...wait. Wait, so they block my strength and they still can't take off the damn collar?

*collapses down his weapon and puts it away*

Yeah yeah I know I know.

*he has literally never gotten this question before*

Uh.

*oh okay that makes it easier*

More!

*silent for a couple of moments, hungry but wary as shit*

...what do I gotta do for it?

*still unsure. Doesn't really WANT to do anything for it, but also doesn't really expect anything for free either*

Uh. *sighs* I was trying to learn how to control my magic. Supposed to be, the Cerberus goes through a ceremony with his human partner, the old Dark Liege, and the four other guys from the ancient race. At the end, the human's the new Dark Liege, the Cerberus and the old Dark Liege are... gone, and the guys from the ancient races don't have their golden eye anymore.

But shit fucked up, and I didn't want to die anyway, so... I was trying to learn shit so I could be the Dark Liege instead of dying to give that power to Kazuma.

It didn't work. Kazuma took the collar off, and I thought I could control it, but... I couldn't. It turned into this giant tornado-thing of nothing that was gonna destroy the universe. ...so I jumped into it. I stopped it, I know that much.

*by the end he's hunched up his shoulders and is looking at the ground*

*my universe is fucked up and I'm the last person who should be explaining it*

Yeah. Universe is fine. I wasn't s'posed to have to die to do it though.

*angry again, clenching his fists as he glares at the floor* It's not strength. It's just... Control. I can't learn the way they wanted me to.

*this is one thing he just. Doesn't know how to explain, at all, so he's quiet long enough that it doesn't seem like he's gonna answer before he shrugs and shoves his hands into his pockets*

I'm as dumb as they always said I was. Couldn't have managed it anyway. Doesn't matter now.

*...that might, in fact, have been the closest thing to a direct compliment he's ever gotten*

...Guess so.

*...nods, still wary, but also hungry and there's food, so he sits. And then pulls his plate close to him and guards it with one arm, watching you as he eats. He does, at least, manage to not growl and to not eat too fast, though it might be obvious how much he wants to full on shovel food in and growl at anyone who comes close*

*actually. Relaxes the more he's ignored. Not to the point where he's unwary, but at least eventually he seems convinced that you aren't going to change your mind and take the food away from him*

*shakes his head*

*puppy's real-world experience can best be described as "limited". But he nods, and when he finishes, trots over to the sink with his dishes*