Returning to the Overworld was a great decision after all, Herobrine thought as he lay atop a high tree limb with his back resting against the trunk; escaping all of the stress and rage after scolding a couple of factions of the Nether army and having his lower-tier commanders scrambling to maintain order.

He had his arms tucked behind his head and cradled his cranium and neck from the hard surface of the tall oak, the stillness and quietness of the forest brought him to ease and helped him to relax; a much-needed downtime after his recent outbursts. It's been a long while since he's taken the time to rest in the comfort of the peaceful atmosphere of the surface world, getting lost in the gentle ambiance of bird and locust chirps, wind rustling leaves and grasses ever so softly, the smell of fresh crisp untainted air filling his lungs, and the small rays of sunlight filtering through the tree leaves and warming various places on his body.

It was perfect enough to fall asleep right then and there, and he would have if he could. Though resting and treating himself to the serenity of his surroundings, he really couldn't truly rest; not as his mind continued to wander to his annoyance. Not only because the Nether mobs had angered him and he had to put them back in line, but because he was near the village of Oakridge; not too far from Stephanie's home. He chose to rest close to the town to keep an eye out for any dramatic changes should the woman alert the town's guards or do something sneaky, he was not going to let the Stonewall sibling simply leave; especially now that she was probably getting desperate after their little argument last night.

It was unlikely that he'd see her out in the woods during the day or even out tonight, probably too frightened by him after striking and halfway choking her; he also told her that he'd see her at the end of the week for the next challenge so she's not expecting him anymore for the time being. He didn't know why he was hoping to see her, she was but a tool for revenge; nothing more. Though she was at least an eye-catching and cunning tool, a mesmerizing mortal that wasn't too afraid to get too close to danger, let alone entice that danger. He almost wished he had more time with the woman to explore her a bit more, he could take her if he wanted; but it felt oddly more gratifying for her to approach and engage him willingly, like their first encounter.

After pissing him off by mentioning the name of that damned deserting god, trying to make him out to be a fool, and refusing to obey his commands; he still found himself thinking about that woman even now. Normally, he would have killed anyone who would dare and muster the courage to tempt his anger by backtalking him, but he had to remember his plans and not end her life. Yet after all of that and being the reason he suffered the statute several hours ago, she was on his mind again and in a rather favorable way despite all the tension.

The way she buckled under the pressure of his presence, how red her face turned as he spoke so playfully to her, the look of shock when she found herself in his arms, the way she would speak to him despite the fear she had, the physical contact she bravely made, the way her entrancing body moved in fear, and the way she looked so vulnerable as she slept peacefully and unsheltered in a dangerous world. It's a shame that such appearances and reactions from the woman won't last for long, but he did enjoy and relish in her expressions and touch. Stephanie wasn't too bad, for a human anyway.

He suddenly thought back to her embracing his lips and then grinned, there was just something about the way she came onto him. Stephanie kept things interesting at the very least, more so than any mortal had ever done before. How could one so small and powerless be so captivating and courageous?

And suddenly, his irritable mood improved.

After several long minutes, Herobrine was finally able to feel relaxed enough to attempt a nap; and he would have fallen asleep had the sounds of a human voice not caught his immediate attention. The words were soft and feminine; easily identifiable as a woman, a familiar one no less.

'No, there is no way.' Herobrine thought as he leaned up on the branch and looked in the direction where he picked up the sound, with much curiosity and expectation; he jumped down from the tall oak tree and began walking towards the voice to go and confirm his suspicions.

...

"Hey there, remember me?" Stephanie asked the blue-roan horse several feet away from her; both she and the animal were just outside of the woods and not too far from her home. She had been ambling about in thought, spending much of her time walking through the oak forest enjoying the nice afternoon and trying to keep the looming threat out of her mind; that was until she came upon the beautiful wild mare grazing nearby. This was not just any horse though; this was one she had been trying to tame for a long time now, a steel-blue colored horse dappled with many spots and long streaks of white like it had a pattern of a snowstorm on its hide. The horse was an occasional visitor of the area near town, one she had been seeing often, one she wanted to own herself for a long while now.

She plucked some long grasses from the ground and held it out towards the animal as she steadily advanced towards it, and as expected the horse allowed her to approach and continued grazing on the grasses at its heels; there was a form of trust between them. But as Steph got closer, a large black wild stallion with half of a white face and white leg stockings threaded out from between the trees and joined the other horse in grazing.

Stephanie's expression fell to one of annoyance and she rolled her eyes with a soft huff. "Not you again." She muttered and shook her head. "You have to be here too? Fine, just don't cause me any trouble this time around okay?" She asked as the animal ignored her and continued to eat grass. Despite the additional horse, Stephanie still wanted to see if she could finally tame the one she's been trying to gain trust from. To her surprise the stallion let her get close without getting spooked for once, and on top of that the mare happily ate the grass out of her hands and allowed Steph to pet her when she was close enough.

This had to be the time, she thought to herself and cautiously made her way to the side of the animal; she slowly slipped her arms over its back in preparation for hopping up on the creature and beginning to break it in.

But just as Stephanie pulled herself over the creature's back; the black equine lifted its head and saw her trying to climb up on its companion, the male horse began to stir in fright, it then reared its front legs and loudly neighed; now spooking the horse Stephanie was trying to climb on. The blue roan started bucking in panic as the stallion took off galloping through the woods; it knocked the woman off of it with a few hard kicks and soon disappeared through the trees after the other.

With a pained groan, Stephanie rolled onto her side before sitting up in a partial leaning position; using her arms to keep herself supported as she felt the sting of disappointment and aching joints from the rough jostle. She's used to being thrown off, she has been bucked off quite a few times since finding the animal living near her village and trying to tame it, but this time it hurt more. With her time running out before the mob armies storm her village, and with her being taken, it was very unlikely that she'd see that horse again; let alone ever ride it. She exhaled heavily before pulling herself up to stand and dust herself off, so much for her potentially last chance to get a pet horse.

"There is no point in taming that animal as there is no escaping me."

His voice tones out of nowhere had the woman jump a bit in being startled, she then looked over to her right to see Herobrine sitting high on top of a nearby tree branch; haunched over a bit with his arms resting loosely over his knees. She frowned and her heart started to race; she was not expecting him to be out here in the daylight. She fully turned herself to face him, taking a deep breath to calm herself. He didn't appear angry or annoyed from last night's talk thankfully. "How long have you been there?"

The man lifted a brow. "Does it matter?" He asked in return, now leaning back to fix his posture, his gaze still intimidating as ever. "Long enough to see you try and tame one of the beasts only to get kicked off. You only waste your time and energy out here in this... attempt to flee?"

"I was doing no such thing." She started softly, carefully; wondering if she could casually speak to him without angering him. "I was walking through the woods and happened to come across the animal that I have been trying to tame for almost a year now, otherwise the horses would have fled immediately upon being approached. Would they have stayed if there wasn't a bit of trust in me?" She asked.

The woman had a fair point, he silently acknowledged. "Then why try to tame one at all if it's not an animal to be used?" He gestured.

"I still want to ride it, even if I don't get to ride it for long. As I've said; I have been trying to tame it for a while now because it's something I wanted to do when I was younger. With time ticking down until the next impossible challenge; I figured that I'd give it one last go. I failed as you can see. The stallion had been coming around a lot with that horse about four months ago." She sighed and rubbed the back of her neck, careful to not loosen up the scarf too much. "But he spooks the mare too easily and too often when I try to tame her, they always run off before I'm even able to make any real progress nowadays. I've only really gained the trust of one, the other is too skittish. I was making progress with him a little though, he let me approach this time.

And no, I have no plans of escaping in case you were wondering."

"Hmm, if the black horse was giving you trouble all this time, then you should have just put a few arrows through its head, that'll make taming the other easier."

Stephanie gaped, appalled, and offended that Herobrine would suggest such an idea. "Absolutely not! The stallion might be a hindrance to taming the other horse but shooting it is just cruel! I've come to accept that he's a companion to the other and I have been trying to gain his trust too; I only wanted to try my luck today is all. I'd never go that far and kill the mare's friend."

Herobrine pushed himself away from the tree and fell onto his own two feet with a thud, rising, he then neared the Stonewall with a careless look. "Friend? They are simple-minded beasts of the field with hardly any viable predators, they have no need of companionship or numbers."

Steph's eyes narrowed, Herobrine's way of thinking; even for innocent creatures was so pitiless and twisted. 'How dare he.' "Just because their animals don't mean that they don't feel, or that they don't have needs like companionship and security. They feel pain just like me... but unlike you, they can really hurt and die. I know you hate humans, but could you at least try and have some sympathy for the animals? Do you even know what it means to have some pity? Is it capable for one such as you to feel sympathy for another?"

Hero softly scoffed. "Why waste energy with such feeble emotions?"

'He doesn't want to feel real compassion because he deems it weak?' Steph wondered. This man needed to come off of that high horse he was on, power and authority weren't everything. "There's more to life than killing and gaining for selfish reasons Herobrine, more than power and dominion. Isn't happiness what everyone pursues in some shape or form, even you? Can you call that a 'feeble' emotion?"

Hero zoned out of the conversation a little as his eyes were now drawn to the bruise on the side of the woman's cheek, it's mostly faded out despite developing just last night. It looks like his blood works in humans as well, and longer than expected, just as Notch once predicted. He unconsciously reached out to stroke the side of Stephanie's face, her flesh was soft and warm despite the damage beneath the surface, and her once delicate flawless skin was tainted by discoloration and swelling. He brushed back a soft auburn lock of her hair behind her ear, he then grabbed her by the chin and gently forced her to look up at him at an angle and give him a better view of the bruise. As his fingers continued to lightly trace her skin, she blinked out of her frozen astonishment and immediately pulled away from him and backed away in shock.

"What are you- Don't touch me! ... Please, ... just don't," Stephanie said as she took a few steps backward and ran her fingers cautiously over the sore spot of her jaw. "I haven't failed the challenge yet, ... it still hurts." She finished quietly with a pleading expression.

He frowned. "You bruise quite easily, don't you?"

'What kind of response was that?' She thought with her eyes lightly narrowing. "What do you think? You struck me hard enough that you knocked me to the ground, it really hurt too. Yes, I do bruise easily, okay. You have so much power and strength, it's a miracle that you didn't accidentally snap my neck from such brute force." She then noticed him glancing down at the palm of his hand for a brief moment before returning his gaze back to her, or more specifically; her covered throat.

"Speaking of your neck, why are you wearing a scarf? The winter season is far off."

"Isn't it obvious? Or are you just trying to mess with me? Why do you think I'm wearing it? Considering that you nearly choked me to death with the collar of my own jacket last night, feigning a bad cold was the only way to hide the evidence from my brother this morning and anyone else I come across on my walk outside; it's not like I want to wear it."

Herobrine suddenly stepped forward and tried to grab the fabric but Stephanie clasped onto his wrist with both of her hands and did her best to hold him back. "Let me see."

"Why?"

His eyes narrowed a bit. "Because I want to. I will look whether you want me to or not." He then reached forward and took a wad of the scarf into hand, the woman's resistance was futile as she could not stop him.

"Hey, wait! Why do you need to see the markings? It's not as if you're capable of caring about what you did, or do you just want to admire your work? You're truly a sick swine if that's the case." Steph protested as he finally pulled the cloth away.

He could clearly see the damages done, though perhaps they were not as bad now that she's had some time to heal with the aid of his blood that he poured into the bite wound. There were still bruises in the shape of lines at the base of her neck and some just beneath her jawline, not too noticeable but certainly there; more tainted discolored skin that blemished and obscured her full beauty. He gently pressed his fingers on some of the bruised skin under her jaw; inspecting what he had done even if it was unintentional. Herobrine made a mental note to try and be more careful with the frangible woman, so as to not damage her any further in his raging outbursts.

Stephanie's blue-violet eyes looked away from him, wondering why he was touching her to begin with; though he wasn't actively pressing too hard over her bruises, so he didn't seem to want to cause her pain. Herobrine was surprisingly gentle. She let go of his wrist and let him examine her while being silent, when looking back at him in the eyes she couldn't tell if there was any regret, but he was so calm as he stared at her at the moment.

'Okay, so now what?' She thought as he pulled back his hand.

"I did more damage than necessary, that was not with intent. Next time don't insist on angering me, nor mention the name of your maker. I can easily snap, and become violent if pressed enough." He handed the scarf back to her, and Steph reluctantly took it back.

'Was that supposed to be an apology?'

"So long as you aren't trying to leave this place then you are free to roam around."

"That's not being free." She corrected.

"It's a privilege to be alive right now, woman." He countered.

Stephanie huffed as she wrapped the scarf back around her neck. "There's no true privilege to be alive when you're awaiting a slow and cruel execution. Or did you forget? I know what you meant last night, about the wounded sheep; well this wounded sheep here," She pointed a thumb back at herself. "Is being stalked by a wolf while she's trying to enjoy the last of her remaining time. I'd like to do a few big things before you decide to kill me; so could you please not patronize me for what I decide to do? If I want to try and tame a horse then let me do it, don't assume that I'm up to no good. You already made it very clear that there's no escaping you; so please just let me be."

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Herobrine said nothing as she began to walk away, but before he could teleport away she stopped in place and spoke again.

"But before I go, there is something I'd like to say," Stephanie said as she calmed herself and regained her focus, she expected Herobrine to continue to argue or make demands of her like he did last night, but he was still rather quiet. "You think that it's a waste of energy to have even a little care for creatures weaker than you, but that can't be entirely true. Even if I'm human." Steph's frown deepened and she sighed. "I noticed that I had grass stains on my pants after I returned home yesterday night, that my boots had holes in them, and that there was a spider bite on my foot. You saved me from spiders."

The white-eyed man glared at her. "Did I not already tell you that if it weren't for me you wouldn't be alive?"

She shook her head and turned back around to face him. "Yes, but you never told me that I had nearly been dragged away and eaten alive by spiders, you really did save me from mobs."

"How else would I get my desired revenge if you were dead, woman?" He gestured.

"You can say that saving me was for revenge, but- then why do you waste your time and energy cleaning and dressing my wounded foot with such meticulousness?" She noticed Herobrine's scowl deepen, Stephanie then moved up close until she was face to face with him, standing only with a small gap between them. "It's not a fatal injury, and probably wouldn't have bled out that much either, I've been bitten by a spider before you know. For someone who doesn't want to waste time and energy on anyone or anything but themselves; or even show a little pity, you showed some level of care regardless. It took some time to realize this, despite the pain you caused me last night.

You could have just let the bite marks be and all would be fine, but instead, you took the time to clean and bandage them and made sure that the wrapping was nice and secure." She moved a hand up to his chest and placed her palm over his heart, now staring at the spot where her hand rested.

His expression fell.

"You went out of your way to help me, even provide a bed of leaves and protection; you accepted my end of the deal and have kept it thus far despite being able to go back on your word at any time."

"Where are you getting at, woman?" He eyed her with suspicion and oddly enough, eagerness.

Her eyes look up to meet his glowing gaze, and though he looks vexed; his voice tones are lacking the heat. "Perhaps you aren't completely unsympathetic and cold after all? That maybe there's a beating heart beneath all of that stone?" She said quietly, her fingertips gently raking at the cyan fabric of his shirt before pressing her palm into him firmly. He was so warm, his heartbeats were heavy like a hammer and powerful. He was also impressively toned, she could feel the lean muscles underneath her hand; so much so that it gave her chills all over. He was so perfect on the outside; but on the inside...

She wondered how one could be so human-like and yet so monstrous simultaneously, he was a beautiful nightmare. Her hand lingered for but a short moment before turning and pulling herself away from him and cupping her hand with the other, something about touching him in such a way felt forbidden but also excitingly magnetizing at the same time. Her heart began to race again, her mind wandering towards impermissible thoughts, she needed to get away from this man right now.

"An-anyway, thank you for not only saving my life but for tending to my injury Herobrine, no matter what the intent may truly be, every second of being alive counts. Now, if you'll excuse me, I would like to spend some of that remaining time with my friends." And with that she began walking back towards her home, mind still reeling with mixed emotions and confusion.

"Are you coming out tonight?"

The sudden question caught her off guard, Stephanie came to a stop while looking at the ground and lightly biting at her lip; thinking to herself if she should or not. This recent encounter didn't have much hostility to it, but Herobrine is still the same murderous man aiming for revenge, plus he could hurt her again if he was provoked enough or maybe make demands of her to do things she didn't want to. That and the fact that she didn't know if she had a reason to get out so late, the recent past two nights outside of town had done nothing but wear her out and make her lose sleep. "I- I don't know. I don't have a reason to this evening." She said in a whisper. Why was he even asking? Did he want her to? Why would he?

"I'm sorry, but probably not tonight. I'm confident enough that you'll continue to keep your word to receive entertainment from me in the upcoming challenge. Although, I don't exactly trust you, but neither do you seem like you would go back on your word. I could be wrong, but you wouldn't have told me about the wounded sheep if you had planned otherwise."

Herobrine just stared at the woman, she kept her back to him, her posture one of discomfort. "Very well then." He said, folding his arms. "I won't have to come out here to protect you then, nor waste my time."

Why did he sound so annoyed about it then? Stephanie wondered then began walking forward again, she had things to do with Alex and Stanley before dinnertime. "Bye." Was all she said before pushing herself into a light jog and sprinting through the woods until she was back in the fields of her village.

...

Herobrine watched as she left for a long minute before teleporting away from the woods and back into the throneroom of his Nether fortress, he then moved over and took a seat in his chair. For a moment, his gaze wasn't fixed on anything in particular, white eyes glanced around the area; not a mob in sight oddly enough, though most of them should still be resting at this time of the day. The silence was welcoming at least, it gave him time to himself to sort out a strange feeling he couldn't quite understand or register. He knows what appreciation feels like, Notch taught him that a long time ago. But this time it feels... different.

The woman had thanked him previously the night before, but he didn't really care for the words and sentiments then. Yet as soon as she mentions the bite he healed and wrapped to prove the creative bastard wrong for depraved reasons; a sensation like no other formed within his chest, and he felt prideful of his actions despite his intentions.

This time a strange sensation welled up inside of him and it felt good, the hand Stephanie placed on him also made him feel empowered, gratification, pleasure, reverence, and somehow physically stronger. Even now his heart was still beating at a quick pace, and from a human woman's touch; of all things. He didn't understand why it felt good, he just knew that he wanted the feeling to last.

...

If you can help one human out as I do on the occasion; then I believe that you would see in them what I see, feel what I feel."

...

'Could it be?'

...

'No.' The good feeling was quickly lost. Herobrine coiled his hands on the ends of his throne's armrests, somewhat squeezing the chair in anger and damaging the seat some for the hundredth time. It mattered not if he helped a human, he could not accept such a feeling if it involved evoking anything about what Notch had told him long ago. No joy was worth helping the damned beings, only killing them brought him enjoyment and so shall it be just that.

But the residual feeling on his chest, the fingers that dug into his shirt, and her lingering nearness made him want to grab onto her though she wasn't there. Herobrine leaned backward in his chair, rolling his head back, and closing his eyes as he exhaled softly in recalling the subtle and yet consuming sensation, his hand moving to the spot as if he were searching for the ghost of the hand that touched him.

Hero growled to himself, not wanting to accept this foreign feeling and excitement from the touch; but like the kiss, he was quietly addicted and consumed by the pleasant and exciting feeling it gave him throughout his body. Such soft and yet foreign interactions with one so beautiful, an experience he's aware of and had before with a few Aetherian valkyries in his ancient days, but never had with a human woman with such a delicate warm touch. Stephanie was like a flower, fragile yet beautiful, soft, and sweet. His resolve was not strong enough to resist her touch, like the feeling of helping the mortal, this feeling ran much deeper and was far stronger. Instinctual even, more so than meeting his needs through the winged women of the sky in times past, when they were still around in abundance.

Herobrine's grin returned. He almost wished Stephanie was right there before his throne, he'd reach out and pull her onto him and... experiment a little. There was no denying that the woman didn't have an effect on him, not anymore. He now craved her touch, those small gentle caressing hands of hers, the feel of her hair, that blue-violet gaze, her scent, her lips. How could a mortal woman have such an astounding effect on him and so quickly at that? It's not even been three full days and he's already completely enthralled by her, it seemed like his instincts were beginning to take charge and he was inclined to follow them and see where they took him.

He hadn't felt such a strong pleasant feeling like this; not in a very long time, not ever since Notch accepted him as his brother.

And just like that, the good feeling fades.

The man growled lowly to himself and scowled. "Damn you, always ruining my little moments of satisfaction by just the mere thought of you," Herobrine heatedly whispered to himself and sighed with a deep toothy frown, running a hand over his face. "You are unworthy of my time and my energy." He hissed.

"Brother."

Eyes widened. Herobrine snorted and stood up from his chair with haste, looking down the set of terrace steps to an empty space before him, his eyes then narrowed thinly. "I finally did what you asked, now get out of my sight and stay out of it!" He barked and pointed a hand off towards the side, his voice tones echoing throughout the grand hall. "Leave!"

"Don't kill them, don't kill her."

Silence hung in the air for a long moment.

Herobrine growled. "You have no say in the matter of their lives or of any other, not when you left; you gave everything to 'me'!" He beat the palm of his hand against his chest aggressively a few times. "Me! Remember?! I will decide what to do with the humans and even this very world, so don't you dare try and play hero now; because you can't. They are my toys to play with and break. All of them are mine, every last mob and mortal, even that woman." He said, his voice echoing through the emptiness of the hall.

Notch looked away in disappointment and sighed. "You should reconsider."

"No! You're the one who should have reconsidered leaving this world for those- errraaahhh! ... Just get out!"

In the blink of an eye Notch was gone, and Herobrine was standing alone in the quietness of the throne room.

The white-eyed man seethed softly for a minute then turned back around and dropped himself down into his chair, placing his hands over his face as he slumped forward in his seat; his head ached tremendously to his annoyance. "Don't come back anymore, don't speak to me, you never intended to when you left." He said bitterly. "Soon enough, you won't have a reason to pester me ever again."

...

...

Stephanie had spent the majority of her day out with a few of her friends, she kept her markings hidden pretty well and her companions believed the same story that she told her brother; which had her having to make a more detailed story as they pressed for more information. Still, they believed and didn't make too much of a big deal out of it. After a few hours of chatting, archery practice, and crafting with Alex, Stanley, and a nice stranger from town; Stephanie had decided to join one of her neighbors for dinner. They had spotted her out and about and invited her over for a meal; which she was very grateful for. She then spent a few hours looking for quick work around the village to make a few emeralds, she made sure to take light work to keep up her sick facade and not risk letting the scarf slip.

Afterward, she visited her next-door neighbor Nigel for a few potions, she wanted to pay for them but the old man insisted that she take them free of charge since she was his dear friend. With a hug of gratitude, Steph gave her thanks and farewell and returned home for the day as nighttime was vastly approaching now. She settled down with a much-needed long hot bath and allowed the steaming water to relieve her body's aches and pains, all while also trying to relax her mind as well. It had been a busy day after all; despite losing the opportunity to come up with some plan to evacuate the villagers, or mentally prepare for the invasion because there was no way she was beating Herobrine again, she practically wasted her time.

Such thoughts of losing her friends and her brother, losing the one thing she and Steve had worked so hard to get since leaving foster care over a decade ago; their place in this town. All of it bothered her deeply. She sat almost fully submerged in the tub of water and bubbles, staring absentmindedly at the soapy foam, Steph felt so useless. It weighed heavy on her mind and heart that she was withholding very important, critical, information regarding the war Herobrine had silently started with humanity. He was wiping out villages left and right, killing any and all who escaped or stumbled upon attacked settlements just to keep his marching army hidden as they swept through.

They were lucky one guy managed to escape the last decimated village and told a few guards of Oakridge, but they didn't believe him and soon she found out about it and chose to investigate. So now here she was with such valuable information that people desperately needed to use to rally all towns in the province and all other territories to gear up and go to war; to have the best feasible odds possible against the mobs.

But even with such key information that could possibly save the human race from genocide, or at least fight long enough to find a way to stop Herobrine himself; she kept it all to herself out of fear. She's holding it for now, until she finds a way to get it out safely and devise a decent plan. If her brother was able to hurt the white-eyed demon enough for him to retreat once; then maybe others could do the same if given enough numbers and enchanted weapons. Or better yet, all of the best fighters come together to challenge the man all at once, that's the only way she could think of that could give humanity a fighting chance. There was a good possibility her brother could die in battle, but numbers were their best option; luck or not.

However; numbers were an issue, as there weren't many good fighters or mob slayers living in her town aside from the small village guard.

Even so, she didn't know if it was possible to do anything right now; not with Herobrine circling the village like a vicious predator on the hunt; certainly keeping an eye on her particularly. It made sense that he would stick close to the town; just waiting for her to slip up or rise to meet his next challenge; all while keeping all travelers out and the townsfolk in. He made it clear that he was determined to accomplish his goal.

To everyone around her there's no threat, no mass of a mob army ready to march through, no threat of death or fear; just blissful ignorance as they mosey about with their business. They don't know what's waiting for them, that she was the only thing standing between them and a massacre. The ones that go too far from the area don't come back, or at least that was what she assumed would happen since there have not been any newcomers of late, but so far no one in their area had been reported missing yet. It was only a matter of time before that changed.

The entirety of the village is on lockdown and no one but she knows about it, such a secret behind her lips holds the weight of humanity; the burden she now bears on her own.

The guilt was heavy for being such an anxious coward, though it's not like she has many options. If she ends up doing nothing then they're all dead, but if she tells the people and Herobrine finds out, they're all dead.

Stephanie did nothing and has done nothing for two days now after the encounters, three if counting staying home tonight; there were only four more left before the invasion began and she was still uncertain of what to do or who to go to with the information she held. She was afraid, of either keeping it to herself so all die or invoking the white-eyed man's wrath by telling others; it was looking to be a lose-lose situation no matter what she chose to do.

She didn't know where to go from here. If Herobrine really is a god then what did they need to do to beat him? Was it possible to? The legends say he's immortal and with so much power that only Notch could best him. How does an entire race of beings compete with that? Though she recalled a few records of Herobrins's alleged deaths back in ancient days, that obviously can't be true if he's still around today. Right? Gods can't die, can they?

Though Stephanie would never openly choose to resort to such great measures, Hero had to be stopped soon no matter what the costs were.

Steph heavily sighed as she wrung the water from her long hair and then lifted herself out of the tub, she had soaked long enough; the water was slowly losing its warmth. She wrapped her body up in a large towel and then she wrapped her hair up in a smaller one, the woman then made sure to fully dry her hair out first and set the small towel aside as she stood before her vanity mirror. Grabbing a brush she began combing back the wet locks and taming the frizz, but as she watched herself brush her hair her eyes soon darted to the bruise on her face and the markings on her throat. They were remarkably less noticeable unlike how they appeared earlier in the morning, the thin bruises on her neck were almost completely gone now. The bruise on her face was looking much better now too. But shouldn't bruises of such a size take at least a full week or two to heal?

Something seemed odd with how quickly they were healing. The same could be said for the spider bite, though it was not as healed as the bruises were.

Stephanie placed the brush down and moved her face closer to the mirror to inspect the bruise a little better, lightly running her fingers over her jawbone and cheek; the pain wasn't as strong anymore to her relief. But as she stared, her eyes moved to the hand on her face and she was immediately met with thoughts of Herobrine's fingers caressing her cheek with gentleness and caution as he looked her over, and not just at the bruise. She remembered catching his eyes briefly looking at her face for a moment before moving his gaze back to the damaged skin, this quick glance, him holding her in his arms when she stumbled into him, and the manner in which he spoke to her last night, it had her thinking.

Perhaps they didn't need to fight Herobrine to stop him, perhaps there was another way? If they couldn't physically beat him, maybe they-... or she... could convince him to stop his conquest somehow? That would be difficult to do seeing as Herobrine was a man of great ambition and had much hatred for her kind, but he was still a man. From all that he's said and done to her thus far, he certainly seems to be attracted to, or at the very least; rapt by her to some degree. It was too soon to be certain of this, he's not the first guy who's ever looked at her or spoken to her in that way, but he's definitely the first to outright touch her without permission.

From brushing some hair back behind her ear, caressing her face, trying to hold her in his arms, from all of the things he said with seductive tones, to the way he looked at her, and how long his gaze lingered on her features.

Her eyes move from her face to her form as she looks at herself in the mirror, she is still quite pretty despite the bruises. Maybe he was physically drawn to her? That would explain the way he's been acting, the sudden change overnight, his chosen method to torment her, and why he touched her face so cautiously like she was made of thin glass. It would be a bit of a stretch to confirm this, more so to successfully use her assets to gain his favor. But if she could hook him in and sweet talk him out of his goals somehow, then this could be a solution; a safe peaceful way to end the genocide. It's not like she had much to lose, but she was beginning to get desperate as the hours quickly passed and no foolproof plans to stop him were getting made.

Four days left and then a challenge before it was all over, she had to try something; anything, rather than just let everyone perish or risk putting them in danger. If she had to seduce him with her feminine charms then so be it, such a method wasn't her ideal way of handling him or something she'd do in general for anyone and it might not even work, but it was worth a shot if he was truly interested in her despite his current plans to kill her.

"Flirting with a monster, let alone a violent and sadistic man sounds like a terrible idea; but maybe-..." The woman paused as she tilted her head to the side a bit, fingers coiling, heart racing, her mind thinking back to the few kind things he did for her outside of his reasoning of 'feeble emotions'.

There must be more to him than killing, he did stare at her quietly for a long minute when she placed her hand on his chest. "Maybe it's a dangerous game worth playing?" She said to her reflection, now frowning as she silently dreaded what she might just be getting herself involved with and what it could possibly lead to if she didn't walk a fine line.