Philip's shot is on target, perhaps because of your guidance, and his smile turns brilliant.

"Awesome!" He looks up at you. "We probably should get back, but that was cool! Thanks, mister!"

"Um...no." Philip brightens up a bit as he tests out the string. "Kinda strong, ain't it? Like it wants to say no to you."

"You're lucky. My dad hardly let me meet anybody. He was even upset when he saw me hanging out with Hal."

"I mean, I guess. I hope your dad lets you out sometimes, though."

"I didn't get to see the melee." Philip sounds more than a little hurt by this.

"Well, I don't think anybody'd want to start a scrap with a king like King Richard. And no one'd dare when I'm his squire!"

"People can DO that?" Philip's eyes widen. "That's...that's radical!"

"So a King can really do whatever he wants, huh?" The boy is practically leaping out of his skin with excitement as they go down the trail. "That's super neat!! I wonder if that extends to the King's squire? That would be so cool!"

"Well, yeah, but it was s'posed to be held in ab...ab...abbey-ance, or whatever. S'posed to be in his family so long as he's got one, right? Promised by the Conqueror or something like that. And he'll be a good Constable. He already hits pretty hard and all, which is weird, because he's a little scr...

"Huh...well...that's a good point." He scratches his chin for a moment, and his leg starts to bounce with the energy not expended physically when he is thinking. Finally, he erupts, leaping to his feet. "Alright, you win. If I gotta see the king and join up in a straight-up fashion, then that's how ...

The kid doesn't seem to be interested in going anywhere. "Yeah, I'll bet!" he says when you mention Richard's name. "See, the way I figure it is that the best place to join up is Hampshire or Arundel, because there'll be so many people at the ports trying to get on the ships that they'll not be aski...

"Huh?" He looks down. "Nope, that's just m'mess." He looks back up at you. "I've enough to last me a little while longer. I'm going to join the crusade. There's nothing for me in Westminster, anyway."

The lad looks up at you, his cheeks puffed out with stale pie like an enormous chipmunk.

"Eating?" he ventures. And it does have the virtue of being true...

That's when you see him, perhaps the single least likely thing in the greenwood. A boy, red of hair and broad-shouldered, certainly mud-caked, but stuffing his face with a pie.

Philip's nose scrunches. "What's an indicator?"

"Don't worry about it," Henry says quickly. "I wonder, miss..." he begins. "But maybe it would be rude to ask."

Philip puffs out his chest. "So I shouldn't be his friend 'cause some jerk might get mad? Hal's a good guy!" de Bohun's cheeks color just a bit. "And!" Philip continues, "I think anyone who gets mad because a guy's friendly should get my knuckles for breakfast! See how he likes 'em!" Henry shakes hi...

Henry blinks. Philip seems not to notice. "Well, Hal's free for the moment, but in a year or so he's gonna be Constable of the Whole Realm!" de Bohun, blushing, smacks Philip on the arm. "Shut up!" Philip scowls. "What? It's good, isn't it? You're gonna be Constable, and I'm gonna be the Constable's...

"It is a bit to cold and rainy for the way that I like it, the sun is often more gray here then it is on the Continent , and well, if you wish I could answer you some questions if you have them. One should always encourage learning after all." Philip's nose scrunches up at the mention of learning. ...

"I'm Philip! And this is Hal."

Hal clears his throat. "Henry de Bohun, miss. I'm squired to Sir Henry de Grey."

"Yeah, I haven't got a knight yet," Philip says, "but it won't be too much longer. Do you like it here in England, miss?"

The boys' eyes widen somewhat as you approach. They look at each other, unsure how to respond, perhaps, and then the red-head looks up at you and swallows. "You look different than the other ladies," he says at first. "Prettier-like." He has the accent of a Hertfordshire lad. "Are you foreign?" The ...

After a slow day of promenading with many takers--calculations needing to be made, after all--Miriam notices a pair of boys of about 13 looking up at her. The first looks a little rough, with shaggy red hair and streaks of mud on his knees that suggest he has been playing rather roughly in the rain....