Fly, Phoenix, Fly - Herobrine x Reader

Chapter Eleven - Whispers

"There." Herobrine nodded to the right, and Y/N followed his gaze to a small hollow in the midst of the basalt pillars. "That seems as good a place as any to rest."

"Agreed." Alex followed his direction. "Hopefully the terrain will keep any hoglins away. I've certainly never seen one here."

"Let's hope it stays that way," Y/N murmured, watching the ground idly as Herobrine found his way over the rocks.

The hollow, thankfully, boasted slightly more even ground than the deltas outside. For roughly the last hour they had been picking their way across a hazardous stretch of small, basalt platforms, dotted with pockets of lava. Y/N had expressed her doubts that the queen would have come through such a clearly dangerous area, but Herobrine had pointed out that, with two valkyries, they could have easily just flown over. Herobrine and Alex, on the other hand, were grounded. Y/N had been rather nervous when they first entered the deltas, but Herobrine was sure-footed, and the three of them had managed to get through so far without incident.

Herobrine got down on one knee to lower her down, resting her against the half-wall of their makeshift campground. Y/N uncoiled her arms from around his neck, then gave him a sympathetic look as he leaned back and rubbed at his arms. Between her height, her muscular build, and her wings, she wasn't exactly light - and he'd been carrying her for hours. She was frankly quite surprised that he'd made it this far.

"How are you feeling?" He asked before she could say anything. Y/N hesitated, assessing her state for a moment.

"Tired," She finally answered. "But not in pain."

"Good." He sat down, slinging off his knapsack and pulling it open. Alex sank down on Y/N's right and offered her a canteen, which Y/N gratefully accepted.

"How are we doing on supplies?" She asked before taking a drink."

"Well enough, all things considered." Herobrine replied, unscrewing the cap on his own canteen. "We have enough food and water to last at least three more days. After that, though, we may have to find a forest to search for food."

"Right..." Y/N handed the canteen back to Alex. The queen was likely running out of food as well... Tekno would know how to find more, though, right?

The three of them were quiet for several minutes, eating, drinking, and resting. Y/N stole glances at Herobrine from time to time, still thrown by his abrupt change in behavior, but now was not the time to question him about it.

"I'll take first watch." Alex eventually broke the silence. Herobrine frowned as he glanced at her.

"You should rest. I'll-"

"No, you should rest." Alex cut him off. "Y/N's hurt, and you were carrying her all day. I won't have you dropping her tomorrow because you're tired." Herobrine stared at her for a moment, then eventually seemed to decide that this was not a battle he wanted to fight.

"Very well. Wake me when you get tired." He finally said, casting a glance at Y/N as he did so. "Y/N, you should sleep as well."

"I will." Y/N readily agreed. Passing out from pain and blood loss was not exactly restful, and she was looking forward to getting some proper sleep.

Despite her exhaustion, however, Y/N found herself laying awake for a long time. Her mind wouldn't calm down, constantly going over their circumstances, her injury, the queen... and Herobrine, of course. Eventually, she shifted, sitting up again to lean against the basalt and try to quiet her thoughts.

Herobrine, it seemed, had no such difficulties falling asleep. He rested on his side on the far side of the hollow, with his head pillowed on his forearm and his eyes shut. He must have been exhausted to fall asleep so quickly... Y/N wondered if she would have less trouble if she were to lay beside him.