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Halt woke up at his usual time, just before dawn. He got out of bed, got dressed, and walked out into the main room, preparing to wake his apprentice up. Will would always sleep in, and sometimes Halt had to drag him out of bed before he got up.
Knowing this, Halt went straight into Will's room to wake him up. He opened the door and stepped inside, but stopped in the doorway. Will's bed was empty and already made, though messily.
Confused, Halt stepped back into the main room and, at that moment, saw Will walk up to the water barrel on the porch, and empty a bucket of water into it. Raising one eyebrow in surprise, Halt stepped out onto the porch and watched as his apprentice walked back to the stream, carrying the now empty bucket.
Halt looked into the barrel and saw that it was almost full. He grabbed the dipper and took a drink, then placed the dipper back into the water, where it bobbed up and down, floating on the water.
It looks like it's almost completely full, Halt thought. And sure enough, when Will came back with the full bucket of water, he smiled at Halt and, as he started pouring the contents into the barrel, said, "Good morning, Halt. This is the last one, so I'll get to work on the horses right away." Then, with another grin, he placed the empty bucket on the porch, and turned to head towards the stable.
Halt stopped him, asking: "Will, you're up early. Is there something I should know?" He didn't actually know why he said that. He should be happy that he didn't have to drag his apprentice out of bed. But something was setting off warning bells in his mind.
Will, however, just shrugged, his cowl shifting as it hung over his eyes, shading his face, and said lightheartedly, "I woke up and couldn't sleep. I figured getting an early start on my chores was better than just lying in bed." He walked towards the stable and disappeared inside, leaving Halt to push down the warning bells. Will had been with him for a few years, and he trusted Will to tell him if something was wrong.
Halt went inside, and made breakfast. Will finished feeding and grooming the horses, and came inside to wash up just in time for breakfast. During the meal, which consisted of toast, eggs, and the usual coffee, Halt announced that he had some errands to run in town. "Just practice with your bow until I get back. I should be back by lunch at the latest."
Will just nodded and took another bite of his toast. Halt frowned, thinking that Will should have been done eating by now. Halt was finished his food and was just sipping his coffee, but Will still had some of his food left. However, after a few moments of uncertainty, Halt pushed the thought aside. Will was allowed to eat slower than Halt sometimes, and it wasn't as if he had completely ignored his breakfast.
After Halt finished his coffee, he poured himself another one. After he was done with that one, he left Will to clean up the kitchen, went out and saddled Abelard, and made his way to town.
After Halt was done his errands, which included buying a few groceries, meeting with the baron, and dropping off some mail to be sent to Araluen fief, he mounted Abelard and rode back to the cabin.
When he was almost there, he could hear the thuds as Will's arrows slammed into the wooden targets. After a few more thuds Tug whinnied a greeting from the stable. This wasn't uncommon, but Halt's trained ears noticed that, after the horse's greeting, the arrows started hitting the target faster.
Halt's brow furrowed at this. The new speed was the one Will usually shot at, which meant that the previous rate had been slower. As soon as Will knew that Halt was coming, he must have started shooting faster.
It wouldn't be uncommon for an apprentice to increase his standard when his mentor was there, but Will normally did his best no matter if he thought Halt was watching him or not.
Coming into the clearing, Halt saw Will turn towards him, raise a hand in greeting, then continue his shooting. Halt rode to the stable, dismounted, and proceeded to unsaddle Abelard and rub him down.
Coming out of the stable Halt saw that Will was still shooting. His quiver was almost empty, and Halt planned to let him empty it before interrupting him. But, once again, Halt noticed that Will was shooting slower than he normally would have.
Raising his voice to carry, Halt called out: "You better shoot faster than that if you want to live!" Halt almost regretted it, though, as he saw Will visibly jump. Will's only other reaction was to shoot his last few arrows faster. When his quiver was empty he started walking towards the targets to collet his arrows.
"When you're done getting those, come inside," Halt called out, and then made his way to the cabin. He set out some papers on the table just as Will walked in. Will put his bow on the floor and his quiver on the rack, and then walked over to Halt.
"What are we doing?" he asked curiously, pulling up a chair and sitting down. He looked down at the papers as Halt answered.
"Strategy test," Halt said. "Read that report, think it through, and then give me your answer." Halt walked over to the fire and st down in his favorite chair, a small pile of papers in his hand. He started reading through them, and Will bent down over his, and started reading what situation he was dealing with.
Half an hour later, Halt's stomach told him it was time for lunch. He looked out the window at the sun, checking the time. Then, he looked back at his apprentice. Will was bent over the table, string down at the papers in front of him. The cowl of his cloak was up, hiding him completely from Halt's view.
Halt's eyes narrowed at this. It was summer out, and there was no reason to wear a cloak indoors. Halt had taken his off when he had come inside. But Will had had his on the entire time, and hadn't complained of being too warm.
Halt also realized that, since he had been in town most of the morning, he hadn't seen too much of Will. But he noticed that when he had seen his apprentice, Will's cloak had been on, and his cowl up. Even while eating breakfast.
Halt started to connect some dots. "Will, are you sick?" he asked casually, randomly and loudly.
Will nearly jumped out of his skin. He looked up sharply, and then winced, putting his hand to the back of his neck. "I'm fine, Halt. Why do you ask?" He asked, his voice slightly strained.
"No reason," Halt said casually, waving his hand freely in the air. "It's time for lunch. Are you done that report yet?" Will was good at strategy tests, and this was not an exceptionally hard one. Will should have completed it in half the time they had been sitting here.
"I guess so," Will said, uncertainly.
Halt got up and started preparing lunch, making it as Will listed off what he would do in the situation mentioned in the report. By the time the lunch was almost ready, Halt had finished correcting Will's mistakes. There were noticeably a lot more of them than usual, but Halt restrained from pointing that out.
Will set the table as Halt put the finishing touches on the lunch, and they sat down to eat. Half way through the meal, Will was sitting with his elbow propped up on the table, his head in his hand, as he twirled his fork through his food.
His hood was still up, so Halt couldn't see his face very well. But he figured if he could, it would be pale. Will, though claiming he was fine, had not denied that he was sick. And throughout the meal, muted coughs could be heard coming from beneath Will's cowl.
After a few minutes during which Will took only one bite, he excused himself and hurriedly sat up. He rushed out the door, not giving his mentor the chance to say anything.
Halt finished up the last few bites of his food, and then slowly got up. He stepped out onto the porch, and looked round for his apprentice. A movement drew his attention to the tree line, where he saw the back of Will's cloak, low to the ground.
Halt walked back inside, grabbed two mugs, and filled them with water from the barrel on the porch. He mixed some powder into one of the mugs, and left the other one just plain water.
He then walked back outside, and over to where Will was. He crouched down, and placed one of the mugs, the one with the powder, on a flat surface of the ground. With his free hand, he pulled Will's hood back, away from his face. He then started rubbing Will's back, wincing slightly as Will heaved up his stomach.
Some of the contents of his stomach were already on the ground, but Will kept vomiting. Halt could feel Will trembling beneath his hand, but kept calmly rubbing his apprentice's back.
They sat there like that for about five minutes; Will was puking, and gasping for breath in between, while Halt was rubbing Will's back with one hand, holding a mug of water in his other hand, the other mug sitting on the forest floor.
When Will had gone for a minute without heaving again, he turned his face slightly to look sideways at Halt. Halt couldn't see much, but he was right about Will being pale. Halt held the mug in his hand out to Will. "Rinse your mouth out," he told his apprentice gently.
Will's hands were shaking, and the mug shook too as Will grabbed it from his mentor's hands. He raised it to his lips unsteadily, and let it pour into his mouth. He swished it around a few times, and then spat the water out. Then he repeated the action until the mug was empty. It helped clear his mouth some, and also helped to get rid of the awful taste. He wanted to thank Halt, but didn't have the energy.
Halt took the mug from Will's unsteady hand. Will leaned back from his hands-and-knees position, and crouched on the ground, holding his eyes shut, hugging his stomach. He opened his eyes when he felt a hand on his shoulder. Halt was holding out the other mug, the one that had been on the ground.
"Here, Will," Halt said in a soft voice, "drink this. It will help settle your stomach."
Without looking at Halt, Will took the cup offered, and took a sip. It had a strange flavour, but he was willing to do almost anything to feel better. He took a larger drink the next time, and drank it quickly until it was gone.
Will held the empty cup back out to Halt, and almost dropped it as he started coughing. Halt managed to grab it before it dropped, and placed it on the ground beside the other one.
Halt tugged at Will's shoulder and Will, unable to resist anything, fell backwards in response to Halt pulling him. Halt had positioned himself behind Will, and now, as the apprentice leaned back, Halt put his arms around him so that Will was laying in the crook of Halt's elbow.
Will's face, though pale in some parts, was flushed with fever. His eyes were closed, but Halt knew they would show signs of a fever as well. A slight breeze swept though the clearing, and Will shook in Halt's arms. Halt placed his hand on Will's forehead, and scowled at the heat coming from his apprentice.
Will moaned softly and slid his eyes open, closing them almost fully again, trying to block out the bright light. "H-Halt," he said quietly. "Can we go inside? It's c-cold."
Halt was about to say yes, but he hardened his heart. "Will, we can go inside after you answer some questions."
Will moaned again, closing his eyes fully, and rolling his head to the side. Halt almost gave in, seeing his apprentice like this. Halt cared for Will as if he was his son. But he was also Will's mentor, and he wanted some answers.
"Will, why didn't you tell me you were sick? I even asked you straight out."
Will parted his lips slightly, and started talking, slowly, quietly, and weakly . "I heard someone in town...a while ago...say that rangers have always got to be on call all the time. Even when they are sick. I figured that meant I couldn't put off my training because I was sick either. I didn't want to seem like I was complaining, so I didn't tell you." Will was starting to stumble and mess up his words at the end, but Halt understood what he said.
The ranger sighed. "This is what comes when apprentices think too much," he mumbled. Looking down at his current silly apprentice, he asked, not unkindly, "Can you walk?"
Will didn't reply, and Halt thought he was asleep, until Will shook his head slightly. "Alright," Halt said softly. Tucking his arm more securely around Will's shoulders, he slid his other arm under Will's knees. Then he straightened his legs slowly, trying to be as gentle as possible for Will's sake.
Will was smaller than Halt, so it wasn't awkward to carry him. Also, Halt's muscles were solid after years of shooting a longbow, and Will was small and light, even more so from the sickness.
Halt carried Will this way back to the cabin, kicked open both the front door and Will's bedroom door, and carried him into Will's room. He set Will gently on his feet for a moment, holding him up with one hand still under his shoulders, and used the other hand to flip the blankets and sheets back.
Halt set Will down on the bed, and took off his cloak, knife belt, and boots. Will's head was drooping with exhaustion by this time, and it was resting on Halt's shoulders as he took off Will's boots. Halt could feel the heat of Will's face through his shirt, and he could tell that Will was almost asleep sitting up. He gently lay his apprentice down so his head was resting on the pillow, and lifted Will's legs up onto the bed. He then slid the blanket up to Will's chin.
Halt looked down at his apprentice. Will's eyes were closed now, his breath was coming slowly and evenly, showing that he was already asleep. Will's face was pale but for the bright red of his fever-flushed cheeks.
Halt went back outside, took the bucket Will had used that morning, and filled it with cool stream water. On his way back to the cabin he grabbed the two mugs from the ground. He placed them on the counter in the kitchen, and grabbed a clean cloth from a cupboard.
He went back into Will's room, soaked the cloth in the water and rang it out, and draped it gently across Will's forehead. Will relaxed more after that, and Halt went back into the living area, pulled up a chair, and went back to his reports. He would care for Will now, and make sure this didn't happen again in the future.