A roar of a man echoed throughout the woods and into the night, bats flew off in multiple directions as a wave of hostile energy permeated the area and spread outwards quickly like a forceful gale; the show of power even brought apprehension and alarm to the many insects around, bringing their nighttime song of chirps to an abrupt silence in the fear of Herobrine's outburst.

The white-eyed man growled aloud as he paced back and forth with heavy steps in front of the slowly dying candlelight of the scented candles that the woman had left earlier that day, they were now but mere stubs of molten white with one of them already burnt out whilst the other six continue to provide very small flames that are prone to drown in the liquid wax. The man snorted like a raging bull, he was not a man of patience at all; he had enough of waiting and wasting his time on nothing.

"Where is that damn woman?!" He shouted at no one in particular with eyes narrowed thinly and whisps of glowing white light flaring around his face, teeth gnashed in his toothy sneer as more seconds went by and the mortal had yet to show. He began to think that she lied to him to get back at him for the distress he recently caused her, or that she changed her mind and had no intentions of going out to tell him.

Or perhaps, she used this time of his trying patience to tell the people of her village of his plans; and maybe even try to devise a plan against him. This thought truly pissed him off and his hands coiled into tight fists, he was not going to be played a fool.

Though he raged for a few hours, he continued to steel himself the best he could and keep himself from taking drastic actions; even if the woman could be up to something at this moment, he still had a slight feeling that maybe she wasn't. Stephanie was proving to be too cautious and kind; often surprising him with her careful actions or lack thereof, she feared him and seemed to respect him enough with what few encounters they had. This little part of his mind kept him mostly rational and under control of his anger, all because of how she's been treating him since meeting him. He didn't want to keep putting up with this war in his mind, the thought of a traitor playing him; over a woman who had something come up and was running super late.

"It's been over three hours, I'll wait no more," Herobrine said lowly with a growl. He decided to himself that he had enough and began walking towards the village, hoping he'd stumble upon the woman having some problem or catch her sharing his goals of domination and mass slaughter. Either way, he was done waiting and ready to punish her for not honoring her word to him; no amount of worship or touch was going to win her any favors tonight.

As the King of Mobs made it to the edge of the village, it appeared as calm and quiet as usual, only guards walked about under the moonlight with torches in hand and weapons at their sides as they did their nightly rounds. Some were slacking off and yawning as they leaned against buildings, others ambled so slowly that a zombie could get by them if it could remain quiet and not groan or growl. This seemed like a typical night in Oakridge, one he's seen quite a few times now recently. The sight of such lazy nightwatchmen quelled his anger quite a lot and his expression dropped; his plans for taking the village soon were not likely to have been shared if the guardsmen were this comfortable and inattentive.

His eyes soon spot the woman's house, it was on the outskirts of town and not too far from that damned miner's home. Her house is a small oak wood and wood-plank building with vertical stripped logs at every corner for structural support; all complete with a cracked cobble foundation and a sloped rooftop of deepslate tiles. He knew it was hers since spotting her leaving the place earlier that morning before stalking her through the woods, getting inside her house would be no trouble at all; especially since the guard seemed to spend the majority of their time in the centermost part of the village.

Herobrine walked into the village and up to the house without any notice from the town watch, with his face turned away he appeared almost like a normal human. He was now standing under the small roofed porch with two front windows and an almost antique-looking door. He reached out and turned the doorknob, it was locked. He really should have expected as much, but at least the woman wasn't negligent of her safety like the guards were of their duty; it seemed as though they were probably looking out mostly for themselves and their families more than everyone else.

A locked door was not a problem for him as he vanished from the front doorstep and reappeared right into the living room entryway, the entire house was left in the dark with only the glow of his eyes reflecting light off certain glassy and metallic items in the living space. A low hissing sound came from down at his heels and stole his immediate attention, he glanced down to see an orange-striped feline flashing its small fangs at him with a look of aggression and hostility; the cat's tail twitched, its ears bent low to its head, and its small claws were visible as if trying to ward him off with intimidation but also with reluctance.

Hero's eyes brightened for a brief moment and just as quickly dimmed down, the cat's green eyes go white and it relaxes under his gaze; it sits down and remains quiet with obedience. Now that the animal was quieted, the white-eyed man glanced around the room and slowly made his way through the oak house, soon stopping by to see the open kitchen; connected to it was a dining room and its table. The house was relatively small in size he noticed, more so than what he expected from viewing it from the outside. It was a one-story, single-bedroom house with barely any large furnishings other than the couch, dining table, and a couple of large bookcases. There was a large soft-looking leather armchair as well next to a stone brick fireplace but nothing more sizable than that; he assumed that the woman was probably not wealthy at all, but not quite poor either. He then spots an open door to what looked to be a room at the opposite end of the house in a short hallway, adjacent to it was another; one likely the bedroom and the other a bathroom.

The woman was definitely here, from where he was standing he could smell her scent all over and hear her subtle breaths and even her relaxed heart beating to a slow and steady rhythm; she was undoubtedly asleep from the sounds of it. The white-eyed man ambled his way through the living room toward the bedroom, the heavy footsteps of his boots made the floor creak with every step. The house was pretty old considering the look of the wood, Herobrine could tell that it's been around for five or so decades at least; clean aged wood is still aged wood.

The man looked around as he moved, though the house was small it gave off a feeling of comfort and interest with many decorations along the walls. Framed photos, a very old weathered map of the province, a mirror, several aged goat horns arrayed in a circular pattern, various framed pottery shards, a collection of colored feathers, and several paintings of beautiful landscapes and well-known locations of popular human structures. Small pots and vases of flowers in various places gave the room a nice aroma and a bit more color with the bouquets having an assortment of different flowers; the woman appeared to favor vibrant colors and historical-themed items.

There were two shelves over the fireplace that he stopped by and gazed at, small trinkets, a little collection of amethyst and echo shards, along with a few pieces of jewelry were out on display. A golden-colored clock hung on the wall above the top shelf, clearly showing that it was well into the night; the moon was completely overhead now.

Hero noticed a small chill about the place; though he was unaffected by it he still felt like lighting the house up so he knelt on a knee, waved his hand over the partially charred wood in the fireplace, and lighted it. The warm flickering flames brought light to the house's darkness, giving a clearer view of his surroundings; not that he needed any aid to see, there was just something calming about having a soft warm glow in a cool enclosed space. Something about the comfort of such a thing took him back to a time when things were far different than they were now, back to a time when he was considerably more equanimous and contented with his life and how he lived.

He recalled sitting in a large cushioned armchair adjacent to his brother's, Notch would be sitting there with him smoking on a pipe and casually reading a book quietly to himself. Hero remembered dozing off next to a blazing fireplace in Notch's old home in the Aether many times; but that was a long time ago in a house long abandoned, caked in dust, and now in a dilapidated state.

His frown grew and he pushed the memory aside, he wasn't here to reminisce about what once was; he was here for the woman. Herobrine moved away from the fireplace and headed directly for the mortal's room, briefly glancing out a window as he passed it by.

Finding Stephanie asleep at a large wooden desk was not what he was expecting as he peered through the open door, the woman was sitting in a wooden chair with her head and arms lying over the tabletop and a bunch of papers in a disorderly fashion. How she was able to sleep in such a slouched position was beyond him, Stephanie must have fallen asleep at the desk as no one would willingly want to rest in such a way and wake up with a sore and stiff neck or spine. Her hair was a bit disheveled from her current posture, he also noticed that her makeup was gone and she was back to wearing her fuchsia jacket.

Even lying there in a bit of a mess he found himself staring at her, she was still quite appealing, and her relaxed expression brought him a surprising sense of ease. She was as beautiful as a Valkyrie and yet as gentle as an azalea bloom, so fragile and vulnerable like a delicate flower petal.

He moved his gaze away from her face to see what she had been doing before drifting off to sleep, whatever it was was most likely the reason that she did not come out to see him as she said she would; and though he was still quite annoyed about wasting a few hours waiting on her, he couldn't find himself staying too mad at her for long. Somehow her quiet presence in such a state soothed his rage, he presumed it to be the soft expression on her comely face that had a sense of gentleness with it that distracted him.

Surprisingly, she had a quill pen still resting loosely in one hand while her other along with her arm; supported the weight of her head as she slept. Wads of crumpled-up paper were scattered all over the desk, a few were even on the floor while most lay in a small orange terracotta wastebin at the tableside. An inkwell was sitting next to a candle that had long since burned out down to a stub of wax with it being melted to the table's far left corner. A small stack of blank papers rested at the right corner with some pages teetering on the edge of the stack and about to slip and fall to the floor.

She had been writing. Herobrine moved a few wads away from a sheet with words neatly written in ink and gently pulled it out from under the woman's arm, he read what was on it quietly to himself.

...

With eyes as bright as the stars in the night sky,

There is none quite like you oh Herobrine,

A man of great power, of intimidation, and might,

Who would dare to challenge you to a fight?

As he walks the ground shudders beneath his heels,

All the mobs around tremble and yield,

Here comes the King now make way,

When he arrives the night seizes the day,

...

This was the beginning of a song for him. His white eyes moved back down to her for a brief moment and then looked back at the paper, the Stonewall sibling was indeed trying to write him a song to sing though there was barely anything on the page. At least what she had written sounded pretty decent so far, he wondered what it would sound like coming from off of her lips; her voice was quite nice enough already so there's no doubt in his mind that she can sing. He placed the paper back on the desk and picked up a crumpled-up piece he spotted close by, he unfolded the crinkled sheet to find what appeared to be a completed but scrapped song.

...

Once in a land of peace there faired,

A man of great strength with hatred he bared,

He came looming in as a rolling storm,

And with the world, he had begun to scorn,

His fearsome eyes are alight in bright white,

He gives all of his foes a dreadful fright,

With his will, he'll force all to fall low,

And with his ascension, they will finally know,

Oh Herobrine, the god and king,

Oh, great the destruction you're bound to bring,

Merciless and cruel,

Will this be your rule?

This is the song I sing~

Here comes the day to mourn,

When his armies come marching all will be torn,

He shall come to take his rightful place,

And all who oppose him will be laid to waste,

Bellowing a mighty roar like that of thunder,

With raging wars, he'll tear the land asunder,

When all is said and done at his behest,

He'll be satisfied and finally at p̶e̶a̶c̶e̶f̶u̶l̶ rest,

Then he'll sit upon his throne,

But now he shall reside in this world all alone.

Oh Herobrine, the god and king,

Oh, great the destruction you're bound to bring,

Merciless and cruel,

Will this be your rule?

This is the song I sing~

...

It wasn't bad, but it didn't seem to appeal to him though it really should; it highlighted his goals and accomplishing them, yet something about it felt hollow and unsatisfactory. Perhaps in the way that it was written, or worded? His eyes narrowed. Now he felt somewhat bothered by the song and chose to ignore it. It was poorly executed in its structuring and that was why he rejected it, that was the end of that internal argument.

He unfolded another crinkled sheet to find a few lines of lyrics that had some words crossed and scribbled out as if she did not like what was written, there was barely anything there to read; he crunched both of the papers in his hand. The rustling sound of the pieces seemed to disturb the lady, she began to stir with a long inhale of air and started to move her limbs as she awoke. There was no need for that Herobrine thought, he placed his hand over Stephanie's head and his eyes glowed; in an instant, she went back to being limp.

There was no reason for her to sleep at the desk, if she stayed like that with such a posture for too long then it could affect her reflexes, restrict movements, and cause her some pain. He couldn't have that now, especially if she chose to fluidly move about or dance for him for any particular reason. Besides, he didn't want her to complain or cry, that would be quite irritating.

Hero plucked the quill feather pen out from her hand and set it aside, he then looped his right arm beneath her kneecaps and his left around her back and over her shoulder; he then lifted her out of the chair and pulled her snug against his chest. Stephanie remained asleep and unresponsive as he used one of his legs to scoot the chair out of his way and pack the smaller woman over to her bed in the corner of the room, thankfully the covers were already pushed aside; he gently laid her down on the mattress, her head onto her pillow. He then leaned over towards her feet to pull off her boots, he tugged the bootlaces loose and slid them off before setting them on the floor by the bedside. He took a couple of minutes to unwrap the bite wound on her right foot and check its healing progress, it appeared to be doing well. That was his work, but it still gave him a small sense of pride for being the reason why she was able to heal such a mark so quickly.

He wrapped her foot back up with carefulness and pulled the bedsheets over her, she now looked even more at rest now that she was lying flat on her back in the comforts of her bed.

He'd deal with her in the morning.

Herobrine returned to the living room and stood by the fireplace as he thought to himself, that he had contemplated just leaving and returning around sunrise to scold the woman for trying his patience, but he instead decided to remain in the house for a little while. His bothersome mob generals won't miss him if he's gone for five or so hours, they should be competent enough to manage on their own. It's not like they have much to do than wait and keep the mobs of his armies under control and stationary. Plus there were no other humans aware of his presence or his plans yet, so there wasn't anything to worry about if a few slipped out of the land's border. With everything seeming okay in that regard, Herobrine moved over to the couch where he decided he would rest; he didn't need sleep like mortals but that didn't mean that he didn't enjoy some time of rest.

He removed the blanket lying on the couch and tossed it over the top half of the armchair, his eyes then spotted a yellow-colored book sitting on the far end of the cushioned furniture, he grabbed onto the leather-covered novel and gave it a curious glance over. After flipping through the first few pages and catching a few sentences here and there he eyed the thing with a raised brow of curiosity. Humans write strange things. The man laid down on the couch with the book in hand and decided to give it some of his attention since he wasn't exactly tired, it could help to pass the time as the woman rested; assuming the book's story itself wasn't disinteresting or aggravating.

...

Stephanie's eyelids knit tightly together as the warm sunlight beamed through her window and began shining on her face, she groaned a little as she was slowly dragged away from her dream and into the waking world. She rolled onto her side away from the window and pulled the blanket up close to hide her face from the growing light before curling herself up against the wall and attempting to drift back to sleep. But as she tried she was hauled further away from rest as the chirping birds of the morning sang their songs; they were just loud enough to hear through the thin glass panel. The woman's expression tightened as she began to steadily return to consciousness. She knew she had to get up and start making breakfast soon, but the comfort of her bed gave her no motivation to rush at all; the warmth of the blankets, the room, and the plush mattress practically beckoned her to stay. She hadn't had such a restful sleep like that in a long time, it felt too good to even get up.

As she becomes more awake and aware, however; she notices that something isn't right. She tightly closes her eyes and forces herself to lean upright to help wake herself up more, but as she does her eyes snap open and she looks down at her blanket and then over to her desk in confusion. She didn't remember going to bed; all she recalled was writing, at some point she relaxed and let her head rest on her arm as she thought up what to write. She must have dozed off, unintentionally at that since spending hours of writing and thinking were exhausting endeavors. Stephanie blinked, she must have gotten so tired and crawled into bed without even remembering that she did, it wouldn't be the first instance that she'd done something like this before.

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As Steph pushed the covers off of her she noticed that her boots were at her bedside and not where she'd normally put them. She was also still in her jacket, and the temperature of the room was very warm and cozy. Things weren't adding up, she managed to take off her boots and untie the laces but doesn't recall doing so. And the house, it was far too early to be feeling this comfortable temperature and not chilly with the historical house's poor insulation; she didn't think that she left the fireplace burning overnight. No that was impossible, she didn't light the wood up yesterday as she had been too busy writing Herobrine's song when she returned home; her frustration of failing to get the piece written right kept her feeling hot.

Something was amiss.

Now feeling some panic, Stephanie reached down and quickly slipped on her boots and tied them with haste, her mind racing about what was going on and what to do. Then her eyes widened and she briefly froze in place as she fully returned to an awakened state of mind, she was supposed to meet with Herobrine last night... and didn't.

Now her heart was pumping fast in both shock and apprehension. She was supposed to meet up for whatever reason to satisfy the man and now he's probably very pissed off and could be still waiting on her. But she didn't have time for that, Steve was supposed to ... Steve!

Blue-violet eyes dart toward the window and gaze out. More panic fills her, the morning sun is almost out of view from her position now, meaning she has woken up late! Her brother could arrive at any moment! ... And she didn't even have breakfast prepared.

Stephanie quickly rose to her feet and headed for the open door, she then stopped before stepping out into the hall. 'What if Herobrine is here?' She thought nervously, what was she going to find once she left her room? Her face went flush as she thought that the man might have put her into her bed and not herself, yet she didn't awaken or recall anything. She was so confused and terrified about finding that King of Mobs in her house, but the thought of her brother walking through the door with his nemesis there horrified her much more. She had to hope that Herobrine was not in her home, that maybe he showed up when she didn't meet with him to find out why she didn't and chose to move her to her bed and then leave. A kind and strange gesture, but there was no time to ponder on it.

With a deep breath, Stephanie stepped out into the hall and silently made her way into the living room. She hadn't seen him yet, and nothing in her house seemed out of place so far other than her blanket on the armchair. She couldn't see the couch though since the tall leather seat blocked her view, the fireplace still had a small dying flame in it; that hadn't been lit up by her.

And like a voice in the back of her head telling her that Herobrine was in her house and on her couch, it was made obviously clear as she peered around the chair and saw the big bulky man laying there on his back; his head leaning against the arm of the couch with his lips slightly agape, he softly inhaled and exhaled as he slept. Her favorite book rested lying open on his chest with one of his arms pinning it against him, his other arm was dangling off the side of the sofa, his fingers uncoiled and relaxed.

He didn't even bother taking off his shoes which was pretty rude, his feet left dirt and dust all over her couch cushion. Regarding the state of her favorite book; she cringed at the sight of the bent pages and wanted so badly to get it out of his grasp before he damaged it any further.

But that thought quickly slipped her mind as she stared at him, feeling apprehension building up in fear of what he might do if she were to walk over and attempt to wake him. The white-eyed man lay there like a sleeping Ender Dragon; dangerous and not at all vulnerable as he appeared, he was anything but that. Steph was too afraid to even mutter a single word, let alone try and disturb him of his slumber and risk startling him and getting attacked or lashed at should the man be the violent lunatic guy he's been perceived as in historical records.

The longer she stood there though, the more concerned she became; Steve could walk right through her door, which would be far worse than receiving an injury. That thought still didn't seem to encourage her to take action, she could go out to her brother's or meet him outside somewhere in town and make an excuse as to why he can't come over rather than risk pissing the god off more than she probably already has since not going out to see him like she said she would last night. She was torn on what to do.

Her eyes stare at him, without his intense gaze burning right through her or anxiousness eating away at her from his occasional leering; she could see more of his defining facial features without any kind of pressure. He was so gorgeous; with the right amount and length of his facial stubble, to his dark auburn hair fringe up and parted at the side, right down to his perfect rectangular-shaped head and sharp broad jawline. He actually looked like a normal handsome human man with his eyes closed and a soft expression on his face, could fool anyone that he was just an ordinary guy taking a nap on her couch.

For a god and king, he sure didn't dress up like one, it was actually kind of disturbing that he wore the same kind and color of clothes that Steve likes to wear. Or was it the other way around since Herobrine was ancient? Either way, if his back was to her she probably couldn't tell them apart if she weren't paying attention to his overly healthy physique and height that he had over her brother. Still, he was so casual about his appearance and didn't seem to care about it too much; his priorities were focused elsewhere apparently.

For such a villainous man he appeared quite humbling, that was a silly thought; Stephanie stifled a small chortle. Because as soon as those eyes were open he'd be looking much more menacing no matter what he wore, those eyes command so much attention.

Herobrine looked so peaceful as he slept though, it was hard to believe that this was the same man trying to commit genocide; she wondered why and hoped to finally get a direct answer though she doubted it would happen with the man's stubbornness and disdain of her.

A soft meow catches the woman's attention and she looks down to see her cat rubbing up against her leg, she couldn't help but crack a small smile despite her difficult situation. The cat looks up at her and she goes pale in fright, Oren's eyes are completely white and glowing like Herbrine's. Steph gapes in shock. Herobrine did something to her cat!

Okay, now she had to wake him up and get him to fix her cat's eyes and get out before her brother arrived, she was already low on time so she took a deep breath and cautiously moved over to the sleeping form. She then flexed her fingers a bit and steadied her breathing as she carefully moved a hand toward his shoulder; mentally praying that he was not the 'paranoid-snap-awake' type as she didn't think she could handle him jolting upright without giving her a heart attack. She cautiously pressed her hand onto his bicep and nothing happened; he didn't stir or snap awake, Stephanie then gently shook him.

"Herobrine?"

He doesn't respond and continues to quietly snore like he was dead to the world, he wasn't at all a light sleeper like she thought which was somewhat of a relief.

"Hey Herobrine, wake up please." She says a little more loudly and with a more forceful shake, it takes a few more rough movements to finally get him to stir. She backed away as he leisurely lifted himself to sit upright while stretching and yawning.

His wakefulness has her heart racing, uncertain as to how he'll respond to being woken up or worse, remembering being left out to wait on nothing for hours. The woman watched in mental distress as her most beloved book tumbled off of his stretching body and crashed to the floor with a thud, its papers were lying on the floor and were all bent up. she quickly leans down to grab the open book, dust the pages off, close it, and pull it to her chest with her arms wrapped securely around it.

Once Herobrine stretched and relaxed his posture, he turned and his white gaze moved towards the woman and he quietly stared at her; she looked and sounded terrified but with a forced resolute expression on her face. Before he could speak, she spoke first.

"First, I would like to apologize about last night, I-I had no intention of bailing on you; I had just got so caught up in writing your song that I lost track of time and fell asleep apparently." Stephanie moved a hand up behind her head to rub her neck as she looked away with a bit of shame. "It's not an excuse I know, I'm sorry I left you waiting." Violet eyes dart back over to the man and she softly sighed. "I'll make it up to you, I promise; somehow. But right now I need you to leave. Come back within an hour or two; please."

'What?' Hero gave her an annoyed look, he then put his feet on the floor and gave her a soft intimidating glare. "Leave? Have you forgotten who I am? This is my world, I'll come and go as I please human." He says with aggravated voice tones, now pushing himself up to stand and tower over her as he does. "This house is mine, as well as everything inside of it woman."

Intimidation tactics and possession claiming, the woman noted once again and was thankful he was giving her warnings and not jumping straight into action, though a bit annoyed he was staking claim over her belongings. She swallowed and hoped that this little talk wouldn't escalate past the point of conversation, then with an audible exhale she began again.

"I get that, and you're not exactly 'unwelcome' here, but I ask that you go as my brother usually comes over in the mornings on weekdays to join me for breakfast and gives me some company. I simply wish that neither of you comes face to face as I want Steve unharmed and enjoying his remaining time as much as I do. So could you 'please'," She put some emphasis on her word 'please' while saying it with as much courtesy as possible and giving a very submissive look. "See your way out for just a little while? Steve will be here at any moment and I cannot stress how important it is that he doesn't see you."

Herobrine's frown curls into a smile, this makes Stephanie's frown deepen. "Oh is he now? It's been a while since I last saw that miner, would be nice to catch up on the few months that we've missed each other, I've been wanting to show him a few new tricks since our last encounter." He raises a hand and flexes his fingers with a twisted look of avidity in his widened eyes. "I want to put a hole in him like the one he gave me, a little exchange is only fair, wouldn't you agree?" He asked with a dark chuckle.

"No!" She could not handle him right now and did not want him to do that. Time was ticking and she was steadily becoming frantic, so much so that she reached out to grab his hand and tried to yank him away from the couch and towards her bedroom despite her fear. "We don't have time for this!" She said more loudly. "And no, I don't agree, you'll get your chance but not today. So please Herobrine-" She said with a strained tone of voice as he stayed anchored to his spot and wouldn't budge.

Then there's a knock on the door and the two glance toward the entryway.

"Morning sis!" Steve's voice calls from beyond the door and he turns the handle but it's still locked, thankfully.

Stephanie looks back at the man with a pleading and more terrified expression. "Please?" She whispered.

Hero loses his grin and narrows his eyes a little. "What? Hide?" He countered, surprisingly more quietly than she expected. "I am no coward."

She blinked in disbelief and returned the stern gaze; still holding onto his hand and only slacking a bit in her grasp. "I'm not calling you one, he can't find you here. Please, just go into my bedroom or vanish or something." She begged.

"Steph, open up, I'm here!"

"I'll make it up to you I promise." She said, her voice sounding more desperate as the knocks got louder.

"Are you there sis?" Steve now sounded a little worried.

"Yeah, I'm coming, just a minute!" She finally replied and moved her gaze back to the pair of white eyes. "Please?"

"You already owe me big time for inconveniencing me last night, I am not a patient man by any means; I am a god who is to be treated with respect. And now you want me to hide, and obey your command yet again?" He asks, now pulling his hand out of hers and folding his arms with an angered look.

"Please Herobrine, I'll give you something truly worth it." She whispered, now looking more on edge as Steve tried the handle again and she feared the possibility of the old lock on it would give way.

His expression lightened a bit but still gave her a look of suspicion and doubt with a raised brow. "What will you give in return for both of these bothersome problems then hmm? Will it be worth the time and effort?"

"Yes!" She said under her breath and reached up to place her palm on the side of his face for a short moment. It was reassurance for him since he seemed to like receiving physical contact from her she came to notice. Her fingertips gently brush through his facial stubble, and his glare practically fades in mere seconds. This seems to get his attention and motivates him to listen now with a gaze of interest, he then unfolds his arms and his hand reaches up to capture hers; he holds it against his cheek for a long moment before pulling it away.

Herobrine apparently really likes physical contact with her.

He lets her go and walks toward her bedroom, she watches as he disappears into her room and closes the door behind him. Once Herobrine was out of the picture Steph then snaps out of the strange moment and places her book on the couch before rushing over to the door. After unlocking it she took a deep breath to help calm herself down and opened it up to see her brother looking down at her with worry. "Sorry Steve, I- I was in the bathroom, so I couldn't get over here quicker. Sorry to keep you waiting." She mentally scolded herself for sounding so awkward with her embarrassing but buyable excuse.

The miner's expression lightens and he puts on a smile and chuckles softly. "I'm just glad that you're okay, was about to try and knock the door down; thought maybe something had happened to you." He said jokingly but Stephanie didn't find that funny yet laughed along with him just to play along and try to make it seem like everything was normal. "I would've reattached it if I did though, just saying."

"I know, you're just being protective and were concerned; if you barged in then it would be understandable."

Herobrine leaned against the door with folded arms in his returning impatience, he wished the woman would send the miner off already; there was nothing for that man here except death. Besides, he wanted what Stephanie had to give for his compliance; he was perhaps feeling a little too eager for it.

"Steph," Steve said softly with furrowed brows.

"I can't blame you for wanting to since... well when 'they' dumped and ditched us. Life's been tough since." She said more somberly with a shrug and a false fading pained smile. "We only have each other right now, well our friends too." She shrugged. "I understand where your worry comes from."

"Yeah, but I shouldn't be too quick to rush you, Steph," Steve replied with a bit of embarrassment and scratched the back of his head with an apologetic expression. "I'll be more patient next time."

"It's okay, really. Big brothers have to look out for their little sisters, it's expected of you." She said with a warm smile and pulled Steve into a tight hug, relaxing in his arms as he smiled back and returned the embrace.

Herobrine raised a brow, curious what the woman meant by being 'dumped and ditched'. As the two continue to talk, something in the room catches his attention, something he hadn't noticed last night. He peeled himself away from the door and walked over to the wall adjacent to the woman's bed to find a dresser with what appeared to be a chunk of diamond ore just lying there on top of it along with a picture frame of a photo of Stephanie and Steve standing side by side with the man's arm slung over her shoulder. He grabbed the picture frame and pulled the back of the photo stand right off, revealing the photo details in aged ink.

Stephanie Serene Stonewall.

Herobrine's eyes widened. There was a date on the back of the photo as well but that didn't matter; he had the entirety of her name now and he grinned deviously at the thought.

He can use special commands on her now that he has her full name, something he hasn't done much of with many mortals simply because he didn't have their full names nor cared to collect them. Notch had a failsafe to protect the humans from his special powers but he never cared to take the time to find out the names of the mortals as it was easier to just kill them by hand, they were all protected because of one simple line of code that he didn't have easy access to. It's been a while since he's toyed with a human via commands, what a special treat he was planning for the younger Stonewall. This excited him, it was a shame the miner's full name wasn't on the photo; if he did then he could just make the man die in a heartbeat and from absolutely no cause but from his command, his will.

The woman would be none the wiser.

But that wouldn't be any fun, especially since it'd be much more entertaining and enjoyable to kill the guy with his bare hands instead.

Herobrine placed the photo back into its slot and placed the back on the frame, now he was glad he took the time to look. The white-eyed man starts paying attention to the conversation again as he places the picture frame down, he then picks up the chunk of diamond ore and glances at it with a big smile on his face, he couldn't wait for the woman to send that pest away already.

There was much fun to be had indeed.

"I overslept, sorry." She said as she rubbed her neck and looked away, hating herself for having to continue to lie to her brother; maybe this instance wasn't so much of a lie since she did wake up later than usual. Still, she's been keeping things from him since the beginning of the week. "I've got nothing cooked, unfortunately."

"Hmm..." Steve raised a brow and rested his hands on his sides. "What about the apples from yesterday morning, still have those?"

"Nope, I ... uh ate those last night; late midnight snack." She chuckled nervously after lying again.

The man beamed despite lacking a meal or even a simple fruit to munch on. "Ah, oh well."

"I'm really 'really' sorry brother," Stephanie now said earnestly with a frown, feeling guilty for not only lying to him but also making him leave with an empty stomach.

"It's fine, you don't have to feed me you know." He gestured, "I only started coming over because you wanted to share breakfast. You don't have to cook for me every day, if you oversleep then it's not the end of the world. Oh, and I talked to Carson, Stanley, Luna, and Alex yesterday evening about the dinner; they'd love to come. I didn't see the old man though, so you'll have to go over to his place sometime today and invite him; I'd do it but it's a little too early to bother him right now and I need to be mining soon."

"I'll talk to him later. Thank you for asking them for me." Her smile faded a bit. "I still feel bad though; I've never missed having breakfast with you since we started eating together almost two years ago."

"It's fine Steph, I'll just grab something from the bakery on the way through town, no problem."

A loud 'clonk' and the noise of shattered glass sounded from behind Stephanie and it came from her room in the back.

"What was that?" Steve asked and glanced back behind the woman's head.

"I ... don't know." She said, her words coming out sounding nervous, almost afraid of what Herobrine was doing back there.

"That was loud, we should check it out," Steve said as he gently pressed past his sister and began walking toward her room. Stephanie quickly grabbed him by the arm and pulled back, he looked back at her.

"I'm sure it was nothing to worry about." She sweated with her posture going tense.

"That loud sound was nothing?" He gave her a look of disbelief and moved forward, pulling himself out of her grasp.

"Steve wait." She called out and felt herself going stiff as the miner quickly moved to her bedroom door and pulled it open, her heart slammed against her ribcage and her mind went blank; feeling a little faint as she was not ready to deal with this encounter. Stephanie wanted to pass out or just make time stop so that she could get herself together and prevent her brother from being slaughtered where he stood.

But to the woman's surprise, Steve just stood in the doorway with a raised brow and then chuckled a bit to himself with a small grin. "Well, there's our culprit. Causing a mess are you little buddy?" He pulled the door all the way open and her orange cat came trotting out of her room, Oren's eyes were back to being bright emerald green and seeming as normal as ever as it left the living room and went straight for its food bowl in the kitchen.

So what happened? Where was Herobrine?

Stephanie just stood there in surprise, wondering what her brother was seeing and what had happened. "Looks like your cat caused a bit of a mess, I think he broke your small glass horse statuette though."

"Huh?" Stephanie walked over in a slight rush and peered into her room as her brother moved to the side for her to see. She finds that a few items on her dresser had been knocked over, her chunk of diamond ore was lying on the floor and a wooden shelf adjacent to the dresser was now lying on the ground with several small items of hers now scattered across the floor. Thankfully, nothing looked broken but the shelf and the glass ornament.

What did Herbrine do?

Stephanie walked into her room and picked her chunk of ore off of the floor. She glanced it over in her hand in thought and her eyes widened a bit when she saw a few droplets of blood on one of the sharper ends. Violet eyes then spot a few drops of blood on the floor and she quickly moved to put her foot over them to conceal them. She then lowered the ore down to her side to hide it as her brother walked into her room while looking at the mess.

Herobrine must have been looking at the uncut gem and unintentionally nicked himself with one of its rough and sharp edges then bumped into the shelf out of surprise, or that was the theory that she pieced together. She's been cut by the ore a few dozen times now, and she knows to handle it with caution and care, but the immortal didn't. She was just thankful that he left though, she knew he'd be back soon, but at least her brother was safe for now. The woman made a mental note to find her bandage kit once Steve left. She didn't want Herobrine leaving a trail of blood on the floor, because by the looks of it; he got himself good.