// btw, it might go without saying (I mean, given that they’re both Ainur it’s not as though genetics has much to do with them in the first place… I don’t even think they have bellybuttons?), but I wanted to clarify here in case there was any confusion or squicking: Osse and Sauron are not actually cousins. XD
The headcanon here is that they call each other “Cousin” as a sort of formal acknowledgement that they are both Maiar. If they had both originated in the service of the same Vala, they might be “Brother/Sister”, but since they are separated by both an elemental divide and the Valar they were embodied for, they stick with “Cousin”.
So there you have it. They’re “Cousins,” kissing, not kissing-cousins, and all y’all Noldor out there can just keep it in your pants.
A ripple appeared in the shadowed shallows, and the smaller of the two Oarni rose from the water. He grasped the handle of his trident in his fist and yanked, freeing it from the rock. His eyes moved over the wounds it had left behind, inspecting his handiwork (and he seemed especially interested in the cut on Sauron’s cheek, near his mouth).
With a chirp of satisfaction, he turned and dove back into the water that still churned and frothed with fury.
The wraith could feel how the water grew colder around him but he did not turn back, not willing to risk his existence for a peek at what was going on behind him. He could sense Osse’s anger in every drop of saltwater which only urged the captain of the Kraken onward, towards the safety of the shore. Since he was not certain if the Master of the Seas’ fury would not hit him too all he could do was to swim for his life -or rather unlife- and send silent prayers through the ocean in hopes that he might leave Osse’s domain mostly unscathed. Besides the scratches across his chest and behind, of course.
And then the water started to churn, the force behind it pulling at the hapless wraith’s struggling body as he continued to swim with all the strength he had to not get sucked into the underwater whirl as well. Oh how he regretted his earlier actions now and he knew this would not be the end of this affair. Even if he had -in his mind- followed Sauron’s orders and watched the rope he knew that it’d earn him no medals and no praises, quite the opposite as he had interfered with whatever the Dark Lord had planned to do. Or maybe He had had no plan at all? It didn’t matter in the end as Ji Indur squinted his eyes shut, still swimming as fast as he could until he felt the power of the underwater tornado lessen and in front of himself the water grew brighter again, less and less deep until he was finally able to walk until he stumbled upon the shore and fell there on his knees into the warm soft sand, completely drained.
Before he could turn to look after his ship and crew and see whether the sea was still raging he felt something flew by very close to him, a familiar aura crashing into the cliffs, sending debris and rocks flying everywhere. Ji Indur hastily covered his head, feeling a few pebbles fall onto him as well before everything grew silent again. At first he did not dare to look up but then when he did it did not take him long to realize what had happened. Especially not when one of the sea creatures rose from the waters to retrieve its trident. With a groan he pushed himself to his feet to walk over to where his master’s form had hit the solid rock to see if He would need any help. It did not make his heart feel any lighter to see that the ocean was still in disarray and the Kraken was being moved around like a child’s toy, the crew desperately trying to steer it back to the shore as well to see what had happened to their captain, all of them worried that he might have perished.
And they all knew what would happen to the ship then….
After a moment’s blinking to clear the seawater from his vision, the Wraith’s blurry visage stabilized above him, concerned and cautious.
Sauron groaned. The last of the chittering Oarni vanished into the sea, and he lifted his head to watch him go– it was tempting, SO tempting, to leave the lot of them with a little farewell gift of exploding molten glass, but…
…Why spoil this victory with a petty gesture?
His head sank back against the rocks with a weary squelch.
Lifting a strand of seaweed off his face, the Dark Lord laughed; starting as a silent tremor in his chest and ending with helpless mirth. “What a day!” he gasped, “What a blistered arse of a day… Are you still in one piece, Ji?” He rolled his head to better look at his waterlogged servant, a tired smile lingering. “…it would be a great unfairness if you weren’t. I want the pleasure of eviscerating you all to myself.”
He sighed, closing he eyes and letting the sun dry him while his bones reset themselves.
Not being able to speak was quite bothersome although in all fairness the wraith was not sure what he even would have said if he could have earned the ability of using words under water. If anything it was maybe for the best, as he was fighting the urge to cover his eyes as he was an unwilling witness to the sudden exchange of intimate gestures even though it was more coming from his master’s side than Osse’s who, everything considered, was quite surprised and not exactly a willing participant as far as Ji Indur could tell. With Sauron pushed back again and the attention returned to the helpless corsair in his grip, the wraith did not anticipate what was to happen next as he tried to make himself understood with sign language, simply to inform the Master of the Seas why he was not letting his tongue fly as usual.
And then there were suddenly lips over his and his eyes widened as his brain had trouble to fully process what was happening until he felt his lungs fill with air and after he was released once more the captain of the Kraken was just happy that with life he had also lost the ability to blush, pressing hands to his mouth instead so he wouldn’t squander the gift with one carelessly made sound of surprise. Before he could speak however and explain himself and apologize for his intrusion he felt hot glares fall on him, making him squirm uncomfortably in Osse’s grip again. His master’s will, while not as strong as on dry land, was pressing against the back of his mind, pushing it around and there were silent promises of punishments to come for his inability to follow orders given.
Feeling even smaller than before and strangely meek the wraith knew these were not his own feelings but those forced upon him by a rather furious Sauron who suddenly came closer, so much closer, pushing the hapless corsair out of Osse’s grip, causing the precious gift of oxygen to leave his lungs and mouth in a stream of bubbles and a surprised little noise. Ah so much for explaining himself, the blow powerful enough to make his entire body reverberate, every fiber aching as he was hurled through the water a few arm’s lengths away. If this had happened on dry land he was certain he would have landed near Angmar in a heap of broken bones. Deciding that this would be a good time to maybe bid his farewell after all since -it was all over now, was it not?- he doubted he’d be given another chance to speak, the only thing that stopped him was another kiss given by Sauron to the other Ainur but this time it was a true kiss, fierce and with a heat that almost made the water bubble. Or so Ji Indur would have sworn afterwards.
….it was also the moment when he knew that whatever would happen next…he should not be anywhere nearby, the wraith starting to swim towards the nearby shore in a desperate determination to not end up the victim of /both/ Maiar’s wrath. No, one punishment would suffice, he had no intention to witness what a furious Osse looked like this close up.
Ossë started when Ji was ripped from his loose grasp and he found the hulking form of his cousin in its place. He glared and parted his lips to speak, but hands in his hair and a quicker tongue beat him to it.
In hindsight, he should have interrupted him. He should not have let Sauron speak. He should have batted him away, talked over him, tossed him to shore – anything. Something. But he hadn’t; instead he had stilled with his defiant glare and listened to his cousin’s arguments, his pitiful appeals, his demands, his pleas.
Instead he was captured by a kiss, furious and hungry and desperate, and he had been expecting that. He was surprised only that Sauron had waited so long to stake his claim, the tear of teeth into his lips a burn like forge-bright blades melting into cooling waters, the smell of sizzling flesh escaping with the bubbles of steam that surged from their mouths.
He would have jerked his face away. He would have used his teeth for more than passionate embraces. But at that same instant Sauron ever-so-delicately passed his smoldering fingertips over the intimately sensitive slit of his gills. A squeak escaped him as he froze, tail flickering sharply in a confused, erratic rhythm. It was an overwhelming onslaught of thoughts and feelings: danger, heat, pleasure, cousin, enemy – all blended into one and were lost beneath the warming, fin-curling sensation of sea-cooled flames seeping into every filament, every scale, and deeper still.
If Sauron’s fingers were dangerous, his lips were a promise of a decadent doom. He was so unbelievably gentle, feather light kisses and puffs of smoky breath that he sucked in as though he needed that air to survive. Those horrible fingers found his fin instead and he whined softly through the squeaks that peppered the sea like gasps. And was that the graze of a tongue between his gills?
Ossë’s head rolled back in offering, his eyes burning brighter than the stars as he floated limp against his cousin. The thrumming in Sauron’s chest buzzed through him as well, and he warbled weakly at the vibrations. His tail whipped forward to wind around Sauron’s as he lifted his hand to thread his fingers through the knotted hair nestled at the back of his skull. The warmth was everywhere, it felt like he was boiling, but it was perfection.
He stiffened for just an instant, his shoulder lifting in protest and his head tilting to bump at his cousin’s brow. His grip tightened, claws curling against Sauron’s scalp and scales scraping against the smooth flesh of his tail. It had to stop now – but it felt so decadently good. There it was again, another swipe of a strong, slick, long tongue, and he whined shrilly as he bared his throat once more.
But Sauron would proudly wear this victory. No matter how good it felt, if he allowed his cousin to continue this game (already it had gone too far to escape with all his dignity in tact) he would never outlive the shame of being so wickedly manipulated.
He jerked Sauron’s face from his neck and squeezed with his tail, holding his cousin steady as the waters swirled and surged around them. The confused wildlife darted anxiously around the Ainur as the plant life swayed and churned dangerously beneath. Ossë watched his cousin’s expression, his own set in a furious snarl of rage. A rumble of distant thunder growled on the horizon, and an icy surge of water roared above them as the sea responded to the emotions of its master.
He wanted to speak. To curse his bold actions, to defend his husband’s good name, to wipe that smug, self-satisfied glint from his eyes. But speaking would be the final defeat, the final insult. Biting him would be too easily confused as a passion of another sort, as would any physical contact at this point. Where the water was previously warmed and gentle, it now was wild and cold and dark.
His hand loosened its grip, and his tail unwound its hold. Ossë stared down his cousin and all the previous affection and pity and wary trust was gone, replaced with fury and determination and something else that swirled in an undertone of his eyes and in the soft, mourning song of a whale – until the water spout threw him up, out of the water, and crashing brutally into the rocks along the coast. A trident followed his flight to graze along his throat, a shallow cut along the side of his neck.
In the sea, a trumpet blasted. It was a warning that all mercies had been meted out, and the next intrusion would have fatalities.
How did the saying go again about cats and curiosity? Ji indur should have known that there was no gratitude to be had and that his actions would be regarded as foolish at best and upsetting at worst. And Osse did look and sound rather upset as his tail stopped the wraith from swimming further, smacking the corsair harshly in the chest as if to remind him that this was not his realm and that he should not have entered it so lightly. Ah how he wished he could have replied, could have explained himself but without air there was no voice and he ended up grabbed in a very undignified way and dragged along, very much like jetsam in the current. And to feel Osse’s claws against his behind was not a very enjoyable experience.
As they approached his master who looked so very different in his current form Ji Indur’s heart dropped further into his stomach and he sighed deeply inside his head as Sauron sounded even less pleased that the Master of the Seas had. So all he could do was to endure this treatment, wave his hand with a weak grin and hope that either one would not be mad enough abut his intrusion to punish him. Though he was more worried about losing Osse’s blessing than anything the Dark Lord might be thinking of to remind him that there had been no orders to follow him.
At least he was allowed to witness what came next this way, as it was as unexpected for him as it seemingly was for Osse and maybe Ji Indur would have enjoyed it more though if he had not felt quite miserable and a bit sorry for himself. The life of a Nazgûl was a hard one he lamented while Osse was given a gesture of gratitude by his cousin. Would this be a change for good in their relationship? If one had asked the pirate to bet on this he would not have accepted it as he was certain it would be a bet he could only lose. But he knew it’d be best to keep his thoughts to himself and as private as possible, since he could not tell how easily they would be read here under water. But he was certain that even with the enjoyment of his little travel Sauron would be up to nothing good another time.
He really should have stayed on board of the Kraken…
Warm. He was so warm. It was unnatural, really, in the bitter chill of the sea, but Sauron still radiated heat like the forge he was. His chest was warm where they touched, and his lips were scalding. Ossë stilled at the touch, too stunned to think to push his cousin away. The heat of blood and life was addictive and enchanting, but the heat of another Ainu was overwhelming – it was a heat not just of flesh and body but of soul and song and spirit, and it permeated all the deeper for it.
He lifted his free hand slowly to press against Sauron’s chest with the intent to push him away, but he lingered, the shove only half-hearted in its attempt. It was true that the Children could not compare to another Ainu, and even with his wife and his followers, it was not like the company of a spirit that identified with another element. His eyes slipped shut. It was not so hard to pretend that they were friends, and that this was nothing more than a genuine gesture of affection between kindred spirits. He curled his clawed fingers over the smooth, hot expanse of Sauron’s pectorals, absorbing the moment…
And then he felt Ji Indur shift in the grasp of his other hand and the spell broke. With a swift and strong shove, he easily overpowered his cousin and propelled him away. Cool, familiar waters replaced the heated strength of another fana, and with every eddying swirl the memory of warmth was drawn from his mind. He would not be so quick to forget himself again. His brow still felt warm where lips had lingered however, and as he stared down his cousin he lifted webbed fingers to brush the spot, almost expecting to feel the bubbled scar of burned flesh.
The Oarni moved into a flanking position when their lord clicked sharply, knowing better than to comment on the scene they had just witnessed. Ossë turned himself away and began a slow, leisurely swim, expecting his cousin to follow. He would have preferred to have passed Ji to one of his Maiar and let them handle the escort, but there was still a chance that this underwater meeting was planned and intended for some purpose. He would not leave his guests out of his sight until they were out of his waters.
“I do believe this is the longest I have heard you go without speaking,” Ossë drawled, dipping his head and twisting so his chest was aiming towards the surface. Ji was gently turned with him, suspended over the Ainu nearly eye to eye. “Which is just as unsettling as how talkative my cousin has become in your place. Have you nothing to say about your presence in my waters?”
In reply, the corsair twisted up his face and seemed to be attempting some sort of message by the look in his eyes. He gestured at his chest, then pointed up to his throat and finally his lips.
Ossë blinked and clicked. Then he chattered and chirped in amusement. “Air,” he realized. “Of course, you lack any organs to process it under the water! I forget, sometimes, that at your simplest you are merely a Man.” His gaze drifted above them towards the surface, and aside to his cousin. They could breach for air, but somehow the less Sauron was submerged the more dangerous he seemed; what if this was part of a plan?
So instead he lightly pressed a finger against Ji’s nostrils to cover them, then curled up to press their lips together. He tilted his head to cover the pirate’s mouth entirely as he parted his lips, and his gills moved as he inhaled deeply only to exhale through his mouth to share the bounty.
Ah! Too soon, the moment ended, and the sea-maia pulled away, all wariness and vanity. Curse that pirate… curse the weakening of his power over his thrall thrice over! He shot a glare full of ugly promises at the wraith, willing him to remain still and silent and meek for the rest of their journey… all things he knew to be the utmost contrary of Ji’s nature.
Still, Ossë’s easy curl of fins and slow retreat felt much like an invitation– and an invitation was auspicious.
He started when his Cousin spoke, thinking at last, perhaps, the silence was broken! But alas, it was the wraith again that stole what was rightfully his. Black eyes narrowed with dark threats as Ossë filled Ji’s airless lungs.
They were near enough to shore now that the sea’s floor was rife with swaying weeds, bright corals home to brighter fish and clicking claws. Sea birds dove and wheeled overhead. There was land in sight, and forests of dappled kelp brushed their sides as they swam.
The adventure was near over, and yet there was still time for it all to end in ruin should the pirate say something to ruin the mood– rushing forward, he pushed the wraith from Ossë’s grasp, expelling the gifted air from his lungs in a stream of bubbles and a noise of distressed surprise. Before objection could be made, he swung round to face his Cousin’s pearl-strewn visage, banded with light from the surface ripples.
He slid quick hands around either side of Ossë’s crown amidst a tangle of hair the color of seagrass, bringing their faces close with a hurried whisper. “Mere Man he is, and mere Child is your consort. What have they to do with us? You are great and wild and lovely beyond measure… deal with me, fair Terror. Deal with the Admirable of Auzulez, who has himself admired you since the dawn of time, who sang your praises at dusk! You ruin me with your disdain! You break my twice-broken heart! If you deign to speak to either of us, let it be me! Ossë, Ossë…”
He kissed him, urgent and ungently, breaking the skin on his lip, fingertips drawing open the tender slits at Ossë’s throat, teasing the line of soft filaments he found there. His mouth was quick to follow where fingers lead, and his lips gave sweeter care to the seadweller’s gills than he had to his kisses. He brushed the folds of the delicate fins at his jaw, then, drawing strength from the relative nearness of land, he dared to pull the other maia flush to his wide chest, thrumming a low song of sated greed.
Our Dark Lord sits on the pier with a fishing line, casting out into the shallows, saying nothing at all as the sun sets.
Ossë lounges quite a long ways away on a beach, watching the way the light reflects like a road of fire on the water.
He sighs.
“What an Age it’s been… So much quieter than the first, and yet more imaginative. So many fresh minds working to achieve new things… each success followed by a string of dashed hopes. I should have enjoyed the time spent on innovation free from war. But I had a heart set on revenge and a soul full of loneliness… I squandered my opportunity in Eregion.”
The line twitched. He reeled in and found whatever had bitten had escaped the hook, for the line was empty. He strung new bait, and cast again.
“You are the only one of my brethren who speaks to me now– though, of course, you are not speaking to me.” He grinned. “The only friend I count who has lived as long as I have, and is yet upon Middle Earth to tell the tale, is an enemy. Is that not absurd?” The look of his eyes darkened as the sky darkened, his profile, long and elegant, bent in melancholy.
“Would you believe me if I said I felt regret? That I tendered thoughts of surrender? Out of pure, pure weariness…” his breath caught. “Perhaps it is luck that makes you my fellow. You are the only one I know who has changed masters more than I, the only one I know who has left the service of… Who has sought pardon and received it.”
Nothing stirred on the water save the wind. “What is penance like, Ossë? How long does one wait, before our brothers and sisters look us in the eye again? How long before the sting of humiliation leaves, and love returns?”
The dark lord swallowed. “You are blessed to have one who trusts you so, and lives with your best interests at heart. I have been that, to another. But no longer.”
//I always think the memes seem entertaining but Ossë does not sleep and therefore does not dream, AND he isn’t very interested in sex. So in lieu of a meme, consider this a “have at it” invitation or something something.
*cracks knuckles*
yeah yeah all bark no bite whatever sure sure
…never met seafood so impatient to be cooked
I should just tag this whole month’s worth of posts as #Fishpocalypse2015
//I always think the memes seem entertaining but Ossë does not sleep and therefore does not dream, AND he isn’t very interested in sex. So in lieu of a meme, consider this a “have at it” invitation or something something.
MisbehavingMaiar: Tumblr Archive 