I own no one but Wisper. Everyone else belongs to John Flanagan. :3
*Hi, Imma line break!*
Finally I'm done. I lay the rug into it's place and smooth out a couple corners.
I tap Gilan on the shoulder and he looks up from his paper. I manage to catch a glimpse of it before he puts it away.
Girl missing; black hair, green eyes, brown dress.
That's all I saw.
"So, you're done?" I nod. "Come on out then." He walks briskly outside, and I follow. I'm pretty tall for my age, nearly as tall as Gilan.
He drops a bundle onto the grass. "A Ranger's job is to gather information and take care of lawbreakers. Sometimes we bring the criminals in, sometimes if it's too important we just, take care of it. And sometimes, we need to fight. So we have our own style of weapons.
"Bows, because we try to keep our enemies at a distance. But sometimes we have to fight at close quarters, so it's a good idea to know how to do it. The saxe knife and the throwing knife are our other main weapons. In your second year you'll be issued you strikers." Each time Gilan said the name of a weapon, he help it up.
The bow is a strange s shape, curving around. I think it's called a recurve bow. The saxe is almost a short sword, and the throwing knife it short and balanced. There are also some arrows, and a quick count tells me that there are about 20 arrows.
"Go on, try out the bow." the Ranger said.
I grab the arm guards and slip them on. I'm not stupid after all. Then I take the bow and an arrow and look for a target. I see a hay bale and take aim, and fire. The arrow hisses off and hits the hay bale, near the center.
I look over a Gilan and see him nod. "Not bad for your first try. Not bad at all." I look back and something catches my eye. I look back and see a sword at Gilan's side. I gesture towards it questioningly. He hadn't mentioned that Rangers train in the sword.
"Oh, that. I'm the only Ranger to train in the sword. My father was Battlemaster David, so I started training with the sword at age 9. Then I became a Ranger and my mentor, Halt, thought that it would be a shame to let all that training go to waste." He explained.
My jaw dropped. He was Halt's apprentice? The Halt? How..? He saw my expression and nodded.
"Yes, I was Halt's apprentice. The Halt. Now, backstories aside, you need to practice. You have pretty good posture with the bow, so I obviously just need to get you to practice."
I can't wait. Gilan said we were going to get me a horse. A horse! Finally we arrive.
"Hullo Old Bob!" Gilan says.
And old man comes up, with an irrepressible twinkle in his eye. A twinkle of humor and joy. I already like him. I wave.
"Hullo Ranger Gilan! What can I do for ya today?" the man says, and I get the idea that he already knows.
"We need a horse for Miss Wisper here." Gilan says grinning.
"Right this way miss, 'n watch your step." He says, but I've already vaulted the fence. "Very athletic." Bob comments.
He shows me to a stable, and points out three horses. "Take a look, and see which one ya like. Or which one likes ya." He says, that twinkle in his eye brighter than before. I smile.
I let my gaze wander over the ponies. They're all short and slightly shaggy, and immensely cute. One is black and white, another tan, and another is black and brown.
My eyes stop on the black and brown.
His face is brown with some black splots and his body is black with huge brown splots. I wonder for a moment if he's black with brown splots or brown with black splots. It doesn't matter though. I know that he's the one.
I point to him and a word comes to mind. Acorn.
"So Acorn chose ya, did 'e?" I nod. "Good choice, good choice." Old Bob murmurs and I don't know whether he's talking to the horse or me. "Take 'er out 'n walk 'er around a bit." he said.
I unhook the lock for the stable and open the door. Acorn tries to make a break for it, but I'm ready and I block the entrance. I grab her bridle, gentle but firm. Then I lead her out. I wish I could praise the horse for cooperating, but I can't.
Gilan is waiting outside. "So, you like this one?" I nod enthusiastically.
"Quiet un, isn't she." Old Bob said.
"She can't talk Bob." Gilan said.
"Ahh, mute?"
"Mute, not dumb." Gilan says and I laugh.
"So, you wanna mount 'er?" Bob asks me, and I nod. I seem to be doing a lot of this so far. "Grab the saddle over there and saddle 'er up." Old Bob says, and he helps me. I catch on pretty quickly.
Just as I put my foot in the stirrups, Gilan snorts.
I look questioningly at them. They're obviously containing smiles. Too obviously. I stop.
I balance on one leg and write 'What?'
"Nothing." Gilan and Bob chorus.
'Oh, I think we both know that it's not nothing. I'm pretty sure there's something I need to know, and I'm not mounting 'till you tell me what.' I'm almost out of paper. I'll have to get more soon.
"Oh, she's a smart one!" Bob says, cackling.
I look very questioningly at the two men.
"Oh, fine, Ranger horses require a passcode to mount them." Gilan said.
Really? How dumb do they think I am? But they both look serious, so…
'What's Acorn's passcode?' I write.
"Acorn's passcode is *this is blocked, because Acron is my horse, not yours and you'll never ride him or know his passcode*."
I nod. I make my best *blocked* face, hoping that it will work. Acorn seems to nod. I hope this means I can ride her. I cautiously mount her and wait for a count of 5. Then I make the go motion with my feet. At least, I hope it's to go motion.
Acorn starts trotting, and I ease her into a gallop. We fly out of the pen, leaping over the fence like it's nothing. My long hair streams off into the wind. I'm breathless with admiration for my new horse. She's so fast!
We jump logs and streams, and I realize we're a long way from Old Bob's, so I turn Acorn back. She turns like nothing I ever could've imagined.
When we're back I try to make Acorn stop, and she goes from a full on gallop to a dead stop. I have a really sloppy grin plastered all over my face.
"Well, Acorn sure has a bit of speed." Gilan says.
*Hi, Imma line break*
So, what do you think of chapter two? If you review my stories, I'll review yours! When I have time at least...
