Ocean

Canon compliant.  Círdan's greatest desire was to see the light of Valinor.  However, his greatest love stood between him and that desire.  Captured him and never let him go.  Original name of Círdan (i.e. Nowë) used because I felt like it.  And I changed his motivations a bit.  Oh well.  This piece was very strange to write, but for some reason I'm still rather fond of it.  Just try to be mature about it LOL.  Takes place probably in the Third Age, but no specific time is stated, and it "ranges" from the Years of the Trees to possibly the Fourth Age.

Disclaimer: I don't own the Silmarillion, the Lord of the Rings or any other of Tolkien's works

Pairings: Círdan x Belegaer (not the way you're thinking)

Characters: Círdan, possibly Ulmo, Ossë or Uinen involved (mentions the Valar)

Warning: canon compliant AU, alternate motivations, possible asexuality of a character, non-sexual romantic interest in an inanimate object

Song: The Seal Lullaby

Words: 887
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ocean (noun): the whole body of salt water that covers nearly three-fourths of the surface of the earth; a very large or unlimited space or quantity
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ocean

A man never forgot the day he met the love of his life.

And Nowë was no different than any other man.

Except in the mere happenstance that his one and only love was not a woman or a man.  Not even a person.  And yet she captivated him completely and totally in mind and body, left nothing behind as she swallowed him whole.

From the moment he set foot upon the wide open stretch of white sand outlining her beauty in a halo and looked out upon the endless ocean writhing and twisting in constant motion, Nowë knew that he would never leave this creation behind.  Could never leave it behind.  Before had he seen seas and rivers, but not even the starlit mirror of the Waters of Awakening could compare to the sight before him, gleaming beneath the stars with a gentle burn.

Every inch of his body seemed to pull towards the churning waters at all times.  An attraction to something so purely breathtaking that had nothing to do with the way he'd seen his cousins and friends flirt and blush and babble around female companions.  What he felt when he walked down the shores was nothing like that mixture of lust and love, but no less consuming.

No less wonderful.

He could have spent all the days of the world sitting in the sand, feet just close enough to the waves that water--cold but gentle--brushed up and covered his toes, slipping between them as the ocean exhaled and drew back.  The rhythm of her breaths and the rumbling crash of her voice were as alive as anything else in the world, washing over him.  A song all of their own, woven with a thousand voices from the smallest droplets of water hitting the surface to the cries of foam crests rising white and tickling his fingers.

Sometimes, he was hard-pressed to remember that other elves existed in mobile forms run through with divine light and life.  That there were in this world other beings besides himself and her and the endless, sweet music.  So captivated was he that, sometimes, he even forgot about the far-off light promised by the Valar which he had once so yearned for with all his heart.

But, of course, not every moment could be devoted to her brilliance--to the Song of water and storm and cold that embodied his one and only love.

But he made time.

Rose before his brethren to run across the damp sand without abandon--throwing aside his clothes wherever they might fall, uncaring of their state--and leap into the cold water, instantly swept away with the current pulling at his powerful legs to the sound of her giggling, joyful welcome.  Long into the morning he would be swimming, damn the temperature or roughness of her caresses, enjoying the soothing feel of liquid running over bare flesh, comforting and enfolding safely.

Crawling out of the depths, he would throw himself naked upon the sand and slowly dry to her roughly singing voice, closing his eyes at the cry of gulls that mingled with her melody and breathing deeply the smell of salt on the mist, cool wisps washing over his senses like tentative fingertips.  Like that, he would lie for hours longer.

For so long now had Nowë had been performing this ritual that he would feel incomplete without her touch and her voice encompassing his being each morning.

He still built havens to ferry his people forth upon the waves.  Crafted ships beautiful and white to be carried away and rocked in the embrace of her arms that would one day carry him over to the other side.  Moved along the shores with the tides of war and the shifting of the land.

But always she was there, and from her he could not stray far.

Truly, he doubted he would ever part from the jagged, imperfectly curvaceous shoreline from whence he could gaze upon her swirling, ever-changing beauty.  One day might he sail across the sea to the Undying Lands and touch there the white sand burnished with gold, embracing the light which for so long he had dreamed where it sank into her waters and melded with her theme, but never did he believe that he would part from the waters forever.  Mariner and shipwright he was named all too keenly, and if one day he stood upon the opposite shores he doubted there would be a wife on his arm or children on his knee.  Doubted he could leave her behind even in the face of all the light of Valinor.

As long as he could dip his fingers beneath the waves, feel the spray of the mist against his face.  As long as he could stand in the shallows and throw up his arms, allowing the water to break around his body in a chilly, welcoming embrace.  As long as her laughter and sorrow and perfection continued on and on untainted forever.

As long as he had that, he would stay steadfastly with the only wife he would ever know.  And he would live out eternity at her side.
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Now, before anyone bites my head off, yeah, I know that supposedly Círdan is only a shipwright and only cares about living on the coast because he wants to go to Valinor to see the "light" which I'm not so certain exists anymore.  Because, let's face it, the Trees are gone and whoever thought the "light" of Valinor enlightens elves needs their head checked.  In my reality, there's nothing in the air that can change people or make them smarter or more awesome, not even when the Valar are involved.

In any case, I made him slightly OOC.  Who knows if his "greatest desire" is still to see the light of Valinor or not.  He waited an awfully long time for being in such a damn hurry at the beginning, so I decided he needed motivation for pussyfooting around.  Of course, you could say he was "waiting for the right time", but the sound of that just makes me roll my eyes.  Even elves don't have that much self-control.

Anyway, this turned out rather sweeter than I expected, and less sexual.  There is a hint in there, but not much.  I blame the music entirely.  The lyrics have little to do with the piece itself, but the song is so pretty!  The Seal Lullaby is by Eric Whitacre, who makes fantastic choral music.  I have played a few of his pieces in orchestral arrangements, but to be honest it just sounds so much better and richer in voice than in orchestra.  In any case, awesome composer, and his virtual choirs are fascinating.  They've got it up to 5,000+ people now.