Hi, duster...

Best answer I can give: when real life and the muse cooperate. Real life got fairly terrible the last few years (caring for ailing elderly parents who both passed away after long illnesses, and between those two things, I got hit with breast cancer (I'm fine now, cancer free yada yada, but it was a lengthy recovery period, even for the stage 0 that I had).  Writing on the emotional level that story will take wasn't possible. But thankfully life is finally settling down again, and while I'm also writing Captain America fic, I do plan on returning to the Rushlight WIP. It's roughly 1/3 to 1/2 finished, and while I'm happy with it to this point, I don't dare start posting because I have a policy not to post stories unless they're 100% finished... otherwise I risk leaving readers hanging for, as would have been in this case, years. As it is, the two stories that are posted at the very least suffice as standalones.

Thanks for remembering and for asking--

cairi

Thanks so much! I'm glad you enjoyed it. I wish I could give a date on when the follow up story will be finished. I'm about halfway done, but real life hit has hit like an avalanche and completely stalled any writing for me. Fingers crossed this year is more calm and more conducive for writing! Thanks for the nice review. :)

Thank you again, ich bin's! I'm so, so glad you enjoyed the second story, and it always gives me such a huge warm fuzzy when a reader tells me they've taken Denlad to heart. It's always risky to create your own characters in fanfic, because people come to read the canon characters, but fortunately so far I've gotten good feedback on my OCs, and Denlad in particular seems to have made it into everyone's hearts (which is good, because he needs a lot of love, what with that rocky childhood he had!).

And I declare that from henceforth until forever, "unputdownable" is a word!

Thank you again for your very kind words--it's reviews like this that make me want to rush to the computer and write more stories (and finish the ones I started). Fingers crossed real life starts allowing me more time to do just that!

Aw, thank you again! I'm so glad you enjoyed this one. It's the first of a series of three stories about Bowen Rushlight and the Breelanders and how they interacted with the Rangers who guarded their borders. I've only published this and the 2nd one; the third, which takes place many years later during the Ring War, is a work-in-progress that I'll post when it's finally complete.  I've always been intrigued by the uneasy relationship Breelanders had with Rangers. On the one hand, they were scornful of the tall, dangerous folk, but on the other hand, Barliman Butterbur's inn had long been considered by them as a "resort". And Aragorn did count Butterbur as a friend. So there's all kinds of room for interesting character interactions with Aragorn and his men and the Breelanders.  And I do like showing the more "human" side to Aragorn, because he really does come across as nearly perfect in Tolkien's books, though there's plenty of little hints that he's not infallible. It's a challenge, giving him vulnerabilities without taking him OOC, but one I enjoy tackling!

Anyway, enough rambling from me! Thank you for letting me know your thoughts and your kind words!  I hope you enjoy the 2nd story... it's much longer! (And the 3rd will be longer still, whenever "real life" lets me get it finished.)

Thank you!  So glad you liked it. :)

Thanks, Michelle!  Aw, Ruddy's racking up quite a few fans, the sweet thing. *g*  He really is a good dog.

Glad you liked the story.  As for the 3rd installment, to answer your speculations with specifics would of course complete spoil it, but er, part of the problem is that I'm still hammering out the details and so can't really give much in the way of spoilers anyway. LOL  But I will say that there will be a reunion between Strider and Bowen.  And a WHOLE lot of stuff before that.  We've got a lot of years to get through, after all. *g*

Thanks for your kind words!  (and for persevering in spite of mouse failure... I hate when that happens)

Thanks, Ellynn!  So glad you liked how it all came out!  I reeeeally need to get that sequel hammered out...!  Thanks again for all your reviews! :)

Yes, you're making sense!  There is a touch of "eerie" to this chapter, because of the way in which Aragorn healed little Owen Estel.  To someone like Bowen and Flora... and really, to you or I or anyone other than the Elves and the Dunedain and the Maia... that sort of healing touch would seem completely otherworldly and mystifying and in some ways scary.  So yes, there was a bit of an eerie feeling about this chapter by design. :)   And yes, there was also tension built into the chapter, both with the baby and with Denlad.  Lots to keep a reader reading, I hoped, and it seems it worked for you! :)   Thanks for the review, Ellynn!

Thanks Ellynn... glad your questions didn't dim your enjoyment of the chapter too much.  Denlad's story is a sad one, at least up until he was finally taken in by Aragorn and the rest of the Dunedain.  He's definitely an example of how you can overcome tough times and live a good life despite a rocky start. 

Grammar:   Gah, okay... I'm no grammarian, and I write more from instinct and "latent knowledge" more than by remembering all the jots and tittles of the rules of the English language, so take this explanation with a grain of salt and feel free to find a proper grammarian to explain it more fully (and to correct me if I'm wrong)! LOL  But to my knowledge, "would" is usually considered past tense, and Denlad here is promising both for the present and for the future not to hold a grudge against Bowen.  So he says, "I will not hold" instead of "I would not hold".   It's a subtle difference, and I know some people do write it as "I would not hold" as a sort of style choice, to make it sound "old English" (I've done it myself).  But in this instance, I wanted Denlad's vow to be clear and focused on the present and the future, and "will" works better to convey that feeling than "would".  I hope that makes sense.

Thanks, Ellynn... I wonder about that too, what that family thought after they'd calmed down and gotten over their shock and grief and illness.  I can't help but think they probably felt very ashamed of themselves, or at least, I hope they did!  (Listen to me... talking about them as if they were real people!  But sometimes characters, even minor ones that are totally 'off screen' have a way of doing their own thing despite  my intentions). 

And thank you for the kind words about how I depict Aragorn and Halbarad... I do want to show how close a friendship they have, so it's always gratifying when someone mentions that I've done just that. :)

Thanks, Ellynn!  Glad you liked this chapter!  I've always imagined that gender roles weren't really something Aragorn worried about when it came to healing, and so I like to think he's helped many a mother deliver her child through the years.  Being Chieftain and healer of a dwindling people to me means he had to be skilled in a lot of areas... sort of the ultimate multi-tasker!  *g*   And yes, I do understand what you mean--we'll see if he'll have to crawl out of his sickbed to help Flora! 

Thank you, Ellynn!  Glad you liked this... and the "don't try to kiss me" part. *g*  And as this is the 2nd in a trilogy, fear not... I'm already working on the third story, which will include Elessar's return and their reunion!  But it will be a while before it gets posted as I'm still in the "how shall I approach this" stage and haven't written word one yet!

Thank you, Michelle!  I'm so glad you enjoyed this... and I'm kicking myself for not have posting it here a lot sooner.  I can't imagine how I overlooked doing that, but at least it's here now.

That Strider... he knows how to make an entrance, doesn't he? *g* And in the second story, hopefully you'll get to see all those things you want--it's 13 chapters, though, so it'll be a few weeks before it's posted in its entirety (I know you only read things that are complete; can't blame you a bit there).

Thanks again!

Thank you, Ellynn!  I'm glad you liked this... and yes, I have a feeling you're right about interesting talks coming up again. *g*  Hope you enjoy the rest of the tale. :)