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Seeing these again on SWG has reminded me how much I like this collection of fics! They're beautifully written and very emotionally satisfying to immerse onself in.

I like how this one manages to be whimsical and painfully sad at the same time. The unfinished owl trapped in stone is something that I could imagine happening on a literal level, and an appropriate representation of Finrod's fate, but it also seems like it could be foreshadowing of how neither Turin nor Finduilas is able to escape their own fate, so their life becomes something beautifully started but remaining half-finished.

It's a haunting little snippet of invented folklore--a cross between poetry and dark nursery rhyme. Not sure how I missed it before. Oral history often survives periods of oppression and serves as a spark of light and hope when things are very dark. Like many short-shorts or drabbles, this one feels more like a magnificient plot bunny than a story within itself.

Thank you very much, Oshun! Good to hear that this caught your interest.

I guess I think of it as a kind of prose poem, inviting the reader to think about recurring situations and how mothers and children have to deal with them.

I had been reading EverleighBain's stories about Rangers and their children, I think, which may have influenced me, although it's not directly related.

A longer story could be written but it would probably be more specific and, as I see it, an entirely other animal.

That said, I remembered yesterday that I have an OFC named Glorwendil, who was a ringleader in the uprising during the War of Wrath. She could be one of those First Age children. Maybe I will write more about her one day.

This is heartbreaking! Not the fic in itself, of course - but in depicting the joy of their relatives at their safe and no longer expected return, you've made me think about how Galdor and Hareth and the others must have mourned for Húrin and Huor, believing them dead or captured by Orcs. Their overjoyed reactions make it clear how little they expected to hear any news - let alone good news - at this point! Lovely work.

Thank you very much!

At the time, as far I remember, my first thought on the theme of family reunion was the one in Mithrim, after the Crossing of the Ice. But of course I'd written about that already and I felt that, for once, I didn't want mixed feelings, I wanted pure joy! 

Of course, as you point out, they are so overjoyed because they had given up hope or almost given up hope. And they've had irreparable losses, in the Dagor Bragollach. Hador and Gundor are gone.

Good question. How are they both doing? Now I wonder whether Hareth was looked down on (figuratively) or had to fight to be taken serious because of her smaller size, or her different outlook on life. Or whether Gloredhel was treated as an outsider! Such a brief drabble, but it's inviting a lot of thought. Well done!

Yes, this was before the arrival of the Beorian women, so Hareth would have stood out more, just by her looks. And Gloredhel seems to have been even more tall and golden than average for a Hadorian, so fitting in in Brethil could be challenging for her as well.

But also Tolkien emphasizes the difference in customs of the Haladin from the other two Houses and that could make even more of a difference!

I was hoping to add to this drabble this weekend, but right now the Muses don't seem to be cooperating, so I'm glad that you think it's thought-provoking even on its own!