolly stringing him up for it - that really would be terribly rude, wouldn't it? It wasn't as if this lady had paid such a ridiculous sum to be stood up.

The best he could do was try, he supposed.

Aria was certainly not expecting much out of this little rendez-vous. After the tedious affair that had been the Gala, her expectations had taken a sudden drop... through the floor, all the way to the depths of the earth. Then again, Calaveras was a lovely venue—light-years away from Le Masque, of course, but lovely nonetheless. The menu was exquisite and Arianne had some interest in anything related to Dia de los Muertos.

Although tired from a day of teaching, there was nothign that could stop Mlle Desrosiers from enjoying a night out, so she'd made an effort and dressed up, not something she would've normally picked for a Friday night, but this wasn't her usual night on the town. She'd actually have to maintain her status and position for once. Which, on one hand it was a rather dreadful affair, on the other hand, however, Aria wouldn't say no to a challenge...

It came as a surprise, pleasant even, maybe, when she recognized Tapendra Trisha, Hogwarts' Professor of Astronomy standing near the entrance. Having seen him at the Gala, Arianne was rather sure this was her mystery-date. She hadn't paid much attention to him at St. Mungo's and his usual outfits, didn't leave much room to make an impression, but seeing him all dressed up for the event, she realized the man was actually quite attractive. And exotic. If there'd be no titillating conversation, at least she could... wash her eyes.

"Monsieur Trishna, what a pleasant surprise" she said smoothly with a well placed smile, tilting her head forward in greeting. "It seems the entire English wizarding academia has signed-up for this event" she continued with a small chuckle, coyly dropping her gaze to the floor. "And the say never mix business with pleasure." She laughed fully then, raising a curious eyebrow.

Well, this was certainly an interesting development. Aria only hoped it would keep getting more... exciting.

Arianne Derosiers, Beauxbaton's Professor of Manners and Etiquette - and dancing, and having style, and looking good doing it. Tapendra was stuck on a...well, bloody hell, a proper and etiquette-required date with someone who not only knew all the rules, but who could keep score.

Blast his luck, and bugger Darian and Dolly for signing him up for this.

At least she seemed less cold than she had at the Gala - though he hadn't entirely missed the hungry way she and Darian had gazed at each other there, as oblivious as he usually was to such things.

And he couldn't exactly blame Darian, could he? She was a radiant beauty, the sort that seemed to fill the room just by standing still. She seemed a lot like Darian in that way - a person whose sense of style was an overwhelming battering ram that seemed proceed them, and made them seem to glow. She was rather stunning, and the fact she had frankly excellent legs that were far more on display than was usual for pureblood witches certainly added to that.
 He was severely outclassed.

Maybe he should have asked Darian to come in his place - but Tapendra had a feeling Darian and Arianne might just burn the restaurant down, one way or another.

He quickly returned the smile. He resolved to at least try his best, even if it meant feeling a bit of a dishonest tit. But if he was being honest, he wouldn't have turned up at all, would he?

Merlin, he was glad Georgiana and Cyhirae couldn't possibly see this. What would they think? No doubt his sister would split her sides at this, watching him flop about like a fish tossed on the shore. Cyhirae, well...he couldn't help but imagine her being upset at the idea of her father being on a date of any sort.

As for what his wife might have thought - no. He dismissed those thoughts quickly, just as he'd done throughout the day.

"Madame Derosier - likewise," he said, with an incline of his head and a slight bow to match her own. Bloody hell, he should have asked Darian for lessons. Still, he kept his smile steady, if not as broad and open as it usually was.

He couldn't help but have that smile take on a very slightly smirk like quality at what she said. "It's not so terribly surprising, is it? We must get ourselves out of that dreary castle somehow, you know. It's not exactly the most refreshing social environment, after all." Even with all of the students and teachers from overseas, what the staff conversations often boiled down to was whining about various petty grievances. Or who was winning the Tourney.

The maitre d' caught his eye and Tapendra nodded slightly, the well-dressed (but tattooed, in this case) man gesturing for the two of them to follow him.

For a moment Aria reigned in the need to smirk in amusement at the man's obvious discomfort. She surely appreciated men that knew the protocol, but she wasn't expecting Trishna to be one of those. Out of the goodness of her heart she was willing to make this experience as easy on the professor as she could. It would definitely not bode well to obviously outclass the man on such an occasion. Seeing as her words had definitely worked the way they were supposed to, her face took on a pleased smile and she let out a small chuckle.

"Why, Monsieur Trishna, are you saying your colleagues and students don't offer captivating social interactions?" she asked with an amused glint in her eyes, curling her lips into a devious little smile and arching an eyebrow. Teasing was one of Arianne's favorite activities, and combined with innocent flirting it was all rather pleasing. She straightened her posture and flashed a charming smile at the maitre d' and followed in his tracks. "I wouldn't have taken you for a Calaveras client, Professor" she said casually, smirking to herself.

When the maitre d' stopped and pointed them to their table, Arianne debated whether to wait for Trishna to pull her chair out for her, but she remembered she was supposed to go easy on him. So, instead she sat down with a bright smile on her face, crossing her legs and settling her small clutch bag in her lap. Before the employee of the venue could even open his mouth, Aria smiled sweetly at him and turned to look at the Hogwarts professor. "Seeing as this is your date, Monsieur, I'll let you do the honors. I do so like a surprise, once in a while" she hummed mysteryously. Truth be told, Aria was merely curious to see the man's tastes. there was much to be told about a person by what they drank or ate.

"Not at all," he said, surprised at how easily the words came in light of her teasing tone. He barely kept a slight flush off his face at that. "Merely that it's good to get out now and again. Meet new people."

Not that he was particularly good at that, he'd be the first to admit. In the muggle world, within the scientific community, he'd been far better at it, free as he was there of the sort of blood purity baggage he'd had before. There were hole new sets of rules in the muggle world, of course, but at times he felt like he understood them better.

The maitre d' led them from the foyer to one of the tables, the small table outfitted in the simple and elegant style that characterized Calaveras when it wasn't knee deep in skulls.

"I've never come here before, as a matter of fact," he admitted, figuring there was no reason to hide that. "My friends seem to like it, mind." Aside from Dolly. He glanced, almost unwittingly, towards the balcony she'd fallen from. Had it really been almost a year?

"Well - as you wish," he said. He did look worried at her request, the expression on his features for a fraction of a second before he hid it and picked up the menu. He found, to his immense relief, that the menu wasn't in french or some other language. Had it been, he'd have wound up ordering the list of table dressings, no doubt.

Something told him garlic bread was right out. It had been a long time since he'd been on a date, and - well, come to think of it, he'd never been on a date, had he? When he'd gone out to dinner with his wife, their choices had often had more to do with money that anything else.

Looking at the menu, he ran his fingers through his beard thoughtfully, before raising his eyebrows at her. "Would the Lobster offend you terribly?" He asked, ever so slightly cheeky.

Aria nodded at his admittance, figuring out that Trishna did not seem like the sort to generally visit any sort of leisure or entertainment venue, much less one that was more on the upscale side, such as Calaveras. "Yes," she hummed approvingly with a hint of interest in her voice "I suppose your friends would." She was, of course, thinking of one friend in particular, and she couldn't help linger on a small private smile before coming back in the now.

She watched him with interest as he perused the menu, something akin to excitement bubbling inside waiting to see what his choice would be. And, surprisingly, it was a fine choice. She raised her eyebrows, pleasingly surprised and chuckled softly. "My, my, Professor, aren't you full of surprises" she asked teasingly, her voice just a notch lower than usual. The night was indeed, one surprise after another. Pleasant surprises even.

"Lobster would be marvelous" she quickly added, flashing him a bright smile. "I hope you don't mind, but might I recommend a Pouilly-Fuissé? It's a wonderful white wine from the Mâconnais region in Burgundy" she explained almost reverently, always happy to talk about her native country... and alcohol. "It truly makes any lobster dish a bewildering experience." And conversation tended to get a little more intriguing after two glasses or so.

She leaned back in her chair and absentmindedly raised her hands up to tuck her hair behind her ears. Waiting for their order, this was were conversation really started. "I realize I've been at Hogwarts for quite a while by now and yet I know almost nothing about you. How rude of me" she said, dramatically placing a hand over her chest in a guilty gesture, before letting her lips curl into a tight smirk. "So, Monsieur Trishna, tell me about yourself." She placed her hands over her knees and relaxed into her seat, waiting curiously for his reply with an intrigued look to her eyes.

Evidently he'd chosen correctly, if her bright smile was any indication. He hoped he had, anyway.

He blinked and then nodded at her wine suggestion. Wine was not something he was typically into - and he usually preferred reds - but having never really sat down for lobster before, the suggestions of those who had seemed wise to follow.

Not to mention she seemed rather taken with the wine suggestion, if her slightly melancholy tone was any indication.
"Sounds heavenly," he said, as the maitre d' retreated with their orders, taking the menu with him.

It was difficult not to immediately drop his elbows onto the table top when the man left, that waiting period usually being the signal to relax. He'd taken basic etiquette, however, and could still feel the sting of his governess's switch if he thought about it too much. He settled for crossing his legs at the ankle, back still straight, and picking up one of the glasses of water the maitre d' had provided.

Of course she'd ask that. Tapendra wracked his brain for how to respond, pausing a long moment, finding the intrigued look particularly painful.

"It's the opposite schedule, I'm afraid," he said finally. "I seem to be only in the lower levels when no one else is." Which held some advantages, like the ability to wander about barefoot and wearing worn out jeans.

He let himself sigh softly, the sound more of a mused one than one of resignation. "I'm not sure there's much more to say that what you may have already heard. I was a professional astronomer before coming to Hogwarts, have a daughter and a sister at the school...have a fascination with muggle sciences. Some would say an unhealthy one." Best to that out in the open, if she hadn't heard about it already.

She tilted her head curiously, seeing as the man had trouble coming up with an answer and let her eyes flicker briefly over his face. His eyes were positively astonishing, and Arianne's own, deep cerulean eyes shined with a sort of admiration at the realization. Sure, the question was a courtesy one -if anything, the sort of circles Aria frequented held gossip in a very high regard - but she was curious what the man himself would have to say.

Usually, by the time Trishna started his classes, Arianne was already out of the castle. One couldn't expect Aria to spend a night without socializing, drinking or partying, but of course, most nobody at Hogwarts knew that and she had no problem whatsoever keeping that way, so she merely nodded politely and waited for him to continue. She raised an eyebrow and smiled curiously, surprised to see he was expecting her to have heard of his life. Which she did, of course, personal tragedy had a sort of fascination for the society life, but still... how frank.

Her face gave no outward signs of her internal displeasure at the mention of his sister. Although never having much direct contact with the girl, Arianne had immediately taken a dislike in her. She lacked any sort of femininity and finesse, and her style -if it could even be called that- was something out of every self-respecting designer's nightmares. If she was a more thoughtful person, Aria would've noted that she could definitely do with a feminine approach in her upbringing, but family, in that sense, was a subject all Desrosiers liked to keep as far away from as possible.

So instead she chose to avoid all discussion on his family, being a single father, the loss of his wife and so on. While sort of an interesting topic outside the hearing range of the person in question, speaking of such things with the man himself, would be a poor conversation choice and would definitely put a damper on the evening. "Ah, well, I own close to fifty pair of shoes" she said waving her hand, as if it was the norm. "Some could call that an unhealthy obsession" she chuckled lightly and took a sip of her water. "And what fascinates about muggle sciences, pray you?" She wasn't particularity interested in the subject, nor did she know much of the muggle world, outside of the night scene of it, but she was curious what the man found there that he couldn't find in the wizarding world.

Fifty pairs of shoes? Did they have their own closet in her home?

His eyebrows rose, but he couldn't help but smile - shaking his head slightly as he raised his glass to take a sip. "Yes, but that interest has a practical use, doesn't it? That's more than most of those with unhealthy obsessions can claim, you know." Unless a stamp collector suddenly needed to mail a lot of letters, he supposed.

Her question, polite at it was, prompted a rather rueful smile from him. "Oh, gods, don't ask me that; I can go on about it for hours. But...to try and be brief about it, I..." He paused, rubbing his chin thoughtfully, fingers flicking through the well-groomed hair of his beard.

"I find it answered a lot of the questions I had. The ones I had that magic, and our own studies, haven't  - or cannot," he said, with a find of innocent sincerity. "It's a rather different perspective on the world, and as an academic I find that enormously refreshing."

That was probably the best way to say it quickly, he figured. It was hard not to add quite a lot of qualifiers to it.

"I'd hardly call it practical" she chuckled and shook her head mindlessly. "I've never worn some of them, or only wore them once, but shoes are works of art" Aria explained seriously with a polite smile, her eyes daring him to say otherwise. "I like to collect them" she shrugged, looking around aimlessly, not in the least ashamed of her passion. "I like to own beautiful things" she then added, with a surreptitious smile, eying him cryptically.

Her gaze fell on his chin, watching his fingers on his chin, seemingly not quite paying attention to what he was saying, but as soon as he talked about answers, she quirked an eyebrow, curiously smiling to herself. "Such as?" she asked, actually intrigued. There were indeed questions that lacked a proper answer translated to the wizarding world, but for the love of all she couldn't think of anything that would prompt such a fascination.

Then again, the man was an academic, as he had just labeled himself, and while in certain aspects Arianne was one herself, she was a philosopher, if anything... Sciences, of the exact and practical nature had always left a rather cold impression on her. Humans and their relations were a far more interesting course of study. Always changing, always inexact, always challenging and never the same from individual to individual.

"Well, I suppose we all welcome a refreshing perspective on the world once in a while" she mused, not quite in agreement, but applied to particular aspects of life... true nonetheless. She supposed his refreshing and her refreshing were very different, however. She stood straighter in her chair as a waiter approached with their bottle of wine in a chiller and proceeded to serve them.

She was no sommelier, but Arianne liked to think she knew her wines and since it had been her recommendation, she took over the tasting. She was more than familiar with this particular variety, but the finish of this one was absolutely fantastic. She nodded her approval at the employer and waited until the glasses were full to raise hers to the professor's. "Á votre santé, Monsieur" she offered, smiling radiantly at the man.

The odd expression that crossed her face when she mentioned liking to own beautiful things made him raise an eyebrow the barest fraction of an inch. Given how she spoke of them, that seemed to be his relationship with books - buy hundreds, never have time to read most of them. And then he'd tote them around everywhere with him, intending to read them and then forgetting...

Tapendra scrunched his face up in thought at her question, trying to remember those most basic questions he'd had decades ago. They had in the end led to further questions - as was the case with anything muggle, the answer to one question just led to three more.

"I mostly wanted to know more about the universe, really," he said, finally, the answer annoyingly vague to him, so he clarified a bit. "What stars were, how they worked, where they came from - what Earth really was, where we came from. That kind of thing." He shrugged, his smile slightly shy. "When I was young, I thought those were questions that needed answering, and I might contribute something by trying to seek them out. Then I came to find muggles had had answers to them for decades..." He shrugged.

He nodded his agreement with her general statement, sitting back in the booth seat as the waiter arrived. When the man had stepped back, he sat back up, waiting for her to taste the wine - and, when she had nodded her approval, he picked up the glass. He returned her toast with a smile of his own, though the suddenness of her radiant smile rather drowned his out.

The wine was good, when he tasted it, and he made a soft sound of approval without thinking about it. "Excellent choice," he said, setting down the glass with a delicate clink. He considered a moment before he spoke again, politely raising his eyebrows at her.

"And you, then? What brings a lady as young as yourself to teach at Beauxbatons?"

Other than the fact Beauxbatons didn't seem to hire any women over the age of 40, anyway - Tapendra had yet to see a single girl or woman from that school that did not broadcast grace wherever she went.

She offered a polite smile at his vague, rather stunted response, grateful he didn't choose to go into more detail. The basics of muggle sciences have been part of her upbringing, but evolutionary theory had been dreadful for her. Good to know, yes, but Aria couldn't really give a rat's ass about the Big Bang Theory and Darwinism and whatever the hell not. They were here now, who cared how they came to be?

"I'm glad you think so" she said smilingly to his appraisal of the wine. Hopefully it was good enough to offer some... relaxation. She quirked an eyebrow at his question and chuckled softly at being called young. She supposed by most standards she was still young... "Actually, considering the nature of my subjects, the young the better" she offered to correct him. "Etiquette, and all other subjects that are referred to through the study of it—manners, psychology, cultural specifics, literature, arts are subjects of an ever-evolving nature. They're constantly changing, constantly adapting to the generations" she explained, gesticulating with one hand. "If you put an eighty year old woman in the position of having to accept that chaperoned dates and traditional arranged marriages are no longer mandatory in polite society—" she let it hang in the air, for the implications to get settled without her having to say anything else. "Well, you see how it could cause some issues" she finally said, laughing softly.

"It was convenient" she finally answered truthfully, with a bitter sort of smile. "It's something I'm well versed in, it's a steady income, it's comfortable..." she shrugged, not really so sure of her own reasons for taking the job at first. "Then, there's the added benefit of being part of something bigger, helping to shape the younger generations, knowing you've had a part in it... That you gave it your best to offer both yourself and the students a better future."

She took a sip of her wine and reseated herself more comfortably. "That, of course, if the students are willing to learn" she added quickly, not quite able to keep her newly discovered discomfort in her profession silent. "While etiquette, the finer arts, interpersonal communication and, generally, social graces are still required as part of the formation of a young individual in France, I find it's not quite the case down here" she smiled tightly, obvious displeasure in her expression. She raised her eyes to watch him intently for a second. "What of you? I could ask you the same question, Professor. Aren't you young scientists eager to research and traipse the world in search of the newest big discovery?" she laughed brightly. She didn't say it, of course, but would've liked to add bitterly 'And yet you're stuck inside that castle, wasting your youth... just like me'.

Tapendra tilted his head ever so slightly in confusion at her words, but as she explained, it began to make perfect sense. Etiquette, in his upbringing, had been taught by dour, cranky older women - usually with lips like an inverted v, stark white hair and the inability to understand that it was the 20th century and not the 17th. He could still feel the snaps of the switch on his wrists. He'd almost purposefully forgotten some of that training - when he hadn't outright hidden whenever the Governess insisted they learn to behave.

He smirked slightly as she laughed, shaking his head. "I don't know," he said, in jest. "Some of those ancient manners might do some of our Hogwarts children some good. They're uncivilized little blighters, some of the time." Certainly now and then he wondered how effective the ancient punishment methods had been. Ignan seemed to have a good track record, and Tapendra found his methods rather horrifying.

Tapendra drank from his glass as she spoke, catching some of the underlying meaning - oh, it was a good opportunity, it paid well, you could form younger minds...and be constantly reminded that you were old. He was barely older than Arianne and Hogwarts made him feel ancient, at times, too conscious of how young the children were. He hadn't grown used to it at Cambridge - science being filled with a wide generational scope.

Of course, he suspected for someone like the woman in front of him, it was a bit more confining. He was content to send his off hours sitting leg-up the side of a bay window, reading about the gravity wells of stars. Her off hours were spent being glamorous somewhere, he suspected. No wonder she and Darian had taken to each other like they had; they seemed to have that in common. He had to struggle to imagine them sitting on a couch munching on crisps.

"It puts bread on the table," he summed up, a bit bluntly and with some jest. "It does tend to turn to routine before long, doesn't it..."

While he was confused, for a moment, of her use of 'down here' to refer to England, he didn't show it, instead smiling in a sad and knowing way. "My apologies for them. Our students are...rowdier than they were years ago. Perhaps it's the post-war generation, but they're very..."

He gestured a moment, vaguely, as he tried to find the word for it. "Modern," he settled on. "Turn your back on the school and it'd be full of footballers having a riot." He wasn't really sure if that was an issue. As much as he joked about it, they weren't harming any one. Mostly.

His own answer was simpler. "My daughter and sister attend the school," he said. "The previous chap was...well, young. And tended be drunk - during lessons." The disapproval in his voice he did not bother to mask. "Snark sacked him and I decided the job needed to get done properly."

He shrugged, a bit sheepishly. "And I got tired of coming back to an empty house, I suppose." It had been starkly quiet, the first few days Cyhirae had been gone; nice, at first (he'd been able to march around in his pants for the first time in years) but soon it had grown rather lonely.

Arianne thought 'some of the time' was a severe understatement, but seeing as they were his students she didn't want to insult the man. "Yes, I suppose they could" she said vaguely, a tight, polite smile on her face. The main reason of her current displeasure in her life was exactly this one. The Hogwarts students. And it weighed more than all other causes at time...

Her eyebrow shot up in curious disagreement, at his apology for his students. Modern was in fact good, it was loud, obstinate, puerile and completely unrefined that bothered her. She listened, nodding politely, even chuckling for a moment at the mention of a footballer rioting. She wasn't sure if they were as bad as to be likened with ultras, but then again... She expected anything out of Hogwarts.

She joined in his displeasure, crinkling her nose at hearing his story about the past professor. "They do say if you want a job well done, you should do it yourself" she responded, nodding approvingly and smiled at Mister Trishna. "Why not fill it then?" she asked, rather personally, at hearing about lonely houses. Aria couldn't fathom the idea of living with someone else, but she had enough people over for a night or two... "I have Cyril for that" Aria smiled politely. "My Fennec fox" she added as explanation.

"Basically," he said, with a slight shrug. His definition of done right was quite different from that of others - as the letters and Howlers he often got were so kind to remind him. Thankfully they'd lessened when everyone taking their OWLs had scored quite well. There'd been a few Ts here and there (mostly from Quidditch players, which he couldn't help but consider not a coincidence) but most of them had passed with scores above an A, even those without much passion for the subject.

Her question made him jump just a bit - a nervous twitch as he tried very quickly to think of an answer to that. He really hoped she wasn't implying what he first thought of, and so his response was simple and quick as he averted his gaze elsewhere.

"It's not totally empty," he said. "I've got a cat."

Too late he remembered that men weren't really supposed to own cats, as far as society was concerned. They were supposed to have dogs. Something big and tough, and Kepler was only tough if you considered the work involved to remove him from a surface he wanted to stay on.

"You have a fennec fox?" He asked, moving the subject a long as quickly and smoothly as he could, smiling again. "How are they as pets?"