Disclaimer: I do not own Ranger's Apprentice or any of its characters
It was dusk and the light from various fires cast a soft glow around the camp. Will and Halt were sitting around the fire next to their tents. Gilan was wandering around catching up with some old friends and making bursts of laughter explode from random parts of the camp. Crowley was walking around giving orders for the next day. There was one final year apprentice, one first year and two second years that needed to be examined. Finally, the two Rangers sat down next to Halt and Will.
"How was your day Crowley?" Halt asked as his companion seated himself comfortably.
"Tomorrow should be better. All that's really going on is training. Then the next two days should be rearranging things and making sure everything's okay. Not too many reports to go through this year. It was quite peaceful." Crowley smiled and took the cup of coffee Gilan handed him. "What are you planning to do these three days? All the Rangers arrived so you don't have to hunt anybody down. And I don't think I have anything planned for you until we judge the final years."
"Maybe I'll run around like a fool and try to sneak up on a poor defenseless man." Halt took a sip of his coffee.
"Halt, when it comes to you, you are anything but defenseless. I can't count how many times you caused men to die with that death stare you got." Gilan smiled and Crowley and Will started snorting with held back laughter. "Besides, aren't you supposed to be able to strangle a bear with your hands?" Gilan started laughing with Will and Crowley.
"I can strangle an apprentice, that's for sure." Halt took another sip of his drink.
"Problem is I'm no longer your apprentice." Gilan looked at Halt with a wide smile. Crowley and Will stopped laughing as Halt glared at them.
"Geese Halt, you really could kill with that glare you got," Crowley said. Halt was the only one not laughing.
"I really am wondering why I talk to you all." Halt finished his drink and crawled into his tent.
"Guess he's a little old if he's going to bed this early. The moon is just rising." Crowley smirked. He finished his coffee and leaned back against a rock.
"If you're a wise man, you'll leave in three seconds," A voice said from inside the tent. It sounded angry.
Crowley didn't even argue. He looked at the tent and jumped up. "I'll be seeing you then." He walked away with a quick stride. He looked back once to make sure Halt hadn't followed him.
Gilan and Will started laughing at the look Crowley shot back. After a while, they calmed down and stopped making jokes about Halt and his age. Mostly because the tent dweller was getting angry and threatening them with no coffee. They laid back and looked up at the stars.
Too soon, Gilan had to leave if he was to get up before noon the next day. Will laid by the dying fire waving and occasionally talking to Rangers as they made their way to their own tents. It felt good being surrounded by those just like you. Will looked up at the stars until he was sure everybody was asleep. He threw some braches in the fire and stood. It was time he tried to scare Halt.
He walked cautiously over to Halt's tent that was situated a meter away from his. He listened and calmed when he heard Halt's quiet slow breathing. He smiled. He crouched in front of the tent and grabbed two rocks. He struck them together to create a loud noise. He heard Halt's breathing change.
"You fool! If you keep stumbling like that, you'll wake the entire camp!" Will whispered in a deep voice. He answered himself in a coarser voice. "They're all old men with bows; we've robbed people with dogs for guards." Will turned towards the entrance flap and said in his first voice, "Let's move on."
Instead of moving away, Will lunged inside the tent and tried to tackle Halt. He was met by a fist to his nose. He felt as if a river was pouring out of his nose. He fell beside Halt on his back and moaned. Halt looked at him unsympathetically.
"Why are you pretending to be a robber and jumping in my tent?" Halt gave Will a rag to mop up the blood.
"Trying to scare you is all. I figured burglars jumping into your tent would scare you quite a bit." Will thought for a moment. "Maybe if I hadn't woken you it would have worked." Will looked at the rag and was surprised to see how much blood was on it. "Gilan's right, with hands like those you aren't really a defenseless old man." Will looked up at Halt.
"Get out of my tent." Will sat up and Halt shoved him out of the front of the tent.
Will landed on his hands and knees outside with a bloody rag and a still bleeding nose. He walked to his tent muttering all the way. When he got to his tent, Gilan was standing outside it.
"I see you failed." Gilan shook his head. "You shouldn't have woken him up. It might have worked then." He noticed Will's nose and smiled. "I'm guessing you didn't meet a defenseless old man in that tent."
"Shut it. Scaring Halt isn't easy. I'd like to see you try." Will got down on his knees and started into his tent.
"I will try and I will be the winner." He smirked. "Just wait until Crowley finds out what you tried to do." Gilan walked to his own tent and crawled in.
Gilan was working on his plan to scare Halt late into the night. As he said, 'Don't fall asleep until you have a plan for attack.'
Ideas are appreciated. Please review.
