B2MEM 2019 Double Drabbles by eris_of_imladris

O68

Summary: Maedhros embarks on a fruitless quest. Prompt: Maedhros looking for Eluréd and Elurín. TW: Disturbing imagery.

Maedhros imagines them huddled up under some tree, one the same as the other thousands in this forsaken place, shivering. He has forgotten what warmth even feels like; their smaller bodies must have forgotten even sooner.

Even smaller than they should be. He looks for days. They might even be too small to see, their bodies sunken in like little valleys.

He tears through the brush, swearing at his brother’s men in every tongue he knows. He pulls back long leaves hoping to find short fingers reaching out for him. He watches the clear water of the stream, imagining hair floating by as weary heads rest on rocks.

Worst of all, he imagines them as they must have been. He remembers Ambarussa swinging on branches, bursting with energy and health and the vibrancy of youth and his father’s line, his father’s fire…

He stares into the small fires he builds at night, hoping every snapping twig is a child seeking help. At first, he knows they would be afraid. But as the days go on, they would be hungry. Thirsty. Starving. Freezing. Dying. All for nothing.

When he finally leaves, he has no idea where Eluréd and Elurín’s bones lie.