Ranger's Apprentice - Rescue

Prologue

"Halt, I'm sure I'll be fine," Will assured his mentor as he slung his saddle pack over to the other side of Tug's saddle.

Halt grunted in reply, and Will gave the man a wide grin.

"You worry too much," he teased, swinging easily up into the saddle. Halt watched him with what looked like disinterest, but Will knew to be a great deal of concern.

"I don't worry," Halt shot, subconsciously laying a hand on the side of Tug's neck.

"You do worry," Will insisted, still grinning. Halt gave his apprentice a tortured glare.

"Arrogance is more dangerous than carelessness," Halt told Will, suddenly becoming serious. "It leads to carelessness without you even realizing that you're being careless at all."

Will's brows furrowed together as he tried to decipher the words his mentor had shot out at rapid speed. Halt tended to do that when he was worried, Will had learned over the years. When something was on the older Ranger's mind, he seemed to speak doubly fast, as if that would hide the fact that he felt any emotion at all.

In reality, it only drew more attention to Halt's concerned behavior.

Will nodded slowly, despite the confusion he felt. He understood the gist of what Halt was saying, he thought.

"I know that," he assured Halt once again. "I'm not trying to be arrogant. Only confident. I have been training for this for the past five years, you know."

Halt scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"Really?" he asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Is that why you've been hanging around here all these years? To train? I thought you were that servant boy I requested from Arald."

Will smiled at Halt's jab.

"That would explain all the chores you gave me," Will teased back, and laughed aloud as Halt frowned deeply. "Oh come now, Halt. I'll be fine. Really. It's a simple mission. All I have to do is travel to Highcliff Fief and find out where this unnamed scholar is being kept, rescue him, and come back here! And if I can find out what the men wanted with the scholar, then I'll do that too. Really, what could go wrong?"

Halt made a sound closely resembling a growl at the last words.

"You never ask that question," he said sternly, and Will's easy nature disappeared from his demeanor. "Have I taught you nothing at all?"

Will frowned, suddenly serious.

"You're right," he admitted. "I'm sorry, Halt. I will be careful, though. I promise. You've taught me well." He leaned down to lay a reassuring hand on his mentor's shoulder. "Now it's up to me to use it right."

Halt nodded, looking Will in the eyes. 

"Be safe," he said, and Will nodded again before slapping the reins against Tug's neck, turning him to head out of the woods.

Halt stood, feeling rather old and lonely, as he watched his apprentice leave. Soon, Will would graduate and become a full member of the Ranger Corps. He would no longer be under Halt's feet, the man thought to himself with a chuckle. Then, his laughter faded as he realized that Will would also no longer be under his protection.

"Be safe indeed," he muttered to Will's long gone form, before turning to go back inside.