Jason pulled up his hood over his head. "Sometimes things seem crazy,but sometimes they'll come out with your side in best interests."

"I thought you wanted an adventure," Ash said, just to annoy him. Puck snorted.

"Oh sure, don't get me wrong. I'm all for tromping to all five corners of the Nevernever, getting chased by angry Summer Queens, sneaking into an ogre's basement, fighting giant spiders, playing hide-and-seek with a cranky dragon--good times." He shook his head, and his eyes gleamed, reliving fond memories. "But if this is the first place we're going to look for that wretched cat, and if he isn't here I'm almost afraid of where we're going next."

"You don't have to be here," Ash told him. "Leave if you want. I'm not stopping you."

"Nice try, prince." Puck crossed his arms and smiled. "But you're not getting rid of me that easily."

Jason knew he probably couldn't stop this fight ... but what did he do? Try. "Could we try to get along? Maybe? I don't wanna have to threaten to shift and eat anyone."

They both kinda just stare

He sighed. "Okay,I wouldn't eat anyone.I don't do meat,but still. Could we not fight?"

"If we're not going to fight, we need to get moving." It was getting dark, and Puck's consistent chattering was getting on Ash's nerves. Joking aside, he didn't want to attract the attention of a hungry jabberwock to have to fight in the middle of the swamp.
"Okay, fine," Puck sighed, tromping along behind, taking Jason's hand again. "But if he's not here I refuse to go to the Spider Queen's palace with you, ice-boy. That's where I draw the line."

Jason gently squeezed Pucks hand affectionately, shivering faintly at the thought of a spider queen. He didn't much care for bugs,he'd handle them just fine.Crawlies and stuff,sure! He'd carry them and desect just fine but he'd not dare do so unless fully necessary. He did have limits....somewhere along the line.

It nearly took the whole night to find what Ash was looking for

Jason kept biting a fang to his tongue not to fall asleep at some point.

Puck had put an arm around Jason, just in case.

At the edge of a scummy pond stood a house, faded and gray like everything else. A picket fence made of bleached white bones surrounded it, naked skulls topping the posts, and a few scraggly chickens milled about in what passed as a yard. The hut was old and wooden, creaking faintly though there was no wind. The most unusual thing, however, wasn't the house itself, but what held it up. It stood on a pair of massive bird legs, gnarled and yellow, blunt talons digging into the mud. The legs were crouched low, as if sleeping, but every so often they shifted restlessly, causing the whole house to shudder and groan.

"We're heeeeere," Puck sang softly. "And can I say that the old gal hasn't gotten any less creepy than when I saw her last."

Ash narrowed my eyes at him. "Just shut up and let me do the talking this time. It was bad enough when you insulted the centaur chief."

"All I suggested was that we could've used a ride out of the meadow. I didn't mean from him."

Sighing, Ash opened the bone gate and crossed the weed-choked yard, scattering chickens in front of him. Before he reached the steps, however, the door creaked open and an old woman emerged from the darkened interior. Tangled white hair framed a lined, wrinkled face, and sharp black eyes peered out at them, bright and gleaming. In one gnarled hand she held a basket, in the other a butcher knife, stained with the blood of many victims.

He stopped at the foot of the stairs, wary and alert. Old as she appeared, the witch of this house was powerful and unpredictable. If Puck said something stupid or accidentally insulted her, it would be vastly annoying if we had to fight our way out.