" Are we there yet?" Angelica complained on their way to the annual Ranger's Gathering.
" Does it look like we're there?" The grizzled old ranger on her right said moodily.
" Right. Sorry, Halt. " she managed to sit in silence for a few moments, then turned to her mentor, drawing in a breath to ask-
" Before you ask me how much further we have to go, think about it. It's been five minutes since you last asked me. So, naturally, we're five minutes closer. " Halt grumbled, pulling the cowl of his cloak even farther over his head.
Angelica turned back to face the road, knowing they had to be close. She was bursting with excitement, this being her first gathering and all. She wanted to be there NOW, though she was sure if she told Halt that he would give her some lecture about being patient, and waiting, and generally telling her to do things like that that weren't possible.
" Halt?" she asked, somewhat timidly. She knew she was close to crossing the line of how many questions she could ask without having to do some sort of chore.
Halt sighed, looking up at the sky then back at her. " Yes?"
" Do you hear that?"
" The hoofbeats? Yes, they've been following us for sometime. I assume it's Will and his apprentice. "
Angelica grinned. "Do you want me to-"
" Not yet. Let's get into a blind spot, shall we?" They turned around a bend in the road. "Here's a good spot. "
Ange slipped off her horse, Raven, and crept into the underbrush. When she was far enough back, she sat in wait.
Eventually, the figure she recognized as Will treaty came through, followed closely by his new apprentice, who happened to be her best friend, Kit.
Angelica forced herself to sit silently and be completely still, taking a few deep breaths to calm her heartbeat. Halt had gone over this plan with her a few days before, even telling her that it was similar to the one he had pulled on Gilan with Will at Will's first gathering.
Will caught sight of the slight tracks Ange's feet had made when she slipped off her horse. He dismounted from his own shaggy gray, kneeling down to examine the tracks. He called Kit over and was explaining something. Angelica tried not to sigh with impatience. She just had to wait. Any movement now would surely give her away.
Will looked up from the footprints, his eyes scanning the forest. Angelica froze, willing his eyes to pass over her. They seemed to, but Ange knew better than to move, or even breathe.
Finally, Will stood up, going to mount his own horse. Kit followed quickly, and with one last sweep of the forest, the both of them turned away, around the other bend where Halt would be waiting to distract them.
Angelica forced herself to count to ten slowly after she heard voices drifting from where she knew Halt, Will and Kit were standing.
She began to move through the forest like a wraith, moving from shade patch to shade patch, shifting her weight so as not to crack twigs under her feet. Angelica gave herself a devilish grin before closing the final distance between her and her target.
Halt was speaking, leaning on his longbow. " Ahh, Will, I see you have an apprentice. As you'll remember, I've gotten a new addition of my own this year..."
Angelica chose this time to run up nearly directly behind both Will and Kit and scream, "HEY THERE!"
Kit gave a kind of half-scream half-squeak and turned around, lashing out on instinct and forcing Angela, laughing, to jump back a step. Will's breathing had spiked, though that was the only indication he had been caught off guard.
Angelica grinned, happy with her success.