A/N: Hey guys! I GOT 100 REVIEWS! I'M SO HAPPY! Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Reviews make my day! Chanelx is my new muse for this story, so everyone should appreciate her because she helps me out A LOT. :D
Horace sighed as he set his belongings down on his bed. He had just returned from a long and tiresome mission in Skandia. It was nothing serious, just escorting a courier to deal with Araluen's legal business. He had been away for an entire month and was relieved to be back home. But he also felt sad because Will was gone. He really missed his best friend. Ever since Will went missing, it felt like he had a huge hole in his heart that couldn't be filled. They had searched and searched, but never found anything. The longer Will was gone, the more everyone seemed to lose hope.
He hadn't really talked to any of his friends since then. He had grown very distant from most of them, except for a select few, all of which refused to let him distance himself from them. He smiled slightly. He had missed Halt and Gilan while he was away, Alyss too. He wanted to visit them right now, but he was exhausted and decided to take and nap and a shower before leaving.
About two hours later...
Horace slowly began to wake up as the sunlight shone through his curtains and onto his face. He sat up and went to the window. Studying the position of the sun, he guessed it was around 3:00 in the afternoon. Sighing, he went and took a quick shower. When he was done he trudged downstairs to get Kicker ready to leave. A few people greeted him on his way to the stalls and he politely nodded to them, as he currently didn't really feel like talking to anyone. When he reached the stalls Kicker nickered happily and shook his mane. He smiled and patted him on the nose before tacking him up.
It only took him about ten minutes, then they were ready to leave. He mounted Kicker and gently nudged his side, urging him forward. The ride to Halt's cabin was peaceful. He enjoyed the cool breeze as it brushed past his face. It was early spring now in Araluen and after spending an extremely chilly winter in Skandia, he enjoyed the warmth the sun provided. He also officially hated snow. He could recall at least five times in Skandia where he'd slipped on a patch of ice and face-planted into the freezing snow. It was a rather unpleasant experience, especially when everyone nearby laughed at him, including one Oberjarl Erak. He shook his head at the memory and grinned. Svengal, Erak's first mate, had laughed at him too.
He hadn't realized how much time had gone by and when be looked up, he could see the roof of Halt's cabin around the bend. As he became visible to the horses in the lean to, they nickered a warning, but corrected themselves after realizing that he was a friend. He arrived a few minutes later and dismounted Kicker, putting him in the lean to with Abelard, Blaze, and Cropper. He also noticed an unfamiliar horse tethered to one of the many trees in the yard and wondered who else was here. He was surprised to see that all three of them were there, it was fairly rare to have three Rangers staying in one home all at the same time. Halt's cabin wasn't exactly what one would call large and he wondered idly how they all fit in there, but then again, he wasn't sure if Gilan and Crowley were staying or just visiting.
I suppose I'll ask when I get in.
He took care of Kicker, giving him a good brushing before going inside. As he trudged up the steps-
"NOOO! LEAVE M-ME ALONE!"
Will. Was the first thought that sprang to his mind, but he put it aside, telling himself that it was impossible.
The scream rang out from inside the cabin and he bolted the rest of the way up the stairs before yanking the door open and rushing inside, his hand resting on the hilt of his sword. He froze. Halt had someone pinned to the bed in his room. Malcolm was standing off to the side holding a syringe that was full of something, seemingly unsure of what to do. Crowley was also standing to the side, watching the scene with an unexplainable sadness in his eyes. The person pinned to the bed looked vaguely familiar, but he couldn't seem to recall who he reminded him of...
He just stood there and watched the scene, a nervous feeling eating at him. He didn't know why he was so edgy, he just was for some reason. He was getting frustrated because he couldn't remember who- then it clicked. The dark brown hair. The sound of his voice when he screamed. The reason why the first thought that ran through his mind was Will. Because this was Will. As soon as he realized this, red hot anger flooded through him. How long had Will been back? Why hadn't anyone told him? He was one of Will's best friends, he deserved to know that they had found him! The next thing that followed was hurt. He had really missed Will. Did they not trust him enough to tell him? Was he not good enough to know? What if they just didn't like him anymore? He didn't even notice when the tears ran down his cheeks. Before he even realized what he was doing, he started walking toward the bedroom. The three Rangers and the healer looked up as he stood in the doorway of the room.
"Horace..." Malcolm said, slowly stepping toward him.
Between the anger and hurt flooding through him, he didn't know what to do. He felt completely and utterly betrayed. When they were out searching for Will, Halt had sworn to tell him when they found him. Why didn't he tell him? His eyes moved to Will. He looked so bad that it hurt Horace to look at him. And the scars... there were just so many... He turned away and went to leave, not wanting to see anyone right now. He was halfway through the living room when a hand landed on his shoulder.
"Horace, please let me explain." Halt said.
He swatted the hand away and turned to glare at his older friend.
"Why should I?! You swore, Halt! You swore that you would tell me when you found him and you didn't! You're a liar!" He yelled angrily, tears still rolling down his cheeks.
"I couldn't-"
"What is it? Am I not good enough to be told? Do you not trust me anymore? No Halt, I won't let you explain. You don't deserve the right to explain anything."
He turned to leave, but turned back as another thought ran through his mind.
"Did you even bother to think about Alyss? How she would feel if she knew..." He trailed off.
He had to tell Alyss. She deserved to know. Hell, he deserved to know, but apparently he wasn't good enough to be told.
"Horace, please just sit down. We'll explain everything and-"
"No! You know, at this point I don't even want to know how long he's been back. It's none of my business. I mean he's only my best friend, what does it matter if I'm informed of when he is found after being gone for nine months. I thought you guys trusted me, but nope. Apparently I'm just a stupid warrior who-"
His sentence was interrupted when he was slammed against a wall and held there by Halt.
"Hey! Let me-" He was interrupted once again as a hand clamped over his mouth.
He struggled and squirmed, but the Ranger had him in a position where he had no room to move which made it impossible to fight back. He couldn't reach his sword either. After a few minutes he stopped fighting and looked directly into Halt's eyes. Tears shone in them too, but unlike Horace, he didn't let them fall. Only then did the Ranger speak.
"Listen to me, Horace. You have two options. You are either going to sit down and let me explain to you why we didn't tell you that we found Will, or you are going to try to leave, at which point I will knock you out and you'll listen to my explanation when you wake up. One or two?" He asked, his voice dangerously low.
He removed his hand from the younger man's mouth so he could answer.
"One," He said quietly.
Halt nodded and let go of him, going to the couch to sit down. The rest of them did the same and looked at Horace, as if waiting for him to sit down. He hesitated slightly before doing so. He wanted to run for the door, but with three Rangers in the house, he knew he would never make it. Over the next hour Halt, Gilan, and Crowley explained what all had happened while he was away and why they hadn't told him, or anyone else about Will. Horace was still hurt that they hadn't told him, but now that he understood their reasoning, it wasn't as bad as before. By the time they were done telling him everything he was exhausted, both mentally and physically. He had only gotten two hours of sleep since yesterday afternoon and all of the stress that today brought combined made him nearly doze off more than a few times.
Eventually, he really did doze off. Vaguely, he felt a pair of hands unbuckle the belt that held his sword and slip it off- probably so he wouldn't roll over and accidentally stab himself in his sleep. Normally, he would've objected. No one touches Horace Altman's sword, not unless they want to be beheaded. But he was too tired to move and he trusted them with his sword, he knew they would take good care of it until he woke up. The last thing he felt before he fell into a deep sleep was himself being gently laid down on his back and a blanket being thrown over him.
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