The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Shisou]

"More than the Cicada family has at present," sighs Shiori. "Perhaps in time, I can repair the reputation -- it is, in fact, one of my primary goals here -- enough to push for the Emperor's offspring to intervene. Laws could be drafted. But it will take time."

[Jassinth]

"Laws would be good, yes," Jass agrees instantly. "But I was thinking of, to start with, we could work towards being able to apply targeted pressure." Blackmail, threats or financial pressure, he means.

[Shisou]

"Ah. I suppose, yes. We can speak more when we return home."

[Jassinth]

"Right, of course; this is your reunion." Bowing at the table, he rather pointedly turns his attention away from them all. It's a polite fiction, obviously, but still, he's making it clear that he wants them to focus on each other.  On family, distant and frayed as that connection may be these days. 

[GamesMaster]

The sisters sit and talk for some time, telling tales of their lives apart, joyous at being able to spend time together. They never see the baby, nor does Seiya offer. Instead, they are able to pretend they are young girls again, not two women wed and one on the verge of it. 

On the boat ride back, Shiori sighs, leaning against Jass. "We have to help her. You know that, right?" she asks, quietly. 

[Jassinth]

"Of course," he answers, sounding shocked at the implication that it could be otherwise. Jass has a decent poker face, but when he does show an emotional, it's vivid and clear.

[Shisou]

"Good." She closes her eyes, resting against Jass. "Just have to figure out how...."

[NPCs]

It's certainly a far cry from how Coquette has spent her late evening in the past; any part of her past,  be it childhood, Silver or married. Still, while it's not as innocently cheerful as reading to her little sister (before her mother hired a nanny and forbade Coquette from doing so anymore), nor as satisfyingly, thrillingly dangerous as stalking evil or even as crushingly carnal as being in Varisia's chambers... It's not bad. Nice even. Fun. 

"But if you have more than three tokens when you land on a green Fortune space, then you have to roll four die to determine which event happens on tables seven and twelve. Or twelve and seven, if you're the last person to cross that space of course."

"Of course..."

Exceedingly complex and somethings mind numbing though. Coquette is more than three-quarters convinced that half of all of Claudia's board games are actually practical jokes by the creators, an experiment in just how complicated one can make the rules and still trick people into playing the damn things. The only reason she's not entirely sure is that Claudia seems to know the rules to nearly all of them by heart, cheerfully and helpfully explaining things over and over again with no sign of impatience or confusion. Zevran, on the other hand, seems to have adopted the strategy of relying on luck, Claudia's honesty about results of moves and his ability to read the other players. Not that they've started playing this night just yet; it's still quarter of and their fourth has not arrived. 

[Coquette Blacquin]

Cindy relaxes, drinking from a cup of some sort of exotic fruit wine. It's light, refreshing, and just a bit alcoholic -- just enough to get her tipsy throughout the evening. Not that she intends to drink that much tonight. She's grown very fond of Claudia, the little gnome proving to have a keen mind and a great sense of humor, but Estelle still remains an enigma to her. 

[Zevran]

Zevran nods again, a polite, even friendly, smile firmly locked in place as he fights to follow along with the flow of explanations Claudia is pouring out. His eyes wander to the side, towards the kitchen where Obie and Bria are tucked away. Obie is, thankfully, literate if not well-read and so he's been tasked with going over the basics for Bria. As part reward and part motivation, the two servants are being allowed to have their own pitcher of coira wine to share this night. Gaze drifting back to the table, he catches Cindy's eyes and winks quickly before flicking them to Claudia. Adorable, is she not?

[Coquette Blacquin]

Cindy lets a rare, genuine smile flit across her face as she considers her wife. Perhaps if Estelle does not show up, we can have another kind of fun... she muses, and her smile turns a little wicked as she pictures Claudia all tied up and helpless. 

[Claudia Emerison]

"Okay, so that's it for the Transitive Synthesis rules," Claudia declares with enthused delight, even clapping her hands. "Any questions before I go on to cover the rules for the final stage, Culmination of Exertion?"

[Zevran]

"Ah, perhaps the rules for such could... be merely covered in brief, given that you said even experienced players take upwards of five hours to finish a game of Quest for the Ever Life Flower?" Please say yes, mon étincelle joyeuse. I do not think I can absorb much more. "Would could cover that stage in detail before next game night. Or the one after, if we are still, ah, mired in Transiting."

[Coquette Blacquin]

"What if we leave those rules as a surprise, for when we get there?" adds Coquette, taking another sip from her goblet. She's gradually shifted into a more and more comfortable position; Noire would have kept them upright and in command, but Cindy has them reclining on a sofa, one foot up on the seat, the other dangling to the floor, with one arm hooked around her knee and holding the goblet of wine. She looks relaxed, at ease. 

[Claudia Emerison]

Claudia pouts at the politely worded pleas, but only for a moment. She nods before looking over at Coquette, where her gaze lingers on the other woman's long, slender legs. "That's fine," she agrees, doing much better at staying focused and attentive despite the distraction than she would have before her second marriage. Evidently, living with the two of them has helped her build something of a tolerance. "Just about time for--" she breaks off with a smirk at the sound of a familiar knock. "And there's Lady Punctual now."