#sometimes you have to inflict a situation on a blurbo

[lordgrimwing]

Identity #01

Maglor flicked his wrist, sending another flat stone skipping out across the wide pond. He glared at the ripples in the murky water, then rubbed his lower back. Water lapped at his toes. The sun sat low in the trees still, sunrise not long passed, and the air was still gentle against the skin of his arms and face, though the warming rays promised another hot and humid day. He should head back soon, apologize for running off, and get about his chores, those his brothers hadn’t finished yet.

 He threw another stone, this one sinking with a plonk instead of skipping, and made no move to get up from the mossy log, half submerged in the mud. He didn’t want to go home, not yet, and maybe not for the next several days. 

He was fourteen! He could survive on his own in the forest for a few days. He knew which plants he could eat. He could use his knife to make snares or sharpen sticks to catch fish. It couldn’t be that hard. Besides, his Pa told stories about going on hunting trips all by himself when he was even younger. Maglor could definitely stay out here and not go home until he was ready.

But Ma would worry, and Pa would track him down before sunset, probably before midday if he was being honest with himself. They wouldn’t let him hide out here.

He rubbed his stomach. 

He’d eaten breakfast this morning, though he felt a little sick when he got up—he realized why after taking his turn at the outhouse. Now, his belly felt hollow and empty, almost like he was hungry again, but not quite. He also kind of needed to pee again.

He threw another stone, his supply running low.

The ground around the pond didn’t have many stones, but if he got up, he could probably find a handful more that might work for skipping. He thought about it but heard someone splashing through the shallow, mucky water behind him, the cattails rustling as someone drew near to his hiding spot. He stayed put.

“Figured I’d find you here,” Maedhros said, plopping down on the end of the log, the legs of his overalls wet and spotted with mud and pond debris. “You should really pick a new hiding spot if you don’t want me to find you.”

Maglor sighed.

His brother wrapped an arm around his shoulder but he shrugged it off.

“What’s wrong?”

He hurled another rock. It landed in the vegetation on the far side of the pond.

With a laugh, the older boy reached across him, took one of the stones, and skipped it all the way across the water. He was always so good at everything.

“You should have seen Celegorm and Caranthir trying to milk the goat,” Maedhors chuckled. Maglor usually milked the nanny goat but he hadn’t done it today. “I swear, they can’t do anything together. Cara was in tears by the end, and then the goat put her foot in the milk bucket and splashed it all over him!” 

Maglor forced out a stilted laugh when his brother elbowed him lightly, then grimaced and hunched forward, wrapping his arms around his middle.

Maedhros’ voice quieted, the merriment melting away. “Pa’s worried,” He murmured. “It’s not like you to skip chores.” He reached out again, but this time he rested his hand on the other’s lower back and began to rub.

Maglor still didn’t say anything, but he let him continue.

They sat quietly for a few minutes, listening to the wind rattle in the reeds. 

“Ma wanted me to give this to you,” Maedhros eventually broke the calm, reaching into the big pocket over his chest and pulling out a bundle of large magnolia leaves folded around something. He offered it to his brother.

Hesitating for only a moment, Maglor took it. “Why?” He finally asked, setting the bundle on his lap.

“It’s a salve. She said it’ll help you feel better if you rub it over your belly and back.” He explained simply.

“I feel fine!” Maglor snapped at him, trying to straighten up so he didn’t look so miserable. He grimaced and curled forward again.

Maedhros kept rubbing his back, unphased by the outburst.  

Maglor’s head fell forward, his black hair curtoning around his face. He felt like throwing up or maybe crying. “I don’t like this.” He murmured, a tear sliding off his nose.

“I can help,” Maedhros offered. “We could go back to the shore, or I could help you put it on out here if you don’t want to get up yet.” He stuttered over the last bit, like he’d been about to say something else but changed his mind at the last moment.

He didn’t have the energy to rebuild the thin veneer of stoicism he’d worn, so without further protest, he undid the button on his pants and untucked his shirt. “Thanks,” He said, still unable to straighten up. 

Maedhros stood, sinking a couple inches down into the mud. He squelched around the log. “I’ll do your back first,” He said.

Maglor held up the leaves and felt his brother’s fingers brush his palm as he took them, then the soft sound of the green covering unfolding.

“Oh,” Maedhros said with a little inhale of surprise. “It’s cold.”

Maglor hiked up his shirt, bracing himself. 

The first cool touch of salve was cold but he was in too much discomfort already to care about this latest bother. His brother’s hand, so much larger than his own even though they were only a few years apart, slid across his back, spreading the cool sensation around his flanks and up his spine. He relaxed, just a little, into the feeling.

After a few seconds, the cold spots began to tingle. 

Maedhros splashed around to the front of the log. “Should I do your stomach too?” He asked.

Maglor nodded. His back felt pleasantly warm now, almost as though he were laying on a sun-warmed rock or had a hot waterskin pressed against it. He held his shirt out of the way and sat taller as his muscles unclinched. 

A groan of relief escaped his lips as Maedhros spread the last of the salve over his belly, sliding his fingers under his pants to spread it as far as possible. Embarrassment colored his cheeks.

Maedhros just smiled at him, folding the empty leaves and stuffing them back into his front pocket. “It’s helping?”

“Yeah,” Maglor said shakily as he let go of his shirt and rubbed the last of the wetness away from his eyes. “I feel a lot better.”

“Great,” His brother squatted and rubbed his hands vigorously in the water, coating them in mud before rinsing them off and standing up. “My hands feel so weird.”

Maglor tucked in his shirt and did up his pants. He still felt a little sick, and the spot between his legs continued to ache, but nothing seemed as bad as it did just a few minutes ago. “Thanks,” He said, leaning against his brother when he sat down next to him.

Maedhros tentatively put his arm around him again, then gave a comforting squeeze when he didn’t object to the touch. There were surely chores waiting for them back at the house, but neither of them made any move to get up. 

A duck landed in the middle of the pond with a splash.

“I hate when this happens,” Malgor admitted, gently kicking his feet in the water.

He felt Maedhros rest his chin on his head. “I’d hate it too if I just randomly started bleeding. Though, I’d probably think I was dying and run to Ma rather than out here.”

Maglor tilted his face up and saw his brother turning red with embarrassment at his own words, blushing all the way up his ears. It made him laugh a little. Maedhros didn’t usually get flustered. “Ma says the longer I drink my teas, the less this’ll happen. I keep thinking it’s been long enough…” His voice trailed away.

They sat in silence as the sun steadily rose over the trees. A frog croaked somewhere in the cattails. 

Maedhros looked up at the bright sky. “Should we head home?” He asked.

“You can go.”

He looked at him with concern.

Maglor shoved at his brother’s shoulder lightly. “I’m okay,” He protested weakly. “I just need to be by myself for a bit.”

“Alright, see you later,” Maedhros stood, slowly slipping his arm from the other’s shoulder. He sloshed to the bank, pushing aside the plants growing nearly higher than his head. He looked back once, when he reached the edge, smiled, and then disappeared. 

Maglor sat on the log for several long minutes before standing.  

#sometimes you have to inflict a situation on a blurbo #maglor is going through it right now #and let maedhros be a good big brother #as he always is #trans masc maglor #and of course i had to add that part about Cele and Cara #the silmarillion #maglor #maedhros #old gods au #grimwing writes