Puck was standing closest, eyeing her uncertainly as she walked forward to put the glass on Spindle's table.
"You okay, beautiful?" he asked softly when she turned back to him, her expression distinctly tired.
"Worried," she admitted as he sidled over to her to drop his arm in casual familiarity across her shoulders. "She's hiding something… I get her not wanting to tell us what it is yet if it really upset her, but I still worry…"
"You think she knows why she can't sleep and everything?" Meghan asked.
"Sure of it," said Trinity firmly with a nod, standing by the one window, though giving Grimalkin a wide berth as he continued to sun himself. "And I know Cat will tell us eventually, but I'm on the same page with Nik. It's not like Cat not to be able to come out and tell us something happened."
"You think it has anything to do with Sage?" Meghan wondered aloud. Nikki and Trinity thought over it for a moment, then shook their heads.
"She'd at least have told us that much," Nikki decided, frowning. "Even if she didn't tell us exactly what happened, I think she would have at least said if Sage had done something. Besides, it was a week ago."
"It could have happened when she was with him last night or this morning," Glitch pointed out.
"I thought we already had this discussion," Puck sighed wearily. "The Prince isn't malicious, or conniving, or a jackass, even if he is a Winter Prince. He didn't take advantage of her a week ago and he more than likely didn't take advantage of her last night or this morning."
He paused, glancing at Nikki. "At least, I don't think he did," he said, shrugging when their eyes met, mahogany brown to leaf green. "And that's a huge compliment coming out of me."
"I know it is," she told him, smiling, though the humor didn't quite reach her eyes. "And I agree with you. Cat wouldn't be able to keep it together if he'd done anything to her. It's her greatest fear."
"What is?" Ash asked, frowning.
"Being taken advantage of by a guy," said Trinity quietly. "It's her fate worse than death, really. Trust Nik and I on this, if Sage had done anything to her, she wouldn't be able to pretend like nothing had happened. She just doesn't hold together that well once she's been undone."
"She wouldn't be smiling or talking," Nikki went on. "Nothing like that…She'd just be…empty…"
The room grew quiet. Everyone was deep in thought, and though Nikki and Trinity had vehemently denied that Catherine might have been a victim of Sage's, they couldn't quite convince themselves. Truth be told, though Catherine had told them time and time again how she believed she would act if something of that sort every happened to her, could she really know herself that well if it did happen? What if that was what had actually happened? Nikki was frowning, feeling her heart thundering in alarm at the idea of Catherine alone, trapped with Ash's older brother, forced to comply to his wishes, and her stomach lurched with nausea, when all of a sudden from his sunny perch, Grimalkin yawned.
"If you're all worrying about that," he said dully, "And I can tell you are, the girl is still a virgin. So quit your fretting. Really…must I be the informant on everything?"
Nikki lifted her head to stare at the cat, as did everyone else, especially Puck, whose eyes were enormous and his mouth hung open slightly.
"And how the hell do you know that?" the Summer faery demanded, sounding appalled.
"Her scent, Goodfellow," sighed Grimalkin. "It's the easiest way to sense a change in a human or anything else in this place. The girl is totally innocent. Even if the Prince had engaged in unseemly behavior with her that didn't require the stripping of her virginity, she would be covered in the scent of arousal and she is not."
Puck now looked distinctly unsettled. "Fur ball, do us a favor, and don't ever say things like that again, okay?" he said, his tone utterly repulsed. "That's just eighteen different levels of nasty."
Grimalkin snorted.
"Well, at least we've confirmed it now," sighed Trinity, looking immensely relieved, and for once grateful to Grimalkin. "She wasn't assaulted."
Nikki breathed a silent thanks to God for it, too. The thought of Cat being victimized like that…she didn't even know what she'd do. So, it wasn't sexual assault or anything like it…
"We'll figure it out," Puck said assuredly, and she looked up to see him smiling down at her. "She'll tell you when she's ready, right? She said it herself."
Nikki blinked up at him. "You were eavesdropping?" she demanded.
"Is that all you picked out of my words?" Puck asked in exasperation. "Seriously! And it wasn't eavesdropping; it was more like 'selective hearing'."
"You were totally eavesdropping," Glitch said bluntly from the door. "You were standing outside the door and everything. You even had your hand cupped to your ear like a moron."
"Oh, shut it, Glitchy," sniped Puck, glaring at the knight. "Before I get really bored and turn you into a flying squirrel."
"I'd love to see you try, Goodfellow," sneered Glitch.
"Ahem!" Spindle's wheezy cough had them freezing and glancing over their shoulders to see the healer giving them all dark looks.
"Sorry," Nikki apologized to the goblin, who sniffed inelegantly and turned her back. "Come on," she then muttered, tugging at Puck's sleeve, "Let's go outside. You've been stuck in here too long and I really need to step outside, too."
"I'll go with you," Trinity volunteered, immediately crossing the room to join Nikki and Puck as they made their way to the door.
"We will, too," Meghan said, dragging a reluctant Ash to his feet.
"And, by default, so will we," said Glitch, falling into step behind his Queen and Prince as they walked out through the door, Tertius at his side. Grimalkin remained behind in Spindle's hut, which didn't surprise them in the least, and as they stepped out into the glorious sunshine Glitch pulled the door shut behind them with a soft thud.
"Ah, to be alive!" sighed Puck, stretching appreciatively in the warm sunlight. "I thought I was going to get cabin fever if we stayed there any longer!"
"Well, then next time you can just hang out outside like a good doggy," Ash said as he breezed by, smirking at his rival, who fixed him with a very dirty look.
"You know what, Frosty, one day you're going to turn around and the 'good doggy' is going to be at your throat," Puck threatened the prince, who scoffed.
"You two are so immature," sighed Trinity, rolling her eyes. "Seriously…you guys have been alive for centuries and this is what you do in your spare time?"
"Nah, this is what I do during my work time," Puck said, smirking. "In my free time, I rescue damsels, poke fun at Cait Siths, and risk life and limb in near-attempts at storming the Unseelie Palace."
"And when he's not occupied with that, he spends the time making general nuisance of himself, much to the chagrin of those around him," Ash sighed, looking resigned. "Occasionally getting into a couple of unnecessary duels along the way."
"Unnecessary, you say, princeling?" Puck's eyes glowed with wicked intent as he smirked at the prince. "Really, now? You wanna go? Here, now? Just you and me and our fists?"
"No!" exclaimed Nikki in unison with Meghan, the two of them stepping firmly between the Prince and the Summer faery as they glared daggers at each other.
"No fighting!" said Nikki firmly, giving Puck a pointed glare.
"Aw," sighed Glitch disappointedly. "I wanted to see the Prince wipe the floor with Goodfellow…"
"You really have no sense of decorum, do you?" muttered Tertius to his comrade, who grinned sheepishly.
"And you have no sense of fun," Trinity teased Tertius with a wry smirk as she came to stand beside him. "You can't tell me you wouldn't like Puck to get a good beating every now and then."
Tertius glanced down at her as she grinned, her blue eyes dancing with mischief, and his lips twitched in a reluctant smile.
"Ah-ha! See!" Trinity giggled as she poked him in the arm. "You wanted to see Puck get whooped just as badly as Glitch does!"
"Then they'd both be sadly disappointed when I made their high and mighty prince sing like a choir boy," Puck said with a snort of derision. "In all the centuries Ash and I have dueled, he has never beat me!"
"Obviously," said Nikki dryly, arching an eyebrow. "Otherwise you'd be kind of dead, don't you think, Goodfellow?"
Puck turned to her, ready to make a witty reply, then fully processed just what she'd said and felt his jaw go slack as he gaped at her, totally lost for how to retort. Nikki waited with an expectant look on her face, dark eyebrows arched, the tiniest of smirks on her face, until Puck finally sighed in defeat and glared at her, causing her to giggle.
"You are too damned smart for your own good, woman," he told her, rapping her smartly on the head so she squeaked and glared. "And you are still on my list."
"What list?" she demanded in annoyance, massaging her sore head and giving Puck a dirty look. "And why do you keep hitting me?!"
"All domestic abuse should be reported and dealt with," Ash said wisely with a very devious smirk.
"You stay out of this," Meghan told him darkly, giving him a half hearted shove.
The prince gave his queen a look that spoke volumes that not everyone wanted to read, then locked his arms around her and rested his chin on top of her head while she grumbled under her breath, very reminiscent of Spindle.
"My list," Puck was informing Nikki seriously, "Is my list of every single person in the world I plan to punish some day. Ice-boy still ranks number one, and you're a close second. And I do not hit you; that would just be rude and uncalled for. I merely knock on your head to show my affection, much like you poke my face when it seems to catch your fancy, though why you want to poke my face is just totally weird and beyond me."
"You totally hit me," Nikki told him, glaring. "And I poke your face because it's there to poke."
"So is the rest of my body, but you seem to have this obsession with my face," Puck told her. "I mean, I know I've got some great genetics going for me and all that, but really…"
Nikki stuck her tongue out at him as he smirked back, clearly amused with himself.
"So, what should we do now that we're out here?" Trinity asked before anything else could interrupt or go wrong, though she was also looking distinctly amused as she looked between Puck and Nikki. "Food? Wandering? What are we doing? Because if we just stand here until Cat wakes up I might just have to strangle Puck for something to do."
"We could get food," Meghan said, nodding. "I actually brought some snacks with me, but Ash didn't think that would be enough for last night."
She gave her prince a look to which he smirked and leaned down to press a kiss to her cheek.
"Skittles and Pretzels do not qualify for adequate nighttime dinner," he told her.
"You have Skittles?" gasped Nikki, eyes going huge.
"Yes," said Meghan, laughing at the hopeful excitement in the girl's brown eyes. "You want them?"
"Yes!" Nikki was practically bouncing as Meghan pulled her rucksack from her shoulders to unzip one of the smaller pouches and pull out a sandwich bag full of Skittles and passing it over.
"What is that?" Puck asked, staring in confusion at the colorful beads as Nikki plucked out a handful of red, orange and green ones and dumped them into her mouth with great enthusiasm.
"You mean to tell me that you spent 16 years in the human world and never found out what Skittles were?" Meghan asked in slight disbelief, staring at her friend, who shrugged. "It's candy, Puck."
"Oh!" Puck's eyes lit up eagerly and he tried to sneak a hand into the bag Nikki was holding, but she spotted him and abruptly yanked it out of his reach.
"Yo! Get your own, Goodfellow," she snapped at him, clutching it tightly to her chest, clearly defensive, and sticking out her tongue when he glared. Puck laughed though to see her tongue was now stained green, dark red and orange, making him think of a chameleon.
"You look ridiculous," he told her, snickering. "Now, don't be greedy and share. You don't need all that sugar to yourself, beautiful. You'll go sky rocketing before we know it."
"Will not," said Nikki indignantly, and dropped another handful of Skittles into her mouth.
Puck raised an eyebrow. "You will so," he said with a snort, "And that aside I am getting cranky without sugar so unless you want to start a fight about this, cough up."
"You get cranky without sugar?" asked Trinity in amusement. "I just thought you got cranky about everything."
"No, that is the fur ball who's still snoozing inside," Puck corrected her, "I get cranky without sugar and if Nikki doesn't share the sugar in about two seconds, I'm going to make her."
"Go on then," Nikki challenged him, glaring defiantly at him, though her eyes sparkled with laughter. "You'll have these Skittles over my cold, dead body!"
"Challenge accepted," Puck declared and cackling evilly lunged at Nikki, who squealed and ducked behind Ash as Puck gave chase.
"See what you've started?" Ash asked Meghan as they watched the dryad and Summer faery go in maddening circles around their group and through the nearby trees, Puck whooping a battle cry was Nikki ducked beneath branches to avoid him, giggling madly. "This is what happens when you give candy to rambunctious children like them. You should have just given them the pretzels."
"Don't start," sighed Meghan, rolling her eyes. "Besides, they need to get the energy out now before we go back and they tear up the hut. This is good energy burning."
"Yeah, right up until someone loses an eye," joked Trinity, watching as Nikki ducked under another branch, pulling it back with her hand and letting it go so it caught Puck right in the gut as he leapt again, sending the fey cursing and crumpling to the ground while Nikki dashed off, laughing hysterically.
"Ah, they're fine," sighed Glitch, grinning hugely as he watched Puck stagger to his feet, swearing loudly, "Just let her whale on him a little bit and then we'll give them a time out."
"You really are immature, aren't you?" sighed Trinity, glaring at the Iron fey, who shrugged.
"Just ignore him," Tertius advised her quietly. "He's just jealous they have candy and that he'd get pummeled if he tried to take it."
"Say what?" Glitch turned on his partner with a startled look. "What did you just say, sir?"
Tertius stunned Trinity by smirking slightly at his comrade.
"You're jealous," he said lightly, "That you can't play with the big kids yet."
"Oh-ho, is that it?" said Glitch, narrowing his violet eyes dangerously at his partner. "You want to go, Tertius? See who the big kid really is?"
"I'd hate to make you cry," replied Tertius.
"Why you!" Glitch launched himself at his friend, who stepped idly to the side so the other fey went flying past to land face first in the grass, swearing colorfully while Trinity looked on, feeling laughter bubbling up. "You ass!"
Glitch flew back at Tertius, who braced himself this time and went down with Glitch tussling like a couple of overgrown kids in the undergrowth, throwing lame punches at each other, Glitch cursing occasionally as he was slammed to the ground. Trinity watched, now laughing aloud, and Meghan also giggled as she watched her knights roll through the grass, Glitch promising vengeance as Tertius finally detached himself and leapt up, jumping up into the branches of a nearby tree with groaned slightly at the contact with the iron, but held as the knight pulled himself higher into the branches and Glitch clumsily followed after him, slipping once and landed on his ass in the dirt as he fell right out of the tree. A brown blur shot by Trinity, giggling madly, and a second later a raven swooped after it, cawing loudly, emerald eyes gleaming.
"Madness," muttered Ash, staring around him as though he were witnessing the end of all reason.
"It's to be expected," said Meghan with a small giggle, watching as Glitch hauled himself once more into the tree to pursue Tertius, not at the moment realizing that his comrade had taken the opportunity to sneak back down the other side of the tree and was creeping back to where Meghan, Ash and Trinity stood.
"You're so mean," Trinity informed Tertius with a huge grin as he came up beside her, dirtied and with his hair tousled, but looking otherwise very proud of himself. "What are you going to do when he gets stuck up there?"
"That is his own problem," Tertius said dismissively, though he smiled a small smile as he looked up into the branches where faint glimmers of metal gave away Glitch's position as the Iron fey continued to haul himself higher and higher into the tree, determinedly searching for Tertius.
They stood a few moments, watching the clueless knight make his ascent, and only when a foul stream of words flew away on the wind from the very point of the tree, signaling that Glitch had realized his mistake, did Trinity burst out laughing at the same time Tertius did, actually falling into each other and laughing so hard they sank to the ground while Ash and Meghan looked on in amusement and resignation as Glitch continued to shout expletives from the crest of the tree, a tiny silver figure suspended nearly thirty feet above the ground, brandishing his fist.
"What the hell happened to Glitchy?" Puck asked, appearing suddenly beside everyone, covered in leaves and dirt, panting to catch his breath, but looking very pleased as he clutched the bag of Skittles in his arms. "I've never heard him make such pretty music before."
"He was chasing Tertius up the tree, but Tertius climbed down the other side and Glitch didn't see," Meghan said with a small grin as she spotted Nikki stomping up from a nearby trail, just as muddled and muddy as Puck and glaring with lethal promise at the faery's back as she stalked nearer. "You might want to run if you plan on keeping those Skittles, Puck. There's a very angry looking dryad coming up on your six."
"Ah, feh," said Puck, unconcerned as he flopped to the ground, seizing a handful of Skittles and dumping them in his mouth. "Like she'll really beat me. Besides, unlike some people, I know how to share."
"Do you know?" Nikki demanded as she stomped up, glaring down at him, though she was barely managing to keep back a smile. "If that's true, then give me my Skittles back! I mean it, Goodfellow, you've got thirty seconds before I tackle you."
"Now, now," said Puck serenely, reaching up to grab her hand and pulling so she fell onto the ground beside him, looking shocked. "No need for threats, beautiful. Gimme your hand."
Nikki eyed him for a moment, not quite trusting, then tentatively offered her hand to him. He seized it in his, turning it palm up, and dumped a generous handful of Skittles into it before closing her fingers around the candy and pushing it back towards her, grinning when she raised an eyebrow at him.
"See?" he said teasingly, leaning over to nudge her gently in the arm. "I can be nice."
"You're such an idjit," she told him, but she was smiling as she popped a yellow Skittle into her mouth.
Puck grinned and plucked two green ones from the mix in his hand, flicking them into the air to catch them in his open mouth. Nikki stared.
"Neat trick, right?" he asked, winking as he chewed.
"Sure, if you're five," snorted Trinity, who was lying on the ground, sprawled out from her earlier laughter, with Tertius propped up on his elbow beside her, smirking up at the tree where Glitch was struggling to clamber back down without falling to his death, still shouting curses and promises of death once he found Tertius.
"I think it's cool," Nikki informed Puck, then took a red Skittle out of her bunch and flicked it up. It landed in her open mouth and she beamed, exceptionally proud of herself, and Puck snickered when she did it again, and again.
"You're a natural," he told her, knocking her on the head. "Keep up the good work and maybe one day you'll be as good as me."
"Is that a challenge?" Nikki asked, narrowing her eyes at him as she munched on the Skittles in her mouth.
"Maaaayyyyybeeee," said Puck with deliberate slowness, smirking at her. They looked at each other for a split second. "Whoever drops one first loses."
"You're on!"
Trinity sighed, rolling her eyes as Nikki and Puck started their furious, yet childish, competition, glad, at least, that for the moment things seemed back to normal. Cat might not be physically beside them, but they knew where she was, and they knew that—physically—she was safe and sound, and right where she needed to be. They were all back together, and everything else in the world could wait on them, because then, watching Glitch careen the last twelve feet out of the gigantic tree to land flat on his back, swearing loudly, Trinity had never felt more right with the world. Grinning as Glitch shakily heaved himself to his feet, she glanced to her right where Tertius lay, also watching his comrade with a look of pure amusement on his face.
He seemed to sense he was being watched though, for he turned to glance at her as well, his silver eyes registering surprise as they locked with her sapphire ones. She grinned shyly, and he returned his usual small smile, his eyes lighting up.
"I think your partner is going to kill you when he gets over here," she confided in him.
"You're probably right," he admitted with a soft chuckle, though he looked totally unconcerned. "Should I run?"
Trinity glanced at Glitch, who was leaning against the trunk of the tree, wheezing and glaring in their direction, deadly promise in his eyes, and snickered.
"At least climb another tree," she advised as the fey pushed himself off from his resting post and began to stalk across the distance separating them, growling threats as he came.
"Indeed," chuckled Tertius, pushing himself to his feet and looking around him for a good place to start climbing. "Think you can waylay him if he tries coming up after me?"
"I've got your back," she said with a wink and a thumbs-up. Tertius smiled, then jogged a few feet away to haul himself up into the thick branches of an old oak.
Seeing his partner making another bid into the trees, Glitch hissed a curse and broke into a run, trying to make it in time to grab Tertius by his ankles before the knight could disappear into the foliage overhead, but just as he was closing the gap, stretching out his arm, Trinity discretely stuck her foot in his path and he went careening forward to land face first in the dirt, cursing. Trinity giggled hysterically to herself as he pushed himself up, spitting out grass, and Puck and Nikki were roaring with laughter. Ash was trying not to give in to his smile, and Meghan had a hand over her mouth to hide her laughter as Glitch sat back, glaring balefully up to where Tertius sat in the cradle of a branch, one leg dangling in the air. Looking down to see his violet eyed partner giving him a murderous look, the Iron knight grinned and waved idly. Glitch got to his feet.
"You are so dead when you get down from there," he snapped. Tertius laughed.
"I suppose I'll be up here for a while, then," he replied, crossing his arms over his chest. "It's not all bad, either. The view is marvelous from here."
He made a show of looking around him at the trees that he could now see straight over at the landscape, grinning enormously. Glitch growled under his breath, spitting out more dirt and leaves.
"You've been hanging around Puck too long, Tertius," giggled Meghan. "I've never seen you act like this!"
"A little fun now and then isn't a bad thing," Tertius said, putting his hands behind his head. "I'm just sorry it took me so long to realize it."
"Man, you are a-okay," laughed Puck, flashing a thumbs-up at the knight. "And to think I thought I'd never like you!"
Tertius laughed again as Glitch stomped over and began his cautious ascent into the branches, clearly determined to get the better of his silver eyed partner.
"Glitchy, come on now, be a good sport," Puck called to the violet eyed knight as he hauled himself yet higher into the tree, "Just admit you lost and come back down before you fall on your ass again!"
"Shut up, Goodfellow, or you're next!" snapped Glitch, spread out on his stomach on a thick branch, arms wrapped tightly around it as he glared up to where Tertius was lazily swinging his leg back and forth, smirking. "And you, pretty boy, you are sooooo dead when I get up there."
"I feel like there's an appropriate response to that statement," sighed Tertius, looking thoughtfully at the sky, "But I can't remember it clearly…a human saying…what was it?"
"Bring it?" suggested Nikki and Tertius nodded.
"That was it," he said with a grin directed at Glitch. "So, bring it on, Glitch, let's see how well this goes for you this time."
Glitch cursed under his breath as he hauled himself precariously to the next branch, though he was still a good five branches away from Tertius, who didn't look at all perturbed by the potentially dangerous adversary making his approach. The others stayed on the ground, looking on, giggling, grinning or rolling their eyes in exasperation. Trinity lay out on her back, hands behind her head, and smirked as Glitch nearly lost his hold on a branch and scrambled to find purchase on the wood before he could tumble to the ground. Puck laughed at the sight of the 'great Iron knight' clinging like a scared kitten to the branch, and Nikki snickered through her mouthful of skittles, both of them having forgotten their earlier contest. Ash tightened his arms slightly around Meghan as he watched his two knights bantering at each other, and Meghan merely smiled and sighed.
"They could do this for hours" she muttered.
"And they probably will," Ash murmured back.
"Ah, well," she sighed. "So long as that tree doesn't mind them hanging out it's fine, I suppose."
And the tree really didn't mind at all, simply standing and allowing the two iron fools to clamber through his branches as Glitch pursued Tertius and Tertius nimbly ascended and descended branches to evade him. Nikki was lying back in the grass as well, watching, and Puck eventually flopped backwards, arms behind his head, letting the sun warm his face. Trinity dozed in the sunlight, and Ash and Meghan eventually settled down as well. Nikki also fell asleep, turning onto her side with her arm cushioning her head, and Puck snuggled closer to her until his forehead rested against her shoulder. Glitch eventually gave up his chase and clambered down from the tree to rest on the ground with his back to the great tree, breathing deeply, eyes closed. Tertius also climbed down and walked to join the group; patting Glitch on the shoulder as passed and narrowly dodging a half hearted kick from his companion as he went. He settled down beside Trinity, who was asleep by that point, and laid out on his back, arms behind his head, and let his eyes drift shut. By the next twenty minutes, the whole group as fast asleep under the summer sun.
Spindle came outside once to look for them, and, finding them asleep, merely came over to check on them before smiling to herself and returning inside to tend to her cauldron and have a small chat with Grimalkin. In the bedroom, Catherine slept soundly with Demon curled up against her stomach, tail over his nose, also fast asleep. The wyldwood was quiet, only occasionally giving sound to the whisper of a dryad as she flitted from her tree to her neighbor's, exchanging news of the strangers lying asleep in their grove, and the troupe slept on. The sun took her time in the sky, feeling no real need to move, for she was also taking a rest from running around, and she shooed the moon away when he attempted to peek over the horizon, telling him to patiently wait his turn. He went away sullenly, leaving the sun to glow and share her warmth with the dozing fey below her.