After Pranks[]
Occurs some time after Chapter Two of 'The Diplomatic Ranger,' but before 'Thanks Neri.'
Since the last prank Sadie and I pulled on Gilan, my mentor made sure to check the coffee beans before making the coffee. Every time he smelled something off about the beans he would glare at me so hard I felt I would melt in front of his laser like eyes. Yet I still had the guts to laugh about it and tease him.
Earlier this morning, he sniffed the coffee beans, frowning with so much concentration. He snarled when he detected something odd and shot me a death glare. When I caught his gaze and spotted the bag of coffee beans in his hand I couldn't help but laugh. The sound of his cry that day of the prank was playing in my head on repeat. I stood up and walked over to his side and threw my arm around his shoulder.
"What's the matter Gil? I thought you liked coffee. You know when life gives you lemons-" I couldn't finish my joke because I was laughing too hard. Gilan continued to glare at me not finding any humor in the moment. I walked away, tears of laughter welling up in my eyes. Gilan shook his head. Sadie was there and was laughing with me but quickly silenced her laughter when she caught Halt's stern gaze. I wiped away the humorous tears and looked at Halt. He just looked at me with cold dark eyes. I sighed.
"Oh come on. Admit it that was pretty funny." I said smiling. I heard Gilan mutter something very unkind and inappropriate. I looked at him and he cleared his throat.
"Excuse my Gallic." He said in a mock apology. I rolled my eyes.
Hugo trotted into the room when Will opened the door. My brother twisted his neck trying to get rid of the cramps. He rolled his shoulder and sighed.
"This dog is amazing." He said gesturing to Hugo. Hugo looked up and licked his nose. Halt glanced up.
"How so?" He asked.
"It's obviously well trained. He would hunt some small rodents and immediately bring them to me. He didn't even eat any one of them. And he didn't bark once, even when a stray cat ran by." He explained. Gilan smiled.
"That's how I trained him." My eyes widened and I slammed my mug on the table.
"YOU trained him?!" I asked nearly chocking on the sip of coffee I took. Gilan shrugged.
"Every now and then, yes. I tried going hunting and he followed me. With the noise he made I could barely catch a stupid squirrel. So I trained him to stay silent while in the forest and to retrieve any prey that was caught without eating it." He explained. I stared at my mentor with big eyes. He frowned then chuckled.
"Is that so hard to believe?" He asked.
"I thought you didn't care about Hugo enough to train him." I admitted. Hugo let out a gentle whimper and turned to Gilan with sad eyes. Gilan glanced at the sad dog but ignored its begging.
"Now that's just stupid thinking!" He exclaimed. Will snickered while Halt just smiled. I nodded, silently admitting that he was right. Gilan rolled his eyes. Hugo padded over to Gilan's side and pawed his leg. Gilan looked down and tossed a piece of meat to the dog. The dog licked it up heartily and then gazed at Gilan. It almost looked like he was smiling.
"She's just jealous you like me more." Gilan whispered to Hugo, loud enough for me to hear. I chocked once more on my coffee and Will couldn't stop himself from laughing. Sadie joined him, shaking her head at Gilan while she shook with laughter. I gave Gilan a cold look.
"You are hilarious." I muttered. He grinned.
"I can tell."
Gilan and I returned to our fief the next morning. The ride was completely silent. No words were spoken until we were half way there. At that point, Gilan couldn't handle the silence any longer.
"Did you lose your tongue or something?" He asked.
"No." I sighed.
"Oh! You can talk! Good, I was getting worried there." He said with mock surprise. I rolled my eyes as he chuckled at his own joke.
"Seriously though, what's wrong? You are never this quiet." He turned to look at me. I shrugged and threw him a cheerful grin.
"There's nothing wrong! Well, except that we have been walking and I feel in the mood for a run." I arched an eyebrow. He chuckled.
"Well then, it's a race!" He kicked his heels into Blaze's ribs and the little horse shot forward. I hesitated for a second before kicking Storm into action.