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Stray but a little... by Thundera Tiger	10 Review(s)
Estel_Mi_Olor	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/24/2012
Trust an elf to be compassionate and merciless at the same time... This was a very intense scene and it complements Beyond The Mountain Passes very well I think. I don't think Legolas and Boromir are often paired together, but as you so ingeniously pointed out, they have more in common than they realize. Boromir is typically characterized as Mr Duty Bound, but to me it seems to belong equally to Legolas. I was surprised the way you ended the vignette with so much anger between these two. I would be curious as to whether their argument is ever resolved before Boromir's death, and if not, does Legolas regret it? I can imagine the tension between these two will not dissipate and nor will it remain hidden from the rest of the Fellowship. As always, great work! Author Reply: I was also a little surprised at how heated the discussion became. That wasn't the goal when I started writing it. I wanted intensity but not necessarily outright anger. The conversation just veered that way, though, so that's how it ended. And you're right: it would definitely make for some interesting travel down the road. I actually have two stories more stories in the work that deal with Boromir, Legolas, and the Ring, but they expand to include Gimli and Aragorn. The anger is proving problematic. :) We'll see what happens!

Keiliss	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 1/18/2012
I missed this marvellous story during the MEFAs, as I did so many others (I left my reviewing for rather late in the day blush) Just wanted to tell you how very much I've enjoyed reading it. Legolas and Boromir hadn't struck me as having much in common, but you're so right, they are almost two sides of the same coin: sons of powerful fathers whose people stood in jeopardy and whose duty was achingly clear. Their final choices stood on the same knife's edge, and perhaps all that saved Legolas was the experience of years. I loved the way you described the landscape. I know where they are, of course, from the book and later from the movies, but this really pinned it all in place. Very good, strong portrayals of both characters make this a story I have no trouble believing could really have happened. ~Kei

Anonymous almost	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 9/7/2011
WOW! So the infallible elf has his moments of darkness as well! The tension in this chapter was thick and tangible, and I'm amazed you could see the similarities of Legolas's and Boromir's plights. I never considered it in that light. Reading this chapter also made me rather sad for Boromir's untimely end. He redeemed himself but lost his life. Almost unrelated, I would still love to see an update in Land of Light and Shadows, I reread it again earlier today and am itching to see the ending. You must be busy and also facing a lot of writer's block, but I just hope that you won't abandon your unfinished stories completely. There will always be that lingering unresolved itch in my heart if I never get to read the ending.

periantari	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/5/2011
I love that Galadriel quote that you included in the beginning. Fascinating character studies-- love to see both characters voice their doubts and fears and to have some tension filled dialogue over the course of the time Legolas and BOromir had together is really necessary. This multi-layered story is a gem. Thank yoU for writing! Author Reply: Thank you so much for your review! I'm glad you felt this story had multiple layers. Its characters certainly do, and I really wanted to give credit to that in their conversation. Your words are a big relief to me! And I suspect Galadriel had more than one member of the Fellowship in mind when she made her knife-edge comment, hence Legolas's inclusion. Thank you again for the review!

celest4	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 8/2/2011
Absolutely wonderful perspectives and character studies. I applaud your Boromir for he seemed to be straight out of canon. But it was your Legolas that really left a deep impression on me. I suppose it's because this idea seems so original to me. Who knew that Legolas had the same fears? In canon he always seemed to me to be the level headed one in the group apart from Gandalf and Aragorn but you've given him a totally different layer. Lots of layers, in fact. And you played it so well with Boromir's character! This is truly exceptional. Author Reply: Many thanks for your review! I'm so glad Boromir felt like he wasn't out of character. That's quite a relief. As for Legolas, he's so quiet in canon that it's tough to get a good read on him. I guess I feel like the quiet ones always need careful watching. ;) Still waters run deep, in other words. And sharing so much in common with Boromir, I figured this was a good chance to let the still waters get a little turbulent. Thanks again!

docmon	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/11/2011
Powerful vignette! Great interpretation of the emotions of Legolas and Boromir. I liked how Legolas flipped from compassionate to merciless in nearly an instant. Their dance around the issue of the Ring was well played. Very intense and gripping. Well done! Author Reply: Many thanks for the compliments! In my opinion, elves are just strange/foreign enough that their emotions aren't going to track like man's. For Legolas, this is going to be exacerbated by the presence of the Ring and his own temptations. He's resisting, and though he has Gimli to help him, he's looking for others in the same boat he is(pun only partially intended - ha ha) AKA realm in peril, no hope in sight. But Boromir isn't resisting the way Legolas needs him to be, and as a result, he gets angry. Many thanks again! Hope you got my email!

Fantasia	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/7/2011
Boromir, a great captain under such a big stress. Too much despair and a hopeless future. I can't blame him for being the first to break. Legolas had chosen hope and companionship to fight the whispers, but Boromir was so alone and maybe a little too prideful to ask for help, but he doesn't have the years of experience that Legolas has, and to be so close to Gondor....I loved Sean Bean as Boromir, he was magnificent, I think that he gave to Boromir a human quality that sometimes is missing in the books. He is not the villain of the story, he is just a desperate man trying to save his people, Gondor before all, failing to see the whole picture, but with powerful reasons to act like that (I absolutely hated Faramir movies, one of the greatest human characters in the book and they just destroyed in the movies) The tension between those two was almost palpable. You are an amazing writer. So glad that you are posting new stories.. Author Reply: I think the fact that Boromir was more or less alone in the Fellowship, even with Aragorn present, had a lot to do with why he succumbed and others didn't. I would have also put money on Legolas falling to the Ring if he didn't have Gimli to rely on, and Gandalf might not have been far behind if he'd survived Moria. Anyway, I completely agree with your of Boromir as not the villain but a great yet despairing captain under a stress-load the size of Mount Doom itself. I hope that came across in the story. I really wanted to show that Boromir had reasons for his actions and that trying to take the Ring was not a villainous decision made on a whim. He really did start out with good intentions. Many thanks for the comments!

Debbie Wharton	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/7/2011
I enjoyed the chance to hear what surely were Boromir's thoughts as his destiny drew nearer. You were one of the first authors I read when I first discovered LOTR fanfiction in 2004, and still reign as my favorite. I thought your stories were right up there with Nebride, and Nightwing, and Jocelyn and Erin Lasgalen. I thought you might be ill (or perhaps died) when you never finished some of my favorites. When I found several one-chapter stories you wrote for Stories of Arda, I reasoned that you probably aren't able to put that much energy into the long drawn out stories anymore. My very favorite unfinished story was "Land of Light and Shadows - did that story just get too big, or did you lose the story-line? I always mourned its passing. I think you are very talented - is writing just a hobby, or did you teach or write professionally? I miss your long-winded brilliance.... ;o) Author Reply: LLS is on hiatus. I'm still working on it, but your first guess is right: I don't have time or energy to pour into that fic what it needs to become a finished story. I'm hoping that will change this summer when I have a little more free time, but I can't guarantee it. I also keep wanting to rework some of the earlier chapters, though all the major plot points are where they need to be. Anyway, that's the current status. Sorry to disappoint! I know that's not the answer you were hoping for.

Laikwalâssê	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/7/2011
yes, that´s how I expect the elves to be: straight and clear and not so smooth and easy going as often described. Thank you so much for a real sounding characterisation of Legolas. I like it very much. Lai Author Reply: Many thanks for your comments about Legolas. Boromir was supposed to be the star of the story, but Legolas kept insisting on his own share of the spotlight. As for how Legolas was characterized, I've always envisioned him as being a real hard-nose if something isn't going his way. And endlessly stubborn. But that's just me.

eliza61	Reviewed Chapter: 1 on 4/7/2011
Wow, simply wow Thundera, This is how I pictured Legolas. Determined and seriously deadly and Boromir descending into despair. Talk about emotions leaping off the page. I was an inch from screaming "time out" to my laptop (that would have been an interesting picture). Great story, thanks. Author Reply: Thank you so much! This actually started out as a Boromir character piece, but Legolas kept wiggling in. So he got a fair share of the spotlight, too. And I'm so glad the emotions translated well. That was my biggest concern, because at this point, it really is down to the motivation and the emotion for both of them. They're both too involved to take a step back and look at the big picture. Thank you again!

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