"It would turn itself into a mouse, too," Neely said, with far too much dry certainty to be making things up for Miranda's benefit. "Probably a large mouse with a dual-pronged prick, knowing the Puck."

The puppy eyes were disconcerting. Neely almost drew back from them. "If you go with me, the likelihood of you getting back--or of getting changed back--is just going to diminish," he warned.

"That is the first sensible thing I've heard you say, as a mouse or a tallfolk," he replied. "Actually . . . I do have a plan but it involves Judith coming to Ushante any time soon. And that she hasn't changed her code-phrases in the past twenty years." He offered her another chunk of biscuit.

"She can't stay out of Ushante; she always ends up there for one reason or another. Leave you with one of her marks, give the codephrase, and then hope whoever it is doesn't end up putting you in a birdcage until she turns back up."

"I can deal with a birdcage," the mouse replied, looking relieved. "I can deal with a lot of things that aren't being a cat-snack. Fair enough to me," she agreed. "Puck always has some kind of thing to end the spell anyway. I probably just have to kiss someone."

"Let's hope," he said. "It'd be just like the Puck to change that rule as soon as someone starts to catch onto it." He set his teeth in an expression of mild disgust. "Bastard."

"Considering that I'm going to be accused of kidnapping said teenage girl, and god alone knows what all is going to come out of that, yes." He rolled his eyes. "I suppose it's just as well, otherwise I'd probably be talking to myself by now."