Monsters Respond

Leaving the village, Hero stepped off the well-traveled trail that led from this Village to another and with relief paused beneath the shade of wild woods.

A soft wurp told him of the mob's arrival. Glancing at the tall, black form that appeared standing next to him, Hero sighed again.

"Not tonight, Albert. I don't want to play..." He said. And with a sudden flash of anger kicked at the branch on the ground.

"Those dumb villagers!... I hate them! I hate them and all their stupid rules!" He exclaimed sincerely and fumed, his eyes narrowed into slits and hands fisted.

Another flare of anger and his power beat against the walls where he confined it. On an impulse, Hero let it out.

Flames whooshed up and around both his arms. He felt it burn around him, not hurting him. And he enjoyed the feeling that appeared whenever he let his power loose like this. It felt good. He felt so strong. Invincible even. No longer afraid. No, its those dumb villagers, who should be afraid of him!

A smirk appeared on Hero's face as he imagined their frightened faces, running away from him, while he would walk through their village, this time unafraid and uncaring of what they all thought about him. He was strong now. Much stronger than two years ago, when they chased him away from the only home he knew.

Why did he even bother following their stupid rules? He could probably just take what he wanted!

A distinct smell of something burning suddenly reached Hero's nose and he sniffed, briefly frowning. Then, his glowing eyes opened wide and his flames winked out.

"No, no, no!" Hero brought the basket close to his face and studied the charred handle.

"Dumb! Dumb!" Hero told himself angrily. Frowning, he scratched with his bitten, dirty nail at the burn on the handle and breathed with relief. The damage didn't go very deep. Just beneath the flaking soot was the sturdy, fresh wood.

"Ooof... It's still good." Hero whispered and slumped slightly.

All his earlier anger forgotten, he looked up at the tall mob still hovering next to him. The mob softly warped a question, his purple eyes on Hero's curious and mild.

"It's all right, Albert. You wouldn't understand, anyway." A faint smile appeared on Hero's dirty face.

Albert was smarter than most mobs, but he still couldn't have understood him. Mobs didn't understand Hero's spoken words. They only perceived his emotions.

Sometimes, Hero still talked to them, simply because he was lonely. Today, he just didn't feel like it. He had quite enough interaction with the villagers. He left to explore for a few months and did not visit the villages in a while, so he forgot how nasty they could be, especially the young ones. Gloomily, Hero turned away from the mob and stared at the ground.

A faint, echoing chirp made him throw up his head with alarm.

His eyes wide, Hero stared at red eyes glowing at him from the bushes, where sleek, small green forms appeared, hovering at the edge of light and shadow. Faint clicking sounds mixed with hissing, barely perceptible, as several of the creatures creeped into the light, lifting their faces at him with an unspoken question.

"... No, no, no!" Hero frantically shook his head when he perceived WHAT came from the creatures and noticed the faint glow of power around the chests of some of them.

"I didn't mean that! I was just angry. That's all." He denied them, aghast.

In their alien mode of thinking and for some reason counting him as one of them, they didn't mind at all making Hero's mean wishes come true. At least this time they bothered to ask him, first. Hero blinked at them, his entire body tensed like a string.

As much as those young villagers irritated him, he didn't want them to die.

"They were just little and dumb. Little villagers are like that. I'm alright. Don't hurt them." Hero insisted.

"... You KNOW I didn��t mean that. I just get really angry sometimes, that's all."

The chests of the creatures reluctantly dimmed, returning to their normal dark greenish hue. With a row of doubtful, clipped chirps, the little creatures began to withdraw and vanished from view in the bushes.

Hero blew out a breath of relief. His frown grew deeper, though.

He couldn't let himself do anything. He couldn't even get angry without something bad happening. Even if he didn't really mean it!

Maybe those villagers were right about him. He knew that they were right. His magic was dangerous and he couldn't control it very well.

What if the Humans would think so, too? What if they also thought him a Monster? Maybe he should not try to find them. Maybe it would be best to just keep away from everyone. To live all alone with only the monsters to keep him company…

Just like his older look-alike, whom he often saw in his dreams.

Biting his lip, Hero considered the troubling thought, then began walking at random, not caring where his feet led him. Even his hunger retreated, becoming just a distant ache he could easily ignore, while an oppressive sadness settled over him.

The familiar mob lingered, following. Occasionally, he warped close to Hero's side, then vanished again as something else drew his attention.

The attention of the mobs always wandered. Unless Hero was there. Then, they listened to him. They used to play with him, when he was little. When he still thought it fun to play games. Caught along with his eager will, the mobs would gather and stay with him, helping him construct fortresses out of blocks, or bring him things.

To them, everything they did seemed like a game. Even when it hurt those villagers. They simply didn't understand what they did.

His big toe stubbing against a root, Hero winced and looked up, sweeping the area before him with his glowing gaze. Recognition sent another wave of sadness sweeping over him, but this time tinged with warm comfort.

Slowly, Hero walked over to the tremendous Tree and lifted his face up, staring at the green spreading crown, where leaves gently rustled in the faint breeze. Calm settled over his heart and on an impulse he reached out and rested his dirty hand against the rough bark of the Tree.

A memory came unbidden.

Wonder. His small hand reaching out to touch the gnarled, brown bark and looking up at the gleaming branches, enjoying the pure sense of power that emanated from the tree, same as his own. Standing and touching it felt almost like... like...

Looking back toward the clearance, little Hero's eyes fell on the face of the old villager, who slowly made his way toward him, having fallen behind. Grunting a bit as he stepped across the roots running across the faint trail their visits here left in the grass, the old villager looked up. Noting the little Hero's look at him, Grandpa Grake's face creased in an encouraging, kind smile.

Beaming back, his little heart overflowing with gratitude, Hero turned back to the Tree and looked up, amazement shining bright in his eyes.

Standing here, overshadowed by the Tree's immense power felt almost as good as being at home, cuddling by Grandpa Grake's side while he snored softly, sleeping.

"... He's not your grandpa."

"You shouldn't call him that. Because you are not our kin. You're nobody's kin."

"Yeah, you aren't!"

"You are not one of us. You're not a villager."

"You are Hero the Briny!"

"Briny Brine."

"Briny the Hero!"

"Herobrine!"

Wincing at the memory of Margol and Tnul teasing, Hero huffed, settling into the familiar spot between the roots. Shifting there to get comfortable, Hero frowned and pouted.

"Rrrurp." Sounded next to him, where the tall mob returned. Hero ignored it, his mood once again glum.

A large, clawed hand heavily rested on Hero's head, the long fingers obscuring his vision.

For a moment startled, Hero couldn't hold back a snort.

"Aaaalbert... Thanks... Albert?... Albert, I cannot see..."

Bending down and gazing at Hero's amused grin, the mob's purple eyes shifted, the concerned feeling Hero perceived from him becoming pleased satisfaction. Only then did it remove its hand from Hero's head and straightened out, its attention switching somewhere to the side. A moment later it vanished.

Looking at the purple particles swirling in the sunlight as it trickled in playful beams through the sea of leaves, Hero relaxed.

"I wish I could do that..." He whispered.

Leaning his head back against the warm bark of the Tree, he allowed his thoughts to drift off into a daze, lulled by the comforting light gently enfolding and smoothing his own turbulent power, like cool water streaming over and submerging the sputtering coals.

With a breath of contentment, Hero closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.