The word incident had a much nicer connotation than the word fight. So, naturally, people often referred to the conflicts between Gaius and Henry as incidents. The first was lovingly dubbed the "candy incident" by none other than Henry himself. After that was the "Risen horde incident", and the most recent was the "gambling incident". But besides these unforeseen antics between the two, Henry and Gaius actually didn't see very much of each other.
That wasn't necessarily a bad thing, however. This was a huge improvement from before, where they constantly bickered, argued, and put each other in harm's way. Of course, all of that started from something juvenile, but their clashing personalities also set them against each other. Henry was unsteady, like the ever-changing sea, and just as whimsical, while Gaius was steadfast, like the earth, only so much more flexible. They disagreed on everything after that, too. But they didn't get into such intense disagreements like before, which was a relief to every Shepherd around.
Yet it also meant that they were still not at their maximum efficiency when it came to dealing with each other. Things as they stood were distant, forlorn, and almost boring, with neither love nor respect being fostered between the two of them. But why would that have been the case, anyway? Past all the jabs and insults, the only thing that Gaius and Henry had in common was their unfortunate ability to be positively infuriating towards other people.
It wasn't exactly an ideal quality to bond over.
Nevertheless, there was one person that could tolerate Henry's ridiculousness when no else could. And, of course, that person was Ricken. The mage was a good companion and an even better friend. As much as Henry hesitated to admit it, he truly cherished Ricken for everything he has done so far. From his stubbornness on a great topic of things (mostly putting Henry in his right place, or proving to everyone that he was a mature adult despite his youthful vigor), to his magical prowess, all the way down to his kind heart and good will—Ricken was the best friend anyone could ask for.
Even if he grew tired of Henry half the time, it was still good to be around him. Even when his attention dawdled elsewhere, especially to that of the younger female comrades (Nowi, Lissa, and Maribelle), it was nice hanging out with him. Henry didn't mind any of Ricken's shortcomings nor his blunt nature—in fact, he liked him even more for those same qualities. And while Henry was known for throwing around words carelessly, whenever he said he liked something, he really liked it.
The same resolve appeared again the following morning. Henry woke up in a very good mood, but couldn't figure out why. He assumed it was because of a good dream he had, even if he knew that he often had nightmares, instead. This good mood continued into breakfast, and lasted until the end of the day. Nothing changed this brimming excitement, although the reason why revealed itself soon enough.
As fate would have it, Henry and Gaius were destined to cross paths once more, and this time, there would be much more interaction to have between them than just insult-throwing and name-calling. Henry's smile only shone brighter at this prospect, and for the first time in a long time, he became excited at the thought of seeing Gaius again.
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Gaius, of course, was preoccupied with his own life in the meantime. Long before Henry's unwanted interruptions even began, he had a routine of his own. He often harvested things to make sweets—honey, sugar, salt, fruits, and nuts—on his own, knowing that it was ill-advised of him to be using the Shepherds' pantry for his own personal obsession. Acquiring supplies for sweets (and sometimes, just some good old sweets from a nearby town) took up a large part of his day, unsurprisingly.
But aside from that, he spent a good chunk of his time either gambling or stealing. In fact, he spent a lot of time stealing. Even though his time with the Shepherds lessened the need to steal considerably enough, thievery had been livelihood nearly every day of his life prior to that, so it was hard to give up such a bad habit right away.
And whenever he wasn't stealing, gambling, or doing anything related to money, Gaius was actually socializing. His best friends were undoubtedly Robin and Anna. The latter had a similar taste and lifestyle to him, and they often talked about their most recent heists, or even went on a few treasure-hunting escapades together (usually on Sunday because that was when the more devout Shepherds were too preoccupied with Naga's name to notice their less-than-holy pursuits). As for the former, Gaius admired their brilliance and sincerity, and they spoke happily with each other on anything and everything—even going out for a few fun dates of their own to pass the time. Aside from those two, his usual friendly company consisted of the other thieves in the army. If he was lucky, though, he would spend time with Lon'qu, Lissa, or even Chrom once in a while. Olivia, Cherche, and Libra were less common people to run into, but when he did come across them, they were always welcoming to his presence, and Gaius became all the more wiser for it.
To him, keeping others at a safely professional distance was the most optimal scenario, simply because he wasn't supposed to have any "friends" to begin with. His enlistment in the Shepherds was built on the acquisition of sweets and money (but mostly sweets) as was evidenced by Chrom's possession of high-end luxuries at the time of their meeting, to which the prince used as "payment" of some sort. But ever since then, he slowly changed—or, at least, he began to show his true colors. He often denied any inquiries and hid himself from the positive light of it, but Gaius truly cared for other people. Despite being a self-proclaimed "low-life", he was surprisingly gallant and protective of others.
It was his philosophy that he carry out the dirtiest work—those ugly tasks that would besmirch his name—if it meant that the actually good people could be protected from such defamation. If he could save others the trouble of bearing such a burden, then he would go as far as to carry out nasty deeds in their stead. This wasn't something that developed immediately, but over time as he witnessed many unfortunate things in the course of his life and in the line of his work.
So while the Shepherds weren't the first people to see him in action, they were the first ones to understand him for it. As a result, he found himself very preoccupied with his allies, in more ways than he would like or even imagine.
However, throughout this busying life of his, Gaius almost forgot about a certain dark mage and his grim existence. The one with hair as white as coconut shavings, a heart as black as currant jelly, and skin as golden as honey itself (he really craved a good donut, now)—he nearly disregarded the image of the young man who fit that description, one that laughed at anything and everything, and whose words were misplaced due to a steep darkness that laid beneath the surface of his skin, stemming straight from the heart.
But like anything else in his life, Gaius knew that the sudden change of pace would end soon. The name Henry was remembered along with everything else about him, and Gaius had the sneaking suspicion that he would never truly be rid of the other. And as the days kept going—as the sun kept setting—he figured that it was just as well.
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On that fateful morning, breakfast continued as planned. Henry usually tagged along with Ricken at this time, and it was no surprise that he was so much more popular than Henry was—so much more popular than Henry could ever hope to be. While this didn't particularly bother him, he acted much more passive in moments where Ricken lead the way, and socialized with a wide range of people that Henry hadn't so much as said "hello" to, let alone talked with.
This morning's group was familiar, though. It consisted of the younger soldiers in the army. Most noticeably, Donnel, Lissa, Maribelle, and Nowi were present, alongside Henry and Ricken. It made sense because Ricken was their friend in age, if nothing else, and Henry wasn't as old as he tried to make himself out to be (although he was definitely one of the seniors in this group of young ones). Donnel, of course, was easy to get along with, since he was humble, diligent, and eager to prove himself useful ever since Chrom and the rest of the Shepherds saved him and his village from murderous slave traders. With curly purple hair and deep brown eyes, the boy was always smiling, and always striking up friendly conversation with whoever he came across. Past the tin pot that he wore like a hat on his head, he was devastatingly charming and sweet.
There was also Nowi, who despite being a thousand-year old manakete, was still a child in both physicality and mentality. She fit in at the "kids table" much more than she did anywhere else. She was as bright and vibrant as the spring itself, with long pastel green hair and shining magenta eyes. She was an image of bright pink, purple, and green, and moved about with an energy and effervescence that would long outlive any of her current companions. Still, Henry and her got along shockingly well, and it was probably because they were both highly erratic and upbeat to a fault. Birds of a feather flocked together, after all.
Maribelle and Lissa were a constant sight, almost always together, even more so than Henry and Ricken were. But it was fine, because they were high-class ladies-in-training, who were both trained in medicinal and healing arts. They were blonde, beautiful, and bright, and often the talk of the army because everyone knew that once they grew older, they would be utter babes. Henry himself felt enamored with their grace and charm sometimes, but more often than not, his talk of arcane rituals and forbidden black magic warded them away from his general presence. Yet they seemed rather polite and happy this morning, and even greeted him with genuine smiles, for once.
Things were off to a good start this morning. Ricken was telling the group a wild story about a recent battle, to which Henry responded with an agreeable comment every now and then. The others listened in, completely rapt with Ricken's animated storytelling. Henry wanted to say more, but the presence of so many others stifled his energy somewhat.
Maribelle's silent but wary look also signaled something else to him. Even though she greeted him politely just now, it was obvious that she hesitated in doing so, and if she had her way, she wouldn't even be in his presence to begin with. They had an unspoken battle between roseate eyes and violet ones, where she dared him to step out of line, and he mocked her for having such low expectations of him.
Before things could escalate further, Robin appeared at the head of their table. Their eyes flickered over the group with mild curiosity, but finally remained affixed on Henry as they spoke. "Sorry to interrupt your fun, all. But I need to see Lissa, Maribelle, Ricken, and Henry. Come with me, please." No one could ever think to refuse their dearest tactician, especially when more pressing matters awaited them. At once, the four of them stood up, and followed Robin out of the mess hall.
They spoke animatedly among themselves, and even though Henry's eyes were full of images of Ricken, Lissa, and Maribelle—for some reason—all he could think about was Gaius.
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Once the small group reached Robin's tent, they saw that they weren't alone. Several people were already gathered there.
One of those people was Tharja, Henry's fellow Plegian and dark mage. She was notorious for her creepy, obsessive, and intense nature, but even more so with her oddly strong fixation on Robin. She sulked at the arrival of even more people, their upbeat personalities overshadowing her own, but more so because their presence meant that she couldn't be alone with Robin like she wanted to. Her ebony eyes flickered elsewhere, but they still showed signs of exhaustion, with dark bags formed underneath her long lashes. Henry wondered if there was a curse keeping her up at night, and so he made a note to bother Tharja about it later.
Miriel was also there. She looked pristine and scholarly, as always, and pushed her glasses further up as she continued to write in one of her numerous journals. The quill moved ceaselessly in her hands, and she didn't even break stride when Henry and company entered the tent—loudly so. Just as she remained unbothered, her attention refocused itself, and she closed her book with a tiny sigh, and looked ahead at the new additions to the room. She was always studying something, and although she acted taciturn and cold, there was an innocuous facet to her nature, too, which could be seen when she got lost in thought, or approached others bravely with studious inquiries. Henry himself helped her before in studying some ancient magical lore, and so he spared her a large grin and an overly zealous hand wave. She returned the latter gesture, albeit sheepishly.
Tharja and Miriel were in close proximity with each other, but further from the both of them was Anna the Trickster. She was sly, cunning, and quick beyond belief. But she was also wise, knowledgeable, and—frankly—one of the best merchants around. Even though she was thought to be cold-blooded when it came to money making affairs, she had such a warm and charming smile that it was hard to imagine that it could ever be insincere. Despite the crimson garb and cloak that obscured her body, her pretty curves were still noticeable. Henry, honestly, never thought too much of her, but he heard from Ricken that she was a lethal force to be dealt with in battle, because she had a playfully dark habit of toying with her enemies in the same way that a cat toys with a mouse before eating it. In his words, she was "practically invincible".
The other person of interest was Gaius, of course! Henry knew he would be seeing him again, and so the thief's presence in the room was an added bonus on top of his fantastic morning. Gaius looked a bit uncomfortable, though, despite his good friends Anna and Robin being present, as well. Maybe it was Tharja's gloomy attitude or Maribelle's heated scorn that set him off, but Henry suspected that it was himself who caused such unease in the other. He couldn't pretend that he wasn't happy about it, however, and he let it show in the mischievous lilt of his smirking face. They stared at each other for a few seconds or so, before Gaius expertly tore his eyes away and forced them to focus on the tactician in front of them. Henry snorted at such a silly display, but followed suit, anyway.
Robin beckoned for everyone to come in closer as they spread a roll of parchment across the center table. It had an overwhelming scent of fresh ink and new paper, and several arrows, shapes, and circles were already drawn on it. Robin proffered several metal pieces from behind the counter, those which were shaped like pretend soldiers and lead Henry to believe that some sort of battle strategy was being laid before them. He was excited at the mere thought of it, and his frail heart beat infinitely more faster.
"I'm sure some of you are aware of the fact that we have had some unfortunate issues with bandits lately." They announced this carefully, fingers trailing over one of the metal pieces. "This group that we're dealing with is far more craftier than your usual kind, and they are known for stealing into town treasuries, and performing larger-than-life heists in big cities and small kingdoms. In fact, the have even helped themselves to some of our resources now and then." Their face fell at the retelling of this information, and they glanced at the others with a displeased expression. "Clearly, they need to be dealt with."
"Oh, dear," Tharja murmured. "And here I was, thinking that all the money was going somewhere helpful. Towards a collection for purchasing new tomes, perhaps."
"Well, some of the thieves that stole from us in particular have been dealt with personally," Anna cheered. "So don't worry about them." She tapped the sheathed end of her sword carefully, and the smile on her face became just as menacing as it did reassuring. Ricken gulped audibly and Lissa coughed awkwardly, all while Robin did their best to avert the conservation for the greater good.
"Anyway," they said. "Our scouts have finally located their base of operations, right here." They pointed at a large, inky circle in the left-center of the map. "This is a cave located near the border of Plegia and Ylisse. It's heavily forested, so it took some time to find its exact placement. Several of the bandits have been seen going in and out. Our intel also says that they appear to be particularly weak to magic."
"So that's why you gathered all us mages?" Ricken asked. "You want us to stop them?"
"Precisely," Robin confirmed. "It'll be an opportunity to prove yourself, but the less amount of soldiers we have to send in, the better. Think of it as a chance to put all your hard work and intensive training to use."
"What about us?" Gaius motioned to himself and Anna. "We don't use magic."
"You don't use magic," Anna corrected him, whilst tapping a finger alongside the top end of her healing staff.
He rolled his eyes. "You know what I meant, Red. We don't use offensive magic. Your Levin Sword's one thing, but why are we need if this is a magic-based operation?"
"Because you two are very important in this operation, as well! These bandits have been seen going in and out for at least a week now. There's been quite a number of them, too. There's no reason for so many of them to be there at once, unless maybe…?"
"Maybe they were guarding something." Gaius finished the lingering thought as quickly as it posed itself. "Maybe that's where the stash is. The good ol' mother lode. Bubbles, you sly fox, you want us to steal it back."
"Exactly." They sounded pleased now that everything fell into place. "My plan is to have our resident mages and dark mages deal most of the damage. Lissa and Maribelle, you two are also essential for healing any injuries that arise. And while all of you distract the enemies, Anna and Gaius can sneak around and grab whatever treasures they can. You know your way around a chest, so I assume there will be no problems in dealing with this particular hoard." They grinned as they added on: "The bandits will be handled as the main objective, however. We'll send a convoy wagon to retrieve you and the rest of the treasures, once you meet with the scouts at the halfway point."
Both Anna and Gaius visibly glowed at their new prospects. They were like minded in so many ways, and they jumped at any chance to fill up their coffers. Anna laughed happily, flipping back an errant strand of red hair behind her shoulder in a swift movement. "Perfect! This is absolutely perfect. You know me, I'm always ready to collect."
"Same here," Gaius agreed. "We're ready when you are."
Robin nodded, and was thankful for their easy cooperation, because the others were not nearly as excited about the whole ordeal. Their faces were drawn with worry and discomfort, so they tried their best to put them at ease. It worked, because after a few moments of talking with Robin, the others considerably lightened up and some of them even smiled. Lissa even laughed, now eager for the adventure ahead.
"You'll all be fine, I'm sure. I have absolute confidence in your abilities. Why don't you all prepare for the upcoming mission, and we will convene here once more when you're all set?"
There was a much louder confirmation this time, and once Robin dismissed them all, the group dispersed. Some broke out in easy conversation about the battles ahead, while others—Miriel and Tharja, most noticeably—hurriedly went elsewhere, to most likely prepare themselves for the upcoming ordeal. Henry stayed behind to chat, but he stared at Gaius all the while, who didn't squirm, but was visibly uncomfortable in his presence. Henry relished in this small satisfaction, and said in an overly loud voice: "Oh, I can't wait to get started! This is going to be so much fun!"