Fic: Tributary - Chapter 8

[ingenious_spark]

Tributary
Fandom: The Silmarillion, Hayao Miyazaki's Spirited Away
Rating: PG13/T
Warnings: Mild child abuse/child endangerment, underage employment
Relationships: Maedhros/Fingon (pre-relationship), Fëanor/Nerdanel (background), other minor background relationships
Characters:Fingon, Maedhros, Círdan, Fingolfin, Anairë, Turgon, Aredhel, Fëanor, Caranthir, Maglor, Celegorm, Ambarussa, Nerdanel, Curufin, Curufin's Wife, Thranduil, Thranduil's Wife, Hildifons Took, Isengar Took, Rog (Tolkien), Original Male Character(s), Original Female Character(s), Original Genderqueer Character(s)
Word Count: 34,139
Summary: Tributary: noun; a river or stream flowing into a larger river or lake.

Moving to another town can be difficult, especially when you're just a kid. Leaving everything you know behind - friends, classmates, teachers, the nice guy at the ice cream shop who sometimes snuck you an extra scoop - is scary, even if you know the place you're moving to.

For Findecáno, son of Ñolofinwë and Anairë, brother of Turucáno and Írissë, it's going to be even harder.

Dropped into a dangerous and treacherous world of spirits and magic, he doesn't know which way to turn, or even who he can trust, but he has to keep his feet under him in order to stay ahead of the great Sorcerer and save his family.

Their guests were already there when they arrived, a faintly familiar feminine laugh floating through the air. Findecáno copied Celegorm in coming around the corner and bowing before stepping down into the bath area. When he looked up, he blinked, startled. The couple before him was the same pair from the elevator. They were being shown in, stools were being pulled out and they were being helped out of the robes that they were wearing, thin cotton dyed bright blue with a goldenrod-yellow flame screen-printed on the back.

Findecáno flushed bright red when he realized that, under the robes, as they would have to be in order to properly take a bath, they were naked. He jerked his head up and stared fixedly at a space just above their heads, face burning. Celegorm shot him a puzzled look, as they stood against the wall just inside the bathing area, and Findecáno shrugged slightly with a helpless look. Celegorm rolled his eyes. Spirits had very different views about nudity, Findecáno decided.

Asa and an unfamiliar woman who Findecáno assumed must be Vanyandessë, were pulling out buckets of plain hot water as the two seated themselves on the proffered stools. Vanyandessë was very pretty, copper-gold springy curls kept away from her vaguely feline face in a ponytail, ears a soft gold with surprising black tufts. Her skin was also golden, and her feet were those of a cat's, melding a human calf into a cat's foot in a way that made his head hurt. She was dressed in soft greens, and he realized, slightly belatedly, that she was very slightly pregnant. And saying something to the guests.

Findecáno tuned himself back in, in time to hear the cat-woman ask their guests what they wanted for their foot scrub and soak. He wondered idly how she knew they wanted one. Was there some sort of checklist? Did the guest fill out paperwork before they got their baths? He filed the question away to ask later.

"I would like a rosewater salt scrub, please." The Lady replied, and Vanyandessë shot a questioning glance at Celegorm. He subtly shook his head, and Vanyandessë turned a slight apologetic smile to the Lady.

“My apologies, it will only be a few minutes while the runners fetch some, I’m afraid we don’t have that stocked.” A delicately clawed hand waved toward the table of bottles, and the Lady covered her mouth apologetically.

“Oh, I wouldn’t want to put you out of your way,” she said, and the three spirit workers shot queer glances between each other, not sure what to say. Like they weren’t used to receiving apologies. Findecáno stepped forward and bowed deferentially.

“It’s no trouble, my Lady, we’re here to make your stay as comfortable as possible.” He chirped brightly before tucking himself back beside Celegorm. The older spirits shot him grateful looks as the Lady laughed her pretty laugh.

“Well if that’s the case, I thank you for your service.” She replied, and Findecáno blushed, pleased and embarrassed in equal measures. The Lord was asked the same question, and they had his preferred scrub in stock, something about cypress and lemon, and then Celegorm tugged Findecáno by the elbow, and they trotted off to fetch the scrub for the Lady.

“Quick thinking there,” Celegorm complimented him once they were out of earshot. “Usually we need to stay quiet and unobtrusive, but good work. I can count on one hand the number of times a client’s apologized to me, and have fingers left over, and there’s even less times I’ve been thanked. But anyway, this is how this part works. Usually only one of us will be sent out at a time, in case they need something else while the other’s gone. Since you’re new, I need to show you the ropes, so we’re going to have to make this quick.” Celegorm paused, and Findecáno nodded to indicate that he understood.

“Okay, so we usually only get sent out if they need something from the stores. Rosewater’s been out of fashion for a while, so I didn’t stock it, my mistake. The frogs don’t work the back storehouse, so that’s where we go for special requests. Frogs are stingy,” here he rolled his eyes, clearly exasperated. Findecáno giggled, and Celegorm ruffled his hair, as they reached what had to be the back storehouse, and joined a short, fast-moving line. “I’ll introduce you to the storehouse keeper, and then you can take the next errand by yourself, you think you can handle that?” Celegorm asked, and Findecáno thought about the route they had taken, the landmarks, and how fast he could go without disrupting anyone. Once he was done he nodded slowly.

“I think so!” He told the older boy, and pride welled up in him as Celegorm gave him a fond grin. He’d never had an older brother, but he felt like this might be what it felt like. It was nice, not being the super-responsible one for once. The line moved quickly, and soon they were stepping down into a fragrant, slightly dusty darkness. A female spirit a little younger than Celegorm met them and her mouth tugged into a grin at the sight of them.

“Hello, Celegorm. What will you have today?” She asked, in a dry, husky voice. She was really pretty too, with inky hair in tight, tiny, coiling ringlets, tied back into an awesome poof at the back of her head. Her skin was dry looking, the golden brown of the paper of really old books, the kind Mam always told him were made of parchment. Spidery black symbols that looked almost wet, and definitely shiny covered her exposed skin, and he wondered if she was some sort of book or paper spirit, because it looked sort of like writing.

“Hey, Lindëwen. Needed to introduce you to my new minion, Fingon, and we need rosewater salt scrub for the Lady of the Great Greenwood.” He replied, and Lindëwen smiled at him gently.

“Nice to meet you.” Findecáno waved, and her smile deepened, bringing the shadows of dimples to her cheeks.

“And you. Show him how to sign them out, will you, Celegorm? I’ll just go fetch it for you.” She was quickly gone among the shelves, and Celegorm showed Findecáno how to sign out bottles – name, client, and amount in the bottle, which he explained would be filled out by the distributor, and was really only for inventory purposes. Findecáno absorbed the knowledge readily, curious as ever.

“Here we are,” Lindëwen reappeared, wiping a small amount of dust from a bottle with a cloth, and weighed it carefully in the scales next to the logbook, before writing down some numbers and signing her own name. Findecáno wondered if it was really her own name, or one given to her by the Sorcerer. Then they said their goodbyes and were off quickly back to the bath, where Celegorm gave Vanyandessë the bottle, and they tucked themselves back against the wall. Findecáno watched in fascination as the hosts played fun little word games with the clients as they assisted in their bathing.

Celegorm taught him a quiet unobtrusive game played with fingers and subtle motions, and they were given the receipts for the pair’s conditioning treatments for the hair, apparently the last step in the spa process before the soak. Celegorm passed him the receipts with a solemn look, and Findecáno hurried away, determined to do his best. This time it was a longer wait, as the mixtures had to be prepared in the back of the storeroom, as he stood off to the side and Lindëwen assisted others.

A couple other spirits were sent to stand in his line as well but they didn’t talk to him at all. All in all it was a fairly efficient process, an older spirit coming up from the back with his two bottles of formula, as Lindëwen waved him over and signed him out of the storehouse with a nod goodbye and a wink. He hurried back, nearly tripping over someone’s cruelly outstretched leg, but he managed to catch himself with a queer sort of hop skip and an ungainly flap of his elbows. The important part was that he didn’t drop the bottles, and delivered them safely to Asa and Vanyandessë. The clients’ hair was dressed, and wrapped in thin cotton fabric as they finally entered the bath, water tipping over the sides to run down the drains in the floor. Celegorm gave him a firm pat of the shoulder, and he beamed with pride, catching his breath.

The two hosting spirits then entertained the bathing pair by reenacting a part to some sort of play, and it was absolutely fascinating, and Findecáno made a mental note to ask what the play was, and get the rest of the story from Celegorm when they were done.

Soon, or maybe ages later the two rose from their baths, and Vanyandessë and Asa rinsed out their hair, wrapping it in towels as the pair dried off their bodies with soft towels. They soon left, garbed again in the blue robes and white slippers. Asa sighed and slumped to sit in the entryway once they were gone, looking very tired. Vanyandessë did the same, and Celegorm smiled at them.

“Come on, that wasn’t that bad,” he cajoled the pair. “They were super polite, which is weird for royalty.” He remarked, and Findecáno paused in his stretching. He wasn’t used to standing still for so long.

“They were royalty? But you said Lord and Lady, isn’t that nobility?” He asked, and Celegorm grinned.

“Nah. Every kingdom of spirits has their own way of address, and you just have to get familiar with it. I’ll help you out once finish up here, if you’ve the energy.” Findecáno nodded, and Celegorm turned to the other two. “I’m honestly surprised you’re still on duty, Dess. Aren’t you gonna have to stop soon, what with the baby?” Vanyandessë pulled a face, rubbing her feet.

“Yeah, I will. But I’d like to keep going for as long as I can. I don’t like being idle.” She replied, and Celegorm nodded absently. They drained and rinsed the bath, and quickly cleaned up the floor. The bottles were already stocked, so they filled the bath with a number three herbal bath (which smelled a lot like rosemary and some other stuff) and spent ten or so minutes playing a clapping game while Tintastel and Vanyandessë left to go fetch their next pair of clients.

They were tucked neatly against the wall again when Vanyandessë and Asa came back with the King and Queen Under the Mountain. Findecáno wondered which mountain, and how they were the monarchs under said mountain, as opposed to on top of it? Were there a King and Queen Over the Mountain? On the Side of the Mountain?

The King, whose name turned out to be Thorin, was short and broad, with dark, slate-gray skin and eyes like chips of sapphire. He had long black hair and a short black beard, and a thoroughly grouchy expression. His wife seemed to be his polar opposite. She was tiny too, about the same size as the two coal-bearers, though she was soft and plump and curvy. She had beautiful warm brown skin, soft bronze curls haloed around a round, expressive face, and bright hazel eyes. Findecáno couldn’t figure out for the life of him what kind of spirit she was, with her riot of freckles and deep dimples when she smiled, which was often. Her name was Belladonna (but call me Bilbo, that’s such a mouthful), and she was also oddly nice. Thorin seemed to be about what they expected for royalty, taciturn and more interested in his Queen than anything else.

They asked for fairly regular scrubs and treatments, apparently, because they didn’t have to run for anything. Findecáno was sent again for the conditioning blends, so he took the opportunity to ask his most pertinent question of Lindëwen in passing.

“What kind of spirit is the Queen Under the Mountain? If it’s not impolite to ask,” he questioned, and she smiled as she signed him out.

“She’s a mushroom spirit.” Lindëwen replied kindly. “It’s not too impolite, but you were right not to ask in their hearing, some of our clients can be quite touchy. Off you go, now!” She urged, and he skipped back off after thanking her.

The King and Queen ended up listening to a long, complicated ballad over their bath – played by Asa, and sung by both of them – that made Findecáno a little bit bored. Not that the music wasn’t beautiful, but he couldn’t figure out who was who or who was doing what, and it made him a little frustrated, which culminated in him loosing interest.

Not long later they left, escorted by Vanyandessë up to their apartments in the upper floors. Findecáno yawned and stretched, cracking his back, and Celegorm chuckled.

“Agreed. You kept up pretty well during the day, though, Fingon. You need to work on being less fidgety when we’re just standing around, but that’ll come with time.” Celegorm told him. Asa also yawned, bending his fingers back and forth to stretch them out.

“Ugh, I’m so tired. I was gonna go to see if Salgant would teach me the Ballad of the Prince of Eagles, but I think I’m too tired to sit around and learn music.” The osprey complained. Celegorm chuckled.

“Long day. Come on, if we drain and sweep we can grab a bite to eat. Not that dinner’s a very big meal, but still. They don’t make you go to bed on an empty stomach.” He told Findecáno, and that made Findecáno more inclined to get everything done quickly. After that, it was just returning the bottles and tinctures to inventory, which really just involved standing in a long, somewhat slow line, and handing over bottles, waiting while inventory adjustments were logged, and the frogs accused Findecáno of theft. Celegorm glared at them, and they subsided, so he guessed that he wouldn’t actually get in trouble. He hoped. Celegorm seemed really protective of him now that he was ‘in’, and it was actually really nice.

They met back up with Tolmedli, Rhanaur, Asa, and Niphredil for dinner, which was a warm flaky roll filled with chopped sausage and cheese, and a portion of fresh cut fruit with a dollop of honey on top. It gave them all a small extra burst of energy, and Findecáno found himself weirdly restless, even though he was tired. Celegorm seemed to be as well, though Tintastel went right back to the room with Tolmedli, the brown bear spirit ushering the smaller osprey away to the rooms before he keeled over in the hallway.

[~previous chapter][next chapter~]