Xisuma flick his tail and growls, his day hasn't been going to plan. He had somehow managed to fall off his base in such a way that his spines got pulled in the wrong direction. It had hurt pretty bad but he just kept going with his day. Unfortunately it was the kind of day that nothing seems to go right. His horns need to be filed and his claws cut and shaped again.
He's wound up in the end, for the first time in weeks he takes his helmet off for more than a few minutes. As he lays on the blankets he'd brought he frowns. Most of the time when he's having a bad day like this he hangs out with Exy, but unfortunately he's off with Hels Knight so he would be unavailable for the next few days.
So Xisuma resorts to the end. The cold thin air paired with tea and blankets always makes things a bit better. A slight vwop draws his attention to the teleportation obsidian platform.
Flicking his tail Xisuma watches as Joe walks over.
"So, how are you doing?" Joe asks as he leans against a nearby obsidian pillar.
"Uhh, what's going on?" Xisuma asks as he sits up.
"Exy sent me a message asking if I could come and check on you," Joe explains, "So, what's bugging you?"
Xisuma sighs, "I can't really walk correctly today. I've been overworked so I've been stuck on all fours."
Joe winces in sympathy, "That sucks."
"Yep, and it's not like I can just start walking around normal, it'll take a few hours to get my balance back," Xisuma yawns and shows his fangs off, "My tail is just going knock me over if I try anything right now."
Joe sighs, "Well I'll stay with you."
"You really don't need to, I'll be fine in an hour or two."
Giveing Xisuma a look that screams deal with it, Joe swiftly shuts any more protest down, "Talk to me, what's your normal response with walking on all fours?"
"Normally it only happens when I'm rushing to get somewhere. Sometimes when I'm relaxed and not doing much."
"So it's a natural defense."
"Well if you put it that way, yeah. When I'm rushing I'm normally stressed out and when it happens otherwise it's more of a calm way of walking."
"Oh that reminds me, your teeth are a bit tusk like," Joe marvels, "I keep forgetting because of your helmet."
Turning his head so his solid green eyes are fully focused up on Joe, Xisuma smiles as he lets him inspect the tusks.
"Something else is bugging you, I can see it in your eyes," Joe presses as Xisuma stretches.
"I can't get too close to people because of my spines," Xisuma admits, "and sometimes it's really hard, I just, I'm a little touch starved by this point."
Joe responds to this by pulling Xisuma in and hugging him. The spines dig sharply into his arms but he ignores it and keeps hugging. Xisuma gasps and hugs Joe back. They stay like that for a while before Xisuma pulls back.