All right, second chaapter.. Thank you to anyonee who is still reading this. This chapter is much happier than the first one. That's alll I''ll say. Anything else would be spoilers. Please read and review. This will let me know if I need to start on the next chapter or not. BE WARNED! IT MAY TAKE ME A WHILE TO UPDATE THIS IF I NEED TO. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED! Oh, and I don't own LOTR.

2. Reunion and Ignorance

Shagrat came to in a fog, or was it a dust cloud. He couldn't be sure, as he felt too weak to open his eyes completely. He lay still, right where he had fallen. He didn't know how hurt he was, but his whole body felt like it was burning. He even thought for a moment that he could still feel the Mouth's cruel, barbed whip ripping and tearing at his flesh.

Suddenly, his ears picked up the sound of voices moving toward him. He tried to call out, but he was too weak for that, too. He needn't have worried. The people walked right over to him and began talking to each other, but as Shagrat was right on the border between conscious and unconscious, he couldn't hear them clearly. He guessed they were discussing him because their blurry but humanoid forms surrounded him. The conversation stopped, and he could see a blurry form as it came towards him. He felt the sudden softness and lift as the person wrapped a blanket around him and lifted him into their arms. He didn't know who they were or where they were going, but he felt sure they didn't plan to hurt him in any way. At least not yet.

The orc, for orc it was, as he could tell by the familiar smell, carried him a very short distance. They must have been taking him to a wagon or a horse of some sort. He was then laid on his back across something, and he felt a wide strap fasten and tighten around his midsection. The orc that had carried him now jumped onto the steed to which Shagrat was now secured and called out something to the others. Their responses were faint and the words impossible to understand. The creature he was on suddenly leapt upwards and he felt great muscles beneath him pushing downwards. So I am on some sort of flying creature. I wonder where they are taking me, and what they will do with me once we get there. These were his final thoughts before he sank back into unconsciousness.

For the entire flight, Shagrat slipped in and out of consciousness. His body and his head ached every time he came to, but all he could manage was a feeble whine so soft that he had a hard time hearing it himself. Even after they landed, he only remembered being carried through some sort of building or structure and someone looking closely at him.

When next he awoke, it was to a gentle warm breeze on his face. Wearily, he opened his eyes to get a look at his surroundings. He was lying on a thick pallet of blankets under some sort of canopy held up by trees. For a moment, he thought he was in the elf forest of Lorien. But he knew better. Elves would kill him on sight, not take him back to their home alive. He heard many different birds singing in the trees far above where he lay. He turned his attention to himself as he lifted the blanket that covered him, his hand shaking as he did. He wore only a simple loincloth, but someone had seen and treated every wound on him. Even his injured arm had been stitched and a new bandage put on it. He felt the back of his head and found that there was a bandage wrapped completely around his head, covering the wound. What was the most surprising (to him, at least) was the fact that he could now see his skin. No, not the topmost layer of filth and dirt, but his actual skin. It was totally clean. As was his hair. He could see where someone had taken out and redone the two braids on either side of his face. Each one was a smooth and shiny black, and the silver cords that bound them actually looked silver now they had been washed off. Shagrat was speechless, but this time it was because he was so surprised. He couldn't remember the last time he had been just a plain dark brown in color. He looked down at himself again and saw now that he was terribly thin and some of his ribs were showing as he tried to sit up. At that moment, his injury decided to catch up with him, and a sudden pain erupted in the back of his head. For a moment, his vision blurred and he saw spots before he fell backward onto his back again. A frown came to his face. He hoped they didn't expect him to fight anything. He was in no condition to. Quite suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by a stranger's voice.

"Don't worry, I've cared for some who were far worse off than you are." An older orc was standing nearby and Shagrat turned to face it. It was a she-orc. She looked a bit like she would be someone's grandmother. Her long dress was made of a patchwork of different animal skins, and she wore a fair amount of shawls and scarves around her neck and shoulders. In her hands, she held baskets of various plants she had picked. She walked over and sat down beside him on a small mat of grass.

"I must be honest, though," she said, "For a time I was afraid we had lost you. You didn't even move whenever we tried to wake you."

"How long have I been out?" Shagrat asked weakly.

"Two days at least." she said, "You were very badly hurt when they brought you here. I was amazed that you were still alive."

Shagrat could only give a small smile. Sauron, he thought, So you truly have protected me from death of almost any kind. He turned his attention back to the old orc who sat at his side.

"I'm sorry," said he as he tried to sit up again, more slowly this time, "but I don't think I caught your name. What do you want me to call you, as this is probably not the last I will see of you."

She smiled at him, "Tinana," she said (that's pronounced tih-NAH-nah.), "I am Tinana. I am the healer for our people."

"Oh," he said, "I'm Shagrat. I'm…not exactly…anyone majorly important."

Tinana put a hand on his shoulder.

"You are to us, young one." she said gently, "You are important to us."

Shagrat said nothing. She looked at him a bit longer, almost as if she recognized him, then stood up.

"Well, I've got some other things I need to see to. You lie back down and get some more rest, you poor thing. I'll be back later or I'll send someone with food and drink for you." With that, she was gone.

A few hours later, another orc came in with a basket of food and a skin of water. He was a large, muscular orc, much bigger than Shagrat, with a handsome face and long black hair in a single braid down his back.

"Are you the one they brought from Mordor?" he asked. Shagrat nodded. "Then this is for you." He put the basket and skin down as Shagrat sat up slowly. "I'm Isthey (iss-THEY), by the way."

"Isthey." Shagrat said, "I don't suppose you could tell me where I am, could you?"

Isthey smiled warmly, "Actually, I can. You are in the land of the Uruk-hai people. We went into Mordor looking for any of our kind that might still be alive. I…-" he paused, "I was hoping to find my baby brother. The marauders, wild Men from the mountains, kidnapped him when he was only two years old." Isthey sniffed softly, "I told him I wouldn't let anything happen to him, and I let him down. They took him and sold him to Mordor, the filth, just like they do with all the others they take. But he was just a baby. A scared, helpless, little baby. I still hear him sometimes, screaming and crying as they took him away." Isthey shook his head, "He was so tiny. He's probably dead now."

Shagrat thought of all the orcs in Mordor that he knew, "What did he look like? I may have seen him somewhere. I've been alive for thousands of years."

Isthey's eyes widened, "You must have been an excellent servant, then. Living in Mordor shortens our lives a lot. Normally, we live almost as long as elves." This was probably why Sauron had been concerned about how long he would live.

"But anyway, my brother. He's quite a bit on the small side. Big, blue eyes, sweetest little face you ever saw. If he were grown up, I imagine he'd look…" Isthey scrutinized Shagrat for a moment, "A lot like you." he said slowly. He spied the band of leather around Shagrat's neck. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to it.

"This?" Shagrat asked, lifting it with his finger. "It's just some kind of necklace. I've had it ever since I can remember. I don't know where it came from, though."

"Can I see it?" Isthey asked, an idea forming in his head as he recognized that the necklace was made by the Uruk-hai people.

"Sure." Shagrat replied, untying the tassels that held the necklace together and taking it off. "Maybe you can tell me what those marks on the inside mean." He said as he handed it to Isthey. The other orc took it and examined it closely. Suddenly, his eyes widened and he grabbed Shagrat by his arms and shook him roughly.

"What did you do with him? What did you and the other rats in Mordor do to my baby brother Shagrat!" Isthey growled.

"I didn't do anything to him, I swear!" Shagrat cried, wincing in pain when Isthey grabbed his hurt arm, "I don't even know any…wait, what did you say your brother's name was?"

"His name was Shagrat, and I'll tell you, if you brutes hurt him or killed him, I'll skin you all alive."

"That's funny," the smaller orc said nervously, "because my name is Shagrat."

Isthey froze and stared at him in disbelief.

"You can't be." he gasped. "Who were your mother and father? Where are they now?"

"Their names were Ateyo and Ninat. I don't know where my father is, but my mother was giving birth and was tortured and killed by Men while doing so. I think I was about two at the time. All I had after that was my brother…Isthey." Shagrat's speech slowed down toward the end as the memory and the shocking realization hit him.

He suddenly knew who the orc in his memory was that had been running after him when he was taken. The one he had wanted so bad to go back to. Now, at long last, Shagrat was back to him.

Isthey was stunned.

"I don't believe it." he said. "After all these years…" He trailed off. Shagrat imitated himself as an infant,

"I wuv you, Iss-tay."

"Oh Shagrat!" Isthey cried throwing his arms around the smaller orc. "It is you! It is you! After all these years, I've finally found you! Oh, Shagrat are you all right?" He looked down at the bandages that covered Shagrat's body. "Who did this to you?" he asked.

"The Mouth of Sauron. It sort of took over when the Dark Lord lost his body after losing the Ring."

"What did that awful Sauron do to you? Tell me everything."

"Actually, the Dark Lord himself was very kind to me. He loved me, almost like a son. He was the father I never had. You would have been at ease knowing I was with him." Shagrat answered.

"Really." Isthey said. Shagrat nodded.

"He even saved my life. Many times."

"Well, then if I ever meet him, I will thank him." Isthey said. He hugged Shagrat again, "I thought you were dead. I thought I'd never see you again. Oh, Shagrat, I love you so much. And I'm so sorry I lost you that day. Can you ever forgive me?"

"Of course." Shagrat said, "Besides, we're together now, and that's what matters."

Isthey suddenly looked up, as if he had just remembered something or seen someone he meant to talk to.

"Nia!" he called, "Nia, it's him! It's him! You were right, they found him! They found Shagrat! He's still alive! Can you believe it? The tiniest orc in Mordor, and he's the only one left alive after that big explosion!" His brother seemed so overjoyed that Shagrat didn't bother to correct him. Yes, he had been the smallest Uruk-hai in Mordor, but there were other orcs that were smaller than him. Gorbag, for one. Shagrat felt his stomach turn over at the thought of that horrid creature. But that only made him remember the foul Mouth, which was even more horrid. He shuddered a bit as he remembered his torture at the Mouth's hand, and Isthey hugged him tighter. But the moment Nia came into view, these thoughts all vanished. Shagrat didn't know what to think of her. She was the second she-orc he had seen. But Tinana paled in comparison with Nia.

She was perfect. Flawless in every way. At least that's what Shagrat thought as she strode over to him and Isthey. Much like the members of the Fellowship were stunned by the beauty of the elf Lady Galadriel, so was Shagrat taken by Nia. Her large, smiling blue eyes pulled him in, so that he could not tear his gaze from her. Her long hair looked to be loose at first glance, but when he looked again, he saw that it was actually done into many braids that hung in a shiny black curtain midway down her back. Each individual braid had different amounts of beads in it, and these were all in different places on each braid. Her face was soft and kind, and as she smiled at them, Shagrat began to feel light headed.

She was dressed in a knee length animal hide tunic with a black leather belt at the waist. A hunting knife hung in its sheath from her belt and a quiver of arrows was slung across her back, along with her bow. She wore leather guards on both of her arms and a sort of visor or headband on her brow. This, too, was leather, and it was decorated with a small animal bone down the center. Two pieces of some clear, but veined material hung down in front of her eyes until she pushed it back on her head. She was tall and lean, the perfect build for an Uruk-hai warrior. Shagrat could just imagine how fierce she would be in battle. Her enemies wouldn't stand a chance. Without his knowledge of it, his mouth fell open as he stared dumbly at her. She gave a small laugh and pointed at him. To Shagrat, the sound was like a Siren call and it held him hypnotized, until Isthey patted the side of his face rapidly.

"Wake up, Shagrat." he said, laughing, "You're drooling all over me." At once, Shagrat jerked his head back and snapped his mouth shut, slapping drool off his lips and wiping it off himself. How could he have let himself go lax like that? it went against everything he had ever known? It was stupid, and had the Mouth or some other higher authority (besides Sauron) been there, he would have been severely punished. It made it too easy for enemies to kill you if you did that. He felt his cheeks burn and he hid his face against Isthey's chest.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! Whatever I did, I'm sorry!" he cried. Isthey laughed and pushed him away gently.

"It's okay, Shagrat." he laughed, "It's perfectly natural to feel like that. You're not the first and you won't be the last."

"I've gotten that reaction a lot. You'd think I'd be used to it by now." Nia added. The dizziness came over Shagrat again, but this time he fought it. He was unsuccessful. She laughed and looked at Isthey.

"He's adorable. I like him." she said. She walked over and planted a friendly, but affectionate kiss on his forehead. That was too much. No sooner did she do it than Shagrat swooned and fell limp in his brother's arms. Isthey and Nia looked at each other and giggled, shaking their heads. Isthey gently laid Shagrat back down on his pallet and covered him with the blanket.

"Is he alright?" Nia asked, a look of concern on her face.

"Well, considering you're the first female since his mother to give him even a peck like that, yes. He's perfectly fine." He noticed the mesmerized, blissful look on Shagrat's face as he lay there, probably lost in dreams about Nia at that very moment.

At the end of a week, Shagrat was released from Tinana's care. His wounds had all healed very well, she'd said, and his ribs were no longer visible. He was to be taken to Isthey's home, which would be his place of residence for now. So Shagrat followed Isthey out of Tinana's house and out into the common area of the village. Never had he seen this many Uruk-hai in one place before. They were all different sizes and shapes and all different ages. And, he noticed, another feature, one he shared with every person he saw here. Like him, they all had a tail. Every person turned to glance at him as he passed, probably guessing who he was by the rough black leather and hide tunic he wore, which had been the base of his uniform in Mordor.

"Can we please hurry and get to your home, Isthey?" Shagrat asked.

"Not yet. The clan leader said he wants to see you as soon as you're released. And knowing him, I'd guess it's important, whatever it is that he wants with you."

"What could he possibly want from me? I've nothing to give him!" Shagrat cried.

"Don't worry about it. You'll be okay. He's very friendly." Isthey assured him, putting an arm around his baby brother as they walked. Before long they came to an enormous tree, and in the bottom of the tree there was a small dugout area covered by animal skin curtains.

"Eytukan." Isthey called inside, "Eytukan, I brought him like you said, but-" He walked in and whispered in the clan chief's ear, "-I think he's a bit nervous." The clan chief nodded and dismissed him. Shagrat entered, alone, and sat down in front of Eytukan. On Eytukan's right sat another older she-orc who wasn't quite as old as Tinana, but still a bit aged. On his left sat Nia.

Shagrat began to feel lightheaded again. Nia saw him and gave a tiny smile, which he returned without a second thought. Then Eytukan spoke.

"So, you are Shagrat, the lost baby brother of Isthey."

"Yes." Shagrat answered, not knowing what else to say.

"And you have been in Mordor, in the service of Sauron all these years."

"Yes, I have." He didn't see any reason to lie. He didn't think the chief would harm him. After all, he hadn't done anything wrong.

Eytukan continued.

"Do you know what position in our clan my wife, Mo'at, holds?" This, he believed, was common knowledge that any true Uruk-hai person would know. Since he had never actually seen Shagrat before, only heard stories about what had happened to him, Eytukan was trying to ensure that Shagrat was really Uruk-hai and not one of the false mud creations of the White Wizard known as Saruman.

Shagrat answered the question as best he could.

"Er…she's…the…um…the…queen?" Eytukan shook his head. Shagrat tried again.

"The…advisor?" Again, Eytukan shook his head, his face showing only a very slight hint of what Shagrat thought was disappointment. Felling stupider with every try, Shagrat gave up after three more tries.

"I don't know." he said finally. By this time, he thought he could see disappointment on the face of Isthey, who had re-entered and was sitting beside Nia. Eytukan nodded and went on.

"Do you know what the role of an adult male is in the Uruk-hai clan?" This, too, Eytukan thought was basic common knowledge.

"No, I don't." Shagrat couldn't even begin to guess. Eytukan continued to ask him questions he thought were common knowledge about the Uruk-hai clan and their ways, but Shagrat didn't know a single one. With every "I don't know" he gave, he watched the disappointment grow not only on Eytukan's face, but on his brother's as well. Poor Shagrat couldn't understand what he'd done, and his ears drooped in sadness as his head bowed and his voice fell to little more than a whisper. What would happen now that he had obviously not met some standard Isthey had expected him to meet? Would Isthey think less of him now, or pity him for being ill in the head? (Again, we would call this "brain damaged" or "mentally challenged") Would he be angry and possibly hurt Shagrat? Or worse, would Isthey turn him away and disown him? He silently hoped not. He hoped his brother would still love him as much as he had before Shagrat had been kidnapped. In all the times he had faced the Mouth, he had never felt so stupid or ashamed of himself in his life. He saw Eytukan lean over and whisper something in first Mo'at's ear, then Nia's, and finally Isthey's. Then he turned back to Shagrat and spoke, his voice like ice.

"Shagrat, you have just shown us your complete and utter ignorance to the ways of our people. Your people, as you were born to two of the greatest Uruk-hai people I've ever known. I'm sure they would be extremely disappointed that their own son should display such ignorance." A lump formed in his throat, and Shagrat felt his heart sink to the ground. He was sure he wasn't going to like anything else that was said to him. His eyes started to water. It was Barad-dûr all over again. He was about to lose someone else who loved him. First his mother had died, then he had lost Sauron to the Ring, and now he was about to lose his brother. He was certain the chief was about to drive him away.

Isthey saw his little brother's distress and the tears forming in Shagrat's eyes. Knowing that Eytukan sometimes forgot that children didn't know such things, he decided this had gone far enough.

"Ma eyktan, please. You can't expect him to know anything. He was just two years old, only a baby when they took him, and that was thousands of years ago. You don't think a two-year-old is going to know all the things you asked him, do you? Well, that's how you have to look at it right now. Yes, Shagrat's an adult now, in body. But in knowledge of the People, he's still just a baby." Isthey's voice turned into pleading tones now. "Ma eyktan, please try to understand what I'm saying. Please listen, and take this to heart." He moved over to Shagrat and put his arms around him, "It's not Shagrat's fault any more than it is mine that he doesn't know anything. He didn't have anyone to teach him these things like you or I did. Please…" he hugged Shagrat tight against him, "…please don't turn my baby brother out on his own. Let me take him. Let me teach him and care for him for a while, then see how he is."

Eytukan looked at the two of them together, Isthey with his arms around his little brother in an attempt to comfort him, and Shagrat trying to hide the tears he was fighting back. He thought about what Isthey had said and what all he could do for them. Eytukan was a good chief; his name, which translated to "Kind One" in the Common Tongue, said it. And besides this, he liked Isthey, because Isthey was an Uruk of his word and a strong warrior. He had a good deal of compassion and empathy in him as well. And his heart was always open to those in need of help. In this particular instance, that was his brother.

Eytukan also thought about Shagrat, and his past. It was true, they had lost him to the Men when he was two. It was also true that children so young didn't know much beyond their families and their favorite bedtime stories. Eytukan knew, of course, Shagrat was smarter than that in most ways. And it wasn't like Shagrat had asked to be kidnapped and sold like an animal. From what Eytukan had heard about him, and what he had observed himself, Shagrat had never actually done anything wrong. At least, not anything he could have known was wrong at the time he did it. And technically, since he had not done his coming-of-age rites yet, Shagrat was still a child in the eyes of the clan. Children were not dealt with nearly as harshly as adults were. He spoke again, more gently this time.

"Shagrat, it is true that you don't know the history or the ways of your people. However, it is also true that you are still a child in the eyes of the Clan. Do you know what we do with children who show such ignorance as you have?" Shagrat shook his head, afraid of the answer. "We teach them. We help them to learn. Isthey, I am assigning you as his caretaker since you are his only blood relation." Eytukan turned to Nia.

"Daughter, you are very strong in your knowledge of our people. That is why I will make you his teacher. Tell him our past, show him our ways, and help this poor child to earn his permanent place among the People."

"I will, Father." she answered, "It will be an honor and a great service to the People." And the most important thing I've ever done, she added to herself. She, too, was always ready to help those in need.

"When should I start?" she asked.

Eytukan eyed his daughter and said, "You can start right now. You are all three dismissed."