Gifts

(Yea, yea, it's a day late. I know. :P)
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"I made you somethin' for Win'erveil."

Rheugan's initial reaction- to correct Shaur's grammar yet again- was halted once her words registered. "You made something for me?" She nodded, beaming as she held out a small object, just a shade smaller than her hand.

Rheugan took it hesitantly, holding it in one hand as he examined it. It was a wooden disk, carved on both sides. On the side he was currently staring at, a remarkable likeness of the cat's head looked back at him. The carving was rough, but the detail in the cat's expression, and the fur etched into the wood, threatened to take his breath away. He looked up at her again. "So this is what you've been hiding from me. I didn't know you carved. This is excellent."

Shaurria beamed even more at his praise. "S'more on th' back. Turn it over," she urged, and he did, then froze when he saw the other side.

Carved into the other side of the disk was a wolf's head. The detail was as fine as the cat's, but while Rheugan knew it was him in his worgen form, there was none of the savageness he would have expected to see. It looked alert, yet calm.... peaceful - like he himself had never felt while under its sway.

He momentarily forgot about Shaurria as he studied it, lost in conflicting emotions, until her fingers gently brushed his cheek. He jumped and looked up at her, startled, and she gave him a shy smile as she showed him the tear she had wiped away. "D'you like it?" she asked, with a trace of uncertainty. "I.. I wasn't too sure on what t' put on it..."

He shook his head, returning to his study of the carving. "It's beautiful. I can't believe you got it looking this accurate when you've only seen the wolf once."

"Got a good mem'ry," she said. "An'da 'n Arvoss both say so, anyway." Still shy, she reached out and took his hand. "So y'like it?"

Rheugan nodded, giving her hand a gentle squeeze. "It's perfect. Best present I've ever gotten."

"Liar." She grinned at him mischievously, then joined in when he started chuckling.

* * * * * *

It was ridiculously late. Lark knew she should have gone to bed ages ago, but Pitch didn't spend as much time with his siblings as he really should, and she hated pulling him away from the "party" early. By the time they got back to their little house, the moon was well up, the streets quiet.

Pitch was grinning as they climbed the stairs to the bedroom. Lark knew he had something up his sleeve, but knew better than to ask him about it before he was ready to tell. She didn't have to wait long, anyway, as he gently pushed her toward the bed before going to the dresser and rummaging in a drawer.

By the time he located whatever he was looking for she had settled herself in bed, and he wasted no more time in joining her. The grin on his face was, if anything, even bigger as he showed her the small bottle he had found. She quirked an eyebrow at him.

"Are you going to tell me what that is, or do I have to guess?" she asked him dryly. He answered by popping the top off the bottle, and she caught a whiff of something herbal as he poured a small amount into his palm. "Massage oil," he announced. "Happy Winter Veil, my love. Would you mind moving the sheet?"

She complied with a grin to match his own, then settled back comfortably as he started gently rubbing the oil onto the growing swell of her belly. "But I didn't get you anything," she said after a few minutes, a touch of drowsiness in her voice. Pitch glanced at her, then stopped rubbing for a moment, his hand resting over their unborn baby. "This is enough," he told her, then leaned over for a kiss before resuming the massage. Silence, broken only by Tuah's sleepy rumble from across the room, descended again for several minutes.

Lark had almost fallen asleep when he stopped suddenly with a grunt of surprise. She opened one eye to look at him, then grinned as he gaped at her. "Was that...?"

"Yes Pitch," she told him. "Guess he got tired of hiding from you... or maybe he's ticklish." She gave a grunt of her own as the baby kicked again, but Pitch's wondering expression more than made up for any discomfort. The massage forgotten, he turned cat and curled up beside her with his head resting on her belly. She finally fell asleep with her fingers buried in his fur, listening to his steady purr.
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I kinda want to do a picture of Pitch and Lark now, but that would more than likely be NSFW, soooo... >.>

..... Maybe I'll do it anyway, we'll see. *Ahem* Happy Holidays, and Happy Hunting!

This has never happened before

That is Rheugan's valor points, in case you couldn't guess. Dungeon running is crazy.

He's gotten the ilvl to run the 4.3 instances, although I'm still doing other heroics for gear/points before I risk the dungeon finder for those. He's had stupid luck as far as good groups so far, though a Blackrock Caverns run earlier today almost made up for it. His only problem has been his even stupider loot luck - nothing wants to drop for him. I've seen a lot of plate, mail, and caster gear, but the only drops he could actually use so far were some agility leather gloves from Vortex Pinnacle and leggings from Beauty in BRC (different run than the failgroup), both of which he got today.

I am going to run the new dungeons as much as I can when I can get a group of people I know, so we'll see how that goes. (Edit: got a run in tonight and he was able to upgrade both his trinkets, woot!) And luckily his VP will reset tomorrow, so I can start over again. XD

I have to say, this has been the most un-grindy-feeling grind I've done. Maybe it's just playing a character that I like and enjoy, I dunno. We'll see how long this keeps up. And Pitch still needs work too, if I get bored with Rheugan but still want to play a druid.

Last post I forgot to mention one little bitty thing. A bunch of Feathermoon people decided to try the raid finder, and I took Lark along for the ride. It was... surprisingly quick and easy, which I didn't really expect despite what I've heard others say about it. I wish I could say Lark got some goodies out of it, but despite having 5 hunter tier tokens drop, plus a ring she could have used, she lost the rolls on everything there. Oh well, there's always next time. And the entire raid was pretty interesting, with some fun fights. It'll be nice to see how we do when her regular raid group gets that far in.

I think that was it for now, so til next time Happy Hunting!

Catching Up

I have no idea what is with the spam comments I've been getting, but wow. Seriously, guys, go find someone else to pester.

I have been extra busy with 4.3 since it came out. Pitch, Lark, and Rill have all been getting runs through the new 5-mans, and I'm planning on starting Turron through them as well (if he has the ilvl, can't remember right now). Lark's raid has spent 2 weeks in Dragon Soul, and we have the first 3 bosses down! Unfortunately, everyone so far has forgotten to get kill screenshots, but I'll get some and stick them up here eventually.

RP has slowed down somewhat, though the Riders "big" storyline is still going on. Everyone's been so busy with the new stuff, however, that I don't mind so much.

Rheugan has been keeping himself busy. I've been on him whenever I haven't been on the afore-mentioned 3, and he's been questing and archaeology-ing his way along. Which brought this result.


I now have 7 max-level characters. My sister still beats me, though. >_>

I'm now taking him through the gearing-up process, although I'm not sure what I'll wind up doing with him. Right now, I just want his ilvl up enough that he can run any dungeons I want to. I've started having tentative thoughts on maybe making him my raiding main in the next expansion, but that is a definite "wait and see."

I think that is pretty much all that's been going on. Holidays are crazy, and general work stuff is not helping, so no idea how frequent blog posts will be until after it's over. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Touch

Shaurria watched the shaggy black cat pace through the grass around her with a tolerant expression. For his part, the cat seemed to be ignoring her, though his ears- the whole right ear and the tattered nub of the left- gave him away as they twitched in her direction every so often. She hid her amusement behind an exasperated sigh.

"Rheuuuugan," she called to him, although she knew he wouldn't answer to that name, not now at least. His only response was a low growl. Shaurria giggled quietly to herself as he glanced at her, then turned to a nearby tree and began sharpening his claws on it. Finished with that, he finally turned to look at her.

Shaur said nothing this time, only raising her hand and holding it out to him- a request only, not an order. His ear twitched again and he grumbled low in his throat, but his eyes remained on her. After a long interval, in which she waited patiently, unmoving, he finally dropped his eyes and took a step toward her.

She fought back her grin as he sauntered toward her, pausing to sniff a patch of grass here or swat at an imaginary bug there. With a slow deliberateness that said more clearly than words he was only doing it because he wanted to, he made his way over to the outstretched hand. He stopped again to sniff at it distantly, his suspicious eyes watching her for any trick. She held motionless even now, and once his suspicions were satisfied, he finally took the last step and nudged his nose into her hand. Shaurria smiled to herself as she ran her hand over the short fur of his head, to pet around his ears.

"Good kitty." The cat chuffed at her.

Regarding Rheugan, part 2

There are several things I have to keep in mind when I'm RPing Rheugan, whether in-game or in my writing:

1: Rheugan is not a "happy" character. Not saying that he's always mad or gloomy- he does have his bright spots- but they are few and far between (though fortunately less so now than before). He's had a lot of horrible things happen to him in a very short amount of time, and they have left their marks in him. Not physically, perhaps, but they are there all the same.

2: It took me a long, long time to figure out why I had so much trouble writing anything that involved Rheugan. He simply has his own ideas about what he wants known about him, and if I try to do something he doesn't agree with, he just shuts me out. It made me amazingly frustrated with him, but now that I'm figuring him out better, I'm learning to just go with it.

3: Rheugan may have very little in the way of possessions right now, but he is still a noble. He can be snooty sometimes ("poncy" is how we usually describe it XD), and he can be a bit touchy about his honor. He still has his pride, no matter that it's been beaten and dragged around some. All in all, it still sometimes surprises me how different he is from me, which doesn't tend to happen much with my characters.

4: He really, truly, honestly wants to be useful. One of his biggest depression-causes before he went to Northrend was how useless he felt. Combine that with his pride, and how could he not feel miserable? There were a couple times when he offered his help with something and was turned down (Fells' trip to Gilneas comes to mind), and he reacted pretty badly to it. I can understand that there was simply no way for him to fit into the plotline, but with Rheugan, I have to go with how he feels about things, and it was pretty rough at times.

* * * * *

So if I was having all this trouble with Rheugan, how did I end up doing his Northrend story?

I did it for one reason, really. Rheugan was getting to the point where he wasn't really much fun to play. I needed to find some way to fix him, before he became well and truly "broken". So, I gave him what he wanted: my full, undivided attention, where I would only write what he wanted me to write. It was his chance to tell his story the way he wanted. And it worked, though I couldn't tell you how many times I had to rewrite parts of it before he was happy enough to let me hit the "post" button. There are parts of it that I wound up editing out at the last second, like that mysterious bit in Dalaran that got mentioned in the last chapter, but never got explained. I'm still hoping that Rheugan will let me finish that chapter, and it'll get posted as an aside if he does. But, it will have to be his decision whether it gets finished or not.

I have never had a character that insisted on having so much control. It's almost humorous.



The Northrend story wasn't just about him learning to get along with his cat. It was also about him learning to deal with his life as it stands now. And I think it worked out well.

* * * * *

One of the best decisions I think I ever made about Rheugan was a spur-of-the-moment one: introducing him to Shaurria. It was all Pitch's idea- and he gladly takes credit- but it turned into a life-saver.

I don't write much about their interactions, and I don't plan to in the future either. Their relationship is hard for me to describe. They are definitely not romantic, for several reasons. Shaurria is a little over 100, which I believe puts her in her mid-teens, comparatively, so she's simply too young yet for a relationship like that. Rheugan is too damaged; if he ever does find someone, it will likely be another worgen, since otherwise he'd be terrified of passing on the curse, and it will likely be full of complications. Someday he might reach a more normal point, but until then he doesn't need the added stress of a romantic relationship.

If I had to define it, I would say Rheugan and Shaurria are the siblings that neither of them had before. Their friendship is almost like a twin bond. I like to think that it's what has helped Rheugan hold on to his sanity at times.

They hit it off from their first meeting. Rheugan was expecting Shaurria to be like the other people he'd met; either pryingly curious about what the curse was like, or else afraid of him and trying to hide it. Instead, she simply accepted him in her Shaur-like way; Pitch liked him and said he was nice, so of course that's what he was. For her part, Shaurria somehow sensed how broken Rheugan was at that point, and her first reaction was to try and heal his pain. In this, she's very much like her adopted father.

They relate to each other very well. Both are orphans, both had been through a very rough part of their lives. Shaurria had dealt with her pain and was well past it, while Rheugan was still in the midst of his. Shaur was, perhaps not so surprisingly, the best medicine he could have gotten.

She's helped him in other ways too. She introduced him to Arvoss, who saw a bit of himself in the worgen, so now he has another friend and a place he can call home. The cat will never hurt her, since she's no threat to it, so she is "safe", which is to Rheugan perhaps the most important part.

* * * * *



So now, what am I left with? Rheugan is no longer broken, thank goodness, and his moods are much better. His cat, which turned into a character all on its own, is no longer fighting him, and he is more at peace with who and what he is. I don't know how long this will last- I'm hoping it's permanent, but I've learned to take nothing for granted with Rheugan- but for right now, he is a much better character to play, and to RP with. I think I can count this as a success.

And that is my worgen in a nutshell. A little rough around the edges still, but not a bad guy to be around. And maybe someday, his cat will start to like being petted. I can always hope, right?

Sick

I got the inspiration for this while I still had my cold, and figured that if I was sick, there was no reason why my characters shouldn't be, too. Yes, I'm a meanie. This story idea just puttered around in my head for a while, then I started writing it after my cold was gone. For lack of anything else to write, I finally got around to finishing it.

This would be from several weeks ago- Lark's cold is long gone by now, same as my own. Also, have I mentioned how much I love my characters? >.>

(I'm not forgetting Rheugan's post, just need to finish writing it. >.>)

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There were, Pitch reflected, some advantages to being bigger than your mate- one of those being she couldn't push you out of bed. Not that she wasn't trying.

"I dode wadda gib you by code!" Lark's feet pushed futilely against his hip again. Pitch suppressed a sigh.

"You won't give me your cold," he told her again, patiently. "I'm too stubborn to get sick anyway." He didn't mention that his throat had been scratchy that morning, so he'd probably already caught it. Which was why he'd helped himself to his brother's "cold tea" when Alanon had brought some by earlier; if he was catching it, it wouldn't last long, not with that tea.

Lark herself had had two cups of the tea, plus as much soup as he could get her to eat- and thank Elune her morning sickness seemed to be mostly gone. An added benefit was that with her belly full, she was too sleepy to put up much of a fight.

Almost as soon as he had that thought, she suddenly gave up the fight, rolling to her side and pulling the blankets up. "Fide den," she muttered, slurring slightly. "Dode blabe be if you get zick." Pitch smiled to himself. "I won't," he told her, though he was doubtful she even heard him.

He gave her a bit to fall asleep, then slid under the blankets next to her, snuggling up close with a contented sigh. Within minutes, he too had fallen fast asleep.

Regarding Rheugan, part 1

(Disclaimer: If you haven't noticed by now, I tend to talk about my characters like they are real, living people. If you're not a roleplayer, this will probably strike you as odd. Bear with me.)


I have a confession to make. I haven't been fair to Rheugan.

This will probably take a while to explain. I started planning for Rheugan the moment I found out worgen were becoming playable, and they could be druids. I reserved his name, decided what color he'd be, and thought up a little bit of a story to introduce him. And... that was it. I didn't expect him to be that important of a character to me, he was simply an excuse to play and RP a worgen, and all his RP was supposed to involve Pitch. Really, I just wanted him to add a little more depth to Pitch's story. He wasn't supposed to be a "real" character.

Then this happened. Hooooooboy, did it happen. And it took everything I had "planned" for Rheugan, turned it upside down, and kicked it out the window.

Remember this post I did? If not, go ahead and read it. I'll wait.

After that post, I kept finding myself beating my head against the wall that Rheugan had become. Why was he acting this way? What was his problem? For that matter, what was my problem?

The problem, I finally figured out, was that Rheugan was a far more complicated character than I had given him credit for. And, well, he was getting angry with me... for not giving him that credit. And how could I blame him?

I think that was when I started thinking long and hard about Rheugan. I brought him to RP night every time I could manage it. And bit by bit, I finally started to see some of what was going on inside my little worgen's head.

So now, you get something that I never thought I'd be able to write: Rheugan's backstory. It's... a bit abbreviated and I still wouldn't consider it to be set in stone, but at least I got it down, right?

* * * * *

Rheugan's story actually begins with his I-don't-really-know-how-many-greats-grandfather, a prosperous sheepfarmer living in Tempest Reach. The Reach is also where a lot of the wealthy had their estates, and this elder Jameston decided he'd like his family to live on one of those estates someday. He was the first in the family to start working on climbing the Gilnean social ladder. When he grew too old, he passed the reins to his son, who took up right where the old man left off. In just a few generations, they'd gone from farmers to businessmen, hiring workers to run the now-much-larger farm, then sending the wool to their own workshops and warehouses, to be turned into trade goods. By the time Rheugan's father came along, they were living in a very nice house among the elite in Gilneas City, and just before Rheugan was born, his father was granted a title and status as minor nobility.

Rheugan grew up learning how to run the family business from his father, and was always impressed with the idea of taking it even further. He and his family were nobles, yes, but they got there through hard work, and Rheugan wasn't allowed to forget that, either. He knew his place and what was expected of him, and that was exactly how he wanted it.

Then the worgen attacked. Rheugan's father went to join the fight, leaving Rheugan in charge as his heir. He was killed early in the fighting, leaving Rheugan as the lord of the house... that is, until Rheugan decided to take his place against the worgen. That is where the intro questing starts. Rheugan went through most of it in-character, so it is part of his background. When he was sent to free Crowley from the prison and the worgen attacked them on the roof, that was when he was bitten.

Now, Rheugan didn't know what would happen when he was bitten. As the fighting progressed, however, at some point he guessed what was going on. So when Crowley wanted volunteers to stay behind while the rest of Gilneas evacuated, Rheu was one of those that stepped forward, knowing full well that he would probably die.

Fast forward a bit. Rheugan obviously wasn't killed, but he did turn full worgen and found a place in a fairly large pack. This pack had an aggressive leader, and their hunting trips caused quite a bit of terror in the Blackwold where they lived. Then they were tracked down, and the entire pack was killed or captured. Rheugan was among the latter.

Back in Duskhaven with Krennan Aranas' potion working on him, Rheugan finally stopped being a savage monster and started on his path back to humanity. One of the first things he heard was that if he ever showed signs of being irredeemable, he would be destroyed. The next thing he learned was that his mother was killed in the evacuation, and Rheugan was now the only living member of his family. Since no one had known where he was or even if he was still alive, after Gilneas was reclaimed from the worgen, his family's business, home, and wealth- everything material they had owned- had been taken by the Crown and given out to others. So now Rheugan was an orphan with nothing left to his name but a now-useless title.

That was enough to send him into a pretty fair depression. It only got worse as time went on, and he still heard the warnings of what would happen if he ever went wild. Rheugan grew withdrawn and fearful, avoiding contact with the non-cursed humans as much as possible. Things went on like that until the Forsaken attacked.

The battle with the Forsaken gave Rheugan something to focus on besides his own misery. He fought willingly and well, but still remained fearful of giving his worgen side too much freedom. His story pretty much follows the questlines up until he meets the Night elf and goes through his ritual at Tal'doren. Once the rituals were over, the Night elven druids offered to teach him, and any others that wanted, the druidic shape-shifting.

Enter the cat.

Rheugan was feeling pretty good by now. They seemed to be beating the Forsaken back, he had control now over his worgen side, and with the night elves' teaching, he'd become an even better fighter. He was so used to the wolf by this point that when he started feeling "nudges" from his cat, he simply ignored it or pushed it away. That was his mistake.

Rheugan's cat didn't like being ignored. It grew angry and frustrated with him, but Rheugan remained clueless. He gave no outward sign of being in trouble, and he didn't know enough about druidism to think there was anything wrong, so no one thought to help him. The battle finally ended with Prince Liam being killed, then the Forsaken pushing the Gilneans out of their home. With no other options, Rheugan went to Teldrassil with the rest of his people.

Once there, Rheugan slipped back into his old depression. He still had no home or finances, so he found himself entirely dependent on the charity of others- another blow to his pride and self-esteem. One day, he slipped out to find a quiet place in Darnassus away from everyone else. He found a spot, but one of the Night elves' saber cats found him and, seeing a stranger loose in its home, it challenged him. Rheugan tried to ignore it but his cat, fed up with everything it had been through in the past weeks, finally took complete control of him and attacked the saber. It killed the cat and mauled a Sentinel when she tried to break up the fight. Rheugan was deemed too dangerous to remain free, so he was shut in a room at the inn, where he waited for what he thought would be his execution. And that is how Pitch found him, when they first met.

* * * * *

And with that, I think I will need to pause this here, since I'm kinda feeling the effects of going to bed at 3am last night. Now you know the basics of how Rheugan got to be where he was, and I will finish up the rest of this (yes, there's more... a lot more!) hopefully tomorrow. So til next time, Happy Hunting!

Rheugan: Storm Peaks

Dear Shaurria,

I am writing this from the Hero’s Welcome in Dalaran. I think now I may be coming home very soon. The cat and I have reached an accord, though the details will have to wait until I see you, as I’m not sure if I can put them into written words adequately. I’ve been here in the city of mages for three days - it feels good to be clean, warm, and safe again. I think the cat has been glad for the rest as well, though he is pressing for “just one more hunt” before we head back to Stormwind. I’m sure you know where that will lead, though I promise not to let him keep me out here for too long.

Now that I can spare the attention to think on everything back home, I am realizing how much I have missed everyone. It will be good to be back home, although I still don’t know if Stormwind will be my home for good. There will be things I will need to take care of - but I promise that this time I will not need to go alone, and I would be glad to have you and Pitch accompany me.

That isn’t all that has happened, but I’m not sure how to tell about the rest. I met a girl here, another Gilnean with the curse, and she shared a rather startling story - although in her defense, I don’t think she knew how much it affected me. It has given me much to think about, however - indeed, it seems like I’ve been doing nothing but think for days now, and I am no closer to finding the answers....

* * * * * *

The blizzard swept through the Storm Peaks, blowing along anything unlucky or foolish enough to be caught in its winds. Among those hapless victims were a harpy, several eagles, and one big gray stormcrow.

Rheugan let the winds carry him along, using his wings just enough to stay aloft and keep from crashing into anything. The cat, only a dim presence in the back of his mind, made it quite clear that it thought he was crazy, but he gave it no mind- all his attention was focused on simple survival.

He felt exuberant, with the harsh wind blowing through his feathers and carrying him along to who-knew-where, and thought that he could better understand Pitch’s “hobby” of throwing himself at the biggest and toughest opponents he could find. But Rheugan had another reason for being out in the storm as well- with all his focus on staying alive and unharmed in his wild flight, he could spare no thought for anything else. And for the moment, he very much wanted it that way.

His past weekend in the mage city of Dalaran had started out nicely, but it had ended on a sour note, and Rheugan did not want to think about it any more than he had to. He knew he was running away from things that he ought to face down, that he would have to face sooner or later, but he couldn’t help himself. He was finding it hard to care that those things were also keeping him out here, in Northrend, when he knew he could go back to Stormwind now any time he wanted to.

And that was probably the reason he didn’t see the frostwyrm until it was on him.

His only warning was a change in the pitch of the wind, then huge bone claws were closing around him like a cage. The tip of one caught in his wing near the shoulder; he felt it pierce the skin, then the hot rush of blood flowing. In an instant the cat had seized control, letting out a scream of pain and rage as it shifted his form. The frostwyrm wasn’t prepared for its prey’s sudden increase in size and weight, and it lost its hold on him. The claw tip tore through skin and muscle as Rheugan slipped free and started plummeting toward the ground far below. The undead wyrm gave an ear-splitting roar, but didn’t pursue him for some reason, and Rheugan’s last sight of it was of it flapping back toward Icecrown. The entire attack had lasted mere seconds.

Rheugan managed to change back to his bird form as he fell, using his good wing to try to slow and direct his descent. It worked, barely, and he landed in a snowbank with a thwump, in a shower of blood and loose feathers. Instinct warned him against turning human- the cold would quickly finish him off if the injury didn’t- so after a brief moment of hesitation he took his worgen form, then placed his good hand over the wound and directed all the healing power he could muster into it. He felt it close, the bleeding slowing, and once he had done what he could he risked turning cat. His foreleg wouldn’t support his weight, but he knew he had to find shelter fast, so he limped the best he could toward the nearest mountainside. If he was lucky, perhaps there was a cave nearby.

The blizzard’s winds still swirled around him, blowing the snow about and, after he had gone no more than a handful of steps, bringing a sudden whiff of a strange animal. Rheugan stopped in his tracks, hackles rising, and looked around with a growl. Between the snow and his own growing weakness, it took him a few minutes to spot the large black cat that watched him from a nearby outcropping.



At first he thought it was another worgen- it was certainly shaggy enough. But the smell was wrong, and when the strange cat lifted his head higher to get a better look at him, Rheugan noticed the horns on his head. The stranger stared at him, nostrils twitching, then gave a tilt of his head and turned to jump off the rock. Rheugan debated with himself for a second only, then followed the other druid.

The tauren, for that was certainly what he was, led him only a little ways before ducking into a small opening in the rock. When Rheugan entered, the smell of cat and woodsmoke nearly set him back on his haunches. Clearly the tauren used this cave frequently.

His unexpected benefactor had already shifted to his natural form, and was stirring a small campfire into life. He was a big fellow, likely a little taller than Pitch, with black fur spotted with white. It was hard to tell in the dim cave, but it looked like his muzzle was starting to turn gray with age, although his movements were as easy and graceful as anything that large could be.

Rheugan crept as close to the fire as he dared, then turned human and bent to look at his arm. The injury started near his shoulder blade and stretched all the way to his elbow. It was still oozing blood and hurt like fire, so he again sent whatever healing energy he could muster at it, closing his eyes in concentration. Then suddenly the warmth of the healing magic intensified, as something large covered his hand. Rheugan’s eyes popped back open to stare at the tauren, who was now taking his hand off of Rheugan’s, giving the smaller druid a reassuring smile. Rheugan blinked, then checked his arm again. The wound was now closed and healing nicely, though he could tell he would have a wicked scar. He looked back up at the tauren. “Th-..thank you,” he offered shyly.

The tauren’s smile grew wider as he answered in fairly decent common. “You are welcome.” Rheugan gaped at him, blinking. “You know common?” He nodded. “The druids in Moonglade taught me. I hear, mmm... understand, better than I speak.” He settled back comfortably across the fire from Rheugan, then looked back at him with interest. “I have not seen many of your... your kind? So, how do you come to be here?”

Rheugan hesitated before answering. “I came here to the Peaks because it looked like good hunting grounds. If you mean why am I in Northrend... that’s a long story.” The tauren took a moment, likely to make sure he understood properly, then nodded. He waved a hand at the cave’s entrance, where the blizzard was still blowing rather noisily outside. “We are not going anywhere for now, eh? Tell, if you’d like.”

Rheugan still hesitated. The tauren seemed friendly, but he was still a tauren, one of the “enemy”- not to mention he was big enough to break Rheugan like a stick if he chose. Still, he felt inclined to trust him, though he didn’t know why. Finally he began. “You know what I am.” The tauren nodded again without speaking. “Do you know how many people treat worgen?” At that the tauren cocked his head, looking at him curiously. He studied Rheugan for several minutes in silence, then snorted softly. Pulling off one glove, he held his black-and-white mottled hand up for Rheugan’s inspection.

“My color marks me as one of the Grimtotem,” he said. “You heard the tales?” At Rheugan’s slight nod he continued. “I have not been a part of the tribe since my druid teaching began. Still some of my people do not think I am to be trusted. They give me looks - you know what that’s like, hmm?” He shrugged, pulling the glove back on. “They do not know me. My.. my leader, is not Magatha. I follow Hamuul, and yes Malfurion too sometimes; they are my leaders. I do what helps, and those of my people that do not like me can think what they want, eh?”

Rheugan allowed a faint smile to cross his face. “I wish sometimes I could have felt that way. It would have made some things easier.” He sighed, then at the tauren’s encouraging nod he went on. “After I was cursed, I ran wild at first. When I was captured, I was given a potion that returned me to my senses, then put with the other recovered worgen in Duskhaven.

“Many of the villagers were kind to us, even seemed glad we had been brought back. But some of them followed Lord Godfrey’s thinking. They were always watching us, making certain we knew exactly what would happen if any of us seemed to be going wild again. But the worst, I think, was seeing some of my old friends.

“My pack attacked the home of my best friend, just a couple weeks before my capture. One of my packmates bit him and gave him the curse. I was the one that killed his father. When I first met him in Duskhaven afterward, I couldn’t even look him in the eye. I still don’t think he knew it was me in the attack, but if he ever found out, what would he do?”

The tauren just sat quietly, listening, as Rheugan went on. He had the younger druid pause to clarify a few points when he didn’t quite understand, but other than that he was an excellent listener. It was difficult for Rheugan to speak about the life he had left behind, but... liberating too, somehow. He finally came to the end, after talking for what seemed like hours.

“So I came here, to figure out how I could live with this cat. It took awhile, but I think we’ve finally become friends, as crazy as it sounds.” He looked up with a shy grin as the tauren chuckled, then thought of something. “Have you ever had trouble with your cat?” he asked.

The tauren shook his head. “I have been a druid longer than you have drawn breath,” he replied with another chuckle. “Whatever troubles we’ve had have been long worked out.” He gave Rheugan a rather calculating look. “So if your trouble is fixed now, why are you still here? I enjoy the North still, but you seem... eager? to get home.”

Rheugan’s grin faded. “I... I think I am hiding,” he admitted. The tauren raised an eyebrow at him, so he tried to explain. “Before I came north, I depended on others to take care of me. I had no home, no money, and no hope. It’s been worlds better up here- I’ve even managed to save up some gold, so at least I am no longer penniless. But... I’m half afraid that when I do go back, I will fall into the same rut.”

The tauren rumbled under his breath- it sounded like it was meant to be comforting. “That is something you find on your own,” he said slowly. “If you want to be useful, you must make yourself useful, eh?” Rheugan nodded, looking into the fire thoughtfully. “And you have friends, hmm? They will help you, won’t they?”

Rheugan nodded again. “I have to say that I’m not entirely useless, especially after having to look after myself all this time,” he said, speaking half to himself. “If I can find work that I can do, that’s a start, at least.” He was silent for another minute, taking time to think things through. “I will have to figure out a new life, I suppose,” he finally said. “I.. I’m just not sure how to.”

The tauren’s smile returned. “Perhaps that is the best way to start, mmm?” He stood abruptly, cocking his head to listen. “The storm has stopped. I will go back to my hunt.” He looked back at Rheugan. “You are welcome to stay here and rest. In the morning, perhaps, is soon enough for this new life.” With a final broad grin, he changed to the shaggy black cat, then padded out of the cave.

Rheugan sat and thought for a long time after the tauren left. It was time he stopped running. And he did have friends, after all; it wasn’t like he had to do everything all by himself. He would still have help.

He turned his attention to the cat next. “What do you think?” he asked it aloud. “Ready to go home?” The cat offered no argument. The frostwyrm’s attack had reminded it quite clearly of its own mortality, and it was more than willing to return to civilization... and relative safety. Rheugan grinned to himself as he shifted and settled down next to the fire. For now, he would sleep as the tauren suggested. When he awoke, he would head back to Dalaran, and the portal to Stormwind.

* * * * * *

She was sitting down by the lake again, the smaller one by Celestine’s cottage. For a fleeting moment, it felt like he had never been away. She was staring at the water, not even looking around when he walked up- until he quietly cleared his throat. “I wrote another letter,” he said as Shaurria’s head whipped around, to stare at him with wide eyes and a quickly-growing smile. “But I thought I might deliver this one in person.”

She looked him over, as if to make sure he still had all limbs intact, then reached out to hug around his knees. Her voice was soft, a bit shy, but happy. “I knew you’d be back. Welcome home, Rheugan.”

___________________

Done at last! Rheugan has been home for about 2 weeks now, but I got stuck in the "writer's block cause I'm worn out from work" rut for a while. Holidays in retail, and especially in the grocery business, are crazy.

For anyone that doesn't know (and I only know 1 person that would know, no offense meant), the tauren he ran into is Taurros. I keep wanting to write about the old boy but never do, so I figured he deserved a cameo.

Rheugan has been much more comfortable since his return. I think we're both still figuring out exactly how he's feeling in regards to a couple things, but with time even that should be sorted out. And Bricu offering him a job at his first RP night back certainly isn't hurting things!

I did this whole storyline for a reason, and now that it's finished I ought to make a blog post about that. Yes, I made some things in his story vague (and maybe confusing), but it was deliberate. In some cases, it was the only way Rheugan would let me write anything at all! So, look for a future post about that, hopefully later today/tomorrow.

And finally, I hope I never get stuck like that ever again. Nearly 3 weeks in between blog posts? Yeesh.

Pitch: Tracking

Backstory for this one? The Riders have had a couple of their people turn up missing- namely Bricu and Shad. They disappeared under very strange circumstances, with fairly obvious SI:7 involvement, and the rest of the Riders, including Pitch and Lark, were getting stressed and jumpy. Bricu turned up again last RP night, fortunately, and while the "trail" was fresh, Pitch was asked to go track Bricu back to the SI:7 hideout he'd been held at.

There is a forum thread about it here.

Enjoy!
________________

The scent trail led to a grate set low in the Mage District wall. Pitch sniffed long and hard at the ground, making certain of where the trail led, before he finally went to examine the grate. He barely heard Bricu's motorbike start up again and move off, as the paladin headed for his home.

He had to go elf in order to move the grate, then he slipped through, pulling it shut again behind him, just in case. He returned to his cat form, picked up the thread of Bricu's scent, and padded down the tunnel. Kal'dorei night vision combined with his cat eyes allowed him to see in the darkness easily. The tunnel smelled musty, but had a "used" feel. It ran ahead of him for several hundred feet before he came to the first intersection.

Pitch paused and stared down each of the new tunnels for a moment, sniffing the air. The faint scent of humans reached him from one, and he wanted to explore them both, but on the other hand... Bricu's scent trail still went straight ahead, so after a brief debate Pitch continued on his way. He had a job to do, and he could always backtrack later.

He passed two more intersections, but Bricu's trail never left the main tunnel, so neither did Pitch. The tang of magic in the trail was getting stronger, however, and he wondered where exactly he was going to end up. Then he came to the door.

It was fairly unassuming, as doors went, but Pitch felt the faint crackle of warding magic in his whiskers as he approached. He stopped a safe distance away and studied the door, faintly regretting his own inability with magic. The tunnel was swept clear; there wasn't even a piece of trash to toss at the door, to try and trigger the ward that way. Finally Pitch left his cat form, then took a deep breath, sent a silent apology to Lark in case things went wrong, and touched the door.

Nothing happened, which was perhaps more worrying than if there'd been an explosion. The ward simply flared slightly, then faded, leaving the door free to open. Pitch wasted no time in searching for the latch, but the door didn't seem to have one. He muttered a curse under his breath, then started feeling around the edges for anything that would open the door. Seconds ticked by, and Pitch's imagination supplied him with various scenes of guards coming down on him, alerted by the ward. "Oh, by Ursol's left-"

Snick. Something gave under his questing fingers, and the door swung toward him, opening about an inch. Pitch let out his breath as quietly as he could, then shifted back to cat and warily poked his nose out. He was greeted by the scent of magic so strong it felt like a slap in his nostrils, and when he peered out he was confronted by a wall of pulsing green.

It took him a moment to realize he was behind the portal in the Mage Tower. A cautious sniff proved there was no one else in the room, so he eased out of the hole in the wall to look around. The teachers and portal masters all appeared to have gone to bed, and there was no trace of anyone else, so after a brief inspection Pitch slipped back into the tunnel.

He now knew where the Sevens had brought Bricu from, so it seemed like a good time to go back and explore those side tunnels. He trotted back down into the darkness.

* * * * *

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Pitch watched warily from the shadows as a pair of guards squinted down the tunnel. Their voices echoed faintly down to his ears.

"Are you certain you saw something? It might've just been a rat."

"Pfah. Rats aren't three feet tall with glowy eyes. I'm telling you there's something there."

Three feet tall? Pitch didn't know whether to laugh or growl, but knew better than to do either. He held his tongue and waited for their next move.

"Well, I don't see it." The first guard spat, then turned back to his post. "If you're so frightened of being down here, why don't you go up to Gallina's and help yourself to the wine?" He gestured toward the door they guarded with his hand crossbow.

Gallina's? Well, at least he had a rough idea where he was now. As the second guard returned to his post and the two continued their bickering, he turned and slipped back down the way he had come.

The next door he came to was also guarded, so he didn't even try to get close. The one beyond that looked promising, however, with the tunnel ending at an unguarded, tiny stairwell. The rickety steps- more ladder, really- led up to another hidden door, which led to...

Cool night air hit his nose, although his view was blocked by a stack of crates. No matter. Pitch marked the place in his mind and continued on.

The next tunnel he found was a long one, ending at a stout wooden door guarded by no less than five men. Pitch gave a frustrated huff and turned to go back.

"What was that?"

He froze as the voice rang out, then heavy footsteps started heading in his direction. Without looking back, Pitch quickly slunk down the tunnel toward the nearest branch-off, but the persistent guard stayed on his heels, followed by at least one of the others. He reached the crossing tunnel just ahead of their torchlight and ducked in, his black fur melting into the shadows. He shut his eyes to hide their glow, tracking the guards by scent and sound.

"It was probably nothing. We would have found something by now." Yes, listen to your buddy, Pitch thought, but the leading pair of boots kept coming closer, bringing the torchlight with them.

"You know what Shaw will do if anything gets into the Keep," the first guard replied harshly. "I'm not going back til I'm sure." The Keep! No wonder they were jumpy. Pitch held his breath, his muscles tensing involuntarily as the footsteps came closer; five yards, then three. Then they were right on top of him, and Pitch waited for the shout of discovery, preparing to dash out and try for that door he had found earlier...

Then the boots were retreating back down the tunnel, the other guard cracking jokes to the first about "dedication to duty," and Pitch slowly let out the breath he'd been holding. He waited until he heard nothing from the guards, then cautiously made his way back to the unguarded door.

It exited out into an alcove, the door hidden from the outside by the stack of crates. Pitch made sure to replace the crates exactly the way they had been once he was outside, then took a moment to get his bearings. He quickly recognized the Cathedral looming up nearby, and fixed the door's location in his memory, in case any of the Riders wanted to see where it was. Then he shifted to a bird and made his tired way home. Maybe Lark would still be up, waiting for him.

They come in bunches...

I seem to be making all my tames in bunches lately. This means that either Booggah will find his blue Madexx in a day or so, or else I won't see him for another month...

I had Boo out checking for Magria earlier today, and I randomly just said "I want his blue kitty!" to my sister. NPC_Scan went off just a couple seconds later.


*cues "Hallelujah" music*



This makes me so happy. I was more-than-half-expecting to find Ankha again- I swear that kitty has a thing for Boo.

And here, have a screenie of Lark with her new buddy-



Just... don't say anything about the name. >.>

I've been feeling better the last couple days, although I don't want to say I'm getting well yet, since when I did that before I caught a second cold...

Feathermoon has seen some more RP recently, I'll have to do some posts on that soon. Pitch in particular has his own role in part of it, and I will try to write that up ASAP. I've also had Rheugan's final chapter poking around in my head again, so maybe I'll get that finished up too. Then he can finally come back home!

Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Being a sickie

I've recently realized that I've been sick now for 3-going-on-4 weeks. Yeesh. I think I actually caught another cold just when I was getting over the first one, so at least I don't think it's all one big dose of "LAWLZ, YOU'RE SICK" happening. But it really stinks feeling this crummy for so long, and I'm getting tired of it.

I still feel half-asleep or spaced out most of the time, so I haven't gotten any writing done yet. Not much game-playing, either, with most of that being Lord of the Rings Online. On a plus note, I've gotten Basten the burglar up to 31 already, along with dinking around on my lower-levels.

Booggah ran into Skarr shortly after he found his Karkin, and when I got switched over to Lark he was still there, so she finally has the last pet I wanted for her. She's all set until whenever Blizzard makes hydras tameable. Boo is still looking for Magria and his blue Madexx, I can usually make myself log on once or twice a day to check for them. He will get them someday. *shakefist*

So, anyways, just wanted to mention what's been going on for anyone that's wondering. I'm hoping I get better soon- and if not, then I might have to make myself go see a doctor. Blah. :P

In which Booggah gets attention

Sick sick person means neglected blog, but I no longer feel like I'm dying, so time for an update!

With Lark's Ban'thalos tame, she now has all the pets I want on her- minus Skarr, but he's still more of a "tame him when I find him, no rush." So, lately all my pet-hunting has been with my troll. Lucky dude.

So, on with the roundup! Boo has been busy even with me being sick, and he has a bunch of new buddies to brag about. First off- I've already shown off this guy, but he's cute and I love him and he's named now anyways. Have a Digger!

Still no sign of the blue, but I'm camping him until he does show. Determined hunter is determined.

I was taking Boo to the Molten Front and doing my usual fly-by for a spirit-kitty, when I found a yellow dot on my map! (Stupid NPC_Scan caches...) It's not the one he really wants, but they've gotten attached to each other nonetheless. I think he's a keeper.


This guy was a surprise and an impulse tame. Surprise, because Ankha had spawned again and gotten tamed not even five minutes before Boo found him. He's now named Treben, and with Lark's Halia turning out to be female, I think he's determined he's going to be a male.


And now this little beauty I found just this afternoon. The funny thing is, he's the first tame Boo's gotten that I actually meant to tame. Now that he has him, Lark's crab has gone bye-bye (/sad), and she has a free stable slot for whenever hydras become tamable. Another funny note is, through various shenanigans Booggah actually tamed him with res sickness. Don't ask how, though.


The Night elf in the background sat and did nothing to interfere during the tame, and cheered Boo when it was over. I wish I could remember her name. XD

That's about it! Sis and I have been doing a lot on Lord of the Rings Online, so not much else has happened in WoW. My cold made me so out of it that I haven't gotten any writing done, so Rheugan is still chilling out until I can get his story done. Hopefully I can get back to that real soon.

Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Rheugan: Sholazar Basin (continued)

Again, this is posted later than I wanted. Reasons this time are several- my old friend writer's block, compounded by the fact I am catching something, and my body seems to be trying to fight it off- which results in me having no energy to speak of. Extra sleep only seems to help a little bit, and the fact that I am in the dairy department at work AGAIN, to cover for someone's vacation, isn't helping (for the record, I hate dairy with a passion that pretty much passes everything else). But anyway, here's Rheugan's next chapter, with only a bit more to go! (If I can focus enough to finish it...)

____________________

Dear Shaurria,

I apologize for not writing before, I had not realized how much time had passed! I hope you will forgive me. I have been well, so don’t worry about me. Sholazar Basin is everything you described, and I have been enjoying myself here. The cat likes it too. We have been getting along well, and he has been teaching me to hunt properly. I still don’t like to kill things - it reminds me too much of the wolf, even now - but while that continues to annoy him, I think he is getting used to it.

I have not felt anything from the wolf since I arrived here. I think perhaps the cat has something to do with that, but he doesn’t answer me when I ask, so for now, it remains a mystery.

We are having a fine time. The basin seems all but deserted - I have only seen two others here besides the hunters at Nesingwary’s camp. We found the avatar of Freya here, and kept her company for a few hours, killing the undead. She seemed to warm up to us after that. Funny thing, you know how the cat dislikes to be touched, but he allowed her to pet him for several minutes. He can be a confusing creature.

I believe that is all we’ve been up to these past few weeks. I will try to write more often, if I can keep track of time better. It’s very peaceful here, all things considering. When you see Pitch next, let him know that his message did not go unheeded, and it is appreciated. I do miss everyone back in Stormwind, but if it ever becomes impossible to make my home there, I think that I could be very happy here.

Until I see you all again, your friend,

Rheugan

________

His idyll was interrupted when a dreadsaber queen found him and decided that he was not only a real cat, but that he’d also make a fine mate. His cat was... well, interested, and he spent an awkward half-hour before he finally regained enough control to change to a bird and fly away. He could only imagine what the she-cat thought about that.

All right, he thought to the cat as he flew. I will work with you if that’s what you want, but there needs to be a few lines drawn here. That is not going to happen again, am I understood? He had the sense that the cat was listening and thinking on what he said, but he got no response.

He had a strange dream that night, however. This time he found himself in the Moonglade, in what he recognized after a moment as the Cat Spirit’s clearing. Across from him sat a shaggy-looking black cat with a very familiar face- one that he had seen almost every day for over half a year. A face he had seen reflected in mirrors, shop windows, and still pools of water.

Rheugan stared at his cat. The cat stared right back at him. After a long moment of waiting, Rheugan sent a wordless, purely mental query at the cat. It blinked at him, then suddenly their surroundings melted away.

Rheugan found himself surrounded by scenes and images, so many that it took him a minute to recognize what he was seeing- memories both old and recent, all mixed together. He saw his father again, among his workers and peers both. Crowley, leading his men into battle. And finally Lark, with her strange spotted cat, Komah.

Rheugan finally closed his eyes to the visions. What are you trying to tell me? he asked the cat silently. What is it you want? The answer came immediately, in feelings so strong they might as well have been words. Partner, it seemed to say. Servant, perhaps. But never slave.

The dream faded after that, and Rheugan woke abruptly to the wind from Icecrown howling around his shelter. A light dusting of snow had blown in to cover him, but his thick fur kept the chill away.

Rheugan stood and shook himself, then left his shelter and headed up to the top of the rock. He sat there with the wind ruffling through his shaggy mane, going over every moment of his dream again and again. He had waited so long now to figure out exactly what the cat wanted, and it seemed that at last, he had his answer. Finally, as full morning brought the sun up over the highest peaks, he “reached” out to the cat.

I think, he thought to it, that we have an agreement.

Rheugan: Sholazar Basin

The morning was chilly, making Rheugan glad that his winter coat had grown in early and thick. He perched among the rocks high, high above Wintergrasp, staring down without really seeing anything, all his focus turned inward.

The cat had stayed with him until he had finally fallen asleep, and was still there when he awoke. Now it had a sense of urgency, as though it wanted to tell him something, but he had no clue what it might be. It was beginning to give him a headache.

He was about to ask it - again - what it wanted when he felt a flash of something like triumph from it, then an older memory suddenly popped up to the forefront of his mind. For one of his first lessons, Pitch had taken him out into Elwynn to hunt some of the wolves there. Now, he found himself seeing the memory of that trip all over again. He couldn’t help but cringe inwardly at how clumsy he had been, but he still wasn’t sure what the cat was trying to say. He felt so much frustration from it that he imagined if they hadn’t been sharing the same body, the cat might have bitten him.

Further thought was stopped as a sudden realization struck him. He was surprised enough that he shifted back to a human and spoke to the cat aloud. “You want to teach me?” He was flooded by a sense of relief, followed by some rather uncharitable feelings toward his intelligence. He tried to ignore those, and think through just what the cat was offering. He knew his biggest weakness at the moment was his dependence on the cat for his safety; if he had enough skill to match the cat, he wouldn’t really need it anymore. He could sense the cat following along with his train of thought, and asked it, “Is that really what you want?” The cat let him know in no uncertain terms that it was. Rheugan debated for just a second more. “Will you teach me, then?”

The reply was a mental snort, quickly followed by an air of satisfaction. It was about time he asked.

__________

Sholazar Basin certainly looked nice, at least from an aerial view. Rheugan felt the cat’s interest perk as it “looked” through his eyes. He spotted a break in the canopy and flew down into the jungle below.

What followed was perhaps the most unusual education that Rheugan had ever received. The cat taught mostly by hunting, although it didn’t always kill what it caught, to Rheugan’s relief. The stalk and the chase were the lessons, and the cat was quick to drag him back whenever his attention started slipping. He found it fascinating, really- the way the cat moved through the undergrowth without making a sound, showing him exactly how it placed each paw. Then the pause before the spring, and ending with the cat’s chosen prey caught between its forepaws, or knocked off its feet with fangs at its throat. Rheugan was still uncomfortable with the kills, which earned him some disgust still from the cat, but aside from that he couldn’t have asked for a better instructor.

He lost track of how long he’d been there, but he didn’t think it had been that long when he was startled in his morning flight by another bird, this one a large Night Elven one. It came out of nowhere to swoop below Rheugan, then flipped up again to do a complete circle around him. It caught his eye, then swooped down again, flying down to the jungle floor.

Rheugan hesitated before he followed. It had taken him a second, but he recognized the bird.

When he reached the ground beneath the canopy, Pitch was seated on a tree root. He patted the spot next to him, but Rheugan landed a little further way, not entirely sure how he felt about seeing his mentor again. It was good to see him in a way, but he hadn’t expected to see Pitch again until he was back in Stormwind, and he couldn’t help but wonder what the Kal’dorei wanted with him now.

He landed and turned human, then spoke before Pitch had a chance to. “I can’t go back yet,” he said, trying to keep the desperation out of his voice. “I.. I’m working things out, but it’s not finished yet.” Pitch held up one hand in a soothing gesture. “I’m not here to take you back, Rheu,” he said calmly. “It’s been several weeks since you sent that letter, and we hadn’t heard anything from you. We were worried, and I came to see that you’re still safe. That’s all.”

Rheugan felt himself relaxing at his words. At the same time, he could sense something subtly different about Pitch, but he couldn’t quite place it- and the cat was being no help. “I... I had to make sure,” he said hesitantly, then started in a rush to try to explain the things that had happened. Pitch simply watched him as he spoke, a faint grin on his face, until he finally ran out of words. “He’s teaching me to hunt,” he finished. “Really, actually teaching me. I think we’re learning to get along with each other at last.”

“That’s wonderful, Rheugan,” Pitch replied. “I’ll let Shaur know you’re doing all right, she’s been missing you, you know.”

Rheugan managed a grin, then suddenly realized what was bothering him. Pitch’s tone of voice, his body language, were all different than what he’d been used to. He wondered at that for another minute before he realized what it was. Pitch’s attitude toward him was no longer that of a mentor; he was treating Rheugan now as an equal.

He blinked at the revelation as Pitch broke into a grin, as though the druid had been following his thoughts. “Lark is expecting,” he said suddenly, and his grin grew even wider as Rheugan blinked again. “It’s still going to be awhile before the baby comes, but we’d both like it if you’d come see us then.” Another brief pause, then he reached out and put his hand on Rheugan’s shoulder. “It really is good to see you,” he said quietly. “You’re looking good, and I’m glad.” Rheugan gave him a quirky grin; he knew full well what he looked like after several weeks of living wild, but he said nothing. With a final pat on the shoulder, Pitch shifted back to a bird, then took off into the air.

Rheugan watched him go with mixed feelings. He hadn’t thought of those he’d left for ages, and he felt a bit guilty about it now. At the same time, he knew he wasn’t ready to go back. He did miss everyone, but there were still too many uncertainties about the cat... and his future with it.

This is how we roll- I mean raid

It's been a while since I mentioned anything about Lark's raid, so figured I'd give an update on how we're doing. Well, see for yourself.

For no particular reason, I decided to go in order.

Shannox

Beth'tilac

Rhyolith

Alysrazor

Baleroc

Majordomo Staghelm

Ragnaros

That's right, buddy. We're coming for you next.



Most of these guys we already have down, Shannox for example has been on farm for several weeks. Last week saw our first Alysrazor kill, and we got her down easily this week, along with our first kills of Baleroc and Staghelm. Baleroc, I am proud to say, was a one-shot on our first attempt ever. Staghelm was a 2-shot. Boo. Yeah.

To all the nay-sayers.... Yes, I know the raid's been nerfed. It still feels good to be getting these bosses down, so bite me.

Rheugan: Grizzly Hills

I hate my writer's block. I'm going to go ahead and say the next part will be soonish, even though every time I say that I take forever to actually write the darn thing. This time at least most of the next chapter is already written, I just have to fill in a few spots and tidy it up. So, maybe this time it will be soon.

Poor baby worgen. Things should start looking up soon, at least.
__________

Rheugan sat as still as he could, trying to ignore the chill seeping up from the ground beneath him. He also tried to ignore the stiffness in his joints from sitting in the same position since dawn; the sun had long since climbed over his head, and had started on its way down again. He idly wondered how much longer he would have to wait.

He’d had no trouble finding the place; Pitch had been more than happy to tell him the stories, and Rheugan still remembered everything. Even so, he had no idea how to call a spirit, especially one that was considered a god. All he could do was wait and hope he drew the right attention.

His first warning was a tingling between his shoulder blades, an instant before the cat let him know he was no longer alone. The cat was wary but not overly alarmed, so Rheugan moved slowly as he rose and turned around.

Standing several yards behind him was an enormous bear. It towered over Rheugan as he stared at it, noticing that he could see right through the huge creature in several places. Rheugan tried his voice and found it still worked. “U- Ursoc?”



The bear’s muzzle dipped in a nod as he studied Rheugan curiously. “Your thoughts are so loud they echo through the Hills,” he said, not unkindly. “Why are you here?”

“I, ah, know a druid who follows you,” Rheugan replied. “He’s been mentoring me for the past months.” Ursoc looked amused, or at least as amused as a bear could look. “I think I know of whom you speak,” he said. Rheugan took a steadying breath. “Would you take me as well?” he asked the bear god, then waited for his answer.

Ursoc looked at him searchingly for several long minutes. Finally he said, “There is another that already has a claim on you. I think you know his name.” Rheugan’s heart sank. He had heard the name- first at Tal’doran and later from both Pitch and Shaurria. “Goldrinn.” The bear god nodded again. “I cannot take you, not until he has had his say. I am sorry, little wolfling. Go speak to Goldrinn, and if he doesn’t take you then come see me again.” With that, he faded away.

Rheugan was left staring at the place he had been. “Wait! Don’t I get any say in it?” he called, but Ursoc was gone.

A helpless anger started forming in the pit of his stomach. The wolf... it always came back to the wolf. Every time he thought he’d found a way to be rid of it, it only seemed to bind itself to him even more tightly. He wanted to be rid of it, didn’t they understand? The last thing he wanted was to go see the wolf Ancient. He would rather die first. He would fight anyone that tried to make him; he might even kill them, that would certainly show them--

The wolf was feeding his anger again, trying to push him into letting it break free. He choked off his anger the moment he realized what was happening, forcing it down with practiced ease. It drained away quickly once he had control of himself back, only to be replaced with the bleak despair that had become his constant companion, ever since his capture in the Blackwald.

He had no options left. Rheugan sank down to his knees as he finally admitted to himself what he had refused to believe until this point; there would be no getting away from the wolf. It was a part of him, as much as his blood or the color of his hair. The only way he would ever be rid of it was to die, and even at this point, he couldn't make himself take that final step.

He was so sunk in his own misery that he wasn’t paying much attention to the cat. When he felt it “nudge” him, he submitted without an argument, shifting and letting the animal take control. He was barely aware of what was happening as the cat left Ursoc’s Den, giving the wild bears a wide berth, and started poking along the mountainside nearby. It finally found a niche in the rock, close to the Den, and curled up inside.

Rheugan expected the cat to go to “sleep” right away, but to his surprise it stayed with him. It seemed concerned, and a little confused, but it didn’t bother him so he ignored it. Gradually, however, he became aware of the faint vibrations coming from his- the cat’s?- chest. It was a sound he’d heard often from Shaurria, even from Pitch, but until now he’d never heard it coming from himself. So it probably wasn’t surprising that it took him a few minutes to realize what the sound was.

The cat was purring.

Just more pictures...

Because I'm really tired and need to go to bed. Enjoy.

Where's the controls for this thing?!?

Why hello there!

Where did Kel go?! (lol)

Yes, this makes 3 new spirit beasts in 2 days. Grats sis!

At last, now I can sleep.

*Cheers*

I still want to finish up his story before he goes back to Stormwind for real. This will give him time to rest up again, at least.

What Is This I Don't Even....

Not even sure where to start with this one. From the beginning, I guess?

Sis got home late today, when I just happened to be logging on Lark to check for her lieutenant (STILL no Charscale, btw). As she was flying past Avianna's shrine toward the Firelands portal, I noticed a yellow dot moving below her on the minimap. I moused over it, had to read it twice, then called to my sis "Did you want to tame Ankha?"

Turns out she did, except her computer wasn't even turned on yet. I logged off Lark to let her use mine, and she got on Kel and went to see if the spirit-kitty was still up. She was!

Tame went perfectly. She let me get back to Lark and continue on my way. However, I had just gone through the portal when my brain belatedly registered another yellow dot that had been near the shrine when I went through....

It was Ban'thalos, up again and not 5 minutes after Ankha had been tamed. We did the character switch thing, then I had to get Kel onto the tree for her. Once that was done, she took over, and BOOM...

So now Kel has TWO new spirit beasts, yay!

For no particular reason I decided to go check Therazane for the Pebble daily. No luck, but then I decided to see if Jadefang was up. I'm sure you can see where this is going.

Jadefang was there, but Booggah was parked in Uldum waiting for Madexx. I logged off Lark and on Boo, then did a divebomb for the ground to hearth. NPC_Scan started blaring at me before he even touched the ground.

Funny story- Madexx had been showing up in green a lot for both me and my sister. She finally tamed him, and after that he stopped. We saw him in black twice and brown once, then kinda lost track of him until now. This time? Green again. I figured he was trying to tell me something.


Now maybe he'll show up in BLUE!

So, on to Deepholm. By this time my sis was on her own PC, so she was going to try to help Boo get his green squee spider. This is where we ran into difficulties. Boo didn't have the bombing daily, and the goblin that offered it was nowhere in sight. Kel tried using her bomb to blow him up to the ledge, but it doesn't work for cross-faction. (And now we know.)

There were other people running around, and an AFK druid up in her cave as well, so I was getting pretty anxious. Kel tried aggroing her to pull her down off the ledge, which didn't work but it did give me an idea. We found out he could stand on the nearby pillar and shoot her from there, so Kel pulled Jadefang to the edge and held her there so Boo could hit her with an arcane shot. It was enough to pull aggro, but she evaded when he tried to tame. A couple other attempts went the same way.

By this time the aforementioned druid had figured out what we were trying to do and offered to help. First he tried his bombs again- sis had to explain that they didn't work- then they both went up on the ledge. We found out Jadefang is immune to traps (Boo launched one up there) and hibernate, so there went those ideas. Finally I lost patience and just started spamming the tame button, and it took. I waited for the cast to count down, then she evaded at the last possible instant.

It was encouraging, though, and we tried it again. One try was pretty hairy, with Kel, the druid, and Kel's pet all juggling aggro at one point, but Jadefang finally focused back on Boo. He hit her with a couple more arcane shots, just to keep her on him, then started tame-spamming again.

And for whatever reason, this time it worked. Boo got his shale spider!



It was definitely the strangest tame I'd ever done, but so long as it worked, right? Jadefang is renamed Tak'ki, and his scorpid still needs a name. I'll have to think on that now. Boo is smitten with them both.

So that was today's crazy. After that my goblin finding and taming Gorefang earlier in the day seems like nothing. Taiglin is now 19, up from 14, and is still questing her way through Silverpine. I meant to get on Rheu, but he'll get his turn probably tomorrow, and then he'll hopefully be 80! He'll have some RP stuff still after I finish his story, but that can wait for a bit. I think when it's done he'll be ready to head back to civilization.

Still boggling a bit though. Gone so long without seeing any rares, and now between my sis and me that's 6 tames in... 5 days? Wow.

That's about it for now. Til next time, Happy Hunting!