jhasi answers – Page 38 – vvardenfellcat

ϟ

The Khajiit’s nose twitched under his hood, starting to sniff with drowsy interest at the first whiff of what smelled like books. He blinked slowly, realizing he had dozed off where he had stopped to check his map, supported by the wall he was leaning on. His eyelids felt heavy as he yawned, tongue curling out of his mouth as he pushed the hem of his hood up a little to rub his eyes. He sleepily opened an eye to look for the source of the scent that had roused him in the first place.

He felt like he damn near choked on the back of his own tongue, jaws snapping shut on the front as he sharply inhaled. He quickly swallowed, his pained tongue retreating behind his teeth as he caught his breath, feeling his hands start to shake at the sight of dark, gold-trimmed robes not twenty feet from where he was standing.

‘Damn it.’ he thought with a mild undercurrent of panic, thinking where he could go to keep out of sight without suspicion. The mer looked a bit older, yes, but the last time he underestimated an elder mer, he’d ended up with a lightning bolt to his chest. He did not intend to make the same mistake twice.

J’hasi rolled up his map, flicking his tail as he turned to a street that led the other direction of the justicar, hopefully where there was more people and a way out of the city walls. He could sleep later. Out in the forest. Far, far away from here.

ϟ

J’hasi’s ears perked, the colors of the mer’s robes catching his eye out of the other colors of the crowd in the marketplace. His brows rose in surprise, eyes wide and curiosity burning up his resolve to stay out of sight, inconspicuous. Was the Bosmer a mage? The Khajiit shifted a little where he had been quietly leaning against a wall, debating on if he should go up and talk to them or not. Even if they were a mage, there was no guarantee that they knew the way to the College. He broke his gaze to flick down to the unbitten apple in his hand, his tail twitching with uncertainty behind him.

His ears lowered after a few moments of internal debate, his hopeful, curious expression resigning in favor of a crestfallen one. His throat felt tight just thinking about trying to initiate a conversation. Surely he could just find the College on his own, right? It wasn’t that hard, just head north, right?

He sighed quietly through his nose, opening his mouth to sink sharp teeth into his snack, frowning a little as a mildly-concerned noise issued from his throat when the juice soaked into his fur. It would be better not to bother them. Besides, who would drop everything just to lead a traveler to a place they could find easily enough themselves?

ϟ? ouo If you want.

He hadn’t felt his heart cram itself into his throat like this since a saber cat came out of nowhere and pinned him to the ground with teeth at his throat.

J’hasi’s fur fluffed on his tail and around his collar, feeling his breathing restrict as his heart jackhammered in his chest. He swallowed, trying to will himself to calm down, he’d bring less attention to himself if he was calm, collected, not at all suspicious. Besides, the mer wasn’t even looking at him, and wouldn’t unless he didn’t calm down.

The Khajiit’s mouth was dry as he continued down the road like nothing was wrong, nothing at all, the long bundle on his back feeling like a lead weight burning accusingly into his back, worsening with each step they took towards each other. His hood was up, hiding his eyes when he closed them as they passed each other, feeling the slight breeze from the flap of their robes by his legs. The next few steps felt like slogging through a river of mud, his throat tightening until it felt like it would snap as his ears intently listened to the footsteps behind him.

No pause, no break in stride, no rasp of a blade or crackling of magicka, not even a single word.

J’hasi took a hesitant breath in his lungs, as if he was expecting it to be ripped from him any second now, slow and quiet and a little shaky as he kept walking, his tail quivering even as he forced it to flick casually, like nothing was wrong, nothing at all.

It wasn’t until the footsteps grew too faint for him to hear that he relaxed, his shoulders tense. He realized he had been clenching his jaw so tight his teeth were aching. He opened his mouth, stretching out his jaw, the action much more difficult than it was normally, swallowing as his heart started to slow and quiet.

The Thalmor justicar had blue markings on his face.

ϟ

J’hasi flicked his eyes back down to the cobblestone, hoping Brielle hadn’t caught him staring. He knew full well it was rude, and it tended to make people think you were thinking about robbing them, which was definitely not the case. He just… He couldn’t help but marvel at her red hair, how soft it looked, and the smattering of freckles across her nose and cheekbones. Couple that with how nice she was, how patient she was with him…

She reminded him of Maarzi.

Granted the Breton’s hair wasn’t as dark of a red as Maarzi’s had been, and Brielle’s freckles were more numerous, but it was enough to cause that persistent pull of longing in his chest to resurface after years of neglect.

He turned his head to the right, ears pricking at a nonexistent sound in an attempt to appear at ease, normal, not at all having a crisis while left to the whims of his own thoughts.

‘What makes you think that she’d want to see you again? She’s just helping out an old drunk find his way because of a piss-poor excuse for a map. Once she leads you to the Prawn, she’s going to go her own way and you’ll go yours.’ His ears lowered a fraction of an inch, staring very hard at a patch of grass at the base of a tree to ward off the pricking at the corners of his eyes.

She wouldn’t appreciate him hanging around. Brielle was kind, yes, but she had her own life that didn’t include emotionally-unstable werewolves. She had a nice, normal life with normal problems, normal cares and worries. Skyrim was a big place; it would be highly unlikely that they would run into each other again. Riften wasn’t where he needed to be anyways. He had to keep moving to keep the Thalmor off his tail, had to find that damned College Markus was talking about.

He let his ears relax as if he had lost interest in whatever had made the ‘sound’, turning to face the road ahead, allowing himself to glance at the Breton out of the corner of his eye. He couldn’t form attachments, had to keep himself distanced. Regardless of how much they reminded you of a friend long lost to the grave.

The Khajiit looked back up at the road ahead, pulling his scarf up to cover his ‘cold nose’, feeling a damp warmth soaking into the fabric.

ϟ

The Khajiit had a slight frown on his face, his eyelids at half-mast as he tried to keep them open, a small hiccup causing him to jolt a little and grimace as the swaying of the ground under him sharply worsened. He was trying to focus on a Dunmer nearby, the mer seemingly caught up in their own thoughts.

J’hasi’s ears laid back a little; the smell of the canal really wasn’t helping his stomach any. Maybe Black-Briar wasn’t as good as it claimed. But that wasn’t the point…what was he doing?

Oh. Right. The Dunmer.

They were heading towards an opening in the stone walls, red banners with blurred symbols on them marking the gap a little better. J’hasi had watched the mer for a while now. Something just didn’t sit right with him; he didn’t like how the mer moved. The Khajiit felt a little apprehension gripping his stomach, anxiety crawling up his throat.

Maybe it was just his body letting him know it had had enough, as he sharply doubled over the railing and emptied his stomach into the canal.

…maybe that’s why it smelled so bad…

6 & 16 :3

6. Do you feel eating in your beast form is cannibalism?

“Of course. If we’re talking about eating people, that is. It’s no different than when an Imperial eats a Khajiit, or vice-versa. I’m not going to go out of my way to kill someone just to eat them, but if they attack me first and there’s an emergency, I’m not going to think twice about it.” The Khajiit frowned, his brow furrowing a little.

“It’s about survival, not wholesale slaughter to satisfy a craving.”

—-

16. How has being a werebeast affected your health?

“Well, I scar a lot easier for one. I get a lot hungrier a lot faster. It’s really hard for me to get drunk… But I also burn through poisons quicker, and I heal faster. I didn’t have to worry about getting sick before I turned, so that didn’t really change. It’s actually because of that that I didn’t think I would get infected in the first place…”

“Sorry! You dropped this!”

The Khajiit’s ears pricked, jumping a little at the sound of someone’s voice. When he turned around, he saw a Breton standing there, a familiar battered scroll in her hand. His mouth quirked in a crooked grin as he accepted it from her.

“I can’t very well do without this can I? Thank you.” His tail gave a hesitant flick at the short, awkward pause that followed, shifting a little before looking around with a hint of confusion on his face.

“Um….you wouldn’t happen to be able to tell me where I am, would you lass?”