As luck would have it...[A Traitor Reborn - POSTED!]

[Rhyela]

Awww, King Mosh is so awesome!!! And now Kas a new member of the family. <3 Always a pleasure to read your stories!

[Sonata]

Finaly finaly I have read it!....stupid robotic unicorns taking my life away!!

*squees* He's just baby but so cuddly and cutee! Just imagening Kas with a baby Devilsaur is so cute.

I just love Banshee's character...I don't know why, I just love her! Thats saying alot since I am terrified of spiders beyond beliefs. This Un'Goro adventure has been such a blast of a chapter! *cheers for Mosh because Mosh is one cool King of the Crater*
Can't wait for more!

[Kastarakovski]

The resounding bang of the door snapped the four pets out of their plentiful slumber. Up until that point, Griefstrike, Tiberias, Amenti and Boannan had been dreaming about their next journey into the Icecrown Citadel, a place Laz would often bring them alongside the steadfastness of her other friends. The raging temper of a four foot two dwarf that stalked past them, making for her room, instinctively followed by an apologetic-looking warp stalker told them all had not gone well in the Citadel that night. Laz was in no mood, pupils alight with fury, slamming her bedroom door behind her with such force it rattled the windows. Ears pinned back, the foursome looked at their scaly companion in confusion.

"Went badly t'night," was all Nightshade could offer. "Someone took some major offense to Laz doing her job."

"What, again?"

"This was...different," the scaly one had little reprieve to offer. "Let's just say I feel for the idiot's wolf. That kind of treatment can't be good for any pet."

"Did you try talking to her?" Tiberias asked, eyes not shifting from the closed bedroom door.

"I did. But she was more interested in having me take the fellow's face off than she was in the mood for words."

"I hope for her sake you didn't get that far?" Griefstrike's voice held a hint of admonishment.

"...with his wolf out of commission, it didn't quite get as far as I'd hoped...but he was missing a chunk of his armor from where Laz conked him over th' nut with her polearm..."

"Do you think she'll raid again?" Amenti asked worriedly.

"I don't know. She really did lose it somethin' shocking t'night. I really doubt she'll be up to answering that question anytime soon."

Tiberias had padded away from the rug, tail swishing from side to side as he stood up against the closed door, bringing both his large paws down on the handle. True to his suspicions the door was unlocked, and as he dropped back to the floor, he nosed his way into the darkness, eyes alighting at the curled up form lying prone on the bed.

"Laz?" his voice echoed softly.

"I don't noo what ah'm doin' anymore," came the equally soft reply. "I don' understand whut they want out o' me. Do they want me t' jus' roll over and be subservient or do they want me ta be th' leader they don' 'ave?"

Tiberias leapt atop the bed swiftly, padding over to Laz's resting form. He nuzzled her arm first, before encouraging her to grasp his neckfur in the darkness, settling down beside her. From behind him, Griefstrike, Amenti, Boannan and Nightshade entered into the room, Nightshade using her tail to close the door with a soft click. Her pets settled around her, and one arm draped over Tiberias's softly growling form, Laz spoke about the incident in the Citadel, how a fellow hunter had goaded her into a swift, blinding rage by not doing his job against the Deathbringer, Saurfang Junior. Finally it had all come down to the dwarf cracking her polearm into the arrogant Night Elf's knee before bringing it down atop his skull. Had he not been wearing his helm, she shuddered to think what she could have done to him.

"Probably wouldn't have done much damage at all," grunted Griefstrike. "I feel for his pet though, eh? Poor cub must be suffering aplenty with such an idiot beside him."

"Feh, not the half of it. Then he reckoned Laz was th' right height..."

"Alright, ouch," Boannan winced. "Many an elf's broken his nose with his mouth..."

"So what do we do now?"

Laz remained deathly quiet in the darkness, absently grasping at Tibs's pelt with her ungloved fingers, trying to calm her nerves and her breathing. The spirit beast's soft growling, and his paw upon her stomach were quietly comforting. She sighed, staring up at the darkened ceiling wishing for all the world she hadn't been blessed with her father's short fuse. But the thought occured to her a moment later - she hadn't gone out in weeks - only traversed the dungeons and raids that the guild summoned her for - and had become complacent to the view around her. A tiny spark lit up inside her - something was calling to her, calling from a dense, rich jungle territory somewhere past the Borean Tundra. In her mind's eye, she saw his orbs of amber staring at her from the leafy underbrush, and inadvertently gripped Tiberias by his neckfur.

"Laz?" he asked, wincing slightly at the grip she held him in.

"Vermithrax," was her only reply.

"We're going to rejoin the hunt, then?" Griefstrike asked from his prone position on the floor.

"He's calling," Laz replied softly. "I know...I cannae afford ta lose any of ye...an' ah don' want t'. But..."

"You need a purpose again," Amenti finished, a smile in her voice. "And we need our friend back to normal."

"Ah'm sorry," Laz whispered, the tears welling up. "Ah havna been meself for a good long time..."

"Stop apologising," Boannan purred. "We'll rejoin the hunt tomorrow then, an' forget about all this mayhem. Goodnight, Laz."

One by one, starting with Boannan, then Nightshade, Griefstrike and Amenti, her pets settled down to sleep after wishing her safe dreams. Laz clutched at Tiberias, holding him in a firm embrace. The spirit beast lay his head upon his paw, eyes meeting his huntress's, relishing in her touch.

"You miss Kastarakov, don't you?" he asked softly.

"Ah do. Ah 'eard last he'd found himself a lady friend."

"Oh?"

"A Blood Elf Courtier by the name of Cleyandra."

"And you're jealous?"

"Noo...well...maybe a little..."

"...I knew it. You like him, don't you?"

"Only as a friend, aye. I guess maybe I should sleep on it...maybe start th' search fer a man in me life next, huh?"

"He'll have to be a hunter," Tibs smiled, closing his eyes. "Else he ain't gettin' near you for as long as we live."

Lazona smiled as she let sleep wash over her. "'e'll be a hunter...can't imagine havin' anyone or anybody tell me ye'd hafta go."

"Goodnight, Laz."

"Goodnight, Tibs."


{TBC}

[Rhyela]

Orbs of amber, methinks I know who Laz is going after!.....

Pinky, are you pondering what I'm pondering?

[Teigan]

Wow. Heck of story. Great work!

[Sonata]

*gives Kas offerings of cupcakes* Update update UPDAATE, makes me so happy!

Laz is going to go hunting once more! I am a happy puppy now.

[Kastarakovski]

She remembered screaming the tawny lion's name. Remembered the sting of tears, the hoarseness of her voice as his name became strangled between the sobs and the spillage of red. Remembered as that greyish white blur struck her beloved cat right at his jugular. He was dead before he hit the grass, unaware of anything other than those glistening fangs having pierced the soft flesh, robbing him of coherence as Cleyandra screamed. The last thing Banaded had thought was to protect his mistress regardless of losing his own life.

Those hazel eyes had then turned on and stared at her, crimson staining his maw, fangs set in a grin that could only have been borne from the purest hate. She scuttled back, spine at the rockface overshadowed by bones of long-dead monstrosities. The kitten had followed them, followed them because he knew what Quint truly was underneath that worg pelt. He had growled many warnings as he had stood over her sleeping body, ferociously protective against his lust for the kill, warning the worg away from their mistress. Many a time they had fought, the kitten always worse-off, and now the young blood elf realised the cat she had tamed mostly on a whim and because of his gentle nature, had been right about the worg all along. Right that the worg was a bloodthirsty mongrel out for red revenge for the Gods known what reason he could deliver. Devoid of her weapons, of a companion now against this murderous beast, all Cleyandra could think about was how little Banaded's life meant to Quint - and how little time she had left on this world now that he was done with the kitten's lifeless body.

"Such a waste..." Quint was growling in an unearthly voice, a paw lifting Banaded's head, as if inspecting his handiwork. "Such a rotten waste of life."

Quint's eyes travelled from the bloody corpse to the trembling of his former mistress.

"He was right, you know?" he went on, mirth in his voice. "I was borne of that demonic ritual, Lo'Gosh knew what I would be capable of if he let me live, and yet he stayed his paw. His mistake is now your problem, my dear one! Strange that you did not see me for who I was...and that it was down to this miserable kitten to see straight through me!...Ha, Cleyandra, Cleyandra, Cleyandra! Bored of the noble life! You should have stayed behind your sanctified jewelled halls, your arranged union with that stupid boy! Ahhh...it seems...almost wasteful of me to even consider killing you now, after...this..." he swept his paw over Banaded, the fur only lightly responding to the whiff of air. "Ashes to ashes and all that other malarkey that they spew at the death of a 'trusted' companion!"

"Stay away from me..." Cleyandra barely recognised the pitch of her own voice, consumed by grief over the loss of her younget pet.

"Mm?" Quint tilted his head, grimly studying Cleyandra's tearful form. "I wish I could, my dearheart! But you see...your ancestors would have had me crawling on all fours like a beast...oh wait..." the worg paused, shaking his head, splattering blood drops on the dusty ground, "They already did. And in your lineage, you're their descendant, and in my books, that's a bad thing...a very, very bad thing..."

He began stalking towards Cleyandra, tail low and swishing silently from one side to the other, maw set in a bloodied grin.

"The kitten knew and you ignored him! You signed your own death sentence!" Cleyandra saw not the soft brown eyes but a wild mix of energies in Quint's gaze, crazed with bloodlust. "And now, it's your turn to die...just like the Old Ones said..."

Cleyandra felt herself tremble, inwardly screaming for aid, ears pinned back in terror as Quint continued to path towards her, devoid of a weapon, devoid of anything but the realisation that she had taken in a demon and ignored his advances until it had come to this moment. He had stripped her clean of any protection she had left. If the Earthmother had plans for her, why did it have to end like this?

"May the Twisting Nether have mercy, dear one..." Quint moved backwards, readying himself for his leap to her throat.

Cleyandra winced, waiting for the end, waiting for Quint to sever her from life's grasp. There was a gutteral snarl from behind Quint, a startled gasp and a cry from the old worg, a rising whimper and the splattering of liquid against her trembling prone form. Cleyandra's eyes opened to a huge white lion perched atop the fallen worg, half a pelt severed within its maw, fangs closed and claws through his neckfur. A sickening blackish-blue stain poured from Quint's corpse, evaporating into wisps of purple smoke.

"For Kareem," it growled in fury, "And for saving me the trouble of revealing myself to our mistress!"

"Banaded...?!" the name escaped Cleyandra's lips, a gasp of shrill pitch.

The feline blinked and then stared up at her with those gentle orbs of blue, the same orbs that had been part of the tawny lion that had come before. "Yes, mistress."

Cleyandra stumbled forward, caught by the swift white-grey feline's form, clinging to him, sobbing aloud. Behind, Quint's body appeared to crystallize before disintegrating into black slivers, crumbling into dust moments later. The feline looked back for only a moment. He may have destroyed Quint's disguise, but the demon, no. He would be back, but hopefully not until Cleyandra was older, more experienced and not weaponless as he had believed she was. Banaded wrapped a paw around her slender body, pulling her to him, resting his head in the crook of her shoulder.

"Kareem..." her voice's pitch turned his ears back. "He...killed..."

"He told you Kareem went back to his siblings because he was homesick. His actions, you believed without hesitation due to his...oddness. Forgive me for not telling you sooner."

"Banaded," she cried softly. "What do we do now...?"


That had been weeks ago.

Moriarty and VonGoosewing had found Kareem lying lifeless by the entrance to Ashenvale, and, as dignified as the regal Clutchfather had been, his death had been anything but regal - a bloody disbowellment fit for only a demon. Moriarty had set about digging the grave with his own paws, ignorant that he was not a canid, but rather out of respect for the friend he was now devoid of, along with Cleyandra who feared her heart would burst from the sorrow that consumed both of them in this task. VonGoosewing had retired to the stables, occupying the space where Kareem once had, quietly lost in thought. Banaded had risen to leadership of the family in the wake of Quint's betrayal. It would be long days before Cleyandra would seek the company of either a canid or a tallstrider again, but time, as the feline knew, eased each and all losses.

Cleyandra had tried to come to a decision for the rest of her life, and had abruptly taken a step into foregoing the Wild Hunt's call at first. Banaded had watched the call grow stronger and stronger still in the months that twisted and turned the events into a bloodied memory. Orgrimmar had become a second home of sorts, its bustling busy-ness consuming Cley's seemingly unending grief at the loss of two of her family. She hunted, skinned and herbed, burying her thoughts in an also unending demand for her gathering skills. It was also where he would learn of Moriarty's final decision, the next pet of Cley's to depart from her side.

He observed Moriarty for many days, his playfulness, arrogance and slyness all but a memory. He would stay up into the early hours of the morning watching the feline stare off into the distance, ears played back, ignorant of all the sounds around him. Banaded knew what was calling the feline, if anything else. He knew Kareem remained heavy on the cat's mind. It would be one rainy night in the early weeks of the summer where Moriarty would approach Cleyandra, running a single claw lightly across her sleeping form, staring at her as if deriving answers to the questions boiling in his mind. Banaded would rise from where he slept underneath VonGoosewing's prone, upside-down form hanging from the rafters, and follow Moriarty to the grasses of Ashenvale outside of Orgrimmar, watching as his brother paced back and forth, trying to discern what he really wanted.

"I don't want you to leave, and neither does Cleyandra," he would finally speak. "But neither of us can force you to stay, brother."

Moriarty turned sad amber eyes to Banaded's blue. "Kareem was my brother...we grew and played and loved in the realm of the Night Elves, and we bonded to Cley together! Without him, I..." The feline looked away, muzzle awash with tears. "I can't stay here, Banaded. It hurts too much to."

[Kastarakovski]

"Kareem is calling you home. Don't think Cleyandra doesn't know, or hasn't heard it."

"What do I do?" the stalker demanded, voice angry but eyes still sad. "I cannot hurt Cley, but I cannot stay here, not without Kareem!"

"Go where it is your heart yearns," Banaded would reply. "We will endure. And maybe reunite...when times be more favourable, brother."

Moriarty would rub his cheek against the white lion's, promising to uphold his pledge to return to Cley's side when he was ready. He would then watch the stalker turn and run back into the forests of Ashenvale, disappearing from sight, a growing emptiness consuming him. Cleyandra would notice Moriarty's absence the next day, but would ask no questions and in turn say nothing about it. Inside though, Banaded knew she was being eaten alive by her grief for she threw herself back into her farming routine with almost triple the effort.

VonGoosewing, the bat of whom Banaded was certain would find some excuse to leave her side as well, grew a little more...well, batty...as time's shadows' lengthened around them. As if trying to fill Moriarty's empty space, he began to "borrow" implements of science and archaeology", swiping food and drink without noticeable conscience or concern, seemingly bit by bit bringing the huntress the two pets knew back into the field. 'The blossom reopening to the first rays of sunlight' as the bat put it to the cat one evening after one of his little swipings went noticed by an innkeeper, the young woman's laughter as she tried to offer a comprehensive explanation for his misgivings making both pets smile from the effort. It got them thrown out of the inn that night, but between them, Duckula and a giggling-Cleyandra, something that had been buried under hate and suffering was emerging anew.

The bat had run off an endless amount of chatter as he went about measuring the plants and snakes and rats that scuttled about them as they traversed in the darkness. Banaded had caught only brief moments of clarity from the insane flapping one.

"Tis true, zhere be not a moment dat does not involve da tearsay," the bat went on, pulling at that "borrowed" runic tape measure he always carried, examining the runes with squinting eye. "But time, she is like Heinrich...evasive."

"Heinrich?" the feline had regarded him with a confused look.

"Heinrich is nevar around when I need him to be! And time, she is like him, yes? Always on de move."

The cat smiled, realising that somewhere in his rantings, he was making a lot of sense. "Now there, you're correct..."

"Now, when Heinrich messes up," VonGoosewing continued, flying directly into an overhanging branch before dropping to the ground, "OUCHIES!"

"Are you alright?"

"Heinrich! Bring me ze headache pill!" he rubbed his head absently, adjusting invisible glasses on his nose. "Now where was I? Oh yes! When Heinrich messes up, everzink is gone crazy!" he waved his claw like appendages madly, the tape swirling icy blue magic in response. "But time, she is an essence not to be so controlling, ja? When she messes up, everyzink to their own place, ja?"

"Ja! I mean, yeah," the cat replied, an eyebrow raised. "Are you sure you're alright, Doctor?"

"Heinrich, bring me a dozen headache pills! You know how da time is yes infinite, ja? Well, when sometink happen to screw it up, it fixes itself..." he twirled the tape. "Cley's case is notting different, ja? We are movink on!"

"VonGoosewing? You're not making much sense," Banaded chuckled.

"Heinrich!" VonGoosewing threw up his claws. "Just bring de bottle already! De cat he just does not get it!"


True, Banaded realised with a sigh, VonGoosewing was losing his sanity, but at least he was pulling Cleyandra out of that pit she'd been in for the last long while since Kareem, since Quint, since Moriarty. Somehow, despite this mad bat's rantings, despite Cley's veritable silence, despite his not telling her his true intentions and his past intertwined with hers, they had all the time in the world to experience those moments.

And, the cat mused, introduce her to her life partner a little sooner than intended...

[Kastarakovski]

Brief history of what went on with "To Rebuild..."
Long story short, I temporarily lost access to my account yesterday evening. Whilst I was still on it. That involved a whole heap of me screaming OMFG at the top of my lungs and right onto the phone with Blizzard, regardless of phone bill. Longest wait of my life on hold with their customer service, notes on everything my account contained (three cheers for being so mildly OCD/Packrat syndrome, I keep records of everything!) Strangely enough, the only character touched on the account was Cleyandra. They began a deletion, not of her gold, not of her bank contents, just her pets. I've put it down to someone from my ex-guild who decided to be a complete jerk. There are five IT boys in that guild, and the one I'm thinking of, the one whose eye I want to physically blacken, I swear when Kas gets his PvP set, I'mma rape. his. FACE. with Drachenstein...X(

When I regained access to my account as of this morning at 11:45am, changed every password I had to something I was now keeping offline, cleaned my system out and reformatted everything, I went about rebuilding Cleyandra's little family from the ground upwards - effectively writing out Kareem, Quint and Moriarty - and rebirthing Banaded as the white lion Echayakee - leaving him and VonGoosewing her only two pets left. I didn't want to begin from Cley's very beginnings because of the whole backed-up (and screwed-up) history she had, but below are the brief points:

* Quint I wrote out as a demon (a Satyr that takes animal form, under the vast control of the Old Gods - later discovered to be Deathwing himself) who was stalking Cleyandra's family (her father for a past misgiving), not necessarily her herself, but when he learns that Cley had left her family, he decides she's as good a target as her father, his original one. He hypnotises her with his eyes, a deep amber that gives off an unearthly glow, and talks about the up and coming 'destruction of the world' - something only Deathwing would mutter about.

* Kareem was homesick but buried it under his immense respect for Cleyandra. This angered Quint who, after a brief confrontation with him, "escorted" Kareem to the borderlines of the Barrens and Ashenvale before turning on him and killing him. He then lies to Cley and said he escorted Kareem home. It was Banaded who learned of Quint's deception when he went back to "feed" on the disembowelled corpse.

* Banaded was written as a young flighty dragon of Ysera's dragonflight who chose to take an animal form outside the Dream to protect the Dragonqueen; later disguising himself as a lion (The Rake) to keep a closer watch on Cairne Bloodhoof (a key player), and was then accidentally "tamed" by a Blood Elf Huntress (Cleyandra). He senses the evil permeating around her and later realises that Quint is the one whose aura is giving off this evil. When Quint "kills" his first form, he rebirths as Echayakee and in turn kills Quint's animal form, destroying his physical body but not his spirit. Cley knows he's 'different' but doesn't speak of it, and until time is favourable (post-Cataclysm), Banaded's secret remains untold.

* VonGoosewing, her bat, grows a wee bit battier after the deaths of Kareem and Quint and the departure of Moriarty. He starts referring to an unseen assistant, Heinrich, and has in-depth conversations with inanimate objects (re: anything) that he measures with that runic tape measure of his. I realise all WoW bats flap around, but the good Doctor starts walking (and subsequently falling flat on his face) on his underdeveloped back paws. I have plans to make Heinrich a moth (either a pet or a vanity one) who is mute when VonGoosewing is around, but chatty and helpful when he's not.

* Cleyandra's personality alters greatly as a result of these tumultuous events - she doesn't trust wolves/worgs, nor does she ever again take on a tallstrider - the hurt runs too deeply. Her love for Moriarty is to respect his decision, move on and take another lion pet, this time Humar The Pridelord, whose personality turns out to be, if not close to, a mirror of the striped one's (Named 'Grytpype' for obvious effect). Other pets in her future do include Alystros The Verdant Keeper (Yaffle) and Arcturis (name undecided).


So yes, do excuse the suddeness of leaping straight into Cleyandra's story like this...but in wake of the events, it's been quite comforting writing out the fury and the hate I have right now in spades...

[Saturo]

Oh that is just too much!
Give me his accountname and I'll clean some banks out, give him a reputation you choose in trade, and insult the mothers of the officers. And destroy some gear. And maybe even rearranging stuff in the guildbank.

At your command.

[Kastarakovski]

Further Update
It's just gone 3:45pm. I got off the phone with Blizzard at around 2pm. I've spent the last hour describing the events in detail to an IT friend of mine who is an all-around good egg who quit WoW to raise his kids after his 'beloved' ex-wife left him and them with nothing at all. I've known Joshy for about 3 years now, and besides WoW (he's the best bloody tank I know, barring my husband), he's one of the nicest (if not the craziest) bastards I know. This is a guy who will spend an entire weekend calculating what he can add to a hanglider to make it look more "cool" and probably use his 4WD to launch it and its passenger off the side of something. What makes me giggle insanely about this guy is that his wall is FULL of engineering and psychology degrees. In his words "Engineering was paramount to everything I needed in life, understanding my craziness was secondary." I love the guy so much it's unfunny <3

I shouldn't be even thinking of the...rather drastic measures my friend suggested we do to the obstinate pig who's trying very hard to make me look like the idiot in this situation. But, rather unlike myself and because of all this stress, I've told him to go utterly nuts with whatever he has in mind. Bear in mind my idea of revenge is ruining his WoW life. Joshy is more...wholistic...about it. WoW's secondary in his words. Why not remind this jackass exactly what happens to amateurs when they screw with a professional? I've stepped back and let my man do what he does best - screw people into the floor.

To cap this all off, I got involved in a WoW-related fracas with the "highest tier of Indifferent" about 20 minutes ago.

I didn't want to talk to him, nor hear his reasons about how "the best mage on server who hasn't played in 2 years" gets a raiding slot after being invited back into this guild last night whilst I get shunted to the bloody bench with no hope of ever raiding again. And yes, that happened last night. Guy comes back, gets Trial Rank (usually lasts a month) and today got bumped up to Raider Rank. Laz however got demoted to Casual Rank (no raid invite). The only reason Laz is still situated in Indifferent is due to my husband - he had her reinvited by one of the officers whilst I was at work on Monday. I can understand his protectiveness and if anyone says anything about Laz, they'll be sporting some rather nasty daggers/throwing weapons in their crotches - but it didn't do much for my mood.

My GL is imploring me to look at it from his POV - which is basically his spineless, gutless self holding onto dead weight (useless players) and not having the balls to tell them "it's final warning, no improvement, there's the door" time. This has happened three times in a row, each collapse is the same damned thing. The guild is a broken record and there's really only so much the former TDK/Indifferent crowd is going to stand. We lost our former GL/RL, Angelis - he faction transferred to Horde - because the guild was so piss-poor at what they do. Progression? On the Saurfang Ladder, we were once in the top 10. Now? Good lord, somewhere in the 40's? 50's now? Not even considered to be on the ladder anymore? Probably that last one.

I suppose it didn't help to have the private Vent chat "invaded" by the other three officers AND the other half of the spineless/gutless pairing, our Raid Leader.
Now, I often keep my silence. I am normally the quiet one, I don't speak on Vent often, mostly I avoid it (to further this, people always make fun of the fact I sound Canadian yet was born in Australia - I can't help the accent god damnit, it's who I am), but when I do, it's like uncorking a dam - and when I get angry, I send even the strongest people with reinforced spinal columns running for cover...my husband included.

Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned and all that. I think I truly live up to that. Hubby has likened me to one of the 72 Guardians of Hell when I truly lose my cool. I'm starting to think on some occasions, he might be correct XD!

I ran off the list of my reasons why the guild fails;
First and foremost was our insanity at holding onto bad players who use the guild for gear and then leave, joining other guilds or faction/server transferring to far better guilds than ours. Also to cap it off, we have players who can't fucking play, yet we're still gearing them up over players in blues who have every better clue in their heads what they're doing.

We have a feral druid whose dps is one-sixteenth of the dps a proper feral druid in T10 should be doing. Her rotation sucks. She's been told a thousand times that her rotation is not working. Has she improved? NO.

We have a rogue who's combat-specced but has gemmed completely for something else altogether (PvP-hybrid). He continues to show up to raids in full PvP gear. He has been warned repeatedly. He still ends up going to raids. He still ends up getting gear OVER the rogues that deserve it more than him, and when he doesn't get it, he bitches until he gets handed it on a silver platter. Has his behaviour changed? NO.

We have two paladins and three priests who cannot heal. Straight out cannot. We're still taking them to raids, still gearing them up, and still dragging their worthless carcasses around. Are they on their final warnings? NO.

We have a huntard who, when he opens his mouth, he's worshipped for his e-peen rating. His attitude problem makes him the biggest dick in the guild. Our GL is so spineless up against this bastard he cannot say anything against him for fear of losing his DPS in raids. Has his behaviour been curbed, or has any effort been made to shut him the eff up about his dick size? NO.

And then I grabbed the rug and yanked it out from them. Literally.
Every single potion, every single flask pre-patch before Frost Lotus became purchasable, came from my dumb @$$ farming it all. Every piece of ore, every Titansteel Bar, every crystallized mote, every Eternal in that farkin' guildbank...
It's all mine. All my work. All my dumb @$$ trying to help them be ready for raids, gearing the up, farming materials to level their tradeskills, epic bloody fliers for nearly all the Officer Team AND their flamin' ALTS...

And my compensation came in the form of 2k gold from the GL.
2000g payback for 60 Frost Lotus - the last frost lotus I ever bothered farming for them.
Not for the 36 months worth of farming prior to that, which amounted to about 465,750g worth. Yes. I did keep track of what I farmed.
My former guild on Shu'Halo - Gnomeland Security - fucked me over for about 210k worth of mats and gold, less than half of what Indifferent screwed me out of (which stunningly enough, took me only 4 months to get back - all those other materials I meant to give them, they were still on Lazona's person after they kicked her out XD).

I've simply said what I've been meaning to say, done what I've been meaning to do. I love my husband and it's the only reason Laz is still in Indifferent - because he wants me to stay (lovey doveyness aside, it's because he reckons his rogue and my hunter would make beautiful lesbian lovings together, the perverted sod ROFL).

I have a message from Joshy on my mobile which is nothing more than him laughing evilly.
I should honestly feel bad.

But I don't.

[Sonata]

Your GM needs to wake up and smell the smoke already, THAT is a serious problem. A PVP-rogue raiding in PVP-gear...he should stick to the arenas in those gears! Okay yes I pvp in pve gear but I go there for honor and I don't do arena.

God I just want to kill those guys now with a pointed STICK.
You don't deserve that, seriosly. Can't your hubby do something about this? D:

[Kastarakovski]

Even Further Update
Husband gets a raiding spot, a GUARANTEED raiding spot. I don't. We get into a bit of a fracas.
What pisses me off even more is that my husband is not the most understanding jackass I know. I'm trying to get Laz her Swift Zulian Tiger. It's taken me four months to convince my idiot husband to help me for ONE run. I'm never going to see that Tiger. I'm still pissed.

It gets better.

Joshy calls me at 7am on my mobile with a webcam uplink. Turns out wannabe hacker was cheating on his fiance. With two of her best friends and a girl he picked up a couple weeks ago in a bar. Joshy did the humane thing and CC'd the email he sent the fiance to the three other women. Carnage ensued after the initial WTFing. According to the post he made on our forums on the Absentees list, he's 'slightly indisposed'. HA.

GM gets back to me with a temporary 2 week ban for jackass...with more weeks tacked on if he so much as as sneezes in my direction. He's on his veritable "last chance" it seems. Even better? They banned his last night...after he logged after they FINALLY downed Dreamwalker. I await getting nailed on MSN and abused further LOL

It's...bittersweet I guess.
Oh and to cap all this stress off, my cysts decided to wage war on the lower half of my body.
And work is so badly understaffed, if I take a day off, I'm the one who gets screwed over. Welcome to my life >_>;

[Kastarakovski]

NESINGWARY - Tencents & Sunshine_small II.jpg (149.84 KiB) Viewed 1413 times

Artistic therapy for myself, started at 11:45pm last night with random character sketches, finished around 1:26am with this pic.

I can't draw males of any humanoid race in WoW so I fell back on my primary resource of art - anthropomorphic.
That's Tencents, my first male Blood Elf Hunter, personified into a young male hedgehog, with Sunshine, his Springpaw not-so-much-a-Cub anymore XD

Set up shop on Nesingwary Horde side, working on getting him 500g before level 20.
Yeah, I'm nuts, I know this.

[Sonata]

Aww they looks so cute! And so adorable that he's ruffling the lynx's fur.
But it's really good if you are thinking of something else. Might be for the better that you get a break from the guild.

[Kastarakovski]

More artistic therapy at 2:14am this morn.

I apologise if the colours are too freakin' bright that they burn into your retinas. My scanner doesn't like traditional media. At all. Everything is SO GOSHDARNED BRIGHT with this ruddy thing XP

Will do more of him and Sunshine when I work out what his other pets will end up being...
Curse me determination for this fellow to have a theme based around him XD

Tencents - Nesingwary Server - Silvermoon City_Petopia.jpg (1.05 MiB) Viewed 1413 times

[Sonata]

Scanners are evil, I have not yet known a scanner that didn't well...ruin traditional artwork...I bet they all do that and make everything bright and shiny.
Themes are fun, even my hunter has a somewhat color theme going to him.

[Saturo]

Ya, scanners certainly can be evil. I tried to scan in a word document I made. Pictures were far too green.
Some of the beauty with digital arts is that the colours will look good, no matte what.

[Kastarakovski]

Okay, time to work some stuff out for Tencents, my Petopian Hordie.
I based him and his pets on characters from a series I grew up with as a kid, and am trying to keep them together within this original theme.

His parents served Kael'thas loyally (and look where that got them *ahem*), so when they disappeared for some time only to reappear as felblood elves and stripped of their memories of ever having birthed a son, Ten struck out on his own, determined to prove he was not as easily swayed as his parents had been. Like his mother, grandfather and great grandmother before him, he took up the bow of the Silvermoon Rangers, a lineage that transgressed some four hundred years of his family's history. His compassionate nature and will to aide others regardless of faction would however get him into trouble many times, but even so, thus far, the boy's managed to cheat death on a number of occasions (41 levels, touch wood!).

His first pet is a Springpaw Cub who was rescued from a group of paladin students who were using the poor creature as target practice.
"Sunshine" is a fiery red, orange and pale peach feline and is loyal to the very end. He adores his master and best friend, and will follow him into the gates of the Great Beyond as long as it means they will not part ways with one another. He rarely suffers from mood swings, content to impart knowledge, advice and fight only where Ten sees fit. As the "first" of the five, Sunshine is the leader of the family, second only to that of Ten's presence. He is, at current, Ten's only real pet since level 1.

Currently, these are the personalities I have worked out for his next four pets [but as yet have to pick species!]:

"Hercules" is vague and aloof, a little shy and very studious. He's often hard and nothing honestly fazes him, not even his enemies. When he speaks or fights, he is straightforward in his approach. He is a loner by species, not by his own choice, his ideal situation is on the Wild Hunt - not for his own survival, mind - rather, for the thrill of the chase. He is lean, keen, sharp-witted and regal, and if he had his way, he'd be Ten's only choice (in his opinion!). He is affectionate in the lifemate sort of sense towards "Lillie", another of Ten's pets. He was formerly known as Snarler.

"Warrior" is not exactly graceful per se; he possesses an eager nature which sometimes leads him to cause mistakes and/or trip up Ten whilst he's at it. Despite this unfortunate aspect of his personality, he's a loyal and dearly loving creature who tries a little too hard to be an entirely different species to what he is. He's like a loyal and obedient soul who's a little too caught up in what other people think of him when he fights for Ten. He's a little fragile in the sense that he doesn't respond all that well to threats/taunts/teasing from others outside his immediate family.
Currently: Agam'ar
Possibles: Silithid Ravager (lvl 36 Silithid), Ironhide Devilsaur (lvl 54 Devilsaur)

"Lillie" is the loving denmother of the group; a calm, regal female who's only lot in life is to ensure protection, affection and devotion to 'her boys'. She's steadfast, wiry, and will rush anyone, fangs and claws bared, who threatens her family harm. She's no pushover, despite her smallish stature, and will easily take down targets that tower over her. Despite Hercules's affections, she remains quite resolute in the fact he'll have to earn her admiration and respect first if he intends for her to be his lifemate.
Currently: [5th stable slot unopened]
Possibles: Scarlet Tracking Hound (lvl 33 Hyena), Goretalon Matriarch (lvl 78 Bird of Prey)

"Zebedee" is the moody one of the family. He's picky and anti-social and lets very few people treat him well enough to be considered a 'friend'. He used to run with a large group, but was exiled when he had second thoughts about killing a prey species (he let the poor thing go and copped a few scars for doing so - the group was starving...). He's got a good streak in him somewhere, but he smothers it with his size and power. He's extremely strong and is no pushover in a fight. Ten's still trying to get through to him and on some occasions, Zeb's let him get close...
Currently: Darkmist Recluse
Possibilities: Diseased Black Bear (lvl 51 Bear), Warp Chaser (lvl 67 Warp Stalker)

[Kastarakovski]

The soft orange hue from the campfire curled into wisps of silver smoke. Her companions were asleep at light's edge, she herself resting against a small palm that offered shade and comfort for the endless blue night. A book rested in her lap, quill resting atop a fresh white page, mind wandering to the stars. The icy blueness nearby rose and fell in time with her other pets' breathing - it belonged to Tiberias, formerly the mate of Har'koa, one of the Loa Goddesses. He was still awake, she noted, head resting upon his front paws, staring into the firelight. She let out a short sigh and closed her journal with sharp smack, alerting the feline-like beast to her movement.

"Can't sleep, Laz?" he asked, voice a rumbling, almost endless purring.

"Nae," she replied. "Lost in thought, ah guess."

"What were you writi--er---trying to write?"

"A letter home," her voice was quiet.

"Ah."

Several moments passed by in silence, interrupted only by the crackle of logs in the campfire. Tiberias cleared his throat, staring up at Laz who absently stroked his ears.

"How is your family, Laz?"

Lazona sighed, continuing to stroke Tibs's ears, "Ah hav’na ‘ad very many words ta say with m’ father since...well, since forever."

"How so?"

He wasn't being intrusive Laz realised, he was genuinely curious. Only one pet in the family knew about her familial history and that happened to be Boannan, who, for her part, had never spoken about the privacy of that information; never spoken about the strain between her and her parents and family, never spoken her agreement on her personal feelings on the matters of State and Country. With her blue-striped white feline sound asleep, Tiberias would continue to wonder about her reluctance to speak on the matter until he garnered some proper answers.

"M’ father was never one ta put much stock in Dragonkin. As far as he were concerned, I wasn't destined ta walk beside their kind, nor for that matter believe in them. He had an aversion to 'em that I didna quite unnerstand. He served in th' war."

"The War of the Shifting Sands?" Tibs asked. "Boannan said something about it that I didn't quite catch."

"Aye. He was around 75, mebbe 80 years ol’ at th’ time of it. Said it was one of the few battles ‘e hoped would never be again," Laz went on. "When he came home he was...very distant. Ma and I did our best to keep out of his way. Tha’ battle changed him, an' his feverent dislike o' th' Dragonkin became more pronounced than ever. Any merest mention of a drake would send him into a rage. A few times, 'e didna miss when he threw things. He buried 'imself in his favourite ale and usually was easily tolerable...but...some days..."

Lazona reopened the journal, staring at the scribbled out words and paragraphs, each sounding more hollow than the last.

"When ah was old enough ta leave home, ah sought counsel in the Explorer's League in Ironforge shortly a'fore I struck out for meself. There ah was able ta read inta th' extent o' the battle...things Father didna talk aboot. Ah started ta unnerstan' where 'is hatred o' th' Dragonkin came from. Ah felt sure that Merithra, Caelestrasz and Arygos were still alive, but I didna make any mention o' that to 'im a'fore I left Ironforge. Reading about th' battle filled me with curiousity. Ah wanted ta meet a dragon fer meself, ah wanted ta judge for meself whether Father was right about ‘em or not.”

“And was he?”

“…in some regards, to some of the Bronze and most, if not all the Blacks, ah certainly could unnerstand where ‘e was getting’ the’ feelings from. But th’ other three flights never struck me as inherently evil, nor anyways capable of doing evil things. It took a long time fo’ th’ likes o’ me ta grow up enough ta realise all th’ flights were capable of ending lives…even Lady Red herself.”

“And your mother?”

“Ma died shortly after th’ Dragon Knights Guild collapsed in on itself,” Laz replied, her voice soft. “I weren’t there fer her funeral nor ta say goodbye, ah was…in th’ thick of tryin’ ta figure out what ta do with meself…alongside Alexstrasza.

“Ouch,” Tibs’ ears flattened. “I take it when word got out you were with the Dragonqueen herself, your father didn’t quite take that well?”

“Nae. True ta ‘is word if I ever cavorted with a dragon, he’d track me down an’ beat me senseless fer it. It…weren’t pretty th’ row we got ourselves inta in th’ Booty Bay Inn. Turned out ‘e had a mistress thing goin’ with a local barmaid in Kharanos th’ entire time Ma was sick. Ah can’t begin ta tell ye how much tha’ hurt. It were th’ only time ah ever made Boannan attack me own flesh an’ blood. Shortly after that, I let Boannan go back to her kin. Ah felt useless as her master and even more useless that I hadn’t swallowed me damned pride an’ gone ‘ome. Things went badly onna repeated scale and I went from place ta place tryin’ ta find some kind of purpose again.”

“…looking at us, I’d say you did,” he smiled gently.

“I went back ta huntin’, ta servin’ m’King. Went back to hunting…for Amenti…for Griefstrike…ended up primarily wit’ Nightshade first before them, though, an’ later Boannan…and then you.”

“Did your father ever forgive you?”

“Not to m’ knowledge, no. I been strugglin’ tryin’ ta write this darned letter, tryin’ ta explain meself in ways ah don’ even think he’d unnerstand.”

“I get the feeling that’s not half of where your worries are bound.”

Laz raised a small smile, running her hand down the back of Tiberias’s neck, “Nae, yer right, boy. It ain’t where all my worries are stemmin’ from.”

“Does it also have something to do with Anduin, and your last meeting with the King?”

“Ta some degree, ah suppose it does,” she went on. “Ah admit ah haven’t been too fond o’ his Father for some time…least…not since th’ Wrathgate.”

“I wasn’t there, but Amenti said the incident seemed to alter both her perception of the world and yours too.”

“It be hard ta describe watchin’ someone who trained your Prince to become the King in ‘is father’s absence, who treated you in th’ manner of a friend rather than simply a soldier of th’ war, be slain by someone…something…you didna think could betray even yer enemy for th’ loyalty they displayed up until that moment,” Laz reflected, staring into the campfire’s glow. “Bolvar Fordragon wasn’t just the man ah answered to in th’ early days, ‘e was a friend, ‘e took each and every single person who entered the Keep under his wings and kept them there to his dying breath. Ah knew aboot ‘is friendship with Saurfang The Elder’s son, Saurfang Junior. Ah kept it quiet knowin’ not all m’ friends at th’ time shared an equal standpoint with th’ Horde. Ah once asked ‘im how could he stand beside an enemy who had brought forth so much blood spilt upon our lands. And ‘is words back ta me said we were guilty of the same things too – the most we could do is hold our ground, and unnerstand, when the time called for it. Ah’d never felt so torn between m’ factions in all me life, Tibs.”

Laz reached for her polearm and nudged the logs around in the firelight, stoking the fire to burn a little more brightly than before.

“I still didn’t unnerstand ‘im completely. Ah still saw the Horde as bloodthirsty beasts, an’ they would do meh no good in trustin’ ‘em. A’fore King Varian’s return, Bolvar asked me an’ a few other folk to keep watch o’er Anduin. He was somewhat suspicious of Lady Katrana Prestor at that time…an’ ‘e had every right ta be worried. She turned out ta be Onyxia, in human disguise, sireling of Deathwing himself.”

Replacing her polearm with a soft thud on the grassy knoll, the movement stirred Amenti from her slumber. With eyes still closed and ears pricked up in their direction, Tiberias was alerted that the pridequeen was listening to Laz’s voice.

“When she was finally confronted by the undoing of her master plan, the broodqueen killed many of the guardsmen, snatched the Prince and teleported to her lair, goading Bolvar ta follow her. Back then, th’ Dragon Knights were one o’ the biggest guilds around. Angelis, our leader, was given the assignment, along with the other Guild Leaders, ta find and put down that overgrown black lizard and return the Prince to Stormwind. It weren’t fer any o’ us ta decide, but her lair was the hell of a thing ta attack an’ eventually we shared th’ glory with several other guilds, small and large, who assisted in tearin’ down th’ waves of her kin and her children. Ah was young then, barely in mah first set of glowin’ chainmail. Heh, she were a raight royal bitchling that one. Ah remember th’ heat, an’ the magma lickin’ across the shattered crater she commanded at will. Ah got some nasty burns from that fight, ah did. She fought like a caged beast, infuriated that her master plan to be rid o’ Varian and his heir ‘ad all come undone…”

Laz chuckled lightly.

“Ah suppose we did let her live in th’ end, if only barely. She limped away, only ta return here, now, seekin’ revenge against th’ ones that beat th’ holy gods outta her for the stunt she pulled. And don’ ye get me started on her big brother, Nefarian! We returned th’ princelin’ only ta get goaded by that patriarchic bahstard? Worse than Onyxia herself, ‘e was.”