Story written for Feanorian Fun Bingo.
prompt filled: a mysterious encounter
Many arms to hug
Following his younger brother and cousin, Tyelkormo seriously wondered how come he ended with these two. Findarato was leading them through the havens with Curufinwe at his heels. They were both way too excited and as much as Tyelkormo liked hunting and tracking, that did not quite involve Findarato's idea of spending the afternoon.
His golden cousin led them finally to the beach and presented them a boat, beaming with pride and excitement. He had been babbling about that boat the entire way. Being just a little bit older and also not-his-brother, Findarato quickly got Curufinwe's full attention. And had they been going anywhere but into the boat, Tyelkormo would be perfectly fine with leaving them alone to play.
As soon as he put his bow down, Curufinwe grabbed it. Grinning at him, he pretended to pull the string at the water surface.
"Put it down, Curvo," warned Tyelkormo. "You know you're not allowed to have it. And you know better than to pull a string without shooting," he reprimanded his brother.
"But you said we are going fish hunting," pouted Curufinwe. "How else can I hunt?"
"Fishing, not fish hunting, Curvo," Finrod corrected him with the air of confidence of one living by the shores. "How do you expect to retrieve a fish from water after shooting it with an arrow?"
"With a rope." Curufinwe brightened at the idea. "Look, we have those light, strong ropes in there! If we just tie it around an arrow and..."
"That's not how you go fishing!"
Tyelkormo laughed and spoke before his younger brother took offense.
"You are not entirely wrong, Curvo. The mariners hunt larger fish with harpoons, but for our purpose a net will do just fine, if you really want to go fishing," he looked doubtingly at the boat. He knew Findarato was familiar with rowing, but he was fairly sure Curufinwe was going to get bored soon.
"Why did you even take it, then?" Curufinwe crossed his arms, still hugging his brother's bow.
"That is because I was told at last moment that I am to babysit you two today," Celegorm reminded him with faked annoyance.
"We don't need babysitting." Findarato pouted slightly. "You don't need to go with us."
"Findo knows the way," Curufinwe said confidently. "You can leave us."
"No such thing is going to happen."
xxx
Despite Findarato's earlier promises, fishing was, just as Tyelkormo predicted, boring. Oh, he could understand the mariners spending days on their ships, but sitting in a boat with two boys who could hardly stay still and quiet was a completely different matter. If they were out in the woods, hunting, he seriously doubted they would be able to track and hunt anything.
"If you keep checking that net every five minutes, nothing is going to get in there," said Tyelkormo indifferently as Findarato yet again pulled the net up to the water surface. Perhaps he shouldn't have; the sooner the boys get bored, the sooner they would return to the palace gardens.
"But there IS something there!" exclaimed Findarato. "Help me!"
Seeing that the boat swayed at the sudden movement, Tyelkormo was busy keeping it still as the boys dragged their net inside. He was about to suggest making a fire on the beach and preparing their dinner, now that they caught it, but he dropped. He expected to see a few tossing fish, but instead he looked into a pair of curious eyes regarding him and the boys with mild interest. Eight soft tentacles got tangled in the net, but they were already moving slowly, almost like a liquid, trying to find a way out. They also turned dark to match the colour of the boat.
"Woooah..."
"What is that?"
"An octopus," replied Tyelkormo. "Let it out, I don't know how to cook it on fire."
"Cook it?!"
Tyelkormo could swear there were three pairs of eyes looking at him with outrage. The octopus wrapped one of its tentacles around Findarato's ankle and moved towards him.
"We're taking it with us. Can we go back?"
Tyelkormo sighed and started turning the boat around. At least they were going back on the beach.
xxx
Much later Nerdanel and Fëanáro returned from their trip along the shore. Both were carrying various shells and pebbles and Nerdanel had a gull feather in her hair.
"Did you have fun?" Fëanáro approached a small boat on the beach. Tyelkormo was sitting on the boat and carving something in a piece of wood, glancing from time to time at the children.
"They did." Tyelkormo looked pointedly at the boys.
Curufinwe spotted his parents and ran to them, grinning.
"Look what we caught!" he grabbed Fëanáro's hand and dragged him to the spot where Findarato was sitting.
"What I caught."
"But I found you a box to keep it," scowled the younger boy. "Oh..."
"Shh." Fëanáro hushed the boys before they started an argument. "Be still and watch."
The container Atarinke found had two holes at the sides for more convenient transporting and it was closed on the top with a simple dowel. A long tentacle appeared in one of the holes and started probing the lid from the outside, while the other were trying to push if from the inside. The lid fit loosely, so the octopus was able to lift it a bit, but the dowel was stopping it from opening.
Fëanáro crouched next to the boys, smiling at their excitement. They were definitely not expecting to see the octopus try to free itself. They stared wide-eyed as the tentacle moved along the edges of the lid until it found the dowel. The tentacle paused to examine the unknown element and as the bowel moved, it tried to grasp it. After a few attempts the dowel fell on the sand and the box went still for a moment, as if the octopus was analysing what had happened. Then the tentacles inside pulled the lid again and this time it worked.
"Oh, hello, pretty." Nerdanel reached and caught the octopus before it left the box. "Now, I think it's time to go back home," she said and gently placed the octopus in Findarato's outreached arms.
"Can we please take it with us?" giggling as three tentacles wrapped around his arm and tickled him, Findarato glanced at his uncle.
"Why would you want to bring seafood home?" mused Tyelkormo loudly. "Strange choice of a pet, unless you want to cook it after all."
"Tyelko!" Two outraged boys cried in unison, making the older back away with his hands up.
"Alright, alright, no eating."
"But can I keep it?" insisted Findarato.
"We can take it to your home," nodded Fëanáro, failing to hide his smile and winking to Nerdanel, who rolled her eyes. "But it depends on your parents if they let you keep it."
xxx
Fëanáro could see his youngest brother cringe inwardly, even though Arafinwe managed to keep his face straight and didn't show even a glimpse of surprise when his son presented him a very curious octopus and claimed he wanted to keep it home. On their way back, the octopus sat still in its container, but once they put it on the floor, it opened the lid again and was ready to go exploring the new surroundings. After someone brought it a fresh fish from the kitchens, the octopus returned happily to the tank to consume its dinner.
There was a lot of pleading and persuading involved and Findarato used all his charm on his father, but he finally got his permission. Delighted, the boy grabbed the tank and left quickly, as if afraid that his father would change his mind.
Arafinwe sent his brother an exasperated look. Fëanáro smirked, but his smile disappeared just as quickly when Curufinwe burst into tears.
"But I want one too!"
One look at Nerdanel told him that she was not going to help him. Cursing silently the wicked idea of letting Findarato bring the octopus home in first place, Fëanáro picked his youngest son, now sniffling and upset. Something told him Atarinke would not be consoled easily.
"Don't despair, Curvo," said Arafinwe gently. "I'm sure your Atto will help you catch one tomorrow."
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