01UndatedMany rulers would have spent the morning complaining loudly about the cold and the discomfort, as if their complaints would actually serve to alleviate the situation and as if their attendants should be able to do something about it. Not the emperor. He accepted the situation knowing that he could do nothing to change the weather. Best to endure it without making life more difficult for those around him.John Flanagan / quote ↗
02UndatedKeep practicing," he told her."Until I get it right?" she said. But he corrected her."No. Until you don't get it wrong.John Flanagan / quote ↗
03UndatedAs the old Ranger adage went "If a person doesn't expect to see someone, odds are he won't.John Flanagan / quote ↗
04UndatedAnyone can make a mistake.... It's how they learn from it and recover from it that shows their true worth.John Flanagan / quote ↗
05UndatedSometimes, life threw up problems that even the wisest, most trusted mentor couldn't solve for you. It was part of the pain of growing up.And having to stand by and watch was part of being a mentor.John Flanagan / quote ↗
06UndatedYou know, Gilan, sarcasm isn't the lowest form of wit. It's not even wit at all.John Flanagan / quote ↗
08UndatedThere are always risks in battle. It's a dangerous business. The trick is to take the right ones.' [said Halt].'How do you know which are the right ones?' Shigeru asked.Halt glanced at his two younger companions. They grinned and answered in chorus, 'You wait and see if you win.John Flanagan / quote ↗
09UndatedNow for God's sake, will you two start behaving like a princess and a Courier?" Halt told them. "If you don't, I'll have to think about sending Will home.''Me?' Will said, his voice breaking into a high-pitched squeak of indignation. 'What's it got to do with me?''It's all your fault!' Halt shouted irrationally.John Flanagan / quote ↗
10UndatedWhat is this Chocho business?' Will muttered to himself. But his friends overheard the comment.'It's a term of great respect,' they chorused, and he glared at them.'Oh, shut up,' he said.John Flanagan / quote ↗
11UndatedWhat the devil is Chocho?' Will whispered.Horace's grin broadened. 'You are. It's what the men call you,' he said. Then he added, 'It's a term of great respect.'Behind them, Halt nodded confirmation. 'Great respect,' he agreed.John Flanagan / quote ↗
12UndatedHow do we get there? How did you get here, by the way?' [Will asked].He heard Halt's deep sigh and knew he'd done it again.'Do you ever,' the older Ranger said with great deliberation, 'manage to ask just one question at a time? Or does it always have to be multiple choice with you?'Will looked at him in surprise. 'Do I do that?' he asked. 'Are you sure?'Halt said nothing. He raised his hands in a 'See what I mean?' gesture...'Halt,' [Selethen said], 'I could be wrong, but I think you were just guilty of the same fault. I'm sure I heard you ask two questions just then.''Thank you for pointing that out, Lord Selethen,' Halt said with icy formality.John Flanagan / quote ↗
13UndatedHalt looked up at the trees above him."Why does this boy ask so many questions?" he asked the trees.Naturally, they didn't answer.John Flanagan / quote ↗
14Undated[Will]'d barely been asleep a few minutes when Halt's voice woke him.'Will? Are you asleep?'...'I was,' he said, a little indignantly. 'I'm not now.''Good,' Halt replied, a trifle smugly. 'Serves you right.John Flanagan / quote ↗
15UndatedWithout thinking, [Will] spoke.'Halt? Are you awake?''No.' The ill humor in the one-word reply was unmistakable.'Oh. Sorry.''Shut up.'He pondered whether to apologize again and decided this would go against the instruction to shut up, so remained silent.John Flanagan / quote ↗
16UndatedGundar, seeing Halt upright for the first time in two days, stumped up the deck to join them.'Back on your feet then?' he boomed cheerfully, with typical Skandian tact. 'By Gorlag's toenails, with all the heaving abd puking you've been doing, I thought you'd turn yourself inside out and puke yourself over the rail!'...'You do paint a pretty picture, Gundar,' Will said...'Thank you for your concern,' Halt said icily...'So, did you find Albert?' Gundar went on, unabashed. Even Halt was puzzled by this sudden apparent change of subject.'Albert?' he asked. Too late, he saw Gundar's grin widening and knew he'd stepped into a trap.'You seemed to be looking for him. You'd lean over the rail and call, 'Al-b-e-e-e-e-e-r-t!' I thought he might be some Araluen sea god.''No, I didn't find him. Maybe I could look for him in your helmet.'He reached out a hand. But Gundar had heard what happened when Skandians lent their helmets to the grim-faced Ranger while onboard ship...'No, I'm pretty sure he's not there,' he said hurriedly.John Flanagan / quote ↗
17UndatedEasy climb, Kurokuma. You do it easily.''Not on your life,' Horace said... 'That's what we have Rangers for. They climb up sheer rock walls and crawl along narrow, slippery ledges. I'm a trained warrior, and I'm far to valuable to risk such shenanigans.''We're not valuable?' Will said, feigning insult.Horace looked at him. 'We've got two of you. We can always afford to lose one,' he said firmly.John Flanagan / quote ↗
18UndatedWill saw the first Senshi officer release and instantly knew where the arrow was aimed. 'They've spotted Shigeru!' He was about to turn and shove Shigeru to the ground, but as he did so, his eye caught a flicker of movement and he spun back.When asked later about what he did next, he could never explain how he managed it. Nor could he ever repeat the feat. He acted totally from instinct, an unbelievable piece of coordination between hand and eye.The Senshi arrow flashed downward, heading directly for Shigeru. Will flicked his bow at it, caught it and deflected it from its course. The arrowhead screeched on the hard, rocky ground and the arrow skittered away. Even Halt took a second to be impressed.'My god!' he said. 'How did you do that?John Flanagan / quote ↗
19UndatedWill had been taken aback in his confrontation with Arisaka to discover that his name- Chocho- meant "Butterfly"... He was puzzled to know why they had selected it. His friends, of course, delighted in helping him guess the reason.'I assume it's because you're such a snazzy dresser,' Evanlyn said. 'You Rangers are a riot of color, after all.'...'I think it might be more to do with the way he raced around the training ground, darting here and there to correct the way a man might be holding his shield, then dashing off to show someone how to put their body weight into their javelin cast,' said Horace, a little more sympathetically. Then he ruined the effect by adding thoughtlessly, 'I must say, your cloak did flutter around like a butterfly's wings.John Flanagan / quote ↗
20UndatedWho are you, gaijin? What do you know about honor?''I'm called Chocho,' Will said...'Chocho?' Arisaka shouted, goaded beyond control. 'Butterfly? Then die, Butterfly!John Flanagan / quote ↗
21UndatedHalt eyed them balefully. They were all being so obvious about not mentioning his sudden reappearance that it was even worse than if they had commented on it...'Oh, go on!' he said. 'Somebody say something! I know what you're thinking!''It's good to see you up and about, Halt,' Selethen said gravely...Halt glared at the others and they quickly chorused their pleasure at seeing him back to his normal self. But he could see the grins they didn't quite manage to hide. He fixed a glare on Alyss.'I'm surprised at you Alyss,' he said. 'I expected no better of Will and Evanlyn, of course. Heartless beasts, the pair of them. But you! I thought you had been better trained!'...'Halt, I'm sorry! It's not funny, you're right... Shut up, Will.' This last was directed at Will as he tried, unsuccessfully, to smother a snigger.John Flanagan / quote ↗
22UndatedFighting positions, please, ladies...''That's debatable,' Halt said in an undertone to Will as they stood watching...'The 'fighting' part or the 'ladies' part?' Will replied with a grin.Halt looked at him and shook his head. 'Definitely the 'ladies,'' he said. 'There's no debate about the 'fighting.''Will shrugged. He knew there was an edginess to the girls' relationship and that it had something to do with him. Why that should be so was beyond him.John Flanagan / quote ↗
23UndatedThe two girls disappeared into the stern cabin once more. Will watched them go, then asked Halt, 'Anything you'd like me to do? Grow a beard? Learn to walk like a rooster?''If you could stop asking facetious questions, that'd be a start,' Halt told him. 'But it's probably a little late in life for you to do that.John Flanagan / quote ↗
24UndatedYou're right, Halt,' she said, and he nodded acklowledgement of her backing down.'Nice to hear someone else saying that for a change,' Will said cheerfully. 'Seems like I've said those words an awful lot in my time.'Halt turned a bleak gaze on him. 'And you've always been right.John Flanagan / quote ↗
