Steve heavily sighed and panted as he rubbed the back of his hand over his forehead, he let the diamond pickaxe in his hand slacken in his hold as he caught his breath. He had started mining earlier than usual, cutting breakfast short with his sister to stay caught up on his work since there was a dinner with her and their friends to go to within a few hours. He worked hard and mined as much ore as he could find, working up quite a sweat and getting covered in dust and dirt.

He took a moment to examine himself, noticing how dirty he was from collecting a lot of coal from a coal vein he came across today; his shirt and pants were covered in spots and streaks of black dust and it was all over his skin too. He felt filthy and ready to go home and bathe, but he wanted to find a few more chunks of iron before leaving; it was in high demand right now and would help the village.

He was being paid extra for iron today by the village blacksmiths, he amassed several large ores and they were enough; but he wanted just a few more to maximize his payment. He wanted and hoped to give some extra emeralds to his sister this month, especially since losing her job a couple of weeks ago. She's been struggling to get a new one and keep it seeing as the village doesn't have many open jobs that suit her right now, he'd ask her to join him mining, but he knows that Stephanie isn't a fan. Never was. She was more of a socialite than a lone laborer like him.

Steve chuckled to himself as he wiped a smudge of coal mixed with sweat from his arm, mining was dangerous and dirty. Steve had directed her to start her own flower business like she wanted when they were kids, but even a job like that needs the resources to even get it started and Stephanie was not one to take emeralds that she didn't earn in some way; especially from those in need of it. He offered to help her get started but she declined since he bought her a house with his emeralds, she still wanted to pay him back for that though he told her not to and still often drops a payment here and there when she can. Still, sometimes he'd sneak a few emeralds in her home seeing as doing a few favors and chores of neighboring villagers wasn't a good way to currently pay for things.

With his decision, he'd find a few more iron ores and go home and get cleaned up before the dinner. Seems simple enough, maybe another twenty or so minutes slamming his pick into the wall, and then he'd be out and ready to clean up and eat. The man smiled at his plan and headed further into the mine to get back to work, time was of the essence.

...

Herobrine's dim eyes lit up from the shadows of an unlit mine shaft as the miner moved from the current one and headed to a lower level, anger flared within him at the sight of the man so relaxed and unafraid. His fingers flexed and then curled into his palms, his hands were slightly trembling in anticipation of getting a hold of the man's throat.

That wretched mortal cut his little talk with Stephanie short this morning, which put him into a bad mood considering he had much to discuss since the woman didn't take the opportunity to turn him over to the hands of her fellow villagers or even attempt to kill him. He wanted more answers yet this man is why he couldn't get them, Hero knew he could return to the Stonewall sibling right now if he wanted, but she had said something about preparing dinner for her brother and her friends as her official last-day plan with them. He didn't know why, but something compelled him to allow her the space to do as she wished undisturbed. He could give her that much since she took care of him in a moment of literal weakness, so he left her alone to do what she wanted.

This genuinely thoughtful gesture of hers, however; didn't exactly quell the rage that he had for the one recent human who defied him and was able to injure him. Such an incident should have never happened, Herobrine was made ashamed of his arrogant nature and cockiness when he fought the guy a little while back. Steven Stonewall will face the punishment for his doing, but for now; he decided he'll give the miner a bit of a taste of what is to come, to satisfy some of his rage. The guy is lucky that Hero doesn't know his middle name, oh the amount of fun he could have if it was known.

Herobrine vanished from his spot in silence.

...

After mining through rock for several minutes, Steve grew tired of finding nothing. He was practically scraping at the hollow hole of an ore vein that had already been cleared out, he did this often since some ore could be hidden behind layers of stone in the same vein, but this didn't appear to be the case, not this time. There were small traces that gave him the hope for more, but traces were all they were. His disappointment was clearly shown in his expression as he stepped back from the wall with a frown and huffed as he wiped the sweat from his brow, he didn't have the time to dig for a new iron vein since he had to go home and get ready.

"So much for that, how unlucky." He said quietly to himself.

The light from all of the torches in the mineshaft immediately dies down to just small flickering flames like that of candlelight, casting the place mostly into darkness as the air around the miner cools down and gives him an unnerving chill. His eyes widen as he notices the sudden hostile presence, it's difficult to see but he begins looking around; first to his left, then to his right before spinning around. His violet eyes then dart to the pitch-black hole of the mineshaft where he hears loud footsteps echoing through the tunnel, he's not alone, and the hostile atmosphere of the cave gives him a sinking and dreadful feeling of his visitor. Steve untied the sack of ores from the side of his belt and tossed it to the side, he then steeled himself for his visitor when the footsteps ceased just several feet away.

The torches began burning bright again as the pressure of the air lightened, lighting up the chamber; revealing the mouth of the tunnel to be empty. Steve softly unconsciously trembled with a bad feeling, even with the room losing its uncomfortable chill; he still felt as if he weren't alone. In the quietness, he could hear his heartbeat in his ears and feel himself sweat with nervousness.

"Done already?"

The sudden deep echoing voice had Steve jolt in place and he quickly spun around to find Herobrine leaning against the wall with folded arms and a smug smirk on his face. "You..." Steve narrowed his eyes and barred his teeth, his posture went rigid and he lightly shuddered. "I had a feeling..."

"If only you moved over three feet to your right and dug a little deeper towards the top corner then you would have found another connecting ore vein, being made a powerless and simple-minded mortal must truly be a curse. Of course, I wouldn't know of such a thing, all these 'limitations' you're 'born' with, what a sad and pathetic life to live. Notch was wrong about you creatures." He sat up from the wall and grinned, his height and physique were imposing along with the dreadful energy he gave off now permeating the area. "I've been itching to see you again, miner."

"What are you doing here?" Steve asked, frightened but not backing down, his hand tightly coiled around the handle of his pickaxe. He was tempted to move the other to the hilt of his sword at his side but refrained from making any sudden movements that would cause the immortal to lash out, that demon was fast.

"It's been a while, I thought I'd come and say hello." He said with his eyes narrowing and glowing brightly. "You know, after you put a hole in me. Not to mention that you have disrupted my business with mortals multiple times and yet still live, allowing you to live however is becoming a bit of an inconvenience. I expected you to be the type to hunt me down and challenge me, not continue to play human slave to an imperfect society built upon lies and greed." He smirked at the miner's rising anger in his expression. "Am I not a worthy enough threat to you? How dissapoin-"

"Shut up," Steve interjected with his tone elevating. "I'm not the type to go looking for trouble, I just keep running into you hurting and killing innocent people or causing destruction in some way or another. I don't care if murder and ruination are hobbies of yours, but I won't stand idly by if I see you committing those atrocities and go unpunished for them."

"It is unwise to interrupt your god, mortal." Hero stated with a light intimidating scowl.

"You're no god of mine," Steve stated bitterly. "It's so unfair that you get to do whatever you want and serve no repercussions for your actions."

"Oh, but I am your god now. Punishment is beyond me, what I say and do is approved by me." Hero stretched his arms out at his sides and his grin returned. "Notch will not come to save any of you miserable beings, he hasn't for a long time now and never will again. He left all of you in 'my' hands, my toys to play with. I am the only true strong one left, and yet you humans won't recognize that fact; not that it will change anything if you did. Everything in this world is mine, like it or not. At least give me some recognition, or that you at least know your place." He gestured and then softly chuckled at the miner's growing and restrained anger. "But you won't, you like many refuse to acknowledge your position on the pecking order. Ignorant and stubborn creatures, at least the mobs know who's in charge and abide by my commands."

Steve shook his head, Herobrine was a powerful demented lunatic, a nearly unstoppable one at that. Even so, he would not bow or bend a knee to this white-eyed freak even if it were to save his life. "Even if Notch does nothing for us anymore, we won't answer to a murderer!" He barked.

Herobrine lowered his arms. "I am what I am, it was this way since my first day in this world. Why fight and refuse my very nature? It's the basic hierarchy, immortals thrive and mortals die. The strong trample the weak. The predator consumes the prey. The concept can't get any simpler than that, but you humans think you can pick and choose what goes despite having no power or authority of your own to enforce it. You can't even see true power with your own eyes and acknowledge it because you put yourselves up high on a pedestal. Like you deserve it?"

His eyes narrowed thinly and he gritted his teeth, his voices deepening. "You think so highly of your lives though you're as low as the dirt at my heels, so important, so worthy of attention and affection of him when all it takes is time, a minor cave-in, an attack from a mob, ingesting toxins, a small blade pushed through the body in the right place, and even losing air for a short time; just to die and be lost and left to rot away and out of this world. To become but dust and then nothing at all, so much time was wasted..."

Herobrine now chuckled with a hysterical look. "So useless, so pitiful. Wasted potential. You beings think that you are more than you are but deny the truth of where you stand, taking pride in the things you grow, build, and create, but it's meaningless in the grand scheme of things." He hissed. "So much time was wasted on you feeble creatures, I'll never understand why Notch valued even a single soul."

"And that is why you don't deserve to fill Notch's place, you're a heartless beast!" Steve barked, feeling a sense of dread and urgency forming in the back of his head, wondering if this was where he would die.

"Heartless beast? Heh. Blame him for leaving you to die in my hands, if he left a monster in charge; then that is on him. You wonder why I love killing you humans? It's much more than instinct, balance, or even hatred. It's betrayal." He finished darkly, then lightened his expression and tone to a more positive and happily sadistic demeanor. "But enough about that, I've been itching to get back at you for what you did to me, also to take out some frustrations I have." He put a fist in his hand and cracked his knuckles. "And I can't think of a better way to do that than to crush you with my own hands."

Steve dropped his pickaxe to the ground and drew his sword from its sheath, he feared that he wasn't going to get out of the mines alive to go to his sister's dinner, but it didn't seem like there was no other option than to fight his way out and pray that he escapes with his life.

...

Stephanie's mind was in complete disarray as she moved throughout the kitchen with a flour-covered navy apron over her Ivory tank top. She moved from the counter where she was preparing vegetables, over to the furnace to check on the cake she was currently baking. There were still potatoes to cut and boil as well as the seasoning for the steaks to prepare, on top of that; she hadn't even chopped the mushrooms yet. She hadn't planned to cook so much at first, but if this was possibly the last meal she'd ever have with her brother and their friends, then giving them all of her best was the new goal no matter how stressful or how much work it was.

She moved about carefully, taking a second to stir the glow berry sauce on the furnace top, then chopping up the remaining carrots and beetroots and dumping them into a cooking pot; she then took the pot over to the sink to add some water. With them now sitting aside, she moved over to the potatoes and began skinning them with her knife in hand. There was so much to do, she sighed as she dropped her first skinned potato into a new pot and turned around from her kitchen island to stir the sauce again; she hated the fact that glow berries take so long to cook and wondered why Notch made it so.

It would be nice if she had a few extra hands, or a little help.

Herobrine's help? She chuckled at the thought.

The idea of Herobrine wearing an apron made her smile, he seemed like a guy who would hate cooking and would most likely be the one to want to be served like a king. Considering he was a king, and a god; that reinforced the idea that he'd stir clear of the kitchen and demand food to be delivered to him. He could imagine what he wants and use his power to force it into existence, but there's no fun in cooking if that's how he feeds himself she thought. To her, there wasn't much good to eat out there other than a well-made home-cooked meal with every ounce of effort and affection poured into it. She took pride in one of her skills and made sure that everything would turn out perfectly; especially for this occasion.

She reminded herself to set aside some food for the white-eyed man, someone as techy as him could use a bit of compassion wrapped up in the most delicious meal. It was unlikely to sway his plans of genocide, but if she could keep getting closer to him, dig her way a little more into his heart even just a little, then just maybe; she might help and change his mind. Her options were either to become a friend and show him there was more to humans than just hated obstacles and creatures to purge, or just accept the inevitable war and let him kill her and everyone else. Granted she was practically out of time now, but there wasn't much more she could do or hope for except if by miracle beat his next upcoming challenge and obtain more time.

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

There's no way of fighting him considering his power, especially not with the command block in his possession. Stephanie doubted he'd ever let it slip his grasp again, especially since it holds a lot of power and he seems to value it quite a lot; seeing how angry he got when she touched it. But still, she'll do what she can with what time she has left. Tonight was her last night before the second challenge, her visit with Herobrine on this particular night was crucial. There was much to do and say, she doubted she'd finish his song and have it ready by tonight or tomorrow considering there was still so much that she didn't know about him that wasn't mostly tied to hate, violence, and wrath.

Her feminine charms, few talents, and extendable compassion were all she had to work with, Herobrine might like her right now, but was she enough to sate a god? She shook her head. Unlikely, not at this stage of acquaintanceship. She needed to learn more about him and do her womanly thing to captivate him and hopefully slow his wrath to come by softening him up if it was even possible. At least until she can get him to trust and like her enough to be convinced to spare humanity, assuming he's willing to be reasoned with by then.

Either he had no one he liked talking to, was legitimately attracted to her, or was just bored, he still kept seeing her and this gave her some shred of hope to cling to. Though temperamental and bitter toward humans, she had seen the potential for kindness in him. It would be risky to try and form any kind of relationship with that man, even friendship. It could be dangerous to do so; but what other option was there? Anything was worth trying at this point, anything to keep her brother and her close friends safe.

Stephanie returned to stirring the sauce with a determined look on her face, she reminded herself that she wasn't just making this meal for her friends and family, but for Herobrine too.

...

A blade of diamond swung through the air at the immortal's chest, the white-eyed man swiftly reeled back with a smirk, watching as Steve tried to slash at him but he was a little too slow. He laughed as the miner failed to graze him with the sword as he effortlessly dodged every swing, almost acting as if it were a game. Though toying with the mortal; Herobrine knew not to let his guard down again and to be weary of tricks and anything distracting that the man might use to his advantage. He was not going to slip up again.

He watched as Steve's attempted swipes started to slow down as he began to tire, mining beforehand was truly proving to require more energy than he currently had to defend himself. Hero knew that it wouldn't take long for the human to completely exhaust himself, it was why he let Steve mine for hours before confronting him. Nothing made him feel more alive than to have his prey completely at his mercy, weak and begging to either be spared or beg for a swift death.

"Getting tired are we?"

Steve stopped swinging and took a step back while huffing, beads of sweat formed over his brow and slowly began to streak down his face. "I've been mining for hours, all morning." He breathed. "I bet you've been waiting, haven't you?"

Hero laughed. "Of course, it's much more fun this way."

"It sounds more like a coward's choice, waiting until I am my weakest. Can't fight me at my best because you're afraid of a little diamond, your weakness." The miner hissed.

Angered by the insult, Herobrine dashed forward and landed a punch across the miner's face, Steve stumbled back from the strike but quickly regained his balance; then used the opportunity to sling his sword up and at the immortal. Herobrine leaned backward to avoid the blade but then felt a slight sting across his chest, he staggered back a few steps and watched as a streak of red formed in a long horizontal line across his chest and created a long blotch of blood soaking through the fabric. He sneered and growled at even the thought of receiving damage from the human again, he would be sure that Steve paid for this humiliation as well.

"Taking a hit to get closer to me?" His frown lightened and he beamed with anger and yet amusement. "If it weren't more entertaining to fight you up close then I would have already burned you to ashes or electrocuted you to death, consider yourself fortunate to be more worthy than the cowards I often encounter. They're no fun and die too quickly."

"That's an honor? I'm so flattered." Steve said sarcastically with a grimace, wiping the blood from the side of his mouth onto the back of his hand. "The only honor you'll ever deserve is being sealed in the Nether, permanently."

The immortal huffed. "The Netherrealm was given to me a long time ago if you weren't aware, you think I should be under house arrest? Ha, I cannot be restrained, not even in my own home. I could change all of the realm at will if I so chose to."

"Well, there's always the void in the End dimension, that seems like it'd better suit you," He said, now wiping sweat off of his face. "An endless black pit for such a black heart; seeing as death would be far too kind for someone like you."

Hero's eyes narrowed thinly. "Insolence, gods do not die."

"Nor do they bleed." The miner countered, nodding to the blood on Herobrine's chest. "But look at that, you aren't a god; just a pretender. Diamond can cut you, it can probably kill you as well; which is why you fled that day I stabbed you, right? Notch gave you a weakness."

Enraged, the white-eyed teleported from his place and was in Steve's face in the blink of an eye, he smashed a fist into the man's jaw; sending the miner to the ground. Steve grabbed his jaw and then shouted as a kick to his chest sent him rolling into the dark enclosure of the open mineshaft.

Herobrine watched as the man curled in on himself and coughed, he huffed in rage; eyes glowing brighter as the torchlight dimmed and weakened as if bowing in his vexation. "You better watch your insults, miner." He took a few steps until he stood over the mortal, he put a foot over Steve's hand as he tried to pick himself up and began digging his heel into his flesh. The miner cried out in pain and used his left hand to try and pry the boot off of his right, wincing and gasping in the process. "Or I'll take more than just your hand in this encounter. You aren't like most prey, there's a reason to delay your death."

"I'm not a punching bag made for your amusement," Steve said through clenched teeth as he continued to work his hand free. "I'm just a man, trying... to make a living... in this world."

"In my world, you mean?" Hero retorted, adding more pressure and pain to the man's trapped hand and causing him to gasp.

"No." He hissed. "The one... Notch gave us." He said with a raised pitch in pain.

"Gave?" Herobrine laughed with a fake tone, watching the miner now on his knees trying to yank his hand out from under Hero's foot. "Gave? Why do you think that just because Notch constructed your code and put you in this world; that gives you the right to it? Give me a break." His tone darkened. "None of you moronic and ignorant creatures know the truth, but nor would any of you ever accept it even if you knew. He technically didn't make any of you, he only recycled some code and gave every entity its unique yet partially randomly generated basic designs and attributes based on parent entities and of course with limitations. Yet you think you're special enough to own this world? It wasn't given to you."

Steve stared up at the man in confusion and anger. "Like Notch would give it to someone like you? That's a lie. ... Aaaahhaa!" He felt the weight over his hand increase and his bones grind and snap in a few places.

"Fool. It is not, but believe what you will; it changes nothing because none of you humans have the power to say differently. There is no longer a desire of your kind to coexist in this world for I have deemed it so. If I wish to kill you pathetic beings then so be it, it's time to accept it. What I say goes! In the Overworld, Nether, Aether, and End!

IT IS ALL MINE!" His echoing voice carried down the mineshaft. "I consider even the silverfish to be of more importance than humankind because even they know their place. Yet you creatures are so stubborn and disrespectful, death is what you deserve."

Steve gasped for air and stopped trying to remove the weight off his hand, it was broken now so there was no point in making it hurt any more than it should. His gaze moved to the stone ground, his heart was thundering in his chest as the adrenaline flowed. "Why are you talking so much? You've never wasted so much breath on me before, so why now?"

Herobrine raised a brow at the thought, it was true, he's never been too much of a talker. 'Interesting.' He thought as he didn't even know why. His taunts were usually short. Still, he saw through Steve's little plan, watching the man heavily pant and finally freeing his hand with Herobrine distracted.

The miner pushed himself to stand up, surprised that Herobrine would even allow that much at this point.

"Buying time to rest with conversation? That's new. Though you are right, talking isn't really my thing. I don't typically enjoy wasting my breath on you pitful creatures, how fortunate of you to receive so much attention from me."

The human cradled his bleeding injured hand close to his chest; wondering how badly broken it was after noticing two bones splintering out of his flesh. "That's... that's not much of an honor either."

A fist slammed into Steve's stomach and another right jaw, he went flying into the wall of the mine with incredible force, his head and shoulder smacked into solid stone and landed on the ground with a loud thud. He remained on the ground with his head pounding, his vision was even blurred as he dared to open an eye to the feet of the man now approaching him. He slowly lifted an arm and used it to try and push himself off of the stone surface beneath him but his arm and shoulder ached tremendously. He didn't even get the chance to sit up because Herbrine's hand grabbed him by the arm and yanked him up off the ground and then slammed Steve's back right into the wall face-first, the miner hissed and grunted in pain as his nose bled. His cheek was pressed and ground against the sharp stone, he gnashed his teeth and tried to push himself off the wall but Herobrine's hand on the back of his head made it impossible.

"You still insist on testing my tolerance of such attitude before your greater? I am a god, not some common criminal or weak entity." He pressed the miner more into the wall, the smell of human blood up close made him feel bloodlust and the desire to make the man bleed more in his heated and excited rage. His code beckoned him to continue his assault and kill the man. He then grabbed the miner by the back of his head, pulling him back several inches and then shoving the man's face back into the stone surface aggressively. Herobrine did this multiple times in his antagonistic rage, making sure not to overdo it and kill the man instantly. He relished in Steve's cries of pain and attempted to shield his face with his injured hand as he tried to use the other to reach back around and grab Hero's wrist.

"Oh no you don't mortal, you'll learn your place even if I have to smash into that thick head of yours!" He barked, grabbing the man's wrist, he pulled the miner back away from the wall and slung him into the adjacent one with much force. Steve was no longer standing on his own and barely conscious when he stumbled back and fell, he was only upright because the hand clinging tightly on his wrist kept him from meeting the floor. By the look on the mortal's face, his eyes were half closed and blood poured from his hairline, nostrils, and lips, down his neck, and soaked his shirt.

"I'll make sure you suffer for rebelling against me, for every little infraction of my will. It will be slow and very agonizing for you, human."

...

"When the time comes, give my brother a swift end."

"Make me suffer his portion instead if it'll satisfy you, please?"

...

His sharp anger dulled at the thought of her soft voice, the very image of her pleading gaze that day and the dance and hummed song she performed, it brought him back to the memory of their deal. Though the woman had yet to dance and sing a song in his honor, there was still the possibility of it soon, it was a deal. His white eyes glare down upon the dazed mortal and he lets go of him, letting the miner fall to the ground and quietly and sluggishly move about as his world spun and added to his affliction.

'For her sake.' Herobrine thought, cooling himself down and calming his wrath for the promise of what the younger Stonewall had to offer. If he kills Steve now; Stephanie will be utterly devastated, left in mourning. She would likely refuse to speak to him, or even look at him. The possibility of her turning away from him angered him bitterly, his hands coil at the idea. He honestly shouldn't care, especially not for a human's affection. But that woman was different, he'd savor her presence for a little while longer; even if it meant sparing this nuisance of a human at his feet.

Even if for just one more night.

"Consider yourself lucky that I'm sparing you this time, next time, you'll not be so fortunate. Know your place." Herobrine said more calmly. His eyes then notice a small round silver object lying close to the miner, he used his power to cause the object to levitate up to him and he took it into hand before looking over the damaged item with mild interest. "What is this?"

Though beaten and battered the miner wheezed and moved a hand forward toward Herobirne's ankle to grab on but couldn't reach. "Give... it... ba-ck." Steve grunted.

"A broken and useless compass? What use is this to you now, mortal?" Hero was tempted to crush the small object in his palm for the nether of it, he noticed two large cracks through the glass face of the compass but there was no fluid in it or indication that there was any in it for some time; he didn't break it for it was already broken while on the miner's person. He refrained from smashing it as the human seemed to value it.

"It's... mine..." Steve gasped, one of his eyes closed shut from the blood seeping into it and stinging him.

"You know, I do love collecting trophies, this won't be an exciting addition to my collection; but I'll add it nonetheless, only because you value this piece of trash. It'll be a nice reminder of my victory here today. I'd honestly prefer a head, but this will have to do for now."

"Bastard."

"Cherish your time miner, the next time we meet; I might just take your head." Herobrine finished with a grim expression and vanished from the mineshaft, the torch flames brightened from his absence and the atmosphere lost its heavy weight.

Steve groaned and lay on the stone for several long minutes before regaining full awareness, he placed his injured hand on his chest and his other over his temple. He felt blood in his hair, there were no doubts that he had cuts and gashes on his head from the beating he endured, he'd be shocked if he didn't die from a brain aneurysm.

It took nearly an hour to get himself up off the ground and roughly the same to limp his way back home, it took over half that time to clean up the coal dust, grime, sweat, and blood from his body and tend to his injuries. He knew that he was already late to Steph's dinner, but there wasn't much of a choice being in his current state. He feared that his injuries would greatly distress and worry her; especially if she found out what happened to him. Being late annoyed him, but it was probably better not to arrive in bloodied clothes. Steve thought about this as he carefully pressed the bones from his hand back into place and wrapped it to stop the bleeding that Herobrine's foot had caused, he still couldn't tell if it was too damaged to heal properly with high-quality health tonics he got from Nigel a while back, or if he'd have to get it treated by the village doctor. But at least he still had some feeling in it, thankfully his fingers worked as well; to an extent.

He still had to wash his head and nose to tend to any injuries he found with healing concoctions, he looked at the clock on his wall and grimaced, he was going to be very late. He hopes she'll be patient and understand his reasons, but then he has the thought of what she'll ask when she sees him like this. Steve went rigid and tried to think up some excuse, anything but tell her that Herobrine nearly beat him to death and stole the compass she made so long ago, she didn't need to know that one of the most powerful and cruelest of entities attacked him in their own village. He dreaded the thought of telling her that he lost the childhood present she gave him, a little trinket he took everywhere as a good luck charm; her first ever crafted item when she was eight. He never wanted to upset her or worry her, Stephaine is too soft-hearted to deal with that kind of stress and practically freaked out from the last few encounters with the vile man.

For her sake, he'll just come up with a believable lie for the time being and not mention the compass. He hated the idea of lying to her and rarely ever did, but he didn't want to worry her, not today in the presence of all their friends... if he even made it to the dinner that is.

He could always tell her later the truth at another time, so he decided he'd do this.