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A Creature of Fire by daw the minstrel	33 Review(s)
lwarren	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
Ah, daw...you wouldn't, would you? I am sitting here trying very hard to forget that Tuilinn is headed for Dale and the intro to this story speaks of disaster waiting to hit that place! You wouldn't have him so very happy and just yank it away...would you? :-( (sniff) Of course, such an event in Legolas' life would explain a great deal... The chapter itself is great...you said you don't do romance, but I think you did a very good job portraying Legolas' shock at seeing Tuilinn again, his utter inability to think straight, his realization he's loved her all along, his despair that she's taken (ah, the ability of the young to "assume" astounds me continually!)...then the total turn-around to JOY! She was wearing a green ribbon...how sweet was that...she led Beliond right to him...I really like this girl (sob)! The whole idea of them staying in the tree all night talking and lip-locking (etc.,etc.,etc.)was just perfect. There were funny parts, too...Eilian throwing Anyr into the river being my favorite...Sinnarn's shrewd look the next morning -another. Galelas, poor sod, is having a rough go. I foresee an eruption between him and Legolas some time in the future. Beliond keeping watch is wonderful, as is his approval of love for warriors! :-) So, I will love this chapter while fervently praying that what I fear is coming is just the over-active imagination of a teacher with too much time on her hands (Spring Break, don't ya know?)...or maybe it was the onions earlier... linda Author Reply: I probably shouldn't have announced the date of this story so bluntly at its start. As it is, I knew people would flinch when Tuilinn's guard announced their destination. I really hesitated to do a Legomance since I think there are a good many already out there and lots of them (althought obviously not all) are bad. So I'm deeply relieved that people seem to like this chapter. Patiently working my way through Legolas's emotional ups and downs was kind of fun once I saw how to do it and stopped moaning and whining. I thought Tuilinn was very brave. She didn't know how Legolas felt, but she brushed her hair, put on her ribbon, and went to find him. I don't know if I could have done that. And then she got her reward -- the night in the tree. :-) Everyone else in camp was mightily amused, except for Galelas of course. I think he and Legolas need to go on another patrol together, maybe heading east this time. And it's about time for another letter from Eilian!

emjo	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
Oh no I just remembered when this story is set! Please don't kill Tuilinn off I like her and I would be so sad! Author Reply: I never should have announced the date so clearly like that. Sigh. Oh well. We'll see how this goes.

Alice	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
You just had to do it, didn't you Daw? You just had to make Legolas fall head over heels, can't stop thinking about her, the world is so so shiny now in love and then cart said love interest off to Dale which may or may not shortly be destroyed by a certain creature of fire, didn't you Daw? Oh my poor Legolas. Very nice job on the emotions though. Legolas just went from gibbering idiot to brokenhearted to melancholic to joyful. And something tells me the emotional roller coaster ain't over yet. Poor besotted elf. That was really funny with the patrol. It's like, " Look! Look! It's a girl! It's a girl!" And you know Legolas is never going to hear the end of that kiss from his patrol, especially his nephew. Galelas is really not going to take it well though. Maybe it's good that Tuilinn initiated the goodbye kiss. Because I can see Galelas thinking Legolas used his position to take advantage of her. I swear, those two boys just put on blinders where the other is concerned. It's frustrating. Someone needs to tell them to stop acting like idiots. I elect Beliond. I liked his comment about people in love being more cautious. I imagine that's something that Maltaunar thought about Eilian bonding with Celuwen. So, good chapter. Though now I'm bitter because you're going to kill Tuilinn off and Legolas is so happy and he deserves to be happy and this is just not going to be pretty. I still want you to update soon though. :) Author Reply: I thought people might cringe when Tuilinn's guard announced their destination. Sigh. Well, we'll see. Setting up that emotional rollercoaster was what writing this chapter was all about. I tend to be impatient and I had to keep going back and making things happen more slowly. The two of them really were uncertain of one another and just inched together bit by bit. The younger, unbonded warriors were all charmed by the appearance of a girl, and the older ones were all amused by their reaction. I'm sure that Legolas is going to take a bit of ribbing. At least Vanduil should now realize why Legolas snapped at him. And you're absolutely right that Maltanaur probably thought the same thing about Celuwen and Eilian. And before that, he must have encouraged Eilian's attachment to Little Legolas because that thought too sometimes made Eilian take care. I'm glad you liked it. I'm sorry you're bitter. :-)

emjo	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
Oh my goodness Daw I am so sorry I have been keeping up with the reading but things have been to crazy to review! But I love this story I am so glad to see Tuilinn again. Oh and I think she and Legolas are cute! It worries me though I am glad to see Legolas in love but there is no sight of Tuilinn in one of your future stories. I know Legolas has to be single to go on the quest but he can at least have a girlfriend right? Anyway love the story keep up the good work! Author Reply: I know what you mean about craziness. For some reason, March and April are always the months in which there are tons of "events" I have to go to both at work and at home and they just eat up my life. But I'm glad to hear you're enjoying the story. Tuilinn is a good person and Legolas genuinely loves her. And for an Elf, that's a serious matter.

Frodo3791	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
I know I said that Legolas shouldn't have any lasting relationships or anything in one of my earlier reviews... but after this chapter I wish he and Tuilinn would last! They seem to have some honest connection that's beyond lust, and I'm happy for Legolas. Somehow you're going to make it not work though, which is probably for the best because it's not what Tolkien wrote, but I have a feeling that this breakup is not going to happen easily... ah! the love and hurt! Thank you for this lovely chapter! -Frodo Author Reply: Wow. I'm speechless that you changed your mind. Thank you, Frodo! I think that Legolas and Tuilinn really do love one another. At least, that's what I tried to convey, although that's hard to do without sounding silly. As for the future, that's an unknown for anyone who takes the plunge and gives their heart away.

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
And one more thing: Glue-like is a very good way to make porridge. My bubbe always made oatmeal that you could stand a spoon up in, and then my mom learned how to do it. It's a very good thing to eat on cold winter mornings. Author Reply: I just had oatmeal for breakfast and enjoyed it mightily. Of course, it's instant with maple and brown sugar, so what I probably enjoyed was the sugar, but am I complaining? :-)

French Pony	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
So I guess Legolas is going to have a little more sympathy for Eilian'n'Celuwen now? I confess that I spent much of this chapter laughing the laugh of the contentedly single female at him. The heart-wrenching agony! The soul-searching! The goofy looks! And the assumptions, one on top of another! (He does know the rule about how to spell "assume," right?) Had he only asked Tuilinn a few basic questions, he could have spared himself so much postadolescent male angst and gotten down to business much sooner. The reactions of the patrol to Tuilinn's presence reminded me of a story one of my friends likes to tell about the time he was a teenager at Boys' State. Apparently, if you have a large number of teenage boys together for a week with no girls in sight, and then you put a girl on stage in front of them, they lose all of their higher reasoning functions. Boys are such funny critters. I can just hear the thuds of all the patrol members' jaws hitting the ground, and I can hear their hearts all chanting "Wo-man! Wo-man!" With some other organs providing backup, of course. I loved Beliond and Elorfin. They know the score. They know the score, the league standings, and the stats for the past ten years. I'll bet they'll be sharing a drink and laughing hysterically tonight. And I think Galelas will just about burst with jealousy. Once again, Legolas gets something that Galelas wants, and this time, he just might blow. Author Reply: Oh yeah. They both could have saved themselves some pain by not making assumptions, but love doesn't always make people more sensible! As for the Boys' State thing, I used to teach at an engineering school. There were a scattering of women in the classes but not many, and there were 140 full time faculty members and I was the 7th woman they hired. So it was a pretty male place, and geez but the students were starved for female company. They would eye anything that was female and get this daydreamy look on their faces. On my student evaluations, I once got comments on my legs (good, I'm happy to say). But I had to remind myself that you could have dressed a garbage can up in a skirt and crop top and rolled it into the room and they would have been just as enamored. I'm thinking that most of the married elves in the patrol found the young ones amusing and then found Legolas to be hilarious. He was rendered useless with a big smile on his face.

Brenda G.	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
Well, I must add my praise to all the rest. I've enjoyed this story thoroughly, but this chapter takes the cake and the prize for the best so far. Totally scrumptious! I don't know who's happier right now - Legolas or me! Sometimes it is hard to draw the line between your own happiness and that of others, but this story just saturates me with gladness for our young Thranduilion. About time the love bug bit, but will its bite be painful, I wonder? To quote someone whose name I can't remember at the moment: "All love is sorrowful." Love is a pain, but it is the pain of being truly alive. Legolas and Tuilinn will know their share of it, no doubt. I dread the sad times ahead, but Legolas is "taking a chance for joy" and more power to him! So come what may, I cannot help but be happy for him and his chosen. It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, right? Go Leggy! Beliond is so wonderful. He makes a good father substitute when Thranduil is out of the picture, and "guarding" our lovers while they shared some quality time together was just super special and brought my estimation of him to an entirely new level. I wonder what Eilian will have to say when he finds out his younger brother is in love? Sinnarn will probably make sure the other brothers Thranduilion and Thranduil himself find out in short order. Lordy, this was a great chapter! A bit of advice: If beating your head against your desk gives you a headache, take two aspirins. But if beating your head against your desk makes for wonderful chapters like this one, then by all means - KNOCK YOURSELF OUT!!! You're the best! Author Reply: It is nice to see Legolas happy, isn't it? I think it's nice to see people in love in RL too. And I think that to love someone else is always to take a chance, and I'm not talking about the chance of rejection either. But it's a bad old world out there, and things can happen to someone you love. Beliond is probably enjoying himself mightily. He's glad to see Legolas happy and also mightily amused by what a gibbering fool he is when Tuilinn is around. And Sinnarn is finding this to be a real hoot! I'm glad you liked it, Brenda. I've been feeling that this story was moving pretty slowly and was worried that people would just wrinkle their noses at the romance, but they seem to like it (at least the ones who told me what they thought did!), so hooray!

elliska	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
Holy Cow!!! Well I was excited to see this chapter and I was not in the least disappointed! Boy do you write lost in love well. Poor Legolas! Elorfin must have been about ready to laugh him self silly (and Beliond too). He's worked with Legolas a few days and now here he is reduced to a stupor over their guest. Standing in the way, barely able to speak, not hearing what's said to him. Yeap, those are all the signs of being utterly, hopelessly, helplessly lost. He's lucky he didn't spill food on himself (at least he didn't tear her clothes or anything equally brilliant). And the younger elves in camp were a riot. I can just see them practically bouncing to offer her food, to escort her to the ends of Arda or anything else. I hope that they understood Legolas's bizarre behavior a little better the next morning. At least then there would be some good to all the teasing he is certain to be getting. And so they spent the entire evening in a tree and ended up with Legolas promising to go speak to her parents, huh? Now the image of Beliond guarding that tree was very dear. (And the thought of them in it all night very hot!) But I think we are soon to be seeing Legolas benefiting from Beliond's experience in life--a different, sadder type of experience--after the incident in Dale. And I sincerely hope I am wrong because that would be too sad. I am now off to look at any stories set after this one in the time line to see if there is any reason you can't let this poor girl live and leave Legolas with a long betrothal. Actually, I'm going to read this chapter one more time and then I'm going to go look. This was a great chapter. I absolutely loved it. Author Reply: I'm so glad you liked it. This was hard to write. I was more interested in the angsty stuff ahead of time than the night in the tree, which is fortunate, because the beech was sworn to silence. But I think elves are tolerant of love (except maybe for Galelas). They treasure what's good in life. I'm thinking now that I shouldn't have put the year of this story so prominently at the start. The shock would have been greater. But maybe the anticipation of what's coming creates that cover-your-face-and-peek-through-your-fingers look. Author Reply: Also, as for the hotness of a night in a tree, I think you'd have to be more flexible than I am for very much to happen -- and have better balance!

Manderly	Reviewed Chapter: 5 on 3/27/2005
What a sweet chapter. Though I am not one for romances, this just might be the exception. It's nice to know that Legolas was not totally isolated from the affairs of the heart during his long life. Poor Legolas. He certainly put himself through the wringer before they opened their hearts to each other. Tuilinn reminds me of Celuwen. She seems to know what she wants and she goes after it. Good thing she took the initiative or else Legolas would just pine away and dissolve into total misery on his own. I love Beliond in this chapter. Legolas is indeed lucky to have such a watcher to look after his every need. So what's with Galelas? Looks like he's taken by Tuilinn too. Something else to add to the friction between Legolas and him. So Tuilinn is knowledgible in the art of healing? I have this bad feeling that her skills may be needed before this story is over. But then again, I could be totally off the mark. Looking forward to more. Author Reply: I'm not one for romances either, Manderly. I think they're very hard to write well. We know the intense feeling of being in love, but even in our own lives, words are inadequate to describe it. But for some reason, I decided to do this and have been beating my head on my desk ever since. I thought Tuilinn was very brave. She didn't know how Legolas felt, but she put on the green ribbon and got up her courage and went to find him. Good for her! Galelas is feeling that all good things come to Legolas while he gets to eat glue like porridge and work his tail off. I kind of feel for him. There've been days when I felt like I got the glue porridge myself.

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