Cub grumbles to himself. His Redstone hadn't been working quite right. His ears pin back against his head as he glares at the Target themed mini-game that was not cooperating.
The meteor's been getting more active recently and is probably going to start affecting someone soon. Which is probably a contributing factor to his stress. A thump from behind startles Cub causing his tail to puff up.
"Oh, sorry about that I didn't mean to startle you," Joe drawls, "Are you ok, you seem a bit frazzled."
"It's nothing, I'm fine," Cub grumbles.
"Nope, not with that answer, come over here," As Joe fixes his gaze on Cub his ears pin back as he walks over.
"Uh, what do you want to know?" Cub asks nervously.
"Since you're avoiding something, we'll talk about that later. So, what's up with the Vex magic?"
Cub smiles softly at his friend's persistence, "The Vex side of things is fine. The same contract as always, we give them a prank every once in a while and they give us magic."
"And what about the side effects?" Joe laughs poking at his shoulder.
"That is somewhat a problem," Cub admits, "Players aren't supposed to eat diamonds. Scar can get by with chipping little bits off a Diamond or vex magic. I can't really do that. I sorta just have to suck on diamonds to get the magic I need."
"Ohh, that actually explains a lot," Joe grins.
"Yeah, it's kinda funny sometimes, I've seen Scar try to eat a totem of undying once."
They both smile at each other, Joe pats his back slightly as Cub winces, "What else?"
"The Sphinx instincts, it's so weird. I keep wanting to ask riddles and puzzles. It's just unnerving... and Isometimesactlikeacat."
"Come again?"
"I sometimes act like a cat, most of the time it's harmless. Falling asleep in the sun, chasing things. Heck, even the laser pointer is fine... don't tell Exy!" Cub smiles at Joe, "Other times it's more annoying. I knock things over, can't sleep half the time, and just make messes. Joe, I managed to unravel a banner the other day. I don't even have claws," Cub brings his hands up showing the flattened end and filed down nails.
They continue chatting for a while when Joe turns so he's facing Cub, "Ok, can you tell me what's bugging you?"
After a moment Cub starts talking, "It's the lion form. Unlike the meteor, the Vex aren't good at giving instincts. So instead of knowing how to do things, I'm stuck having to learn behaviors."
Joe nods, "So it's not like the others figuring things out right away. You actually have to learn."
"Yeah, Xisuma had to teach me how to walk. It wasn't fun, I still mix up my paw placement."
"I thought you didn't shift forms?"
"I don't willingly, sometimes I get forced into the lion form. When the meteor is active the Vex has to concentrate more energy on controlling the meteor. So sometimes I get stuck in the lion form."
"It's also technically a cub right?" Joe asks.
"Yeah," Cub trails off, "nine months, it's so annoying. The Vex did manage to give one instinct. When I'm like that I want to play and be near the others.."
"But the others are all trying to help whoever's transforming."
"Exactly, so for the day or so I just kinda sleep."
"Does Xisuma know?"
"Yeah, Scar does as well," Cub sighs, "They try to stop by and help, but I can't really do anything with either of them. Scar's way too small, and Xisuma's got the spines."
Joe hums for a moment, "You could always ask Ren or come over to the dog park."
Cub smiles softly at the offer, as Joe stands up he hands a small bag to Cub saying, "Let me know if you can solve that I've been trying for way too long.
Looking at the contents of the bag Cub smiles softly to himself. A small metal puzzle and an odd-looking Circular Rubik's cube.