The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Shiori]

I have to say something. Before they take Tsuki too. "Bounty perhaps, but ill fortune for my sister, from what I understand."

[NPCs]

If Aiko had been offended prior, he's now outright insulted and incensed. He slaps the table with one hand as he bites out, "you dare speak such to a noble son of Tigers?"

[Shiori]

"Which son?" she asks mildly. "You passed her from one to the other like she was a trinket to be inherited."

[NPCs]

Face paling with anger, Aiko turns to Koji. "Is this how you run your House?" he demands savagely. 

"No, it is not," Koji agrees, furious himself. "Shiori, you are excused. Wait in my office; I will need to discuss your deplorable behavior after lunch."

[Shiori]

"Of course," she says meekly, and with a glance to Jassinth, heads to the office to wait. 

Once they're alone, of course, her claws come back out. "Is this how you run your house, my ass," she snarls. "At least I don't beat my husband."

[Jassinth]

"You do not have a husband," Jassinth points out, deadpan, "perhaps you can borrow one from the Tigers for that purpose?"

[Shiori]

Shiori grins, cracking her knuckles. "I'll just have to practice on my brother-in-law."

[Jassinth]

"You're going to give yourself joint wrack," Jass fusses, reaching out to lightly bat at her hands.

[Shiori]

"That's just an old mother's tale," she counters, but she does stop. 

[Jassinth]

"Possibly," Jass allows with a shrug. Ceasing his attack, he instead takes her hands in his without thinking about it. "But why risk your pretty hands to such a fate?"

[Shiori]

Shiori blushes, then leans in for a quick peck on the lips just as the door opens. 

[Jassinth]

Jass, lacking the engrained shame others might feel in being caught doing such, takes his time finishing the kiss before stepping back to look at Koji.

Said relative gives the merikos a guarded look of calculation to some unspoken end before dismissing him from his attention. "Explain yourself," he barks at Shiori. "Explain what malformed thoughts lead you to speaking such inflammatory and damaging sentiments."

[Shiori]

"He beats her," Shiori says quietly. "And I know you too felt the shame when she was handed over to another man."

[NPCs]

Koji purses his lips, his expression darkening. "The shame I feel is watching my house decay around me more and more every day. The shame I feel is seeing the children of our family grow up and knowing that they will soon be without a home. The shame I feel comes from relative after relative, ally after ally, and friend after friend flee to seek out an easier life despite it damning those left behind even more."

[Shiori]

"The tigers will do nothing to stop our decline," whispers Shiori passionately. "They are scavengers, come to pick at our bones. The children I bear will be a rebirth for us, you know that. We just have to hold on long enough."