A/N: Sooo also back from the grave here. This one is set directly after Will killed the kalkara, because really guys we deserved so much more from the aftermath instead of a quick explanation. I have to be honest with you, my ideas for the one-shots are running out. So if you have any ideas or whishes about Halt stressing over his apprentice, please let me know!
The long night
And then the screaming stopped and the creature was dead
Will stood there for who knows how long, just staring at the terrifying creature still burning. But then his mind started to work again, he needed to get to work otherwise the people here would be dead soon.
Sir Rodney slowly recovered from his daze and stumbled a few steps around. Will knew it was his priority to help the Baron firstly but he couldn't help himself. The urge was too strong and it was like his body was pulled like gravity to his mentor. Halt was still unconscious and it gave Will an eerie feeling seeing his mentor this vulnerable. He checked the leg and quickly put a dressing on it to stop the bleeding.
Then he could almost hear Halt's voice directing him to take care of Baron Arald. He quickly made a stop at Tug and grabbed the rest of his first-aid kit from his saddlebags and ran back to the Baron.
Meanwhile, Sir Rodney had finally emerged from his daze and also started walking towards Arald. He was out of breath, probably due tot he whole experience with being mentally frozen by the kalkara. Before they started working they looked at each other, seeking reassurance that the other was as unharmed.
They made quite the team, Sir Rodney stitched all the wounds back together while Will stopped the bleeding and immediately put the bandages on the wounds after the stitches were set. Within half an hour they were done and looked approvingly at their work.
Will kept silent but it seemed Sir Rodney seemed to get something of his chest.
"That was really brave of you Will. And a perfect shot too," He said with a hint of pride in his voice.
The young apprentice kept his head down, "well, I did what Halt taught me to do. Everyone in my position would have done the same." He still felt his body slightly shaking when the image of the Kalkara and the desperate situation came to mind.
But the battlemaster didn't let the boy get off that easily, and he put a hand on his shoulder, "No Will, I know plenty of knights who sadly would have ran or froze in your situation. Don't you dare talk down on what you just did."
Will nodded and hoped Sir Rodney would leave it at that. To be entirely honest he was just too tired to think about how he felt about his actions. He had acted purely on instinct and maybe yes he had saved them, but on the other hand he had also stayed away far too long which had allowed Halt and Baron Arald to get hurt badly.
The battlemaster's attention had indeed shifted, he noticed the boy wasn't ready to talk about the events this night and he decided to have a look at the ranger. The greying man's leg was badly injured and it seemed that he had banged his head along the way too. But there was not much he could do, Will had already properly bandaged the leg and all that was left for the ranger was to rest.
Even though Sir Rodney had not been physically injured by the Kalkara, he did feel exhausted by the mental attack. It seemed that Will had also noticed the effect, because he had snuck up on the knight and stood behind him.
"Maybe you should take some rest too, I'll make a fire and keep watch 'till the other knights come." He said with a steady voice, masking how tired he himself was actually. The battlemaster fell for it and agreed, after he made sure the Baron was still breathing fine he retired for the night and fell asleep immediately.
The fire was roaring within a moment and Will started unsaddling the horses. Abelard had joined his friends and was keeping a close eye on his master. Will didn't know what to say to the horses so he brushed and petted them in silence.
An hour had gone by but the young ranger was still frantically brushing Tug. All three of the horses suddenly had a shining coat which came even close to the battlehorses.
Tug eyed his master very closely and Will could swear the little horse just rose an eyebrow. Or maybe it was just the exhaustion kicking in, he didn't really know anymore.
Maybe you should take a rest too, Tug seemed to say
"I can't, the knight are coming and someone needs to stay on guard." He answered
You call this standing on guard? I'm not complaining about my look but you were brushing loud enough to even miss a whole infantry
Now it was Will's time to raise an eyebrow, which he was finally mastering. He knew Tug was exaggerating but there was some truth in it, he had barely paid attention to his surroundings while he had been brushing.
"Well I hope that three ranger horses would be enough to notify me when something happens." He said softly, hoping no one would wake from this idiot conversation.
If you do trust us, you might as well fall asleep.
Will's face turned into stone as he realized he had lost a discussion to a horse. He tried to think of an argument, which was impossible, but was saved by the incoming beats of hooves.
First, the remaining terror of the night kicked in and Will took his bow while listening carefully. He heard multiple horses, and then realized it must be Sir Karel and the knights.
His suspicions were confirmed soon when the knights became clear in the moonlight. The knights were definitely surprised to see a young boy taking care of the premises. Will spurted towards the sleeping battlemaster, he was astonished how someone could sleep through that, while he was trained to wake at the smallest of sounds.
Once awake, Sir Rodney hastened towards the other knights and quickly explained the situation. They desperately needed a carriage for the two wounded and since there was no danger anymore, Rodney ordered them to leave. Without losing more precious minutes the whole group left again to call for aid while leaving the four people alone again.
Will was staring into the fire when the battlemaster turned to him, "are you feeling up for a few hours watch?" he asked.
Will nodded and put something on his face that resembled a smile. He knew if he had tried that with Halt, his mentor would have seen through it immediately but Sir Rodney didn't know Will that well and turned back to his place.
"Make sure to wake me halfway the night, you need some sleep too." He said but it could have been said to a brick wall and have the same effect. Will was not yet ready to fall asleep out here with the burned Kalkara meters away from them.
The night seemed longer and colder than ever before, and just halfway through Will started shivering. He had given his own cloak to Halt as extra blanket but soon realized how much warmth his cloak gave.
Just when his eyelids started to drop, he noticed something shifting next to him. Halt was waking up but seemed disoriented as he kept quiet and took in his surroundings.
"Halt?" Will asked hearing his voice crack.
The voice of his apprentice immediately cleared the ranger's mind and his head snapped sideways, looking right at the young boy.
"Will? What happened?" he questioned.
"I did what you asked, Halt. We were just in time to help you, but you're injured and need to rest." Will whispered fighting against his tears. He didn't know how much he needed to talk to his mentor until the man opened his eyes. At the same time he saw Halt was in pain and still now fully awake so he would have to wait.
Halt still half out of it, nodded approvingly as he slipped back to sleep. He just managed to mumble, "You did good, my son."
Will swallowed loudly and accepted that the fight against tears was lost.
Later that night, the three horses sounded the alarm of someone coming. However one of the three was much more welcoming in the warning than the other two. Will stood up, again weapons ready even though he already guessed who he was dealing with.
Again his presumption was true when the tall ranger entered the clearing on a ploughing horse. Just like when the knights had watched the scene earlier that evening, was the tall ranger shocked at what he saw. He jumped off the plough horse and ran to his friend, he saw no obvious injuries but the boy was cold to the touch and seemed to shiver continuously.
"Will! What happened? Are you alright? Where is Halt?" he asked in full speed. Will's mouth started to quirk as he realized why Halt always wanted one question at the time, it was quite confusing to answer three questions at once.
"I'm fine. It seemed that the Kalkara went after Halt after all. His leg is pretty bad and he's been unconscious most of the time. The Kalkara also got Baron Arald in the back and Sir Rodney into that stare thing." He stopped hoping to avoid any other questions, but Gilan wasn't fooled like that, he had been trained by the best Ranger and knew when someone was hiding parts of the story.
"So if Halt and Arald were injured, Sir Rodney immobilized, what happened to the Kalkara?" The ranger asked, feeling his heart clench. He had his hesitations in Halt's decision to bring Will along on this mission, and it seemed the boy had come dangerously close to the end of his life.
Will's voice was small when he answered, "I killed it, using fire on my arrow."
Gilan's eyes went big as he observed the shivering boy. Now he understood perfectly why Halt had insisted to bring him along. Not only was the young man loyal to the bitter end, he was also brave beyond any limits. To be honest he doubted if he himself would have been able to do the same thing at that age.
The tall ranger knew the situation was beyond words and so he stepped forward and pulled the boy in a hug. When they broke up Gilan noticed how Will favored one of his hands.
"What is wrong with your hand Will?" he asked.
Will tried to hide his hand but quickly realized that he still didn't have his cloak. "Nothing" he tried to no avail as Gilan had already leapt forward grabbing his arm.
Angry red blisters were showing on his hand spreading all to his wrist. Gilan hissed as he realized that the flaming arrow must have been against Will's hand before his shot.
"Jeesh Will, that doesn't look too good. Why haven't you treated it?" he asked.
Will shrugged, "I didn't think it was that bad." He spoke with a soft voice. It took quite the effort for Gilan not to retort the favorite comment of their mentor, so he stood up and gathered the medical supplies.
Together they sat down at the fire after Gilan quickly checked his old mentor. Will had indeed taken good care of the wounds, except his own. While he put on a salve for burns on the hand and wrapped it loosely in fresh bandages, he insisted on hearing the full story.
He was proud to hear of the loyalty Will had shown towards Halt, but then started counting the hours that he knew Will wouldn't have slept and suddenly realized why the boy was swaying even when he sat on the ground.
"Will, go to sleep. I can take watch until dawn and then I return to my own fief, but you need rest." He said with an air of authority around him.
Will shook his head stubbornly and Gilan continued, "Maybe he doesn't look like it now, but if Halt awakes finding you like this, he will have my head. So if not for yourself, please save my life."
"I don't think I can." Will whispered. It was the tone of his voice that suddenly made Gilan realize what the problem was. The boy had seen his own mentor in grave danger, seen the Baron getting sliced open like a pig and had to face a monster after that. No wonder he doesn't want to close an eye, Gilan thought.
"I'll be with you, so nothing can happen. If I notice you have a nightmare I promise to wake you immediately." He reassured the boy while placing a hand on his shoulder, and Will nodded. He couldn't fight the exhaustion anymore and laid back on the ground. It didn't take long for him to fall asleep.
Just as the sun started to rise, Halt decided it would be a good time to wake up. Gilan immediately shot towards him holding his hand on his mentor's shoulder.
"Stay down, Halt. You're injured and help is coming." He instructed as he received a glare. Halt didn't like to be instructed, and certainly not when he didn't know what had happened.
"Gilan? What are you doing here?" the older ranger asked, confused at the situation.
"Making sure that apprentice of yours will live long enough to graduate."
That seemed to waken the ranger up immediately as he shot up, ignoring Gilan's futile attempts to hold him down. "Will! Is he alright?"
"Whoah easy there, Will is fine. He had been keeping watch far too long so I ordered him to get some sleep."
"What happened? The last thing I remember was still being chased by that hideous monster." Halt grunted as he ceased his attempts of trying to sit up straight.
Gilan quickly recounted the story he had heard from Will, glad to have remembered all the details the young boy had given him.
Halt was less amused by what had happened, "he shouldn't have come with them, he was supposed to send help, not come along. I wanted him out of harms way."
The younger ranger smiled at the concern of his mentor, "Well I'm glad he did because you would have been Kalkara dinner if it hadn't been for his bravery. You should be proud of him."
"Of course I'm immensely proud of him, but that doesn't mean he should have been in that position."
Gilan decided not to go against it, he knew Halt's protective nature far too well. "Well, make sure to keep an eye on him. He was pretty shaken when I arrived," he warned and gathered his own supplies. He had to leave again and knew the cart would probably arrive soon.
Before the tall ranger could leave he was held back by a strong hand on his wrist, "Thank you Gil, for taking care of Will tonight. I know it wasn't easy for you to leave Blaze and let me and Will go further."
"It was the best option at the time even though I would have given anything to have been beside you and Will last night." Gilan spoke slowly as he thought about what had happened the past hours.
Halt gave him a slight pat on the arm, "For now I think it is healthier for me to worry about one apprentice at the time. The two of you will send me to an early grave."
Gilan responded with a brisk laugh at that comment, "You know I'm not an apprentice anymore, right? Or did you hurt your head that badly?" he joked.
The eyebrow rose slightly, "You'll always be my apprentice. Only you behaving like an adult would change that and we both know you'll never reach that maturity."
Now the younger ranger couldn't hold his laughter anymore, "As if you're that mature!"
The second eyebrow rose and Gilan immediately knew it was his cue to leave, "Alright, alright, I'll go." He said grinning with his hand in the air. Gently the tall ranger took the reigns of Blaze and left for his own fief.
"take care, Halt"
"You too, kid" Halt mumbled as he shifted his focus on his sleeping apprentice. In the distance he could hear the knights and something that sounded like the cart that Gilan spoke about. He decided not to wake Will for the time being, if even half of what Gilan had told him about Will's story then the young boy deserved every minute of rest that he could get.
Days after the attack, Halt kept a close eye on his apprentice. It was hard while being cooped up at the infirmary, Will seemed to be doing his routine like nothing had happened. Except for the fact that he wasn't allowed to practice with his bow as his hand still had some burns that needed to heal. But when Halt came back at the cabin he knew something was wrong.
Normally he hated people placing all his belongings at the wrong place, it was one of the hazards of having an apprentice. He knew that Will always tried his best to leave the place as it was before, but the boy just couldn't help it that he placed some pots or mugs at the wrong place for Halt. It was therefore more striking to see that everything in the cabin was exactly as the ranger had left it before going to the gathering.
While scanning the room, Halt missed all the chatter from his apprentice in front of him, who was excitedly explaining what he had already done that day. But at the moment, Halt wasn't interested in how many paperwork his boy had finished or that he had even practiced his mapping skills the day before. So without warning he looked sharply at the boy, silencing him in an instant.
"Have you eaten anything at all the past two days?" he asked as he observed the dark circles beneath the warm brown eyes.
Will nodded confidently, "yes I ate something with Horace yesterday."
"And today?" Halt asked again, although he could already fill in the answer himself. And as expected, the boy remained silent. Will suddenly realized he hadn't eaten anything due to all the paperwork and the stress he felt with the upcoming war. But he knew Halt wouldn't appreciated any of the excuses as food was quite important in a ranger's life.
"What if we're called on a mission right now? A starved apprentice is no use, I hope you know that." Halt explained clearly but not unkind.
Will nodded again, "I forgot, there was so much to do and I needed to train…" his voice faded as he realized what he had said.
"You trained? Only with your knives, I hope." Halt spoke with clenched teeth.
Slowly Will shook his head, as he knew it was pointless to lie. Before the boy could say another word or take a single step, Halt grabbed his left arm from under the cloak. A crimson stain covered the bandage around the small hand and Halt sighed.
"Is it really that hard to follow the orders of a healer and keep your hand still for at least a week?" he almost growled at the boy.
"You also didn't listen, because you were supposed to stay at the infirmary for a week." Will retorted quickly, leaving his mentor speechless. Halt suddenly realized he had gotten himself an apprentice who was more like him than he would ever thought possible.
Halt limped to the kitchen where he had a cabinet full of first aid supplies. He took some water, honey and fresh bandages and walked back to where Will had taken a seat. The ranger cleansed the burns and applied the honey to help it heal faster.
While wrapping the bandage loosely around Will's hand, Halt looked again at the white face with dark circles. "How are you sleeping?"
Will hesitated for a moment, but then spoke, "It's getting better. Sometimes I still see them in my dreams but I'm not that terrified anymore." He looked slyly at Halt, almost expecting a snarky comment.
But Halt knew when the time was right for jokes and when it was not, "It's understandable you're still having some nightmares. Just remember to talk about them, that way they will fade more quickly." He finished wrapping and sat back with a heavy sigh. The pain in his leg was torturing him, but he knew he had to bite through it, otherwise that overprotective boy would send him straight back to the infirmary.
"Well, as you've clearly not managed to cook a decent meal the past few days. I suggest you can start training that right now, I'm starving." Halt said as he placed his leg on the chair in front of him.
Will smiled sheepishly and started preparing a simple meal for the two of them. At one point Halt tried to stand up and help the young ranger as he was clearly struggling to cook with only one hand. But Will had immediately guided him back to the chair explaining that he didn't need the help.
After the meal, Will decided to retire early for the night, finally realizing how much he needed the rest. Halt waited another hour before going to bed himself, constantly checking whether his boy was really asleep and not suffering from any nightmares. When he saw the relaxed face of the young man he only whished he could stay at this moment for just a few extra days. With the war upon them, he knew Will had to grow up and learn quickly and who knew what path was in front of them. A part of him blamed himself for taking Will as an apprentice, as he knew this life was full of danger and never easy. But then he thought of the excitement shining in those brown eyes with each and every task and he knew that a simple and safe life was never meant for this boy.
