He hadnāt 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.
Jāhasiās 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, heād bring less attention to himself if he was calm, collected, not at all suspicious. Besides, the mer wasnāt even looking at him, and wouldnāt unless he didnāt calm down.
The Khajiitās 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 accusinglyĀ 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.
Jāhasi 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 wasnāt 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.
