therunawayscamp:
There was a certain attitude common to all guardsmen across Tamriel, or any other continent, for that matter. They all had the Stance, the way of standing to attention while somehow still slouching, and the Walk, the rolling gait which could keep a person moving through a whole night shift. They eyed up potential criminal scum in the same way. They all knew how to look like they were running in hot pursuit and yet somehow, mysteriously, never manage to catch up with the heavily armed mer disappearing around a corner.
And they all reacted the same way when approached by a citizen right when things looked calm. Citizens were never good news. They often turned out to be criminals in disguise, and they always expected the guards, most unfairly, to do their job.
The guardsman on the right of the door eyed J’hasi with unfettered suspicion. Plenty of Dunmer had been slinking back and forth since they locked up a load the ship which had docked that morning. It was hard to say, in the eyes of a Nord, whether being bothered by a Khajiit instead was an improvement or not. The other guard, a young woman, sighed, glanced in the direction of the nearest inn, and said,
‘Aye? What do you need?’
J’hasi faked a shiver, enough to hopefully convince the guard that he wasn’t covering his face for any other reason than sheer cold.
“I’m missing m’coinpurse, and me mam’s home sick with somethin’ fierce. I was on the way t’ the alchemist ‘ere in town an’ when I got to the door, it was gone! Can you please ‘elp me? I don’t think she’ll make the night without ‘er tonic.” Petty thievery wasn’t that dangerous of a job, and catching thieves seemed to be one of a guards’ favorite activities in his experience… Would they bite, though? Or just be lazy and shoo him off? He had to sweeten the deal to make sure.
“I stopped at the inn fer a bit t’ thaw out m’tail, but tha’s the last time I ‘ad t’pull out some coin.” He shivered again, his tail puffing out twice its size. A chill breeze had picked the exact moment to blow up the back of his jacket and freeze all up his spine. All the better for the facade, but still unpleasant.


