As bizarre as it might seem to Henry, he expected that not a single person who lived in this Valmese port appreciated the magnificence of the nearby ocean, or the unique atmosphere of brisk wind and salty air.  Of course, this went doubly for a harbor engulfed by times of war.  Yet for Henry, who lived most of his life in the barren desert nation of Plegia or the scrubby forests bordering it, this seaside town came across as a never-ending source of fascination.  Seated on the sandy beach with his robes splayed out across the sand, he watched the seabirds wheeling overhead with the smattering of crows that had accompanied him all this time.  Like chess pieces, or perhaps dancers engaged in some complicated routine, they circled through the sky.  Some, he knew, flew aloft to search for food.  Others may have been up there for company.  More than that, though, Henry assumed that some -birds after his own heart- simply hovered up there for the sake of flying, and the unmatchable freedom and fun that defined that elusive act.

The sound of sand shifting to his left tore his attention away from the heavens and toward a girl approaching.  Her long, pink hair blew cheekily in the wind, huge ponytail and braids both, forcing her to restrain it with a hand.  One look at her made Henry smile even wider than usual.  Small wonder he so quickly imagined the birds above to be dancers in black and white when he thought of an earthbound dancer in black veil and white silk so often.  At the moment, her pretty face was screwed up in horror, and it took him a second to figure out why.  [i]Oh yeah.[/i]  The beach was littered with unburied corpses.  After all, the army led by Chrom called the Shepards, of which both Henry and the newcomer were part, landed here and engaged the Valmese warriors in battle less than two hours ago.  In the end, the swordswoman Say’ri had been saved and the enemy commander Farber slain, routing the enemy.  Henry distinctly remembered the thrill of the fight.  He had fought with reckless abandon, stewing any enemies that came close enough alive in curses, but all the same he felt and appreciated whatever unknown presence covered him as he slung spells.  Since then, not enough time had passed to bury the dead even if Chrom wanted to.  War did not permit such pleasantries.  Perhaps the townsfolk would do it—though personally, Henry liked it this way.  To him, the bloodstained sand seemed an immaculate and profound work of art.  

By the time this thought passed, the girl was close.  Her name was Olivia, and it was with a tremulous voice that she opened the conversation with, [color=pink]“Um, Henry?  What are those red stains on your clothes?”[/color]

Henry looked down.  His robes and sweater appeared to be drenched in a brownish-yellow substance.  [color=d8bfd8]”Oh, will you look at that?  It’s blood!  …Wonder where it came from?”[/color]  Without any hesitation he stuck a finger in a large globule beneath his left arm and then licked it.  His eyebrows shot up as he laughed.  [color=d8bfd8]”...Oh, hey! It's MY blood! Nya ha! I must have been wounded in battle! Oh man, good times.”[/color]

Blanching, Olivia exclaimed, [color=pink]”Gross!  ...And also really creepy. And why are you laughing about it?! That wound needs to be dressed immediately!”[/color]
The dark mage shrugged, his pearly white smile unperturbed.  [color=d8bfd8]”You wanna help? It's kind of out of the way, so I can't reach it.”[/color]

[color=pink]“...Oh, gods, look how deep this is! How could you not notice?”[/color]
[color=d8bfd8]Oh, I've got a high pain threshold. It's a genetic thing. Nerve damage. I've had a lot worse than this! [/color]
[color=pink]You've had WORSE? Where? And how?! [/color]
[color=d8bfd8]”When I was a kid, my parents put me in this exclusive wizard school. Well, as you can imagine, some of the experiments got a biiit out of hand. Once, I almost set my face on fire! Nya ha! Those were the days...”[/color]
[color=pink]”Your teachers were negligent. Why didn't your parents pull you out of there?”[/color]
[color=d8bfd8]”Meh, my parents didn't care what I did as long as I wasn't expelled. Heck, the whole reason they sent me to wizard school was to get rid of me. But hey, no worries! I turned out fine!”[/color]
[color=pink]”I see now... Your cheerful demeanor is just a mask you use to hide your pain. You use it as cover to tamp down your deep-seated resentment and anger...”[/color]
[color=d8bfd8]”That's what all my psychiatrists said. But nope! Not true. I'm just a happy guy.”[/color]
[color=pink]”No, no... You can't fool me. I've never seen a real smile from you, one from the heart. I'm a performer, you know! I can tell as faker when I see one. Shhh... It's all okay now. You never need to visit that terrible school again. Now come on, let down your guard. Show me the real Henry!”[/color]
[color=d8bfd8]”Wow. You really ARE a crazy lady!”[/color]
[color=pink]”I am not crazy! I'm trying to help, so you could at least be polite! *Sigh* All right, your wound is bandaged. But this isn't over, you hear? I want you to come see me again so I can help you get over these emotional issues.”[/color]
[color=d8bfd8]”Hey, sure. I got time.”[/color]

Henry got to his feet, followed by Olivia, who’d been crouching.  Overhead, the crows peeled off from the flock of birds to follow him.  The Dancer, still frightened by her ally’s wound and his attitude toward it, offered to help him back as he seemed to be struggling.  Though he didn’t think he needed any help walking because of a torso wound, Henry shrugged and accepted the help.  For once, he fell silent.  This close to Olivia, he could feel the warmth of her body, and smell the scent of her hair.  Though completely removed from the odor of viscera, he could not help but like it all the same.  A quick peek at Olivia’s face led to a strange finding: her cheeks were just a little bit red, and her mouth a slight and elegant smile.  Henry closed his eyes for just a moment, and mused, [i]death, destruction, friends, and happiness.  I must be the luckiest guy in the world![/i]

At this, the player couldn’t help but smile.  He’d decided just yesterday to pair up Olivia and Henry because both seemed like oddballs, sweet but socially awkward, and they both needed leveling up.  The C-support, where Henry and Olivia met over a wounded puppy, had been nice, but what really made this one indicative of a good bond was their nonverbal interaction, as opposed to verbal.  Following that, the player’s mind wandered.  Though Henry was getting stronger, Tharja still outclassed him as a Dark Knight.  The nation of Valm fielded a lot of knight units so far, making them easy pickings for the both of them, but the player knew that he’d encounter archers soon.  Against his wishes, he thought about dumping Henry to focus on leveling Tharja.

He then fell sideways, his vision a medley of code that made his head swim.

This occurred so suddenly and out of the blue that he involuntarily yelped, though an impact with the hard dirt cut it off.  Henry moaned and opened his eyes, blinking again and again.  What he saw baffled him completely: the scenery had totally changed.  Where there should have been sand, there was dirt, and in every direction but one stood trees.  A sparkling blue lake stretched out behind him, with a pier and a weird building that said ‘BOAT RENTALS’.  In another direction was a flat grass pavilion with a few wooden planks and a couple more small, strangely-designed buildings.  Though his smile never wavered, he felt confused and frightened.  [color=d8bfd8]”Uh…what the hex?  Olivia…?  Where…where are you?”[/color]  His mind raced.  Had he been hit by some sort of teleportation curse?  If so, he could be in deep trouble.  The pain coming from the wound in his side worsened the problem substantially.  [color=d8bfd8]”Haha, good one guys.  Guys…?”[/color]