Disclaimer: I do not own Black Clover as it belongs to its respective owner. For entertainment purposes.

Tender Beginnings: Nobody's Guardian

His throat burned, but it wasn't the wounds on his neck nor the bandages binding them that were turning the words on his tongue to ash. Rather it was the tears in the clouded gaze of the one before him. A voice that was as hauntingly familiar as the moon itself pleaded, "Please, I beg of you, protect him." Not for the longest time had he found the will to resist, and so there was only one answer he could give. While bandaged hands came to rest gently on either side of his muzzle, he pressed his head lightly against the other. A solemn oath came to exist between them. Finding the words to seal it, he pledged:

"I vow on my name, Zora Ideale, to be his guardian."

The slightly muffled sounds of footsteps from above awoke him. His ear twitched involuntarily at the noise, and he rolled over from his side to his stomach as he lightly stretched. The leaves under him crunched in the movement, and he made a mental note to find something to replace them soon. The slight chill that came from the entry promised of a trip to the nearby farms to steal some hay. If he was lucky and a few of the feathered livestock were molting this year, he might even be able to nab some feathers.

Yawning, he stretched slightly and pressed an ear against the floorboards. The hearth above was lit, and he could feel the warmth spread against his fur. Had he been any other Fae, perhaps it would have burned him. As it was, the fire helped sooth the ache that was accumulating in his joints from the last few nights.

He could hear someone, most likely Sister Lily, stroking the fire, and then more footsteps running into the room. Judging by the pounding and speed, he could only assume Asta had rushed in to help. A secondary set of lighter footsteps followed. The other brat, Yuno, most likely. Though something was different about today if they hadn't been shooed out by the nun.

Waking up a bit more at the disturbance in the usual routine, he closed his eyes as he sent out a light pulse of magic to the runes set up within the Church. The echo that returned to him was of more humans being in the structure than usual. Confused, he opened his eyes and squinted towards the entrance of his dwelling. The light that reached deeply told him that it was past noon. Mass would have been over by now.

He tried to rack his mind to see if there was some sort of event he was forgetting again. Sending out another pulse, the reply reassured of little hostility. Which meant that a new arrival to the Church hadn't happened. As far as he knew, winter hadn't set in enough for Hage to begin its festival preparations. Then again, the smell of a large amount of food said otherwise. Pressing his ear fully against the floorboards, he could just distantly hear the voices of the occupants. Asta especially.

"What's a 'wedding'?"

Ah. That would explain the people and the food. As far as he could tell, it had been a few years since Hage had a wedding. The increasing presence of Fiends frightened the youthful away, and the old had too strong of roots to leave. Anyone else in Hage was too unfortunate to leave. So it was surprising that the town had mustered enough joy or whatever to have a ceremony of any kind.

Personally, it had been a while since he had witnessed a wedding. The leaves crackled beneath his paws as he dug them ever so slightly into the ground. The last one he…

"It's a special ceremony that bonds two people together forever."

"Really, Sister?"

"Yes, it's something to treasure."

He couldn't help the snort that came out in response to her wistful tone, but it wasn't like anyone else could hear him in his den. A special ceremony indeed. But there was a growing emptiness in his chest as, in his mind's eye, there appeared an image he couldn't shake no matter how hard he tried. A smile that didn't reach the eyes, stretched slightly thin, that moved to mouth the lie: I'm fine.

"Sister, will you marry me?"

The sudden question asked so cheerfully and determined pulled him from his thoughts. If he had hit his head because he was surprised, there was no proof and no one above would have noticed. Above him, he could hear the slight sputtering of Sister Lily and the sound of something dropping. Accepting the distraction, he listened for her reply.

"Y-You have to love someone to marry them."

"I love you."

He could barely hear her forced laughter.

"Not that kind of love."

And perhaps Asta had been preparing a counterargument because Sister Lily quickly followed with:
"Besides, Asta, I cannot marry."

"Why not?"

There was a pause, and Zora's fur prickled slightly. He knew the answer that would come from the woman's lips. The tight voice that barely managed to keep a happy façade for the children confirmed this.

"Because I am Fae."

The conversation was taking an all too familiar turn for his liking, so Zora looked down at his feet to check the 'time.' The light had reached the tips of his paws. The usual sign he couldn't stay in bed and listen to chatter anymore, which was fine as the words above were becoming dull to his ears No sense in sticking around to hear something he already knew as a truth of this world.

Besides, there was work to be done, especially with the cold coming. He removed his ear and moved to wiggle his way out of the small hole. If it wasn't for the fact that the old priest would notice a bigger den and chase him off the premises with a broom, he would have made it easier to maneuver in and out of. Just thinking of that made him make a mental to-do of checking the tree bark for rainbow beetles when he had time. A few in the priest's pillow would make him feel better about his living situation.

The bush that greeted him had not gotten less annoying to get into than it had been to enter the first time. But it hid his home, and so he forced himself to deal with the briar and thorns. At least by now he had worn down a path in its interior so he spent less of his afternoon picking burrs out of his fur as he went along. Luck continued to favor him as he could not detect any life directly outside of the bush that would give him trouble.

As he exited the foliage, he shook his fur to scatter the thorns that were not yet lodged in his side. A few bones creaked, but the ache and stiffness remained. But he had to go deeper into the woods to sort those out. A downside to living on mortal premises. His nose twitched, and the smell of rice stew was drawn in. An upside to living on mortal premises.

While his current size would not allow him to just peek in the window, the wood stacked neatly against the church's back wall would. For that he had to give Yuno some credit. If Asta had been in charge, he wouldn't have a perch, rather he'd have a wooden mine field to worry about when stepping outside. Carefully, he climbed the logs as his paws tested their stability slowly.

A bowl of rice stew sat waiting on the window's ledge, and, while he would have liked to eat then and there, instincts told him to check his surroundings as usual. With a quick pulse, the runes inside the structure whispered back that Sister Lily and the two brats had left for the chapel area. The woman was probably looking for Father Ofai to assign the children tasks to keep them out of her hair. Which meant that he had a quick window to eat the offering and go.

Moving to the wooden frame of the windowsill, he bent his head and began to eat the stew. While he had better in his days as the rice was a bit stale with the potato chunks helping the flavor only a little bit, the grub settled the growling in his gut enough so he didn't have to focus on finding a meal first thing in the day. Perhaps that is why Sister Lily did it, but he wouldn't acknowledge that fact the same way she would not acknowledge why the bowl was empty upon returning. This arrangement was strictly based on assumptions and gut feelings. If they were to ever speak of it when he officially came to visit, the words were sure to turn to poison and kill the coexistence they had achieved.

He smacked his lips together as he polished off the last of the stew in a large gulp. A giggling resounded near him as his ears flattened automatically. He snapped his head in the direction of the sound with his mouth half-forming a snarl on pure instinct. But the only thing that greeted him was a pair of brown eyes that lit up the face of a bobbing head of black hair. His ears returned to their original position as he took in the mortal before him. Aruru.

Looking around, he couldn't help but wonder how the little girl had gotten the jump on him. She certainly wasn't there when he did a sweep of the room, and she was far too small yet to open doors. Not that he heard that sound either. That left just one option. One he didn't want to deal with. He sent out a pulse to check on other inhabitants' whereabouts.

As he did, it seemed to set Aruru off as the little girl sneezed and blinked out of vision for a quick second. She reappeared a moment later above him, and he huffed at the sudden weight hitting his back. Brat #5 didn't seem to care about the sudden change in height nor how she got there. She merely babbled while pulling at bits of his fur. Fantastic.

He contemplated throwing her off, but that would only lead to the mortal screaming and announcing his presence to everyone. His eyes swept the kitchen as a hand tugged curiously on his ear. If it wasn't for the utensils laying about with the fire burning just a few feet from the window, he would have deposited her back on the floor and left. And since the runes answered his call, it appeared everyone else was caught up preparing the chapel. Which left him and the brat all alone since, apparently, he hadn't done enough babysitting already in his lifetime.

His two longer tails came to curl around her belly, which only served to delight the little hellion as she gave out a squeal of joy near his ear and moved to tug at the fur surrounding her. She left out a gasp of surprise that turned into more babbling as he jumped off the windowsill and into the Church. The smell of food engulfed his senses more so than it did at the open window. It was the sensation of a rumbling stomach on his back that made things click in his mind.

The sudden loss of weight was confirmation, and he found himself having to hastily shift into his accursed two-legged form and nab the child before she fell into the cooking pot in the hearth. Unconsciously, he found himself checking her for burns before shaking his head with a frown. She was fine if she was giggling as much as she was. That made one of them having fun.

She remained undisturbed by the stranger holding her or at the sudden loss of a furred creature. Perhaps she subconsciously recognized him. Most Fae and Halfling children were able to, on some level or another, detect his Mana. But his waves could easily be dismissed as fluctuations in the air with the shifting of the sun. Unless she was a higher blessed Faeling, which he doubted, this sensitivity would fade in the coming weeks. Just as it had for the other brats and their awakenings. Though he could never tell with Yuno, as that child had long been in tuned with Mana before he had come here. Asta was a different story entirely.

Adjusting his grip on the Halfling, he moved towards the pantry and opened the door. He ignored the gnawing feeling clawing at his chest when the nearly barren space greeted him. He could see a couple stacks of potatoes and some sacks of flour. Taking a peek at his temporary charge, he closed the door. There was nothing there a brat with barely ten teeth could eat.

He glanced back at the feast being cooked behind him. Whoever was getting married wouldn't miss a helping or two. The pot and its contents were much too hot, but there were some cold dishes ready to be served. Mashed potatoes, some roasted venison, baked bread, vegetables tossed up into a salad of some sort, a large slice of cheese, pudding, cake… All things he had not seen in the Church in a while.

"What do you want?" He asked as he held Aruru towards the array of food, "Everything's yours for the taking." He doubted she understood him, but she did seem rather pleased at the display before her as she made a grabbing motion at the mashed potatoes. He couldn't help but roll his eyes. "Could have anything," He muttered as he looked for a spoon and a plate in the cabinets above the creations, "And you want more potatoes."

He propped her on his hips with one arm as he dished out a small helping of potatoes before moving back towards the windowsill. He moved the empty bowl to the side, and then closed and locked the glass panels. He then placed Aruru on the frame with enough confidence that he could catch her should she pitch forward and that the window was strong enough to support her should she pitch backwards.

Methodically, he began to feed the little brat as he grumbled half-heartedly to himself a string of complaints mixed with curses. Aruru still had yet to speak a clear word so it wasn't like she could say she saw him or parrot back what he was muttering. Though it was a slight worry that she could choke. Only because it would lead to a nuisance of an event. Not because he was actually concerned about the whelp and her wellbeing. Nope. Not the case. Still, she wasn't dying despite the fact it had been a while since he had last had to do this, and that was something to be a little proud of. At least, he thought it had been a while. Time, at least the Mortal definition, wasn't a concept he typically dabbled in.

When Aruru was finished, he put the empty bowl and the spoon in the other dish and picked her up off the window. Spotting a cloth near the sink, he cleaned her face off while she squirmed slightly and scrunched her face. Throwing the rag in the sink, he walked to the door and was tempted to send out a light pulse. But since Aruru might blink out of his arms and land who knows where to cause a disaster, he resisted. Instead, he shifted just enough to have his true ears pop out.

Aruru grabbed at them, but he held her away while resisting the urge to flick an ear in annoyance. Prior experience told him that the movement would only strengthen her interest. Pressing an ear against the door, he tuned out Aruru's garbling at him and the hissing of the fire. No footsteps nearby, though the distant chatter from the chapel was filtering through. Brat #3 and Brat #4 were helping out if the occasional sound fragment had anything to say about it. Satisfied that there was no one in the hallway, he shifted his ears back and opened the door.

Adjusting his grip on Aruru as he closed the door, he watched as the little girl began to yawn. Good, so he wouldn't have any trouble laying her down for a nap. Like she probably was supposed to be doing in the first place. Walking down the hall, he opened the door to the children's room.

Well, that explained where Brat #6 was. Near the large bed that was in the center of the room, on the small table, was a tiny, blond child sleeping peacefully in an old woven basket. So long as he didn't cause any particularly loud noises, Hollo would stay that way. Seeing no other basket available, he could only assume Aruru had graduated to sleeping on the bed like all the other children.

After placing Aruru down and making sure she wouldn't die from the position, he walked over to the window to peer out. "Shit," He cursed under his breath when he saw the forms of Father Ofai and what he could only assume were other Hunters. Dammit, the wedding. Of course, the Guild would send some Hunters to help guard the Church. His hair prickled up slightly as he snapped away from the window. He'd have to circle to the other side of the house and hope no one was guarding it.

"Shit!" A cheery voice babbled out as the sudden distraction snapped him from his thoughts. He looked towards Aruru who was beaming up at him brightly. Then to confirm it was indeed her who said it, she repeated it louder and giggled afterward. A quick glance at Hollo showed that her voice hadn't disturbed him. The adrenaline building in his veins ceased for a moment, and he couldn't help but let out a cross between a sigh and a snort. Keeping the window in his corner of his eye, he walked back to the bed and ruffled her head lightly.

"Yup," He agreed, "A lot of shit and dipshits I have to deal with."

"Shit!"

Aruru reached her small hands out and grasped his own hand atop her head. She seemed pleased at his reaction, and he wished he had time to watch Sister Lily's and Father Ofai's reactions. But he was running behind schedule now, and the last time he had done that wasn't pretty. Oh, well. Maybe if he had the time later, he'd teach her another word and watch their reaction then. Pulling his hand away, she yawned one last time before closing her eyes and falling asleep. Finally. He didn't have to worry about her blinking after him for now. Later on, if she spotted him and wanted to, she might. That's how children of Wisps were anyhow.

It had taken him a little longer then he would have liked to exit the Church and get into the woods. But the smell of nature had him perking up a bit, so by the time he came to the clearing atop the hill, he could say he was in a vaguely good mood despite the delays. Perhaps it was the fact that he could shift back into his true form without having to constrain it, or that he wouldn't risk running into random townsfolk of Hage with the ceremony going on. Either way, he stretched his limbs out one by one as they transformed and grew. The aches in his spine disappeared and the stiffness in his limbs faded away as he shook his fur out. His to-do list reappeared in his mind as he prepared himself for the rest of his routine.

Shuffling towards the edge of the clearing, he first checked on the Devil's Eye bush. Most of the berries had been plucked by now. It wasn't surprising as Asta had been placed on firewood duty more often as of late. But there were still a couple weeks until the cold truly set in, so seeing its supplies diminished so was not the best of signs. Not to mention, the brat was still growing. Come the thawing of the world, he'd have to plant a second one here. With luck, it would sprout like this one had. He turned his attention to the tree growing next to the plant.

He hopped on his hind-legs and stretched to reach the middle of its trunk. In the cavity of the tree, wedged just enough inside of the bark, he could see his rune stone. Outwardly, he could see no cracks in the rock, and, when he pressed his nose against it, the Mana he had implanted in it still swirled. Pulling back, he sent a light pulse to it. The emblem lit up a pale red before fading away. Good. He wouldn't have to replace it. On to the next one.

A breeze ruffled his fur as he raced and weaved above the undergrowth and fallen trees. While it might have been easier to get around if he constricted his form back to a smaller size, he needed to cover more grounds to make up for lost time. But experience made up for his grander form, and his paws found familiar trails he had carved out as a testament to his time among these trees. Whether it was jumping from fallen log to fallen log to avoid the roots of their standing brethren or knowing which paths down to the dips and valleys of the hills were more stable than others. And where the river met the winding streams of the hills and what spots were safe to cross.

The sun was in the middle of its descent down when Zora came across his final rune stone in the shallowest part of the riverbed. Unlike its nineteenth siblings, the emblem he had placed upon it did not heed his call. The Mana swirling in its center was dimming and would flicker out before long. This location always burnt out faster than the others due to his poor Mana affinity with the main element this area boasted.

With a sigh, he dug the rock out from among the other stones with his paw. Picking it up with one of his longer tails, he coiled the appendage around the object as he dried his foot with a short burst of his Mana. Once it was secure and his foot no longer dripped, he dipped his head for a moment to catch a drink of water. Then he backed up a few spaces before springing out. His feet caught on the stones jutting out of the river, and with practiced grace and stable footing, he hopped across to the other shore.

There was a reason Hage could summon guards despite being little more than an outpost town in its kingdom. The secret the hills and the forest overlooked, but the farms and plains never forgot. Even though the light of day shone on his back, Zora couldn't suppress the shiver going down his spine whenever he gazed upon it himself. After all, it was a place that seemed to extinguish the light itself, where Mana trembled frantic and scarce. Even if at first glance, it didn't seem like it.

In the shadows of the hills and just past the fields' reach, crumbling columns and crushed rock lay about an empty landscape. No rivers ran through it. No life dared to go near it. Nature itself had all but forsaken it, save for the purpose of his visit. At one point, it might have been a kingdom of its own. But time had been cruel, and the crater that the site rested in suggested a horrible end to whatever existence used to reside here.

A place so soaked in wrath and sorrow that Zora swore he could feel the residual energy of the battle that destroyed this land beneath his feet. Perhaps the Devil's Eye could too, and why the only thing willing to grow here was such. With a grimace, he made his way further into the ruins.

He had plucked all the outer and middle Devil's Eye throughout the year, which left only the inner ring available to harvest. His instincts screamed as usual to leave, but his stubbornness kept him grounded even while the fur on his back stood up subconsciously. His ears perked and twitched vigilantly despite there being no sound. Or it was because there was no sound that everything in him was on high-alert. Though, logically, he knew there was nothing in the ruins with him, for no one else dared to enter, there was still the sensation of something in the air.

As he made his way to the center of the ruins where the cluster of Devil's Eye was thickest, his movement slowed to a sluggish pace. The ominous air pressed against him heavily as his chest began to constrict. If it wasn't for the fact that it was indeed still day outside of the ruins, he would have surely collapsed.

Still, he forged on until he came across the altar. Or what appeared like an altar of some sort. In the center of the pyramid of crushed stone was a large broadsword encased in Devil's Eye briar, where only bits of the sword and its handle peered out. And as he approached it, Zora couldn't help but think that the curse upon the land was coming from the entangled weapon. The very aura around it screamed its displeasure at his presence. All the more reason to quickly pluck a bush or two and leave.

His ears flatten themselves against the top of his head as he ducked down and snapped two bushes just above their roots. By the time he needed to visit this accursed place next year, they would have regrown and regained their sprouts. As he turned to leave, his blood froze as a breeze brushed his ears. For a moment and only a moment, someone whispered to him:

"You cannot change what is fated to be."

"The war is inevitable."

His heart beat quickly in his chest and adrenaline roared in his blood as he raced through the trees in determination to put distance between himself and the ruins. When he finally did slow down enough to catch his breath, he couldn't help but snap his head back towards the direction he came. Though it was no longer in sight, his fur still stayed prickled as his body's flight or fight response refused to back down entirely. Sometimes he truly hated that place with every fiber of his being.

His feet met the stone of a familiar cave as the sun began its final phase of the day. Though part of him wanted to flop on the floor and nap, he had already lost too much time for such a luxury. Depositing the Devil's Eye on the ground where he had carved out the array for flames, he walked towards the back of the structure and grabbed one of the empty bottles sitting upon a broken stalagmite. Using the sharp corner, he pricked his paw before returning to the ring of runes. Setting the bottle down by his feet, he stepped on the outer ring of the array. Mana swirled forth as flames consumed the briar surrounding the fruit and turned the thorns to ash.

"Zora, thank you but I cannot drink of your blood."

"Why not?"

"Because you are Fae. And I…am not."

"You could drink of Mortal blood though, right?"

"If I drank of your blood, I would certainly burn. The Blessing of Mana is not as strong with Mortals as it is with beings like you."

"You say that, and yet you refuse to do so."

"I am fine. These berries can sustain me for the most part."

"But not enough! At this rate…"

"Zora…"

"No. Your stubbornness will get you killed. Get both of you killed."

"…Fine. You win. Perhaps…if we mixed the berries with your blood, it would dilute the Blessing enough to quench the 'thirst.'"

After crushing the berries into the bottle, he looked towards the entrance of the cave. The sun was beginning to disappear on the horizon. Already, he could feel its protective waves fading and his own Mana diminishing. If he remembered right, the brat still had two bottles in the Church. He could afford to wait and finish creating the batch tomorrow when the sun was yet in the sky. Adding the final ingredient now meant having to deal with a wound until morning. That was not an option as of late.

Returning to the still smoldering ashes of the Devil's Eye, he brought forth his dimmed rune stone. Throwing the stone into the pile of dying embers with a flick of his tail, he watched as the faded emblem glowed slightly as it resonated with what was left of his Mana. It wasn't a permanent solution, and he would definitely have to redo it come tomorrow when the sun was high and he could create a fire more akin to foxfire. Still, it would be good enough to last the approaching night.

The first star of the night had appeared when Zora was on his way back to the hills near the Church. A signal for the true 'fun' of the day to start. And indeed it did with a bang.

A rune stone nearby sent out a pulse just quick enough for him to stop in his tracks and throw himself down to the forest ground. He felt a whoosh of air barely graze the tips of his fur before a resounding thump hit the tree trunk next to him. He quickly rolled his body away from the noise to avoid the spray of tree fragments. His body ducked and pivoted automatically towards the source so hard and fast that bits of ground were stirred into the air. His fur stood up while his ears snapped back. A snarl grew in his throat and hissed out between his bared teeth.

"The rumors hold true, it seems," A voice full of irritation and a touch away from madness laughed out. The gangly figure pulled out its lodged hand in another hail of splinters as its feet remained gripping the trunk for support. Thin, black hair framed a sunken face and obscured most features of the upper portion of its head. "But that would mean, unfortunately, that only one of my objectives is here," It pouted as it morphed its claw back into a hand and stretched its digits out with a pop. Large canines poked down from the upper lip. A red eye focused on him from beyond the veil of hair. "Isn't that right?" It asked in a tone that suggested it already knew the answer. Dammit.

When Zora answered in a warning growl that promised a coming demise rather than words, the creature grinned so wide that Zora could see all of its disgusting, pointed teeth. "Not much of a talker, are you mutt?" It jeered in a slow tone mixed with poison that burned at his patience.

"I make a habit of not talking to walking corpses."

Its eyes widened before narrowing. He could see its body crouch ever so slightly more into a springing position. Impossibly, the grin grew wider while its eye swept over his form. He refused to move and give the beast the satisfaction of unnerving him.

"We'll see about that."

That was all the warning he got before the creature launched itself at him. Zora quickly jerked away as the nails of the creatures scratched the side of his muzzle. He could feel the sting of the flesh wound and the smell of copper in his nose. Shit. This thing had speed.

He spun towards the beast once more while doing his best to overcome the initial stumble the attack had caused. To his utter disgust, he watched as the creature licked its nails. It hissed in anger, and he could see a faint puff of steam come from its mouth. Its eye turned to him again, and its hand shifted back into a single claw with a crack.

It rushed him, and Zora condensed himself just enough that the beast's leap was over him. In the split second that it was above him, he expanded back to his true size and head-bashed its gut. The creature let out a shriek that made his ears ring. It slammed into a tree trunk with a crunching sound. He was sure the noise wasn't only the tree bark splitting from impact.

He rushed the creature with his fangs bared in the intent to crush its neck. However, the beast managed to free itself in a shower of splinters that hit Zora in the face. In the moment it took him to shake his head and remove the wooden fragments, the thing was on top of him.

His back burned as he felt it tear into his flesh. He bit back the yelp in his throat as he reared back and slammed into another tree in hopes of crushing it. He could feel it squish between him and the wood, but it seemed to only be pissed off more as it bit into his shoulder. Zora slammed into the ground and finally was triumphant in getting the beast off of him.

He rolled and hastily jumped back onto his feet. His breath was coming faster now as his body shrieked at the lack of Mana he had to close the wounds. Meanwhile, he watched as the lighter scratches and bruises on his opponents faded in the pale moonlight. Zora couldn't help but grit his teeth and growl at the sight while it smiled at him smugly. If he had just a few more tails, he could have scorched the creature then and there. Or maybe even have enough of a Mana supply to heal his own burning wounds himself. But it was true that this was beginning to be a losing battle. At this rate, he'd bleed out long before his opponent did. Time to change tactics.

Turning around sharply, his heart thumped wildly in his chest as he tore through the trees. His feet found familiar trails automatically as he weaved his way into the thicker areas. He could hear the beast crash into a tree behind him, and Zora quickly pivoted into the deeper underbrush. A shriek of frustration resounded in the distance, and he could only hope that it was getting tangled in the bushes and roots long enough to buy him the few precious seconds he needed. A pulse of Mana answered his plea to his left, and he shifted his path towards it. Now if he could only remember…

A force slammed into his side and sent both of them spiraling to the ground in a whirlwind of teeth and claws. He wasn't sure if he had managed to land a few blows or not, but the stinging in his forelegs told him that either it, or some low-hanging branches, had managed a few good scratches of their own. The spinning finally stopped when he slammed into the base of a trunk that made the wounds on his back ache. Before he could react, a weight pressed into his side that knocked all the air from his lungs and successfully pinned him in his state. A hand reached around his throat and nearly cut off the breath that was slowly returning to him. From the corner of his eye, he could see it pinching a deathly familiar white orb between two fingers in its other hand. Shit. Shit. Shit.

"As much fun as this has been, I think it's time we wrap this up."

The hand dug into his throat and agitated old wounds. Was this how he was going to die?

"I just have a couple questions for you. If you answer them, I'll grant you a painless death."

Zora managed a snarl of refusal before it was choked out.

"So be it. Have it your way."

What a sorry state he was in if this was all that it took to take him down. After all this time, these woods would be his grave. His chest burned at the lack of air, and his head swarmed at the lack of blood. As darkness began to cover his vision, a single light appeared in the corners of his mind.

"Please, I beg of you, protect him."

With what little strength he had, he sent out a dying pulse. A flicker to the right of his hind leg answered back. That was all he needed.

"I vow on my name, Zora Ideale, to be his guardian."

Before the beast could crush his hoshi no tama, it dropped it and drew back screaming as flames licked its backside from the hidden array. As it moved to jump away, Zora summoned all the adrenaline-fueled power he had in his possession to tackle the creature into the flames. It continued to shriek in anguish beneath his paws as he pressed his full body weight to keep it pinned. The flames burned away at the beast to the point that not even the Blessing of Ki could heal it. As it turned to ash, Zora hissed out:

"I told you before that I didn't talk to walking corpses."

It was going to be a long night. He could feel it when he knocked on the Church's door. The moon was halfway to the peak of its path, and already he was reduced to using this measure. The wooden oak doors to the chapel creaked open just enough for the light of a lantern to hit his eyes. It made him squint, but, despite the bright rays, he could make out the blue blur that was Sister Lily.

"Xerx!" She called out in concern as she opened the door fully and ushered him inside. She sat him down on the closest pew as she fussed over his wounds. She placed the lantern on the floor, and as she opened her mouth to speak, Zora shoved a familiar bottle in her hand. She paused and held it in the light.

"Finished a batch early and figured I'd come by and deliver it," He said instead of an answer to her true question. Her eyes narrowed ever so slightly with the furrowing of her brow and the flattening of her lips. Keeping as nonchalant as he could, he ignored the burn of his shoulders as he shrugged. "I've been pretty busy as of late," He added, "So who knows when I'll have the time to make another bottle."

Sister Lily opened her mouth but closed it a second later. Instead, she grabbed the lantern once more. The worry never left her eyes, even as she turned to make her way towards the living area of the Church. "I'll be right back," She called out softly as she exited the chapel. Zora leaned back with a wince. Idlily, he wondered if he was staining the wood. What he wouldn't give to see Father Ofai's face if that was the case. He could imagine the townsfolk avoiding this aisle like the plague.

He strummed his fingers against his thigh for nothing if just something to keep him conscious. Despite himself, he couldn't help but sent out a light pulse to the Church runes. The echo whispered back of Sister Lily grabbing her medical supplies, of Father Ofai resting in his room, of the children sleeping in their bed. His eyebrow rose for a moment at the last message as his nerves relaxed. They all were sleeping in their usual positions save one. Yuno had relocated towards the edge of the bed this evening rather than his usual spot near Asta. Perhaps the two of them had gotten into a fight today?

The light flickered back through the doorway, and a moment later, Sister Lily returned with her kit by her side. She sat next to him, and Zora could tell by her still furrowed brow that she wasn't giving up on their previous interaction. So he did a quick sweep around the room and saw an opportunity for a much needed distraction.

"Nice decorations. Did I miss a party?"

She startled slightly while her fingers paused in readying a needle and thread. Her gaze went towards the display of flowers and ribbons that still covered the chapel walls and windows. Her eyes clouded in an emotion that Zora could only partially understand before she snapped her attention to his shoulder. Muttering an apology under her breath, she began to clean the wound as Zora gritted his teeth.

"There was a wedding for the farmer's daughter and her betrothed today," Sister Lily explained as she pressed a little too hard on his shoulder. Maybe that was on purpose. Grabbing her thread, she clarified even though Zora didn't care who got married, "The one who lives near Swallow Creek." Zora clenched his hand in a fist as she began to stitch the bite mark on his shoulder. "You should have been there," She said lightly in a tone that could almost be called whimsical, "Father Ofai gave a lovely sermon." It took all his willpower, in the moment, not to roll his eyes.

"Shame I missed it. Sounds great."

"It was," Sister Lily agreed while ignoring his sarcasm, "It's nice to celebrate something joyous instead of the usual…" Her words slowed to a stop. Then she shrugged with a sigh as she briefly looked out the window towards the cemetery just beyond the gaze of the glass. Making a knot, she cut the string and gave his shoulder another patting with the now scarlet cloth.

Without a word, he turned so his back was to her. To keep the conversation going and to avoid diverging, he asked through a slightly strained tone as she began to clean his back, "And what did the brats think of it? It's the first time they've seen one, right?" Sister Lily chuckled from behind him as she swatted his back lightly at his 'brats' remark. He forced himself not to flinch.

"Recca loved it," She hummed, "She was pleased that everyone loved the flowers she helped grow." Brat #3 was getting better with her Mana then. Last he paid attention, she could barely make a dandelion bloom much less sprout. "Nash said he couldn't care less," Sister Lily continued as she cleaned his other shoulder, "But I could see the light in his eyes." Sounded like Brat #4 to deny something he so clearly was fascinated in. That child had always been more aware of how the world worked, but childish innocence kept the heart yearning anyway. "Hollo slept most of the day, thankfully," She said, and his ears twitched at her distant tone her voice took whenever she focused on threading the needle. "And, Aruru," She started before pausing. Clearing her throat, she restarted and said slowly, "Aruru…started talking…today." A grin made its way on his lips at the discomfort her sentence portrayed.

"Did she now?" He asked in his best voice of innocent curiosity, "Today truly is a day of blessings." It was worth the slight tugging of his skin when Sister Lily stiffly began to close the wounds. If it didn't mess up the stitching, he would have turned his head towards her to see her expression. Though with the embarrassment filtering in her words, it was an easy guess to what face she was making.

"Ah, yes," She said through forced laughter, "Aruru…blessed the groom and bride."

"I bet Father Ofai was so proud," He commented while unable to keep the smallest bit of mirth from his voice. He then winced at the hard stitch that was made in response. Though he probably deserved that to a certain extent.

"Uh-huh, we're trying to figure out where she learned such a…complex…vocabulary from."

"Any ideas?"

"A few. I have some suspicion of one in particular," She quipped as the snipping of thread sounded behind him. Zora turned back around, and she frowned as she gazed at his face. Half twisting to the side, she dug in her bag and pulled out a roll of gauze. Motioning with her hands, Zora obediently held up his injured arm just enough for her to get the cloth around it.

He could see the determination forming in her eyes. Just as determined, Zora grasped for anything that would keep the topic on hand. Hell, he'd even listen to her go on about Father Ofai. His mind whirled, and he quickly blurted out, "What did Asta and Yuno think of it?"

"Asta, he…uh," She hesitated as she moved Zora's arm up and down to make sure her binding didn't constrict his movement. For a few moments, there was only the sound of them breathing as she bit her lip slightly. Finally, she cut the gauze and worked to secure it as she said in a controlled tone, "Asta was very enthusiastic about the idea." She laughed with a chuckle that sounded anything but joyous. "He even asked me to marry him," She murmured as her eyes drifted towards the door that separated the chapel from the living quarters. Zora knew it was not of the children she was seeing, and the distance in her gaze suggested she was seeing a time and place that only she and one other person knew.

It certainly wasn't the prick of what some might call sympathy in his chest that spurred him to shift the gears of their conversation slightly. "And Yuno?" He questioned only for the sake of dragging her back into the present. Sister Lily blinked before leaning over to begin wrapping the gauze around his chest.

"I think Yuno would have liked it had he attended," She replied, and that did genuinely get Zora's attention for one reason. She paused in her wrapping to gesture at him once again. At the request, he hunched his back enough for her to reach around him. "This afternoon, he insisted going to help out the Browne's ranch," Sister Lily continued before sighing while he obeyed her request. "Which of course meant that Asta went to help out at the Browne's ranch too," she muttered as she reached around Zora. Her tone hinted that she was leaving out some details.

"Did they get into a fight?" Zora inquired as he straightened and turned towards her, so she could wrap around his shoulders easier. Sister Lily let out a huff of air.

"Kind of," She admitted as she continued her work, "They've certainly been butting heads more as of late." Her hands slowed to a stall. "I mean," She murmured more to herself than to Zora, "I'm happy Yuno's going out more and all…" Her shoulders heaved a heavy sigh. "But he's less open than he used to be," She muttered as she bit her lip slightly, "And it's hard for any of us to get a read on what he's thinking or feeling." Shaking her head, she began to wrap his chest once more and finished with, "I don't even think he realizes what he's feeling half the time."

A moment of silence passed between them before she cut the gauze and began work to secure it. "Though today, I think I have a pretty good idea on what made Yuno upset this afternoon," She said louder to imply that she was inferring to Zora's original question. Pulling away, she added, "They'll be fine with each other before you know it." Packing her supplies in her kit, she concluded quietly, "Yuno probably didn't even realize why he reacted that way to Asta's words." That was all Zora needed to hear. Standing up, he left the bottle on the pew and started for the exit.

"Xerx."

Her voice caused him to stop even though he wanted to walk right through the doors. Turning back towards her, he watched as Sister Lily stood up. She did a quick glance of the surrounding area, especially towards the windows, before walking up to him and placing a hand over his heart. Zora twitched as he felt some of her Mana flow into him while her hand lit up in a light bluish glow.

"The back will still scar," She whispered as her earlier concern returned to her eyes, "But it should help." Zora nodded his thanks stiffly while she pulled away. He shifted to leave, but her hand caught his upper arm gently. His head turned to look at her over his shoulder. So much for a partnership based on assumptions and gut feelings. "You can't keep doing this," She said flatly, "You'll get yourself killed."

For a moment, her hair grew longer and turned to a silvery blonde, and her eyes began to get a deeper, more violet hue. Before her face could fully morph into a phantom from his mind, he broke eye contact and tugged his arm free. Damn the loss of blood or that stubborn nature of hers that he was sure was Asta's fault as of late. He didn't need to be reminded of the past right now. He took a couple steps towards the one of the doors and said loud enough for her to hear, "I'll manage."

"I could talk to Father Ofai. Maybe get some more patrols to –"

"And worry about bullets along with bites? Or worse? I'll pass."

He could feel her eyes on his back. She must have been trying to tell what furs around his waist were his real tails. Or perhaps she had seen him when he wasn't disguising their amount. That was the only reason he could think of that prompted her next words to be so sincere.

"You're too young for such a burden."

He had been 'too young' for a lot of things. But he tried to force his mind away from unwanted memories of those particular times and places. Despite his efforts, he could smell the ghost of gunpowder in his nose and the distant sound of a blast ringing in his ears. It seemed tonight would be full of specters of events he didn't want to dwell on. Fantastic.

Still, he paused at the handle of the door as his mind unhelpfully brought up the close call earlier. While he would never admit this to Sister Lily, nor to anyone else, a part of him doubted he could keep this up for much longer. If his opponent had been smarter, less mad, it would have aimed for his hoshi no tama right away. Or perhaps it had, and the wounds it had created were a way to drain his resistance at the fact. His hand rested against the amulet on his side unconsciously.

There was no time left to ponder the battle. In the distance, he could feel one of his rune stones pulse out a warning. No rest for the wicked. Today wasn't his day. His hand turned the handle halfway as he mentally prepared himself for the next encounter before stopping.

"Please, I beg of you, protect him."

Would he ever stop hearing that phrase? That voice? That scene?

"You'll get yourself killed."

Was it his mind's way of telling him that he was doing something stupid? Something that would break his vow? What he wouldn't give to know the answer. Yet, he swallowed the lump turning in his throat and turned his head to look at Sister Lily over his shoulder. The words felt like acid on his tongue as he choked them out.

"On second thought, a few more guardsmen around town might not be the stupidest suggestion."

He could see her perk up in surprise before nodding. She opened her mouth, perhaps to give him some dumb reassurance on how they wouldn't aim at him, but Zora knew first-hand how naïve that assumption was. They didn't all have priests who would vouch for them and guard them.

Instead, he beat her to the punch and continued talking before she could get a word in. The next part made his chest constrict just at the thought, yet he forged on. It wasn't his fate he needed to be concerned the most about.

"Asta…wouldn't be such a useless brat if he joined the Guild."

An afterthought. A quick memory of the time in an empty street where if he had been just a bit slower…He could have lost everything he had vowed to protect.

"That other brat, Yuno, might benefit from that too."

Sister Lily's eyes widened, but she bit her lip and nodded. She straightened her shoulders and looked him in the eye. "I'll…see what Father Ofai can do about that," She promised, and Zora could trust her to keep her word. As he turned his head back towards the door, she called out. "Xerx," She asked, "You're still going out there tonight?" Though she didn't voice it, her tone implied the last part of her sentence. Back towards hell?

"You have your personal oath," He replied as he gestured towards the back of the Church, where a specific individual lay. He knew she got what he meant. He didn't need to turn around to guess she was touching the beauty mark on her cheek, the Mana spot that gave her Mortal form, at his remark. His hand returned to his side as he opened the door. "And I have mine," He finished quietly as he returned to tonight's inferno. What a pair of foolish Fae were they.

A rune stone closer pulsed out a warning. Right. This time around, traps first. Brawl later. His gaze flickered up into the sky. The moon still hadn't yet reached the peak of its path. He wondered if the God of Ki was mocking him. His back ached as he let out a deep sigh.

It was going to be a long night.

Author's Note:

Happy New Year! Thank you all for your continued patience, and for the good luck on my finals! This concludes the prologue arc of Clover Graves. Up next will be the interlude 'Crimson Vow' and Arc 2: Childhood's End. Between arcs, I plan to write interludes to give different characters' viewpoints on events than the three protagonists' own. They will help build up the next arc but not necessarily happen linearly with said arc's events. The first interlude will be from Sister Lily's prospective on Asta and Yuno joining the Guild. As always, thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed the latest installment!

Fun-Facts:

Though not apparent in this chapter, Sister Lily is a naiad whose human form is the result of a spell being placed upon her. The mark of the spell is the beauty mark on her cheek. As to why she is in Mortal form and why she is unable to marry, it may be revealed later on as the plot progresses...

According to the research I came across at on kitsunes, a kitsune grows a full tail every hundred years until they have nine. The more tails they have, the more powers they have in creating foxfire, shapeshifting, etc. In Clover Graves, Zora barely has over two tails. Making him old to us, but young in terms of his full lifespan. For the most part, he has spent a lot of time practicing shape-shifting but not so much foxfire. Thus he has rely on arrays and traps as his main source of attacking. Shape-shifting into a smaller fox or a human generally makes him feel constrained as he has to compress his true mass. Despite this, he will always choose to shift into a smaller fox over a human when given a choice. He has personal reasons for disliking shifting into a human form. His true form is a fox that stands about to Father Ofai's chest level when standing on all fours. That's why he has to go deep in the woods to go back into his original size since its hard to hide a big red figure in the forest.

A Hoshi no Tamas is a small ball or jewal that looks like a pearl. No matter what form a kitsune takes, it must wear it. That it is because the orb contains its soul, and without it, the kitsune will grow powerless and die. In human form, kitsunes usually wear them as amulets. In fox form, the carry it in mouths or fasten them to their tails. Zora typically keeps his fastened to his third, shorter tail that he hides using his two longer tails. When he's walking about or attacking, he keeps his tails together to create the illusion of one large tail. This is more in defense than anything else so his opponents don't realize how young he actually is. When he's in human form, he changes its color and shape to a golden amulet that he keeps clipped to his side.

No matter how skilled a kitsune is at shapeshifting, their bottlebrush tail will still appear in human form. That is why Zora's disguise has furs wrapped around his waist to help disguise it. Despite this, he is careful around curious children since he will transform back into a fox if his real tails are pulled.

Since kitsunes like rice and Canon Zora likes stew, Clover Graves's Zora's favorite food is rice stew.

If any of you have questions on the story or world, feel free to ask! I'll try my best to answer with as little spoilers to the plot of Clover Graves as possible, haha