If I ever get around to finishing Half-Faced Nomad would this possibly be something to interest you? Some chapters might become very dark, so if this does become a thing I would be sharing the doc as I know there young children on this site.

The sound of wooden wheels churning the dirt and clomping hooves faded into the distance followed closely by the angry and desperate shouts from men chasing the startled horses. Soon gasps of horrors and screams filled the dry, summer air as they looked down to see in tatters their beloved princess. Nearby a bizarre looking mutt being held back by two leather workers gave off an ear splitting squel. Before anyone could make a move towards the princess' now lifeless body, the sickly, shriveled hound broke free and bound towards her. No one was quick enough to stop it before it took hold of the collar of the dress the princess had worn and dragged her body elsewhere. Many village folk tried to follow but were dumbfounded to see that both the horrid beast and the princess disappeared around an empty alley corner.

The princess' body was laid in a bed of beautiful, meticulously placed flowers; an eerie yet entrancing glow came from the heap. The hound slowly shifted into a tall, humanoid being. It's face long and narrow, two pairs of eyes staring down at the corpse in front of it, with a seemingly sad glint to them. A long, thin tail that ended with a tuft curled out from a dark robe. The robe itself was hiding something on the creature's back. The short fur covering its body was black, gleaming a bluish-purple in the light. "It's not your fault, it was just my time to die," a calm voice whispered to the right of the fauna-faced being, turning to look at the soul of the girl laying in front of it.

"Is that so?" A low, almost growl-like voice echoed in response.

"I'm sure it's true. If it wasn't, those men wouldn't have stopped you from pushing me out of the way, at least that's what I think you were trying to do," the girl giggled nervously, "What are you anyway?"

The dark creature stared at her for a moment, "I believe humans call us the Searchers. Although it's rare for a soul destined to change into a second life to meet one while still with the remains of its first." He turned, moving brush and other plants around, seemingly making a path.

He's made it clear he does not wish to talk. The young lady, a fading image of what she used to be, floated nearby, watching him. She made the attempts to rekindle a conversation, "What's your name? Oh! What's going to happen to me after this? Am I just going to fade and forget or am I going to get a new life as a newborn?"

He glanced at her, then returned to his work, whatever it was. The young princess did not like this. She got near and started to stare hoping it'd convince him to talk to her. Uncomfortable with the constant eyes blazing into his back, he gave in. "You're somewhat right. You will be given a second life, but not like the way you think. You'll become something entirely different like me-"

"Like you? No offense but I'd rather not have the face of a deer, anteater hybrid and the body of a tree," she looked on in distaste.

"At least let me finish before making snarky comments. By like me I meant becoming a Searcher, given the chance to live and do what you couldn't do previously. Every Searcher's looks vary, some will share qualities but oftentimes you will not meet someone who looks exactly like you. Some Searchers, after being reborn, will retain their memories from when they were mortal, but more often than not this isn't the case so don't hold your breath. Before you ask, yes, I do have memories from my life before but I'd like to leave them in the past and if you must know my name, most people call me Grimoire, after the book."

The name touched a memory inside her head, her great grandma would tell her as a kid how much the great grandmother's grandpa, the old king, would talk about a boy with the same name. The coincidences were extremely unlikely but it wouldn't hurt to ask, right? Before she could voice the question, the scenery around her changed. The colors were extremely concentrated and vibrant. It hurt to look at anything, objects shifted and twisted in abnormal ways, which caused confusion. She wanted to look away as things were changing to scenes before the accident struck. She wished she could close her eyes but she couldn't. Finally, as fatigue set in, she closed her eyes and everything faded away, peace

#storytime