#halt o’carrick
11. Treacherous
“But…I thought…”
“You thought what?” Ferris’s eyes gleamed with a hatred Halt had never seen before; or maybe it had always been there, and he’d been too blind to see it. “You thought that I’d go along with it? Think again, dear brother. You never were one for practicality.”
06. Encounter
I was gonna do a drawing but guess who completely forgot to start it Can we just sit here and think about all the ways that the Rangers and their apprentices have met? And I don’t mean like the exact first time they met but like the moment they became apprentices. Gilan was thrown into a creek. Will was scared half to death. Will and Maddie’s meeting as Ranger and apprentice was a bit of a mess. And I’m willing to bet that both Crowley and Halt had some bizarre encounter with Pritchard (like being caught stealing and having to fight off bandits in a town but that’s just my personal headcanons). And I don’t know why I think that’s so funny but it is. Like, do any of the Rangers have normal meetings with their apprentices, or is it just a regular thing to be as dramatic as possible?
O4. Footsteps
TW: abuse
Halt gripped their hands tight, each of them cuddled against him as those dreaded footsteps neared the door. It was as though someone were tying a rope around his neck, and he was mere seconds away from the platform falling beneath his feet.
Another step closer. The breathing was ragged, rough. Angry. Caitlyn let out a small whimper and he pulled her closer, closing his eyes. He wasn’t one for praying to the gods, but now seemed as good a time as any.
“I know you’re in there.” The low voice spoke through the door. “Get out or I’m breaking this door now.”
His words weren’t slurred. Darren was drunk tonight, but perhaps that made him all the more dangerous. The locks wouldn’t hold for long and his father was right. If need be, he’d break that door down with an axe.
“Halt.” The man spoke directly to him next. “Get out.” Another step closer, echoing through the air. “Now.”
Ferris was gripping his arm so tightly it hurt. Halt forced himself to exhale, swallowing past the lump in his throat.
“Halt.” Another step closer. He knew those steps, and he hated them. “I’m warning you.”
He was at the door. Halt held his younger two siblings close, praying for whoever might listen that this nightmare would end. Very rarely had it gotten this bad, and yet it did happen. All he could do was wait it out, hope the door would hold long enough.
The footsteps had stopped now. Halt looked up, still tense. “Is he still there?” Ferris whispered.
“I…don’t know.” He gently disentangled himself from the two, padding over to the door and laying one ear against the wood. All was silent on the other side and yet no one had walked away.
The door suddenly gave a loud groan, bending ever so slightly, the doorknob rattling. Halt jumped back, his heart pounding as his legs gave out from under him. The pounding continued again, again, and again. And it didn’t stop. Not for a long while.
02. Trouble
As the ship began to gather way, Will stared at the mounted figure in the surf, buffeted by the waves. Halt was so near and yet now so impossibly out of reach. His eyes stung with tears and, faintly, he heard Halt’s voice.
“Will! Stay alive! Don’t give up! I’ll find you wherever they take you!”
Choking on tears, the boy raised his arm in farewell to his friend and mentor.
“Halt!” he croaked, but he knew the Ranger would never hear him. He heard the voice again, carrying over the sounds of wind and sea.
“I’ll find you, Will!”
When Halt had first heard the news, it was as though a cold void had surrounded him. Suddenly, everything was just…surreal. In between. Unfeeling. He was unfeeling.
Not a single tear had escaped him at Crowley’s funeral, not as the others had looked upon him with sympathy and pity. His speech had been quiet and simple, without a hint of emotion in his voice.
But as he sat on the verandah a week later, staring down at the last letter he’d received from his best friend, he noticed his hands was shaking. His eyes were burning, and then suddenly that void burst into a storm he couldn’t contain.
Never again would he berate Crowley for his awful whistling—although it wasn’t terrible, even if he would never admit it aloud. Never again would he fume when the man got the better of him, and never again would he be able to see that goofy smile crossing his face.
It was worse than Pritchard’s demise. The old Ranger had been the only one who cared about him, apart from his sister—the one he abandoned. Pritchard had died. Caitlyn had died. So had his parents, and eventually Ferris.
But Crowley? Crowley had stayed there through it all, offering support whenever he needed it, or the occasional terrible pun. And now?
He was gone.
