Chapter 14: Not Worried
Herobrine hadn't calmed entirely down as the early hours of twilight began to set in, causing the others to become slightly more concerned for him as they continued to travel.
Sure, momentary embarrassment was enough to get over on its own, but there had to have been more to his current behavior. Were Caraway's words what bugged him? Was he more concerned about that subject than anything else? Or was that only partially fueling his current state?
Steve could only look on in curiosity as the demigod went on ahead farther than the rest of them, Andvari at his side. Though the enderman was speaking to Herobrine, his concerned reactions to the demigod's apparent responses were all that Steve needed in order to know that his efforts to console him weren't working. Looking down at Constiere beside him, he saw the other looking worriedly ahead as well, seemingly even more attentive to the others than he was. Looking back, he saw Malgun trailing behind them all, attention more focused on the slowly disappearing moon above them than anything else.
As Steve directed his attention back forward, all he could do was feel slightly helpless in the matter. Sure, theoretically, he could simply walk up to the other and ask how he was feeling and how he was taking the news, but then again, this was Herobrine. He was just barely beginning to understand how the other worked, and even then, he had already been thrown a few curveballs that threatened to put him back at point one all over again. Just when he thought that the other wouldn't want anything to do with him at all, there was evidence to suggest that Herobrine was attempting to learn more about him through what he dubbed to be "interrogation" sessions, and oddly enough, that was becoming a more probable theory the longer he spent time around him. Just when he supposed that Herobrine was simply protecting him solely for personal gain, it had been revealed to him, point-blank, that the other had developed some sort of actual concern for him. The mental gymnastics the other went through to justify that concern was interesting and amusing, to say the least, but the more Steve thought about it, the more stunned he became that the other had even been willing to admit it verbally at all. Herobrine had initially made it very clear that he had no interest in humans whatsoever, only to cave in once it became apparent that Steve wasn't going anywhere anytime soon, and that there was more to him than simply being mortal. At this point, Steve wasn't sure if Herobrine would even respond to him asking whether or not he was okay with an actual answer, or a vague reminder that their current relationship was only in terms of being a partnership and nothing more, even though that in itself was beginning to develop further.
Could he even express concern for him, or would he be ridiculed?
Debating with himself on the issue, Steve directed his attention upward toward the shifting skies until he noticed a tug on his arm, which halted him completely in his tracks abruptly. Looking to his side, he saw Constiere looking up at him with a curious gaze.
"...I know this seems like a really stupid question to ask, but have you ever stopped to watch the sunrise? From this early in the morning? Before you met us, I mean?"
Slightly intrigued by the other's question, Steve shook his head in response.
"Night isn't really...good for people like me. Y'know, because of the mobs and stuff. I'm usually asleep, or mining at this time of day. I tend to catch sunrises later on, actually."
"...Mining? What?" Constiere raised a brow in amusement at his words.
"I kinda lose track of time a lot while working in the mines, so even if I am awake at this time, I wouldn't really be out in the open to see the sunrise. Unless you bring a watch or something, days and nights don't look too different down there, y'know?" Steve let out a small laugh.
Nodding, Constiere watched as Malgun passed them silently, a smirk appearing on his face soon afterward.
"The best part about this time of day are the colors and stuff, but on top of that? Watching the necromanced mobs scramble to move somewhere safer before they burst into flames."
Slightly disturbed by the other's amusement, Steve looked at him curiously.
"...Necromanced?"
"Remember when master talked about you humans messing around with stuff and how that led to the zombies and skeletons? There was this whole cult of necromancers that started that mess. I have to tell you the story when we get a chance to exchange stuff, because it's so stupid, you'll regret never hearing about it before."
Laughing a bit at the untold story, the boy's expression soon fell afterward as they fell back into silence once again. Tightening his hold around Steve's arm, Constiere pulled him down closer a bit in order to whisper to him, gaze focused on the group before them.
"...I think that what Caraway said is really, really bugging him. Normally, he doesn't even care about what the Aether does, but since he mentioned his brother and whatever, I think it's messing him up pretty badly."
Looking back towards Herobrine as he realized what the conversation had turned into, Steve slowly nodded.
"...I kinda guessed that too, but...wait, why are we whispering?"
Constiere rolled his eyes.
"Because you dolt, if Malgun hears us, he'll cut things short and tell us to mind our own business. Andvari will get mad, and master will be even worse. You're clearly worried about this too, and I think that you're pretty much the only person here who's gonna talk openly about it and not shoot me down, alright?"
Steve nodded, this time more confidently.
"Yeah. I guess I'm not so good at hiding it, huh?"
Constiere let out a small laugh, letting go of the miner's arm as he did so.
"Honestly, your acting skills are pretty good, but they need some work!"
Lowering his tone back into a whisper, Constiere looked around briefly before letting out a sigh.
"...Master's the closest with Andi; if he can't get any info from him, then we're doomed."
Steve thought to himself for a moment, before shrugging.
"...I wouldn't say doomed, but pretty disadvantaged, if anything else."
"...Not doomed? What plan you got in that head of yours, bright-eyes?" Constiere lightly used the back of his knuckles to tap against Steve's head in a playful manner, earning a small "Hey!" from the miner.
"...I'm just saying, I can try getting him to admit something. Key word being try."
Constiere shrugged at his words.
"Beats any idea I have right now, which is none. Go ahead, bright-eyes."
Steve raised a brow at the other.
"...What's with the nickname?"
"I needed something else to call you!"
"What about my name?"
"Eh...nah."
Letting out a sigh of defeat, Steve smiled at the other.
"...Yeah, alright. Guess that's fair enough. But if I'm bright-eyes, then you're...dirt boy."
Constiere pouted at him.
"Hey! I'm not dirty!"
Steve said nothing in response. He simply gestured to the other's clothes, leading to the boy following his direction before looking over himself briefly. With a narrowed gaze, Constiere quickly dusted himself off, though it did nothing to change his appearance.
"...Fine. But just so you know, this ain't all dirt, if you catch my drift."
"I know that. I have bright enough eyes to see that now." Pointing to his own eyes, Steve let out a laugh as he went on ahead, causing the other to go into a quick little sprint in order to catch up.
Silence followed their words for a bit as they waited for more distance to fall in between them and the others. When they were finally out of listening range, Constiere spoke up again in a whisper.
"...So, what's the plan here? Are you gonna threaten him? Trick him? What?"
Steve thought to himself for a moment before shrugging.
"...I don't wanna die, so I think that 'trick' is the better answer, there."
"Okay, and how are you gonna do that?"
Steve cast a glance to the side for a moment.
"...I can't read him well, but...when I get the chance, I'll confront him. Start the conversation off differently, then slowly...uh, hmm…"
"...Get into the meat of it? Ask the tough questions?" Constiere suggested.
"...Yeah? Yeah. But like, not that openly, if I can help it. I can figure out what's going on with him through vague responses and context clues, if I can't get a direct answer though."
"Why not openly?"
"...You know him better than I do. He won't answer me if he finds my questions too stupid to answer. Or pointless. I mean, there's a chance I'm wrong about that, but..."
Constiere shrugged at his response.
"Fair enough. I mean, it's different with me, but so far, I think that you actually have a better chance of getting to him."
Confused on what the boy meant, Steve raised a brow, only to watch as the other went further ahead in order to catch up with the rest of the group, him quickly following afterward.
What was Constiere suggesting? How was Herobrine more open with him than his own direct minion? Was he joking? Was he being sarcastic? What? Throughout their planning progress, Steve noticed that despite his mocking nature, Constiere seemed to be a bit more comfortable with talking to him in a more friendly manner. Did that mean that he was being completely serious, or was he being more playful with him?
Lost in his thoughts, Steve moved on, thinking about the boy's words repeatedly in his head, trying to make any sense of them.
Up ahead, Herobrine paused in his tracks abruptly, causing the rest of the group to stop along with him.
"...We have only so long until the sun fully rises, but there's a forest nearby with ample coverage. Malgun, cover yourself well."
The miner broke out from his thoughts. Looking back to glance at the skeleton, Steve watched as he nodded and pulled up the leather hood of his cloak, tightening the hold of it around his exposed bones. Focusing his attention back on Herobrine as the demigod let out a sigh, Steve waited for the other to start speaking once again.
"...Let's get there before we're caught too off guard."
As Herobrine started walking again, Steve and Constiere gave each other a quick glance, worry still evident on their features. After a moment, they started walking as well, following close behind as the forest began to creep into view.
Once fully within the hold of luscious trees and active cover from the still-rising sun, Herobrine stopped once again, halting the group as his movements ceased.
Turning around abruptly, Herobrine's gaze fell solely upon Steve, causing him to flinch.
"...I have to mention this now since it's been bugging me. You were slow to act when we were confronted in the temple. I thought that you would've had some time to think about your abilities after our first training session, but I guess that was not the case."
As his words processed themselves within Steve's mind, the miner's eyes widened briefly as they finally settled.
Was...was Herobrine seriously thinking about having another training session at the moment? In his current state?
Steve tilted his head slightly in confusion at the other's words, looking him over briefly as it was clear that he was very much still a bit tense from before. Had he finally gotten over himself, and the miner, along with Constiere, just hadn't noticed? Was the tenseness residual? Or was Herobrine attempting to distract himself? Either way, though Steve didn't necessarily want to experience the same emotions that he did the last time that they trained, he, nevertheless, was willing to put his worries aside for the moment in order to allow the demigod to sort things out with some assistance. Besides, he was also wanting to see if the first training session he had with the other was really going to define them all, for certain.
"...Are we gonna train in order to fix that?..." Steve suggested hesitantly, a smile appearing on his face involuntarily as he saw, for a brief second, the other slightly perk up at the question.
"...It's been a while since we last had a chance to see how your abilities improved on a one-to-one basis."
As Herobrine approached the miner, Andvari stepped forward, leaning down in order to whisper to the demigod with a worried expression.
"Sir, are you sure that you-"
Herobrine held up a hand to silence the enderman.
"Yes. I'm fine. This is a pressing matter, and it beckons more attention than what our conversation held."
Though Andvari's expression remained the same, Herobrine's fell into a more serious state.
Standing in front of the miner, the demigod crossed his arms over his chest.
"...I suppose that we can forgo the informality and actually begin to focus on better skills more suited to one such as you."
Steve raised a brow.
"...Meaning?"
Herobrine narrowed his gaze at him.
"...You prefer to avoid difficult encounters in favor of speaking. Something that utterly confuses me on why you're so adamant on doing it, but nevertheless, it's something that should be considered."
The demigod began to circle the miner, and Steve couldn't help but feel slightly nervous at the action.
"In our last training session, I noticed that you seemed to struggle with keeping a conversation as you moved. Why?"
"...It's kinda hard to talk when you're trying to not die, y'know?" Steve shrugged.
"...Your brain can't handle multitasking?"
Now it was Steve's turn to glare at the other.
"My brain works perfectly fine! I'm used to mobs that don't talk to me, not people that do, remember?"
Taking out his sword, Herobrine nodded at his words, his voice growing quiet as he seemed to be lost in a momentary haze. He stopped walking as he cast a glance down at his sword.
"...Right. I...forgot."
The other was clearly distracted by his previous inner thoughts, but Steve didn't want to push the issue just yet. Playing along, Steve grabbed his own weapon from its sheath and held it loosely, not yet wishing to begin, yet also not wanting the other to get so lost in his own thoughts that he would call off the opportunity entirely.
If he learned anything from their previous session, it was that Herobrine tended to become more vocal and talkative while active.
As Herobrine came back to the present moment, he looked at Steve with another serious gaze.
"...This time around, I want you to test yourself. Be quick and attentive, yet make it so that you can keep a conversation while swinging your sword. I don't mind what trivial things you so choose to speak about. Simply keep focus on actually doing these two things at once. We can't afford to avoid scuffles entirely, so it'd be best to learn how to manage both those and talking at the same time, if you won't give up attempting to speak with others."
Nodding in understanding of what the other wanted from him, Steve slightly positioned himself in a fighting stance before briefly looking around at the others around them.
Andvari was now clearly concerned for both of them, but he simply stood off to the side without any command to oversee the match. Constiere was waiting in high anticipation for their sparring match to begin, having missed the previous one, which Steve assumed the boy would've liked given that it mainly focused on making him miserable. Malgun was indifferent as he sat underneath the cover of a large tree, though Steve would've taken a guess that the other was more interested in his fighting technique than anything else.
Growing a bit more nervous at the idea that he'd be having a bigger audience to witness his possible embarrassment, Steve physically and mentally readied himself, even though he felt like he couldn't be nearly as prepared as he wanted to be given the other's unpredictability. However, the more his mind shifted from the realization, the more that a general feeling of confidence began to overtake him as he began to examine the situation he was placing himself in.
He wanted to talk to Herobrine. Herobrine was giving him the opportunity to talk. Sure, this might end poorly based on previous experiences, but this was the exact opportunity that Steve wanted, and needed. He asked for it, and now he was receiving it. Whether or not Constiere realized the same thing he did was up for debate, but Steve was growing excited at the possibility to speak with the demigod in an open fashion.
"...Steven. Start talking." The other's words broke him out of his excited haze, but nevertheless, he nodded, looking off to the side momentarily before looking back up at Herobrine with a slightly nervous gaze.
"...Uh, so-"
The other lunged at him before he even got the chance to properly start, or finish, his sentence.
"Wait a minute, you just wanted to spar because you wanted to get mad at somebody else!"
Herobrine shrugged, giving another quick swing of his sword before letting out a quiet scoff.
"...No, I was legitimately concerned about your method of engaging others. It's better to find a decent fighting style that suits you properly than to throw caution to the wind and hope to find something that sticks. Or worse, sticking with your previous strategy."
Finding it difficult to respond with something past a few short words while also attempting to block the other's attacks, Steve nodded.
"It's at least, well, nice, to know that you care."
Rolling his eyes, Herobrine swung again.
Though Steve was having trouble keeping his sword steady underneath the weight of the other's heavy blows, he couldn't help but notice that the attacks he was receiving were...not what he was expecting. Every slash was calculated, but spaced out evenly. No moves were made to catch him off guard. The demigod was noticeably slower than what Steve had witnessed before, utterly confusing him as Herobrine didn't speed up whatsoever.
He must've been really, really upset. There was no other explanation for it. Why else was he showing mercy? He attacked harder before and had no intention of murdering him then, as well as a slightly less amount of concern for him, so why the sudden relaxation of technique? Was he actually intending on allowing him to learn something at his own pace? Was he attempting to match his pace? His actions were speaking way more than what his words were implying, and yet, they were still utterly mind-boggling.
As the miner became lost in thought himself, Herobrine raised a brow at his expression, which expressed nothing but blankness as Steve watched his movements and responded in an almost robotic manner.
Without warning, Herobrine followed up his next attack with a quick slash to the side, causing the other to snap back into focus, moving quickly out of the way before the demigod had the chance to actually injure him severely.
"Ah, you're awake. Thought that you were getting careless, Steven." Herobrine mused, causing the miner to glare at him slightly.
"I was thinking!"
"For once, I will tell you to think out loud. You need to multitask, but all you're doing is allowing your brain to feel at ease and be unchallenged."
Steve's brain was currently telling him to test the waters.
"I think that you'd benefit from allowing your brain to relax a bit, actually." Steve muttered, loud enough for the other to hear as another swing came his way.
"...Excuse me?"
"You're upset, aren't you?" Steve asked quietly, looking at the other with a sympathetic look.
Confusion spread across the other's face.
"What are you talking about?"
Steve rolled his eyes.
"C'mon, ever since we got out of the temple, you've been...off. I know I...uh, haven't been around long enough to know what 'off' means for you, but-"
Herobrine interrupted his words with a small barrage of quick, unapologetic swings from his blade.
"There's nothing to be concerned about. Change the topic."
So, it must've been something about the temple encounter that was bugging Herobrine.
Steve decided not to change the topic.
"...Are you worried about what Caraway sa-"
"No."
Another violent swing. Then another.
"What that fool said isn't anything I didn't particularly know or expect. I'm not worried about the divines. At all."
Steve couldn't read the other well, but his slightly hurried tone led to the thought that he was, in fact, lying.
"Are you worried about them as a whole? Or...is it just that guy that Caraway was talking about? Max-"
Steve wasn't expecting for the other to move to the side in order to deliver a hit strong enough to knock him entirely over, but nevertheless, once he was on the ground, he quickly scrambled to get back up as the other began to fall back into the sporadic fighting style that he was accustomed to seeing from him.
"Do not. Mention. His. Name. In my presence." Herobrine growled out, eyes full of fury as his expression hadn't changed all that much from before.
Apparently, Maxwell was a sore subject.
"Okay...so, I think that you're worried about something else. What, then?"
"How many times do I have to tell you? I'm not worried at all."
"Then why the sudden training session? Did you really want to improve my skills, or did you need a distra-"
Herobrine managed to hit him directly with his sword, right above his elbow. It wasn't a deep cut, but it still stung badly, nevertheless. After a yelp of pain escaped his lips, he, very briefly, caught a glimpse of emotion as it splashed across the other's face, though he wasn't sure if it was of concern, regret, or even shock from his own actions. It quickly disappeared from view, but as it did, Herobrine's movements slowed down considerably once again. Falling into a pace that better suited the human in front of him, Herobrine slightly weakened his swings as he focused his attention on the other's arm.
"...I wanted to help improve your abilities. Nothing more, nothing less." Seemingly ignoring the look of discomfort on the miner's face, Herobrine continued the conversation.
Briefly stopping to look at his arm worriedly, Steve looked up at the other with a bit of a glare as he shifted his position, making sure that his uninjured arm was carrying more of the weight of his sword before continuing.
"I think that you needed a distraction."
"You'd be thinking wrong."
"I don't think so. You keep trying to avoid the conversation, and you're not exactly great at hiding it. You actually cut me. You wanted to take your mind off of what happened earlier, and that's nothing to be ashamed of!" Steve attempted to console the other as he fought back, finding that the other was actually listening to his response instead of attempting to cut him off this time.
"I did not need to distract myself, because I've already put Caraway's words past me."
"Have you, though?"
"Yes."
"Are you sure?"
"Steven, what are you trying to gain?!" Herobrine raised his voice, finally having gotten tired of the other's persistent efforts.
Sheepishly, Steve looked at the other with kind eyes.
"...Nothing. I just want to talk, like you said. You said that you didn't mind the topic, so...I thought it'd be nice to help us both out."
Abruptly, Herobrine threw his sword in the ground, hard enough to nearly half-sheath it within the earth.
"We're done here."
With confusion, Steve relaxed his position as he sheathed his own sword within its scabbard, hesitantly.
"What? Why?" He asked, almost innocently.
Herobrine turned away from him.
"...You're attempting to weaponize my emotions against me. I tried to help you out, and you treat me like a fool."
Steve rolled his eyes at the accusation.
"First of all, I wasn't trying to 'weaponize' anything. I was just trying to talk. Second, you're one to talk given that you actually used my emotions to prove a point last time we trained!"
"And you learned from it, did you not?"
"I learned what a massive jerk you can be!"
Herobrine chuckled at his words, turning back to face him with a smirk.
"Me? A jerk? Your words are cruel, Steven. I don't think I'll recover."
Not liking the fact that the conversation was shifting into another mocking session, Steve crossed his arms over his chest, flinching as he was briefly reminded of the fact that he had sustained, yet again, another injury.
"I'm worried about you. I know it's stupid and pointless and whatever else you can think of, but I have the right to be. I don't know if this is normal for you or not, but I don't think it's healthy to hold stuff in like that."
"...So suddenly you're the expert here?"
"I'm not an expert, but I'm not an idiot, either. Everybody needs somebody to talk to, and if you don't talk to anybody, it ends up hurting you more in the long run."
Herobrine narrowed his gaze at him.
"I don't need your assistance. I know my limits, and I know how to handle things well enough on my own."
"You literally hurt me because I tried to push the issue."
"...That was a training accident."
"It was pretty well-timed, if that was the case!"
Herobrine rolled his eyes.
"So what? It's over. We can treat the wound, and move on, simple as that."
"You're still attempting to switch the conversation. It's okay to be upset!"
"I am not."
"You are! You're worried about something! Did Caraway make you mad by mentioning your brother? Wh-"
Herobrine briskly approached him, pointing a finger directly in his chest.
"Keep your nose out of things that don't involve you!"
Steve stared at his finger for a moment before looking back up at him.
"...It was him mentioning your brother, was it?"
Letting out a huff, Herobrine backed away from the other only slightly.
"You're a fool if you think that I'd ever confide in you."
"Is that what makes me a fool? Really? Me being worried about you? I'm just saying, you don't need to tell me what you're feeling, just...anybody."
"I do that already."
Turning away from Steve, Herobrine began to walk back towards the place his sword was buried in.
"Even though it's day, we can continue working and moving."
"Hey! I'm not done talking!" Steve exclaimed, moving closer as the demigod attempted to make a quick escape.
"We'll separate into two groups in order to search around for any more information about the civilization that was near that portal, as well as any others. Me and Andvari will be in one, and you and Constiere will be in another. Malgun will stay put here and keep himself shielded from the sun. We'll meet back here when we're all finished."
"Are you gonna ignore and push aside everything that just happened? Like before?" Steve pressed further, not exactly gaining a response like he would've preferred.
"I don't have to indulge in your fantasies that make you believe that you can speak to me like you have any right to act as if you're my equal. Besides, we're done with training, remember? No more idle conversation."
"Brine, you can't keep acting like I don't have any say in the matter!"
The other froze in his tracks, expression falling as he processed the other's words.
Steve froze as well, realizing what had came out of his mouth.
Herobrine turned back towards him with a look of anger on his face.
"You do not have the right to address me by anything other than my full name, or my title. You do not HAVE any right to be so casual with me! I am not your friend. I will never be your friend. Take that nonsense elsewhere!"
Ripping his sword out from the ground in a quick motion, Herobrine walked off briskly, not even bothering to motion for Andvari to follow him.
"Separate! Find what you can and come back as soon as you do." He angrily commanded, disappearing within the green cover of the forest rather quickly as the others simply stared at him as he left.
Silence followed for a few moments afterward, before a tch from behind broke all focus as the group turned to look at Constiere as he began to move toward the miner.
"Well, that could've gone better."
Approaching Steve, the boy clasped a hand on his shoulder as he gave him a light, friendly shake.
"At least we know what was bugging him. Let's just try to avoid making him madder by leaving before he realizes that we're still here." Constiere whispered, lightly tugging the other toward the opposite direction.
As Steve nodded slowly, he cast a quick glance over to the other two who were still present, noticing a look of pity from both of them. Andvari soon departed himself afterward, offering no words at the moment as he left. Malgun let out a sigh as the three became the only remaining individuals in the area.
"...You really like testing your luck, huh?"
Rolling his eyes, Steve began to walk off, freeing himself from Constiere's grasp.
"I tend to care about the people around me, whether they like it or not."
With Constiere following close behind him, Steve went off ahead, slightly upset by the skeleton's words. The two disappeared into the forest rather quietly, though their silence was unnecessary.
At least Steve knew for certain that high emotions were a constant thing concerning training matches with Herobrine.
Y'all are getting a chapter EARLY bc I had another idea that I was super excited about and I wanted to get to it as quickly as possible XD I finally can think of ways to progress the story that don't have me struggling with a bit of writer's block lmao
Anyways, looks like bright-eyes and dirt boy are getting close, eh? Constiere's kinda like that annoying younger sibling u have, but they're still pretty fun to be around (not like I'd know anything about that, I don't have younger siblings lol). Both are pretty interested in pushing buttons and stuff, it's just that they have different targets.
Fun fact time!
1.) It's pretty obvious, but the ways that Herobrine and Steve tend to function in fights are pretty opposite of one another lol. Herobrine becomes more vocal in battle while Steve becomes more quiet and focused. Herobrine goes more on the offensive while Steve goes more on the defensive. One is sporadic in his attacks, and the other is more exact. Both are hella good judges of movement, though, it's just that since Herobrine is more used to fighting from all different forms of life, he tends to adapt rather quickly to different enemies, while Steve's only been exposed to the fighting patterns of a select few.
2.) Despite being on more friendly terms with Herobrine than most, Constiere knows only so much about him. He tries to annoy the other to get him to break sometimes, but it never works out, lol.
Anyways, that's it for now! Leave a review if you have any thoughts!
