Observer

Tagged by: @bermudaxbound (you oversized weevil)

the dark. fire. open water. deep water. being alone. crowded spaces. confined spaces. change. failure. war. loss of control. powerlessness. prison. blood. drowning. suffocation. public speaking. natural animals. the supernatural. heights. death. dying. intimacy. rejection. abandonment. loss. the unknown. the future. not being good enough. scary stories. speaking to new people. poverty. loud noises. being touched, the cold

*takes a look at the biome around them, curious as to what Herobrine was waiting for and surprised by the amount of time he waited*

“Your really patient aren’t you? For an entity that’s been around for so long it must come naturally I take it?”

*sits down beside him, listening to the natural sounds occurring around them. It helps to soothe michael down as he thinks things through*

“I was wondering… Since i’m still learning what it’s like to be a brine would it be alright for me to stay and serve you? The truth is, I enjoy your presence, your always so calm and thoughtful and you remind me of my master in various ways. I could learn a lot from working with you and you wouldn’t need to pay me for it either. Plus you look like you could use a helping hand, i’d be honoured to stand by your side master.”

*looks into the water at their reflections, as well as fish swimming by underneath*

“Of course, your probably used to being alone and I’m not native to this server. If you would allow it I’ll do my best not to let you down!”

“It comes with the territory,” he murmured, looking up into the sky. Scanning for any sign of smoke. Or shouting.

There had been nothing out of place, as of yet. Just silence. No ripples, unless what he was waiting for had slipped under his radar. Which was quite likely, given the trend of his...brother’s activities. He would have to do a more discreet scan later on. 

Preferably with Michael not hanging around, if that was possible. He’d rather any outside interference be limited, with less chances of the problem spreading. But dooming the former servant back to a life of perpetual wandering was not something appealing. Especially after he had been so close to one of the entity’s kind - with Michael’s especially close proximity, he was something to keep an eye on. 

He let the silence envelop the both of them for a moment, weighing the options. 

*the fish swimming by along with Herobrine’s words broke the silence between them, he looks up to him and answers in hesitation*

“…Nothing at all sir. He didn’t mention going away anywhere, when I got home there was no trace of him whatsoever. I don’t think he’s completely gone but at the same time I have no idea where he is.”

*takes a moment to think about his current situation*

“Still… maybe it’s not just a coincidence. He may be testing my ability to work without his assistance. If I depended on him forever i’d be nothing without him.”

*faces Herobrine with a faint smile*

“How do you manage on your own sir? Is it hard?”

Hiding then. A mild break, perhaps? Or seeking refuge from something? He wasn’t sure. But he knew he was overthinking things. Or perhaps he wasn’t, with the current set of circumstances that he was facing. What was to say the other did not extend his reach to other systems?

The fish in the river made “blob-blub” noises, returning his attention to Michael’s predicament.

But to leave Michael alone without warning the other did not find an entirely benign purpose behind. He had not inquired much about Michael’s missing master, but from what he could gather, the alternate was a less than pleasant personality to be around at times. Perhaps it was just a normal course of action for the other to take. He wasn’t the one to judge.

“Perhaps,” he said simply, squatting down. Watching the river flow past. “Independence is a valued trait, from what I know.”

But when Michael asked him about himself, he was silent for a while.

Under the river’s surface, a fish swam by, briefly breaking up any reflection.

While he waited, the entity thought. Letting himself think about the world. The system. What pattern was there to the other’s actions? Where was he going to appear next… A two-hundred block radius around the last site? Or getting near the player settlements? It was exasperating, trying to get into his head.

But his thoughts were interrupted with Michael’s words. 

“He vanished? Without a trace?” Such a disappearance was unheard of, but his relative isolation meant that occurrences like this might have just slipped his notice. “No warnings?”

“It’s been quiet.”

“The crater’s been fixed. It doesn’t seem to be a symptom of anything insidious.” A lie. There have been the odd fires and totems popping up here and there, with no sign of player interference. And they were arranged in such a pattern that signified a certain intelligence.

Nothing occurred. Stillness laid regnant over the region, and was mostly undisturbed save for the signs of life that biomes exhibited under normal circumstances, with wolves huddled up with one another in search of warmth, but shying away from the entity’s path as he moved closer. Under his feet, the grass flourished slightly, turning a more vivid green when they felt the heat he emanated.

By his side a pickaxe swung, impossibly humming a high note as it cut through the air. He was not sure if he would need it, however, but times demanded it, and it served as an effective ward of sorts. But he would rather use his own blank expressions if possible, to force deference.

The night sky sparkled brightly, with the moon casting a sliver of light on the taiga, throwing up odd shadows that seemed to shift under his gaze. But they were harmless, mostly harmless, for they did not have any dark intentions of their own, and simply were just masses of dark. What hid in them, however, was more of a concern, but not his.

Not at the moment. The entity couldn’t help wonder, however, about the feeling that he was being watched by a familiar presence.

He suddenly turned around, eyes flashing, axe whining as it scorched through the air in a dangerous arc.

Nothing.

*begins placing stone over the crater, taking the opportunity to get a really good look at the scars left by the object that slammed into the ground. As he works away he turns to notice Herobrine watching him*

“Am I doing this right master? I wouldn’t mind a bit of help with this, the restoration should go faster if we do it together. We can focus on more pressing matters like locating the source of the crater.”

“If you still have doubts about my loyalty i’m happy to prove myself to you again.”

The entity quickly turned around when Michael asked him the question, the brief flash of emotion being wiped away almost instantaneously, back to his normally impassive state. But appearances could be deceiving - the cold fire inside him was spitting sparks in the darkness and sooner or later, someone would have to burn.

He dropped down to the crater where Michael was making progress, letting gravity take him for a moment for a speedier journey. He supposed that Michael deserved it, but as for finding the crater’s source.

“Here,” he muttered, spreading his hands open. “Let me.”

The codes that made up the files/servers/worlds was somewhat pliable, to a certain extent. It did not allow him total, exact restoration of the entire area - entropy still had power here, but he could conjure up the necessary particles to help restore the area. It would not be the same as the undisturbed area, but it would mix well with its surroundings.

Small white flames crept around his hands, and formed multicoloured block-shaped particles that swirled around between his palms in a vortex. Glimpses of lava, ores and variously coloured rocks could be seen as the entity switched through a colourful palette, with a look of mild concentration. Eventually the particles settled, taking on the form and coloration of stone as it did so, and as the entity spread his arms wide in one fluid motion, a few rows of the crater’s epicenter began to fill, increasing the size of the solid stone floor to some degree.

“The source...” he murmured, directing another gesture at a bare area of bedrock. “I might want to deal with that alone, unless circumstances dictate otherwise.”

“In that case let me begin to cover the bedrock and make preparations for the hill. It’s unsettling, this alien crater coming out of nowhere. The players must not find out about this mess…"

*goes down and begins to make repairs to the crater as Herobrine does his thing among the treetops*

“If all goes to plan, they won’t.” And if he managed to deal with ... him quickly before the damage inflicted began extending to the psychological, not just the physical, and scorched the minds of everyone in the vicinity.

The last time took at least three centuries for the scars to be fully healed, but left decimated populations of villagers and players scattered around. It was only recently that some semblance of civilisation was slowly returning, with certain people grouping together in a longhouse.

Speaking of which, he was going to have to ensure that his own brand of chaos did not grow out of hand. His gaze rested just a fraction of a second on Michael, then continued onto the bush where the strip of cloth was. It was getting to him. He dropped down, gently, onto the ground and picked it up.

It was going into a pool of lava later. If it even could be destroyed.

The cloth was crumpled up and shoved into his pocket. Despite it being as ordinary as it could be (aside from potential indestructability), it burned.

It was not a welcoming heat.