27th May, morning; with wagons

"Can't stick with you when you're goin' sweet on Maggie , Gabe. Wouldn't be fair, not fer her or you." He smiled. "She might chase me 'bout for it, or spice me drink so I'd sleep in late n' miss t' going, jus' ter get rid o' me." He said with a small laugh. "She'd do it to Joe, but he's in his wagon.. if anything.. so he's safe!"

"Don't s'pose there's many of this lot can cook's well as Jacklin though," Newbury remarked, pausing to flick a pebble away over the field beside the road. "What's that now?"

He glanced at Pye and chuckled. "Women does some fearsome things when they got a mind to."

"You can hang around with us for meals, though I might end up chasin' you off if you hang around too close at other times," Cotton said lightly, and started whistling again.

"Can't cook as well, but they cook n' yer can get the food, Joe." Pye shrugged. To him, good food was perhaps a great treat, but any food was just good enough. As long as it traveled into his belly, and didn't make a detour somewhere, food was considered very fine.

"Oh I know, though sometime it's good they do. " He patted his bread bag as he said so. He glanced at Cotton and blinked. "Oh.. I'll stay well away from you 'cept for meals." Which made him think for a moment and he looked flustered. "Means now, don't it..." He looked just as apologetic as he looked to be in a hurry to turn and go. "Sorry! I'um goin'!"

Cotton grabbed at him. "Don't be an idiot, mate. You ain't in the way or anythin' here. 'Sides, how can I help you learn the stuff you need to be a Rifleman if you go wanderin' off some'rs else?"

"Maybe that's so," Newbury allowed. He flicked another pebble out away from the road and shrugged. "Guess it ain't just me needin' looking after," he added with a smile.

"Yer can always teach me durin' meals.. n' I practice other times." Pye reasoned with a small smile. "I ain't wanderin' off no place. Just followin' the army, jus' as you are. Woundn't go elseway.. certainly not in t' opposite direction." He shuddered at the thought.

". Joe, who's you saying needs takin' care of?" He asked, startled by the man's words.

"You'm all right walkin' with me. What's the point of you goin' off an' not havin' anyone to talk to, or that you can ask questions, and suchlike stuff?" Cotton managed not to roll his eyes, but only just.

He shrugged again. "That's what the cap'n wants, 'cause of yesterday. Anyway it don't matter. No place to go here'bouts, after all." Another pebble soared out over the ground. "I'd almost think Pye's wantin' a different sorta company."

Pye blinked at Newbury and as it downed on him he shook his head , flustered. "Ain't that at all. Don't know anyone like that to have a company with." He said with another shake of his head. He turned to Cotton for a moment and smiled. "Jus' I don't want the two of you bein'... not in t' company yer want to, couse of me." He made this as clear as he knew how.

"I'd like ter be here to learn but.. .." He shrugged, hoping they understood.

"Oh, stop teasin' him, Joe," Cotton said, though he couldn't help grinning. "We ain't goin' to get up to much in daylight on the march anyhow. Best time for him to be learnin' what he needs to know, ain't it?"

Grinning himself, Newbury tossed the last pebble away. "True 'nuff. What d'you s'pose he oughta be learnin first?"

Pye was glad that they stopped. Just because they were romping about, didn't mean the young lad had any such luck, and receiving hard bits of bread thrown at his head hardly suggested a declaration of affection let alone more. He shook his head. Anyway, he had someone, or something to take care of right in that bread bag, even if it was rather quiet at the moment. The idea that he was to learn something more though had him, snap to attention, waiting expectantly for the answer.

"Well, I've learned him some of the bugle calls, so we could take up where we left off with them, I s'pose." He shrugged. "Or... Well, what d'you think? Can't rightly teach him to shoot now, not without gettin' in more trouble."

"Don't have to do actual shootin', if we wanted to show him the basics of skirmishin'," Newbury mused. "Ground's better off the road a bit, I think."

"Fine b' me, whatever you two decide... or want." Pye said quietly, unwilling to disturb their train of thought.

"Skirmishin'... yeah, that'd work, even without the shootin'. Maybe even 'specially without it." He wasn't sure where Maggie was, or even if she'd mind him handing Willow over to her, though.

The plan was taking shape. Newbury looked out over the field, with the rising hillocks that gave the terrain shape. "Aye. That'd be the best way to go 'bout it. No actual firin', just practisin' how to move in pairs."

"Em... but we ain't got a pair.. just three." Pye could count that far, and somewhat further. It wasn't a protest against the plan, but rather a voice of someone confused how moving in pairs would work with three. Unless the third one would just tag and follow along. He knew how to do that then, which would make it easier on him.

"Well, one of us will have to pretend he's got a partner. I mean, Joe or me - the other one'll be with you." He paused. "Could see if Jestel's around, though. He might like to join in, if someone'll take Mister Brady's mule off him."

"I'd probably do better mindin' the beast here," Newbury said after a moment. "Be hard keepin' up with you two lads proper-like."

"If'un you really want to Newbury." Newbury's knee was perhaps better rested, but it would mean he might miss the fun. Of course he would miss fun, if he considered such training fun at all.

"Could I leave m' bread bag with t' wagon or t'... Willow? Jus' ter keep m' chick safe?" The chick was very quiet that morning. It had slept in, and when he wanted to feed it, it took very little. He thought it was just too sleepy now to take more, and so he didn't worry. What he did worry was, about doing something during the skirmishing that might injure it. The last thing he wanted was to have it hurt or die and so he tried to the best of his knowledge, which wasn't great at all. He'd stolen a chicken before, but never raised one, never kept one beyond the length of time needed to make a meal out of one. This chick was different of course. It wasn't a meal source, it was his responsibility and something that made him smile. Even when on his own, he felt like he wasn't.

No harm in that, he thought, and nodded. "Aye, that's all right. If you leave it here, I'll see it doesn't go anyplace."

The idea of looking after a chick made him grin. Something new every day. Newbury reached out to scratch Willow's shoulder. Looking after animals would be different.

"I'll whistle up some bugle calls for you too. Make it interestin'."

"Alright. "Pye smiled and pulled his bread bag free. He held it out to Newbury. "Be careful with it, ok?" He said timidly, holding his bag almost like a treasure, made out of most fragile crystal. "Peggy's real young.. n'..." He shrugged again, then grinned.

".. Right. That's be real fine , Joe. Will make it challengin' too." He could be nervous, but for the moment he didn't feel so. Even if he made a mistake, the worst he could get is a tease and a laugh, even a smack would be alright.

"Got it," Newbury said, taking the bread bag carefully. "Be better if I had a bugle, but that wouldn't go down so well, I think."