A/N: Updating 2 days in a row!? Wow! Before this little bunching, I hadn't updated in months! Well, that's spring break for ya!
"Nothing better, is there?" Will climbed onto Tug.
"Nothing better." Halt smirked, "Except maybe coffee."
Abelard snorted angrily and started to prance about.
"I'm kidding, I'm kidding... Sheesh." Halt pulled the reigns snug and ended Abelard's tirade.
Not but five minutes into their journey, Will noticed Abelard give him a look, unbeknownst to Halt, that seemed to say Watch this.
Conforming to the horse's wishes, Will continued to watch. Abelard purposely skipped a beat in his walk and Halt's balance was disrupted, causing him to grab Abelard's mane to stay in the saddle.
"It was a joke!" Halt glared at the horse.
Will smirked.
The next few miles of the journey were relatively calm, and silent.
Will's eyes scanned the area, but his head remained motionless, pointing straight forwards. Halt noted with amusement that Will made a slight, almost indistinguishable movement every time he heard something other than the horses' hooves clopping against the ground.
"I think you've spent too much time with the horses." Halt commented.
"Why do you say that?"
"Your ears twitch."
"Oh."
Several hours passed without sustainable conversation on either side, and Halt couldn't bare it any longer.
"Aren't you in the least bit curious about what happened while I was gone?"
Will shrugged. "I already know."
"How could you know? You weren't there."
"Wasn't I?"
Halt hesitated, exasperatedly debating his answer. He was just beginning to speak when they trotted up to Castle Redmount. Soldiers at the gate nodded when they came up.
"Ranger Will Treaty, Ranger Halt, the Baron is expecting you." The soldier said, then stepped away from the entrance.
"Treaty?" Halt questioned.
"I needed a last name awhile back, so Baron Arald made up one." Will explained, "It stuck."
They walked into the Baron's office room.
"Good to see you're back, Halt." Baron Arald said, standing immediately.
"Good to be back." Halt nodded, shaking the Baron's hand.
"Missing your coffee, I suppose?" The Baron teased.
"You have no idea." Halt glanced over at Will. "The tea they have over there is truly awful."
Arald turned to Will. "What about you? Glad to have your master take back the work?"
"I'm definitely glad to have him back," Will said, "Thought I fear there is plenty enough work for the both of us."
The Baron laughed, patting Halt on the back. Will thought he might have seen Halt flinch away from the contact, but dismissed it as his eyes playing tricks.
"True enough." The Baron agreed, "I suppose Gilan is waiting for you back at the cabin."
Will nodded.
"He is?" Halt turned to Will. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"He wanted to test you." Will said, "But I suppose that idea is blown now. However..."
It was at that point that Halt and Will's thoughts converged, and a plan developed. The Baron watched amusedly for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'll leave you two to your plotting. You can let yourselves out."
After a few minutes, Halt and Will started back to the cabin.
"So what did you come up with?" Halt asked. Will explained his plan.
"What about you?"
They had come up with similar plans, as it happened, with only a few minor differences. Halt had purposely put flaws in his plan to test his apprentice, and will did not disappoint. He instantly pointed out everyone of them. After a bit they agreed on a plan and rode on in silence.
"I was testing you earlier, you know."
"I know." Will answered. "I was testing myself as well."
"And how would that be?"
"I was trying to guess what your plan would be, and where you would put the flaws."
"Were you right?"
"Mostly, I didn't think you would use the roof though. I figured you would use the cellar."
"That might have worked," Halt mused, "It would take longer, but there would be less risk of him hearing us."
"It would also be more difficult to time correctly." Will pointed out.
"Almost impossible." Halt nodded thoughtfully.
Halt glanced towards his apprentice, a mischievous grin on his face. "This'll be good."
"It was when Gilan and I did it to Crowley."
"You got Crowley with it?!"
"Not exactly. We made him think he'd been robbed." Will said, "He screamed when he walked in."
"Why?"
"We hid Acorn." Will bit his tongue, "And all his other horses too."
Everything went according to plan. Except Gilan. Gilan did not go according to plan. He was supposed to stay sitting inside while eating his supper, but apparently, the front porch was a much more desirable location.
Halt and Will, who had hidden their horses about a half mile back, were now sitting stock still on top of Gilan's roof, while having a mini argument about who's fault it was, speaking only through the many glares they shot each other.
Unfortunately for them, they allowed themselves to be distracted enough by said argument, that they didn't notice Gilan leave the porch and walk inside. Which meant, that when they dropped themselves from the roof onto the porch on the count of three, they were met by... Nothing.
Gilan, after hearing a giant thump on his front porch, raced to the door, hand on his saxe. He opened it to see Halt and Will standing there, breathing hard, and both looking quite sheepish.
"It was his plan." Will shot a thumb towards Halt, who looked incredibly betrayed.
Gilan rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it was." he said. "Now that you've so rudely interrupted my supper, I suppose that you expect to join me?"