Alexander eyed the young man that stood before him, and it was obvious that the weasel was very nervous, if not ready to panic at any given moment. He tucked at his dark grey cloak, trying to conceal himself in the well-lit Inn. His muted orange fur was damp with sweat and his eyes were wide open, darting left and right, as if he was expecting that every costumer that the lion served that evening was out to get him.
Alexander grinned. He knew exactly what this person was. For the last twelve years he owned this Inn, in a small town nestled in the bottom of a valley, he had came in contact with all walks of life: bandits, nobles, soldiers, mercenaries, knights, traitors...He could already identify them by sight.
The weasel was no doubt a thief, and by his behavior told him that he recently stole something very valuable and was expecting someone to come up and slit his throat for it. Not that Alexander minded much, as long as they take there quarrels outside and not make a mess of his establishment. He had, after all, just cleaned the place up after a drunken fight broke out only a few days ago.
"What can I get you, sir?" Alexander asked with his deep voice politely
The weasel was silent for a moment, looking over his shoulder and surveying the room, just to make sure no one was watching him. "I-I would like a room f-for the night," he finally stuttered.
From his pocket he produced a gold coin, placing it on the table, and the lion swiped it away with his big paw. Alexander was no fool. He knew that gold could be faked. He learned that lesson the hard way when he first opened his Inn in his youth. He gave it a nibble with his fangs and was satisfied that it was genuine.
"I guess you'll be taking one of the best rooms for the night?" Alexander said, beaming and raising a bushy eyebrow at him.
The weasel looked over his shoulder a bit more frantically, and it was evident that his paranoia was growing worse by the minute. He, Alexander saw, only wanted to get away from the preying eyes of the other costumers.
"Y-Yeah, sure," he quickly said.
"Want me to bring up some food or ale for you?" Alexander asked casually, like he did with all of his costumers that gave him a gold coin, ignoring the weasel's growing distress.
"No! Please, just a room. That's all," the weasel said, raising his voice a little. His breathing was coming quicker now.
"Alright then," said Alexander, giving his shoulders a shrug.
The lion bent down, opened a drawer, and took one of the many keys that were inside. Like many of his new costumers that wanted to rent a room, Alexander expected that they wouldn't be able to find it without some help.
"Follow me," he said.
The weasel followed him obediently, only glad to be away from the crowd in the main room. After moving down a few gloomy hallways, they made it to the room, the lion plopped the key into the weasel's hand, saying: "Here you go."
He made an attempt to dart inside, but he suddenly stopped. He turned to Alexander and said, "Do you mind if you'll you wake me early?"
The lion scratched his brown mane and said, "Sure. I get up at the crack of dawn. I'll wake you."
With a smile and a quick "thank you", the weasel went inside, slamming the door shut. Alexander only shook his head and went downstairs.