Here be a short drabble. Sorry if it's a little incomplete.
Whumptober 2022:
Promp No. 18 LET'S BREAK THE ICE
"Just get it over with." | Treading Water | "Take my Coat"
Finderáto was fairly certain that his heart had stopped beating. He had been walking with Turukáno and his small family. They were talking about nothing in particular, simply trying to pass the time, when the ice had given out under Elenwë. The gaping chasm had mercilessly swallowed her and little Itarillë. Turukáno had wasted no time in tossing aside his coat and leaping after them. Finderáto wasn't fast enough to stop his cousin.
He watched in horror as Turukáno dove into the dark waters that lurked beneath the unforgiving ice. Finderáto knew that when someone fell in, they seldom made it out. Much to Finderáto's relief, Turukáno broke the surface a few moments later. He had little Itarillë clutched in his arms.
Finderáto slid on his stomach to the edge of the broken ice. Reaching down, he was just able to grasp the elfling and pull her to safety. Once his daughter was safe, Turukáno dove back down to find his wife.
Finderáto sat at the edge of the chasm, clutching little Itarillë to his chest under his cloak and praying Turukáno would surface soon. Several more minutes dragged by without either Elenwë or Turukáno coming back up. He was startled by rushing footsteps. Quite suddenly Nolofinwë was at his side. The older elf stripped his cloak and dove into the frigid water after his son. A hand on Finderáto's shoulder hailed the arrival of Findekáno.
A glance at Nolofinwë's eldest son showed that he was pale and shaken. A moment later, Nolofinwë broke the surface. He had Turukáno clutched in his arms. Elenwë was nowhere to be seen. Turukáno was limp and ashen. Finderáto couldn't keep back a cry of dismay.
It took both him and Findekáno as well as Arakáno and Angaráto to haul both sopping elves out of the water.
Nolofinwë was shivering violently. His hands were clumsy and he could barely fasten the clasps on his cloak when Arakáno draped it over him. Turukáno was much worse off. He lay there with blue lips and loose limbs. Findaráto feared that he had died. Indeed for a terrible moment, Turukáno lay without breathing. A desperate Findekáno beat down on his younger brother's chest in an effort to keep him alive.
Finderáto gave a sigh of relief with Turukáno started coughing up water. Eventually he peeled open one eye then he fell limp once more. His breathing thankfully continued. Findekáno pulled his younger yet taller brother into his arms. Now that the imminent danger of drowning was passed, Findekáno turned to the next problem: the cold.
"Quickly. Give me any cloaks you can spare," Findekáno commanded, voice hoarse with worry.
Finderáto's own cloak was currently wrapped around both him and Itarillë. Arakáno and Angaráto shed their outermost layers before racing off to find more warm clothing that could be spared. Findekáno rubbed Turukáno's colorless hands in his own. With a stuttering voice, Nolofinwë called a halt for the day's march.
Turukáno did not regain consciousness for a long while. When he did, his gaze was cloudy and panicked.
"Did you find her?" he asked almost as soon as he woke.
"Itarillë is safe," Nolofinwë promised, caressing his son's cheek.
"N-no. Elenwë. Did you find her?" Turukáno shuddered.
Nolofinwë hesitated.
"I looked but I couldn't not find her," he finally admitted.
Turukáno was silent.
"I'll kill him," he finally growled, anger making his voice strained.
"Kill who?" Finderáto asked, even though he felt fairly certain that he knew the answer.
"Fëanáro. I'll kill him for this. After all, it's his fault we're here on this death march anyway," Turukáno snarled, still shivering slightly.
Finderáto pressed Itarillë into her father's arms. The little girl quickly latched on to Turukáno.
"Well, first we have to get off of this Valar be damned ice. Do you think you'll be up for continuing on in a few hours?" Nolofinwë asked in concern.
Turukáno didn't answer. Instead he clutched his daughter tightly to his chest.
"I'll kill him," he mumbled once more, "I have to. What's the point of living otherwise?"
Nolofinwë cuffed his son over the head, but he didn't reprimand Turukáno. It didn't take much to guess that a similar thought was running through his own head. Finderáto almost pitied his half-uncle for the mountain of revenge he was up against now. Then he shook his head. What was he thinking? Fëanáro deserved it.