"Jesus, Ange!" Kit yelled, whirling around to face her friend. "What the hell are you doing here? You scared the shit out of me!"

"Some mouth on that apprentice of yours, Will."

"She does that when she's startled," Will said, stepping out into the open from the cover of the trees.

"I can't believe you're here!" Angelica squealed, hugging Kit hard.

"I know!" Kit said, grinning and returning Angelica's hug, then looked at her mentor who was shaking his head.

"To be a Ranger you need to be silent, Kit," he said.

"Sorry, Will," She mumbled, looking down at her feet. She was too preoccupied to notice the grin playing on her mentor's lips.

"So, how much further?" Angelica asked, looking up at Halt. Both Halt and Will looked at each other, smiling.

"She ask too many questions?' Will asked, smiling.

"She's almost as bad as you," Halt replied, completely straight-faced.

"There's no possible way she's as bad as Kit" Will said.

"I'm not that bad!" Kit protested. "Am I?"

Will smirked. "No, Kit. Of course not." Will turned to Halt. "We should get out of here, before Gilan catches us here."

"Did I hear my name?"

Kit looked to her left as a tall Ranger stepped out of the trees. "Who are the two chatterboxes?" he asked. "I wanna thank them. Made it a hell of a lot easier to find the two of you." The Ranger smirked.

Both mentors looked sternly at their apprentices, who in turn looked at the ground.

"Sorry," they both mumbled.

"It's alright, Kit. You'll make up for it when we get back."

"Great, more training," She mumbled, again missing the smile on her mentor's face.

"I'm assuming I'm making the coffee?" Angelica asked Halt, resigned.

"Absolutely not, Angelica. You'd think I'd let you burn the coffee again?"

"Wait a second…" Gilan said, trailing off. "Kit? Angelica? They're girls?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?" Angelica asked indignantly.

Gilan ignored her and looked to Halt and Will. "You two are both training girls? I didn't even know we were going to have girls join the Corps."

"Well…" Halt began. "I can't speak for Will, but Crowley asked me to train a girl as my apprentice. He thinks that for missions where it is necessary to send a Ranger undercover a girl might be that much more inconspicuous."

"Crowley asked me to do the same thing," Will said. "How is it that neither of us knew the other was training a girl too?"

"That, Will, is an excellent question," Halt said. "And I think it is one that Crowley needs to answer for us at some point during this Gathering."

"Agreed," Will said.

"How much further is this gathering?" Angelica asked, this time directing her question at will and Gilan.

They both exchanged glances. "Let me guess," Gilan said. "Halt won't tell you?"

"He hardly tells me anything!" She complained.

The two Rangers laughed. "Welcome to life with Halt," Will told her. "And the Gathering Grounds are only about another mile from here."

Angelica smiled. "Oh, good!" She said, getting back up on Raven, and patting her neck affectionately. She then turned towards her mentor. "Can we go now?"

The grizzled ranger rolled his eyes, but mounted his own horse and nodded. The others followed suit.

Kit dug her heels slightly into the side of her horse, Sparke, so he sped up until she was riding side by side with Angelica.

"Why didn't you tell me you were training as a Ranger?" Angelica asked.

"Why do you think?" Kit answered. "You're training too. Exactly how much free time have you had?"

"Valid point," Angelica conceded, smiling at her friend. Kit returned the smile.

"Who would've guessed, Halt," Will said, "that our apprentices would know each other?"

"Small world, isn't it, Will?"

"Sure is, Halt," Will agreed. Kit looked over her shoulder, back at the other three Rangers, riding side by side as she and Angelica were.

"How did Ange and I end up, leading Will?" She asked. "We're not the one's who know where we're going."

"You're apprentice makes a good point, Will," Gilan said, and the three Rangers sped up their horses so they were riding up next to us.

"So how good are these two?" Gilan asked.

"Well," Halt began. "Angelica would give you a run for your money in unseen movement, Gil."

Gilan raised an eyebrow. "Is that so?" He turned to look at Angelica. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we?"

Angelica smirked and Halt gave her one of his rare smiles.

"And Kit's an awfully good shot," Will said.

"She had better be," Halt told him. "With you as a teacher. Other wise it would mean I taught you nothing."

Kit looked at her mentor who was rolling his eyes.


It was about fifteen minutes before the Gathering Grounds came into view. Kit looked around, taking in the sight off all the other Rangers in their mottled green cloaks and the tents set up all across the massive clearing.

The smell of coffee seemed to be almost permanently mixed with the air and she breathed in deeply, inhaling the scent.

She looked over at Angelica who seemed to be trying not to gag. "What's wrong?" Kit asked her.

"Coffee," she mumbled.

"You don't like Coffee?" Kit asked, shocked.

"No."

"Halt? You're training an apprentice who doesn't like coffee?" Will asked.

"God, I'm surprised he hasn't kicked her out yet," Gilan said, laughing loudly.

"She's a work in progress," Angelica's mentor replied, shaking his head.

"You can't make me like coffee, it's disgusting," Angelica said, crinkling her nose.

Will laughed quietly. "You're the exact opposite of Kit then," he said. "She's nearly as addicted to the stuff as I am…and that's after only one year."

"I drank coffee before I became your apprentice, Will," Kit said, grinning.

"That explains so much," he said, shaking his head.

"Are you complaining?"

"You're going to drink all my coffee one of these days! Or I'll go broke having to by more, won't I, Katelyn?" Kit looked slightly surprised when he used her full name.

Halt shifted in his saddle as he heard her name spoken aloud. He looked at the ground, the only indication that the name had struck a chord.

"Oh…" Will mumbled. "Caitlyn was you're sister's name, wasn't it, Halt?"

Halt nodded solemnly. "Let's go back to calling her Kit."


They finally reached an open spot on the Gathering Ground and began setting up tents, or, rather, Kit and Angelica set up the tents while their mentors watched. "Now I understand what you meant when you said you forgot how much fun having an apprentice could be. I understand that fun now," Will said.

"Yeah, thanks for teaching that to him, Halt," Kit teased.

"It's a right of passage," Gilan told the apprentices. "Trust me, it was done to all of us when we were apprentices."

"Hey Will? Gilan?" Angelica asked. They both looked at her. "You two were Halt's apprentices, right?"

They both nodded. "Good," Angelica continued. "So…can I ask you something?"

Gilan smirked. "What do you want to know?" The look on their faces told Angelica that they could already tell where this was going.

"Well…did he ever make either of you spend the night in a tree?"

Both of them burst out laughing. "I think I spent more nights in a tree than in the cabin," Gilan said. "What'd you do that he kicked you out?"

"Well… remember how I said I didn't like coffee?"

Will smirked. He could already see where this was going. "Yes…"

"Well…once he had me try to make it…and I had no idea what I was doing… and I burned the coffee beans. I had to spend the next two nights up in a tree."

Gilan laughed. "Sounds like Halt. I'd get used to it if I were you. It'll probably happen a lot. He doesn't have the best sense of humor about some things. I found that out the hard way."

"Yes, but Gilan your sense of humor usually involved something being broken."

"So? You still didn't have to make me spend the night in the tree every time!" Gilan said, sounding a little bitter.

"It was tough love," Halt said, with another of his rare grins.

"Okay…it stinks to get stuck in a tree all night," Kit said. "But Will wouldn't give me coffee. For an entire week."

Gilan laughed. "God Will, you're cruel."

Will frowned at Kit. "You deserved it. Tell them what you did."

Halt and Gilan looked at Kit with interest and she instinctively shied away from their gaze. "Well…I uhh…kinda drank all the coffee and forgot to tell Will that we needed to buy more…" She scratched the back of her neck.

Gilan burst out laughing. "Now I understand. I would've done the same thing!"

"Thanks for the support there, Gil," Kit frowned.

"Sorry," Gilan shrugged. "Not my fault you drank all the Coffee." He smirked at her.

"I don't see what the big deal is. Spending a night in a tree is worse," Angelica said, shaking her head at Kit.

"Not when you're as dependant on the stuff as I am," Kit insisted. "I swear that week was the worst week I've ever had in my life. My headache wouldn't go away. It was starting to affect my archery."

"Is that what was wrong?" Will asked, laughing. "That's a little sad, Kit."

"I'd like to see you function for a week without the stuff, Will!" Kit insisted.

"Is that a challenge?" Gilan asked, smirking.

Kit grinned. "Yes. It is. Think you can make it a week without the stuff, Will?"

Will grinned. "You're on. Starting immediately after the gathering."

"Wimp," Gilan said, shaking his head, but smiling at Will.

Kit grinned. "My prediction is that you'll cave after a day."

"Careful Kit. You forget I control your coffee intake too."

Immediately Kit fell silent, looking down at her feet. "Sorry Will."

"That's what I thought," Will said, smirking at his apprentice. "Now come on, we should introduce you to your Commandant."

"We'll come with you," Halt said, motioning to himself and his apprentice. "Angelica needs to be introduced as well."

Will nodded and the four of them started walking off towards Crowley's tent. Her mentor couldn't help noticing that Kit seemed more subdued than usual. Halt noted the same thing about his own protégé.

"Crowley?" Will called as they approached a tent on the far end of the gathering ground.

Kit shifted nervously as another Ranger stepped out of the tent. "Halt! Will! Good to see the both of you!" He grasped forearms with the both of them. "And I assume these two are your apprentices?" He turned his attention to Kit and Angelica.

Will nodded. "Yes. This is Katelyn... though she prefers to go by Kit." Kit grinned sheepishly up at her commandant.

"And this," Halt said, motioning to his apprentice. "Is Angelica." Angelica smiled.

Crowley nodded at the both of them. "Well, girls, it's good to have you as additions to the Corps."

Both girls nodded nervously.

"Are they always this shy?" Crowley asked, looking at the girls' mentors.

"Never," Will said. "Not Kit anyway. This is unusual for her."

"Angelica too," Halt said. "But I assume once they're used to you and figure out that the Corps aren't as formal as they think they'll relax." Will nodded agreement.

Crowley smiled at the two girls who smiled back sheepishly, he then turned back to Will and Halt. "And I assume they will both be being assessed with the other first years?"

"Of course," Both Halt and Will replied, nodding.

Crowley clapped his hands together. "Excellent." He turned back to the girls. "Again, welcome to the Corps."

"Thank you," Both girls murmured.


Later Kit and Angelica sat against a tree, Kit with a mug of coffee in her hands, enjoying their one chance to catch up without having to worry about constant training that needed to be done.

"What do you like most so far about being a Ranger, Kit?" Angelica asked, and as Kit drew breath to answer she cut her off. "Besides the coffee."

Kit grinned, and thought for a second. "Getting out of dresses."

Angelica burst out laughing. "You're kidding, right?"

"No. I am most definetly not kidding. I always hated dresses and now I have an excuse not to wear them."

Angelica shook her head at her friend. "You're crazy, Kit."

"Oh, but you love me anyways," she smiled. Angelica rolled her eyes.

"What are the two girls doing here?" They heard a voice and both girls looked up to see another Ranger neither of them recognized talking to another Ranger and walking towards them.

"Dunno," His friend said. "What are you two doing here?"

"We're apprentices!" Angelica said indignantly.

"You can't be apprentices," the first Ranger said. "You're girls."

"Yes. Thank you for stating the obvious that we are girls, but we can be apprentices, and we are," Kit said, frowning at the two Rangers in front of her.

"Really?" The second Ranger said. "Who are your mentors?"

"We are," Halt said, as he and Will came up behind their two apprentices. The two other Rangers' eyes widened noticeably and Angelica smirked.

Will placed a protective hand on Kit's shoulder. "And we'd thank you to not make their apprenticship any harder for them than it already is, Ryan," He said, adressing the first Ranger.

"Can they really compete with any of us Rangers, Will?"

"Why don't they show you?" Halt suggested. "As I understand it there is an archery competition tommorow?" The other Rangers nodded. "Good. The both of them will compete. They will show you exactly what it is they are capable of."

Kit let out a small, nervous squeak that only Angelica seemed to notice.

Ryan smirked. "Agreed. We'll see what the girls can do." He and his friend turned to walk away.

"Will!" Kit said, jumping around and spinning in a circle so she was facing him. "I can't compete against full-fledged Rangers in an archery competition!"

"Kit. Kit calm down."

"Will! I can't-"

"Kit! Have you gotten anywhere saying you can't? If I thought you couldn't you wouldn't be my apprentice, okay? You. Will. Do. Fine."

"Okay," Kit mumbled. "But I'm still going to go practice." She grabbed her bow an quiver from where she had leaned it against the tree she had been sitting near and moved off towards the archery range with Angelica following close behind her.


Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. Kit released arrow after arrow at the targets.

"Kit, come on, haven't you had enough practice?"

"No."

"Will you at least talk to me while you're practicing?"

"Can't."

"Will you say more than one word?"

"No."

"Uggh! You know what? I give up! Goodbye!"

This time she didn't even get one word, just the constant Thwack. Thwack. Thwack. of Kit's arrows hitting the target.

She shook her head and rolled her eyes. Sadly, this didn't surprise her.


Whew...that chapter ended up being a whole lot longer than I thought...but hope you enjoyed it! Review?