Araluen, a few months later...

That same sun was just starting to touch the tops of the distant hills in western Araluen, and the light breeze picked up as Tug and Abelard's hooves stepped lightly over the brittle leaves. They plodded together along the small path in the sun-dappled forest, the light turning a shade of orange and casting their two riders' faces in a strange glow. Will and Halt both sat astride their horses, their bows slung comfortably up on their shoulders and their cloaks pulled aside as the warmth of the day faded, discussing their plan.

" ...you said something about going original? How original are we talking?"

"As original as one gets. Don't you remember the first time you went to a Gathering? We got him then." Halt ducked and brushed aside a few branches that hung over the path.

"Oh, so you mean original, as in, the first Gathering I ever went to. Wasn't that the one where we got called away to deal with the Kalkara?"

"Yes, but more to the point, that was the one where we got Gilan really good."

"I see..." Will trailed off as he recalled that fateful day. "So... You want me to hide in a tree again? But since we already did it, isn't that a little old?"

"Old? It's not old to reuse a successful plan. It's old to keep asking these pointless questions." Halt ducked under another low hanging tree limb and scowled as his tired muscles ached at the movement.

"They aren't pointless, you know that. I, for one, definitely don't want to hide in a tree again. I have a feeling Gilan might actually recognize the plan if he sees you kneeling on the trail again, like you did last time."

"He won't recognize it, it was so long ago he probably forgot about the whole thing anyway."

"But you can't be sure. I vote no."

"And I vote yes, so we have a problem." Halt paused for a second in mock thought. "But... since I am the senior Ranger - "

"Oh, don't you try to pull rank on me. You know full well I have enough years in the Corps that I could be considered a senior Ranger, and I've had enough years for a while now."

"Yes, but I have more years than you do, therefore we should go with my plan - "

"The number of years doesn't matter, and your seniority doesn't mean your plans are superior to mine - "

"Alright, alright," Halt put his hands up defensively. "Fine. I'm not saying we're going with your plan, but I suppose I'm willing to at least hear you out."

Will rolled his eyes. "Finally. Alright, so I was thinking - "

"Always a dangerous - "

"Don't say it. Are you going to let me finish or not?"

Halt frowned, miffed that his trademark reply had been interrupted, and grumbled under his breath, not replying. Will took that as a sign to continue.

"So I was thinking that we should hide Tug and Abelard in that special thicket of trees right near the campsites, and then go back out and hide in the dense brush along the road we know Gilan will be coming from. Then, when he rides by, we get him."

Halt raised an eyebrow. "That's it?"

Will narrowed his eyes at Halt. "That's it."

Halt, in turn, narrowed his eyes, but said grudgingly, "Fine, I suppose it's as good as any other option. But before you get all cheerful, I have a suggestion."

Will, who had broken out into a wide grin at Halt's previous decision, said lightly, "Fine. So long as the suggestion isn't to completely change the plan."

Halt frowned more deeply. "No, it's not. All I wanted to add was that maybe, instead of both of us coming from the same side of the path, I should come from one side, and you from the other. Or maybe, if you were feeling like climbing, you could jump down from a tree right in front of him. That would startle him pretty effectively."

It was Will's turn to frown. "But what if I'm not feeling like climbing?"

Halt raised both eyebrows incredulously. "You always feel like climbing, since when do you not? You have to admit, it's a good idea."

"I just don't feel like it." Will turned pointedly away from Halt and focused on the path ahead. Halt stared suspiciously at him.

"Why don't you feel like it? You love climbing."

"You just asked that, and my answer hasn't changed. I just don't," Will muttered through clenched teeth. By this time, they had reached a fork in the path, and Halt didn't even need to nudge Abelard as they took the left road. Both horses had been here so many times that they didn't even need directions.

Halt decided to let Will off the hook. But I'll ask him about it later. "Alright, fine. So we'll both just come from opposite sides of the trail and jump in front of Blaze?"

"Yes. But we will need to be careful not to get kicked or trampled."

"I know Blaze, he wouldn't trample me. But you... We can't be certain." Halt glanced sidelong at Will.

Will rolled his eyes. "Halt, I know you're still trying to convince me to swing from a tree like a monkey, but I'm not going to. I'll be fine."

Halt muttered under his breath, but they both fell into a peaceful silence as the sun sunk lower into the hills, the light turning a vibrant hue of orange. They rode down the path for a good ten minutes before a whiff of smoke alerted them they were near the camp. Halt nodded to Will, and they both turned their horses off the path and into the trees. They rode through the underbrush until the road was no longer visible, and they stopped beside a large grove of trees. Here, the light was so dim it was already as dark as late evening, and it was difficult to distinguish a tree from a large bush. Halt and Will silently dismounted and left Tug and Abelard behind the grove of trees, commanding them to be 'silent'. Halt gestured for Will to stay on his right, and then they both ghosted silently through the trees, back toward the path. They slipped through the dense underbrush and made it to the edge of the trail. "You go over there. And remember, other Rangers may take this road as well, so don't jump out unless we are both certain it's Gilan."

Will smiled faintly at the thought of jumping out on the path, only to realize it was Crowley or some other senior Ranger... No, stop thinking about it. He said not to even think about it. "That would be unfortunate."

Halt glanced at him, both eyebrows raised. Will raised an eyebrow back. "What?"

He squinted suspiciously at Will. He had been acting a little strangely the last few hours, and his last statement had been very suspicious. "Unfortunate?"

Will just looked at him expectantly. "Yes. It wouldn't be very good if it was, say, Crowley, now would it?"

"Yes, I suppose..." Halt trailed off, still suspicious. "Now go along."

Will grinned a little, and then slipped noiselessly across the narrow path to the underbrush on the other side, immediately disappearing into the vegetation.

Now we wait, thought Halt. He carefully cleared a small spot in the dense grass and sat himself down, preparing for the long hours ahead.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Will squatted in the tall grass, hidden carefully and completely by the bush directly in front of him. He could no longer see the path clearly, but that didn't bother him. He had been sitting for almost three hours, which by Ranger standards, wasn't too long of a wait. But now he was expecting him. He glanced left and right again, only moving his eyes. He's got to be here by now. The challenge now is to see if he can find me, and not Halt. He crouched for another moment longer, and then he heard it. The faint tapping sound. He just barely turned his head, moving only a few inches, but that was enough. Only moments later, a small pebble rolled across the ground and hit his boot. He turned his head just a few more inches, and saw Gilan. He was standing behind a tree just a few meters away, pressing himself against the trunk. His cowl was up, but Will could make out the grin on his face. Will turned his head back to face the path and scanned the bushes for Halt. Seeing that Halt was not moving or signaling him, Will smoothly lowered himself flat onto his stomach in the grass. He started moving forward, crawling on his knees and elbows, staying flat on the ground. He reached the grass at the base of Gilan's tree and crawled around to the back of tree. He got back onto his feet and pressed himself up against the tree next to Gilan, who had stayed perfectly still the whole time. Gilan flicked his fingers at a patch of cover a little further back into the forest, and Will nodded slightly. They both moved as one, flitting through the trees like shadows. Will reached the cover first, and he waited as Gilan slipped into the small grove of trees just after him. "Gilan, long time no see."

Gilan smiled and shook hands with Will, whispering, "Good to see you as well. Are you ready for this?"

Will smiled. "I think I've been ready for a long, long time."

"You and me both," Gilan whispered as he glanced around the trunk. "Okay, so Halt is starting to expect me right about now, and I don't think he saw either of us, which was a little bit lucky. So, before he hears us or suspects something, let's go."

Will nodded, and slipped out from behind the trees, Gilan following closely behind.

They moved through the trees once again back toward where Halt was sitting, oblivious to what was going on. As Will and Gilan got closer, they went off to the right of Halt to go around him. Once they reached the other side of the path, they angled back toward where Halt was sitting. They both came directly behind Halt and stopped behind a tree. Halt still sat there, not moving at all, peering out at the road. But Will and Gilan both froze as Halt turned his head a little, looking off to the left. Then he surprised them both by whispering, "Will! Do you think he's running late? He should have been here at least an hour ago, if not more." Then Halt got up on his knees, readjusting his cloak, and stood. He reslung his bow up into the crook of his shoulder and neck, and then whispered again, "Will, get over here. He's not coming."

Will glanced at Gilan, who grinned at him and nodded. Will drew in a breath to speak, but Halt's next words stopped him. "Will, you're right behind me, aren't you? And I suppose Gilan is with you?" He had stopped whispering, and he spoke in a conversational tone.

Will grinned so widely he could barely hold in his laughter. He called out, "How did you know?"

Halt turned slowly, a deep frown on his face. He took in the sight of Will and Gilan standing shoulder to shoulder grinning like two little boys. "I heard a movement," he muttered.

Will couldn't hold it in any longer, and he burst into laughter. Gilan also laughed, and walked up to Halt and hugged him. "Good to see you, Halt."

Halt glared at him, but returned the hug grudgingly, glancing suspiciously between the two younger Rangers, still scowling deeply. "Excellent to see you. And whose idea was this?"

Gilan pointed to Will. "He thought up the idea to work together to get you this year, and we worked out the plan together. So I suppose it was both of us."

Will grinned triumphantly. "And it worked. Score one for us." He offered Gilan his hand, and he clapped his hand enthusiastically against Will's.

Halt's glare was deep enough to curdle milk. "So, you just abandoned me, met up with Gilan, and then crept around to scare me?"

Will's smile faded just a little. "Yes, that was the intention, but you unfortunately noticed us at last minute, so - "

"So technically you didn't get to carry out the entirety of your plan," Halt fired back smugly.

"True, but..." Gilan glanced at Will.

"Your voice when I didn't answer you was priceless. I'm going to remember it for a long time." Will burst out laughing again.

"So how did you know we were there?" Gilan asked.

Halt walked up to them and straightened his shoulders. "I heard you."

Gilan raised an eyebrow. "Both of us?"

"No, I didn't specifically hear one of you, but I heard movement. When Will didn't answer me, I figured something must have gone wrong. And then it occurred to me that he might have tricked me, and then I realized what had happened."

Gilan raised his eyebrows. "Why would you think that Will had tricked you?"

Halt narrowed his eyes at Will. "The last few hours you were really twitchy and mysterious, and I know you only act like that when you're hiding something."

Will's smile faded, and Halt continued. "Although, I don't remember teaching you how to lie like that. And I'll admit, I didn't suspect a plot like this even though you were acting strange."

Will chuckled. "Oh, Halt, I've learned how to lie, mostly by watching you. But I've developed my own techniques over the years."

Halt's eyebrows rose again, and rolled his eyes. "Oh really? Unfortunate..."

Will looked at him, puzzled. "Unfortunate... What?"

Halt smiled wolfishly. "You said that earlier, and I thought it was strange. Now I understand."

Gilan looked at Will accusingly. "You mean you almost gave this whole plan away?"

"Multiple times," Halt added. Will glared pointedly at him.

Gilan shrugged resignedly. "I don't think I want to know the exact number."

"You really don't," agreed Halt.

Gilan glanced at Will. "Didn't I tell you not to think about it? That should have been enough to keep him from guessing."

Will shifted uncomfortably. "I tried, I really did, but my mind just kept jumping back to it."

Gilan raised an eyebrow. "Well, you're damned lucky he didn't figure it out sooner."

Will opened his mouth to say something, but Halt forestalled him. "That's right you are. You two do realize this might just come back to bite you in the future, don't you?"

Will rolled his eyes. "It won't, not for now. We'll worry about that when it comes. All that matters is that we finally got you."

Halt's eyes narrowed into slits and was about to say something, but Gilan decided to stop that discussion before it started. "I don't know about the two of you, but I'm starving. Do you want to go get the horses and set up camp?"

Halt glared at them both one last time, but nodded. Will smiled gleefully, and then nodded to Gilan. They all walked off toward the path, Will occasionally sniggering, and Halt elbowing him sharply in the side to shut him up.

***************

I see that you made it through the second chapter. I did warn you it was coming soon. Hope you all liked it! Please tell me what you thought or point out any typos in the comments, and please vote! I don't know when I'll post next, but I promise a minimum of two weeks before the next post... So hang it there. Thanks for reading! ;)