The edited version that I should've done a LOOOOOONG time ago. Opps.~~~~

It was raining. The drops came down as a steady stream, soaking the earth that lay below it. However, the world below took this seemingly gray, dim rain with a certain degree of eagerness. The trees below could hardly survive on anything else, and this was the first downpour of rain these mighty beings had for some weeks now. The clouds had been about for about a week or so now, so it seemed about time that rain should finally fall to the earth.

Still, despite this fact that was so very clear to most anyone, it did nothing to stop this young Ranger from being totally and completely irritable about his current situation.

" One day, Blaze," he muttered in a low voice, " just one day from home and it has to start raining NOW of all times." Blaze was the horse that this young Ranger road and spoke to at the current time. No one else was with them, as it should be for the solitary life that all Rangers had within their fiefs. The mare tossed her head, as if to say that this was a shared opinion by her as slightly, the Ranger touched his horses neck lovingly.

" Come on, let's hurry home. It'll be warm there." he encouraged his mount, thinking that he was starting to crave a cup of coffee. The horse and rider move onward still, as the rain continued to soak all the world around them both. Even in his Ranger's cloak, the rain had seeped through to make the young man's skin prickle some time ago. He was more then looking forward for a new set of clothes.

Having dealt with a few robbers who'd been taking from any sort of traveler whom was so unfortunate as to pass by the roads just along the roads next to Meric Fief, it had been a fitful day until the down pour that had begun to wash the earth below when he was half a day's ride from his home. It wasn't until some few hours ago that the rain had begun to drop at the steady pace as it did at the current time. A rather unkind thing for mother nature to do to him, as he saw , this was right funny to this young Ranger, but he was still displeased with the rain, even so.
Looking up, he noted that it didn't appear that the rain would stop anytime soon and gave a sigh. Then something caught his eye. Turning, he got Blaze to stop in place as his eyes searched the forest to his left. Nothing immediate stood out to him. It looked as it should.

However, he was trained to look closer, see what lay in the shadows and the throngs of darkness. Gazing around, scanning all the ground where the flicker had originated, he didn't move his head. No, only his eyes moved, hidden beneath the coil of his hood. Puzzled, he turned slightly back towards Blaze. The mare's ears were pricked and alert now. Patting her neck, he was about to ease Blaze back into a slow walk when it happened again. Just from the corner of his eye he could make out the flicker of movement. There was something there. He knew that now for certain fact. What was it? That was the real question, wasn't it? He shifted slightly,trying to keep the movement casual as he moved his Ranger's cloak aside so he could reach his arrows. The bow lay across his lap, strung, but it always was, no surprise there. Blaze made a few, half nay half grunting sort of sounds as he shifted. Once he'd settled himself again, he patted the mare's neck once again.

" I know, it's been a long day, hasn't it?" he spoke to the horse, soothingly,acknowledging the signs she gave him with a stroke to her neck. "Come on, let's go." he ushered the horse forwards, taking her only a far enough away to make it appear that he'd moved on. Then he slide from the saddle to the ground, his feet hardly making a sound as he touched earth.

" Take care, I'm going to check things out." Blaze's knowing eyes fell on him, and then the Ranger moved on, carefully stepping. This was his specialty, Blaze need not worry about her Ranger for the time being. Besides, the threat had seemed quite minimal to her.

The Young Ranger moved without a sound to be heard, backtracking the way he had come. His bow was in hand. He needed to be ready in case something went wrong as things often did, he noted, wistfully. Moving without being seen, that was his best skill, no matter in rain or shine, and that was how he moved along in the trees, finally finding the spot he'd stopped with Blaze. Holding the bow at a ready position, the Ranger slid an arrow free for swift use, then moved forwards were the movement had been before. And there it was again! Instantly he froze in place. Long years of training had made this less of a reaction then a reflex in and of itself. He waited, not daring to move a single muscle or take refuge as a rookie would do. Oh no, he'd learned that lesson a long time ago. His master almost had his head mounted on the wall for that screw up. No more. Then the movement continued now, unlike before. Still he remained stock still, waiting despite the cold and wet.

His efforts were rewarded, he got the answer to his question.

It was a person. The Ranger was still now from curiosity rather then reflex anymore. The rain obscured the figure slightly, and he did his best to blink the rain from his eyes. It was someone fairly young, maybe a few years into his work with a craft master the Ranger estimated. However, the young man was poorly clothed, mud smeared on once white tunic, and as for the true color of the boy's breeches, well, that was any ones guess the pants were so coated with boy's hair was surprisingly long and hanging about his head in messy tendrils. Crouching, the boy looked around. Checking to see if anyone was around to see him was the Ranger's guess. It explained the earlier, minimal movements made by the boy. The boy was hiding. From what the Ranger wondered. Seeing no one, the boy came into the open, slipping once as his boots were worse off for mud then his pants, which was saying a lot. Cautiously, the boy began to head right towards the frozen Ranger. The Ranger waited still, anxiously, panic welling up within him for a moment until he forced it down and out of his mind for the time being. Still, the boy came closer and closer, getting so near the Ranger without actually seeing the other man that the Ranger halted his breath to prevent himself from being discovered. It was at this spot next to the Ranger that the boy stopped moving for a second or two.

" Hello?" there was a rich accent in the boy's voice that the Ranger couldn't distinguish. Despite that the boy didn't seem to see him, the boy obviously felt like something was there and he knew it. The Ranger looked over the boy without moving his head, moving only his eyes. The kid was clearly exhausted, he was still struggling to gain his breath, and the pain filled face seemed to point the Ranger to believe he'd been straining himself this day. " Hello?" he asked again with a voice laced with fear, but also a certain degree of intensity. The boy would fight, the Ranger could see, if it came down to that. However, it would hardly be fair for a well rested Ranger to take on this weary eyed person. The Ranger wasn't totally sure if he was actually dealing with as young a boy as he thought. Perhaps this person was older then he realized by the look of his tired face.

" I know you're there," the boy now said shifting about, looking for him, even though he was already within a few feet of the one he saute to find," I can feel your eyes watching me. Come out! Now!" The Ranger didn't move still, trying to decide if he should reveal himself or not. Worn as he was, the boy seemed almost hysterical to the Young Ranger. It could hardly be safe to show himself if the boy was going to attack him. " If it's a fight you want, I'll give it to you!" he snarled on while the Ranger still debated what his coarse of action should be. What the boy said next, however, made the Ranger's decision much easier for him. " Although, I do hope it's not a fight you're looking for." He said it more to himself then to his hidden enemy.

Now this young Ranger realized it. The boy was barely able to hold himself up right. It was a right miracle that the boy was even walking around like he was.

" COME OUT! NOW!"

" If you insist." the Ranger finally spoke up. The boy leaped into the air in fright and bounced away from the Ranger very clumsily taking up a defensive stance. The boy watched the Ranger, somewhat unsure of what to do next. The Ranger stood without any sort of threatening look about him. But the boy could see the bow and arrow in his hands, and the knives at his belt.

" I knew you were there." the boy said, and the Ranger nodded.

" I realize."

" Who are you?"

" I could ask you the same." the Ranger's replies were all very crisp and definite. The boy pursed his lip, thoughtfully. What was next. He nodded his head toward the Ranger now.

" You first." he insisted, stubbornly. The Ranger's head tilted, and the boy's weak body tensed before his very eyes. Sticking the arrow down into the ground, the Ranger leaned his bow against the tree behind him, then leaned against the same tree, observing the boy again through the obscurity of the rain.

" Then you'll do the same for me?" he asked back, and the boy took a moment to consider it.

" It depends what you tell me." was his careful reply. The boy was cautious. He was not to be taken lightly, the Ranger realized. Slowly, the Ranger nodded. " You're one of those Rangers I've heard about, aren't you?" the boy startled the Ranger. A dry smile fell across the boy's lips, hollow and forbidding as he noted the reaction. " You are, then. I overheard a conversation about you guys. They say you dabble in the arts of black magic." The Ranger now smiled, with equally little from gladness as the young boy before him now.

" So they say of we Rangers." he replied, in a rather unhelpful reply.

" I don't believe them." the boy answered.

" Oh?" asked the Ranger, a bit of mockery in his voice, adding more thoughtfully. " What makes you think that?" The boy shrugged slightly. " After all, I did just appear out of nowhere right before your eyes." The boy frowned slightly, standing upright as he brushed the cobwebs from his mind and thought this over a moment. The boy was a thinker. The Ranger was starting to take a liking to the boy already.

" You used a trick to come out of nowhere like that. I don't believe in that sort of gossip. It's not a reliable way to judge people." the boy answered, shaking his head at the Ranger. The Ranger's brows shot up as he looked at the boy.

" A trick? What sort of trick?" he asked and the boy became frustrated with him right away.

" If I knew then I wouldn't have fallen for it!" he snapped back at him, and the Ranger held up his hands as if he were saying 'I was just asking!' Then, all at once, the boy began to sway on his feet. The Ranger moved to help him, but the boy held up his hand so that the Ranger stayed where he was at. The boy brought his hand to his head, panting, then shook his head. Trying to clear his blurry thoughts.

" Are you alri-?" the Ranger began to ask.

" I'm fine!" he snarled back, but stumbled just after he said it. And when the Ranger moved again, once more the boy held up his hand and the Ranger halted in place again. Shaking his head again the boy said. " Just stay there, alright! I don't want you near me!" The Ranger got a hurt look on his face, then leaned against the tree where his bow rested once again.

" Okay." he said, simply, as the chill brought a shiver to run up his spine. Thunder sounded in the clouds above them. The Ranger glanced up and around at the storm that was still coming, as it seemed now.

" This rain isn't going to stop for awhile now. It'd be more comfortable at my home. It's not fair from here. We could talk there." he said, trying to appeal to the boy's need for a dry place to stay until the storm blew over. However, the boy was very smart about this whole situation, or, at least, for his own safety during the situation.

" No, just shut up, alright?" he insisted in a snarl back, as he kept his hand held to his head now. Trying to keep his thoughts clear and comprehend what the Ranger was saying was becoming more difficult by the second. " Just let me think this through first!" he insisted, as clearly the Ranger had yet to convince him.

Sure, the Ranger could easily overpower the boy without killing him and just force the boy to come with him. However, if he could, the Ranger would rather get the boy to come along without a fuss or argument. So, he waited for the boy to think. However, fate seemed determined to interfere in this entire affair, for the boy wavered once more. Groping for a moment, the boy found a close tree and leaned against it, holding his spinning head with both hands as he barely stood upright anymore. The Ranger moved to help, and the boy persistently denied his help for the third time. He could take it no longer.

" Would you just come with me?" he exclaimed, earnestly. " My house is only a short ways away, I even have a horse, you wouldn't even have to walk there! Just come on!" The Ranger came right up to the boy this time. The boy had sunk all the way to his knees, and the Ranger knelt beside him.

" I- don't even- know you-" the boy's voice quivered as it seemed a struggle for him to even form words. The Ranger became hugely frustrated, collecting the boy into his arms without a single struggle from the boy he was so weak. Frowning, the Ranger noted how light the boy was.

" I'll bet you haven't eaten or slept in days. That's like asking to get killed, boy," the Ranger shook his head, " you seemed smarter then that to me, what's with you?"

"- I tried- in a bit of a- hurry-" the boy insisted back to him and the Ranger began to walk back towards his horse now, the boy gathered comfortably into his arms after he'd collected his bow and arrow from the ground.

" What the hell for? Whatever your in a hurry for can certainly wait until you take care of yourself." he said. Obviously he knew that there was the other reason to keep moving without caring for food and sleep first, and that was if someone was chasing after this boy. However, he wouldn't mention this now, just so that the boy would come with him for some care. Then he remembered what the boy said before. " I'm Gilan. Now you know me" he added, and before he even reached Blaze the boy had fallen to a wet, mud covered sleep.~~

All Fixed!