[center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/200123/bcaa8b3399dd09b06e4e4e08dac499e3.png[/img][/center][hr][hr][center][b]LOCATION: Snowy Forest, closing in on New Berk[/b][/center][hr]
[indent]Any negative emotions that were buzzing around in Steven's brain faded as Hiccup explained his rationale and apologized, and Steven's own expression softened considerably. He let out a sigh, looking up at Hiccup before replying, [color=ed145b][b]"It's ok. I'm sorry too."[/b][/color]

Like, y'know, of course he didn't mean what he'd said like like that, and Steven could tell just from the tone of his voice- both then and now. Steven was just.. well, there wasn't any one emotion, it was a mess of them all fighting in his heart and mind and making it hard to pretend he [i]wasn't[/i] being affected. Maybe [i]frazzled[/i] would be a good word? It certainly sounded like a word that could combine confusion, fear, anger. tension, and anxiety. Like, he knew he'd figure out how to get out of this, cause he always has in the past, but [i]right now[/i] he doesn't. Stars, he was [i]pretty sure[/i] that if he were to stand still and look down at his hands, they'd be [i]shaking[/i] and he'd probably start crying and-

And his fists clenched and then dove into his jacket pockets. Him focusing on how bad he feels hasn't helped in the past, why does he keep doing it? He needs to find something else to think about, like- Like how these little plastic poker chip token things felt between his fingers - smooth, but with evenly spaced indentations on the front and back sides; or maybe he could think on how Hiccup had asked if Steven [i]knew where his village was[/i], cause, that was weird, right? And that made him think back to his first thoughts of Hiccup - how odd it was that he was dressed like he came from the medieval era or just got back from a LARPing session- except, y'know, he had a real life dragon, which was still just.. Mind-boggling. Absolutely mind-boggling.

Steven's furrowed brow betrayed how the little gears in his brain were turning- like, ok, he was in these Crossroads, he knew that and he's more-or-less accepted that at this point. He just met this dude that was [i]definitely not[/i] from home, there was no way. And this world? It looked all kinds of broken up and mashed together from what he saw before, and... Oh. Oh stars.

Steven felt his stomach sinking. This definitely wasn't Gem stuff. Sure, Gems could have their own little pocket-dimensions and stuff, and they could definitely have weird names like "The Crossroads," but this was totally different. This place wasn't on any starmaps, and he's certainly never heard of any Gem's personal pocket-dimension being like [i]this.[/i] Worse? Maybe Ronaldo was, once again, [i]shockingly[/i] correct about something. He didn't want to believe it, but as the snowy forest gave way to a warm breeze and greenery, there was that nagging feeling that this thought Steven was having had to be the truth... Right? It had to be. It made too much sense to NOT be.

He decided that it was time to metaphorically shatter the silence and start asking questions. Specifically, it was time to ask [i]Hiccup[/i] questions. Maybe Steven can find a way to confirm the newfound suspicions he has about this situation they've found themselves in. Maybe.

[color=ed145b][b]"So,"[/b][/color] Steven started, clicking his tongue as he struggled to get his words out in a way that didn't sound as frazzled as he was, [color=ed145b][b]"Uhm. [i]Chief of Berk[/i], huh? I've.. I've never heard of a Berk before. What's it like there?"[/b][/color]

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