The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[NPCs]

"I suppose we shall," is the oh-so kind reply. "Hmm. A new pose, I think. How about... can you manage to perch on the arm and still keep the dildo inside?"

[Coquette Blacquin]

It turns out, she can -- and she can do six other poses before she is finally allowed to leave. The small talk grows thin, then nonexistent; soon she's alone with her thoughts and the toy, and then she's allowed to go home and truly be alone. 

To think about how long a painting takes, how long she'll have to hold some lascivious pose. 

I can do this. If Claudia can do it, I certainly can. Still, Noire finds herself seeking the comfort of a nice long nap. 

[GamesMaster]

The gardens in the center of Cicada Island are beautiful, and only a short walk from the house where Shisou grew up. In the very center of the gardens there is a gazebo, currently all decked out with wedding garlands and pink-and-white flowers. This will be the last time Tsukikage Higurashi sets foot on Cicada Island, and so she wants to remember every second of this, her wedding day. She is dressed in her mother's wedding kimono set, seven layers of fine silks Tsuki couldn't bear to sell. Shiori, her twin sister, is dressed in a new silk kimono, only three layers but very fine, and Jassinth has been garbed in a kosode and hakama that make him look dashing indeed. 

Kuronue, Tsukikage's ailing mother, surprises everyone by getting out of bed and making a celebratory breakfast. She burns the toast and undercooks the eggs, but nobody cares; it's the first she's been out of bed in years, all thanks to Jassinth's swapping out her normal, tainted tincture for something more restorative from the Oak. She's not the most talkative, but she does hold Tsukikage tightly, whispering her love in her daughter's ear before settling into the wheeled chair Shiori had quickly obtained for her use. She is asleep before they arrive at the gardens, but she does wake when they arrive, exhausted from her exertion but eager to see her daughter wed and well placed. 

It's for her sake that Tsukikage hasn't called this off. With her mother recovering, Shiori is likely to find support from House Cicada, but it's still so early in the pregnancy, anything could happen. Their great-grandfather is dying, slowly but surely, and it's unlikely he'll last two years for Shiori to give birth. She doesn't want to tie her future to an uncertain star, only to be dashed by some Eel's curse causing her to lose the babes. Jassinth has assured her it won't happen, but she's not convinced. 

'Who is this Raplin guy? He's gotta be less powerful than Zanon, and yet Zanon couldn't protect us. So what can He really do?'

And so, she puts on her wedding veils, steeling herself. She has to walk through the maze of flowers to get to her husband, who has to walk the maze from the other size, meeting her in the center. To ensure she doesn't run off, three Eel men have invaded what should be a female space: a space of goodbyes and promises to keep in touch, tears and hugs. 

"You don't have to do this," whimpers Shiori, feeling powerless. Not only has she not found a way to save Seiya, she hasn't even managed to protect Tsukikage. What can she do to create a home for herself here, in what no longer feels like her homeland?

[Dan]

Very carefully deaf to such words, Tsukikage's newest servant finishes lacing up her sandals and steps back. "Does that feel tight enough, mistress?" they ask politely, eyes downward.

Such things as dedicated maids for the sisters and even mother had been cast off years ago to save coin, but Jass had stolen some time from his work in establishing herb gardens to locate and interview some homeless shore-dwellers to fill the ranks. He's not thrilled about underpaying them, but he's practical enough to realize that even the room and board they can offer right now is far better than starving in a hedge. Dan, like all the new recruits, had zero training and very little education, but they've proven to be exceptionally quick to pick up rote procedure and the like, thus netting them such a prominent position.

[GamesMaster]

"It should be fine," Tsuki says, carelessly. "And you know why I have to do this. Even life as an Eel's bride is better than life as an outcast, with no House to call home."

"But you won't--" says Shiori, frusturated.

"Let it go," sighs Kuronue, from her chair. "She's made up her mind. You never could change Tsu's mind once she's made it up."

[Dan]

I still don't get how people with all this food and houses hafta do the whore thing too, Dan thinks privately. Keeping any and all such things very firmly tucked deep inside, Dan continues on with getting Tsuki dressed. As Dan does so, a very perceptive observer might make note of how they never get within a meter of the three Eels, some finely honed instinct warning them off. An instinct prompted, perhaps, by the sight of the small vial of green tincture two of the three had dapped under their tongues. 

[NPCs]

Eventually, everyone is dressed and the two sisters have to leave to take their places at the bride's start of the maze. Dan has also made themselves scarce, leaving the mother and daughter alone. Or they would have been alone in nearly any other wedding, but in this case, they're alone with three thugs, two of which have glazed eyes and churning, thrumming blood. The third Eel, the smallest and youngest, seems very disinclined to call either of the other two on their lapse in duty or even their growing inattention to the card game they'd been killing time with.

[Kuronue "Kor" Higurashi]

Kuronue pats the seat beside her chair, suggesting Tsukikage sit. "Life as an Eel's bride..." she begins, with a small sigh. "It will not be easy. You will have to be a lot of things you are not, at current. You will need to learn to bank your fires, or else to curb that sense of honor and dignity. I think, the better path for you will be the second. Learn to see power, and the ways to gain it; learn to be useful to your husband, to be his confidant and his aide, and you will find yourself treated better than you could otherwise."

Tsukikage's face is a riot of emotions as she struggles with this advice. 

[NPCs]

Try as they might to ignore it, the mother-daughter moment is strained by the sound of the Eels muttering and grumbling to each other. "...a shit. Not like he ain't got better at home," one of them says as he rises to his feet, his volume raising along with him. "Alright, puppy, we've only got fifteen or so, so let's make this quick."

[GamesMaster]

Two ears swivel towards him -- each dark-furred, each belonging to a Skinwalker, mother and daughter. It's custom among Kuronue's people to go to important ceremonies in bestial form, a light covering of fur over the slightly deformed face, claws held back in favor of keen, almost too-seeing eyes. They both choose to ignore him, assuming the insulting term wasn't directed at either of them. 

[NPCs]

The man waits a few seconds, then scowls. "Up, puppy," he snaps, looking directly at Tsuki. "You lot took for damn ever to finish getting ready so we have to hurry now."

[GamesMaster]

She levels a withering glare at him. "My name," she says coldly, "is Higurashi Tsukikage. You will use it when you speak to your better."

[NPCs]

"You ain't," is the blunt reply. "You're just the boss's newest bitch. And an aggressive one at that, so Boss-man made it clear that we're to frisk you over for weapons or poisons before the ceremony. So stand the fuck up and put your hands atop your head. Legs spread wide." The youngest looking of the trio looks uncomfortable, but the last of them looks eager, his jumpy gaze darting all over the two ladies as if waiting for a cue to act out the violence trembling in his hands. 

[Kuronue "Kor" Higurashi]

"Absolutely not," snarls Kor, from her chair. "You will treat my daughter like the noblewoman she is, not like some... some dock whore."

[NPCs]

"You too," the man replies with a sneer. "Old widow like you offing him or what have you? Yeah, I can see it."