Will started toward the door, but Halt stopped him.
"I'll get it, Will." Halt opened the door, and standing outside, were…Alyss, Horace, George, and Jenny.
When Alyss saw Will, she smiled and waved; Jenny giggled joyfully; Horace chuckled and gave Will a thumbs-up; and George cheerfully grinned.
"How're you doing, Will?" Horace said, patting Will on the back.
Will, however, just stared from Alyss to Halt to George to Horace, and finally to Jenny.
Finally, he was aware that Alyss and the others were staring confusedly at Will, so he waved at his friends, slightly embarrassed. Alyss laughed. She was used to Will being tongue-tied around her. She opened her mouth to say something, but Halt cleared his throat loudly.
"Yes—I'm sure whatever you have to say is wonderful, but we have work to do. Come on, I have something very important to discuss. Will, don't interrupt us." he said.
Will nodded, and then went to the kitchen, look forward to a nice breakfast.
He sat at the table, staring at his scrambled eggs. He could hear the voices of Halt and his friends nearby. It sounded as though they were arguing, but Will wasn't quite sure. He knew it wasn't good to eavesdrop. But Halt and the others were making him feel left out. He desperately wanted to know what they were doing.
In fact, Will was angry at them. Gloomily, Will stuffed the rest of the eggs in his mouth and cleaned his plate. Then he stepped out the back door.
The fresh air felt relaxing against his face. Will started towards Tug's stable, his cloak wrapped tightly over him. When Will reached the stable, he saddled Tug and hopped on his longtime friend. Tug and he had been friends for quite some time.
"Hey, boy. You want an apple, Tug?" Will said.
Tug nodded eagerly in agreement. Will tossed him an apple, and Tug happily crunched away. While Tug was eating, Will looked around, expecting to see a bird or a rabbit hop out of the forest nearby.
That, Will concluded, would be good, because then I could practice my sensing skills. Halt would like that. But at the thought of Halt, Will angrily swatted away the idea of practicing.
Just then, Tug nudged Will gently. Tug neighed softly, indicating that it was time for a ride.
"Oh—sorry, boy." Will said, annoyed at himself. Rangers don't get carried away, he thought angrily to himself. Rangers stay on task.
He cleared his throat."Okay, are you ready for a ride through the field?" Will said, grinning at Tug. "Or would you much rather rest?" Tug snorted playfully.
"What's that? Did you say you wanted to rest?" Will grinned even more broadly.
Tug, without notice, started galloping at full speed. He went so fast that Will had to clutch his cloak or it would fly off.
When Will cried, "Whoa, boy! Slow down!"—Tug only went faster.
At last, after a few minutes of running like mad, Tug slowed, and finally stopped. Will was completely out of breath.
He managed to stutter, "I—I—I think I know—" (Will stopped to take a breath) "—which one—you want—now…"
Tug neighed happily. He wasn't one bit tired; he was a Ranger horse, after all. But he was glad his master had gotten the point. Will took a large breath and smiled.
"I know what you wanted, Tug. I think you wanted to take a rest all along. Isn't that what you wanted, boy?"