The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[NPCs]

"As if simply spawning imparted some divinely gifted knowledge," Tenachka points out with a huff, her point if not her delivery a decent one. "I've known far more inept mothers than good ones in my centuries."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"How can you hope to understand that which you were not and shall never be?" she retorts. 

[NPCs]

"I am and was never a lizard and yet I can speak for hours on their anatomy, behavior and uses," Tenachka points out with a shrug. "Not that I would ever want to know as much about spawnlings."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Knowing anatomy and usefulness are not the same as understanding on a deep, instinctual level." Noire is pleased, however, despite the ongoing battle -- she's won something from Tenachka, an admission of a fact she'd been suspecting for some time: this is no tiefling.

[NPCs]

Something of that victory must have shown, just a little, as Tenachka's face closes down into a stony glare. "Correct, they are not. They are superior. Regardless, you also should have had them address you as Lady at all times and required them to verbally acknowledge your commands."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Noted. Anything else?" she says, sounding tired. 

[NPCs]

Tenachka huffs softly, looking rather peeved underneath her stony masked. "Trivialities. They will not sleep for long; I suggest you rest yourself while you can."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"I am not fatigued; I would learn as much as I can from you now, as I suspect the remainder of the lesson when they wake shall be taken up with their care."

[NPCs]

A flash of annoyance, quickly smothered. "Very well then; ask your questions."

[Coquette Blacquin]

Coquette neatly segues into the last topic they had discussed the session before: art in drow culture, asking surprisingly insightful questions now that she's had time to digest. 

The children wake, and Coquette tends to them again. This time, she does try to get them to call her Lady Coquette, with mixed results. Eventually, their parents come to get them, leaving a well-worn Coquette to fix her hair in Tenachka's bathroom before she emerges back to the sitting room. It's nearly time for the lesson to conclude, though not quite, so she's uncertain if they'll be ending early or...

[NPCs]

"Ah, good, you're back," Tenachka says so sweetly it's clear she's not even trying to sound plausible. "Given how so very interested in art you've shown yourself to be, I wanted to invite you to a small showing of my works in a month or so. Just a dozen or so of my closest friends for tea, gossip and culture."

[Coquette Blacquin]

She bobs a pretty curtsey to stall as her mind works. "I am honored, truly," she says simply. 

[NPCs]

"So you'll attend?" Tenachka's smiles brightens. "Oh wonderful! I'm sure you'll be impressed; after all, I know how much you liked the memory crystal I directed so I'm certain you'll feel the same about the other works I plan to show."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"Do any of them feature my wife?" she asks, tilting her head as though curious. "I was most surprised, you see."

[NPCs]

"Of course!" Tenachka says with a gay laugh. "In addition to the crystal I already showed you, I have two other memories, plus a Vendini style painting. Ah, you might not be familiar with such; they're non-moving, but have illusion magic woven into the canvas and mixed into the oils so that the texture and scent is captured as well." She waggles her eyebrows. "It really, shall we say, sets the atmosphere for all the rest. I have a few others stars, but Claudia is decidedly the centerpiece."