Chapter Text
It hadn’t been very long since Henry had joined the Shepherds.
In the time he had chosen to join their ranks, things had been chaotic to say the least. Not that the dark mage minded. The whole reason he had decided to fight with them was so he could fight more. So far he felt he made the right choice. They were more skilled than he expected, making the battles very interesting. After all, how many people would plan to light a ship on fire and crash it into the enemy fleet? Now that had been fun.
There was no battle today, however. The group had decided to camp near a town for a few days to recover before meeting with some voice. Henry wasn’t sure the details, nor did he care. So long as there were battles ahead, he’d be more than satisfied.
Until then, he and the others roamed the cobblestone streets, enjoying a day of rest. Of course, he did so alone.
No one had attempted to interact with him more than a curt ‘hello’ since he joined. He didn’t blame them, nor did he mind. He never really made actual friends whilst in the Plegian army, so why should this be any different? The animals of Ylisse were friendly and to him, that was more than enough.
A tiny yelp caught Henry’s attention. The boy glanced around the empty backstreet, searching curiously for the source. Eventually he found it; a small dog lay near the mouth of an alleyway. Upon closer inspection Henry found it’s hind leg to be badly injured. The joint was swollen and the surrounding brown fur was matted with blood.
Henry knelt down and spoke with a chipper tone, “Well hello there! What happened to you?”
The dog looked up to the newcomer, it’s head tilted quizzically. It then looked back to its leg with a whimper before setting its head on its paws in defeat.
The mage simply chuckled, “Awe, you can’t move at all anymore, can you.” He reached a hand forward and stroked the dog’s soft head, “Well, I certainly can’t leave you like this. Here, let me help.”
He lifted his hand, hovering it in front of the animal’s face. A muttered incantation fell from his lips, the words a jumble of gibberish to anyone not familiar with hexes.
“...Henry?...”
The mention of his name interrupted the chant. The faint purple glow faded from his hand as he broke his gaze from the dog and looked up to the speaker. It was the dancer girl...What was her name? It didn’t really matter. She looked down to him, pink bangs falling into her eyes as she did so. She sheepishly tucked them aside and continued to speak somewhat nervously, “Umm, what are you doing?...”
Henry giggled at her question, as if it was the most obvious inquiry she could have asked, “What am I doing? I’m trying to help this dog!”
The girl’s eyes shifted to the injured pup, then to his hand, then back to him. She looked unconvinced as her hands fidgeted in front of her chest, “B-but...it looked like you were trying to…trying to kill it.”
He nodded and continued with his happy demeanor, “Yup, I’m going to finish it off.” His head turned back to the dog as he gestured to its injury, “‘Cause with its leg like this, it can’t run anymore. Since it can’t hunt it’ll just starve to death or something. So, I figured it should get a quick death, don’t you?” He nodded again, as if there was no way his statement could be false. After all, that was how it worked in the wild. How was this any different?
But to his surprised, her face shifted from anxious to panic. She dropped to the dog’s side and used her body to shield its form from his view, “P-please stop! I’ll treat its wounds instead!”
Henry tilted his head. He still held a smile, though his voice gave away his confusion, “Eh? But aren’t medicine supplies precious? Is it really alright to use them on a dog?”
The dancer flinched slightly, having realized he had a point. Instead of agreeing, however, she gently picked the dog up and held it’s small form to her chest, “But, you can’t kill it! I’ll take care of it myself…”
Her stubbornness piqued his interest. He found it strange, yet oddly intriguing, how desperate she was to help some insignificant dog. It was just one tiny life, yet she was pleading for him to spare it from a merciful death. Was this just how things worked in Ylisse? That death was not an option no matter the injury? How strange.
Curiosity won in the end and his grin widened, “Great! Then I’ll help care for it too!”
She had not expected such a response, her eyebrows raising in surprise before furrowing in confusion. She didn’t speak for a moment, as if trying to figure out exactly what she wanted to say. Her shoulders began to relax and she slowly sat upright, “Um...Henry, you’re always smiling but...I mean, you were just talking about finishing it off, but now…”
Man, this girl was strange. Henry simply shrugged with a smile, “I thought it was its natural fate. But if it can get help, then I guess it’s not it’s time yet. If it can come back from the brink of death, nothing could be better! Isn’t that right? It’s good to be saved.” At his last statement he leaned forward and scratched behind the dog’s ears.
“Henry...you’re…”
“Hm?” He looked up to see her looking at him with sympathy. Just how many emotions could this girl feel at once? He simply laughed again, “What? Did I do something?”
As if snapping out of a trance, she jumped slightly before shaking her head, “No, nothing...We should get started. Can you fetch me some bandages?”
Henry bounced back and up to his feet in one fluid motion, “Sure!”
He still found it strange that she wanted to put so much effort into helping one little dog. What was one tiny life to anyone? Nothing would change if it died after all. Still, she seemed to care a lot for the dog, and that in itself made him want to help. If anything, he found her amusing and took it as an excuse to learn more about her. Who knows, maybe for once he could save a life without ending it.
Henry chuckled, suddenly finding it ironic that he would be helping to save a canine’s life when one had saved his so long ago.