The Bracken Woods the end of the world was quiet

"ye damned, be cleansed by fire!" memnoch shouted into the ash-choked air. the dragon roiled; his hellfire eyes haunted its movements with a lust reserved for arsonists and candlemakers. a dream; he desired that his bones be singed in that surging gold. 
it was not to be, however. memnoch had come for a singular purpose. let the gulping fires cut down the witches he would feed to its lust, and thereby slake his own. "blessed be th'believer," he breathed to himself, reluctantly turning rangy step away from the toiling cauldron and toward the taiga beyond. "blessed be he who seeks not sin, but righteousness in the arms of the great star."
memnoch lapsed into old-tongue prayers then, pausing every now and again to peer over one small shoulder and hoot exultations at the smoking nostrils of the beast, uncaring of who might see or hear him. 

The ashen plumes rose steadily into the heavens, warning all that the once-dormant beast had awakened. It was this omen that drew Chausiku into the Wilds. She'd never seen a mountain blow its top before. Molten rock that glowed like liquid fire crawled down its sides. The battle between Hilaeusi and Nondofir was reaching its apex, and this was the aftermath. She was needed here.

A shrill cry pierced the air, its owner sounding small yet far from young. Its utterances were clearly a prayer of some kind, but it was not to Hilaeusi or any god she knew of. Intrigued, Chausiku followed the voice on swift feet. She was surprised to discover a snow-white fox to be the source, and she had half a mind to make a meal of it. Prey was a rare sight nowadays, and she'd lost much weight in her travels. Yet, at the same time, she was curious to know more about him, about his beliefs. He wouldn't make a filling meal anyway, especially split between she and her companions.

So she stepped forth with no ill-intent and asked, To whom do you pray, white fox?

a wolf appeared, and memnoch stared not at her, but the serpent who rested around her neck. "evil," he mumbled, teeth flaring defiantly in the direction of the larger predator. with a scarcity of meat to be found, the little prophet was not unaware that he could come to a violent end, but if that be the will of the star, then so be it.
"the star above, lass," memnoch spat. "it sees all, and those within its light can be no fool." making no move to approach her, the fox neverthless scowled openly at her unseemly companion. "that is a blasphemy!" he thundered, voice quaking with rage. "you are no more than an idolator! may you be consumed."

The blatant insolence of such a puny creature in the face of his predator was like a slap in the face. Justly offended, Chausiku flattened her ears and glared down her snout at him. She wasn't one to waste her time with pointless arguments, especially with a fox, of all things.

After you, She lilted lowly. He clearly had no survival instinct in him, and she wondered how he made it this far as she lunged for him with an enraged snarl.

memnoch was nothing if not careful in this charnel house of wolves; the beast snapped, and away with it came a long swathe of his fur, plucked out at the root. the prophet had begun to run before then, thin legs churning across the earth, beneath the ash; behind him he knew she would follow, she and the infernal serpent.
bothering no more to waste his breath on the heathen, memnoch dashed madly for the cracked bole of a tree in the distance, assuring himself that the hellspawn upon his heels would not be able to follow where the great star did not allow.

Shockingly, the cretin reacted in time to narrowly escape her jaws, which clacked shut with naught but a tuft of fur for her troubles. Chausiku was hot on his trail, but he had all the vulpine swiftness of his brethren. The fox darted aside with blinding agility, kicking ash up into her face. She had to stop in her tracks, and she sneezed from the debris. After collecting herself, she continued her pursuit. His tracks led to a sturdy tree with a crack just large enough to allow his entry but forbid hers. Claw and bite as she may, the bark was too sturdy to break.

A gilded eye glared daggers into the shadowed figure within the woody shelter, but she soon gave up the hunt. She could starve him out or search for a way in, but this little morsel wasn't worth such attrition. With lowered hackles, she backed away, once again donning her mask. A parting glance, and then she was gone.

thank you!

claw and fang and snap; she was rewarded with a weak cry. but the brute was wise, all too wise, all too knowing. she burnt memnoch with a hungry stare and turned away. not daring to breathe even as blood began to trickle, the white fox pondered that he had seen her face  close before she went off with the serpent.
it was the next morning before memnoch allowed himself the belief that she was gone; he unfurled his torn cramped flesh and fell with a gasp from the protecting tree. and he too went away, struggling toward the mountains even as once more his tongue began to collect the taste of ash.