Anyways, the reason I couldn’t think of a title is because this is an update on all my characters and stuff. I’ll try to keep it short and sweet so I don’t bore you all.

My troll shaman Zulrea hit level 80 oh…a couple months ago now. >.>Yes, I’m that bad at making these updates. Regardless, this makes her third level 80 and although she’s fun to play, I haven’t been gearing her as aggressively as I did Niqo and Saraku. I blame it on heroics burnout. But I did get her the Noble title and completed all of the other Noblegarden achievements in 2 days. Not bad for a casual. I enjoy healing on her the most so the couple of T9 pieces I have been getting her have been for that spec. Her elemental set…languishes greatly.

Raiding recently has been awesome for Niqora. The other weekend Bloodriver took on OS, EoE, and Onyxia all in one night and didn’t have too much trouble smashing them all into the ground. Malygos and Onyxia had given us problems before so they took a few tries. Niqo can now proudly boast her Champion of the Frozen Wastes title.

Then last weekend we entered TotC-10…and completed the entire dungeon in a single night. I personally had never seen beyond the spiky worm beasts and apparently the furthest some of them had gotten before were the Faction Champs. So it was quite a thrill to make it through all of it in the first night, even if we had wipes. We just bulldozed through it like we always do. As my guildmate Cedd commented to me: “Bloodriver: we hit our heads against the wall until we make a hole.” We are tenacious if nothing else.

Yesterday I got it into my head that I wanted Ashen Verdict rep with Saraku so he could make Niqo the epic arrows she’s come to love. It was surprisingly easy to get enough people to come with me for trash runs. We had to switch out people a couple times (RL comes first after all) but we killed enough trash so that people who had been there since the beginning went from completely neutral to friendly by the end. They all seemed pretty happy to get their rings, happy enough to even want to come back tonight for some more.

Niqora’s little sis Anuniaq is now level 60 and in the Outlands, having been reunited with her childhood friend Halruum (Kazi’s tauren warrior).  She’s been sitting at level 40-ish for a long time and it’s good to get to level a hunter again (but oh how I missed Steadyshot).

Tuyok the warrior, and Niqora’s adopted son, has gone from fury to prot since I discovered that I liked tanking with him the best. Figuring out how to stance-dance was a huge factor in making that decision. >.> He’s in his early 30s now and has made friends with a Forsaken priest called Ghislan (Kazi has discovered a love for discipline priests). Together they make quite the odd couple…a frail-looking undead man next to a hulking tauren bull.

You’ve already seen Aroqin the night elf druid featured here in some RP sessions that Kazi and I have been having. She’s also in her early 30s and she is happily bounding about as a kitty. As happily as a grumpy sarcastic elf can be that is. I’ve discovered that I also like tanking with her on the side (kitty is her first love, bear comes second). Apparently I’m fairly good at it, if the pug person who told me that I’m the best low level tank he’s ever seen is any indication.

I really have developed this gravitation to tanking, haven’t I? >.>

In all of these, some characters have gotten deleted, namely my bank character Valraen who never got past level 10 and my draenei hunter Brighit who I never could find the perfect pet for. In my defense for deleting Brighit, I intend to have at least a goblin hunter once Cataclysm comes out, possibly a worgen depending on what forms the worgen druids will get. A hunter for a hunter is okay, right? >.> I swear I’m still a petoholic!

And last but not least, a shameless plug for my guild. Bloodriver on Wyrmrest Accord-H is now recruiting. We invite anyone of any level or class who wants to join our wonderful family. We do light roleplaying, raid casually, play lots and lots of alts, run random heroics, and hang out in guild chat. Sometimes we even break out into song on vent.

For you Alliance folks, our sister guild Obsidian Phoenix is also growing and is a military style light-medium RP guild who is focused on the whisperings of the coming Cataclysm, ignoring the petty squabbles between the Alliance and the Horde. Players who don’t roleplay are also welcome. And check out the cool website that I’m making for them.

If you’re interested or want to ask questions, just comment on this post or find me on any one of my characters on Wyrmrest (they are listed on My Characters page).

Edit: I forgot to mention that I managed to sell my Battered Hilt for a nice chunk of gold. Here’s to endless possibilities!

Niqora isn’t quite looking like herself today. She must be feeling ill.

And I swear that I did not ninja that Dragonstalker’s Helmet.

/shifteyes

First you steal my character’s name after I had it for so long and now you do this to her?! You have completely ruined her self-esteem, Blizzard!

First of all, a quick linkback to Zhire at The Spiked Collar who despite being a fairly new blogger has posted some nice hunter tips.

So for an update of what’s going on:

• The guild leader of Bloodriver and his wife (Mysthowl and Linserai) are taking a hiatus for some personal reasons and he has named Niqora as his temporary replacement. Sure, I joked about it while chatting with guildies and some of our allies (there was much evil laughter and phrases like “Bow down before me, peons!”). But honestly, I can’t wait until they get back. Mostly because me and the other members will miss them terribly but also because I’m not certain that I fit the leadership role. If Ticalos and Tzia weren’t going to be around, I think I would freak out. Really the three of us are going to share the role but Myst could only name one as chieftain and since RPwise, Niqora is Myst’s wife…even in character Niqo would not be suited to be a leader. She has the patience of a goddess but she’s also shy to a fault and avoids conflict whenever she can. Unless someone is going to get hurt, as Tic has found out in a RP session. So, this will be an interesting (and sad) time coming up very soon.
• Anuniaq is level 40! However my goal is 65 so I can train up her inscription…I have a ways to go yet.
• Niqora tamed Loque! And she got the albino drake! Pictures to come in a later post.
• My little shammy Zulrea is level 25, which is the highest I’ve ever gotten a non-hunter. I really enjoy healing. So once she reaches 40, I’m going to buy dual-spec for her and spec both resto and enhancement.

For some quick RL news, I got a job back at the beginning of February as a junior web designer. It was only suppose to be a 3 month term but I just found out that it’s being extended another 3 months at least. After those 3 months, they might hire me on as a regular employee. Which is wonderful! Also, I was chatting with my brother and once I have the money (because he’s a starving student), I’m going to get him his own WoW account so he can play with me. Finally! I will have someone I know IRL who actually plays the game.

Now I will leave you all with the song that inspired this post’s title. Try singing that on Rockband, my friends.

What’s your /played?

Now he did it for two of his characters and I was prepared to do it for at least a couple of my hunters. Since Niqora is my main, I started off with her. Then I saw this…

Your eyes do not deceive you. I have spent almost two whole months just playing Niqora, nevermind all my other hunters. After that, I didn’t even want to look and see what the /played was for everyone else. Kind of puts things in perspective doesn’t it? Mind you, I know that I have spent a lot of time RPing on Niqora and she’s about the only character that I bother to get rep and achievements on so that’s a good chunk of time right there. She also farms up all the gold that I end up spending on my other characters. And of course getting 5 pets all to level 80 wasn’t done in a single night either.

The SEVEN answers!

I had a hard time choosing which characters I wanted to answer these questions sooooo…I pick 5 of them. Frequent readers should know Niqora and Anuniaq, my 2 tauren hunters. The other 3 are *gasp* my non-hunters. Githinji is my male troll DK, Zulrea is my female troll shammy, and Saraku is a male belf pally (who RP-wise is the humanoid form of Niqora’s netherdrake mount).

1- What is your name, and where did it come from?

Niqora: *smiles somewhat shyly* My name is Niqora Wildstride and that is the name my parents gave me at my birth. [OOC: Comes from WoW's random name generator, with a bit of tweaking]

Anuniaq: *nods in agreement with her sister Niqora, head held up proudly* And I am Anuniaq Wildstride. [OOC: Means "One who hunts for food or knowledge" in Inuit and she had the name BEFORE that walrus NPC *grumbles*]

Githinji: I be Githinji dees days, dat all joo be needin’ to know. [OOC: Means "butcher" in an African language, there are conflicting resources as to which language]

Zulrea: *raises a curious eyebrow at Githinji* Mah name be Zulrea Totemspeak, and I be called dat ’cause ever since I was a leetle troll, I be hearin’ dah spirits of dah elements. [OOC: Comes from the PANDA name generator]

Saraku: *glances up from staring at the two trolls* Oh…yes, I suppose it is my turn. I am Saraku. *mumbles to himself* Why do those two talk so strangely? [OOC: Thought it up using some example Netherdrake names as a guide]

2 – How old are you, and what is your birthday?

Niqora: I will be 64 years old this winter.

Anuniaq: 53 years come the spring.

Githinji: *removes his helm to rub his forehead in thought* Mah memories be a leetle fuzzy from before. I tink I was close ta 30 when I was still breathin’.

Zulrea: *grins and puffs out her chest* I only be 21 but dah voodoo priests be tellin’ me dat I be very smart for mah age. I was born when dah day be dah longest in dah year.

Saraku: *cocks his head to the side like a curious bird* What’s a birthday?

3 – Are you in love, and with whom?

Niqora: *blushes lightly under her dark fur* I love my husband Mysthowl. Our wedding was not so long ago.

Anuniaq: *seems to become slightly irritated at the question* There is no one.

Githinji: *falls into a deep silence as he stares off into the distance, his fingers softly rubbing the worn scarf around his neck*

Zulrea: *frowns sadly at the male troll before she says quietly* Dere be no troll man in mah life yet.

Saraku: Love? That has something do with mating and fornication, correct?

4 – What is your favorite mount, and why?

Niqora: *reaches over to squeeze Saraku’s shoulder with an affectionate smile* No soul could ever replace my Saraku.

Anuniaq: I value my kodo but I can’t really say that I’m attached to him.

Githinji: *glares viciously at his charger*

Zulrea: *sighs* I not be old enough to be havin’ one of dos yet.

Saraku: *is too busy grinning at Niqora to notice that he was asked a question*

5 – Do you prefer a certain type of Azerothonian meal, and where do you get it from? Take out, or dine in?

Niqora: *chuckles softly* I can make many different kinds of food so it’s hard to choose which one I like best.

Anuniaq: Soothing Turtle Bisque, hands down.

Githinji: *actually has a shadow of a smile on his lips* I be missing Dragonbreath Chili.

Zulrea: Everyting dat be put in front of me be tastin’ good.

Saraku: *licks his lips at the thought of a Fish Feast*

6 – You know those giant mushrooms in Zangarmarsh ? What is your theory on how they came to be, and why they are so huge?

Saraku: *raises an eyebrow* I thought it would be obvious that the cause is all the unbound energy floating around the Nether. It has a tendency to do…strange things to organic life. *realizes that his left leg has become partially transparent again* This is getting particularly annoying. *runs off without another word*

*The other stare after Saraku in confusion, with the exception of Niqora who just laughs merrily.*

7 – If you saw the Lich King walking towards you, what would you do?

Niqora: *for once doesn’t have a smile. Instead her expression is stone cold. She responds in a low tone that’s alsmost a growl* I’d tear him slowly limb from limb…and I’d make sure he’d be aware of every ounce of that pain.

Githinji: *slams his sword into the ground and roars with a feral anger*

*Anuniaq and Zulrea nearly jump out of their skin and stare wide-eyed at Niqora and Githinji.*

~~~

And there you have it. Now I’d like to tag Myst, Ticalos, Tzia, Vlcan, Gebeorgan, and Batgrl with this double meme. Ha, now all the responsibility is on you! *dashes away before someone can tag her again*

It’s kind of amusing when people come to me to ask what pet they should tame with their hunter. Sure, there are theories about game mechanics that say this or that and there are some hunters I know who switch out pets frequently. But I’m a firm believer in the phrase “you play what you feel is right”. So when I wrote the following story, I tried to capture what a true bond between a hunter and her companion can feel like. Enjoy.

The air was thick with moisture from the recently departed rain. It formed dewdrops on the leaves of the bush Niqora was shrouded in, drops that fell to mingle with her black fur. Her breathing was slow and quiet, her will carefully controlling what her lungs took in and out. Every one of her muscles was taunt in anticipation and ached so, but she dared not move in case her quarry would hear her motions. She would be patient, she was always patient.

Her body may have been still but her thoughts danced around her head as always. She was thinking of the black worg that had accompanied her for so many seasons. She cared dearly for him, as a hunter should for any of her pets. Indeed they were true friends, but Niqora had always felt a restlessness, a tug at her heart that had eventually led her here to Feralas. The worg did not complain when she had left him in the capable hands of the local stablemaster and wandered out under the gigantic trees that dwarfed even the tall Shu’halo. He knew that his friend needed to seek out her heart-wish. Even though she had not spoken a word to him about it, he knew in the way only an animal could. He would not worry for her safety as he usually did, but instead focus his attention on cracking the marrow from the large juicy bone the stablemaster had presented him.

A twig snapped to her right and Niqora’s attention came aburptly back to her present environment. Only her eyes flickered in that direction, she would make no other movement. Two squirrels came racing down a tree trunk, one chasing and scolding the other, most likely a territory dispute. Mentally she eased back into place, taking in a very slow breath through her nose. Good, she could only smell damp leaves and earth. Before she had smeared a mixture of mud and leaves over her skin and armor to mask her scent. Soon it would dry and be rather uncomfortable but she was determined not to squirm. She might not get another chance at this…so she would wait.

~~~

She couldn’t help but fidget with one of the white feathers that her mother had so carefully woven into her mane. However, she was at least more patient than Anuniaq, who had lept forward only to be pulled back firmly but not unkindly. Niqora’s father Cain stood over Anuniaq, one of his large hands resting on her shoulder. Niqora had to smirk as her younger sister squirmed under their father’s hold.

Slowly she turned her gaze back to the shapes that were striding closer to the camp. Her sharp eyes quickly picked out her mother Pala walking to the right, still in the shape of the great bear form that she took when she went hunting. Niqora’s heart warmed at the sight of her mother but only a moment later, she felt a gentle pulling at it. Following the pull, her gaze came to rest on the other figures approaching. She saw many faces and heard many voices that she recognized as her clanmates but that was not what she sought. Trotting along at the hooves of the Shu’halo were a meriad of creatures.

The cunning eyes of hyenas shone the deepest of black as they cackled their joy of a good hunt. The great shelled bodies of turtle waddled slowly, long necks stretching out to seize a bite of the plump fruit hanging on the bushes. The tawny pelts of lions seemed to glow in the sun’s last lights, the large cats glided along as if they had not a care in the world. Swoops perched on their owners’ shoulders, preening their long dark feathers clean of any traces of the hunt.

A mass of thick coal-coloured fur burst from the returning hunting party, its long legs a blur as it raced towards the collection of tents that was a camp. It let out a loud yip before bowling Niqora over, causing the two of them to tumble onto the ground in a tangled heap. This sent a wave of laughter through every Shu’halo present. Anuniaq seized this opportunity to slip from her father’s grasp and race to her mother, wrapping her arms around her neck in a hug fit for the bear she was. Niqora was too busy with her own arms tightly hugging the black wolf to her.

~~~

Niqora almost didn’t hear the rustle in the bushes, it was so soft. Although it seemed impossible that her muscles could tighten any more, they did nonetheless. A dark point appeared beneath a leaf, a canine nose shiny with moisture. There was a careful sniff and then the creature slunk out into the small clearing. Most definitely a female, Niqora observed with a trained eye. And what a beauty she was. Her muscles were lean and strong under fur appeared to be made from the shadows themselves. Without warning, the wolf vanished from Niqora’s sight and the Shu’halo felt panic well up inside her. How could she have been so careless to let the animal slip out of her grasp like that?

Not a moment too soon, the wolf appeared exactly in the position she had been before. Niqora allowed herself a small smile. So the stories of the locals were true, these wolves had an uncanny ability to make themselves disappear when they wanted to. She could see now how the wolf had shifted ever so slightly, molding with the shadows easily in the dim light that managed to find its way through the thick treetops. A light breeze ruffled the bush around Niqora and she took the opportunity to breath the words of a marking spell so the wolf would have a harder time evading her sight.

The beast sniffed the ground with intense interest, obviously having detected the rabbit scent that Niqora had carefully placed on the ground. A few more steps forward and she was just where the Shu’halo wanted her. Niqora stood up in one smooth motion that did not betray her poor aching muscles. She was beyond the pain of her body now, for she was not only on a hunt but a very special hunt. The wolf twisted her head ’round at Niqora the instant she moved. Blue eyes locked with bright yellow ones that flashed with a feral intelligence.

The wolf snarled at the intrusion and trickery that Niqora had caused. Snapping her strong jaw, she bounded across the clearing towards the Shu’halo. In her anger, the creature did not notice the carefully laid trap that Niqora had concealed hours before. The wolf’s right forearm touched it and it triggered with a snap, encasing her in a large block of ice only a foot before Niqora’s muzzle. Niqora leaned forward, pressing her hands against the clear icy walls, her eyes having never left the wolf’s. She felt the energy flow through her and around her into the frozen creature as she murmured the language of the Beast. This was old magic she was working with, older than the memories of even her brethen, as old as the land beneath her hooves. The connection that it formed between the two beings was almost tangible, could almost be seen as a thin silvery strand. Although her mind was still focused on the words, a thought drifted up to her consciousness. It was one of the first things she learned as a hunter: A spirit cannot truly be tamed, only befriended.

~~~

The zhevra carcass sizzled and spat from the heat of the fire cooking it. The Shu’halo had gathered in a rough circle about it, letting themselves relax in its soothing glow. The sun had already fallen behind the mountains and soon even twilight would leave them. But then the meat would be served and the story-telling would be in full swing. Even now the leader of the hunting group regailed how they had stalked and brought down their prey.

Niqora was seated crosslegged on the ground with her back against a log, the black wolf’s massive head in her lap. Even though she was larger than most calves her age, the wolf was easily her size if not bigger. To her right sat her mother and father with Anuniaq. Her mother had slipped back into her natural form and was cradling the sleeping form of Anuniaq in her arms. As usual, her younger sister had worn herself out before and would wake up later with a rumbling stomach. The wolf softly complained that she had stopped petting him so she glanced down with a sly grin and teasingly tickled his ear before running her fingers over the soft fur on his brow.

Beads tapping gently against one another brought her head up to attention. It had been the beads in her mother’s mane that made the noise as Pala had nodded her head in greeting towards a light-coloured Shu’halo that seated himself on the log to Niqora’s left. From the happy whine that the wolf made, she did not need to look at him to know he was the wolf’s hunter Iluq.

“Palaruk. Cainivat,” the hunter’s deep voice greeted Niqora’s parents as he returned Pala’s nod, using their full names as a sign of respect. “Anu,” he added quietly as his fingers gently brushed the fur of the young sleeping calf. Anuniaq stirred and moaned from her dreams before falling still again. Iluq then turned his merry gaze to Niqora and the wolf in her lap. “One would think that you are Shiv’s hunter, Niqo.” He reached out to touch the feather in Niqora’s mane.

Niqora returned his teasing smile and leaned over to whisper loudly to the black wolf. “I think he’s on to us, my handsome Shiv. We must do better to deceive him.” Shiv responded with a low whine and a wolfish grin.

Iluq chuckled heartily, having heard each word from Niqora’s mouth. Pala rolled her eyes at her eldest daughter but there was a shadow of a smile on her lips nonetheless. Cain playfully swatted Niqora’s shoulder as he commented, “We would have named you Niqora the Trickster if we had known you would be such a sly creature.”

Niqora beamed her most innocent smile and was rewarded with her parents’ soft laughter. There were smiles on their lips as they shook their heads at their eldest daughter. Iluq took that opportunity to say to Cain in a half-joking tone, “Whether you wish it or not, your daughter is destined to become a hunter.”

Cain glanced over at Niqora, only to see her preoccupied with rummaging through her pack in search of a zhera hair brush that she owed. As the three adults began to talk in low tones about adult things, Niqora gently brushed Shiv’s handsome black fur and the wolf closed its eyes in response to her soothing motions. A feeling of complete contentment settled over the young Shu’halo. She knew nothing of destiny or what was written in the stars, but she did know who she was…and who she was going to be.

~~~

The words that Niqora spoke were not truly words, nor did they have a particular rhythm or tone. However she knew when they came to an ending…only the freezing trap broke before she could finish. The female wolf took only a fraction of a second to recover and knock the Shu’halo to the ground. The fall knocked the wind out of the hunter and for a moment, she gasped for breath to fill her lungs once more. The beast, who had positioned herself over Niqora, moved to snap her powerful jaws over the hunter’s face. Niqora’s hands flew to the wolf’s chest and held her back so the pearly teeth only just grazed her right cheek. Ignoring the gash on her face and the claws digging through her leather armor, she continued to mutter where she had left off, looking deep into those aware yellow eyes.

Suddenly there was no more to say and the wolf stopped struggling to pant heavily on Niqora’s face. The Shu’halo let her arms thump to the ground as her aches and pains finally began to creep into her. The wolf stepped neatly to Niqora’s left and collasped on the ground with a grunt, her sides heaving.

Despite all her muscles protesting, the hunter rose to retrieve her packs from a nearby bush, coming back to sit down with a grunt rather like the wolf’s. Out of her bags she pulled several large barbecued buzzard wings. She handed one to the wolf, who took it gently in her teeth and began to chew on it eagerly. Niqora began to nibble on another wing between taking swigs from a canteen of cool spring water.

The food and drink seemed to restore her energy and a small sigh escaped her. For a brief moment, her eyes closed and though all she saw was the star-spangled darkness of her inner eyelids, she could feel where exactly the wolf was before her. She could sense every black hair on the creature’s body, its cupped lupine ears always twitching with curiousity and intrigue. When she opened her eyes again, the wolf was watching her with interested yellow eyes.

Removing her helm, she splashed some of the water over her face to clean away the mixture of caked-on dirt and her own blood. She then rinsed out the inside of the helm and filled it with the rest of the canteen water, offering it to the wolf. As the canine lapped it up swiftly, Niqora said to her very softly, “My name is Niqora Wildstride.”

The wolf groaned, following with a peculiar whine. The Shu’halo chuckled low as she interpreted: The wolf already knew who she was, in the way that animals do, and her own name was Blacky.

Eyebrows coming together in a peak on her brow, Niqora turned the wolf’s name over in her mind slowly. It was not quite the sort of name she had expected but who was she to question someone’s name?

Once Blacky had had her fill of drink, Niqora stood somewhat stiffly and stretched each limb and joint slowly. Determined to wash all the dried mud and grime from her fine dark fur, she set a comfortable pace towards the nearest stream. The wolf appeared at the Shu’halo’s side and matched her stride. With a sudden tug at her heart that Niqora did not understand but did not need to understand, she buried her fingers into Blacky’s thick coal-black fur. A small but companionable whine came from deep in Blacky’s throat. Niqora tilted her head upward and although the tree leaves blocked her view, she could imagine the wide open night sky above. She did not believe that one’s entire life was written in the stars but she knew–had always known–that there were some things that had to happen in order to complete one’s live.

She let her gaze fall down, blue eyes meeting yellow eyes once again. She smiled as a vast contentness filled her being, even greater than it had years earlier. There were also some bonds that had been there since the beginning of time…they just had to be discovered.

Instead of doing one big update that would look very daunting right now, I’m just going to say a couple of important things and then go into detail in a later post.

First of all, I’ve moved all my characters that were on Moon Guard to the new RP realm, Wyrmrest Accord. That includes Niqora, Anuniaq, Brighit, and Tkasha, as well as my new DK Githinji and my baby shammy Zulrea. Yes I know, I actually made some non-hunters. I’ll explain those later.

Secondly, Niqora has reached level 80! Woot! And…she’s engaged to be married! Screenies and details to come.

Thirdly, all my hunters are staying Beast Master. I have nothing against other spec, BM is just what I like. After all, I am a petoholic.

And lastly, I have had a lot of pet changes for my hunters which I will need to post and talk about.

Oh! And I command you all to visit A World (of Warcraft) Apart, the home of my esteemed and wonderful guild leader (and Niqo’s betrothed <3).

Ha! I dare you to tell me that I need to update now!

• The two most popular articles are the name generator and the Horde guide to tame on Azuremyst.
• Someone has looked at my site over an iPod. Cool!
• Firefox is kicking IE’s butt! Hooray for geeks!
• The top five nationalities of people that visit are USA, UK, Canada, Sweden, and Australia. Don’t know why so many Swedish people are visiting…
• Google really likes me. Of all the search bots that visit, it constitutes 93%. Its IP address also has the most page views.
• Someone found my blog by Googled “faeldray” which is kinda creepy because I’m the only person in the world that uses that alias. *puts on tin foil hat* I know because it’s completely made up and completely obscure. Google it and everything that comes up is related to me.
• WordPress.com Stats says that I’m getting over 100 hits per day. Google Analytics says less than 100. I’m gonna believe WordPress because it makes me feel better
• There have been at least 3600 hits from RSS feed alone. A lot of you are like me and enjoy your feed reader.

Now for some character updates:

Nicora reached level 52 and put her first talent point in Ferocious Inspiration. I’m really enjoying that because Blacky crits a lot! The pair of them are still completing quests in Feralas, despite them being too high a level for the area. At least the quests are easy

Aunniaq is still level 29. I’ve been holding back leveling her because I don’t want her to get ahead of Xion. And since he’s created a toon on Hydraxis-H (yay!) and has been leveling it to reach around Khaja’s and Aithne’s levels, his Moon Guard character hasn’t gotten much play. So the other day, Anu just went around killing turtles and collecting their meat to cook with. She’s now about 3/4 of a way to level 30, cooked 60-something pieces of turtle meat, and maxed out her cooking skill at 225. She can’t get the next rank until level 35

Last night, I took Khaja to Tarren Mills and got her fishing from 75 to 120. She also cooked all the fish but I can’t remember how much that skill went up. The funny thing is that despite hating cooking IRL, I’m beginning to enjoy it in-game. I’m thinking of getting it for all my characters, especially Nicora who will have to do a lot of farming to get that skill up.

Lately, my schedule has been going like this: get up at 7-ish for school, finish school at 3:30, go home and take a 2-3 hour nap, work in the evening if I’m scheduled, and then stay up until 2 am playing because that’s when Xion is online. Not the best schedule but as long as I get enough total sleep, I won’t be really grumpy. I know, I’m bad. Like last night, originally I was planning to fish for just 15 minutes until 11pm but then Xion logged onto his Hydraxis character and we chatted and then suddenly it was 2 am. Thankfully I had taken my nap earlier so I was able to get up this morning without too much effort. And I plan to repeat this all over again today.

Anu and Palartok had some fun on Saturday night. You see, she’s made two friends on Moon Guard (which I only chose because it’s suppose to have the best roleplaying on it, not because I knew anyone there). The first one is a level 40-something tauren druid named Bursthoof. I met him way back when she was a mere level 10 and we’ve become great friends ever since, both in-game and outside of it. The second is a blood elf rogue named Xion that was only a couple of levels behind me when I met him in the Ghostlands and is now the same level as Anu. Both of them are a blast. Bursthoof is the nicest guy ever and is fun to hang around with. Xion has a really sharp and raunchy wit that always makes me laugh and he’s sooo much fun to bug, being a little squishie elf and all. He also loves Palartok, due to him saving his pink hide so many times. He probably likes Palartok better than me because when I save him, I bug him about it while Palartok just silently waits for the next mob to chew on. Lately, Xion’s been questing with Anu a lot.

Anyways, I logged on Saturday night to see Xion in Arathi Basin. He’s in his third battle of the day and they’ve all been wins so far. It’s been months since I’ve seen the inside of a battleground and I’ve only ever stepped foot in one with Nicora. Needless to say, it doesn’t take much convincing on his part to get me to party with him for the next one. I do some quests while I wait and manage to ding level 28 just before I get the invite for Arathi.

We’re both level 28 entering the battleground (poor Palartok is still level 27). Despite him having won the last three times, we find ourselves against a premade of twinks. That doesn’t mean that we give up but there is a lot of dying and swearing.

(First thing I head for is Lumber Mill, only to find about 6 alliance waiting for me. Oh well. I fight to the death, which comes quickly of course)
Me: I had 6 on me at LM…no chance whatsoever
Xion: That sucks

(A level 29 night elf hunter twink tries to kill me and I end up just barely beating him)
Me: Ha ha, stupid NE thought he could take a tauren
Xion: lfmao

(There’s two gnomes that keep killing me, a frost mage and a rogue that somehow manages to keep disappearing despite the hunter’s mark I keep putting on him. 0_o And of course they’re so small that they’re a pain to target with a mouse)
Me: I hate f#@&ing gnomes!
Xion: You and me both

Not surprising me, we end up losing. We didn’t have a hold in one place for very long the entire time. As a result, I would unload everything I had on as many targets as I could, usually taking a few down with me, and then would rez and start all over again. One long battle…I was relieved get out of there and I didn’t even look at the final scores.

Xion: Hey, we were the first two in damage.
Me: Really? That’s awesome.
Me: …Who got first?
Xion: You
Me: WOOT! BM hunters rock!

Yes, I rubbed it in his face a bit but we joke around all the time so I know he took no offense to it. We decide to enter another battle because I want to actually win one now. If I had to choose between toping the damage charts or winning, I’d choose winning every time. I like dealing all the damage but winning is more satisfying and gets me the marks that I want.

I head for LM again (I just like it there) and who do I see but the night elf twink standing there. It’s a couple of us versus a couple of them. I take down the twink again and some of the others. We capture LM and everyone else runs off, leaving me to guard. I spend the majority of the battle there, keeping my frost trap up right beside the flag. I know, I’m actually making use of my traps! *pats herself on the back*

A poor little level 20 human paladin tries to run in and take LM. He doesn’t even try to attack me, just makes a beeline for the flag. He’s got guts, I have to give him that. I didn’t feel sorry enough to let him reach the flag though.

Then Xion calls me away to the farm to help with some Alliance who decided to try and take it. We quickly clear them out…and then I get the notification that an Alliance is trying to take LM. I leave for 2 seconds…

I put on AotC and dash back, only to find…the level 20 paladin. Alright, props to you, man. I still kill him and take back LM. Does Operation Hug count if you hug their corpse?

We end up winning with a score of 2000 to 600 or so. I got my 3 marks and I feel a lot better.

Then Xion suggests that we try a dungeon. As we try to think of ones that are in our level range, I suddenly remember that I have a bunch of quests for Shadowfang Keep. We discuss it and decide to ask Bursthoof to take us through. He’s not playing WoW right now but I’m chatting with him through MSN.

Me: Bursthoof…honey…
Bursthoof: Yes?
Me: Can you run me and Xion through SFK? *bats eyelashes*
Bursthoof: Of course.

He would have taken us anyways (because he’s such a nice guy) but I added that little bit of flirting because it’s funny. What? Don’t look at me like that. I don’t do that kind of thing to get my way.

SFK was relatively uneventful except for me managing to die once. I wasn’t watching and took on two elite mobs while I was only at half health. Before the guys could start making fun of me, I admitted to making the mistake.

Me: That was all my fault. I got cocky.
(I then remember that I’m with two guys that both have a twisted sense of humor and know that I’m female)
Me: …No comments from either one of you.

That of course didn’t stop them. Oh, and Anu got some nice loot from there: Rugged Spaulders, Fenrus’ Hide, Girdle of the Blindwatcher, and of course Seal of Sylvanas.

Part of her RP story is that she is Niqora’s younger sister. Everyone thought Anu would become a warrior like her father, but instead she became a hunter. She wanted to help to restore nature’s balance but she was unable to become a druid, so becoming a hunter was her next choice. She does not have Niqora’s boundless love for beasts of all sorts but she does have a soft spot for her one bright furry friend.

Her companion Palartok’s name is Inuit for “quiet”, due to the fact that he does not make a noise when ordered to attack, unlike other beasts.

Anuniaq’s Pets

Palartok