As the Snow Falls

A/N: Hey ya'll I'm back. This is a spin off of my story 'Lost Souls'. I'm going to tell the story of Alexial. To understand this story you don't have to read the other story, but if you have then this starts in the past before Sasuke ever abandons the village. I hope you like and don't forget to review please.

Deidara looked down over the landscape of Snow. The earth was glistening white under the light of the full moon. The snow glittered like small diamonds. He'd never seen this much snow that hadn't been disturbed by human or animal feet. The air was cold but crisp on this night. His mind turned to other things. He'd gotten the scroll a week ahead of schedule from a small village in Fire Country and decided that visiting the Land of Snow this close to Christmas would be a good idea. When he lived in Stone he didn't get to see much unmarred by human feet because he'd always been on the run. He was thankful that Sasori was still at the base. It wasn't like he didn't like his partner but sometimes solo missions were a nice break. He'd have a week to himself. He sighed softly as he watched the wintry landscape pass beneath his bird. The only sounds that were disturbing the tranquil scene was the beat of his clay bird's wings and the flutter of his black and red cloak. The sound of a startled bird of some sort drew his attention to the ground where it had come from. Then at a glance he noticed a huge splash of red in patch of disturbed snow. He found it odd to say the least. There hadn't been any signs of animals thus far. Then an explosion rocked the silent earth below. Crashing and the blood trail made him curious. What he found made him angry. Five Snow ANBU were surrounding a clearly injured white tiger. Deciding that he should help he leapt off his bird and landed in the middle of the five startled ANBU. Some of them took a step back recognizing either him or the black cloak with the red clouds.

"What the hell?!" one of the ANBU said.

Deidara looked at the injured beast in front of him. Its eyes met his. He was shocked at the deep amethyst that stared back at him. There was depth and emotion to its eyes that tore at the nukenin's heart. The tiger's eyes slid shut and it slumped to the ground in a faint. That decided him; he turned to the ANBU and leapt for them. A few explosions later all five ANBU were either dead or had fled. He returned to the beast's side. Crimson dotted its path from wherever the ANBU had chased it from. The snow was rapidly turning the snow crimson and melting. A glinting of silver on the tiger made him pause. Around its left front paw was a ninja wrist band baring a scratched out Snow symbol. Kneeling down beside the beast he checked it over. He realized the tiger was a female. He reached out and hesitantly stroked the soft white fur. Her fur was as soft as a baby animal's fur. His fingers stopped when he came across something metal buried in her deep fur around her neck. Pulling it up it was a silver chain. He worked his fingers around it until he came to the charm on the chain. It was a snow fake that was silver on one baby blue snow flake with glitter on it and on the other side was a white snow flake. He wondered if the tigress's master had given her that necklace.

Thinking quickly he decided to take her with him. He figured he could turn her into a guard tiger or something or even just a companion for the lonely people around the base. Deidara summoned his ride back to his side and managed to get the tiger onto the birds back. Once they were in the air he bound her front legs together and then her back legs together just in case. Then he used the small knowledge of healing jutsus to close the gaping wounds on the tigress's body. Deidara kept an eye on the tigress as he headed back towards the base in Rain. Absently he stroked her soft fur as they flew. Her fur was powder white with silvery black stripes. There was a dusting of silver across her face. Her ears weren't like a normal tiger's ears. They were pointed like a fox's ears. A black splotch topped each ear. Her tail was different too. It was like a German Shepard's tail.

They arrived in Rain in no time. Somehow Deidara got the tiger into his room without anyone else in the base knowing about it. He dispelled his ride of the chakra in it and it returned to its normal size. Then did he send it out the window where it took off into the sky and exploded away from the base in the air. Brushing his hands off, he retuned to his room. He stopped by the bathroom and retrieved a blow and filled it with hot water and got a towel that was black. The tigress was awake but not very coordinated. Soft growls of annoyance escaped her throat as she tried to be threatening. He smiled at her and shook his head at her sad attempts. She was trying to stand but the bonds around her front and back legs were keeping her down. When she finally stopped trying to move did he speak to her;

"What should I call you, un?" he asked softly.

The tigress growls became louder and deeper. "I know I'll call you Snowy, un."

He moved closer to her and knelt down beside her. Snowy growled at him, but then it tapered of. The blonde reached out and touched her head softly then did he move even closer when she didn't snap at his hands. Then he slowly washed her fur of the blood around her closed wounds. When he was done he Deeming her safe he unbound her front and back legs. Then he backed up wondering what she'd do now that she could move on her own. She just rose slowly and stood there. He could see the fine tremor in her legs as she tried to stay standing. He wondered if she had any strength left to do anything.

"You should rest Snowy. Those ANBU did a number on you."

She nodded and lay back down. The tiger blinked lazily as she watched him cautiously. "I'll get you food."

Deidara got up and went about getting something for the huge cat. He figured that there would be some steak in the refrigerator for the exhausted white tiger.

Snowy licked her paw to attempt to wash some of the blood that the guy had missed on her fur. She'd come to realizing this idiot blonde Akatsuki member has saved her ass back there, and grudgingly she owed him her life. As per her races commands all life debts are supposed to be paid back. The tigress wasn't merely just that she was a snow tiger demon. Just because he saved her she wouldn't show her true form to him until he'd earned her trust. Deciding that it would be best she would play as a ninja pet until something happened to force her to reveal herself. There was something about him thought that set her senses off in an odd way that had never happened before, and she was a bit confused by it but would examine it at another date when she could think strait.

Her life before the ANBU tried to kill her she'd been a ninja in the Land of Snow. Looking down the scratch across the Snow symbol was a blazing reminder that she was a nukenin, a missing ninja, much like the man who'd saved her. Tears stung her eyes as she remembered why she was banished from Snow in the first place. The Elders learned of her heritage and sent her team on a mission that was so dangerous that only she'd survived it. That gave the ANBU that had been following them the reason to try and kill her. They'd blamed her for her teammate's deaths. That knowledge made her so angry and yet sad at the same time because people judged her without knowing who she really was on the inside. When she'd first come to the human village she hadn't trusted anyone be them human or not, humans most of all. Of course that changed once she was paired up with her teammates. They'd shown her that not all humans were bad as they seemed. Her boys had taught her much about the good things in life. They helped her when she was down and picked her up when she fell. She would miss them the most of everything in any life that she had lived before coming to Snow. Flopping sideways she fell asleep dreaming of the mission that killed her teammates, her brothers.

Deidara returned to see the huge tiger was asleep like a baby. A smiled spread across his face. He laid the bowl of raw meat by her head and went to deliver the scroll to Leader. For the time being he'd keep quiet about the tiger in his care. He had a good feeling about his decision about saving the tiger. Maybe he could convince the ninja pet to be useful around the base, or maybe she could just be a companion to him. He'd never admit out loud that sometimes he got lonely. His was a happy person by nature and here it was a bit smothered by the stoic other members. Whimpering brought him from his musing. Looking over where Snowy slept she was shivering and whimpering and in her sleep. Moving closer to her he knelt down beside her and began to stroke her fur and speak words of comfort into her ears. That seemed to work in calming the tiger down. Smiling softly to himself he leaned against her side using her like a pillow. Her fur was warm, soft and her comforting scent surrounding him lulled him to sleep along side of the big cat.