/stop singing
/blush

Sorry, got carried away there. I’ve obviously been doing too much Rock Band.

What the title has to do with me is this: Nicora has dinged level 58, the level required to step through the Dark Portal and to the Outlands. However, she won’t be making that journey any time soon. She still has a bundle of quests to do back in Azeroth. Off the top of my head, she still has to do Burning Steppes, both Plaguelands, Azshara, Felwood, Winterspring, and Silithus. She just finished Searing Gorge. She might go through the Portal just to get the flight points but she already has her hearthstone set to Shattrath (which was done about 8 levels ago when she needed to get her Master skinning so she paid a warlock to get her there). Oh, and here’s the wonderful fellow who gave Nicora enough experience to reach level 58:

He’s the quest rewarder for Calm Before the Storm and that was all Nicora needed. Kind of anti-climatic but oh well.

Since on the higher end of her level bracket, Nicora and Blacky have also been fighting in the battlegrounds. The reason: 30 marks each from Warsong, Arathi, and Alterac for the Black War Wolf. I haven’t stepped foot into Alterac simply because I haven’t been there and wouldn’t have a clue as to what’s going on so I have to get up the courage to go in there first. She already has 17 or so marks from Arathi and due to that being my favorite battleground, I’m saving that one for last. That just leaves Warsong. I really don’t like Warsong. Sometimes, it is bearable and I don’t mind being there. Other times, I cannot wait for the bloody game to finish. Every time I log onto Nicora and have enough time, I’ve been forcing myself to go to at least one round. It goes easier if I split it up like that. Luckily none of them have been loses so I believe that Nicora is up to about 15 Warsong marks. Only 5 more to go…assuming Horde wins all of them.

I also made an attempt to take Nicora solo into Blackrock Spire and tame a Bloodaxe Worg. That ended…badly. I lost about 9g on Lesser Invisibility Potions and equipment repairs and didn’t manage to tame the worg. Really, I just gave up after two tries. I tried to follow the directions that everyone gives but it just wasn’t working for me. I’m just going to wait until one of my high level guildies (I’m looking at you, Noko and Moko) logs on and is kind enough to take Nicora in. The only thing that I got out of the whole deal was a Winterspring Screecher that I had been planning to use as a trash pet. After I left Blackrock frustrated, I decided on a whim to name him Serenity (Firefly FTW) and took him into Warsong. It was hard to tell if he was doing better or worse than Blacky, mostly because I kept dying quickly from a level 59 human warrior twink who seemed to seek me out. I’ve been toying with the idea of Nicora having a pet specifically for PvP ever since but I’m not sure if I want Serenity, or maybe a cat or a boar, or maybe none at all.

Ah yes, and Nicora needed to visited the dragonscale leather trainer…you know, the one that lives in middle of the Badlands? On her way, she encountered an old friend of hers: Zaricotl. Yes, he’s that bundle of red and black feathers that appears to be non-aggressive so you turn your back on him to kill other mobs and while you’re fighting, he sneaks up behind you, tears you to pieces, and eats your remains. He had killed Nicora at least twice when she was a lower level and trying to quest there. In this encounter, however, Nicora is level 58 and more than prepared to take him on.

Mmmm….barbecued buzzard wings tonight. Blacky sure enjoys those.

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.