Shock and mistrust
Nuka's heart skipped a beat as he heard that.
"Related to him?" he repeated softly, to which Herobrine nodded again.
"I don't know to what extent," he whispered weakly, "but I'm sure that... that there must be some kind of connection between you and... and him. Otherwise, I can't explain why... why you would have his powers..."
Nuka stared at him in shock.
He could hardly believe what he was hearing!
He could somehow be related to the one who nearly killed Herobrine and stripped him off all his power?!
"You know, I... I had this suspicion for a long time," Herobrine continued in a tired voice, "but I... I didn't tell you because... because I thought he would be long dead... and... and it wouldn't make sense anymore."
"But now... now it seems I was wrong too," he added grimly, while Nuka continued to stare ahead in disbelief.
He just couldn't believe what he had just heard.
All his life, he had wondered where his powers came from and why only he possessed them, hoping it would reveal more about himself and their nature, but now that he knew, he didn't feel any better at all.
On the contrary, he wished even more that he didn't have these powers.
I wonder how closely related I am to him?..
Is he my grandfather? My uncle, or what if he's even... Nuka shook his head vigorously!
No! That can't be true! he thought firmly. My... my mother would never associate herself with someone like him!
Are you sure about that? a sneering voice whispered in his head, but before Nuka could ponder further, Herobrine began speaking again.
"I know that... that all of this must be more... more than shocking for you," he continued in a weak voice, "but don't worry. I... I doubt that Null knows you exist, and I... I want to keep it that way. He... he doesn't deserve you anyway."
Nuka smiled weakly as he heard that.
He appreciated Herobrine's clumsy attempt to cheer him up, but it didn't completely dispel his worries and fears regarding Null and their connection. Moreover, he couldn't deny that he still wanted to talk to that guy.
Because even though Nuka didn't like it, he seemed to be the only one who could give him answers about his father and his abilities.
But before Nuka could dwell on it further, Herobrine started speaking again.
"Listen," he heard him say a short moment later with a surprisingly firm voice, before grabbing Nuka's arm again and looking at him intently. "You... can't use your powers or...or tell anyone about this. Believe me, it will only bring you more hatred and distrust towards the others here. It's better if we keep this to ourselves for now..."
Nuka looked at him uncertainly.
Was that really the best solution?
Of course at the moment, he couldn't use his powers because of the enchantments on the chains anyway but what if he needed to use them in the future to protect Herobrine or himself?
Especially since he was already sure that at least Steve knew about his powers and was capable of seeing the connection between him and Null, which scared Nuka much more than he would like.
What if he told the wizards about it and they kicked him out of the town or even did something worse to him?
But would they really do that?
Without at least asking first?
Nuka couldn't deny that this thought scared him, even though it wouldn't surprise him. He had witnessed it often enough with Minecrafters.
But were the wizards the same?
After all, they were not under Steve's command and didn't hesitate to ignore his orders, which made them more sympathetic to Nuka. However, they had also put him in chains, which didn't speak well for them.
But before he could respond to that, a loud knock on the door made him jump, and he turned around to see Roxana entering.
(Change of view)
Herobrine flinched at the unexpected knock on the door and looked at it annoyed.
Did someone have to interrupt them right now?! Really?
He still needed an answer from Nuka!
"Who is that?!" he growled softly but before Nuka could respond the door opened and a young woman entered.
The first thing Herobrine noticed about her were her green eyes, sparkling like emeralds, which matched her face with its many freckles.
She appeared quite delicate and seemed hardly older than Nuka, which surprised Herobrine.
He had expected the healer who took care of him to be somewhat more...experienced.
How long has she been a full-fledged healer? Herobrine wondered as he observed her long, wavy auburn hair falling over her right shoulder which she had tied at the end with a simple band.
The plain black dress she wore, adorned with a kind of white collar or poncho, left no doubt in Herobrine's mind that she was a mage with the main ability of healing.
He knew that there were other forms of magic, each marked with different colors but Herobrine wasn't knowledgeable enough to list them all.
And even if he could, his mind is too dizzy right now to do so.
Other than that, the young woman in front of him appeared very small and Herobrine caught himself thinking about how pretty she was.. but he quickly pushed that thought aside!
It didn't matter whether she was pretty or not; she was still a stranger!
A stranger whose intentions he didn't know and therefore he had to remain cautious.
But before he could ponder further, her gaze fell upon him, and she froze.
"Oh, you're awake," she finally replied in a soft voice while looking at him with uncertain eyes.
"Yes, isn't that great?!" Nuka responded happily while Herobrine continued to stare at him suspiciously. "I never thought he would wake up so quickly."
He tried to sound cheerful and carefree but Herobrine could see that their previous conversation had truly shaken and affected him.
Fortunately, the stranger seemed oblivious to it.
Perhaps that was because her gaze was more focused on Herobrine than on Nuka, who still regarded her with mistrust.
"Yeah it is," she replied softly, though she appeared more shocked than delighted, unlike Nuka.
But that didn't surprise Herobrine.
After all, he was the most feared god in all of Minecraftia and one could only speculate how many terrible stories she must have heard about him.
It surprised him, however, to see curiosity mixed with the expected fear and uncertainty in her bright green eyes.
But maybe he was just imagining it.
"How long has he been awake?" she asked, turning her attention back to Nuka a moment later. He sat there staring thoughtfully ahead before shrugging apologetically.
"I don't know. Not very long," he finally replied, still a bit agitated, but Roxana seemed not to notice.
Instead, she sighed before shifting her gaze back to Herobrine.
"How...how are you?" she continued with a slightly shaky voice, apparently attempting to sound firm but failing miserably which amused Herobrine.
Yet, he still didn't answer her and continued to glare at her grumpily.
"You...You can talk to her, Hero," Nuka said a second later, his voice uncertain. "Roxana won't harm you. On the contrary, she's here to help you. She's already helped you before."
With those words, he nodded towards the spot where Herobrine's wound was, but Herobrine scoffed disdainfully.
"Helped me?" he murmured weakly, while regarding Roxana with a disapproving gaze. "And why...why is the wound still there?"
"Hero!" Nuka exclaimed indignantly, but before he could say anything else, Roxana lifted her head, silencing him.
"No," she continued a moment later, her voice surprisingly calm. "Let him complain all he wants. Apparently, his injury is clouding his judgment. Because if he could think clearly, he would be grateful for still being alive instead of complaining about why he's still hurt and here."
"Because normally, he wouldn't be."
Herobrine glared at her with indignation and anger!
What had she said?! That he couldn't think properly?!
Was she implying that he was stupid?!
"And believe me," she continued, turning her serious gaze back to Herobrine, who glared at her hatefully ,"if I had the opportunity to heal your wound, I would have done it long ago."
"And stop trying to intimidate me," she added a moment later, still addressing him. "It won't work. Especially not without your famous white eyes."
Herobrine bit his lip when he heard that.
He knew Roxana was right, but he didn't like that she pointed out his powerlessness so openly, and he could feel the shame welling up within him.
"So save your strength," the young magician continued without hesitation "You'll need it for more important things."
"Besides," she continued with a noticeably friendlier tone and a smile, "you won't be able to get rid of me anyway. Ethan told me to help you and I will do what he asks of me whether you like it or not."
With these words, she approached Herobrine and knelt down beside him, causing him to tense up and recoil from the sudden and unwelcome proximity, which immediately brought him new pain.
"Hey, are you okay?" Herobrine heard Nuka ask with a concerned voice shortly after to which he only nodded, his face still contorted and unable to respond due to the pain, when he suddenly noticed a movement near his face!
His hand shot up immediately and grabbed Roxana's arm, causing her to flinch and stare at him with a shocked expression.
"Don't...touch...me!" he growled softly as he looked into her bright green eyes, shimmering like gemstones, before groaning again and curling up because of the pain.
"Listen," He heard Roxana say a moment later in a soft voice, while he was still trying to fight off the pain "I know you don't like it. And believe me, I don't like having to take care of you either, but if I don't help you... then... then you'll die."
"I don't know how much you value your own life," she continued with a soft voice "but if you don't do it for yourself, do it for Nuka. Because if there's anyone who needs you... it's him."
Nuka.
At the mention of the boy, Herobrine opened his eyes and looked through the haze of pain at him, still sitting next to him and looking at him with big concern.
The boy...of course...but he already knew that, he couldn't leave him alone and never wanted to do this in the first place.
Not to mention that he was very attached to his life and wanted to keep it but that wasn't the reason why he didn't want her help.
No, the real reason was far...far more stupid.
Herobrine closed his eyes and sighed, while he was trying to calm his racing heart again.
It may sound crazy, but that thought, that someone touching him, especially when he was so helpless and weak and without a means to defend himself, filled him with more tension and fear than anything else!
Herobrine scoffed quietly as he thought about that.
He shouldn't be afraid of that! It was ridiculous!
But he was glad Roxana didn't figure this out tho, even tho he couldn't figure out why.
But she can't be that stupid can she? Herobrine thought when suddenly he heard Nukas soft voice again.
"You can let her help you, Hero," He claimed "She won't do anything to you, I promise and she has helped you before."
That's true, Herobrine thought grimly. But I wasn't awake at the time, so I didn't care if I was being touched or not!
However, he refrained from making that comment, as he didn't have the strength to speak, and instead, closed his eyes and tried to catch his breath, when suddenly an idea struck him!
"Fine," he finally continued with a weak voice, as he opened his eyes again and looked into the green eyes of the young magician "I... I'll let you... help me... but before that you let me speak…with your leader."