He was always just "poor dumb Gatrie."
That was what everyone would call him, sometimes behind his back, sometimes to his face. Of course he would just giggle and grin, because poor dumb people weren't supposed to get offended. It was simply a fact of life, not an insult.
Gatrie would pretend not to notice that most of his companions had other things to do every time he asked if they wanted to hang out. He at least had the presence of mind to know he was stupid and no one wanted to hang out with the stupid guy. Oh, they would give lovely excuses - "Oh, I would love to, Gatrie, but I promised so-and-so that I would help them clean their house" - and Gatrie would tell them that it was okay, he understood, because he really, really wanted it to be true. Maybe, he always thought, maybe they all really did have something to do and I just asked at a bad time. I'll try again tomorrow!
But the answer was always the same, day after day. And Gatrie never wanted to think it, never wanted to think of his friends in a negative light. But he knew, deep inside, he was just "poor dumb Gatrie" and no one wanted to be good friends with a poor dumb guy.
No one except one guy, anyway.
A javelin plunked right next to Gatrie's foot, snapping him out of his thoughts. Right, can't forget I'm in the middle of a battle! Gatrie grinned to himself. Noticing the rest of the mercenaries had charged up the steps ahead of him, Gatrie hustled to keep up. All this armor was so heavy and made him feel so sweaty, even in the biting cold weather of Tor Garen. Taking a deep breath, he lunged with his lance and speared a Daein soldier right through the chest.
You know, I bet he had friends and maybe even a family, Gatrie thought as the Daein fell dead to the ground. He'd been thinking those kinds of thoughts a lot since crossing into Daein. Before a few months ago, it was easy to simply think of Daein as the heartless bad guys. It was easy to just shish-kabob them all without a second thought.
That was before Shinon joined the Daein forces.
But maybe he didn't, Gatrie pondered, blundering into another battle and coming out the victor. He's a good guy at heart! I bet he turned around and went back to Crimea after we parted ways in Begnion. Maybe he's even looking for us now!
A small voice in his conscience told him he was being "poor dumb Gatrie" again. Shinon was determined to go to Daein. He left you. He betrayed the Greil Mercenaries. He is one of the heartless bad guys. But Gatrie quieted the voice. It didn't really know Shinon. Shinon was a really, really good guy at heart. Why, he was one of the best guys at heart!
He was the only guy who didn't care that Gatrie was poor and dumb. When Gatrie asked Shinon if he wanted to hang out, Shinon never gave him an excuse. He never told him, "Sorry, I have to go do this" or "Sorry, I'm really tired and just need some rest tonight." No, Shinon was always willing to go to town with Gatrie. They'd go to the bar and Gatrie would buy them a round of drinks and smooth Shinon would go and talk to the girls until they'd have a whole table of them. Pretty women with voluptuous figures would giggle and stroke Gatrie's jaw, saying that that red-haired man told them so many things about him, like how fast he was in fifty-pound armor and how skilled he was at throwing a javelin. And Gatrie would glance at Shinon and Shinon (with scores of his own beautiful women hanging on him) would wink at him and say, "Well, it's all true."
Being "poor dumb Gatrie" never stopped Shinon from training with him. Everybody else seemed to think Gatrie was too slow to keep up with them, respecting his skill with the lance but not wanting to spar with him all the same. Shinon, ever honest, would tell him when he was too slow, but would also point out all the good techniques he pulled off. He'd practice their "thunder and lightning" maneuver with him ("Alright, Gatrie, you crash into them with that lance like thunder, and I'll rain arrows on them like lightning") and he would even praise Gatrie's progress to Titania and Commander Greil.
Shinon was a true friend. He was definitely snarky and cranky and mean sometimes, but he was still a true friend. And a true friend is a good guy at heart, Gatrie convinced himself.
As Gatrie invaded the fortress of Tor Garen with the rest of the mercenaries, he kept an eye on each face. He had a habit of doing so, just in case Shinon really did join the Daeins. If he joined Daein, it's not because he really likes them or anything, Gatrie supposed, blocking a swinging sword with his massive shield. He was just really angry and not thinking clearly. I wonder if he still blames himself for Greil's death.
Only Gatrie knew that secret. When he and Shinon went on the run after Commander Greil's death, right as they got to Begnion, Gatrie had gone to fetch dinner one night. He found it easier than he expected and came back a bit earlier than he said he would. He was startled to find Shinon sobbing, gasping frantically for air as the tears nearly choked him. Shinon was so angry that he'd let Gatrie find him like this – Gatrie had never, ever seen him cry before – and even angrier still that he couldn't stop. Gatrie had awkwardly patted his shoulder while Shinon croaked through a tight throat, "I was awake, Gatrie, I saw him go into the forest. If I'd just followed him, if only I'd followed him with my bow..." Trying to convince Shinon not to blame himself only made him violent. Gatrie had wound up with a black eye that night.
Commander Greil was a good man and a father figure for Shinon. Greil also didn't seem to care that Gatrie was poor and dumb either. His loss was enormously painful for both of them, but grief had seemed to come easier for Gatrie than for Shinon.
The memory of Shinon's tears still fresh in his mind, Gatrie was startled to see the tiniest member of the mercenaries, Rolf, shivering with tears in a corner of the fortress. Is he hurt? Gatrie thought fearfully, charging as fast as his armor would take him to the shaking boy. He didn't appear to have any blood on him.
"Are you okay, Rolf?" Gatrie asked. Rolf couldn't answer; he simply cried even harder.
"Now, now, just point out which one of those Daeins hurt you and old Gatrie will take care of him!" Gatrie straightened up and grinned. No Daein would get away with making a little boy cry! Gatrie may have been dumb, but he didn't lack bravery!
"Sh-Shinon," Rolf squeaked, burying his face in his hands.
"I'll poke him through with my lance! I'll filet him like-...what?!" Gatrie stopped in the middle of his speech. Did Rolf just say...?
"He j-joined Daein," Rolf bawled. "I t-tried to t-tell him to join our s-side, but...he wouldn't do it. He's one of the enemy, G-Gatrie!"
"Naw, Shinon's a good guy at heart," Gatrie frowned. "Where is he?"
"Ike k-killed him," Rolf barely whispered.
Gatrie felt his heart plummet all the way down to his feet. No...no, Ike wouldn't do that. Ike's a good guy at heart too! Surely a misunderstanding! Gatrie clunked around the corner, his eyes scanning frantically through the bodies of Daein soldiers on the ground. Long red hair, long red hair...Shinon wouldn't have cut his hair...
"Shinon!" Gatrie yelped, bounding over and falling to his knees by his familiar friend. Shinon was curled up in a corner, his hand over a gaping wound in his stomach. His long hair had been torn from its ribbon and now hung loosely down his back. His green eyes showed much pain and a little frustration.
"It wasn't a clean blow." Shinon's voice trembled as he spoke. "That idiot..."
"You did join Daein!" Gatrie exclaimed. "But why?"
"I could...become something in Daein," Shinon said, swallowing back some of the pain. "I could rise through the ranks..."
"That's what you told me when you left me in Begnion, but if that were true, you wouldn't have let Ike stab you!" Gatrie answered. "And you would have shot Rolf too. You really made him upset, you know."
Shinon gazed back at Gatrie, his eyes seemingly studying his face for a moment before saying, "You never were that dumb, Gatrie."
"Of course not! You taught me your smarts, Shinon," Gatrie grinned, then pulled an elixir out from a pouch. "So, after we get you fixed up, you can come back to the Mercenaries like I did, and then it will be just like old times! I found a really nice bar in the town where we're camping, you're going to love the bartender, she's got-"
"No," Shinon frowned, pushing away the bottle and turning his head away.
"Oh, come on, Shinon, Ike's really not that bad," Gatrie said, trying to get the elixir near Shinon's mouth, but he kept moving his head away like a young child refusing to take his medicine. "We need a world-class archer anyway! Rolf's good, but not as good as you are. We're going to win this war and you can help us win it, and then afterward you-"
"I'll have to live with myself," Shinon spat, nuzzling his face against the corner and effectively blocking it from the healing liquid.
"You never had any problems living with yourself before," Gatrie said confusedly.
Shinon didn't respond, his eyes slowly turning towards the ground to his left. For a brief second, his eyes flickered at Gatrie, then he lunged over to his left. Gatrie glanced at where Shinon was aiming and quickly grabbed him and pinned him back against the wall when he saw Shinon's hands narrowly miss grasping the hilt of a powerful knife.
"I ignored my gut and I left Commander Greil to die!" Shinon strained, trying to get out of Gatrie's grip. "I convinced my closest friend to leave the Mercenaries behind and then I ditched him to become a traitor and serve Daein. My life is irredeemable!"
Gatrie finally pinned Shinon firmly against the wall and glared at him. He may have been dumb old Gatrie but he was smart enough to see what was happening.
"You didn't join Daein to become great," he said. "You didn't join this battle to get noticed. You expected to die in this place, didn't you."
Shinon met his eyes for about a second before closing them.
"You're so selfish sometimes, Shinon," Gatrie complained. "You're my friend! How do you think I would feel if you died? Just because I'm 'poor dumb Gatrie' doesn't mean I don't have feelings!"
"You're not dumb, Gatrie," Shinon mumbled, his eyes still closed.
"You know what Commander Greil would have wanted?" Gatrie asked. "He would've wanted us to stick together, because we work good together! He would have been mad about you dying on your family. And he wouldn't have had any problems with you coming back to the Mercenaries! I know you're a really good guy, Shinon, and I know you're stronger than you may think you are. Now come on, drink this. Then we can become old Thunder and Lightning again."
Shinon opened his eyes and stared at the elixir, which Gatrie had positioned almost touching his lips. Gatrie held his breath for a second or two. Come on, Shinon, be reasonable. Then, slowly, Shinon took the elixir and began to drink it. He grimaced and gagged a few times, but managed to finally finish the whole thing. His wound stopped bleeding almost immediately.
Shinon sat still for a moment, then looked back into Gatrie's face. Gatrie wondered what he would have to say. Silence continued for a few more moments or so. Then Shinon frowned.
"What, are you expecting an apology or something?"
Gatrie smiled. "Welcome back, Shinon."
Shinon continued to glare at Gatrie, but couldn't help himself after a short while and his face softened into a grin too. "So what's this about a pretty bartender?"
Author's note: Short but sweet about Gatrie's and Shinon's friendship. Shinon has issues, but it doesn't take too long to snap him back to normal. Good old Gatrie. Let me know what you thought. Next project is a nice longish story on the background of Stefan. I feel like he's a treasure mine of exciting plots that few have dug into yet. :)