Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, made possible by the Ranger's Apprentice by John Flanagan. I have only borrowed his creation and I make no money. For this story I have used several other Rangers from the books, though I've also added my own. I do this only in the hope to entertain….

Author's Note: No harm shall come to the characters that can't be fixed with enough coffee…

Chapter 11

It turned out that it was harder than expected to make Hubert leave his circle. Gilan had apparently been rather firm when he told him to stay there, and Hubert feared his wrath above all. Though as Crowley pointed out that he was the commandant, and therefor outranked Gilan, and yes, even Gilan and Gilan's sword….Hubert agreed. Shaking his head, Crowley took a good look at the carcass.

"See, there," he pointed to some rather nasty looking old wounds. "Gilan's right, no wonder that beast was acting as it did. I'm not sure it could've caught a deer with that back paw. Humans are slower."

"What do you want us to do with it?" one man asked as they regarded it.

"Cut off the head, we'll let King Duncan have it stuffed if he wants," Crowley decided. "And save me a couple of the claws. Burry the rest. I'm not letting that circus have even a whisker back if they could make money on it."

"I'm with you there," the Ranger nodded. "We'll take care of it."

"Good," Crowley rubbed his hands together. "Now, let's see if we can fix ourselves some supper."

Will helped him fix up a simple, but very tasty stew. He felt no guilt for rummaging in Gilan's pack for the rest of the wine to make a sauce. It would make the broth richer and more appetizing, which could only be a good thing when someone was injured. As he returned with it Crowley had found a few wedges of garlic that he was crushing with a stick.

Soon an appetizing fragrance rose from the pot and Crowley inhaled it deeply. Around them, Will could detect the smell of the others cooking, some good, some not quite so good. Somewhere in the far recess of the camp, it smelled vaguely as if someone was boiling cabbage and spoiled fish in a pair of month old socks…

Will decided he would rather stay away from that area. Since they were all fending for themselves, it was not unusual. The taste varied, some of the Ranger's had picked up odd dishes here and there. Will truly did enjoy cooking, though he had not known anything about it at all when he first became Halt's apprentice he now found he asked Crowley, Halt and Jenny for advice. Crowley certainly knew a lot about it, and every time they spent any amount of time together Will would find there was yet another trick to learn. Jenny was a master, even better than Halt and Crowley.

Peeling a potato he frowned, he did not know if Gilan had ever had any of Jenny's food, he'd like it he decided. Gilan might not be the best cook himself, but he certainly knew to appreciate food.

Where he was mixing flour, salt and water with a little oil Crowley looked up. "Something funny?"

"I just realized, I don't think Gilan has eaten Jenny's food. She's almost better than Master Chubb," just the mere thought of Chubb's turkey pie, or Jenny's mutton…

"I've had her mutton…" Crowley licked his lips as if he could read his mind. Then he shook his head, "well, if he don't know what he's missing, he won't know this isn't as good. Think we could convince her to become a Ranger?" he grinned as he winked at Will.

"I don't know, but she's pretty dangerous with that ladle of hers," Will frowned. "What is it with all master chefs and that ladle?"

"I don't know," Crowley had formed a dough of his mixture. "But then I've never been brave enough to ask one."

"Jenny likes me, she wouldn't hurt me," Will stated confidentially.

"Permanently," Crowley added with a grin as he placed the camp bread in the hot ashes. "You really can't take too much for granted when it comes to cooks and their temper."

"I suppose not," Will frowned thought fully. "I always thought Halt thought it was really frustrating to have an apprentice, except when he could laugh at all the things I did wrong. But all the things he and Gilan kept mentioning… I've never heard of any of it."

"I've heard of most of them," Crowley paused. He was glad Will was asking, he could understand the jealousy, it was not so strange. Will had come from the ward, and found a place where he really belonged, someone he could really belong to. Then once he was truly feeling his secure in that position a former apprentice he had never heard about was suddenly thrust into his life. Halt was very private, and taking a new apprentice had probably caused him to miss some aspects of his old one, which meant he would try to guard those memories. Added to that, Gilan had at the time reached the relationship of an easy comradery with Halt, rather than a subdued apprentice.

Those who knew Gilan might not think that subdued was the best way to describe him, but there had been times when that was what he was. Gilan had always been restless, energetic and had trouble keeping still, but he had also found it difficult to believe someone truly wanted him. He was used to those around him being annoyed over his boundless energy and restless nature. He was more accustomed to being told to be quiet and get out of the way. David had never done that, but at the same time David had never had much time for his son considering his duties.

Without Battleschool, as young as he had been, Crowley did not think Gilan would have been able to find any sort of focus. It had taught him to focus his energy, and to use it. Without it, he simply would have been too hyperactive to ever function. It was a good thing David had seen that, and recognized what the boy needed. Yet it had also meant he tended to wait to be told what to do. When Halt had put a longbow in front of him, he had just stood staring at it, waiting to be given leave to pick it up though Halt said he could see he was almost crawling out of his skin. The same with the knives, the Ranger pony and every other task set before him through the first few months. Where Will needed to learn to wait, Gilan needed to learn not to wait.

"One of the things that make you so good as a Ranger, is that you have the ability to take in a situation, and see a solution, a course of action," he started slowly. "You probably don't realize how rare that is, most people can't quite adapt that fast if it's not what they expect. Gilan has that to, but not the same way as you. He can be even faster, but the first conclusion was not always the best one, and so he usually tries to run through one or three options. He's fast enough doing it you'd never notice, but he prefers to do it, because he knows he sometimes gets a little ahead of himself…"

"All those things they mentioned, pike, badger, and all of that?" Will frowned. "Was those like that?"

"Most of them probably," Crowley nodded. "Get them to tell you about the pike, that's a funny one. And he solves the problem, he does. But you are a little bit more like Halt himself, and Gilan is a little bit more like me."

"Except he doesn't cook as well as you," Will decided, though with a wide smile.

"Except that," Crowley agreed. "But he does beat me with a sword… Tell him to chop the carrots… I swear he'll do it with the sword if he feels like it. Scariest thing I've ever seen, he can even peel potatoes with that thing." he shook his head. "You do realize no one else here, none of them, would've been able to take out that monster when it got too close for a bow. And I know Halt yelled at him for it, but think about this, when he told the tiger to yield, why do you think he did it?"

"Because he thought he was supposed to?" Will frowned, uncertain, it was what Gilan had said, and he could certainly not see any other reason.

"How do you think those apprentices up in the trees felt when they couldn't shoot, and he was down on the ground alone with the creature?"

"Terrible, terrified," Will didn't even have to think about that.

"Uhu," Crowley nodded. "But when he told it to yield, how do you think that affected them?"

Eyes wide, Will realized what he was talking about. "It would have calmed them, because if he was making light of it, they wouldn't be as worried and they would be able to keep calm and be ready to act."

"Exactly," Crowley nodded. "It's very easy to underestimate him, because he is a bit of a jester sometimes, but he knows what he's doing. He's got a natural instinct for that sort of thing, and that combined with your skills will make you both stronger." His tone turned very serious, and softer. "Will, you two compliment each other very well, together, you can probably be an even better team than me and Halt…"

Will nodded, not certain if he could speak, there seemed to be a lump in his throat. Instead he turned his attention back to the pot he was tending. To be even half as good as Halt, was something a few years ago he would never have even considered, to then be told that he and Gilan might even be able to surpass his heroes was something he was not certain if he was ready to consider.

TBC

Thank you all who's read and reviewed, the coffee saturated Cricket is thrilled...