"...So what are orcs like, then? And orfs." This is a practical question, even. She has a baby orc right over there.

"I am the only orf right now and haven't met any others, but I guess they'd be all about like me, in-betweeny? And orcs don't have to be tortured extra because they hurt all the time by themselves, and baby orcs don't cry hardly ever so she won't bother you, and orcs love babies, and also they are all sworn to the service of Melkor once they can talk."

"She's hurting all the time and it doesn't make her cry?"

"Well yeah, it doesn't mean anything's happening. I guess maybe if I learn how to make it not affect her and then I fuck that up she might cry about that? For a little bit though, not for very long."

"I have some concerns about the developmental effects of untested forms of mind control on babies," he says, having spent the last 30 seconds firmly reminding himself he has these concerns. "...They make safe doses of Tylenol, though."

"I've never heard of that before but from how you're thinking about it I'm not sure it would do much. ...or that it has been tested on orcs. Maybe I'll just learn to write magic songs a hundred times faster or something."

"I mean, pediatrics is a whole field and they must figure out new things somehow, I just don't know anything about it. Maybe the library will have advice, or, or the opposite of advice." Like approaches to increasing orc pain that it is possible to take the reverse of. "In any case I don't want to tell you how to take care of your own kid."

"Maybe! I can even read so if there's advice, I can read it." She rummages in the closet and discovers baby clothes and looks through them before selecting a gray footie onesie to put the baby in.

He'll go back to putting his clothes away and convince himself that pain and torment can be classed as "not ideal" but do not have to be treated like an emergency. It is important to approach things in a positive way, like I can figure out a nice thing for my roommate, whose life has already improved significantly, instead of negative frames like there are babies in constant pain and I don't immediately know how to fix it. 

"She'll grow up really fast, she might be talking by the time the school year is over. If that helps."

That does help, actually. (In a way not really related to the content.) "I guess a lot of things can happen in a whole year."

"Yeah!" She supplements the onesie with a little baby sweater in dark green.

"Even the baby clothes are pretty..."

And lo all his own clothes are unpacked. He can find places for his collection of weird plastic-covered things now. 

"I'm gonna go get us some food." Baby goes in the crook of her arm.

Smile, thumbs up. "If I'm not here when you get back I'm in the library."

"Okay!"

And off she sways, humming.