Bug Magnet by Elrond's Library  

Vingilot was a magnet for bugs, and Eärendil feared coming back to land because of it. 

Wasps and bees might be the worst of the lot. Stinging, buzzing, biting, irritating little things that seemed determined to slay themselves defending territory that was, in fact, not theirs to begin with! Eärendil would embark on yet another journey, another month or six drifting through the heavens with, in theory, only the stars for company. Within days there would be a nest of them, buzzing and hissing and hating. 

And you would think, given that this happened so frequently, that Eärendil would let go of his fear of the little yellow and black insects, but no. They made him ache with discomfort, shudder with cold sweat and anxious trembling in his hands. 

He hated having to drop their nest overboard, hated the way his hands would swell with their minute jabbing needles, hated the way the entire ship smelled of smoke as he tried to root them out, sweep them away in their stupor. 

Spiders might be the second worst. For the most part they kept to themselves, but every once in a while he’d find some fluffy, stringy white sac as he was sweeping – Eärendil often found himself cleaning while bored – and something about him disturbing the sac would invariably result in hundreds of tiny spiders rushing to every corner of the ship. 

He would see them flashing in the corner of his vision for endless months, eating each other and Eru knows what else. He’d get back on land and see them in the corner of his eyes, little bodies scuttling, even though they weren’t there. 

Elwing’s occasional visits aboard Vingilot might be just as horrifying, watching the bird’s instincts take over as she snapped up some of his unwelcome guests.

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