Halt stayed in Will's room for awhile after their reconciliation, wanting to show with his actions, not just his words, that he truly was sorry.
At first they had talked, then they had sat comfortably in silence. Once Will had calmed down, it became apparent that he was exhausted by the trials of the day. His eyelids grew heavy, and soon enough, he was drifting off.
"Will?"
"Hm?" Will didn't open his eyes, floating somewhere in that empty world between wakefulness and sleep.
"I need to take a look at your leg…"
"Mm." Was the young man's reply, and though it wasn't technically a word, it didn't sound like he was opposed to Halt's suggestion.
Halt moved forward and pulled aside the blanket to inspect Will's leg. It looked about as bad as he'd assumed it would after Will's abuse of it earlier. He studied the red skin and swollen tissue and frowned a little. There were spots on Will's leg where he could see the prosthetic had rubbed the skin raw…
Pulling his eyes away from Will's leg, he cast his gaze around the room looking for the limb before spotting it on the floor by the wall. He stood quietly to retrieve it before sitting back down.
He examined it closely, running his fingers along the cup where Will's stump would rest - it was smooth, but still, he imaged raw wood against bare skin had to be uncomfortable, and he could foresee it causing problems for Will sooner rather than later.
Then he had an idea - a simple fix for a simple problem. But first, he needed to take care of Will's leg. He had managed to alleviate some of Will's mental anguish (even though he had also been the cause of it), now he had try to do the same for the physical pain as well.
Setting the limb down, he moved silently out of the room and into the kitchen. It didn't take long for him to gather together all the necessary ingredients he needed to make the analgesic mixture for Will's leg, and then he was back by Will's side.
Will didn't even wake when Halt placed his leg in the liquid, but he did let out a sigh when the pain relief started to take effect.
The master watched his student for a few minutes, and when he was satisfied that Will was resting well, he headed for his own bedroom - though he was not going there to sleep.
Against the wall of his bedroom stood a small cupboard. He kept things in there that were necessary for life's small repairs: thread, needles, leather, patches or cloth, spare buckles, buttons, and so on. Like all things in his life, Halt kept it in perfect order, so it took him only a minute to get everything he needed. With his small armful of supplies and a design in his mind, he headed back to Will.
o0o_o0o_o0o
Gilan had decided, after a brief deliberation with himself, to take his reports to Baron Arald while Halt was talking with Will…After all, there was precious little he could do for either of them at that point, save give them space and hope that things were better when he returned.
And so he'd set out on Blaze at a slower-than-normal pace, trying to give his friends the time they needed to mend their fractured bond.
…
That meeting ran a little long, Gilan thought as he looked up at the sky upon leaving Arald's tower. He noted that he'd been gone for about two hours, then felt a small twinge of anxiety in his gut as he thought about what could have transpired in his absence…
God, I hope nothing else has gone wrong, he thought, but whatever the case, it's probably time to head back.
And it had been then, as he was making his way back to the stable to retrieve his pony for the journey home, that he was stopped by two unexpected female voices: Lady Pauline and Alyss…both of whom were beaming as they trotted up to him.
"Gilan! Wait!" Alyss called as Gilan stopped in his tracks and waited for them.
"Thank God we caught you! We have a favor to ask…"
…
The ride home had seemed shorter than usual - probably because he had been too lost in thought to notice the passage of time…But soon the cabin came into view and Gilan was forced abruptly back into the present.
As he looked around, he noted hopefully that Halt wasn't on the porch - the old man's go-to spot when he was upset…but that didn't mean he couldn't be sulking inside the house somewhere.
With a sigh, Gilan hurriedly turned Blaze out and dropped off a few items in the barn before finally making his way into the house to check on his friends.
Again, he felt relief when he didn't find Halt in the living room. Perhaps he was still with Will…
Carefully, Gilan made his way to Will's room and opened the door, and he was immediately taken aback by what he saw —
Halt was sitting in his chair at a sleeping Will's bedside - and he was sewing.
Well…That's not what I was expecting, Gilan thought bemusedly as he stood quietly, watching his former mentor's rough hands moving methodically, making tiny, meticulous stitches to a piece of lamb's hide…
Though, he couldn't quite figure out what Halt was making.
"You can come in, Gilan, he's fast asleep."
The younger man made his way to Halt so he could peer down at what he was working on. But before he inquired about it, he had something else to ask.
"How is he?" he whispered "Did you talk to him? Is he still upset?"
Halt didn't look away from his task, but he sighed in exasperation.
"You're as bad as Will." Halt paused "He's doing better. I spoke with him."
When the old ranger failed to elaborate, Gilan decided he'd better let it go for the time being.
"What is that?"
"It's a kind of sock - for his stump." He dropped his needle and then turned the thing he held inside out for Gilan to examine.
The soft lamb's wool was now inside, while the skin faced outward. Gilan eyed it, a little impressed. Halt had made sure the stitches were on the outside, and there were no seams that could be felt by Will.
"That's amazing, Halt!"
"Well, I noticed his leg was rubbed raw in a few places by the wood. I didn't think about that before…This should also help keep him warm. I'll make him a few more if this one works well…"
"Has he seen it?"
"No. He's exhausted - passed out after we…talked. I'll give it to him when he wakes."
Gilan smiled down at his friend "He's going to appreciate it, Halt." and then he gasped like he'd just remembered something "Oh, and speaking of appreciation - come outside, I have something to show you before Will wakes up."
Halt looked curiously up at Gilan as he hesitantly set his project aside for the moment, then he rose to follow the other man.
"What's going on, Gilan?"
The younger man's reply was infuriatingly vague, but his cheerful demeanor kept Halt relaxed.
"You'll see!"
o0o_o0o_o0o
Will was feeling a bit annoyed. Who was prodding at him? Couldn't they tell he was asleep? It was really quite rude…What were they doing, anyway?
His eyebrows furrowed as his brain started to engage. He didn't want to wake up yet, he still felt tired…Maybe if he ignored them, they would go away soon and he could go back to sleep.
No such luck.
The unwanted contact continued until he could take it no more, then his eyes opened.
"Did I wake you?" Halt asked him, obviously the man was oblivious to how disruptive his actions were.
Will stared at him for a few seconds without blinking. Is he being thick on purpose just to annoy me?
"Uh…Yeah," he deadpanned. "What are you doing…"
His eyes had traveled down and spotted the odd cap that was covering his stump.
"What is that…"
Halt could hardly contain the proud look on his face as he gently pulled the thing off of Will's leg and handed it to his apprentice.
"It's a kind of sock, something to add a little extra padding and warmth for your leg. It should keep blistering and sores down to a minimum. I was just checking to see how it fit you when you woke up."
Will held the object in his hands and pinched the fur a bit to judge the cushion of the material. It was actually a good idea, and he was impressed with the fine stitches.
He looked up at Halt, and for some reason, he felt a little overwhelmed. It was a common sensation for him lately, it seemed. What is the matter with me?
"Did you come up with that?"
"Yes, I thought of it after I took care of your leg, then I threw a prototype together while you slept." He held up the sock and gave it a little wave. "Do you want to try it on? Tell me how it feels?"
Will nodded, and then Halt leaned down to tug the cap over his apprentice's leg.
And surprisingly, it was actually pretty comfortable. Halt placed his hand on the end of Will's leg and gave it a slight squeeze.
"How does that feel? Does it hurt?"
"No…It feels strange, maybe uncomfortable, but it doesn't hurt."
"Can we see how it feels with the leg on?"
"Yeah, here," Will reached out for the false limb Halt had picked up by the foot of the bed "I'll do it."
Halt handed him the leg and Will grasped it tightly before sliding his leg slowly into the cup…It felt tight, but it wasn't a bad feeling…He frowned in concentration then threw his legs over the side of the bed.
Will cast Halt a quick look and the man understood what the younger man wanted. A second later, he was by Will's side, helping him to stand.
The older man kept his eyes on Will's face while he tried to find his balance. He felt immense relief when Will didn't cry out in pain or stumble.
Will put a little more pressure on the leg and smiled, "Huh…It-it's great, Halt - thank you,"
Halt gave one of his rare smiles as he turned Will toward the living room, "You're welcome, Will…Now, let's go get some coffee…"
The young man's face lit up "You know, even with the sock, that might be your best idea of the day."
He received a mock-derisive snort from his friend as the smiling pair hobbled out of the room together.
o0o_o0o_o0o
The coffee had done wonders for Will, both for his mood and his energy levels. And for the first time in a long time, he felt truly optimistic.
"Can I train some today?"
Halt sipped his coffee and gave Gilan a thoughtful look - like maybe they knew something Will didn't and were toying with him…
"What do you think Gilan? Do you think he's ready?"
Gilan did his best to appear serious as he gave Will an appraising look, then nodded his head to Halt.
"Aye, I think he can manage a little training…Doesn't cleaning tack count as training, Halt?"
Halt rubbed his chin a bit, "Hm…It does, Gilan. It does."
Will's face fell a bit. He didn't want to clean tack…he wanted to do something else - something with a bow, or Tug…Surely they knew that. Why would they torture him like this?
"I brought your saddle up to the porch, Will, you should come outside and get started. I'll even clean mine with you!" Gilan finished happily, but Will was hardly in the mood now.
"Let's just get it over with." he grumbled as Halt helped him out to the porch. Gilan following behind.
"Well," Halt began as they made their way through the door, "you've got your work cut out for you,"
Will stopped dead in his tracks, almost causing Halt to pull him over.
Standing in the yard, groomed beautifully and adorned with sparkling tack, stood Tug. And on his back sat a lovely new saddle.
Temporarily forgetting about his leg, Will tried to move forward on his own toward his pony, the muscular little creature was positively quivering with excitement and pride.
His fuzzy-yet-expressive face clearly showed his thoughts: Look, Will! Don't I look handsome!?
"Tug…" Will gawked, then turned to looked at his mentor. He was stunned "Halt…I…"
Halt just smiled at him.
"The saddle is a gift from Lady Pauline - and Alyss. It was just finished earlier today. Even I didn't know about it. But you can thank Gilan for how clean your beast is."
Will's eyes sparked as he finally managed to pull Halt over to his faithful pony. He didn't even realize when Halt let him go and he stood on his own beside the small horse.
"Tug hasn't been ridden in a while - I think he could use a little exercise. Just walking, and only around the yard, though, am I clear?"
Will looked around and saw that Halt was standing several feet away from him. He was standing on his own! And his cheeks were starting to hurt from smiling. Then his eyes locked with Halt's, and he nodded.
"Just around the yard…" he affirmed.
Halt walked over and knelt with his hands clasped together, ready to give Will a boost, "And just walking!"
Will nodded again as he put his left shin in Halt's hands and allowed himself to be pushed up onto his pony.
Gilan walked over and gave Will a huge smile.
"Is this the kind of training you were hoping for?"
Again, with his emotions overflowing, Will was only capable of nodding.
"Let's see how that fancy new saddle works, then. We'll be right here watching…Be safe."
Will smiled and nodded again, leaning down to slip his prosthetic foot into a special-looking stirrup. It felt strange, and he wondered if it would work…but then, just when he'd expected to hear the black voice whisper doubts in his ear, he heard Alyss's voice instead - reassuring him gently.
You'll get used to it, and soon it'll be second nature! You can do it.
Halt patted Tug's rump affectionately as Will gave him the cue to walk, then the rotund little pony started making his way carefully around the clearing.
Will's face had settled into an easy smile.
I can do this!
And for a brief moment, all was right with the world.
o0o_o0o_o0o
A/N: What do you guys think? Should I end it here? Keep it going? I'll leave it up to you to decide!
As always, thank you for reading!