Pest was disappointed when he rested back, thinking of Fanli in his arms. At least she allowed him to hold her before the business with Ved.

Throughout everything, this shouldn't have been where his thoughts lay, he knew, but while all thoughts as human were of curing the hollow, all thoughts now focused squarely on Fanli. Disturbingly so. The idea that she wouldn't want him never occurred. Not even once.

It hurt, especially after becoming an ogre. The irony wasn't lost on him.

His parents were gone. And if they were gone, and now Fanli was gone, he was all alone. Therefore, he took the first opportunity, as Wen and her parents fought, to slip away. He'd wanted nothing to do with them.

Now, hours later as he traveled through the forest, finding rest against the trees, there was only one thing on his mind—Fanli. Could he be angry with her for seeking out Ved? He certainly couldn't be mad at Ved for seeking her out.

The world of an ogre was pink—and it was an amazing color but now, in this moment, it turned somewhat yellow, making the bruise left behind from the fight with Ved's father more prominent.

An ache in Pest's jaw had him tracing the big tusks to find that one had a crack in it. It took some time but he went against Fanli's teachings and broke them both off. Pest leaned back against the tree trunk. Upon focusing on the tusks in his grip, he remained deep in thought.

Pest. That was his name. And no one had ever been so aptly appointed such a marker.

He was a pest, both to his family, and now to Fanli.

Even as an ogre, he was useless. Now, he focused on his new loincloth, fashioned out of one of Ved's shirts at Pest's insistence.

To say he hated the loincloth was an understatement. Still, Fanli'd made it for him, not all that well, and he decided he didn't mind.

When he looked up and around, the world of pink slowly receded and brilliant colors emitted off the clouds.

Fanli'd be better off without him, he decided.

The best he could do was leave, head to Pyer's Peak, find whatever it was that granted wishes, and wish he was never born.

He'd never talked to anyone as an ogre before. But he must have looked like a half-decent one with this getup, so he set his sights on that mountain Wen had talked about, and set off. He had to pass through the village. At his size, it wasn't easy to hide from prying eyes, but he'd tried in the past week. The green skin made staying in the brush relatively easy.

Thunder sounded but not from the heavens, somewhere else. Pest kept on the path. It would be easier to cut right through.

He felt naked as he walked. All who saw him made room. Some gasped, he guessed at his size, others whispered. A horn sounded but he couldn't say from where.

One ogre ran past. Another did as well.

Pest had never seen so many in close proximity. Even the day before, they'd gathered then dissipated for whatever reason—perhaps a hunt gone wrong. Fanli'd always said ogres fought in packs. Perhaps that was what this was. Somehow, Pest ended up moving along with them.

He reached the edge of town to find that while his path onward led to the right, the ogres all traveled to the left. More than one glanced back at him when he came to a stop. Eventually, they walked on.

The horn was there again. Then the thunder. Pest looked down at his feet. He was unsure of his discovery until the next sound. The earth shook. This was no storm, but something else. Something that involved the ogres.

Another sounding of the horns came with the thunder and a group of ogres spilled out of the forest. It must have been a good fifteen. They grumbled with one another then ventured back in. Just as easily, they rushed out again.

Pest watched them for some time, a fact he regretted when one spotted him then smiled and closed the distance between them.

He guessed it was his size why they were comforted but he turned to make his way to the right, heading for the mountain.

"Brother! Ohoy! Brother."

Brother who? Pest picked up speed. This new body had immense power and despite his size, he felt confident he could outrun them, and maybe even a wild animal.

"Brother, what ogre abandons another?"

Pest's steps fell slower. He wasn't sure why but he stopped moving.

Four ogres caught up with him.

One said, "So it is true. An ogre this size has come. Good. Your magic is strong. You can at least catch him. Come."

"He's unreasonable."

"The lament will start. The humans are already afraid of some dirty fairy. What'll they do with a wild ogre?"

Pest sighed inward. They had to say it. Considering that he was said dirty fairy, he debated what to do.

He didn't know these ogres. And he didn't even know the first thing about being an ogre. So why couldn't he just walk on?

With a sigh, he turned to face them. They all fell collectively silent. One even gasped.

"Your tusks...."

Pest remembered his appearance and smiled. Like the day before, the excuse came with ease—at least this time it wasn't a lie. "Lost it in a fight." The bass of his own voice still rattled him.

It made the ogres' faces light up.

"Good, good. Then you are perfect."

One turned to run, but the others waited for Pest who let out a sigh and followed.

What was he getting into and why was he doing this to himself?

They headed into the forest. Once inside, he was shocked by the ogre numbers. There was an army of them spread out in all directions.

In the center of a clearing, a big ogre pounded into the ground. The crunch sound thundered, followed by a moaning cry. Pest had found the source of the ruckus, but it was no horn.

It was an ogre starting to lament.

Someone shoved Pest forward and he stumbled into the clearing.

"Just give him a good fight. Let him get angry."

"Better than the sadness."

"He looks dangerous though. Won't he hurt him?"

"Hurt him? Lowgli's a hunter. He won't go down easy."

Lowgli? Pest turned to face the ogre who'd kept on with his frustration.

Pest didn't know the first thing about fighting beyond turning his back to a strike. He would have walked away if something didn't catch his eye. On the ground, not far from the raging ogre, something black rested.

The sight of it put Pest into some sort of trance, because he walked toward it. Once he crouched and could get a better look, he let out a sigh.

He made the mistake of flicking it with his finger.

The crying stopped.

Lowgli turned, fists clenched.

Pest regretting being crouched but it afforded him a better view of the ogres surrounding the clearing. One ogress stood with her back to Lowgli while all others faced him.

When Lowgli advanced to Pest, hate in his eyes, Pest in turn stood. His height gave Lowgli pause only once before he continued.

That was fine. Pest knew how to stop this.

It was perhaps a bad idea, and it certainly looked cowardly, but he darted for the slighted girl ogre. Understandably, the male was on his heels.

As soon as Pest grabbed her by the arm, something pounded into his back.

He'd been struck, with such force that his knees shook. It took him a minute more to recover.

In that time, Lowgli'd stepped before his woman. She, on the other hand, shoved him aside.

"Wait," Pest raised his hands to them. "Wait. I think...I think this is my fault." He glanced past Lowgli to the black fabric on the floor and said, "I know why your treasure's started to rot."

All anger receded from Lowgli's face. Even his woman picked her head up—she was more than interested.

Pest waited for them to calm before he sat up and explained, "You bought it from a human—one who was in a bad temper. She cheated you on top of it, charging you too much. That's not a gift given with sincerity."

"It was sincere," Lowgli argued. "I was sincere. That should have purified it."

With that, Pest set his sights on the ogress who watched the ground, safely tucked behind Lowgli's back. "Then maybe it wasn't received with sincerity?"

She was silent and Lowgli hesitated but eventually turned to look back at her. Finally, he turned.

"Only one ogre wears dresses," she muttered, "and she was your first choice."

Lowgli's lips parted. He struggled with something to say but gave up eventually.

Pest waited out of respect before he dragged himself to stand. As strong and reasonable as Lowgli appeared, Pest also recognized the guilt behind it.

His woman was talking about Fanli.

"When you give a gift," Pest said, "you give what your lover wants, not what you want on her."

Head still hung, said ogress grumbled, "He's a hunter. He's never even offered me even one rat, or something like that. Just a dress!"

Lowgli turned, moving like an enchanted Fae summoned home. He closed the distance between his ogress then fell to his knees.

"I've wronged you," he admitted. "Take a club to me, but forgive me."

His words fell on deaf ears; she still looked away.

Pest scrambled for rescue. He wasn't sure why or where the idea came from but he prodded the leaves of his necklace.

His plan, as he tilted his head back and fingered the necklace, was to take out one seed but, to his shock, he felt four. Perhaps this new body was the reason for the extra. No matter, it was a gift, a sincere gift from Fanli.

Pest's actions sent murmurs spreading throughout.

He ignored them and held his fist up to Lowgli.

The ogre scanned Pest up and down then received the seed with both hands. He scrutinized it for some time then smiled.

What happened next was something unreal, fast, and confusing. Males rushed Lowgli, leading him away. Females did the same for his woman.

They were heading toward the ogre hills. And that was fine, until they pushed Pest along.

Pest wasn't certain of much, but each time he tried to slow in his stride or even stop, he was sure others matched his pace. He didn't care. Rather than let them take him to the mounts inhabited by the ogres, he was hellbent on heading out to the other mountain holding his certain death.

And he would have gone if not for Lowgli and his woman's look of woe. Somehow, Pest was meant to fix this. He wasn't sure what this even was.

Against his better judgement, Pest let them lead him. He was rather hard to miss since he stood out even with the ogres around him. If they were heading towards the ogre homes, one thing came to mind.

Rather than go up, they remained at the base of the mountain. Within an hour, a fire raged, despite it being daytime. Another strange thing happened—the females separated.

Lowgli sat down beside Pest who scanned the people. Fanli and her sister shared enough similarities, and he was looking for someone.

And then he saw them. He'd never met Fanli's parents because it was understood, that like trolls who were the Fae's natural enemy, ogres didn't take kindly to them either. Looking human but smelling of Fae worried them enough that Fanli never risked letting her parents know the company she kept. Now, Pest saw them; the aging ogre couple to join the crowd looked similar enough. As they separated with the others, women with the women, Pest watched Fanli's mother. Would this be how she looked in thirty years?

If what Fanli said about breaking the body was true, then this woman barely transformed. Her shape was still good. She looked no different than an aged human mother. Admittedly, there were other old ogres who resembled the stories of old, pot belly, few teeth, drooping brow, but not all.

At this moment, Pest was embarrassed. He'd been stupid. All it would have taken was a bit more understanding to know people's image of ogres were skewed. And did it matter? Did it matter how she'd eventually look?

But it did matter—had mattered, and that was because...Pest was a fairy. No one ever said bad things about him. In fact, people gravitated to him, even when he hated it.

And Fanli's mother didn't interact as well with others—perhaps due to the shame her daughters brought her. Pest was sorry for contributing to that. Out of all of the ogres here, none compared to Fanli and there were more than a few who were worthy of a second glance.

The one for Lowgli, for example, was far prettier than Fanli—taller, too. She had a power to her, one that was clear even now as she sat on the other side of the fire, staring into the flames.

"Here." Lowgli handed over a large fruit. "For water."

"Water," Pest repeated the words then paused. His eyes settled on the ogre beside him. Fear spiked through him. Lowgli couldn't have known.

But when Pest took the fruit and met eyes with Lowgli, the glare there brought on a paralysis.

Then it happened. Lowgli asked, "How did you become an ogre...fairy?"