Thanks you so much for the reviews! You all are awesomesauce :).
I'll say now that full credit for the "Halt having a monkey" idea in this chapter goes to Shadow Cyrse! No flames about monkeys most likely not being indigenous to that area, I don't really care. But anyone curious yet? ^_^
Enjoy!
Chapter Two: Attack of the Monkey-Goblins
Perhaps Gilan should have been more clear on the concept of inviting all the Rangers into his and Halt's prank war. This because his mentor was as completely unassuming as a Ranger could be when he and his apprentice traveled to the Gathering two days later. So, when something soft, black-and-white, and almost as loud as the rooster dropped from the trees and onto Halt's head, the Ranger might have screamed, had he been the screaming type. Halt stuck with swearing as he fell off his horse.
Gilan hooted with laughter, and there was suddenly no doubt in his mentor's mind who had "hired" the monkey. Halt managed to pull the animal off of his face momentarily.
"I thought we were on the same team!" Halt shouted from under the monkey's furry and exploratory body.
"There are no teams, Halt!" Gilan replied breathlessly from where he'd also fallen off of his horse. Blaze and Abelard, by the way, also looked highly amused. And it wasn't until the small monkey had pinned the old Ranger to the ground that Abelard finally came forward and grabbed the black fur-ball by the scruff of its neck and Halt was able to roll onto his back.
Gilan hoisted himself to his feet using Blaze to steady himself. Then he squinted at the Ranger on the ground, snickering as he imagined that his mentor had gained several more gray hairs from the ordeal. Gilan had to point it out, but all Halt had the energy to do was glare from his position on the ground.
"Halt?" Gilan asked, and it was either stupidity or an extreme wish to die that compelled him. But then, those were usually what caused Gilan's actions anyway.
"What?" Halt growled.
"I know a recipe for some very effective hair-dye."
Gilan hastily nudged Blaze into a fast gallop before Halt could pick himself up, ditch the monkey, and follow, though the murderous look was becoming all too familiar to the apprentice.
Halt gradually grew used to having the monkey on his shoulder as they continued, being distracted from his vow to kill Gilan as he fed the animal some bread.
"He's cute," Gilan commented, also having disregarded Halt's threats.
"Felix has his mother's face," Halt answered, and Gilan nearly choked on his soup.
"Felix?" he repeated incredulously. "You named it?" For some reason, Halt didn't strike him as the pet type.
"Him," Halt automatically corrected, then he tried to back track. "I mean, I can't get rid of him, so I need to refer to him somehow."
"Right." Gilan continued to stare.
Halt rolled his eyes. "Let's just get moving."
Gilan agreed, and he noticed how Halt was careful to help Felix to a position on the older Ranger's shoulders. The apprentice just shook his head, deciding to be content with the fact that he had made the well-respected Ranger go soft at a monkey.
Halt and Gilan trotted (well, their horses trotted) into the clearing where the Gathering was being held some time later.
"Hi, you two, we've been waiting!" Crowley tilted his head to his side in amusement as he studied Halt. "Why do you have a monkey?" The animal chattered from Halt's shoulder, and Crowley instinctively waved back.
Halt reached up to scratch the small thing between the ears. "Felix," was all he said.
Crowley immediately looked to Gilan, who shrugged but looked quite proud. Things were made slightly clearer.
"We want to run an idea by you, Crowley," Gilan said excitedly.
"Sure," Crowley spoke as Halt and Gilan slid from their horses and walked to where they would set up their tent.
"Two words: Prank. War."
"Prank war," Crowley repeated thoughtfully, and Gilan nodded. There was no doubt in his or Halt's mind that the commandant would agree: Crowley was known to love jokes almost as much as Gilan. "I like it," he finally said, starting to smile.
"Free for all," Halt put in. "Teams only with the members' consent." He shot a glare at Gilan, obviously betrayed, but the apprentice just shrugged. He'd never really said that he and Halt would be working together. Prank wars required going solo, brief alliances if any. Gilan took this seriously.
Crowley was thinking much along the same lines Halt had when Gilan had brought it to him. And, like Halt, he knew it would probably be the most amusing thing any Ranger had come up with since his idea to scare the heck out of apprentices on their graduation.
Crowley grinned. "I'll make the announcement."
Needless to say, everyone pounced on the challenge, small and even smaller groups immediately breaking out. Everyone put up their guard, Ranger training of clever and stealthy operations kicking in.
But first, Halt thought as he slipped away to meet with some of his own acquaintances, Felix content on his shoulder. There's a certain apprentice to be taken care of.
Gilan really should have started sleeping with one eye open, as Halt often suggested when the boy was being particularly annoying. That night was just another reason.
Gilan awoke to his shoulder being poked and his name being called eerily, "Giiii-llaaan..."
The boy's eyes fluttered open, and he came face-to-face with something that had long, shaggy hair, a large nose, and a green face.
With a shout Gilan instinctively tried to move back and tangled himself in his blankets. Eyes darting wildly around, Gilan caught sight of two more goblin-like creatures, and one quite tiny one with pointy ears and the sharpest teeth. Gilan was quite sure he whimpered.
The idea that Halt was pranking him didn't even cross the frightened apprentice's mind.
The last straw was when the smallest goblin-like thing opened its mouth and started to screech. Gilan screamed along with the monkey/creature from hell and curled into a tight ball, rocking back and forth to escape the horrific cries.
Halt and the other two Rangers slipped out of the tent, snickering and shaking hands at a job well done. Halt petted Felix on the head to get him to quiet down, the rare expression of a wide grin on the Ranger's face.
The next morning, Halt made his way to the large coffee pot over the fire available to all of the Rangers. If anyone had been watching closely, they would have noticed the slight bounce in the otherwise stoical Ranger's step, caused by the success of the previous night's prank on Gilan. Also, peeking out from under where the cloak fastened to Halt's collar, there was a small, furry head. Felix was a constant travel companion now, having done such amazing acting last night.
Fighting back a smirk and nearing the coffee, Halt's eyes narrowed slightly. A somewhat large group of first-year apprentices were hanging around the area. Some of them were handing out coffee, but the others were snickering nearby. Glancing around more, Halt noticed more than a few other Rangers with drinks hacking as though their life depended on it. He shrugged it off though: Rangers always took large swigs of their first cup, and it was probably just too hot. He took a sip of his own cup that had been handed to him, and immediately spit it out.
The taste was bitter, but not coffee-like bitter. Smacking his lips a few times, Halt dubbed it as salt. But why would salt be in the Corps morning coffee pot?
Eyes drawn to the now outright laughing first-years, Halt came to the conclusion along with about everyone else.
It was quite a good idea; the apprentices being only first-years, they weren't at all as addicted to coffee as the more senior members, and therefore had no problem going one morning without the bitter drink. They had obviously decided to see how the other Rangers would take it. (Halt, for one, was irritated, realizing he'd have to make his own cup because Gilan would no doubt refuse after his scare.)
The teens quickly realized their mentors did not take well to having their coffee tampered with. No one wanted to be in the line of fire when the Corps came to its senses.
The offending apprentices scattered. Half the Rangers were still gagging from the huge intake, some had disappeared to plot their next move, and still others were rounding up with the intention to hunt down the boys and give them a piece of their mind about the clearly off-limits coffee pot. Gradually, though, those who had sought to seek their revenge had an idea, and prepared to set it in motion.
Now, it was their turn.
Once again, thank you Shadow Cyrse, because I now love that monkey. Which is a Capuchin, by the way.
Now, someone has to win this thing, so you have four choices and the outcome will most likely (key phrase) be the majority:
A. No one is deemed the winner, therefore opening the option of a sequel or more chapters, this time involving Will
B. Gilan
C. Halt
D. The monkey (That is random. I really don't know how to make that work.)
Or Crowley or someone else, if you really want. Lemme know in a review!
-Dodo
