[Chapter XV]
[A Weakness Exposed]
Once again, both Melz and Glorenda were more than happy to watch over Ozzy when Steve came to them, the kitten showing its excitement upon instantly recognizing the larger man as the one with a seemingly endless supply of fish.
Steve shook his head with a small chuckle while he and Glorenda were left alone in the Inn's main lobby while Melz baby talked Ozzy into the kitchen to feed him some freshly caught fish.
"I hope I don't come back one day to a fat cat." he teased.
Glorenda giggled while walking with Steve over towards the large couch, gesturing for him to join her after taking a seat. "Well, if we keep leaving that poor creature to my husband, you may do just that I'm afraid, Steve."
Thanking her after joining her on the couch, Steve laughed softly at her words.
Sensing something troubling the younger man, Glorenda leaned over and gently placed her hand over his that were clasped together and draped over his lap; "Steve. What troubles you so much?"
Blinking upon hearing the concern in her voice, Steve cleared his throat with a shake of his head; "It's just that... lately I've been thinking about what Melz and the Elder have told me. About... you know..." he tried explaining while dancing around the name. He knew Glorenda was a smart woman.
She knew who he was talking about.
Leaning slightly closer to him, she lowered her voice; "Has he... approached you?" she asked albeit with hesitance.
Instantly, Steve remembered what Herobrine had said about not letting anyone know he was around. And despite Glorenda being one of the very few that already were aware of his return, Steve didn't want to run the risk of putting her or any of them in danger.
Almost too quickly, he shook his head with a curt "No." before clearing his throat and standing up. "I just... I guess my mind just likes to think on its own." he laughed nervously.
"Like about what?"
He sighed with a heavy drop of his shoulders; "Like... what would happen if I did meet him? I mean... he's evil, right?"
Glorenda remained silent for a few long seconds, causing a small panic to arise within Steve as he remembered that the woman sitting now before him as he turned to face her knew him enough by now to tell when he was lying.
However, a tender smile spread across her face as she rolled her shoulder in a lazy shrug, "Well...? Maybe he has changed." Seeing the baffled look she was receiving from the miner, she chuckled before further explaining herself; "I mean, he has been trapped within the Nether for over six hundred years according to the legends. That's an awfully long time to be by yourself."
Steve just stared down at her, rather surprised by her words. Herobrine didn't think there would be anyone who would even bother to give him a glance without screaming in fear. And yet, here was this middle aged woman expressing even the smallest glimmer of understanding and possible forgiveness.
Her next sentence was what really punched Steve hard in the face with shock as she smiled to him warmly; "After all, Steve. Herobrine did save you from your fever."
Feeling his lips curling into a relived smile, he gave her a nod and slight bow while thanking her before excusing himself to meet up with the Nether ruler outside the village.
He couldn't understand why, but Glorenda's words really seemed to have help put his mind more at ease whilst being around Herobrine, feeling his pulse speed up not really out of fear anymore upon seeing said demon, but now more out of excitement for the continuation of their now joined journey.
Herobrine released a long and impressed sounding whistle while look around at the trees and taking in the site. It wasn't like he's forgotten what trees looked like... he's just... forgotten what trees looked like. And how fresh the air was around them. The smell of the grass and flowers. And to be able to hear the sounds of the babbling stream they were walking next to.
It was all almost overwhelming.
Humming to himself as he noticed the many different heights and widths the trees grew in, he turned his head towards the human walking next to him; "Pretty shady place, which is a good thing. The sun is already reaching its highest point of the day which would pose a threat for you."
Steve couldn't help the goofy grin that crossed his face as he looked over at Herobrine to his left; "Aww, how sweet! You're concerned for me!" he feigned astonishment; sarcasm weighing heavily off each word.
Giving the human a flat expression at first, a grin quickly replaced the unamused look while quickly retorting; "Well, somebody's got to! I mean, you're only human after all. Who knows when you'll need my amazing strength to save you!?" To further insult Steve, Herobrine flexed his right arm nearly right in the miner's face, showing his 'strength' off which only earned him a snort of laughter and a roll of the human's violet eyes.
Taking in a deep inhale of the fresh air around them, Steve released a long sigh while resting his eyes for a moment; "The air here certainly is nice. Sanderlorum is a great place and all but… the air there is just so dry it's almost suffocating."
Herobrine studied the other's expression closely, taking note that even though he could see the man spoke truthfully, he could still sense the deep caring he held for that small village. "Give it a little more time, Steve. You've only been there for what, like seven months?"
Steve halted in his steps, staring at the Nether ruler with a raised eyebrow.
Sensing the other's hesitance, Herobrine too stops and looks over his shoulder. "Is something wrong?"
"Herobrine, just how long have you been watching me?"
Taken slightly aback by the question, Herobrine grinned while crossing his arms over his chest; "I'm sure I've made it sound like I've been watching you forever. But honestly, I've only really been watching you off and on since you left the village that saved you from the beach."
Steve's eyes opened wide, before quickly narrowing into growing suspicion; "So then just how much about me do you know?"
Chuckling with a quick shake of his head, Herobrine continued walking while answering the human, pleased to see him following close behind him when he gave a glance over his left shoulder. "Truthfully? Not much. I already told you that back in that jungle. I'm usually pretty spot on with figuring people out. But somehow, you're a difficult puzzle to solve."
At this, it was Steve now who had a grin spreading across his face as he gloated; "Well, then. I guess you're not perfect after all. I actually feel honored that you can't solve me."
Herobrine paused and half turned to face Steve, his lips pulled into a mischievous smirk while white glowing eyes were narrowed; "Oh, don't you worry Steve. I'll have you figured out. One way or another, I'll have my way."
Steve stopped walking, his grin falling as Herobrine chuckled while turning to face forwards again and continue on. For some reason, Steve felt his face heating up. Just assuming it was anger brought on due to the demon's ego, he brushed the feeling off and rolled his eyes while pushing himself onwards after the other.
The minutes ticked by and soon hours had passed with no sight of any Endermen. Herobrine finally gave a sigh while halting in his walking and turned to face Steve; "Let's face it. Being out during the day like this, isn't making this an easy hunt. Endermen mainly just come out during the night. I think the sunlight hurts them or something."
Breathing out a much softer sigh as he too stopped, Steve agreed; "Yeah. I think it's safe to say you're right on this one. I don't know about you, but it's not exactly safe for human's to be out at night."
"Well, I hate to break it to you… but being the Great Hero and all, you kinda have to step out of your comfort zones here and there." Herobrine crossed his arms over his chest.
Glaring at the demon, Steve soon groaned in defeat. "I know that."
"If it's the Mobs you're concerned about…" Herobrine began, pausing as he noticed he had gained the human's attention. "… they know better than to come near me unless I call them. The Mobs here all fear and follow me. More or less. So by default, you're safe so long as I am in your company."
Allowing the other's words to process and sink in, he tilted his head back to see the sun beams sparkling through the leaves of the trees. Seeing the light slowly beginning to gain a pale orange hue to it as the sun began its slow decent into the horizon, Steve straightened himself and turned to Herobrine; "Well then… I guess tonight we can start."
Herobrine grinned in excitement, "Yes! Now that's what I'm talking about!"
Steve tried to show as much enthusiasm as his doppelganger, but the instinctive fear of the night and the dangers that lurked within were crushing down his attempts. Even with Herobrine's words of claiming he would be safe around him, he still didn't fully trust the man enough to be completely at ease.
Just as they began walking again, a sudden sound to their left caught the attention of both men, causing them to halt and look over at the cause.
Violet and white eyes were wide in shock upon seeing the Enderman casually walking no more than just a few yards from them, making its usual sounds softly.
"Here we go." Steve whispered more to himself, slowly drawing his iron sword while stalking up to the creature. If he could just sneak behind it, not make eye contact to set it off, then maybe he could get a clean kill.
Herobrine caught on to Steve's plan, and for once; was staying out of the way.
Slowly creeping up on the unsuspecting Mob, Steve was just about to lift his sword up when the creature suddenly disappeared. Steve blinked before cursing loudly; "What the fuck!?"
Herobrine chuckled while walking up to the human. "Ah, gotta love when they do that."
"No. No, I don't love it." Steve snorted with a glare. The second he turned to face the other, the movement of the tall creature in the distance had his attention one hundred percent again. "Herobrine!" he hissed while pointing past the man. "It's behind you."
Herobrine hummed while turning to see what Steve was talking about. Seeing the Enderman walking around in the neighboring biome had the demon grinning while arming himself.
However, upon seeing the biome it was standing in, had Herobrine almost instantly halting with a frown. "Um… actually? No, Steve. Let's just let this one slide."
Steve, already nearly half the way towards the Enderman, paused and threw a glance at Herobrine; "Why? Come on! It's just right over there!" he laughed while turning to continue running at the Mob, completely abandoning his original plan of a sneak attack.
"Steve!? Wait, I—?" Herobrine tried, soon sighing before teleporting himself to begin the attack on the Mob.
It screeched while stumbling forwards, tripping over the block it was holding after it dropped it to the snow covered ground upon being struck from behind with a sharp tool. Looking over its shoulder, it narrowed its purple eyes while chattering softly as it stood upright.
Herobrine landed on the ground, the snow crunching beneath his feet from his weight. Swinging his diamond pickax to have one of the sharp tips sweep against the white snow, Herobrine glared at the creature, keeping his eyes locked with its stare. "You bastards remember me… don't you?" he grinned.
Just as Steve was about to thrust his weapon through the Mob's back, it vanished; the human gasping while halting his attack before he struck Herobrine instead by mistake. "Dammit, again?"
"Yeah. But I think this time it's gone for good." he sighed.
Releasing a sound of frustration while sheathing his sword, Steve turned to face the other; "So now what? Should we head back, or keep going and see if we can find anymore?"
"Leave." Herobrine answered nearly the instant Steve finished asking.
The miner blinked, staring at the demon for a few seconds. He couldn't explain his reason of thinking, considering just a few days ago his fears were reawakened, but he grinned while testing the demon's patience by walking onwards further into the snow covered biome. "Oh, come on. Let's just go a little bit further inside. Who knows? We might actually run into more deeper within!" he shouted over his shoulder with a wider grin while chuckling, waving for the other to follow after him as he started jogging.
Herobrine parted his lips to argue, but nothing was verbalized. He just stared at Steve; almost floored by just how happy the human seemed that instant. Growling under his breath as he begrudgingly began following after the miner, he sighed; "I'm going to regret this. I just know it."
Catching up quickly with the human quickly, Herobrine glared at the back of his head. Steve, feeling the intense stare he was being given glanced over his shoulder with a smile, "What's that look for? You don't like the snow?"
"No. No I don't, Steve. It's cold, wet and absolutely useless!" he sneered before continuing; "After spending over six hundred years being surrounded by nothing but boiling lava and endless fires, you kind of grow immune to even the most intense heat. But throw me in a place like this? Leaves me a very unhappy person. I can't even stand to touch the shit." he mumbled under his breath while removing his left hand from the warm safety under his arm to reach out and gently bat at a branch that was weighted down low by snow, hissing to himself upon the sting that felt similar to a burn the instant his fingertips made contact against the freezing substance.
Unsure if Herobrine was being truthful with his reaction to touching snow, Steve decided against questioning the demon about it and instead played like he never witnessed it. He did laugh at Herobrine practically borderline pouting however. "Just a little bit deeper, alright? It's not like we're crossing completely through it like we did the jungle." He chuckled at the other's reaction upon being reminded of the last biome they traversed in.
The temperature within the snow covered biome was considerably lower than that of where Sanderlorum was located. Steve was certainly enjoying the coolness despite his body giving off shivers every now and then in a natural attempt to maintain proper body heat.
However much he was enjoying the area, his disappointment was beginning to show as their efforts to find anymore Endermen deep within the snow covered wooded area failed.
With a tired and hint of surrender sigh causing his shoulders to slump, Steve watched the puff of air that had left him float upwards before dissipating. Slowing in his steps, he looked over his shoulder at Herobrine upon hearing the demon complaining.
"T-this p-p-place is h-horrible, j-just so you k-know." Herobrine let out a groan as he held himself tightly, shivering rather violently.
As he continued watching the others reaction towards being in such a cold climate, he couldn't prevent the small twinge of guilt that slowly began easing into him as he watched the other shaking, as well as seeing just how far behind be was beginning to fall.
Coming to a complete halt, he turned to face him fully with an unsure smile, "Hey, listen… The sun's beginning to get awfully low, and we've traveled rather deeply within this biome. And since us even being here is all my fault, I guess it's only fair for you to use your powers and—" He was suddenly interrupted as Herobrine let out a rather loud sneeze, causing Steve to remain silent for a moment and just stare almost dumbly at him. "Are you…? You're not catching a cold, are you?" There was no way! Herobrine was supposed to be an unstoppable demon, right?
He couldn't possibly be human enough anymore to catch a cold! Could cold climates actually be a sort of weakness for him at least?
The Nether ruler delivered a harsh glare before sneezing once again, "I-I told you! I've been surrounded b-by intense heat and f-fire for over six h-hundred years! I don't do s-snow and c-cold biomes very well…"
By the third almost violent sneeze, the guilt weighing down Steve's heart made him frown, sighing while making his way over towards the other. "Come on, Herobrine. Use your powers and teleport us out of—" he paused before wincing at the forth and loudest sneeze.
About ready to continue where he had left off, a sudden noise from above them caught his attention. Violet eyes glancing upwards, he gasped upon seeing a huge pile of fresh snow falling off the branches and towards the ground upon Herobrine's sneezing disturbing it…
Falling right where Herobrine was standing—
"Brine! Watch out!" Steve shouted, the Nether ruler lifting his head up and giving him a shocked look upon hearing him say his name once again. Without thinking, Steve tackled the other, knocking the demon over and onto the snow covered ground just as a mountain of snow slammed onto the earth where he had been standing.
"Ow, that hurt." he groaned in a low tone as the coldness of the snow began stinging his bare hands. "Dammit, Steve! What the hell was that for!?" he glared while looking over to the other. "Steve?" Pushing himself to his feet, he looked around trying to locate the human while quickly brushing the snow off of himself before it could burn him further or dampen his clothes.
But all he saw was snow.
And the fresh mound of the white powdery stuff that was directly in front of him… Where Steve had pushed him from—!
"Shit!" Realization slamming into him as hard as the snow had fallen to the ground, he threw himself towards the pile, ignoring the burning pain to his hands as he began digging through the frigid mound, steam lifting to the air as the snow began melting upon the contact with his hot flesh. "Steve, you better be alright…" he growled under his breath.
Letting out a small triumphant laugh as the miner's shirt was suddenly uncovered, Herobrine took a firm grip of the light blue material and tried pulling, cursing under his breath as the cloth began ripping as the compacted snow kept a tight hold on Steve's body.
With something close to panic settling in, Herobrine concentrated on rising his body temperature, causing the snow to melt into cold water that inevitability soaked the human as he was released from the snow's cold and unforgiving crushing grip.
Pulling an unconscious and now fully saturated Steve away from where the snow had fallen on him, Herobrine laid him down on his back, leaning over him and gently tapping his cheek. "Steve. Hey, wake up." Receiving no response, the demon cursed again while looking skyward.
Seeing the sun beginning to set, he knew the temperature would easily drop below freezing once the darkness of the night covered the forest. And with Steve soaking wet and cold enough already, the human's chances for survival were practically nonexistent. Hypothermia would hit him fast and hard, killing him most likely within just the first few hours of nightfall.
Giving the area around them a quick glance, he then looked down to Steve.
He knew he would have to act with quick haste.
Coldness was all he could feel at first as he began coming to. Soon, a small warmth began spreading throughout him, causing his entire numb being to begin tingling slightly.
He could feel he was lying down on something firm like the ground. It certainly wasn't soft like a bed. Though it was warm, and a little fuzzy. Eyes fluttering open with a small groan, Steve looked around his surroundings, dazed and with blurred vision.
He was no longer outside, that was for sure. It looked like he was in a small cave or something as the first thing he saw was natural stone for a ceiling. The crackling of a fire could be heard nearby, causing him to tilt his head to the left.
Sure enough, a small fire was burning in the middle of the tiny enclosure, the brightness of the flames causing his eyes to sting a little. Once adjusted to the lighting, he was able to make out the shape of Herobrine huddled almost dangerously close to the small flames.
Pushing himself up into a sitting position, his hands flexed upon the softness of a wool blanket that had been splayed out beneath him and across the ground, separating him from the cold dirt. Fully sitting upright, a chill blew across his chest as the wool blanket he was covered with fell into his lap. Looking down at himself, his face heated up upon seeing his shirt was missing.
Lifting the dark blue blanket up, his face deepened in color as he found his pants and shoes were gone as well, and that he was left completely naked.
"Before you go and freak out on me…" Herobrine started, causing Steve to jump and grip the blanket tightly as he lowered it back down on his lap while looking over to him. Herobrine continued, but kept staring into the flames. "I didn't do anything. Alright?"
Even though he knew he was telling the truth, Steve cocked a brow up while giving him a suspicious look; "Then why am I naked?"
An annoyed sigh was his first response, slightly surprising Steve as he wasn't expecting that. "I took your clothes off, yes. But that's only because they were soaking wet. When you pushed me out of the way of the snow, it fell on you instead. I was having a hard time digging you out… so I melted the snow to get to you, unintentionally soaking you and your clothing with freezing water. They're right over there drying by the fire if you don't believe me." He pointed them out before continuing, "After pulling you free, I quickly dug out this shelter and started a fire to raise your body temperature up again. You were reaching borderline hypothermia." he explained, his last sentence being spoken in a low whisper that Steve nearly missed.
Steve frowned as he listened to the other, lowering his gaze down to the fire before flickering it back up, taking note of Herobrine's arms crossed over his chest and hands held securely underneath them as if hiding them from the miner.
It was quiet between the two of them for a long while, Steve soon shifting around and scooting closer to the fire and Herobrine, making sure the blanket was secure and covering him.
Herobrine however hadn't moved. Nor did he once look up at Steve since waking up.
Beginning to feel uncomfortable from the silence, Steve cleared his throat while glancing up at the demon, focusing his half lidded gaze where the other was hiding his hands. "You burned yourself… trying to dig me out. Didn't you?"
Herobrine twitched, but did not take his gaze off of the flames to look up at him. He remained quiet for a moment more before finally snorting, "What are you talking about, Steve? Snow doesn't burn me."
The miner was about to argue further, but decided to drop it with a sigh upon picking up the obvious annoyance and irritation in the demon's tone, watching as Herobrine subconsciously brought his hands tighter against himself.
Before too long, Herobrine suddenly narrowed his eyes, keeping them still focused on the flames as they danced about while asking the miner the question that had been aggravating him and put him into the bad mood he was currently in; "Why did you push me out of the way? I wouldn't have died, you know. But you could have." Anger was very evident in his tone by this point. But a small hint of what his brain once again made him think was concern was also laced between his words as he spoke them.
Steve gave a shrug of his shoulder first before answering, ignoring the more likely than not false concern in the demon's tone, "I don't know. I guess I just acted without thinking? At the time my brain didn't register that you couldn't have been killed by it. All it processed was the danger and risk factor of that much snow landing on a person. And even if you can't be killed... you would have been in a lot of pain. I saw what happened to you when you touched the snow earlier today. And I saw that it looked like it burned your hand. That's why you're hiding them right now. You burned yourself even more, didn't you?"
Herobrine tched while at last turning his gaze from the flames and towards the human, eyes narrowing a little more; "But it could have killed you, Steve! Yes, I would have been hurting. But you could have been dead!" His anger caused his voice to rise without him really meaning to, as well as having him completely ignore the questions about his hands.
"Dammit, Brine! What's it matter to you anyway if I had died or not?" Steve finally snapped back, pulling the warm blanket closer around himself. "I mean—I'm just another useless human anyway, right? That's all I am in your eyes anyways! That's how you see any human being. And I'm nothing special, despite this stupid title! Just another pathetic human trying to find his place in this world and survive it just like everyone else… just waiting for his end to come…" he whispered more to himself than speaking to Herobrine about halfway through his small rant.
Herobrine looked away from him, feeling a strange tightness forming in chest before speaking softly to himself while lowering his head on his folded arms as he wrapped them around his knees after pulling them up to his chest, still keeping his injured hands out of the human's line of site. "You just keep thinking what you want, Steve…" He couldn't shake off the shock at yet again hearing his name being said. Even if it was only the third time and twice being shouted in anger…
Steve knew the other had said something under his breath, but couldn't quite make out the words. Opting to not bother arguing with the man any longer, he sighed while trying to relax, his body aching something fierce.
They sat in silence once again, each staring into the hypnotizing flames.
Steve was the one to break the silence this time with a chuckle before his words; "Wish I could say we're even now."
Herobrine blinked, lifting his head up and looking over at the miner, noticing his color was slowly beginning to return to normal as his body temperature continued to rise. "What are you talking about?" he asked with a raise of a brow. The randomness of the topic really threw the Nether ruler off. Especially since they were just arguing with each other moments before.
"You saved me from that burning branch back in that jungle. And I saved you from the falling snow…" he smiled sadly with a forced chuckle.
Herobrine thought for a moment before rolling his shoulders, "Well… when you put it that way, then aren't we?"
"… but then you had to pull me out from the snow. Thus—you saved me again. That means you're still one up on me."
The Nether ruler sighed while looking back towards the fire, lowering his head on his arms once again and resting his eyes. "This isn't a competition on who can save who the most, Steve. And even if it were… you know I would win." He cracked an eye open and glanced at him, his lips curling into a smirk upon his last spoken sentence.
Steve threw a halfhearted glare at the demon, before chuckling with a nod of his head. "Yeah. You would win."
The tension between them that was beginning to form dissipated as they laughed.
After talking for a little while, Herobrine watched as Steve tried stifling a yawn, the human's attempt at hiding his fatigue failing miserably. "Why don't you get some rest, Steve? It's still only the middle of the night. You're body still needs to recover the heat it lost."
"Yeah…" he agreed softly while scooting back over to where he had awoken.
He touched his clothing and snorted upon feeling them still damp and cool. So with no other option, he pulled the blanket closer around himself and closed his eyes, his tired body and mind quick to drift off into a light slumber.
Watching the human sleep, and hearing the soft sounds of his breathing, Herobrine took a deep breath through his nose and did something he hadn't done for hundreds of years… allowing his own body to relax and rest, eyes slowly closing until he too drifted off.
He wasn't sure how long he was out, but the constant shivers that ran up and down his body woke him.
Groaning while stretching before holding himself tightly as he shivered violently, hissing as the quick motion caused him to bump his hands roughly into himself, Herobrine looked around, confused as to why it was so dark within their shelter.
And so cold!
Alarm jolted his body fully awake instantly as he looked over to see what remained of the fire he had started. Cursing while pushing himself to his hands and knees, he ignored the pain as he crawled over to the embers that were barely still lit.
With a quick flick of his wrist, he brought new life back to the coals and a much bigger fire flared up, the tips of the flames licking at the ceiling of their cavern. Panic replacing his alarm as he then looked over to Steve, he quickly crawled over to the human, the cave he had made far too small to allow them to stand upright.
Upon reaching his side, he let out a loud curse while reaching out and lifting Steve's head up. "Shit! He's ice cold!"
He was still alive, but extremely cold. Whatever heat his body had regained was lost once more, the blanket doing nothing to keep what little body heat his weakened form still held.
Without hesitating, Herobrine gently lowered Steve's head back down and took the edges of the blanket he was lying on and carefully dragged him closer to the fire, the light from the flames dancing and playing shadows across the miner's pale face.
'Dammit! How could this have happened?! How could I have… H-how in the fuck could I have allowed the fire to die?!' he cursed at himself mentally while placing his left arm under Steve's neck to prop him up, while his right hand pressed against his chest through the blanket and began rubbing. 'I have got to keep his heart and lungs warm at all cost…'
He could sense he was losing Steve at an alarming rate; nothing stopping hypothermia from setting in as the human's breaths were coming weaker and slower, his entire being shivering constantly in a natural response to keep warmth going as his body began to enter into a state of emergency the colder it became. He narrowed his eyes in determination. 'No! I have come too far to lose you now and everything be ruined!'
He rubbed harder, constantly making sure the fire was healthy. A fleeting thought crossed his mind suddenly; 'Dammit! It's just too cold here for him to recover. Maybe I should take him to the Neth—' He then stopped and shook his head clean of that idea. 'No. It would be too dangerous to take him there. Even WITH that bastard locked away… I don't want to risk him finding out about Steve. He'll just get in the way of everything. I'll just have to raise his body heat myself.'
Taking a deep breath as he stopped his motions, giving the unconscious man in his lap an almost uncertain look; "Don't take this personally, Steve. But I've got to raise your body temperature fast and this is the only way I can think of achieving that goal quickly." he whispered to the resting human. Without anymore hesitation, he reached for the hem of his own shirt, pulling it up and over his head; revealing his chest that was similar to Steve's but was obviously more defined and muscular. The only other significant difference between the two was a jagged pale scar about two inches long permanently ruined the middle of Herobrine's chest.
Balling his shirt up, he sat it down on the blanket the other was lying on before shifting underneath Steve. Herobrine then leaned back until he took Steve's place on the blanket, shivering as he was barely able to feel any form of warmth hanging onto the material from the human's body while lying his head on his shirt turned make shift pillow.
After getting comfortable, he then gently pulled the miner further on top of him after getting the younger male onto his stomach and held him close against his body, making sure the blanket was still covering him. He shuddered as the human's cold chest pressed against his heated flesh, causing a hiss of discomfort to slip from between the Nether ruler's lips. "Steve… if you wake up while we're like this… please don't freak out on me." he whispered before closing his eyes and relaxing, wrapping his arms tightly around Steve while concentrating on rising his own internal body temperature. He never really figured out how he was able to do it… but he figured it came to him ever since gaining the power to control fire.
Steve made a small noise close to a whimper in the back of his throat as he weakly shifted on top of Herobrine, causing the demon to let out a quick curse. "Shit… too hot…" he murmured while fluctuating his temperature until he got it just right.
Slowly opening his eyes and staring at the ceiling, Herobrine remained silent and still save for his hands running up and down along the human's back as he felt Steve beginning to respond to both his touches and heat, ignoring the painful burns on his hands as they stung from the motions.
Glancing down at the top of the miner's head, Herobrine couldn't help it as his mind began wandering on its own as he was left with nothing to do now but wait for the man to recover; 'I haven't been human… for a very long time…' he paused his mental thoughts for a moment while subconsciously tightening his grip and holding Steve closer, his left hand soon lifting up to gently begin combing his fingers through the other's faintly dampened brunette hair, no longer really feeling the pain the more lost in thought he became. 'I have forgotten… just how weak and fragile the human body can be. Is this really the one who will find the way into the End and slay the Ender Dragon and free the Overworld of its rein…?'
He continued to hold Steve close while watching him rest, relief he would never admit to experiencing stinging him at seeing and feeling the human beginning to recover once more as his body began heating back up and was no longer shivering.
With a quiet sigh, Herobrine closed his eyes to rest, this time being more careful about the fire.
'I have high expectations of you, Steve. Don't let me down.'
Herobrine groaned softly while shifting a little underneath the unfamiliar weight on top of him, his eyes soon fluttering open and head tilting to the side.
Pleased to see the fire still burning strongly, he let out a sigh of content before giving the man he was holding a tight hug, feeling his body heat back to normal and fully recovered. Sighing heavily now while allowing his arms to fall from around Steve and to land by his sides, he closed his eyes and whispered, "Fuck that was close… your dumb ass nearly froze."
"I'm sorry..."
Herobrine's eyes snapped wide open while he gasped, nearly bolting upright at the soft and sleep filled response he unexpectedly received, his gaze staring down still wide eyed to see unfocused violet looking up at him. "H-h-how long have you been awake exactly?" he asked, though judging by the looks of the state the human appeared to be in, he had just woken up. In fact, Herobrine may have even been the one to waken him.
Yawning while pulling the blanket more on top of them, Steve mumbled groggily against the demon's bare chest while shutting his eyes again, his response being completely inaudible.
Confirming his suspicions, Herobrine thought about trying to get out from underneath the human since he was still half asleep. Clearly he was recovered enough that he was no longer needed to help him. After making sure Steve had fallen back asleep, Herobrine began to work himself out from underneath the man, sighing quietly as he finally succeeded in the task without waking the miner a second time.
Ensuring the blanket was covering Steve securely so no cold air could reach him, Herobrine scooted towards the other's clothes, once again the feeling of relief that he was too proud to admit of having hit him as he felt the material was dry. Even his jeans had managed to completely dry!
"Good. Once he wakes up, he can throw his shit on and we can get the hell out of this damn biome." He murmured under his breath while turning to face the fire. A chill had run through his body now that he no longer had the warmth of both the blanket and Steve's natural body heat to keep his warm. And casting a quick glance over his shoulder pulled an annoyed growl from the demon as he found Steve was using his shirt now as a pillow. "Well… looks like I don't get to cover myself up anytime soon." he sighed.
A slow but steady pounding in his head eventually caused Steve to stir until he awoke, violet eyes weakly fluttering open and gazing around the small enclosure while the memories of what happened creeped into his mind. Squeezing his eyes shut for a few seconds, the young miner sighed softly while rolling his head to left, surprise hitting him upon the acknowledgment that he was resting his head against something soft and warm.
Rolling over onto his side, he glanced down at whatever it was he had been using as a pillow. At first, the blueness of the material reminded him of his shirt. Upon further inspection, he found it was a shirt and instantly thought it was his. But then he remembered his was wet from the snow and had been set out to dry. Casting a quick glance had him finding his shirt in fact still laying by the fire.
'So then… where did this shirt come from?' he mentally questioned himself. It was warm and clean, and a deep musky scent clung to it. It was strong but not overpowering. Blinking while trying to figure out where the shirt had come from, a sudden and almost absurd idea came to mind.
To confirm his guess, he rolled over slightly to steal a glance at his traveling companion. Only catching just a glimpse of tanned flesh had him rolling back to his original position, heat stinging his cheeks slightly as he took a deep breath to calm his suddenly racing pulse. 'He… gave me his shirt to use as a pillow? That doesn't make any sense. He could've just used some of the spare wool I have in my bag. I'm pretty positive he knows it's in there. Considering he found these two blankets I had packed.'
The second after he finished that sentence within his mind, it was then that his brain clicked. 'So then if this is Brine's shirt… this must be what he smells like. Hunh… nothing like I would've expected from someone who has spent six hundred years trapped with nothing but fire and lava. I would've expected something more close to like, oh I don't know… something burnt?'
Still shocked by the other's surprisingly pleasant scent, Steve took a silent but deep inhale of Herobrine's shirt, more surprise filling him upon the calming sensation the man's scent seemed to wash over him as he nuzzled the side of his face deeper into the rather soft material.
He couldn't help the strange feeling that slowly began overcoming him, but he would be lying if he said he wasn't enjoying it as it was not only causing a strange but rather pleasant tickle in his stomach, but it was also causing his entire being to heat up.
Which he more than happily welcomed considering he was still cold.
Pushing himself up with much reluctance, Steve groaned as his joints ached from both the cold of the cave and hardness of the ground. Looking over his shoulder as he had rolled over with his back now facing the fire, he jumped slightly upon finding just how close Herobrine was actually sitting next to him.
Steve opened his mouth to say something to the man, but immediately shut it again as a look of surprise flickered across his face upon seeing Herobrine's fully exposed back.
In the middle of his back and just slightly to the left of his spine, a white jagged scar stood out against the shadows the fire made as the demon was facing it, lidded white eyes staring intently into the orange and yellow flames.
Dying from his curiosity to know about the old wound, Steve tore his eyes away instead and took up the other's shirt and began trying to de-wrinkle it to the best of his abilities before clearing his throat and holding it out to him, "Um, here you go. Thanks, for letting me… you know, use it." he stumbled over his words awkwardly.
Herobrine blinked before turning his head to glance over his shoulder, seeing his blue shirt being held out to him. Lifting his empty gaze up to meet violet, Herobrine reached over and took his shirt with a muttered 'Thanks.' before quickly throwing it on. He paused with a sharp intake of breath at the warmth coming off the article of clothing before pulling it down all the way and hugging himself tightly to steal the shirt's warmth.
Nothing else was said between the two for the longest time until at last, Herobrine cleared his throat; "Well, now's the best time to move on. The sun's up and the snow has stopped falling."
Steve blinked while halting as he had been gathering his now dry clothing. "It started snowing last night?" The nod he received in response had him shocked as he began getting dressed, taking note of Herobrine keeping perfectly still with his back to him.
With no further distractions, both Steve and Herobrine found themselves just on the outskirts of the snow covered biome, overlooking the vast plains biome they had been traveling through the previous day.
Taking in a deep breath, Steve turned to his companion and tried to smile, "Hey, again… I'm sorry for what happened. I should've just listened to you."
Herobrine snorted; "Yeah, you should have."
Smile dropping and eyes narrowed into a hard glare, Steve was about to argue back until something off in the distance behind the demon caught his attention.
Growing annoyed that he no longer seemed to be the human's main focus, Herobrine looked over his shoulder to see what had capture the miner's gaze; "What the hell are you—?"
"What is that?" Steve asked while pointing the structure out.
Herobrine narrowed his eyes into a hard glare before huffing while grabbing Steve's shoulders and forcing him to turn away, "Don't know." he lied.
Steering Steve in the opposite direction of the tall, snow covered hill that had what appeared to be a simple looking and rather age worn wooden and stone cabin, Herobrine continued answering Steve's questions with "I don't know.". What looked like a healthy flowing waterfall that once poured freely from the side of the mountain-like hill was now completely frozen solid, the ice sparkling like diamonds in the sun's bright light.
Sensing the human's dangerous curiosity, Herobrine sneered; "I'm sure whoever is crazy enough to build their fucking home on the top of a mountain like that isn't friendly, Steve. So stop thinking about it."
Casting a quick glance over his shoulder at the mysterious house, Steve sighed while shaking the demon off, "Yeah, you're probably right. Besides, it looks like too far of a walk anyways. And it's in the snow. Shall we just stick around the desert tonight? Least we'll be able to see them? There's really no place for them to hide out there." he forced a smile while changing the topic.
A devious smirk spread across Herobrine's face, "True. They can't really have the element of surprise on their side. Sounds like we have ourselves a new plane, Steve." He winked while the same time giving the human an enthusiastic thumbs up.
Steve couldn't help but chuckle while shaking his head. "You're bipolar." He looked over his shoulder one last time at the house far off in the distance, frowning as he knew his curiosity would bother him for a while now.
Too wrapped up in his own turmoil, Steve was unaware of Herobrine delivering a harsh glare over his shoulder at the lonely little cabin. 'Don't need that annoying bastard up my ass again. And I certainly don't want him finding out about you, Steve.'
To Be Continued…
A/N- Sorry this took a while to update. My cats weren't helping as every time I literally tried to work on this chapter, they kept trying to help me by adding their own words. Cats have an unnatural obsession with walking all over your laptop whenever they want attention. For those waiting so patiently, the romance between these two will soon start to show(as if hints of it haven't already?)
On a random note, I can't draw! But I would just LOVE to have a cover for this story? So... hear me out, and I'm just throwing this out there: If anyone would like to contribute their time and skills into a cover for this story, I would not only give you full 100% credit in each chapter here in the author's notes; but I will also love you forever and ever! To sweeten the bribe-I mean-deal, if you happen to have an OC or even your actual MC character, I will include them in this story for couple of chapters worth.
So, anyone up for the task?
-lol I'm a horrible person for bribing. And we weren't even testing for that! Fml-
*Again a huge special thanks to slingading for the fantastic cover art for this story! Thank you so much and much love to you!*