[Chapter XIV]
[It's a Start]
Steve was unable to really sleep the rest of the night. With having Ozzy demanding next to nothing for the human's attention, the miner had very little choice.
However, despite this, the kitten's powerful purring and soft mewing brought a calming sensation that washed over Steve, easing his fears as he slowly combed his fingers through the soft and clean yellow fur.
After shutting the door and leaving Herobrine alone, Steve had picked Ozzy up and carried him into the washroom where he carefully began to clean the kitten, finding himself chuckling from time to time as the small animal tried desperately to flee on several occasions until it got used to the closed in space.
Though he did not get much sleep, he was able to rest surprisingly contently.
Herobrine on the other hand did not have the same gracious gift. He had remained awake, brewing within himself the current situation he found himself in.
It didn't bother him that he was feared. He wanted that. But at the same time, he didn't really want Steve to be afraid of him. At least not so much. It was not only causing the human to distance himself from Herobrine, but it was slowing down their progress as Steve was becoming distracted.
And then there was that kitten…
Herobrine sneered as he thought back to the way Steve was paying so much attention to it. Sure it was a baby… but still!
However, above all else… the main thing that was driving the demon mad was something he couldn't figure out. Sitting at the table alone in the dark, he mulled over his thoughts, trying to find the answers to his questions.
He sat in the same chair he did the first time he came to Steve just the night before, facing the door that led into the human's bedroom. With his arms crossed over his chest, he lifted his narrowed glowing eyes up and at the closed door.
A soft rustling noise just outside the house's front door had Herobrine slightly tilting his head to deliver a harsh glare over his shoulder, not the least bit surprised to see the cause was a zombie sluggishly attempting to reach the door to start pounding against it mindlessly and relentlessly. "Get lost." he growled under his breath.
The zombie paused, moaning softly before all of a sudden it turned around and began walking away from Steve's house.
Waiting a moment to see if any other Mobs were going to approach the building, Herobrine turned back towards Steve's room and returned to his thoughts; 'Last night, back in that jungle… when he stood up against me about keeping that damn cat? What the fuck was that feeling that I felt…?' He stared at the door, glaring even harder with mounting frustration as if the wood knew the answer… but was refusing to reveal it. 'Human emotions. Such pathetic nuisances they are. I thought all of my emotions were gone.' He halted his mental rant for a second before a dark sneer crossed his face; 'Guess even after six hundred years in hell the fires weren't enough to burn them away.'
Finally coming to terms that the door wasn't going to answer him, he slowly moved his head from right to left, taking in even the most minor of detail put into the simple structure. "It's certainly cozy. Hope you plan on expanding it though if you're serious about keeping that animal, Steve. Ocelots are a decent size when they're adults." Herobrine whispered to the empty room in a sing-song tone before chuckling.
Suddenly, white eyes gently closed as his trademark smirk spread across his face. Effortlessly, Herobrine lifted his right hand and caught between two of his fingers what looked like a large feather as white as the snow, but was thrown at his head with deadly accuracy and held the sharpness of a newly crafted knife.
"I was wondering when you were going to make an appearance." Herobrine spoke in a calm fashion, no longer bothering to keep his voice down as he knew Steve wouldn't be able to hear him.
He wouldn't allow it.
Still alone in the room, Herobrine waited; holding the small weapon that had failed to harm him as if to mock the one who had thrown it.
"Why have you returned?" a female's voice echoed out, both smooth yet stern.
Herobrine grinned with a chuckle, at last lowering the feather-like knife before twirling it around and stabbing the blade into the otherwise flawless wood surface of Steve's table. White eyes glowing brightly slowly opened with his words; "Ah, not who I thought it was… I guess He's too busy to pay me a visit? Anyways, why do you think I've returned?"
"Revenge." the voice quickly responded to Herobrine's question with a hiss, causing the demon to let out a loud bark of laughter while also releasing the handle of the knife.
"Of course you would think that." Herobrine said with a frown and narrowed eyes, tilting his head downwards a little to gaze at the knife and taking notice of the craftsmanship to it looking familiar. 'Hmm… come to think of it… that looks an awful lot like Angelique's work.' he mentally noted to himself. 'Sounds a lot like her too…'
"It is only of nature to suspect that reasoning! What other reason could you possibly have to return to the Overworld, demon!?" the voice demanded, the smoothness to her tone gone now as anger and bitterness was all that could be heard.
Herobrine frowned for a moment, a small feeling just beginning to tickle the inside of his chest before he was able to block it out with the numbness he's familiarized himself with upon picking up the hurt tone that was drowning underneath her anger.
Smirking once again, Herobrine scoffed; "I was tired and bored of the Nether. I missed nature and all the animals! The sun and rain! I've just missed it here oh so much!" he mocked loudly.
"Silence your lies and ridiculing of our god's work, demon! He knows you have returned. He cannot understand why it is you have returned, but He is aware and is watching you. We are ALL watching you, demon!" she warned Herobrine with much spite in her tone.
Herobrine glared with a frown, a calm and unreadable expression falling over him as he kept his arms crossed over his chest, repeating her words to himself mentally before speaking softly; "Notch. I knew He was already aware. There's nothing that can go on without Him knowing." He hesitated for a brief moment before jumping straight to the point, tilting his head back and lifting his gaze skyward to call out to the ceiling, "What I told Steve is the truth. I am here to repent. Correct my mistakes and help him to—!"
"Lies, demon…" she interrupted him with a dark whisper before continuing in her normal tone, her voice still echoing warmly within Herobrine's mind; "You are attempting to fool that human. For whatever purpose it could be bodes NO good for that man! Demon… May it be due to our… past? Or just from the goodness of my heart… but I warn you. Steve has our great Notch's protection and Blessing! That human will be kept out of your reach!"
"I have a name!?" Herobrine blurted, growing more and more irritated the longer this encounter pressed on.
The voice sensed another reason behind it; "Yes! And it is DEMON!"
"It is BRINE!" he shouted back, pushing himself to his feet while taking the knife out of the table and gripping the handle tightly in his rage.
"It is HEROBRINE! No one remembers who Brine is! No one knows who Brine is!" she countered without hesitance.
"You're wrong, harpy!" Herobrine screamed while throwing the knife at the front door, the feather-like blade becoming deeply lodged within the fine oak wood. Fists trembling tightly by his sides, Herobrine continued shouting upwards; "Steve knows my name!"
The voice seemed to have hesitated for a moment. Whether it was from trying to think of something to say or to drag this visit out, both possibilities were pissing Herobrine off.
"Believe what you will. Believe whatever Notch speaks to you. But I know the truth!" he growled deeply before narrowing his eyes into a dangerous glare; "And I'd like to just see you people try to keep Steve away from me…" he warned in a whisper.
"…"
Herobrine waited to see if she would say anything, before finally scoffing loudly while once again crossing his arms over his chest; "What? Unable to retort now!?"
"Steve may know your name… But he does not know who you are. He is protected, Herobrine. You would be wise to keep that knowledge close to your mind. And even closer to whatever heart remains beating within your breast." she at last answered in a soft, almost melancholy tone.
Her words threw Herobrine off, causing him to blink as his grin disappeared. He waited to see once again if she would add anything else.
But the room remained silent.
The feeling of being alone once again settled over him as she left his mind. To confirm her departure, he first looked over at the table, his shoulders going ever so slightly slumped upon seeing the damage he had done to its surface restored. But it was when he dragged his site over towards the front door that his white glowing eyes half lidded and lips pursed together into a thin line upon seeing the feather-life knife gone, and the gash its blade caused to the oak wood also restored to its original condition.
"We'll see about that…" he sighed quietly to the emptiness around him. "… fucking Valkyries."
It was needless to say that Glorenda and Melz were more than happy to help watch over Ozzy until Steve returned from the jungle.
By the time the story about the small kitten spread throughout the village like the fire that nearly claimed its life, Steve was not only bombarded with questions if he were alright and how he escaped, but his popularity within the village doubled.
Mainly with the young women…
"Oh, my Notch! Isn't he just the cutest!? Steve, he's so adorable!" one young girl nearly scared Ozzy under the table upon her squealing at his appearance. Seeing this, she forced herself to calm down and gently coaxed the scared kitten to her. "Sorry… I've never seen an Ocelot before. Let alone a baby." She admitted, refraining from loudly screaming upon being able to pet Ozzy.
Steve chuckled with a shake of his head. Turning to face the owners of the Inn, the miner smiled. "I can't thank you two enough for watching him. I'll bring back food for him. And extra to replace the fish of yours that he ate, too."
Glorenda scoffed, "Oh, Steve. Don't worry about our supply. Melz catches fish all the time! It's good to see it going to good use since the kids don't seem to care for it." she laughed.
Melz patted Steve on the back before bouncing his brows at him; "These girls can't stop talking about you, Steve. Seems like there's nothing more attractive than a young man saving a helpless kitten, eh?"
Blushing slightly upon seeing a few of the women who were playing with Ozzy stealing flirty glances at him, Steve cleared his throat; "Yeah… that does seem to be the case… A-anyways, thanks again. I'll be back within just a few days."
After saying his good-byes once again and managing to avoid Telzaah this time, Steve found himself once again out in the desert.
Taking a deep breath in, he released it as a long sigh; "Am I far enough away from the village yet?" he called out.
But he received no response. Blinking, Steve completely spun around, not seeing a trace of the Nether ruler anywhere. "Hello? So what? You're not going to come out now?" he shouted angrily. "Herobrine!?"
"Hey."
Jumping only slightly rather than all the times before he nearly collapsed, Steve turned around to see Herobrine standing behind him… At a rather decent distance. Swallowing while turning to fully face him, Steve tried to force a smile while taking a step closer. "Ready?"
But Herobrine took a step backwards, confusing Steve as well as causing him to halt.
Waiting for a moment, the demon finally let out a chuckle while approaching the human, "Yeah, just wanted to see if you would actually call out to me."
Steve scoffed while turning to lead the way back towards the jungle. "Ass."
Managing to get through the jungle with no problems, they quickly reached where they had left off the previous day.
Steve frowned upon seeing the destruction left behind by the fire the poachers had started. His chest began aching as he and Herobrine walked past where the ground was still freshly churned up, tearing his eyes away from the spot that he knew was the grave site of Ozzy's mother.
"You okay?"
"What?" Steve, whom was too deeply lost within his thoughts, was startled out of them by Herobrine's voice.
"I had asked if you were alright."
"Oh. Yeah, just thinking is all." He lied. He remained silent for a while after that, pleased as they soon came across the other side of the jungle that had remained unaffected by the fire.
Pausing to catch his breath as he had to begin cutting through the thickest part of vines and ferns they've come across, he chanced a glance at his companion. Clearing his throat, he turned to Herobrine; "Did something happen last night? After I went to bed?"
Herobrine blinked and turned to face the human, "No…? Why do you ask?"
Steve seemed to have hesitated at first, almost as if unsure if he wanted to say what was on his mind. "Well… Ozzy kept looking at the door and growling."
Herobrine seemed surprised by this. "Did you hear anything?"
"Well… no." he confessed slowly.
"Then no. Nothing happened." He turned away from Steve and began walking without saying another word.
Steve rolled his eyes while walking after the other. "Well, then…"
Herobrine glanced over his shoulder briefly to see that Steve was following him. 'That damn cat. Of course it's able to hear the voices of Valkyries! Animals are much more in tune with nature than humans. She was able to keep Steve from hearing us… but the kitten was still able to hear our voices. Heh, I'm sure I scared the shit out of it.' he grinned at that satisfying thought, making sure he was facing ahead so Steve wasn't able to see his wicked smirk.
One final swing of his sword cut away a large cluster of vines, allowing a burst of sunlight to blind Steve and causing the human to groan in mild pain. "Damn! Wasn't expecting that…"
"Steve."
"Yeah? What is it?" he asked while looking over to see Herobrine staring at something ahead of them.
"Is that what we came through this biome for?"
Steve didn't immediately respond as his violet eyes trailed and followed to where the Nether ruler was pointing. His eyes opened wide upon falling on the rotting remains of a large ship that had crashed into the beach that the jungle sat along. "I'm… guessing so?"
Carefully Herobrine made his way towards the ship, being closely followed by the curious human. Wrinkling his nose as the smell of the wood struck his senses, Herobrine looked around the area. "Doesn't seem much is left."
Feeling his heart beginning to sink, Steve finally released a sigh. "Guess it was just rumors…"
"Not necessarily."
"Hmm?" Turning to face where Herobrine's voice came from, Steve found him looking at the ship's condition. "What are you talking about? There's nothing here! Certainly no Endermen."
"Maybe not now. But they were here at some point. See there?" he pointed more towards the inside of the ship's cabin.
Steve stared where he was pointing, trying to see exactly what it was he was talking about. "I don't see what you mean."
With a sigh and 'roll of his eyes', Herobrine shook his head. "There's signs that Endermen were here. See how some things are missing? They take random shit. No one knows why…"
Steve narrowed his eyes while looking over at Herobrine, unamused. "Or…? It could have been people came here and ransacked the wreckage."
Despite the obvious sarcasm in the human's tone, Herobrine straightened himself upright, "That's not the case here. Look. There's still plenty of valuables left over. If it were people, don't you think they would've taken those versus random pieces of the actual ship?"
Steve blinked, looking back at the inside of the ship. Upon closer examination, Herobrine was right! Finely crafted jewelry and emeralds were strewn all over the destroyed vessel amongst many other rather nice and expensive looking objects. "Well, regardless. Doesn't look like any have been here for a while. So there's really no point in being here. Come on, Herobrine. Let's head back and I guess move on somewhere else." he sighed while beginning to back track.
Herobrine on the other hand grinned while climbing further inside the wreckage through a large hole in the side, not being bothered as he jumped down inside and landed in the ankle deep ocean water that covered the ship's wooden flooring.
Looking over his shoulder to see the other now fully inside the ship, Steve gasped; "Herobrine!? Just what the hell are you doing?"
"Come on, Steve!? No one's been in here clearly for years! This stuff is just lying here getting gross! Might as well make some use out of it." he grinned over his shoulder before squatting down and picking up a scratched emerald. "Most of it has some damage, but it's still worth something at least."
"Herobrine. We are NOT taking anything from this shipwreck! Now drop it!" he warned with a glare.
"Oh don't be like that, Steve. This is an adventure! What's an adventure without finding treasure?!" he chuckled.
"This isn't my ideal image of an adventure. And I'd prefer to find treasure while mining. NOT rummaging through the remains of an old shipwreck!" he responded with still narrowed eyes, simply standing where he was while watching Herobrine continue going through the debris. "You're serious right now?"
"Oh come on. It's not hurting anybody." he laughed. Standing up after finding what looked like a golden ring with a small diamond set in it, Herobrine examined the piece of jewelry with a smirk before turning to face Steve; "Here, give this to that chick that tried putting the moves on you that one night in your room!" he teased with a few bounces of his brows, earning himself a harsh glare from a rather flushed looking Steve.
Suddenly, white eyes opened wide as the ring fell from Herobrine's hand; "Steve! Watch out behind you!" he shouted while running at the human.
"What the-?" Steve questioned while looking over his shoulder. Violet eyes grew wide upon seeing the tall, slender creature standing behind him. "Shit!" he gasped while stumbling backwards.
The Enderman lowered its head, making direct eye contact with Steve as the miner tried getting out of its reach. Suddenly, it opened its large mouth and released a loud screech, causing Steve to clasp his hands over his ears upon becoming paralyzed by the sound as it echoed off the water all around them.
"D-dammit." Steve groaned between clenched teeth, eyes tightly squeezed shut.
Just as the Enderman raised its arms up to bring them down in a punishing attack, it was blocked by a large diamond pickax.
Opening his eyes upon no longer hearing the Mob screaming but instead grunting, Steve cursed while taking a step away from the tall Mob, surprise hitting him at seeing Herobrine easily holding the strong creature off with just a simple mining tool!
Not even showing the slightest sign of a struggle, Herobrine kept his empty eyes locked onto the glowing purple of the Enderman, holding its gaze to keep it focused on him while calling out to Steve over the creature's angered noises. "Steve. Are you alright?"
With Herobrine's voice somehow causing the shock to disappear, Steve shook his head before replying while drawing his iron sword. "Y-yeah. Bastard just caught me off guard is all…"
Herobrine grinned; "Well then. I think this one's got a lovely little pearl with your name on it." Blinking while turning his head enough to catch a glimpse of the human, Herobrine suddenly shoved the Mob backwards and away from him while taking a large step back.
Steve cried out while charging at the stunned creature. Halting with a look of surprise flashing across his face just as the Enderman recovered and swung its right arm, Steve ducked to avoid the assault. Narrowing his eyes in concentration, the young miner swung his sword in retaliation to its attack, the Mob screaming in pain while stepping away from the human, its long arms wrapped around its lower abdomen where the sharp blade had sliced it.
Herobrine hummed to himself upon seeing the Mob remaining perfectly balanced on top a wooden crate, a devilish grin soon spreading across his face as an idea came to mind. "I don't think so…"
With one fluent and swift low kick, Herobrine easily dislodged the crate from underneath the Enderman, letting out a bark of laughter as the creature shrieked in agony after falling backwards and into the shallow water.
As Herobrine laughed cruelly at the Mob's misfortune, Steve frowned while approaching the flailing creature. After only mere seconds of listening to it screaming in pure pain, Steve delivered a quick end to the Mob by thrusting the sharp blade of his sword through its chest before directing a harsh glare at the demon to his left.
Herobrine grinned wider, "Good kill, Steve! Now let's collect that pearl and move on, shall we?"
"What the hell is your problem!?" Steve found himself yelling at the other.
Herobrine blinked, actually surprised by Steve's sudden aggression towards him. White eyes soon narrowed as he questioned; "What do you mean?"
"You didn't have to act so heartless towards it, Herobrine! They may be the key to finding and entering the End, but they'll living creatures too!" Steve continued shouting. Looking down as something rolled in the water and bumped into his left foot, a deeper frown tugged at the corners of his lips.
Bending over, he gently retrieved the slain Enderman's pearl. Staring into the swirling dark green colors almost hypnotically, he shook his head before pocketing the pearl and scoffing. "You know what? Just forget it and lets go." he sighed while turning his back on Herobrine, feeling annoyed at the complete baffled look on the demon's face as if he couldn't understand what he had done wrong.
Herobrine looked around the shipwreck before looking back to watch Steve jumping down onto warm sand outside. "What!? What did I do!?" he shouted before teleporting himself outside and began following the human.
Steve sighed; a disheartened gloom shadowing his features as he sat slouched over at his table, resting his chin atop his left arm that was folded on top the smooth wooden surface. Lidded violet eyes gazed into the sixth Ender Pearl they had just retrieved as it sat neatly nestled in a piece of fabric centered on the table.
Herobrine eyed the young human quietly from his spot on the opposite side of the house, his arms crossed over his chest as he comfortably leaned against the stone wall.
What had the human in such a depressed state? Was it his actions back at the shipwreck? Watching as Ozzy picked up on Steve's declining mood, the kitten trotted up to the miner, mewing to him before purring loudly while rubbing himself against the man's ankle.
Steve did not respond to the kitten's show of affection.
'Alright, Steve. That's it!' Herobrine narrowed his eyes while pushing himself off the wall with a loud sigh, dropping his arms to his sides and approaching the table to take a seat opposite Steve; "Okay. What's wrong? You've been like this ever since we killed that Enderman." he accused. "Look, you're not even paying attention to your kitten."
Startled by the close proximity of Herobrine's voice, Steve blinked while lifting his head, surprised to see the Nether ruler sitting across from him as he hadn't even acknowledged the chair moving. Lowering his gaze back down at the pearl, Steve shrugged before responding; "I don't know how long this will take."
A brow was raised at that; "How long what will take?"
"This stupid journey. You said that I'll need at least twelve. I've only got six! To top it off, they're becoming increasingly harder for us to find the more they wise up! This one we seriously lucked out on!" he suddenly found himself blurting out, a mild hint of anger barely bubbling to the surface over the obvious wave of frustration in his tone.
"Least you're half way there?" Herobrine offered. He really didn't know how to be supportive anymore… did he? "Look. It's a start."
Steve scoffed with a roll of his eyes while leaning back against his chair; "Yeah… a start…"
Herobrine hesitated, trying to think of just something to say that could possibly turn Steve's mood around. Suddenly, the perfect thought came to mind. It stabbed at his pride, but he knew he got through to Steve by the wide-eyed look the demon received as he lifted his gaze up, shock dancing in those bright eyes. "… You're doing better than I did…?"
"What?"
"While I was able to obtain literally dozens of pearls… I was being foolish with them by either giving them out as a cheap way to accelerate my status or trying to come up with ways to use them in combat. I was only able to convert one into an Eye of Ender and had it stored in a safe place." he admitted albeit begrudgingly.
Steve's eyes opened even wider; "You mean you have an Eye of Ender?"
Herobrine lifted his head up to make eye contact with the human before turning slightly to the side, glowing eyes sliding shut as he sneered; "Clearly you've missed the past tense word I used, Steve. I had it. It was stored in a box I had hidden in my house shortly before I was banished into the Nether. After escaping, I went back to retrieve it. Only to find that my entire home had been apparently set ablaze and completely destroyed! Along with all of my belongings."
Steve couldn't help but feel a small twinge of pity upon hearing the other losing everything. Even if he had brought it upon himself; No one should lose their home… Trying to lighten Herobrine's now sour mood, Steve forced a weak chuckle while leaning over and scooping a still purring Ozzy up and setting him in his lap. "Well… even if it weren't destroyed… do you really think it would've still been in tact after six hundred years?"
Blinking his eyes open at that, Herobrine pondered. "Possibly? No one really knows how stable an Eye of Ender is. Very few humans have been able to actually make one. Only because getting a hold of even just one Blaze Rod is a dangerous task."
Smiling down at Ozzy as he curled in on himself on Steve's lap, the miner continued to gently pet the kitten's back, grinning as he was able to feel the small animal's powerful purr.
Herobrine could hear it too from across the table. "Damn. He's certainly got a hell of a motor in him." he commented.
Steve couldn't help but chuckle while nodding in agreement.
Pleased that he received a positive response; Herobrine smirked while narrowing his eyes. "You know how to stroke that pussy just right."
Just as quickly as his brightened mood came, it left him. Giving the demon across from him a flat and highly unamused expression, he soon sighed with a shake of his head, the smallest hint of a smile present on his fade; "You have yet to cease to amaze me."
The Nether ruler puffed his chest out while replying; "Well, I am pretty amazing."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night, Herobrine." Steve sniggered at him while carefully picking up a sleeping Ozzy and carrying him towards his room. "Speaking of which? I going to bed. The shipwreck was a bust. But at least we got one pearl out of it, I guess." He suddenly paused and half turned towards Herobrine, "Tomorrow, let's go over to the plain's biome where the people here do their hunting. During my travels, I've noticed many Endermen like the hang out under the trees in those places." he offered.
Herobrine thought for a second before grinning with a nod; "Sounds good to me. Go get some rest. Looks like that little guy will actually let you sleep." He motioned at Ozzy with his head.
Looking down at the sleeping kitten, Steve yawned. "Sounds good."
He turned to walk into his room before pausing once again only after taking just one step. Turning halfway again towards Herobrine, Steve seemed to have hesitated for a jiffy before asking; "Where do you… go to sleep at? I only have the one bed. I never really thought I've have company so I never bothered crafting a spare."
"I'm not human anymore, Steve. Therefore, I don't need to sleep. Hell, the last time I slept was shortly after being banished into the Nether. So I just stay up and keep the Mobs away."
Steve stared at him for a moment, "Ok, so that's creepy knowing you're up all night and inside my house. But it's sort of comforting at the same time knowing you keep the Mobs at bay."
Herobrine simply shrugged in response. With nothing more he could think of to say, Steve wished the other a good-night once more before leaving him alone after shutting the door to his room to retire for the night.
To Be Continued…
A/N - And so the plot thickens! -shot-
*Again a huge special thanks to slingading for the fantastic cover art for this story! Thank you so much and much love to you!*