She quickly takes care of it, the blooms shooting up and wrapping around it. It was quickly crushed as more blooms wrapped around the others on the ground, crushing them quickly.

Ash was grateful for the help but he couldn't express it. The wiremen surrounded him in a chaotic blur despite Claire's efforts. He could barely be seen through the forest of slashing claws. Suddenly he leaped straight up, over the heads of the Iron fey, to land on the upright half of a broken pillar. His coat was in tatters, one side of his face was covered in crimson, and more blood dripped from numerous wounds to the flowers below. The wiremen resumed their attack, crawling up the pillar or dropping from the ceiling. Ash was probably going to die in front of her, and she couldn't do much to stop it.

Something big and black hurtled through the smashed door, diving toward the battle. It screeched as it slammed into a wireman, knocking it off the column, and the rest of the fey looked up, startled at this newest threat. It wheeled around to land on the pillar across from Ash--a giant black raven with emerald-green eyes. Very familiar emerald-green eyes. The bird disintegrated, vanishing in a swirling black cloud. A new form rose up from the explosion, shaking feathers from his fiery red hair, a wide, familiar grin spreading across his face.

She couldn't help but laugh at the sight of him, smiling brightly. "About time!"

Puck continued brushing feathers from his clothes and gazed around at the carnage. "Yeah, it looks like I got here just in time." The wire-fey paused just a moment, blinking up at this newcomer, then scuttled forward once more. Puck drew a furry ball from his pocket, winked at Claire, and tossed it into the ranks of Iron fey swarming below him. It hit the ground, bounced once, and erupted into a large black boar, which charged into the fey with a maddened squeal. Puck threw Ash a mocking smile. "You look like crap, Prince. Did you miss me?"

Ash frowned, stabbing a faery that was clawing at his feet. "What are you doing here, Goodfellow?" he asked coldly, which only caused Pucks grin to widen.


"Rescuing the princess from the Winter Court, of course." Puck looked down as the wire-fey piled on the squealing boar, ripping and slicing. It exploded into a pile of leaves, and they skittered back in confusion. "Though it appears I'm saving your sorry butt, as well."

"I could've handled it."

"Oh, I'm sure." Puck brandished a pair of curved daggers, the blades clear as glass. His grin turned predatory. "Well, then, shall we get on with it? Try to keep up, Your Highness."

"Just stay out of my way."

They leaped down from their pillars directly into the ranks of wiremen, who instantly swarmed around them. Back to back, Ash and Puck sliced into their opponents with renewed vigor, neither giving an inch now that the other was there. The mob of Iron fey thinned rapidly. Through the mass of writhing limbs, Ash's face was visible, taut with concentration, and so was Puck's vicious smile.

Silently, the last few wiremen broke from the whirlwind of death in the middle of the floor. Without looking back, they scuttled up the walls, clawed their way through the holes in the roof and were gone.

Puck, his shirt now a tattered mess, sheathed his daggers and glanced around with a satisfied smirk. "Well, that was fun." His gaze found Claire and he shook his head. "Wow, icy reception here. And to think I came back from the dead for this." That was right...last time she saw him he was gushing blood.


(Yikes...that was too long)

(You literally just made my day by bringing him back!!! ^_^)

She chuckles, plucking a bloom from the ground and smiling down at it. "For things so hideous, they made something quite beautiful. Thanks for coming, Puck."

(I'm glad! :) )

He nodded. "No problem." He threw his arms open, hoping for a hug

She smiles brightly, forgetting what Ash had said about Puck before and hugging him. "I missed you! How'd you know where we were?"

He held her tightly. "Did you not see all the Iron fey coming from...well, everywhere?" He then murmured, "I'll always come back for you," sounding very unlike himself. For a moment, his green eyes were intense, and the emotion smoldering within.

She didn't notice, turning towards Ash and leaving Puck's embrace. "Where to now?"

Ash was leaning against a pillar, watching them with an unreadable expression. Blood streaked his face, splattering the white flowers beneath him, and his sword dangled limply from his grasp. Before Ash could answer, Puck decided to speak up. "Hey, Prince," he greeted, "word is youre a traitor to the Winter Court. Youve got the entire wyldwood in an uproar--they say you tried to kill Rowan after he caught you escaping with the princess. Clearly, Ive missed a few things."

"News travels fast," Ash replied wearily. He started to rake a bloody hand through his hair, then thought better of it, dropping it to his side. "Its been an interesting morning."

"To say the least." Puck gazed around at the bodies of the wiremen and wrinkled his nose. "What the hell are those things?"