Written for the A_L_E_C "A Little Night Music" Challenge. For Imhiriel on her birthday. Beta by RiverOtter.
He found her singing in the darkness beneath Varda’s stars, and he smiled. Of green things she sang, of trees and grass and scented flowers.
He entered the clearing, adding his song to hers, singing of rich soil and shining minerals, soft sand and smooth stones.
He could tell she was glad he had joined her, for now she began to sway as she sang of blossoms and fruit.
He stepped to the side, singing of clay and mineral-laden water, heated by the earth and given to the relief of aching joints and exhaustion.
She sang of the sweetness of apples.
He sang of the richness of cups made from the metals to be taken from the earth, and how they would be ready to hold the apple’s juices. Their hands met as their steps began to complement one another’s.
She sang of the song of crickets hidden under leaves, of the song of frogs beside the banks of streams.
He sang of the song of the water as it poured over rocks and between boulders. They circled one another in their dance.
She sang of filled bellies and contented children.
He sang of useful items made such as knives to peel fruit and prepare vegetables to be eaten.
He lifted her easily high into the air, and she laughed as she sang of the comfort of growing things.
He responded with the reassurance of the reliability of the earth and its bones. He set her upon her feet.
She paused, then held out her hands to him, her song slowed and seductive as she sang to him of the thanksgiving offered by trees and plants for the earth from which they grew.
He took her hands and drew her to him, singing of the consummation the earth could know only when growing things sprang from it and drew from its bounty.
He inclined his visage and she raised hers to meet his, and as Yavanna kissed her beloved Aulë their joined songs continued, more full and harmonious for their shared love and delight in one another.
And all of the world prepared for the Children of Iluvatar delighted in their shared dance.