Qiri winces but makes very sure not to yelp when she splints the toe.

"And leave him alone, he looks terrified - locking him in a box -"

        "Honestly, he seemed less terrified in the box."

"Maybe it's the window."

The window changes from a scene of a waterfall in a jungle to a scene of some sand dunes. 

How bewildering and terrifying!!!!

The Elves aren't sure what to do in that case. They retreat outside, and this time shut the door.

Qiri does not know what to do. He puts down the bottle the doctor gave him - it's some weird material and he doesn't care for the texture - and, since he'd rather not waste any effort on being defiant right this minute when he doesn't have a clue what's going on, kneels by the side of the bed and waits.

Maedhros is back. 

He's been back for a while, but this is different. He was back on a computer, back as a voice giving humorless orders, back as an extra set of attention on any problem that involved talking to people. This is Maedhros, in person, hair hastily and clumsily braided. It is the first time he's actually felt like Maedhros is alive. He suspects he's entirely wrong to feel that way.

"Hello."

"Thank you for coming." He watches himself anxiously through Curufin's eyes to see if he got the smile right.

He didn't, at all. He lets him try again until he has it. "Is this an improvement -"

"You're here to learn a language."

"Ah huh, but you've got to practice faces on somebody, and I may as well ask questions while you do."

"This is not an improvement."

"Are you going to keep it? You could say it didn't last -"

" - it almost isn't lasting -"

"What, it's injured or something?"

"It's really hard not to kill." And it has a sense which I am reasonably confident my original body did not have, which senses limbs on some people which they don't have, which is constantly aware of the little human upstairs -

- he doesn't say that, because he can guess what is going on and sees no reason to make Sauron's job easier. 

"Where's the language?"

"Guest room." He sends the location.

He goes upstairs and finds the door with the guards and goes in.

Qiri looks over his shoulder, shaking just a little.

He pulls up a chair for Qiri and sits down.

He can take a hint. He sits in the chair. But now he really doesn't know what's going on.

"Curufin." He points at himself. He points at Qiri.

"- Zhi Qiri."

He nods. He smiles, a little. He gives the words for all of the things in the room.

Qiri is never going to remember any of these. By the fifth vocabulary word he has forgotten Curufin's name. He nods along anyway.