Another chapter coming. This is turning out longer then I intended for this story to be. ^^; Oops, oh well. Read on as you so please.~~~
" Sure," Will was the first to show that he excepted the apology, " but why'd you hide it to begin with? There was no real reason to hide it, was there?" Will was well accustomed to a girl being courageous and strong due to the actions of Evanlyn, er, Cassandra was her actual name, back in Celtica and again in Skandia when faced with possible death by Oberjarl Ragnak. Aaron laughed a true laugh this time, smiling at Will, grateful to him.
" There was plenty of reasons to hide it. Most girls need protection, guys always move to protect them, its just habit I guess," she considered this for a moment then went on, " but I don't need it. I don't want. If someone protects me I want them to genuinely protect me like one comrade does another." her voice had a sort of earnestness to it, that pleaded for them to understand what she was saying.
" Besides, I was on my own for a long time. A girl is considered an 'easy target'. A guy is considered just 'a target'." Will looked a bit befuddled as to this reasoning." Trust me, it makes sense." Still confused, Will opened his mouth to ask a question, then closed it, leaving it un-uttered. He let this go for the time being.
Aaron noted that Halt seemed far too okay with this situation as it had presented itself. She could understand how Will and Gilan had reacted, after all, it's not every day that who you thought was a boy was actually a girl. However, Halt just seemed overly accepting for this whole difference. Was he used to this sort of thing? That would be just weird, but it was possible. Then, Aaron figured it out.
" You bastard, you knew I was a girl since you met me, didn't you?" she exclaimed, suddenly. Halt had stopped the laugh that crept up his throat, but couldn't hold back the smug smile that tugged it's way across his face. At first, he said nothing to her. Aaron raised a quizzical brow at him until, finally, he yielded an answer, though not a very helpful one.
" I had an inkling." Halt replied simply. Aaron glared at the old Ranger, then muttered what Gilan guessed were curses under her breath in Gallican. A smile played across his face, and he kept his laugh quiet. Aaron had been right earlier. Nothing had really changed at all. Aaron still had more fowl language then Gilan dare ask about, no matter girl or boy. That would just have to be that was the only thing that crossed his mind while he walked out to get food ready while Halt looked over Aaron's wounds. ~~~~~~~~
They stayed in one place for the day. No matter how much they all wanted to move on, Aaron included, Aaron simply wasn't ready to go anywhere after a fall like that. When Aaron had told them how she had fallen out of a tree and that was how she sustained most of these injuries, Gilan was glad that he hadn't known how she'd gotten them when first seeing the wounds. Aaron had even pointed out a height that she thought that she had fallen from to them, and the sight had made Gilan shiver. Imagining Aaron falling down from so high, he was surprised that Aaron seemed so up beat about it. That she survived it seemed a miracle in and of itself.
" Sounds like you have a lucky star out there." Halt had commented. Aaron, after glancing at him for a moment after that, gave a tired smile at him, eyes growing sad.
" Or at least ones that wants me to stay alive, in spite of whatever I do." she said, almost mournfully. After that she'd glanced to the sky and murmured a quiet prayer that everyone saw, but nobody around her heard.
Either way, they weren't going anywhere for at least one more day so that Halt could attend to the wounds a bit better and check how bad they were. (Note: Halt knows the most about medical treatment, and is the senior Ranger there, so it's his job to tend to the injured.)
They took shifts to look after Aaron, but it wasn't long after that Gilan found out that Aaron was sleeping very soundly after her brief time awake. He'd smiled after hearing this, thinking that it was so like her.
" She may be skilled, but she can be such a lazy bum." he said, laughing as he thought of the few times that Aaron just wanted to lay around, especially after getting out of the river that time she'd saved his life. She simply didn't want to move for the longest time. Gilan had to remind her that if they were spotted on the river bed, this whole plan of jumping in the river would've been for nothing.
Aaron spent the majority of the day sleeping, except to eat drink,and make the occasional curse from her injuries or teasing comment when Gilan had mentioned that he'd made the food.
" Didn't you ever notice that his cooking totally sucks?" Aaron had directed the comment at Will off to her side. Gilan had only been present to deliver the food. " I can tell you all about it."
" Hey, if you think you can do a better job, you get your ass out of bed and do it." Gilan replied, placing a mocking hand on his hip as Aaron did from time to time. Only at this time did Gilan realize that this would've been something to be suspicious of when done by a boy.
" You can explain that to Halt when I walk out of here. Go on!" she directed, pointing out the door, smiling and laughing, sitting up to eat now. " Go and tell him that, Gilan."
" Yeah, yeah." Gilan laughed, voice becoming thick with sarcasm. They smiled at each other, as it was all part of the joke that still continued on, it seemed.
" Do it. You won't." Aaron replied, digging into the food with her good arm while Will help hold the bowl in place while she ate. They laughed again, and Gilan made his way out to have his meal with Halt. He gave one finally wave at the two before he went, hearing Aaron start to explain to the confused Will about this joke of theirs.
The two older Rangers sat eating quietly together, with a comfortable feel in the air. Not the sort of silence where someones not sure what to say next, but the kind of silence that simply meant they had nothing to say to one another at that time period.
Though that wasn't true, in Halt's case. He did have something he wanted to speak to Gilan with. It was more of just figuring out how best to start the conversation in question.
Halt played with the logs in the fire, thoughtfully for a few moments longer, thoughtfully, while the unsuspecting Gilan drank at his coffee cup greedily. To say he was content with this coffee in his hands would be an understatement. He was damn happy to have that coffee.
" What is Aaron to you, Gilan?" his old master asked him. Gilan nearly coughed up his coffee onto Halt from the abruptness of the question. He choked a second or two before he could even begin to answer Halt's sudden curiosity as it his relationship with Aaron.
" What?"he croaked, staring at his former master. Never had he heard Halt ask a more blunt, outright question as this one. Halt glared at him in a way Gilan knew meant "You know what I mean." However, Gilan really didn't understand Halt's question in the least. So, he kept on asking. " What do you mean, what is Aaron to me?" Halt shrugged.
" Is she your friend? A tool, or a lover? what do you see when you see her, Gilan?" he prompted, watching Gilan like a cat does a fish. Gilan shifted under his master's hard stare. He had never thought about this til now. What did Aaron mean to him? What did he see in her . . .? Not a tool, that was certain. A lover . . ?
" A lover?!" he exclaimed, flustered by this suggestion that Halt had made. " I'm not gay!"
" Of course not," Halt agreed, " that's impossible as Aaron is a girl." Gilan glared at Halt for a long time. Halt looked back, forever tricky despite his plain expression. He'd been teasing Gilan obviously, but Gilan couldn't deny that he'd walked into that one, so he let it go for now." But is she your lover?" he repeated, and Gilan knew it was to irritate him, so he ignored it. Halt was prompting for an answer still. Well, Gilan had to answer else he leave it to Halt's imagination for his own answer. That just wouldn't work.
" What does it matter?" Gilan finally found the perfect way to counter act Halt's question. "Why do you want to know?" Halt frowned and Gilan knew he'd saved himself for at least the time it was Halt's turn to take some time and think. Then, finally he saw no way around it.
" I believe Aaron had been using you,' Halt said, sighing a bit," like a tool."~~~~~~
BUM BUM BUM!! What do you think Halt means by that? Keep reading to find out. I appreciate reviews very much, so please, please, please, REVIEW THIS STORY!!! Thank you!!