So, I started to doodle...

And this happened.




(Windstar and Jahira, for anyone that can't guess)

Aren't they cuuuute? And yes, I may be working on a little bit of RP with the two of them. Stories may be incoming.


P.S. Good golly Windstar is a big kitty. /boggle

Merry Christmas!

Everyone have a good (and safe) holiday!

A Bit Delayed

I've been keeping myself so busy in-game (when I'm not stuck at work), I'm afraid this is a few days late. Sorry!

First of all, I have my first level 85:




Oh yea, Kel and Jahira are both on Feathermoon now, and I am so happy I don't know what to do with myself. My main characters are finally on an RP server, where they should have been from the start. It feels good, even if Kel does miss her old friend, who is still on Gilneas. Also, I've managed to get my second account, so I get to imitate my sister and RP with 2 characters at once. The first time I had Kal and Windstar on together, I kind of had a 'squee' moment.

Kel has also gotten the best achievement in the game (hehe):



I'm still figuring out which one I'm going to focus on next, but just with tinkering around while I decide, I have gotten Jahira, Arien, and Caderly (who is staying on Gilneas) up to 81. For the time being, I'm mostly trying to get Kel's gear up to heroic-level, and work on everyone's professions. (Most of Arien's level actually came from mining xp, hehe.) I'm also having fun with Kel's archeology, although my short attention span makes it a bit slow to skill up. Her pets are also taking turns getting leveled up, with her 'mains' (Sabre, Loq, her new shale spider/rock crab Shale, and a couple others I can't remember atm) all at 85 already. She has also discovered Tol Barad, and will be making sure to do all her dailies there whenever possible. (Yay, 2 mounts and a pet \o/ and some decent gear.)

And that's all I can think of for now. I promise I am finishing the story bit with Kal's reaction to the Cataclysm, it's just taking a while to get past 'ooo shiny'-inspired writer's block. Hopefully it will be done and posted before much longer. /Waves

Sightseeing

Storytime is being briefly interrupted by a trip I took with my sister. Kal took her baby human hunter out to Gilneas on her motorbike, because she wanted one of the mastiffs. While we were out there, we took a trip over most of the zone, just seeing the place and plotting RP spots for Arnen (her human) and my yet-to-be-created worgen hunter.

Short explanation in case anyone gets confused. We're making these characters for RP, they're brothers that have been separated by the Greymane Wall for years, and will be reunited sometime after Cata becomes official on Tuesday. I'm looking forward to a new toon, new plots, and after seeing what Gilneas looks like now, I'm getting really excited about the new zone.

And now, have some screenshots:












There's no people in the zone yet, but me and sis might have found the brothers' home (Keel Harbor, second picture), and we've been working out some tentative details for their backstory. We just need the zone's population put in so we can find out if the house we picked will be full of NPCs or not.

Now I just need to think of/reserve a name for my worgen... :P I have also run into a bit of writer's block with my story. I know roughly how it will finish, but I haven't figured out exactly how it will get to that point. It's a little frustrating, but hopefully I'll get it finished soon.

And that's it for now. /Waves

Storytime: Cataclysm pt.2

Have a sad-Kal-rant. Enjoy!

Elf and human sat next to each other on the edge of the canal, their feet dangling just above the waterline. Kal was slightly hunched, staring at her hands, amost as if she was deliberately trying to keep from looking at the wreckage across from them. Arien finally reached over to place a hand on her friend's shoulder.

"At least not many died, and none of our friends or family have been hurt, that we know of. And I can make you a new motorbike in a few days." Kal just gave a faint shake of her head. "I'm not really worried about the bike. And I am grateful nobody we know got hurt. It's just..." She finally raised her head to gaze over the still-smoking pit across the canal.

"We were there when I first met Windstar. It's where we first-." Kal cut herself off when she noticed Arien's faint blush, then after a moment she continued. "It's where that blasted thing attacked Channi. Which was awful, but it happening helped me realize how much I was falling in love with her. It's where she first kissed me. Where we first..." She paused again, glancing sidelong at her friend. "Yes, Kal, I know." Arien sighed quietly, her blush deepening slightly. Kal gave a very faint smirk. She quickly sobered, however.

"It feels like those memories have been violated. Like, with the place wrecked, they might just fade from my mind like...." She quickly glanced away, rubbing at her eyes for a moment. Arien simply sat and watched her, then finally reached over to gently brush the long scar running across her cheek with one finger. Kal's hand came up and caught Arien's, quickly lowering it back to the paladin's lap. Her voice was so quiet Arien could barely hear, and was slightly hoarse with long-suppressed grief. "Yes, that. And Alli. And Kira. And all of the short flings and one-nighters that I can't even remember the names of. I keep hoping and telling myself, this time it's different. That neither me or Channi are going anywhere. That this time it's gonna last. But all the others, they had messes like this screw everything up, too, and then boom it's over and we all move on. And gods, I'm getting sick of it." She abruptly stood and stalked off, in the direction of the Harbor. Arien was left sitting, watching her leave. After a moment, the paladin sighed again, rubbed briefly at her stinging eyes, then stood and followed.

I promise, this mood is going to be temporary for Kal. To be continued...

Storytime: Cataclysm

Little bit delayed, I know. Work and spending time in-game tend to do this a lot. Short one this time, because I have once again stayed up way, way too late.


Kal stood at the edge of the new crater, looking at what once had been the Park. The canal bridge behind her was the only marker left to tell her that she was looking at the right place. As she stared blankly at the space the apartment had stood, the only place she had ever called 'home', she felt a trace of anger slowly rising through her shock and grief. She finally tore her eyes from the spot of broken pavement, and looked down at the wreckage in the deep hole that... something... had left. Just as she thought, she couldn't see anything that even might have passed for any of her or Arien's belongings. She finally accepted the realization that the two of them were left with what they were wearing or carrying, that all their other worldly possessions were gone beyond recovery. She absently thought to herself, Ari's gonna miss all her books. Oh, gods, where are we gonna sleep tonight? Maybe the Rose has our old room free. That'll mean no private time with Channi, but she's probably still busy somewhere. Oh bloody Elune, I hope she's okay...

Kal finally turned away, walking back to where she had left Myte at the other end of the bridge. She mounted, and rode at a slow walk in the direction of the Pig. When she got close, however, she realized that she didn't really want to be around people at the moment, and turned the 'saber towards the gryphon master. Perhaps beating in the skulls of a few of the scattered cultists would make her feel a little better. She suddenly heard static from her buzzbox, and reined Myte in. It was the private channel she and Arien used, so she quickly pulled it from it's pouch and turned it up.

"Kal, are you there? Please answer me."
Crackle hiss click. "I'm here, sis. Where are you? You alright?"
"I'm okay. Someone just told me that something huge just flew over Stormwind and wrecked it. Are you-"
"Only the Park, Ari. And yes, I'm fine, I was out of town when it happened."
"Sigh. Oh thank the Light. I'm coming home now. Want to meet me at the docks?"
"Coming in by boat? Sure thing, I'll see ya there soon." Click.

Holy bloody Elune, how am I gonna tell her...


(To be continued...)

At least someone is ready...

So the world is getting torn apart tomorrow. (Or later today, depending on how you look at it.) I have to admit, I'm not sure if I'm ready for it. Kelesaria's good as far as gear and such, but Skoll is still eluding her, and I had really wanted him before getting swamped with distractions. Windstar is also in good shape, although she still doesn't have her title yet. Silithus isn't going anywhere though, so her rep grind can continue unimpeded. And I guess we still have a little over a week before the really major stuff becomes available, i.e. worgen and leveling and stuff.

There is one character, at least, that is ready and just waiting for the patch/expansion to hit.

Let me introduce Shadepaw. She's a new tauren hunter I created on the Nessingwary server, to eventually hang out with all the fellow hunter/pet addicts at Petopia. It's a normal server, so she doesn't really RP much, but she has her own personality, and a tiny bit of a backstory. She also has a lot of pets already. When I saw what was happening to some of the rare spawns in Cataclysm however, I just had to take her out and collect a couple more.

First of all, let me mention that I absolutely ADORE the saber-mount model. Cats in general are my favorite pets, but there's just something about that model in particular that makes me go "Ooooh". Every hunter I have that is a high enough level has some version of it, even though Rajji only has the spirit beast. (He's getting the new version of Shango asap, though. Troll + tiger = win!) So, when I saw Shadowclaw and Duskstalker's new looks, I just had to grab them, and Shadepaw just seemed like a good choice.

Shadowclaw was first, mostly just to delay having to ghost-run through to Teldrassil. Also, since he stealths, I figured he would be more difficult to find. I was right. It took a couple days of logging on Shade at his spawn area, alternating between standing at a certain spot and running all over the area spamming my target/hunter's mark macro, then getting bored and logging onto another toon to take a break. Then finally:



Duskstalker was a LOT easier, once I got poor Shade past Darnassus. (Although, it was slightly amusing to have her run through the portal at Ru-whateverit'scalled Village, then having her killed by the Darnassian guards before my loading screen even finished. Lag ftl?) After all that, I just had to run to his spawn area, and make a lap hitting my macro. She had him tamed before her rez sickness had worn off.




Might seem a little anti-climactic, but easy tames make me pretty happy. Now I just need a name for my soon-to-be white leopard. Shadowclaw is now Shado, but Duskstalker is getting such a different skin that I just can't think of anything that fits him right now. Something will likely pop into my head soon after his remodel, so I'm not really worried about it.
- - -
Work is still wearing me out, and I think I may lose what little sanity I have before the holidays are over, but at least busy = time going by quicker. The weather has been really weird all fall, though. For example, the temperature was in the low 70s today, and it's supposed to be the same tomorrow. But I also heard that Wednesday-Friday(?) was supposed to be yucky and rainy. *Shrug* Welcome to Virginia weather?

Anyways, two more days of work, then I am lucky enough to be off on Thursday.Yay! Right now though, it's bedtime. /Waves

Storytime- "Scratch"

The wind rider cub that my sis got me is Kal's only in character pet, and this is how she found him. Enjoy!

Kal reined in her gryphon, wheeling in a tight circle over a tiny dark spot on the pale dead-grass plains outside of Warsong Hold. She landed, dismounted, and slowly approached the squalling creature, keeping an eye out for both the orc guards and the roaming undead that patrolled the area. Once she was close enough, she saw that the source of the plaintive cries was a tiny baby wyvern, young and very thin, but otherwise healthy-looking. She approached carefully, only to have the tiny thing scamper away, staying a few steps out of reach. Kal followed it almost halfway around Warsong Hold before she finally stopped, staring at the cub in frustration, and sighed. She turned in disgust and took a few steps away, then glanced back and stopped. The cub had followed her, and was still only about four steps away. The warrior quirked her eyebrow, then took a few more steps, watching as the baby toddled after her. She stopped again, and the cub stopped too. She absently scratched at the scar on her cheek as she considered what to do next.

Finally, she looked up and whistled, signaling Wings, who dropped from the sky to land next to her. The wyvern cub took a few steps away at the sight of the gryphon, then sat staring with his head cocked almost sideways. Kal dug inside one of the saddlebags and found some of her trail rations. She then waved Wings back into the sky, and turned back towards the cub. She held up a strip of jerky, and made a show of nibbling on it, then held her hand out. The cub stared, and took a step closer. Kal knelt down on the rough grass, and waved the dried meat at the cub again. A couple drops of saliva fell from it's tiny jaws, and it came closer, stopping again just barely out of reach. Kal broke a bite of jerky off, and tossed it next to the cub. It pounced, practically inhaling the tidbit. It's mind made up, the baby wyvern then scampered up to Kal and ferociously 'attacked' the hand holding the rest of the jerky. Kal gave a chuckle that was quickly interrupted by an "Ow" as the sharp claws missed the meat and found her wrist. She let him yank the jerky out of her hand and watched as he wolfed it down. He then looked up at her with an inquisitive "Rawr?", obviously wanting more. Kal slowly reached for him, and he stood still, only flinching slightly when she touched him. He allowed her to gather him up, and she whistled for Wings again. The cub had a brief moment of panic when the larger predator landed, scoring Kal's arms with his claws again, but she held on and crooned softly to him until he calmed. She climbed into her saddle, and urged Wings into the air and towards Valiance Keep, earning more scratches as the cub panicked again.

- - - -

The cub 'rawr'ed playfully as he swatted at Arien's hands. She giggled at him, and let him have the tidbit she had been hiding inside one fist. Kal chuckled too, and the paladin grinned up at her friend. "He sure is a cutey. So what do you think happened to him?" she asked. The warrior shrugged. "Most likely thing I can think of? The orcs tossed him out the door 'cause he's a runt. He ain't much bigger than a kitten, but his appetite and claws are big enough that I think he's older than he looks. He'll be lucky to reach half the size of the war mounts they're breeding out there, and they didn't want to waste space and food on him." Arien looked almost angry for a moment, then she shrugged, resigned. "Well, it's their loss. He'll get more than big enough for a good 'guard dog'. And even if he can't carry anyone, he can still follow you on Wings." Kal nodded, smiling at the baby contentedly. "Oh," Arien said, "What are we going to call him?" "I already thought of that, on the way home." Kal replied, and held out one arm. "His name is Scratch." Her arm was covered from fingers to elbow in thin, red lines, most of them small, but one or two of the claw marks were deep enough to possibly leave scars. Her other arm was in pretty much the same condition. Arien winced at the sight. "Um, do you want me to heal those? They have got to be pretty painful." Kal shrugged one shoulder unconcernedly. "They look worse than they feel. Besides..." She gave her friend an almost wolfish grin. "Sympathy from a certain someone is worth a few scratches." Arien blinked at her for a moment, then quietly covered her face with one hand, but not before Kal saw that she was trying hard to stifle a laugh. Scratch looked up at both of them, then gave a loud 'rawr' and pounced on Kal's boot.

Getting Closer...

Cataclysm is creeping up on us, and I've been thinking (as I'm sure a lot of people have) about what I would like to do first once it's installed and the servers are up and (hopefully) running.

First of all? Take Kelesaria to Hyjal. It is one of the most important places for her, and after being locked out with the rest of the world, she wants to go back and see if everything is still in one piece, especially after Deathwing does his thing.

That said, I'm wondering now if Kel will be my first character to the new level cap. My sis is moving her two last RP characters from Gilneas to Feathermoon, and I really want Kel and Jahira to go as well. Having the entire Stormbough/Riversong crews together on the same server is just too good to not happen, plus the thought of my girls being all by themselves is sort of depressing. The biggest problem with that will be server space. Feathermoon is already full for me, so two characters will have to either move (which is getting a bit much for my bank account) or get hit with the delete hammer. The only character I might be willing to remove would be Tadrith, since Kel would take over the 'hunter' spot on the server, and I hardly play him anymore anyways. However, I really don't want to, because #1, he is 80, and I really hate deleting a toon I spent that much time and effort with, and #2, he is Windstar's brother, and I don't want him to become just an invisible player-NPC. As far as transfers, I could move my warlock to Gilneas, and take either Rajji or Taarren, both of whom just got transfered to Feathermoon, and move them to either Gilneas, or to Nesingwary, where I have started a new baby tauren hunter to possibly hang out with the people from the Petopia forums, who have made a guild there. One problem with that, however, is professions. Rynia is a tailor/alchemist, both of which I already have on Gilneas, and I would lose access to those on Feathermoon if she gets moved. The only other option is the one I really want to do, and that is to get a second account. I think I could afford the second $15 a month (especially if I just buy game cards), I'm just not sure I could justify the price of another game. Maybe Christmas might help with that? I'll have to wait and see for now.

Another thought on having a second account: Kal, Tad, and Jahira will be getting moved over to it, which means that Windstar and Tad could be in-game together. As well as Kal with either Windstar, Arien, or Riatha. Just thinking about it almost gives me happy-goosebumps.

Back to the thought I had started that paragraph with: With Kel possibly moving servers, Caderly will become my new main raider on Gilneas. I'm pretty sure my guild will want to start gearing for and running raids ASAP, which means I'll have to level him first. So Kel may have to settle for the #2 spot. I actually think I could live with that, to be honest. The quests would be less frustrating the second time through (I hope), when I would have an idea of what I'm doing and where to find stuff. And since it would only be the second character, I wouldn't be burned out or bored with the content yet.

Now about new alts... Worgen hunter and druid, and troll druid, are all definately happening. I'm not sure which server(s), and I don't know how serious I will be at leveling and gearing those characters, but new forms and pets are too much to pass up. There is also the possibility of Vanyell turning from Forsaken to Night Elf, once the highborn make the class available. I'm also planning on a tauren pally, who will be pure ret, of course. :)

And, well, that's all I can think of for now. I'm still thinking about that post sis did, and about the impact of Cataclysm on my characters RP-wise. Hopefully that will be sorted enough to actually write and post soon. I also have a short story written, I just keep getting distracted when I try to post it. I'll probably put it up tomorrow. (Err, later today?) But for now, dozing off at keyboard = bedtime. /Waves

Omigolly

I got him I got him I GOT HIM!!!













Decided to do a quick fly-around in the Basin before bed, and there he was, prancing along up the west side of the zone. Just had to dismount, pop a haste potion, and hit the tame button. Nice, easy ending to a rather uneventful camp. Not nearly as long as Loque, though.
Now to get more serious about camping Skoll. Later, though. Must go try to sleep now (if I can after getting this awesome fella :D) /Waves

p.s. Yes, Kel has 2 devilsaurs now. She is keeping both of them. Also, will work on another 'update' type post soon. Sis has made me start thinking about the impact that the Cataclysm will have on some of my girls, too, so I'll have something about that as well. Hopefully within the next week or so, if my ADD will let me get my thoughts about it all in order. /Waves again

Update and Stuff

As I write this...

Tadrith has gotten Aubri up to 80.
Kelesaria has done the same with Rhaj. Fierro the core hound is 2 bubbles from 80.
She has also tamed a jormungar worm. Shayd is already 80, thank goodness.
She is also beginning to Skoll-camp.
Kel, Jahira, and Arien have all gotten the Headless Horseman's mount. Caderly, Arien and Riatha all have squashling pets.
I have spontaneously decided to (casually) work on Kel's 100-mount achievement. She's up to 70 so far. This may take a while...
Windstar is helping sis's rogue Rillian get his Cenarian Expedition rep up. She might actually get her Guardian of Cenarius title before Cata comes out. Maybe.
I have been neglecting my guys on Durotan. I must fix this.
PetEmote, MyRolePlay, and WoWScribe have all been updated. This makes me happy.
Worms and core hounds have some very... interesting random emotes.

That is all for now. /Waves

Patch thoughts so far...

In spite of most of my favorite addons being borked(/cry @ PetEmote and MyRolePlay), I have been busy the last couple days. It was mostly herb farming for the first couple days, to get everyone glyphed up, but I've done some pet-grinding and a couple heroics on some of my guys/girls, and here's some first impressions.

Hunters - I love focus. LOVE IT. Also, my hunters have almost all their old buddies back. Rajji has Razer the raptor, as well as all 3 of his lions (one of each color). He just needs to retame his serpent and he'll be all set. Tadrith has Aubri the dragonhawk and Treyvan the bear (his spirit beast has been renamed, of course). Kel has... way too many to remember. But I'll try. Tyran the devilsaur is back in the stables, as well as her owl Verdan, who will become ghostly when Cata goes live. And Ruggs the rhino, Shimmer the moth (who is white this time, since my lowbie orc alt has a blue one), and Kymeera the chimera. And Rhaj. Dear Rhaj, who was her very first pet, who kept the name through several skin changes, from nightsaber to black panther to white tiger. He had to go bye-bye when she got Sabre, but now he's back, and likely to be the first of her new ones to 80. I never realized how much I missed him until I went to tame him, but seeing him back at her side just feels... right. And yes, there will be a story later.

Paladin - HOLY FLIP BLIZZARD!!! Arien is more fun than ever. I love holy power, I LOVE the new ability, Templar's Verdict, seeing it crit for over 10k on a training dummy made my eyes almost pop out. Word of glory is awesome too. Instant heal with no mana cost? Yes please. (So useful for kiting Chillmaw.) Her dps has seen a pretty hefty increase, and with the new awesome currency system, she's going to be getting her couple last ilvl 200 items replaced before long. Short version: my pally addiction has been renewed.

Druids - I am sort of 'meh' about feral now. I haven't actually done anything with my feral druids yet (too busy with hunters), but the talent tree is a tad disappointing. Bear tanks should be happy, but the kitty side seems too shallow, with too many bear-oriented 'filler' talents to reach the good kitty ones. Balance does seem to be more fun now, though. I am liking the new eclipse system, and Starsurge is awesome. I will most likely be taking Jahira and Windstar through heroics soon to tinker more with both specs. Once I can make myself leave Arien and my hunters alone for a while...

Mage - Holy cow, Vanyell is fun. He has his water elemental (and named it Ty), and Ice Lance, and some pretty cool talents. And mana brownies. And space on my quickbars, after having all his port spells consolidated similar to the call pet setup. He's 45 now, btw, and possibly will become one of my 'mains' in Cata.

Warrior, death knight, warlock, rogue, and priest - I haven't really done anything with Kal, Riatha, or Caderly yet, so that will have to wait for a future post. The new stuff for shadow priests look danged awesome though, and I can't wait to start trying it out. I haven't done much with Talia either, though I did get her spec'ed and glyphed (more or less). She on my list of 'lowbies that need to be leveled', though, so she'll be shadow-stepping her way along sometime hopefully soon. Rynia has gotten some playtime, and the new stuff for 'locks is fun too (even when all the fun stuff keeps proc'ing right as the mobs die). I really oughta get her up to 80 before Cata comes... :\

Shaman - Taarren's elemental spec is even more fun than before. Unfortunately, her haste seems to have gone down, so she's not doing so well in heroics because stuff dies before she can do much more than drop her totems, fire nova, and flameshock. She had gotten to play with Earthquake though, and I like it. Finally shamans have some real AoE! I haven't even done the talents for her enhancement side, because I really believe I'll just be ignoring it, like I have been. I'll fix it up and test it out sometime, though.

And that's all I can think of so far. I've got another post, about what I want to do before Cata and what I want to do first when it comes out, sorting itself out in my head, so that may be coming up hopefully in the next day or so.

/Waves

New Old Friends

I will try to get a better post about how much I love this patch sometime when I haven't been up all night. For now, have a happy reunion. :)






That's right, Kel has her baby back. Boo yea.

Hunter + Boredom = ...New Pet?

Boredom can make me do some really off-the-wall stuff sometimes. Like today. I had been poking on the Petopia forums, and just for kicks, I read the thread about how to tame The Beast in LBRS. I had never been a fan of core hounds, with their loud footsteps and annoying growl, but the thought of my 'uber huntress' having a pet with a 'boss' tag was very tempting.

So I'm off work today and tomorrow, and I took a day from my new LotRO addiction to tinker on WoW. The Beast was still in the back of my mind, and when I got on Kel to do a holiday Direbrew run for some easy frost badges, I decided what the heck. She has a lot of older tier gear in her bank, because I am a packrat (in-game, I'm not nearly as bad irl), so I got out anything with +haste on it, and regemmed them with haste gems. Then mailed her some worg meat for buff food, and some speed potions and elixirs. Then finally I felt like I was ready for an attempt.



After a few tries, I figured it wasn't going to work out. Her cast time for tame beast was still too long, and he kept knocking her back and interrupting it. I couldn't find the forum post to get more ideas, but I did discover that one of the PVP trinkets has a nice chunk of haste. A bunch of stone keeper shard turn-ins and a couple battlegrounds later, with the purchase of a rep belt with more haste, and a couple more gems, I decided to try again. She had over 600 haste rating by then, all buffed up, but when she got back to the Beast's room and had another go, it still wasn't enough. This was getting a bit discouraging, and I didn't know any shamen that could have come helped with heroism, so I was about to give up. I decided to have just one more try, though. And guess what?



I have no clue what happened that time, but IT WORKED!! My lil hunter has tamed a boss. /flex Now I just need to wait for Cataclysm and more stable slots, so I can start planning my King Krush hunt. >.>

The only bad part is that Kel had to let Tyran the devilsaur go. I'm going to miss him, but really, it's just a temporary separation. And he really was the only 'expendable' pet she had. He'll be one of the first she re-tames after the expansion, though. But for now, Kel has a big drooly puppy to level. Even if you can't tell because of the boss skull on his portait. /grin



/Waves

Storytime: Young Kal

Have a random Kal story. I don't think I've ever really mentioned just how close Kal and Riatha were before Riatha was killed and reborn as a Death Knight. Riatha pretty much raised Kal, acting as mother, sister, and best friend to Kal for most of her life. Even after her transformation, Ria is still always there for her 'baby sister'.


Riatha followed her ears to the source of the whimpering she heard. Sure enough, there was her sister, huddled in a corner of the small parlor, trying to stifle her tears. The young Sentinel-in-training deliberately bumped a small table just hard enough to rattle the knick-knacks sitting on it, letting Kal know she was there without startling her. The tiny elven girl looked up quickly, but then relaxed when she saw who it was. "Ria, didn't see you there, sorry," she mumbled. Riatha came over and sat on a nearby couch, looking her sister over critically. "Okay, who was it this time, babe. The boys again?" Kal sniffed as she joined Riatha on the couch, huddling on one end. "Nah, was the girls this time. They was all playing dress-up, and when I told 'em I didn't wanna join, they started callin' me names." She turned her head, trying to wipe her eyes against her shoulder.

Riatha gave a quiet grunt, and began looking inside the drawers of the table, pulling a hankerchief out of the second one. She leaned closer to her little sister, gently wiping her eyes, then handing the hanky over so Kal could blow her nose. After doing so, Kal rested her chin on her drawn-up knees, staring at the opposite wall. "Why're they all like that, Ria? All they care about is how pretty they think they are. It's so bloody boring." Riatha stifled a chuckle, and replied, "Don't say that around Mother, you know she doesn't like that language. And I don't know. I guess some people are just like that. Not everyone can be as eager about learning to fight and scout as you, you know." She reached over to ruffle Kal's hair, making her duck, grumbling. Suddenly, Kal sat up and leaned over to give Riatha a hug. "Least I got someone to talk to 'bout it. Even if we don't understand 'em, we can still complain to each other about 'em, right?" She grinned mischievously up at her sister. Riatha grinned back, and returned the hug warmly. "Right."

Distractions

So, I'm still keeping pretty busy. Lord of the Rings Online is now free-to-play, which means I got to dust off my 2 accounts and get back into the best game environment I've ever found. Yes, I have 2 accounts. I blame a mix-up with the 2 trial versions I got to tinker with before I got addicted-I mean- started playing my own 'real' account. Although I have spent most of the time on said 'real' account.

It's nice playing a game where when a question is asked, even if it's the 347th time for THE EXACT SAME QUESTION, and instead of sarcasm or even downright cruel answers, people actually give help. I think the main frustration with WoW lately has been that so many people decide to be complete jerks, mostly because of the LFD tool. Why give the effort to be nice to someone you'll likely never see again, right? Uh, wrong, for me at least. LotRO has the best community I've ever played in, which I have missed, even more than fun, addicting professions and the amazing music system. (Seriously, Blizzard, put a woodworking profession and a music-playing system in WoW and I will love you forever.)

Well, besides beating up wild animals, bandits, and orcs on LotR, work has still been seriously kicking my tail, although, if I'm careful, I don't hurt quite as much. And in addition, Kal has been poking in my head, and I've been writing a ton of stuff about her. Nearly all back-story stuff, since current RP is pretty much non-existent for now. The one or two times I have been awake enough to participate, nothing has been going on, and the times stuff actually happens, I end up hearing about it from sis after I wake up from crashing as soon as I got home from work. I really do miss my friends, though. And Kal misses 'her girl' too. *sigh*

And now I get to grab about 3 hours of sleep before my next long shift at work. *grumble,why do I keep doing this,grumble* /sleepywave

Woot!

Yay for accomplishments. His tailoring is ~440 now, too. He had his ebonweave robe and gloves and a bunch of other stuff made, all ready to wear when he dinged. Then I went and completed all but Occulus for his Northrend dungeonmaster, so he could learn the Wispcloak pattern. On a whim, I decided to try one heroic before going to bed, and guess what popped? Occulus. So he can make the cloak now, and has a spiffy achievement.

I spent today on Allods, leveling my caster-spec priest (who happens to be also named Caderrly. I'm good at names, aren't I? :P), who is now about halfway to 18.


(Why yes, he does have a funky-looking bishop hat. Feel free to laugh at it. :P)

I'll probably be back on WoW tomorrow. (Er, later today?) At least, around work and stuff. Honestly, if my bank account wasn't finally getting a little less depressing, I would be really hating my job right now. Worse than I already do, I mean. From last Friday, 9/3, til Tuesday, 9/14, I will have worked 10 of the 12 days. My joint problems are making me pretty danged miserable, and the fact that the weather is changing towards fall doesn't help. Cold nights mean waking up stiff and sore, and having to face a day at work just makes me want to hide under the covers and not come out ever again. It is nice not having to worry as much about paying my share of the rent, but sometimes I wonder if it really is worth it. /Sigh

Although, on a good note, last Thursday I got to help rescue a kitten from a car engine in the parking lot.

And with that, I must go sleep. /Waves

Been Busy... (lots of pics)

Sorry for the long /afk again, but I've been distracted lately. I've actually been taking a small break from Warcraft to try out a new game my brother plays, Allods. So far it's been a blast. Not quite as addicting as WoW, but a lot of fun. And the gameplay and graphics are at least as good as WoW. Have a few examples:

Some of the scenery-












There are critters EVERYWHERE in this game. And they are all CUTE!














While tinkering on that stuff, I've been doing a project with Caderlly, my little Forsaken shadow priest. I was planning to server/faction switch him, but before I did, I wanted the ravasaur mount (because I heard that it turns to a winterspring frostsaber for faction switchers). So for 21 days (I missed one day, I'm bad), Cad was out collecting meat, eggs, and feathers for his tiny baby ravasaur. I finished it Thursday, and today did the switch. Ta-da!










(No shadowform, so you can actually see the pretty mounts :P)
That's one toon off Durotan, 3 more to go. Hopefully it won't take a few more months before Taarren gets her turn. I'm getting back into WoW again too, so Cad should be 80 and hitting heroics before too long. I'm kinda sorta hoping to get him geared quickly, so I can start trying to get him into raids on occasion. I love raiding on Kel, but she's getting most of the gear I want on her, and it would be nice to have something different to do. Plus, Cad was my main raider horde-side during BC, and I've missed him. I just hope my guild will cooperate with him staying shadow. I haven't touched his holy off-spec for several levels now, and I don't really like priest healing, or healing raids in general. I may even respec his holy side to a shadow PVP spec, haven't decided yet.

And now I think I've rambled enough for now. Hopefully the next update will be sooner. And will most likely have more Allods in it. >.>
/Waves

Have some new arts

I actually did these a while ago, but I've been too busy/distracted to put 'em up here.

First- Have a Jahira (about to pounce on someone, most likely her brother):



And a wolf, inspired by one of the pictures on my calender:



And finally, meet Kelesaria's best friend, Sabre:



That one was just a quick sketch, nothing fancy. Maybe someday I'll add some details, like his stripes and stuff, but I'm not nearly as ambitious as my sister is with her drawings. :P

And that's it for now. My RP itch is starting to come back, but now everyone is tinkering on alts, or on vacation, or something. It's getting a bit frustrating. And more than a bit lonely... So I usually go back to my own alts, or leveling Feathermoon-Riatha's professions. Or watching Cataclysm stuff on youtube. (Can't wait for worgen omygolly.) At least my own vacation is coming up soon. Yay for a whole week away from work! /Waves

p.s. Nightwish's album Dark Passion Play is AMAZING!
p.p.s. Have you ever had something you wanted to tell people, but you were too afraid of how they would respond to actually say anything? It really stinks.

Short Post is Short... sort of

Not much going on. Kel's guild raided ICC again, but I was only there for the first night (Wednesday). The reason was, Friday night me and sis went to hang out with our brother and some friends, then Saturday was a friend's engagement party. Perhaps I should feel guilty for skipping on the raids, but you know what? I had fun for the first time in... well, a very long time. WoW has not been the fun distraction that it used to be, and I think it has been good for me to be around people, especially family. There has been almost nothing to do lately except heroics, dailies, and rep grinds, and it's all just getting a bit boring. Especially since one of my friends has suddenly been MIA, and another has been distracted by Starcraft 2. Don't worry, I'm not quitting the game or anything, not even close. I'm just sort of taking it easy with it, until the expansion comes out.

On that note, I have rerolled Kalenedral's sister Riàtha on Feathermoon. Since my financial situation has yet to improve, and I had made a character to hold the name, I decided to just level that toon, instead of transfering my 80 from Gilneas. Only problem so far is, I have no idea what to do proffession-wise. She has mining right now, for money, but I'm not sure whether to take another money-maker, or try (again) to skill up a blacksmith.

Work is still wearing me down, but my hours are slightly better this week, so at least my paycheck will be decent. Maybe. I hope.

And it is way too late, and I haven't been sleeping well lately, so I'm off to bed. I need to stop trying to write blog posts this late, I really do. /waves

More in ICC

Kel and Co. went back to Icecrown over the weekend. Friday night didn't go so well, as it was a 'learning night'. We wound up beating our heads against Putricide for several attempts before we gave up. We made progress each time, though, so we weren't too disapointed. By the end we were consistantly getting to phase 2, and even got to phase 3 a couple times. We just had trouble with getting the slimes down before the transitions.

Saturday night was better. We still took a few attempts, but we were getting to phase 3 almost right off the bat, and still improving each try. Finally:



We got him down quick enough, we had time to start working on another new boss. The officers decided that Dreamwalker would most likely be the easiest to learn, so we headed over. Again, it took us a few tries with killing adds fast enough, and in the end we had 5 healers (2 pallies and a druid on the dragon and 2 more druids on the raid), and it finally clicked:



Fun times. :D

Oh yea, we did VoA right before ICC on Saturday, and my sis's DK got his t10 gloves. /score

Can't wait for next week! /waves

Raiding again (finally)

It took a week after the GM's return, but we finally had people show up for last night's raid. I've missed raiding, so it was pretty dang fun. We took out Jarraxus for the weekly, with one practice wipe (>.>). Then it was back into ICC, where we discovered the pity buff was up to 30%. Geez.

It all went really well. We one-shot pretty much everything, except for one wipe on Festergut. Not even sure what happened, but we got him next try with almost a minute before the enrage timer. Then had the easiest Rotface fight ever. It was getting late by then, so we're gonna start at Proff P. Friday night.

The best part of the whole night?



Kel got a new toy. Lady Deathwhisper finally decided to be nice and drop her bow. Kel's next 3 kill shot crits after equipping it were all for 22k-26k. (Her previous best was somewhere around 21k or so.) Needless to say, I was very happy. Then after we were done for the night, she had enough frost badges to grab her T10 gloves. Happy happy hunter.

I'm still working on alts, but I'll save that for the next post. Oh, and a little bit of good news: stuff at my job has been a little better this week, so my depression is somewhat better. We'll have to see what next week will be like, but for now, I'm doing okay. Only problem is being scheduled for 5 days straight, but most of them were short shifts, so I didn't get as many hours as I would have preffered. And I'm tired and sore as heck. Only one day to go before I get a day off to rest, though.

And that's it for now. /Waves

On a happier note...

Yay, my first level 80 death knight. And another toon to grind heroics with. /Sigh.

And I was working on the Sons of Hodir quests when she dinged. I think every one of my toons have been on that chain when they hit 80, except one. I think it was Tadrith, iirc.

Now Rynia the warlock and Caderlly the priest get to compete for my short attention span. Two clothies, eek.

Nothing else interesting going on right now. /Waves

An Update and an Apology

Well, I have been working on alts a lot lately. My tauren druid Bearkat is 76 and tanking stuff like a pro (which I am not, har har). Talía the Belf rogue is slowly getting up there, sitting at 26 now. Rynia the warlock is almost 74 and going through the Wrathgate quest chain. My undead shadow priest Caderlly is 74 too, and doing Wrathgate from the horde side. And my death knight Riatha is finally up to 79, and working on getting her to 80 next. I have been doing a little bit on my neglected draenei shammy too. She is dual specced for elemental now, and I'm trying to collect some caster gear for her (with help from a friend). On hindsight, I probably should have just saved the gold and respecced her, rather than buying her dual spec. Oh well.

As far as my 80s go, Kelesaria is trying to start raiding again. My GL is no longer MIA, and the guild is trying to get going again. Only problem is, all our regulars from before are now MIA most of the time. /Sigh. Jahira has switched her resto spec for a tanking spec, and it's been pretty fun. Playing Bearkat made me realize how much I've missed bear tanking, and it's been good to have Jahira back at it, after being a guild tank for the end of BC. I still run into the random jerks in LFD, but hey, that's what /ignore is for, right? Windstar has been getting some play time, even if it is only to run around picking herbs for Rynia's alchemy. I've missed my lil kitty, and I may start playing her more after I get bored with my leveling binge. My tauren shaman Taarren has been getting somewhat geared up. Switching her back to elemental was definately a good idea. Enhancement was fun, but there's a lot of little details to keep track of in order to play well, and I was getting slightly frustrated with it. Elemental is quite a bit simpler, and tons of fun. Rajji and Tadrith have sadly been neglected. Not that I'm getting tired of huntering, it's just that, when I do want to play a hunter, I want to be on Kel. And honestly, it doesn't really bother me that much.

And then there's Kal. Argh. For reasons that I will get into in a minute, I haven't been able to do much on Kal lately. I have been doing her JC daily, and sometimes I'll do a heroic as well, but then I get bored, or something, and switch to another toon. I really want to play Kal, but when I'm on her... I don't know.

I think mostly, it's just that I have been really depressed lately. Depression is a problem I have had for the last couple of years, but usually I'm able to distract myself from it, with friends and WoW. This time around, however, nothing is really working. Trying not to go into details, but I have just been feeling frustrated, ignored, and alone lately. My brother (when he is not at his base in another state) and one of my WoW friends have been helping, but really, there's only so much they can help me with right now. My schedule and other issues at work, and a ton of financial problems, have only been making it all worse. My job makes me tired all the time, I have health issues that I don't have the money to fix, and I have been having trouble sleeping, even when I'm worn out from work.

So, the point to all this is, I want to say I'm sorry to my Warcraft friends. I don't know if anyone has even noticed my absence from RP time, or when I'm hiding on different servers/factions. But right now, even as lonely as I feel most of the time, I'm just not much fun to be around. I'm trying to get myself over this, it's just taking a while. Hopefully I can be back hanging around with everyone soon, without the bouts of self-pity and grumpiness.

And getting back to my problems with playing Kal... All I can say is, it's just too hard to play a character that is suposed to be happy, as well as being in an awesome relationship with someone she adores, when I am so miserable and lonely. Not to mention the fact that Kal hasn't even seen 'her girl' in-game in weeks. Again, I am sorry. I just can't keep this going on my own, so I'm resorting to avoiding it. The worst part is, all my other RL problems are making it hard to care (much).

This has been one of the hardest posts I have ever written, and I'm probably going to be second-guessing posting it at all for a while. But I wanted the (most likely) few people who know me, who actually read this blog, to know what's been going on.

My 2 cents on RealID forums.

So, this thing Blizzard wants to do with the forums, with putting people's real names on their posts, is ALL OVER the blogosphere right now, and I've been reading a lot of it, and this is just my simple opinion.

Bad, bad idea.

Seriously, what are these guys thinking? ARE they even thinking?? First of all, as BBB pointed out, this won't stop all the trolls, because some people won't care. Heck, some people might even be encouraged by this, I don't know.

Second, this is a frickin' game, NOT Facebook. I have a Facebook (and I am proud to say that everyone on my small list of friends are all people that I know). As one person stated, in a epically awesome post, most people come to Warcraft to escape the real world. We don't want to add RL social garbage to it.

And thirdly, as others have also pointed out, this is a HUGE breach in personal security. Just because some people don't care, or have common names, that doesn't mean everyone does. I haven't been stalked or harassed personally, but hearing about others that have scares the crap outa me. The fact that I have discovered, through a website someone linked, that there are exactly 2 people with my name in the U.S. just makes it worse. Only the fact that I am one of the most boring people on the planet makes me feel any better. Anyone trying to stalk me/steal my identity/what have you will be very disappointed. And thank goodness my ex was never the stalker/vengeful type.

I have never posted anything on the forums, and now I never will. (Not that I would ever have anything worth posting anyways, since I don't do theorycrafting and I'm too shy about my RP stories to put any in such a highly-trafficked place.) I don't plan on quitting, because the game itself is still fun, and it is still my main form of escape, and stress relief. If Blizz keeps up with this garbage, though, I'm not sure how long it will truly be an 'escape'.

I have been playing this game since vanilla release. Thinking of this makes me very sad.

"Chosen"

(This may be a couple days late, but work/gametime has kept me very busy lately.)
So, after many many weeks of saving every copper I could, and getting lucky with finding a battered hilt cheaper than the usual buyout price, Kal has a Quel'Delar. It was totally worth it. Besides it being the best weapon you can get outside of raids, the questline was epic, in every sense of the word. I don't want to give any spoilers to anyone that wants to go through the chain themselves, but here is a bunch of screenies I took while going through it all. Possible spoiler stuff at the end. And I did miss taking screenshots of a few steps (because I was geeking out so much I forgot).
























































My favorite part? When Kal was purifying the sword, and Lor'themar tried to take it and got tossed across the room, and Auric told him, "Quel'Delar is not chosen, it chooses it's master." Kal actually felt very humbled that such a powerful weapon chose her for it's wielder. Almost every step of this chain gave me goosebumps, but that part of it was just amazing. I think it was even better than seeing her name yelled across Dalaran.

In other news, Rynia the warlock is now level 70, destruction is still the most fun spec EVER, and Kal and Channi are Flame Wardens. Yes, they did most of it together. The fact that the two of them have had almost no in-game time together lately just makes the achievement even better (even if RL depression problems made me a grouch for a lot of the bonfire collecting/desecrating, sorry Channi :( ).

And now I've stayed up way too late again. Danged insomnia. :(
/Waves

Kalenedral - Scars

((So this took forever (darn you writer's block), but hopefully it will be worth the wait. I think I should apologize for the Massive Wall o'Text, but what started as just a simple story behind one of Kal's more prominent scars sort of turned into an important part of her backstory. This happened roughly 100 years before present-game-time, give or take a decade or so. PG-13 warning))


Kalenedral yawned as she nudged Nyte back towards the caravan. The start of the route was always the hardest, when leaving the comforts of a town for the rocky beds and dull trail rations of the road. Doesn't help when you stay up half the day, either, she thought, glancing at the guard commander. As if sensing her gaze, Tal looked back at her, and winked. Glancing around to make sure no one else was looking, he mimed a yawn at Kal, then grinned. Kal grinned back, shaking her head, as she approached.

"All clear to the road, sir." she reported. Tal nodded, and turned to signal the drivers to begin the journey.

The trade route between Astranaar and Feathermoon Stronghold was fairly easy most of the time, but it was long, the trail switching back and forth and detouring around mountainous regions most of the way. There were several places along the route where centaurs could attack, and a few points near where tauren tribes gathered, but enough guards usually deterred any attackers. The caravan was currently departing from Feathermoon, heading home to Astranaar, taking with it furs, ore, gems, and several old relics found in the ruins scattered across the mainland. It did pay very well, which mostly made up for the length and possible boredom of the trip.

Kal had dismounted briefly, to give Nyte a snack from the pouch on her saddle. When the drivers called out their readiness to start, she swung up onto his back and prepared to take her usual place, at the point. As she trotted her saber along the train of wagons, Tal watched her closely. She glanced back as she passed the leading wagon, and he caught her eye, giving her a slow wink. She flashed him a warm smile, and urged Nyte into a lope, as Tal called for the drivers to start.

- - - -

Talathian had joined the caravan route about a year after Kal. Within the next year, he was in charge of the guards. Calm, quiet, but forceful when necessary, he was a good commander, never asking any of his fighters to do anything that he was not willing to do himself. Kal wasn't sure exactly when she had fallen in love with him, but when the first tentative attempts at flirting began, she was quick to respond. The other guards found it amusing, and never said anything about the pairing to any of their superiors, at either end of the route. The drivers, of course, kept to themselves mostly, and hardly seemed to notice.

They were an unlikely pair, their personalities so different that some were surprised that they didn't drive each other crazy. Tal was quiet, level-headed, and didn't like drawing attention to himself unless it was necessary. Kal, on the other hand, was cocky, self-confidant, and could be hot-tempered at times. The two of them were practically inseperable, however, at least when they were on the road. Their differences seemed to balance each other, rather than cause problems. The level of respect they had for each other made sure there were no problems on the job, either. Kal had no trouble taking orders from her lover, and Tal always made sure she knew the reasons for those orders. All in all, it was as close to a perfect relationship that either of them could have asked for.

- - - -

The journey was looking to be completely uneventful, for the first couple days. The weather stayed reasonable, the road hadn't had any recent rockfalls or other obstructions. As they passed the border between Feralas and the land known as the Desolace, however, Kal began seeing some disturbing signs. At first she thought the hoofprints were just from random hunting parties, but over the next few days, she saw more and more of them, always in the same direction as the caravan route. Centaurs appeared to be stalking them. Or leading them, Kal couldn't tell which. And leading them could only mean one thing: a possible trap or ambush. As they neared the border of Stonetalon Mountains, she began spotting the tracks more often, and in even larger numbers.

"Tal," she called, reporting her from her latest scouting trip as camp was being set up for the day. "I found more hoofprints. Same as the last few times, fresh, leading our trail, and way too many of the urfes for a simple hunting party." She looked at him nervously as he watched the caravan, a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Alright, m'love, maybe this is something serious, but what can we do about it? We're going as fast as we can now. Any faster and the horses will start wearing out, then we will be in trouble." He shrugged in frustration. Kal rubbed a hand over her face, her own frustration matching his.

"I still think we could try pushing on through at least part of the day. Maybe start a bit later so everyone gets some extra rest first. It will be unexpected, and might throw these bloody centaurs off our track," she responded, with a slight grumbling tone. The helplessness and uncertainty of feeling like they were being hunted was finally beginning to wear on her nerves. Tal finally turned towards her, as the last tent went up, and the cooking fires were all lit. He carefully looked her over, noticing the faint signs of stress she was starting to show. He stepped closer, putting his arms around her waist and pulling her body close against his own.

"I know, and it just might work, but I would like to see you convince all these people to change their habits. You know how set in their ways most of them are. Night has always been the time we are strongest, and it just seems to make the most sense for them if we are moving then. Please, just try to stop worrying about it? Just for a little while." He raised one hand to gently brush some stray hair out of her face. "I can think of something I'd much rather be doing than arguing over this..."

Kal looked up at him, and gave a slow, wolfish smile. Tal leaned down to give her a kiss, and slowly guided her towards his tent. Any thoughts of food or rest were quickly shoved to the back of their minds, as they tried very hard to make each other forget their troubles. At least for the next hour or so.

- - - -

Tal carefully untangled himself from Kal, settling down next to her close enough so their bodies were still touching. "Sweet holy Elune, Kal..." he whispered, panting slightly. She chuckled softly, curling close against him and nuzzling his shoulder. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer and murmuring in her ear, "Love you." "Love you too," she whispered back. They were silent for several long seconds, then, "You know.." Tal began, thoughtfully, "When this trip is done, we should take off for a bit, just us two." Kal raised her head to look at him, one eyebrow raised. Tal grinned at her, a glint of mischief in his eyes. "It would be nice to really be alone for a few weeks. I've been saving for a long time, and I know you have too, so we can miss the next trip, if we wanted to." Kal nodded, a thoughtful smile on her face. They both suddenly looked at each other, identical grins on their faces. Tal voiced the thought they both had first. "Your mother is gonna be so scandalized." They both chuckled at the thought, then Kal settled back down again, her head resting on Tal's shoulder. She lay still for a long time after that, just listening to him breathe as he fell asleep.

- - - -

Tal watched Kal for several seconds, trying to make sure she really was still asleep and not just pretending. He leaned down to kiss her shoulder, only to have her eyes open before he had touched her. He completed the motion anyways, and she gave him a slightly-sleepy smile. "Someday," he whispered, "I'm going to wake up first and surprise you." "Keep dreaming, love," was her reply. She started to say something else, but then he kissed her again, and they quickly forgot about everything except each other for a while.

After the conversation, and the things she had found while scouting the previous day, Kal's lovemaking might have had a bit of desperation in it. Tal gave no indication of noticing, but he did hold her for a bit longer than usual, when they were done. Eventually, however, they had to get up and face the long night on the road.

Kal tried to ignore the vague sense of dread she was feeling, which slowly got stronger as the night passed. Finally, she was getting so jumpy, she came back to the caravan and sent two other scouts ahead to the point. She rode Nyte up and down the line of wagons, watching the sides of the trail for anything threatening, but seeing nothing. Tal stopped her only once, as the pre-dawn light began brightening the eastern sky. "Kal, I know you're nervous, but please, try not to do anything crazy?" he told her, looking at her worriedly. She could only look back at him, and then offer a sort of half-nod, half-shrug, then she went back to her 'pacing'. She began wondering if she should ride out to check on the scouts.

- - - -

The attack, beginning at dawn as the drivers were starting to look for a likely camping spot, was sudden and vicious. With no warning from the scouts, the centaurs opened fire on the wagons, aiming for drivers and horses alike. The drivers tried to make a run for it, but when the lead horse of the first wagon went down, it started a hopeless tangle. Kal choked back a cry of mingled anger and frustration, and turned Nyte back to the caravan, urging him into a flat run. She charged past the line of wagons, straight at where the arrows were coming from. She barely heard Tal's yell of "Kal! DON'T!!" as she flew past, pulling her sword from it's scabbard. The dim-witted creatures didn't even notice her, so intent on the wagons, until she was close enough to see them through the rows of bushes they were using for cover. There was only enough time for a couple arrows to bounce off her breastplate, then she was crashing through their cover, sword swinging. Nyte struck out as well as he could without losing his stride, and several of the beast-men fell.

As she swept past the line of archers, however, she looked up and saw just how much trouble they were in. A huge, milling mass of the centaurs were forming ranks for a charge, and she could see at least three clan banners. Several dozen centaurs, at least, perhaps close to a hundred, were about to overrun the caravan. Nyte stopped and spun without any guidance, and they charged back through the archer ranks, taking several more out as they rushed back to the caravan. As the warrior broke free of the bushes, she felt an impact in her left shoulder. A moment later, burning pain raced down her arm. Her adrenaline quickly dulled it, and since it wasn't her sword-arm, she decided it wasn't important. Kal headed straight for Tal, and quickly gasped out her warning, "They're gonna charge. Three clans at least." He stared at her for a single second, then his eyes widened and he spun, shouting orders. The wagons that could still be moved were pulled into a defensive half-circle, and the horses were cut free, with the idea that anyone that survived could track them down later.

Kal finally took a second to look at her shoulder, and angrily tore out the crude arrow she found buried in the muscle. She dropped from Nyte's back, letting him loose to wreak what damage he could, and began trying to help Tal get the drivers away from the wagons and running for (hopefully) safety. A pair of Sentinels followed them, for protection. The rest, along with the mercenary guards, began preparing to buy the drivers as much time as possible to get away. She then suddenly heard a loud roar, followed by what sounded like a stampede, and realized they had just run out of time.

The following battle was a chaotic mess. Kal lost track of how many centaurs she hacked, slashed, or stabbed. Her sword arm grew tired, then sore, then went numb, and still she fought. When her sword was too heavy to lift, she switched hands, fighting left-handed and ignoring the stabbing pain from the arrow-wound in her shoulder. She caught occasional glimpses of Tal, either fighting the beast-men, or perched on some part of a wagon, feathering them with arrows. He always seemed to be alright, so she quickly turned her attention back to her next target.

A mistake was inevitable, as tired as she was. She was holding off two centaurs, and didn't see the third come up behind her. A split-second flash was her only warning, and her automatic reflexes saved her when her body was too fatigued to respond on it's own. The descending axe, which had been aiming to split her skull, instead only sliced down her cheek. She spun, disemboweling the centaur, then suddenly the two in front of her were down as well, one with an arrow through it's eye, the other choking it's life out through it's gaping throat. She looked past the bodies and saw Tal, panting heavily and covered in blood, most of it not his. She barely registered that fact, then realized the fighting was slowing down. A look at the sky showed it was almost noon. As battle rage faded, exhaustion began setting in.

Tal caught her good shoulder as she staggered slightly. "It's over. There's too many, and most of the fighters are dead," he told her, a grim expression on his face. "C'mon, we have to get away while they're picking over the loot." Kal looked over his shoulder and saw that he was right. With most of the fighters dead or run off, most of the centaurs were breaking into the wagons, pulling out crates and sacks to look through for.... whatever it was they had wanted. She shook her head slightly, looked at Tal, and nodded. They took off, running as fast as their weary bodies could manage, then suddenly they heard a shout. Several centaurs had trapped three drivers against a wagon, and were toying with them. The two warriors reacted instinctively, charging the beast-men from behind, and each cut down one before the rest realized they were being attacked. Most of the rest were quickly dispatched, but one broke free and ran back to the other wagons, calling an alarm. Tal turned to Kal, a desperate light in his eyes.

"Go, get them out of here." he told her, in his do-not-argue voice. She tried anyway, "No, come on, we both can. You-" He cut her off. "There's more elves stuck back there. I'm going to try to help, then we'll muddle the trail as we catch up, in case the urfes try to track us. Now go. GO ON! I'll see you again soon." She stared at him helplessly for a brief moment, then grabbed the front of his armor and pulled him into a quick, hard kiss. She pressed her cheek against his, and breathed into his ear, "You'd better." She then released him, turned to the terrified drivers, and herded them off, following the faint trail of the other escapees.

The bedraggled group finally caught up with the rest of what was left of the caravan. All but two drivers had gotten away, but only four of the twenty guards, mercenaries and Sentinels both, had survived, including Kal. She surveyed the little group for a few moments, then, when no one made any move to take charge, she called out, "We need to move. We need shelter, and a hiding place, in case any of those things try to hunt us down." At the alarmed looks most of them gave her, she quickly assured them, "I don't think they will, they seemed like they were happy to loot everything and go their way, but better safe than sorry, eh?" The other guards, and two of the drivers that seemed to be in better shape than the others, began guiding the group towards a boulder-strewn ravine, with plenty of shade and hiding places.

Kal stood still, staring back down the trail. A worried expression was crinkling her forehead, and she didn't even notice when one of the drivers, a tall slender female, approached. The driver cleared her throat slightly, making Kal jump. "You coming? These people need someone steady to watch over them. I think anything bigger than a bug is going to set them all into a panic, right now." She gave a weak attempt at a chuckle, then gave Kal a curious look when the warrior didn't move. Kal shook her head. "I gotta go back and check things. Tal should be coming soon, and I want to meet him. He may need help with any injured with him." The other elf looked at her carefully for a long moment, then nodded. "I guess I can try to keep everyone settled for a little while. You just hurry back now, okay?" Kal nodded absently as she spun on her heel and strode back the way they had come, worry giving her a small spurt of new energy.

She hadn't gotten very far when a familiar "Whuff" made her pause. Nyte trotted up to her and rubbed his massive head against her, carefully. She gratefully rubbed his ears as she inspected him. He had a few minor cuts, but seemed mostly unscathed, so she swung up onto his back, guiding him back towards the caravan. She mentally cursed Tal and his sense of responsibility the entire way back, keeping an eye out for any sign of him or any other stragglers, but finding nothing.

The sun was beginning it's westward descent as she approached the ruined wagons. Everything was still, no sign of the centaurs, but no sign of any elves either. Kal felt her heart clench in her chest with fear. She urged Nyte into a cautious trot, then slid off as they reached the nearest wagon. Before she could even begin searching, a quiet cough guided her to him.

Tal was lying, half on his back and half on his side, next to a pile of centaur bodies. The bodies of several other elves were mixed in with the beast-men, but Kal had eyes only for the fallen warrior. She thought he was already dead at first, but when she knelt next to him, he opened his eyes. Kal choked back a sob at the sight of the wounds that covered his body, and the gritty dirt she was kneeling in was saturated with his blood. He blinked a couple times, as though not sure if he was really seeing her, then reached a hand weakly towards her face. She caught it and held it up to her unmarred cheek, as he tried to speak. He coughed again, lightly, then cleared his throat, spat out a small glob of blood, then tried again.

"I'm so sorry, Kal," he whispered hoarsely. Her eyes stung with tears as she understood. She didn't even try to say that everything would be alright, because he knew better, and they had never been less than completely honest with each other. She softly replied around the knot forming in her throat, "I know, love. You tried." "Love you so much," he whispered. A sob broke free from Kal's tight control, as she answered him, "I love you too..." Tal's fingers moved slightly, as he tried to stroke her cheek, then his eyes rolled back and he went limp, his last breath rattling in his throat. Kal pressed her face against his hand as she let go of her control, and she cried brokenly over his body for what seemed like hours.

Finally, Nyte interrupted her mourning by coming behind her and gently nudging her back. She looked at the saber through sore, red eyes, then looked back at Tal. She slowly lowered the hand she had been holding, resting it on his chest, and stood shakily, leaning against her mount. A shout got her attention, and she looked up at the small group of elves approaching, all on sabers and several leading horses. The female driver from earlier led the way over to her. The elf looked down at the mess of bodies, and grimaced, shaking her head sadly. "I was afraid of this, when you were taking so long," she said quietly. She looked at Kal, saw the condition she was in, and slid off her saber. "You okay?" she asked, then quickly answered herself. "No, of course not." She sighed, then motioned towards the others. "We were starting to get worried, and then a bunch of our sabers found us. We found the horses on the way back here. We figured that if the vermin left anything, we could hitch them up and go collect the rest of us." She looked around at the wagons. Several had been broken into so badly that they would be useless as shelter, but a few were still in good enough condition to use. She pointed this out to Kal, who nodded, took a deep breath, and began directing a couple of the drivers to start hitching up. The rest of the group helped Kal with sorting bodies, and building two pyres with the remains of the useless wagons. The centaurs were mass-piled onto one, set ablaze, then ignored. The dead elves, except for one, were laid out neatly and respectfully, then set on fire as the Sentinel guard that had come with the group spoke the last rites.

Kal took Tal's body a short distance apart from the rest. The look she gave anyone who approached told them all that she didn't need, or want, any help. She built a small pyre, laid Tal on it, then piled the weapons of several centaur at his feet. Before lighting it, she took a moment look look at him one last time, gently stroking his hair and then bending down to kiss his forehead. She then took a step back, and set her torch to the base of the wood. As it caught, she turned away, not able to bear the sight of her love burning. When she turned, she found the rest of the elves waiting, ready to go. She looked at them all, then gave a nod, mounted Nyte, and led them away. She did not look back.

- - - -

Kal made them all press on, instead of turning back. When someone tried to argue, she merely looked at him, and asked, "Do you really want to go back through that place?" That shut everyone up, and she had no trouble for the rest of the nightmare journey, even when she forced them to reverse their schedule, traveling by day and camping at night. She drove them mercilessly through Stonetalon and the Barrens. Then, finally, almost a week behind their normal schedule, they crossed the border into Ashenvale.

- - - -

The remains of the caravan slowly limped into Astranaar, among the shocked stares of the town's inhabitants. Nyte strode over to the town's elder, and Kal leaned wearily over his shoulder, to look the elf in the eye. "Get your people to help. Now." she ordered hoarsely. He blinked at her for a brief second, then spun around and began shouting. Sentinels and various others were quickly helping the drivers unhitch the half-foundered horses, and the local priests began looking after the all-too-few remaining guards, and the few drivers that had been hurt in the escape. One priest finally gathered the courage to approach Kal, who was still sitting on Nyte's back, watching the proceedings impassively. "Warrior, I need to look at that cut on your cheek," he said, his tone making it a request rather than an order. Kal stared at him blankly for several long seconds, then slowly slid off Nyte's back. The priest had to catch and steady her as her knees buckled, but then she regained her balance, and walked unaided into a nearby building, which was being set up as a temporary healer's station.

Inside, the priest washed away the dried blood crusting Kal's face, and winced at the long slash running from just above her ear, across her cheek, all the way down to her jaw. "Much deeper and you wouldn't be able to chew on this side," he muttered quietly to her. "Hold still, this might burn a bit. And will most likely leave a pretty impressive scar." He held his hands towards her, hands already glowing softly with Elune's light. There was a very slight burning sensation, as Elune's powers cleaned the wound and sealed the skin and muscle, but it was less than what Kal expected. Her mask slipped just enough to give the healer a faint, grateful smile, then the blank expression returned, as he bent his attention to the arrow wound in her shoulder. He was able to heal that perfectly, leaving only the barest trace of a scar, which would likely fade completely with time. Now if only the scars on the inside would fade, as well, she thought to herself, as the lump in her throat threatened to choke her yet again.