#the-constrainer

"Mairon lies to you, he delights in having a cold foot or other appendage right between his shoulder blades, or on his rear."

@the-constrainer

The Valar had warned him and the others. Master Aulë, specifically, had been particularly adamant: Melkor was not to be trusted, no matter what. He only sought to corrupt and destroy, he’d said.

And yet, Mairon had sneaked away from the halls where he dwelt, concealed behind a dark cloak, keeping his head low as he walked fast to reach the usual meeting spot. He knew it was risky and he dared not think of the consequences should the Valar find out about it, but the desire to seek him out was stronger than the fear of being punished. There was something about the Dark Vala that he felt incredibly drawn to and he could not explain. He sat by his side, wide-eyed as he spoke of forbidden things.

The sound of heavy yet familiar steps suddenly pulled him away from his own musings and for a brief, fleeting moment, Mairon smiled to himself.

Melkor laughed and lounged on his through, “Ah… Feanaro’s little Laurelin… tell me have you come to find fangs as deep in you as your namesake? Or perhaps you are hoping to be my bride, I might pay a gem for your hand,” He was grinning darkly though, “Would you like that little painter? A precious stone to grace your brow while you are bound to my side and watching your brothers fall?”

Yanking against her chains, Laurelin snarled at the Dark Lord on his throne. "I would rather die than bind myself to you."

She had succeeded at sneaking into Angband, but had been caught just before reaching the dungeons where she imagine Maedhros was likely being kept. Though she felt terror deep within her soul at being captured, she could not help her fury from burning bright and hot within her.

Findekano had to be discreet about his visits to Maitimo’s home, with the tension between their fathers building as it was. He did not need to visit completely in secret - Nerdanel always welcomed him, and he would often share lunch or dinner with her, Maitimo, and Cana - but he was always careful to avoid Feanaro. That wasn’t difficult, considering his uncle was nearly always working on something in his forge nowadays.

“Who says I’m hiding? I just needed to take some time to...reflect on what we talked about.” Findekano tried his best to retain his composure and not betray any sign that he was currently paralyzed by indecision and trying to avoid Maitimo.

He hated to keep anything from Maitimo, but he wanted to make sure his beloved didn’t get caught in the middle of things and have his reputation tarnished. As much as Findekano pretended he didn’t fear what rumors Melkor could stir up, he was certainly in no rush to find out what they were. And yet there had to be some way of warning Maitimo that Melkor liked to lurk outside his home.

“Feel free to do so, if you can. What do you know, some times even I need a break from myself. You might have some difficulty choosing a mind to invade, though. There are so many of them in there.”