When I returned, I took a look at my stables and did a bit of a pruning, getting rid of some pets I never really clicked with. Which, of course, means they were pretty much filled up again right away by rares I just couldn't pass up. Let's see which critters decided to welcome me back to the game, shall we?
Now, I said I'd been on a hiatus, but there was a week in the summer that I had been offered a free week to play, which I took advantage of. During that time, I managed to see this owl three times. The first time, I had been uninterested, merely content to watch the spectacle that was four hunters trying for the tame. I saw him again, and decided I'd try my hand at it, but was beaten to it by a dwarf. No big deal, someone had to get him. So I camped. And camped. And camped. When I finally caught his spawn, I managed to wrestle him to the ground, fought off a mage trying to kill him, and was mid-tame before a blood elf rogue broke my trap and killed him before I could recover. Frustrated and angry, I decided it wasn't worth coming back for and didn't bother resubscribing.
When I finally did return, who should be waiting for me but Ban'Thalos, circling lazily in the air as though he knew I'd show up again eventually. It was a tense few moments as I struggled to get into position, but no one bothered him and the tame went off without a hitch once I was situated! He is a fast favorite now as Orrin, the spirit of an old hunter's companion who's returned to make sure she's not screwing up everything.
I admit, I wasn't too thrilled by most of the offerings of rare beasts in 4.2, because oh boy some more see through cats (also spiders). Seeing a few of them in Stormwind, though, made me see that while yeah they were palette-swapped Gondrias, they had their charms, and if I ever saw one, maybe I'd see about taming one.
When I saw miss Ankha wandering her path, I was struck by how pretty she was. I had been searching for a new body for Mira, my first pet, to inhabit since she wasn't sitting well in her current Gondria form, so I stripped down... and promptly died due to adds. A quick rez, a repositioning, and I... died again because I didn't let my health regen. I rez once more, starting to get nervous about no one else being around and how long that would last. I try once more, and hurray! It takes.
I then took her to visit her old self, just for continuity's sake. Sadly, Mira can't go back to her original Duskstalker self, but this one seems to be a pretty good new body.
Boninite here was an unplanned tame. I liked the idea of the spiders with their crazy ways to tame, but spiders give me the heebies. But when I saw Skitterflame just chilling out in his lava pool, I thought I'd give it a try. A quick readthrough of how it was supposed to go and I was ready to give it a try. I died a couple of times due to not watching where I was going and being an idjit and breaking my own traps, but I did manage it! I then proceeded to feel terrible about making the tame because no sooner did it finish, I had another hunter congratulating me on being just a hair quicker than he was.
Bonni has been given the honor of being one of the few spiders that doesn't instantly bother me. Maybe it's her coloring, maybe it's the fact she sheds embers when she walks, maybe it's the fact I pulled her out of a puddle of lava, but she's quite cute. I think she'll be around for quite a while.
Last but not least is Firebrand, everyone's favorite lave turtle. Since the beginning of Cataclysm, I've gone back and forth about whether or not I wanted this guy as a pet. It didn't matter, though, because despite my many camps, I never once managed so much as a glimpse of his shell. When I finally DID see him, I jumped on it. Since then, I've seen him no fewer than four times. Clearly Terrorpene has decided I am no longer a threat, and so there's no need to hide from me anymore.
Firebrand is happy to receive the name I could never make stick to my core hound, and I'm glad to put it to use. I was not, however, glad to take him back to my homeland. He didn't seem impressed by the trees, and made a few improvements of his own. Ah well.
