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Awaiting the Thaw by Bodkin	14 Review(s)
Larner	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 11/21/2006
Aha! Healing comes at last for the twins, and in the end one healer will be rewarded for her concerns and desire for healing for the sons of Elrond. Author Reply: The twins took a long time to begin to heal I think - probably because they blamed themselves for what happened to their mother, whether they bore any real responsibility or not. Miriwen knows that Elladan is far too damaged at the moment to see beyond his nose - but she can't help the stirring of feelings towards him, even if she is sensible enough to remove herself from the fall-out zone.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/14/2005
I’m delighted you decided to continue this. Reading ‘Ripe for Change’, I was dying to see more of Thranduil, Elladan, Elrohir & co. to know how they’re faring and we not only get a glimpse of the twins here but a chance to see a little more of Miriwen – yay! I love the style. You do dialogue so well. I had to laugh at Elladan’s slowness when it came to understanding why on earth Elrohir was rambling on about her knowing them. It’s a great way to let the reader know too that there is a connection between her and Elladan so we can just sit back and wait for them to realise it. “And it is still common for most we meet to stare somewhere between us and address the air.” LOL. That must get annoying! The twins and Legolas are absolutely hilarious together. I grinned my way through this. It’s interesting to think that when Elladan and Elrohir recover their spirits they’ll become people that she never really knew. She’s seen them in pain, anger, despair and now sees their exhaustion but she doesn’t know their true selves at all. In some ways that adds something special to her connection with Elladan - and they can take pleasure in getting to know each other a little better. Glorfindel’s great. Very perceptive! I can imagine him thoroughly enjoying the prospect of having a little fun with this. I think what I like most about the relationship between Legolas and the twins is that they can say just about anything to each other. “ Oh well,’ their friend shrugged. ‘They would probably prefer not to set you off again.” I nearly choked at that! I do like your interpretation of the Blessed Realm. It’s not some miraculous place where people are healed the second they set foot there and live in bliss for ever more. There are questions and regrets and it takes time to settle in. The end of the life that they lived before must be mourned, I guess, before they move on. “ I am dragging Adar to the forest” Bodkin! Do you know how much I want to see that??! Please! I really enjoyed the glimpse of Elrond. It’s so good to see him so joyful and fulfilled. I also love the ease between Miriwen and Legolas. They all seem to be so relaxed and so young again now that such cares have been lifted from them. Sennuion! It’s nice to see another old face! LOL. Miriwen never stood a chance with the whole lot of them getting involved. And I’m very glad of it. The scene between her and Elladan was just beautiful. Her concerns are understandable, especially that he might take from her more than he can give while he heals but they both seem to realise that for the moment they should move slowly. He can find himself again and then they can learn of each other. I’m glad I know that there’s a happy ending ;-) I really enjoyed this, Bodkin. Author Reply: I think I heard Elladan say 'I have been answering to the name for some while now' - or whatever he said - and it just started from there. And something else he said here sent me off to write a Reflection, too. (My stuff so often seems to start off with one of the characters saying something.) Outside the family - amongst whom I include Glorfindel and Erestor - I think even their friends need to get them talking before they're entirely sure which is which. They must be used to it, but nevertheless it must be galling. I think Elladan takes comfort from the fact that Miriwen has known him at his worst and unhappiest - and that she cared for him then and will always love him. She knows - he doesn't have to hide anything from her. (Whereas Elrohir relishes the fact that Sirithiel is innocent - those dark days are nothing but story. She knows him as he is, not as he was.) Glorfindel saw this coming a long time ago - he is probably smug with satisfaction that the relationship appears to be getting off the ground, and is not keen to see it stumble because of a bit of kiddish behaviour. The Blessed Realm is (to me) a place with the potential for happiness - but filled with real people. They have to deal with past lives - and they are responsible for building their future lives. After all, Galadriel et al were restless and discontented enough to want to leave to challenge themselves. And if you have to work towards happiness, there is also the potential for misery. Despite the healing. Legolas dragging Thranduil to the forest. Do you know, I half-wanted to put Thranduil in Ripe for Change - but he put his foot down and wouldn't go. Maybe I'll have to show where he went instead. Elrond deserves peace of mind and some happiness. And all those healers have to find something to do! For years Miriwen and Legolas only saw each other over the broken bodies of elven warriors - and now they are able to regain the light hearts of Wood Elves. A bit of frivolity is part of it. And will do Elladan good. As will being the centre of Miriwen's world. She is strong and funny and loyal - and she knows him. His healing will speed up rapidly. But all the good qualities that he has, that she hasn't really at their best, will be good for her, too. Ahhh, very romantic. Best left to the imagination.

pipinheart	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 7/27/2005
This was very nice and the story is sweet and sad at the same time...If only the twins wouldn't seek revenge and see how to live again... The healer likes Elladan... Nice Job Author Reply: Thank you! The twins have been very badly hurt - and it will take them time to begin to heal. They have made a start - but they are a long way from finding consolation. But Miriwen does like Elladan. Enough that no-one else will ever be able to displace him from her heart. (Poor Elrond, I say. How he survived to fight on until Sauron was defeated, I don't know. Must have been the support of his friends. An elf of enormous courage and determination.)

Mirkwoodmaiden	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/21/2005
Bodkin! I absolutely love this piece! It is wonderful! Elladan and Elrohir tend to play large parts in the fan fic that I like because I love them so much as characters. But I write them at the end of the third age when the light has long since returned to their lives. I have toyed with the idea of writing a story about the darkness within their souls just after their mother died. But you have realised this story so well that I'm not sure I could equal what you have done. You've depicted their anger so well and it is in such a tragic contrast to themselves before and after. My only criticism is that this story should most definitely be longer. It works beautifully as the first chapter of a wonderfully compelling story. Did you think to make the story longer and then just decided to end it. Please write more of this story I would dearly love to read what you will have imagined if the first chapter is evidence of the quality that could be contained within the story. MM Author Reply: Thank you! They are difficult to portray at this stage in a way, as they are so dark - and their pain is tangible. And they don't care about hurting others either. I don't think I could make this part of their lives into a long story - they are too sad. I don't think this is likely to become any longer, I am afraid. (Although never say never.) It is written from Miriwen's point of view - and, although I suppose she might have seen them again at some stage before she sailed at the beginning of the Fourth Age, she didn't really get to meet Elladan again properly until after he had arrived in Aman several hundred years after that. Of course, then the romance hotted up pretty quickly. I will let your suggestion simmer. You never know. But no promises. Thank you for your encouragement!

Redheredh	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/20/2005
Miriwen's story! :D Yay! The beginning wa a nice introduction to Miriwen. Someone we only know from events in Aman. The sudden arrival of the wounded and the revelation of how messed up the twins really are was exciting. You draw everyone in Miriwen's life so well. I like them all just for themselves. The hospital SOP was very interesting too!. Her first encounter with a human was educational. I wonder if this encounter in any way affected her opinion of the peredel's sons and their strain of mortal blood. You give us a good feel for the helplessness Elrond and Glorfindel found themselves fighting against. You cannot change someone who does not want to change. The entire scene with Miriwen and Elladan and his clothes was priceless! No wonder he remembered her whenever he returned to the infirmary. What an impression she must have made. Brassendol was a touchingly special way to measure her time and for her to assess her purpose as a healer. No wonder she decided to leave after that. Glorfindel's remarks were telling as always. What happened to Celebrian was the signalling event for the end of the Watchful Peace. It did not really matter why Miriwen was going, but what was her purpose in doing so. In great juxapostion was his admonishments to the twins about how to make a real difference. Liked that a lot. Legolas, so much younger yet so much more involved, was the perfect contrast for Miriwen to ponder over. So, she resigns herself to not being able to heal them. Over the mountains, the brothers find their own resignation to the same truth. This is no way to live. And their paths will cross again. Tenuous ties so far, but what lovely, romatic thoughts you foster. dreamy smile Author Reply: The twins, I think, must have been seriously messed up. Personal relentless quests for vengeance are pretty unelven. Unless you count Feanor's line, I suppose. (And they are Finwe's descendants.) Elrond must have hit rock bottom at this point - he thought bad things had happened in his life before, but this is one of those 'you ain't seen nothing yet' times. For him to have endured - and remained unembittered, he must have been a remarkable elf. And Glorfindel must have been a tremendous support through this. Being laughed at at this point in their lives must have stood out rather for the twins - I think most people's faces must have been tense with worry when they came into sight - and make Miriwen memorable on that level, but it will be a long time before Elladan is ready for anything more romantic. Brassendol turned into a character I liked! His primary role was to show Miriwen's newness to Imladris's peculiarities and the passage of time, but he turned into someone I wouldn't mind seeing again. I imagine she had grown used to humans turning up by the time she left - which could be useful as Mirkwood's war expands. The twins had to decide to let go of their obsession (hey, Maglor and Silmaril links just leapt into my head) and now they can let their adar and friends begin to reach them. I think Legolas dealt with his loss differently because he had to reach out to others from the start - you can't be like the twins on your own. Hopefully Miriwen will hear that Elladan and Elrohir have begun to recover - and Estel was, I think, very good for them. By the time they meet in Aman, Elladan is ready to move his life forward. I like the dreamy smile! Enjoy the romantic thoughts.

meckinock	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/20/2005
I loved the way the healers have everything under control. Sennuion collared her again as soon as she had sent Nathron to deal with the man and washed her hands. He looked sober, she thought. Worrying – he had absorbed at Elrond’s shoulder the need to look serenely unconcerned by whatever disaster confronted him and it would take more than she had observed to put that bleak look in his eyes. A flick of his fingers sent her into one of the small private rooms where the more severely injured were treated. Serenely unconcerned by whatever disaster confronted him - what a wonderful description of Elrond! He's a little less than serene with his sons, though. I really liked the mounting tension and the way Elrond's compassion showed through his frustration. And a dirty, wounded, wise-cracking Ranger! What a nice surprise! It was poignant, though, when he reappears the second time. I liked the way we didn't get the sense of time's passage immediately, because to Miriwen it would have been just another day. Miriwen's first meeting with Elladan is great. He sure knows how to impress a girl. I liked Elrohir's comment later: She had the nerve to laugh at you. I can see where Miriwen would not have been able to stay in Rivendell and watch them destroy themselves. Her comparison of them to Legolas was interesting: Was it Legolas’s youth that had saved him? Or the fact that he had no brother with whom to isolate himself from the world? This is really interesting. It does seem that sometimes two people can feed one another's pain and reinforce one another's misery instead of helping each other heal. If there were only one, he might have been forced to reach out to others and therefore find healing where the two did not. Author Reply: It's look though, isn't it, not feel! This must have been a time in Elrond's long life when he was saying to himself 'and I thought I had it bad before'. His sons' - dehumanisation was the word that occurred and I don't think de-elfisation works somehow! - must have driven him to the point of despair. I rather took to the Ranger - and his second visit was useful! And, although I don't like to think of him dying, Imladris must be a better place to be than some forsaken orc camp! I'll get back to you. This wretched computer is about to close down. Author Reply: Right. Virus stuff updated and computer restarted. He probably vomited over her, too. Though hopefully she had enough experience to put the tiny kidney shaped bowl in the right place. And, somehow, I don't think many people were laughing at the twins at this point in their lives! The twins twinnishness - the private language, the depth of understanding, the emotional reliance on each other - would make it easier, I think, for them to shut out the rest of the world and wallow in their private quest for vengeance. And make it hard for either to admit that he wanted to let go of it and rejoin the world. I suspect they were on the verge of wanting release for some time before they were both prepared to admit it. Miriwen needed to leave them to get on with it - Elrond had before and could hope for after - but she was just on the sidelines. And Mirkwood needed healers. Poor Miriwen. It'll be a good long while before Elladan is able to look at her with eyes that see her properly. But it'll be worth the wait.

Nilmandra	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/20/2005
Its hard to see the twins descending to this level of hatred, to see them wallowing in the blood and mud with the orcs, becoming, as Miriwen noted, as one of them. On the other hand, I like that Miriwen has seen them in this stage and that she loves Elladan anyway. To know that that love grows and she is bound to him and they raise sons together speaks to a devotion on her part to look past what he had been and look to what he had become. I bet she never told Elrohir's wife about these times. :/ Author Reply: I found I couldn't leave them there - they had to start wanting to return to themselves. It was just too sad. And not just for them - possibly not even worst for them. Elrond, Arwen, Glorfindel, their grandparents - all helpless to stop them destroying themselves. To my mind one of the things that Elrohir loves about Sirithiel is that she has no knowledge / experience of these times - whereas one of the things that Elladan loves about Miriwen is that she does - she has seen him at his worst, knows what he has done and lived through and she loves him anyway. And she is part of the world he comes from. No, I don't think she would talk about these times with Sirithiel. The sort of memories that are best put behind you. (I'm happier with your twins, though. Loving and strong and warm.)

Ellie	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/19/2005
Oooo. Very nice chapter! Love the way you have developed Elladan and Elrohir and theirbitter anger. Glad to to know that they have decided they need to "gp back to teh light" so to speak. Interesting that Elladan noticed that the cute healer was missing when she left to go home. Liked Glorfindel's reaction to that too. PLease update on of your stories soon! Am enjoying them all (this one looks really good, BTW, yum). Author Reply: I couldn't bring myself to abandon them in the depths of despair. They are not healed yet - but they know they need more and they want to go home. It's a start. Elladan noticed she wasn't there - but hasn't any real interest, I'm afraid. He's not really able to notice anything other than fury, grief, revenge and other such fierce emotions at the moment. Other things are coming on - although sunshine tends to slow production a bit! Thank you for commenting.

Dot	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/19/2005
Oh, this is excellent. So well-written and clever too. It ended up being quite different than I thought when I read the summary. From that image of Elladan and Elrohir standing together, “isolated even in the middle of the crowd of elves”, I was glued to the screen. I like Miriwen here in the larger role you’ve given her. She’s perceptive, kind, calm and strong. The perfect healer, I guess. Anyway, I was delighted with this chance to get to know her a little better. I actually felt especially fond of that Ranger! He seems like a good person and it was a great way of showing us not only the passing of time but the actions of Elladan and Elrohir, and the cost of those actions as well as the loyalty they inspire, no matter how ill-advised their deeds may be. “The Ranger, filthy everywhere other than the injured arm, glanced at her, clearly wanting to announce that he needed no such thing, but only too aware of the discomfort he could expect from having the wound stitched.” LOL. Sounds about right. The scene between Elrohir and Elrond was amazing. Elrohir’s rage comes across so well. I was glad to see that Elrond didn’t back down in his attempt to care for this son. You absolutely broke my heart with the line “The twins had each other and their sister had taken refuge with her grandparents, but who was left to offer support to the Lord of Imladris in his great sorrow?” He has such strength, though. I thought it was such a touching moment when he kisses Elladan’s forehead. I love the idea that Miriwen can tell them apart easily already. It gives more depth to the eventual relationship between her and Elladan. I really enjoyed the scene between her and Elladan when he wants his clothes. It’s good to see her stand her ground! And no offence to him, but I’m glad she won too! It must be so difficult to watch the twins destroy themselves through anger and grief. I felt bad for Miriwen that she felt she had to leave, but it’s realistic too and proves just how hard it was for her. Great moment with Glorfindel. My heart went out to him to see him suffer the loss of the twins that he knew and it’s really rather frightening too to see how easily they push everyone aside. Elrohir’s words about Elrond shocked me. I can understand why Glorfindel reacted as he did. I particularly liked the idea that Miriwen still thought about Elladan and what drove him and his brother to do what they did rather than allow themselves to heal and grow as Elrond and Legolas did. The ending was perfect. It seemed so sudden in the end but it works really well. One day they just decide to follow a different path. I wasn’t sure how far you were going to take this story because you could have stopped it earlier but I was so glad we got to see that they finally made that decision and are on the road to healing. Sorry this is a bit rushed. Great story. I’m glad you took time away from all the other ones ;-) Author Reply: A bit rushed? A page of a bit rushed? This is delightfully comprehensive. I rather liked the Ranger and the Healer - I think they could make a double act. Miriwen needed to be in Imladris long enough for it to be clear that her feelings for Elladan were more than just attraction and the poor Ranger was perfect for that. The twins were just so isolated at this part of their lives - and yet, in some ways, their reaction seems terribly young and self-indulgent. Other people were hurt, too - and yet managed to continue without cutting themselves off. I think their twinship made their reaction possible and maintained it and pushed everyone away. And they weren't particularly pleasant to be around, either. So sad that Elrond could only get close to his beloved sons when they were unconscious to touch them and show he loved them. And I'm very glad he had Glorfindel. I don't know if he could have survived without his support. I don't know if Elladan remembers the clothes incident, but he should have taken warning! Miriwen is not a giggly little twin-groupie, but a strong character - who proves to be exactly the kind of elleth he needs. But she couldn't stay - it was hurting her too much to see how self-destructive the twins were. Not that she forgot them - or stopped hoping that they would heal. Or wondering why they took so long and behaved so differently to others. I think sometimes the change can seem sudden - it's the culmination of a long process of erosion, probably - and one admitting that he needs something else enables the other to admit it too. They are not healed - but they are now prepared to admit that they need to heal, and they want to reach out again. I couldn't bring myself to leave them in the depths - so they are starting to recover. Not that that will help Miriwen. I don't think she meets them again until after they have sailed. I'm glad you liked it. Thanks for your rushed review!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 6/19/2005
I am really glad you decided to do this. I like the idea of them meeting when the twins were off on their quest to eliminate every orc in Eriador. And the scenes in this are great. I loved Miriwen's interaction with Brassendol--his hesitation to admit he wanted the salve and his scandalized reaction when she suggested the bath. And her reactions to him. That was really well done. And his return later in the story was very sad. The twins various interactions with Elrond and Glorfindel were also extremely well done. Those came across as very tense and very powerful and I can definitely imagine that is precisely how things went for a while. I found Miriwen's contemplation of the difference between Legolas and the twins very interesting. Liked it. And Miriwen was a match for Elladan right from the start! I loved her refusal to give him his clothes. That was hilarious. Damn doctors are all the same! Well done! Author Reply: I started off by making Miriwen's acquaintance with Imladris too short, I think - and Brassendol was very useful for making it apparent that she had been training there over a good few years - which made her attraction to and caring for Elladan seem more than just a passing fancy. (And actually, the Ranger and the Healer make two quite interesting characters on their own. Deserving perhaps of more.) The twins must have been quite frighteningly obsessed and closed off from their family and friends - it must have been a truly terrible period for Elrond and Glorfindel - and I'm sure that their closeness only made them worse. Legolas couldn't have closed himself off and survived - he would have been alone and probably faded. She didn't give in to him! And he did notice her a little - but was just too damaged to be aware of anything except pain. We have a neighbour in her mid-nineties, who, when the doctor asked her how she kept so well, said 'Keeping away from you lot!' Best health plan going.

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