Chapter 37: Andvari, Failed Researcher
There were so many concerning thoughts floating around his head, and he barely knew how to address any of them.
Steve trailed a few feet away from Herobrine, allowing him some space as the demigod appeared to be not remotely in the mood for idle conversation. The miner couldn't exactly blame him of course, but still, it stung to think about the fact that Herobrine was trying to place some serious emotional distance in between them, and that it was going to be rather difficult to speak with the other now that he'd seen a completely different side to him.
How awful it must've felt to have been forced to appear weaker in front of a human when you weren't used to such a thing. How horrible it must've felt to have been forced to display your inner demons in front of an audience you never wished to address. He knew well that he would have to give Herobrine some time to settle down and regain his full composure, but how long exactly? Was a few hours long enough to hold back on making an attempt to be friendly again with the other? A day or so? Weeks? Did they even have weeks left at this point?
Though this was the first concerning issue at hand for him, there were only more to follow once he had gotten stumped on how to proceed with Herobrine. Next up was the issue of where Squash had been placed. Should they even trust Anion's words and head back toward the village in the hopes that the ravager would be there? Or had he, like with Herobrine, tormented her as well?
Steve felt a bit of rage bubble up within him at that thought. If Anion had actually harmed, or, divines forbid, killed, Squash, he didn't even know what he'd do at that point. He knew that he had just as good of a chance at actually hurting the god as Herobrine had with their current weaponry, but he'd still try to make his anger known with revenge if the worst came to be the truth. He just hoped desperately that Squash was safe, and that the only thing she was experiencing at the moment was sheer confusion at his disappearance.
Finally, the last, pressing issue on his mind was, of course, the revelation that all three of the mob generals had been fully human at one point. All three.
Malgun was a skeleton, he was brought back by the world itself. Constiere was...Constiere. He wasn't like, fully a zombie, but also not fully a creeper; it was more like he was simply borrowing parts for his own survival. He didn't know how Andvari got to the point where he was now, but all he knew at this point was that he was no longer human. How? Why? When? Was this also the confirmation that the enderman had been dead at one point? Did Herobrine work on him, perhaps? His head was beginning to spin with the information, and frankly, he wanted to avoid annoying either Andvari or Herobrine with his curiosity. He decided that his full focus should be placed on finding Squash, instead of simply trying to divide his attention between all three issues.
Looking up toward the demigod, Steve watched as the other went along briskly, seemingly trapped within the confines of his own thoughts. He wanted to stir the other from his intense focus, but, at the same time, he didn't want to invoke Herobrine's wrath after seeing how the other responded to him simply asking if he was okay or not. He went with leaving the demigod in total silence, allowing him to lead the way and to stew in his own anger.
The forest they were walking through, though no longer caught in the fog, was still slightly misty and chilled. The area was eerily silent as Herobrine's abilities forced it to be, enough to a point where a small feeling of nausea came to rest at the base of Steve's throat for more reasons other than just the demigod's influence. Despite all the shades of green that were before him, all the miner could focus on was the black of the other's clothes and the various splatters of deep red that he could just barely spot upon them.
In all honesty, he was still rather shaken by the way Herobrine had attacked the god that had ambushed them. He tried to fight off the images of Herobrine causing that much damage to a human being instead of an immortal god.
Eventually, the two slowly came to a complete stop, much to Steve's confusion. As Steve looked at the other for an explanation, Herobrine hesitantly looked back to the miner, his gaze struggling to connect solidly with the intrigued vibrant eyes that were staring back at him. Herobrine still looked like he'd been crying badly. His face was a bit flushed, and his natural gaze, surprisingly enough, was a bit red as the area around his eyes was slightly puffy.
The demigod managed to fight through his hesitation.
"...Steven." Herobrine said, making Steve flinch a bit with the abrupt break of silence.
"...Yes?" Steve responded, his voice soft.
"...Steve."
Steve raised a brow at him.
"...Yeah?"
Herobrine left him to stand in more silence, briefly looking down at his hands as he contemplated actually speaking with the miner.
"...I have a concerning thought that I need to address."
Not expecting the other to have wanted to talk again so soon, Steve simply nodded in response.
"...Alright, lay it on me."
Herobrine stared at his hands for a bit longer before finally forcing his words out.
"...What is your perception of me?"
The other spoke in a way that was genuinely intriguing to Steve, with his voice extremely soft and almost...insecure, somewhat. Though Steve could barely find the other's silver eyes through the harsh, white glow that was there, he forced himself to look directly into his gaze.
"...What do you mean?" He asked gently in return, earning a slightly narrowed gaze back.
"...You...What just happened. What you just witnessed. What do you think of me, after all of that?"
…
...Herobrine was insecure.
He knew that the other had an issue with appearing vulnerable, but why would he even bother voicing that concern with him right now? Wasn't he still angry?
Steve shrugged, offering the man a soft smile in return.
"I think you're you. That's all."
Herobrine looked at him with a suspicious gaze.
"And what does that imply?..."
Steve thought to himself before answering, not wanting to say something that could possibly aggravate the man.
"...You're strong, in an emotional sense of the word. You're powerful, uh...in a more strength-based way. You're a true leader...that's what I mean."
Herobrine shifted his gaze to the ground beside him, his troubled thoughts reflecting well upon his face.
"...You don't think of me as being...weak?" He asked, his voice even softer than before.
Steve shook his head.
"Of course not. Brine, just because you cry, it doesn't mean you're weak. Hell, if I got caught by that dude, with the way that he spoke to you, I wouldn't even last a second!" Steve threw his hands up a bit in an exaggerated fashion to emphasize his point.
As Herobrine processed his words, Steve dropped his hands to his sides once again. After a few seconds, Herobrine looked up at him.
"...Since when did you ever say 'hell?'"
The sudden change of topic honestly smacked Steve across the face.
Bewildered, Steve blinked.
"...I've been saying hell. Why are you…?"
Herobrine shrugged as he trailed off.
"...I don't really associate you with the phrase. The word, I mean."
The demigod rolled his wrist around in his hand for a moment as he thought about his next set of words, soon letting out a sigh.
"...You're kind and considerate. You're...you are warm, but not in an overbearing way. You comfort, you heal, and you're quite amusing. That's what I think of you. That's why I find it strange that you use the word 'hell.'"
Hearing compliments pour out of the demigod's mouth was...quite jarring to say the least. Nevertheless, as he tried to think of a response to the man's kind words, Herobrine let out a sigh.
"...I'm sor-"
"-If you apologize to me again, I don't know what I'm gonna do with you, Brine."
The other's bewildered expression in response to his interruption nearly drew a giggle from his mouth, but Steve simply stood there, trying to keep his exasperated expression as steady as he possibly could.
"...I want to apologize for my behavior, Steven." Herobrine finally said after quite a bit of confusion on his part.
Steve nodded.
"Yeah, but you're gonna be apologizing for decades at this point. Why not just...show it through actions?"
"Because my actions are the reasons why I have to apologize in the first place!"
"...Oh yeah."
As Herobrine narrowed his gaze at him, Steve gave a nervous laugh.
"I...sorry for the interruption then."
"...Who's apologizing now?"
For a brief second, Steve saw a small smirk worm its way onto the other's expression as he spoke.
It was almost breathtaking how a sense of great relief suddenly washed over his body, but as the demigod turned to continue walking, Steve found himself quite overjoyed. He was thankful for the fact that Herobrine wasn't going to simply give him the cold shoulder. He was still joking with him; that was enough to say that their (hopefully) developing friendship hadn't taken too hard of a hit.
Following after him, Steve found his mood significantly lifting up.
As the two walked, their gazes soon shifted from each other to the trees and shrubbery around them, looking through the leaves and past the trunks and branches in order to find Squash. Though Steve had thought that he'd been looking on his own, he soon realized that Herobrine had, in fact, been trying to help him, even as he didn't say a word about it. After a few minutes of quiet searching, Steve felt a brief sense of slight suffocation and a silent command wash over him as questions came to the forefront of his mind.
"...Are you calling the others toward us?" He asked, prompting a nod from Herobrine.
"Yes."
The demigod paused his words, thinking for a moment before continuing.
"...As I was trying to say earlier, before your...interruption, I wanted to apologize for...lashing out. My emotions were still rather heightened, and I wasn't thinking correctly. I wanted to clear things up so that we weren't...well, burdened by such a simple thing."
"...Are you going to take my offer up?" Steve asked cautiously, raising a slight brow at the other from behind as he waited for his answer.
Herobrine took a while to answer him, but all that came of him was a slow shrug.
"...I don't make connections like that with humans. So easily, my words and feelings can be twisted by the hands of those that I once confided in."
"Well, whether you like it or not, I'm gonna be connected with you regardless, Brine." Steve gave Herobrine a playful shrug as he turned back to look at him directly.
He didn't know if it was in any way intelligent to directly state his intentions to the other, but as he hoped that Herobrine would take his words as a joke, his hopes were soon dashed.
"How are you so sure of that?" Herobrine asked him with intrigue in his voice.
Steve didn't know if he should drop the issue at this point. Sure, his future friendship with the man hadn't been jeopardized by Anion's actions, but depending on how well he was able to respond to the other, this may have been his prime chance to ruin things for himself.
"...I'm your champion." Was all he could think of, earning a sigh from Herobrine.
"...Yes, I suppose that you are."
Herobrine left the other in silence again before looking at him with clear conflict in his eyes.
"...Just because you're my prime choice, it doesn't mean that you're entitled to my thoughts."
"I know."
"And just because you offered yourself, it doesn't mean that I'm going to indulge in your fantasy of getting me to reveal anything."
"I know."
Surprise appeared on the demigod's face at his words.
"...Aren't you going to say anything else?" Herobrine asked.
Steve shrugged.
"If you don't wanna say anything, you don't have to. I won't push you. Stuff like that is private, and I only want you to tell me stuff if you feel comfortable with revealing it. Like I said, I'm here for you if you need it, Brine."
Even if it took ages, Steve was going to convince the other that he was genuinely invested in him. He was hoping that one day, soon enough, the bewildered expressions like the one on the demigod's face right now would be just a thing of the past, and that Herobrine would eventually get fully used to his caring words.
"...Alright."
Herobrine's words were said with a bit of disbelief, but Steve simply gave him a small smile in response, hoping that his own statements came across as what they truly were: honest.
"...Moving on, I want to inform you that I've been searching for your ravager as well." Herobrine stated, trying to push forward despite his current emotional burdens.
"I know. I've been looking at you while you were doing that, heh." Steve chuckled as he finished.
"...Once we meet up with the others, we'll use the mobs to narrow down her location. I don't know if anybody else would be so caring to Squash as you had been upon taming her."
Steve nodded in response.
"That'd help, thank you!" He gave the other an appreciative smile, drawing a small one back from Herobrine.
"It's only to be expected."
"Still, I'm worried about her, so I really, really appreciate the help."
Herobrine nodded in response, turning away from him as they continued forward.
The forest was mostly quiet, save for the sounds of a few distant monsters. Nothing came into their path directly, though, it was rather clear that they weren't exactly completely alone in the forest with all the sounds of distant animals and monsters and whatnot. Eventually, the sound of rushing water slowly came to their ears as they found themselves approaching a riverbank. As Herobrine went to briefly peer across the water into the other side, Steve's eyes lit up with excitement at their discovery.
"My village sits right next to a river! This may be the one, I think if we follow it, we'll find Highland." Steve said, looking to Herobrine as he explained.
Herobrine gave him a small nod.
"If your assumption is true, and we truly are still in the right forest, then we might have a good idea of where we currently are."
The demigod took a moment to pull out their map, looking over it rather quickly before looking back over to Steve.
"Anion said that he left your beast near the edge of this forest. Somewhere near your village."
Silence filled the space between them for a few seconds before Steve decided to break it for the sake of moving on.
"...Can we actually trust what he says?"
Herobrine shook his head.
"If you value your life, don't. But, all warnings aside, he mostly does what he says he'll do. Keyword there being mostly. In a roundabout way, actually."
"...Does that mean he might trick us?"
Herobrine nodded.
"Now, he didn't specify which village he left your beast in. That was my slip-up, I didn't mean to choose a location. He barely finds interest in this world, so there's a chance that he may have not been updated on the current number of active villages."
It took a moment to decipher what the demigod had been saying, but he did, Steve's expression fell into something filled with grief.
"...The village you burned."
"He might not know that it's no longer standing. The only two villages that are even remotely close to this forest are yours, and that one. Meaning that Squash may be sitting down near either two."
Rolling up the map and placing it onto his person, Herobrine looked out over the forest once again, careful eyes examining every single spot possible.
"The others should be here soon. I'll instruct them to begin a search with their forces, and we'll continue on toward your village. If we don't find Squash, the mobs will."
Steve nodded in response, choosing to focus his gaze over to the river as a small sense of relief came over him.
Everything was going to be fine. Squash was going to be fine. He was going to be fine.
…
He knew that Herobrine was currently putting up a front to hide his true emotions and how upset he was, but regardless of that, he knew that the demigod would eventually be fine as well. If not on his own, he'd surely help with that.
The mob generals centered in on their location, and while Malgun and Constiere drew closer to Steve and Herobrine rather briskly, Andvari trailed a bit behind, eyes focused on the water ahead as he placed himself a bit away from it.
"You know, after being caught in a fog that made it feel like my body was being fried, you'd think there would be some mercy in choosing our next meet-up location." Andvari said as he approached, gaze narrowing at the river before them.
Herobrine looked up at him with an apologetic expression.
"Sorry, Andi. Steve made the mention that his village was somewhere near a river, so traveling alongside this one may lead us right to our next objective."
As the group formed a small circle in front of the river, Herobrine took a small breath as he prepared to speak.
"Now, we were a bit sidetracked just now, but we still have things to take care of. Anion has misplaced our ravager, and we need to find her."
As the generals nodded, Herobrine continued, looking down at Constiere before he spoke.
"We need to be quick, but we can't be spread so thin. Constiere, send some creepers around the edges of this forest. Focus more on the areas close by any clearings or villages. Malgun, do the same." As Herobrine looked towards the two in question, he didn't even bother looking to Andvari, much to Steve's general intrigue.
He supposed that the other was giving him a break after their recent struggle with teleportation and things like that, but he was still a bit confused about why he was avoiding the enderman's gaze.
Both Constiere and Malgun left rather briefly, leaving the three alone as Herobrine began to lead them along the side of the river.
"We'll start looking in this direction. Granted, since Squash has bonded with Steven, it won't be too long before she begins to act out due to his sudden disappearance."
"If she starts knocking down trees again, it may be even easier to find her, right?" Steve asked with a small laugh, earning a nod from Herobrine.
"Certainly."
The silence that followed their brief conversation was occupied by their search for the missing creature, keeping them busy as they kept trying to locate Steve's village as well as they moved along. Though they were unsuccessful so far in finding either, they nevertheless continued to search extensively, soon finding the sounds of hidden mobs joining them as well. As Steve looked out into the forest, he briefly saw several different mobs moving through the darkness, surprisingly not feeling as terrified or unnerved as he expected he'd be.
What had changed? Mobs were still mobs, and he knew for a fact that if it weren't for Herobrine's commands, they would've attacked him on sight. Even now, every so often, he'd lock gazes with a monster of some sort, and even from where he currently was, he saw a certain hunger there that stirred a bit of worry in him. Strangely enough, however, that small amount of worry was only that: small.
Had Herobrine's assurance really impacted him so deeply? Had he already gotten so used to the mobs? What would he do after his mission ended and Herobrine was no longer telling them to avoid him? How would he be able to adjust?
Steve was pulled from his thoughts as the distant sight of smoke plumes soon came into view, causing both excitement and anxiety to flood his veins.
Highland Village was right there.
Before he could run forward in order to approach his village, Herobrine held a hand out in front of him, blocking him from doing so.
"Let's not just run inside without a solid plan to execute, alright Steven?" He said, prompting Steve to let out an embarrassed chuckle in response.
"I-I...right. Sorry." Steve stuttered, his face flushing red slightly.
Looking at where the river led, they found that it split into two different streams, leading to different parts of the village. One stream directly pointed to a building placed just above its surface, situated right up against the short mountainside that led up to where the rest of the village laid. The other stream only led directly into a cobblestone dam, cutting off the river. As Herobrine looked at the lone building with confusion, studying it, the bridge that led to it, and the wooden stairway that led down to the said bridge, Steve caught a glimpse of his expression and laughed.
"That's just the meadery, Brine. They wanted a nice location to put it, and what better place than the river, right?" Steve explained.
Herobrine let out a small hum, focusing his gaze particularly upon the long stairway that led down to the building.
"Might be an odd guess, but I suppose that they were also looking for a place that would keep their customers inside for longer periods of time. What drunk man is going to be able to climb those, in what little of a right mind they may have at that point?"
Steve shrugged.
"...That's why nobody really goes down there alone. Always got to bring someone who's gonna be able to drag you up them, I guess."
As Steve began to walk off more to the right, away from the site of the meadery, Herobrine, now evidently a bit intrigued with his words, began to walk directly by his side, attempting to engage in a longer conversation as the miner walked in the direction of the other stream, walking past the dam as he tried to navigate them toward his house.
"Do you say that from experience?" Herobrine asked him, slightly surprising Steve with the fact that he was actually interested in the topic.
Steve nodded.
"My buddy, Pickett, took me down there once. Never again, though."
"...Why? Did it not suit your tastes?"
Steve shook his head, thinking back on the story with a small groan leaving his lips as memories came to him.
"...You could say that. You could also say that having to drag your drunk friend home and keep him from dying on the way there when he's both taller and heavier than you doesn't exactly encourage you to ever agree to come back with him again."
His explanation drew a genuine laugh from Herobrine, seemingly taking his mind off of his previous emotional haze completely.
"What, do you have a lack of other mortals to drink with?" Herobrine said through a chuckle, his silver gaze finally poking out from the pure white glow of his eyes a bit more.
Glaring at the demigod, who was now openly teasing him, Steve let out a small huff.
"I have other friends!" He started, embarrassment slowly crawling upon his features once he realized that he was slowly being verbally cornered. "I...just, well...I don't have much time to...a-arrange anything."
Herobrine rose a playful brow at him, a smirk finding its way onto his face.
"...You don't have that many friends to pester, do you?"
Steve's eyes alone expressed his defeat.
"...I may not be the most popular guy in the village, but at least my buddies are amazing!" He rebutted, drawing another laugh from the demigod.
"You prefer quality over quantity. My, aren't we discovering a lot of similarities between us?"
Steve glanced behind them momentarily, finding a quiet Andvari trailing a bit of a distance behind them, his attention focused solely upon the river.
"I already knew that you liked quality too. You could literally be traveling with a whole twenty-person council with your level of authority, and yet, you only brought three guys with you." Steve pointed out with a small laugh, glancing back at the demigod.
Herobrine nodded at his words.
"Many individuals tend to disappoint me. Andvari, Malgun, and Constiere do not."
Thinking about the other's words for a moment, a teasing look appeared on Steve's face.
"You have three good friends. I have three good friends." He pointed out.
Herobrine thought about his words as well, letting out a small hum.
"...I suppose that's correct. Maybe I can actually get them to drink with me though, unlike you."
A genuine gasp of shock and offense escaped Steve's lips, and suddenly, Herobrine was in a laughing fit as he quickened his walking pace, stumbling a bit as his laughter overtook him.
Steve's mouth was agape, but nothing but pure joy came to him as he listened to Herobrine laugh in front of him. He didn't even mind that it was at his expense, he was just happy that he'd distracted the other from the sheer pain and mental anguish he'd so recently been put through.
The demigod had said that he did manage to bring him comfort, after all.
Catching up to the other, Steve held out a finger as he attempted to force himself to glare at the demigod, though, there was no actual intensity in his gaze.
"Now, listen here!" Steve exclaimed, gaining Herobrine's attention. "I haven't gone to the meadery since that one time for multiple reasons! It's not that I couldn't get anybody else to come-"
"-Sure. Tell yourself that." Herobrine interrupted with a small smirk.
"Shut up. Anyway…" Steve paused, taking a moment to read the other's clearer gaze for any sort of anger as his stomach dropped in response to his previous words. "One, I don't even drink! It's not exactly a good thing that a local miner suddenly turns into an alcoholic, especially considering what I have to do on a daily basis. Two, the menu isn't even that good! It's just-"
"-Wait. You don't drink?"
Steve shook his head.
"Nope."
Herobrine laughed a bit at his admission.
"...Then why did you ever agree to go into a meadery, of all places?"
The miner shrugged.
"I mean, I wanted to check it out, at least. Also, I wanted to make sure that Pickett didn't drink more than he could handle. I needed to bring him home safely, too." Steve paused, curiously giving Herobrine a slightly raised brow. "What does an almighty demigod drink, anyway?"
Herobrine left him in silence for a moment, debating on actually answering him before his explanation actually came.
"...I don't drink either."
Laughter abruptly escaped Steve's mouth as Herobrine shot him a quick glare. Approaching a very familiar lake, Steve paused at its edge, shaking off his persisting laughs as he gave a quick glance across the water to make sure that yes, they were almost at his house. He soon directed his attention back upon Herobrine, though.
"And here you are, making fun of me! C'mon, what gives?"
"...Don't we have a ravager to find, Steven?"
Herobrine's change of topic only brought more laughter to the miner's lips.
"Avoiding the topic, I see!" Steve exclaimed, though he immediately went to search around the area as the demigod had begun doing as well. "...I don't see Squash, though."
With a sigh of frustration, Herobrine stepped up to the water's edge, looking across to the other side of the lake.
"Then Anion has misled us. If she's not on the other side, then...then I suppose that we must-"
The demigod's words were interrupted by the sound of what seemed to be thundering footsteps coming in their direction, followed somewhat closely by the sound of falling trees a bit of a distance away.
"...You know, I suppose that we were a bit loud with our laughter." Herobrine said, looking out into the distance as the sudden noise got louder.
"We? Weren't you the one who lost it?" Steve said with a chuckle, drawing a brief scoff from Herobrine.
"Lost it? I was more composed than you."
Steve rolled his eyes as he approached the nearby tree line, looking between the stumps in order to find the source of the noise.
He didn't have to search long, because before he could even realize what was going on, Squash abruptly burst from the shadows, nearly running straight into the lake in front of her before clumsily pivoting back to run to the miner. Calling her name out with great relief and joy, Steve went to embrace her, only to be completely knocked over by her snout onto the ground as she happily nuzzled against him. Enthusiastically petting her as he tried to sit up despite her opposing force, Steve briefly glanced back at Herobrine, who was watching them with a bit of an amused expression upon his face.
"I think she missed me a bit, don't you think so?" Steve asked with a small laugh, directing Squash's attention over to the person he was speaking to.
Before Herobrine could even answer him properly, Squash quickly left the miner and trotted up to the demigod.
To their collective general shock, Squash nuzzled against Herobrine, approaching him as strongly as she did with Steve, though the man didn't fall backward. Instead, he simply raised his arms up in surprise, not knowing how to deal with the situation.
Since when did she actually learn to tolerate him?
"...Squash, hello." Was all he could say to the ravager, briefly connecting gazes with her before she continued to nuzzle against him.
Steve let out a small laugh at his bewildered expression, watching the sight with amusement of his own.
"Hey, I think she's thanking you or something."
Herobrine cast a raised brow in his direction.
"Thanking me for what?"
The miner shrugged.
"...I dunno, for protecting me? For finding her?"
Quite awkwardly, Herobrine moved a hand to hover over the ravager's head, though he didn't move it any further to actually make contact with the creature.
"Uh...you...you're welcome?..."
Squash did not move. She continued with her ambush, only pausing to let out a quick snort.
The more Steve looked at the situation, the more it started to look like the beast was trying to...comfort the other? Her movements were gentle, and once she noticed that Herobrine had moved his hand, she adjusted herself so that he'd actually begin to pet her, though it took a few moments for him to actually get the hint.
Herobrine's current emotional state must've been beyond obvious if even Squash could sense it. Did ravagers really have that ability? Were they just like overgrown dogs, in that sense?
As Steve pondered the question, he slowly stood up again, dusting himself off as he went over to the two in order to rescue the demigod. With a quick set of taps upon the top of the ravager's head, Squash stopped her movements, looking over to the miner briefly before stepping away from Herobrine, leaning into Steve's touches instead. Free from Squash's hold and thankful that Steve had finally gotten involved, Herobrine dusted himself off as well, giving a slightly confused glare at the beast before looking back at the lake behind them.
Careful silver eyes focused on the distant house that sat across the waters, Herobrine began to speak.
"...For your sake, I truly hope that your village is as kind and considerate as you believe they are. I wish to be disappointed."
Glancing up from Squash to look at the other, Steve let out a small hum.
"Trust me, they are. I seriously dunno how they'd change if they heard about you, though."
"...Probably for the worst. You wouldn't be the first individual to face the wrath of his peers upon them discovering your interactions with me."
Being reminded of Malgun's own story in particular, Steve looked down in sudden sadness, as well as quite a bit of worry at the other's words.
"...Yeah. We should wait to...uh...address my village. Selwyn only comes around on some days, and uh...I don't want to find out what's the situation we're gonna have to deal with."
Herobrine looked back at him, carrying a bit of sympathy in his eyes.
"...You'll have to find out one way or another. Might as well meet the challenge head-on."
"...I know. I'll talk to Selwyn first, though. Then, if I am chased away or banished or whatever, we'd at least have some info, right?" Steve let out a small laugh, though it was more nervous than anything.
Herobrine nodded in response.
"Fine enough. Let's wait for the others before we decide on our next set of actions, now that Squash has joined us."
Steve nodded in agreement, promptly returning his attention toward Squash as Herobrine turned his gaze toward the village instead.
Constiere and Malgun soon returned to the group, appearing quite exhausted, though relieved at the fact that Squash had been properly located. As Malgun approached the others slowly, Constiere ran up to Squash with his arms extended outward, only to stop right in front of her side and fall gently upon her for a hug, which only barely worked due to his size.
"I thought you were a goner!" The boy exclaimed, his voice slightly muffled as he pressed his face into Squash's side, much to her confusion as she let out a small growl.
"You might actually be one if you don't give her some space." Malgun stated, earning a small glare from Constiere in response.
"Uh, can I show my appreciation for her return, sir?" Constiere asked with a small roll of his eyes.
Andvari approached the boy, giving a small tap upon his shoulder in order to gain his attention.
"I think she knows that you're happy for her. She might show you some real appreciation though if you move." The enderman said with a small laugh.
With a small groan, Constiere pushed himself off of the ravager, dragging his legs slightly as he approached the edge of the lake with a bit of exhaustion in his gaze.
"Anyway…" The boy gave a brief look back at Squash. "Welcome back, girl. Missed you dearly."
Steve let out a small chuckle at his words.
"I think she appreciates your greeting, dirt boy."
Constiere shrugged, raising his arms and folding his hands behind his head in a relaxed manner as he scanned the surface of the lake.
"I was being genuine there, I really did miss her and all."
"Great." Herobrine spoke up, moving to stand in front of the others. "Now, before we get spotted by some random human, I suggest that we head off to the nearby mines for cover."
Drawing sounds of agreement from the mob generals, Herobrine soon started to lead the group towards said cave.
He was interrupted by a forced set of awkward coughs from Steve, who was adjusting Squash's reins for travel. Upon finding that they were actually paying attention to him, he flinched in response to their gazes before he began to address them.
"We can uh…make camp in my house, you guys. It's right there, you know." Steve said quietly, nodding his head over to his house.
The others glanced over to the small building in the distance, then back to the miner.
Constiere was the first to break the momentary silence that had formed, letting out a small laugh at his suggestion.
"...You just want to use your bed again, don't you? How are people gonna react to the lights being on and a bunch of people being in there?" The boy asked, pointing his thumb toward the distant sight.
Not really finding anything wrong about Constiere's statement, the miner continued to address the issue.
"...We don't have to light 'em." Steve answered with a shrug.
"...You're gonna keep it dark in your house?" Malgun asked quietly.
Steve simply nodded in response.
The others looked at him with deep confusion in their expressions briefly, before simply accepting his words as they found no sort of contradiction in his gaze. Herobrine and Constiere, amused by his suggestion, both looked at him with smirks on their faces.
"Ah. Wasn't aware that I was in control of four mobs here." Herobrine joked.
"Yeah, since when did you get so comfortable with the dark? That's gonna get you killed one day, bright-eyes!"
Steve glared at them for a moment, though his gaze held no actual anger whatsoever.
"Har har. Look, if we don't want people to know we're here, the lights can just...stay off. It's no problem, really."
"Are you positive?" Andvari asked him, earning a nod in response.
"We need privacy. As a miner who works in this village, I know for a fact that I'm not the only one working in the mines. My buddy Pickett is still taking orders, or should be at least, and, since I've been a champion all this time, he's probably doing double-shifts, or whatever. He could hear us, so being in the house would be safer in the long run! Also, I know that my other friend Almun sometimes watches out for my lights as well, though he doesn't leave his house to do it. If we keep the lights off, he won't know that we're here either."
Sounds of agreement and realization erupted from the group, leading to a small sigh coming from Herobrine in particular.
"Well, frankly I don't mind having a human stumble upon us in dark spaces, mostly due to the fact that we know how to deal with a situation like that, but...if you insist…" Herobrine gave him another smirk as he began to walk towards the miner's house, following the edge of the lake as he did so.
Not appreciating the implications of the other's words, Steve briskly caught up to him, bringing Squash along right behind him.
"Hey, leave Pickett alone. He's...he's a really good friend of mine, and I don't know what I'd do if you hurt him in some way."
Herobrine looked back at him with a raised brow.
"You don't know what you'd do? You'd be doing nothing considering the fact that you're human too."
Steve glared at him.
"True, but that means I'm also persistent. If you hurt him, I-"
"-Steven. I was only joking. Your mortal friend is safe. Relatively."
Though he felt relieved by the demigod's words, he was still rather suspicious of their sincerity. As they neared his house, he decided to check the legitimacy of the other's statement.
"...Promise?"
Herobrine nodded his head.
"If he stays out of the way, I promise that I won't target him specifically."
"...Still doesn't make me confident."
Herobrine let out a small laugh at his words.
"Doesn't need to. All you need to do is focus on our mission, Steven. Pay no mind to the other mortals."
Steve shrugged at his words as they approached his front door, leading to him letting go of Squash's reins momentarily before moving forward in order to unlock and open it.
"...Can't help it. It'd help if you gave me fewer things to worry about concerning them, you know. We still have to save them from destruction, don't we?"
A small grimace appeared on Herobrine's face.
"Not them specifically."
Steve finally unlocked the door, opening it wide to allow the others in.
"Well, they're still collateral, you know."
"...I truly wish they weren't, but that technically means you as well, and I do not wish for you to perish."
As the group entered his darkened house, all choosing to occupy the main room with the combined kitchen and living space, Steve smirked at the demigod.
"Even after I've served my purpose?"
"Don't push your luck, Steven. I'll inform you of this now for later reference, but I can only be so gracious and merciful."
Checking to see that the others were situated nicely inside, Steve briefly went back outside, taking Squash with him around to the back of the house, where a small, neat little natural pond laid. Placing the ravager behind his house in a spot that hid her from any point of view in the village, Steve gave her a simple "lay down" gesture of the hands, surprise filling his gaze as the ravager actually listened to him and slowly moved to lay down on the ground beneath her.
"Stay here, girl. We'll be just inside, alright? There's water right here if you need it…" Steve explained, holding his hands out in front of him as he slowly backed away from the beast to move around to the front of the house again. Finding that Squash was obeying him, Steve quickly ducked into his home, locking the door after him.
Looking back at the others, who were looking directly back at him, Steve let out a small chuckle.
"Sorry, I'm used to random people barging in here with no warning like they own the place or something."
Drawing a laugh from Constiere and a short exhale from Herobrine, Steve moved into his kitchen and living room combo area, passing Herobrine and Andvari on the way.
"Alright, so...what's our plan of action here?" Steve asked, leaning back on his kitchen table as he looked at the others with expectation.
Some silence followed his question before Herobrine stepped forward, gaining the immediate focus of the group as he stood in the center of the room in a commanding fashion.
"Before we conduct any searches or perform any interrogations whatsoever, I highly recommend that we move our forces around the village in order to control the general traffic."
Herobrine directed his attention toward Andvari.
"Since the gods are trying to find the endermen, I think it's best that we use them as little as we can, and try to encourage their return to the End. Constiere and Malgun's forces will be enough."
Andvari nodded in understanding.
"We'll go back outside and secure the perimeter, if there's even a slight possibility of the news having yet to get to your village, we'll have to keep a close eye on who comes in and who leaves. We can't exactly take many risks at this point." Herobrine explained to Steve, looking directly at him.
Steve simply gave him a raise of the brow, drawing a deep, frustrated sigh from the demigod.
"Steven, please be quiet with your eyes. I don't want to hear it."
A small laugh escaped the miner.
"What?"
"I don't want to hear anything verbally, and I don't want to read it in your eyes either. Not a word."
Steve gave him a shrug, gesturing over to the front door of his house.
"If you don't want to see or hear anything, I highly recommend getting started, or whatever. Lock's on the door, I didn't close it with a key this time."
Giving him a small glare, Herobrine did as he said, gesturing for both Constiere and Malgun to follow him. Before he completely left, however, he glanced back at Steve and locked gazes with him, unlocking the front door as he did so.
"Not a word."
With that, Herobrine led the other two out of the building, drawing a small snort from Steve once the door had fully closed, leaving just him and Andvari in the building, with Squash waiting patiently outside.
The silence that filled the house wasn't exactly uncomfortable, but it wasn't comfortable, either. Being alone with someone he didn't really know too well was weird enough, but the fact that it was an enderman that was in the space with him wasn't exactly giving him any calm feelings. It wasn't really helping that he knew this enderman hadn't always been an enderman, drawing so much curiosity into his veins that he felt as if he was just a few moments away from outright exploding.
He hadn't noticed Andvari moving over to sit upon the couch, but once he realized that the other had actually moved, he stirred himself from his focus and instead decided to engage the other in conversation. To his brief surprise though, Andvari quickly beat him to the punch.
"I see that you've managed to get Herobrine in a lighter mood already!" The enderman smiled at him kindly.
Steve shrugged with a smile.
"I didn't really do anything, I just...talked to him."
"Still, I appreciate you being there for him when I couldn't be. He...he only gets like that every once in a blue moon, and it usually takes more than a week to pull him out from that headspace."
Andvari's expression briefly fell for a moment, being replaced with a saddened smile.
"Of course, I usually just give him his space, but I suppose that I'm just used to doing that. Maybe I should be more direct like you?"
Steve shook his head at the other's words.
"Nah. I think he needs different people to help him in different ways so that he doesn't get too overwhelmed or frustrated. I know that works for me, at least."
The enderman took a moment to think about his suggestion before nodding in response.
"Yes, I do agree with that. Sometimes, you need someone to push you, and during other times, you need someone to stand back."
Moving to properly sit down, Steve took a chair from his table, and sat in it backward, facing the enderman with great intrigue.
He didn't know how to exactly approach the burning issue in his mind, but he figured that he might as well get it over with before it ate him alive.
"...Andvari?"
"Yes, Steve?"
The question sat upon his tongue for a solid few seconds before he finally forced it out.
"Can we talk about what happened in that forest? What I...saw?"
Andvari looked at him silently for a moment, his expression unreadable. Soon enough though, he closed his eyes and looked down with a sigh, only opening his gaze halfway as he stared at the floor beneath him.
"...There was no avoiding this talk, was there?"
Steve let out a small laugh at his question, soon after letting out a quiet "sorry" as he got more comfortable in the chair.
"Not as long as you guys have me traveling with you."
Giving him a small nod, Andvari looked back up toward Steve.
"...I suppose you want the full story then, correct?"
Steve shrugged, though he initially wanted to nod.
"...Whatever you're comfortable with telling me. I don't want to push you."
Andvari nodded again, closing his eyes as he cast his gaze back down to the ground.
Silence filled the room as the enderman thought to himself, trying to decide on how exactly to approach the miner and discuss his situation. Inner debate was quite evident on his face, so Steve simply waited patiently for Andvari to speak.
"...So, that was me. Past me. That you saw." Andvari said, somewhat awkwardly.
Steve nodded his head.
"...Yeah, I kinda got that when Constiere and Malgun showed up as their past selves, too. Well, after that of course, but...y'know what I mean."
Andvari nodded.
"...What still irks me is how far back I was changed."
"What do you mean by that?"
Andvari looked back up at him with a troubled expression.
"I haven't worn a lab coat in quite a while, obviously, but...oh, how do I go about telling you this?..."
Andvari resumed his previous inner debate as Steve shrugged at his question.
"Whatever's the most simplest way of saying things, I guess. Or not. Whatever suits you better."
The enderman nodded at his suggestion, letting out a small breath as he began to speak again.
"...Herobrine came to me as just a young child. Not a teenager, not as he is now, a child."
The mention of just how long the enderman had been in Herobrine's life genuinely shocked him.
"A...like, how old?"
Andvari shrugged.
"I'd say just nine, but it wouldn't surprise me if he arrived just before his actual birthday. Eight might be more accurate, if all things are to be considered."
...How long did endermen live for?
In all honesty, when Steve thought about the lifespan of gods and divines and such, he pictured them being hundreds, if not thousands of years old. Even in the case of demigods, he expected such a thing to be the same. Was Herobrine younger than what he'd been thinking? He knew that Malgun referred to him as being quite young when they met as well, though, he mostly attributed that to gods perhaps having a slower aging process than most. How old was Andvari, in that regard? Was he misreading things?
Finding confusion on the miner's face, Andvari let out a small chuckle.
"I...I wore a lab coat when I first met him. I stopped wearing it after, when I could."
As he found Steve's expression not changing, Andvari let out another sigh, moving to relax a bit more against the couch.
"This is getting absurd, I believe that I have to be more specific, here."
Letting the silence fill the room again, Andvari directed his attention directly upon the ceiling as he became lost in his thoughts, closing his eyes and crossing his arms in front of his chest as he tried to collect them all together in a coherent fashion. Eventually, the enderman opened his eyes once again, looking back at Steve.
"Let me lay this out better. I haven't even started with how I...ended up this way."
Steve nodded at his words, waiting for the other to begin explaining. It took a while, but Andvari eventually broke his added silence.
"Let me begin with the fact that I've already met my unfortunate end. However, I...I was the first person that Herobrine had ever raised from the dead. That is a notable part of my history, yes."
The enderman's words were spoken quietly, almost being lost as Steve strained his ears in order to hear them.
"...Is it too intrusive to ask how that happened?" Steve asked cautiously.
Andvari smiled at him kindly.
"Not at all. In fact, most of the story is something that I look back on quite fondly."
The enderman paused, looking past the miner back toward the front door of the house, soon after looking back at him again.
"I believe the best place to start is a little beforehand. I lived and worked in Crystalia, in my youth. If what I've heard is correct, you're familiar with the place?"
Steve nodded his head enthusiastically.
"Yes! I grew up there, for a while."
Andvari nodded.
"It's a lovely little city, isn't it? Well, I lived there along with my wife, Martha. She was a psychologist who mainly worked with children, and I was a scientist working in the labs there. It was nice enough, doing what we did. Earned some good money, lived in a good house, all was well."
Steve nodded at his words.
Hearing that Andvari had actually been married at one point surprised him. Where was his wife, now?
"...Did you live somewhere nice? Like, did you settle down in the Woodcutter district, or like, the Quartz District?" Steve paused, thinking to himself before his eyes lit up briefly in remembrance. "Don't tell me you actually got to the Diamond district!"
Andvari shook his head excessively with a small chuckle.
"Divines, no! We were well-off, but not that well off! I never even saw that place, I believe."
Steve let out a quiet "Ah." as he allowed the other to continue.
"Well, you're familiar with the protection system that Crystalia has, yes? The walls?" Andvari asked.
"And the rules."
"Those too. With the patrols and the curfews, and all the whatnot. We were heavily tied in with that, since my specific department focused mainly on the protection of Crystalia from the threat of outside forces, such as mobs."
The enderman took a breath before continuing.
"...One day, a security call came in about a small child, age unknown, whose corpse had been discovered in the wild area just outside the Quartz district walls. It seemed like he took quite a tumble from who knows where, and by that, I mean that it looked like he fell from the top of the tallest mountain on this planet straight into the bottom of a ravine. Body was completely and utterly broken, all his blood had seemingly drained into the grass surrounding him, death was placed roughly three days prior. By all accounts, he was no actual security risk whatsoever. You know, being dead and all."
Andvari paused, his expression falling a bit.
"Just as they were preparing him for proper removal and for a full autopsy of some sort to see the true extent of the damage, he woke up and starting moving."
Steve looked at him with surprised eyes.
"...He wasn't dead?"
Andvari shook his head.
"No, that would've been too merciful. The people at the scene took him in, and I guess he must've sparked some serious interest, because he became our new obsession. We were stunned by his survival, yes, but we were even more stunned by the fact that his eyes were glowing rather brightly for such a humanoid figure."
"...It was Herobrine." Steve said quietly.
"Yes. To make things brief, it was awful how they treated him. At first, I didn't know what to do. I mostly stayed out of things to keep my hands relatively clean, but eventually, I got placed on his watch. He didn't speak, and I didn't prod, but I tried my best to form some sort of connection with him out of sheer guilt for my avoidance. I couldn't stand what they were doing to him, so instead of trying to immediately reconnect him with his guardians, I managed to cook up a plan to free him first. One night, I placed it into action, and I blamed the escape of all of our test subjects on both faulty equipment and my own human error. Honest mistake, really." Andvari chuckled at his memory, giving Steve a quick glance in order to read his expression.
"And he got out safely, yeah?"
"Barely. He spent most of the tiny window of time he had making sure that the mobs got out before he did. I honestly thought that he'd run for the hills, but sure enough, after the deed was done, my shift ended, and the disaster report was filled, I was walking home, and I found him right near the streets that led into the Woodcutter district, fighting for his life. Of course, I couldn't just leave him there, so I brought him home, and my wife patched him right up."
Slowly, Steve took the information in, piecing it all together as the enderman spoke.
"So...how'd things go from there? You two got along and became friends?"
Andvari let out a small laugh.
"Took a while. He was not that fond of my presence for the first couple of months or so, and he barely tolerated Martha's."
Andvari's face fell into a sad smile, one that reflected a sort of pain that Steve was too afraid to ask about.
"Herobrine didn't speak to either of us for months. Back when he was still in the lab, we simply concluded that he either was not familiar with the language, or he was mute. It was only later that Martha and I found out that he only speaks when he's comfortable. Martha managed to get him to speak first, and I followed only a month later."
"A month?" Steve asked in disbelief.
Andvari shrugged at him with a bit of a smirk.
"He's not really the most...open of people, you know. Never has been. I managed to earn his trust by not wearing a lab coat in his general presence and by giving him his space. He came to me, not the other way around."
After a few moments of silence, Andvari continued.
"After that, we basically adopted him as our own son once he told us about where he came from, that being the Aether. Since it was nearly impossible to bring him back, he stayed in our spare room. Of course, given that nearly all of my colleagues lived in the Quartz district, he couldn't really wander freely or go out the front door, but once Martha got her bougainvilleas up over the fence, he was able to sit in the backyard without us worrying all that much. I do mean sit, though. The poor boy didn't even know how to play."
With saddened eyes, Steve looked at the other in response to his words.
He knew that he silently promised to let Herobrine speak on his own terms, but given that their current situation barred him from pressing the other in any deeper way whatsoever, the only other person who could tell him anything whatsoever was sitting right in front of him.
…
No. He asked for Andvari's story right now. Herobrine's story was only a fraction of it.
"...He...he was your son?"
"Yes. Martha and I had always wanted a child, so it truly was a blessing that he stepped into our lives so suddenly. My only issue is what he had to endure beforehand."
"...What made you his servant?" Steve asked quietly, watching the other's face suddenly twist into slight anger.
"...One of my co-workers, a man who's since gone completely rogue, approached us under the suspicion that we were secretly housing the boy. He was in charge of him, and had lost his mind over the fact that he even managed to escape. Of course, we were, but we weren't going to admit that. In a fit of psychotic rage, he...retaliated."
"...What do you mean by that?"
"...I do not wish to speak about it. All I can say is that it led to tragedy."
Finding immense levels of grief in the other's eyes, Steve kept quiet. After a few moments of silence, Andvari continued.
"In an effort to get Herobrine to safety, we left under the cover of night, but to our horror, that...demon was waiting for us. Whatever happened exactly after that discovery escapes my memory even to this day, but what I do know is that I was shot directly through the heart with an arrow. Then I fell. Then I died. I was deceased for roughly...say, ten minutes? I'm not certain, but when I woke up, I opened my eyes to Herobrine crying over me."
"...He brought you back, yes?"
Andvari debated with himself for a moment, leaving him in solid silence before giving a quick nod.
"...Miraculously. That was the first time ever that he used his abilities. That was when he found out that he even had them."
"...What even is that power of his? I know he's the god of Imitation and all, but…Constiere explained it to me, Malgun added more, and yet, I still can't understand it all that well."
Andvari let out a sigh.
"...I know that it might seem like the whole 'surviving despite all the bones in his body breaking' part was our clue that he wasn't exactly human, but it wasn't until my death when we discovered that he had powers. All he said about it was that he learned the power he used to bring me back elsewhere. He wouldn't specify further, but...it was the first time he ever used his powers, and...he wasn't really able to control himself well. In his distress, he simply replaced my heart with an ender pearl that I had given him just in case he had to escape on his own, and fixed me. Of course, if Constiere told you anything, and I truly hope that he really didn't, you can possibly guess how well that went."
"...It crept up on you?"
Slightly upset by the verbal confirmation that yes, Constiere had told him something, Andvari continued.
"...Slowly but surely, my body changed. Morphed. We were both confused and horrified, but...eventually, the shock wore off. I gained powers too, so that helped with me accepting things." Andvari chuckled. "I was the first person he ever revived with the help of monster parts, but since he was so...inexperienced, I got the full side-effects and everything. He placed all of his energy into bringing me back, and so, I was afflicted completely. Constiere was lucky in the sense that when he was revived, Herobrine had gotten a bit more used to focusing his energy and not using all of his magic in a large set of bursts. He was also lucky that Herobrine had something to actually help with controlling his abilities as well."
Andvari thought to himself again before continuing further.
"...At some point in time, I proposed the idea that, in order to help with his desired image of superiority over the mobs, it would be best for me, a man who'd been rebirthed as one of the most fearsome beasts in all the land, to act as his servant in order to make it known that he had the ability to conquer even the most difficult of creatures. You know, before he actually developed that ability."
"To grow respect." Steve nodded in understanding.
Andvari nodded in response.
"He saw how little the divines looked over the land, and so, he wanted to build an army in order to watch over the land himself. He wanted something to fall back on should the gods not accept him. He figured that if he was a divine being of some sort, he could at least be useful to the world they so adored. Of course by this point, he hated the humans, but the monsters and animals at least deserved a liveable world, don't they?"
Steve nodded in agreement.
"They do!" He said with an upbeat tone in his voice.
"And so, he asserted his dominance, and I remained by his side. Eventually, he felt the magical balance of the Overworld begin to act a bit wonky, and, after an accident, he finally got the chance to go up to the Aether to tell them of the potential threat the realm was facing, only to be ridiculed by those in charge. He denounced them and decided that he'd take matters into his own hands. And well...now we're here."
Taking in the information to form a better timeline of events, Steve remained quiet as his gaze was turned down toward the floor.
"...Do you ever miss being human?" He asked quietly, not daring to look up at the enderman.
Andvari let out a laugh at his question.
"Of course I miss it! I miss living a peaceful life with both Martha and Herobrine, I miss not having the gods hunting us down like we're prey, and I miss having my human flesh and being able to walk around in public!" Andvari paused, his gaze turning a bit saddened as he looked off to the side again. "...Despite that...I'm okay with how things are. I adore my powers. I adore the different side of life that I've been able to witness, I...I appreciate not having to work and live in Crystalia anymore. That oppressive environment does not inspire much freedom, you know. Right now, I'm as free as can be. Well, whenever this predicament that we're in ends, I will be free, at least."
Before Steve could add another question to his queue, Andvari stood up from his spot, moving past him in order to stand a bit closer to the front door of his house.
"...I'm glad that I'm still able to stand by Herobrine's side and be there for him. I'm glad that he didn't have to spend years of his life in pure isolation from others, and I'm glad that he at least has an example of humans not being all too horrible in his life."
A question came to the forefront of Steve's mind, but he was heavily debating himself on whether or not it was actually appropriate to ask.
Did Andvari regret ever becoming involved in Herobrine's life? He now knew for certain that Herobrine himself had his own regrets about stepping into other people's lives, but did the enderman feel the same?
Steve rested his head against the back of the chair, staring at the other as he did so. He wrestled with himself about actually asking the question, but before it could even begin to form upon his lips, a sigh left Andvari's own mouth as his shoulders slacked a bit, his attention still heavily focused on the door in front of him.
"...I don't regret doing what I did. A child was suffering, and so, I had to intervene. I only wish that things had turned out better for him."
Nodding at the answer with a hum, Steve stood up from his spot as well, putting his chair back where it had been earlier before moving toward his food storage, finding himself suddenly rather hungry. He didn't really mind if the food was a bit stale or not; it was all he had.
"...How different do you think Herobrine would've become if things were different?" He asked quietly, earning a small shrug from Andvari in response.
"I can't say for certain, but I do think that he would've been much better off had he been given proper care from the beginning. That much, I can conclude for certain."
Pulling out a bit of bread, Steve let out another hum.
"...Yeah, I think that's obvious at this point."
Taking a bite from the piece of bread and moving to sit down upon his couch, Steve decided to focus his attention on eating, though, Andvari turned back around to face him once again, a bit of curiosity appearing on his face as he did so.
"...If you don't mind, I'd like to ask you about something that I've become rather confused about."
Steve looked up toward his chest, giving a slight shrug.
"Ask away."
"...Constiere mentioned something about a 'rosebud,' and I'm sure that it was referring to Lord Herobrine himself. Is that correct, and if it is, where did it come from?"
Nearly choking on the bread that was in his mouth, Steve cleared his throat before speaking.
"I...uh...before you attack him, I wanna let you know that I thought of that nickname." He said with a chuckle.
Andvari nodded at his words.
"Ah. So you came up with 'rosebud?'"
"Yes. I...me and Constiere needed something to call him in secret, I guess."
"...Why?"
He didn't know why he was so willing to reveal the information to the other, but nevertheless, Steve continued to expose himself and his intentions.
"...I want to befriend Herobrine. Constiere wanted to help me...Malgun too. We've been uh...suggesting approaches."
As Andvari took in the information, a small chuckle escaped his lips as he looked down at the miner, reading his slightly worried, mostly embarrassed expression.
"Is...is that so?" The enderman said through a laugh. "Well, if it helps to know, Herobrine is becoming a bit fond of you. Whatever you've schemed surely must've worked."
Steve let out a small laugh in response to his words.
"Really? Because sometimes, it feels like I've backtracked, or something."
"Not really. I can assure you, he's grown a particular liking for your antics and expressions."
Andvari watched as Steve smiled at his reassurance, though, a raised brow appeared on the enderman's face soon after, being accompanied by a grin.
"I'm not so certain with speaking about him in such an informal way, though. That's amusing on its own, but in a different way."
Steve shrugged at his words.
"We have nicknames for ourselves too, you know. I'm bright-eyes, Constiere is dirt-boy, Malgun is bone-meal." He explained.
"What am I, then?"
Steve paused, thinking to himself before remembering the fact that neither he nor Constiere ever managed to think of a name for the enderman, though, that was mostly because he wasn't even a part of their "organization," actually.
"...We don't have one for you yet. We uh...didn't know if you'd actually help or be willing to, anyway."
Andvari let out a fake scoff of offense, followed by a quick laugh.
"I can help, you know. In fact, even without knowing what you've told me, I do think that I've been helping."
Surprised at the information, Steve looked at the other with slightly widened eyes.
"...You have?"
Andvari nodded.
"Whenever he comes to speak with me about how to deal with you, I try to push him towards considering your feelings and whatnot. You're only human, after all."
Steve looked up at him with deep appreciation in his eyes.
"...Thanks, Andvari."
Andvari gave him a slight bow.
"No worries. I only want what's best for both him, and you."
Steve resumed eating his bread, leaving Andvari to wander the small space as he examined every little bit of the miner's house as he could, taking note of the inner decor. The miner paused however, as he placed his attention back on Andvari instead of his meal.
"I'll talk with Constiere about what we can call you. You'll get a nickname too, don't worry."
"...Please include Malgun in that conversation. I already have a good idea about what Constiere may have in store for me."
Steve laughed at his request as Andvari continued to look around at the structure of the house with intrigue.
"...You really did make this place appear like a Crystalian structure, didn't you?"
Steve laughed at his words.
"Wanted to make it feel like home, so I did!"
Andvari nodded.
"Of course. Comfort is key, and all that."
Resuming the comfortable silence, the two waited together for the others to return from their small expedition, allowing the darkness of the house to take them in as the peaceful atmosphere enveloped them fully.
Ayyyyyy I was actually able to work on the fic this week! Internet is kinda wacky in my dorm room, but it didn't really pose that much of a problem!
Ah yes, I finally get to talk about Andvari's little backstory, lol. I was debating on when exactly I should include it, originally planning to have it revealed earlier on (it was supposed to be like, chapter 25 lol), but the time didn't feel right. Of course, it feels right now, so here you go! It's like, one of my favorite backstories lol
Side note, I didn't feel like that Herobrine should stay too long in pure emotional distress. He's now fully aware of the fact that Steve has a comforting aura to him, so he's a bit more open to expressing himself around him. He figures that if Steve's already seen him cry, then what's the point of hiding his laughter, too?
Fun Facts!:
1.) For clarification, respawning is like...kinda still a thing in this fic? I'll explain it as best I can, but divine beings can recover from extreme injuries (even deadly ones) as long as their bodies remain intact. However, if, say, the body is destroyed COMPLETELY, like if it gets entirely FUBARed, the soul is sent back into the Aether until the body is reformed properly (a.k.a, when it respawns lol). Herobrine threatened this last chapter lmao
2.) Andvari was a scientist in Crystalia who worked in its secret, underground/underwater research lab, lol. He has a deep love for the scientific process, and wasn't even there for the money.
3.) Andvari and Herobrine's story, as I've stated before I think, was a completely separate fic that I've already written, and I believe that it was one of the first Minecraft fanfics I've ever made!
4.) Herobrine still considers Andvari to be a father to him, despite their current situation lol. Andvari still considers him as his son.
5.) Herobrine is the only child that Andvari has ever fully tolerated. He tried to offer the same kindness he gave Herobrine to Constiere when he eventually joined the group, but Constiere was too annoying for him, lmao. They ended up just resorting to teasing and messing with each other.
6.) The transformation process for Andvari was a bit painful at points, though Herobrine tried all he could in order to make it as painless as possible, despite only just gaining his powers at that time and not even having enough time to get used to them as they came
7.) Ravagers can sense their owners' emotions, lol. Surprisingly enough, they're decent support animals.
8.) Herobrine was totally trying to distract Steve with jokes, lmao. He knows that Steve was genuinely worried about him, but he didn't want a human to think of him as being lesser in any way.
That's it for now! Leave a review if y'all have any thoughts!
