The harsh battle for Fort Titana was over. After cleaning up the rest of the enemy soldiers that hadn't fled when their commander was killed, the group, weary and injured, had gone inside the fort to take a break. Even Lethe was a little tired, though she kept muttering under her breath that it the humans were so weak and that any laguz would be able to make it to the castle without this long of a rest.
They all stayed in the front room of the fort, except for Lethe, who was outside, since she couldn't stand the stench of humans. The other exception was Soren, who was in a different room to draft a battle report for Ike. The others stripped off their armor, led their mounts to a stable to be tied up, and were now gathered around in a circle. Some were resting, some were cleaning and polishing weapons, and others were waiting for Rhys and Mist, the "new" recruit, to heal injuries. (But it was mostly Mist doing it, because Rhys said she needed the experience.) When Rhys got to Titania, he noticed some blood trickling down Titania's arm. So he gasped and said, "Titania, I thought you said you weren't injured."
She glanced down at her arm, and only then seemed to realized the cut on her arm and the blood oozing from it. "Oh, sorry to worry you, Rhys. It was only one damage, so I didn't notice. Just a paper cut, really."
Rhys looked at Titania with concern. "Remember what you would always tell me when I was ill or hurt, Titania? 'Even the smallest injury invites death'? Let me just heal that for you. One HP is a lot, anyway." He raised his heal staff and as the light of the orb shone, it sealed the cut.
"No it's not. One damage is a small cut on the skin or a splinter. It's really no big deal for professionals like me," Boyd inserted, looking directly at Ike when he added the "professionals like me" part.
"No way," Mia chimed in. "It's at LEAST a minor flesh wound. But I guess for people like you, it's just a small cut. You have so much HP!"
"Well yeah. When you're a seasoned fighter like me, HP really helps for survival," Boyd responded.
"Seasoned fighter? What are you talking about? Besides, speed and skill helps too. At least I can dodge better than you. Wanna see?" Mia challenged with a big grin on her face. She stood up and wielded her sword.
"Alright, that's enough out of you two," Ike barked at them before a fight could start. Mia reluctantly sat down. Then he added, "For me, since I'm not that good at fighting yet, I guess one HP is about... Maybe a bruise."
"Really? That's it?" Rolf, the other "new" recruit, exclaimed. "For me, it was a gash on my leg!" Mist and Rhys agreed. Even Ilyana, who was leaning on a wall and looking like she was about to faint, nodded her head at them.
"Wait, Rolf, you were hurt?" Oscar asked, setting down his steel lance on the ground and glaring at Boyd. "Didn't Boyd protect you? You were traveling down near the fort with him and the Laguz, right?"
"Sorry, Oscar! But it was a longbow! I couldn't do anything about it," Boyd responded and then muttered "overprotective" in Oscar's direction.
Mist, trying to ease the tension, said, "Well Rolf is fine now, so no need to argue." Then, trying to include the Laguz in the conversation, asked him, "What do you think, Mordecai? How does one damage feel to you?"
Mordecai looked uncomfortable speaking in front of all the Beorc. In his rough Gallian accent he replied, "One damage is nothing. It is like rock under my paws. It does not hurt."
"Wow," Oscar said, now that he cooled down. "One damage is like a large scratch on my armor. Occasionally my armor protects me, but not always. But one damage isn't usually very lethal to me. Well actually, sometimes my steed takes some damage for me." At this, Titania nodded her head in agreement.
"What?!" Marcia cried. "You sacrifice your mount to enemy attacks? That's so horrible! Oh crackers, I can't imagine letting enemies attack my Pegasus! So I agree with Rolf. One damage is kind of painful sometimes."
"I wonder how one damage felt to Gatrie. He probably wouldn't even notice," Titania commented. Oscar laughed.
"Who's Gatrie?" Marcia asked. Upon hearing this, the original mercenaries looked at each other uncomfortably.
Suddenly the door burst open. The mercenaries looked up in alarm and were grabbing their weapons, but Mordecai stopped them. "Wait. It is not an enemy."
Mordecai was right. It was just Lethe, scowling at them and saying, "Are you humans still resting? Pathetic. We still have to get to the palace by nightfall." She was interrupted by Soren, walking in the front room, holding some parchment. When they saw each other, they exchanged glares. Neither of the two had really recovered over what had happened after the mercenaries were saved by the Laguz at Castle Gebal.
"Ike, while I'd hate to agree with the sub-human," Soren started without preamble. "It would be in our best interest to arrive at the palace as soon as possible. We still haven't learned what to do with the princess."
"Sounds good. Greil Mercenaries, move out!" Ike called. Everyone who wasn't ready quickly packed their belongings and ran to untie their steeds. "Lethe and Mordecai, lead the way."
As they were on the trail, Ike asked Soren how one damage felt to him. "It feels like nothing. Why?" Soren asked, suspicious.
"What?" Ike said, surprised. "Nothing?"
"Nothing," Soren confirmed. "Besides, you haven't noticed that enemies always slash at the air near you, but never at you? Therefore, one damage simply is a sliver of your health ticking down."
"Well, I guess," Ike muttered. "No, wait, my father was stabbed."
"That was because Greil was murdered in a cutscene," Soren responded.
"Wait, then what's a cutscene?" Ike asked.
"Often, it is a short film or movie in video games to show a part of the plot or storyline of the game," Soren answered.
"...Why don't you just show me the report," Ike said.
"Very well," Soren complied, handing him the parchment.
"Hey Soren, what does 'MVP' mean?"
Soren sighed in exasperation. "We've been through this already, Ike."
Author's note: It feels incomplete ending it here, but I couldn't think of an ending. So this story was based on the idea of what one damage felt like. I hope a story like this hasn't been written already! When I searched it up, I didn't see any though...well I hope this wasn't too bad.