Stephan

Chapter Sixteen - Reconcile

Steve's head jerked up as Herobrine opened the door, pausing in the doorway. After a moment, Steve looked away, busying himself petting the dog who was plopped in his lap. Herobrine stepped inside, then shut the door softly. The silence hung for a moment, and Stephan braced himself for another scolding.

"I'm sorry." Herobrine spoke quietly. "For yelling." Steve blinked, looking up at him. He was surprised to get an apology so soon.

"I forgive you." He responded after a moment. "I'm sorry for sneaking out." Herobrine shuffled a few steps closer, then raised his arms in offering. Steve nudged Lapis out of his lap, then stood, hurrying over to bury himself in his arms. It wasn't often that Herobrine instigated a hug.

"I panicked at the thought of you out there," Herobrine mumbled. "And I let it out on you. I'm sorry."

"It's alright, I forgive you." The half an hour after Herobrine had left him, presumably to the Nether, had been a hard one for Steve. He didn't know if Herobrine meant to return anytime soon, or what he planned to do once he did. It had taken him a while to assure himself that surely Herobrine hadn't meant to strike Apples, his movement was probably just a reflex. But it brought up far too many bad memories.

Still, Steve knew he was in the wrong for breaking Herobrine's rules and keeping his excursions from him. He was lucky, the players he had encountered had been kind, but if they hadn't it could've gone very badly for him. Herobrine was well within his rights to be upset.

Herobrine gave him a little squeeze, then released him. "I spoke to Notch," he said. "He helped me to see the situation in context. Let me make dinner, then we can speak of it further."

"A-alright."

Although he was sure that Herobrine had meant well, giving him assurance that he wasn't angry - or, at least, not as angry, the prolonged waiting period only made Steve more anxious. He busied himself sorting ingots into his chests as Herobrine cooked, items he had procured from his last mining trip. It felt so long ago, even though it had only been a few days. This day felt like it had lasted forever.

Finally, Herobrine was finished. No sooner had they sat down, meals in front of them, that Herobrine cleared his throat.

"You regularly travel through the portal. Correct?"

"Yes." Steve nodded, pushing his food around on his plate. Mutton and beetroots- Herobrine had found a way to make even the unappetizing vegetable taste good. "Almost every day."

"Usually you return to the library before Notch and I are finished. What changed?"

"Ah." Steve chanced a look up at him. "The admin caught me. But," he continued hastily before Herobrine had a chance to freak out again. "He let me go. He thought I was a hacker. Knowing that I'm an AI probably wasn't... much better. But he said I was free to play on the server as long as I followed the rules."

"Which are?"

"I didn't get a chance to look- I thought I was going to be late." Steve shrugged halfheartedly. "I was." Herobrine frowned.

"Alright. Explain to me how you were shot."

"That was the admin- again." Steve glanced, gestured over to the brewing stand on the other side of the room. "I had been using invisibility potions to keep the players from seeing me. He saw me open a door and shot me with a spectral arrow to make me glow." Herobrine's jaw visibly tightened.

"And what did he do once he'd caught you?"

"Well, he'd shot me three times at this point, then told me in the chat that he would stop if I stopped running." Herobrine's eyes narrowed at this. "He asked me how I'd gotten onto the server, I told him the truth, that I'd come through a Nether portal. I didn't tell him about you," he added quickly. "Or anything like that. He got distracted, I took another potion and ran back to the portal." Herobrine huffed softly, leaning back in his chair.