"Haha! Catch me if you can asshole!" jeered a young, lavender tiefling, as he raced through the streets of Severand's capitol. The poor soul he was giving a run for his money, literally, was none other than a member of the town guard. By the looks of him, he was a new hire who didn't realize how watchful of an eye one had to keep on their coin purse. The man was more than a bit overweight, even for a dwarf, which was very quickly catching up with him. Loud huffs and puffs came from his mouth as he attempted to take in more oxygen and catch the tiefling child. Just as all hope of retrieving his coins seemed lost a second guardian appeared amidst the crowded streets
"Hey! Hey! Catch him!" the dwarf bellowed out to his comrade while shakily pointing a finger in the generalized direction of the pastel purple figure, now far ahead of him. As usual, no questions were asked. The second guard took off, quickly gaining on the child.
"Get back here! Fucking devil trash!" The human guard snarled down at the boy. Not a moment too late the tiefling veered hard to the left into an alley but as he did so he called out,
"Nicola!" before chucking the coin purse to a previously unseen, azure tiefling girl within the crowd. The guard halted, unsure of who to pursue. After a few seconds hesitation, he opted to continue after the coin purse. Unfortunately for him, he found himself lost in the central market plaza. He whipped his head every which way, hoping to see a glimmer of blue slipping between legs. No such luck.
"Fuck. Odin damn the bloody pests." The guard mumbled under his breath, though many people were still able to hear his grumblings.
Unlike his human coworker, the dwarven man had found the tiefling he was looking for in the alleys of the market and lavender tiefling had found himself in an uncommon situation. He was tightly pressing his back to the frigid cobblestone walls, frantically looking for a way to reach the rooftops to no avail. Unlike many other tieflings, his entire lower body appeared to be that of a lilac furred lion or other large cat. Even with his claws he knew it would be difficult to scale the cobbled walls. The dwarf had him cornered.
"Now give me my coin, filth! And maybe I'll only break one of your hands. Maybe." The dwarf spat at the child. The tiefling could feel his heart pounding. Surely someone would come by and see. Maybe they would care? The chances weren't high. Severand's Capital had never been kind to its' tieflings. Many of the other races thought of them as animals and those that didn't often found it easier to turn a blind eye. No one would care if this piece of shit killed him over 3 measly copper pieces and they both knew it.
"What's worth more to ya? Your coins or your beard?" A playful, feminine voice asked from atop the roof just above the tiefling's head. There was a clear sigh of relief that escaped his lips. His backup had arrived. Overhead a slim, rosy figure lept down onto the cobbled street between her companion and the dwarf, who was more than surprised.
"Uuuh, what's that now?" he stammered. His first thought was of how remarkably human the pink tiefling girl before him appeared. Though he was well aware that the tieflings of Severand varied wildly in appearance, this girl was perhaps the least beastial he had seen in weeks. His second thought was of how he was quickly becoming outnumbered. A third, charcoal hued tiefling appeared in the upper left of the dwarf's vision. A nearly draconic tail swished from one side to the other behind the shadowed tiefling and his ankles seemed to twist into the legs of reptile. On each clawed foot he had a single digit which was significantly larger and ended with a razor shape, claw. The dwarf had never seen one like this before, though he had heard tales of abyssal tieflings. The sooty tiefling simply stood there, silently standing on the roof, glaring down at him, waiting for a reason to ruin the dwarf's day.
"I asked. What is worth more to you? Your coins? Or your beard?" She asked innocently, a soft and blissful smile crossing her cheeks. None of the kids could have been more than nine or ten right? Why were they so well coordinated? Terrifyingly so.
"Um, w-well suppose muh coins?" He replied, unsure if that was truly the answer. Why did she ask anyways? On his right, he saw a familiar jingling sack fall from the roof and land perfectly into the rose tiefling's palm. He hadn't noticed when or from where the azure girl had even arrived. How did the lose the other guard so easily? It was now four against one.
"Well, then this should be easy. I'll give you back your coins if my friend up there can cut off your beard. I mean its just hair, right? It'll grow back." The mischievous undertones in her voice began to shine through and her free hand was clearly pointed up to the dark grey figure, making light of what exactly she was asking. The dwarf lifted a hand to his facial hair. To caress it perhaps? He had never cut it before. Not many dwarves did. The blue tiefling stifled a snicker, slapping her palm over her nose and mouth.
"Well...?" The rose tiefling pressed, raising an eyebrow towards him while the reptilian boy on the roof began rummaging through his packs for a pair of sheers.
Fuck this, thought the dwarf. Gold be damned, these delinquents weren't going to cut off his beard. Not today. Without another word the man decided to cut his losses, turning one hundred and eighty degrees and bolting back down the alleyway.
The moment the guard was out of sight the colourful group exploded into laughter with Nicola, the blue tiefling, nearly falling off of the roof as she gripped her stomach.
"Oh! Oh! It hurts!" She exclaimed, now coughing.
"Really?! His beard is worth more than ten gold pieces?!" The purple tiefling cried.
"Guards are a bunch of dumbasses, Diz, they have the spare coin." replied the dark tiefling, leaping down to the ground level. He walked towards the rose tiefling, a cocky smile on his face.
"You did good, Lil. Never would have thought to threaten his beard." His silvery pupils looked down at her with a sort of warmth. He and Lilith had known one another for quite some, so much so that he honestly couldn't remember a time without her. They were family. All of them were.
"Thanks, Ryot. My best friends taught me, they're kind of sadistic like that." Lilith replied simply but returned his smile while holding out a closed palm towards him. He, in turn, held out a flat hand and received three gold coins from her. Ryot watched as she also handed three coins each to Nicola and Dizmay.
"Wait... What about you Lil?" Nicola said softly, tilting her head ever so slightly to one side.
"Nah, you guys know I'm fine. Dad and I got it on lock." Lilith said cheerily, beaming back towards them. It was true. Though Lilith and her father did not lead a luxurious life she knew full well that they were much better off than the other tieflings in the slums and she was going to do right by her mother.
Lilian had never been one to stand by and watch others suffer when she was more than capable of helping. Her friends nodded in thanks and understanding before they began their walk back towards the slums. Towards home.