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.

15. Swift Blooming

Cubby: Everyone duck! *Dives behind the couch.*

Ren: *Ignores her while continuing to play his video game.*

Hyano: *Blinks and looks back at Cubby. Because of her distraction she loses the game.* Gah! No fair!

Ren: I'm Ren. I am never fair. I win. *Raises head in his victory.*

Hyano: *Twitches then looks back at Cubby again. Is about to ask her why she is hiding behind the couch when a giant sneeze blows her and Ren off the couch.*

Cubby: *Pops head out from behind couch.* Tried to warn ya. *Looks to Avp.* Bless you.

Avp: *Sniffles with a giant tissue pile beside him.* Th-thanks... *Looks ready to sneeze again and Cubby ducks.* Ahhh...ahhh... E-enjoy the show folks... Ah-choo!

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Disclaimer: See first chapter.

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Chapter 15 – Swift Blooming

-3 weeks later-

In the past few weeks the number of the army grew as the Nazgul imagined. The loss from the rebellion was countered a long time ago; also the still working orcs who participated against him were now mostly dead. Mining at the walls of the gorge isn't exactly safe, especially not if the people holding the ropes want your death. Their sleeping quarters also became the chamber where they keep the food and dead to eat later, just so if they die in their sleep they don't need to drag them all the way there. It was also their punishment and an example to not go against the word of their Lord.

Things went very smoothly...

Except the case with Hyano.

Ren was baffled when her behavior changed from basically one day to another and even closed him out of her room, leaving him questioning her sanity and loyalty for a moment. But the fact that she still spawned orcs and trolls was more than an indication that she was still on his side. No matter how he would call for her, she wouldn't answer but demanded he left. He would always hiss in irritation and truly left her alone for weeks now, angered and offended at the same time. However, in the past day he heard one of the guards say they saw her around, which might mean he can give her a piece of his mind about all this. Reducing his rights from going anywhere he wanted? What in the Nine Nazgul is going on with her now?

He swiftly made a sharp turn at one of the tunnels and made his way to her door. He didn't even bother knocking; thinking what enough is enough and simply stepped inside, looking around for her.

---

Hyano hadn't been feeling well the past couple of weeks. She wasn't sure why.

Thankfully, her stomach had healed, though, she had a scar on her back and stomach. Not much of a surprise really. However, her body had been growing quite a bit which at first wasn't all that noticeable but as she became older she felt rather annoying growing pains.

She had actually asked that Ren leave her alone for a while. She even made of point of spawning extra just so he couldn't say she needed to continue spawning. When she did finally unlock her door to him... well she wasn't the same little girl anymore.

Even she had to admit that.

While still on the short side, she was obviously built more like an adult. Maybe around the age of fifteen or sixteen years.

The young girl looked at herself in the mirror, then glared at it. Even though by most human standards she was actually quite pretty but like every girl at her age she could find every flaw. At first, she just frowned, looking herself up and down, tilting her head this and that way, her frown only deepening with each second that went by. In the end, she slammed her fist into the reflective surface, gritting her teeth as it cracked and a few shards got in her hand.

Hyano jumped as her door was opened having been focused on getting the shards out of her hand to even hear the footsteps of Ren. She looked his way then without warning sent a whirl wind at him shoving him out and slammed the door shut.

"Knock! What if I had been naked?!" she yelled at him. Considering when she was small, he had seen her naked plenty of times and it had never been a problem. However, she was not small anymore and in her mind the Nazgul was still very much a male just like the orcs that guarded her door. She was sure to do much the same to them if they didn't knock and even worse if they ever actually did catch her without clothes on.

The wraith landed heavily against the opposite wall and couldn't do anything else at first but stare at her door which was slammed shut, listening to her shouting. He stared at it for a good half a minute, not moving, as the guard at her door stared at him, shifting in his stance to try and seem as nonchalant about it as he could and averting his gaze very quickly when the wraith shifted his own gaze to him. He even whistled as if he ignored all this, kind of a wordless promise that he will not mention this to anyone.

The dark creature turned his gaze back to the door and stood, dusting off his cloak and marched up to it. He raised a hand and banged his first against the door once, not in the mood for little games this time. At least he thought she was playing... She never had a problem with him seeing her unclothed and seriously, he never cared about it if she was or not naked.

He can even see her soul if she was clothed. How much naked can she get in front of anyone?

"Stop this in this instant. What did you think you are doing? Can't I go wherever I want and how I want in my territory?" he demanded, raising his voice and hissing in the end.

"Not my room! Ugh!" she groaned and dropped onto the bed. "There are differences between girls and boys and well... ugh how in Middle-Earth do I explain this to someone who doesn't even remember being mortal?!" she complained to herself. "Girls can't see mature boys naked. Boys can't see mature girls naked! That's all you need to know!" she finally decided that was all she needed to say on the subject. She then sighed and waved her hand using wind to open the door again for Ren. She sat up hugging her pillow annoyed as ever.

She had no one here to relate to.

All the orcs were born for the most part mature; they didn't have to go through this insanity much less like a girl did. It kind of made her wish there were some female orcs, then at least she would have someone, ANYONE to ask about the strange things happening to her.

Now what is this nonsense she was talking about? Ren didn't understand a word of it. Well he did know what the words meant just not what she wanted to express with them, it simply sounded like she was trying to teach him mortal biology and behavior failures. For him there was no problem in seeing anyone naked. He saw everyone practically naked even if they are clothed... He sees their souls... The wraith shook his head and walked inside; kicking the door shut behind him and crossed his arms over his chest, tapping the floor with an armored foot in a scolding manner.

"I do not care about you being unclothed or not. It was not a problem before. Why all of a sudden do you behave this stupidly?" Of course when he walked in he did notice some changes on her even as she sat. Her face was slimmer; also her pillow looked slightly smaller in her grip. It surely didn't shrink… Otherwise he couldn't see any changes because of her position...

Hyano gritted her teeth.

He wanted to know why? Fine.

She tossed the pillow to the side before jumping off the bed and in one swift move her clothes were gone and she was naked in front of him.

"This is why!" she said turning all kinds of red. Knowing her luck he still would be as oblivious as ever to the problem she has currently. However how else was she supposed to explain this to him? She was kind of hoping some part of the human he used to be would click in and say 'Oooooooh', or something along those lines at least.

Ren just watched her and all he could do was tilt his head to the side as he tried to find a reason to her behavior. Yes, indeed she does look a little different in bodybuilt and shape. She grew at some places where at others she lost from her form, making her lines more curved but otherwise he couldn't find or grasp the reason behind her odd behavior. So, still expecting an answer to his question he just stared at her with his head tilted to the side, even giving a shrug.

The young girl groaned and got back on the bed, putting the covers over her.

He was impossible.

"It's called puberty, Ren. It's when you are between adult and child... your body does strange things and your mind goes crazy all the time..." she grumbled. "Ugh, this is so embarrassing..." she mumbled her face in the bed. "Just... pretend you understand and stop asking into it... I don't think no matter how many ways I try to explain it you could really understand." she said honestly with a sigh. "Just... at least tell the guards to knock before coming in from now on." she added. Ren didn't get it but she was sure orcs knew the difference between male and female and considering there were no other females besides wargs in this place, she did not want to deal with that kind of trouble.

Ren was as stubborn if not more than her. He did try to understand. How she says it now, he grasped that she is undergoing some kind of physical and mental transformation, which makes her... odd and crazy. But he still did not know why he had to be flung out of the room or why the orcs have to knock on a door they never had to. Actually, they never knocked on doors, but if one was locked, they broke it down to get inside the room. He also couldn't imagine himself to knock on doors here while this was his territory. Moria is his, so he is entitled to go anywhere he wished without asking for permissions to enter.

"I won't knock. I am the Lord of these mines. I am not going to ask for permissions to enter rooms..." he said and wanted to add more, but she cut him off, making him hiss in displeasure.

"It's not permission. It's a warning, so I can make sure I'm dressed. Besides... there is um... well..." she put a hand over her face. Now this one was going to be even harder to explain. "Alright. Once a month for a week I turn into a monster. Keep everyone away from this room. Just trust me, please?" she figured it was easier to tell him she turned into a monster than to try to explain THAT to him. She was more afraid of the orcs than of Ren on that one, though. While humans were not attracted to things such as smells and so on, orcs and goblins were more animalistic and she wasn't sure but she had a good guess that the smell of that time of the month could become a problem.

A monster?

Ren turned at this around to stare at her again, tilting his head to the side.

"Monster?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to believe that or if she truly meant as she said it. A wizard turning into a monster? He never heard about such a thing before. If she truly turns to a monster each month... then she can be more useful to him? He wondered what caused this or what effects it truly has on her. The Nazgul wanted to add more, complain about her impudence at before when she cut him off, when he noticed something glinting in the corner of his eyes. He turned his hooded head only to see the shattered mirror.

What in the...?

He turned fully and walked towards it, stopping in front of it and staring at it, not sure why this item needed to be destroyed.

The wizard sat up and noticed he was looking at the mirror. She sighed as she started putting her clothes back on.

"I broke it... I didn't like what I saw." she explained simply.

Ren couldn't help but shake his head and give one last glance at the reflective surface, murmuring to himself. "Mortals and their petty problems with their looks..."

"Last I checked you don't even have looks to look at. In all the time I've known you I have yet to see you change into a different cloak or anything different for that matter." she pointed out as she sat back on the bed. It was true that unlike herself, the wraith had yet to change in any way, shape or form. Even the little armor he wore was still very much the same. "You could at least have the smith update your armor a bit. Maybe have them sharpen your gauntlets." she suggested with a shrug. She figured considering how long it had been that it was at least time for that much. If armor wasn't properly sharpened every so often it would eventually dull at some point or another.

This was where she was wrong.

He saw his own reflection in a mirror and could see his own face; he was just ignorant to his looks as it was his nature as a wraith.

"Another advantage over mortals. I don't care about looks." He told her as he walked closer to stand around her, his gaze slowly traveling briefly to the maze on the headboard but averted it quickly, not really in the mood to try. "I don't care if I look not as pleasant to others or if I am dirty or if I look the same for thousands of years... While you take care of your looks, I conquer a town..." he chuckled thinking how human soldiers would start bathing somewhere and taking care of their hair... By the time they get back their town and stronghold is already in his hands. "No one cares about looks in my world, so stop it. You just waste time with it." He advised, crossing his arms once more, ignoring her comment on his gauntlets. There is no way in a million years that he will change these. He was used to them. Mithril shined and was too light in color for his taste anyway.

Hyano groaned, resting her head back. "Well it would be easier if I had someone to compare to. There are only males in the hole and what's worse, they are all orcs of some kind!" she groaned but knew Ren could not fully grasp what she was going through. If anything he was only seeing her complaints as annoying so they were falling on deaf ears. She rubbed her temples feeling a headache coming on. She had been getting quite a few of these lately, an effect of becoming a woman she did not care for.

She doesn't get it... Ren thought with a sigh and shook his head. "No need to care as we don't care about looks." He said firmly, not even wanted to hear about such a complaint again. He didn't want to listen to it for the rest of her life... Because seriously... He would just somehow glue her lips together if needed.

Her thoughts continued to stay on the fact she was only ever around orcs. Her eyes widened as another thought came to mind. "What if I ended up attracted to an orc?... GAH!" she screamed then started to hit her head on the wall. If only there was some sort of spell that could wipe away horrible thoughts like that.

He was about to turn and walk to his usual corner when he heard her comment and let his gaze travel towards her as he heard the repetitive unusual noise. He looked and tilted his head to the side, watching as she threw her head against the wall.

"Attracted?" He didn't know what to think of all of this... Her sudden change in both body and mind is maddening so far and pleaded to his silent Dark Lord that this doesn't stay like this. Or he will have to end her misery...

The girl groaned for the umpteenth time today as she laid down, rubbing the spot on her forehead. "This is why I didn't want you around me... I can't control myself lately." she said honestly and blushed.

Attraction.

How in the world does she explain that one?

"It's how creatures pick mates... You know how the wargs sometimes fight over who is the strongest to see who gets to mate and who doesn't? Kind of like that I guess." she explained to him. She rested her head on her knees. "I hate this..." she mumbled more to herself than to anyone. She hated this whole growing up thing. She was fine as a child, why did she have to change? She knew that even if she had stayed back in the forest this would have happened sooner or later but she still didn't like it.

"Just because I rightfully don't understand and don't care for petty mortal matters, doesn't make me a bad company. I am considered bad if you make it look like it. You are too much concentrating on the unpleasantries. Ignore them. No one cares anyway." He told her in a firm tone, having ultimately enough of her complaints. He heard enough in the past few minutes and decided he will not stand this behavior. The fact about this 'mate' thing confused him even more. The way she described it… will she now start fight against orcs to mate with another, to establish dominance….

What?

What does it have to do with emotions again? He knew for a fact that his brothers did choose mates as well. But of course what he didn't know was that what they called a 'mate' wasn't exactly the same what she was talking about. Their mates had no emotional connection to them; instead they were more like... 'second in commands', their right hands. No emotions there, just a more personal connection and greater trust between the two. The name of the title only showing this ultimate bond between master and servant.

Hyano actually debated on blasting him out with a whirlwind for a moment. She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"That's not what I meant. I didn't want you to have to deal with me. Not that I didn't want your company... when have been very useful actually through the painful part of this but I know you hate complaining which is why I didn't want you here. Among a few other things." she added the last part quietly. She thought on it a moment. "That reminds me. What are you doing here anyway? You run out of things to do or am I needed somewhere?" she inquired curiously. It wasn't that she didn't want him there but usually he had a reason of some kind or another and he had yet to voice one. She wondered if he forgot in all the crazy that just happened.

The Nazgul simply raised a hand and out of instinct rubbed his head at her comments, not exactly sure how to understand it. He decided he didn't even want to understand. He completely dismissed all what she said, not wanting to confuse his mind even more than it already is. He heaved an irritated sigh and shook his head, now catching her last inquiry. His stance relaxed somewhat, seeing the topic was thankfully changed. This also made him think... Why did he come again? He had to tilt his head a little but eventually remembered.

"You have closed me out of this room for weeks. Don't you think I don't want to know why I am closed out of a part of my territory?" He asked curiously.

"Point, I guess." she said. "Sorry about that... It was needed. My body felt like it was being stretched from both ends and I wasn't sure how to handle it so I figured it was best to deal with it on my own." she said simply. She then sighed and then made a mental note of the time and stood up. "I need to go start the next spawn or it will set the schedule off for the whole day. You coming?" she asked figuring he would be happy to see her working and not complaining. "Oh... um... am I allowed to spawn something new?" she added the question. It had been a thought that came in her head when she started reading on spawning and when she had a whole lot of time to herself she ended up looking into it again.

Well, this was one thing he understood, so made no comment on it. He himself liked to deal with his own trouble on his own. Like when he was unsure what to do and felt desperation claw at his mind for the first time in thousands of years... He pulled back to his own little secret chamber and stayed there until he sorted it all out. Distraction was something he couldn't afford at that time. Once she announced she will go on her duty, he nodded at her question.

"I will. I will also want to inspect the newborns... From afar..." he made the last note in a quiet voice. No matter what... he still hated mud. At her last question however he turned from the door which he was about to open and looked at her again. "As in?" He asked, wanting to know what 'something new' she was talking about. He won't just let her spawn anything...

Hyano giggled at his hatred for mud. Even now she still loved playing in the stuff, kind of made her job easier that way. She opened the door and started down the hall towards the spawning chambers. She made sure to pull her hood up. No matter what Ren said, she did not feel too good about her looks. When he asked what exactly she had in mind she had to think a moment.

"Well... I noticed that sometimes even with the help of the trolls we have trouble getting through certain kinds of ground. What if I spawned something built for such work? Kind of like a mole only much bigger? Also even with the lock I put on the door there is still risk that sooner or later someone will come and break in. The orcs and goblins can't stay out there, it would draw too much attention. So, I was thinking of creating something that could be trained to be like a watch dog. A bird-like creature. That way it won't be noticed. Also, I want to spawn dragons." she added the last one a little sheepishly not so sure how he would take it. While dragons could be seen as useful that could also be quite dangerous. Ren also had a habit of putting off making choices as long as he could get away with sometimes. So he could just not answer altogether.

As he walked beside her, the Ringwraith noted that she was indeed taller than she had been. Not much but she has grown somewhat. He wondered briefly how tall she will be, and dearly hoped she won't be taller than him...

That would look just... wrong.

He hummed at her suggestions about what she wished to create. He wondered if she can truly pull this off. He never saw such creatures in his whole life and if it was truly this easy to alter the spawning spell, would have Saruman made dragons as well for them? He was a quite powerful one. Yet, all he managed to create were orcs and uruk-hai. Can she truly do this that easily? Surpassing that mighty wizard's powers this soon? Was it possible? He couldn't help but be skeptic. As she predicted, he didn't say a word about this. In the same time he also didn't give the permission so left her do the usual spawning.

The wraith accompanied her to the spawning room and stayed a little farther away, not wanting to lose his balance and slip on it, landing next to newborns... Now he would be called extremely dirty, swimming in that sticky substance...

Hyano sighed as he left her with no answer at all and walked up to the pools, seeing the newborns be dug up. She made one troll and a few goblins last time. That is normally how she did it, one troll for every four goblins then she would make three orcs or uruk-hai to every four goblins. The goblins -while they were smaller- had a nasty habit of being cocky and tended to not only get the tar beat out of them but die more often because of their behavior. So, she compensated by making one more goblin than orc every time she spawned them. It kept things even in a way. Trolls were large and lumbering and you really didn't need many and spawning more than one at a time normally ends in a fight, the trolls having not developed full thought quite yet, had a bad habit of fighting each other upon their birth.

As the troll and goblins were led out by the ones responsible for preparing them and teaching them, they already kept an instinctive distance from the Nazgul as it stood at the entrance, watching each as they passed with their head bowed and eyes curiously peeling, wondering why they are so afraid and submissive to this creature which didn't look at all like them. The wraith however basked in the feeling of superiority, feeling the impact of his rank among these creatures. He was like this by nature, seeking to make others bend to his will.

The young istar waited for the group to be taken out of the chamber before walking up to the spawning pit. Alright. Three orcs. She thought to herself before touching the mud and smiling. This had gotten rather easy. Her finger tips would still turn a little black each time but it was nothing she wasn't used to. The girl smirked as she got an idea and picked up a handful of mud and put it behind her back and turned walking back towards Ren.

Once the wraith noticed a movement from the corner of his eyes, he turned his hooded head, noting the wizard was returning to him. However... he couldn't help but think there was something off. Everything about her... her stance... the way she moved, it all screamed mischief. Out of caution he shifted in his stance, not sure what she planned. In the past few months she was around him, he did notice these changes before she pranked him. His gaze briefly traveled to the mud before his feet before slowly but surely meeting her gaze.

Oh...

When Hyano saw it had clicked, her smirk turned into a grin and she proceeded to throw the mud ball at him. She knew he was going to get her good for this one but considering this wasn't the first time she pulled a prank on him like this she wasn't that worried about it. Besides, when someone is due for a good prank and the closest thing you have to work with is mud... well what else are you going to do but start a mud war?

She was still too fast...

Ren made a mental note to work on his reflexes more when it comes to her and her... surprises. The wraith thought as all he could do was put up a hand and shielding his hood from getting hit, feeling that sticky... fluid dirt smack against his robe. He hissed in irritation at this and lowered his hand to lock... eyes… with her for a few seconds before swiftly bending down to retrieve his own mud ball and suddenly vanished from her view as he stepped to the side, disappearing from the entrance.

She smirked then ducked down, pulling up another mud ball. She was honestly surprised he hadn't scolded her on the spot. No. It looks like he was in for the game this time, she was glad. She needed a good time. Something to take her mind off of all her 'problems'. If you could call them that. She honestly hated the complaining as much as he did but she couldn't seem to help it. That made it all the more annoying really.

---

The goblin general blinked as he was called over to a mining site. He was pulled over and was told of how they had found gold here. Well... while this was nice and all they really had no use for it. Humans were rather weak for the stuff. He wondered if Ren might want to keep it to use with the humans to try to pull some into the ranks. While humans were weak creatures in his mind he was not sure how Ren thought on this matter.

"Tell Tuhul and have him go talk to Lord Ren. Until then, the rest of you pile it up." he ordered sending a goblin to send to message to Tuhul.

Tuhul sighed and nodded to the goblin as he got the news.

"Tell the general it will be done..." he said as reply and went on his own way to search for their Lord. His best bet was actually Hyano's room. He seemed to spend most of his time with that annoying brat. However he was surprised to hear from one of the guards that both of them were seen going towards the spawning pit. Instantly he took a quick turn to reach it before they leave and he has to hunt them down from the beginning.

As he rounded the last corner and went towards the entrance, just before he reached it he was surprised to feel someone suddenly duck behind him. He couldn't quite tell who it was, but by the hand on his shoulder he could tell it must be the wraith... But...

What is he doing?

Hyano waited for the wraith to come out. She was ducked in the mud some in her hair and all over her clothes. When he finally came out she did not have chance to see that he hid behind an orc before she threw the mud ball at him. The ball hit him square in the face. Hyano blinked then froze realizing just who she hit in the face.

Oh no.

The orc was about to address the wraith when he caught movement from the corner of his eyes and turned his gaze towards it. He was lucky he shut his eyes on reflex as in the next moment something sticky and wet smacked him in the face. And stayed there. He didn't say anything, nor do anything for the next few seconds, but soon raised his hands to wipe it off. Luckily it wasn't one of those unknown substances but just mud. Of course this didn't mean he won't complain about it. He looked around with his yellow eyes, trying to find the culprit, which he found not long after. His gaze quickly fell on the quite muddy wizard. He bared his teeth and snorted, narrowing his eyes.

"You!" He grit, fisting the mud that was still in his hands, shaking a little of contained anger. "I have enough of you! I didn't come here to take a mud bath! I don't have time for games but have duties unlike you!"

It's the big mouth. She thought to herself. While it was completely funny to see the large guard hit in the face by a mud ball she could already see him yelling at her more than this, and had the full rant already playing out in her head. 'Don't be such a child. Be useful, you little brat!' Something along those lines.

Perfect. It worked. Just as he wanted.

Ren have to give his Lord his thanks for bringing this orc to them right now. The moment the mud hit the creature in the face, the wraith quickly revealed himself from behind his living 'shield' and threw his own mudball right at her. He was surely proud of his quick thinking.

The wizard sighed and got ready to tell him off when she got a face full of mud herself, knocking her off of her feet. To her dismay, her mouth had been open for this attack, so sat up and quickly spat out as much mud as she could gagging as she found the taste of it stuck in her mouth now. She then glared up at the orc.

"Ren and I were in the middle of something. Ren was just cheating!" she yelled the last part loud enough for Ren to hear planning on getting him to stick his head out and protest her claim then finally get him square in the hood a mud ball already in her hand.

The orc took a deep breath to tell her off, but yelped as he was suddenly pushed forward by the Ringwraith as it stayed behind him, just wanted to reload his own hand with mud, so made the orc step closer to the muddy room.

"This is not true!" Came the voice of Ren as he stuck out a hand, holding up his index finger to gain everyone's attention. "I am merely using my rightful opportunity to gain support from the items and creatures in the vicinity of my environment." He explained quite long. This made the orc think that maybe he came in the wrong time...

Hyano threw the mud ball at Ren's hand, laughing as it splattered off the metal and got on Tuhul as well.

"Yes, but you know for a fact that I won't mind getting Tuhul too and if we are going to play like that then I am so getting a warg in here and have it get covered in mud then shake everywhere." she said with a smirk at the very idea. Now that just sounded funny. She smirked up at Tuhul picking up another mud ball. "I would duck." she warned him then threw another mud ball for his head again.

The orc's eyes widened as he noticed what she was doing, ducking just in time. However Ren's keen senses also picked up the warning and ducked right with the orc, also using the opportunity, he threw his own mud ball at her.

"I don't mind having the orc shield me. So, this doesn't make a difference. Other than you having to listen to his rants." he replied, pushing the orc forward again as he backed away, bending down to get more mud. He was getting good with this... "I am also entitled for advantages. This is my mud pit." he said, reminding her of his greater status, waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike again.

Tuhul on the other hand was desperately trying to find a way to get away from this all.

"I have news, my Lord... So please if you could stop this... game for a few moments..." His plea however fell on deaf ears.

Hyano had turned and yelped as she was hit in the back. She laughed then rolled her eyes at Tuhul's plea.

"Oh for once in your life shut up, Tuhul, and have a little fun. Pick up a mud ball and just throw it already. You know you want to." she said with a laugh then ran right at the orc then jumped climbing up him and throwing the mud ball over his shoulder at the wraith. She then kicked off of him and quickly scooped up another ball and chucked it at Tuhul. One way or another, this orc was leaving covered in mud so he better either join in or be a good little shield and stay still.

The wraith sounded a sharp hiss as he was suddenly thrown with a mud ball which he couldn't quite place where it came from. It felt like it came from above, considering it got the top of his hood. He stepped back a few steps and started wiping the offending substance down. He hissed once more in anger and pushed the orc again to get a new ball.

"Yes. Grab a little mud and help me. Two more arms can be helpful. And don't move." He commanded as he held the mud ball, and ducked under the arms of the big 'shield', throwing it at her again.

The orc however wasn't truly all that thrilled and decided to try and give the news.

"The goblins found gold... They want to know if you wish to keep it..." he asked in between throws of the wraith, standing still as he was told, but not gripping any mud himself.

Hyano dodged the wraith's shot, getting annoyed with Tuhul. She threw another, trying to get the wraith

"Oi! Ren gave you an order didn't he?" she pointed out with a smirk, then she got another mud ball and aimed for the orc's opened mouth. Might as well make it so she wasn't the only one tasting mud today. Besides, she needed to somehow shut him up and that seemed like a good idea at the time. However, she was sure she would live to regret it considering this would make this war a two against one.

Oh well.

Hope her smaller size would come in handy for this battle.

The orc stumbled backwards as he got a nice sized mud ball into his mouth. He bent forward after, spitting it out as best as he could, narrowing his eyes as he raised his gaze to the little brat. He growled and while he stood tall, he grabbed a nice sized mudball himself. With a roar, he threw it right at her, but he didn't stop there. He left his Lord's side and grabbed more, throwing one after the other, not letting her rest.

This of course only worked to the wraith's advantage as her attention was now off of him. Soon, he grabbed his own mud balls and started throwing as well, although he didn't have that anger as the orc, so was slower and his throws didn't have as much power to them either.

The first one knocked Hyano off her feet and almost completely covered her but the second one she dodged. Well, at least he was finally in the game now. She laughed ducking and dodging the big orc while also trying to dodge the wraith's shots. She wasn't even trying to hit them anymore but was having more fun doing this. It was like playing tag, only they were always it and she was the one they were trying to catch. She finally scooped up a ball in each hand and jumped over a mud ball from Tuhul before shooting one at each of them laughing the whole way.

She was having far too much fun with this.

While the wraith ducked down to dodge the ball, having seen her grab some so he was careful, the orc seemingly didn't care as he simply put up a hand to block the flight of the ball and continued with his assault. Not only that but he was nearing her dangerously, basically chasing her with the fury he felt. His superior strength only aided him in this matter. After all he could much easily raise his feet from the mud and it didn't hold him back the way it did the wizard and the wraith. He did not stop throwing mud but kept going, soon instinctively teaming up with Ren, throwing mud at her from one side while his Lord attacked from the other.

The wizard noticed he was getting closer and closer with every throw and wondered what he planned to do if he ever caught her but she wasn't about to let that happen keeping her footsteps light so the mud didn't have as much chance to grab her. She smiled as she ran about ducking and dodging then she smirked getting an idea. She threw another ball at Tuhul before running right for Ren and jumping over him. He wasn't the only one who could use someone as a shield.

The wraith was just throwing one at her when he suddenly lost her from his line of sight. Having not seen where she went he was at a loss for a moment but got the clue as the orc's angry gaze was suddenly fixed on him... or more like... behind him. As Tuhul roared and threw one more mudball in his direction the wraith however wasn't as fast and got the full wrath of the orc...

The creature in return suddenly forgot about his anger and stepped back with wide eyes, noticing now what he did.

"Oh... I..." he couldn't end his sentence though as the wraith shrieked and in the next moment turned against him, starting to throw mud at him as well, which the orc tried to dodge, but his much larger form simply naturally prevented any fast maneuvers.

Hyano fell over laughing.

That face was priceless!

She knew Ren wouldn't kill him, not for a mud ball. Now, if he actually did something like this and it hadn't been in a situation like this he might be putting his life at risk but right now he would just earn some anger and maybe even a few laughs. The wizard then grabbed a mud ball and threw it at the back of Ren's head before quickly moving out from behind him. She couldn't let Tuhul stay in trouble the whole time. That would be no fun at all. This game probably wouldn't last much longer though, seeing the hour was surprisingly almost up.

Just as she predicted, Ren's attention switched to her, much to Tuhul's relief, who immediately sided with the wraith again without question and aided him once more, although with less anger and more caution. They positioned so they were on her either side, throwing mudballs from both sides, trying to push her towards a wall and corner her while they could. They even moved according to it, stepping when the other did, trying to force her backwards, mindful of the other, making a team yet again.

The young girl made a great show of dodging the two until her back met the wall.

Well, that could be a problem.

She moved from side to side catching a mud ball and throwing it back at Ren before something caught her attention.

"Orcs are done!" she yelled then yelped as she was planted against the wall by a rather big mud ball thrown by Tuhul. She shook off some of the mud then pointed to the movement from the orcs underground. "Can someone get the diggers in here please? And I don't know about the lot of you but... I need a bath after this next spawn." she said not able to help a laugh. That had been a lot of fun. Even if Tuhul took a bit of work getting into it.

Even if they stopped as she pointed towards the movement in the mud at a hole, only one glace from each other and a nod, and the orc with the wraith started to close in on her a few steps, but stopped after a while. Ren turned towards the entrance to shout for the diggers while Tuhul used his chance.

He launched himself at the wizard, catching her in an iron grip before swinging her just a little and making sure she landed in the mud. He didn't stop here though. With a triumphant smirk he started burying her into it, with her head peeking out.

"There is your bath. Enjoying it?" he asked as he finishes, stepping back and laughing at his handywork. The orc also went ahead and started wiping away some of the mud that decorated him. He wasn't exactly clean but that didn't bother him at all. He will be cleaner after a few days. The dirt will come off on its own.

However, Ren seriously thought of getting some aid from some water. His robe was dotted with mud at such a rate that he actually blended in with his environment here...

The orange wizard groaned, taking a moment to get her head back on the throw putting her off before spitting out some mud. She then smirked up at Tuhul's comment.

"Oh wow. The stale as a rock orc Tuhul can actually laugh and have a good time. Someone check and make sure the world isn't caving in on itself." she joked before forcing herself out of the mudbath he had put her in. She then flicked her arms to get rid of a little of the mud before pulling her hood off of her head and wiping a little of the mud off of her face. Luckily enough, her hood had stayed up though it was now very heavy with mud. She would have to spend at least an hour cleaning these clothes if not more. She waited for the newly made orcs to be taken out, snickering at the look of confusion on the goblin's faces. Once the pits were ready again she simply flicked her hand starting the next spawning. She then looked to Ren.

"You win. But next time Tuhul is on my team." she stated with a grin.

The orc turned his head back at her and growled.

"Only if it includes the chance of getting you back for all the annoyances." He replied as he stepped towards the entrance, watching the Nazgul's failed attempts to clean his robes somewhat.

Ren was still in the mud pit and it was hard to distinguish him from the mud itself if he didn't move. Try as he might, this wont come off without water. While he did not mind dirt, he didn't want to be exactly colored like it completely. Especially not mud. Plus it made him heavy. He hissed in irritation as he stepped out of the room as well, now turning his attention to the orc and informing him that the goblins should make sure to keep it and bring it to a guarded room. He didn't want to have it plundered by orcs and goblins, who wanted shiny things for themselves sometimes. After Tuhul left, the wraith looked around for Hyano. It is time to do something about their not so pleasant situation.

Said wizard had snuck up behind him and jumped up hugging him from behind. She hadn't gotten to do anything like this in some time and it felt nice.

The wraith almost successfully slipped backwards as she jumped up onto his neck but managed to right his stance after a few desperate steps. He hissed, scolding her for it but otherwise didn't do anything. Mainly because he was used to it by now. She tended to do such things often.

She gasped as she slipped and nearly fell, the Nazgul and her were both rather slick. She got her footing back and giggled.

"Alright. Bath time. Come on then." she said smiling up at him then took his hand. Partly to help him get through without falling and also if she fell she planned on taking him down with her. Once they were finally out of that horrible room she laughed a little and started walking towards her bath house. "How exactly do you plan on getting yourself clean? Are you actually going to take the cloak off?" she raised with a raised brow.

As they finally got out of the room -with him slipping and almost falling at least four times in just that little distance-, Ren still made a last attempt to wipe the mud off of his robe but it was to no avail. He was stuck with it. If he didn't do anything about it that is. The Nazgul tilted his head to the side at her question and thought for a moment. If he took off his robe it would be easier indeed. Let someone take care of it... But it would also cause him to lose his form and become one of those floating wraiths in return... All transparent and white colored... Oh no. One of his brothers lost his robe back then at the flood at Bruinen... Reforming to this state was quite long and difficult. He didn't want that.

"I am not taking it off." He demanded as he walked straight forward, actually having the idea to head to the canal and clean his robe there.

Hyano sighed.

"Fine. I have another idea. Come on." she said continuing to walk to the bath. Once they got there she closed the door and started taking off her clothes. This time she stopped at her under clothes. They weren't nearly as dirty as the upper layer of clothing and her body was tan with the stuff. She hung up her clothes then looked to her friend, then grabbed a rock and created a large thick toothed brush. She smiled then patted the floor. "Sit down." she said with a smile.

The Nazgul did opt to clean his own robe himself, never felt that comfortable to have someone else fumble around at his clothes. Mostly because he just wasn't used to it and never was... this dirty in his whole long cursed life. However he sighed, slumping his shoulders, and nodded, walking towards the edge of the bath. He sat down there cross-legged and making her work easier he reached inside his robe and retrieved his sword to not block her work, putting it to the side. Not only that but he reached inside once more and put a particularly dark blade right next to it. He never had to use his morgul blade... and he wanted to keep it that way...

The girl smiled then stepped up behind him, then wetted down the brush and started work cleaning his cloak. She started brushing the dirt off of him, and every time the brush was too full of mud to be of any help she would wash it off and continue. For a human this might actually be considered rather relaxing, seeing the bristles of the brush were very soft and made not to be rough against skin or in Ren's case his ghostly form.

Ren did not feel any better or worse as she cleaned his robe, not able to feel any pleasant feelings in trade to feeling no pain. This was one of the things he and his brethren considered as completely fair. You can't have one without the other and for the sake of not being met with the paralyzing pain, they gave up on the pleasant feelings as well all too gladly. This didn't make him less curious about how it might feel like if he could feel them. Pain included. It was so long ago...

"So is it so bad?" she teased with a giggle. She knew Ren not only didn't like being touched but didn't like having this much help. It was one thing to have someone be a servant to you, it was another to be helped.

"Yes." The Nazgul said firmly in return to her question, snapping out of his thoughts and concentrating on her again. He hated being handled like this, but he will have to look at the bright side... She is his servant anyway and it isn't him who has to brush it all off. All he had to do is sit still and let her do her job while he relaxed.

The girl rolled her eyes at his answer but continued to clean him.

"You can be such a bastard sometimes, Ren." she said with a light laugh.

The Nazgul hissed at her comment about him, looking back towards her briefly in protest, but otherwise didn't fuss over it, only murmured a few words to himself.

As she worked a question popped to mind.

"Ren... do you ever wonder what your life was like? You know, before you became a wraith? You were a king, right?" she asked curiously. She had always thought about it. Part of why she had wanted to turn him into a more human-like form was because she wanted to know what Ren really looked like. Though, she had long ago given that dream up, mostly because she had gotten so used to him as he was. She wasn't sure she would like it if he changed that drastically.

The wraith stopped all movement and sat in silence for a few minutes. He wasn't sure why she asked it. Was this just something random or did she want something with the information? He also took his time to -for the first time in thousands of years- ponder about his life as a mortal. But honestly... he couldn't remember anything by now. It was too far away... and too fogged. The only thing he knew was that he indeed was a leader, a king with his own land... And that was it. Everything else was shadowed out by the memory of his Lord... and his first tasks... The pain... This made the creature snap out of his thoughts and shook his head before answering.

"I was king. But don't ask for more as there is nothing."

The wizard noticed he seemed to tense then got lost in his own world. She tilted her head then blinked at his answer. She looked down then took his arm and started working on one of his sleeves.

"It's alright... I don't know where I came from either... When I was a baby I was found in the woods... I guess my parents didn't want me." she said softly. In all the time they had been together, she had never said anything about where she came from. Mostly because she had no reason to. They never talked about such things so she figured he didn't care. She just wanted to make him feel better about himself.

Ren's hooded head turned halfway in her direction but pulled it back to stare forward in the next second, not really finding interest in her story. While many would consider this behavior as rude, the Nazgul couldn't help but losing interest. There are many things one can find in the woods, one would be surprised... Children are no exception. They met their share of abandoned offspring of man on his journeys with his brothers. Her case wasn't unique as it seems, at least not for a creature who was almost five thousand years old and saw most of the world, even if it was shadowed and altered by his Lord.

Hyano finished with his arm then moved to his other. As she guessed, he didn't care. It was normal. She -for some reason- found some normalcy out of this. The fact he didn't care meant it wasn't that bad. Right?

"So... did you expect me to get you hit by Tuhul?" she asked with a slightly cocky smirk. She hardly believed it worked as well as it had. She just jumped over Ren and let Tuhul do the rest. He had a temper he could hardly control but was a wonderful general by orc standards. However, if he was a human, he would never have become a general.

"No." The Nazgul admitted honestly, as he knew he can't lie about it. "But I know you were the culprit..." he said in a knowing tone, turning his hooded head partially back towards her, knowing she must have planned it and it all happened because of her. "But you will get it back." His tone relaxed and said it in an almost nonchalant manner, knowing full well that he will be able to repay this. Plenty opportunities will present themselves through the years, he was sure. "One way or another." He added with a chuckle, letting her continue her work, relaxing and sometimes flexing his arm to make sure she doesn't lift it with each stroke she made with the brush.

The young girl smiled up at him, mentally excepting the challenge.

"For as long as we are working together Ren." she replied. Once she finished with his arms she started working on the base of his cloak. They would likely go back and forth for as long as it took for either one of them to die or give up. Like the latter would ever happen. They were both far too stubborn to ever actually give up, it's part of why they worked so well. If one of them wasn't stubborn at all then likely it would be more of a slave relationship then a relationship. While she knew Ren thought of her as more of his property, he didn't treat her as such. Because she was so stubborn he expected her to basically take care of herself.

"And that will be forever..." Ren corrected her as he sat still, not complaining about her work. He never intended to part with her. And given her long lifespan, he can say they will work together forever. He wasn't willing to let her go now. If things would turn ugly, he would work to end her life instead. She knew too much about him, about dark magic and about his plans to let her leave freely if she wished to quit. There is no such thing as quitting. A part of him even expected that she continues his work if he was somehow defeated and destroyed...

Hyano smiled up at him liking the comment.

"Agreed. You are the closest thing I have ever had to family. If I had a big brother I would hope he would be like you. I don't plan on going anywhere anytime soon." she said honestly then stepped back and dusted off her hands. "Alright. Most of the mud is gone, just the ends of your cloak are muddy now. Did you want me to get that as well or do you have it?" she asked putting her hands on her hips.

The wraith was pleased by her words and hissed in satisfaction to voice it. He understood somewhat the concept of a brother even if the 'family' word didn't ring a bell, seeing he had eight of them. While they weren't technically his relatives, their matching fate, looks and state gave them the strong bond they shared. They would always work together, never questioned each other's methods or thoughts as they were the same. If she thinks of him as a brother, it only meant good and just as he wanted. He had been very different with her for the past months, being close and being around her much to achieve this bond.

He succeeded.

The wraith snapped out of his thoughts at her question and looked down, seeing the end of his cloak indeed still was covered by mud. But it wasn't all too bad. At least he isn't dripping with it.

"It will fall off with time." He said as he reached out towards his weapons before standing and dusting his robe off, seeing small mud-patches here and there still, but that didn't bother him anymore. Damn mud. Why does it have to be so slippery and sticky? Why can't it be like sand? While it was sticky, it wasn't as wet and neither was it slippery. Ren sighed as he finished, noticing just now how his weapons were also covered with that annoying substance. He heaved a heavy sigh and turned towards the water, bending down and started cleaning the blades.

Damn mud...

The wizard nodded before running and jumping into the water herself. She swam along the bottom for a little while before popping her head back up. She looked at her hand and grinned, already her body was getting cleaned of the annoying dirt that was left behind.

As she jumped into the water, the liquid splashed in every direction. Including the wraith's position. He stood still and stopped every movement as the water splashed him as well, leaving him dripping with it. If one could see his face, one could see the annoyed and highly irritated look and his eyes skimming over the water, stopping at her head as she resurfaced. He stayed like this for a while, just staring at her before shaking his head and returning to clean his sword first.

Hyano swam up to the edge of the pool where he was and tilted her head as she looked over his blades.

"Do you think I should learn to swordfight?" she questioned. She had never thought about it before but the skill might be useful. Even Gandalf knew how to use a sword.

Ren didn't look at her but kept up his work.

"Maybe one day. First, become a perfect wizard." he didn't think she should concentrate on swordfight at the moment. Perfecting her magical abilities should be her first task before even thinking about learning something new. Everyone should have a specialty. Unlike him. He was the jack-of-all-trades among his kind, who actually knew how to spar, how to handle axes, greatswords and bows, but wasn't the best in either one of them. One could say this was his specialty. To be able to work with what he got. Be it sword or bow or mace.

"I guess... I don't know what else I can do though. I've already learned all the spells in the book. Became nearly perfect in the black tongue. Unless someone finds me more spells to learn I honestly don't know what else I can do." she admitted crossing her arms over the side of the pool and resting her head on them, just letting her body relax in the water for a while. She would likely have to clean the water later considering just how dirty they got and how much mud got put in the water.

The Nazgul tilted his head to the side, sighing as he retrieved his sword and finally got to the dark blade. He was careful with this one. It was rather fragile and easy to break. Of course it was intended for this weapon. Break a piece off and let it curse the one who they stabbed, making the victim one of them, although weaker and mindless. This gave him an idea...

"Try enchantment? Necromancy?" he asked, looking up at her as he cleaned the dark blade, getting the idea to have her evolve to a more useful wizard. One that is aligned with their cause and can help them indirectly, not just by fighting with magic... but indirectly through controlling undead... and enchanting more blades with the dark curse, creating morgul blades.

This made the girl thinking for a moment. Hmm… that could be useful, among other things. Although, the knowledge of having to work with dead bodies wasn't a pleasant one. While her body got used to eating meat… and seeing the dead… her nature still kept her beliefs strong. Death was just as horrible as it was many months ago. She smiled however, and nodded. Only agreeing because of the challenge and because she knew she will have to adjust if she indeed wanted this cooperation to work. But she knew much hardship will await her.

"I will start working on that as soon as possible." she said thinking it over. "I will need to ask Tuhul to bring me the next dead body. I can start with that and once I have that down I can go to enchantments." she added with a grin. She loved the fact that she would finally have something new to work on, seeing she had been SO bored, it wasn't even funny anymore. She pushed herself out of the water. "Do you know anything about the spells needed to do it or am I flying blind?"

"Flying blind." he replied as he carefully turned the blade in the water, letting the waves clean it. "Normally it was my brother, Hoarmurath who did the necromancy and he was the one who enchanted these..." he said, finally standing and holding out the cursed blade towards the wizard, but made sure to not cut her. The tiniest part breaks off and she won't be as useful to him anymore. "If you can learn the enchantment from this blade by examining it... carefully... you could start creating a new one or two." He held it out so she can take it if she wished, but he will keep it with him until she isn't ready for examining the spell on the blade. He didn't want to have his only morgul blade break.

Hyano sat next to him and carefully took the offered dark item, looking over the blade. She could feel the darkness etched in the blade itself without even touching it. She let her eyes look it over rather closely.

"He was a very powerful wizard then... there is very strong magic in this blade." she slowly gave the blade back. For some reason she understood the negative impact that could come from being cut by this blade, although the darkness that came from this blade was more than enough to warn anyone. She stepped back from him. "I wish I could have met him as well. Might have been able to help me learn faster."

The Ringwraith took back the blade and sheathed it within his cloak, finding its location very quickly, having memorized it through centuries. His hooded head turned towards her and nodded.

"Indeed. He was the... battlemage and master necromancer of the Nine but not the Master Mage. That was our leader, the Witch-king of Angmar. His magic was even more powerful." he mused, thinking back to battles where Er-Murazor showed off his skills, defeating enemies which would have been impossible to over-come without excessive knowledge of magic. "But none would have taught you anything. They weren't ones to converse with mortals." he stopped for a moment and tilted his head a little. "Well, Hoarmurath might have talked to you... for different reasons but surely wouldn't have let you tap into his knowledge. We are... jealous of each other's powers and keep ours as our own."

The young istar rolled her eyes.

"I hardly count as a mortal... though..." she looked at her hand. "Ren what if I continue to age like this... won't that eventually kill me?" she asked. She wasn't sure what was causing her body to age this way. She was sure the dark magic was the cause but she wasn't fully sure why. All she knew was that these strange changes in her body started a few weeks after her excess studying of the dark arts. She was also sure once she reached her peak age the aging would stop altogether but she wasn't sure. What if she continued to age until she turned to dust? That was not an option she was happy to think about but it had been one that passed her mind more than once.

The dark being would have frowned at her question if he could, but instead was forced to tilt his head to the side to give voice to his confusion on this matter.

"Do wizards age until they die?" He asked, stepping closer. He himself wasn't sure at all. None of them ever worked with a wizard like her before. Each istari they swayed was already fully grown, although he had no idea there was even such thing as 'growing up'... But he never saw any of them turn to dust... "Why do you ask?" He also wasn't sure why she asked this... their topic wasn't exactly about dying, or about istari.

"I don't know. Not that I know of, but no istar has ever aged this quickly either." she replied to his first question then mulled over the next one. "You said your brothers wouldn't talk to a mortal. Istari aren't technically mortals. The only istari that I know of that have ever died were in fact killed. I think by most accounts that make istari count as immortal." she explained to him though her mind was still thinking on the other facts. She was found in the woods. She believed at one point she had been a human but she couldn't be sure. Did that make her different from most istari? She kind of wished Gandalf was here so she could ask or maybe Hoarmurath. He might have some knowhow on her kind to know what was going on. Oh well. She would figure it out one way or another.

"You know what I mean..." Ren sighed in irritation. "For my kind everything is mortal that can be killed. Be it istari or elves." he explained, knowing he will never get used to having to explain himself and the words he used. Well, the question about her possible 'aging until she turns to dust' was kind of making some sense now... in a way. He surely didn't know anything about wizards or how fast they aged, if they are born like orcs or growing like her... He didn't even make any difference between grown creature and child, not understanding the concept of 'growing up'. He simply couldn't wrap his mind around it that creatures are first tiny, then suddenly grow. Or over time. How do they grow? Why? And why are they so small as newborns? Why aren't they born as grown? Wouldn't it be more useful not having to 'transform'?

All these questions swirled in his mind many times when they are talking about things like these, but never voiced them because of his pride. He was supposed to know everything. And he likes to think he does. However the question of the wizard is her own to answer.

"I don't know either. What is your age?" Maybe knowing how many years passed between now and her... spawning... might bring some light to this situation.

Oh boy, that was a hard one. Keeping track of one's age was a rather hard task among the istari since they lived so long. Most just didn't. Sometimes younger istari were treated as older for this reason because they would act and look older despite them being younger.

"Hmmm... let's see... I was found a little before the second age I believe... I would say... somewhere around six thousand years or so maybe... I think..." she said putting her hands on her hips. She wished there was a better way of keeping track of time for istari. She would have to put that as a side-project. It would prove useful if she could keep track of days down here as well. It was sometimes rather hard to tell between night and day, and if she didn't pass out after long periods out of her room she might never know.

Ren held back the shocked sound he wanted to give... This little wizard here is older than him? He shook his head, trying to focus on the task at hand but couldn't help it.

"And you wonder why you started to age... Don't you think it is time to become adult now?" He himself lived in the middle of the second age, which made him about five thousand years old. He also can't remember the istari as younger than they were... Were they sent here as the way they look now? Or... Maybe something triggered her aging process? Like.. She hit that particular age in the last few weeks that marked the beginning of 'growing up', or as he calls it the 'transformation'? But still... Not aging as fast for six thousand years, only staying as a dwa- ehm…'child'? Maybe something blocked her aging and now finally this block was gone somehow?

So many possibilities...

The young girl guessed he was right. She had been stuck as a little girl for many a year and not once had she ever questioned it and neither did anyone around her. She wondered why she had never even bothered to really think about her age. Sure, she had wanted to grow up so she could prove herself as a wizard to the others but she had never wondered why it was taking so long. She just thought it was an istar thing.

"I guess... all the wizards I know were old men that never got any younger or older in all the years I knew them. I guess I just never thought about it." she admitted. Maybe she was doing what her body felt was right now. She shook her head pushing the thoughts to the side before looking up to him. "Do you think I will make a good adult?" she inquired curiously. She wasn't really sure herself, but only had men to base herself off of and she was sure female adults were different in many ways. She had no idea if she would make a good woman or not.

What other confusing question is this? Ren certainly didn't like so many questions being asked one after the others, especially questions to which the answer cannot be given by him...

"A good adult? What do you mean by that?" he asked, tilting his head to the side, not sure what she wanted to know or what she meant by that. How is someone a... 'good adult'? What do you call a 'good adult'? Did she mean her future powers or her behavior? Or both? Or none? Maybe she meant something else... His current species also didn't help with this question as he failed to register most traits. Traits she might be asking to be rated. And the only rate he knew was the rate of how useful she is to him.

Hyano shook her head.

"Don't worry about it, Ren. I think I'm asking the wrong person. You are quite good at many things but you thought I was a dwarf for a long time before you realized I was just a child. I think I will just have to wait and see." she said. When she found out about that one she nearly died laughing much to the wraith's confusion. A dwarf? Seriously? Has he ever actually seen a dwarf? Even by their standards she had still been rather small. Dwarves were thick-built creatures much like orcs but they only came to about a normal sized orc's mid section. And that is talking about a tall one. Though, considering her spit-fire personality she could believe that she would at least get along with a dwarf if she ever met one. She would at least be able to keep one in its place if it stepped out of line.

The wraith felt offended greatly and stepped closer to her, pointing his index finger at her.

"How was I supposed to know that human spawns are this small? If something is small it is a dwarf. End of story." he said firmly, making sure to mark the end of this whole 'dwarf thing'.

He hated it when she brought it up and laughed about his inexperience with mortals and their spawn. He was not supposed to know anyway as he never needed that knowledge, and doesn't need it now. And never will. This was a matter he did not find interest in as it won't bring him forward in his goal. And as far as he knew, he did not cause any harm with thinking she was a dwarf, now did he?

"Alright then. If there is nothing else I will retreat to my own company for a while." he said as he stepped away from the bath, walking towards the exit of this room. He tended to vanish sometimes and come back again after a few hours. No one really knew where he went to and no one dared to ask. It was his business and his alone. Unknown to them he had a small room for his own where he gathered items he found interesting and which attracted his attention. There were basically many items from junk to -unknown to him-quite valuable gemstones the dwarves left behind when they lived here. He spent some time here to relish in his collection and meditate, simply be alone while he could before he is forced to abandon his little chamber and resume his duties as Lord of Moria.

The young wizard giggled lightly and nodded.

"Have fun, Ren." she said though he technically couldn't have fun.

Now that she was clean she walked over and started cleaning off her clothes. An easy enough task really, well, if it wasn't for the fact there were layers of mud caked on the poor garment. She sighed but got to work anyway. By the time she finished her underclothes were dry. She looked over her handywork and decided to leave them there to dry for a while. Ren still wouldn't be back for another couple of hours or so. Oh right. She still needed to ask Tuhul about getting the body she needed. She looked herself over a moment then sighed.

Oh well.

Not like anyone would really care anyway. She thought to herself then walked out of the bath and down the hall to find the loud-mouthed orc.

The orcs didn't take notice at first about her... clothing, being used to her walking among them and were extremely busy with their own duties. The workers concentrated on mining, transporting and forging, while the guards were standing above them, doing their own duties by watching them and patrolling.

But after a while a few of the guards did take notice.

It was quite strange though. They never saw a female in such little clothing -at least not while they weren't in a killing frenzy- and couldn't help but stare, follow her form as she went about until she vanished. While it wasn't the first time she showed herself in such little clothing, she was also never this…. matured… Of course not all orcs noticed as they didn't give the news to each other, but some did and simply kept it to themselves.

Hyano noticed she was being watched but was slightly confused by it. She wasn't an orc. So it didn't register in her mind that they would feel any attraction towards her in the least. She shook her head deciding to ignore them and continued to look for Tuhul. She listened closely until she finally heard that annoying yell of his.

Oh wait... she heard another voice she knew.

The goblin general.

Oh great, they were fighting again, likely over some order the goblin gave Tuhul. Like that was ever going to change. She turned a corner and like she thought they were in the middle of a yelling match. She was surprised one of them wasn't dead yet to be honest.

The goblin blinked, being the first to see the girl, seeing Tuhul's back was to her. He honestly forgot what they had argued about for a moment before shaking his head. What in Sauron's name was that girl thinking?!

"Do you even listen to what I am saying?!" Tuhul roared at the goblin, one of his hands resting on the handle of his sword, ready to unsheathe it and stab the goblin in the gut. How dare he give him orders! They have been through this a lot. He still treated him like he was nothing more than a guard. When does it finally reach his brain that he was a general now too, and had equal rights, which meant he will not take any more orders from him but only directly from their Lord. What was more irritating was that he wasn't even looking at him anymore. He bared his teeth and finally unsheathed his sword, poking the goblin with it as warning at first. "Look at me when I am talking to you, rat!"

The goblin snapped out of his haze as he was poked than growled up at Tuhul. He didn't have to say anything though because Hyano did the work for him.

"Oi! Tuhul! Could you shut your trap for once?! I have been calling your name for a whole minute now!" she yelled. The stupid orc was so loud it was hard to get her voice over his. She had one hand on her hip while her other shoulder was slumped in annoyance her hand hanging limply.

The goblin snickered lightly then batted the sword away and pointed to her. "Yes Tuhul. Your wife is calling. Better see what she wants." He teased the larger orc with a smirk. Oh this was too good.

The orc couldn't help but sigh in annoyance but before he turned around he made sure to punch that snickering goblin in the nose for his remark.

"Say that one more time... I dare you... And your teeth will be my next targets..." He threatened with a growl and pushed the other creature away before turning around. "Now what do you want you brat? Didn't you find anyone else to annoy through your stay?" he asked as he crossed his arms over his chest. He of course noticed her... lack of too much attire... which also caused him to stare and look her over despite being angry at her. So, she is offering such sight? Good. He did deserve it after the months of suffering because of her.

The wizard blinked as the goblin went down from the punch. His nose was probably broken but he would be fine. She then looked up at him, his comment making her raise a brow. What made her blush, though, was the fact he was staring at her. It was one thing that everyone else was doing it but him? Seriously?! She looked away getting annoyed.

"Next dead body you find, bring it to my room. I need it fresh. I'm working on something." she told him bluntly then crossed her arms over her chest feeling herself become self-conscious again. Damn it! She did not like this.

"Aham..." He wasn't sounding exactly convinced to do as she said, and certainly isn't as pleased that his view was cut from her chest. But that is something he kept to himself for now. For now. "And I don't think it would be a good idea to lose a portion of food just because you are 'working on something', which might or might not work or be useful to my people." he frowned, growling, absolutely against the idea of removing a part of their food for her little... experiments.

"One, correct yourself. Last I checked, these were Ren's people. Not yours." she corrected him rather quickly. "And if you must know I'm working on bringing the dead back to life. So YES it is useful and it was Ren's suggestion so unless you want to take it up with him I think your food supply can live without one body." she added explaining herself. She had learned to do that much while being down here. She was forced to move her arms down a little. Mostly because it was rather hard to keep her arms over her upper chest like that. It was not comfortable so naturally her mind moved her arms down.

"Last time I checked I am an orc, which makes these creatures my people. They are just the same way mine as our Lord's as they are my kin's." He corrected her, watching as she lowered her hand to his delight, but it was quite easy to shield it with the anger he felt. "And how should I know you say the truth? I certainly wasn't approached with the question. And if you want such pity work to be done, then ask a freaking guard, don't mess with me anymore. It isn't my job to do petty tasks. I am a general." he told her firmly, well, at this point he was more talking to her chest than her face, unable to help himself anymore. It was a nice sight really and he was an orc. Orcs aren't ashamed for acting on instinct.

Hyano twitched as he not only yelled at her but had his eyes glued to her chest. Oh dear Sauron she might just kill him. She had turned a deep shade of red by this point.

"... Tuhul... before we continue... move your eyes... to my face... or look away BEFORE I BLOW THEM OUT OF YOUR SKULL!" she screamed slamming her foot down and a boulder fell and hit him square on the head. It wasn't a cave in. She had done it and could easily bring this whole mountain down on everyone if she wanted to. She did create the seal on the ceiling after all; however she was just trying to knock some sense into the orc in front of her.

This was far too embarrassing.

The orc was forced to close his eyes as the rock hit him and stepped back, shaking his head. He noticed her blush and couldn't help but smirk. So... this was something that agitated her? Good... Very good. Time for a payback for all the embarrassment she caused... all the suffering and all the pain... So, without wasting time he stepped forward, returning his gaze down to her chest, outright staring and not at all hiding it or attempting to watch her eyes instead.

"Oh, so you want to tell me that you dressed up like this so we can't look at you? Why else would you wear this little if not for our viewing pleasure?" He must say it wasn't a bad view. He actually remembered her a child still, but now she looked different. Her curves were all in the right place now, and she grew. He wondered how she did that.

Hyano turned even redder.

"My clothes were heavy and dirty from the mud fight earlier today. I had to wash them and they were too wet to wear..." she was trying her best not to let it bother her that he was ogling her in such a way. In reality she wasn't fully sure how to feel about it. Part of her couldn't stand it while the other part enjoyed the attention.

It was maddening!

That was likely why this made her so embarrassed. The fact that part of her actually liked the fact that he liked looking at her... waiting a second. She looked up at him, then got a smirk on her face.

"Wait... viewing pleasure?... Does that mean you... the big bad Tuhul who hates everything about me... actually enjoys looking at me?" she questioned him. She moved her hands to her hips. Oh, two could play this game.

The orc wasn't fazed at all by her claim. He won't let her get through him this time. He was determined to cause her discomfort more than anything. As much as he can get away with. He just smirked at her claim and stepped closer, standing just a few feet away from her now, his yellow gaze just briefly glancing at her face before returning to stare at her chest.

"Well, at the very least you do have some kind of use. Nice of you to deliver yourself in a silver platter." He chuckled before stepping closer again. "After all these months... but I wonder if you truly are worth it."

Her green eyes met his for a moment and wasn't sure how to take his comment. Should she be offended because he is acting like she is a whore or that he basically said he wasn't sure she would be any good... doing that. She gave him an annoyed look before smirking, then took a step forward herself. She then leaned forward for a second giving him an even better view for a moment, then grinned before jumping up so her arms were around his neck and she was using his chest plate to keep herself up. She then whispered in his ear.

"You wish you could find out." she then kicked off him and started walking away a sway in her step. "Have that body to my room as soon as possible, please." she called as she walked away her hands behind her back. That had been... kind of fun actually.

Surprised by her sudden move, the orc reared back a little, blinking at the sudden closeness and the sudden... good view. He didn't have time relish in it thought as she whispered in his ear which caused him to growl. He did not move after her as she walked away but did get angry at her once more. She is trying to get the better of him as it seems, even in this situation.

"You are lucky I have this self-control!" He shouted after her angrily. "You do it to anyone else and let us see how long you can keep your virginity! Perhaps you will let us view more for those dead bodies!" He chuckled at the end but turned around after and walked off as well, laughing and murmuring. Yes, he wondered how long it will take for one of the orcs or goblins to snap... or if she will risk messing with him again.

The young girl raised a brow at his comment though she had to admit he was probably right. Based on the way everyone was acting that was a possibility. She hoped this wouldn't cause infighting among them. The little girl or rather the young woman walked back to her room. All the while still earning looks from everyone. For some reason she didn't like it though. When everyone else looked at her it made her feel strange. Nervous maybe. She had never been that way before so she didn't have a name for it.

Why was it different when Tuhul did it?

Maybe because she actually knew him. The others... not quite so much. The ones she had spawned didn't seem as interested as the ones she did not create. Maybe it was because in a way she was their mother. That would be kind of strange. She got back to her room and chose to stop by the bath getting her clothes. Not fully dry but much better. She lit her hands with fire and heat-dried it for a little while. When she put her clothes on finally she sighed. She always loved it when she did that. Made her so warm all over. She finally stepped out of the bath and blinked as the guard seemed to be waiting on her to walk out. Probably hoping to get a view again. She rolled her eyes then went to her room.

"The whole lot of ya are pervs." she mumbled as she closed her door.

The orcs snickered as she passed them, still giving her hungry looks, but more to agitate her than anything else. One of them stepped after her and shouted before she left.

"We are not the ones walking about the mines almost naked! Why do you hide all of a sudden? Gotten shy?" He asked, laughing as he gestured for the others to move now. It was time to go back to their duties. But that didn't mean they won't be on the look-out for her.

In the mean time, Ren emerged from his own personal room and reached the mines again, now fully refreshed and in a good mood. He found another piece of shining glass not long ago, which only added to his good mood. He decided to walk about the corridors and patrol, see how the orcs are doing their jobs and if everything goes according to plan. His steps were easy and relaxed, not hurrying anywhere. His better mood was also welcomed by the creatures. It meant less scolding hisses and less dark aura flooding their minds.

They were doing their jobs. While also talking about the event from earlier. Yes the girl walking about in her underclothes was considered an event, considering she was the only female that had ever walked about the caves that wasn't a warg.

EVER.

That and it had all been a good laugh adding to it all the more. Some were even talking about the way she had acting around Tuhul which of course earned some laughter here and there. It was hard for some to get over the fact that not long ago she had actually been a little girl. They wondered what in the world happened.

The talking didn't go unnoticed as the wraith walked among them. He did have to hiss at them here and there to stop chatting and work harder. Of course he wasn't all that educated in the matter of... attraction but he had a good idea that her concern not long ago they discussed might have been about this exactly. And he didn't want to have his servant being handled like this! Silencing groups of orcs and goblins wasn't a hard task, considering just a little taste of his dark aura caused them to do their tasks a little harder. Shaking his head, not at all pleased that his good mood was ruined, the Nazgul made his way towards Hyano's room, taking his time, not hurrying.

All the while Hyano sat in her room waiting on both the body and Ren. Her eyes moved to the mirror and looked over the broken shards for a moment before standing up walking up to it. She then waved her hand and the mirror started to fix itself once more. This allowed her to see herself. The orcs all seemed to like looking at her...

Did this mean she was actually... pretty?

Once there, the Nazgul opened the door as usual, knocking didn't even cross his mind.

Hyano jumped when the door was opened. Thankfully she had relaxed quite a bit since earlier today when he first pulled this stunt. She smiled when she saw him but it faltered when she noted he didn't seem to be in a good mood. Normally he was in a great mood after going... where ever it was he went. She still didn't know and didn't really ask though she had a good guess he was hoarding somewhere.

"What's wrong?" she asked instinctively tilting her head.

The Nazgul closed the door and walked in a few more steps before letting his invisible gaze wander to his servant.

"Maybe it would be more comfortable for everyone if you decided to put on more... clothes while you venture outside." He decided to get right to the point, not wasting time. "I had to hiss all too many times at them to get back to work instead chatting about it." He most certainly didn't like this, seeing they are losing hours of mining. And he also didn't like it if someone talked... like that about his servant. She is supposed to be his right hand… Fearless, terrifying, deadly. Not… the subject of orcs in rut.

The girl blushed and looked down.

"I wasn't expecting it to be honest. I um... well I figured I'm not an orc or goblin so they wouldn't feel any attraction to me. My clothes were still wet and I wanted to ask Tuhul about getting the body to practice on... I honestly didn't realize how bad it was until Tuhul pointed it out to me." she explained herself looking down. Okay, maybe she should have known better but she honestly didn't think her being a female would be a problem as long as they stayed away during her time of the month. She still had a few days until she had to deal with that again thank goodness. As long as Ren believed she had turned into a monster and keeps everyone away she should be fine.

Ren could only shake his head as he stepped closer.

"At least this was a good lesson for you." He simply said and raised his gaze, looking around before returning to look at Hyano. "How is your training coming along?" He asked, despite clearly not seeing a trace of it. He thought maybe she already finished. He had been away quite a while. He slowly walked about before stopping and sitting down on the edge of the bed, grateful for the small pause.

"Haven't gotten much done besides a restoration spell on the mirror." she said pointing to the fixed mirror. "I asked Tuhul to bring me a dead body a long time ago and he has yet to do it. He didn't really believe me when I told him it was your idea and at the time he was more... interested in something else anyway." she replied before sitting next to him. She didn't want to get Tuhul in trouble but she really did need that body and considering Tuhul can get them the moment they die he was the best person to ask. Not just someone who she loved to annoy. However that was true as well.

"Petty instincts." Ren sighed, shaking his head, having an idea about what she talked about. Must have something to do with her trouble not long ago.

"Instincts can be useful, Ren. You have them too though yours aren't controlled by emotions. Just survival." she pointed out with a shrug.

He couldn't help but also question why she was so content to ask for that particular orc to do everything. He was now needed, a general, which puts him above the work she wanted to make him do. "Ask someone else to bring you the body. Problem solved." He simply said, pulling up his legs to sit cross-legged. For him it was easy to give a task to someone else if the one before failed to do as he asked.

Hyano sighed, thinking. He was right she could ask someone else.

"Maybe but I would rather have a fresh body that isn't just killed for no reason. That would be a waste and I put enough work into making those things. I shouldn't just have one killed. Especially since I'm not sure if I can bring it back yet. Tuhul handles inviting and is closest to anyone who does. If anyone can get me a fresh kill, it would likely be him or one of the other generals. Besides I think it would be best I don't go out there again for a little while." she said cringing as she thought on how they were treating her right now.

As if to answer her question the Nazgul shrieked, shifting in his position to get more comfortable. In the next moment the guard that stood at the door stepped in, bowing to them and looked up awaiting command.

"Why do you think you have guards?" Ren addressed her before turning his gaze back to the guard. "Bring us a fresh dead. No matter what and from where." He told the orc, who bowed once more and backed out.

"I always thought that was because you wanted to keep tabs on me if I ever left my room or keep anyone you didn't want in here out." she admitted with an eye roll. Likely considering the command they would just go kill the first orc they found and come back. It was easier and faster that way. However she did not want the dead to be wasted. She guessed she would just have to learn the spell faster then. She would at least have a few days before the body's stench became too much to bear and it would have to be taken away. She had gotten used to the smell of the dead, since she had no choice but to eat meat, though, she ate as little as she could get away with. However even Ren would have to agree a rotting orc corpse can only be stomached for so long. "How much longer until we start work on breaking the surface?" she inquired turning her eyes to him.

The Nazgul turned his head towards her, not exactly expecting the sudden question. Taking over the mountain was so far away a while ago that he honestly wasn't truly concentrating anymore on that but to strengthen their living space and make it more safe and sturdy. However, now that she started spawning the desired creatures, the day of moving on was coming closer. Rapidly at that. He returned his gaze towards the door and stared at it.

"Not much longer. Just thousand more orcs. Then our army will be able to maintain the surface just like keep working down here." He explained, wishing to have an even greater army than what he has now. Learning from past mistakes, he wants to be prepared this time, having enough backup is essential.

"Good. I can't wait. It will be nice to see the sun again." The young girl said more than a little happy at the idea that she will finally be above ground again. She had spent quite some time underground now and she was used to it but she wanted more than anything to see the outside world to feel things like wind and sunlight from the sun. While this room fulfilled her body's need for the light it wasn't nearly as good as real light. It was a lot like giving someone a taste of a cake's icing but not letting them enjoy the whole piece. It was torture sometimes.

The Nazgul involuntarily shuddered at the thought of the sun and its effects... It will be more than likely causing them trouble once they reach the surface. It will weaken them all and blind him, making them not as effective up there as they would be down here. For a moment he was thinking about making Hyano learn a spell which controlled weather, and possibly shield the sun from the area they occupied, completely dismissing her desire to see that damned object on the sky. He didn't need it, neither his troops. So why risk a whole army for one single person.

Just as he was thinking about this, the door opened, revealing the orc guard who usually did the tasks if he was needed, hauling in a quite fresh corpse of a goblin which still bled. The reason of death was visible. His chest was caved in, more than likely a rock fell on him as he mined. His yellow eyes were still open, his mouth also wide with a silent scream. His death surely wasn't as sudden as he had time to shout. The guard put the body on the ground and simply left the two, resuming his duty as a guard.

Hyano sat up and cringed at the body. Well, that was... pleasant... She shook her head. Who was she kidding? It was bloody nasty. She picked up a rag and got up, tossing it over the goblin's face. The last thing she was about to do was look at THAT as she worked. The lifeless eyes… the very last moment of its life was printed on its face as a timeless memory. Besides, she didn't need his face to do her work. She looked at Ren.

"You can hang out if you like but I'm not going to be doing much talking for a while." she told him not wanting him to try to talk to her while she was working. During her spell training it had been fine but this was different. Far more dangerous. She sat cross-legged beside the corpse and put her hands over it. She then closed her eyes and started to whisper letting her mind fall into her work.

Ren didn't answer just sat there, watching her for a while, thinking she had a reason to tell him to not talk to her. Seeing her concentration, he decided to occupy himself with something else while she worked. He didn't want to leave for sure. While it was boring to wait, he wanted to be there when she succeeds with her necromancy. While this spell might bring back the dead and make them move, they won't be truly more than walking and animated corpses as they won't remember their past nor can they truly talk, just do as their creator said and ordered them. Making them absolutely amazing workers. If these could take over the mining... His army would be free to be released from this duty. However the spell only works for a certain period of time. Probably about half a day at most before the corpse falls again. But then again... one can only just go ahead and cast the spell once more. Finding her practice however extremely boring, the Nazgul slowly but surely shifted his attention to the maze at the headboard. 'Oh hello... haven't seen you in a while...' Ren chuckled at his own thoughts and simply turned towards it, resuming trying and solving this.

Hyano was dealing with her own maze at the moment. Every spell no matter what kind starts the same way believe it or not. One has to pass through certain energies in order to gain the needed access to the power. The words of every spell help with this providing keys into each energy that is needed. However, they are not technically required. So Hyano is using this fact to basically guess and check her way into the world of the dead reincarnated. Not all energies involved were dark, just the majority. One Hyano knew she would need was fire. The giver of life. Water which helps the blood to flow. Wind which allows the lungs to breathe and earth which in this case held all the elements needed to create the body itself. After that though... well that is when things got tricky. Hyano's finger tips started to turn black as she continued to work not even seeming to notice.

The Nazgul didn't seem to take any notice of the situation as he continued gazing at the maze for hours, trying to solve it on his own again. It has been so long since he worked on it, so started using paths he already tested before, only to notice that they were familiar, causing a silent hiss uttered by him. He raised his finger for the umpteenth time in that few hours to follow yet a new path, only to reach just halfway when he got to a dead-end. Ugh... This can't be! How can a maze be this hard! The wraith shook his head and pausing his suffering he turned his hooded head towards the wizard's direction, watching her as she tried to bring back this dead here. Well, it didn't look like she will succeed in her first time trying it, so averting his gaze he concentrated on the cursed maze again.

Oh how right he was.

Out of nowhere the body quite literally blew up in flames, sending Hyano flying and hitting the opposing wall.

She groaned. Okay. That had been the wrong combination. Maybe she better gets a pen and paper and writes that one down so she doesn't do it again. She held her head then blinked as she saw her hands were completely black. Well, this hadn't happened in some time. She tried to speak and nothing came out. Well, nothing she could hear anyway. She looked and saw in the mirror what had happened.

Oh damn.

The girl had allowed herself to turn completely black again both eyes red now. This was expected considering the kind of magic she was playing with but considering she didn't remember the first time it happened it was no surprise she was shocked by it.

"Ren?" she said looked around for the wraith hoping she hadn't hurt him.

Well, the wraith wasn't on the bed anymore and nowhere to be seen, but a low hiss from behind the bed gave his position away quite quickly. At the sound of explosion and the sudden lick of the hot flames sent the Nazgul jumping off from the bed and behind it in hopes to be not caught by the fire and save his cloak.

Damn fire...

He stayed there for a few moments until he heard her speak and soon call for his name. Maybe she did not hear it but he heard it loud and clear. She was simply talking in another frequency which cannot be heard by her kind. But he was more than capable of doing so. He hissed in return to her call and emerged from behind the bed, his gaze fixed on the body... at least what remained of it. It was blown up alright, pieces of its burning flesh were scattered around the room. The body itself was still on fire here and there. The wraith sighed as he stood, taking a few steps forward before shrieking, calling in the guard to clean the mess up. He didn't yet notice her change as his attention was more on their environment and the body.

Hyano heard his... well she knew it was supposed to be a hiss but for some reason it didn't sound right. She actually heard a voice. It was strange... almost human. She tilted her head for a moment confused by it. Were her ears playing tricks on her? She looked up and saw him. noting that he looked the same. Same cloak and so on. However when he turned around her eyes widened.

His usually empty hood and the never ending darkness within it was now illuminated by two deep red glowing dots, which were positioned just like eyes. If she concentrated better… the glow gave light to ghostly features. White and fading…

Was that his face?!

"Ren?.. What happened to me?" she asked though she had a feeling he couldn't answer her any better than she could at this point. She knew her body turned black but she had never seen it get this bad before... well she couldn't exactly say it was bad... it didn't seem to be causing her any real harm besides the unholy pain it always caused. She was lucky she had gotten used to it long ago or she would have passed out a long time ago. However she wasn't sure it was a good thing either.

This was when Ren's gaze finally fell on her and her black figure. He could remember this problem from back then when she had trouble with casting black magic spells. This blackness would engulf either her arm or her whole chest, and now it is all over her body. Even her eyes seemed to have changed to red once more. She had that too a while ago and the red color of one of her eyes never seemed to leave her. He walked up to her and reached out, touching her arm first as he inspected it before letting go of it and touched her face, raising it to look up at him, turning it slightly and touching the area around her eyes.

Hmm...

He heard her question clearly and couldn't really answer it differently than what she guessed before.

"An effect of the black magic I think.- You had this before. It will go away with time." he told her as he let her go completely and watched as the guard started cleaning the room, picking up the scattered flesh pieces while another walked in to help, picking up the body and hauling the useless piece of flesh outside. Possibly to be eaten later. It was still good for that.

The orange wizard listened to him, his voice sounding less like hisses and more like a voice trapped deep in a hole in a cave. It was the oddest thing anyone could explain and unless one heard it themselves they probably wouldn't believe the description. She understood that he could hear her though, even if she couldn't hear herself. She allowed him to inspect her while her own eyes rested on the ghost of a face in his hood. Part of her wanted to reach in and touch it but she thought better of it. Her hand would probably go right through it anyway considering how it looked. When he finished his inspection and the guards went to work cleaning she let her eyes move to them.

"You might want to be careful with that. I'm not fully sure what I did to it so it could easily poison anyone who eats it." she warned. She wasn't sure of this fact. She just didn't feel like getting yelled at for not at least telling someone it could happen.

The guards did note her warning and quickly discussed to dump the body and its remains into the gorge instead and won't bring it to the other bodies as meat. It might infect the others if it stays too long with their food. The other guard walked over to the body as well and helped his comrade hauling it to the door and out of it, closing the door by kicking it shut. The room seemed to be cleaned by the remains but the stench of burned flesh still remained, which was slowly suckled out by the air as it moved upwards and out of the cracks which led to the surface.

"Should I go again?" she asked leaning back against the wall.

The Nazgul looked at the wizard and thought about it. Well, while she knew what she did wrong, it would benefit her talents if she continued now while the experience is fresh. However it most certainly wouldn't benefit her body and health. And he can't risk her for necromancy. What use is she to him if she damages herself? He shook his head and walked aside.

"No. Rest for now. Once this... blackness goes away you may continue." he replied as he moved to the corner and decided to stay here, see if it has any other undesired effects. Just in case.

Hyano nodded, figuring that would be his answer. She slowly got up and walked about. She wasn't really feeling tired but looked about for a moment until her eyes landed on the mirror again. She touched her cheek but felt nothing. It was so strange feeling no sense of touch but feeling complete pain at the same time. She had noted the orcs could hear her as well. So dark beings could hear her but she couldn't hear herself. How unusual. She shook her head then looked to the bed. She didn't feel the need to sleep though, there was nothing in her that wanted to rest. She thought for a moment then turned her red eyes to Ren.

"Can I go explore the mines for a while?" she questioned. "I'm not tired and I figure I might as well do something while I wait." she added figuring it might help her case if she gave a reason for why she wanted to go.

"Go. To. Sleep." The wraith almost commanded from his position on the floor in the darkest corner of the room. "Your body might need the rest to recover from it. You can go explore when it looks better." He said firmly, his tone showing the finality of his words. He didn't want to risk her or have her fall to her death somewhere, passing out from this blackness all of a sudden. Or cut herself because she can't feel anything... He didn't truly know what effect this meant or what it does to her, so all he could do was guess and simply forbid her to do anything else than rest until her normal color returns.

The istar let out an annoyed sound similar to his hiss before doing as told, making the wraith turn towards her, surprised that she is capable of uttering such sounds. She got on the bed but still didn't want to sleep. She thought for a moment deciding to take a moment to analyze her situation since she had the time. She noticed that along with everything else she had to think about things such as breathing and blinking. While normally this was automatic her body no longer felt the need anymore, so kept forgetting it seemed. She also noticed that every time this happened it always started at her finger tips. She was honestly surprised her hands weren't permanently black because of it with how often they had been turned alone. She noted that she had to also think about movement. Such as jumping and walking. Again things that normally were automatic but because she lacked feeling of any kind her mind no longer put that under auto-pilot it seemed. She also noticed the world looked different. Not just Ren either. Little things. She could see energy in the air and every now and again she would reach out to touch it and blinked when her hand went right through it. This was likely the energies that magic was made of and considering their environment it was likely mostly earth and dark energy down here. She sighed once she ran out of things to think about. She then got an idea.

"Ren. Do you know where my flute is?" she asked having not touched the thing in quite some time but she knew for a fact she brought it with her.

The Nazgul continued resting, getting ready for a little meditation, even if he was already through it before. He simply had time and had nothing else to do, so clearing his mind and refreshing it might be just what will make the time fly until she was ready to try again, or until he had to do his rounds... he actually thought he might change his schedule. He was keeping to a time period when he patrolled .. Who knows what the orcs are doing if he isn't around? They surely memorized his schedule. Hmmm... He might go off in a few hours after Hyano went to sleep. He raised his head at her question and sat still for a little while.

Her flute?

Of course he knew where it was. Seeing she didn't find anymore interest in it he simply added it to his collection in his little room. It was unexpected that she asked for it now of all times.

"No." He answered, although not as curtly, which surely made his... lack of knowledge about it suspicious. But he didn't care.

Hyano noted the tone he used in his answer and gave another annoyed hiss.

"You are a horrible liar, Ren." she told him rather bluntly, crossing her arms and leaning back. She figured he had it somewhere. The over-grown dishtowel. He could be so annoying sometimes but the majority of the time it was nothing worth getting worked up about so she never let it. Didn't mean she wouldn't call him on it though. She mostly did it to tick him off. Now that she thought about him taking her things she started thinking about all the staffs she used to make. She remembered all the hard work she would put into them just to have them taken by him and stuck in that little corner of his. She smiled a little at the memory. It had been both annoying and hilarious. She wondered what would have happened if she had set his corner on fire. Considering he was quite literally sitting surrounded by a bunch of firewood more or less.

There it was again... She was hissing at him! How dare she! He answered it with his own offended one. He was actually used to hisses as his brothers tended to do it to each other to scold one another or express their displeasure sometimes or approval, depending on the way they let out the sound. That she wasn't a Nazgul didn't seem to bother him or he simply didn't realize.

"I am not lying." he said in clear half truth this time. Well, he knew where approximately it is. It is in his little room filled with the items he was hoarding. But where exactly it is in all the swarm of items, he didn't know. He wasn't even sure if he could find it if he wanted. There were simply so many items in there. He didn't mind it of course. Sometimes he forgets what he puts in there and finds the items he can't remember again, which is like finding a new treasure. "I don't know where it is." Yet again sounding his half true reply, crossing his arms over his chest.

The young istar only rolled her eyes as she heard him hiss... Well, again it didn't sound like a hiss.

"Sure. If you say so." she said then sat up. "Guard!" she called. She could make a new flute, just needed a couple of things. Besides, Ren had said they were there to do just that for her.

The guard heard her call and sighed, asking in himself what he did to deserve such a position and wondered what new job he will have this time. But of course he made sure to stand tall and straighten himself before opening the door and stepping in, bowing his head deeply to both creatures in the room. He didn't want to cause trouble for himself so had to behave submissively to both of them. That didn't mean he loved his job though.

Hyano sat up and looked at the guard.

"Can you get me some wood and a small knife?" she inquired. She knew there was very little if any wood down here but she figured she would ask anyway. She didn't even need a large one really but he didn't need to know that. She just wanted to get some as soon as possible so she could make a new flute. She wondered for a moment if the orcs would like the music or if she would have to put up with complaints on the matter. She really hoped not.

The guard frowned at the question. For what does she need the wood and knife? Does she want to eat it or something?

"How much would you like and how big?" he asked, not sure about the task given. Normally he gets straight orders about what to get, when and how. And while he will have the order, that doesn't mean he can get it. Wood is very scarce here and mostly everything is used to nourish the mud in the spawning pit, plus some are needed for creating gear, plus some for the reconstruction of the city.

The girl put her hands up showing the length she needed.

"About this long... this thick." she said making an 'O' with her hand to show how thick the piece would need to be. Considering she was showing the piece didn't need to be very big she figured it wouldn't be a very big problem. "I'm making something. An instrument. Kind of like your drums only it will make a different kind of sound." she explained figuring she might as well give him an explanation. He seemed to want one anyway.

The orc raised an eyebrow at the request. An instrument... Like a drum just gives different sound... And that small? Their drums are much bigger. But oh well. It wasn't his place to question her or his Lord. So, after a nod and quick bow, he left, stepping outside and making his way down the hall on his quest to get some wood. Through his travel he managed to steal a small piece from a log the trolls transported to the spawn pit and quickly hid it, going right back to the wizard's room. Well, he forgot the knife, but he can just give her his dagger. Not like he needed it. A simple dagger stab won't kill an orc...

The guard opened the door and without saying a word walked over to her, placing the wood on the bed where she was sitting on and unsheathed his dagger from his belt before backing out and leaving, returning to his post.

Hyano smiled as he came back.

"Thank you!" she called after him then took up the wood and knife. She decided to move onto the floor so she didn't get wood shavings all over her bed then started getting to work. She had to mind the knife more than she usually would since she couldn't feel it if the knife cut her at the moment but besides that she was fine. She took her time doing it, mostly because she needed something to keep herself entertained with for a while. As she worked her face was the first to start going back to normal but didn't even notice it. One of her eyes thankfully did end up changing back however the other stayed red as ever. By the time she finished half her face had changed back though that was about as far as it went. She dusted herself off of all the little wood bits and checked herself for any splinters she might have gotten and not noticed. She seemed to be okay... Oh wait. She hissed when she noticed one, then tried to take the knife and get it out.

The Nazgul watched her for a while as she worked, following the movements of her hands closely, watching as the wood took a familiar form. His mind was already plotting... He couldn't help but plan beforehand. His mind went back to how she was making staff after staff. It was something he amused himself with and thought maybe he can repeat it with her flute as well and entertain himself with taking it from her each time she finished. Yes... That would be amazing. His train of thoughts was interrupted by a hiss that she sounded and turned his attention to her. He watched as she raised the dagger and... What is she doing there?

"What in the name of the Dark Lord are you doing? Do you want to cut off your finger?" He asked, tilting his head to the side, watching how she held the blade all of a sudden.

The female wizard stopped at his question.

"What? No of course not." she said thinking his question was rather silly. "I have a piece of wood stuck in my hand. I'm just trying to get it out." she explained to him putting the hand down that held the knife for a second and holding out her hand so he could see. At first glance it couldn't be seen. Brown against black is a rather hard thing to see period. However, if one looked closely they could see the piece of wood lodged into her palm. It was rather large too. If she had feeling in her hand there would be no way she wouldn't have noticed it sooner.

"It looks like that from here..." Ren replied slightly offended at her tone as if he would assume such things out of blue. She should know him better. Well... his inexperience with some things did make him do so but still... He only said what he thought and saw it looked like. Sighing once, suddenly he remembered the time back then at the tree house, right after the fire. How she held out her hand like this for him to take out the burned splinters. Perhaps he should do it again to make sure she doesn't cut her hand in half.

Just to be sure.

He shifted in his seat and hissed in irritation as he stood, walking over to her, observed by the surprised Hyano. He gripped her hand firmly in his and raised it to have a closer look. It took him a while but eventually spotted that annoying wood piece in her palm. He raised his other hand and grabbed the splinter between his index finger and thumb, his sharp claw-like gauntlets made it easier to get a hold of it and pulled it out swiftly.

The girl didn't cringe or grit her teeth like she had the last time he did it. Then again, even if she was normal it was only one. Not the some odd number that had been there before. She smiled and flexed her hands.

"Thanks, Ren." she said glad he was willing to help. She guessed it really was a good idea to help her with such things considering her current state of body. She blinked as she noticed something. Her blood looked strange. It was darker, almost like it was old and already dead. She thought over her current state and as she thought on it she had to admit it did make sense. She should have died a long time ago. The only thing that has kept her alive was the mark on her shoulder. Likely the dark magic kept trying to kill her and again the only thing keeping her alive was the sun-shaped magic. She would have to look into the spell that was placed on her someday. It was a very good one.

He did not answer her but kept murmuring as he turned around and walked back to his little corner. The sun was getting on his nerves already and didn't know why his toleration to it has decreased. He started to hunch over more as he was in sunlight which he didn't do from the start. He guessed it might be another side effect of the loss of his Lord. He wasn't as defended from it and the last remnants of Sauron's grip just now vanished from him. But that is just speculation. Slowly but surely he made it to the corner and slid down to a cross-legged sitting position, huddling closer into the corner, folding his hands inside his sleeves.

Hyano noticed this and tilted her head. She thought a moment then got back up on her bed and looked around at the mirrors that created the light in the room before seeing the one she was looking for. She got up and walked over picking up a rock on the way and then tossed it at the mirror. It crashed the shards hitting the ground. She jumped back from it not feeling like dealing with that in her body as well. She would ask someone to come clean it up later. She did this on purpose as it caused the area where Ren sat to grow slightly in darkness. She then walked back to the bed and sat down.

"Better?" she asked curiously.

The sudden darkness caused his sight to suddenly sharpen, which made him look up briefly, his hearing got better as well, just like his other senses expanded. The weakening rays of the sun didn't reach him as much anymore. He gave a small sigh and shifted in his position, getting more comfortable and clinged less to the wall.

"Yes." He replied, although not as curtly. What would make him feel much better would be utter darkness. Just like in his private room. But well... He can't stay confined in there for the rest of his existence. He had a mine to control and army to hold under his flag and wizard to look after. No time to indulge in his items and the darkness. His gaze moved from his own robe towards the girl and watched the item she made, wondering if it was ready yet.

The istar smiled, glad she had done well, then looked at the flute she had made. Just one more thing then she was done. She took up some sheet and started rubbing the flute and blew it out a few times making sure there weren't any loose pieces of wood sticking out. That would be very annoying. Once it was smoothed out she gave it a final onceover before putting it to her lips. She closed her eyes and started to play, like when they play their games it could be heard out in the hall and because of the kind of instrument it was it moved throughout the cave. She was pleased to know she could still play well and the sound of the newly made instrument was very good. She was curious how the orcs would react to it.

To the wraith it had no special effect as he heard her play enough times back then, listening to it sometimes for days without end. Not because he wanted to but because she was always playing it. He didn't truly like the flute but well... he got used to it after a while.

The orcs in the other hand -who were close enough- frowned and stopped what they are doing as they heard the strange and strange noise. Some met each others' gazes and either shrugged or murmured, not sure what to think of it. They didn't know what it was or what it meant, making some of them uneasy, but the guards reassured them that they will get to the end of this and started following the sound right to the wizard's room. They stopped there though and decided to go back, seeing this must be something she did or she caused. And she tended to do unusual things...

Hyano continued to play for a while, the effects of the music calming her down a great deal. It felt nice to hear something other than the sounds of hammers and fighting. When she finally decided to stop she actually yawned feeling her body start to tire finally. She lay down, curling up with the flute in her hand. She didn't bother to tell Ren she was going to sleep. It had been what he wanted anyway so she didn't think it mattered really. Within moments, she was out like a light. The light in the room was starting to dim more which was likely the reason she had gotten tired.

Nighttime was coming.

Ren wasn't one to be impatient but waited until he recognized the night, feeling his powers rise and his aura strengthen. The moment the time came to roam, his head snapped up, his gaze moving swiftly to the sleeping wizard's form. The dark creature then moved and stalked forward like a predator hunted its prey, taking silent steps towards her bed. Even if he knew she won't wake up, the thrill of the hunt was alluring and it woke his wraith instincts.

The moment he was close enough he raised a hand and swiftly slung his fingers around the newly made flute, pulling it inch for inch from her grasp. Once done, the Nazgul stepped back, slowly but surely leaving the room, and making his way through the halls right to his own secret room where he will relish in his new toy, looking forward to see her reaction and snatch a new one if she made any. Through the whole night he didn't return, neither in the morning. He wished to go to her a little later when she calmed down a little and there will be possibly no fireballs flying towards him.

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