*Disclaimer: ya know, repeating it doesn't make it any truer than it was in the beginning :P

Another short chapter, lol!

Chapter 13

Leon looked incredulously at Will, "And why, oh wonderful Ranger, do you insist on trying to sneak up on your former mentor?"

"It's a test of skill." Will replied, slightly annoyed; Why does he always have to be so scathingly sarcastic? Will knew that he had asked a million questions a minute, but he hadn't been anything like Leon, whose sense of humor was dryer than a dessert at noon, with sarcasm, irony, satirical wit, and cynical observations more abundant than stars in the sky, grains of sand on the shore, and waves in the sea all rolled into one. Heaven help me refrain from strangling him while he's my apprentice. If Will had known what was to come, he would have spent more time trying to get to know and understand the boy he would come to miss in future years.

"Alright, alright; but I still think it would be a better idea to set up camp." Leon remarked, "Now, what's your plan?"

Halt sighed; Will was trying to surprise him again this year. That boy needs more things to do; boredom tends to result in foolish actions. He sighed; "Will, you can go on ahead and come out; I know you're there."

"Why do you always have to ruin my fun?" Will grumbled good-naturedly as he materialized from the shallow gully he'd been using for cover. The boy's getting good...

"And you can tell Gilan to come on out too." Grinning, Gilan emerged as well.

"You always know, Halt."

"And call your mischievous apprentices; wouldn't want them getting lost." Halt had just turned Abelard to continue along the trail towards the Gathering when he caught a blur of movement out of the corner of his eye. He jerked his head to the side and started to swing Abelard back around, but was too late. He swore as the braided leather wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides. With his knees, he turned his horse in the direction the attack had come from just in time to see a grulla mare walk out of the trees, watching Halt with a devil-may-care glint in her eyes.

"Hmm, I wonder if Blaze knows that trick..." Gilan mused, looking from the mare to the whip that encircled Halt's torso. Laughing, Kayle stepped out from behind a bush;

"We got you good, huh Halt." He said with a grin; Halt just glared daggers.

"'We'?" Halt then turned to his former apprentices; "So you distracted me and let your apprentices do your dirty work? How shameful."

"Actually, it was our idea; we ran into each other as we were headed to our respective positions." Leon corrected, his voice seeming for a moment to come from Shara.

"What the-" Halt began; then he realized what had happened. "Looks like your apprentices are better at strategy than you are." He commented as he watched Leon pull himself back into the saddle. "Good job." Will and Gilan exchanged looks of surprise; 'good job' from Halt was about as good as an award given by a baron.

"I still don't-" Will began, puzzled, but Halt cut him off;

"They let you two distract me; Kayle moved at just the right time, giving himself away while distracting me enough that I didn't spot Leon who was hanging on the off side of his mare, concealed from view. I noticed her, but thought that she had been left there while Leon creeped around; but once my back was turned, he pulled himself up high enough to let fly the whip that is now getting very annoying, seeing as it's restricting my movement." Taking the hint, Leon stepped forward and freed Halt from the confines of his cherished whip.

"You're very good, no one's ever figured it out so quick, if they figure it out. It's one of my favorite ambush tactics." Leon commented absentmindedly as he coiled the whip and placed it back in the special holder he had attached to the saddle.

"You planned it very well; it's an unnusual tactic. I hope you don't expect it to work twice." Halt said,

"On you, I'm surprised it even worked once." Leon said at the same time Will asked: "Was ambushing people something you did often?"

"When my father used me during his 'missions', yes." He replied shortly, annoyed that he had given Will such an easy openning.

"I can't wait till your apprentices graduate; I bet they'll get you every time." Halt said as he pointed Abelard towards the Gathering once more.

* * *

Leon sat back on his heels and studied his handiwork; I wonder where Will went... Rather more than bored, he hauled their gear into the newly set up tent, then started exploring.

"Are you as bored as I am?" Kayle queried as Leon wandered amongst the tents.

"If you're so bored that beating your head against a rock sounds fun, then yes." Leon responded dryly.

"Hey, would you mind showing me how you use that whip? It's really cool, as well as useful." Leon grinned; "No problem."

"That's neat; did Will teach you?" A small, black haired boy asked, watching Leon curiously. Word had gotten around that Will had an apprentice, as well as some of his feats: like how he managed to stay on Shara, as well as running all the way from Seacliff to Old Bob's and his and Kayle's successful ambush of Halt. The tales had been exaggerated in the retelling, of course; some of the younger ones were in awe. Others were jealous.

"No, I taught myself; I've shown Will a few tricks, but he hasn't much of a knack for it." Leon replied, "Here, you try now." He said, handing the whip to Kayle, who performed the trick without too much difficulty.

"What all can you do with that?" The boy asked in wonder, "By the way, my name is Alex."

"I'm Leon."

"Yeah, I know; have you known Kayle for very long?" At this, Leon looked at Alex in confusion; "You already knew my name?"

"Yeah; did you really stay on your horse when it tried to buck you off?"

"Will, come here." Crowley said, beckoning to him. Curious, Will and Gilan, whom he had been talking to, followed. "Have you seen what your apprentice is up to?" Will looked at him, worried, "No, not at exactly this moment." Crowley chuckled, then pointed towards the camping area.

"What's that he has in in hand?" Gilan wondered

"That would be a blacksnake whip." Will replied; "I knew he was good with one, and he tried to teach me a few things with it, but I've never seen him do anything like this." All three watched in silence as Leon flicked, tossed, twisted, and cracked his whip in a variety of ways; he even made it stand up, making it look quite like a snake.

"By the gods, the boy's good." Crowley commented; "If he can do anything half so good, then I don't think you have to worry about him passing inspection." Gilan nodded, but Will just shook his head;

"He's pretty good with most things, but the only thing I've seen him do that shows as must skill as that," He said, nodding in Leon's direction, where he was showing Alex how to crack the whip properly; "is his riding."

"So it's true then, those rumors? That he stayed on Shara, that wicked little mare that loves to buck?" Crowley asked.

"He did, though he was rather shaken. She threw him the very next morning though, when he wasn't expecting it."

"Still, it's quite something; makes me wonder what all he knows."

"Me too Crowley, me too."

"Ow!" A rusty haired boy exclaimed as the lash stung him, "You're holding the whip wrong; you hold it like-" Leon began, "I know how to hold the bloody whip!" The boy exclaimed; a third year apprentice whose name was Milo.

"Well then, hold it properly, not like it's a dagger!" Leon fumed back; "You'll hurt someone besides yourself if you're not careful!"

"I'll hurt you if you're not careful!" Milo threatened, raising the whip. He laughed; "You couldn't hurt a flea the way you're using it!" Angry, Milo flicked the lash out, but Leon used his forearm to block, letting the lash wind around his arm before he jerked it out of Milo's hands.

"You cocky little git!" Milo shouted, "You're not man enough to fight with your hands, are you?"

"Only a fool fights a fool." He replied coolly, taking a step back and crossing his arms.

"Oh, so you think I'm a fool, do you?!"

"No, just a misguided, incompetent, slow witted, beligerent dullard that's forgotten how to use his brain." His insult was so calmly stated that it took Milo a moment to process it. "And just so you know, I don't fight people that don't have a chance of beating me." At this, Milo laughed; he was older, a little taller, and good at fighting.

"You talk big, but you have nothing to back your words." Alex tugged on his sleeve; "Just leave Leon alone, you don't want to get in trouble; he's Will Treaty's apprentice."

"Oh, so you think I'd lose miserably? Thanks Alex, for standing up for me; but there's only one language his type understand." Leon's eyes glinted darkly, his tone laced with ice. For a moment, Milo almost backed down, but his ego got the better of him. So he thinks he's that good? I think he needs to be taken down a peg!

They watched in silence as the exchange of words was made; "Do you think Leon will actually fight?" Will nodded, "I don't think it's in him to back down, but he won't start it; he'll let Milo do that."

"You know, it may not be a good idea to let them have at it; one of them might get hurt."

"We'll intervene before that happens, but if we break things up now, they'll be butting heads and won't learn anything."

Milo swaggered toward Leon, who was still standing with his arms crossed. Feinting with his left, Milo swung a hard right for Leon's jaw. Only Leon was no longer there; he had slipped to the left, tripping Milo as he went. Hitting the ground hard, Milo started to get back to his feet, then lunged; Leon went back half a step, jerking his knee up into the taller boy's face. Crying out in pain, Milo caught himself with his hands and shook his head to clear it, sending drops of blood everywhere.

"This is your last warning: you can walk away now, with just a bloody nose, or you can pursue this foolhardy and reckless choice of yours." Angered by this, Milo started up, but then something his mentor had once said crossed his mind; Don't push something unless it's necessary, and if you're over-matched, backing down isn't cowardly; it's smart. With that thought in mind, he faced Leon; he'd been given an out, and he was going to take it. He wanted no part of this cool, calculating boy. "I guess I shouldn't have started something I couldn't finish." He said with a laugh, "I was frustrated that I couldn't get the whip to do what I wanted: you make it look so easy." Leon laughed with him; "A whip is a hard thing to master; it takes a lot more finesse than the average weapon."

"Could you show me how that went again?"

I know, rather anti-climatic, but I didn't think a Ranger's apprentice would be dumb enough to continue a fight that he wouldn't be able to win; he's a Ranger's apprentice after all. Actually, I just kinda threw that in there spur of the moment, but I think it turned out well.

What do you guys think of Kayle and Leon ambushing Halt?

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