necroalfiq – vvardenfellcat

4, 5, and 25.

4. What type of discipline was your character subjected to at home? Strict? Lenient?

Stern? Like, J’hasi lived in Black Marsh as a kid… Black Marsh is dangerous… Sees is one of those ‘tough but fair’ sort of parents, especially since they had to raise a kid that seemed to get sick at the drop of a hat and were constantly into everything that could spell their death in two seconds, if that. Marsh may not have liked being constantly watched, but it saved his ass on more than one occasion.

After he was enslaved I’d say that strict was an understatement to the point that he could hardly bat an eye without risking getting swat. The mistress wasn’t like that, but the master sure as hell was pretty trigger-happy on the punishments. Second master wasn’t as quick but he was usually messed up on skooma and had a temper. Fun times.

After J’hasi was left to the streets his ‘discipline’ was handled by guardsmen so you can imagine how well that went.

—

5. Were they overprotected as a child? Sheltered?

A bit. Sees and the others seemed convinced that he was gonna drown if he so much as touched water, so they didn’t let him near more than a small puddle at best (at least until Jeer promised to watch Marsh whenever he was near water). Again, J’hasi seemed super fragile as a kid in comparison to the other kids in the tribe, and with twice the curiosity that could get him killed by anything with an empty stomach and a taste for flesh.

The tribe as a whole didn’t associate much with the more Imperialized towns nearby, so trying to keep Marsh away from them was a challenge that they failed…many times… If he had stayed with the tribe, he would’ve been sent on a trip outside of the Marsh when he was old enough anyway, but as a kid they did attempt to shelter him from the world outside of Black Marsh’s heart. Obviously that didn’t work out so well lmao

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25. What are their hobbies and interests?

He likes magic, books (he’d fill a house with books if he…y’know…had a house), fishing, climbing trees, swimming, outside in general, puzzles, riddles, exploring, adventure, food, and new experiences. So…in summary: outside and learning. He’d make for a good on-site researcher for the Mages Guild if it was still around. Assuming that he was interested in what they were poking around in, anyways.

It’s also why he seems to find so much trouble. His curiosity tends to get him to poke his nose into something that bites back fairly often.

[ 12, 13, and 16 ]

12. Are they generally athletic?

Yup! Along with hunting, fighting, running, and general adventuring, he has an exercise habit started by his brother back when Shadows was bound and determined to make him into an assassin, further augmented with some tips from Maarzi and the Blades. While at the time it was to make him stronger and better suited for combat, he kept it up out of habit, plus it makes him feel good. He also is trying to…y’know…bulk up a little? At least a little bit? So he’s not sticks with a pelt draped over them? Clearly his body isn’t getting the memo. ~~Or he’s not resting enough.~~

—

13. Do they enjoy reading? What kinds of books?

Yes. He loves stories, and even though he gets spooked by some, even horror stories. He’ll read riddle books and anything else he can get his hands on, but the books he’ll seek out if there’s many of them about is any sort of tale, even history to some extent if it’s not in a dry, boring format. Some of his favorites are The Marksmanship Lesson, Last Scabbard of Akrash, and Bone.

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16. Do they have a strong imagination?

Yes, unfortunately. While it does help him (however minimally) with lying and in other respects, combat, it also means that he was often scared in Black Marsh, running to Sees convinced that the weird noises outside belonged to massive monsters that were going to get him. While some of them were partially true, it made him skittish of things hiding underwater where he couldn’t see or anything that touched him unexpectedly.

It was even worse in Vvardenfell, Cyrodiil… It also really does not help his nightmares any either.

” How seldom does reality match the ideal. “

J’hasi’s brow cocked, looking at them before returning his gaze back to picking stones out of the mare’s hoof.

“Maybe reality is someone’s ideal, just not ours.” he muttered before he jumped at Ghost’s teeth nipping the end of his tail.

40. How is their sense of humor? Do they have one?

It’s decent. He uses humor to deflect questions and to ease tensions if he’s feeling nervous, though at times it falls a bit flat. He has a love-hate relationship with puns, as sometimes he doesn’t get them for a while (especially notable with Cyrodilic), but when he understands them, usually with friends he’ll try not to smile while trying to show he’s not happy about the pun, but it’s like pulling off a good, harmless trick on him. Outsmarting him for a time when it doesn’t cause any real harm

to him

or makes him feel stupid earns respect in a weird way.

His humor is usually harmless, and with good friends he’ll rib them a bit from time to time, but with those he’s not exactly fond of, his tricks and comments are much more mean-spirited. Some things he says comes off as very odd, off-handed, and often absurd, usually when he’s trying to keep an aura of lightheartedness when he’s poking and prodding people he’s still determining how he feels about them. It’s hard to tell where it comes from, exactly, but some people may find it amusing.

“It’s a man throwing sticks in the air.”

The Khajiit frowned, looking mildly distressed at the spectacle in front of them.

“Yes, but…why?” he asked, tail curling in front of his legs with uncertainty.

[ !!! ]

Send me a !!! and my muse will pay your muse a compliment.

His tail flicked up, surprised to see an…wait…were they an alfiq, or an alfiq-raht? He could never remember which was which… The Khajiit waved a little with a smile.

“I like your scarf, and your eyes are like topazes.”

[ 3. (childhood) A harsh lesson is learned. ]

“<BIG SPLASH!>” came the screeching war-cry, Gar-Dan running down the big roots of a tree to spring into the water, their thick tail slapping the water before the rest of them followed. Water splashed everywhere, even getting sprays to hit Marsh-Eyes where they were on the rocks. Jeer-rah was still on shore, trying to figure out how Marsh had gotten so far out onto the rocks without getting any of their feathers wet.

Gulum and Rei-Shaw were paddling out in the middle of the deeper areas of the pool, the murky water washing over their backs before one of the twins dove down, the other following. Jeer waded out into the water, tail splashing at the surface as they made their way over to Marsh, fans flared a little in excitement. They actually weren’t supposed to be here, but that was part of the fun, right? The adults had told them to keep out of this part of the swamp, but it was only here that the water actually got deep enough to properly swim. Marsh hadn’t liked the restriction because once again, because they couldn’t breathe water, the adults treated them like a newborn hatchling. Jeer smiled as they started to float, swishing their tail to reach Marsh.

“<Wanna swim with me?>” they asked quietly, Marsh nodding before sliding their palms over the side of the rock they were on, claws barely touching the water before they shifted their weight and they slid in. They dove under with barely a splash, surfacing a little ways away. Their hands and feet clawed at the murk, water dripping off their head and crest while their tail flicked to the surface, steering.

Jeer dove underneath, rising up high enough to feel Marsh’s feet touch their back, lifting them higher up in the water before diving down again. Their feet pushed off the muddy bottom to dart to the surface, clearing their gills of the silt. Marsh was grinning, huffing a little to keep up as they followed Jeer around the pool. They were startled when Gar suddenly screamed, flailing out of the water, scrambling over roots dipping into the pool to escape. Gulum surfaced with a grin, Jeer flattening their fans at them.

“<Gulum, c’mon. You know Gar is afraid of water-snakes.>” The twin shrugged, then dipped backwards to dive under once more with a flash of bright blue scales from their tail tip. Jeer rolled their eyes, then took Marsh-Eye’s fingers in their own and pulled them around the surface of the pool, using only powerful strokes of their tail and occasional kicks to right their course. It was when the forest around the pool got eerily quiet that Marsh started to shiver a little. And when Gar-Dan started screaming again.

“<Gulum, don’t->” Jeer’s voice died in their throat when they saw the twins on shore, eyes wide and limbs stiff with fear, the Argonian turning to look towards Gar and seeing blood in the water. It took them a moment before they could breathe, pushing Marsh towards shore. A triangular wake was heading right for them, and behind that, something big with teeth flashed out of the water briefly, Gar’s dropped tail in its mouth. Jeer swam for shore, claws digging deep into the mud when they saw the nose and eyes of the thing that was chasing them, maw opening to snap on Marsh’s tail. The Saxhleel sprang onto its head and smacked it with their own tail for good measure, yelping when they were thrown off into the pool, but giving their friend time to scramble onto shore.

Jeer managed to escape the pool by climbing the roots, getting a nip at their tail on the way up, turning to try and find a way to get Gar-Dan out, but…it was too late. They were gone.

Marsh’s eyes were locked on the area of the pool where the water was red with Gar’s blood, frothing from the bubbles that had escaped their lungs in panic. They jumped a little when Jeer-rah touched their shoulder, the four hatchlings in horrified shock as they saw the creatures grab onto pieces of their friend, spinning in the water to twist bits free to eat.

It was Jeer who got them all to move, to head back to the tribe, and after they told the adults what had happened, after the lectures, Marsh crawled into Sees’ bed that night, scared of the images that wouldn’t fade, of orange-yellow eyeshines and the groaning hisses of the monsters in the water, and the panicked look on their friend’s face before they were gone forever.

[ ✔✔ ]

‘I’ve never met an Alfiq outside of Elsweyr before. Er…wait, is it an Alfiq-raht? …was it the bigger ones with the -raht ending or the smaller ones? Damn it, I don’t want to ask that. I don’t even remember if they’d be able to answer.’