A worried Halt 1-2

"Okay so tell me, why are you so happy?" asked Will.

Will and Halt were walking side by side on the dirt path that led into town. Will had finally forgiven Halt, but was curious why Halt was so happy. He was usually so grim, rarely ever smiled, and was annoyed by the smallest things.

Now, Halt was skipping.

"Oh, no reason." Halt told him.

Will raised an eyebrow at Halt. He had sort of acquired that expression over the years of being around Halt. Will looked over his former teacher, studying him. He noticed something different about his eyes. They were dilated.

"Halt! You were drinking this morning, weren't you?" asked Will.

Halt stopped his skipping and faced his former apprentice.

"Yes, I was. Is that a problem?" challenged Halt.

Will shrugged, and him and Halt started walking again. They walked in companionable silence, each deep in thought.

((Pay attention to this part here, it has an important role later on, well sort of))

Halt was deep in thought about Will growing up. When Will was an apprentice. He was so little, and had so much to learn. Will had played a major part in Halt's life. Halt had grown to think of the boy as his own son. Halt kind of missed the obnoxious little apprentice. He cared so much about the boy. Will was growing up, he no longer was an apprentice. He was a fully fledged ranger now, and he wore the silver oak leaf. Halt remembered the time he caught Will in master Chubbs' kitchen. He remembered when Will had first met Tug. When Will had first came to the cabin. When Will was captured by the skandians and was a slave. When Will had went into the desert, almost died of thirst, looking for Tug.

He would be lost without Will in his life.

((okay your good now lolz))

They reached the town and headed to Jenny's restaurant. They were greeted with Jenny's smiling face.

"Will! Great to see you, and you Halt." She nodded to both of them.

Halt did a clumsy bow.

Jenny led them to a table in the back of the room. She knew that the two of them liked to remain unnoticed at all times. Especially the bearded one. She then headed back to the kitchen.

Will studied the menu muttering to himself. Finally he nodded and set down the menu. Jenny returned.

"Just some coffee, and a side of honey." said Will.

"Same as him."said Halt, agreeing with Will.

Jenny nodded and went back into the kitchen.

"Okay, Will, we have a mission from headquarters. A serious one."said Halt, now serious with business.

Will looked up in surprise. He knew Halt had been hiding something.

"So, what is it?" asked Will.

At that moment Jenny returned with the coffee and honey. She set it down and smiled, then strode back into the kitchen. Halt picked up his spoon and put a few spoonfuls of honey into his coffee. He stirred it around a few times and then sipped it. He sighed with joy.

"I swear she makes the best coffee ever."mumbled Halt.

"The mission?" Will prompted Halt.

"Ahh...Yes. Well, Bandits. A group of bandits robbed a village not too far from here. Crowley wants us to take care of them. But by all means, be careful. These aren't ordinary bandits. One of these guys could kill about twenty people before you could blink. We've lost a few rangers to them before. These bandits call themselves the Reiotians." Halt told him.

Will stared in dismay. These Reiotians could kill him and Halt within a few seconds. He was worried now.

"Erh... How many are we talking here? 4 or 5?" asked Will.

"About thirty." Halt replied.