[Story] The Ghostclaw – The Masked Ball

The party was a lot of fun! When Ty said it would be fancy, I expected it to be really boring and I’d have to use the proper fork and things like that. But it really wasn’t at all — I mean, it was fancy. The school looked like a mansion because it used to be one. The party was held in the ballroom, which was really huge! I kept asking if the owner had big balls and Ty thought that was funny. It was all decorated with candles and pumpkins and things, it looked really good. You can tell they really spent a lot of time making it look nice. They had about a million kinds of food, including the spinach rolls that Orledin sometimes makes. Ty said that he actually got the recipe from here, I filled up about three plates of food. I don’t know how I danced when I was that stuffed but I did! I wore a green dress because it kind of matched with my mask. Really it has all different colors, but there’s a lot of green so I think it looked okay. At least it had long sleeves, because it was pretty cold out in the garden. Ty said it’s really pretty in the daytime, it’s difficult to see too much of it at night but there were pumpkins and things out there too. Luckily it wasn’t busy at all so we could find some time alone. The benches were nice but they weren’t really comfortable if you get what I mean!

Besides food they also had three different kinds of cakes, the one we had was made with pumpkin which I’d never tried before but it was really good. There were also huge buckets full of all different kinds of candy. Ty brought back a huge bowl of it and we ate a ton of that too. I really liked the cinnamon red ones, but they were all good. I’d definitely want to come back again if there’s another party. Though it was a little weird when Ty kept wanting to go look at the kids. I mean, I have nothing against kids, I just don’t really want one right now. I hope it wasn’t supposed to be a hint or something!

—

He finally kissed me. He asked first, which wasn’t really very romantic, but I think it still counts. Maybe it was because he had some of the wine! It was a nice party. He mentioned he’d never been to any in the city, which surprised me a little. There’s really not much to do there, other than go to parties and get free food. I told him a little about the one I went to with Lani and Des, but I left out the part about meeting Gael there. I didn’t really think it was relevant. That got us on to talking about going to Kalimdor, and he said he’d tried to go but they wouldn’t let him. I explained that it was a pretty horrible situation anyway, not to mention dangerous. The Captain was injured and Nessna almost died, to say nothing of all the people who were lost. We should have just let the orcs and trolls fight among each other first. Anyway, I do sort of understand where he was coming from when he said he wanted to go. It must be really terrible having everyone tell you that you’re useless or a liability, and won’t even give you a chance. I admit I felt that way too when he first came to the building and I feel bad about it now. Luckily the Captain could find a way for Sunashe to help. He said he’s good at telling others what to do, but I still haven’t seen it first-hand. We got to dance, which was nice. I’m not the best dancer but I think I did okay, he didn’t complain at least. He said something corny about my dress, but at least he didn’t talk about my petals or anything like that. It could be way worse. I think he was a little hurt though so I suggested that we go out to the garden. Even though it was cold and cloudy and might rain, I thought it’d be a bit more private.

I definitely should have brought a cloak. I found a white dress to match with my mask, but it wasn’t very expensive so the fabric was light, not to mention the front was cut pretty low. He didn’t have a cloak either, but he did put his arm around me. Just a simple thing but it was nice, and he smelled good. I admitted that I’m scared that things might go badly again, not that I think he’d do it intentionally but worries aren’t always logical. He’s handsome and he has very nice ears and he’s a great ranger, but I’m still a little afraid. Also he claims that he never talks about me to the others. Considering how much girls talk, I find that a bit hard to believe. I’d ask Ty, but I doubt he’d tell me either. I mean, at Nessna’s party it got pretty detailed, and I can only imagine that guys are just as bad, if not worse. I wanted to stay out there and talk, but I guess he noticed that I was cold, so we went back inside. Is it strange that I wish more had happened? I guess it’s not if you consider how long it’s been. He said he hadn’t been with anyone since his injuries. That’s a long time, I hope he still remembers how.

[Art] Moonkin Head Sculpting

Some progress on the moonkin head. He’s starting to actually look like a moonkin now! Still needs all of the feathers and detailing.

[Story] Fairsong Academy – The Masked Ball

[[ Some short stories from the Hallow’s End ball at Fairsong Academy! ]]

I think the party was great! Everyone that we invited showed up, and they all had masks, some even had full costumes. Mine didn’t actually have a mask, because I was the Regent Lord, though I did have an eyepatch. I found this paper mask of a human at the store but I don’t think Hethurin thought it was funny. I did! I was even dancing like a human. I think he did laugh a little at that part. I’m not sure why Hethurin still seems sad about it. I thought for sure the party would cheer him up, seeing all of the masks and everyone having a good time. He loves being a host and it was a great party. I convinced Tik to let me set up some games too, just silly ones like trying to catch an apple with your teeth or balancing an egg on a spoon. (That one can get messy, so it was outside.) But he didn’t seem to want to eat at all, even the spinach rolls! Tik also made these grilled meat skewers that were really good, I ate probably about ten of those. The only thing Hethurin wanted was cake, I made the chocolate and caramel one especially for him. He also drank a lot of wine, which he doesn’t usually do so he got a bit tipsy. Okay, a lot tipsy. I had to make sure that he sat down somewhere, but even then he kept getting up and getting more. The only thing that finally stopped him was a girl that kept trying to talk to him. It would have been funny if she wasn’t so determined! I finally had to make her leave because Hethurin was getting upset. He should have just told her that I was his boyfriend. I wonder why he didn’t, or maybe she just didn’t believe him.

Other than that I had a really nice time. We even danced, and he sat close to me. I said we should have a fire in the fireplace later, but he had had too much to drink by that point. It’s not really a good idea to make fires after you’ve been drinking. I think Des had a nice time too, she danced with Perothis and they went out to the garden. He seems to like being with the rangers a lot, which is good. He can visit the school more often now.

I don’t know what we’re going to do with all of the pumpkins. Tik suggested that we could feed some to the hawkstriders, but I don’t think they can eat that many.  Maybe some animals in the forest would like them, we can put them out in a pile far enough away from the school.

—

Aeramin made our masks for the party, I think we were hawkstriders or at least some kind of bird. Mine was blue and made with peacock feathers, but I think Aeramin just used them so he could snicker at the name. His had red feathers. I tried to find some clothes that were blue to match it, but I didn’t do that great of a job. At least he matched. There were a lot of people there, some of them I couldn’t recognize because of their masks. I guess that’s supposed to be the point of a mask party.

Somehow the girls from the city showed up. I know I didn’t invite them, and Aeramin swears he didn’t, but I kind of wonder. Morrainne said she overheard it, which I guess is possible. But how did they find the school? It is the only school out there, so maybe it wouldn’t be too hard. She’s very determined. I could recognize them because they just had little masks on that didn’t cover very much of their faces. Plus, Morrainne was licking the spinach rolls again. Why does she do that, it’s so gross! They were talking to someone who had on a skull mask and cloak, I’m not sure who it was. It didn’t take long for them to get bored and find us. Great, I thought we were going to escape, but no.

They were asking about the school and Morrainne decided she wanted to meet Hethurin. I assume to try to impress him with her spinach roll trick, nobody warned her it wouldn’t work on him. Still I bet it was kind of funny to see. I’d hoped Aeramin would talk to the other girl since he seems to like her, but he didn’t really. He just kept giving me a look like I was supposed to do something. He’s still convinced that she’s interested, but I don’t know. Then he said he’d make my lunch for me so I could eat with her. Thanks a lot.

The girls didn’t stay too long, I’m not sure where Morrainne went but I suspect that she fell asleep in the garden or something. The other girl went to look for her. Aeramin and I danced a few songs, which was nice. Lin was there too, with the ranger who has a lizard. Aeramin mentioned that he came asking for warm rocks for it or something, I do remember Lin mentioning something about a lizard. Honestly I thought she was joking, but I guess not. I’ll have to ask her about that later.

[Story] Fairsong Academy – Raleth’s Notes

I told Lali about the mask party at the school, and she definitely seemed excited by the possibility of going. I figure it’s a perfect opportunity to test the waters, so to speak, because everyone will already be in disguise. There’s no way to conceal her height, but I doubt anyone who doesn’t already know would look twice at her. Naraleth might be a bit more tricky, but as I told Lali, I think most everyone at the school already knows. It’s the other residents of the Ghostlands that cause me worry — I don’t know who they are or their politics. The parents of the students could be an issue as well, there’s no telling how they might react if they found out that there was a kaldorei at their childrens’ school. Maerista’s parents in particular seem the sort to cause trouble. If it’s like most of Hethurin’s parties, the babies will be allowed to play in a smaller room with someone watching them, so it’s not as if he’d be the center of attention. He did say that he plans to convert the ballroom into a play area when it’s not in use. That’s wise since there are already several babies here, with more on the way.

Lali expressed interest in perhaps being the general education teacher, it’s something we’ll have to discuss with Hethurin. I would love to have her there every day with me, instead of hidden away like a terrible secret. I know how lonely she must feel, especially with Kestrae and Isandri gone. This way she could see them much more often. I don’t ever want her to regret being with me, I know it isn’t my fault but I still feel guilty. At the very least we’ll have the ball, and we’ll be able to dance together and everyone can look at her lovely long ears. I told her about some of the rangers who will be there, I don’t think she’s met many of them but just so she’ll be prepared.

I’m a bit annoyed that her grandfather hasn’t come by once to see Naraleth. It’s not that I particularly want to see him, but he should at least want to see his grandchild. Lali said that he didn’t like coming to Shattrath. It’s perfectly safe to do so, though I suppose he might have a difficult time finding his way. There aren’t exactly many mages in Ashenvale. I’d be happy to come fetch him if he asked, however. I don’t know, if it were my grandchild I would make an effort to see him often. That got me wondering about whether he’d prefer kaldorei or sin’dorei when he’s older. Lali said he might like something odd, like a tauren. I hope not! Tauren are fine in small doses but I’d really rather not have one visiting all the time. I do wonder about her friend though, it’s been a very long time since Lali has heard from her. I hope they’re all right, I suppose they were called to Orgrimmar too. I certainly saw some while I was there.

I had the idea to make blue dragon costumes, that way Lali’s hair would simply appear to be part of her disguise. We found some suitable masks in the market, but I’ll need to add on some scales and horns and things. There are also blue cloaks that we can wear to cover our heads. Lali and I will be blue dragons, and Naraleth will be a little blue whelp. I think it’ll work well.

 

[OOC] Warcraft Mega Blox

I ordered a few of the Warcraft Mega Blox sets from Amazon, I already own several but I wanted this night elf death knight one. They also had some cute mini-pet packs, where the third pet was a mystery.

One of mine had a ghoul, perfect for my new death knight!

Probably the only spectral tiger I will ever own.

Btw, see how he has eyebrows and no beard? Model artists need to get on that.

In the other pack, I got a phoenix, perfect for my blood elf!

I really think these are cute, I hope they continue making more.

[Story] Fairsong Academy – Terellion’s Journal

The school is really starting to look spooky now! Tik and I have been hard at work making decorations. Well, Tik has been cooking a lot so I’m doing most of it, but I don’t mind. I told Tik that we should stop dusting the corners so they could have real cobwebs with spiders, but I don’t think he liked that idea very much. So we’ll have fake spiders I guess, I think that’s a bit silly because real ones would definitely be spookier. But I bought about a thousand candles from the city, and we’re setting them up all over. It’s going to take quite a while to light them all, Hethurin had a good idea about lighting them with fire magic. I just hope the students don’t set anything else on fire by accident. We also have a huge wagonload of pumpkins in the yard. Those all need to get carved, at least the big ones. The little ones can just be used for decoration as they are. I found a barrel in the yard that I’m going to wash out and put water in so people can bite apples with their teeth.

My costume isn’t done yet. Finding stuff to look like the Regent Lord is harder than I thought it would be. At least I have an eyepatch though! That part was easy. I don’t think it’s possible to color my hair lighter, so I might get a wig but that might just be weird. I haven’t seen Hethurin’s fish mask, he says it’s supposed to be a surprise. I mean, I know it’s going to look like a fish so I don’t see how much of a surprise it really could be.

Last night I tried out a new cake, it’s chocolate with caramel and then I put crumbled up bits of candy on top. I thought it was pretty good. I think I’ll make that for the party so Hethurin has some cake to eat that’s not pumpkin. He pretends to eat it but I’m not dumb! Luckily I think everyone else seems to like the pumpkin ones.

It’s weird that he’s not excited about Lani and Mae’s babies at all. I thought he would be to have another niece or nephew, especially because Rylad hardly ever comes around anymore. Des and I are going to turn the ballroom into a place for them to play after the holidays are over. I think it would be really cool to have a miniature castle or something. Des suggested a small model of the school, which would be neat too, although what if they want to play something besides mages? Not every kid wants to be a mage. Maybe they want to be knights, or rangers! Then I said we could get a wooden dragon too. I’d love a toy like that when I was a kid. But Hethurin didn’t seem happy at all, he was frowning and quiet. He should be happy about Lani! Maybe he’s worried that Mae is having a baby, I mean she was a student here and it could make the school look bad. But she’s married now and nobody knows for sure when it happened, right? He could just say it was after and he had nothing to do with it. Anyway, it’s not like she’s going around telling everyone. She told me and she said it was okay if I told the other students.

It’s really starting to get cold at night now, which I kind of like because it means we can get out the nice warm blankets from the closet. Also it means we can make a fire in the fireplace and sit in the chair together, which is nice. I missed that during the summer.

[Screenshots] Hunter Heirloom… Finally

After three evenings — tonight’s run being an hour and a half — Sath FINALLY got his heirloom bow. It’s from normal, but it was hard enough getting into one of those as DPS, so I really can’t complain. I have a lot more sympathy for you pure DPS right now!

I was pleased to be in the top 5 on all the bosses we did, and I finally learned how to dodge Annihilate. Better late than never!

[Story] Fairsong Academy – Maerista’s Journal

I never want to get out of bed again! It’s so warm and comfortable, and it’s in our very own room in our very own house. There aren’t any ghosts or people next door to listen and hear everything we say. And of course, Gael is there too. That’s the best part. It was the most awful thing having to wait until it was finished. I know he was working extra hard, in addition to doing his patrols, and he finished as quickly as he could. But it was still the most difficult thing to wait for! He has to wake up very early for his patrol, even a bit earlier now since he has to walk to meet them. It’s so dark and cold in the mornings, and I don’t want him to leave. On the bright side, that means he’s home early in the afternoon so we have a lot of time to spend together. I’m going to start making him some little snacks to take with him, maybe some cookies or something. Of course I’m not as good at baking as Orledin, but I figure I will get better with practice! And I’ll have something made for when he gets home too. Everything is so perfect, it’s scary to think that I almost didn’t meet him and would have married someone my parents picked out. I mean, I’m sure he would have been okay, but he couldn’t possibly be as nice as Gael. I don’t see why they’re still hung up on him being a ranger.  It doesn’t make him any less of a good husband that someone from the city, in fact I think it’s much better because he can do things other than stand around and gossip!

Though, as soon as they found out about the baby, they were suddenly wanting to come out and visit us. I thought that would be the case! I’m not sure about it yet. I want to make sure Gael is okay with it, and make sure the house is finished being decorated so it looks nice and Mother won’t make faces. It’s more rustic because it’s in the forest, but it also means that we get a lovely view of the trees, and if it’s clear you can see down to the ocean. I’m also glad there will be other children around for him or her to play with. There’s Rylad and Iannor, who will be a few years older, and then Lani’s baby will be born around the same time. By the time they’re old enough, Hethurin should have the general school all set up and they can all go to classes together. Unless of course he or she wants to be a mage, but I suppose there would still be general classes first, until he or she is older.

I don’t know if it’s a boy or a girl yet. Lani said there are stories about ways to tell, but none of them actually really work very well, and it’s more for fun. I tried a couple of them but I got a different answer every time. So much for that. I don’t think I care too much whether it’s a boy or a girl, Gael says he doesn’t either but I wonder if he really does. Maybe if it’s a girl she can sit next to Rylad when he’s older, he’s going to be cute!

Ty brought dinner by for us last night, which was very nice of him since we were so busy moving in. Well, Gael was, he wouldn’t let me do anything. I ended up telling him what the new room was for. He thought we should tell everyone at the mask party! We might, though I don’t want to make Hethurin’s party about us, we already had our own! Plus I bet Des will make a face. I think we’re going to make our own masks, since Hethurin already has the supplies there at the school. I’m not especially good with art, but I think I could do okay. I have an idea for what kind of a mask I want, there’s lots of feathers and things that will make it look pretty.

[Story] Imralion’s Journal

Aeramin is so confusing. One day he’ll agree to something and then he’ll suddenly change his mind again. Well, I guess I might be changing my mind too. I’m starting to think all of this might not be such a good idea, it’s causing all kinds of trouble. He keeps saying he doesn’t mind, but maybe he really does, he’s just afraid to say anything. So instead he finds other ways to make sure it doesn’t work. Like he really doesn’t like the first girl, which is okay, I think she’s a little too pushy myself. But what if I did? And he says he doesn’t like her because she reminds him of himself… really? I mean I didn’t say anything but that’s not a very good reason to disqualify her, because I’m with him! And a girl like that might be the only one who’d even consider something like this. I don’t think most nice girls would. I still get the feeling that Aeramin wants me to pick the other one, but now it’s like he’s trying to push me into it.

He didn’t talk to her (like I asked him to), instead he got Hethurin to do it. Of all the people in the world qualified to talk to girls, I would probably put him last on the list. Aeramin claims that he was listening and heard the whole conversation, and supposedly she is interested. He got kind of mad and defensive when I didn’t believe him, and said I was calling him a liar. It’s not that, I don’t think he’s trying to intentionally mislead me or anything, I just think he’s seeing something that’s not there because he wants it to be true. When she was at dinner, she hardly talked to us and she couldn’t wait to get out of there. I definitely did not get any hints of her being interested. Aeramin claims that’s because Morrainne was there and being pushy, but the other girl didn’t even want to come in the first place. Morrainne invited her and had to talk her into it. Aeramin also uses the fact that she stayed for breakfast as some kind of proof. I think it’s proof that she was hungry, and nothing more.

Anyway, he keeps pushing me to ask her to the mask party. I’m not really sure if it’s a good idea, I mean sure she’s pretty but there are lots of pretty girls. I don’t know if there’s anything more there or not, certainly right now but I’m not saying it could never happen. I’m also worried that Morrainne might flip out if I tell her I’m not interested. She definitely seems like the crazy type. Aeramin says she’ll just move on to some other guy, but how does he know that? Oh, because he has experience, and I don’t. Well you can’t be embarrassed of your past and then use it to be right, you have to pick one or the other! We haven’t picked out what masks we want either. Aeramin didn’t have any ideas, and he didn’t know what other people were wearing. I guess we’ll probably just put some beads and feathers on or something. I’m not good with fancy parties.

[Story] The Ghostclaw – Sath’alor’s Journal

Rylad and I made our masks for the party this evening. Nessna helped a little bit, mostly she just came over to check on how we were doing and make sure Rylad wasn’t eating too much of the glitter. He did eat some, there was no way I could keep him from getting it all. The shopkeeper assured me it wasn’t dangerous for kids, but I have a feeling I’ll be finding it months from now yet. At first I thought about making a white tiger for Nessna, but I asked Rylad if he wanted to be a tiger and he said “rawr” which I take to mean yes. So I made hers an Eversong lynx. I’m no great artist, but I think it looks pretty good. At least you can tell what it’s supposed to be. Mine is a lion, like the one that I found in the Highlands. I try not to think about that trip too much now, but I can’t help but be reminded a little.

Ty’s is some kind of monster, I guess. I mean, it looks all right. I’m sure he and Vellira had fun making them. Arancon’s is actually really cool, it’s like a skull but then he’s sewed it inside a cloak that goes over his head. It’s quite spooky, and no one can really tell who he is. According to him that’s intentional, he isn’t too excited about Aeramin being at the party. We assured him that it should be large enough that he can avoid him and just do his own thing, and the costume will definitely help with that. I thought he might want to dance with the woman who works in the stable, she’s closer to his age and she seems nice enough. He seemed a bit hesitant though, and admitted he might not be ready for anything like that. I can definitely understand that. He obviously still misses her, and he’s upset that he didn’t get to say goodbye. I guess all of that happened when I was away in Outland, but I do feel bad for him. It’s weird to see things from his point of view instead of Aeramin’s. I’m not saying that Aeramin was in the wrong in this case, just that I can sympathize with Arancon. I know if anything happened to Nessna I’d never want to dance with another girl, I’m sure he probably felt that way too.

Ty said he’d try to talk to Sunashe about Lin, I mean it’s really not my business but I want everyone to be happy and get along. I have a feeling they’d both be a lot happier if they just went ahead and got together. I’m not an expert or anything but I think if she’s going to lunch and things like that, she’s probably interested in more. Ty and I talked a little about Kes too, I mean I didn’t say her name or anything. I just said that things were still awkward between us, and she probably is still upset with me. We both have someone new and I imagine she’s probably happy, but I guess it’s still too soon to be friends again. I kind of wish things could be okay, like Aeramin and Hethurin are, but I don’t know. I know she’s probably angry because she wanted a family. I bet she’s pestering that poor guy every chance she gets. I don’t know, I guess he’s probably okay with what she studies because he’s still around. There’s no way he doesn’t know. Ty said I was a great father, I really try to be. I didn’t even know that I wanted to be until I met them, but now that I am, it’s really great. I really like doing stuff with him, like making our masks. Nessna said Hethurin is talking about having general classes at the school, which would be great. It’s closeby and he’d be around people that he knows.