It was a chilly, autumn day, and as the wind blew through the trees, it seemed to blow through Will himself. He shivered and pulled his cloak tighter around his small frame.

Halt had given him a rare bit of free time, and he decided to spend it in the forest, where he felt his best.

He eyed a large oak tree, sizing it up. It had plenty of good hand- and footholds, and even some cozy-looking crooks in the branches. He rubbed his hands together, preparing himself for his climb.

As he grabbed the tree and climbed, his hood fell back of his head. He grunted slightly with exertion before hoisting himself up even higher.

He paused for a moment when he spotted a good resting point, about fifteen metres in the air. He sat in the corner of two branches and nestled himself in his cloak, sitting in a cozy bundle.

He awoke what seemed, to him, only moments later. The only reason he knew he had dozed off was his nodding head. He jerked his head up and gasped slightly. He rubbed the sleep out of his eyes and vowed that he would climb even higher.

Will was having so much fun, he didn't even realize that it was almost time for supper. He looked to the west and saw that the sun had long ago passed its zenith and was ever-approaching the horizon. Halt's cabin was really tiny from Will's point of view. In fact, Will could cover the cabin with his thumb if he closed one eye. The thought amused Will. Halt would be expecting him soon.

And, sure enough, as soon as Will had the thought, Halt stuck his head out the door and called for him.

"Will? Will?" His calls echoed through the forest.

You wouldn't know it, though Will wryly, but Halt could be pretty loud when he wanted to. He looked down at the tree, searching for footholds to take him to the ground. He saw, a few metres below, the place where he had rested earlier.

"It's time for supper," Halt said.

"I'm coming." Will frowned. If he didn't climb down soon, he'd be late to dinner. Which meant extra chores. It was only the third week of his apprenticeship, but he had learned quickly that apprentices did chores. If apprentices needed punishment, they did morechores.

He used his foot to search for a way down. He toed each branch carefully, looking for one that could safely hold his weight. His heart started to pound as his search turned up empty handed-well, empty footed.

"Just what do you think you're doing?"

Will jumped, grabbling at the tree. In his shock, he had momentarily loosened his grip. Panicking, he now scrabbled with all his might. Once his hands were safely wrapped around the tough bark of the tree, he looked down at Halt. He hadn't heard him coming; he was going to have to get used to Halt sneaking up on him. That, or he'd have to learn to sense Halt's arrival.

"Well, um…" he said, stalling for time. "I'm…inspecting this tree!" He grabbed the first idea that came into his head and went with it. "Yeah! I'm inspecting it…for…for pests. Exactly. Baron Arald said they're quite common in maple trees."

"Will?"

"Yes?"

"That's an oak tree."

"…Did you say 'oak'? Ah, yes, that's what I meant! Isn't that what I said? Oak? These pests are very common in oak trees."

"And just what do these pests look like?"

Will's eyes widened. He wasn't sure how much longer he could keep up this charade. "Well, Halt, it's funny you ask. Y'see, they're a greenish color, covered in brown specks. Yes, they are green and brown speckled creatures. I saw one once, on the way to the bathroom at the ward. Startled me, yes it did. But I just smushed it with my foot and then I went to the bathroom and…well, you get the picture."

"Will?"

"Yes?"

"Are you stuck?"

"…Yes," Will said, dejected. He sighed and pounded his head on the tree bark in front of him. He could hear Halt snickering below him.

"Well," Halt said, "I never would have guessed."

Will glared at him. Suddenly, his anger gave way to a wave of panic. "What am I gonna do, Halt?" he cried, near tears.

"There's a good foothold to your left," said Halt.

"Where?"

"About a half a metre down."

Will felt around with his foot and felt a cry of desperation work its way up his throat. He swallowed hard and said "S'no good, Halt. I can't find it-"

"You're going to have to let go with your left hand to reach it."

Slowly, cautiously, Will let go. He was only reassured when, what felt like ages later, his foot touched a solid branch.

"Okay, now work your way to the right. There's a giant branch that you can get to pretty easily."

Will felt his way until he came to rest on the large branch. He clung tightly to the main trunk of the tree, not wanting to fall.

"You're not going to fall," said Halt impatiently.

"Says you," retorted Will. "This one time, Horace and I were climbing this tree-well, really I was climbing it, he was chasing me-anyhow, we were climbing and he couldn't get me because I was at the top with the really light branches-he can't get to those ones-and he was reaching for a branch and he slipped and- "

"Less talking, more climbing."

"Yes, Halt."

Halt continued to guide him down the tree until he neared the bottom. He was only a few metres away, and Halt was impatient for him to get down. He had dinner all ready cooked back home, and he really wanted to eat it. He turned away as he was sure Will could make it down the last couple of branches.

A worm of doubt nagged at Halt. He frowned and brushed it away, wanting to get back to the cabin. The boy had delayed him enough, after all. But as the doubt nagged more and more at him, he turned just in time to catch a falling Will.

Will screamed in fright before he even realized that he was safely in Halt's arms. He was not going to fall to his premature death.

"What was this I said about not falling?" Halt said ruefully to himself. "Leave it to you, Will, the only apprentice to fall out of a tree-"

Will suddenly burst into tears. "I'm sorry, Halt!" he cried, burrowing his head into Halt's chest.

"Woah, woah, bring the ship back to shore, here!" He set Will down on the grass and smoothed his cloak.

"What kind of Ranger can't even climb a tree? I'm a failure!"

"Will, you're not a failure," Halt reassured him.

"But I can't even climb a tree!"

"Yes, you can. Just because you made a mistake doesn't mean you're a total failure."

"Does that mean I can I still be a Ranger?"

"Not if you don't get inside and learn how to set a table properly."

And with that, Will scampered back inside and set the table perfectly.