Meteor Effect

Comfort Is found In Words And Actions- Xbcrafted

Xb yelps in surprise as he splashes down into one of the ponds of the shopping district. It's been a few weeks since his transformation and he's still trying to get a hang of his legs bending more than what he's used to.

As he sits waist-deep in the water he frowns, now he's soaking wet. Grumbling under his breath he lets his spines deflate. Standing up he stumbles out of the water.

Walking towards the nether portal he stops, it would be a good way to dry off, but would going in the nether hurt him...

"Howdy," Joe grins as he passes by, "Is something bugging you?"

"Uh, yeah... uh, I don't know if I can go into the nether," Xb murmurs.

"Hmm, well the nether is pretty humid. I'll go with you."

"Thanks, man."

Joe grins as they step into the portal, Xb puffs up once he's through but looks fine. As he slowly deflates he grins.

"It feels pretty normal," He says with a sigh of relief.

Joe's face falls a little, "How have you been doing?"

"I-I don't know, everyone's been treating me like glass. I know it's because my transformation was a bit worse than most, but I want to be able to process things."

"Do you want me to listen to you?" Joe asks as he pulls Xb into his portal.

Xb nods, "Yeah, everything is so confusing. Every time I get startled or scared I puff up. It doesn't feel good."

As Xb talks, Joe brings him inside and gets some cookies.

"Puffing up is really uncomfortable and I almost hurt Biffa."

"Oh, what happened?" Joe asks softly.

"I had tripped over stuff and he helped me up. I got startled and puffed up."

Joe winces and rubs a small scar on his arm where one of Xisuma's spines had stabbed him.

"When I change my size it's so disorienting, it's really obvious when I change but still, it throws me off."

Calmly Joe nods.

"And it's sorta fun to swim around, but I can't really be with other people, since I'm literally over twice their size," Xb says, swinging his legs gently. He'd developed a bit of a habit once he had legs again.

"When you swim, can you do it in this form?"

Xb thinks for a moment, "It's weird, it feels wrong somehow... like when you know you're moving in a way that you probably shouldn't."

"I think I understand," Joe smiles sadly.

Softly puffing his cheeks out Xb frowns softly, "The whole hydration thing is really annoying too. I get that I need more water now."

By this point Xb has started to rant and vent, Joe nods along and gives input when it's needed.

"I'm always cold," Xb admits, "I don't know what to do, I can't wear gloves or a jacket. Cloaks are fun to wear but they're really drafty... I just don't know what to do. You guys have made most of the shops warmer and stuff but I can't get anything done."

Joe carefully brings Xb into a hug, "We'll figure something out, you've got your normal jacket on. You just have the sleeves rolled up... what does it feel like when your fins get flattened?"

"It feels a little like a pinch, it's hard to describe."

Humming softly Joe nods, "I'll see if I can do something."

"Thanks, man, you know what's pretty weird. Doc whenever I catch a fish. He gets all happy, and it's nice and all, but I don't want to eat the fish raw. He's so proud of me and that's nice, but I'm just not used to all this I guess," he pauses before whimpering "I just want to go back to normal."