Journey to be a Ranger

<Chapter Ten>

The days passed quickly, with Anna's arm getting better each day. She hated that she couldn't practice with her bow, but she used the extra time riding Erak Starfollower and Black Lily.

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Anna trudged through the snow, headed to Graybeard Halt. Her arm was still in a cast, and Anna had taken to writing sections of the Ranger's Apprentice on it. When she arrived at the cabin, which had now acquired cabinets, she found a sharpie in a drawer by her bed in the cabin, and began adding more black lettering to her forest green cast.

After half an hour, Anna decided to head inside. She unlaced her boots as she entered the warm house, and removed them, setting them to one side. Going to her room, she plunked down on her bed, bored. Suddenly, she straightened, and a grin spread across her face. Standing up, she found her mom, and asked abruptly, "Do we have any extra fabric scraps that I can use for something?"

Sylvia have her a quizzical look, "Yes, they're in the closet of the spare room. What do you need them for?" she asked, curious.

"Oh, nothing." Anna acted nonchalant, but a mischievous grin was forming.

Sylvia rolled her eyes, smiling, "Being all secretive, Ranger?"

Anna's face broke into a grin, and she hurried off to find the scraps. Finding the bin, Anna dug through it, taking scraps in all shades of brown, green, and white, stuffing them into a bag.

Peeking her head back into her mom's room, she asked, "May I use the old sewing machine?"

Sylvia nodded, "Of course."

Anna ran into her own room, grabbed her iPhone and bee-lined into the spare bedroom again, where the sewing machine was. Closing the door behind her, Anna went over to the desk, plopped down in the chair, and got her favorite music playing. Tapping her foot in time, she sang along quietly to the song while she worked. She sorted the scraps out into piles of color, and taking certain pieces, began sewing.

After half an hour, Anna held up a piece of her project. It was random pieces of fabric in all different shades of green and brown. No piece was the same size, and no edge of any piece was straight. Each piece was shaped differently, making a kind of camouflage. She sighed in satisfaction and began working again.

In another hour, Anna had made a sort of blanket out of the scraps. The edges of the blanket were semi-smooth. Standing up and stretching, Anna draped the blanket on her own shoulders, leaving a large section hanging over her head. Pinching the blanket where it lay across her neck, Anna sat down again, getting back to work. Several minutes later, Anna gave a small cry of celebration and stood up, holding the finished project at arm's length.

"Just like the Rangers'." She murmured as she slipped her cloak on, enjoying the feel of the rough fabric. Reluctantly, she took it off, unclasping the clasp that she had sewn onto her cloak, removing the cloak.

She stayed in the room another hour, working with the white pieces of fabric. When she was finished, she had another cloak, but this one was different. There were patches where there was no fabric in many places on the main section of the cloak, and one bare patch on the hood. She put on the green and brown cloak, and then slipped the white holey cloak over it, clasping the hook for the green one, and tying the simple string for the white one.

Quickly, Anna cleaned up the remainder of the scraps, and turned the light off for the sewing machine. She turned the music off, and left the room, quickly getting her boots on again, and left the house with a quick announcement to her mother, "I'll be outside."

Anna sprinted into the woods, foregoing the path, breathing deeply in the cold crisp air. She lay down, face shaded in the cowl of the cloak, and waited. For anything-- for something to happen. Anna lay there, refusing to move, for a few minutes before her absolute stillness paid off, and she heard a slight crunch behind her. She resisted the urge to turn to see what had made the noise, knowing that any movement would make her be discovered.

Anyone else would have turned their head to look, trying to see where the newcomer might be. Halt knew that any movement could lead to his discovery, so he stayed as still as the rock he looked like.

Anna smiled mentally, remembering the section in Kings of Clonmel. She stayed still for several moments, listening to the newcomers sounds. Very slowly, Anna shifted her head to see if she could spot it in the failing light. She spotted movement and froze in place. Remembering a Ranger trick, Anna widened her focus, knowing she had the best chance of seeing it's movement. She saw a slight movement again, and smiled as she saw what was causing the movement.

A small chipmunk was only a foot or two away from Anna, and she studied it for awhile until it scampered up the tree and disappeared.

Anna stood up carefully, listening to her surroundings for any out of the ordinary noise. Swiftly, she headed back towards her home, looking like a shadow fleeing across the snow.

887 words this time! Sorry I haven't updated in so long! I kept telling myself I "have time" -_-

Well here is the update! Please vote and comment if you like the story! :)

This story has awhile yet to go, so that's good! I know how it's ending, though.

Well, tchau tchau puppy tchau hobbits!

o.O Evara O.o