True to Grimalkin's word, they found a fork in the road the next day. The duo chose the path with the autumn trees, trying not to crunch too many fallen leaves as they walked. In the past day, Robin and Capala had both grown stiff and unhappy. Puck still felt worry and sickness poisoning his mind, and Capala had become tense and unresponsive since Grimalkin's visit. A romantic escapade it did not make.

Which is why is came as some relief when they arrived at the trod door. "Thank god," Robin breathed. "I thought we'd never get there."

"I just want to get out of this accursed forest," Capala muttered. "The faster the better."

"Less talk, more walk." Puck forced a tired smile and swung the trod door open. His heartbeat sped up. What was he going to find on the other side? Blood? Suffering? Death? He felt himself trembling, reluctant to look through the door and have all his worst nightmares realized.

"Puck!"

A feminine body crashed into him, wrapping her arms around his middle. Robin's eyes flew open as the wind was knocked from his lungs, and he saw a familiar face smiling up at him. "Barla?" he whispered, eyes wide. "Is is really you?"

"Uh-huh. I've-" she coughed, her cheeks flushing pink. "We've missed you so much! Come on, Aster will want to see you."

Dazed, Puck let himself be dragged along by the enthused dryad, stumbling through the home of his second birth. Random dryads, all of whom he recognized, smiled and waved when he passed by. Choruses of his name echoed through the wood, and soon he had an entourage at his side, guiding his unsteady footsteps.

Barla dragged him to every home in the forest, making him say hello to each and every person they met. "He's back," distant voices cheered. "He's home!" Robin didn't know what to say, or what to answer to the hundreds of questions lobbed at him during the walk. "Where have you been?" they asked. "What happened? Where did you go?" In that moment, the trickster couldn't remember. A myriad of emotions flooded his mind and drowned out all thought.

But soon the journey slowed, coming to a halt outside the small room Puck knew all too well. Barla squeezed his arm, smiled, and gestured for him to go in. The hum of voices had stopped, leaving only the soft sounds of nature. Robin stepped inside.

Of course, he didn't expect to see Aster having tea with Capala.

"Aster!" he exclaimed, joy and relief flowing through him. But he couldn't help frowning at the Iron fey seated next to her. "Cap? What are you doing here?"

"One of the older and more sensible girls brought her to me. You were a bit busy with the welcoming party." Aster smiled, her beautiful wizened face glowing in the ray of sunlight that fell through the interlocking branches above them. "Welcome home, Puck."

Robin felt heat rush to his eyes, and his throat grew tight. In two swift strides, he lifted the old woman in his arms and squeezed her as close as he dared without harming her. "I missed you," he whispered into her ear.

"I missed you too," Aster replied, roping her arms around his neck. Soon, all too soon, she retracted from the embrace and returned to the floor. "Well then," she said, "Won't you have a seat?"

The trickster took a seat at the table, and Aster handed him a mug of something warm. Puck murmured a thank you and took a drink. "Robin Goodfellow saying thank you without a second thought," Capala murmured, staring down into her cup. "You don't see that every day."

"Well, things are different here," Aster said, taking a sip of her beverage. "There is less to fear from peaceful dryads than from most fey. But Puck is disinclined to manners, regardless of the circumstances."

"Yeah, I'm pretty much a shithead no matter who I'm talking to," Robin interrupted with a grin. Seeing Aster again made all his worries go away. He didn't have a care in the world. "So what's going on? How you guys been holding up without me here?"

"Oh, it was terrible," Aster chuckled. "Peace and quiet, for the first time in months...it was terrible. Absolutely horrible."

Puck sighed. "I knew I shouldn't have left."

The pair laughed, but stopped when Capala rose from her chair, leaving her cup on the table. "I'm tired," she announced, avoiding Robin's eyes. "I'm going to go see if I can take a nap." No one spoke as she exited the room, waited until her footsteps faded away before reviving the conversation.

"...She's afraid of something," Aster murmured after a moment. "She's a nice girl, but something's spooked her. I can see it in her eyes."

"I know," Puck sighed, this time for real. "It was when we met Grimalkin in the Wyldwood. It set her off, somehow, and now she's acting like...like I don't know what. It's weird." He ran a hand through his hair. "Of course, I haven't been much help, what with all my nightmares..."

"Nightmares?" Aster suddenly became very intense. She stopped staring off into space and focused on the jester, her eyes narrowed. "What nightmares?"

Robin shuddered. "Visions, I guess. They're not just at night. Dreams of...horrible things. They haunted me all the way here."

Aster didn't reply at once, lowering her gaze and letting a heavy silence fall over them. "Capala told me how you two met, and why you came here. She told me about the message, Puck." She swallowed. "We will be attacked soon. And I've realised this too late to prepare."

Puck felt his chest grow tight. "I'm sorry, Aster. I should have come sooner."

"No," the dryad said, shaking her head. "You couldn't stop this. You can't. I know you can't. I feel it in my bones; something's coming, something that will change us all." She sighed. "But we have yet time."

"For what?"

"To run." Aster looked up again, her jaw now clenched tight. "Take all the dryads you can and run. Find us a new home, somewhere to rebuild. Keep us alive."

"What, like, right now?" Robin stood from his chair, as if ready to fetch the dryads that very second.

Aster gave him a weary smile. "No. Not now. Tomorrow morning. For now, go and check on Capala. She's a good person, you know. Very good. But delicate, though she doesn't want to admit it. Be gentle with her, Puck. She cares for you more than you know." She outstretched her arms, and Puck picked her up once more. He squeezed her tight. "I love you, Robin," she murmured.

"I love you too, Aster."

After asking around, Robin found Capala curled up next to a flowing river. Puck's bladder couldn't decide if the sound of the running water was relaxing or pee-inducing, so he did his best to look confident as he struggled not to piss himself. "Cap?" he called out, creeping down to the riverbank. "Are you okay?" He paused. "Okay, I guess that's a bit of a stupid question."

He saw the Iron Officer shift in the mud. "It is."

A moment of silence passed. "Do you want to, like, stand up and come over to me? 'Cause I don't know if you want faery mud seeping into your pants. That shit's magical and stuff." The woman didn't reply. "I guess I'm coming over there, then."

When he slopped through the muck and sat down at Capala's side, the woman finally acknowledged him. "Do you do all that shit on purpose," she asked, glowering at him, "or are you really that stupid?"

Robin grinned. "I don't know what you mean."

Capala pursed her lips, but the look of irritation didn't last long. "I'm sorry, Robin," she said, sighing. "I just...I don't feel right."

"I noticed." Puck shifted closer to her. "It's something to do with Grimalkin, isn't it."

The soldier took a deep breath and avoided his eyes. "Remember, back at the Iron Court, I told you there were things I've done that you would hate me for? Grimalkin's part of that." She swallowed. "Seeing him again brought back some memories I'd rather forget."

A few seconds passed. "You know, we're in this together now," Robin said softly. "I chose you, Capala. I'll listen to anything you have to say."

Capala lifted her head and looked at the trickster. "And you don't know how much that means to me," she whispered. "But...I can't tell you. Not yet. Maybe not ever, but I'm optimistic enough to say not yet."

"Well, I got all the time in the world." Robin pulled Capala close and kissed her head. "Just say you're with me."

Capala rested her head in the crook of his arm. "I'm with you," she murmured. "And I'll stay as long as you do."

"Good." Puck stood and helped Capala to her feet. "You know, the sun will be setting soon. We should go get dinner before it gets too late."

"That sounds like a good idea." Together, they walked back to the centre of the wood. They passed several dryads on the way, sharing polite smiles at their paths intersected. Near the main building, the smell of cooking meat and fresh fruit wafted through the air. Robin felt Capala take a deep breath in and sigh. "Come on," she said, tugging at Puck's arm. "Let's go in."

But something held the jester back. His heart dropped into his stomach, seemingly for no reason at all. He broke out in a sweat and his throat went dry. He felt a shiver go down his spine. "No," he whispered.

And then the all-too-familiar sound of a mortar whistled through the air.