Adjusting

Gilan/Halt

Living with Halt wasn't nearly as good as he thought it might be. He expected to work hard, but he expected at least one day a week to relax. Sadly Halt didn't seem to feel the same way. He hadn't practiced with his sword at all. It had been two weeks, they sat on the veranda, and Gilan turned to Halt.

"I'd like to be a Ranger Halt."

"Would you? Imagine that…" He nodded. "We both thought you might. Your Father already approved, we'll have to make things official. You'll need the right weapons, and the proper attire, and we'll have to see you get your own horse."

Gilan grinned. "Is there anyway I could keep my sword, Sir. I just think after training I've already done it would be a shame to waste it. Maybe one day it could be useful."

He watched the older man thinking it over. "I would have your word that you would continue only to practice after we've finished what I feel is an acceptable amount of training as a Ranger?"

"Yes Sir." he replied promptly.

"Even if you had to practice late into the night? Or wake up early to do so? You would keep practicing and try your best to balance both?"

"Of course."

"Well, it's unorthodox but I'll see what I can do. But remember, should I ever see you perform poorly, you'd have to stop."

"I understand. Thank you." He held out his hand and Halt took it and they shook firmly.

"Don't thank me yet. You've got a lot of hard work ahead of you."

"If it's too much I could always give up some of my chores."

Halt raised an eyebrow. "Oh I don't think that will be necessary."

Gilan grinned. "It was worth a try at least. You wouldn't want me to leave anyway. I think you'd get lonely."

The corners of his mouth twitched, Gilan had expected if he would of let it, a smile would of appeared on the grim Ranger's face. Instead he rolled his eyes and shook his head. "That is sadly why you are an apprentice, your not ready to think."

The smile didn't fade from his face. "If you say so Halt. I think I'd like to go inside. It's getting a little chilly. You should probably think about coming inside too, an old man like you could get sick out here."

"An old man like me..?" He asked. "Is that so?" He stood up and took a few paces to Gilan who had moved to stand in the doorway. He leaned against it and grinned at Halt.

"I tell my Dad he's old all the time, your older than him aren't you?"

"What a brilliant observation. I'm sure if you keep it up you won't be too horrible of a Ranger."

At that thinking it was a compliment Gilan straightened up, but he was still standing in the doorway. As he learned earlier the doorway's in Halt's cabin were a little lower than the ones at the castle and he hit his head again and cursed loudly.

Halt took a few more steps toward him, this time Gilan was sure he saw a smile on his face. He looked the boy over, in mock concern. "Is something the matter?"

"No. I'm just a little taller than you are." He grumbled. "Eventually I'll stop hitting my head on the door frame."

"Ah. I suppose you'll have to be more careful." He replied.

"So what should we do first with my Ranger training Halt?" Gilan asked, moving inside the cabin while grinning ear to ear. "You're still going to have to teach me to sneak around. Maybe you could teach me to shoot? I'm decent with a bow."

Halt raised an eyebrow. "Actually I believe if we're going to eat tomorrow we need some more firewood. So it would seem that would be the first thing you need to do as my apprentice."

The simple chores Halt had given to him when they arrived back in his cabin didn't faze him or dampen his spirits. After all, he had offered to teach him how to move around unseen and un heard. He was happy to do something in return, and he knew his Father would have insisted he remember his manners around his old friend. But that mentality only lasted the first day. It wasn't fair after all Halt gave him everything to do, then he'd say he needed to check on something, or talk to the baron and of course Gilan couldn't come with him on his Ranger business so he'd be stuck with cleaning, scrubbing, sweeping, dusting and chopping. But this he reasoned was going too far, he'd just agreed to take him as an apprentice. He could be allowed to do those things with him, or at least something equally less boring.

"Halt, why don't you teach me something? Anything! I'd like to know something.."

"Of course I'll teach you something. You have plenty of time for me to teach you things. But surely when you asked me to teach you how to move silently you didn't expect I'd do everything myself while you lounged around my cabin."

"But you haven't done anything!" he covered his mouth with a hand the second hit escaped from his mouth.

"Despite what you think, I need to keep up with my reports first, then I would have cleaned my cabin myself. But as you're here asking for me to teach you things it took as sort of a third thing I needed to worry about. Surely if you want me to teach you things you can do something for me. Why wouldn't I make you earn your keep?"

"I know, I'm sorry I spoke so rudely to you."

Gilan still feeling a little embarrassed by his outburst shifted uncomfortable. Until Halt nodded. "Do you know how to cook?"

"No Sir….Halt." He corrected himself. His face twitched, like he was going to smile, but he thought better of it.

"Maybe we can start there tomorrow then." Then in one swift motion Gilan moved to embrace him. Halt stepped back and looked him over unsurely. "What are you up to?"

Gilan shook his head profusely and grinned at him. "Oh nothing Halt. Nothing at all. I keep forgetting your not used to people. But, why is cooking important Ranger training?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Well, you do need to eat eventually don't you?"

"But I could always go to an inn, or the castle, right?" He added it as an afterthought seeing how Halt had given him one of the odd looks he liked to before he was going to say something to make him sound like an idiot.

"Rangers serve the King." Halt started, and he waited for Gilan to nod before continuing. "if you went to the castle for every meal, you'd get familiar with the people there, and the Baron. You'd lose your independence from them, as well as their respect."

"Oh. I understand. So, to keep my independence and be a good Ranger, like you are. I'll have to suffer through many heavily burnt meals?"

"I'd think not, if you have the ability of learning anything. After all, we do tend to teach our apprentices to cook." Then he moved to the kitchen to make coffee. Gilan followed him, assuming if he'd just been talking about it, he might as well start now. However Halt gave him no opportunity to ask any questions as he prepared the coffee. Even as he waited for it to warm on the stove, he said nothing to the boy and made no eye contact.

Gilan yawned loudly and stretched. Halt looked up, and over at him, blinking because of the overly large grin on his face. "You don't talk to people much do you?"

"I suppose not. Or, it may be that you in fact, talk too much and that is what seems to be making you so incredibly bored."

"I am not….It's…There's a lot we could talk about. Isn't there? I don't know anything about Rangers." He replied quickly.

"How unfortunate, for me." Halt replied.

"What will you teach me?" He asked immediately.

"Everything you need to know about being a Ranger."

"Like…how you knew I was there?"

"You made so much noise it would have been hard not to notice you were there." Gilan smiled and Halt continued. "Even when you saw me in those bushes, and up in the trees. I knew you were looking for me prancing through shrubbery and breaking branches carelessly."

"I did not!"

"It certainly sounded like you did. Stomping around on everything. I have a lot of work ahead of me."

"So we should start early tomorrow!" Gilan cheered.

"We could start now if your in no hurry to go to bed." He noticed the wide grin on the boys face. "We can start by seeing if you have any skills with maps."

"Maps?" He repeated in disbelief.

"Are you unfamiliar with the term?" Halt raised an eyebrow. "It's a large sheet of parchment, has an area of land plotted on it…."

Gilan scoffed. "I know what a map is Halt. I just don't understand how it's important to Rangers."

"Ah? I suppose they aren't the most important thing to Ranger's all the time. But when we need to find a strategic way to get your Baron's men across a landscape to help the King against Morgarath it might be just a little important you know north from south, and where mountains are."

"So, you want to make sure I can read them? It's not very hard…"

"You'll read them, draw them, familiarize yourself with this area. You'll need to know where is best to camp, you'll learn where bandits are more likely to be and where they'll try and hide. Then you'll learn strategy, really you'll use them often. So try and sound like you care."

Gilan hovered over Halt as he poured his coffee and seemed to eye him unsurely. "Did you want a cup? You should remember where they are."

The boy smiled at him, again. "No, it is kind of late for it isn't it?" He followed Halt back to the table. Making sure to stay no further than a few steps behind him. Then when Halt sat down and tried to busy himself with his paperwork, Gilan sat next to him and watched him intently. Halt said nothing, the only reaction he'd had from the older man was him scooting his own chair further away from Gilan.

"Do you need to check my penmanship too?" he asked suddenly.

Halt frowned. "Can you at least spell your name?"

"Of course I can. What kind of question is that?"

"The kind you'd ask." Halt replied evenly.

Gilan let his head rest in his arms, on the table top, then Halt, deciding he'd been silent for too long started again. "I know all you've ever see your Ranger do is sneak around the castle and shoot arrows from time to time, but we do a lot more than that boy." Gilan looked over at him and scooted closer. instinctively Halt moved away. "Why do you feel the need to keep doing that?"

Gilan shrugged. "Just incase your going to show me something."

"What would I show you, that would need you to be practically on top of me?"

Gilan blinked, then did his best to hold back a laugh. "I'm only moving in to about an arm's length." To prove his point the held out his arm as straight as he could. "Your just not used to people."

Halt grunted and scratched his beard. "The important thing to remember is we're the King's intelligence. The eyes and ears of the kingdom. So being unseen is important, it is a talent you seem to have. We'll just nee to perfect it. I think tomorrow morning instead of the maps we'll start tracking."

"What about shooting?" Gilan asked.

"Once I know you have enough reason in your head we'll move on to that. If you'd like you can practice your sword before breakfast, but after chores. Until I hear back from our Corps Commandant it's fine as long as your chores are done."

Gilan grinned. "Thanks Halt. What about testing my map skills?"

He raised an eyebrow. "If I give you something to do will you be able to wake up tomorrow morning?"

Gilan tried his best to hold back a laugh but it failed. Halt shook his head and sighed. "I suppose that answered my question. So you'll wake up tomorrow when you should, or you'll find a extremely cold bucket of water waiting for you in the morning."

"I don't think they're that tough in Battle School Halt." He replied.

"I think someone mislead you. If you want to be my apprentice you'll have to learn, and your first lesson is to stop thinking. Your not ready for that big of a step. You might hurt yourself."

He scoffed. "Fine. Have it your way. I'll write a letter to my Father letting him know your stuck with me for awhile then I'll go to bed, and wake up like you'd like me to. Just before the sun comes up."

"I thought you wanted to show me your fine without us going through training with maps" Halt replied firmly. He took one from his paperwork and spread it across the table and rubbed his hands together. "So, where's North?"

Gilan paused and looked over the map, then looked back to Halt to see if he was eyeing anything that may give the answer away. But he'd turned his attention to the fire, there was a sort of vacant expression there, maybe he was hoping for more coffee. Gilan scratched his head and yawned, very loudly. So loudly Halt turned to him and looked him over suspiciously.

"Are you tired? Or is the map reading much too boring for you?"

"Oh I am tired, you are a slave driver with all these chores Halt."

He scoffed. "Oh yes I've been so tedious, all I had you do today was chop some more wood, clean the dishes, the chimney and sweep the floor which took you what? Three hours?"

Gilan smiled. "Fine, I'll admit it. I just don't want to do this map thing…"

"Ah, but you said they were easy."

"Well ones of the Fief were easy but It's of yours…"

"Ah. What a surprisingly bright observation, except it's not. It's actually Whitby Fief. While it is close, it's isn't quite ours." Halt said nicely. Gilan smiled at the recognition of Redmont being theirs. "It's important and making sure we're familiar with it and it's geography helps us keep up with our own. Because of…?"

He glanced at Gilan who smiled lightly. "Strategy? We need to keep track of everything, and keep that Ranger informed so if they see something we know what to expect and whatnot?"

"So, now that you know what your looking at where would North be?"

Gilan sighed and started to think things through. Halt hadn't given him a map on their fief which would have been the logical and obvious choice. He sighed deeply and tapped to the bottom of the map. He looked at Halt, who made no eye contact with him.

"Why is that North?"

Gilan looked at the map more time then shook his head. "I have no idea, I just figured you seem like the type who'd lay out a map upside down, especially if you weren't going to show me a map of the fief we're in first."

"Ah?" Halt replied. "Well, good method of deduction there, but I always put my maps on the table North side pointing North. So, if you know where North is, you'll be able to find it."

Gilan paused. He didn't want to admit he didn't know which way was north. But he also didn't want to sound like an idiot. So again he yawned, this time it wasn't so obviously because he was uncomfortable and Halt nodded in understanding.

"Good try tonight. You can head to bed if your tired, you need to be plenty awake for tracking. It's not nearly as exciting as maps."

"My Father hunts all the time Halt. I think I can handle tracking." Gilan replied with a grin. He started walking toward his room. There was something that would help him find out which way was North there..

"We'll see how you do, don't expect too much from yourself. Your not going to be thinking like a Knight after all, you'll be learning to think like a Ranger."

"Goodnight Halt." He called from his room. He'd just kept the door open a crack while he looked around for the north seeker. He grinned at his cleverness and changed into bed clothes before holding it up. A triumphant yell came from the boys room, then he glanced out his door and came face to face with his new Master.

"What?"

He grinned. "I was right, wasn't I? You just didn't want to say it. You said you put the map on the table with north facing the cabin's north so south was at the top of the table and north was where I pointed, the part closest to us."

"You weren't nearly that excited earlier." He nodded in the direction of the north seeker. "You don't know where you are then do you? Poor directionally impaired Ranger Gilan, losing the king's troops…"

Gilan crosses his arms and looked the older man over. "Well not if you teach me."

"And I am teaching you. Now you'll know where North is won't you?"

"I doubt I'll ever forget." Gilan replied.

"I didn't say you were wrong after all did I? You just assumed you were. Now go to bed, so I can finally have some piece and quiet."

This I'd actually kind of planned to have with that other one shot I posted. But it didn't make too much sense after I'd started. I mean he did stay with Halt for awhile and I'd have to make up for that time before he said he wanted to be a Ranger and then I might as well have made it into a story itself. XD Which I probably could of, but like I said before the Will and Halt is so much easier to write because I know how to write their bickering. I've kind of made Gilan's character as a sort of hybrid Horace and Will. I have a lot to work with doing it that way, and it seems like it should be pretty in character for him after all he was the Knight that became a Ranger. I also think he'd be the type to play up on the fact he should know a lot about everything he could learn from his Father. That I chose to do because well, Halt is more attached to Will and I think that's the biggest difference I can see in their relationship. Gilan had a Father so Halt wouldn't exactly be the most influential of people in his life. Will on the other hand had no one, so he would of wanted Halt to be everything to him, he knew there wouldn't be anyone else to fill that role. So Will the whole time was looking for a Father and a friend and a teacher in Halt, where as Gilan was only looking for a teacher and a friend.

So now I started a little bit of writing with the tree of them. Right now it's only just one, one shot but after that who knows. It was kind of fun.