(A/N): This one takes place when Gilan was still Halt's apprentice. :) I hope you like it!

Get Used To It

Gilan closely tailed behind Halt on his new horse, Blaze. It had been a month into his apprenticeship with Halt. He just barely got accustomed to the routine of a ranger. He also knew how to use all of the ranger weapons... partially. His best weapon was still his sword.

Gilan was excited, anyway. This was his first mission! He was eccentric. He was also nervous. He had no absolute idea on what was in store for him. Halt had said that all They were doing was tracking down a group of bandits...But to Gilan, that was a major deal. Even though he grew up with a battle master as a father, he still had no idea what it was like to be in any sort of fight. He trained with the sword since he was a little boy, but he still did not grasp what it was like in the heat of the moment. Halt knew these things, of coarse, which was why he chose the smallest mission that was in store for them.

"Halt?" Gilan asked. He waited for a few seconds. Satisfied that Halt wasn't content on answering, he pressured further. "Halt, may I ask you a question?" As soon as he said it, he knew what was coming.

"You just did," Halt of coarse answered back.

"I know..." Gilan began again, "I need to ask another one."

Halt nodded, ever so slightly. "Proceed."

"What are we doing again?"

Halt raised his eyebrow at his apprentices fool-hardy question, though unseen. Had he not been listening?

"There is a throng of bandits in these parts that have been causing quite a but of a hustle. Our job is to find them and get rid of them."

After explaining the mission, Gilan nodded. It seemed easy enough.

The two rangers rode for more and more minuets. The forest was bustling with activity and life regularly.

As the two rode on further, however, Blaze and Abelard began to tense up. Then they heard voices and human activity. Halt signified his horse into silent mode as Gilan did the same. Listening closely, Halt could tell that the voices were just about a few meters away. Listening even more closely, he could tell it was most likely a big group of people... possibly the bandits they had been searching for.

Halt decided to walk the rest of the way to the camp. The horses were close enough in case they needed a quick getaway, and they were going to be able to stay more hidden as themselves.

Halt beckoned Gilan closer and spoke. "The campsite seems greatly at ease, which means that they're confident. It will be pretty easy to distract them to destroy all their provisions. When all of their provisions are gone... They'll be forced to get more. When they're on the move, we will follow them and take them down from the inside out."

Gilan nodded as Halt spoke. He understood how provisions were important to a large group of people traveling together. They were mandatory.

Halt explained the plan more in depth while Gilan tried his best to follow along and plan it out in his head. Yes, it would be difficult, but it was not anything he couldn't handle. One mistake, however, can vary between life and death. He had to be very careful. Halt was confident he could follow through, though, so why couldn't he believe it himself?

Halt sleeked along the edge of the bandits camp site. So far, they have no sign of seeing him, and he doubted that they ever could. They made enough noise to cover a hole circus.

He looked up at the trees and saw that Gilan was successfully concealed. He nodded in approval, but not enough to be seen.

Moving from cover to cover, Halt worked his way to the center of the camp. He had to stop a few times to wait for a few bandits to pass by, but besides that, everything was pretty clear. The bandits were too interested in their arm wrestling battle.

After a few minuets, Halt finally made it to the pile of crates, guarded in the middle of the camp. He looked up to Where Gilan was concealed, and reflected his throwing knife in the light. As soon as it was out, it was back in again. Halt looked for a sign that Gilan saw the signal. There should have been fire in a dark lantern all set for use. The only thing that could go wrong is a problem with the branches... or Gilan's own ability.

Finally, Halt saw the small, yellow light between the leaves. Then, after just a few seconds, a fiery arrow was launched. The pile of crates was a pretty big target, so Gilan was able o hit it easily. When the arrow hit the wood, the bandits expectedly noticed it too late. The fire soon spread, and all of the provisions were up in flames. There was a huge bustle of noise, panicked noise. Among all of the commotion, Gilan and Halt were able to pick off a few men that were loners, so none of them could see them die. Halt knew they had to operate their plan fast, for they might figure out the trap. Halt gave away his cover, and Gilan stayed in the tree.

"Hey! Over here!" Yelled Halt. A few of the bandits saw him first, but the rest were still freaking out. It didn't take long, however, for all of them to stop dead in their tracks.

"Kings Ranger. In the name of the King, I demand that you drop your weapons."

There was silence. The bandits were not completely sure on what they should do. They have heard about the Rangers... but then yet again, they could easily outflank them also.

"What are you going to do about it, eh, puny man?" The, who Halt assumed, leader of the bandits stepped foreword. He held his sword at his side. Halt raised his eyebrow. "Have you not heard of the rangers ability?"

The group of bandits shifted their feet uncomfortably. They had heard of their ability, that's for sure...

But the leader only laughed. "Oh, yeah? Those are only myths! Right, boys? Am I right?" His group laughed, though still uncertainly. Halt was un phased.

"What if I told you I could wipe you out, not even wielding a weapon?" There was no answer. "Or maybe I could summon some knights here to take care of you instead?"

There was a few nervous whispers. The leader looked back at his band furiously.

"You can't believe him! He's bluffing!"

Halt smiled, and held his had in an arching motion. Some of the members of the band flinched, thinking he was doing magic. What really happened was Gilan being signaled to wield his bow some more. There was a little enough number of people in the group to just shoot of. They would take the leader captive.

Gilan aimed at one if the men just behind the leader. He shot the arrow without difficulty. The arrow hit it's target, causing another uproar. They didn't even try to move to get Halt. The leader, however, wasn't as stupid as he was given credit for. He looked back to where the arrow came from. Gilan, not expecting this action, was knocking another arrow.

The leader of the bandits saw this, and smiled. "This is no witchcraft! There's another one!" He pointed to the tree where Gilan was located.

Everybody looked to the tree. Gilan tried his best to stay hidden, but he already knew that he was caught. He looked at Halt. He shook his head. Gilan needed to stay up in the trees, at least for now. Otherwise... he would be dead meat.

The men worked to get Gilan out of the tree. They could not see him, but they knew he was there... at least they thought they did. The men climbed up the tree swiftly as Gilan did his best to keep still. He felt his heart in his throat, throbbing and heating up...

"Found him!!" Gilan was pulled down by his ankle. He was vastly thrown off the tree, being caught by a bandit before he hit the ground.

Halt sprung to action. As all of the attention was focused on Gilan, he was able to take down the nearest man with his saxe. Halt could see the men fighting furiously to keep Gilan on the ground, but the boy was too lively and springy to be. Halt shot at the men. When one went down, they realized that they were being ailed, and some of them went after Halt... including the leader. Halt calmly shot at the ones behind the approaching that were surrounding Gilan. He put his Bow away and took out both his knifes. Gilan got to his feet and began fighting with some bandits, and Halt did also. They were sloppy fighters, but there was much of them. It proved difficult of Gilan to fight so many men at once. He was being backed up to the tree... he had to act swiftly... Gilan deflected their blades desperately, but they were getting to be too much... he was loosing grip on his sword...

Halt killed the last of the men he was fighting and turned on the ones pursuing Gilan. He stabbed one and knocked out the other. Two more remaining, he took them on. Gilan was cowering at the base of the tree, being filled with adrenaline. He wanted to help Halt fight off the last of the bandits, but he just could not seem to move his limbs.

Halt used his throwing knife to kill one of the men, and he knocked out the other. He stood for a moment and scanned the territory to make sure no bandits were remaining. Being satisfied, Halt began to tie up the living men and simply piled up the dead. Gilan still sat at the base of the tree, stunned.

"These people aren't going to pile themselves, Gilan," called out Halt.

"Y-yeah..." replied Gilan.

"So? Get to it!"

"Yes, Halt..."

Gilan stood and began shuffling around a dead man.

"Halt... you saved my life." Gilan looked up, finally fully grasping the past situation.

Halt looked at his apprentice in slight surprise.

"Yes. And you should get used to it. Now pile up those bodies or I'll make you walk home."

Gilan stood for a moment and once again shuffled the man.

He felt happy, in a way...Halt just saved his life. His life had never been saved before, not even by his father. It was a nice feeling, that somebody had his back.

Gilan began to hear some of the tied up bandits moan, and looked up.

Halt looked down on them as they groaned and rolled his eyes.

The trip home was going to be a long one.