Okuri-chan: Dude, someone on wattpad wrote self-insert x Sirben crackfic. If you wanna write something based on this absolutely go wild, just make sure you tell me so I can read it xD I only have a bit of MyStreet knowledge from when I watched some of it for a kid I was babysitting tho. Sure, I'll take recommendations! Usually I stick to minecraft "swears" ("Nether", "Notch", "Slimeball", etc) but I felt like Sirben deserved something special. He's a special boi.

"Have a seat." Trixtin glided across the small room, sinking down on the further of two couches that sat around a low table. Her guest did not obey, hesitating by the door.

"Where are your guards?" He asked.

"They're around." Trixtin crossed one leg over the other, looking up at him expectantly.

"Are you not concerned that I'll attack you?"

"Are you going to attack me?"

"No."

"Then I see no reason for concern."

"How-" He began, but Trixtin cut him off with a raised hand.

"Have a seat." She repeated herself. This time, Herobrine obeyed, rubbing at the bruises on his wrists where his cuffs had rested just minutes before as he sat down gingerly on the couch across from her. He didn't look at her, his gaze continuing to flit about the room in apprehension.

"So," Trixtin tried to draw his attention to herself. "Three hundred years you've been gone, and now you're back, asking to be locked away." Herobrine's jaw tightened, but he finally met her eyes.

"A simple request, and yet you deny me." His voice was strained as he glanced once again at the door. "Why?"

"I simply think your skills are too valuable for you to be locked away in a dungeon for eternity." Trixtin told him. "That you would be a much greater asset in my service."

"But I should not be here." Herobrine protested. "You saw the way your men look at me- your people know me as a murderer and a tyrant, as they should. I don't belong here."

"Then why did you come?" Trixtin arched a brow. Herobrine opened his mouth to respond, but she went on to clarify. "You've spent three hundred years in the Overworld, as little more than a thought in the backs of the minds of human and piglin alike. What made you decide to come back? To turn yourself in?" Herobrine hesitated, and his nervous glances finally stilled as he lowered his gaze to the floor.

"I… met someone." He admitted. "She… gave me a new perspective."

"Oh?" Trixtin sat up straight, resting her chin in her palm. "Do tell."

"Miss, ah, ma'am?" The voice from her left broke Evangeline out of her thoughts, and she looked up to find the human girl making her way across the procession towards her. "It's- it's Evangeline, right?"

"Yes." Evangeline dipped her chin in a nod. "And you are Alex Hunt. Can I help you?"

"Yes- well, I don't really need anything, I was just wondering if we could talk." Alex flushed a bit. "I- what should I call you? Before you, and your friend and commander, I've never met a valkyrie before." Evangeline couldn't help but smile at the starstruck look in the girl's green eyes.

"You may call me by name, if I can call you by yours."

It had been several hours now since they had left the capital city, and they had just finished their midday meal and gotten back on the road. The queen had a pocket watch on her, which they used to keep track of the time. Staying on a healthy sleeping and eating schedule was more important when there was no sun to keep them on track.

The queen was now at the front of the party with Zenith close beside her. He was holding her hand, and they occasionally exchanged a few quiet words. He wasn't usually so openly affectionate, Evangeline noted, as he seemed to think that his relationship with the queen was a lot more discreet than it actually was. As it was, anyone that saw him look at, talk about, or exist around the queen could come to the conclusion fairly easily that there was something between them.

Meryl and Tekno were walking and chatting not far behind them, and Herobrine was at the very back, quiet as always. Evangeline, who had been trying to ignore him, was more than happy to engage with Alex as a distraction.

"You are fully human, correct?" Evangeline asked. "And you live in the Nether?"

Alex nodded. "My ma 'n da died when I was a little one, so my godfather took me in." She explained. "He's a piglin."

"I see." Evangeline nodded thoughtfully. It seemed that interspecies friendships were more common than she had expected. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-three." Alex said, and Evangeline's brows went up. That was very young, even for a human, wasn't it? Barely out of adolescence. "How old are you, m- Evangeline?" Alex stumbled slightly over the question, and Evangeline had to take a moment to think.

"Four hundred and seventy-seven." She said at last.

"Oh." Alex's jaw dropped in astonishment. "That's- oh, I knew valkyries were immortal, but…"

"Yes, and there are those of my kind that would consider me young." Evangeline shot her a grin. "Some of the older valkyries don't consider one a fully-fledged adult until they are five hundred." Alex shook her head.

"I must seem like a- an infant to you."

"A bit," Evangeline admitted. "Though, by human standards, you are a young adult as well are you not?" Alex nodded. "So, comparatively, that makes us about the same age."

"Isn't that something to think about." Alex said with a laugh.

The two of them remained in friendly conversation for the next hour or so, Alex asking as many questions as she dared about valkyries and the Aether. Evangeline, on the other hand, learned that the young lady's profession was as a mapper and gatherer, which meant frequently going out into uncharted areas of the Nether alone. Evangeline was surprised, since she was so young, but given that she was still alive she must be fairly competent at her job.

Eventually, though, they had run out of small talk, and were forced to turn to more serious matters.

"The queen said that you and your friend are familiar with that…" Alex shook her head, struggling for words. "…whoever did that to that poor lad."

"We are." Evangeline confirmed. "His name is Sirben, and, forty years ago, he was in the Aether doing the same thing to valkyries."

"Oh." Alex made a face. "And you… chased him into the Nether?"

"Not exactly…" Evangeline grimaced at the memory of her time in Sirben's hands. "I- and Herobrine-" She nodded over her shoulder at the cloaked man following them. "-were taken prisoner by Sirben after we rescued my friend Meryl from him. Sirben nearly killed me, but my commander arrived just in time to stop him. We captured his associates, but Sirben himself escaped into the Nether."

"I see…" Alex frowned, glancing back at Herobrine. "I didn't realize that you and the queen's aide knew each other." Evangeline fought back a bitter remark.

"We did." She said instead. Alex was quiet for a few moments.

"So, it's been forty years since this 'Sirben' fellow escaped here."

"That's right." Evangeline said. "And we don't know what he's been doing since then - other than the only assumption we can make. I'm still trying to figure out if the zombie that attacked you was a fluke, or a deliberate movement to draw our attention."

"Zombie?" Alex echoed.

"Reanimated corpse- that's what he called them."

"So you think it could be a trap." Alex gathered. Evangeline could only shrug.

"With Sirben, nothing can be sure."

Evangeline sank down near the center of camp, sighing as she unbuckled the straps of her knapsack to free it from her wings. The queen had announced just minutes before that it was approaching time for them to rest, prompting them to make camp and set up watches for the 'night'.

They were still in the Wastes, though Alex had told her that they would soon reach the Warped Forest where she had encountered the zombie. They had covered a lot of ground today, Alex estimated that they would reach the spot before midday tomorrow. Evangeline could feel flutters of nervousness at the thought of possibly encountering more zombies - or worse, Sirben himself - but at the same time, the thought of being able to finally take him down was almost exciting.

Evangeline opened her knapsack for the first time, reaching inside and coming out first with a thin blanket. She folded it and set it aside for use as a pillow. How anyone could have use for a blanket in this heat was beyond her.

"Evangeline." The queen's voice caught her attention, and she got up, stepping over to where wrapped potions of rations were being handed out. "Here you are," The queen handed her one of the small packages with a smile. "And here-" She offered her a second one. "Would you take this to Herobrine for me?" Evangeline blinked, then turned, finding Herobrine where he sat by himself on the outskirts of their little camp.

"O-of course," She stuttered, a bit caught off guard. The queen gave her a sweet smile as Evangeline took the second package and made her way across the camp towards Herobrine.

He didn't seem to notice her, absorbed in writing what appeared to be a letter, and Evangeline slowed down as she neared him. She hadn't been prepared to talk to him just yet, but maybe this would make for a good opportunity.

"Herobrine," She spoke, making him lift his head as she stopped in front of him. "The queen asked me to bring you this." She held out the package, making a considerable effort to keep her voice steady. Herobrine held her gaze for only a moment before it dropped to the rations in her hand.

"Thank you," He said politely and took it. Evangeline took a step back, hesitated, then sank down to sit cross-legged beside him.

"I've been wondering something," She stated as he visibly stiffened. "I'd like your opinion."

"Yes?" He didn't look at her, focusing on unwrapping his rations.

"This zombie that Alex encountered-" Evangeline went on, "-do you think it slipped away from Sirben, or was this an attempt on his part to catch our attention?" Herobrine's face seemed to lose some of its forced neutrality, and he hummed thoughtfully.

"From what we've seen, Sirben is not… careless." He began. "It seems unlikely that he would lose an entire one of his puppets."

"You're right." Evangeline agreed. His plan to get rid of her had been very tidy, the only reason it had failed being that he had not factored in Herobrine's existence. "So, it seems more reasonable to assume that he's luring us in on purpose."

"It's quite possible." Herobrine said with a nod. "Either that, or he's slipping… which is also possible, given that he's lost his home and his followers and been forced into hiding."

"Either way, we should be prepared for the worst." Evangeline said as she pulled a piece of pork jerky from her bundle. Herobrine hummed, his gaze drifting across the camp to where the others sat.

"I wish the queen had not insisted on coming." He said quietly. "If there is trouble, at least one of us will have to escort her back to safety."

"Indeed." Evangeline murmured. "But she does not seem to be the kind of woman who will take 'no' for an answer."

"She is not." Herobrine agreed. Evangeline rested her chin in her palm as she studied his face. There were scars on his cheeks and across the bridge of his nose, a notch in one pointed ear. When had he sustained these wounds? After his reign? During? She was struck by the intense urge to reach out and trace her finger across his cheek.

Shaking it off, she dropped her gaze to his sheet of paper. "Who are you writing?" She asked. Herobrine followed her gaze.

"My brother, Lord Lancaster."

"Oh." Bitterness and jealousy welled up inside of her - so he got a letter, but Evangeline got nothing? - but she banished it before it could spill over. Lord Lancaster was his blood relation, of course he took precedence over her.

"Speaking of which, I should finish it." Herobrine shifted, meeting her eyes passively. "Goodnight, Evangeline."

"Goodnight." Taking her food, Evangeline stood and made her way back across camp towards the others. It had been a dismissal, yes, but a gentle one. He had spoken to her for more than a moment, and looked her in the eye.

It was progress, she told herself as she sank down to sit next to Meryl. All she could hope for was progress.