Prologue

The sun was well into its descent from the peak of the sky's arc, its rays cast an amber glow onto the encroaching fog. A traveller ambled along on the path in quiet deliberation. Her trail of thought broke when she felt her arm knocked aside followed by three sets of giggles. Her companions, two young girls and a boy, ran circuits around her, engrossed in their tag game. She didn't change her pace, though she shifted her attention to the children, taking in their gleeful laughter and untroubled smiles, as if it has always been right in the world. If that were only so. Her mind was caught again, only this time by a howl deep in the surrounding woods. Several more voices took their places in the wild symphony. The traveller's eyes narrowed at the wolves' hunting song, her hand already fingering the hilt of a dagger strapped onto her thigh. Shelter must be found if they are to pass the night alive, and soon.

The traveller made to call the children to her, only to find none of them were in her sight. She reminded herself not to panic as they have always vanished from view whenever they played their games, yet she felt the onset of a panic attack anyway.

"Hey, Sis! Over here!"

Further down on the side of the trail, she found the elder of the girls waving.

"Come on! This way."

The traveller let out a sigh of relief now that she knew where one of her charges were. However, she could not help but be curious as she jogged after the child, who ran off into the tree line. She had already made clear to them not to call upon her to investigate every trivial thing they find, or at least, trivial to an adult.

She spotted the children by the edge of the trees, who were huddled around some object of interest. She was only a few feet from them that a sickening stench attacked her nostrils, which made her stumble back and slap a hand to her nose. The first thing that popped in her mind was overcooked bacon with the fur left on to scorch. The fog and the trees weren't letting much light through, but there was enough for her to see the unfortunate creature sprawled out on the ground. Sure enough, she could see some severe burn wounds along his back and arms, though she had a feeling his condition may be worse than it appeared. Nudging the children aside, she gently pulled whatever was left of a cape out of the way to better examine his injuries. Upon the sight of a black, red-trimmed coat, however, she flinched and backed away, a stunned look in her eyes. The children, surprised by their guardian's actions, began to protest when the woman turned heel and stalked away to the opposite direction.

They cried after her, "No, wait! Where are you going?!"

The two girls each grabbed an arm, while the boy clutched at the woman's waist from behind. She knew she could have carried on, though she realized that doing so would tow them down. She had no intention of hurting any of them. Their grips were quite tighter than usual, more than when they would find a nice looking toy in a shop or a wild animal to take in as a pet. Against her better judgement, she stole a glance at the girls' faces. Their accusing glares were rather fierce in her opinion, and she had received a lot of fierce stares in her life. Had she been able to see the boy's face, she would only find the same look in his eyes. She gave them a reprimanding stare in return. They were just children after all. They wouldn't understand right now, but certainly they would when they're older, right? They don't know . . . the sins that thing and his kind have committed. The horrors they have left in their wake. Wouldn't they understand?

The traveller held the girls' eyes with her own, either side pressing the other to yield. Moments passed until the woman shut her eyes, relenting to her defeat. She knew them well enough. They will understand in time; they just won't forgive her for leaving that man to die, regardless of who he was and what he had done. She let the children drag her back to the man, offering no resistance.

Making a point to ignore the man's uniform, she raised a hand over the worst of his wounds and let power seep into it until it glowed blue-white, as did her eyes. The children watched their guardian anxiously, knowing that she had started an inventory of injuries done to this poor man in her mind. They didn't know why she had wanted to abandon him at death's door but they would not let allow his passing if they could help it. The thought of letting another being to die without given a chance, it was inconceivable to them. Yet only she had the say whether he had a chance at all. The children stood behind their guardian, unable to do anything else other than wait for the man's verdict. They did not see the woman's hand falter nor her frown in puzzlement.

I must confess, I am not a furry. However, ever since I've caught wind of Dust: An Elysian Tail, I am instantly, completely and utterly enraptured in its spell. And I regret absolutely nothing! Then all hell breaks loose when I find out there's hardly any fanfics on this at all. *Dies a bit inside.* So, here I go! My shot at a Dust: An Elysian Tail fanfic. Of course, if you are familiar with my other works and/or you missed the blatant warning in the last 885 words, OC's galore! A chuck full of them! Turn away now, if you want to save yourself from my OC hell. Still intrigued, please leave a review. Cassius . . . er, I mean Dust demands it!