Rangers Apprentice

•[7] Weapons

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Y/n POV

Will groans as I shake him awake. The sun is far from up, and I wouldn't be awake unless something exciting was happening. He's learning to use weapons today. I remember the first time I used a bow, the first time I threw a knife - and it landed correctly - and the first time I got a bullseye.

"What?" He mumbles, digging his face deeper into the pillow.

"Wake - Up," I say in between shakes. I watched his eyebrows twitch and he frowns, his eyes bolt open and he sits up abruptly. "What?" I whisper. His face relaxes and he slumps back down onto his elbows.

"You know that feeling you get when you wake up and forget where you are?" He asks with a hoarse and raspy voice. I let out a small 'ah' before saying,

"Get dressed, then come out for breakfast." Walking out of the small room, I make my way to the coffee pot in the kitchen. I silently thank whoever is listening for Halt. He made coffee. I carefully poor the black liquid into a mug and swipe a spoon full of honey into it. While letting the sweet nectar mix with the bitter liquid, I slice five pieces of bread; two for Will, two for Halt and one for me - even though I could totally down the whole loaf. Easily. I have quite an appetite, but I enjoy my fruits more than my wheat. I place bread on each of the three plates, buttering them all with the soft, yellow paste. I set out jams on the table and place a piece of fruit on each plate, mine had three pieces to make up for the lack of bread. I place each plate on the small table and also bringing the coffee pot over, knowing that Halt and I will need refills very soon. It was going to be a long day.

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THIRD PERSON POV

"It is time you learnt about the weapons you'll be using," said Halt.

They had walked for about an hour, with the Ranger Halt and apprentice Y/n showing Will how to glide from one patch of shade to the next as silently as possible. Will was a good student in the art of unseen movement, as Halt and Y/n already remarked, but he had a lot to learn before he reached Ranger standard. The boy and girl were keen to learn - Y/n learning things she never knew before, which had her suspecting that Halt had held back knowledge for the past fifteen years -  particularly when it was a matter of field craft like this.

It was a slightly different matter when it came to the less exciting tasks like map reading and chart drawing. The pair tended to skip over details that they saw were unimportant until Halt pointed out with some acerbity, 'You'd find these skills would become a little more important if you were planning a route for company of heavy cavalry and forgot to mention that there's a stream in the way'.

They trio stopped at a clearing and Halt dropped a small bundle to the ground that had been concealed beneath his cloak.
Will regarded the bundle doubtfully - Y/n, however, was getting more and more excited. She knew that she would be getting her own new bow. The one she had currently was a very old, one of Halts old bows infact. When Will thought of weapons, he thought of swords and battle axes and war maces - the weapons carried by knights. It was obvious this small bundle contained none of those.
"What sort of weapons? Do we have swords?" Will asked, his eyes glued to the bundle.

"A Rangers principal weapons are stealth and silence and their ability to avoid being seen," said Halt, "but if they fail, then you may have to fight."

"So then we have a sword?" The young boy said hopefully.
Unwrapping the bundle, Halt placed the weapons at Will and Y/n's feet.

"No," he started,

"We have a bow," Y/n finished, picking up her new 'baby'. She felt the curve of the wood first, checking how strong it is. Then, she felt the string, letting her index finger slide up it. Holding it out, she made sure her arm was twisted away from the bow so the string would not come in contact with the soft flesh part of her under arm. She checked the aim, pointing it at trees and rocks. Satisfied with her new weapon, she turned a hopeful eye to Will.
His first reaction was disappointment. A bow was something people used for hunting. Everyone had bows. A bow was more a tool than a weapon. As a child, he made his fair share of them himself, bending a springy tree branch into shape. Then, as Halt said nothing, he looked more closely at the bow. This, he realised, was no branch.