The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Paerle Emerison]

"Claudia or my sister?" Paerle asks, curious but cautious both.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Claudia. She's not exactly stoic, but she has a surprisingly strong will, despite seeming flighty and shy."

[Paerle Emerison]

"Mmmh," Paerle replies neutrally before diplomatically moving off that particular topic. "Oh right, I had meant to ask more about your lessons. Or... rather... Well. You had seemed rather upset, in the hall. Did something..?"

[Coquette Blacquin]

She waves a hand. "Just petty games. Tenachka made it clear she could and would go after my Claudia -- she has a taste for gnomes, it seems."

[Paerle Emerison]

That bitch! Ugh, I hate that woman. Respect her, fear her, but ugh! "I see," Paerle says sharply, then winces. Waving a hand in apology, she offers, "Tenachka is... an institution. No official rank, true, but she has power. Second only to grandmother, I think at times. And... she likes to play."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Yes, well, she'll have to get used to disappointment. She's already fucking the gnomish tutor she bribed to help out with my lessons. That will have to hold her."

[Paerle Emerison]

"It won't but I respect your determination," Paerle says with a wan smile.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Claudia wouldn't betray me like that."

[Paerle Emerison]

And backing away! "Sorry, this is hardly a refreshing, enjoyable topic for us to unwind and celebrate with, is it? How goes your crafting circle? The, ah, embroidery?" She gets the word correct, but it's pronounced slowly and carefully.

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Oh, it's going wonderful. I'm replenishing my own funds, both from the sale and the teachint, and getting to meet such lovely people."

[Paerle Emerison]

Your 'own funds?' There's no way that Telly is that hard off, even with her recent setbacks. So... is she being pissy or are you being prideful? "That's good to hear. We're coming up on Tenisnoch so-- and you have no idea what that is, of course. Right. It's a... Festival, I suppose. Not really religious, though as it's very culinary based Ciren gets a fair bit of lip service. Valshathe too, I suppose," she adds in the tone of someone allowing that the four year old had 'helped' with a project. 

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Oh, that sounds lovely! When is it? Do we dress up any certain way?"

[Paerle Emerison]

"Just a few weeks away; the tenth of next month," Paerle replies, refilling their glasses as she answers. "As for dress, that depends on how you wish to celebrate. Tenisnoch comes out of a long discontinued tradition of guesting, were great families would compete to invite the most lesser families for lavish, entertaining or otherwise impressive meals. The more you could invite without flubbing a meal-- or being assassinated by a guest, though I suppose that would count as the former as well, come to think of it-- the better your family looked. Nowadays, there's far less competition involved and it's more about couples inviting people, rather than entire families. And there's far less distinction on who should be hosting and who gets invited places, to the point that it's more common than not for someone to end up doing both."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"How does taht work? Do you eat twice?"

[Paerle Emerison]

"Eat tw-- Oh, I didn't explain properly. It starts on the tenth but it lasts for the rest of the month," Paerle explains with a self-directed eyeroll. "Something that probably makes the whole thing make a great deal more sense."