Among the Ashes

The sun rose early outside the Valley of Mists, casting a soft golden light over a scene of devastation that stood completely at odds with the serene sound of birds chirping to welcome the dawn. 

Ollie, Milo, and their companions arrived near Milo's late the night before and built a simple camp on an adjacent hillside so they could search the village for any surviving carvings first thing in the morning. Despite Ollie's excellent cooking and a comfortable camp, none of them had slept well that night.

They'd deliberately chosen a spot far enough from the village that the smell of ash and char wouldn't reach them on the evening breeze. Still, the knowledge of what lay less than a mile away had kept them tossing and turning beneath their blankets. Milo had spent most of the night sitting beside the campfire, his tail curled protectively around his legs while he stared into the dying embers long after everyone else had gone to bed.