It's true that Tobias' life was an escape. It sucks that he was never allowed an opportunity to actually live a decent life. He suffered so much and it would have been nice for him to actually get some kind of happy ending.

This was an interesting fic based on Loren. I liked how you showed her similarities to her son. It was annoying that Tobias did not keep contact with her.

You know what, throughout the story I liked the friendship Anna and Loren had. I just couldn't quite find myself rooting for them romantically. Maybe it was because I sensed it wasn't something that Loren wanted. I didn't do enough squinting to consider him related to Elfangor. Now I can see it more clearly.

This was a really great story, although I kind of wish it had been broken up into smaller chapters. Approximately 41K words? Whoa. This is more like a novella than a short story.

So much to read, so much I want to say... it can all be boiled down to this: Excellent job, and very believable idea for what would have happened to these characters after the war.

Nice way to work Erek and the Chee back into it.

I almost don't want to say it, but you make some very good points about Rachel and how she was slipping as time went on.

Oh, how foolish these people can be... both Tobias and Loren had 3 years to reach out to each other, they didn't do it... now I wonder if anyone has ever written a story where they really do reconnect and then reconcile.

And yes, I see how you worked in Anna as a proxy for Elfangor. ;) Very clever.

(Hm, now I'm imagining a sequel, where Loren marries this guy and has children with him, which really surprises Tobias when he finally returns home...)

This was a fantastic character study for Loren, and I love what you did with it! I like how you followed canon, even though it was sad, and really explained what could have happened to Loren in those years after. I was always very disappointed that Applegate forgot about her and allowed Tobias to run away the way he did. I agree with you completely about that being a form of suicide for Tobias, and it being so sad that no one tried to fix it.

Anna was a great character and I loved how his and Loren's relationship progressed. I can totally see the Elfangor/Loren parallels in the way that food was such a predominant part of it! Also, the way you described them going to Russia was really cool, and made me think that you must have traveled there/had connections there yourself to describe it so well!

I really liked this, and am very glad I found it. Thanks so much for writing it!

i have to go take a drivings test tomorrow early in the morning, but i ended up still awake at 3am because i miscalculated how long this piece was and how attached i would be for a story about Loren and barely any mention of the main characters. LIKE, i have no regrets, but a part of me also feels i probably should...lol nah.

anyway, i really did loveloveLOVE this. what a complete revelation. i love your story and your OCs so much. and it does kind of make a cute bit of sense of Anna turned out to be Elfangor (because he and Loren are "sOuLmAtEs"); but Anna as he is soooooo heartwrenchingly endearing and i have more than half a mind to just let him be him.

i love how loren's life turned out. i mean, im not happy she still has hang ups, of course i would rather she didnt, but it's part of her narrative. and the growth and experiences she had was well-worth the exploration.

one little note that i couldnt sit well with 100% (maybe i was 10% off the chair if that makes sense) is that Tobias and the others were seen as being entirely self-centered. i mean, their actions and the consequences of those actions does translate to that; but these kids have severe cases of ptsd. tobias himself is a child victim of neglect and abuse. his trauma goes waaaay back. it doesnt excuse what they did, obviously, but ptsd does hinder people from living normally as they would. K.A.A. did say no one comes back from the war the same way as the others, and especially not in the same vein of who they were in the past.

sorry for the rambling. obviously, this is your opinion (and Loren's), so it is as much valid as any of mine. but yeah, like what i said, it's a minor thing in the scheme of things. i still enjoyed this so much and it's one of the best things i've read in this fandom

Really enjoyed this. Thanks for a great read.

Yeah I must say i agree with your assessment of Tobias. The fact that nobody bothered to tell Loren the truth about Elfangor is also pretty reprehensible of him.

Excellent characterization and worldbuilding. I like how you expanded on Loren.

God, you nearly gave me a heart attack...

I loved your story. I have never reviewed a fanfic before even thoug I've read plenty of awesome ones, some which are even better than whatever they are based off, which proves how much I love this one.

Nothing but the best that I've read.

Anna is tender and sweet and utterly believable. The part ahout Loren not wanting to be hurt and keeping everyone at arm's length hit a little too close... but that's not a criticism, it's a sign of how immersed I was in the story.

Tobias may be my favorite character, but I do admit it was stupid and childish for him to run away. I can understand it. Doesn't mean I agree. He could have at least kept in contact with Loren.

I love your impression of Loren. I never actually read books where she in, but she always struck me as one of those adults that never grows up. Anna is so cool, but is it just me, or did he over react when Loren didn't call him? Probably just me.

Really? You had double-meanings in there? How come I didn't catch them? Damm, I'm going blind...

This is definately going in my favorites!

I'm in love with this story. I actually really hope you write original fiction, because you crafted the relationship between Anna and Loren so fabulously. You're excellent at establishing character and realistic dialogue.

I really like critiques of Tobias' actions in book #54, because everyone has to have a different take on it. I was always extremely sad that none of the parents were ever mentioned in #54 besides Naomi, and even that was only for the funeral. After a series that spent so much time on establishing the pain of having secret lives from the families, they did seem to get written out fairly quickly. I feel like you really did well here in making Loren's transition back to real life believable.

Good job! :)

i *adored* this

I really liked this story... always wondered what happened to Loren - how Tobias could just leave her alone to go off living as a hawk and then saving Ax. The wretchedness she felt is heartbreaking. Beautiful writing, lovely spot-on characterisation, and the canon details fit in perfectly. Please write more Animorph fics, I'll be glad to read them (: