A/N: OLAF! It's me, IFYOUCOULDFLY! So right now, I'm in a real good mood! I'm singin along to Hunter Hayes (I LOOOVE HIM), my hair is blue (my friends and I…hehe!), my lips are purple (frozen blueberries…yumm), and I'm reading for some fanfic! So go ahead, read on!
-Chapter Three: New Skill, New Friend, And a New Life-
Halt glanced around approvingly. His home was practically spotless, breakfast was ready and hot, and his new apprentice was staring at him eagerly. Wait a minute…eager apprentices were never a good thing. Halt sighed, knowing what was next.
"So…." Will began between bites of oatmeal. "I've been here for almost a week now, and the house is really clean…." Will looked up at him, trying to make his eyes as big and puppy-like as possible. Before he could ask, Halt cut in.
"Fine. You can start archery practice today." He said with finality in his voice, and Will smiled broadly. "Really? Cool! I've never really tried anything like archery…of course. I mean, I'm from the Ward, and there's not exactly any spare weaponry lying around, so I don't know why I would-"
Abruptly, Halt got up from the table and left, clearly not wanting to listen to Will's chattering. As his mentor disappeared into his room, Will sighed. So far, being a Ranger's apprentice didn't seem any better than farming.
HEY, GUYS! PAGEBREAK HERE ;D! So, you know, go ahead and read I guess….:P
Will focused, and moved his arm to draw the string back-
"What are you doing?" Halt cried out, just as Will let the surprisingly heavy string go-and sent an arrow flying towards him. Fortunately, Halt was used to having projectiles soaring towards his head, so he was able to duck perfectly, the arrow landing in a tree behind him.
Will's face began to burn, and he found a sudden interest in his shoes. Halt sighed and rolled his eyes and said, "Try this instead."
He demonstrated a shot, and Will groaned. Halt made it look so easy! The arrow flew with a soft whoosh and landed, as always, directly in the center of the target. Will was absolutely certain that he'd never be able to do that. Still though, he had to try.
So again, Will raised his bow and focused. He let out a slight breath and, the world seemingly frozen around, released the arrow. He watched as it flew, landing squarely on the outer ring of the target. It was far from the center, but Will was overjoyed.
"Did you see that?" He cried, turning to Halt, who rolled his eyes. "Obviously." The grizzled Ranger said sarcastically. "I'm right here." His words, however, never reached Will. "I actually hit the target! Do you think one day I'll be able to be as good as you? Well actually I don't know. I mean, you're apparently eight feet tall, firebreathing, and can kill people just by spitting at them, so I really doubt that I'd ever-"
"Shoot a hundred more arrows." Halt cut in, abruptly ending Will's obnoxious ranting. Will sighed as his mentor stalked off towards the cabin to get more coffee. Just before he went indoors, however, Halt stopped.
"Good job." He mumbled, barely audible, then hurried inside. Will, though he didn't know why, beamed, then realized he had been craving praise for years now. "Something I never got at home." He thought, and as he fired arrow after arrow, he began to think that maybe being Halt's apprentice wasn't so bad after all.
HELLO, OL' CHAPS. SO, THE NEXT STUFF IS GONNA BE IN THE FUTURE AND STUFF. SO YA. I'M SO AWKWARD…K BYE GUYS!-PAGEBREAK
The arrow flew in a clear path, striking the outermost part of the center. Quickly, Will sent another volley in rapid succession. Halt watched from the veranda, nodding quietly. His apprentice had certainly improved over the two weeks, not only in his archery, but in silent and unseen moving and tracking as well. He nodded to himself once more, deciding it was time to take him to Old Bob.
Will eagerly put away his bow and quiver when Halt told him they were leaving. His arm was tiring from practice, and he was curious as to where they were going.
They traveled quickly, though it seemed like hours for both of the two. Will because he was just dying to run ahead and find out where they were going, and Halt because Will was rapidly firing questions at him. Finally, the pair reached the ranch of Old Bob.
Will was just opening his mouth to ask a question when a small, wrinkled old man stepped out of the hut ahead. "Hello, Halt!" He called as they approached. "New apprentice, I see?" Halt nodded grimly. "Sadly, yes. This is Will." Will gave a friendly as Halt gestured towards him.
Old Bob laughed. "Well, I suppose you want 'em now, huh?" Will looked at his mentor and, before Halt could even open his mouth to respond, Will was spewing out questions. "Want what? Why are we here? Hey, and you never answered any of my questions back there in the woods! How come you never do that? What if one day, I'm dying and I have to ask you a real important question about how I can live, but then you won't answer, and I die? What would happen then? Would you-"
"Yes!" Halt cried, exasperated. "We would like very much to have them now." With that, he rushed towards Old Bob, who chuckled goodheartedly. "Talkative one, isn't he?" He smiled, eyes twinkling with a friendly look that made Will feel very happy.
"Well, let's get going then!" He said merrily, leading them through his house and into a large pasture. "Feel free to visit the horses as you wish, Will. I'll be indoors, preparing supper." Will nodded, glancing at the dimming sky. He turned to say something to Halt, but his mentor was already in one of the paddocks connected to the pasture, talking softly to a small horse and feeding it an apple.
Will shrugged and began to wander towards some of the other paddocks. He watched with amusement as a herd of ponies galloped around the field in front of him. He leaned against the fence, realizing with wonder just how fast these little shaggy beasts were.
Abruptly, the head of the herd stopped, glancing at him quizzically. It was a shaggy gray pony, with a certain glimmer of mischievousness in its eye that sparked something inside of Will. He matched the pony's gaze, which eventually dropped to barrel of apples beside Will.
Will laughed. "You want these, huh?" He called out to the pony, then grabbed one and jumped the fence neatly, unaware that both Halt and Old Bob were watching him, smiles on their faces.
The two approached each other warily, and Will decided it was time for some fun. As a test, he took the apple in his hand and moved it left and right, laughing amusedly as the shaggy pony followed it with his gaze. Suddenly, growing tired of being teased, the pony charged,.
Will ran with all his might towards the fence on the other side of the pasture, apple still in hand, as the entire herd (gray pony in the lead) chased Will. The apprentice, of course, new he could never outrun an entire herd of horses, especially not ones this fast. No, he wouldn't be that foolish.
Just when the shaggy gray one was about to catch him, Will turned, grabbing hold of a branch and slinging himself into a tree. He watched, laughing out loud as the pony shook his head in annoyance. "NOT FAIR!" His eyes seemed to say. Will sighed happily and flipped around on the tree so that he was hanging upside down and looking into his new companion's eyes. Still upside down, he offered the apple up, and the pony gladly accepted, nearly biting Will's hand off as well.
Will flipped over the branch and landed lightly on the ground just as Old Bob and Halt reached the fence. Old Bob was laughing loudly, and even Halt wore a small smile on his face.
"Looks like you've got yerself a horse there, bud! Named Tug, that one." The old man cried, and Will smiled broadly. "Oh, great." Tug seemed to say. "I'm stuck with you now?" Will frowned. "Hey! I'm not that bad!" He cried, and Tug shook his head. "Oh, yes you are!"
So Old Bob and Halt walked away, leaving the new companions to argue playfully, fully aware that they had just witnessed the beginning of a beautiful friendship. "A real keeper, that boy is." Old Bob muttered as they walked away, and Halt nodded fondly. "He really is."
A/N: Hehehe…I had fun writing this chapter. I just felt like in ROG, there wasn't enough Tug/Will awesomeness. Anyways, sorry I haven't been updating as frequently as I used to. Life is getting really busy, and I won't be writing at all on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday due to a state competition I'm in! Last year we placed 1st in the world, so fingers crossed for this weekend! Anyways, wish me luck and keep reading/reviewing/being awesome!-FLY