August.
It felt strange hearing his name, his new name. He pretended not to like it for a while, or at least to be indifferent (and it was true that at first, he had resented being named by Elaenar). But what the elf didn't know was that he actually liked hearing the sound of his own name, and he secretly reveled in the way that Elaenar stressed the vowels: ahh-gust. Having a real name made him feel like his own person in a way that he had never felt before. It gave August a kind of dignity that replaced the feeling of degradation and obscurity that came with being called "snaga" (or "mouse-sh*t" as Zurgug had liked to call him).
He noticed that Elaenar never once faltered or failed to call him by his new name; not once did he address him as "Snaga" by mistake or force-of-habit. Furthermore, Elaenar's treatment of August had become softer and gentler. He could still be demeaning at times, but the edge was taken off of his out-right cruelty. Elaenar still found it amusing to deliberately antagonize the orc, and sometimes he would tease August almost to the point of tears. The elf's new favorite taunt was to call him "baby" (in reference to his being sixteen years old, which he hated!) or when he thought August was being whiny or immature, he might reproach him to "stop acting like such a child". But overall, Elaenar's words became kinder towards August, and he never laid his hands in anger on him ever again. He noticed that the other elves started treating him differently as well; most of them became kinder and gentler too (or at least, less openly hostile).
Elaenar was no longer the oppressive and stern elf-master that August had endured for the last couple of months. These days, Elaenar engaged with him conversationally and was happy to answer August's many questions about the wider world (even though he sometimes rolled his eyes at the orc's ignorance). When passing by, he would often knock August's cowl off of his head and mess up his hair playfully, saying "why do you have to hide underneath that headscarf all the time?".
Elaenar began to demonstrate that he trusted August by leaving him alone for longer periods of time; no longer did he constantly keep watch over the prisoner's every move. But August didn't necessarily like this; he felt uneasy if Elaenar wasn't close by. He didn't feel safe without his guardian to protect him; what if Ruillian found him alone and wanted to do him harm?
August waited for over an hour, but when Elaenar didn't come back to check on him, he became anxious and ventured outside of the barracks to go find the elf. Lúthian spotted him in the courtyard and snapped at him:
"Snaga, what are you doing in the courtyard? You're not allowed to loiter around here."
"I'm not loitering." He argued defensively (August didn't like Lúthian, and he wasn't afraid to show it).
"Don't talk back to me, Snaga! I don't trust you; you look like you're up to no good."
"Where's Elaenar?" He asked flatly.
"Who knows, probably getting high somewhere. If you're idle, then go sit in your cell and wait for him to give you something to do."
"You can't tell me what to do!" August countered defiantly.
"Listen here, you little orc brat!" Lúthian raged. "Just because Elaenar feels sorry for you and spoils you, doesn't mean that you can do whatever you like and mouth-off to your betters. You're nothing but a lowly little orc slave; and if Elaenar doesn't start teaching you you're place, then I will. Now get!" He excoriated him, pointing in the direction of the barracks.
August gave Lúthian a malevolent, scowling look before storming off. He pretended to make his way toward the left wing of the fortress, but by this time he knew the ins-and-outs of the stronghold well enough to sneak through an obscure hallway and slip back into the courtyard on the other side. He searched for Elaenar, but he was unable to find the elf anywhere. He began to feel uncomfortable meandering around the courtyard, dodging disapproving stares from men and elf-soldiers. He was about to give up and turn back when he came upon one of the few elves that he knew personally.
The red-haired elf spotted him looking lost and said to him:
"What's wrong little creature? You look at-a-loss."
August's shyness overcame him, and he found himself unable to answer.
"Don't be shy." The elf said. "You know who I am, don't you?" He asked.
August nodded his head. He recognized the elf as one of the two prisoners who had been locked up in the tower at Lüg-Gulguh.
"I'm Aeründal. What's your name?"
Out of habit, he almost answered with "Snaga", but instead he answered:
"Elaenar calls me August."
"August, hmm?" The elf repeated, surprised. He raised an eyebrow and smiled out of the corner of his mouth. "That's a very nice name."
August wanted to ask the elf about his fiery red hair, which perturbed him but also fascinated him. He often wondered what properties lay underneath elves' scalps to make their hair grow in such unusual colors, especially the blonde ones.
August reasoned that the other elf must be Faenar, the scary one. Apparently, Aeründal was the nice one. He had never been formally introduced to either of these elves, but he recognized their names. It was Faenar who had screamed at him in the tower that he wanted to "tear his eyeballs out". He'd had a second bad encounter with that particular elf a couple of weeks prior. Faenar had caught him mistaking an armory room for a supply closet; when he caught the orc trying to open the (securely locked) door, he had flown into a zealous frenzy, shaking him by his shoulders and interrogating him almost to tears.
"Are you looking for something, August?" Aeründal asked him.
"Have you seen Elaenar?"
"He's by the stables, exercising the horses." The elf answered, pointing in that direction.
August flitted away without thanking the elf, not only because he was painfully shy, but also because thanking people (and all other manners of courtesy) was a strange elvish custom that August wasn't used to yet.
He found Elaenar leading a team of horses trotting circles around a walker. Horses were yet another thing that Snaga was afraid of. He'd never seen a horse before being captured, but he'd heard stories about men and elvish soldiers mounted on huge beasts that could crush orc enemies underneath their hooves when charging. He'd asked Elaenar once why every soldier didn't have his own horse at the barracks.
"Because, silly. This is an infantry unit, not a cavalry unit."
August was still confused, why wasn't every unit a cavalry unit? Elaenar had to explain to him that it wasn't feasible to supply every soldier with his own horse because they require too many resources to be kept, and horses couldn't be effectively mobilized in a country without large highways or open fields.
August timidly approached Elaenar as he walked these strange beasts of burden. He observed their large, powerful shoulders; they looked like they could crush him with ease (and he guessed that they probably wanted to). August noticed how they became agitated as he approached; they started neighing and stomping their feet. These were veteran war horses, and they knew an orc when they saw one.
"Elaenar?" August called out to him as he approached. The elf's head turned to look over his shoulder.
"Well, well," He turned and said with something between a grin and a smirk on his face. "You just called me by my name; that was cute. I didn't even think you knew my name."
"I'm not stupid." August snorted. "I know your name." (Furthermore, it wasn't actually the first time he had called Elaenar by his name. Perhaps the first time didn't count.)
"I rather like the sound of my name coming out of your mouth, don't you?" Elaenar teased. August hated how Elaenar was always trying to get underneath his skin, saying flummoxing things that left him flustered and annoyed and completely unsure how to reply.
"No." he answered flatly, scrunching up his nose. He resented how Elaenar liked to mess with him.
"Well, I know that you like the sound of yours. Don't you, Au-gust?"
A shiver went down August's spine; how did the elf know his secret thoughts?
Elaenar unhitching a horse from the walker to switch it out for a different one. He walked toward the stables and August followed behind, trying to stay clear of the horse's path. When Elaenar noticed that he had been followed into the stables, he asked:
"What's the matter, do you need something?"
"Faenar and Ruillian have the chessboard."
"And what exactly do you want me to do about that?"
"Iwanted to play with it."
"Well then you'll just have to wait your turn. For goodness's sake, August, it's not as if it belongs to you. You can be awfully selfish sometimes; you know that?" He chided.
"I'm bored," He whined.
"Then you can help me walk the horses."
He shook his head. "I'm scared of horses." He confessed.
"Oh, honestly August. What aren't you scared of?"
"They want to eat me."
"No, they don't, you dunce. They're not grizzly bears, they don't attack people. The only thing any horse ever wanted was to graze peacefully in a pasture for all of its days." He said, petting its forehead.
"Poor thing. It's a pity we should make such sweet animals go to battle for us."
August watched curiously as the elf put a harness on the horse and observed that its head was twice as big as Elaenar's. He wondered if horses bite. Elaenar led the animal out of the stable and grabbed another bridle off of the wall. He threw it playfully over the orc's head, tugging him along.
"Come along, now. Tut tut." He teased, snickering. He tugged at the orc with his right hand while leading a warhorse with his left hand.
August threw the bridle off of himself with a scowl, resisting the urge to say "fuck you" lest Elaenar apply the riding crop to himself. August was slowly learning to get used to Elaenar's constant teasing; the elf was always antagonizing him, trying to push him over the edge. He followed Elaenar out of the stables.
"Do you still smoke without me?" He asked the elf.
"None of your business."
"You do smoke without me, don't' you?"
"I'm six centuries old. I can do whatever I like with my body and my own property."
"It's not fair!" He exclaimed.
"You know, for someone who doesn't like being called a child, you certainly act like one." Elaenar said, while pushing the cowl (technically head scarf) off of his head. August didn't bother to put it back on, because he knew that Elaenar would simply knock it off again. Elaenar transferred another horse off of the walker to exchange it for one in the stables and August followed him like a puppy.
"I don't have anything to do." He complained.
"Welcome to life in the barracks." Elaenar answered sarcastically. "Boredom is a fixture of army life. Get used to it."
August huffed out a frustrated sigh; he didn't have the luxury of being able to get high like how Elaenar did. He was jealous. He stood there idly in silent discontent while he observed Elaenar at work.
"This one is Naihri, she's the gentlest." Elaenar said while caressing the horse's forehead and nose; his affection for this particular animal was evident. She was grey and dappled in color; her mane had a slight wave, and despite her dark and gentle-looking eyes, August was still cautious.
"Come pet her, she's nice."
August shook his head adamantly. "I don't want to."
"Don't be such a coward. She won't hurt you."
"No."
But the elf insisted: "Come on, don't be scared."
Elaenar grabbed August's wrist; he would have struggled to get away, but Elaenar took him by his shoulders and pushed him to stand next to the horse's stable.
"It'll bite me," He protested.
"She won't bite you. Put your hand on her forehead, gently, like this."
August had a difficult time looking people in the eyes, but animals were different. He looked into her dark eyes as though to ask her permission before touching; he found that she was not afraid of him. Although gentle, there was a certain boldness in the horse's demeanor; she made no secret of the fact that she had no fear of the orc. She didn't invite August to touch her, but she didn't shy away either. Looking into her eyes, August felt the strange sense of being known, as though she saw right through him and observed his fears and weaknesses. It made him feel vulnerable. August's fingers tingled at the sensation of her soft hair. He stroked her very hesitantly, starting from her forehead down to the bridge of her nose. August was struck by how much larger a horse was from himself; his hand looked especially small compared to her massive head. For a brief moment, as the initial fear ebbed away, he was enchanted by her steadiness of temperament and calming energy. She spoke to him with her eyes; and in them he found, not a dumb animal, but wisdom and intelligence. It seemed that she took him for exactly what he was: a shy and fearful little creature harboring pain greater than anyone knew.
"See? She's nice. There's nothing to be scared of." Elaenar coaxed.
But it was too much for August, so after a short moment of caressing her forehead, he backed away and chose to observe her from a distance. Elaenar tsk tsked; he put a harness on Naihri to lead the horse out of the stable.
"How do you ride them without falling off?" He asked.
"Are you curious how it's done?" He asked, eyebrow raised. A mischievous look came into Elaenar's eyes. "Would you like to try it for yourself?"
"No!" He answered adamantly, shaking his head.
"Not even for a moment? I promise I won't let you fall."
"No! I don't want to. You can't make me."
"Oh come on, be more adventurous. If nothing else, do it for my amusement."
"I don't care about your amusement!" He retorted.
"Then do it for your amusement." He replied, reaching for the orc.
"No, please, I don't want to. I'm scared." August whined as Elaenar grabbed him underneath his arms and attempted to pick him up.
"Stop being scared of everything, August. You need to toughen up; learn to be brave."
Before he could argue about it any further, Elaenar lifted him off of his feet and forced him to sit astride the horse. August was probably only seven feet off the ground, but to him it felt like he was seven hundred feet high in the air. Although she had been agreeable when he had timidly stroked the bridge of her nose, August had no confidence that this horse would consent to be ridden by an orc. He imagined that she would throw him off violently, or perhaps roll over so that she could crush him underneath her powerful shoulders.
"Look at you!" Elaenar exclaimed. "Just think, you might be the first orc that ever rode a horse."
"Put me down!" He cried. The horse shifted her weight underneath him from one foot to the other; it was enough to make August panic.
"What's the matter, don't you feel high and mighty up there?" He teased.
"Elaenar, stop! Let me down!" He pleaded. Because he was getting no help, he leaned over and tried to dismount all by himself. He started to slip and would have hit the ground with a thud if the elf hadn't gracefully caught him and set him on his feet.
"You have no courage; you know that Snaga? The elf chided him. August knew that wasn't a slip-of-the-tongue; his dark skin concealed the fact that his face blushed from being shamed by Elaenar. He wondered if perhaps Elaenar wanted to do more than just give him a new name and actually mold him into a new person.
Elaenar brushed him off and tussled his hair; an expression of dissatisfaction came over his face.
"Your hair is getting greasy. Go boil some water so that you can wash your hair. It's not like you have anything better to do."
Sullenly walked away to do as he was told; he still thought it was strange that Elaenar insisted on bathing regularly, but he was getting used to elvish customs.
August made his way to the elvish barracks; when he rounded the corner in the hallway, his heart nearly stopped when he almost ran into the elvish captain. He deferentially backed up against the wall and lowered his head. The captain stopped and turned to look at him.
"Does Elaenar leave you unattended often?" He asked.
"Sometimes…" August answered barely above a whisper with his gaze to the floor. He was afraid that he was about to be in trouble.
"Look at me." Thrandar commanded firmly. August nervously tilted his chin upward and just barely peered up to meet the elf captain's gaze. Captain Thrandar's large and tall form never ceased to intimidate him. He looked at the orc skeptically with an air of calm stoicism; he laid a finger on the back of August's cheek and examined his face from side to side. He tsk-tsked.
"My how you've changed." He remarked in a low and serious tone. He seemed perturbed. August trembled; he was very afraid of the elf captain.
"Mind yourself next time you round the corner, don't startle people with your presence. Now run along." The captain dismissed him. August couldn't scurry away fast enough. He could feel the captain's eyes following him despite not daring to look back behind himself.
