AN: I was working on another story, but it's ending up longer than expected, so I decided to write this little story instead. :) I will likely write more under this title later on, but each chapter will stand as a separate story, so it will always be marked as 'complete'. I hope you enjoy it. Please review after reading.
Will looked out of the window in his room. A fresh layer of snow covered the ground and glittered in the early morning sun. He grinned. It had been cold for days, but this was the first time they had gotten any proper snow. And he knew just how to celebrate that.
A little later Will and Halt went outside to start the day's lessons. While Will seemed energetic, Halt seemed his usual grumpy self and the snow didn't seem to cause any particular joy for him. It just was. Well, Will was determined to have a bit of fun today and he wanted to get Halt to participate in it, too, whether he wanted to or not. So he scooped up a large ball of snow, pressed it together, took aim, and threw it straight at Halt's head. Luckily for Halt – and perhaps also Will – Halt had his hood up so the snowball splashed harmlessly on it.
Halt turned towards Will with an angry frown. "Will! Stop messing around and focus on your training instead. We have work to do." Halt turned back around to continue his walk, but was soon hit with another snowball that splashed between his shoulder blades.
Halt whirled back around, now looking truly angry. "Will! Stop that!"
"Come on, Halt. It's the first proper snow we've had; let's have some fun," Will pleaded.
Halt scoffed and stalked off, shaking his head and mumbling something about apprentices.
Will looked after him, waiting to see if he would come back. As the minutes ticked by Will started to get a bit nervous. Surely he hadn't made Halt that mad? It was just a couple of snowballs. He wondered if he should go find Halt and apologise; he just wanted to have fun, not have Halt be mad at him. After another moment of indecision Will set off to look for Halt. He hadn't gone back into the cottage, but instead gone around it to the back. Will followed his tracks and rounded the first corner. He heard a small noise and started to turn towards it when he was hit squarely in the face with a snowball. He sputtered and lifted a hand to wipe the snow away from his eyes, but was quickly hit by another one.
Then his training took over and Will ducked and whirled back around the corner, just avoiding getting hit by another snowball. He finally got the snow out of his eyes. Halt had ambushed him! Oh, it was SO on!
Will quietly backed a bit further away and started planning his revenge as he scooped up snow and turned it into a ball. Then a snowball hit him in the back. Will spun around and threw his ball back at Halt, but he had quickly darted back around the other corner and the snowball sailed past harmlessly. Will quickly scooped up more snow as he ran towards the nearest group of trees. He wasn't foolish enough to follow Halt around the corner; he would surely ambush him again.
Will hid between the trees, crouching low. It was a waiting game now to see who poked their head out first. Will's eyes darted from one side of the cottage to the other, trying to spot a glimpse of Halt. Then a snowball hit him on the shoulder. He ducked and automatically threw a snowball in the same direction, but it went wide as he didn't aim properly and even though he quickly grabbed another Halt was already ducking behind a tree himself.
"You call yourself a Ranger? That was a poor throw, Will."
Will made a face. "I'll get you soon enough, Halt," Will called back. He quickly got his two remaining snowballs into each glove covered hand and as quietly as he could quickly ran to another copse of trees. Then Will looked back in the direction he had come from and grimaced. All Halt had to do to find his exact hiding spot was to look at the tracks. Even as he thought it he caught a glimpse of Halt throwing another snowball at him, but Will managed to duck away before it could hit him. Lord, Halt had good aim!
Well, time to change things around, Will thought to himself. He darted out of his hiding place and a snowball sailed just past him, but he kept running going from shelter to shelter and on the one occasion he got a proper look at Halt he returned a snowball though it didn't come close to hitting him. But it did come close enough to make Halt withdraw behind his tree and Will used that moment of distraction to make himself disappear from view.
When Halt again scanned for Will he was nowhere to be found. He had run back and forth enough to confuse his tracks and make him harder to track. Halt cracked a small smile. Will was making good use of his training, but Halt was still going to win this fight.
He stalked through the trees, snowball at the ready, until he felt the sudden impact of a snowball on his side. He spun around, while simultaneously sidestepping and scanning for Will. A second snowball hit him, this time on his shoulder, and Halt looked up to see Will shooting at him from a tree. He quickly ducked behind cover, then darted out and threw a ball at Will, before ducking back behind cover.
They kept going like that for a few rounds, then Will realised the mistake he had made; he was out of snow to make snowballs. Halt realised this too and stalked towards him with fresh balls on one arm and the other ready to throw.
"Um, mercy?" Will tried.
"None," Halt replied. Then he started throwing, taking care in his aim and pelting Will with snow. Will made himself as small as possible, but there was no escape and Halt had a limitless supply of snow.
"I surrender!" Will yelled. "You win."
Halt tch'ed and shook his head. "A Ranger never gives up, Will."
"How about a Ranger's Apprentice?" Will was shaking snow of himself and wondering if he could get down and away quickly enough if Halt refused to accept his surrender. Halt was currently out of snowballs, but it wouldn't take him long to make new ones …
Halt seemed to consider Will's word for a long moment, then nodded. "That might be. But only if the apprentice promises to focus on his training and take it seriously."
"I do," Will replied. "I mean it. I promise to focus on my training."
"And?" Halt prompted.
"And take it seriously," Will replied.
Halt nodded. "Very well. Your surrender is accepted. Now get down; we have things to do."
"Yes, Halt," Will replied and started the climb down.
Despite Halt's stern look at him Will couldn't help grinning when they walked over to their training ground; this had been even better than he had dared to dream of and he already a plenty of ideas for how he would tackle the next snow fight …
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A little later Sir Rodney rode into the clearing to talk to Halt. He opened his mouth in greeting, but no words came out. For some unfathomable reason both Rangers had splotches of snow in weird places on their cloaks. Almost as if … no. He mentally shook his head. Rangers didn't get into snow fights; they were far too serious for that.
Sir Rodney decided not to comment on it, nor the fact that Will seemed to be covered in splotches of snow still clinging to his cloak and instead greeted them both, then followed Halt into the cabin so they could talk. Some things you just didn't ask about.