MCYT RANDOMNESS 2

Torn and Twisting pt 2

Trigger warnings -->

'Cub, dude, you've been limping all game, man, are you really ok?'

I glance up as Ren speaks, towards where he and Cub are playing a rather unbalanced match of TCG – even without the type advantage, Ren would still be two points up on Cub.

'Oh, old injury. A couple weeks ago, bad fall, caught my leg on some minerals,' he explains, rather concisely, what was a rather painful, possibly deadly, and incredibly disgusting experience for me, him and Scar. 'Still recovering a little.'

'Wait, that's why Scar was staying with you, right?' Joe recalls. 'Wasn't there something else too about sculk and nearly dying to magic-loss?'

'Sculk, yes, nearly dying, no.'

'Nearly dying?! Dude- what- that's- Cub, dude, that's not good!' Ren, buffering perhaps more than usual, says rather obviously. 'I told you that sculk was bad news after Empires!'

'I wasn't going to die. Me, Cleo and Scar could handle it. And I've got a forever-ticket for Scar's zoo if the sculk gets any worse. Literally. He made one custom for me.' With a laugh, Cub pulls a very handmade zoo ticket from his pocket, before hiding it again. 'It's all under control. I'm building a containment structure around it.'

'And will that structure include the bridge between our bases, Cub?' Pearl questions, leaning over the barrier. 'Because I'm not letting my base become all sculky when you lose control of it.'

'It's reinforced with evoker lapis that covers the entire perimeter. No sculk gets in or out that barrier once it's finished. It's fine, Pearl. All under control.'

'Lapis...?'

'Evokers, real evokers, not the mobs, use it to trap Vex and allays. It helps stop souls, and soul-based matter, from leaving an area. Including Sculk. Everything's completely under control, and even if it wasn't, I don't want you worrying or getting yourself hurt trying to help me, or berating me for being constantly targeted by evil magic creatures and not being comfortable sharing every little detail with people who know fuck all about it. So can we just continue playing TCG instead of lecturing me on stuff I probably know more about than you do.' He plays a TNT, slamming it into the item frame. 'This is why I didn't tell anyone, Notch...'

'Cub, are you doing ok? Mentally?' Ren, shying away from Cub's rant, asks.

'Of course not. But Scar's-'

'...handling it?' guesses Joe. 'Come on, Cub, we're your friends. You don't have to hide stuff from us if we could help, or feel personally attacked if we want to assist.' Cub ignores him.

'If you're struggling to sleep, I can help ease nightmares,' offers Pearl. 'It's Watchery magic, but it's harmless to Vex or-'

'Ren, it's your go.' Cub interrupts. 'I don't want to talk about this, guys. Can we just move on?'

'Cub, you- just- lost yourself the game? TNT takes 10 damage from your active Tango, plus the thorns on Renbob...'

'Oh for fuck's sake, man...' Cub gives a defeated laugh. Ren steps over, placing a hand on his shoulder.

'Cub, dude, do you wanna chose a different move? Or take some time out? I can call Scar over, he can comfort you for a couple games, and then if you're feeling better, we can have a rematch? I can switch decks, or play without type advantage...'

Cub collapses.

'HOLY SHIT-' Ren stumbles back. 'I- I just touched his shoulder- did I do something?!

'SOMEONE GET SCAR- MOVE-' I vault over the edge of the balcony, landing roughly and sprinting over to Cub. Joe's close behind me. Ren's freaking out.

I watch closely for breathing, a finger beneath his nose confirming it's normal. Joe's searching for a pulse, nodding as he finds one. I check the scar from the last attack, unwrapping the bandages enough to see it still stitched together, not even bleeding or oozing a little. I tie it back up again.