The end...? (Ranger's apprentice/ Brotherband fan-fiction)

Chapter 12

Will watched from a distance as the Herons came in action. Edvin took over the role of commander for some reason and strictly ordered one of them to go aboard the ship to get something. The boy, whom Will now recognized as Jesper, returned with a bundle of cloth in his arms, which he carefully handed over to Edvin. Edvin unwrapped the bundle to reveal a medical kit. Stig took command as well, taking Lydia and Ingvar aboard of the hopefully deserted Scoti ship. Will saw Edvin smoothly taking care of Hal, as if he'd done it a hundred times before, to then move on to the smaller, less dangerous wounds of the rest of the crew.
Slowly, Will approached the brotherband, then changed his mind and moved towards the Heron instead. He climbed aboard and scanned the deck. It didn't take him long before he had found was he was looking for: Evanlyn was hiding between two of the benches, her arms covering her head. As Will crouched besides her, she removed her arms, to reveal a fearful expression on her face.
"Will you come with me, Evanlyn?" he whispered. She quickly embraced him, relieved to find she was not alone, instead of answering him. Will rose to his feet, carrying the little girl in his arms and turned around. Now he did head for the Herons, exactly in time to see Stig, Lydia and Ingvar return with two prisoners trying to struggle away from them. Ingvar lifted them from the ground one by one, to give stig and Lydia the chance to tie their hands and feet together. This reduced the struggle significantly. The prisoners were positioned a small distance away; not too close, not too far away.
Stig, Lydia and Ingvar then joined the rest of the group and Will followed their example, covering the last few meters separating him from the group, as he realized he had stopped walking while watching. Thorn was staring at Hal, a tense expression on his face, as if this would make Hal open his eyes. Edvin noticed as well, nervously fiddling with his supplies, afraid his medical knowledge wouldn't be enough. Will handed over Evanlyn to Lydia, earning him a sad look from the little girl. He knew she had been scared by all the fighting and wanted to stay with him - he was the only one here she'd known her entire life -, but he needed to have his hands free for a moment. He crouched down besides Hal, opposite from Thorn and observed the situation for a while.
"Well?! Are you going to do something or what?" Thorn exclaimed, more upset than he let on. His voice broke just a little, but Will decided not to pay attention to that. He didn't answer either, which encouraged Thorn to continue. "Just use your ranger-magic and... and fix him!" His voice trailed away at the last part. Will took his time to formulate an answer.
"Rangers don't have magic," he then informed Thorn calmly. "All my skills are the results of years and years of constant practice." He paused for a moment, meeting Thorn's bewildered gaze. "I have seen injuries much more serious than this one in all those years." A shimmer of hope returned to Thorn's eyes.
"Well, then what are you waiting for? Cure him!" he called out, regaining the power in his voice. Will laughed grimly.
"If only it was that easy," he mumbled, but started analyzing what needed to be done nonetheless. The problem was that Hal wasn't actually injured, besides some minor cuts and scratches. He had simply been knocked unconscious. Will frowned slightly, picking at the bindings around Hal's head. He noticed Edvin was sending him an indignant glance from the corner of his eyes, though he did not dare to say something. Without further ceremonies, Will removed the bindings completely.
"What are you doing?" Thorn asked suspiciously. Again Will didn't respond and the ranger saw Thorn working himself up.
"How long has Hal been unconscious?" he asked authoritatively, taking the Skandian's mind off his annoyances. Thorn shrugged.
"I don't know. Since the fighting ended," was his simply answer. Will rolled his eyes, turning to Edvin instead.
"About seven minutes," he answered after hesitating slightly. Will nodded, his mind racing.
"Has anyone tried waking him up already?" he continued his interrogation. Edvin shook his head.
"All I've done is clean his face - in order to see the damage - and apply bindings. Which you just took off," he clarified, glancing meaningfully to the piece of cloth in Will's hands. Will didn't bother trying to look guilty. Instead, he lifted Hal's eyelids one by one, to see his pupils were responding to the light normally. This action earned him a skeptical look from Thorn.
Will noticed the entire brotherband was looking over his shoulder by then, attentively following his every move. He sighed, annoyed and sat up straight.
"Well? What are you going to do?" Thorn asked after several seconds had passed.
"Wait," was Will's short reply.
"I'm feeling the need to hit something," Thorn remarked dryly. Will raised his eyebrow, but no further explanation followed.
Not long after, all the gathered people - except for Will, who kept his calm - started cheering loudly: Hal was opening his eyes. Will gestured for them to shut up and continued his investigation.