Spirit Bond

Planning at the Pig

2012-01-31T00:45:00.004-05:00

This is a bit old, but figured I'd do something about the recent RP.

Lorelli surprised us all with invites to a "party" from one of her old... "acquaintances," and thought of trying to fit as many Riders and allies as possible into the place, to try and stir things up, or at least get some info on other relevant stuff. There was a good deal of discussion, then the possibility of a fight came up. Considering that Lark is about 6 months pregnant by now, I think you can guess what she and Pitch thought about that. Once the main details had been hammered out, they went outside the Pig to talk things over.

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Pitchblàck eyes Wildlark up and down.

Wildlark eyes him back.

Pitchblàck flattens his ears slightly.

Lorelli eyes Annalea thoughtfully.

Annalea says: Hmm?

Wildlark gives a quiet sigh.

Lorelli says: Just trying to figure out where you'll do the most good.

Wildlark says: Excuse us a minute

Jahira watches Pitch and Lark curiously.

Wildlark says: All right, out with it

Pitchblàck looks guilty.

Pitchblàck says: If there's going to be fighting, I don't think you should go

Pitchblàck says: I know you want to, but...

Wildlark sighs again. "And you're probably right."

Wildlark grins crookedly. "Could have picked better timing, hm?"

Pitchblàck says: We didn't know all this was going to happen

Pitchblàck says: Few more months, right? Then we can let his aunts and uncle worry about him

Wildlark says: I know

Pitchblàck takes her hand and rubs it gently.

Pitchblàck says: So....?

Wildlark says: .... all right

Wildlark leans.

Wildlark says: .... just come back to me in one piece

Pitchblàck says: Always

Pitchblàck hugs.

Wildlark says: Let me go find Rheugan, so he can hear the details

Pitchblàck says: Mkay. Heading home after?

Wildlark nods into his chest.

Pitchblàck squeezes, then lets go.

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Poor Lark. The Riders are being awesome and trying to help come up with things she can do, but we are mostly coming up dry right now. Hopefully she'll find something she can do soon, before she goes crazy with boredom.

On a side note, this is one reason why they are working so well as a couple, and why I love them so much. They talk, about nearly everything, even if their conversations are just inside my head (while I'm at work, dinking on alts, playing other games, etc.).

Art Dump!

2012-01-30T18:20:00.004-05:00

I been busy. Enjoy!

I made a(nother) worgen druid on the Arthas server so I could play with my brother (that's become his "main" server). Roebar is already level 20 after around 7-8 hours /played. Getting him into a level 25 guild right away helped a ton.

I am RP'ing him in my head when I play him, and his personality is.... actually, a lot like I imagine Rheugan's would be if he were more.. balanced, I guess? "Roebear" is a ton of fun to play so far. He is bear specced, and I'm debating going kitty with him when he gets his dual-spec, or trying out boomkin. And obviously, he is already inspiring some art!

I may wind up drawing him as much as Rheugan, if this keeps up. I'm slightly concerned about the whole PVP server thing, but I figure this will let him get out all his aggression against the Horde (specifically the Forsaken) easier. *evil grin*

Speaking of Rheugan...

I found a picture of a wolf in a random Google image search, and decided to try drawing Rheugan using that as a ref. Had to make some modifications, of course, but I think it worked out well, don't you?

Lark gets all the blame for this one- seriously, it was her idea! And Pitch is enough of a ham that he just went along with it. Nothing important is showing (/smacks Lark), but uh, probably still NSFW.

This last one is currently my favorite, for probably obvious reasons. It's still too early for Valentine's Day, but who cares? Also, they make me happy.

I do hair with the burn/dodge tools, and this picture turned out so HUGE that it just about killed my wrist/elbow to get Lark's done. Still, it was worth it.

Been doing a lot of leveling alts in WoW and LotRO. Davoss is almost 74 now and still merrily tanking things in the face; I haven't even touched his ret spec since he left Outlands, except to use up his talent points. Prot is too much fun. Arnen is getting attention too, he is 32 and currently has ALL THE HEIRLOOMS, so leveling him won't take long. :D

Alanon-druid is 83 and closing in on the end, plus Rillian is geared enough for the raid finder. His first run he walked out with 2 tier13 tokens, plus a pretty axe I'm keeping for future transmogging. And I am tentatively making plans for getting Quae and Barraccus up as well (though Dav might still beat them to 85 >.>).

In LotRO I am usually logging in on someone just long enough to get 1 level, then switching toons. XD Hey, it still works, right? I do want to get Basten up to 40, then after that I will probably try to get Ilfariel up to match him. After that, it will depend on what I feel like doing.

I think that about sums everything up. I have a lot of stuff going on outside of gaming, so I may have to beat myself into posting stuff on my "non-WoW" blog, just to get it out of my head. The Riders are finally getting ready to move on in our big story arc, so the next few days will probably be crazy-busy.

Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Whaaaaaaaaat...

2012-01-27T22:06:00.002-05:00

I will occasionally check out blogs/websites that will poke fun at the really bad RSPs you find in-game, but I've never actually seen one myself.

Until now.

Whaaaaaaat is this I don't even know.

Stuff 'n Things!

2012-01-14T01:20:00.005-05:00

I am being bad and distracted by in-game "Oooh, shiny" so haven't gotten any writing done. >.>

The Riders have been doing some old-school raids lately, so Pitch has gotten almost all the ICC achievements he needs for a frosty skelly-drake... which he'll probably never use. Oh well.

Lark's gotten in some Ulduar stuff too, and now has her Starcaller title. Pitch likely will too, now that we've found out how simple it is to get to Algalon. I'm still hoping to someday get Lark an ironbound proto-drake, too. *crosses fingers*

Her normal raid is still going strong- in fact, we chalked up another kill to our total for Dragon Soul. Ultraxion down, finally!

He doesn't leave a body, so I had to take a screenie of his loot chest. Also, ignore all those skeletons there, kay? >.>

It was so late when we got him dead that we just hammed around with the next fight, just to get a look at it.

I got a bit of a present when we reached Hagara, the 4th boss- Rill got to come in and do a little thievery. I couldn't do anything else with the questline until the raid was over, but he did start his ring charging before I logged, so by morning he was all set.

I'm not really sure how to describe the questline. All the stealthy bits were fun, especially after I found some video guides on Youtube. My only real problem came with the boss fight itself. Rill just could not get Creed down before he enraged and smashed Rill to bits. After dying to the fight all day, and getting him agonizingly close a couple times, I finally got a break and teamed up with another rogue, and we got him down at last. Woot!

.... and then I transmogged them. >.>

My only excuse it that Rill just wouldn't want to carry around daggers that look like most of the Cata models. Combat knives, on the other hand, are totally diggable. Shush.

My altitis has slowed down, though I still want to get Rill and Pitch (and maybe Turron, but he needs work) ready for the raid-finder. And Rill needs to play with his new shinies anyway.

Other than that, I've been tinkering on LOTRO again, and Basten the burglar is now level 38! He's still my highest toon, though I want to get Ilfariel up to match, plus a couple of my other toons (Elgo and my new guardian Raedbor at least). Rift has been meh lately, but that might change as well- mostly because the server my sister and I were on is being changed to a trial server, so we'll be moving our toons to higher-population servers.

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

First, Finest, and Last: Alanon

2012-01-12T01:56:00.000-05:00

Next installment! Here is Alanon's first, finest, and last, which was surprisingly easy to write. Lark's will be done eventually, I hope- I have most of it thought out, just need to actually write the darn thing. But anyways, enjoy!
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His first was one Elliea Whispertree, not Jaryla as his family commonly thought. It was on one of their numerous pilgrimages to visit the World Tree Nordrassil, when they had camped for the night and she had lured him away into the surrounding forest. It had been quick, quiet, and fairly pleasant, and then promptly forgotten by both parties once they were back among the other Kaldorei. He'd told Jaryla what happened, of course- they told each other everything- but allowed everyone else to remain in their ignorance. He'd lost track of what happened to Elliea, but thought that she was most likely dead by now.

His first happened while he was still little more than a stripling just out of training, as unexpected as it was difficult. He and his companions had been tracking a rogue band of satyrs and come across where the demons had found a camp of lumberers. The lone survivor was found in a collapsed tent. He was unresponsive, gone out of his mind after seeing his friends tortured and murdered in front of him. The others gave him up as a lost cause, yet Alanon had stayed with the man as the rest tracked down and dispatched the satyrs. Healing the man's physical injuries was simple enough; healing the wounds to his spirit proved nearly impossible. But three days later, when his companions returned to find the man still grieving but sane, the looks on their faces was all he needed to know that he'd found his life's calling.

His first had been names out of legend- Cenarius, Ysera, Malfurion. Alanon was just one druidic student among many, trying to learn all he could as fast as he could. He'd thought at first that his path was forced upon him, because males simply did not become priests, but it didn't take him long to realize that being a druid was everything that he could ever want and more. He had devoted the rest of his life to simply do the best he could to make those teachers proud.

Jaryla Shadowleaf was his finest, no doubt. Too alike in some ways and too different in others, they weren't suited to be mates or lovers- but they managed to take being "just friends" and turn it into an art form. Their travels took them worlds apart at times, but that never bothered either of them. They knew that home was waiting whenever they next met.

There were many that he could consider his finest, but he would choose Shaurria by virtue of being his most recent. She was already on her way to healing when he arrived, but he saw no problems in helping the process along. Now, whenever he watched the once-shy youngster unshift to speak to a total stranger... when he saw her smile or heard her bright laughter... whenever she called him An'da... he knew that whatever anyone else might say, he'd done a fine job with her.

His finest was hard to define. It spoke to him through the wind in the trees; it whispered to him in the grasses. At times it would shout at him through the storm's thunder, or the rumble of the earth below. It could be called Nature, that's what most people would name it as anyway. He preferred to simply call it Balance.

His last had been Arien in a stolen moment when Kal had been late to come home. He knew full well what it meant for a Kaldorei to love a human- he'd seen it already too many times to count. But she filled the empty places in him that nothing else could touch, and he knew that no matter when she was taken from him- or he from her, which was after all just as likely- he could truthfully say that he had no regrets.

His last was technically still a work in progress, but Alanon felt sure that the worgen Rheugan would find his full healing in time. Yet another youngster thrown into a war before he was ready, he had been a challenge every moment Alanon had spent with him. The scars were there, some likely permanent, but Alanon knew he would not give up. Healing was in his blood- physical, spiritual, psychological, they were all the same to him.

His last was his first, his finest, and his only. The thrum of life that filled and surrounded every living being, the balance that kept them all moving smoothly through this universe. After ten thousand years he was still going strong, and he had every intention of serving the world's balance, to the very best of his ability, until the last breath was gone from his body.

Oh, Pitch....

2012-01-10T23:44:00.001-05:00

One of those times that you just want to stop your character and tell them he/she is being stupid, before they put their foot in their mouth. This is a good example of why I love RPing him so much.

If it isn't obvious, they were discussing Lark. >.>
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Shad says: How is she doing?

Pitchblàck shrugs, then grins.

Pitchblàck says: Well enough. She decided that today was bath day

Pitchblàck says: I would have helped but she had Quae and Barraccus, so I was in the way

Pitchblàck says: The only one that needs held is Quiloe, anyway, and she's small

Jahira chuckles.

Rheugan snickers.

Windstar blinks, then goes 'oh'.

Pitchblàck blinks at Windstar. "What?"

Threnn grins at Star and Pitch.

Pitchblàck says: What did you think I meant?

Windstar shrugs.

Threnn says: Likely the same thing I did.

Shad says: And I.

Pitchblàck blinks at Threnn.

Pitchblàck says: ... oh. Hmm

Windstar kitty-grins at Threnn.

Jahira chuckles again, ruffling Star's ears.

Pitchblàck says: She was giving the animals their baths. My sister and her mate were helping

Windstar purrs.

Pitchblàck says: Better?

Threnn says: Suppose.

Windstar says: Yes, much

Shad says: I was going to start talking about how good temperate baths can be for a pregnant woman, so yes, the clarification is a help.

Zeve says: M'plannin' a trip to the Hot Springs now, though, so.

Zeve nods at you.

Zeve says: Thanks, mate.

Shad grins wickedly at Zeve.

Windstar blinks at Zeve.

Rheugan covers his face with his hand, making suspicious snickering noises.
__________

At least he didn't mention that if she was the one taking the bath, he'd more than likely be in it with her... I mean, uh *cough*

First, Finest, and Last: Rheugan

2012-01-08T00:47:00.000-05:00

And here is Rheugan's first, finest and last, which was by necessity a bit different from the others... you'll get it once you read it (I hope!). I was actually really glad I wrote this, as it gave me a lot of insight into his character, which helped in his later posts. :D

Again, this is from several months ago, hence the possible confusion with the timeline.
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His first? That one was still to come, if it ever did. But aside from that... he supposed that like most small boys, his first had been his mother. She had been a worse disciplinarian than his father at times, but she had balanced that with a selfless devotion to her family. When his father was killed, she had set aside her own grief to see that her son's transition from heir to lord had gone smoothly, and when he had decided to take his father's place on the battlefield against the worgen, she had supported him despite her fears. It was no wonder that he had worshiped her. Learning of her death hadn't started him on his downward spiral- that had already begun- but it had certainly sped him on his way.

His first had been a wild worgen in the streets of Gilneas City, pursuing a civilian across the square where Rheugan had been posted. He had called up the first of the attack spells Celestine had taught him, a blast of nature energy that had knocked it off its feet, then run in and set to work with his club until it had stopped moving. Once he was sure it wouldn't be getting back up, he had promptly and thoroughly lost the contents of his stomach. When that was over, he'd wiped his mouth, then gone to look for the next invader.

His first had been his father, latest in the surprisingly short line of Jamestons that had clawed their way up the social ladder from sheep-farmers to titled nobility. He had taught Rheugan the things that all good fathers teach their sons: treating others with respect, the value of hard work, and never giving up on the things you wanted. When the worgen first attacked, he'd shown Rheugan too that there were some things that were worth any sacrifice.

Shaurria was his finest, though he feared that others would get the wrong ideas about their friendship. When Pitch had first introduced them, he had expected yet another person that would shy away because he was cursed, or drill him with questions of "What is it like?" Instead, she had shown him an acceptance so complete that it boggled him. Her friendship was something he had needed desperately, and he hadn't even known it until it was there in front of him. He knew she would never be "his", not in that way, but it didn't matter. What did matter was that when his inner darkness threatened to overwhelm him, she helped him to remember he was still human.

His finest had been the Banthar in Nagrand. Pitting himself against that beast had seemed like suicide, but Pitch thought he could do it, so he'd tried. He probably wouldn't have survived it, either, if it hadn't been for the cat. When he'd finally gotten to its throat and it had collapsed, nearly crushing him in the process, the adrenaline rush had made him giddy. It was only later, when Stormwind was quiet and everyone else had been asleep, that he had realized just how strong he'd gotten... and how much a danger he now was.

If anyone asked him, he would say that Prince Liam had been his finest. He had been proud to serve his Prince, first against the worgen and later against the Forsaken. But in reality his finest was the creature that stalked the shadows in his mind. Yes, the wolf had been his finest, and he knew full well what people would think if he admitted it. It had driven him mercilessly, through heat, rain or snow, to commit unspeakable violence to innocent people, to slake it's unnatural thirst for blood and pain. But it had also forced a will stronger than iron on him, and when the time came that he could look into the wolf's eye and tell it "No," the thought that it had helped shape its own downfall was only fitting.

Kyraine had been his last, and he would die before he ever let her find out. They had nothing in common except their homeland and the curse, and besides, she had her own problems to deal with, without being saddled with his as well. But she had gone out of her way to be kind to him, and for a lonely young man that felt at times to be very much still a boy, that had been enough to start entertaining thoughts of "What if." He had never said anything, never let it show, because what was the point? Nothing would come of it, and before long those thoughts had been swallowed by his larger issues, just as he had expected.

A ghoul outside Wintergarde Keep had been his last, little more than a few ribbons of flesh draped over bone. It had clawed him as he tore off its head, but he knew he had little to fear from the Plague, even up here. The curse protected him from undeath, and he found it ironic that he had finally found one thing it was good for.

The cat is his last, and would be until his last breath; he was beginning to understand that now. If he'd thought sharing his mind with the wolf was difficult, well, that still hadn't prepared him for what had turned out to be a cold, impassive predator. He still wasn't sure if they could work things out between them, if they could learn to be allies instead of enemies. The best Rheugan could hope for at this point was to hang onto the last remaining shreds of his dignity, and when the final hunt ended in the unseen future, he could at least die as a man, and not a beast.
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(I only wrote these 2, but plan on doing one for Lark and Alanon too, once my muse lets me. Those will be posted once I'm done with them.)

Plans for the Future

2012-01-07T23:29:00.005-05:00

I've suddenly gotten an itch to write about these 2, probably thanks to a comment I got awhile back asking if there would be any more stories of them. Plus, I've been all but ignoring them for so long, it's about time they got caught up to current time. Enjoy!
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The private room at the Wayfarer's Rest was quiet except for the rustle and tear of wrapping paper. Kaled and Khaotic reclined on the bed and couch, respectively, and watched Kalenora unwrap her Winter Veil presents with nearly identical expressions of contentment.

Khaotic was just starting to doze when Kaled's quiet voice startled her awake again. "What would you think about hitting the road again, like we used to?" She lifted her head to blink at her husband in surprise, then her expression turned thoughtful.

"I've thought about it," she admitted. "But it didn't quite feel right, not while Kale was still so small." Kaled nodded. "But she's bigger now," he pointed out. "I think she's old enough now that she could get some good out of it. But what do you think?"

Khaotic eyed him curiously, then gave a small smile. "Are you really that anxious to be doing something?" she asked him. He shrugged, blushing just a bit. "It's.. it's not really that... or rather not just that," he answered, then gestured to his daughter. "I want her to, well, see things. I don't want her to grow up here all her life, in all this..." He waved his hand around vaguely. "I want her to get out and see different places and people, so she doesn't become like all the rest of our people."

Khaotic couldn't quite hold back her mischievous grin. "You mean snobbish?" His blush returned more fiercely, and she chuckled. "I know what you mean, dear heart, and I do agree with you. She does need to broaden her horizons a bit, but I don't think traveling during winter would be the best thing- for any of us." Kaled shrugged again, then nodded. "Probably not," he agreed, then paused.

As her parents spoke, Kalenora had unwrapped her last present. Now, the 2-year-old picked up her new favorite toy, a small rag doll, and carried it over to Ashke, where she offered the doll for inspection. The red lynx lifted his head to sniff at it with distant interest, then plopped his head back down to resume his nap. Satisfied, the little elfling went over to her father and reached up with her free hand. "Da?" Kaled smiled as he lifted her up, and she settled in his lap, sticking a finger in her mouth as she hugged her doll.

Kaled grinned as he gave her a gentle squeeze. "Winter wouldn't be the best, but we could head out once spring sets in," he continued, looking up at his wife. Khaotic was watching them both with a touch of affection. "Where would you want to go?" she asked him. His expression turned wistful. "Anywhere, really. We could head back to Outland if we wanted, or maybe Northrend- it should be safe enough with the Lich King dead. Or there's Hyjal, or Uldum..."

Laughing, Khaotic cut him off before he could go on. "All right, Kaled, I get the point. Look, we have at least three months before the weather turns warm again; why don't we take our time deciding where we want to go first?"

Kaled agreed, and for most of the rest of the morning they sat and talked over their options. Kale - slowly falling asleep in her father's lap - had no idea what they were talking about, of course, but it was enough that they sounded happy.

_____________

So yea, Kaled and Khaotic have been enjoying family life. I have no idea why they would have moved... maybe the Reliquary made them an offer they couldn't refuse? (And drat Blizzard for moving NPCs into the homes of nearly all my characters. /grump) They are living in the Wayfarer's Rest now, where hopefully the RP-griefers will still leave them in peace.

I have 2 toons leveling in Northrend already- Rajast is coasting along at 74 already, and I got Davoss from 67 to 71 just in one day. O.o Pally tanking is still ridiculously fun, btw. I'd like to get them both out of Northrend before I start leveling Kaled and Khaotic, but that shouldn't take too long. I figure once it's actually spring, then wherever they set out will depend on what level I have them at by that point. (Hopefully that made sense....) And I will definitely be keeping a sharp eye out for Loque while they're in Northrend!

RP on Alliance has been a bit scattered because of crazy RL schedules, but there is still Stuff Happening. Lark's raid is still going- we've gotten the first 4 bosses down, but Ultraxion is still eating us for lunch; I will be so flipping happy when we finally kill him. And I've been tinkering a bunch on my other-server alts, with tentative plans on getting Andrano and Carienne to 30, and the rest of my lowbies to at least 20. No time frame for that planned, but it'll get done eventually.

I think that's about it for my rambling, and I need sleep now. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

First, Finest, and Last: Pitch

2012-01-04T00:33:00.003-05:00

This started out as a thread in the WFR forums here. I joined in the parade of posts and wound up writing one for both Pitch and Rheugan, but then promptly forgot about them. In the interest of non-blog-silence, and to motivate me to finish writing these for the rest of the toons I was planning to, I figured I'd finally stick them up here as well. Enjoy!

Keep in mind these are from several months ago, so yes, they are a little out of date now. Sorry. >.>
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His first had been Learah, and it still hurt to think of her. For three seasons he had put up with her whims, the teases and torments she thought up for him. He had figured out pretty quick that she didn't love him, but he had still done his best by her, damnit, and it still hadn't been enough. When the inevitable moment came and she had cast him aside, he had wanted to kill her. Now, he satisfied himself with the simple belief that whatever had happened to her, it must have been exactly what she deserved.

Technically, his first had been a stag, taken in the Ashenvale forest near his brother's house. Discounting all non-sentients, however.... his first known kill had been a naga off the Zoram strand. She had been focusing on Alanon as he fought off her myrmidon guards, preparing to blast the elder druid with some spell that had been coating her webbed fingers in ice, and it had been no trouble at all for Pitch to sneak in behind her and jump on her neck. He had felt so.. detached, even as his fangs met through her throat. It wasn't for another year that he had learned it was the cat, coming to the surface at the moment of the kill, that prevented him from ever feeling anything when he killed. He had had to go wash the blood off afterward, and to this day he still considered naga blood one of the most vile things in existence.

His first had been Alanon, whom he loved with a hero-worship that still hadn't faded after six centuries. There was nothing, in Pitch's mind, that his brother couldn't do. It didn't matter that his own abilities, or lack thereof, kept him from learning all the druidic magic that Alanon had to teach. His brother had taught him everything else he needed to know.

He still considered his finest to be Skyborne. Sure, she had kept him confused and off-balance more times than not, but she had been the first person he'd felt comfortable with since his arrival in Stormwind. She had been the reason he hadn't immediately turned tail and gone back to his home in Ashenvale. And that night in Fells' barn, as she writhed on top of him and his back bled from her nails into the straw, he had finally felt the last of the chains Learah had put on his heart fall away.

His finest had also been his hardest. Ursoc was his god, but he had been corrupted by Yogg-Saron. His salvation lay in his death, and Pitch had faced it like every other challenge in his life- full throttle, no holds barred. The fight had been brutal, chaotic and excessively long, but in the end, as he watched the cleansed spirit of his deity fade into the air, the only thing Pitch could feel was satisfaction.

His finest had been the ancient, weather-beaten druid that had found him when his cat went out of control. The old codger had never given his name in all the months Pitch had stayed with him, but Pitch owed him his life all the same. He'd promised Pitch he'd teach him to "control" the cat. At first he'd been convinced the old man didn't know what he was doing; later on he'd been convinced the old man would kill him. But despite all his doubts, in the end it was he that was in control and not the cat, and for that Pitch would be forever grateful.

His last had been Lark, of course. They'd been at it pretty regularly, hoping beyond hope that somehow Shad's crazy plan had worked, that they would find out the baby she wanted so badly was on its way. Pitch himself wasn't sure what he wanted. He didn't know if he was ready for fatherhood, kept telling himself that he was still too young. But Lark wanted it, and after all they had been through already, he knew he'd give her anything she asked for... because he loved her.

His last had been a flame druid in the Molten Front. Weakened by two of Lark's arrows embedded in its torso, it had been an easy kill. He sometimes wondered if he should feel bad about killing them; it was possible they had simply been misguided by Staghelm, after all, and they were still of his people. But all it took was to see another of the fire druids in its cat form take a flying leap at his mate, and all thoughts of sympathy fled in favor of his protective rage. There was only the next kill.

His last was the Riders, and he still didn't know how that had happened. He had nothing in common with any of them, really, and he had always been on his own before. But however it had happened, he was one of them now, and he would bleed and kill for any of them, no questions asked. That was just what you did for your pack.

Gifts

2011-12-26T23:37:00.005-05:00

(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.
_______________

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

2011-12-12T23:42:00.003-05:00

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

2011-12-10T10:13:00.005-05:00

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

2011-12-05T02:06:00.004-05:00

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

2011-11-28T23:34:00.000-05:00

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

2011-11-27T23:30:00.000-05:00

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. >.>)

______________

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

2011-11-26T22:14:00.004-05:00

(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

2011-11-26T02:29:00.003-05:00

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

2011-11-06T00:55:00.003-04:00

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...

2011-11-02T23:21:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-31T01:42:00.004-04:00

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

2011-10-21T19:58:00.004-04:00

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)

2011-10-11T19:09:00.003-04:00

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...)

____________________

________

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

2011-10-05T01:34:00.000-04:00

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

2011-10-02T23:38:00.003-04:00

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

2011-10-01T19:55:00.002-04:00

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...

2011-09-25T01:07:00.003-04:00

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....

2011-09-23T22:08:00.005-04:00

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!

And Again!

2011-09-21T23:12:00.000-04:00

Apparently my luck hasn't quite run out yet.

Spent most of the day on LOTRO instead of WoW, but I did pop on to check for some of Booggah's hopeful tames. Madexx wasn't up, but when I went to Twilight Highlands, he found a certain someone hiding in the bushes...

(Including this one because she's cute)

*Glees*

That's 2 tames down in 2 days. I'm still hoping mostly for a blue Madexx to be next, but Boo does still want Karkin (and then Lark's Bashtin will most likely be going bye-bye :( ) and Magria, and Lark needs Skarr. We'll see what the next few days might bring.

1... 2... SQUEEE!!

2011-09-17T23:08:00.007-04:00

Nuff said? XD

I was woken up at around 5ish this morning by a dream of Lark finding and taming him. I almost got up then to log on and see if he was up, but since my brain at that point was the only part of me that was awake... yea, didn't get to it. Funny thing is, when I went back to sleep I dreamed it all over again... and again, until my alarm went off and I had to get up. I thought again of turning the PC on and logging in real fast to check, but I didn't quite leave myself enough time before I had to leave for work.

Fast forward. I had almost forgotten all about it by the time I was home again. Wound up taking a nap (no dreams this time) then logged into Runes of Magic for a bit. Dinked around, leveled my druid there, then remembered that I needed to check for Lark's last Lieutenant of Flame* before bed. Started WoW, logged on Lark and headed to Hyjal.

As she flew I started thinking about my dream, and thought it'd be funny if I got to Malorne's shrine and he was actually there. I headed there, just to check, instead of going straight to Molten Front.

Then NPC_Scan went off. It was Ban'thalos.

I was sure it was a tamed pet, but clicked the portrait anyway, and saw a yellow portrait pop up. I think my heart stopped right there. I frantically headed over to the tree while calling to my sis to bring one of her toons, in case I needed her to sacrifice-pull him into range, but Lark landed on the tree after just a couple tries. Dropped the trap, then flew back up and waited for him to fly back into range.

A dwarf pally was flying around him up in the air, and I started thinking the "Oh please don't" mantra. He didn't touch Banthy, thank goodness, and in a few seconds he was in range. One arcane shot, then popped haste pot/deterrence/tame once she landed, and Banthy obligingly chased her into the trap. Tame went off without a hitch. The only damage she took was a bit from the fall.

I'd thought of a name ages ago, so that was no problem. I'm not sure yet whether the name means that "he" is a "she", and I might just leave it as an "it" since, you know, spirit and all that.

My hands are finally starting to stop shaking. That was definately the biggest high I've gotten off a tame for a long while- even when she found King Krush it was less an "Omygolly I got him!" and more of a "Welcome home."

My only regret is she has to wait almost a week for her next raid, to show him off. I may go leather-farming with him for some bonding time, since Rheugan will need some new gear soon (he's up to 79 already!). And after this, all she needs to finish her stable is Skarr, and I'm not in a rush for him, so she can take her time looking, and enjoy her new buddy.

*Hugs spirit owl*

* The last thing Lark needs for her achievement and title is this one, and the only lieutenant she has left for that is the Ancient Charscale. She's kept the quest for it in her log, and I checked every day to see if the charscale is up. She has seen, at a minimum, 3 Firelords, 3 Cinderweb Queens, 5 Smoldering Behemoths, and at least one Harbinger. No Charscale. I'm beginning to think it's borked.

Rheugan: Dragonblight

2011-09-16T23:58:00.000-04:00

Again, this took longer than I'd thought it would. BUT, the biggest reason it did is that my brain keeps wanting to skip ahead in the storyline, so hopefully the rest of it won't take so long. Maybe. >.>

Poor Rheu. Inside his head just isn't the nicest place to be right now.
_________

When faced with a problem that has no apparent solution, almost any man would turn to a higher power for help. That’s what Rheugan told himself, at least, as he winged his way over the Dragonblight.

The other dragons at Wyrmrest had told him where to go, so it wasn’t long before Angra’thar loomed into view. He soared in to land at the feet of the huge creature sitting before the gates, shifting from bird to human as he did. Alexstrasza nodded to him but said nothing, clearly waiting for him to speak first.

Rheugan looked around as he collected his thoughts, then waved a hand outward at the devastation. “Bit of a mess, isn’t it?”

“It is,” she agreed, then cocked her head slightly. “I can show you what happened if you’d like.” “No thanks,” he said with a shiver. “I’ve heard the stories.” He heard her chuckle quietly. “What can I help you with, youngling?” she asked him.

Rheugan hesitated, suddenly wondering if this had been a good idea after all. “I.. I’m not human,” he finally said. “I know,” she replied simply. He blinked, then went on. “My, ah, other side, it’s...” “Difficult?” she supplied. He nodded. “And now my cat is proving to be the same way.”

She peered at him. “So what did you want from me, druid? Advice? I’m afraid I’m the wrong one to ask for that.” Rheugan shook his head. “I... I know, it’s just...” He trailed off, no longer sure what he was trying to say. “I think the wolf makes it harder,” he admitted. Alexstrasza remained silent, simply watching him, and after a few minutes he looked up at her, a hint of desperation touching his expression.

“Can you... take it away? The curse?” he blurted, and she blinked. “Why?” was all she said. Rheugan found he couldn’t stop the words tumbling from his mouth. “I’ve killed people. Cursed others to live the same life I did. Some of them were my friends. I.. I don’t want any part of it anymore.” He looked up again. “You’re the Aspect of life, aren’t you? Is that in your power?”

“No, little one,” she answered, then regarded him for a moment. “I can’t give you absolution,” she finally told him. “But tell me, would it be feasible to find each person you’ve cursed, the family of each you’ve killed, and ask forgiveness from them?” Rheugan looked down. “No, m’lady, not really,” he said. “Then perhaps you should work on forgiving yourself,” she said gently, as she stood and moved away. “I need to be off, but think on what I’ve told you, druid.” Then she gave a mighty flap of her wings before lifting off, leaving him standing there.

Rheugan stared after her until she was out of sight, then turned his thoughts inward. Are you there? he asked the cat. It was, he could feel it, but it didn’t answer. It felt... uncertain, as if surprised at what he had suggested, and he wondered if it was possible to relieve himself of the cat, if it came to that. That thought made him even more unsettled, and he shivered. Not yet, he told the cat; it seemed to relax slightly. I’d still like to work with you, rather than that. But you’re not making it easy, you know. The cat had nothing to say to that, and kept silent and still as he changed to a bird and took off again, heading toward the Grizzly Hills.

There was still one more opinion he wanted to get.
_________

(Bonus points for anyone that can guess where he's heading. >.>)

Say wha?

2011-09-08T19:53:00.004-04:00

Me: Random question. Which is worse, greasy whale milk or pungent seal whey?

Sis: Two words: Fungus squeezings.

Me: ...Darnit, how did I forget that one?

.... Yea, I don't really know the point of that either. But it was silly.

(Also I get really weird when I'm sleep-deprived. >.>)

Rheugan: Borean

2011-09-06T23:51:00.003-04:00

I'm not totally happy with this, but I'm tired of being stumped with it. So here's Rheugan's next chapter. The rest will be better, I promise.
____________

The Lich King was dead, the war officially over, yet people still flocked to the North to find glory or riches against the remaining undead. No one paid much attention to the gray stormcrow sitting on a pile of lumber near the recruiter’s desk, so Rheugan was free to people-watch to his heart’s content. He listened to them idly. Masons, tailors, carpenters, smiths.... He had no skills to offer, just an unpredictable cat that could turn on its allies if it wished, and little he could do to stop it.

He would find no answers here. Before a full day had passed, he took off into the air and flapped his way still further north.

Are you there? he asked his cat silently as he flew. His surprise when it responded was almost enough to send him tumbling from the sky. It was just a slight stirring in the back of his mind, but it was enough. His biggest fear had been that he would be practically helpless once he’d gotten here, as most of his fighting skills depended on the cat’s instincts, but it looked like he might not have to worry after all.

* * * * *

Rheugan lay in a sheltered nook in the rock, idly licking a mostly-healed wound on his foreleg as he thought. He’d been here in Northrend for a week now, but while he felt he had made some progress, he still wasn’t certain at all about the cat. It certainly had a strong self-preservation instinct- that was obvious, since he was still alive- but its methods seemed to consist of taking over Rheugan’s mind and doing what it wanted until he tired, then leaving him to recover so it could repeat the process. Rheugan had the uncomfortable thought that if the Cenarion Circle druids could see him now, they definitely wouldn’t let him out of their sight. He needed to try something different.

* * * * *

He lurked around the Nexus for several hours before he spotted a small group heading inside. It was easy enough to fall in at their heels, though he stuck to the shadows at first, listening to them talk and plan.

As they progressed further in and found the first groups of enemies, he held back and watched, getting a feel for their fighting style. The first time he joined in, striking from the edges of the fight, they were obviously startled, but no one challenged him. A little further in one of the dragonkin landed a lucky blow on Rheugan’s shoulder, which the shaman in the group healed without hesitation.

The others soon began including him in their battle plans, and he listened carefully, then did as instructed the best he could. He was beginning to thoroughly enjoy himself- and was exulting at the cat’s cooperation- when suddenly their mission seemed to be over and they found themselves back near the entrance. Satisfied with his “experiment,” he slipped away while the others were still saying their goodbyes.

Before he slept that night he thought long and hard about the cat. It didn’t seem to be interested in attacking people, preferring to be simply left alone. Perhaps it would be safe enough to stay among civilization after all- Light knew he had had enough of camping out already.

That thought received a derisive mental snort from the cat, and abruptly it was gone again, back to whatever hiding place it had found in his mind. Rheugan was left blinking in his bed, wondering what he had done wrong.

Yes, I know it'll get "fixed"

2011-09-01T18:05:00.003-04:00

And I don't really care. He's fun while it lasts.

(For info on this little bugger, go here. Yes, I'm lazy.)

Vacation Post!

2011-08-27T00:13:00.005-04:00

As promised. I actually didn't spend a whole lot of time on the computer during our vacation, since we were with family and, you know, beach and stuffs, but I did try to keep up with Lark's Firelands dailies. Her raid group got Rhyolith down, which I missed out on cause of lousy laptop (which actually behaved way better than I had expected, but not so much that I'd trust it in a raid), but we got him down again last raid night, too, so that wasn't too bad. We have got Shannox down, in fact this past raid we 1-shot him.

Last Sunday night I had a treat when I got home from work- my first ever Rose Ball. Pitch and Lark got to dress up and hang with folks, and they even had a pet show (Lark wanted to enter, but Komah "politely" refused >.>). And at the end of the night they had fireworks...

There was also the small matter of Fells dinging 85 right before they set off the fireworks. We all waited for Deathwing to come torch us all, but he was apparently busy.

I picked up a couple new friends as well. Booggah just wasn't clicking with his mastiff, and I couldn't even think of a name for the poor thing, so we did a little switcheroo. Boo has a new dog now, and I was amazed at how much this little guy just clicked. Boo loves him.

The other new guy belongs to Lark. I had been scouting Sholazar Basin off and on for a few weeks now, hoping she'd run into this guy since he's the only devilsaur she's shown any interest in. I had no luck, however, until just a few days ago. And to try and shorten things up a bit, she's also showing off her other latest achievement.

I had trouble thinking of a name for her dino, but I think Arcus is sticking. She's got a rename scroll just in case, though. And the hippogryph made mount #10 for her, so she had a bonus achievement!

That's about it as far as getting stuff done. My brain's been taken up mostly with Rheugan RP lately, so no new stories besides his right now. Turron is less than a bar and a half from 85 himself, if I can only make myself knuckle down and finish it off. As much fun as I have playing my warrior, it's really frustrating how slow leveling him has gone. And then I'll get to start gearing him up....

Rillian is still coming along gear-wise, and ICly he's disappeared for the moment; he'll have to pop up sometime soon so Lark can yell at him for making her worry. Rheugan is 72 now and will be making his way ICly across Northrend. I am getting really excited about his storyline- it's been ages since I've been able to actually stick with a story long enough to get it all down, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed for him. Quae and Alanon are waiting patiently for their turns at leveling, and I've been playing my baby warlock Rhiany a bit too, so I should have no trouble keeping busy.

And now I ought to go sleep. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Rheugan: Journey to Northrend

2011-08-26T02:23:00.002-04:00

The ship’s bell clanged in the early morning air, sounding the last call for boarders. Rheugan picked up the travelsack containing all his worldly possessions- a couple changes of clothing and a few books Shaur had given him- then took one last look back at the city he had called home for the past months.

A flash of movement caught his eye, and he squinted up at the ledge above. He could just barely make out the two big birds sitting there, and he grinned as he waved up at them. They both stirred, growing larger, then Pitch stood and waved back, followed shortly by Shaur.

The ship’s crewmen began shouting to each other as they prepared to cast off. Rheugan quickly hopped aboard as they started hauling in the lines that had held it to the dock, and in short order they were under sail. Rheugan found a spot where he could see the ocean ahead and stood still, watching the land slide past.

He had expected to feel nervous, even afraid, and he wondered that he didn’t. All he felt was excitement. At last, he was finally doing something.

* * * * * *

Before too long the rocking of the boat was reminding him unpleasantly of his journey from Gilneas to Teldrassil, complete with the mild seasickness. Not sick enough to be hanging from the rail, he spent most of the trip huddled in his bunk in the cabin.

Once the ship was docked at Valiance Keep, he made his way off the ship and the docks under his own power, then found the inn by (literally) stumbling into the sign outside. He went in and took a room, then carried his things up and collapsed onto the bed, intending to rest just for a bit before seeing if they had any food his still-unsettled stomach could tolerate.

* * * * * *

Everything was chaos. The worgen came from the neighboring rooftops and flung themselves at Rheugan and his companions in waves. He could hear Crowley shouting behind him, but couldn’t make out the words. The small part of his brain that still held rational thought told him that the worgen were starting to pull back, that they had beaten them. Then came the sudden shock of teeth, tearing into his arm.

Rheugan woke with a start. The dream faded, and he sat up shivering, looking around the sparsely-furnished room. Dawn was just starting to change night’s blackness to gray, but Rheugan knew he would get no more sleep tonight. He fumbled in the darkness toward the door, then downstairs. Maybe if he was lucky there’d be something for breakfast already.

Rheugan: Moonglade

2011-08-23T00:22:00.004-04:00

Vacation post is still inc, sorry- I promise I'll write something up soon. I do have a couple new pets to show off so it will be done. Meanwhile, have some Rheugan story-development.

Poor Rheu has finally been "talking" to me a bit, and I'm pretty sure we've agreed on how to fix him up. This will take a while, but I will be posting this in installments as it happens in-game. This is the start of it all.

Shaurria convinced Rheugan to go with her to Moonglade and visit her "friend", but it didn't turn out how anyone would have guessed.

____________________

Moonglade was.... peaceful. Rheugan blinked the haze left from the teleport spell out of his eyes, then noticed Shaurria trotting off already and hurried to catch up. She gave him a kitty-grin, then led him off past the Barrow-Dens. They passed through without incident, though the first time Rheugan spotted one of the guards it startled him. He let Shaur go on ahead as they rounded a particularly giant tree, pausing to take in the clearing and its occupant.

Shaurria trotted up to the huge cat spirit with a happy mrow, rubbing up against it like an over-sized housecat, then flopping down a few paces away to roll in the grass. The spirit watched her for a moment, then turned to face Rheugan as he approached.

What do you want here? Rheugan stopped, surprised as much by the voice sounding in his head as by the challenge in the Cat’s voice and stance. “P- parrdon?” he stammered, not sure if he’d understood the spirit. You heard me right, it replied. Tell me why I should waste my time with you.

Rheugan blinked, belatedly realizing that his own cat had gone very, very quiet. “I-.. I don’t understa-” he started, but the Cat interrupted him. Your cat, it said with thinly veiled impatience. It doesn’t listen to you, does it? Has it ever occurred to you to wonder why? Rheugan blinked again as the Cat went on without giving him a chance to answer. And why should it? What have you done to earn its cooperation, human? You have been stumbling like a cub first learning to walk, convinced it can outrun its elders.

Rheugan could think of nothing to say, and just stood there, stunned. He looked helplessly at Shaurria, who was now standing and watching them, looking almost as stunned as he felt. She took a step toward them with a questioning mew, but stopped as the Cat’s head turned to face her. Rheugan got a sense of words passing between them, and she sank down on her belly in the grass, mewling quietly in distress.

The Cat turned back to Rheugan. You need to work with your cat, it said. Go. Come back when you can call yourself a druid. With that it turned its back to him, moving off lazily across the clearing.

Shaurria stood and came over to him, unshifting to kneel at his side. “Wh- what was that about?” she whispered. Rheugan just shook his head, then without a word he turned, ducking away from her outstretched hand, and trotted back along the path.

* * * * * *

Shaur found him in his usual spot by the lake the following day. She said nothing as she sat down nearby, watching as he skipped a rock across the water. “My cat is ignoring me,” he finally said with a touch of incredulity. “It’s like it’s not even there. Pitch isn’t sure about what to do, either.”

She just watched him, her expression unreadable. “D’ you know what you’re gonna do yet?” He shrugged as he picked up another rock. “I have to find out what it wants, I suppose, and see if I can’t get it to work with me again,” he answered after a moment. “Although how I’ll do that...” He shrugged again.

The rock followed its fellow across the lake surface, disappearing after five skips. Rheugan glanced at Shaur, not quite meeting her eyes. “I may need to go away for awhile,” he said reluctantly. “I.. I think I need to be away from people for this.”

She gave him a small, sad smile. “I know.” She watched him fumble through the grass for a bit, looking for another rock. “D’ you know where you’ll go?”

Rheugan gave up his search for a stone and settled his hands in his lap. “Pitch suggested either Outland or Northrend. Both places are rather sparsely populated now, and both have plenty of things to fight. I’m leaning toward Northrend.” He stared fixedly across the lake, carefully avoiding looking at her. “If... if the worst happens, I’d rather be in Azeroth, not some Light-forsaken other world.”

Shaur’s expression quickly turned stern, and she leaned over to lightly rap his head with her knuckles. “Yer not gonna die out there,” she told him firmly. “Quit thinkin’ like that.”

He eyed her in bemusement. “I don’t intend to,” he said quietly. “I plan on coming back here as soon as I can. I just don’t know how long it will take.”

Neither said anything after that for several minutes. They watched a small group come through the portal from Tol Barad, apparently celebrating some victory there over the Horde, but the fuss soon died down as the group made their way into the city proper.

Shaurria broke the silence after they left. “We should go fishin’ before y’go.” Rheugan looked over at her with a small grin, one eyebrow raised. He chuckled, and after a moment she joined in.

Back from vacation

2011-08-21T13:29:00.001-04:00

So yea, been on vacation with the family for the past week. Guess I should have mentioned that. >.>

Didn't spend a lot of time on the computer (cause, you know, beach!) but I did get some stuff done. Unfortunately I'm also back to work, so it'll have to wait til later.

For now, ciao!

Art Catchup!

2011-08-07T03:09:00.005-04:00

Been doodling a lot and got some sketches done, then I finally inked and colored a few of them. First up is my new worgen death knight on Silver Hand- this is how I picture him if he was a real wolf (yes, complete with worgen fangs and DK glowy eyes :P).

Pitch and Lark have a house of their own now, and one of their favorite things to do is sit on their "porch" and people-watch. So, naturally, I did a picture of them.

The backgrounds for both of those are in-game screenshots I took, cause I hate doing backgrounds. I think they turned out pretty darn good.

This next one has a very short fic to go along with it- and both picture and fic are a bit more... adult? than I really wanted to post here. So, you can see them over on my other blog here.

Did a couple more horses too. These are new characters- meet Eadamus...

His right eye is clouded over because he's blind on that side, in case you're wondering.

And Daethrys...

Daethrys is as hot-blooded as the thoroughbred he's based on. Eadamus (pronounce it "Ay-dahm-us") is much calmer, but he's also a bit touched in the head. Comes with being a seer, I think. >.>

I still have a couple sketches I will be finishing, just not sure when yet.

Still tinkering around in WoW and stuff. Leveled a couple of my Rift toons as well, though I'm not sure anymore what I'm doing with them. I've leveled Quae and Alanon to 81, might go ahead and finish up with one of them, since Turron is having issues right now. I have a story idea for Rheugan, but haven't been able to make myself sit and write it out yet. Hopefully that'll get done soonish, before I forget it all.

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

Tuah

2011-08-02T19:09:00.005-04:00

It kinda surprises me at times how much I love this silly tiger. Lark has formed a really strong bond with him as well, and I'm so glad now I made him an IC pet. Tuah is usually a quiet boy, so it feels sometimes like he doesn't have much personality, but that's far from the truth. This little snippet hopefully shows off some of his... more "entertaining" side. >.>
_________________________

Lark hated to admit it, but she had lost track of how many pets she had had over the centuries. From the scruffy lioness that had first claimed a piece of her life, to her current companions... it had likely been hundreds. That lioness had been the first Tuah, and the name had passed down from one pet to the next, occasionally skipping an animal as another name asserted itself, but always returning before too long. Lark was the first to admit she had no head for names; this way was the easiest, so she stuck with it.

She had found that whichever pet carried the name was usually the one she formed the strongest bond with, especially the few times she had more than one pet at a time. Even when her current Tuah had been found after her other pets. She worried over it sometimes, but Komah assured her that he and Quiloe didn't care. I am here to repay the kindness you showed my mate, the spirit-cat told her after she'd asked him about it yet again. That doesn't mean you need to coddle me every minute. I am content, and so is the wolf. Wolves are pack animals, after all; she doesn't mind sharing.

Right now, however, Lark was feeling less than charitable toward the most recent object of her affections. She surveyed the mess that had been the living room of their new house with dismay. Pet bedding had been thrown or dragged everywhere, and the leather cushions she and Pitch had bought until they could get real chairs were scattered throughout the chaos. Two of them had been chewed to ruins, and the culprit himself was sprawled on his belly in the midst of the stuffing, a couple down feathers festooning his ruff. Komah and Quiloe had wisely left the scene, after Komah had all too happily informed her who was to blame; they were probably waiting upstairs for the storm to blow over.

"You want to tell me why you did this?" Tuah blinked at her sleepily, but otherwise didn't even twitch. "You get plenty of attention, there was no reason for this. You ought to know better. And when Pitch sees this mess, he's going to want to tan your stripey hide." Lark sighed, running a hand through her hair in exasperation. "Nether, who am I kidding? You're too big to whip, and you know it, too." Tuah just rolled to his side with a rumble, his massive front paws gently kneading at nothing, eyes almost closed. The tiny knot of feelings in her head, which comprised her bond with the tiger, was full of nothing but lazy contentment. Lark felt a grin tugging at her mouth, but firmly held it in. "You can forget the next pub night, you know. You may be too big to switch, I'll admit that, but I can darn well set Komah to watch you. See if you can get into any trouble then." No response for that. Lark shook her head, then stared at her pet incredulously as a sudden thought struck.

"You...big brat! You know you can get away with it, don't you?" Tuah rolled onto his back with a loud groan. With his head upside-down and his ears squashed to the floor, he blinked at her again. It was hard to tell with that strange glow, but behind it Lark swore she saw a twinkle in his eye.

________________________________

(I had to add that picture, just for a visual reference. XD)

Options, part 2

2011-07-23T22:37:00.002-04:00

And finished!
_________________

The list lay in the middle of the kitchen table. On either side sat the two Kal'dorei, Lark sipping her tea while Pitch studied the paper again, chin on his fists on the table. He glanced up just in time to catch Lark's grimace, and grinned. "My sisters have told me that earthroot tastes terrible," he said helpfully. Lark swatted at him.

"Just make up your mind which item you want to try for first," she told him. "Besides, I'm not sure I want to know why your sisters were telling you about earthroot anyway."

Pitch smirked, but went back to the list. He tapped the name on top with a finger. "This totem thingy might be easy to find. Maybe." He looked up again. "I still say we should at least try Ulduar. It would save time."

Lark shrugged. "Do we really want to drag who-knows-how-many others into it? Besides, what if no one's interested?"

Pitch gave an exasperated sigh. "They are Riders," he said slowly and carefully. "So are you. If nobody's interested I'll eat my tail." He cocked his head at her. "It won't hurt anything to ask, and if no one comes..." He tapped the paper meaningfully.

Lark watched him with a rueful half-grin. "Are you trying to say that I'm too used to working on my own?" she joked. Pitch didn't bother to answer the mostly-rhetorical question, absorbed in studying the list again. Lark sighed. "I am, I think. All right, what do you say we make a notice or something, and see who shows interest?" Pitch's reply was a broad grin.

The next day a small sign was posted on the Pig's bulletin board. In an untidy scrawl it read:

("Good gods, Pitch, that's your handwriting? They won't even be able to read it."

"Hush you.")

Riders-
Pitch and Lark need assistance in getting into Ulduar. Further details will be provided at the Pig on the next pub night.

("Hopefully that will keep people from trying to track us down every hour of the day."

"Should I add anything else?"

"No, that's probably good.")

Signed, Pitch and Lark

("That was probably pretty obvious from the first line, Pitch."

"Eh, I like to be thorough.")

Pitch and Lark: Options

2011-07-23T18:43:00.003-04:00

I mentioned before that Lark was involved in some RP to fix her infertility. Shad's player has been helping out with that, and she's been beyond awesome. Lark had her initial tests, and last night Shad let them know that he had some news for them.

Yay, chatlogs?

I'm actually writing the next part for this, which should hopefully go up later today (because if it doesn't it'll be late >.>).

Note: Yes, they are talking about girly things. There's nothing explicit going on, but if you're easily embarrassed... well, you've been warned.

_____________

[ExileIC] Shad: Pitch? Lark? Are you about?
[ExileIC] Wildlark: Yes
[ExileIC] Shad: Would you be interested in meeting?
[ExileIC] Wildlark: Yes, where did you want to meet?
[ExileIC] Shad: Either the Pig or out by Olivia's Pond. The Pond is quieter.
[ExileIC] Wildlark: Pond sounds good, we'll be right there

Pitchblàck says: Found you!

Shad smiles. "Good job."

Shad says: How are you both doing?

Pitchblàck says: Our house has a porch!

Wildlark snerks at Pitch.

Shad grins at Pitchblàck wickedly.

Wildlark says: We're both fine

Shad says: Some of you seem to be in particularly good moods.

Pitchblàck says: This is fairly typical for me

Shad grins.

Wildlark says: It is

Shad says: Well, hopefully this will only make things better.

Pitchblàck 's ear twitches as Wynd gnaws on his tail.

Wildlark says: You found something?

Shad says: More precisely, I found absolutely nothing.

Wildlark pulls a toy from her pocket and tosses it.

Shad says: Which is, in its way, something.

Wildlark raises an eyebrow. "Something good?"

Shad says: In this case, yes. The female reproductive cycle depends on a certain cycle of chemicals the body produces. At present, your body is not currently producing one of them, so your cycle has simply...gone dormant.

Wildlark blinks.

Shad says: It is not altogether uncommon amongst kal'dorei.

Wildlark says: ... makes sense, I guess. Can you fix it?

Shad nods.

Shad says: The question is how you wish to go about it.

Pitchblàck looks curious. "Is it something you can just... magic up?"

Shad shakes his head. "Not I. There are...three options. One is, I give you herbs to take. You can take them in tea or simply eat them. In six to nine months, you should begin to have cycles again."

Wildlark nods.

Shad says: Another route is, you obtain a few items of potent healing power from certain locations in Outland, and I can treat it magically over the course of four to six weeks.

Wildlark blinks, looking extremely curious. "What items?"

Pitchblàck pricks his ears.

Shad says: I have a list here. I would need...either the Totem of Spontaneous Growth or Quagmirran's Eye. Both of those would be found in the Slave Pens.

Shad says: In Underbog, you could find either the Alembic of Infernal Power --do not be disturbed by the name--or the Stormshield of Renewal.

Wildlark nods again.

Shad says: And then...in the Botanica. Either Prismatic Mittens of Mending or the Warp Splinter's Thorn.

Shad says: But, if you wanted instantaneous and absolutely certain results, there is still one more option.

Wildlark cocks her head.

Shad says: You would need to travel into Ulduar and touch an Eonar's Gift.

Wildlark blinks. "And that's it? That's all it would take?"

Shad nods. "They are extremely powerful healing plants. The problem would be getting to them and not, ah...being smashed by Freya, if she is unwell."

Wildlark says: True

Pitchblàck does not look happy about the smashing bit.

Pitchblàck says: If you do that, I'm coming with you

Shad says: But yes. You could start trying immediately then, though no guarantees you would become pregnant immediately.

Shad grins. "And I would recommend going home first, naturally."

Wildlark says: Babe, I wouldn't make you stay behind

Shad says: You would probably need several helpers. Something we could likely cast about for.

Pitchblàck looks mollified.

Wildlark nods. The wheels in her head are obviously spinning.

Shad says: I would leave the choice to you. If you like, I can give you a two week's supply of the herbs to use while you decide. No reason not to get started on them.

Wildlark nods again.

Shad reaches into his bag for a few small pouches and offers them over. "Crush all three herbs together."

Wildlark takes them with a brief smile. "Thanks."

Shad smiles.

Shad says: Do you have any questions?

Wildlark says: This will fix it, right? Any of those three?

Shad nods. "Yes."

Wildlark says: I mean, permanently?

Shad says: Well, it is possible your body might sink into dormancy again if you had a long period of sexual inactivity.

Wildlark gives a crooked grin. "Not too much worry there."

Shad smiles. "I did not think so."

Pitchblàck clears his throat, turning a shade or two darker under his fur.

Wildlark grins again, reaching over to ruffle Pitch's ears.

Shad chuckles softly.

Wildlark says: We'll talk this over, and I'll get back to you once we've decided what to do

Shad nods.

Pitchblàck nods.

Shad says: Very well.

Shad says: And do let me know if you have any questions in the meanwhile.

Shad brushes his pants off.

Wildlark says: Of course

Shad says: Oh...and where -is- this house with a porch?

Wildlark grins. "Little place right next to the enchanter's shop."

Shad says: New lodgings?

Wildlark nods.

Shad says: Congratulations.

Shad grins. "Solid lodgings are the first step toward becoming a parent, you know."

Wildlark says: I had been staying in the University dorms. Arrens wouldn't have kicked me out, but I prefer not to impose

Shad nods.

Wildlark grins back. "It even has a spare bedroom."

Shad says: -Perfect-.

Shad says: All right. Do have a good evening, both of you.

Pitchblàck says: You too!

Shad bows down graciously.

Wildlark says: Goodnight Shad, and thanks

Molten Front Update- Lark

2011-07-15T11:55:00.001-04:00

Lark has been doing her dailies pretty faithfully, even when the others haven't gotten around to them. So naturally, she was the first one to get past the beginning area in the Firelands. I decided to unlock the Druids of the Talon first, mostly because I fail at rock-hopping. >.>

Their dailies are pretty fun, and easy enough. She was lucky enough to finish off a couple more achievements, then when I was wrapping up I had a surprise NPC_Scan alert.

Karkin had just spawned. I decided to go look at him, even though I wanted him more on Booggah. I didn't log over mostly because Boo was nowhere near his spawnpoint, and I figured that by the time I'd gotten him there, someone would have tamed the crab. So Lark went to get a peek at him, and while she did I started thinking...

And then I noticed the blood elf hunter behind me emoting at me.

She not only let me tame him uninterrupted, but she even silenced him for me! (His "special" attack stuns and does heavy damage, possibly one-shots you, so interrupting it is a must.) So after a few seconds, Lark had herself a crab.

Next he needed a name. It took me a good while, but one finally came to me.

If you were wondering, yes that is Pitch in the background.

He went to Tol Barad with her to do those dailies (which got Lark honored with her guild), and while I'm not as smitten as I was with Oen, I think he's gonna be a keeper. And I don't feel too badly for Boo- he'll respawn again, and then Boo can have his turn.

It's kinda funny that I mention all the grief these rares are causing, and then a couple days later this happens. It's almost enough to hope that maybe I was wrong, and there are still more good people than bad out there. :)

A Ding, and a Decision

2011-07-13T23:09:00.002-04:00

Firstly the ding! Rillian has joined the Level 85 Club as of this afternoon, and the rest of the day was spent running around trying to get his gear up to where he could actually queue for the 85 dungeons. >.> Leveling mostly through gathering and archaeology doesn't make for easy gearing, just fyi.

He did get to do the Thrall questline, although he has a lot of questing to do in Hyjal before he can get to the Firelands. All I really want to get there is the ring from the first vendor, so it's not a huge deal, and once he has that he likely won't do another daily again.

With the cloak from the quest and a couple 85 pieces (including an epic dagger, compliments of Lark and a lucky greed roll) he now has the ilvl to get into the normals. Heroics will be another matter, but he'll get there. Sis's hunter Kel is also going to make him some stuff to help out (so long as she doesn't misspell his name and send it to the wrong person *cough*again*cough* >.>).

Now the decision. This isn't really a huge deal, but I think I'm calling off my spirit beast hunt for the time being. Biggest reason is simply this- patch 4.2 seems to have brought out the worst in people, as far as hunters competing against each other, tame-stealing, pet-killing, etc. Not to mention all the non-hunters that will kill a mob just to spite the hunter, for no apparent reason at all. This isn't even counting the people that will kill a rare thinking that it'll drop some fancy blue or epic (which they WON'T, people, so get the BC/Wrath thinking out of your head!). If you don't understand what I'm saying, just hop over to the Petopia forums and start reading the stories posted there.

(As an aside, I am SO glad I don't want Deth'tilac- eww spiders- because he seems to be the most-griefed pet out of all of them. Ugh.)

I've tried camping for Ban'thalos a couple times. I've seen him spawn once, a few days after the patch, and didn't even have a chance to try taming for all the other hunters that swarmed him. I'm glad he was tamed and not killed by accident, but he's hard enough that you can't just sit back and mash "tame", and when you're competing against 2-6 others that want him too, if you screw up one chance you won't get another. And after camping in a tree for 6+ hours and not seeing so much as a feather, I'm about to give up hope of even seeing him in the wild again.

Not to mention that when I'm not camping, I wind up thinking nonstop, "But what if he pops and I'm not there?" That's what finally did it. If I'm online, I want to be having fun and/or doing something productive, not sitting in a tree bored out of my mind, but afraid to do anything else for fear of missing my tame. And when I have other hunters all come over to camp the same place, even logging in right on top of me- well, I'm not holding out hope of me beating out every one of them. And if one of them happens to be a *fillintheblank* and deliberately messes up my tame so s/he can steal it.... No thanks.

I'm not happy with the decision. I still want my spirit-owl, almost as much as I wanted to tame Loque'nahak. But I don't want to go through who-knows-how-much struggle to get him.

Finding and taming Loque is still one of my high points in the game. I want my Ban'thalos tame to be just as wonderful. And I have the feeling that right now, it won't be.

I'm not giving up permanently. I'll get back and try camping for him again, and Magria too. But it won't be before the craze has died down. If I have to wait a year or so... well, I had to do it before, and I can manage again. It's only a matter of time.

Dang but this feels good...

2011-07-07T01:15:00.003-04:00

Remember when I said that Nef was still defying us, but we'd get him down? Well, see for yourself!

We had a lot of trouble at first with the first phase and add control and positioning, but eventually everything came together, and he went down pretty easy. No hunter loot, but Lark got a pretty achievement. :D

After Neffy we went back to a fresh Bastion of Twilight, and proceeded to one-shot everything, including Cho'gall. I forgot to take a screenshot last time, so got one this time. Also, Halfus gave Lark a very nice present!

I happened to glance at Recount after the fight and got another nice surprise. She was Marksmanship for the fight, but still.

Her new owl finally got a name. Thanks Domin!

I'm pronouncing it "Owen." He got to come along and help with the trash, though I pulled out Quiloe or Trev for the boss fights.

We went on to Throne of the Four Winds, and got the Conclave down on our second try. Lark got a new belt with some decent stats, so she is now fully epic-geared. She almost has enough JP for her second piece of t11, and we're going back to Firelands tomorrow night to try some bosses.

That's about all I can think of. Planning on camping for Ban'thalos until I get tired and go to bed (or until he spawns >.>), though not sure how long that'll be. Hopefully I'll get lucky and Lark will have a shiny new pet to take to the raid tomorrow. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

I don't know how this happens

2011-07-05T18:25:00.007-04:00

I tamed this guy on a whim, because I liked the white owls around Avianna's shrine. He went immediately into the stables, so Lark could go on and camp for Ban'thalos as I originally intended. Banny was being a brat and never popped for the 6 or so hours Lark sat there, so I finally gave it up and went to do dailies. I remembered this guy and pulled him back out of the stable, just to get a feel for him and see if he was a keeper.

Long story short, I'm in love with him. Go figure.

He really is a pretty boy- he's got brown markings on his head and wings that aren't really noticeable until you look close. And he was grabbing and holding aggro like a champ, even with Lark and Pitch both whaling on the mob. And I've always liked owls anyway- that's one of the reasons I'm camping Ban'thalos, so I'd have an owl that's also a ferocity pet. Lark will keep looking for Banny, but until she gets him this guy will keep her pretty happy.

...he really needs a name, though.

The new 4.2 dailies are pretty fun, although I sometimes feel a bit guilty about punting the poor turtles. They have shells, I know, but still! All my guys are a bit behind the majority as far as marks go, since I think I've managed to skip a day or two's dailies on all 4 toons at some point, but I'm not in a terrible rush, so I'm fine with it. I do kinda wish the rest would all get farther into the Firelands, just so I'd have less competition when I'm pet-camping. >.>

Lark's raid group did manage to kill Cho'gall after the patch (yay nerfs? :P) We tried out Firelands, but weren't able to do any major progress on the bosses, so we just killed trash. We had some epics drop and most of us got to friendly with the Avengers of Hyjal, so it was still fairly profitable. We'll be heading back in later this week, after smashing some more BoT/BWD. Nef was still a bit beyond us last time, but we'll get him yet.

Pitch is doing pretty well, though he doesn't have a raid of his own yet. Honestly, I don't know if I'll be raiding on more than 1 toon at a time, so until I get bored with Lark or her raid calls it quits, he'll probably just sit out. He did have enough Justice points after the patch to pick up 2 pieces of his tier 11, which I gemmed and enchanted for tanking, so I finally feel like I can tank reasonably well with him. Still would like more tank-specific pieces, but unless I want to re-work his current kitty gear... well, yea. Ahune did decide to be nice and give him a frostling, and now he's up to 113 pets!

Can't think of much else. Rill is up to 84 now, so he might yet be my next to cap. I've been wanting to level Taurros too, so after Rill I may be back on Horde-side. I'm still debating seeing if I can improve Turron's tanking gear and instancing him the rest of the way (he's still 83), but haven't made up my mind yet. And honestly, I've been focusing so much on my main characters that I haven't been doing much alting lately. The other games I play have been a bit neglected as well, although I did briefly get back to Rift. For now, at least, I think my high-levels will be getting the most attention, although we'll see how long that lasts.

So that's about it. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

First Firelands Tame...

2011-06-30T11:13:00.006-04:00

.... what?

This little guy started an entire thread on the Petopia PTR forums. I read through it, laughed, and then went on my way. Until today, when Booggah unlocked the Molten Front, and I went to go exploring....

Boo did get killed by the fire heading up there, but eh, learning experience. He had no trouble finding Dante, although (thankfully) there was no sign of Kirix. I sat and stared at him for a few minutes, then... heck, I did have an extra slot in case Boo ran into Magria. So, when Booggah left the Firelands, Dante did too.

As soon as I tamed him and was posing for the screenshot, he started waving his claws around, like he was excited about going on some new adventures. XD

I'm sad about stabling Runya for now, but he doesn't seem to mind the break, and Boo still needs an open slot for his blue spirit-kitty. And having NPC_Scan go off every time I cleared my cache and then logged on Boo was getting a little tiring. >.>

Dante is proving himself as a good little tank already, and I'm falling for him fast. Boo doesn't need to worry about stable slots (since there isn't very many that I want him to tame), so it looks like he's got a permanent home. *hugs Dante*

And now, how about a couple more screenshots?

*Ahem* Almost forgot something else. Last Tuesday's RP night saw another change- not such a big one as some have been, since she's nearly been an honorary Rider for a while now, but still...

Lark has joined Pitch in the Riders. :D:D:D

Ahem

2011-06-28T23:35:00.001-04:00

Spent all Monday on Booggah, which I'd been meaning to do for the past... week or so? Poor neglected dude. But anyway! He finally got his attention, with the following results...

DARGONS YEY!

Uh, I think we'll pass. Thanks anyway.

/happysigh
/bask

4 toons at cap now. Rill is nearly 84 too, but I don't know if he'll be my next to finish. Quae has been fun, and I've been thinking of tweaking Turron's tank gear and running through some dungeons. And I still have Alanon and Barraccus waiting.....

/sigh

....

/bask

(Firelands post to come, after I've run a few more toons through the prequests.)

Couple things...

2011-06-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

First thing... hurray! Quae has finally joined the 80+ club, and has merrily mind-flayed her way across Hyjal to 3/4 of the way to 81. Guild xp perk + heirloom cloak is awesomesauce.

Once I'm finished with Booggah I may just go ahead and try leveling her next. Then she'll be a higher level than Barraccus, which will be funny. Yes, it will, trust me.

Speaking of Booggah, he's 84 and working his way toward that last goal. He'll still need a bit of gear before he's really ready to hit Firelands and find his rare(s), but hopefully it won't take long.

Oh yea, and Ice says hi.
I love this cat so much. Samurai has been taking a well-deserved break- she's still in one of his active slots (and will never leave) but Ice here and his fire turtle Runya have been the only pets Boo's used since they were both tamed. I really ought to take more screenies of Runya, I just love him so much.

And yes, I've heard about the normal Terropene-skinned mobs that will be in the Firelands. Know what? I don't care. Boo's turtle isn't Terropene anymore, he's Runya, and I don't give a hoot whether he's a common skin or a "mine's-better-than-yours" rare skin. I will always remember how hard I had to camp to get him, and that's enough for me. Heck, if I get a fire turtle on any other toons, it probably will be a common one, simply because of how hard it was to get Terropene.

Still playing on LOTRO whenever I can pull myself away from WoW. Basten is up to 18, I've leveled a couple other toons, and I'm getting into the routine of the Saturday-night RP nights for Basten. Last one was especially fun, as we all went out fishing! Basten brought home a string of trophy fish for my characters' house. :D

I finished another horse picture, which I worked on longer than any of them yet. This is another scene from my story, which I am finally writing down for reals! Amadar again, who is teaching me just how hard it can be to do good shadows on a white horse. Also- dapples, urgh.

Supposedly the Firelands patch is coming this next Tuesday, I'm still hoping Boo will be 85 before then. Lark is as ready as she'll ever be, I think, and with the justice points she's saved up I'm hoping she'll be able to get some of her tier gear. Her raid group is still working on Cho'gall, but tonight we got him to 9% on our last attempt, so next week we will get him down! (Even if it's because he'll be nerfed. >.>) We might start a second raid night at first, just so people can finish getting their tier 11 and be ready for the Firelands raid, then we'll be going back to 1 night a week, which is fine by me.

Whew! Now I need sleep and stuffs, so til next time Happy Hunting!

This is what happens when I raid...

2011-06-09T22:26:00.003-04:00

Before you start thinking horrible things about me, I only took about 3 seconds for the screenshot, so I wasn't exactly wasting dps time. And we pretty much have eveyrything up to Chimaeron (maybe him too, I dunno) on farm, so it's not like I needed to be paying attention....

So yea, this is what might happen when I get bored during a raid. I am seriously loving Lark's new(ish) Marksman offspec. With her current gear, she's pulling 15k dps easy. ^_^

And now our mid-raid break is over and I have to get back to it... *flees*

We interrupt this... wait, nevermind

2011-06-04T23:04:00.005-04:00

So yea, silence again. It's kinda funny (in a sad way >.<) seeing how the number of posts has dropped off from when I first started the blog, but I guess that's to be expected, right? But anyway, I thought I'd do an update, just so folks know what's up.

First off, I'm not doing much in-game except raiding. I've been tinkering with alts, but can't stay focused on one for very long, blah. Rheugan did hit 71 yesterday, at least, and Turron and Rillian are both 83. So is Booggah, and I think tm that I'm going to level him next. Mostly because I just discovered this.

Ahnka is nice, but that's not what Boo will be after when 4.2 comes along. Nope, he'll be hunting for Magria. Blue spirit kitty? DO WANT!

So, anyway. Raiding. Lark's raid group took down all the bosses but Nef in Blackwing Descent again, same as last week. This week, however, we went to Bastion of Twilight first to work on Ascendant Council. After a LOT of this

....We did eventually get them down! So now we've killed every boss in those 2 raids except for the end ones. We haven't worked up the nerve to try Nef yet, but we extended the lockout on BoT again, and next week will see our first attempts at Cho'gall.

Lark has been doing a bunch of other stuff as well. First off, she's all ready when BabyWynd grows up...

She actually got this awhile ago, I just haven't mentioned it before. >.>

Another belated announcement is this guy, who she found after a few days of off-and-on camping.

He spawned right in front of her, and she got him before the worgen that was also there waiting. Poor guy, I felt sorry for him, heh. He was very polite, however, and didn't even try to interrupt the tame. Hopefully he's gotten his own gummibear by now.

Beyond that, tinkering with the afore-mentioned alts, and building my gold reserves slowly but surely, I haven't been doing very much. Work is kicking my tail a bit in that I've been really tired lately, and naptimes interfere with gametime a bit.

I've also rediscovered my love for LOTRO...

This is my newest guy, Basten the burglar. My first attempt at a burglar kinda died out, since I never felt like playing her, but Basten has been a lot more engaging, and more fun to play. Plus he's been spoiled rotten so far by my higher-levels, as the horse might indicate.

I also finished another picture. Have another Vardigen.

This is actually a scene from my story. XD Karee's first sight of him, in fact. I really need to write it out soon.

So that's about it. I have more writing planned, and hopefully I'll actually finish something soon. Basten needs a post of his own, but that will likely go on my non-WoW blog. Pitch is getting geared up, more or less, and he's almost ready for the troll dungeons. He's also up to 102 mini-pets now!

Can't think of anything else, so til next time Happy Hunting!

Playtime

2011-05-26T22:12:00.003-04:00

And now for something happier!

________________

Lark held up her creation. "What do you think?"

Pitch eyed it doubtfully. "A feathered leather ball? What does it do?"

Lark just grinned, then looked down at Wynd. The little wintersaber cub was sitting at her feet, watching expectantly. Lark hefted the ball, then threw it, and Wynd leaped after it, pouncing on the toy with a growl before bringing it back. There was a brief tug-of-war before he relinquished the ball to Lark, but he let it go without too much difficulty.

Lark grinned at Pitch triumphantly as Wynd sat back down at her feet, ready for another throw. Pitch grunted in amusement. "Seems to have met his approval. Clever." Lark passed him the ball, and he looked it over before tossing it for the cub. "He sure seems to-"

Pitch broke off whatever he was saying as a big shape suddenly charged in from the side. The two Kal'dorei gaped as Tuah went rushing past them. Wynd squealed and dashed out of the way as the big tiger pounced on the toy. He settled on the ground with the ball between his forepaws, sniffing it over curiously.

Pitch glanced at Lark with one eyebrow raised. "Does he do that often?"

Lark just laughed. "You're supposed to bring that back, silly!" she called to the tiger. Tuah twitched one ear in her direction and chuffed, then stood up and trotted toward them, the ball almost hidden in his jaws.

Wynd, watching the huge cat warily, suddenly realized that Tuah had his toy. With a squeaky growl he jumped at the tiger, smacking into the side of his head. Tuah stopped in his tracks, rolling onto his side with a groan. Wynd immediately began chewing on the closest ear, until he noticed that Tuah had dropped the ball. He gave up the ear to pounce onto the ball, then proceeded to prance around the bigger cat, holding his prize high. Tuah just lay where he fell, watching him.

Pitch looked over at Lark, keeping a straight face with an obvious effort. "They're your cats, you know," he told her. Lark dissolved into helpless giggles. Pitch just watched her, until Wynd came over and dropped the ball on her face. Then his composure cracked, and he fell over on top of her, laughing his head off.

Wynd watched his people curiously, cocking his head to one side. Then he trotted back to Tuah and curled up at the tiger's side, chewing contentedly at his toy.

______________

And side note- my raid group took down 7 bosses tonight! Magmaw, Omnitron, and Maloriak were all one-shots, while Atramedes took 2. Chimaeron gave us some trouble, but we got him in the end. And then we proceeded to Bastion of Twilight and one-shot both Halfus and the Dargon Twins. We had a few good attempts at the Ascendant Council, but they are continuing to defy us. We're gonna extend our raid lockout on them, so next week after we beat down BWD (again, muahaha), we can go straight back to the Council.

And now I have to sleep before I pass out on my keyboard. Happy Hunting!

Pitch: Lost

2011-05-25T20:27:00.004-04:00

I really don't know where this came from.Well, okay, maybe I do, but it's a long story. *Deep breath*

I never really intended for Lark and Pitch to be anything other than just friends. Just goes to show how little control I really have over my characters, right? The main thing is actually Pitch. He simply never does anything by halves- he'd rather go all the way. This wasn't a problem when he was chasing after Skyborne, but when Sky kind of took herself out of the picture, there was only Pitch and Lark left.

Really, I should have known it was coming.

Lark loves Pitch, really, but she's already lost so many people she's loved that it's become old stuff for her. If Pitch dies, she'll mourn for him (and hard), but then she will simply pick up what's left and get on with her life. But then I started thinking.... what if the opposite happens?

Lark is Pitch's first love. Oh, he's had a mate before (long story that I have no intention of writing, sorry), but that relationship didn't have much to do with love. With Lark, though, every now and then he will surprise me with how deep his feelings really are. She is his mate, his partner, and his love. He gives her everything he's got.

More simply, he's not going by halves.

So if anything ever happened to Lark, I really wasn't sure what he'd do. Go crazy? Go feral? Or maybe just deal with it and move on, like Lark herself would do. I apparently was in a morbid mood today (let's kill off one of my main characters and see what the other one does, muahaha- kidding), and I did eventually finish the whole story.

Which was fairly awesome, because I've been in such a slump lately. >_<

So what would Pitch do if Lark died? Read on and find out.

***Disclaimer***

I AM NOT KILLING OFF ANY OF MY TOONS.

So don't worry about that. This is strictly a "what-if".

That being said, I will warn you that I had to make myself stop thinking about it a few times, because I was about ready to break down bawling in the middle of the aisle at work. You might want to grab a kleenex.
__________________

It was a beautiful day. The air was rain-washed and clean, the worst of the storm having passed. A few threatening-looking clouds still hung in the sky, but above them the sky was clear and blue. Pitch circled around Lark's gryphon, then did a few flips. He followed them up with an attempt at a backwards flip, but wound up having to catch himself after nearly falling out of the air. Lark laughed at him from her gryphon's saddle, and he laughed with her, unable to be angry or upset on such a perfect day.

The wind picked up, scudding a few of the clouds across the sky. Lark's grin dropped. "Maybe we should head back," she said doubtfully. Pitch did a bird-shrug. "Race you," he offered, then took off, his wings sweeping him along furiously. He barely heard her indignant "Hey!" as she sent her mount after him. Grinning to himself, he looked back over his shoulder.

The lightning came out of nowhere, the accompanying thunder crashing around them. For one brief, horrible instant Lark and her mount were lit up like a Winter Veil tree. Then, as Pitch watched, frozen with shock, they plummeted out of the sky. One of Lark's hands lifted as she fell, as if she were reaching for him. Her expression had no fear or pain, only a terrible surprise. Pitch abruptly found both his voice and his will to move. "No! LARK!!" he screamed, then folded his wings and dove after them.

It took him a couple minutes to find where they landed. Finally he spotted the gold-and-white mound of blowing feathers and fur and came winging over to the fallen gryphon. Lark lay near her mount. Pitch unshifted a few feet short of the ground and fell, scrambling to her side once he hit the ground. She lay motionless, the surprised expression still frozen on her face. "Lark," he whispered in disbelief, gently touching her shoulder. Then, as the full realization of what had happened dawned on him, he grabbed her and shook her, hard. "Lark, no!" There was no response. Feeling like the world had suddenly decided to crush him like a bug, Pitch gently cradled her head in both hands, then bent over her body and began sobbing.

Hours later, dry as the desert and worn as an old rag, he changed to cat and curled himself around her. As night fell and the rain started again, gentler this time, his mind mercifully fled down into darkness.

* * * * * *

She came to him in the darkness, smiling, but with a touch of sadness. He couldn't think of why she should be sad. Before he could say a word, she was kneeling at his side. "I'm so sorry, Pitch," she said softly. "I was so sure you would be the first one taken. I never wanted to leave you alone."

He reached up to touch her face. "Alone?" he asked, slightly confused. Some part of his mind was trying to tell him that this was all wrong, that she wasn't really here, but he refused to listen. "But-"

"Pitch," she interrupted gently. "I want you to promise me something, babe." She waited for his nod before continuing. "Promise me you'll go on. Don't let yourself pine away just because of me."

He blinked at her. "Lark, I-"

She interrupted him again, this time with a finger on his lips. "We're here, and we're alone," she said softly. "Let's enjoy this night together, hey?" She kissed him then, and he let himself forget everything else. There was only her.

* * * * * *

Waking was a cruelty beyond imagining.

Pitch sat and stared at his dead mate, the morning breeze ruffling his muddy fur. His mind and body felt numb. He couldn't make himself think beyond each particular moment. He didn't want to live without her.

Finally he stood and began walking. After a few dozen steps the walk turned into a run. He didn't look back.

* * * * * *

Alanon knelt next to Lark's body, closing her eyes as he offered a brief prayer to Elune. He scanned the ground, finally spotting the tracks of a large cat heading off into the distance. He sighed, suddenly feeling every one of his ten-thousand-something years.

The air shimmered in front of him, and suddenly Komah was standing there. Alanon blinked in surprise. The spirit-cat was several times larger now, his eyes and markings glowing fiercely. The druid suddenly understood what was happening and bowed his head to the loa-creature.

He heard a faint chuckle in his mind. None of that, please. Alanon raised his head to look the cat in the eyes. "So this is it, then," he stated, rather than asked.

Komah nodded. She was good to me, and I'll remember her always, but my mate's debt is paid and my time with her is now over, he said simply.

Alanon quirked an eyebrow. "That's it? No grief, no tears?"

The cat gave him a look of mild reproach. I am not a person. We don't do things the same as you. I will mourn her in my own way. Do not think to judge me, druid.

Alanon bowed his head again in apology. Then he looked up, a new thought crossing his mind. "And Pitch? Do you know where he's gone?"

The loa blinked at him slowly. Finally, He said he was going home. With that, Komah turned away from the druid and faded away.

Alanon sat where he was for a little longer. Then he levered himself to his feet and changed to a bird, heading back towards Stormwind. The rest needed to hear what had happened before he set off after Pitch.

* * * * * *

His sisters and Windstar took the news about how he had expected. Shaurria, of course, was the hardest hit. She dissolved into sniffles, sitting back a little away from the group. Loren was no better. The young druid simply sat in shock, eyes wide but unseeing. Windstar and Jahira sat on either side of him, trying to provide reassurance.

Kel was the first to speak. "Now what do we do?" she asked her brother.

Alanon sighed. "I have to go after him, there's no question of that. But I have to go alone." He looked at the others firmly. "We have no idea what he's feeling like right now, and I want to take no chances."

The others agreed, Kel grudgingly, and he turned to go. He hadn't gone far when he became aware of Shaur dogging his heels. He looked at her sternly and opened his mouth, but she gave him a look of mute appeal, and what he had intended to say died in his throat. He turned and went on, permitting her to follow.

* * * * * *

Ashenvale was much changed from its "glory days," as the humans liked to call it, but it was still home. Alanon kept his hope buried deep as they approached the weathered house. Pitch may have moved on by now, or he could be in no shape for them to be safe around him, but he was Alanon's brother. He had to try to do something.

There was no sign of the druid around the house, and Alanon felt his heart sinking when he finally spotted a dark shape at the edge of the clearing. Pitch was sitting still and silent, his tail curled around his feet, looking out into the trees. Shaur gave a wordless cry and launched herself at him before Alanon could stop her, but all Pitch did was turn to nuzzle her as she threw her arms around him. Alanon approached more slowly.

"Shaur," he said quietly. "I know how you feel, but I need to have a word with him, okay? In private." The little druid nodded as she wiped her face, then turned cat and trotted back to the house. Alanon sat down next to Pitch.

Pitch spoke up softly before Alanon could say a word. "I see her in my dreams. I can still feel her next to me." He turned to look at him briefly before returning his attention to the forest. "How do you deal with it?"

Alanon was glad that he still spoke clearly, and he at least sounded sane. He answered slowly. "You remember the good parts. The bad parts will come as well, but they will stop eventually. And then... the good parts won't hurt as much, and you'll know you're on the way to healing."

Pitch took a deep, shuddering breath. "Do me a favor, brother," he said softly. "Take care of Loren for me. And don't come looking for me, or let anyone else try. If I'm able, I will come find you."

Alanon didn't like the sound of what he was saying. "If you're able? Pitch..."

Pitch turned to look at him again, and Alanon felt his heart fall at the sight. Pitch's eyes were empty of everything but pain, balancing barely on this side of madness. Then Alanon saw something else, and his blood turned cold. Something else looked at him through Pitch's eyes, something feral and wild. He realized that Pitch had released the cat.

"Pitch, no," he whispered. "Don't do this."

Whatever sanity was left in Pitch's eyes was slipping away, even as he watched. "I don't really care, Alanon," he replied. "I don't want to live anymore, not without her. Maybe with time that will change, but for now this is the only way."

"Pitch, please," Alanon said desperately. "You know what they'll do if they-"

Pitch stood up abruptly, cutting off the rest of the sentence. "Goodbye, Alanon," he said. "Gods willing, I will see you again someday." He started trotting, heading into the deep woods.

Alanon watched him go. "Goodbye, little brother," he whispered, although he was no longer sure if it was his brother he was speaking to. "Elune guide your path." He felt Shaurria come up to stand beside him, and they both watched the big black cat as he disappeared into the trees.

Shaurria broke the silence. "Should we go after him?"

Alanon was silent for a long minute. Finally he shook his head. "We can't help him, little one," he told her. "He needs to do this himself." He put one arm around her and started guiding her back to the house. "Come, let's go home."

* * * * * *

The cat was free- really, truly free- for the first time in its existence. It hunted when it was hungry, slept or wandered when it was not. It guarded the territory it had staked out, driving out the rival predators it found. Sometimes, rarely, it remembered the elf it had once been. But the elf had been hurt badly, and had gone into hiding to wait for healing. He rarely bothered the cat, so it was able to do as it wished.

Everything was not perfect, of course. On occasion invaders came to the cat's realm, sometimes stopping to hunt and sometimes simply passing straight through. Not animals, though- people. The cat would watch them, angry at the intrusion. It wanted to attack them, to drive them off or kill them, but something held it back each time, so it only watched until they left.

And sometimes the cat had dreams of another elf, a female with a pretty face and laughing eyes. But the dreams were... painful, so the cat shied away from them.

Someday, maybe, the dreams wouldn't hurt so much, and then things would change. The elf might return, and then they would go back. But such things were beyond the cat's comprehension, so overall, it was fairly happy. It hunted, and slept, and wandered, throughout the Ashenvale forest.

_______________

For anyone wondering, Loren is Pitch and Lark's son. Yes, I know she's supposed to be barren, but there is actually some RP starting soon (I hope) that may change that. So since this would be in the unspecified future anyway, I figured that it would have worked. Hence Loren.

And naturally he would be a druid. His father and half his aunts/uncles are all druids, so why not?

Another Marker Reached

2011-05-18T18:17:00.003-04:00

When Rheugan hit level 68, I randomly decided that I wanted an actual set of druid armor for him, for RP. The "easiest" one to get is the level 70 PVPish set from the rep vendors (remember these?), however! Rheugan was only friendly with Honor Hold and Cenarion Expedition, and hadn't even touched the others yet. So.... Pitch ran him through a bunch of dungeons.

Rheugan now has 3 pieces, and is honored with HH, CE, and Keepers of Time. Shattrath and Lower City will be getting their turns once I track down some dungeon quests and have a day off work. Tomorrow is looking pretty likely.

All the instancing had a bonus side effect- by the time Pitch and Rheu were done with Keepers, he was only a few bars away from 70! So I queued him for a random, did his cooking/fishing dailies, and then got into an Utgarde Keep group. The run went smoothly, with a group that actually chatted and joked around during the run, and a couple pulls before Ingvar, Rheu finally dinged.

He'd already been saving his money, plus I sent him some from my other toons, so, almost as soon as he got to Stormwind....

Wheeeee, speedy birdy! Also, I hadn't noticed until now that the worgen flight form has little wolf ears. XD

And now I feel bad for Davoss, because I want to go ahead and finish Rheu up before returning to my pally-tank. He won't be my next toon to 85 (I have a couple others I'm playing with sporadically that are a lot closer), but he'll get there pretty quick at this rate.

I might actually get some writing done soon, if he doesn't decide to shut me out again. I think the key to writing about Rheugan isn't me trying to talk to him, but getting one of my other toons to do it instead. Crazy worgen. :)

Dear Pitch and Lark...

2011-05-15T15:52:00.003-04:00

Go find a room. Seriously, get out of my head. Shoo. *waves broom*

On a slightly more serious note, have some new artwork. Possible NSFW warning, because while the important bits are covered up/hidden, it is a couple of nekkid night elves after all.

(Clicky for bigger.)

Tuah

2011-05-12T14:33:00.002-04:00

Shaurria was bored and lonely. Lark could sympathize, since everyone the youngster normally spent time with was gone- Pitch and Rheugan had left for Nagrand that morning, and Alanon was back in Hyjal. But after nearly tripping over the little druid for the third time, Lark had had enough. "Alright," she addressed the druid, and Shaur sat down to look at her alertly. "Do you want to go do something, anywhere? I'm not getting much done like this, and I've got some time off due anyway."

Shauria's forehead crinkled in thought, then she unshifted and looked up. "Uldum?" she asked tentatively. "Pitch took me there once and I liked it. But I haven't gotten t' go back since."

Lark nodded. "Uldum it is. Just let me tell Kal and get Wynd."

Kal didn't even look up when Lark popped her head in to say she was leaving, she just waved one hand distractedly. With that taken care of, Lark headed out to fetch her gryphon. In no time they were through the Earthen Ring's portal and flapping their way out into the desert.

Lark let Shaurria lead the way, and the little druid headed down the river toward the Delta. She finally flapped down to a landing just outside the Tol'vir city there, shifting to a cat as she did, and started playing in the water at the river's edge. Lark settled Wynd, then came over to sit a little ways away, outside of splashing range. Shaurria was apparently in a kittenish mood, and amused herself for a good while pouncing through the rushes after frogs and snakes. Lark had just started to doze off when the druid-cat suddenly went still, head up and ears pricked, looking over to the far bank.

Lark noticed and roused herself. "What is it, kitten?" she called, but Shaur only twitched one ear in her direction. Then abruptly she was bounding into the water, in the direction she had been facing.

Lark cursed to herself and hurried after her, whistling for Wynd. The gryphon came running, pausing just long enough for Lark to throw herself in the saddle before hopping into the air, to cross the river in an easy glide. Lark slid off her mount and waited, arms crossed, while Shaur reached the bank and pulled herself out, panting. "All right, little one," she said shortly. "What was that about?"

Shaurria unshifted to look at her incredulously. "Y'mean ya couldn't hear it?" she asked. Lark blinked at her. "Hear what?" She was answered, not by Shaur, but by a low chuffing moan from nearby. Shaur's eyes widened, and in a blink she had shifted again to go after the noise. Lark stopped her with a hand held in front of her nose. "Not so fast," she told the druid firmly. "We'll check it out together."

The two Night elves headed up the bank cautiously, into the brush surrounding the city walls. Lark kept one worried eye on the city itself- if anything came out after them, they were in a world of trouble. Everything seemed quiet, however, except for whatever animal was making those noises.

Lark smelled the blood just as Shaurria came to a stop, ears pricked and nose twitching. She unshifted again to point at a bush. "S'in there," she whispered, and Lark peered in. "I don't.." she started to say, then stopped as she realized that the splash of orange she could make out wasn't a plant- it was the biggest tiger she had ever seen. Lark grabbed for Shaur's arm, ready to beat it out of there, when she saw the cat's near hind leg. She stopped and stared, realizing that the tiger wasn't a danger after all.

It looked rather like the tiger's leg just above the hock had been pushed through a meat grinder. The grass it was lying on was stained with blood, and Lark could see flecks of shattered bone poking out of the meat. The tiger lay quietly, eyes almost shut, every now and again giving another of those rasping moans.

Shaurria pulled Lark out of her shock by tugging on her arm. "We have t' help him," she said softly. Lark swallowed and nodded, then carefully approached the tiger. Its eyes opened, glowing a strange purple color, but it simply watched her, eyes dull with pain. Lark crept up to within touching range, took a deep breath, and placed one hand on the cat's haunch.

The skin under her hand twitched, but otherwise it didn't move. Lark wasn't sure if that was a good sign- that the animal was used to being handled- or a bad one- that the injury was so severe it just didn't care anymore. She peered at the wound as closely as she dared, taking note of the tooth marks in the cat's leg. Shaur hovered anxiously just over her shoulder as she gently probed the leg. Finally she straightened up again.

"It's broken, and he's missing a good-sized chunk of that leg. Looks like a croc got him. He'll heal if he gets care, but he'll be crippled in that leg." Shaur looked at her, round-eyed, then peered at the cat. "S'what'll we do with 'im?" she asked. Lark sighed, mostly at the inevitability of it all. "We'll take him home and find him a healer," she told the younger elf. "And hope he survives the trip. It's a long way back, and he's lost a lot of blood."

She stood and went to get Wynd. The gryphon was used to carrying animal passengers, and the tiger was too far gone anyway to put up much of a struggle. She had only taken a step when Shaur's hand on her arm stopped her. She looked back irritably. "What now, kitten?"

Shaur just gave her a knowing grin. "We don' have t' move 'im hurt," she said. "I c'n heal 'im." Lark blinked, thinking with some chagrin that she had been with Pitch for too long. The thought hadn't even occurred to her.

The tiger gave another painful rasp. Lark nodded to the druid. "Go ahead, babe. See what you can do."

Before too much longer Lark had unrolled the pad behind Wynd's saddle and coaxed the cat up onto it. Wynd was used to ferrying her pets around and stood steady. The tiger was using his injured leg, albeit stiffly, and the remaining damage didn't look too bad. Shaur had done a good job.

The tiger was surprisingly placid. Lark didn't know if he was still sick or injured, if he really was used to being handled, or if he simply trusted the elves that much. She was worried it was the first, and kicked Wynd up into the air as soon as he was settled on the pad. Shaurria flapped along behind her, keeping watch in case the big cat slipped, but he clung to the pad as if he had been doing it all his life, and by the time they crossed the Uldum border Lark had stopped worrying. Mostly.

She was relieved when they finally arrived back in Stormwind. The tiger and Wynd both were worn out, so she wasted little time in directing the gryphon toward the University and getting him to the ground. She left the tiger in Shaur's care while she stabled Wynd, then they both coaxed the tiger into her room. Lark was a bit worried about her own pets, but Komah knew to stay well out of the way, and Quiloe seemed to take her cue from him, although the wolf watched them with wide eyes. The tiger ignored them both, limping over to the sleeping pad and dropping onto it with a sigh.

Shaurria knelt by the cat and began gently petting his head. "Are you gonna keep 'im?" she asked.

Lark sighed. "Probably," she answered. "Nether knows I don't need another pet, but they seem to keep forcing themselves on me anyway."

Shaur grinned at the attempted joke. "Whatcha gonna call 'im?"

Lark considered the big tiger for a moment. "I think he'll be Tuah," she said, and the cat's eyes opened to stare into hers. Behind that strange glow, Lark thought that he looked content.

Art Catch-up!

2011-05-11T18:28:00.000-04:00

Working on a story and a new picture at the same time, whee. I did finish a couple others, though, so here ya go. Enjoy!

First up is an old sketch of Pitch and Shaur that I finally went back to and colored.

I've started using the burn tool to do hair. It's fun, it's not messy and it looks decent, so hey, guess it works.

Sleepy Shaurria is sleepy. I ought to go back and put a background on this, but right now I'm meh.

I did another horse, too.

This one is Amadar. This will likely be the last new one for awhile, mostly because I need to think of more characters, heh. If I get another horse-itch, it will probably be another of one of these 4.

And now I need to go write stuff. Or art stuff, haven't decided yet. Til next time Happy Hunting!

Random Silliness at the Pig

2011-05-06T19:17:00.004-04:00

[exileic] Shad: ngh.

Zve nods at the group.

Pitchblàck says: Hm?

[exileic] Fells: Mmn?

[exileic] Homrend: Eh?

Zve looks down at his box, then at Fells.

[exileic] Shad: smrn. M. hrm. Pfeh. ...Is everyone gone?

[exileic] Homrend: ...no?

[exileic] Zve: Ah, damn. Minis didn' wake on you, did they?

[exileic] Shad: Sorry, I mean...here. At home.

[exileic] Genise: If you listen to my critics, I was gone three years ago.

[exileic] Fells: Hey, you. Mmnhmn. Babes're down, Botch an' me're at the Pig.

Pitchblàck says: The cat is Jahira, which I think you've all met

[exileic] Kyraine: At the pub, aye.

Fells smiles.

[exileic] Shad: Down is a very relative term, shari.

Pitchblàck says: The talkative one is Kel

Pitchblàck sarcasm.

[exileic] Zve: If'n they're up, I can come back.

[exileic] Shad: And Madame Crownsilver, you are -never- gone.

Kelesaria glares at Pitch.

Jahira snickers.

[exileic] Homrend: Lucky bunch. Save me a pint, aye?

[exileic] Shad: It is all right. I am sentient.

[exileic] Zve: Sure?

[exileic] Kyraine: Shad, before I forget or fall asleep on the floor here, I owe you an ale.

[exileic] Shad: Yes. Besides, it is Felicia, and who does Felicia love best? She loves -me- yes she does.

Zve says: Right, there he goes...

[exileic] Shad: You do? Heading out for tonight, I take it?

Fells says: Ain't fair. He's right, too.

[exileic] Kyraine: Not right at the moment, but fairly soon. And aye, I do.

Fells heaves a sigh.

[exileic] Shad: I shall take you up on that on Tuesday, then.

[exileic] Genise: You're quite kind, Shad. And correct, might I add.

[exileic] Shad: I do make a habit of being correct about lovely and brilliant women.

Fells smirks at the box and shakes her head.

Kyraine grins

Zve chuckles.

[exileic] Kyraine: Tuesday it is.

Zve pats Fells' hand. "Don' think you need to worry on that, figure."

Kyraine says: Thank the gods he's not going to pitch a fit on someone wanting to buy him an ale.

Zve says: Felicia's not near old 'nough, anyright.

Zve grins wickedly at Fells.

[exileic] Genise: Okay, you get a free week at the Feather.

[exileic] Pitchblàck: Is that all it takes?

[exileic] Zve: ...S'at all it feckin' takes?

Fells laughs.

Zve looks at Pitchblàck.

[exileic] Genise: For Shad, yes!

Fells says: Oh tha's amazin'.

Zve glares angrily at Fells.

Wildlark punches Pitch on the shoulder.

Kyraine says: Oh hells, that's...

Fells positively beams at him.

[exileic] Pitchblàck: ... ow

Kyraine looks at Botch with sympathy

Fells says: Sommat wrong.

Kyraine is really trying to hide a grin. And failing.

Zve says: All kinds of feckin' rotten...

Wildlark says: You don't need to be going there anyway

[exileic] Genise: He's been working on that for a while. Proof that persistence pays.

Fells speaks ever so clearly into the speaker.

Pitchblàck says: -Now- who's jealous?

Pitchblàck smugs.

[exileic] Fells: Hey Gen, I still gots m'free pass too, ayeh?

[exileic] Shad: *chuckle* You are very kind, but I would likely get myself into a great deal of trouble.

Zve says: Can'...feckin'...believe it.

Fells winks slyly at Zve.

[exileic] Genise: Members of the Riders do have free passes so long as they conduct themselves in a proper manner.

Fells says: Sommat the matter, Botch?

Wildlark debates hitting him again.

[exileic] Fells: Jest double-checkin'!

Zve face-claws.

Fells pets Zve.

[exileic] Kyraine: We do?

Fells says: Awwww.

Fells soothes Zve. There, there...things will be ok.

Fells comforts Zve.

Fells looks down upon Zve with pity.

Zve says: M'throwin' myself off a tower, miss.

Zve says: Bury me with my hat.

[exileic] Wildlark: Does that include cats?

Kyraine says: Oi Botch, if you do that, can I have your things?

Fells says: Nether onnat, keepin' the hat.

[exileic] Genise: Mmmhm, notification should've been sent to you upon registration with the guild. And only cats who come in their elven form.

Kyraine says: Been looking for a halfway decent hat.

Wildlark looks triumphant.

Zve says: M'takin' it with me.

[exileic] Pitchblàck: But I'm a perfectly handsome cat

Fells says: Yer not gonna be there t'say no.

Kyraine says: Right, then don't jump, if I'm not getting a hat out of it.

[exileic] Shad: So when you said I had a free week, what you meant was I could have a free every-week.

Fells says: Tower, r'member.

Zve says: Have it in a death-grip.

[exileic] Genise: Oh no, I meant a free week. It doesn't hurt me any to tell someone with a lifetime pass that they get a free week.

Zve says: Hah.

[exileic] Wildlark: Give it up Pitch

Zve looks only slightly vindicated.

[exileic] Shad: *chuckle* An excellent gambit.

Fells says: Hafta jest tear it all up gittin' it free then.

Fells tsks.

[exileic] Genise: The Feather -does- have a pet nursery, but I'm sure you'd not have much fun there.

[exileic] Pitchblàck: .....

[exileic] Pitchblàck: That just... doesn't seem right

Wildlark leans down and whispers in Pitch's ear.

Pitchblàck 's eyes widen.

[exileic] Genise: It's an establishment formed to cater to bipeds. It's nothing against druids who prefer their animal forms. It's simply a matter of the rules.

[exileic] Pitchblàck: You know what, nevermind

[exileic] Pitchblàck: I think I just got a better offer

Kelesaria glances between Pitch and Lark, raising an eyebrow.

Zve says: I'm a bi-ped.

Wildlark smirks.

Fells says: 'course y'are, Botch.

Fells pets Zve.

Kyraine nods at Zve.

Fells says: Good boy.

Zve sulks.

Fells says: Oh OH.

Fells says: When y'was talkin' 'bout thinkin' in circles.

Zve says: No.

Fells says: Guess what I didn' say.

Zve says: -No.-

Zve says: Don'

Zve raises a claw in warning.

Fells says: "So are ya -chasin' yer tail-"

Fells says: Git it!

Kyraine grins at Fells

Zve hangs his head.

Zve says: Pitch.

Fells :D

Pitchblàck snerks.

Zve says: -You- can have my damn--

Zve says: Nevermind.

Fells :D

Zve points at Wind Rider Cub.

Zve says: Tyrant?

Zve says: -YOU- can have my damn things.

Kyraine says: Oi, what about me?

Pawa looks up at him brightly, He obviously has no clue what that means.

Zve says: You laughed too.

Fells grins wickedly at Kyraine.

Fells says: C'mon.

Kyraine says: Aye, course I laughed, but it wasn't personal.

Fells says: -Chasin' yer tail.-

Fells says: Tell me that ain't brillian'.

In which I go crazy with the screenshots

2011-05-04T22:21:00.006-04:00

I have been having some fun without actually doing anything constructive. Wheee.

Booggah went and tamed his new friend. His name is Ice, and he is Samurai and Gabriel's son. I love him to bits already.

I never got around to showing a screenie of his chimaera, so have one now. Plus a bonus fox!

Still having mixed feelings about the whole pet auto-levelling and no more happiness things, but so far I've decided to take it as a good thing. Pet leveling was my favorite way to "bond" with a pet, plus if they didn't "click" I could usually tell right away (like with Lark's poor dog) and not have to waste time/stable space on it. But meh, I'll deal with it.

Speaking of stables, Lark got this boy a while ago, but he hasn't had a mention yet.

His name is Tuah, after her moonstalker. Yes, she still has the original Tuah. Shush.

He's getting a mention now because he will become an IC pet as soon as I think up a story for him. I have a general idea for it, just need to actually type it out. I am lazy.

Lark has another new addition, though I wouldn't really call him a pet...

Her old mount Wynd is starting to get old and stiff, so she's gotten a replacement. Old Wynd is still good for a few more years, so she has time to raise and train this little guy.

I love the dailies for him so much, you have no idea. This pic has even made it's way to my pc desktop.

*Squees from cuteness*

Pitch has found a new mission, too. With 4.1, Blizz added a couple more achievements for non-combat pets. Pitch is up to 91.

Minions, he has them.

It annoys me that Rheugan's in-game catform is larger than Pitch's. In reality, the opposite is supposed to be true. So, mix some elixirs with a little pygmy oil, and there! I fixed it!

ICly, they are both doing well. Rheugan is getting ready for his Claw test, aka going to Nagrand and killing some Really Large Animals. For realz.

Other than that, Rheugan has been... quiet. Pitch had some awesome RPs with some of the Riders, but Rheu had to stay at home, and I'm still not certain how much all of that is bugging him. He's not mad at Pitch by any means, but still, he's tired of feeling left out all the time and not knowing why.

He's also still wrestling with the aftermath of returning to Gilneas. Seeing his homeland all but abandoned, the effects that the war has had on it, really hit a nerve, and he's not been very willing to let me know what's going on inside his head. I'm poking at him a lot, however, and I think I might be breaking through. If he lets me write anything about it, it'll be showing up here.

And hey, Spirit Bond has reached 10,000 views! I was debating thinking up something special for the occasion, but it kinda snuck up on me unprepared. Still worth a mention, especially since I never thought anyone besides my sister and a couple friends would ever even look at it! I'm not a "big" blogger by any means, and not looking to become one (no thanks!) but it still gives me some pretty nice feelings.

I will be fiddling with some chatlogs in the near future; some of the recent RP has been worth sharing, I think, so I'll clean them up and post them. Til then, Happy Hunting!

Time's Flyin'...

2011-04-28T15:22:00.007-04:00

Sup little blog, how are you?

Wow, I didn't even realize how long it's been since my last post. Craziness happened, in that my sister and I moved! We went from a house with 2 other roommates to our own apartment, which is pretty darn nice. No crowding, no people taking our stuff.... Anyways, besides that, what's been happening?

4.1 happened, that's for sure. I'm ridiculously happy that Booggah's hydra Karda now has his own family and stuff, but it's frustrating that the rest of the hydras aren't tamable yet. Come on, Blizzard! In other pet news, Lark's little Thor isn't so little anymore. -.- Even so, I did get attached to him in the short time she's had him, so maybe he'll stay. I haven't decided yet.

Booggah needs to go tame one of these babies asap - they're purty.

He only has a couple cats, shush. >.>

Rheugan has been chilling out at 64, I aim to level him and get him to Nagrand soon. I even have some RP ready for when he does get there. ICly he's been... thinking, a lot. Which means that he sticks in my head just long enough to get an idea about what he's thinking/feeling, then he boots me out again. Silly worgen.

Pitch has been involved with some RP with the Riders. It involves Gilneas, that's all I'm going to say- but I am chat-logging it, so once it's finished I may toss it up here. Keep watching!

With the move and the hassle of getting our internet sorted, I've been mostly doodling or playing on baby alts, including a new hunter on the Arthas server, that I made to play with my brother. Narzabeki has been rerolled, is now 21, and is missing her tiger Kumal something fierce, though her raptor Anzi'mar is a nice replacement so far. She's almost at the level to go get her baby back, though, so soon she'll have Kumal at her side too.

My Rift-playing has stalled out in favor of WoW, though I'm sure I'll get back into it sooner or later. My friends/sister's toons have all passed me, however, so hopefully they don't mind helping me play catchup.

Lark got a chance to see the new Zul'Gurub dungeon last night. It was pretty fun, even when we were wiping to bosses because we didn't know the fight mechanics yet. She got to run with some of her raid group members- I'm not quite up to dealing with PUGs in those dungeons yet. Pitch isn't quite at the gear level he needs for them yet, but a few more heroic runs should get him there, and then I can try to tag along on some of the WFR runs.

I think I said something about doodling, didn't I? Well, after not doing anything much art-wise for weeks, I finally got my groove back. My sister sketched this, but she gave me permission to color it (actually she kinda threw it at me with a "YES!" when I suggested it, but yea..)

These next ones probably need some explaining. See, I think of a lot of stuff while I'm at work- it's usually where most of my RP writing has come from. My job is mostly physical, which lets my mind wander while I work. A few weeks ago, I started getting this idea- for my own story, not WoW-related. The idea stuck hard enough that I wound up doing a few pictures on it, and I've started writing out bits and pieces of it too. Soooo, here's a couple characters from it.

This is Rhisovan. Getting his color right was challenging, yet a lot of fun when I finally figured it out. And then I added the mist effect and it obscured most of my hard work. Go me.

These are the main characters. Karee is a lonely village girl, and Vardigen is the "horse" that takes her away.

P.S.? They're not really horses. >.>

I still have a lot of work to do with the story before I'll feel comfortable sharing any of it, but I will likely do some more artwork of it, so I'll slap them up here when I do. Still working on a couple more WoW-related ones too, in fact I might finish one today.

That's all I can think of right now. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Rheugan: Homecoming

2011-04-05T22:37:00.004-04:00

I am slowly, slooowly starting to figure out some of the stuff that's still bothering Rheugan. I'm kinda hoping this might open some doors and help him get some of that out of his system, though he's doing his best to teach me to not expect anything from him, heh.

Rheugan finally gets to go back home, only to find that perhaps it's not quite what he was expecting. Enjoy!
___________________

The pair of crows sitting on the outcrop took flight in a clatter of wings, shrieking their displeasure, as the two stormcrows came in to land, Pitch keeping a careful watch on his protege. Rheugan looked worn from the long flight, but he was far from exhaustion; Pitch was pleased that he was holding out so well.

They caught their breath as they surveyed the countryside below, Pitch paying special attention to the lay of the land. A good scout made himself familiar with the ground he would be covering, and he had planned this trip with more in mind than simply easing Rheugan's peace of mind.

Finally Rheugan unshifted long enough to point toward a dark blot in the distance, saying as he did, "Tempest Reach, and the Blackwald." Pitch nodded, and the two birds took off again.

The Blackwald looked foreboding as they flapped down through a break in the branches, unshifting as they hit the ground. Pitch stood where he had landed, looking around warily, but Rheugan took a few steps deeper into the woods. He stopped and stood motionless, though Pitch could see a range of emotions warring across his face. Fear, longing, pain... Finally he shuddered slightly, then turned and gave his mentor a slight, shaky grin. "It never quite goes away, does it?" he asked. Pitch felt a sudden surge of sympathy for the young man. "No, it doesn't," he replied as he stepped over and put a hand on Rheugan's shoulder. "But you learn to control it. It will get easier, believe me."

Rheugan turned back to the woods without answering. After several minutes, when Pitch was about to suggest they find a safe place for the night, he spoke again. "We lived here, to start with," he said softly. "But hunting grew slim, and the pack leader took us south." Pitch felt a brief shock as he realized Rheugan was speaking of his time as a feral, but he kept quiet, listening. "I.. I didn't like it. There were so many people... But it made our 'hunting' easier, so the leader kept us there. Then the hunters came.

"I wanted to run, but I wouldn't leave the pack. Finally I challenged him." His hand came up to touch the remains of his left ear. "I lost. A few days later they came for us. The leader was killed, several others. I didn't fight back, which is probably why they didn't kill me too. They drove me into a cage, along with a few others. The rest is a blur... until I came back to myself, in Duskhaven."

He fell silent. Pitch waited patiently, in case he had anything else to say, but at last he gently touched Rheugan's arm. "We need a safe place for the night," he said softly, and Rheugan nodded, seeming to pull himself back together. "Taldoren is right over there," he said, pointing, then he led Pitch through the trees. Pitch could feel the thrum of magic before the great tree even came into view; it felt like druid magic, but not anything he had felt before. He glanced at Rheugan, but the other druid didn't seem bothered- if anything he looked calmer, more relaxed.

Rheugan ducked between the roots into the cave underneath the tree, Pitch following more hesitantly. The human immediately assumed his cat form and started sniffing around until he found a spot to his liking, where he scratched at the dirt, then flopped down. Pitch looked around uncertainly. "Are you sure we'll be safe in here?" Rheugan favored him with a sardonic look, then curled into a tight ball and stuck his nose under a paw. Pitch shrugged to himself, then changed to his cat form and curled up beside him. His sleep was uneasy, but they were undisturbed the entire night.

* * * * * *

Pitch woke the next morning to find Rheugan gone. He scrambled out from under the tree, then relaxed as he found his student just outside. Rheugan had taken his worgen form and was poking around cautiously, sniffing the air. He fixed Pitch with one bright green eye as the Kal'dorei appeared. "We need to get moving," he said gruffly. A low howl in the not-so-far distance punctuated his words, and Pitch made no objections. The two druids took to the air again without another word.

Pitch found himself in the unfamiliar position of being completely dependent on Rheugan to lead them where they had to go. He paid close attention to the landmarks below, fixing them in his memory, as they flew down to Stormglen Village, then back north to the city itself. Rheugan paused at the city's edge, Pitch waiting patiently while he studied the streets and buildings. Finally he gave himself a little shake, then flapped onward.

He led Pitch to what looked like a square, an old Forsaken standard still standing in the middle. Rheugan landed in the street, sparing a contemptuous look for the flag, then unshifted. Pitch did likewise, then moved to stand at his shoulder, staying close but still giving the younger man space if he needed it.

Rheugan glanced at him briefly, then turned back to the flag. "This is where Prince Liam fell," he said softly. Pitch blinked, then took a closer look around, taking in the signs of battle. Rheugan simply stood still, staring at the standard. "He was one of the few that accepted us right from the beginning," he continued. "He treated us as friends, not monsters. Even the ones..." He trailed off without finishing, then glanced at Pitch again. "This way," he said, then headed deeper into the city.

They crossed over into a section of town that appeared to be mostly housing, with a few shops scattered throughout. There were signs of fighting even here, though it was apparent that it had happened a long time ago.

Rheugan stopped suddenly, and Pitch nearly ran into him. The younger druid was staring at one of the houses, an unreadable look on his face. "This was my home," he said before Pitch could ask, his voice so quiet it could hardly be heard. Pitch blinked, then looked up at the building. It looked virtually the same as the neighboring buildings, made of stone but clearly belonging to people of some wealth. The door was broken in, the dark entryway yawning in front of them. Rheugan stared into it as if his life depended on it.

Pitch looked at the open doorway, then at Rheugan. Finally he asked, "Well, why don't you go in and have a look?" Rheugan started, as if it was something he wouldn't have dreamed of doing, then took a slow step closer to the door. A look of naked longing came over his face. One hand came up toward the doorframe; Pitch noticed it was shaking. It stopped before touching the wood frame, and Rheugan stood stone-still for a long minute.

Finally he lowered his hand, stepping away from the doorway. "It's not my home any longer," he said, glancing at Pitch almost as if he had done something wrong. His eyes looked haunted.

Pitch took a step closer, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder and trying not to notice when the young man flinched slightly. "It's all right, Rheugan," he murmured. A quick glance at the sky showed that the sun, barely visible through the ever-present overcast, was almost at noon. He looked back at Rheugan. "I think we've seen enough here, huh? Ready to head home?"

Rheugan rubbed at his eyes, which Pitch dutifully pretended not to notice, then he nodded. "Aye," he said bleakly. "Home."

Plans

2011-04-05T00:40:00.001-04:00

Oh hey, have some RP. Not finished yet, but the last part is looking to be a doozy, so I figured I'd post it separate. Enjoy!
__________________

Rheugan launched himself clumsily into the air, flapping his wings hard to gain altitude. His landing was much smoother, as he came in to light on the tree branch next to Pitch. His mentor beamed at him. "That was much better. Just need to work on your takeoffs now." Rheugan just nodded- speaking as a bird was another thing he needed work on.

Pitch watched him as the small human left his bird shape and straddled the branch, peering fearlessly at the goings-on below them. "So," he said casually, and Rheugan looked up at him. "I thought we might make that trip back to Gilneas tomorrow. I mean, it'll be a lot safer now you can fly, and you could use the endurance training." Rheugan cocked his head. "You really th- ahh, if you think I can do it," he said, and Pitch grinned. "Sure you can. We'll go slow if we have to. But we'll be flying the whole way," he warned. "No gryphons, no shortcuts. So make sure you get plenty of rest tonight." Rheugan nodded, then looked down below them again, pensively.

Pitch eyed him. "You could be happier about it," he stated. "Is something wrong?"

The younger druid shrugged, then glanced up at him briefly. "If we're going.." he said slowly. "That means that Fells doesn't want me along on whatever that trip is she's planning, does she?" Pitch looked at him thoughtfully for a moment. "Well, no," he answered honestly. "But it's not because she thinks you'd be a bother."

"It's because I'm Gilnean, isn't it?" Rheugan asked softly. "Whatever she wants to do there, I gathered it isn't honest, and she thinks I'll object."

"I don't know," Pitch replied, then trailed off as he eyed his student curiously. "Would you?" he asked. Rheugan shrugged. "I don't know what she's after, so how would I know, eh? But she's made her choice, so what does it matter now?"

Pitch sighed as he looked away. Rheugan's soft voice brought him back, however. "Are you going?" The Night elf eyed the human for a long moment. "Yes," he said finally. "She said she needs a scout, and I am good at it, bragging or no." Rheugan wouldn't meet his eyes. "Do you... know what she's going after?" he asked hesitantly.

Pitch blinked, thinking fast. "No, she hasn't told me yet," he answered, wincing inwardly at the lie. "I imagine she will once we're all there. Look," he said as he sat up straighter on the branch. "I'll tell you all about it once we're back, all right? Bet it'll be quite the story." Rheugan nodded, rather listlessly, and Pitch looked at him sharply. "Are you okay, Rheu?" he asked, using the nickname the younger druid had tacitly deemed acceptable. The human shrugged. "Doesn't really matter, does it? It's decided."

Pitch frowned, but didn't press it. "Well, it's getting late," he said instead. "I'm going to turn in. You do the same soon, okay?" Without waiting for an answer, the Kal'dorei rolled right off the branch in a backwards somersault, changing to a bird and catching himself before he splattered on the ground. Rheugan watched in bemusement as his mentor flapped off toward the Mage District, then opted to shift to his bird form before hopping off himself.

* * * * * *

"I need a favor." Lark rolled over to look at him, her drowsiness vanishing as she raised an eyebrow. "Fells has a job going on in Gilneas, and I'm going as a scout," Pitch told her. "I don't know how long it'll take, though, and while I'm gone Rheugan will be on his own."

Lark nodded. "So you want me to keep an eye on him?" "If you could," he replied. "Shaurria was going to stay with him as much as possible, but my brother is heading back to Hyjal soon and I don't know if he's taking her or not." Lark frowned, deep in thought. "I can do better than that, I think," she said finally. "I was going to go over the grounds for a maintenance check soon, and I could use a cat or two to help."

Pitch brightened. "Oh that'd be perfect," he said. She grinned at him. "When?" she asked, and it was Pitch's turn to think. "Fells said a week and a half, and that was a couple days ago," he answered. "All right then," Lark told him. "Consider it taken care of." He beamed, letting out a huge sigh of relief. "Thanks. Whatever you'd like as repayment, just let me know."

Lark gave him a sly look, then grinned as she reached over and tugged at one ear. "Oh, I can think of a few things."

You Think That You're Done and Then This Happens

2011-04-02T23:36:00.000-04:00

Some folks in one of the OOC channels wanted to put together an old-school raid for cheevohs when I logged in tonight. I didn't really pay much attention, until suddenly Naxx was mentioned.

See, I happened to find a post over on the Petopia forums, about a "special" pet that could only be found in Naxx, where it is spawned during the Anub'Rekhan fight. I had been toying with the idea of dragging my sis in there and trying to duo it, but this... This opportunity just couldn't be passed up.

A couple of the others in the raid were from Lark's Thursday night group, and the others were known at least in passing, so it was no problem when I explained about the beetle and how I wanted to tame it. Anub was the first boss we headed for, and soon enough...

The tame took forever, because whichever bugger Lark targeted would randomly aggro on someone else and the tame would break. Finally Anub was kind enough to summon a fresh round, and Lark simply ran up to one nomming on the other hunter, smacked it with her spear, then trapped and tamed while the hunter feigned. It finally worked.

He comes with a shell-shield!

His name is Thor, because a bug that small deserves a disproportionately mighty name.

He is so stinking tiny it's ridiculous. I love it.

Also, bragging rights for the Heigan fight:

Boom, baby.

(Lark picked up so many achievements in there I'm not even going to try listing them. Apparently this was her first time in there. O.o)

Lark- Changes in the pack

2011-03-31T23:40:00.002-04:00

I had mentioned that I was thinking of changing Lark's stable up a bit. Well, before tonight's raid started, I did just that. She hadn't been bonding well with her dog Vei at all, so first thing was to find him a new home...

..... what? Stop looking at me like that. >_>

Next step involved a trip to Northrend. I took a couple side-trips to see if Arcturis or Skoll were up, even though I wasn't totally sure if I wanted them or not. Neither of them were there, so it didn't really matter anyway. So, on to Dun Niffelem.... where I discovered that Lark had never done the Sons of Hodir intro quests. Darnit! So she didn't get her ghostly jormunger worm, but she did get the next best thing-

Named him Vei, after the dog. I guess Lark is rubbing off on me.

I still had almost an hour until raid-time, so on a whim I figured I'd try taming another new one. I'd had my eye on these beauties for awhile, and had finally decided Lark would be the one to get it. Pitch helped out by forming a raid group so she could get in.... where I promptly found out that they were in Sunwell, NOT Tempest Keep. I can read, really.

The actual tame went off without a hitch, and she got out with time to spare. His name is Devin, and he needs leveled before he can join in the raids, but once he's 85 he'll probably make a few appearances.

The raid ended a bit early and I wasn't ready for bed yet, so Lark headed up north to do something I'd been meaning to finish for awhile now- Exploring the Eastern Kingdoms! She only had Ghostlands and Eversong left, so it didn't take long. But while she was there, I caught her eying the brown lynxes....

I really don't know what she's going to do with this one. I do like him, and Lark was giving me a good vibe, so he's probably a keeper. He needs a name, but I have a couple rattling around in my head, just need to settle on one. Edit: His name is now Mischa.

And as a final note, I realized that I'm forgetting to introduce the most recent addition to the "gang". Meet Taiglin.

Yes, I made another hunter. My excuse is I wanted to try a goblin. She's over on Nesingwary, where I might someday overcome my shyness and get her into the Petopians guild. Maybe.

And yes, I ran her all the way to Teldrassil to get Duststalker. Cazz is her "bodyguard" as well as her buddy, in fact she trusts him a lot more than most people, especially her fellow goblins. But that's a long story, so maybe she'll get her own post sometime.

And now I need to go pass out so I'm conscious at work tomorrow. Happy Hunting!

Fire Turtle!

2011-03-24T10:26:00.006-04:00

My store's inventory is over now, and the powers-that-be decided to reward me with 2 days off in a row (which never happens normally. Score!). So on a flash of inspiration, I decided to do something I've usually never had the patience for- I settled in for a full-scale pet-camp.

See, Booggah's been parked out in Hyjal for weeks now. I rushed him up to 81 first thing, then he sat at the Throne of Flames looking for Terrorpene. And looking. And looking. And... you get the idea.

I'd never seen the fire turtle out in the wild until my sis found him and tamed him on her Nelf Kel. I knew he had a whacko respawn timer, and I figured I would just have to keep checking until I got lucky. But then, with 2 days off, I figured I was done trusting to luck.

Yesterday I had Boo logged in ALL DAY, from 11:30ishAM server time until well after 10PM. I left his screen alone mostly, and played Rift, or tinkered with my toons on my other WoW account, or browsed the interwebs, but Boo stayed put. I switched over to him every so often to fly around and check all the spawn points, so he wouldn't AFK-logout. He did take 2 breaks, once to do some questing for better gear, another short one so I could get away from the PC for a bit.

Terrorpene finally spawned shortly after 9:30, at which point there were 3 other hunters there besides Boo. I got in the first taming attempt, but he killed poor Boo. I got him back to his body just in time to see him put down another lowbie, then managed to try again- dead again. It was kind of a scramble after that, and Boo couldn't get another attempt in before a level 85 tauren hunter tamed him.

Then of course I remembered the elixir I had gotten especially for this. Ugh. The tauren was pretty cool, we sat and chatted for a bit, then he offered to sit around and help Boo get him. By then it was after 10, which meant 1AM my time, so we pretty much called it quits. I got a couple more quests done and Boo leveled, then I parked him again and logged.

I set my alarm before bed so I'd wake up exactly 9 hours after he had spawned, and once the alarm went off Boo was back at his spot. I brought Taurros over too, for buffs and to try healing if it was necessary. 9:30 rolled around, still no turtle. Finally _NPCScan went off at about :40 after. FIRE TURTLE!!

No one else was in sight, so I picked a spot, waited for him to get in range, and popped all Boo's pots and buffs. Once I'd hit Tame Beast (almost forgot to dismiss the trash corehound I'd tamed, go me -_-), I switched to Taurros' screen, to see if he was hibernatable. The spell didn't go off..... because Boo's tame finished before the cast was over. Hah!

It took a bit to settle on a name, I finally went with Runya, which is elvish for "flame." Since I found him so quick, it seemed obvious that I should go level some more! He's a great little tank- a few times I wound up with 2-3 mobs and he hardly took any damage at all. I'm not sure if he even used his shell shield.

We finished up with a quest that seemed appropriate...

Go Go Fire Turtle!

(And on a plus side, all the other pets I wanted for Boo are level 84+, so I can level him the rest of the way in peace. Woot.)

One Down

2011-03-23T02:26:00.004-04:00

And one to go!

I rushed through levels 54-59 so fast, the last one I wound up just puttering through. He got it at last, though, and now he can fly around town instead of running everywhere.

He's enjoying it too. I think all my druids so far have really liked flying, but Rheugan's excitement was pretty contagious.

Alanon-mage is sitting at 44, so his levelling trip will be a bit longer than Rheugan's. I'll just need to let my worgen-kitty rest a bit while I get it done. Which is actually easier said than done, now that I think about it. >_>

Rheugan: Ritual

2011-03-21T22:16:00.003-04:00

Some in-game RP has gotten me thinking about Rheugan's past- namely, the ritual that all baby worgen go through to regain their humanity (and get their nifty human-worgen shapeshifting spell). The quest kinda rushes through it without saying much about what the character actually goes through, which is actually kind of neat because it leaves a lot to the player's imagination (not to mention that every worgen's experience would probably be different anyway!), but I wondered what really happened for Rheugan when he did it. Soooo, here's a little glimpse of my troubled worgen's past. Enjoy!

___________

Rheugan crept through the woods, his black fur and ragged clothing blending in with the shadows. Tucked into his belt, the sprigs of moonleaf rustled faintly. Probably too quiet for any ears but a worgen's to hear, but he still needed to take care. The Blackwald was full of the Forsaken's spies.

He checked one more time, but the path to Tal'doren was clear. Keeping low to the ground anyway, he hurried back to the tree, and the hope he had found inside it. The Night elves had found Crowley, who had in turn found him and the other worgen, and now they offered him a chance to regain control of his own mind. Rheugan glanced around one last time before ducking through the great trunk's entrance, leaves held firmly in his paw.

* * * * * *

"It is time, Rheugan. This... alchemy that has kept the beast inside you at bay will not last for long." Rheugan turned toward the druids and their "wells," uncertainty in his every movement. Crowley turned to look too, his voice dropping lower, quieter. "The first cursed worgen were night elf druids like our new allies. They, however, abandoned the balance that the rest of their kind embraced and allowed the beast to take over their minds. It is only fitting that their brethren be the ones that deliver us from the Curse. Go, drink from the waters of Tal'doren and make peace with yourself." Rheugan took a deep breath, then approached the Night elves.

Lyros stepped forward to meet him. "Leave your weapon behind, you will not need it here," he said, and Rheugan let his mace drop to the ground. Lyros gently took his elbow- Rheugan tried not to flinch at the contact- and drew him nearer, releasing him to step behind the well when they reached it. He handed the worgen a small clay cup, and Rheugan dipped it in the water, then lifted the cup and gulped it down quickly, before he lost his nerve. Tal'doren, the elf, the other worgen... all faded away.

"Just as Goldrinn's spirit once blessed our druids, let Rheugan be blessed with the wisdom of his race and the ferocity of the wolf god."

Lyros' voice was dim, as if coming from a distance, but he paid it no heed. The wolf was there, staring at him from the shadows of his mind. Rheugan stared back unflinching, waiting. Come, he heard it whisper. Hunt, kill. It's what we live for.

Rheugan felt cold. No, he answered it. I don't want that life anymore. I want to be free. The wolf snarled. You enjoyed it, remember? Come, leave this place, and we can show you what it is to be free.

Rheugan's body seemed to be moving of it's own volition, as he stepped to the next well and drank again. The water calmed him, chasing away the panic the wolf's words brought. He faced it firmly, as Vassandra's voice carried to his ears.

"Just as Daral'nir soothes the cursed druids who gave into the beast and abandoned balance, let Tal'doren soothe Rheugan."

Your "freedom" is only another kind of slavery, he told the wolf. You would have me trade my humanity for a life of killing. I won't do that anymore! Inside his mind, he stood firm as the wolf snarled and snapped at him. Meanwhile, his body took another step and dipped the cup into the third and final well. Talran's voice echoed in his ears now.

"Let the Scythe unbind that which was not meant to be bound! Let the soul master the beast, lest the beast master the soul!"

Get down, beast! he said to the wolf. I am the master here, not you! The wolf gave him one last glare, then to his amazement it backed down, showing him its throat in submission. It retreated back to the shadows as he watched it warily, then suddenly a hand gripped his elbow. The outside world rushed back, and he found himself standing unsteadily as Talran helped him stay upright. The Night elf was grinning. "Well done, youngling," he said. Rheugan blinked at him, not quite believing it was over, then he suddenly plopped down on the grass as his legs gave out underneath him.

* * * * * *

"It's done then. You are one of us now." Rheugan looked up from his hands- his human hands- as Crowley spoke. The older man grinned approvingly. "You'll always have a place among my men, lad. The fight's not over yet, and I dare say we'll be seeing a good bit of each other before it's through."

Rheugan offered a shy smile, but a shout from outside Tal'doren interrupted him before he could reply. "Father!" Crowley stood up quickly, turning toward the call as a broad smile crossed his face. "Lorna!" he shouted back as his daughter ran up and hugged him. Rheugan watched the reunion, then his attention was pulled back to the entrance. He quickly stood up himself.

Godfrey and the King were coming.

Just sayin'...

2011-03-19T23:59:00.001-04:00

My workplace is having inventory done this week (Wednesday to be exact). Which means instead of my normal schedule, I am working 5 days straight- my next day off in fact isn't until... Wednesday. (-_-) So besides a wonky schedule making me more tired than normal, I'll also be a lot busier than normal as we try to get ready for this.

In a nutshell, posts will probably be on hold until after inventory's over and I've had a chance to recover. I mostly wanted to let ya'll know because I've had bits and ideas running in my head, but haven't had the energy to do anything with them when I get home. Yay for working retail? /sarcasm

"Project Wings" (and other things!)

2011-03-16T18:35:00.008-04:00

Hello, little blog. Long time no see, huh?

I have been unmotivated to write anything lately, I admit. Rheugan is being near-impossible to write for, so most of his RP has been actual in-game stuff. But hey, that's what chatlogs are for, right? He's also chugging along nicely (if slowly) at 52 now, and I'm feeling an itch to get him to 60 asap. Which brings me to the title of this post.

I think Davoss started it when he reached 60 and got his flying. See, you can fly anywhere in Azeroth now. And while flying on a level 60 mount may be fairly slow, it still beats running on the ground (and dealing with all the obstacles you'll find there!). So "Project Wings" was born.

My goal with the project is simple-get every character that's close enough their flying mount/training. Dav has his bird, so he's taken care of. Rheugan is next, naturally, and then it will be mage-Alanon's turn. After that I don't really have anyone else close enough- Arnen would be my next at 28- so it's a fairly small, easy project. And hey, it's an excuse to play my lowbies, right? >_>

I've been tinkering with my hunters and pets, too, and have some new additions to show off. Arnen first, since I just mentioned him. I leveled him up to 28 specifically for 2 pets, which he now has!

Sorla the cat is formerly Pogeyan, and Digger is Mahamba- a couple new rare spawns that were added in the last major patch (I think? Correct me if I'm wrong). Sorla is shiiiiiny, if you can't tell from the pic. I'm really digging them both so far.

Next is a couple new ones for Khaotic- a pair of rares that I had to camp for.

I'm not real big on bugs, but I'm liking Rex okay so far. His wings don't actually buzz- it's more of a whispery rustling sound. He gave me a run-around, I had to camp him for 3 days before he popped. Olm was little better- I think it was 2-3 days for him, too.

Last up is Andrano, since he got the most new buddies. First up is his wolf, since I don't think I ever put up a pic of him. And he's named now, too!

I'm trying to write more about Andrano and Carienne, and his naming will be part of that. Otherwise, he's now added a ghost saber (couldn't resist), a yellow condor (love the model but didn't want to wait for level 72ish for the blue), Gosh-Haldrir the rare croc (tamed on a whim, couldn't resist again), and the new spiky Ghamoo-ra turtle (/hugs Morti). I think it's safe to say that he'll have his stable crammed by the time he reaches max-level, agreed?

Other than those guys, not much has been happening. Shaurria is still at 83, though I want to finish her up still. Project Wings will have to come first though, cause I'm serious about the "asap" bit. Davoss is parked at 62 while I decide if I want to power-level his smithing before going further. And honestly, Rheugan has become my biggest focus right now- I may even get him through the Outland questing before Dav, we'll see.

I've been debating doing a bit of culling with Lark's stable. I'm just not feeling any attachment to her dog Vei, in fact he nearly didn't even get leveled. And Arnen has his dog Bax, so I will have at least one mastiff. She may also trade in her parrot for one of the rares in Deadmines, if I can ever find one, but that's another "we'll see". Her raid group is fun- last week we got the twin dragons down, and spent some time on the Ascendant Council to boot. I think we'll have them down in a week or two. I need to level some of my others' professions, though- my sis can make flasks on her warlock, and Shaur can pick the herbs no problem, but Lark could use food and stuff too, and it'd be a lot easier (and cheaper!) if I could make everything myself.

Part of the problem with that is that I've been.... playing another game *cough*. A friend convinced me and sis to try out Rift, and I'm loving it so far. Shaurria has been "rerolled" as a cleric, with druid/shaman/sentinel trees, and she's bashed, blasted, and healed her way up to 19 already. I have a beastmaster warrior and ranger rogue as well for my altoholicism, and while they're still little, they're just as much fun. The gameplay is a lot like WoW, the rifts and invasion events are fun and good xp, and overall I'm enjoying it. Not giving up WoW for it, not by a long shot, but it's a nice change for when I need it.

So I think that's about it. I'm attempting an in-depth post about Rheugan, which will likely go on my other blog, and will probably be posting some Rift-related stuff there too, so keep tuned in for that. Til next time, Happy Hunting!

Rheugan: Rage

2011-03-02T18:04:00.002-05:00

(Yes, Rheugan gets his name in the title even though it's mostly from Pitch's point of view. >.>)

I've been feeling like Rheugan has stalled lately. Between my computer messing up, which means I'm stuck on the laptop while my desktop gets fixed (boo!), and many of Rheugan's in-game friends just being busy doing other stuff, he's been kinda hanging out by himself a lot recently. In fact, I've been wracking my brain lately just trying to think of something to shake him up.

Turns out I didn't need to. He got shaken up plenty just last night, during our weekly RP night. I'll let Rheugan tell all the pertinent details.

Enjoy!

_______________

Rheugan was at the lake shore near the Earthshrine when Pitch found him. He was human, sitting quietly and watching the Shrine begin to buzz as the morning's activities started. Everything seemed to be normal- except the faint scent of blood that Pitch's sensitive cat-nose picked up as he approached.

Rheugan was aware of him, he knew, although the human didn't move or acknowledge him in any way. Pitch stood looking at him, then shifted out of his cat form and sat down beside him. "Let me see," he said gently, keeping his tone perfectly neutral.

Rheugan held out a hand, and Pitch suppressed a wince. His palm was practically shredded, some of the lacerations quite deep. Three of his knuckles were skinned, and one nail was broken off past the quick. Bits and pieces of bark were stuck in some of the wounds. Pitch pulled his eyes off Rheugan's hand and looked around, quickly spotting the offending tree. It looked like one of his sister Kel's devilsaurs had been chewing it.

Rheugan still sat motionless, his eyes fixed on some spot just past the water's edge. Pitch didn't say a word, he simply took the human's hand in his and reached for the earth-energy beneath where he sat. As he did, he heard Rheugan say quietly, "I couldn't heal it myself." Pitch didn't answer, all his focus going into his work. He had a hard enough time healing himself, and for whatever reason healing others was even more difficult. There was nothing he could say, anyway- Rheugan was much more adept at magic than he was, and the only reason he wouldn't have been able to do it himself was because he was lost in one of his worgen rages. Pitch knew better than to scold or to offer any sympathy- the younger druid didn't need either.

He pushed the healing energy he had gathered into the injured hand, watching in satisfaction as it mended. Rheugan wordlessly offered the other hand, which was in similar shape, and Pitch repeated the process. He didn't even want to think about how much pain Rheugan had been in, or for how long. "Dare I ask what the tree did?" he asked jokingly as he finished. Rheugan said nothing, still sitting motionless and staring into the water.

When it was apparent that he wasn't going to respond, Pitch leaned forward until he could see the other's face. The young man's expression was blank, his eyes distant, as if he was in some other world. "Rheugan?" He gave an almost imperceptible start, his eyes cutting over to the Night elf. Pitch kept up the gentle, neutral tone. "Tell me what happened?"

Rheugan stared blankly at him for a few more seconds, then he blinked, finally seeming to register the Night elf's presence. "The fellow your people keep talking about, Tiran Shard, is planning another attack on the Horde," he said quietly. Pitch blinked, then gave a small motion for him to go on. "He thinks he can cut their supply trains if he can blow up part of a road." Pitch's eyebrow went up, then he frowned. "I imagine he has a road already picked out?" Rheugan nodded. "The one between Silverpine... and Gilneas."

Pitch blinked again. "Oh no," he said. "Yes," Rheugan countered. "But that's not all of it. He plans to enlist some help while he does it." Pitch's expression suggested that he didn't really want to hear the rest. Rheugan kept on anyway. "He wants to ally with the Gilneas Liberation Front."

Pitch stared at him, the wheels in his head clearly turning and leading him to the right conclusions. "And you know how he works, don't you," he stated, and Rheugan nodded again, his voice taking on the first hint of emotion he had shown yet- anger. "He'll use them as battle fodder, won't he? He'll destroy what's left of my people."

Pitch covered his face with one hand. "Do you know how soon?" he asked. "Is there any time to try and stop him?" Rheugan shrugged, returning to the listless state he had briefly left. "I don't know," he said. Pitch dropped his hand, regarding the other druid with sympathy. "I'm sorry, Rheugan," he said softly.

Rheugan didn't answer for several minutes. "I want to go with them," he finally said quietly, just above a whisper. "I want to fight with them." Pitch stared. "You'd just die with them," he began. Rheugan's head snapped over to glare at his mentor. "Do you think I care?" he asked sharply. "At least I'd be doing something besides sit around here all day!" Pitch jumped slightly at his tone, staring at him in surprise. "Rheugan..." he started to say, but the human cut him off.

"You keep saying that I just need to get better, but I'm not getting any better am I? I'm stuck here doing nothing useful- just taking up space and time, and you're stuck here too, because you have to watch over me! I want to bloody DO something!" His hand curled into a fist, and he slammed it into the ground as he finished. Pitch winced, even though he knew it was now healed. He had never seen the normally quiet, reserved druid this upset.

Rheugan seemed to realize how far he'd gone, because he froze, staring down at his fist on the ground. Slowly he uncurled his fingers, then placed his hand in his lap and looked out over the water again. Pitch stared at him as he realized he'd been making a huge mistake.

He'd thought to keep Rheugan safe in the city, where he could be near friends and also be watched over. He'd thought the hunting trips they'd gone on would be enough to keep his worgen side happy. Now he realized why Rheugan spent so much time at the lake. It wasn't just about being outside and close to nature; he'd wanted to be as close as possible to where the action was, which in his present scenario were the Earthshrine's portals.

He reached over and placed a hand on Rheugan's shoulder. The younger druid was so tense that he was almost vibrating, the muscles rock-hard. "I'm sorry," Pitch said quietly. "I should have seen it sooner. I'll talk with Alanon, and we'll see what we can do." Rheugan nodded listlessly. "Crowley would never agree to it, I'm sure of it," he said hoarsely, though he didn't sound convinced. It took Pitch a moment to remember what they had been talking about before Rheugan's outburst. "I don't know, you'd know him better than I," he replied. "Listen, I'm going to go ahead and find Alanon, okay? We'll get started sorting all this out." Rheugan didn't answer, but Pitch thought that he was starting to finally relax. Slightly, at least. "All right," Pitch said. "Just tell me you'll stay here, okay? Don't go off anywhere?" At Rheugan's nod, he stood up, then changed to a bird and flew off over the city.

Rheugan watched him go, then shifted to cat, seeking relief in the simplicity of the animal's thoughts. He lay half-curled at the water's edge, staring at nothing.

He wasn't surprised when the bird flapped down to land next to him. However, this bird was smaller and sleeker than Pitch's flight form, and he had just enough time to blink before the bird disappeared and Shaurria stood looking at him. "Y'-.. Pitch said yer not feeling s'well?' she asked him hesitantly. Rheugan's shoulders hitched in a cat-shrug, and she knelt, then sat down beside him. She reached over to touch his shaggy ruff, then before he could protest she had lifted his head and settled it in her lap. Immediately the cat inside him wanted to get free, to claw her off if necessary, but he held it in firmly and kept still. Her fingers began digging through his thick fur, rubbing and scratching, and he let them.

Shaurria began humming softly under her breath. Rheugan didn't recognize the melody, but he didn't care; it was soothing. He lay still, listening and letting her pet him. Finally he was able to let his thoughts go, and soon after he fell fast asleep.

Rheugan: Someone To Talk To

2011-02-26T18:19:00.001-05:00

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!
__________________

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

2011-02-24T23:41:00.000-05:00

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

2011-02-18T23:57:00.006-05:00

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

2011-02-07T23:52:00.002-05:00

Rheugan: Pitch's Idea

2011-02-06T01:36:00.004-05:00

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.

_______________________

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!