"They're all sworn to Melkor. The baby's not sworn to Melkor, I don't need the baby dead."

"Elves'll kill baby orcs too."

"We can't adopt them and have a bunch of eyes and ears for the Enemy running around, getting persuaded by voices in their head to make oaths..."

She pets her baby. The baby nibbles on her tiny fingers.

"What does Melkor say about the other Valar?"

"They torture us forever when we die."

"They don't actually do that, far as I know."

"Well, that's good then."

"They tamper with your head, make you nicer. Maybe make sure you're married to the baby's father, tha'ts the kind of thing they'd do."

"- no not him -"

"Oh?"

"I can't get married but if I could - not him."

"Well.

I'd say 'try not to die' but that seems a little cruel under the circumstances.

Elves can't have children unmarried."

"I know. That's one of the Elf things I don't have."

"Is your hair like that on purpose?"

"No, I just get tortured a lot so I don't turn into an Elf or have inadequately orcy kids. They let up some after I had the baby."

"Do you turn into an Elf if you're not tortured enough?"

"Probably too late. Might have been too late my whole life, I dunno, when my parents tortured me they told me it was so I wouldn't turn into an Elf because then they wouldn't love me any more."

This Elf is maybe having a hard time thinking of anything to say.

"...my adoptive orc parents," she clarifies, "my Elf dad probably killed himself before I was born and my Elf mom was kinda..."

Nod. "I, uh, I'm sorry that happened to you. Are you okay? Do you want a - hug, or -"

"...okay."

He raises an eyebrow.

"You can hug me and it'd be nice it just seems kinda funny."

"I, uh, know that Angband is horrible in all kinds of obvious and subtle ways, and don't usually care to let myself be upset about that because that'd make it good tactics for the enemy to throw tortured pretty girls at me - though, thinking about it, maybe that's not a bad incentive to set up -" he hugs her - "but you're clearly - as innocent as anyone sworn to the Enemy can be, and it's just - sad. That there's nothing better."