The Drow Queen of Glaley [Very NSFW]

[Shiori]

"He was... ashamed of me," she whispers. 

[Jassinth]

"Why?" A beat, then he shakes his head. "No, never mind that; even if he was, that doesn't force him to kill himself. He chose that himself."

[Shiori]

"If I wasn't so shameful to the family... there's a long tradition of k-k-k--- of doing that to atone for shame brought to the family."

[Jassinth]

"The actual fuck?" Jass stares at her. "No, the actual fuck?"

[Shiori]

"I was the f-f-family sh-shame. I should have d-d-died inst-t-ead."

[Jassinth]

"No-one needed to die at all!" Jass exclaims. "No death. None."

[Shiori]

"You don't understand," she sighs. 

[Jassinth]

"Nor do you," Jass retorts. "Perhaps this-- Raplin would consider killing oneself for a thing like social embarrassment to be utter nonsense. For one tree to die for the safety of the forest... if absolutely necessary. One branch for the tree, one twig for the branch and so forth. But not because-- because a branch is not perfectly straight or curved or some such."

[Shiori]

"Zanon's curse is h-hardly a curved branch," she snaps. 

[Jassinth]

"Zanon's what now?" Jass asks, bewildered.

[Shiori]

"Clearly our patron cursed me to be weak and small and feminine. But I survived anyway and became a girl."

[Jassinth]

"That's..." Jass pulls himself back, mostly. "That is rather improbable," he finishes more delicately. "I am far from an expert-- on Zannon or, ah, mis-gendered shells? Or whatever it's called. But naught of what I do know about either suggests that's, well, a thing."

[Shiori]

Shiori takes a deep breath, then another, her masks slipping back into place. "...I should eat."

[Jassinth]

"We still need to talk," Jass says firmly, grabbing a small plate of rice balls off the nightstand and thrusting it at her.

[Shiori]

"...Fine. Talk." She picks up a rice ball and takes a dainty nibble from the corner.