Rheugan: Someone To Talk To

This was irritatingly hard to get done- mostly because I'm back in the phase of "get home from work, sit in front of computer fighting to stay awake for hours." It's not fun, especially when I have stuff I'd like to write but don't even have the energy to sit down and type it up. Blah.

Anyways, here it is. Rheugan and Shaur have met ICly before, which left Rheugan feeling a little bit like O_o. Shaur can be... interesting if you don't know her, heh. But he did like her well enough, and I thought maybe he could use an impartial ear again, given what's been going through his head lately.

I have no idea what Shaurria is doing here, by the way. I think Alanon is rubbing off on her.

Enjoy!
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Shaurria was back in Stormwind.

Rheugan found her on the lake shore, watching people move in and out of the portals at the Earthshrine. He hesitated, then left his cat form and approached as a human. She heard or sensed him somehow and looked up, giving him a welcoming smile and patting the ground beside her. "How've ya been?" she asked as he sat down. "I'm well," he replied. "You?" She nodded as she turned back toward the Earthshrine. "M'good. Did you have any more stories?"

Rheugan chuckled, more amused now than surprised at her directness. "Actually, I thought maybe you'd have some to tell." She looked back at him in surprise. "Me?" He just nodded, waiting patiently.

Shaur frowned in mild confusion. "Like what?" He shrugged. "How about something from when you were younger?" She looked at him doubtfully, so he tried again. "Well, what have you been doing recently, then?"

She brightened at that, sitting up straighter. "Alanon took me to Hyjal!" she told him. "He showed me the Ancients, and Goldrinn let me ride on his back. I wanted to ask Tortolla too, but Alanon said it wouldn't be polite." Rheugan found himself chuckling again, and she gave him a crooked grin. "So what have you been doing?" she asked him.

Rheugan's good humor vanished, as he wondered exactly how much he could tell her. They sat in silence for several minutes, until Shaur finally spoke. "Rheugan?" He looked up to find her studying him with concern. "S'there anything wrong?"

He hesitated a moment more. "There have been... incidents of people, ahh, expressing their dislike of my kind," he said slowly. Shaur's eyebrow went up. He continued, "Some folk think that we're a curse, a blight, and we should be.. dealt with. There's been some violence." He stopped, hoping he hadn't said too much.

Shaurria stared at him thoughtfully. "They've been mean to you?" she finally asked, and he shook his head. "No, to a friend." She frowned. "And it's just 'cause ya can turn inta a wolf?" "Worgen," he corrected automatically. "Not quite a wolf." She snorted dismissively. "Same thing." He chuckled, giving up the argument, and she grinned briefly, then grew serious. "Rheugan?" she said hesitantly. "Can I.. can I see ya in your wolf shape?"

He stared at her for several long seconds, then sighed and closed his eyes. Calling the wolf took only a moment. He grunted as the change took him, then heard Shaur's muffled gasp and opened his eyes, bracing himself for the worst.

She wasn't huddled in fear, like he expected. Instead, she was studying him in fascination. Finally she met his eyes and smiled. "S'not so bad," she said, then lifted a hand and reached toward his muzzle. He sat perfectly still as her fingers brushed the short, coarse fur, then the hand withdrew. "Yer not so bad. I like it."

Rheugan blinked, not knowing what to think. After a bit he changed back, the wolf reluctant to leave but going without a fight. Shaur simply watched him, not speaking, and they sat in silence again until Rheugan finally broke it. "I wish everyone shared your opinion of it," he said quietly. She shrugged, her attention going back across the lake. "Pitch'n Alanon don't care either," she said absently. "Y'can't make everyone happy, so why bother with it? Just so long as no one's hurtin' ya." Rheugan could only shake his head.

Shaurria glanced at him crosswise. "What kinda teaching did y'get?" she asked him suddenly. He blinked at her in confusion. "Pardon?" "Your druid teaching," she explained patiently. "How much have y'had?" He paused to think. "I've had some teaching when I was younger, although I didn't know at the time it was druid magic I was learning," he said slowly. "Since then, all I was taught was the shape-shifting, and the feral combat that Pitch has been helping with."

Shaurria nodded, then she turned in her place so that she faced him squarely. "Druids are about balance," she told him, her voice taking on the tone of a teacher instructing a student. "We're connected to the earth, which is connected to all living things. When everything's balanced, the grass and the trees grow up healthy, and they feed th' animals which in turn feed th' people. If something's out of whack, then stuff goes out of balance, and it's th' druid's job to find out what's gone wrong and fix it. That's what we do." She paused, then shrugged. "That's what Alanon says, anyway. He does it better than me."

Rheugan was bemused. "That's very interesting, but I'm not sure how much it applies to me," he told her. She shrugged again. "Maybe you're just out of balance," she said, surprising him. "Maybe that's why you're having problems, why y'aren't happy any more. Maybe... maybe you just need to find it in yourself." Rheugan blinked at her in amazement- she suddenly seemed much older than the elf-girl he had thought he'd been speaking with. "Maybe," he finally said, softly. "I only wish I knew how." Shaur gave him a small, sad smile, then reached over and patted his hand. "You'll get it, s'why Pitch is helping ya isn't it?" "I suppose," he replied slowly.

They sat in silence for a long time after that, Shaurria going back to her people-watching and Rheugan lost in his own thoughts. As the sun started to drop below the horizon, Shaur finally began telling him more of the Ancients, and they were still sitting there chatting when Pitch found them.

* * * * * *

The shaggy black cat most often referred to as Rheugan stretched out on the railing and idly watched the others, only half-paying attention to the conversation going on around the main table. When Alanon entered, he noticed immediately, his one ear pricking up as he watched the older druid approach him. "Rheugan," Alanon said when he reached the druid-cat's side. "Can I have a word with you? Should just be a moment." He paused and glanced at the main table. "Upstairs, perhaps?" Rheugan eyed him curiously. "All rright," he rumbled, then slipped off the railing and followed the Night elf upstairs to a table.

Alanon took a seat and waited as the younger druid shifted to a human and did the same. "Shaur told me she spoke with you earlier," he said once Rheugan was settled. "She said you spent quite a bit of time together." Rheugan raised an eyebrow. "Yes," he replied. "And? What of it?" "You do know that she is still very young, by our terms, right?" Alanon asked, waiting for the other's nod before continuing. "I was just wondering what your feelings are toward her."

Rheugan blinked, suddenly uncomfortably aware of where this was probably going. "She is... a friend," he said. "That's allowed, isn't it?" "And that's all she is?" Alanon pressed. "Yes," he answered, then paused as a thought struck him. "Surely you don't think I'd do anything to her," he said, staring at the elder druid in surprise. "I didn't, but I had to make sure," Alanon said, rather gently. "Shaur is young, and can be rather... impressionable."

Rheugan frowned. "I'd never do anything like that," he protested. "I wouldn't hurt her for anything." "And that's why I won't ask you to stay away from her," came Alanon's response. Rheugan blinked again. The Night elf went on, "She is my ward, and I will do whatever I have to to protect her. You understand that, correct?" "Yes..." he said slowly. "I just... it's nice to have someone to talk to, that's all." The Kal'dorei eyed him curiously.. "You can talk to Pitch, you know that." "I know," he replied. "It's not the same, though."

Alanon sat back in his chair and studied Rheugan as understanding suddenly dawned. "It's because she accepts you," he said quietly. Rheugan nodded, studying the tabletop with entirely too much concentration. He hoped the other druid really did understand as well as he thought, as he wasn't even sure if he could explain it to another.

Alanon studied him thoughtfully for a while. "Just be careful, Rheugan," he finally said, softly. "She's too young right now for that kind of relationship, and by the time she would be old enough, you'd be an old man." "You think I haven't realized that?" Rheugan cut in, a little more sharply than he had intended. "I don't want her like that. She's a friend, and that's all I'm looking for." Alanon studied Rheugan closely, then nodded. "Then I will trust your judgment. Just.. remember what I've said." Rheugan resumed staring at the table. "I will."

Seemingly satisfied, Alanon stood. "I'll see you later, Rheugan," he said, and Rheugan nodded without raising his eyes. He listened as the druid left, then at last he got up and went back to his cat shape and the railing. With a quiet sigh, he wondered if his life would ever be simple again.

First Raid- Cataclysm Edition

Lark had her first raid night tonight! Bastion of Twilight is... interesting, especially when no one has really been there before so the raid leader is like "Let's just sic this pack of trash and see what happens."

We got to the first boss, Halfus Wyrmbreaker, fairly quickly with minimal wiping. The drakes for this week were the whelps, storm rider (?) and nether scion(?). I think I have the names right. >.> We left the scion alone, freed the others, and promptly wiped. Too much damage too fast on the off-tank. The second try we just freed the storm rider, then got the whelps once he was down. I'm happy to say it worked like a charm!


Dropped some tanky plate bracers and a cloth robe, not bad. I think we were all surprised at getting him down so quickly, but it was awfully nice to be able to go on to the next boss so early in the run.

The next trash area turned out to be a gauntlet. We found this out the hard way. -_-

Next boss (bosses?) were Valiona and Theralion. After being amused by the intro chatter between the drakes, we got on with the business of making them dead. It.... didn't turn out that well, after all- in fact, this was the general theme for the rest of the night.


We did get them down to around 28%, I think? on one attempt, but that was as close as we got. I'm feeling pretty good, though. The group I'm in is doing a great job working together and learning the fights, and everyone was still cheerful and joking by the time we called it quits. I'm pretty sure we'll get these dragons down, if not next week then the week after.

We're only doing one night a week, so that was it til next Thursday. After Wrath and it's 3-nights-a-week raids, I'm perfectly okay with it- this expansion is still young, and I don't want to get burned out anytime soon.

She got to use almost every pet she had with her (poor Saetta didn't get to see any action) and Sabor got some admiring looks/comments. He also did the best dps-wise - according to Recount he did almost 4k dps by himself. O_o Lark did pretty good overall, holding the #4 spot with a little over 10k total dps. She broke out her Survival spec for the last couple attempts, with her windserpent Nekoa and wolf Quiloe taking a turn each. With some better gear I can see her doing even better in the future.

Also, Pitch's gear is getting up there finally. He just needs to replace his pants, weapon and I think a trinket, then his gear will be good enough that I might see about getting him in Lark's spot every now and then. If not, then I'll be gearing him through heroics and point-farming, which will be slower, but oh well.

And one final thing? I got to watch my sis get herself a new friend. :D


She'd been looking for him for some time now, and the hunter I want him on (Booggah) is still only 80 so this was a seriously *warm fuzzy* moment. She's almost got him leveled already.

And now I need sleep, whew. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Catching Up

Wow, I've seriously forgotten this place, haven't I? I think it's time for an update.

Lark (and Pitch, once I've finished gearing him) now has a raid group, which will be starting next week. Only one night a week, which is pretty nice. Lark's new pets are almost done levelling, with Kao at 85 now, Rage at 84, and Luka next up. Tol Barad is awesome for pet-levelling, just saying.

Pitch's gear is coming along nicely, now that I'm actually focusing somewhat on doing it. Heroics are getting easier with better gear and people that know what they're doing, though the queue times are still painfully long. He's replaced his last greens, and has several pieces of a tank set now. Not enough to actually start tanking yet, but it's getting there.

Shaurria is up to 83, although I haven't done much besides pick flowers since then. She's been sending most of her herbs to Barraccus for his inscription, though Alanon is getting some for his alchemy. The leather Shaur gets is being saved towards Pitch's epic leather gear, but she's making enough money just from questing and stuff.

Turron is right on Shaur's heels at 82, and will likely be my next to cap after her. I'm seriously going to work on his tank gear before any dps gear, because I want to get back into tanking bad. After Tur it will probably be Barraccus' turn, unless a certain pally gets high enough that I feel justified levelling him next.




Yup, Davoss is now 60 and has his bird, who is named Trebar for now. Pallying is fun, both ret and prot. It amuses me that the best way to kill things on Dav is to round up 4-6 mobs and AOE them all down. I haven't tanked any BC dungeons yet, but that's my next goal.

Rheugan is 43 and climbing steadily, thanks to the cooking/fishing dailies in Stormwind. He's been doing those nearly every day- in fact his last level was just on those, the holiday dailies, and picking herbs. Levelling is crazy right now.

RP-wise he's doing much better, in fact I have a story or 2 waiting to sort themselves out from the mess in my head. I'll try to get something written down soon, I promise.

My Horde toons have been so neglected, I feel bad for them. I have done some things with them, mostly pet-taming with my hunters. Speaking of which, here's most of the new additions.

Shaurria found Giggler while she was out archaeologying, and I couldn't resist. Wish I could think of a name for him, though. >.<

I don't remember if I posted a picture of their foxes yet, so here they are. The white one's name means "puppy", I thought that was amusing. And no, I didn't deliberately wait for the synchronized sniffing, though I'll admit I took the picture pretty quick when they did it.



Khaotic got a new ghostly friend to go along with her ghost saber, Gulhalrathn. This guy's name means "wolf", I'm so original.



Kaled had to get a wolf to match, of course. I wanted this guy as soon as I found out about the color change, and he was nice enough to spawn as soon as I went to look for him after Patch-day. He's now named Vyusher, which... also means "wolf". >.>



Boogah's got a few friends too, which I think I mentioned before. I haven't taken a screenie of his chimaera yet, but here's his new owl. Again, I need to think of a name.



And that's all I can think of for now. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Sometimes you don't need words

Rheugan: Pitch's Idea

Rheugan padded up as Pitch finished brushing down his saber. The Night elf gave the worgen a grin as he patted Ursoc's flank, letting the big cat know he was free now. Rheugan sat back and watched as the stormsaber sauntered off a few steps, then promptly flopped down and rolled in the grass, ruining all Pitch's work. Pitch stared at his mount in dismay, then suddenly frowned fiercely at him. "All right, you bugger," he muttered, just loud enough for Rheugan to hear.

Rheugan watched in consternation as Pitch changed to cat form, then jumped at the larger cat. Ursoc saw him coming and quickly rolled to his feet, just in time to meet Pitch's charge. The two cats wrestled, growling loudly, for several minutes as the worgen druid looked on. Finally Pitch broke free and dashed a little ways away, then turned and leaped at Ursoc again. The stormsaber dodged to the side, but Pitch caught at him just enough to pull the bigger cat over.

The two cats lay side-by-side, panting heavily. With the drama apparently over, Rheugan felt it was safe enough to come near. As he padded up, Ursoc lifted his head enough to look at him, then gave a welcoming rumble. Rheugan rumbled back as Pitch climbed to his feet, then the druids moved off into the nearby shade.

Rheugan watched Ursoc as the big saber moved off by himself. "You wrrestle with yourr mount," he said, not quite making it a question. Pitch was rather pleased to note that despite the ever-present growl, his words were spoken clearly and easily- it meant that he was himself at the moment, and not struggling with either wolf or cat.

"Yup," he answered the not-question. "Ursoc won't hurt me, and you might not notice it at first but he's not much bigger than me." Rheugan grunted, then glanced over at him and abruptly shifted to his human shape. After a moment, Pitch left his cat form as well. "Is everything all right?" he asked the younger druid. Rheugan nodded. "I'm well." Then he looked back over at Pitch. "My family had horses. A few dogs, too. Nothing that quite compares to your people's cats."

Pitch shrugged. "Kalimdor didn't have horses originally," he told his student. "We did get them eventually, but by then we'd been using nightsabers for... well, forever."

Rheugan chuckled, his eyes on Ursoc again. After a few moments of silence, he commented, "They seem like good companions, too. Not quite like a dog, of course, but with more personality than an average horse." Pitch made a non-committal noise in response, his own eyes fastened to his protege. He watched as Ursoc came back over to them and started nudging at Rheugan with his nose. The small human chuckled again as he obligingly started scratching at the saber's ears. Rheugan looked over, noticing his mentor's attention, and blinked. "Is something wrong?" he asked. Pitch blinked too, then shook his head. "No, nothing wrong," he replied. "Just had an idea." He offered nothing more, and after a moment Rheugan went back to petting the saber.

* * * * * *

Alanon was surprised when he saw Pitch swooping down at them. His brother landed lightly in front of Shaurria, shifting out of his flight form as he did. He hardly acknowledged the elder druid as he bent and began whispering quickly into her ear. Shaur blinked in surprise, then frowned slightly in thought, her forehead creasing slightly. "I guess... yea, go ahead," she said in reply to whatever he had said. Pitch gave her a grin and a brief hug, then turned the grin to Alanon and gave his older brother a nod. Without saying another word, he turned back to a bird and took off, heading back toward Nordrassil.

Alanon turned to the younger Kal'dorei. "Do I want to know what that was about?" he asked dryly. Shaur just shrugged. "Said he had an idea," she said, then brightened. "Could we go see Tortolla again?" Alanon chuckled as he waved her up into the air. Shifting to a bird himself, he followed his adopted daughter out over the scorched plain below.

* * * * * *

Rheugan followed Pitch, his expression confused. "Tell me again what we're doing here?" he asked, but Pitch just kept going. "You'll see shortly," he called back. Rheugan could only sigh and keep following.

He soon found his answer as they rounded the enormous tree that housed the main Cenarion enclave here in Darnassus. Rheugan felt a twinge of anxiety- it was near here where the events had taken place that had led to him becoming Pitch's student. Pitch didn't seem to notice as he led the younger druid toward the sabers' stabling area.

He stopped in front of one of the pens. Rheugan stepped up to his side. "Are we here?" Pitch nodded and waved into the pen, and Rheugan's eyes followed the gesture. He blinked in surprise.

A big gray saber sat in the back of the pen, with three cubs- already the size of large dogs- tumbling around her. She looked up at her visitors with ears pricked, a loud purr quickly starting up in her chest. Rheugan stared. Pitch fought to keep a grin from his face as he watched. Finally the human pulled his gaze away to look at Pitch. "Why are we here?" he asked curiously.

Pitch gently ushered him into the pen as he answered. "This is Dawn. She used to belong to Shaurria, but... well you can see what happened. I, uh, have to admit that Ursoc is the dad." He grinned sheepishly. "Anyway, that's when Shaur got Finnall, and she's developed a closer bond with him than she had with Dawn here. Thing is, her cubs are ready to be weaned and start their training, so now Dawn will need a new home." He rocked back on his heels a bit as he watched for Rheugan's response.

The other druid eyed him, eyebrow raised, then turned back to the cat. One of the cubs chose that moment to bumble into his legs, and he bent down to pet it. Dawn watched with a mother's careful scrutiny, then stood up and came over to the worgen. She gently bumped him with her head, as though demanding her share of the attention, and Rheugan chuckled softly as he obliged. Pitch nodded to himself in satisfaction.

When the two druids left Darnassus, it was on their sabers- Pitch on Ursoc, and Rheugan on Dawn.


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Heeeee.

Yep, I had gotten Rheugan a tabard as soon as he first got to Darnassus, and he's been questing mostly in Night elf lands besides. He just hit exalted and I got him his new mount right away. So no more running around on all fours, yay! (Unless he happens to want to, ya know. >.>)

I'm hoping that this will help him out ICly too, since he'll have someone to look after now. And this was fun to write, after all my recent Writer's-block-frustrations.

And now I need to hit the hay. Happy Hunting!

Independencies

I was browsing blogs the other day and rediscovered this gem from Too Many Annas. But why am I bringing it up? ... Because last night Rheugan totally threw me for a loop.

Little bit of backstory: Fells, one of Pitch's fellow Riders, has a bet going on with a newcomer named Zve. The bet? Zve, who is not exactly a high-class citizen(he is in fact barely above "street bum" status. I think >.>), has to get into the Silver Feather, a well-known "high class establishment." He has to do it on his own- aka no one he knows can just let him in- and he has to get his picture in the paper while he's there as proof. The stakes for the bet are pretty dang high, and Fells and Zve have nearly been at each other's throats a time or two about it(at least it seems that way from my characters' perspectives).

So last night, there was a party at the Blue Recluse. It was fairly dressy, so everyone came wearing their best clothes.

Zve was there. So was Fells.

When Zve went to leave, he discovered 2 things: Fells had left some time before him, and his hat (and I think his cloak and cane, but I'm not sure) was missing. He tracked Fells down at the Pig and Whistle, where Pitch and Rheugan had gone to get away from the crowds. They had a... talk. It was a fairly intense talk, as it seemed that Zve had been trying to get himself "let in" which was apparently against the terms of their bet. Fells had taken his hat, yes, and was going to hold it hostage(I think? Not real clear here.) as assurance of Zve's good behavior. Aka, he had to go along with the terms of the bet, no more trying to cheat. Fells being Fells, she was being smug about it, and Zve finally lost his temper and had to leave before he "hulked out", as his player put it.

(A side note? Both Fells and Zve's players have become friends already and are in no way fighting with each other- in fact the whole scenario has been an awesome source of amusement for everyone.)

Rheugan left the Pig shortly after Zve did. I knew that something was bothering him, but I wasn't totally sure what. I think it was at least partly Fells' attitude toward Zve, who is actually a worgen and not a human. Rheugan (and Pitch!) being a cat, he can tell the difference, and right after Zve left Fells admitted she knew he was a worgen but swore that he "was no danger." Rheugan knows very well what living with the worgen curse is like, and the way Fells treated the whole thing bothered him a lot.

So, Rheugan left. Pitch knew that something was bothering him, so he went out after him to make sure he was okay. The following conversation ensued:

Pitchblàck says: All right?
Rheugan says: I'm not sure of much of anything right now
Pitchblàck blinks at Rheugan.
Pitchblàck says: Was it Fells?
Rheugan says: Partly
Rheugan says: I don't know if she is prejudiced or simply ignorant
Rheugan says: Or if it is something else that I can't see
Pitchblàck says: She's been nice to you, right? She hasn't said anything?
Rheugan says: No, but then I don't know her well
Pitchblàck says: Do you want to go back in?
Rheugan says: I don't know
Rheugan says: I thought about going after Bosch, but I'm not good at following a trail
Pitchblàck says: Would that have been a good idea?
Rheugan chuckles.
Rheugan says: He can't hurt me, Pitch
Rheugan says: Don't let me keep you if you want to go back in
Pitchblàck says: You're my student. I don't like leaving you alone like this
Rheugan says: I won't harm anyone, I promise
Pitchblàck says: It's not that
Pitchblàck lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

This was when I realized that I did not know what was going through Rheugan's head. This has never happened before with any of my other toons, and frankly it floored me. It was like he simply kicked me out of his head and shut the door. I'm still boggled by it.

This is both awesome and scary. Awesome, because I've never had a character come alive like that before, and the possibilities are pretty amazing. Scary, because I don't know what will happen with him now. I know that right now he's on edge, and anything could push him over. Whether it pushes him to the "good" side or the "bad" side remains to be seen. I could even see him giving up, and going out to the wild places left in Ashenvale, or some similar place, and letting the beast go for good.

This is bothering Pitch as well, because he doesn't want to fail poor Rheugan. Pitch is trying his hardest, but he's realized he has no idea what the worgen curse is like, and that curse added to the wild animal trapped in Rheugan's head is simply more fuel for the fire. On top of that, he's now afraid that his new "pack", the Riders (one or two in particular at least) may not like Rheugan very much.

The good news is that this set off some especially awesome RP with Kyraine, a human-turned-worgen that Pitch was already friends with, who has promised to talk to Rheugan herself. I really can't wait to see what will come from that. She also explained a lot of what the curse is like to Pitch, who now has a better understanding of what his new friend is going through.

So I think that sums up pretty much everything. I'll be giving Rheugan some extra attention, I think, because I want to see where exactly this all goes. I'm hoping my poor kitty-cat can come to terms with things, settle down, and become "real people" again. And as another side note? I've been trying to write out Rheugan's backstory, but it's being near impossible, and I'm thinking now that it's because he doesn't want me in his head. Will I ever get it written? Only Rheugan can tell me that.

A long time coming...

This is not an easy post for me.

I've been playing exclusively on Feathermoon almost since the expansion went live. Turron, my warrior on Gilneas, reached 81 the first day and hasn't been touched since, even though I was planning on making him my raiding main. I have a collection of baby alts there as well, none of which has seen any playtime either. This bugs the heck out of me- if I have the toons I want to play them, not let them sit around doing nothing. But I've lost any inclination to play my Gilneas toons, and I think I know why.

Feathermoon has become "home" to me. Even with the idiots and jerks that you find on every server, it's the one I'm most comfortable on. Mostly it's the people- it's nice to know that whatever time it is I feel like playing, there will be others to chat with, gripe to, and group up with for instances. And there's the RP, which has become my biggest reason for still playing the game. There's nothing like that on Gilneas. Yes, I have my guildies, but none of them are interested in RP, and they are nearly all on only later in the evening, which means that I wind up spending a lot of time by myself. This gets... well, boring. And lonely. It usually only takes me a few minutes before I find myself logging back over to Feathermoon.

I feel horrible about it, but the friends I've made on Feathermoon feel... closer? than the ones I have on Gilneas, even though I've known the latter for longer (a lot longer in some cases). Many of my fellow Feathermoonies even share a lot of stuff in common, which isn't true so much for Gilneas.

It really came home to me when Booggah got Loque'nahak- my friend, who found him for me, had originally planned to kill him, then had second thoughts. That kind of reminded me of when my sister was looking for him, back when Kel was still on Gilneas. To simplify it, our guildies were getting tired of hearing about her search and frustrations about it, to the point that one of them even threatened to kill Loque himself if he happened to find him. He was joking about it, but even so it was an unkind (even cruel, considering her frame of mind at the time) thing to do. I've never had an incident like that happen on Feathermoon- in fact, when I mentioned that Lark was looking for Karoma and Sambas I had several people offer to help.

Another thing that has made a difference is the raids I've been on, on both servers. With my Gilneas guildies we raided pretty regularly, and we did fairly at it, but I think we were hurt by the fact that we had to PUG a couple people nearly every time. We had some issues with working together, even among guildies, and we had the occasional fight over loot. On Feathermoon I never got into a regular raid group, but I did do the weekly raid nearly every time, and I did it with people I knew. It made a world of difference to be with folks who knew each other, worked together well, and didn't seem to care overmuch for the loot- if we did had any fights it was more likely the "You take it" "No, you" variety. And I'm fairly proud to say that my toons were able to fit in pretty well with everyone.

Now that 2 of my toons on Feathermoon are in larger guilds, I have the possibility of raiding with them regularly. With Pitch being in the Wildfire Riders now, it's pretty much a definite for him. And that leaves me with another possibility- if I do level up Turron and gear him, then start raiding with him on Gilneas, it's only a matter of time before scheduling conflicts will crop up. And it happened before, with our GM scheduling raids on my Feathermoon RP nights, and frankly? I chose to sit out those raids, and they found replacements for me. So really, I wasn't missed. I'm not bitter about it or anything, just stating facts.

I've been thinking and debating about all this for several weeks now, and I've finally made up my mind. Today I transferred Turron to Feathermoon. I haven't say anything to my Gilneas guild (mostly because I haven't seen any of them), but they'll figure it out soon enough. I will miss the people there that I was friends with, but I'll still be able to talk with them in vent, and I'm leaving my baby Caelan-shammy there, just in case anything changes. And who knows, maybe someday we'll be able to drag some folks over to Feathermoon!

My other Gilneas toons are uncertain. None of them are above level 10, so it will be easy to reroll them on another server if I decide to do that. I probably will, I've made a couple baby hunters on Nesingwary Horde-side, so my pally, lock and troll-cat will likely join them.

So. This wasn't really meant to be a sad or a rant post, I just needed to get these thoughts out of my head, and also give some explanation for my choices. I am glad that I will be able to play Turron now on the server that's become my home, because I've missed him. And now I really ought to go do something, rather than sit here typing. >.>

Happy Hunting!