Author's note- This is my first fanfiction, so I hope it goes well. I've written things for some of my friends before, but never a fanfic. Please review!
Disclaimer- Ranger's Apprentice is property of John Flanagan and I lay no claim to it.
There were two of them. Just two. The third was not far away. Where was the fourth? Halt sighed. The fourth wouldn't be here. The fourth was the other one. Probably the smartest – or maybe just the most unpredictable – of all four. He was Harrison's apprentice – wasn't he? Or maybe Alun's? Those two Rangers were good friends and were together quite often.
Halt watched the assessments quite often. He'd watch at least a small part of them almost every year. He was almost never put in charge of one – Crowley didn't want him to hurt any of the apprentices – unless of course it was four some of the older apprentices.
Today, there were four second-year apprentices. They were all quite talented of course. They all had what it took to be a ranger. But there was one who was just a little different. He always found his own, surprising way of doing things – just like now.
His name was... what was his name? Not Conner – was it? No, that wasn't right. It must be Noah.
Halt turned and watch Alun and Harrison as they walked toward him, talking. He was sitting completely still – at least he had been until he had turned to watch them – and his hood was pulled up over his head. In the shade of the tree he was sitting under, it would've been hard to see him if you weren't looking for him. Although – being at a ranger gathering – Halt wasn't trying to hide, only stay more or less separate from the normal crowd.
Alun and Harrison both dropped down by Halt to watch the assessment and Halt turned back to watch. The apprentices were trying to reach a certain point before being called out. The destination was a small camp. A tent and a small fire had been set up for the assessment. But although there was an assessment much like this one happening in a night or two, this one was out in the afternoon sunshine. So the apprentices were given a little bit of leeway until they got closer – not a lot, but the three Rangers sitting under the tree on the hill would probably be able to spot them if they tried hard enough.
"I see Conner," Harrison said as he spotted the apprentice named. It wasn't hard for him to spot his own apprentice, but the others were a different matter.
"Toby and Aaron are pretty close together," Alun noted, a frown forming on his brow. He hadn't spotted them, but he was one of the best trackers the corps had, and, from where they were sitting, he could take the slight move of grass or leaves and set up the two apprentices' trails. "It'd be almost impossible to see one and not the other. What are they thinking?"
"What's your apprentice's name?" Halt asked softly without seeming to move his jaw at all.
"Conner," "Noah," they said at the same time. Halt had meant to ask Alun. Harrison had said Conner, Alun had said Noah.
"Where is Noah?" Harrison asked.
"By the stream," Alun answered without having to look. "He was never one for moving silently – at least, that's what he says. He just doesn't believe he can do it well enough. He'll be by the stream."
Harrison seemed a bit surprised. The water was always checked over. It was definitely an astute decision to go by the stream. The ripple of water may be able to block any noise that the apprentice might make. But the Rangers assessing the apprentices would definitely know that and check the stream thoroughly, blocking out the noise of the stream and trying to spot out any other noises that could be heard. Of course, they'd have to depend more on their eyes than their ears.
"They must've spotted him by now," Harrison said. Alun didn't seem all too sure about it though.
"Gotten used to not having Gilan around anymore?" Alun asked, although Gilan had graduated a few years ago now.
"Glad to be rid of that inquisitive boy," Halt said, although it was hardly true. He thought of Gilan as a great companion.
"Do you think you'll have another apprentice?" Harrison asked.
"Or is Gilan too perfect to replace?" Alun teased. He knew Halt did love Gilan. The young ranger was one of the few people Halt really accepted into his true emotions.
"Halt couldn't bear having another apprentice," Harrison pestered. "Could you Halt?"
"We'll see," Halt said quietly, neither of the other Rangers hearing him.
"Yes!" Alun cried happily. Noah had made it to the destination set undetected. Alun was obviously proud of his apprentice. Harrison looked, trying to see if his apprentice had made it to the camp. Frowning, he realized that his apprentice had been spotted only meters away from the destination. But his frown slowly turned into a grin. Conner had done very well. The other two boys hadn't made it near the little camp.
The assessment was over and Alun and Harrison went to congratulate their apprentices.
"Gilan could've done better," Halt mumbled to himself as he got up, walking back to his tent.
He'd been thinking about Will, one of the wards at Redmont. A couple years ago, he'd watched the boy steal pies from the castle kitchen at Redmont. Will had been caught and admitted that he'd stolen the pies. The boy had almost refused, and Halt had heaved an inward sigh of relief and almost grinned when Will had told the truth. Will had what it took to be a Ranger, just like the four boys who had just finished their assessment.
"Halt?"
Halt turned to see Gilan walking toward him and smiled at his former apprentice. It was always good to see Gilan again.
"Hello, Gilan," Halt greeted.
"Are you going to compete in the archery competition this year?" Gilan asked, although he already knew what his old master would reply.
"You know I don't do that Gilan," Halt answered.
"Alright," Gilan nodded, not surprised. "Bet on me this year."
Halt sighed. "You know I don't do that betting thing Gil-"
"I'm better than the other Rangers who compete, and you know that," Gilan was saying. "This one time Halt."
"Gil," Halt shook his head. "You know I don't-"
"I'll go win for you," Gilan told him smiling as he turned and waved, walking toward the archery range.
Halt sighed. Apprentices were something.
Alun walked over to the others with an arm around his apprentice's shoulder. He was smiling proudly.
Cheers came from all around and Alun's grin widened, his apprentice only turned redder.
"Here, here!"
Harrison smiled. "To Alun's apprentice, Noah, for a perfect score on the latest assessment!" he cried.
Alun was a popular figure in the Ranger corps. He was getting along in years, and Noah wasn't his first apprentice. Everyone knew Alun and were sure his apprentice deserved the perfect score.
It was normal for the other Rangers to cheer on the perfect scorers. Gilan, smiling and sitting by the large table, remembered when he had gotten a perfect score in the same exercise. The Rangers had cheered him just like they were cheering Noah.
"Gilan's going to have to be more careful if he wants to keep his reputation for the best Ranger at unseen – and unheard – movement," another Ranger joked.
"When he passes me," Gilan started. "I won't even see him coming!" The table burst into laughter.
Alun laughed with them. Noah stood smiling. It was a nice feeling to have the full fledged Rangers joke this way. It gave him a sense of acceptance. Noah was a quiet boy and hadn't been known for making friends quickly – or at all.
Crowley, the corps commandant walking over quickly.
"Has anyone seen Halt?" he asked.
Gilan was a bit confused. Crowley was a Ranger, he should've been able to spot Halt. And hadn't the old Ranger simply gone to his tent?
"Sorry," said Harrison. "I haven't seen him since the assessment." Everyone else agreed that they hadn't seen him.
"Something wrong?" Alun asked the commandant after everyone had gone back to talking.
"He's Halt, he'll be fine," Crowley answered, waving a hand, trying to dismiss any doubts that the other Ranger might have. "I thought I saw Abelard back there, so he didn't leave. I just wanted to speak with him and couldn't find him," Crowley finished.
"Well I'll tell you if I see him," Alun said, and Crowley nodded his thanks before walking away.
Gilan was jogging toward them, but Crowley was already walking away. The younger Ranger's gaze followed the commandant.
"Something wrong?" Gilan asked, unaware that Alun had asked the exact same thing just a minute ago.
"Do you have any idea where Halt might be?" Alun asked, but the other Ranger shook his head.
"I'm not sure," Gilan answered. "But this wouldn't be the first time he's gone off by himself."
"And it probably won't it be the last," Alun guessed.
Gilan shrugged. "You never can tell with Halt."
Halt was by the stream, trying to figure out just how Noah had hidden himself so well. All Halt had known was that the young apprentice had gone by the stream. The Rangers assessing had checked the water carefully and thoroughly. Noah must've hidden himself very well and for a long time before the Rangers had passed.
Halt followed the stream, trying to find any places where it might be easy to hide. There were hardly any. There were a few large stones and in one place there were some tall reeds, but those were all far from the destination set.
"Halt!" Crowley yelled from somewhere in the camp. Halt turned in the direction his friend's voice had come. He hesitated, looking back to the banks of the stream. Then he sighed and walked back into camp.
"There you are!" Crowley cried once he saw the graybeard approaching. "Where were you just now?" he asked curiously.
"The stream," Halt answered briefly, ending the subject.
"I was going to talk to you," Crowley began.
"You just did," Halt said. When Crowley didn't continue, Halt looked at his friend. "Something bothering you?" he asked.
"Trelleth, Alun's fief, seems to be having a couple problems with the wolfships again," Crowley finally continued. "Alun has Noah with him, but as you know, that's not always a good thing."
"The boy's a Ranger, he has to take care of himself," Halt said.
"Yes, I know that, but you've had an apprentice before," Crowley said. "You know Alun wouldn't leave Noah if trouble did start getting lucky."
"And?" Halt asked, an obvious gesture for his friend to continue.
"And, four Trelleth towns were hit in the past two weeks," Crowley finished.
Halt raised an eyebrow in the way that only he can. Four towns hit in two weeks? All in the same fief?
"How many wolfships?" Halt asked. They were Skandians, they were capable of hitting four towns in two weeks with only one wolfship, but that depended on the distance of the towns.
"We only know of one for now," Crowley answered. "Alun left here after he'd cleaned up the first two incidents. That's why he was a bit late. We only just found out about the other two."
"You want me to go," Halt said, reading his friend's mind.
"A day or two would help Alun a lot," Crowley said, confirming Halt's suspicion. "And as you said yesterday, not much is happening at Redmont. Although I do know it's a big fief."
"I'll go," Halt told his friend. "But there's something else going on." The saying went, "one riot, one Ranger" but Crowley was cramming two Rangers and an apprentice all in one fief for the same problems.
"Alun's brother died in one of the raids," Crowley answered. "I'll let him tell you more about that. From what I gather, they were pretty close." Halt nodded before Crowley continued. "The Baron of Trelleth fief is acting up for some reason as well. I think it would be best if you and Alun split up the work between the two of you and headed out soon. I get the feeling those Skandian ships are still around and that the Baron isn't about to change his attitude."
"Right," Halt replied, nodding thoughtfully.
"Have fun!" Crowley smiled, whacking his friend on the back. Halt glared at him and the commandant walked away, the smile still on his face.
Author's note- Please let me know what you think!