A.N.: I am back~~ A random plot bunny just jumped out of the bush quite suddenly and I am still recovering from the shock. So here goes nothing.
Disclaimer: Not mine. Never will be mine.
"Tomorrow is the ranger's gathering." Halt told him gruffly.
Will sipped his coffee quietly and glanced out the open door and into the forest. He wondered if the assassins were okay being where they were. The castle wasn't large enough to host all the assassins so they had decided to manage on their own. Neither Will nor the rangers knew where they were in the forest but Will had a vague suspicion.
"Is Gilan going to come?" Will asked hopefully.
There was a pause. They heard the sound of Tug and Abelard whined slightly in greeting.
"Apparently." Halt replied as Gilan strode into the doorway.
"Will! Halt!" The tall ranger greeted.
"Gil." Will smiled while Halt just nodded like his usual self.
"What's that I smell?" Gilan sniffed the air, "Coffee? Halt, I want coffee as well!"
"Go get your own." Halt grunted as he sat down opposite of Will beside the table, "And don't use up the honey."
As Gilan rolled his eyes and started talking with Halt, Will suddenly was hit by the feeling of home and familiarities. He hadn't felt this way for long, probably because of the whole memory lost and the Skandia battle. His shoulder throbbed slightly in reminder and he grimaced.
Gilan and Halt did not miss that, "Thinking of something bitter?"
Will raised an eyebrow, "Bitter?"
"You grimaced." Gilan pointed out as he sat on the table, much to Halt's obvious irritation.
"Just thinking of all the cleaning works I have to do." Will lied with a sigh as he swept an arm around the cabin, "Look at all these dusts! I wonder how many hours I would need to waste to clean them all up."
"Your job as an apprentice is to clean the cabin every day." Halt replied, "Nothing more."
"And ask no questions." Gilan added.
"Yes, that." Halt agreed as he took a sip of his own coffee.
Will hated the way he lied so smoothly. Halt or Gilan would have caught his lies before, but now, they didn't even bat an eye. He didn't like it. He didn't like it at all.
"So, the ranger's gathering." Gilan prompted.
Halt glanced sideway at his former apprentice, "Planning on terrorizing the old me?"
"Nah, you are getting too old for this." Gilan shook his head in mock exasperation.
He was on the receiving end of a glare from his former mentor, "You are calling me old."
"I am calling you old." Gilan nodded almost solemnly, "Look at your head of gray hair, Halt. Have you ever look in the mirror? And with your….saxe knife cut beard, it made you look like some old farmer off the road."
"Old farmer off the road." Halt repeated.
"And you are a little deaf as well." Will chimed in.
"Yes, that too." Gilan nodded in mock thoughtfulness.
"A little deaf." Halt's voice turned low and threatening.
"Definitely a little deaf." Gilan nodded again, "Maybe a little bit more than 'a little'."
Will smiled innocently in agreement, "Definitely."
As Gilan fired insults at Halt, Will's mind traveled away again. It had only been a week since the assassins had arrived in Araluen. True, Will was content and happy. He wanted nothing more than being with both of his family. But the rangers didn't seem to have completely accepted the assassins yet and Will could understand why. The assassins were strangers to the rangers and possessing similar, if not better, skills than them. Maybe the assassins can't beat the rangers to bows and Saxe knives, but definitely other skills. The rangers were very open-minded and kind, but Will could understand the mixture of distrust amongst the many emotions they harbored toward the assassins. It was a problem and Will had no idea what to do. It was beyond him.
"Up the tree, now." Halt's growl jerked him back to reality to see a very irritated Halt and a grinning Gilan.
"I have officially became friends with that tree," Gilan commented, "since I have been on it for so long."
"I don't care." Halt narrowed his eyes and pointed toward the door, "Up the tree, now."
"And you have repeating problems as well." Gilan laughed as he ran out the door.
There was a small silence, then Will snickered. Halt turned his thunderous glare on Will, "Up the tree as well."
Will just grinned.
Okay, new start. New story. Breath iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin. Okay, I've got this. Welcome aboard to the third in the series~
