Ranger's Apprentice One Shots

Bring Your Peasant To Work Day!

It wasn't perhaps the sunniest day for it, or perhaps the right mood for it, but for the first time, the Rangers were having a teach-for-a-day fair. Peasants, knights, servants, and nobles alike could come down to a meeting grounds, where a handful of Rangers grouped together and set up different areas within the training of a Ranger.

The grounds were large, around five acres, and nearly all of it was used. In one corner stood an Archery Course, another, a camouflage, another an obstacle course, and various other activities like knife throwing and unseen movement.

It was a chance for the 'normal' folk to learn a little of what their aspiring Rangers do. Ranger apprentices were there, too, teaching all ages. Little difference is held between a certified Ranger and an apprentice, at least in skill.

The Corps Commandant overlooked the square, wandering from each area to another, occasionally helping out. At that moment, he passed the archery course, watching as Gilan taught a young woman, perhaps eighteen years old, how to properly shoot. The target set up about fifteen yards, give or take, but her shots were wild and inaccurate. She sighed loudly, exasperatingly. Gilan moved closer to her, and after asking permission, held her hands with his own.

"Keep your bowhand straight," he said, running the palm of his hand under her arm, showing her how to keep straight. "Now, pull back...goood. Feel as if you're pushing your shoulder blades together...good. Now, eye your target, and let your fingers relax, letting go of the bowstring. Go."

She let go, her arrow hand moving slightly when she released, therefore the arrow bouncing off the wrong direction. She looked at Gilan, confused about what she did wrong.

He flashed her a smile, then asked her to take another arrow. She nocked it, and this time, Gilan explained, "You did fine, Alisha, but when you released your arrow hand," he pointed to her arm pulling back the bowstring, "fell. Make sure to keep it in position until the arrow flies off." She nodded.

"Good," Gillan said. "Now pull back..." she did, holding it at full length, her thumb lining her jawline. "Lower your arrow-hand..." he pushed down on her arm gently, making her arms a straight line, "sight... and... release."

This time, her arrow flew true, hitting the outer ring of the innermost. Alisha grinned and cried out happily. Gilan smiled, clapping her on the shoulder. "Excellent!" he said. "Do it again."

Moving on, Crowley watched a few other Rangers help with various people. Halt his hands full with a young boy, younger than any apprentice, who was practically bouncing with joy. Whether from being so close to the legendary Halt, or because he was holding an actual Ranger's weapon, it was unclear to Crowley.

"Nock, boy," Halt ordered. The boy grinned and took an arrow out from the quiver, holding it awkwardly and trying to nock it just above the colorful mark. Halt waited impatiently. Crowley smiled. He knew Halt had been highly against this fair idea, but the Rangers needed to be a little hands on. It was good for the community to interact with the Rangers from time to time.

"Now pull back," Halt said, carefully keeping an eye on the boy's posture. "No, not with your arms. With your back muscles. If you use your arms, you'll lose drawweight too fast."

The boy tried, and the bow shook heavily. Halt made a quick decision and held the boy's hands, steadying him. At the touch, the boy's eyes lit up as if he just found out he won gold, and his eyes drifted from the target.

"No, focus," Halt barked. "Eyes back forward."

The boy obeyed.

"Now pull back... arms straight... now release." The boy let the arrow fly ,and actually managed to hit the target sheet, even if it was the white of the poster, and not even in the colorful rings.

"I did it, mister! I did it!" the boy cried, too joyful to process how badly he'd shot.

Halt studied the boy for a moment, and then said dryly, "Yes, with the accuracy of a Ranger, too."

The young boy completely missed out on the sarcasm and gleefully said, "Thanks Ranger Halt! Wow, I can't wait to tell Ma. She'll be so proud. She told me how when I grow up I should be a Ranger and now I can say how Ranger Halt told me I should shoot like one! Did you know that..." as the boy babbled, Halt at least had the grace to look a little ashamed of his tease.

Crowley caught his old friend's attention and shook his head, smiling. He moved on, the boy prattling onto Halt about his pet dog and fish at home, oblivious to Halt's silent manner and impatience to teach the shooting.

The commandant moved onto the unseen movement field, his lips twisting into an amused smile of the volunteer who was playing a short game of hide and seek with the Ranger Kale. Kale was an older man, older than Crowley himself, but he had a sense of humor that was lost in most of the Rangers. He enjoyed sharing his skills with these people, knowing that they most likely wouldn't succeed, but he knew that it made them happy, and therefore he was happy. When someone failed, he would look at the positive and make an easy joke about the failure if needed. His soft brown eyes matched his manner, and people gravitated towards him. His gruff look only came out in a grandfatherly manner.

The volunteer wasn't bad, though. He was about twenty, maybe twenty-four at most, sliding fairly between covers, his movement one with the wind and the stealth, slow but steady. Most people rushed the stealth, thinking that they were too obvious and needed to hide quickly. But this young man seemed to grasp the idea of slow movement, therefore drawing the eyes away from you as he stopped completely, standing stock-still, waiting for the seekers to pass.

Obviously, Kale could spot the young man, but that wasn't the game. It followed the rules of hide-and-go-seek, but instead of being completely hidden, if the team along with Kale spotted the young man three times, he'd be out and someone else would try. The opposing team — the one that searched — would have to test their unseen movement, too. Whichever team made it to the finish line, across the small swamp area, they'd win.

By the looks of it, the young man was on his way to winning. He'd made it more than halfway, taking impossibly slow steps, and standing stock-still when the searchers passed. Kale kept his eyes on the boy, as to him, he was like a parrot amongst pigeons, but to the others, he was very, very good.

Kale waved a hand to Crowley as he passed, and Crowley responded similarly. He missed having Kale around, when they were both younger, it wasn't uncommon for them to be seen together. Now, with Crowley's paperwork and Commandant business, and Kale's, well, Ranger-ness, their lives got separated by their jobs.

He moved onto the obstacle course where Apprentice Will and Apprentice Jack were attempting to time, encourage, and help people through. The course was a typical one the apprentices used, and by the looks on the boy's faces, Crowley could tell they enjoyed seeing others fail while they shouted the harsh encouragement.

"Come on, girl, go, go, go! Only two minutes! This isn't a walk, it's a run, so go, go, go!" Jack shouted, waving his arms to urge her forward.

The girl, already laden with mud and grime from flailing into the course, now slipped on the logs she had to balance across and in result, fell into more mud. A satisfying splash puddled around her, and she quickly sought to regain balance on the log, but it was too high up. Shrugging, she ran across the mud, technically beating the system, and jumped on to the next obstacle: rope climbing.

"Get up, Get up!" Will shouted.

The girl tried, but with her weak peasant arms, she didn't have the upper body strength she needed. She made it a foot or two off the ground, then promptly gave up. Crowley forced himself not to smile. That would be unkind.

Having seen enough, Crowley wandered back to the Commandant tent. This had been a great idea, he reflected. What great entertainment for him.

I know, I know. This really isn't one of my best writings. I thought it would turn out so much better, but it kind of just... flopped. There isn't any problem or climax, and the narration was pretty lousy. I'm sorry. I'm also running out of ideas, though. So I ask you: 

I'MSODESPERATEPLEASEGIVEMESOMEIDEASORI'MPROBABLYGOINGTOREPEATMYSELFOVERINSTORIESANDTHAT'SREALLYBORINGPLEASEPLEASEPLEASEHELPME!!!!!!!!

Thanks, Ya'll