This is an x-post of my most recent random pet challenge from wow-petopia.com :)
I went in a bit of a different direction this time, because when I went to find the black fox for my random pet challenge, a story kind of sprouted and I had to write it down. :D
First will come the story and pictures, then the technical review. ^_^
The 'bad luck fox' is what they called her. The people of Lakeshire were sick of her, and who could blame them? Chickens, pigs, backyard dogs, and even a hutch of bunnies had been made off with. Telltale black fur was left behind in place of the reddish brown fur that any true fox has, the people said. She was obviously malicious, a demon maybe. Farms that had their animals carried off were said to have horrible growing seasons afterwards, attributed to her taint on the land she hunted from. They wanted her pelt, and they were paying a small sack of silver and a moldy leather helm to anyone who could do bring her down.
Anouska smiled to herself as she headed out of Lakeshire, to where the fox purportedly roamed. She would find her alright, if she even existed at all. She'd find the 'bad luck fox' alright, but not to kill her. If she existed, she was coming home with her.
She circled the reported den for a few moments, just enough to spot unmistakable fox tracks around a large rock. Splintered bones also littered the area, a sure sign of some kind of carnivore activity.
Anouska sat with her back against the rock, which was still warm from the sun's rays, and pulled a single trout from her pack. She set this on the ground beside her, adding to it a handful of blackberries. Her previous encounters with foxes taught her that some love berries just as well as meat. She sat, still and silent, for what seemed like hours. Finally..
The fox gazed at her, snarling and showing teeth. Her feet were scarred and scabbed, as well as her ears, one of which had a chunk torn out of it. She was mangy and painfully thin. Realization dawned- she had only been stealing livestock from Lakeshire because her own food sources had grown scarce. The orcs and gnolls in the area had surely seen to that. Anouska held her breath, still waiting. Finally.. the fox came over and gazed up at her. Blue eyes met gold and held for a long moment. Then a wet nose pressed into her palm. They had bonded. Anouska couldn't help but do a little cheer.
Imagine her surprise when the fox mimicked her!
After feeding Siouxsie a few more fish, giving her a good bath, and bandaging the open wound on her ear, they were off to get to know one another better. Unfortunately, Siouxsie was still highly aggressive to other people, other animals, and even intimidating looking rocks. They would need to work on that. They headed to Gilneas to lend a hand to the Ally forces there. As expected, Siouxsie had a lot of aggression that served them well in the battle.
Until she bit the commander of the Alliance forces squarely in the tush. Then they had to book it out of there!
Clearly Siouxsie needed some anger management. Anouska thought long and hard, and suddenly the answer became clear. If anyone could help expunge negative emotions, it was.. these guys.
A day of meditation proved to be just what the doctor ordered, and near the end Siouxsie was sitting calmly and allowing the Pandaren to touch her- just a little. But it was progress, even if she wasn't thrilled.
"Hey, Siouxsie! Don't eat the nice woman's pet moth! Put down that cricket! You just ate a pile of fish!"
Well, no one said it would be an overnight fix. xD Look at that sheepish face!
The Review:
I took the fox with me to a battleground, to do some dailies, and to an anger management seminar/questing spree in the Kun-Lai Summit. :D
I love the fox model. The cheeks and tail are a teensy bit blocky in all skins, where they were going for fluff. I can appreciate the attempt at fluff though, so it's easy to forgive for me. :) Foxes have that awesome flavor ability, Play, that I just can't get enough of. However their family ability, Tailspin, is just so-so. It's entirely situational, but useful, though I love other family abilities more. As an aside, the PetEmote addon has some fantastic emotes for foxes! It just added so much more to my experience. The skin of the black fox models has piercing golden eyes, which I love. The entire skin gives off a tuxedo cat vibe and I really enjoy that. I'm at a crossroads now- do I keep Ashtail, whom I named Hyacinth? Or do I keep Siouxsie, the spunky, slightly cantankerous fox who matches Anouska's hair color so perfectly? It's a hard decision! Overall I am very glad to have tamed her, even if I am now faced with a predicament!
