The World has Changed

A deer nibbled at the leaves of a tree's low-hanging branch somewhere in the northern woodlands of the Quetlian Forest. It suddenly froze, noticing a strange smell on the air. Deciding to move on, the deer trotted of into the trees. From behind a nearby log, a young Felisapi sighed in defeat. 
"Face it, Shanda, I'm just not cut out to be a hunter." Another cat-creature next to him chuckled quietly  and patted her younger brother's shoulder.
"Nonsense, Sedna, you just haven't been lucky. This time you did everything perfect, it's just the timing was off." She stood and stretched out the limbs stiffened by hours off crouching, coaching her pupil the fine art of stalking prey. "C'mon. Let's head back to the village."
The two began walking south towards their home, a rather open village known as Ansad that had started out as a trading post between the Animkind of the mountains and the elf city Quel many years ago. It was mostly populated by felisapi (many of whom were Shanda and Sedna's relatives) though there were a few other kinds of people. After about two hours of walking, they reached the Winding Road and followed along it for another hour or so.
"Hey," Sedna said. "Do you smell something?" Shanda took a deep breath through her whiskered nose, and quite easily detected smoke on the wind. The siblings exchanged nervous glances and increased their pace. If something had caught fire in Ansad, every paw would be needed to carry water pouches from the creek. When they finally rounded the bend that preceded their home, both felisapi froze in horror.
The village was destroyed. Every house and building, lovingly constructed over the years, had been burned and torn down. The small alter to Felisa, the Cat Goddess and leader of all felisapi, was broken and scattered around the road. Even the cub's playground, where so many cheerful little ones had raced over the years, had been demolished. Worse, scattered everywhere were charred lumps that the two realized must be what remained of their neighbors and friends.
"It's... it's all... gone." Shanda moaned. Slowly, the two of them moved through the wreckage until they came to the fallen-over remains of their house. Staring at it, Sedna sunk to his knees, and neither of them noticed the footsteps approaching from behind.