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.
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