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One Who Sticks Closer than a Brother  by Lindelea 198 Review(s)
BodkinReviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/18/2006
Poor Tolly. I wonder if the helpless and smelly man-child is one of the reasons that he released wanderers he thought were innocent and did not deserve to be strung up on a tree beyond the bounds.

He was a cocky youngster - rather a know-it-all. (Typical of the breed! Tweenagers, that is, not Tooks. Although Tooks are often pretty sure of themselves, too!) He's improved with age.

I hope he comes back to the present soon - although I think he's got a bit more wandering to do yet.

Author Reply: You're good at guessing, and the Muse took one of your hints last night, as the outline was being polished, and incorporated it into the story, so you will get one of your wishes, if all goes well.

Tolly's cocky, for certain, though not quite as spoilt as Hilly (who, being the petted youngest and quite indulged, is rather insufferable early on). And he will grow in wisdom, I think, with experience. Some of which, I hope, will be told here.

Thanks!

BodkinReviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/18/2006
Poor Renilard and Raolf are not in the best condition for this search - and the day is not a good one for being out in the cold.

I hope they find Tolly!

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 7 on 9/17/2006
Oh dear! Tolly's wandering even further back in his mind now...I do hope that he's found out soon!



Author Reply: Yes, he's nearly so confused as the author, who mistakenly put Mistress Lalia into the story.

(She's out again. Forgot for a moment that Lalia died when Pippin was 12 or so, and this flashback goes back to when Pippin was 22, as was Hilly, and Tolly and Ferdi were 29.)

Author Reply: And yikes! Reading it over I got a chance for young Tolly to engage in some of that magical thinking that afflicts young people, that "it could never happen to me" sort of thing. I hope there aren't other mistakes... I'm for bed.

But thanks for dropping by and taking time to leave a note!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/17/2006
Oh dear, a fitting if unwanted reward just likely to be offered, isn't it? A wonderful touch!

At least Tolly is getting thawed properly. Poor Hobbit! And Wren has taken the least damage of all of them.

Author Reply: Thanks!

And I'm so glad that Wren is fine, and being spoiled into the bargain. Sometimes angsty stories can be awfully hard on ponies.

DreamflowerReviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/17/2006
*chuckle* Buckland's best has a lot to answer for, LOL!

Tolly's quite lucky about the farmer and about the washday--he should be fairly well cared for anyway, until he's found. But I sure hope that he doesn't end up presumed dead like poor Ferdi. Unfortunately, Tooks are a hasty folk, and fond of jumping to conclusions, so, no telling!

Author Reply: Well, "drunk as a Brandybuck" didn't become a byword by accident, after all.

Tooks are indeed a hasty folk. You'd think they'd have learned by now. (Although, it seems as if Pippin *has* learned something or other.)

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 6 on 9/17/2006
Poor Tolly seems to be in good hands but I do feel sorry for the trackers. However, vows to swear off the hard stuff when in the middle of the after effects are kept only rarely!

Author Reply: Too true. So, you mean that if a bottle of brandy is presented to him, the hobbit won't simply pour it out? He might actually come to *drink* the stuff, eventually?

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/16/2006
Yes, the proper plan, after all. Wonderful that Tolly's going to get proper treatment from the start.

Author Reply: Yes, hobbits are for the most part wonderful folk. These farm folk don't even recognise Tolly (even though the farmer was a part of the muster, and so was Tolly--of course, Tolly was riding up front, near the Thain, and they were further back), and yet they'll treat him like one of the family.

Thanks!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 4 on 9/16/2006
Regi has some rational reasons not to believe Pippin's news, but then he's not known what Pippin knows. And now they recognize the absence and are starting to do something about it. Too bad, really, that Ferdi can't follow through, but I certainly understand why not.

Author Reply: That is so true. You know, hobbits might hear tales of the Palantir and still not understand what it does or how it works. *We* understand, having television (and even camera phones, nowadays) but their technology was so limited, and their magic the ordinary sort that had to do with hiding themselves in a twinkling, or nurturing growing things, that the magic of the Palantir might be beyond the comprehension of most. Do you think so?

Of course, Frodo was extraordinary, and Sam, though fairly ordinary, had already seen Rivendell and other wonders by the time he saw the Mirror of Galadriel, and so he was primed to believe what he saw there. But I don't think ordinary hobbits, who'd lived all their lives in the Shire, would be quite so quick to understand, just as you said.

Ah, Ferdi, we'll be giving him a bit of a breather, in this story. He gets to cuddle with his Nell and their children and not be worried about anything.

harrowcatReviewed Chapter: 5 on 9/16/2006
Well at least Tolly is on his way back to a warm bed! I absolutely love the description of the dog. My parents have a flat-coated retriever. A dog that is used for similar purposes but is quite a bit bigger so not a hobbit dog and I love him dearly.

He was tramping with his master on this icy morning. The animals had been fed, the cows milked, the eggs gathered, the pigs slopped, and all was in order. The harnesses were all mended, the plough was oiled, the roofs and buildings were in good repair, and thanks to the farmer’s sons, plenty of firewood had been split for the foreseeable future. And so the farmer accompanied his eager dog, walking through the tall, frosted wire-grass towards the Tuckbourn, running water that would not be iced over, a likely place to find a few wintering waterfowl.

Must be nice to tick everything off and have time for some fun. Especially after just getting back from the muster!


Author Reply: I only wish I were as good a manager as some of the characters I write. I know the right thing to do, but do I do it? No, I'd much rather go for the instant gratification and let the other stuff slide, but I pay for it. Yikes.

Thanks!

LarnerReviewed Chapter: 3 on 9/15/2006
Definitely feverish and out of his head for the moment. Poor Tolly. Hope they find him very soon.

Author Reply: Somebody will find him soon, I think, for this story will not be paced as molasses-in-January slow as the last one was, thank goodness!

Whew.

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