Will sighed. Nothing could be better than the moment right now. The sun was red and rising in the morning sky, small tufts of clouds floated lazily in the light breeze and the leaves of the trees rustled and whispered softly. To top it off, in his hand was a warm cup of freshly brewed coffee generously laced with golden wild honey. Well, he thought sourly, it was almost one of the better moments. Some times he wished that the paperwork would somehow find a way to magically do itself. Sitting in one of the chairs on the veranda of his little cottage, Will read through some of the reports that had been sent to him. Most were from neighbouring villages, telling of whats been going on. A few were from Crowley, the Ranger Corps commandant.

Reading over a few more of the reports, Will eventually gave into boredom and stood up from his chair, doing his best not to yawn. Cup in hand, the Ranger walked back into his cabin and set the now-empty cup on the counter o be washed with the rest of the dishes later that night. Having already done the morning chores, Will set out to begin packing for the annual Rangers Gathering. Folding spare clothes and cloaks into his saddle bags, he walked back out into the little kitchen to gather some food for the trip. Going through the cabinets, Will cursed silently under his breath as he noticed that he was dangerously low on coffee beans and realized that he would have to go into town to get more.

The young Ranger shrugged. Going into town wouldn't be a problem considering that he could make the most of the trip by getting other supplies as well. Walking back out of the cottage, he took note that the sun was now high in the sky; a sure sign that the day was half-way over and that if he wanted to get anything else done today then he better do it soon. Walking to the side of the cottage, he whistled for Tug to come instead of having to track down the shaggy pony form the clearing by the lean-to. When the little horse trotted up, he butted his head against his masters shoulder in affection. And to also con an apple from Will.

Will rolled his eye's at the antics of his horse. Shoving his head away playfully, Will began to saddle Tug. The little horse shook his head violently like horses tend to do and regarded the Ranger with a look of annoyance. I haven't had an apple today. Will, not bothering to look at him replied without pausing in his task. "You can have one when we are done and back from the village." But I want one now. "Well, then your going to have to wait for when we get back form the village. The quicker you stop your complaining, the quicker we can get this over with." As if to prove his point, Will swung up into the saddle and nudged Tug into a trot, leading him out of the clearing and heading in the direction of the road that lead to the village.

If your in such a hurry, why are we going so slow?

Rolling his eyes in exasperation, Will didn't bother to try continue the argument. He learned a long time ago that there was positively no hope in having the last word in with this horse. Tapping his heals to Tug's sides, the horse smoothly began to gallop down the beaten road, excited at the prospect of finally being able to get an apple.

>>-------->

By the time everything was done, the sun was beginning to fall from it's position in the sky, turning the vast blue sky into a canvas painted with vibrant red's, yellow's and orange's. The shadows were dark and long, dancing in the fading light of the day. Will and Tug were finally home and after putting everything away, Will went out to take care of his horse.

Since Will was invited to dinner with Halt and Pauline at the castle, Will would be leaving Tug at the stables and saw no reason to feed his horse now, knowing that he would be spoiled at the Redmont stables. So, setting out a bucket of water for him, Will began to groom Tug to make him look decent and not like he had just rolled in the dirt. During this task however, a paused topic came back up between the two of them.

Tug snorted and pawed the ground with one foreleg, I haven't had my apple today. "You can have one later." Will replied. You said that this morning, his horse looked at Will with a skeptical eye.

"Yes, and I'm saying it now."

You forgot didn't you?

"I didn't forget, I just had better things to do."

You forgot.

Will put the brush down and sighed. Walking over to the bin with apples in it, he picked one up and gave it to Tug.

"Happy now?"

Yes.

Sighing, Will shook his head and finished grooming Tug, stowing the brush away in it's proper place before looking outside the lean-to. "It's getting late. Probably should head out now or we'll be late for dinner." I wont be late, you will. Glaring at his horse, Will lead him out of the lean-to before mounting him and for the second time that day, had him gallop on the beaten road. Of course the difference was that he was going to the castle.

>>-------->

"So when will you be leaving for the Gathering?" Lady Pauline asked as the plates from dinner were cleared and Halt and Will happily helped themselves to a pot of coffee.

Will thought for a moment before responding. "Tomorrow morning most likely. Crowley said he wanted us there a bit earlier to help with organizing the activities for the apprentices." Even as his ex-apprentice was saying this, Halt shook his head. "Be that as it may, there is still that matter about those bandits."

"Bandits?" Will questioned, looking up after he had spooned a good amount of honey into his coffee, a frown across his face. "I don't remember any reports mentioning that a gang of bandits had come to Redmont."

"That's because they were never mentioned in the reports. Just this afternoon a farmer travelling the road had come across a crashed tax cart. It was part of a decoy plan. A larger cart armed with six knights and two drivers had drove on ahead in the morning while a second cart that actually had the tax money left a few hours later. It was less noticeable and was only accompanied by one knight, fresh out of battle school, too." Will tilted his head at this piece of news. "And yet," he said, "these bandits managed to see through the decoy and just go after the actual tax cart? Must be some bandits." He mused.

Halt nodded. "Exactly. That's why Baron Arald insisted that we take care of it before we head to the Gathering. The quicker we get rid of them, the better." "Well, what if we did both?" Will asked curiously. Seeing the blank look on his mentors face, he elaborated his plan. "One of us goes on ahead to the Gathering to help with Crowley while the other goes and take cares of the bandits."

Pursing his lips, Halt mulled over the younger Rangers plan. "I don't know, Will. As you said, these are some bandits and it might take the both of us to round them up."

"I'm sure one of us is more than capable to take care of them. If not, then we can always come back to Redmont and gather up a few knights before going after them again." Will watched as Halt thought this over before nodding slowly. "Yes that could work..." He trailed off and the younger Rangers sensed that Halt had found some sort of flaw in his plan. Knowing Halt as well as he did, he kept quiet, waiting for Halt to bring the problem to light.

"Which of us is going to the Gathering and the other after these bandits?" A bit startled that there had been no problem found, Will thought a bit before replying. "I could go after the bandits. I already have my things packed and Tug is always ready to leave at a moments notice."

Before Halt could make some form of argument about why he should go and not Will, Pauline stood and clasped her hands together. "Well, since that's settled, why don't you go get plenty of rest, Will since you're most likely leaving early in the morning." Rising from his seat, Will stretched and stifled a yawn. "Alright. G'night Halt, Pauline." "Good night, Will. Be safe while your away." Waving in acknowledgement, Halt watched as Will left the room and shut the door quietly behind him. As soon as he was gone, the grizzled Ranger turned a perplexed look into his wife.

"What was that?" He questioned bluntly. Pauline, leaning over the table to start clearing away the coffee mugs looked back at him with a forged frown. "What, was what, dear?" "What just happened. You cutting off the conversation. Shooing Will out before he even finished his coffee." "Oh," she said, feigning a look of utter bewilderment before shrugging it off, "that, was my way of forcing you to let go?"

"Let go?" Halt sputtered. "Let go of what?" He nearly exclaimed. "Of Will. You two are always off in a mission together. Where one is, the other is bound to be nearby. Letting Will go alone on this mission will help you learn to let go. Lord knows your not going to be around to protect him forever, Halt, and when that time comes, don't you think it would be important for Will to know how to take care of a situation himself?" Halt blinked once, then twice before replying.

"So your saying that I'm overprotective of Will?" He asked shortly. Pauline laid a hand on his shoulder. "Yes. And it would be better for the both of you to do separate jobs now and then. He's still young and has some growing to do. Let him go and do just that."

With her piece of mind spoken, Pauline retreated to their bedchamber and got ready for the night. Meanwhile, Halt was still standing in the now empty room, muttering to himself.

"I'm not overprotective."

•Yeah, okay. This so did not go as planed. This chapter was supposed to be published, heh, several months ago, but ya know, life. Anyway it's here, I'm going to have to play catch up now, yay! -_-