Hunter Appreciation Week - Jstmel

Jstmel was my third Hunter, but sadly never got very far. For the longest time she sat in Ironforge as a banker toon, stuck somewhere around level 12 or so. I created her with good intentions of leveling her and learning the ins and outs of the Survival spec...but failed miserably in doing so.

I was just too busy back then. I was raiding Kara with Thela. Learning how to heal on Draiko, my Druid. Leveling Sheeturself and Sheetahn. Doing mad amounts of goofing off in game...see? Just too busy. So, poor Jst got sidelined and religated as banker toon. Mind you, I really didn't "need" another banker. I had 7 others already. But, such was her fate.

It wasn't until the fall of 2007 did I begin to do anything with Jst.

That fall my real life kitty cat, Chloe, passed away. She was 14 years old and was extremely close to my heart. I had hand raised her from 2 weeks old. She was, for all intents and purposes, my child.

Her passing hit me VERY hard. It could not have come at a worse time. My last living grandparent, Pearlie (my dad's mom) had passed away two months prior. My emotions were still all wonky from Nana's passing. When Chloe passed it was like getting hit by a Mac truck all over again.

Shortly after all of this, I was in game one day and decided I wanted to go tame a kitty cat in honor of Chloe. Since the release of the Burning Crusade expansion, the Lynx style cats were ones I like the most and I decided I would go get one to be my in game kitty, Chloe.

Two problems here.

One, Thela was level 70 and already had her trusty Ghost Saber, Obadhai. Back then it was a lot of work to maintain and level your pets, so getting rid of one to replace it with another was a very big deal. Plus, Thela had had Obadhai for a long time. The bond was just too much to mess with.

Second, getting a pet and naming it Chloe wouldn't go well with Sheeturself's name. "Chloe Sheeturself"? Nah. "Sheeturself Chloe"? Nah. Just doesn't sound right.

So, Jstmel was the best option for getting a Lynx and naming it Chloe. Plus, being named after my online nickname, it only seemed proper to have Chloe be Jstmel's pet.

Problems again.

Jst was only level 12. The Lynx cats came in the following level ranges and locations:

8-10 - Eversong Woods & Ghostlands locations
14-16 - Ghostlands locations
65+ - Blade's Edge Mountains & Netherstorm locations

Hmmm...It would take FORVER to level Jst to 65+ to get one in the TBC zones. So that's no good.

It will be a long ass run as a level 12 from Ironforge to deep into Ghostlands or into Eversong Woods to get one of the 8-10 level cats. Yea, not gonna do that.

Looks like the 14-16 level range was my best option.

As quickly as I could I leveled Jst to level 16 and began her journey to the southern parts of Ghostlands to get her Lynx kitty.

The trek started off easy enough. In fact, I made it all the way to the lake in Western Plaguelands with only one death. Those damn, level 19 elite ogres, that used to be in the mountains along the path between Loch Modan and Wetlands, nabbed me. Other than that, it was easy runnings.

Western Plaguelands presented no real danger either. I swam through the lake to the northeastern mountain range and then skirted the mountains into Eastern Plaguelands. This is where things got...ummm...interesting?

The main path into EPL wasn't too bad. I think I only had one bat or demon doggie find me. I was lucky enough, however, to outrun them and make them reset and go back to wherever they came from. Shortly after this though my adventure began...or should I say romance began?

No sooner did I get within eyeshot of Corrin's Crossing did I sustain my second death. At level 16 my aggro range was HUGE in that zone and some ghoul or zombie or something came and ate me.

I wave at the Spirit Healer and make my corpse run back to my body. I rez and *poof* I'm dead again. Nod at Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, run 3 steps, dead. Wink at Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, move 4 steps, dead. Sit and chat with Spirit Healer, corpse run, rez, get 5 steps away, dead....you see where this is going?

Me and the Spirit Healer spent a LOT of time together that afternoon. From the point you encounter the first Corrin's Crossing mob on the western edge of town to the last mob on the eastern edge I died some 14-16 times.

As I was making one of my corpse runs to my dead body in the center of town a friend logged in and asked what the hell I was doing there at that level. (for thost that don't know, or remember, EPL used to be a level 55+ zone) I told him what I was up to and he asks if I want an escort. I told him I would probably be out of the worst part by the time he reached me but he could come if he wanted.

So, I continue on with my new love affair with the Spirit Healer while my friend does the Flight Path Dance to me. By the time he reached me I had finally made it to the eastern edge of Corrin's Crossing and rezzed just as my friend landed on the road.

As soon as I rezzed I had to make a mad dash up the road. I timed things wrong and the patrol of 3-4 bats that used to be in that area was closing in on our location. My friend had his back to them and didn't see them until they started chasing me up the road. Thankfully he caught them in time and was able to kill them before they killed me.

The rest of the run was uneventful and we made it into Ghostlands unscathed. My friend stayed with me to watch me find a Lynx kitty and tame it. Afterwards, he flew away and I hearthed back to Ironforge with Chloe by my side.

From time to time I still log onto Jst and do some questing, or battlegrounds, to spend a little time with Chloe. It's nice to spend time with a kitty that is no longer around in real life...even if she is just pixels.