Breaking news: 2 long hunts are finished

First bit of news is this.



The leveling grind is over! And yes, I know it says they are 56 instead of 55. I took them both into Sunken Temple with my sister's hunter Rajji a few days ago, and that leveled Kaled. >.>

Now I get to farm battlegrounds til they get their epic mounts. Oh joy.

Second bit of news is this: When I got up this morning for work, I discovered that my sister had been up literally all night. But! She had a surprise for me. She had just found and tamed Loque'nahak!! Don't have any screenshots yet, but I'll be sticking them up here when I do!

Edit: This is on her Ne hunter Kelesaria. Her troll Rajji tamed Gondria the very next day after Boogga got his.

I'm reallly happy for her, since this has been about a 6-month search. She's even had him stolen from her a time or two. But now, she finally has him! Yay!

Edit again: Screenshots of the pretty new spirit beast-

Khaotic: Zul'Farrak

I meant to post this a few days after their last story, but it took longer than I thought (darn cold). But better late than never, right? So yea, this is from a couple weeks ago
_____________________________

Khaotic stood in her underclothes in front of the mirror they had hanging on the wall, examining herself critically. “It’s starting to show, isn’t it?” she asked Kaled. He looked over from where he lay on the bed, reading. “Yea, if you had waited another week or two, we wouldn’t have needed Harene to tell us,” he said. She grimaced. “I still can’t believe I didn’t figure it out myself. Ugh, I’m naïve.” “Don’t worry about it, love,” Kaled told her. “We know now, that’s all that matters.” “I suppose,” she said distractedly.

Kaled watched her for a few minutes longer. “Love,” he said finally. “You’re supposed to meet Rajji today, to go to Zul’Farrak and scout it out. You really ought to get dressed.” “True,” she sighed, and turned around to go get her clothes and armor. “Besides,” Kaled added with a mischievous grin; she paused to look at him. “If you stand there much longer, I may not be able to behave myself.” She laughed at him as she pulled on her shirt.

Kaled helped her buckle on the last of her armor, then she belted on her swords and grabbed her bow. Kaled stopped her long enough for a kiss, then she turned toward the door. “Be careful love,” he said seriously. She paused at the door and looked back. “I would rather you were with me,” she said softly, and he nodded. “So would I, but Rajji will take care of you. I have to go see about my business back in Orgrimmar. Good luck, love, and Light go with you.” She smiled back at him as she stepped out the door.

Khaotic met Rajji in Gadgetzan, and after saying hello to his pet warp stalker, they mounted up and rode to the gates of Zul’Farrak. "It doesn't bother you, to kill your own kin?" she asked the troll as they rode. "Nah," he replied. "These aren't my kin, see. They would kill me wit'out a thought, so why would I hesitate to return the favor, eh?" She had to concede his point.

They entered the city of the Sandfury trolls cautiously, keeping to the cover provided by the rocks and dunes. They were able to bypass the first few groups of trolls without being seen, but then they came to a long, narrow corridor. Up ahead Khaotic could see the movement of a patrol. Rajji turned to her with a wicked grin. “Ya ready to get bloody?” he asked, and she answered with a grin of her own.

They dispatched the patrol with ease, sniping them from a distance then dumping the bodies behind the wall. Rajji had to do the work, both because of Khaotic’s condition and his superior height. They pressed on, soon coming to the end of the corridor and looking out at a wide, open area, populated with several small groups of trolls. Stealthily, the two hunters started making their way across.

They had almost made it when a patrol came out of a doorway behind them. They still might have escaped notice, except this patrol had a basilisk with them, and the huge lizard scented them immediately. Their first warning was when Blinkin, Rajji’s warp stalker, spun around and hissed. Then Khaotic suddenly felt a blow to her back as the basilisk rammed her with its nose. As she fell, she saw a black blur fly by next to her, followed by a savage growl that stood the hairs on her neck on end. She caught herself on her hands and knees, then she looked up to see Rajji already turned around and pulling the hammer back on his gun, and ducked her head again as he fired. She then rolled to her feet and turned, nocking an arrow to her bow and firing at one of the Sandfury in one motion. The blur she had seen turned out to be Alti, who was furiously attacking the basilisk; the big beast was blinded by blood from Alti’s clawing, and the black lion had his teeth set in its short neck now. With a powerful jerk, he snapped the bas’ neck, then dropped the corpse. The rest of the patrol had been killed, luckily before they had shouted a warning, and the brief scuffle somehow hadn’t attracted attention.

Alti padded up to her, basilisk blood staining the fur of his muzzle, and she sank her fingers into his mane gratefully. Her other hand went to her stomach, almost unconsciously, as she thought of what could have happened when the basilisk attacked. She looked up at Rajji to find the troll studying her. His gaze went from her face to her hand resting on her belly, and his eyes widened slightly. “Ey, Khaotic, you shoulda told me when we started. I woulda taken more care, ya know? Are ya all right?” She nodded. “I’m fine. Just don’t mention this to Kaled, will you? I don’t want him to worry.” The troll eyed her, but reluctantly nodded.

They finished their mission without any further fuss, though Alti seemed glued to Khaotic’s side and was watching everywhere at once. After turning in their report back at Gadgetzan, they said their farewells, and Khaotic headed to the wyvern master outside. She turned to look back once, and found Rajji watching her. He simply nodded to her, then turned and went back into the town.

Khaotic returned home as night was falling to find Kaled still gone, so she reheated some leftover soup, grateful that her nausea seemed to be gone. After supper she cleaned up her dishes, then took her book and sat on the bed to read.

Kaled woke her sometime close to midnight with a gentle kiss. “Sorry, love,” he said softly. “It took longer than I thought, then the zeppelin needed repairs. How was your day?” She blinked up at him, then smiled. “Good. Everything went well. Alti was amazing; he killed a basilisk by himself.” He smiled back at her. “Good. Go on back to sleep, love.” She shook her head, then reached for him, saying softly, “I was just waiting for you to get home.”

Test Realm Patch Notes

Read them here.

Oddly enough, you know what has me the most excited? This:

Quests

• The ravasaur trainer Mor'vek has returned to Un'Goro and will offer to help Horde players raise and train a Venomhide Ravasaur as a mount... if they can survive the creature's deadly poison.

Horde equivalent of the Alliance's Winterspring Frostsaber at last!! /dances

Also new non-combat pets!

Non-Combat Pets: 8 new pets have been added (not including Argent Tournament rewards). Raptor Hatchlings can be found on rare and elite raptors throughout the game world. In addition, an Obsidian Raptor Hatchling can be purchased from Breanni in Dalaran.

The change to Unholy Blight has made Barraccus unhappy enough to briefly consider changing specs. Only briefly, though.

I am very happy that they put a time limit on WSG. I wanted to get a black warstrider for Khaotic, but the thought of suffering thru 30 WSG matches made me twitch. But now, yay!

I am undecided about how I feel about the mount changes. Lowering the level requirements does make it easier to get around, but, well.... If they keep this up, you'll be able to get a mount as soon as you roll your character soon.

Rogues will be able to use axes. This has Zuuluu rubbing his hands with glee.

Shaman: This has the potential to be very cool, I think-

A customizable totem bar will now be available for shaman allowing the storing of 4 different totems. These totems can be placed on the ground at once in one global cooldown for the combined mana cost of all 4 totems.

No comment for the profession changes; they all look good.

I am a little excited about the new dungeons/raids at the Crusaders Coliseum and the new battleground, but am mostly having a "let's wait and see" viewpoint.

I think that's about it for now. Anyone have any comments of their own, feel free to post them here. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Secret Project is finished!

So what is the Secret Project? I've been taking screenshots and small movie clips of various random things while questing thru Northrend with Barraccus, with the idea of making a little movie montage about his experiences. And here it is, all ready to go!

Music is a bit of a mix, in order it is- RED, Russian Circles and As I Lay Dying. Enjoy!



EDIT: Youtube link is here

Kaled and Khaotic: Updates

First, for Khaotic-

She's now only 5 levels behind Kaled, then the duoing begins! (If my computer can handle it >.>)

For Kaled-
We actually, finally, somehow won an AV match. This gives him 27 marks (yes, yes, I've been slacking) and a shiny new weapon.

For anyone that's curious about why I haven't moved them yet, or why they are even on a non-RP server in the first place, here's an example. I went to look at an enchant scroll for his spear, and the scrolls for +25 agility were going for 125g and up. Rather than pay that much, especially when he is trying to save towards his epic mount training, I just bought the mats, made a weapon vellum, and mailed it all to Zuuluu, my rogue and enchanter. He made the scroll and sent it back. 30 seconds of work and Kaled had his enchant, for about 30g. Self-proficiency is win.

And now, here's a shot of the two of them in their Silvermoon house. It's a nice place to unwind before logging for the night.


Speaking of night, it's really really late now, so goodnight and Happy Hunting!

I has the blah

Apologies for the lack of posts, I have been mostly coming home from work and crashing for a couple hours, then logging on WoW for a bit before going to bed. I hate colds. I have also almost completely lost my voice, fun fun.

Khaotic is up to 48, going to start grinding Timbermaw rep next while leveling Alti. Maelthra got to come along on her latest instance runs (Maraudon and ZF) so he fell behind a bit. Kaled is honored with them, gonna shoot for the same for her.

I have a side project going; I've made a couple alts on RP servers to check them out, to try and find a "home" for Kaled and Khaotic when I'm ready to transfer them. I am on Feathermoon at the moment, simply because I like the server (Wildfire Riders ftw! too bad they're Alliance). Haven't found any good RP over there yet, but said alt is only level 6 so... yea.

Barraccus has gone through the whole Wrathgate chain, but I won't be writing a story about it, because supposedly it's already happened (in Alanon's storyline). I do have a secret project I'm going to start working on, though, so stay tuned.

Nothing else to report really, except that this has got me pretty excited- new druid forms!!!

Here are the Tauren forms

And here are the Night Elf forms

I like the way Pitchblack will look (top, solid black), though Alanon might be dying his hair, just to be different. I also like the way Taurros will look (top left, also solid black). :)


-Happy Hunting!

Kaled & Khaotic: A Surprise

Khaotic left Harene Plainwalker’s home and walked back to the small house she and Kaled now lived in, her thoughts in a whirl. How should I tell him?... We’ve been together for 5 years now and nothing, why did it take so long? I was beginning to think there was something wrong with one of us. She thought she should be happy, but at the same time she wasn’t sure what she felt. I’m still young, am I ready for this? Is he? Good gods, I never even thought about it before, how could I be ready? Her big black lion Alti paced beside her, now and then looking up at her or rubbing his head against her hand. She tried to find some calm in her companion’s presence, and soon began feeling better.

Finally she reached their house, only to hear the sounds of other people coming from inside. Great. I wanted to tell him while we were alone. Fat chance of that now. She heard Kaled’s voice, speaking to someone inside, and suddenly she wanted to run into his arms and start crying. She quickly shook herself out of that particular feeling. Okay, she said I’d probably get emotional. I just hope I don’t get that bad. She stopped herself outside the door, took a deep breath to steady her nerves, and went inside.

Kaled was sitting on the floor cushions with a young tauren. A Forsaken she didn't know sat on top of some crates they had yet to unpack; he waved at her when she came in. "Hello, love," Kaled said when he saw her. "Um, hello," she responded. "Were we expecting company?" The tauren stood and greeted her. "My name is Rondlo, I am from Toorambar's tribe. He was going to be here, but couldn't make it, so I came in his stead. This is my friend Scytthe." He gestured to the undead, who nodded at her.

Kaled had made some soup for supper; his cooking skills had vastly improved over the past spring. He served it up as they all sat around the center area. The other two began talking with each other as Kaled asked Khaotic, "So did Harene find out why you've been feeling sick?" "Ah, yea, she did," Khaotic replied, eying the others nervously. Before she could say more, Rondlo began asking Scytthe about his own cooking, and Kaled was drawn into their conversation despite himself. Khaotic sighed to herself.

The discussion turned to Scytthe's alchemy, and Kaled pulled his attention away long enough to say quietly, "So what did she say?" "Well-" Before she could say more, she was interrupted again, with Scytthe asking Kaled a question. Khaotic sighed again in frustration, and Kaled reached over and squeezed her arm comfortingly. She looked over at him, but he was already back to conversing with the others. So she listened to their banter for awhile, then in a brief lull, she tried to talk to him again. She was, once again, interrupted, as Rondlo started speaking about a troll that had been mentoring him, and they went on to talk about other hunters that they knew. Khaotic had just about had enough.

Finally she took a deep breath to gather her nerve, then stood up, drawing everyone's attention. "Kaledain," she said, and he blinked at her; she almost never used his full name. She looked down into his eyes and said in Thalassian, "Osa tal adore do su o man'ar." Then she sat back down, having finally gotten it out.

"Umm," Scytthe muttered to Rondlo. "Did you understand what she said?" Rondlo shook his head as they both stared.

Kaled gaped at her for a moment, then slowly stood. His mouth opened and closed a couple times, then he finally managed, "....What?" "What happened?" asked Rondlo, politeness vying with his curiosity. Kaled didn't take his eyes off his wife. "I'm..." "Yes, Kaled," Khaotic confirmed, a small smile starting to show itself at the corners of her mouth. He looked around at the other two in a daze. "I'm going to be a father."

A rush of congratulations and well-wishes followed the announcement. Kaled had eyes only for Khaotic, and she stared back at him, beginning to smile a bit uncertainly. Kaled suddenly looked at the others. "Um, fellas?" he asked apologetically. "Can we have a little alone time?" Scytthe and Rondlo quickly agreed, and with many more well-wishes, and a tauren blessing from Rondlo, they departed.

Kaled sat down next to Khaotic, slipping one arm around her waist. He leaned over and kissed her on the shoulder, then her cheek. “How long?” he asked her softly. “The druid said it’s been almost 3 months,” she replied. “I’m due in the winter.” He hugged her gently. “How do you feel about this?” She sighed. “I don’t know yet. I’ve never thought about being a mother. I suppose I’m a little scared right now, this is going to change our lives so much. But at the same time…”

She looked up at him. “Now that it’s happened, I want it. This baby is a part of both of us. What could possibly be bad about that?” He smiled and held her tighter. “We’re going to be busy now,” he said. “We need to find a midwife, think of names, lots of things.” “As far as the first part,” Khaotic put in, “Harene said she would be happy to help us. She knows people here and said she can find a Sin’dorei assistant if needed.” “Good,” he said. “That’s one worry taken care of.” He leaned over and kissed her cheek. “It’s getting late, love. Feel like heading to bed?” She shook her head. “I still have too much to think about right now, love. You go ahead.” He kissed her again, then headed up the stairs to their bed.

Khaotic sat in the quiet for awhile longer. Alti came over and flopped down at her side, and she twined her fingers into his mane. “I hope you’re ready as well,” she whispered to him as she placed her other hand on her belly. “This is going to change a lot of things for all of us. Anar’alah, but I hope I’m ready.” After a bit she finally stood and made her way to bed. She slipped under the covers, and Kaled woke just enough to take her in his arms. Cradled against her husband’s chest, she let herself slide down into sleep.

Anna's Friday Five- Time

So I haven't done one of these for a long time, and wanted to give this a go. Too Many Annas has a theme for her Friday posts, where she will either have a list of 5 questions or give an idea for a 500-word ficlet, that you answer from your character's point of view. Today's 5 questions are:

• Is your character usually early, on time, or late? What does he or she expect from other people with regards to time?
• Is your character a morning sparrow or a night owl? Is this their nature, or have they trained themselves to it?
• Does your character carry a time-keeping device? (watch, pocket watch, chronometer, gnomish buzzbox with digital clock peripheral)
• How does your character deal with the Bronze Dragonflight - does he or she take them seriously? take the Caverns of Time seriously?
• What does your character eat for breakfast on a “normal morning”? (whenever that “morning” happens to take place)

Answers are from Kaledain, Khaotic, and Barraccus (since that's who I've been playing the most lately)

1. Kaled and Khaotic try to be on time for everything, but sometimes stuff happens and you can't help but be a little late. They hold the same expectations for other people.
Barraccus always tries to be on time, if not early. That being said, he would like for others to do the same, but won't get mad if they're late.

2. Khaotic is an early bird, usually up around daybreak (a holdover from her years in the army). Kaled is not a morning person, and she usually has to wake him up and fix breakfast. He usually becomes human again after some food and tea/coffee.
Barraccus is up with the sun without fail. Being a night elf, this isn't exactly natural for him, but he's been doing it for so long that he doesn't remember why he's like this.

3. All 3 of them keep track of time by the sun/moon/stars. Khaotic is especially good at this, again because of her time with the army; she was often a scout and needed to keep close track of the time.
Barraccus has a pocketwatch from a gnomish acquaintance, but he usually forgets he has it. He will remember to check it if he really needs to know the time.

4. Kaled and Khaotic haven't met any of the bronze dragonflight yet, but have heard enough about them to be warily respectful. The same goes for the Caverns of Time; they both have been in the Caverns but not inside any of the instances, so while they don't know what is going on in there, they can both feel that there is something.
Barraccus has some reverence for all dragons, although he wishes he knew exactly what it is that the Bronze did. Meeting his Future Self kind of shook him up a little.

5. Khaotic usually fixes breakfast, tho she doesn't always "cook", sometimes it's just toast and coffee. Kaled will eat whatever she puts in front of him.
Barraccus doesn't always eat breakfast, but when he does it's usually travel food from his backpack, whatever is served at the inn he's staying at , or if he's home, then whatever someone else has already fixed. If he has to cook, he'll fix toast and bacon, usually with tea. Anything else has a good chance of getting undercooked or burned.


So how would your character answer?

In-game stuff, and, um, stuff

I am totally catching a cold. I hate colds.

Skipping on both raid nights this week cuz all I really wanna do is sleep. I hate colds.

Kaled and Khaotic have moved from their (non-existent) home in the Eversong woods to a little house inside Silvermoon. It's right next to an inn, with a mailbox right outside their door. And it's in the Royal Exchange, so bank & AH are nearby. Not to mention, Silvermoon is mostly deserted all the time, so I can RP without worrying too much about being interrupted by a griefer. Total score.

Since I sat out Tuesday's raid, I was on Khaotic all day, pretty much until I went to bed. She is now 43. I been busy.

Haven't played much at all since Tuesday, she is still at 43. I hate colds.

Not playing seems to have unlocked my writer's block. Much story-writing has ensued. Stuff will be posted...eventually.

Been reading up on my druid lore on Wowwiki. I have figured that Taurros is definitely a Druid of the Claw, Alanon is a Druid of the Wild, and I'm not sure if Pitchblack is a Druid of the Claw, or of the Talon.

Barraccus needs a new tabard. I really do love my guild, but it's impossible to take a death knight seriously when he's sporting a big cutesy butterfly on his chest.

Altiuiqo and Ashkeyana look nice together. And yes, they are stretching simultaneously. I did not actually plan that on purpose.

My new computer was fried when the dude that's building it was doing a test run. Apparently the video card was a bit too much for the power supply, which in turn messed up both of the hard drives. It's gonna be awhile yet. /Sigh

I went to Walmart after work today to get some Nyquil and a rotisserie chicken for supper. Got the Nyquil, forgot the chicken. /Facepalm

Buster is getting fat. I mean really fat. I have no idea how because he still tears around the house like a maniac.

Can't think of anything else to report right now. Random post is random, yes. If I do think of anything else new, I will edit it in later. Goodnight. /waves

Barraccus and Quae: Dalaran

Moonlight and the light from the Dalaran streetlamps made their room in the Hero's Welcome as bright as day to night elven eyes. Barraccus lay next to Quae, watching her sleep. He wasn’t quite ready for sleep himself, not yet. Right now, he was content to simply look at her.

He loved her so much it sometimes took his breath away. She made him feel alive, like no one had before. He missed her when they were apart, and usually didn’t even realize how much until he came back and saw her again. But it was more than that, too. He knew that everyone he met didn’t necessarily see him when they looked at him; they saw a death knight. Even Alanon and Pitch, for all that they liked him and wanted to help. Riatha at times was worse. He had come to regard her as a sister, but she was a constant reminder of what they both were. But Quae was different; he knew that she didn’t care one whit about what he was, she saw him for himself. He thought that if he ever lost her, it would probably be his end.

At that less-than-pleasant thought, an image suddenly popped into his head, of his wife being torn apart by rotting ghouls. But it wasn’t Luraniel’s face that looked at him as she died. It was Quae’s.

He banished the image savagely, his face twisting into a silent snarl. He couldn’t quite hide his body’s violent twitch, but all Quae did was make a small sound in her sleep. He kept silent, placing a soothing hand on her shoulder while he regained his composure.

He had meant what he had said, about vengeance on Arthas. But it was more than that; he was deathly afraid that if the Lich King was not dealt with, then at some point he would come after Quae, and Barraccus couldn't stand that thought. He couldn’t even mention this to Quae; he knew she would likely get upset again over his protectiveness.

Looking at her now, he wondered at the strength of his own feelings. He and Luraniel had hardly known each other when they were wed. He had grown to love her, in his own way. She had been his wife, his friend and partner. But he felt a deeper connection with Quae. He wasn’t the romantic type, not really, but he was growing sure that in Quae, he had found his soulmate.

He remained absorbed in his own thoughts, until at last he was too tired to keep things straight. He moved in closer, slipping one arm around her, and gave himself over to sleep.

* * * * *

The view from Krasus’ Landing was breathtaking. Barraccus watched as Quae looked out on Crystalsong Forest far below, delight spreading over her face, and wished he could share her happiness. He had come to a decision about his thoughts from last night, and he wasn’t looking forward to the discussion he knew they had to have. Finally he reached out and touched her arm, drawing her attention. She looked over at him, and her grin faded at the serious expression on his face. “We need to have a talk,” he told her softly, and led her over to a quiet spot to the side. Once there he turned to her.

“I’d like to tell you some things, but please, don’t interrupt me until I’m done, okay? I don’t think you’re going to like all I have to say, but it needs to be said.” He paused and studied her, noting the sudden fear on her face, and gave her a comforting grin. “I love you, Quae. I don’t want to leave you,” he said softly, and she relaxed, returning his smile. Finding a spot under a young tree, he settled down on the grass, pulling her down next to him. Then he sat silent for a minute, gathering his thoughts.

“I know you think I’ve been too protective, and you’re right. But I didn’t go to Feralas to try to ‘save’ you, you just assumed I did. We need to come to an understanding about this. I don’t like arguing, and it seems we’ve been doing too much of it lately.” He looked up at her, holding her gaze for a minute.

“I wanted to die,” he said quietly, then held a hand up to forestall her response. “When my memories came back, all I could think of was that I had betrayed everything I held dear. I couldn't live with that, and tried to escape it all. Then you found me and convinced me to give my life another shot. Now, I want to keep living. I’d like to see how far all of this takes us. I know you fear for me, but believe me, I’m not going to go flinging myself at Arthas until one of us is dead. I won’t say that I’ll pass up any opportunities that come along, but as far as seeking him out, well, I’m not suicidal," he paused and gave her a teasing grin, "no matter what you might think."

He sobered then and studied her again, knowing she probably wouldn't like what he said next. "Quae, I do love you. You make me feel like I'm alive again, even when others all are afraid of me, of what I am. If anything ever happened to you, my life is over. I've lost one family, I couldn't go through that again, do you understand?" She started to frown in protest, but she stopped herself and finally nodded. "There's no guarantee that we will win against Arthas and the Scourge," he continued. "Every day we get is a gift right now. I don't want to spend half of our time together fighting." He paused and looked at her, giving her a chance to speak if she wanted.

She sighed and said, "I don't want to either. I'm sorry, Barraccus. I suppose I've been a bit too touchy lately." She looked down at her hands, then reached over and took one of his. "Let's try this, then: I promise not to snap at you again, if you can pretend you're not protecting me, deal?" He grinned at her. "I couldn't have said it better myself, m'lady." She grinned back and swatted at him.

* * * * * *

He walked with her to the portal that would take her to Darnassus and home. She hugged him, then pulled back and looked at him for a moment. "Come home with me," she said, and after a second he nodded.

They rode into the yard in good time, and Alanon came out to greet them. He smiled up at the death knight. "Barraccus, you have excellent timing. I have a surprise for you," he said, then nodded his head toward the side of the house. Curious, Barraccus swung down from Dune'adah's back and walked around the house, only to be pounced on and nearly bowled over by 800 pounds of saber cat.

"Oscor?" he said dazedly, as the big cat gently batted at him with one forepaw and butted his broad head against him. He got the saber calmed down after a few minutes, and gave him a brief once-over. Except for a large scar on his right hind leg, Oscor looked the same as he had before the accident. Barraccus patted his head, glad to see him again, while the huge cat treated him with a throaty purr.

Alanon and Quae came up as he finished brushing the dust off himself from Oscor's enthusiastic greeting. "He's healed up fine and is as good as new," the druid said. "I was about to post you a letter, but you've saved me the trouble and yourself a trip. He's been lazing about here for a couple days, and I imagine he's ready for the road now." "Thank you, Alanon," Barraccus replied. "He looks great. I'm sure Dune'adah wouldn't mind a break." He gave his mount a final pat, then turned to the others.

Together, the three walked back to the house.

Khaotic: Altiuiqo

I hadn't originally planned on making a story for Alti. His tame just kinda happened, nothing special about it. But, well, you know how things just happen, plus I was bored at work. >.>
So, here's his story. Enjoy!
___________________

Khaotic studied the small pride of lions clustered underneath one of the few trees here in the Barrens. Kaled stood behind her, his gaze divided between watching the lions and scanning the surroundings for any danger. Ashkeyana sat next to his master looking like he was about to fall asleep, until he abruptly got up and nudged under Khaotic's arm for a scratch. She obliged him, but her attention remained on the big cats below, especially on the young, dark pride leader.

She had discovered him yesterday and had immediately sent word to Kaled, who had gone on further south. He had returned right away, eager to see the strange cat. They had been studying the unusual black lion all day now, and Khaotic was finally sure that she wanted him for a companion. She guessed his age to be about 18 months, very young for a pride leader, even if his family was a small one. Given the number of bachelor males in the area, she knew his pride wouldn't be leaderless for long, so that was one concern out of her way. She just had to worry about taming him, now.

Kaled crouched down next to her on the rock, putting one hand on her shoulder. "You're sure about this?" he asked softly, not wanting to alert the lions below. She nodded, her gaze not leaving her target. He patted her shoulder. "Good luck, love. We'll be waiting here, for both of you." She finally looked away from the black lion, to smile at her husband. Then, without a word, she stood and started toward the great cats.

* * * * * *

Khaotic walked back up to the rock where Kaled waited, pride and love making his eyes shine. Beside her paced the young black lion, looking a little dazed by the twist his life had just taken. He stopped and growled when he saw Kaled, still wary, until Ashke came and began nuzzling him. The older cat's attentions soon had him calmed, and he lay down next to his mistress while she sat on the rock and stroked his mane.

"I'll call him Altiuiqo," she told Kaled. He grinned at her. "That's a bit of a mouthful, love. Got a nickname for him?" She swatted at him, also grinning, then stared down to her new pet's green eyes. "Alti will work," she said. "Let's take him home now, love. He has a lot to learn."