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Forscythe12: Ayyyy welcome! I'm so glad you're enjoying this :D I am only vaguely familiar with twilight but rest assured my romances tend to be cringefail in more of a 'these are just besties who kiss sometimes' rather than a… whatever was going on in that series.
Herobrine set down the dish before her with a flourish, and Annabelle gave it an unimpressed look before lifting her gaze to her host.
"I'm not eating your cooking."
"Why not?" Herobrine pressed a hand to his chest, feigning offense. "Don't you trust me?" Annabelle just crossed her arms.
"You don't have to read my mind to know the answer to that." She looked down at her plate, and inadvertently her mouth began to water. The food did look good. A piece of caramelized cod lay over a bed of rice and vegetables, drizzled with a dark brown sauce. If she didn't suspect that it was poisoned, she'd be shoveling it down already.
"You're too kind." Herobrine preened. "But really, think about it. If I wanted to kill you, why would I go about it by poisoning you? I could have easily just let the drowned kill you when you first approached. Or I could've dropped you in the ocean myself, or killed you in your sleep." He paused at her withering look. "I'm not being encouraging, am I?" She shook her head. "Apologies."
He turned around, collecting another plate and setting it at the place next to hers. Immediately, she bristled, anticipating him seating himself beside her, but he merely whistled as he pulled the chair back. "Skip!" A moment later, her dog had bounced onto the chair and wolfed down the pork chop that lay on the plate.
"You cooked for my dog?" Annabelle asked incredulously as Skip licked the plate clean.
"Why not? At least he's appreciative." Herobrine patted the dog's head. Annabelle frowned. If he'd poisoned her dog… "I wouldn't poison him!" Her captor broke in. "He's a lot nicer to me than you are." Annabelle scoffed.
"He doesn't know we're not allowed to leave."
"He doesn't want to leave."
"Sure." Annabelle turned back to her plate, frowning again at the steaming fish. She was thankful that her farm was fairly low-maintenance, as long as it wasn't attacked by mobs then her animals would probably be safe. Sure, she would be missing out on eggs and milk, but her animals were free-range and would be able to find food. She just desperately hoped that no one found and raided the place before she could get back.
"Does no one else watch over your farm?" Herobrine asked, and when she looked up she found him studying her face carefully.
She scoffed. "No. I live alone."
"I gathered that." Herobrine lifted a brow. "Why?"
"Because I don't like people."
"That doesn't surprise me." He was quiet for a moment. "…aaany reason why…?"
"Some of them kidnap me and force me to be their live entertainment." She cut him off. Herobrine pressed a hand to his chest.
"Live entertainment? You wound me."
"Good."
"But seriously." Herobrine sank down in a chair on Skip's other side, the latter now licking the table to try to find any spilled juices. "Does this happen often? Or why-"
"I just don't like people, it's none of your business." She interrupted. Though she was sure he'd make it his business and pry it out of her head one way or another. Stubbornly, she changed the subject, forcing her thoughts to focus on the meal he'd cooked her again.
"Tell you what." She looked up again when her captor spoke. "If I taste it and prove it's not poisoned, will you eat?" Annabelle pursed her lips, considering this. That would work, unless he specifically avoided a part that was poisoned… "You're so paranoid." He interrupted. "Pick the bite, I don't care." Annabelle huffed a bit.
"Fine." Finally picking up her fork, she cut off a bit of the cod filet, then scooped it up with some of the rice and vegetables. As she did so, Herobrine rose and joined her at her side, getting… a little bit within her personal space. She stuck the fork in his face, and he ate the food off of it, chewing, then swallowing. He didn't move for a moment before he announced,
"D###, I am a good cook. The only suffering you'll be doing is disappointment when it's gone." He straightened up, grinning, and Annabelle rolled her eyes as she looked back at her plate. If he had eaten it without concern, then it was probably fine, right? And he was right that it was unlikely he would kidnap her just to kill her in such an uninteresting way… unless it was a poison he was immune to? He did have several other powers-
"Nether! You're so paranoid." Herobrine turned away, flinging his hands up in the air. "Fine, don't eat it, see if I care." With that, he strode out of the room. Oddly, this was the most comforting thing he'd said so far, and, after a brief moment of hesitation, Annabelle started to eat.
Much to her chagrin, it was delicious, and Skip seemed to agree as he stared mournfully at her until she gave him a piece of fish. By the time she'd finished, Annabelle couldn't detect any signs of poison or drugging, and she grudgingly admitted that her host was a good cook. Returning her plate to a counter on the side of the room, Annabelle beckoned Skip with her as she headed towards the outside door.
Herobrine was nowhere to be found as the pair of them went for a walk. Annabelle wasn't sure if he was intentionally leaving her alone or if he just didn't know where she'd gone, but she was thankful to have the alone time. She envied Skip, who clearly had no idea what was going on and was just enjoying the treats and attention. Being in the Nether had obviously freaked him out, so he was happy to be in the overworld, no matter where they were.
Annabelle slowed as the beach came into view. She was a little wary of the drowned attacking them again, but, as long as they stayed on shore they should be fine, right? The zombies hadn't gone after her until she was a decent distance from the island. With this in mind, she led Skip down to the beach, perching on a block of stone and dangling her feet in the water as Skip romped about in the shallows.
The sun was high in the sky, and Annabelle shut her eyes, letting her head droop forward as the warm rays trickled down through the trees. If she wasn't forbidden from leaving, this would be a downright nice vacation. The island was lovely, free from threats (other than Herobrine) as far as she could tell, and she had a bed to sleep in and a personal chef to cook for her, even if she still wasn't entirely sure he didn't mean to kill her. At least it was… bearable, here. And she had a tentative friend in Steve, even if he wasn't always here. She disliked most people by default, but he had overridden that prejudice by saving her life at their first meeting.
Hearing a splash, Annabelle opened her eyes to check on Skip, and found him nosing at something in the sand. Another splash sounded behind him, and she frowned, lifting her head. A humanoid silhouette appeared in the water behind him, and Annabelle surged to her feet, shouting,
"Skip!" Skip lifted his head, and an instant later the figure popped out of the water in front of him, and Annabelle scrambled off of the rock to defend against what she assumed was a drowned zombie.
She'd only taken a single step into the water when the figure turned towards her, and she stopped short. Instead of being the rotting, mindless creature she expected, this girl more closely resembled a fish, with teal, scaly skin and a bob of orange hair that seemed completely unaffected by being soaking wet. The person also had one huge eye, which stared at her, unblinking. Feeling suddenly uncomfortable, Annabelle shifted her weight.
"Uh… hello."
The figure blinked once, then broke into a grin. "Hi!" Annabelle staggered back a bit as the girl splashed towards her, stopping before the water got too shallow. Annabelle could soon see why, where the girl's legs should have been was instead a long, shimmering tail with a large fin at the end. A mermaid?
"I've never seen you here before!" The girl exclaimed brightly. "What's your name? I'm Buoy." Annabelle blinked, processing this.
"B… Boy?"
"Boo-eee." The girl drew it out. "Buoy." Skip trotted up to join them, sticking his nose into the girl's hair, and she squeaked loudly.
"Skip!" Annabelle reprimanded him automatically. Fortunately, Buoy didn't seem to bothered, burying her wet hands in Skip's fluffy mane and giggling. Annabelle shifted a bit closer, wondering how old this mermaid was… and what she was doing here.
"Um, I'm Annabelle." She tried, drawing the mermaid's attention back to her. "I just got here a couple days ago."
"Oh! I see." Buoy gave Skip a final pat on the head before the dog backed away, heading for the shore to shake himself dry. "I come here sometimes to look for food and I saw your… um… cat." She pointed to Skip, and Annabelle muffled a chortle.
"Oh, uh, that's Skip. He's a dog, actually." Annabelle coughed. "What do you… eat?" She cast a glance at Buoy's mouth, which housed a set of sharp, spiky teeth.
"Squid." Buoy answered without missing a beat. "Where do you live? I live in the temple over there." She turned to point at the open ocean. Annabelle guessed that this kid couldn't be more than 13 or 14.
"I live on the mainland, that… that way." Annabelle took a moment to orient herself, then pointed back to the south. Buoy nodded with interest.
"What are you doing here? Are you Herobrine's friend?"
Annabelle's bewildered smile faded. "Not exactly."
"Oh. Well, you can be my friend, if you want." The mermaid suggested. Annabelle stared blankly for a few seconds. She had never been the kind of person that was good with children, but she didn't really want this child to bite her if she refused.
"Oh. Uh… sure."
"Cool!" Buoy's tail smacked the water, hard, spraying droplets over both of them. Annabelle wondered at the fact that she'd made more friends in two days than she had in the last five years. "I'll come here sometimes, but you can't come to my house, okay? My parents would zap you." Annabelle gave her a blank-faced thumbs up.
"Okay."