I see, that’s a shame. Why not just top it with a simple Rand throwing Jack into the cocoon and forcing him to become his furry pigboy?

Well, the cocoon exploded, so that option was originally out of the question. The entire story was meant to be, of course, a riff on the original O’Henry tale, with the upshot of two people giving each other gifts, with neither one of them happy, both of them trapped in a relationship they can’t break, but which they both resent. I came to the conclusion that that wasn’t really all that intriguing I suppose. That happens with stories pretty often actually, I just never post them, so that was a mistake on my part, posting something when it was unfinished. I know better, but eh, I’d rather not change it, to be honest. It’s a good reminder to myself that sometimes stories should stay dead, and that that’s ok.