Fanli's muscles burned like fire three hours later. Outside a tavern, away from discovery by her mother or father, three people sat. In truth, Fanli and Wen sat at the table.

There was only one pub in town and this was as close as Fanli'd ever get to it. She supposed being here was better than nothing. If not for how much her body trembled from sustaining this human form well past the usual hour, she would have reminded herself of the good in the situation. Instead, her skin felt tight and she pushed the ogre from back down again though she imagined a giant hand squeezing her true body into submission.

Flopped down on a chair closer to the eatery, Ved shined his sword as he watched them.

Fear and panic. All of those emotions swirled through Fanli's head. Squeeze.

Never mind the actual terror of another ogre spotting her. Ved's proximity was enough. He'd been the one to suggest eating out here rather than going inside.

And now, he sat, sharpening his blade, while watching them. The stone slid down the sword one last time as Wen finally groaned.

"I'm tired. Let's leave it at this for today."

Body still vibrating from fatigue, Fanli rose to her feet. She was sure to bow, "Thank you, ma'am."

In front of her parents, Wen would shake off the formality. She did not do it now. Instead, she waved her hand and Fanli gave Ved a fleeting bow before racing into the street.

Something caught her by the neck.

"Whoa," a tall woman said.

What Fanli could see of the muscles of her arms made her question whether this was an ogre. But ogres recognized ogres, even in human form, and she could see no markings to indicate as much.

"Now," said the woman, stepping back, "what exactly moves like you? Hmm?"

Unlike Fanli's lovely dress, the woman wore dark leather trousers and a matching top, all decorated with tusks. Fanli recognized more than a few ogre ones.

Hunters.

Panic and fear. Panic and fear. The proverbial hand squeezing her let go. Terror locked the transformation in place.

This human form was now total, but it ached.

Fanli willed herself to calm. There was no reason to lose her mind and make baseless assumptions. If this was a hunter, it was best to figure out which type. So long as there weren't...three of them.

Two men stepped behind the woman to look over her shoulder at Fanli. "Four possible creatures," one said.

The woman holding Fanli frowned. "What's the likelihood of ogre? Don't they have anti-prey laws here?"

The next man nodded and affirmed, "Yes, princess."

Three. Fanli waited, praying for a fourth. Anything but three.

Because three meant....

"Ah. There you are," a voice sang.

Fanli allowed her eyes to slide to the right to the hunchback who came her way with a smile.

"I see you've found my daughter." He gripped Fanli's arm like a vice and yanked her free. "I'd appreciate you not holding her in such a manner."

"Daughter?" The woman looked over Wyrn's head and focused on Fanli. "Who would give a hunchback a daughter? Unlikely."

People slowed in what they were doing and took up an audience.

"What's unlikely about it?" Ved asked, stepping out from behind the pub.

Upon seeing him, the woman smiled wide. "Finally, someone with authority. Kindly tell this hunchback to hand over our prey. There are strict laws against ogres that hunt. We've found one and therefore, it means we have a right to ogre treasure." Her eyes slid to the side and landed on Fanli. "Or ogre hide."

Panic. Fear.

"Hey."

All heads turned to settle on Wen who leaned against the pub with her arms folded.

"I'm usually the only one allowed to make foolish threats around here."

The hunchback sighed. "Both of you go home. I'll handle this."

Wen eased off the wall, hurt. "But F—"

She paused, and the hesitation had taken Fanli by surprise. But not just her—others noticed it, too. Wen didn't call the hunchback "Father."

Her guilt and regret was what drove her to bow her head and walk away. "Try to be safe. Ved, stay with him."

But after she was gone, her father told his son, "You, too. Inform your mother three hunters are here."

Ved stared the strangers down for some time then glanced at his father and complied with a nod.

Once he was gone, the hunchback looked up at them. "If—"

"Outta the way," one man said, shoving him aside. "We have business here."

Wyrn fell hard but did not stand as they stepped over him and walked on. Fanli waited, more than ready to see Wyrn jump up and unleash his power.

The man...did nothing. He stayed down when pushed there and made no attempts to stand or otherwise move.

The three hunters glanced at Fanli and she dropped her gaze. As soon as they were gone, Fanli hurried to help the hunchback up.

"Sir, thank you."

"It's all right. Don't worry about me. I'm tougher than I look." He stood and brushed himself off.

Due to his posture, he didn't see his children watch his fall, but Fanli had. Wen looked hurt as she turned and ran home, her brother in tow.

"You best hurry back to your people," Wyrn told Fanli. "Find a safe place to transform as soon as you can. I'll keep an eye on them."

He turned her around and shoved her toward the forest and she struggled to keep herself from breaking into a panicked run. As soon as she reached the trees, however, a terrible thought occurred.

A bright side.

The chances of her working up this much magic to hold this transformation again any time soon was slim.

And this unfortunate encounter had solidified it. She clicked her teeth in triumph.

She didn't want to, but she traveled through the shrubs and trees until she came upon a shallow path. This entire valley stopped at a forest of enchantment. Few people risked going in.

It was easy to get lost inside but she knew where to go. Sure enough, thirty minutes later, she stared up at a large tree.

Fear...and panic were gone. But she could hold on a bit longer.

To the naked eye, the tree was empty, but she knew better. The size of it forced her to abandon human pretense in order to climb. She jumped, caught a high branch and dragged herself up. then another, and another until she was finally at the top.

That's where she saw him. The brown of his hair eaten up by the sun until it almost appeared blond, Pest rested in the crook of a tree. His gaze was cast on a lake below, but he said, "Don't you look lovely?"

Fanli opened her mouth to yell but the way he sat with his arms crossed was telling.

"Kicked out of your house again?"

He didn't answer.

Being cast out hardly mattered—he could always go back.

"When an ogre gets kicked out, it's for life. So count your blessings," she said.

The branch was big enough for one grown person, but he sat up and hung his legs over. That meant he wanted the company.

Fanli thought to tell him she needed to get out of this transformation and go home but...she didn't.

He patted the spot beside him, and she sat with a sigh.

Pest didn't have magic, but he had a right to it. As such, he could tap into most natural magic in this forest, a point he proved by stroking the trunk of the tree until another branch budded, grew, and traveled the path of his hand. Soon they sat, gripping the new branch while sitting on the old.

"Haven't seen you in a while," he muttered with no joy in his cadence.

Fanli braced forward, watching him in profile though he refused to look at her. "It wasn't like you were waiting for me."

She smiled at her joke, but he didn't smile back. Surely, he saw the humor. After witnessing that faithful kiss on the docks between Pest and Wen, Fanli'd decided to be happy for them. Pest wouldn't admit it, but he was a lonely soul. If he could find happiness, especially with the hunchback's perfect family, then she could be happy for him as well.

Time spent with Pest was strange. He rarely spoke, but often smiled.

Over the years, they'd sat watching ant colonies together. They'd watched caterpillars for hours like fools. They'd even watched animals grazing in the forest with no end in sight.

For the past year, after his kiss with Wen, Pest had taken to watching something else.

Fanli never questioned the why. Pest was studying life and all around him, and one thing was constant—he only shared it with her.

That should change, Fanli told herself, because she was moving on. She had to now with what Wen had told her.

"You should let your lover join you up here," Fanli said, sounding more concerned than she'd intended.

"What lover?"

Fanli glanced at him. "Wen, the leader's daughter. The one you've recently deflowered and disappeared on?"

For a long minute, neither of them moved. Not until Pest said, "Oh."

Oh.

That one little word had Fanli staring at him.

Despite their ups and downs, they'd been friends. No, she didn't think she had a right to know of Pest and Wen's original romance, or maybe not even this one, but Fanli and Pest shared such intimate things together. It hurt that he did not tell her this.

Everything else, he'd told her. For one, he liked the name Pest just fine. It was Wen's hate of it why he'd suggested Abri as a joke. Now he was stuck with it and had been for the last year.

The lake held nothing of interest so Fanli asked, "Why would you give her a fairy gem if you hadn't intended to honor your actions?"

Fanli didn't mind the quiet then; it was typical whenever Pest was thinking. That was one thing she found confusing about the idea of Wen and Pest together. Wen had no patience. To all questions asked, she wanted an immediate answer. Fanli did not mind if she never got one.

With Pest, however, one would come. One minute, one day, or one year later. He'd give his answer.

Laughter erupted through the forest and the lake drew Fanli's focus. There were several lakes within this area but this one was the only one freely visited by most creatures.

As such, it wasn't strange to see the faun run around catching at the sky. Fairies and fauns rarely interacted so it was looking for something else.

The moment he clapped again, a woman fell from the air. She laughed even as she landed.

"Water nymph," Pest explained.

Fanli guessed as much. It was the nymphs that interacted with the fauns the most.

Creatures in the village dressed, but not in the forest. As such, the nymph lay in the grass naked, and the faun sat next to her.

He positioned himself behind her. She rested in his arms but looked back and they shared a kiss. The faun's suntanned skin color contrasted greatly with the milky white of the nymph as he ran his hands down her arms.

The moment he reached around and stroked her breasts.

Fanli's face warmed. This was a foolish reaction, but she couldn't help it. When the faun pinched his lover's nipples between his fingers, Fanli found herself glancing at Pest.

Unsurprisingly, he had no discernable expression. His face wasn't flushed, his breathing didn't change. He watched on the same way he watched the ants, the caterpillars, and even the deer eating grass.

Perhaps he was studying something.

The faun, stroking and kneading the nymph's breast with his right hand, reached between her legs with the left. She shouted into his mouth as their languished kiss continued.

When he splayed her legs for better access, Fanli cleared her throat. Truthfully, she had nothing to say, but it seemed like the appropriate reaction.

Two digits disappeared into the nymph's pink crevasse and Fanli looked up. The vocal noises brought her eyes back to the scene yet again.

Fanli expected few things from this forest, but seeing the nymph on all fours as the faun pressed his lips to her from behind had her coughing yet again.

She didn't want to but glanced at Pest.

Nothing. No change, no expression, no discomfort. His calm demeanor had her wondering if perhaps she was the strange one.

It was when the faun knelt and brought his jutting penis to his lover that Fanli decided to say something.

"She says I should smile more," Pest muttered, interrupting her free fall.

"Huh?"

Against the serenade of "Harder" "Yes, just like that" Fanli tried to make sense of Pest's words.

There was only one she that he likely meant and Fanli let out a sigh.

Fanli hugged the new branch made for them and made the mistake of looking down at the faun and nymph's vigorous undertaking.

"Perhaps she doesn't understand what she does to you when she says these things."

Pest took some time to answer.

The very vocal pleas of the nymph below did nothing to change his cold expression.

"Perhaps she's right. Look at them. They look...happy."

Fanli would rather not but she did just that. The vigor and zeal of both the nymph and the faun rivaled any storybook battle.

A thought occurred and Fanli sat up and turned to him. "Wait. Are you saying...? Do you mean...? You did not enjoy yourself? Or she did not?"

Shrugging one shoulder, he answered, "No. It had been all right. Perhaps fun like this. I do not know. And she was...vocal."

Each word had Fanli dying a little more inside. "But?"

Pest shook his head and his long hair boxed in the wind. "And I don't know. Afterwards I just felt hollow. So, we tried it again. While in the act, I felt happy. But after...nothing."

This admission stirred a myriad of emotion but landed on one in particular. Pity.

"I'm sorry."

Slowly, a deep contrast to the speed of the faun's bucks, Pest's cold exterior dissolved into a frown.

"So I tried it with a few other girls...."

Fanli went rigid. The slow rotation of her head turning to face him was less for shock and more for outrage.

"What?" Bad enough he'd just admitted to slighting one of the strongest women in the valley, a woman with a small army of marauding cutthroat cousins, along with a blood-chilling twin brother, but did he have to drag Fanli into this by telling her?

"The same thing happened." Pest adjusted his positioning and said, "Wait, this is the best part."

Fanli feared looking. For one, the shouts of the couple had already come and gone. What she saw next explained far more than she could vocalize.

They'd watched the ants to see what they did with their work. The caterpillar held their interest until it became a butterfly. Now, the faun and the nymph, well sated, lay tangled against a tree with one another, stroking and petting each other's bodies.

"They look happy. But I couldn't get that."

The way he said it explained something to Fanli she wished she was wrong about. "You engaged in this for the afterglow?"

"Afterglow?" He faced her.

"The afterglow. Like after a storm comes through and everything gets quiet, and the sun comes back. There's...a shimmer to the air. Like a time of healing. The heavens fought with the earth and they sorta...make up."

Without answering, he turned his gaze back to the couple yet again. It was another hour when night threatened to overtake them that the faun and nymph awoke, shared a language kiss then parted ways. He tossed her up and she vanished, and he made his way into the forest.

"Perhaps," Pest said, thoughtful, "a human woman isn't what's interesting."

He turned his eyes on her and she nearly slipped off this very large branch.

Their gaze stayed locked for some time.

Finally, Fanli came to her senses. "I have to go. It's getting dark."

Pest stared at her then nodded at her arm. "You don't feel that?"

"Huh?" Fanli picked her hand up and froze at the sight of the bee. "We're allergic to bees."

"Nonsense. Then don't kill it. Others will come. If you stay perfectly still, it'll leave."

Heart thumping, Fanli listened to him.

"What exactly will happen to you if it did sting?" Pest asked, curious.

With a flinch, Fanli closed her eyes and wailed, "You're about to find out!"