Son of a Warg!

by CA Productions

Sauron is destroyed. However, one of the Nazgul manages to flee from the destruction. He is found by one of the istari, the Orange Wizard, Hyano. After taking him in, she doesn't yet realize that she set a series of happenings in motion, which will change both of their lives.

12. The Odd One Out

Avp: *Sitting at his desk staring at a computer screen.*

Cubby: *Peaks into room.* He has been gazing at that screen nonstop all week.

Hyano: Yeah. Apparently we have language issues in some of our chapters. He is trying to fix them.

Cubby: *Blinks.* Is that why Ren has been speaking nothing but French lately?

Hyano: Yep. And the ladies are loving it. Him… not so much.

Ren: *Up a tree hissing and cursing in French at the fangirls below.*

Fangirl: Oh he is sooooo romantic! I love you!

Cubby: Huh… I was wondering about that. Oh well. Enjoy the chapter everyone! Hyano, get me my bat!

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Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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Chapter 12 – The Odd One Out

When she first woke up she honestly thought she had fallen asleep face down. She blinked as all she saw was sheets then started to try to roll and blinked when she was still covered and couldn't move. "What in Middle-Earth?" she said and continued to try to get out of the trap not knowing she was quickly moving closer and closer to the edge of the bed, until she finally rolled over it. "Oof!" she groaned as she hit the floor with her feet still tangled in the sheets. She twitched. "Ren, you tricky son of a warg!" she called out. Even if Ren couldn't hear her she was sure the dark creature was somehow still getting payback for all this madness he put her through.

While Ren was too far away to actually hear it or sense her wrath, the familiar orc from yesterday, Tuhul, was just walking down this hall as he heard the rather heavy thud and the shouting from the room. He raised an eyebrow before stopping in front of the door. Grimacing first, he leaned against it and put the side of his head against the door, wanting to hear more clearly what is going on in there. But all he could hear was the sound of struggling.

Is there someone fighting?

No one fights each other until he was walking the halls! He gritted his black-yellow teeth and swung the door open, only to be bombarded with the heavy rays of the sun. He pulled back quickly with a groan but still risked a glance inside. This made him forget his trouble with the sunlight as he raised both eyebrows at what he saw.

Our wizard was upside down, kicking her feet to get the damned sheets off before with one final kick it let go. At the same time her door swung open catching her off guard. "What the-?!" she yelled then gasped. She hadn't thought about the sheer force of the kick once it was free of the sheets. She was flipped and groaned as she fell onto her stomach and face. "I'm so going to hit Ren in the face with so many light orbs tonight. He won't be able to see for weeks." she grumbled then lifted her head and looked over at Tuhul. "You are late, Tuhul." she said bluntly giving him a look that dared him to say one word about what he just saw.

The orc raised a challenging eyebrow with a smile on his face, finding amusement in her situation and what just happened. He didn't even want to know what was going on, all he knew was that all of the goblins and orcs will know about this. He has a long day and still many halls to walk. Plenty of his kin to cross. However, as she threatened to hurt their Lord, his laughing eyes changed to serious and crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes at her.

"You touch him wrongly and you will meet my blade at your throat. Understood?" he threatened with a low tone, meaning he meant business and will not fool around to do just that.

Hyano rolled her eyes.

"Be quiet, Tuhul." she said bluntly as she stood up and dusted herself off. The orc still didn't seem to understand yet. Did she really have to put him near death for him to get that he had no command over her? "What happens between Ren and I is our business and you will do best to keep your big nose out of it." she added then cracked her back and shoulder. She was stiff from sleeping in such an odd position. She bawled up the sheets and tossed them onto the bed before jumping on it.

"If you threaten the Lord, it is my business. I am a guard. It is my duty to keep things clean and smooth. If you threaten to hurt someone, you answer to me, understood?" he replied, not letting a mere little girl tell him what to do. She was still nothing more than an annoyance he didn't want to deal with but will have to if need calls for it.

"Do you know where Ren is anyway? I would like to start training again as soon as possible." she inquired though she was sure the orc would have no idea.

Tuhul didn't truly understand why she would care where their Lord is. He is where he wants to be and no one tells him where to go. If he so chooses, he will return to her.

"He comes to you when he feels like it. Don't drag him around. And he will hear about your threat, just to be sure." he said, narrowing his yellow eyes, wanting to keep Ren updated on the happenings, so if she chooses to truly do as she said, he will be prepared. All thanks to him.

The wizard twitched not in the mood for this just yet. She had been pranked this morning and the culprit wasn't even here. She was rather used to getting pranked every morning however it was the lecture from the orc who had no idea what he was talking about that was starting to get under her skin. If he had come at a later time the results might be a little different however she was just not ready for this so soon after waking up. Without warning she formed a light sphere in both her hands and threw them at his gut and face like one would snow ball.

"What part of mind your own business did you not understand?!" she yelled her voice booming through the mines again before she slammed her foot down sending the orc flying into the opposing wall. She didn't even notice just how easily she had created the orbs or that there was no effect to speak of.

The orc was blinded by the light, but strangely received no damage from the light blast. Instead, he shielded his eyes and grunted, gritting his teeth as he couldn't see. He yelped and fell as she sent him to the ground again with her wizard magic. He landed heavily on the ground with a loud thud, and groaned, feeling some pain at his back, waist and back of his head.

That was it!

He growled, narrowing his yellow eyes, before rising from the ground and standing.

"Which part of 'I am a guard so security is my business' did you not understand? You threaten someone, especially someone of higher rank and you fly from this mine without your soul." He told her, forming his hands into fists and baring his teeth at her. "Lord's favorite pet or not. You will know your place. He might be soft on you, but the basic rules apply to you too."

"I didn't threaten him you numb skull! If it wasn't obvious by what happened a moment ago we pull pranks on each other all the time! As I said! Get your nose out of it!" she snapped then ran at him. She created a whirl wind in her hand then slammed it into his gut. This caused it to make it feel like she had punched him with far more force than her body should be able to create. She was angry. This orc was opening his big mouth and he had no idea what he was talking about! Why wouldn't he just listen?! Were all orcs this thick-headed or just him?

He narrowed his eyes at her words, and because of the distance between them, he was able to prepare himself for the blow as she started her charging. Well, the surprising moderate force of the blow shocked the orc and stepped back, grunting, putting his hand at his stomach, trying to relieve the pain but was somewhat prepared, so he used his free hand to push her backwards and away from him. He did not care what force he used but wanted to make sure she knows her place. If it is by fighting, so be it. But he won't be commanded around by a little girl. Master's pet at that.

"Do not attack me again, worm. If you do, I won't be the only one you have to answer to. Do not attack a guard that is doing his job." He warned her, pointing a finger at her while his other hand massaged his stomach a little. Mostly because he wanted to keep down the meat he just ate...

She fell back and glared up at him. It was like getting hit with a mallet considering how huge he was compared to her.

"What! You barged into my room. Started giving me a lecture and threatened me! You continue to assume the worst of me. And keep calling me a pet! You aren't doing your job! You are no better than the humans that invaded my home!" she yelled at him. She was furious. This man was treating her just like those men that invaded her home and almost killed her and Ren. She dealt with it once she would not put up with it again. She jumped up. "Get out! I am done! You have done nothing but disrespect me since we met! Go, actually do your job and leave me alone!"

The orc snorted and shrugged, at least she didn't dare attacking him again. Good, she learned that now then. At least he saw it this way. Tuhul straightened himself and growled, baring his rotting teeth at her, narrowing his yellow eyes into slits, standing firmly at the door.

"I am on duty, rat. Stop yelling and complaining. I am doing my job. You have disrespected our Lord, behave like a little baby who didn't have their candy, and throw tantrums when someone doesn't do things your way. So yes, you are a little girl who was lucky enough to become our Lord's pet." he snorted again before turning around and started walking off. "And I wasn't barging in here for nothing. I heard the sound of struggling and looked if anyone is fighting in here. So yes, it was my duty to check." This was the last thing he said, and promised himself, he won't utter a word to her anymore. She wasn't worth his time at all.

Hyano rubbed her temples as he finally walked away.

"Moronic orc never shuts up." she grumbled then sighed and looked at her hands. They weren't black in the slightest. She blinked as she realized just what all had happened. "... he seriously... gah!" she cried in annoyance as she realized that the annoying orc with the big mouth had actually helped her. It may have been by making her so angry she couldn't see straight but she had actually pulling off both spells without thinking about it. The orc with a mouth bigger than his brain had actually been of use. She grumbled under her breath and sat on the bed.

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Ren had been busy for the most part... Well, busy with his duty as one can say about a Lord of a city. He had been checking on the guards, instructing the generals on a meeting and has received reports about how well the reconstruction of the city is going. The metal is also plenty and the goblin general reassured him that the smithing of weapons and armor is in full swing as well.

Nothing stands in their way.

However, if they truly want to claim the surface of the mountains as well, they will need a greater army than this. They will need more orcs and trolls... maybe even wargs to patrol the forests and climb rocks. And how can one spawn them much quicker?

With black magic.

And who has magical abilities?

Hyano.

He wanted to make sure she gets as much training as possible today, so made his way back towards her room, mentally preparing himself for the blast of sun that will surely hit him as he entered... That room was worse than standing outside in the sun... The rays were strengthened somehow... Maybe by those reflective surfaces... He also completely forgot about the little prank he pulled on her and simply walked up to the door, opening it, behaving like nothing happened, and eager to get some of the training done for today.

Hyano has been laying on the bed just staring at the ceiling in thought. At first it was just because she needed to think on just what it took to use magic. It wasn't exactly that you had to be angry to use dark magic. Just passionate it seemed. She was so worked up she hadn't even been thinking about the magic she was using. Just that she wanted the orc to leave. However, her mind was soon distracted by the weird designs on the ceiling. Elves really did have an odd taste in architecture. She blinked as she heard the door open. She smirked then with a wave of her hand created a light orb and like before she threw it at him like it was a snow ball.

"Payback!" she called to him with a smile.

As predicted, he wasn't expecting it. All he saw was suddenly being blasted by a greater light than the sun. The light orb was slammed right into his hood, which made him stagger backwards and out of the door, grasping for it, blinded by the sheer light. But strangely, it didn't hurt, just was uncomfortable. The magic was familiar... Black magic. So this is why it didn't do any damage. It didn't hurt him, but still had the effect she wanted. He shrieked loudly all the while, staggering backwards and blindly walking about the corridor, trying to get it out and away from him. Some of the orc guards saw this and tried to aid him but they couldn't get a firm hold of the squirming Nazgul as it wandered along the hall, bumping into objects, orcs, working goblins and even once fell over a pickaxe, landing heavily. But he managed to get back on his feet and wandered around, shrieking and hissing, almost spitting like a cat.

When will this blasted light go out!

Oh that was far better than she could have ever predicted. Hyano broke down laughing hard. She wouldn't let it last though. While she wanted to get Ren back she did not want to go overboard. Once she got her breath back she ran out and after him. It didn't take long to find him considering he hadn't gotten far and he was making more noise than the work itself. She ran up to him and grabbed his hand. Before he could do anything she started dragging him back.

"Ren. Come." she said tugging him back towards her room so he wouldn't cause himself anymore trouble.

The Nazgul hissed as the light was gone, but his vision had trouble clearing, letting her take his hand and start dragging him. But the guards had other ideas. What they saw was something quite different. This little outsider dared to attack their Lord, make fun of him, then wanted to drag him back for more...

How dare she!

They didn't waste time but surrounded her in the next moment, each narrowing their yellow eyes and growling at her, showing off their yellow teeth, and pointed their weapons at her neck, drawing close, the tips almost touching her skin. They didn't say anything, as they knew their faces, the situation, and all the growling might be a good enough explanation what they wanted. Some words about what just transpired and something that will prevent them from thrusting forward and kill her that instant.

The wizard blinked. They obviously had no idea what was actually going on. They saw an attack when in reality it had been nothing more than a simple prank. She glared back up at them. She then made a light orb appear in her hand and tossed it at one.

"That is all I did." she told them bluntly figuring that was more than enough explanation for the whole lot of them.

The orc, at whom she threw the light orb to, dodged it, thinking it was some kind of attack and pressed his spear closer to her neck, letting the tip touch her skin as a warning. They did not budge and looked like won't for a while. The growls became even louder and harsher as they gestured for her to get away from their Lord.

Said Lord was beginning to get his bearings and noticed the situation. However...

Payback time.

He did not say anything but waited, wanting to see what will happen if he plays the weak Nazgul, attacked by the wizard that had his arm in her hand.

Hyano twitched.

Her friend was being no help and these creatures were getting under her skin. She thought a moment then let go of Ren. They wanted a wizard to be scared of. Fine. They got it. She slammed her foot down knocking down the whole lot not caring if she knocked over Ren as well. She then breathed in deep and blew out a huge gust of fire lighting the orc in front in flames. She then picked up a handful of rocks in each hand before forming a whirl wind in each and sending them at two other orcs. Like before the winds exploded only this time they had shrapnel.

The orcs were thrown back and yelped, some shouted, which also caused more guards to seep into the hall and charge at the attacker. Who happened to be Hyano.

While all this happened, Ren took his time to sneak to the side, wanting to see how this turns out. How well these orcs could control such a situation. A test for their durability and strength. He did expect them to overcome the wizard and get order, just like he was promised by the generals they could do. The perfect situation to get this little test done. He didn't care if any of the guards die, he just wanted to know that these orcs can do their duties or not. His relationship to Hyano can change at any moment, who knows what will happen once she is tainted by the black magic, corrupting her soul. She is already more aggressive than usual, actually fighting, and killing doesn't seem to be such a bad idea either, seeing her choice in attack. She could anytime try to assume the leadership of the mines if he didn't have any strong forces to back him up and defeat her with or without his help.

The splinters of the stones did their work, burying themselves into the skins of the orcs, but most was deflected by the armor the orcs wore.

Mithril.

Finally, the first sets were ready to be used. They roared, but didn't attack, instead circled her from all directions, before setting up a pattern of an attack. Soon enough, the first wave charged, their weapons drawn, but they didn't intend to kill, instead aimed with the blunt edge of their weapons or the pommel. However, as soon as the first wave was done with their attacks, they didn't let her rest but the second wave started as well.

Hyano panted as wave after wave of these beings came at her. She dodged and fought using her small size to her advantage even climbing the men like a monkey throwing many off.

Of course it could not last.

Hyano froze as she saw the body of the orc she had set on fire. She stopped completely.

"... What... I... I didn't mean..." she started then was slammed by an orc into a wall. She groaned then looked up. She didn't fight anymore. Tears were streaming down her cheeks, not from pain but from what she had done. Her head was bleeding from the impact but the only thing on her mind was the body of the orc she had killed. She hadn't meant to. She didn't even realize what she was happening until she came in contact with the body. "... No no no no NO!" she screamed and held her head.

The orcs roared in triumph, and raised their weapons over their heads, shouting and roaring in victory. The orc that managed to shove her to the wall stood in front of her, holding her firmly to the wall now, intending to keep her secured until they can tie her up. At least this is what he hoped for they will do. They didn't pay attention to what she said or what she did but thought she was going crazy, so the orc held her even tighter, wanting to prevent any escape and another rampage. They had lost a guard, but he was replaceable.

Ren in the meantime stared at the scene before him. He had seen everything and knew that he still had time training the orcs himself before anything truly can happen with Hyano. He knew she is slowly corrupted but her wizard nature was still so much stronger, snapping her back to reality and who she truly was. It was a curse and a blessing at the same time. A curse, because she cannot truly fight and aid them with offensive spells if she doesn't wish to kill. A blessing because she won't go against him and won't kill the whole troop because one of them irritated her.

He stepped closer to the scene and approached the orc which held Hyano, before putting a hand on the creature's hand, staring at him, silently commanding him to let go of her, which he did. Slowly, he crouched down and nudged the wizard, wanting to see if she can go back to her room, or does he need to drag or carry her. She surely doesn't want to be carried by an orc at the moment... And he did want to ensure her comfort... She was still useful and he wanted to make sure she feels alright through the day. Excluding the pranks...

The young child opened her eyes and looked up at Ren. New tears formed and she jumped up hugging him tightly.

The moment she went to hug him, the orcs grabbed for their weapons again, thinking she was attacking him once more and went closer but did not do anything else. Ren was taken aback by her sudden show of affection and didn't know what to do than stand there and watch her. The Nazgul didn't truly feel comfortable with being hugged like this in front of the guards... But what can he do about it? He will have to get her back to her room before rumors started to spread of him going soft on her than he needed to.

"I didn't mean to, Ren. I promise." she cried as she hugged onto him tightly. She had never killed anything much less anyone before. For once, Hyano was scared. Not of anyone but of herself. If she could really kill someone, what if she killed someone by mistake? She didn't want to kill anyone. She just wanted to be treated equally. They always treated her like this little girl who couldn't handle her own. How else was she supposed to prove them wrong? She was quickly running out of options.

He cleared his throat and finally moved, picking her up, walking towards her chamber, while he let her hug him still, not really wanting to disrupt whatever she was doing. If this was giving her relief, so be it. He didn't say a word though but kept silent, gesturing for the orc guards to go on their duty. While they walked, they passed the familiar guard, Tuhul, as he made his way along the halls again, watching as their Lord passed him, carrying his pet. He snorted and followed them with his gaze, silently wondering what the problem was but otherwise didn't care about it. Arriving at her door, he opened it and walked inside, making sure to close the door with his foot and walked over to her bed where he put her down.

Hyano let go and let her head drop. Blood from the wound on her head seeped down and dropped off of her forehead onto the bed. She didn't even care anymore. She was ashamed and angry with herself for what she had done. She watched as the little drops of blood made the stain on the bed grow bigger and bigger.

"... Hyano bad..." she said softly. No matter what she did she always seemed to mess up somehow. She couldn't make much of a good wizard now she wasn't even doing well among orcs. What's worse she even killed one. How horrible was she really?

Ren stood back and watched her, tilting his head to the side, not sure why she isn't yet doing something to her wound. He knew as much already by living around her for months that mortals need to tend to their wounds in order to not die. So, why isn't she doing something? Doesn't it hurt? Like that one time when he accidentally almost broke her nose as he put her under her bed as she slept one night and as she awoke, he grabbed her leg, making her jump... and bang her face into the wooden boards. It did hurt then, bleeding just as bad... But she doesn't seem to care about it now. The Nazgul shook his head as she continued to sit and went closer, reaching out to put some of his sharp fingers under her chin and force her to look up at him so he can have a better look at the wound.

"Hyano good. Need time understand." he told her, trying to explain that she just needs to understand this way of life and that her actions are needed... With time she will be able grasp this lifestyle and be of true help to him. Because she will kill in the future. She will need to dispose of unruly orcs, innocent human villagers and burn forests at his command. He proceeded wiping away some of the blood with his robe and parted her hair to see the wound. Her skin was cut open quite deeply. There was nothing he could do... She will need to heal herself.

"... Need thread." she said then touched a metal bowl and created a needle from it. Maybe he was right. Maybe she just needed time. "What about orcs?" she questioned. "Tuhul... thinks only pet... brat... not worth much..." she pointed out to Ren. All the orcs seemed to think that way. What did she have to do to make them see her worth? Was she really in for more fights like that last one until they finally saw she wasn't just some lowlife that Ren kept on a leash? She shook her head then took one of the sheets and started working on pulling out a thread from it so she could stitch up the wound on her head.

He stepped back and let her get to work, tending to her wound, and walking back towards the shelf where he put the book, looking at it from afar before turning his hooded head at her question and her comment about how the orcs treat her.

"Time, Hyano. Time." he simply told her. With time they will realize how useful she was to everyone here. For one, she will be able to use offensive magic and hurt, even kill someone without falling to her knees to cry. Just like how she displayed now. Because of the influence of black magic she might become tainted and corrupted, which will allow her to use her full potential. Even help him produce an army... Help at the attacks, at the new war and aid the troops. She will gain their respect with time.

She sighed and nodded. Waiting was never something she was good at. Sometimes she wished time spells didn't always back fire because then she would use one to speed up her progression. She cringed as she used the needle and thread to stitch up her wound before cutting the thread and sighing.

"... I guess..." she said then used a scrap from the sheet to clean off the blood from her face and head. While she did this she flicked her hand creating the light orb then flicked her hand again creating the small tornado in her palm repeating it over and over again. She was still surprised by how the past events had actually helped her get the spells down.

Seeing she was ready now, and tended to her wound, Ren walked slowly over to the shelf where he placed the book on, and took it, flipping through the pages instantly. He didn't really want to waste time and learning from today's actions, he was sure she didn't want to do so either but wanted to get things done. He walked over to the bed and sat down at the edge, before looking through the pages more thoroughly, moving a finger along the lines. He opted to go up a level once more and have her cast something more advanced. He flipped through the pages once more and stopped at one, putting the book into her lap and pointed his finger at the spell he wanted her to do this time. Now something more dangerous.

Fire.

Summoning fire can be dangerous to both of them but she has to learn to try dangerous things, do it anyway and go for it, after all... the result and reward will be so much greater than the pain it inflicts at first.

The small wizard closed her hand as he put the book on her lap and pointed to the fire spell. She cringed. After what just happened fire spells were the last thing she wanted to learn. However, she had to admit he had the right idea. It was slightly more advanced and if messed up it would cause her serious harm rather than just the blackness that was temporary. She thought a moment then looked at Ren.

"Get Tuhul, please." she requested then started taking off her robes. The mines were cold for the most part but she did not want to burn anything including her clothes or the bed. She picked up the book and walked to an empty space on the floor. She needed that big-mouthed orc. She couldn't stand it but he had actually helped her pick up her spells faster. That and unlike Ren he could physically stop her if things went badly without being nearly as harmed as Ren would be.

"Tuhul?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, watching as she stood there, reading the book, clearly memorizing the words it needed to be uttered. However, he didn't quite know who this... Tuhul can be. Yes, she did mention him not long ago, saying that Tuhul and the others think she is nothing but a pet to him... But this is all he knew. He didn't need to know all orcs, goblins or trolls by name.

Hyano noticed he seemed to be at a loss. She sighed and thought a moment.

"Um... ask Goblin general. He know... maybe." she said not really sure if the goblin would know or not. He seemed rather smart but she doubted he knew anyone's names any better than Ren did considering how easily everyone was replaced down here. She sat down on the cold stone floor continuing to go over the text again and again. This one she was going to take time on. Make sure she had everything perfect before she dared to try it out.

If he could, he would have just now raised both of his eyebrows at her but couldn't, so instead tilted his head to the side, kind of surprised she is giving him orders. Why isn't she going herself? He wasn't here to be her servant while she practices but to make sure nothing goes wrong. Well, in this case he couldn't really but he would surely attempt and his presence is somewhat better than if she tried it alone. But no matter... he wanted to make sure she learns everything as fast as possible. Giving a sigh, he stood from the bed and slipped out of the room, only needing to turn a few corners when he heard the goblin he was looking for. Not wasting time, he walked over to him.

"I want Tuhul. He is probably an orc. Now." he gave him the order, not wanting to engage in an idle conversation this time. He wanted this done quickly.

The goblin raised a brow stopping his yelling for a moment.

"That big-mouthed son of a warg? Heh sure. You can have him." he said then screeched out a call into the mines. "Tuhul! Get your rotting carcass to the elven bed chambers before I make you into next week's rations!" he called knowing full well that Tuhul was within earshot having not gotten very far since the fight. He snickered. "What got into your little pet today? She gave the men a real fight. Been a while since they attacked anything that wasn't another one of their kin." he inquired as he crossed his arms waiting on the orc to get there.

The Nazgul waited patiently for the orc or goblin to show up, so they can move, looking around to try and spot him. But once the general talked, his head jerked towards his direction, staring at him for a while, not moving or saying a word.

"Hyano is no pet of mine." He told him firmly, unmoving but his tone was enough to scold him for his words. "She is my personal servant. Well, will be once I have formed her to my taste. She is powerful, just needs a little... encouragement to actually do what I want her to do." He told him, before actually answering his question. "The dark magic she is practicing is altering her slowly... making her more aggressive... just as I want her to be..."

"Must be that book I found. It was the white wizard's. Powerful magic is in those pages. Too bad our kind cannot make use of it." he said then sniffed smelling that Tuhul was doing as commanded. "He will be at her bed chamber shortly. I suggest you get ready for noise. I have heard that he is not very fond of your... servant." he said honestly bowing his head and turning back to start working again. Yes, he had heard alright. Nearly lost his hearing when he received the complaint as well. He found it both annoying and mildly hilarious how frustrated the orc was with this little girl and the fact he got thrown into a wall by her did no help to the matter.

He did not reply to the goblin but turned around and made his way back towards Hyano's room, mentally preparing himself for what is to come. That is... trying to. He knew this will take its toll on him again and will maybe retreat after this deeper into the mines to meditate and fuel his mind with false hope...

In the meantime, Tuhul, having heard the yell, has taken his time to actually answer the command. How dare the general talk to him like that? He was one of the orc guards who actually does his job and does it effectively. However, he was smart enough to hold his mouth and do as he said. While he could easily over-power that dwarf of a goblin, he still wanted to go by the laws and not seem like he was rebelling, bringing trouble to his neck. He didn't say a word but did as he was told, taking a turn to go where he was asked to go. He knew exactly who was residing in that room and will make sure to give her a piece of his mind. He is no servant of hers!

Tuhul's steps thundered on the floor as he walked along the halls, turning corner after corner, one of his hands caressing the hilt of his sword, preparing himself for a good argument and every little bit of magic she throws at him. Once arriving at the door, he did not even bother to knock but swung the door open and stepped inside, crossing his arms over his chest, fixing the sitting little rat in the middle of his field of vision.

"What do you want? I see there is no trouble here, so why the void did you call me here? Just let's get one thing straight." He told her firmly, narrowing his eyes and pointing at her. "I am not your little servant, so look for another pet for yourself."

Hyano twitched as yet again the orc did not knock but barged his way into her room and started yelling at her. While this did do what she wanted, she still didn't like it.

"I'm going to have to teach you how to knock someday." she grumbled as he yelled at her waiting for him to finish before she actually spoke. "I called you here because I am working on a new spell and it seems you help me learn faster. The faster I learn these spells the better. I don't expect you to be my servant. I expect you to be your normal big mouthed self. Now shut your mouth." she corrected him then moved the book off her lap and a little away from her so she wouldn't risk it getting burnt as she got ready to try to cast the fire spell.

The orc's eyes widened at her request and didn't say anything for a few seconds, before actually speaking up in anger, narrowing his eyes to slits.

"Who is the bigmouth here? You just keep talking but never do anything useful here, while I actually work for my food. I wouldn't be talking if I were you but start working for the generals if you truly want to stay here." he told her angrily, forming his hands into fists. "And I won't help you with anything here, you rat! And I will go silent when I feel like it!" He replied, stepping closer to her, stomping once angrily. How dare she want to use him for something! He was not her servant, nor her helper to do services for her.

Ren finally made it to the room and didn't even need to go inside to know what is going on in there. The two of them were arguing quite badly. He couldn't understand most of it, seeing they talked so fast in the language of men but the tone was more than enough to tell him what is happening. The Nazgul slowly but surely opened the door, peeking inside first, before slipping into the room, standing in the darkest corner you can find in a very brightly lit room.

Hyano glared back up at the orc. She wasn't doing anything?! Seriously? She noted where Ren was but didn't look to him or ask for help. If he got in the way that would make all of this frustration worthless.

"Do you know how much training I went through last night alone? Do you know how hard it is to learn dark magic or what it does to me? And as far as I know you have no authority to kick me out so if I want to sit around all day and not do a thing you can't say or do a thing about it!" she yelled at him then said the spell setting her hands in front of her with some space like she was holding a nonexistent ball. A spark flew before another went off her hands quickly turning black but that didn't stop her from trying to hold the spell before she knew what hit her, a fire exploded in her hands burning her chest. She gritted her teeth and curled in on herself but didn't say anything trying her best to ride out the pain. It wasn't nearly as bad as her hands anyway.

The orc winced and stepped back once as the fire exploded, bringing up an already scarred hand to shield his face and neck from the bright light and the hot lick of the flames as they were sent everywhere. He stayed like this for a while, wanting to make sure he won't get wounded.

Ren had to turn away his hooded head as the fireball exploded, and brought up a gauntleted hand to try and shield himself from the flames which luckily weren't big enough to reach him. He continued leaning against the wall with crossed arms though. He didn't want to interfere, but also this was a good opportunity to train her pain tolerance. At a fight, she will constantly receive damage as she gives, so it would only benefit her, so will benefit him, if she deals with such pain on her own. Or in the end learns to heal herself.

After the bright glow was gone, Tuhul blinked and lowered his hand to peek, before standing straight once more, narrowing his eyes to slits, sounding an angry growl, not caring about her current position or how wounded she was from the fire.

"I see your training paid off. Congratulations. At least it shut your mouth now. And yes, to answer your question, I can remove anyone from the mines who I see are lazing about. Or better yet..." he smirked. "... I turn them into my next lunch."

"Smart mouthed..." she grumbled under her breath as she panted before slowly uncurling her body not able to help but wince at the pain in her chest. "I would just love to see you try. You still have yet to lay a hand on me and I've done plenty damage to you so far." she pointed out with a smirk. It took longer for the blackness in her hands to subside than she would have liked. When it finally did, she flexed her fingers and wrists. She touched her chest and winced. She would have to ask Ren about learning a healing spell next. So far she only knew the one. It would be a good idea to know more than that. She shook off the pain then started the spell over again. "And if you can remove anyone you want what about a general?" she inquired through gritted teeth as sparks of fire went off between her hands and again her hands started to turn black.

This was a challenge.

Nothing more, nothing less.

The little girl was questioning his effectiveness in his duty and his work in this stronghold. He gritted his teeth at her and stepped even closer.

"First off..." He started, growling. "If I decide to kill you, which I'd love to do, your master will be at my neck for it. You are simply not worth my effort. Second..." he stepped closer once more, his narrowed yellow eyes gleaming as the light of the fire reflected off of it, giving him a more animalistic look. "... I can throw out any ranked orcs, goblin or troll if I have a good reason for it. You aren't even one of them, so not one of us. Kicking you out would be too easy, or turning everyone against you." he chuckled, smirking. "And any general can be demoted. If there are good reasons. And I could bring up many good reasons for most."

The istar wasn't fazed by his actions, mostly because her eyes were on the fire watching it closely as the sparks turned into a full bodied flame that floated between her hands. Her anger did grow which was likely why the fire did as well.

"If you didn't notice from earlier Ren has no problem letting me get the sin beat out of me if he thinks it is to my benefit. I asked that he bring you here. He won't mess with you as long as what you do is to my benefit and you don't kill me." she pointed out to him before being forced to let the spell drop. It had only been a candle light's worth of a flame but she made it. However, the blackness had covered her hands up above her wrists. She saw it as both a good and bad thing. Bad, because it hurt but good because she figured that meant she was starting to get the spell more now she just needed to get it down to the point the blackness didn't happen at all.

"You cannot just go ahead and beat up guards all the time who are only doing their duties. It is against the laws. And if he lets this happen, then perhaps there are some things we would have to question. We all opt to stay alive and keep these mines at peace and won't tolerate a little girl walking around and beating up on-duty guards with her petty magic." he said angrily, all the while baring his teeth, and almost snarling, watching the small flame for a little while, before returning his attention to the wizard. "You have to give respect and show us that you are on our side before you can even get a greeting from us. We are orcs, not those little worthless humans you are accustomed to." he informed her, before actually moving to turn around and walk back towards the door. "Now if you are done with whatever you wanted or not... I will leave and go on my duty."

"You don't think I tried! I only walked out there to get Ren! I was only trying to bring him back here so he could ride out the light orb I threw at him until it faded and he had his vision back! I tried to explain that to the men but..." she shook her head. "They wouldn't listen! I didn't want to hurt anyone!" she gripped her head and stepped back new tears forming in her eyes. "I tried to be nice to you and all you've done is shout at me. I tried to do the right thing and I ended up in a fight. What the void am I supposed to do?!" she yelled then with little effort she created a fire-ball and threw it at a table just wanting to break something.

If it is advice she seeks, he can give her one. He bared his rotting teeth and took a deep breath to speak up but had to stop and shield his eyes and face as the fire she threw exploded at the table. It didn't break but burned a little, the blast not being strong enough just yet to do such damage. But the light was bright enough to cause Ren to hiss in irritation at the flash. Despite the noise he made, it was shielded by the explosion itself and the clattering of items as they landed on the floor. So, Tuhul did not notice, and maybe this was for the best.

After the initial shock, the bulky orc continued his ranting.

"We are orcs! Maybe being oh so 'nice' is something those pathetic humans value... We value strength, usefulness and effectiveness. If you can't work for your portion of food, you won't get anything to eat, if you aren't useful in a tribe or troop, then you are kicked out. Once you become effective, maybe you will receive some sort of recognition but as long as you just eat our food and do nothing, just walk around and cry because of everything, you will be nothing more than a little pet of a master, a little girl who cannot make do on her own. Grow up!" he yelled, now uncrossing his arms, clenching his hands into fist, feeling anger flood every corner of his mind. He waited for so long to say this... and finally it is done.

The child panted softly and gritted her teeth. For a moment, she actually thought the orc was right. She needed to grow up. Then she thought on it again. She started to laugh before looking up at him.

"Grow up? Are you joking? You are born into an adult form. You were born in a group. Everyone did something, you had one duty. You know how I was born? Alone. I was raised mostly by one man who eventually left. I raised myself. I made my home. I protected myself. I got my food. And I did all this while learning magic and healing a human village that on and off tried to kill me. So you can kiss my wizard foot because I'm sure I've both lived longer than you have and done a lot more than you ever will!" she snapped. "You can stand there and act like you are better than me all you want, Tuhul, but as far as I'm concerned, you are as much a child as I am if not worse. You stand there acting like you have command over everyone because you are some guard. You are like a child who made it to the top of a hill before the others... Arrogant and self absorbed." she told him then started the spell again. It is forming more easily now.

"I don't care about your pathetic life. It certainly doesn't give you any advantage here. So, you learn to blend in or stay alone with your thoughts of superiority because you are a wizard. Magic has no value to us as long as it doesn't show any usefulness. So, if I were you, I would work hard to at least do something that gives our troop an advantage, before you got more than me picking at you." The orc stomped, completely dismissing the story of her oh so hard life. Does she think born as an orc life is like candy? Is it truly easy and you know everything at the moment you open your eyes the first time? She was so wrong... but didn't voice it, in his mind she simply didn't deserve to know. He huffed and turned around, walking towards the door. "Once you can be of any use to us and show respect, you will be handled accordingly. But also make sure to not act like you are one of the highest ranked officers here. You are nothing at the moment in our eyes and won't be as long as you behave this high. Who is here behaving like a child? You didn't even know your rank but wanted me as a servant from the start. No such luck."

"There is a difference between wanting help and wanting a servant. I never once voiced you as my servant. I only ever asked for your help. You're the one who turned it into a superiority contest. The moment you started baring your teeth at me is when we started fighting. I was kind to you until then." she pointed as she created a flame and held it in one hand allowing the other to lose its blackness before switching hands. "I told you I couldn't eat the meat and you helped me get over it. You barged in my room earlier and while your actions annoyed me it helped me get down two spells. Your big mouth right now annoys me to no end but..." she switched hands again and grinned as her hand didn't turn black this time before closing her hand and looking up to him. "You helped me master another spell. With each spell I get stronger and can do more for the group here." she pointed to the book. "If I can master all the spells... well... you get the point." she said happy despite everything. She had learned another one. It would take some time yet before it was strong enough to do as much damage as her other fire spell but she was still happy with it and wanted to get started on her next spell. "Ren. New spell?" she asked.

"What do you mean 'asked for help'?" The orc shouted, offended, baring his teeth at her again, not believing his ears. "You never asked for my help, but told me outright what you want me to do. And as I said, being 'nice' here won't get you anywhere!" His hands shook by this time, willing to attack her now if she opened her mouth again. His muscles tensed, ready to pounce and get this over with, when she called out to... Ren?

The Nazgul had been silent through the whole ordeal, staying hidden in the corner... well... trying to. In this brightly lit room anyone could notice him who is facing this part of the room. Actually, it wasn't a bad idea. The angry exchange of words between Hyano and the orc at least amused him, even if he didn't understand half of what was said. Maybe if he did, he would have long ago interfered. But he liked it this way. He could concentrate on the body language and tones, trying to determine what they might be talking about. He was so engulfed in his own little 'project', that he didn't notice she actually succeeded with the fire spell.

Kind of.

It still needed work. Once she called his name, he looked up from his position, leaning against the wall with crossed arms and tilted his head to the side, trying to search in his mind what spell is the next one on the other page.

"Next. Ice." He uttered, not moving from his position, but remained standing there.

Tuhul's eyes widened as he heard him talk and felt his body relax, surprised to know that his Lord had been in this room all the while. For a brief second, he wondered how much he could understand from what he said so far... He turned to face the dark being in the corner, only needing to search for a few moments, before spotting him. He bowed to him, greeting him in black speech, before flashing a glare at the wizard. He did not say a word but growled at her, before huffing and turning towards the door, wanting to leave now. He didn't want to get into trouble killing his... pet right in front of him.

She picked up the book and turned to the needed spell. "No I told you flat-out I couldn't eat meat and you got mad at me for it. Then it went into an argument and so on. I never actually ordered you to do anything really. I just didn't like being yelled at." she replied as she looked over the spell thinking she was going to get frostbite from this one. She looked up seeing he was leaving. "You are allowed to fight me, Tuhul. Ren won't mind. It's if you kill me that it becomes a problem. I really do need your help though. I don't know any black speech and Ren's knowledge of this language is limited so he can't really... motivate me very well. I trust you to be honest and harsh. That seems to help." she said turning her eyes back to the book looking over the spell closely.

The orc guard pulled up both eyebrows as high as he never did before and turned his head in the girl's direction, quite surprised at her request. Help her? She can forget it. The way she is behaving is too absurd to receive any help from him at all.

"Get yourself someone who is willing to help you." With that, he walked outside under the watchful gaze of Ren, shutting the door behind him loudly, and sighing as he started walking down the hall. Fighting her wouldn't be a bad idea. Hitting her hard... making her bleed... But if he couldn't kill her in the end, where is the fun? What is the goal? He always opted to kill his opponents when they fight him, just to show the others an example to not mess with him and keep their sorry excuse of a hide away from him if he didn't wish for company.

In the meantime the Nazgul watched the door, as if expecting the orc to come back any moment to shout a while longer but that didn't happen and so he lost interest in the door, now turning his hooded head towards the wizard, shrugging. He didn't want to mess around and kill that orc as he commands him to get back inside, because unlike many of his brothers, he always opted to keep as many alive as possible.

"Annoying." The young wizard grumbled then looked at Ren. "Enjoy show?" she asked knowing full well Ren probably was amused by watching her and the orc fight. She would let the big creature alone for now. She still planned on using his help. He was surprisingly useful and she wasn't about to try to fix something that wasn't broken. She looked over the spell one more time then put the book to the side and got ready to give it a try.

The Nazgul didn't nod, nor shake his head at her question, being it an uncertain decision about this. Well yes, it certainly amused him as they threw words and yells back and forth, making the whole room echo, just like in his mind, enjoying the way their emotions flared and clashed. Anger, frustration, accomplishment, fury... This all was so rich in the air. However, because of the speed they used at talking and the words they used that weren't in his vocabulary just yet prevented him from truly enjoying the whole argument. So, he did, yet didn't. For different reasons. Ren simply gave her a silent hiss back, just acknowledging her question and making sure she knew he heard it, just couldn't answer. He moved after this to the bed and sat on the edge, crossing his arms and watching her as she gave the spell a try. He still didn't understand why she wanted that orc there... He thought as she tried to call to the frost spell. He certainly didn't seem to have any use, other than causing frustration and being the source of the argument. At least, he didn't grasp his role while he was there but wanted to get to the bottom of this.

At first it seemed like nothing happened but then she blinked as she saw her breath. Well. It wasn't exactly what she was going for but it was a start. She noted that the whole room had gotten cold fast. She hadn't created ice but she obviously was quite close to it. She also noted that despite the lack of physical ice her hands had turned black all the same. She blinked then groaned. "Need water." she told him realizing her mistake. Of course, it had only gotten cold. She wasn't nearly advanced enough yet to pull water out of the air and make ice out of it. She needed water.

The wraith snapped out of his thoughts as she spoke up, her words almost going unnoticed by the pondering creature. He tilted his head to the side and watched her.

"Water? Why?" He asked, unsure why she wanted it. Did she need to bathe or drink...?

She blinked. He didn't know what ice was made of did he?

"Um... need water. Make ice." she explained as best she could and sighed. This was part of why she wanted the orc around. While he was an annoying pain in the neck he understood her clearly. At least in speaking anyway. Their lifestyles were so different that it was no surprise that they argued so much, though. He had spent his life in a very rough environment surrounded by his kin. She on the other hand grew up mostly alone living a rather calmer life. She walked over and sat beside Ren. She honestly wasn't sure if there was water here. She had yet to see any at least. It would probably be a good idea to find some anyway considering they would be here a while and Hyano would like a bath and a drink of water sooner or later.

The Nazgul kept his head tilted to the side as he watched her sit next to him.

"Ice? Water?" He asked, not sure if he understood right but nodded nonetheless. He wasn't sure if he actually wanted to get water... For one reason... He wasn't her servant. He already got the orc for her and now she needed water. They really needed some orc guards here who understood her perfectly and will do what she required. He won't go and get her everything she desired for sure. Even if it is for the greater good. They had servants. This is what they are for. But for now... he needed to do half of the work. He stood and stepped towards the door. "Water..." he repeated, before going outside. However, it didn't take him long to come back empty handed, which surprised the orange wizard. The Nazgul sat back next to her and stayed silent, watching his gauntlets and started to clean them his own way... Using his other sharp fingers to get some dirt off, creating sometimes quite high-pitched scratching noises, which didn't bother him at all, unlike his company, who cringed a little. She always hated it when he did that but had gotten used to it for the most part. His kin talk in a higher tone anyway when they shriek.

Not a few minutes later, an orc guard walked in, carrying a smaller bucket of water in his hands, not at all bothered by the weight and set it down at the door with a bow of his head, stepping outside quickly. The water wasn't exactly the cleanest here. It was full with dirt and sometimes was littered with critters living in there. They didn't need really clean water. They never bathed and simply were content with this quality.

"Thank you, Ren." she said then jumped up and walked over inspecting the water for a moment. If she ever learned a cleansing spell she would have to start using it on the water before she drank it. She shook her head then dumped some of the water on the floor making sure to leave a little more than half still in the bucket. She walked around it then knelt beside it. She whispered the spell again then touched the water pulling her hand back quickly as the water instantly turned to ice both doing what she wanted and freezing a layer onto her hand.

The sudden cold temperature didn't seem to have an effect of the Nazgul, as he simply sat there, cleaning his gauntlet, sometimes peeking to see what she was doing. He watched as she poured some water on the floor then simply froze it there. Well, this isn't as much, but later hopefully she will be able to use this spell much better... like... conjuring ice in itself. Or combining one day a water spell and ice spell and utilizing it in the battlefield, aiding them in their efforts. He gave another faint hiss as she got it to work, as if praising her with it but otherwise didn't seem to be as interested in it. Having a short attention span never truly worked to his advantage, making him sometimes seem like he was bored or not at all caring about his environment. Which wasn't true. He was listening and paying half attention, just he seeks to do something else. Ren moved higher at his gauntlet to get off a few more dots of mud or blood, whichever it was, he didn't care, humming just a little to occupy himself while she practiced.

The istar smiled as he hissed and was learning to accept his more silent forms of praise. It was unusual and it took some time for her to even notice it but she was starting to get used to it. She used the fire spell to liquefy the water again before getting an idea. The wizard smirked then jumped right into the puddle and quickly started freezing the water in mid-air. As they hit the ground she again used the fire spell to liquefy them. She figured it was a faster training and she got to use both spells she had been learning that day. So again and again she jumped into the water, froze it in mid-air then let her fire put it back in its original state. Every so often she would have to stop, though, her hands still turning black.

The Nazgul's dark hooded head jerked up as he heard and felt the force of jumping and looked at her, tilting his head to the side, expressing his curiosity about what she was doing. It took him some time but soon realized what she was doing and watched her rather curiously, with his gauntlet cleaning forgotten. He followed her movements and watched as she turned the water to solid ice, before melting it again to its original form with the fire spell she was learning not long ago. He had to remind himself to make her learn the water-controlling spell next... She might become highly amusing in that case, practicing all of it back and forth. But that will be a little later, he realized with a faint sigh. She still needs to get the frost spell going without her hands becoming black. So, not saying a word but watching her, he kept his gaze on her.

The girl finally came to a stop panting leaning over with her hands on her knees soaking wet by now. She had gone at it for a little over an hour only stopping to let her hands turn back as much as she needed. She realized mid-way that she could keep going with her palm and finger tips black so the wait time she took between sessions was cut slightly. By the time she wore herself out that ended up being all that ever turned black. This one was taking a little longer than she would like but she realized it was also a higher level of magic. She was pretty sure if she tried this without the aid of the sunlight in the room she would have passed out long ago.

The Nazgul's attention by this time was again captured by the maze. He had been trying to figure it out again for half an hour now, completely ignoring the sounds of magic training that was going on in this room. He had lost interest a long time ago, so took first to continue cleaning his gauntlets, and after he lost interest in the maze, he turned his attention to his boots, which also was slightly dirty. Sitting cross-legged, he resumed cleaning that too while he was here and he could reach them with his fingers. Having nothing else to do these days, he was always looking for new ways to entertain himself with and with the orcs, goblins, and trolls around, it was slightly hard to find a new activity. Once the sounds of training died, he turned his hooded head in her direction and saw she finished. She seemed to be worn out now, tired and at the end of her energy. Which might mean it was time to stop for now and continue once she woke up from her next session of sleep. However, he didn't move to take the book from her and simply opted to finish cleaning his boots. After this, he will put the book back onto the shelf.

Hyano noted he wasn't telling her to continue. Guess he was going to let her rest for now. She stepped out of the water and grabbed her clothes before jumping onto the bed beside him.

"Tuhul made Hyano's guard?" she asked as she rested beside him laying her head on his leg. Or rather where his leg should be. She knew Ren didn't like doing things for her and knew that eventually he would get frustrated with it. Besides seeing the look on Tuhul's face when he was told he would have to work for her was going to be priceless to say the least.

"Orc?" He asked, not quite sure about the name just yet, already having forgotten it but guessed she was talking about the orc that was in here not long ago, so he gestured towards the door with his head, asking if she meant that one. He shifted in his seat, still not used to such closeness and simply didn't know when she developed this... Ever since they arrived in the mines she sought his closeness all the time... It was irritating but reassuring at the same time. Reassuring because it meant she holds herself close to him and will be harder to sway towards the other side, harder to get her to attack him or go against him. And he opted to have it stay this way, so did not tell her to keep distance. For now. But the question about the orc guard was intriguing. In a way. Seeing her argue with that one would be quite amusing every day but in the other hand he could not quite rely on having him keep Hyano safe. His aggressive aura told him he wanted to kill her... Which doesn't make him to a good guard for her. And considering she doesn't wake up at night... Just no. "No. Kill." he told her simply as he resumed cleaning his boots with a sharp finger, disagreeing with her choice and warning her about what would happen if he agreed.

She sighed, knowing he was right that the orc wanted to kill her. She thought a moment on how he acted and talked. During the day she would probably be able to match him blow for blow so no problems could arise there. It was night that she had to worry about. She thought on their conversation about the humans and how he reacted when she told him about the humans that attacked her in her sleep. No he wouldn't do that. He wouldn't attack anyone weaker or not awake. There was no honor in that.

"Hyano fine. Orc won't hurt while sleep. Orcs have honor. No human." she reassured him.

He stopped what he was doing for a few seconds, as if pondering about what she said, mulling it over, before resuming the cleaning of his boots with a sigh.

"Orc angry." he said simply, still not trusting that orc with her, no matter what. Maybe she doesn't show much use to anyone here but she will be better and will aid them in battle without crying and will help them at using her magic to spawn more orcs, trolls and maybe goblins. Goblins are good for riding wargs because of their lighter weight. But for this... they will also need wargs. The Nazgul shook his head, expressing his displeasure at her asking this of him.

The wizard sighed then nodded.

"Fine. Maybe later." she said more to herself than anything. She knew better than to push too much, especially over something so small. She would have to figure it out on her own then. Maybe once she had gotten better with her spell casting and had proven herself then the orc could be her guard. "Who then?" she asked him looking up into the darkness where his face should be. Part of her always wanted to pull that hood of his down in hopes of finding a face there but she knew already there was none. She would still need help until she got everything down and she didn't want to be a bother to Ren. She then remembered asking the goblin general about younger orcs or goblins. "Younglings maybe?"

Younglings? This word made him turn his hooded head towards her once more, remembering the same word as the goblin used referring to her. Younglings... as in smaller goblins and orcs? There are no smaller goblins or orcs... Or does she mean newborns? Well, this can be quite difficult. At least to him it sounded like that. New goblins and orcs don't make good guards and still have to undergo training to discover themselves, their abilities and learn to fight properly. That wouldn't be the right time to be guards just yet and will have to learn how to mine.

"No. Learn. No good guard." He told her after a few minutes of staring at her, thinking everything over.

The girl pouted. Well, that was out. Alright, so Tuhul was out. So were the younglings. She really didn't want to go on a manhunt looking for a good guard. She yawned and stretched before settling down. The light in the room was dimming meaning the sun outside was going down.

"Answer later..." she mumbled deciding they could figure it out some other time. Now she just wanted some sleep. She figured she deserved a good rest after all that crazy anyway. She closed her eyes and was soon out like a light still resting her head on him.

Of course, this left Ren shaking his head at her. This is the second time she falls asleep on him but this time he didn't wish to stay for hours to try and figure out the maze as he was done with that... of course without results. Slowly, he reached down and lifted her head from his leg, and shifted to sit in another position, resting her head back on the bed before moving off of it and standing.

Now what to do?

He already did his rounds not long ago, Hyano is asleep... There is truly not much to do which only adds to his boredom. Sighing, he slowly walked over to the book that lay abandoned on the floor, before picking it up, running an armored finger along some lines to read them, then moved to the shelf and put it up there, closing the book. Once that was done, he glanced around the room, as if contemplating what he wanted to do. First what caught his attention was the bucket of water, which still rested where she left it. He walked over to it to grab it and pull it to the side... They might need it once she awoke. Well... would have. Unfortunately for him, there was still some ice that remained from her game, which also magically didn't melt yet... His boots of course found it and before he knew it, he landed on his back with a shrill shriek and a quite loud thud. He hissed in annoyance, hoping no one heard that or could figure out what happened, he stood quickly, dusting off his robe before trying to locate the ice. Without success in doing so, the Nazgul grabbed the bucket and not wanting to step anywhere for now he simply pushed it closer to the wall. That being done, he put his hands on his hips and let his invisible eyes wander to the little wizard on the bed.

Now what to do...?

As usual, his mind was already plotting something, thinking of a way how to make her awakening not as pleasant. After a few minutes, he walked over to her, successfully finding the ice again so almost slipping but managed to catch himself in time and stood in front of her sleeping form. He looked left and right, thinking hard, before deciding to simply relocate her this time. He reached out and grabbed her, sliding her to the edge of the bed, before picking her up and stepping back once. He started lowering her to the floor, kneeling down and simply slid her under the bed carefully. After this was done, he hissed in anticipation before backing away and quickly moving out of the door. He might as well explore the deeper parts of the mines while he had time.

---

Hyano woke up and coughed.

It was dirty under the bed and as a result the dust and dirt along with the cold air had caused her throat to hurt. She groaned then lifted her head before yelping as it hit the hard underbelly of the bed. She put a hand on her forehead and cursed. Well, at least tried but only wheezes came out of her mouth. She blinked then slowly crawled out from under the bed and tried to just say simple words before groaning.

Great. Just great. She had lost her voice.

If it wasn't hard enough to talk to people it just got very much harder. She knew Ren was the reason she had been under the bed and was sure if it had gotten any colder she probably would have lost her voice sooner or later anyway but she still felt payback was in order. She looked around then noted the bucket and walked over before like Ren finding the ice patch. She nearly slipped before getting her balance. She looked down at the ice that unless you looked very hard you couldn't really see besides a slight shine. She thought then smirked before dumping the bucket and spreading out the water as much as she could so there was a very thin layer all over the floor. She then jumped on the bed and froze the ice smiling as she got the desired effect before sitting watching the door.

This will be good.

Tuhul walked along the halls, his steps thundering along the corridors as he made his way deeper, right towards the little girl's room. He grumbled to himself, saying curses and oaths about killing her sooner or later because of his situation. Their Lord actually asked him to get that wizard for him. Asked him... Him of all the orcs that could have gone... He sighed as he growled, narrowing his yellow eyes to slits and bared his rotting teeth. He put his hand on the handle to her door, not even bothering to knock, he opened it swiftly and stepped inside.

Hyano had actually started working on the maze after a while of waiting for Ren to come. He was taking a little longer than she would have really liked and this maze was starting to give her a headache. How had Ren not destroyed her head-board yet? She blinked as the door swung open instantly knowing it wasn't Ren before he even got to the door.

She knew Ren's footsteps.

Ren despite his looks was actually light on his feet. This guy could never be like that. She blinked as the door was swung open. Aww great, it was the big-mouthed orc again. She watched as he walked in getting ready to yell at her as always and blinked as he went down, the room shaking and she actually went up in the air herself for a moment before landing sitting again on the bed.

"Now you li-... Wha-!" He didn't get to say what he wanted, as he yelped when he lost his footing, feeling them slip from under him suddenly and fell to his back very heavily, grunting. Basically the whole room shook at the impact. He was a quite heavy orc. "What in the..." he said in irritation as he tried to stand but even his hands slipped from under him as he tried to lift himself with them, at least trying to get into a sitting position. He was so occupied with his trouble that he completely forgot about Hyano.

She watched him struggle on the ground and instantly fell over in silent laughter. Oh, this was fantastic! Ren must have known she was going to get him back and sent this orc instead. She would have to remember to thank him later when she got her voice back.

The orc continued to struggle with the ice, trying to sit using his hands but wasn't having any luck for more than five minutes now. He slipped all the time, having his back land back on the floor with heavy thuds and noises. It was cold as well and felt his fingertips to numb by now, just like his body started to shiver as the cold ice touched his skin repeatedly. He grunted, growled, yelped and shouted loudly, now digging the sharper edges of his armor into the slippery surface, finally able to lift himself partly and look around.

There she was... laughing nonetheless...

She wasn't making any noise strangely, but she was laughing, he could tell. This must be her doing! Who else's? He gritted his teeth and growled at her.

"What is this? Some kind of joke? Melt the ice! Now! Or once I get free I will crush your skull with my bare hands!" He shouted, demanding to be able to stand and do his duties.

Hyano raised a brow as he started yelling at her and even went as far as to threaten her. It was ice and yes it was a joke. Not one meant for him but it had a very nice result all the same. She smirked, giving him a 'make me' look as she crossed her arms and legs and waited to see if he could even get up much less get close enough to fulfill his threat.

The orc waited for a few seconds patiently for an answer or a sign that she is doing as he told her to but soon he started losing that little patience he had left and growled, narrowing his eyes at her. After the fifth time, he finally could turn himself onto his stomach but was facing away from her. Using his sharp armor, he started turning and eventually met her with his gaze as he faced her and using the same trick, he started paddling forward towards her, growling, if not snarling angrily.

He was about halfway when finally Ren made his appearance at the door. He had been asking himself what was taking the orc so long, so decided to look what is happening. Of course, he did suspect that Hyano planned something for him, so was clever enough to send that orc to her which she had a problem with. So, he surely got what she planned for him and must be doing something else by now. He caught a glimpse of the orc guard lying on his stomach on the floor but didn't think much of it, instead stepped inside. With a surprised shriek, he instantly landed on his back.

But this wasn't the end of it.

Because of the force he was coming inside with, he actually started sliding along the floor, right towards the orc and crashed into him, taking him with him as he slid towards the corner. They met the walls with a grunt and stayed silent for a few seconds, trying to get their bearings before they tried to untangle themselves. With more or less success. Each time they tried to stand, they would fall back onto each other, making the Nazgul hiss and shriek briefly in irritation, while Tuhul did his best to apologize to his Lord and trying not to use him to lift himself.

The room would be full of Hyano's laughter if it wasn't for the fact she had lost her voice. Her stomach hurt she was laughing so hard. First, the orc tried to threaten her then even tried to get to her. Then Ren walks in and they crash into the wall together. This was the kind of funny that you just couldn't make up. She watched as they toppled over each other trying to get up before finally deciding they had enough. She leaned over the bed and touched the floor before letting the ice melt. Well most of it anyway. There were still a few ice patches scattered around the floor but it was fixed enough to where they should be able to finally stand. She giggled and jumped off the bed and walked over towards Ren and the orc but made a point of keeping a slight distance just in case the orc decided to actually try to pound her skull in. Ren would likely get her back for it later rather than hurt her now. That was more his style.

They didn't truly notice what she was doing, so kept struggling, and once the ice melted, just at the same time as Ren tried to use his sharp boots to get a hold of the ice and launched himself upwards. He wasn't expecting for it to work this effectively, so ended up standing quite quickly... bashing the nose of the guard with his elbow in the process.

The orc went down almost instantly, yelping and touching his nose, clutching it tightly, tears started to appear at his eyes and groaned painfully, closing his eyes tightly, trying to relieve the pain. It wasn't because it hurt this much that he cried but because this is the effect if one gets their nose hit like this. He started whispering words in black speech as if cursing or talking to himself, not moving from his position in the corner but sunk to his knees.

Ren in the other hand didn't seem to even realize what he did or simply didn't care, instead his hooded head found the little wizard very quickly near them. The Nazgul kept staring for a few seconds, before tilting his head to the side and giving a quite threatening hiss before stepping once towards her with his hands clenched into fists. What was going on in his mind was a mystery at the moment, but one was sure. It was payback time. A little early but why not?

Hyano cringed as she saw Tuhul take a pretty good hit to the nose. She would have to help him with that later. At the moment she had a slightly bigger problem on her hands. She looked up at Ren and instantly realized she was in trouble. She smiled sheepishly and stepped back wondering just what the hooded man had in mind. She couldn't rightfully ask and Ren had a hard enough time understanding her when she spoke normally so asking him to read lips was probably a little much. She was kind of curious how long it would take him to figure out she couldn't speak. She thought then put her hands up in a silent surrender. She figured it was at least worth a try.

While the orc still nursed his nose, the Nazgul advanced quite dangerously towards the wizard, his hands flexed and loosened at each second, taking strong steps towards her, hissing continuously. For each step he took towards her, she took one back, causing her to bump into the bed. He didn't even acknowledge her surrender as he still neared her with every intention to do something... a payback perhaps. Once he was close enough, he flexed his spectral muscles and launched himself at her with a sharp hiss, intending to crash into her and let them fall to the ground or bed, whichever was in the way.

The child wizard mentally shouted and before she knew what happened she was tackled onto the bed. She wasn't sure if she should cry out or laugh. She wondered if this was what it was like to have siblings. She never had any brothers or sisters. Ren wasn't much of a real parent. Mostly because he had no clue as to what he was doing most of the time. However, she could easily view him as a big brother. He pranked her like one at least.

As soon as they landed, he didn't bother to hold her hands down as his weight was enough to secure her in place and lifted his own gauntleted hands and launched his attack. He kept poking her side and stomach, knowing full well that she was very sensitive there and tended to laugh and struggle as he did so, making it the perfect payback method in need. He made sure to keep his weight on her while he assaulted her, changing the spot where he poked her all the time, dodging her hands as she tried to shield herself from it. He hissed all the while, amusing himself by her defenselessness as he savored the feeling of his superiority, the control he had over her at the moment.

She would have cried out in helpless laughter if she could have, her body writhing under him. She should have never tried to tickle him. She had tried to do it once and when he gave her a confused look she had to explain what she was doing by tickling Shipmunk. When he figured it out she instantly became a target. She had honestly forgotten he knew she was ticklish. She thrashed and tried to say she gave up and that he won but she couldn't. She soon had tears and was sweating she had been silently laughing so hard. At least he hadn't just sat on her and tried to stay there all day. Though right now she wasn't sure which would have been worse. Death by laughter or death by being stuck under a wraith's behind.

He took great amusement in her squirming, but strangely enough there was no sound coming from her. And the sounds were the most entertaining in his onslaught, the way she begs for mercy, how helpless she sounds. After a few minutes of 'payback', he finally raised his hands away from her and sat up, still not standing or letting her get up. Instead, he tilted his head to the side, not sure why she lacked any sound. He could remember she should be as loud that his sensitive ears would hurt and that would be the only thing stopping him from his entertainment but this time she didn't seem to make any noise...

Strange.

He reached out and poked her again, studying her expression this time, seeing that she made the same movement as usual and could hear the air leaving her lungs but there was no sound to it. He poked her again as experiment... The same thing happened. He tilted his hooded head to the other side this time, as if silently asking her why she wasn't talking or shouting.

The child istar panted as he finally allowed her some time to breath. She noticed his confused expression and mentally groaned. How exactly do you explain losing your voice to someone without a throat? She thought a moment then figured she would show him. She took in a deep breath then tried to scream only being able to make a slight wheezing noise. She then started coughing and holding her throat. It already hurt from laughing so hard and that little stunt hadn't helped. She coughed a bit before it calmed down and she just panted and continued to look up at him still holding her throat using the heat from her hands to warm it up slightly. It felt rather nice but it didn't stop the problem altogether.

The problem might be coming from there, Ren though, and he wanted to know the exact source. So, reaching down, he removed her hand from her neck with his own and put his there, trying to feel along her throat for the problem. To anyone who looked at them, it might seem like the wraith was strangling the wizard or calculating where to stab as he was feeling along it. Well, there was not much of a difference, aside from the slight lump directly under her jaw. He can clearly remember this wasn't there before. Was that causing her voice to be lost? Will it stay the same way? He wondered as he probed it, poked it and touched it before releasing his hold on her neck, giving her free space to do with it as she wished.

"Come back?" he asked, pointing at her mouth, wanting to know if her voice will ever come back, but he also wondered why all of a sudden it has happened.

Hyano winced as his cold gauntlet touched her throat and cringed as he pressed against the source of the problem in her throat. It wasn't hurting as much as it was uncomfortable. She waited for him to pull his hand away before replacing it with her own. She nodded yes to his question. Her voice would be back. She had gone through this a few times before. She would fall asleep for a few days during winter then wake up and her voice would be gone because the hut had gotten so cold while she was asleep. It would be back after a day or two. She gave him a light push asking him to get off. He was still so heavy. She had yet to figure out how a man who was technically not there was so heavy.

At her push, he stayed there for a while, contemplating if he should go by her wish and get off, giving her free room to roam, or maybe he should just sit there all day, seeing they can't practice magic as long as she couldn't talk really. Not that she wouldn't be able to cast magic... But he couldn't be able to hear if things go wrong. Like... a scream or yelp. He would be doing something else, only to turn to her after a few hours to see her dead on the floor, burned by the fire she cast... Now that would be unfortunate, seeing she would be such a great servant. He shook his head, then shifted in his position before lifting a leg and rolling off, standing up. He adjusted his robe and secured his gauntlet before looking at the orc, who was now at that reflecting surface, apparently looking at the damaged part of his face. He didn't care about him though but returned his invisible gaze to the girl on the bed, before shaking his head.

"Why?" He asked her, gesturing towards her throat.

She thought then got up and reached under the bed. She swiped her hand under it before showing him just how dirty it was under there then breathed showing him that she could just barely see her breath. She hoped he would get the point that it was both cold and dirty down there which was why she lost her voice.

So, does this mean he was the cause of it? It can't be, can it? No. He refused to think like this. He never made any mistakes in his whole life and death... No way could he have made one now. He crossed his arms, not quite believing her that a simple misplacing can cause such a great trouble as a lost voice. He didn't understand the concept of being cold or being dirty, as he wasn't bothered by either case, so simply couldn't believe it. It might be something else, he presumed.

She got back on the bed then picked up a pillow and tossed it at Tuhul before standing on the bed and waving for him to come over so she could look at his nose.

Ren turned his hooded head as he heard a growling coming from somewhere behind him, most certainly from the orc and looked down as he saw the pillow she used to prop up her head with landed on the floor, bouncing before laying still. His gaze then traveled to the orc who just glared at her and even turned, his eyes speaking quite loud about his murderous intentions. The Nazgul hissed at him sharply, watching as Tuhul winced and pulled back, instantly losing his aggressive attitude and resuming a more submissive behavior but did not move from his position, knowing if he did, he would kill that wizard.

Hyano mentally groaned in annoyance. Why does he have to make things so difficult? She thought then jumped down off the bed and actually walked up to him minding any of the ice patches that might be around. She grabbed a chair and pulled it over to him before jumping up on it. Even then she still wasn't tall enough. She really hoped when she got older she was to be a lot taller than this. It was so annoying being so short around so many adults. She waved for him to lean down. Despite him being an annoying son of a warg she wanted to check his nose. Healing was her specialty and he was always yelling at her to be useful anyway. She might as well be useful in the best way she knew how.

The orc saw her gesture and has heard the wooden feet of the chair scraping the floor but decided to not follow her instructions. He shook his head, stepping back from her with his hand still grasping his hurt nose gently.

"No way. Get away from me!" He growled, shaking his head, his yellow eyes narrowing at her dangerously. "Knowing you, you would only cause more bad than good." He complained before stepping back once more and turning around, thinking of leaving the room, seeing he served his purpose for today. He started walking towards the door with determined steps, only to slip once on the ice but luckily he didn't fall, catching himself in time.

Hyano was beyond annoyed by this so she jumped off of the chair and landed with a slam knocking the orc off of his feet. Once he was down she ran over and jumped on him landing on his chest.

'Stay still.' she mouthed smacking his hand away which instinctively flew up to cradle his nose. She then grabbed it and gave it a tug before pushing it back into place. She knew it would hurt like the void but if he healed the way it was now he would have a lot of problems later. She did it quick and was sure she was going to get smacked off in a second before starting to heal his nose.

The orc couldn't see her gesture, as he was still slightly disoriented from the fall but continued trying to raise his hand to his nose. He gasped and yelped as he felt someone touch it, his eyes widened and shouted as she tugged on it and pressed it into place. In an instant he swept his hand and slapped her off of him, rolling back onto his hands and feet, scrambling back onto his feet and stood.

"You little..." He started, tears forming in his yellow eyes as a reaction to the sudden pain. His hands massaged his hurt body part and started going towards the door, wanting to get out. "I will kill you for this! I will break your limbs one by one!" He did want to do this, even now at this moment but he won't touch her under the watchful gaze of the Nazgul.

The little girl cringed as she hit the wet floor and shook her head before glaring up at him. She couldn't exactly reply though she had many thoughts in her head. She had fixed the big idiot's nose and he was still shouting at her. Was this orc always like this?! Did he ever think before he opened his big mouth? She gritted her teeth then picked up the forgotten pillow from earlier and threw it at him yet again. She then got up and shoved past him not bothering to even try to say where she was going. She didn't even know but there were only so many places you could go in a mine so she wasn't that worried about it. She just wanted to be left alone and she couldn't really ask Ren to leave so it was easier for her to just walk out on her own.

Tuhul stopped in his tracks as he felt something slam into him from behind. Well, it didn't hurt at all, just the knowledge of being hit by something was irritating. He turned his head just in time to see the partially wet wizard walk past him. He growled as he narrowed his eyes at her, before wanting to give back what she deserved. He picked up the pillow from the ground and simply threw it back at her, not caring what force he used. He was angry enough.

However, his action didn't go without consequences as a sharp scolding hiss sounded from somewhere next to him as Ren stepped forward, having enough of this little show of dominance. He saw that gleam in the orc's eyes and simply refused to have his servant getting more hurt or damaged than she already is. He waved a hand and told him to leave, which the orc did, bowing deeply.

Hyano walked through the halls quickly and quietly. Not like she had a choice in the matter. She wanted to get anywhere that wasn't there at the moment and didn't feel like dealing with anyone on the way. However she ended up not being nearly that lucky. She got to what she hoped was an empty hall and flicked her hand to light an orb just a little too late both walking into an orc and blinding him. She stepped back and blinked looking up at the orc.

Great.

Another big mouthed son of a warg. Just what she needed right now.

The orc growled not having nearly the self-control that Tuhul did... if you want to call that self control anyway. Once he got his vision back he glared down at the little girl before swinging the hammer he had been carrying. Hyano's eyes went huge and she quickly dodged the hammer, slamming into the ground loudly.

---

She was gone... Ren sighed as he looked at the ground, trying to determine where she had gone off by detecting her aura that she left behind. Finally finding it, like bloodhound he followed the trail, sniffing audibly, although the sound was drowned by the noise the orcs made as they worked, mined the metal they needed. The Nazgul himself bumped into many, hissed and shrieked at them to get out of his way, not caring if they held something heavy, rocks or precious metal. He must say she was quite quick to get away this far without him being able to catch up. He grumbled in his tongue, irritated by her disappearance. Anything could happen to her out here without supervision, and knowing her attitude, she would more than likely get into trouble. He didn't want to have her getting killed by someone or fall down into a gorge. She was simply too useful for his future plans, if not essential. He turned corner after corner and stopped in his tracks as he heard the sound of metal clashing harshly against the stone floor. He hissed and hurried closer.

---

The orc growled as he missed then turned and swung at her again. She was small and weak. To him this was normal. Kill the weak when they get in your way. Even if they are some silly pet.

Hyano jumped out of the way again and this time she jumped up and kicked the orc hard in the stomach. Or as hard as she could and kicked off of him, landing a little away. Well that didn't work. She didn't weigh nearly enough to do much damage physically. All she did was make her leg hurt a little. She stepped back. Alright, new plan. The wizard grabbed up some dirt and set it on fire for a second before quickly throwing it at him and taking off running. The hot pebbles burned and made him roar in anger before running after her.

"Get back here you little brat!" he cried out in black speech.

---

Ren rounded the corner in time to see the orc take off after the much smaller wizard, who fled quickly after casting some kind of magic. He could feel the aura of the magic itself, so surely she casted something but which one he didn't know. What he also didn't know was that if he should even bother running after them. He might be a Ringwraith but not the fastest of his kind. That was Adunaphel with his smaller and lighter size. Ren was more of the average kind. He hissed sharply before making a note where they headed, and turned a corner to try and cut some distance by using shortcuts and tunnels that were usually not used and hope that they turn into his direction at some time or don't go off of their course. He did think of shrieking but didn't know if it would be effective with all the noise. Well, maybe it would have been but it was too late to use it now...

---

Hyano was currently very glad that she had spent so long in the woods because despite the lack of actual trees there were things to jump and dodge. She jumped over a fallen pillar with surprising ease considering her small size and kept going.

The orc wasn't far behind but because of his larger size he wasn't nearly as fast as she was nor could he duck and dodge like she could. When he did get close though he would try to slam her with his hammer sending rocks flying. She dropped a wind spell behind her hoping to trip up the orc. It tripped him alright but it also just angered him all the more. She groaned. Alright, orcs were all stubborn. She thought then gasped as a rock went flying past her head.

What they did not notice as they fought was that they changed direction -much to the dismay of Ren- and started chasing backwards towards the upper half of the mines where they came from, just in other halls. Which also led towards the still grumbling orc guard, Tuhul, who was now returning to his duty and resuming his patrols, sorting out disputes.

He frowned and looked ahead as he heard the sound of running and fighting, which only brought forth an irritated sigh from him as he readied his weapon, grasping the handle of his sword on his belt. His eyes widened as he saw something orange and finally recognized the being as that little brat from earlier.

The master's pet.

Seeing the other orc chase her in his direction, he thought she must have annoyed that one with her attitude, so lowered his hand, not even wanting to bother and halt the chase. But as the other orc nearly crushed her with his hammer, the guard couldn't help but growl. He didn't want that orc to kill her! Not him! He wanted to take care of her and make her realize her wrong way of thinking, beg for his mercy as he slowly crushes her. But if this orc does it now... he won't have a chance to do this. So, with a growl, he reached behind him and brought forth a good sized war hammer with a long handle, and stood firmly, ready to bash the face of the orc in if he didn't stop.

"Halt!" He shouted as he held the war hammer to the side, not yet raised to hit.

Hyano blinked as she saw Tuhul. Just perfect. If she didn't have enough problems. She heard him yell and was surprised.

Wait.

He was helping her? She must be crazy, or dreaming. Yes, she surely hit her head and was dreaming. She could go with that. She got to him and slid between his legs finally coming to a stop behind him and panting.

The orc stopped as he got to Tuhul and growled eyes fixed on the little girl.

"Move aside! The brat's just gotten what's commen!" he roared angrily.

Hyano rolled her eyes. He was full of it. All she had done was bump into him and blind him by mistake. If anything the only thing she deserved was a scolding about watching where she was going, though, she really didn't see what the big deal was.

His only answer was a very deep scowl from the guard as he held his ground. His eyes didn't even bother judging the power of this orc, seeing no matter what, he will protect his right to deal with her later. He growled at the other orc and when he shouted, his anger and volume matched the others.

"Back off! This one is mine!" Tuhul almost snarled, making Hyano roll her eyes. "And there will be no killing in MY shift and in MY patrol area! Understood?!" He almost screamed, and to make a point, he grabbed his war hammer and slammed the end of it into the ground, just to display his anger, power, and the finality in this matter, causing the little wizard to lose her footing and fall to her hands and knees. "Get back to work and don't make me angry! Because you don't want to make me angry!"

The orc growled but stepped back.

"Fine! Have the little wretch if you want her! She is more trouble than she's worth anyway." he snapped then turned and made his way back down the hall grumbling about how he should have ripped her arm off for bumping and blinding him.

Hyano sighed sitting on the ground and rubbing her temples. She could feel a headache coming on. Oh wait. No, that was pending scolding from the far taller male. That or he was going to try to kill her now. She wasn't sure. She was taking the moment to catch her breath before she had to run again.

Tuhul watched with raised head as the other retreated without a fight in dominance and raised the hammer to put it back into the holder on his back before turning around with a growl. Oh how sweet. They are alone at the moment. The little pet is not under the watchful gaze of her master, what a surprise. He watched as she rubbed her head but didn't ponder what she was doing or why, instead he stepped closer, with one of his hands positioned over the handle of his sword and stared at her, narrowing his sharp and quite threateningly looking eyes, not saying a word, but wanting to see what she will do now.

Hyano noted when he hadn't moved in a second or two and opened one eye to look up at him. He really thought he could scare her didn't he? She lived with Ren ... She wasn't stupid but she didn't scare easily. She sighed then stood up and dusted herself off before turning and bowing to him, causing the orc to raise an eyebrow in surprise. She had learned from Ren that it was a better way of saying 'thank you' and considering she couldn't express it with words at the moment she figured it worked to her favor. She then looked around and realized just how far she had gotten. Well, run long enough without thinking as to where you are going and you are sure to get lost, she guessed.

Tuhul was mildly surprised by her sudden change in behavior and wasn't making a move just yet, but his hand was still on his weapon. He briefly looked around to make sure no one was watching, before attempting to unsheathe his sword and give her the punishment she deserved for today's annoyances, seeing she had her back turned to him now. But the appearance of a dark aura halted his hand from doing so and tensed up, taking a step back from the wizard, just in time to see his Lord round a corner not far from them and stop in his tracks, spotting his little pet apparently and made his way towards them, hissing and grumbling, no doubt scolding the girl for something, complaining about her disappearance.

Hyano heard the hissing and turned to it, oblivious to Tuhul's intentions. She sighed, knowing she was in trouble. There goes being left alone for a little while. She looked over her shoulder to Tuhul, thinking something over before running up to Ren and before he had the chance to say anything she pulled out her sand and showed him how Tuhul had technically saved her. She was giving him credit for helping her out. Even if it was just because he wanted to kill her himself. Besides, it would help distract Ren for a moment which was good in her current case.

While the orc took a few steps back to try and vanish from view, Ren stood before the little wizard with crossed arms and a scolding aura around him. He watched as she showed him what happened, at which he looked up and noticed the orc in question. Oh... It is that... Tuhal... Tahul... or something like that, wasn't it? That one orc who desired to kill her? Saved her now? This was... confusing. Her actions served their purpose for now and distracted the Nazgul from his actual intentions of scolding and punishing her for running off like this and instead watched her, tilting his head to the side, many questions swirling in his mind.

"Why?" He asked, not quite sure why the orc saved her and why she was showing him all this.

She thought on this. It was probably better not to tell him that Tuhul wanted to kill her. She did not want Tuhul to come to harm in any way. She looked to the big... almost hiding orc before turning back to Ren.

"G-guard." she rasped out as best she could before breaking into a coughing fit and cringing. She didn't think she could use her sand to explain that one. It was Tuhul's duty to keep that peace and he took that rather seriously. She hoped that would be enough of a reason for Ren.

Guard? Ren tilted his head to the side, watching her. She still wants that orc as a guard? The Nazgul lifted his gaze to look at the orc in question which was backing away slowly but stopped as he felt the wraith's invisible gaze on him.

"Why?" He asked again, now looking back at the wizard, asking the same question, just with a different meaning. Why does she want him as a guard? Because he wasn't too sure about it. This orc showed him before when they argued that he won't stop at anything to revenge his situation and kill her if he wanted...

Why? The child thought then realized he misunderstood her answer. However, she could use this.

"...o-orc... job... p-pride." she said then started coughing again. This was really hard and her voice sounded almost as bad as one of Ren's screeches. Well, at least to her ears anyway. However, at least she got her point across. Despite everything the orc's job was his pride. He would do whatever it took to keep it. She was sure that included protecting her. He wouldn't try to kill her in her sleep and if he was commanded to keep her safe she didn't believe he would kill her no matter how much he really wanted to. "No...other... choices." she also pointed out as she started rubbing her neck. What other choice did she have? To ask a general would kind of undermine his position and most of the other orcs were far too violent.

The Nazgul shifted his weight from one foot to another, having his arms crossed, he mulled over her request once more. He didn't want to make a mistake. If he failed to protect her from all those who wished to kill her, he would be seen weaker than he was and unable to keep alive what he sought to protect. His gaze repeatedly wandered from Hyano to the orc but unable to come to a decision he shook his head and uncrossed his arms, pointing towards her room.

"Later." he told her, standing firmly, not leaving room for arguments now. He will decide when he thought this all over. One of his worst traits was that it took time until he could come to conclusions or make decisions if he knew he had time on his hands, especially because his mind still needed to get used to the fact that he had to make decisions himself without any guide from a greater entity. And right now, there was plenty time to think about it.

The young wizard sighed and nodded. Fine. They could figure it out later. Again. She really hoped Ren would just say yes. It would make life a lot easier. She turned and saw Tuhul and gave a wave before starting back towards her room.

Tuhul didn't want to react in any way, only backed up, not wanting to anger the Nazgul with a growl or glare in her direction, so opted to this time stay silent and go back to his duty. He heard and understood what the conversation was about and he hoped dearly that their Lord won't agree. He didn't want to protect someone who he wanted to harm. Oh no... He won't. He wanted to make her pay for everything she has done against him. She will pay for each word, her attitude and all the trouble and pain she put him through. He gritted his teeth and growled as he was farther away, slamming a fist into the wall, which hurt him more than the stone structure. He ended up cursing under his breath as his hand was throbbing with pain. But at least he calmed down somewhat.

The istar put her hands in her pockets and yawned, cringing a little as her throat tried to open up with no success. She couldn't wait until she felt better. Hopefully Ren wouldn't pull the same trick twice though. Maybe once things warmed up it would be alright but it was far too cold to be sticking her under a very dirty bed. But for now, her greatest goal was to find her room… At least Ren knew where he was going because she hadn't a clue in Middle-Earth by this point.

Seeing her uncertainty, Ren shook his head and sighed, seeing he still had to escort her around. She still didn't know where her room was... He went next to her and grabbed one of her arms in a metallic grip and pulled her after him in a slightly fast pace, wanting her back in her room before something else happens. He ignored all the orcs and trolls they passed and eventually arrived in her room. He opened the door and let her go in before closing it behind them. Instead of doing anything else, the wraith stood there, actually putting his hands on his hips, shaking his head at her, obviously wanting a very good explanation for her sudden departure not long ago.

Once he let her go she flexed her arm a bit. As fast as she was, being dragged still wasn't comfortable. Hyano looked at him and noticed his actions. It was unusual. She had never been treated this way by anyone before. To some degree she liked it. It meant Ren cared what she did, even if it meant she was also in trouble. She smiled sheepishly and took out some sand. She showed an image of herself alone. That's all she had really wanted. Just to be left alone for a little while. It was only natural, especially for someone who used to spend most if not all their days alone before the dark figure in front of her showed up. Since he fell from the sky she hadn't really had any time alone besides the day she hid him in the cave. She hadn't liked that day much and didn't plan on letting it last that long. Just for a little.

Being a Nazgul, he did not understand why anyone would want to be alone. He never had a problem adjusting himself to anyone who was around him. Be it one of his brothers or a whole troop, his fellbeast, or a few mages who sometimes worked under his hand preparing a battlefield with runes and magical traps. He never wanted to be alone, or at least didn't understand its significance, so couldn't really understand her either. He tilted his head to one side then the other, indicating he still showed interest in the subject and there was something he was still confused about.

"Why?" he asked, although it was obvious he would ask it again sooner or later. He didn't move much from his position, only relaxed his stance somewhat but still kept his scolding appearance.

She sighed and shook her head.

"...L-later..." she said and coughed then lay onto the bed. She couldn't explain it right now no matter how she tried. How do you explain something to someone who has never felt the need to be alone? Especially without the use of words. She needed to wait until she had her voice back. She thought on that. There had to be a way to bring it back faster. She then noted the water on the floor and got an idea. She waved for Ren to sit on the bed as well not wanting him to be on the floor for this one.

Ren shook his head but decided to let it go for now. She doesn't seem to be able to form words, so talking is out of questions. For now. But he hoped it will change. They are losing precious time. He was in such deep thoughts that he almost missed her sign but managed to catch it just in time. The Nazgul looked left and right, then decided to see what she wanted to do. He walked up to her and finally climbed up, sitting on the bed cross-legged next to her and stared at her, not sure what to think at the moment. What does she want from him this time?

The orange wizard didn't want anything from him. She wanted him out of the way. She closed her eyes then used the fire spell started shooting the floor. At first it seemed to do nothing but after a while the room started to fill with steam. She finally stopped and leaned back with a sigh. She breathed in deep then breathed out, felt her throat starting to feel better already, the heat relaxing the swollen muscles in her neck. She started trying to speak again her voice coming out very cracked but much better than before.

"Good." she said with a sigh then looked at Ren. "Hyano need alone sometimes." she told him figuring she should answer his question while she could. She wasn't sure how long the steam would last.

The wraith barely recognized her voice but it was enough to understand what she was saying. So, she wants to be alone sometimes. But this was what she showed him with the sand.

"Why?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, staring at her through the steam, not quite sure why she would even want to be alone.

"Think... calm... relax." she said using the words she hoped to achieve by being alone. "Sometimes... need alone to calm." she explained as she lay down and rested her hands on her stomach. "Help think sometimes." she added. It did help her think to be alone, allowed her to mull over things without having someone watch over her shoulder or whisper in her ear. Things like that made it hard to think straight and made one debate on hitting the person with their staff.

"Why no calm?" He asked, not sure what could cause her to be angry. In his mind, there was nothing to be angry about today, at least he didn't feel that she had any reason to be. "Think what?" he asked again, curious what she wanted to think about without his or anyone else's presence. He also secretly wanted to know if she had second thoughts about joining him. People who are this secretive always tended to hide something... He didn't want her to hide anything from him.

The child sighed.

"Orc make mad. Try help and orc no care. Want think on why. What did wrong. How fix." she replied. That was the main part anyway. He had thrown her off after she fixed his nose then threatened to kill her. It was rather frustrating. However sometimes people just wanted to be alone to be alone. There wasn't a technical reason for it. Sometimes it was just needed. She didn't have a means of explaining that however so she felt it best not to try. No point in confusing the poor wraith especially when he could never really understand in the long run.

The Nazgul watched her. So, this was the problem then? Well, he couldn't quite understand why she had trouble understanding the orc's reasons behind his behavior, to his mind, it was all too easy to see behind anyone's thoughts without being clouded by emotions.

"Orc mad. Pride break." he told her after thinking about it for a few minutes, turning his hooded head towards Hyano. "You fix." he pointed towards her nose, not knowing the word for it just yet. "Pride break more." he continued, nodding, thinking she understood what he said. At least he hoped. Otherwise he had to think of something different.

She understood what he said but not why. She turned her eyes to the ceiling looking over the odd designs again.

"... Because Hyano little girl?... no pride when help." she said with a sigh figuring that was why. Why did it always boil down to the fact she was a child? Did she have to grow up in order to not be a problem anymore? "Hyano only do what Hyano good at... still bad..." she said feeling annoyed. It wasn't fair. If his nose had healed the way it was it would have never been fixed. She had done him a favor yet all she really did was make things worse by doing so. There really was no pleasing anyone down here.

"Time." He repeated what he did the last time when this problem came up, when she complained that everyone thinks she was only his little pet. Which of course she is but a quite useful pet which he would never harm or let any harm come to. She was too useful to him and necessary for his plans. All her usefulness will come to view once she knows more spells, but it takes time and patience. Once she realizes this, they won't need to repeat this conversation and will work more to get better in Black magic, which in turn will make the orcs realize her true purpose among them. They will give her the respect she deserves as his direct servant.

The wizard nodded as she heard his answer to that for the second time in the past few days and yes, he was right. They would figure it out soon enough. However the whole waiting part was what made it so hard for her. She shook her head and chose to let it go. Until then there would probably be many more situations like today. Orcs getting annoyed and trying to kill her. She couldn't rightfully stay in her room all the time. There was no way. She would just have to learn to deal with it one way... or another. She cringed as she realized she would probably end up killing someone again. She didn't like that idea and could feel she would probably never get used to it. She didn't want to either so to some degree that was a good thing.

The dark creature gave another nod after her own, pleased that she understood his meaning and watched her for a good few minutes before losing interest and decided to do something. Sitting in this brightly lit room wasn't to his taste, so decided to leave for now... Give her that desired... solitary she wished for. He stood and without saying a word went out, closing the door quietly behind him and stopped at the door, not quite sure where to go and what to do.

Uncertainty gripped at his mind again, something he hated altogether and the most. Even more than mud... He sighed and decided to feed his mind with that false sense of security... He made his way down the hall, turning many corners, walking deeper into the mines to the deep gorge... where he stood for a few hours, releasing many kinds of shrieks, listening to them as they echoed and came back as if one of his brethren was answering his call. It soothed his senses and gave him the security he needed...

That he wasn't alone...

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Hyano let him leave without saying a word and closed her eyes enjoying the alone time she was finally given. As much as she hated how alone she had always felt because the other wizards had always taken off to one place or another leaving her behind she still needed time to herself as well. Not long periods. Just short ones where she could lay and mull things over.

She thought on Tuhul.

How exactly was she supposed to fix this? Ren said it would take time and she believed that but she wanted to have a plan of some kind. Just saying it will take time wasn't enough for her. How was she going to prove herself to the big-mouthed orc? How was she going to learn? She couldn't rightfully do much staying in her room and studying all the time. While it would help her learn more spells it wouldn't help her improve her relations with the orcs since they would never really see her. It would basically be like disappearing altogether... Maybe that was what she had to do, though. Just disappear until she was really ready. Then come back as a new person. She closed her eyes slowly loosing herself in thought until it was only her subconscious that was thinking the rest of her choosing to meditate.

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One more of these mega chapters. We hope you all liked it.

Next chapter comes next week.

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