Rangers Apprentice Oneshots

The gift

Will had been back from Skandia for a few months. In that time he had made great progress on improving his lost skills as well as his mental health. Unfortunately, with the arrival of the cooler weather, Will was suffering, and Halt hated every second of it. He hated seeing Will's entire body wracked with violent shivers every time a breeze blew. He hated seeing Will's eyes mist over and knowing his mind was back in that terrible place. He hated the nightmares the boy suffered from nearly every night. One day, Halt had a brilliant idea. He stood from his seat at the table and put on his cloak.
"I'll be back soon, Will," he called to his apprentice before exiting the cabin and saddling Abelard. With everything prepared, Halt headed out to visit Crowley at Castle Araluen.
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Nearly two weeks later, Halt was sitting with Will in the living room when he heard a knock at the door. He opened it to reveal a mailman from the castle carrying a box in him arms.

"Ranger Halt? Ranger commandant Crowley told me to bring this to you."

"Ah, yes. Thank you." Halt said, taking the package from the man. He closed the door and sat back down next to Will. His apprentice was staring at him curiously and Halt knew he was dying with curiosity.

"Will, I know that, with the colder weather in Araluen, you've been struggling. And that's nothing to be ashamed of. With everything that you went through I'm so proud of how well you've been handling everything. But also, I hate seeing you struggle, and up until now, I couldn't think of any way to help you other than to be a shoulder for you to lean on. But I think you'll like this idea I had." With that, Halt passed the box to the boy who opened it gently.

"Halt!" Will gasped "It's beautiful!" Will pulled out the cozy blanket from the box. But this was no regular blanket. The soft material was made of the same type that made ranger cloaks. It camouflaged exactly the same way so that Will could take it on missions if he needed. Will noticed the brown embroidered oak leaf in the corner and ran his finger over it. Without a second though, he flung himself into Halt's arms.

"Thank you, Halt! I love it!"

Will used his blanket all the time. He did indeed consider it the best gift ever.