Ranger's Apprentices (Will X Reader) Book 1 (Discontinued for now)

Chapter 7

(Y/n) P.O.V

"Time you learned about the weapons you'll be using," Halt said.

Breakfast had been well before sunup for the three of us and Will and I followed Halt into the forest. We walked for a half hour with the Ranger showing us how to glide between one patch of shade to another, as silently as possible. Moving silently was never really my forte but I was going to have to learn quickly.

Will was amazing at it though, he could move between the patches with only the slightest bit of sound. Of course he still had a lot to learn but he was doing well. I on the other hand knew nothing about silent movement and Halt always cringed when I stepped on a twig or leaf.

Finally, he gave up and we went back to the cabin. Will tried to teach me a few things on the way back like how to move sticks and twigs out of the way with your foot but I just seemed to make more noise.

I did however excel at the more tactical approach of things. Alyss had taught me some basics of map reading and chart drawing because it was a skill she deemed "courier worthy." Of course it was also used in every other field like this. Will tended to skip over some details that he saw unimportant, with Halt pointing out imaginary scenarios when it would be useful to not forget that detail.

I caught on right away though, I could memorize a landscape and think of all the possible situations and what I would need to describe in them. I think it might have made up for my mediocrity at silent movement.

So finally, we were in a nice clearing in the woods, where Halt set down a burlap sack on the floor. Will looked at the sack doubtfully, it was obvious he was expecting something bigger. I looked closely at the sack and saw the faint outline of a bow. I immidiently bubbled with excitement, the bow was a weapon I was quite fond of.

The hunters that came to castle Redmont took a liking to me and sometimes let me shoot one or two arrows before helping me with technique. I was a bit rusty but I remembered liking the power the longbow gave me.

"What sort of weapons? Do we have swords?" Will asked.

Despite the conversation yesterday, the boy still had the longing to be a warrior. I of course didn't blame him, it had been his life's dream for years, but he could at least try and accept that this is his life now.

"A rangers principal weapons are stealth and silence and the ability to avoid being seen," Halt explained. "But there are some times in the battle where you will need to fight," he continued.

"So we use a sword?!" Will asked eagerly.

Halt knelt down and unwrapped the package. "No. Then we use a bow," he said, and placed one at Will's feet. He placed a similar one at mine and I saw a look of disappointment cross Wills face.

I stopped looking at him and studied the bow. It was unlike the bows the hunters at the castle had let me use. Most of it was like a longbow but it was a good deal shorter.

"It's a recurve bow, your not ready to handle a full longbow yet so this gives you the extra arrow speed with less draw weight, I learned how to make one from the Temujai," Halt explained.

"Who are they?" I asked.

"Fierce fighting men from the east," said Halt. "And probably the worlds finest archers."

"You fought against them?" Will asked.

"Against them, and with them for a time," said Halt. "Stop asking so many questions!"

"I thought curiosity was a good virtue for a Ranger," I defended, crossing my arms.

"It is, unless you start asking pointless questions," Halt said in a monotone.