Sora sniffled sadly, poking through his laptop for something to distract him. Cloud didn't have a cell phone, so it's not like he could call- all there was to do was wait, and as the hours dragged by, Cloud's appearance was seeming less and less likely, and Sora's mood was getting more and more dismal. On top of that, Leon had snapped at him, and then stormed off to go back to bed. Sora hadn't felt this alone in quite a long time.

The World News wasn't doing much to cheer him up. According to them, some Others around the city had started attacking garbage trucks. Like that was anything new. Really, there was nothing more interesting going on than poverty-stricken Others eating garbage? Sora was about to shut everything down and settle for sniffling himself to sleep, when something occurred to him. He remembered his conversation with Riku, and he scrolled up to the search bar and punched in Démé Desmarais, sorted by date.

In an instant, results popped up. He'd read every article a hundred times. The first few were general stories about the Other menace and whatever, but eventually he got a sighting. In Belarus, more than seven months ago. The sighting before that was in New York City less than a week before. Sora remembered that perfectly well- that was when Démé had shut down all the sewers. And then before that date, there was a sighting at least once a week for a year prior. Démé Desmarais wasn't one for hiding. He was much too well known for that now- besides his own infamy, his father was one of the most powerful men in former France. The elder Desmarais had released a statement legally disowning his son shortly after the first attack, and he had since been very public about putting all of his resources and influence on the line in order to bring him in. Sora opened a new window and pulled up the Desmarais Corporation's website, selecting the English language option. A bit of prodding led him to what he was looking for.

The Desmarais Corporation would like to assure the citizens of the World Nation that we fully condemn the actions of former Vice President Démé Desmarais, and that we are cooperating fully with law enforcement to bring him to justice. If you have any information as to his whereabouts- Sora stopped reading there. If he'd been caught, his father would most definitely have known about it, and plastered the news all over the corporate webpage. He flipped back over to the most recent sighting, in Belarus. Evidently, Démé had stopped to eat in a town near the capitol (which was apparently called 'Minsk'- Sora wasn't so good at geography), and chatted up a local reporter. Why would he be having casual conversations with the press one day, and then disappear immediately after? It didn't make sense.

Sora looked at the picture accompanying the article. Démé smiled back at him, all cheekbones, dimples, and even white teeth, a little flustered, as if he weren't expecting to have his picture taken. His expensive-looking sunglasses were askew. The caption read simply: "No worries, I'm here on business," says Démé Desmarais. Sora sighed. The world was just too weird for him to deal with. But something at the bottom of the page, in the 'related articles' section, caught his eye.

Russian Terrorist Attacks Belarus Capitol. Well, apparently the American news localization team didn't know the capitol of Belarus either, which made Sora feel slightly better about not finishing high school. But what really interested him was the date- one day earlier than the article about Démé. He clicked on the link, and was greeted rather abruptly by a surly mug shot of Alexei Gorodetsky, a terrorist with whom Sora was very familiar, sporting an impressive black eye. After the shining candid shot attached to the last article, the grubby stock photo was quite abrasive. Added to Alexei's unnaturally bright hair and eyes, and his distinctive facial tattoos, the image of the Russian teenager as a dangerous criminal was effectively complete. Sora typed Alexei Gorodetsky into the search bar. He collected almost as many hits as Démé had, and Sora narrowed the search to sightings. His eyes widened.

No hits came up more recent than the attack on Minsk. The same time that Démé disappeared. Disappeared is a strong word, Sora reminded himself. He's probably just in a cabin in some woods or something. You'd want a break too if you were an internationally renowned criminal. Right? Sora's eyes didn't leave the date on the article. It had to be coincidence. Alexei Gorodetsky was much lower key than Démé Desmarais, anyway, and his sightings were much less frequent, so it was all but impossible to find a pattern. Sora shook his head and shut his laptop. Riku and the Botan Shimizu stuff was just making him crazy.

Riku, if that was even his real name. Doubts were festering in Sora's mind, ever since what Leon had said that morning. Figures that the one time he got to talk to someone his own age it would all be lies. And a werewolf? Being around a vampire all the time was bad enough. Cloud never had any problems like this- he always had plenty of nice, normal friends. His new roommate was probably cool, just like everyone else Cloud knew. Wherever Cloud was now, it was probably a gajillion times more awesome than a mattress in the rafters of an abandoned, run-down church. Why can't my life be like that?

Sora blinked. Why couldn't his life be like that? He was a legal adult- it wasn't like anyone could stop him from doing what he wanted. And right now, he wanted to go out and find Cloud. Give his dumb brother a piece of his mind for leaving him here. Decided, Sora leaped to his feet, and immediately bumped his head on a rafter, yelping in pain. He crouched back down, temporarily set back, but his resolve hadn't lessened. With a stretch, he fluttered out to the middle of the church where the ceiling was higher, listening carefully to make sure he hadn't woken up his church-mate. He could hear snores from the back- good. By the time Leon woke up, he'd be long gone.

Sora hopped up through the hole in the ceiling, which really was his own personal exit, and allowed his body to adjust to the relatively open space. He'd never snuck out of anything before- the thrill was threatening to make him crazy. His heart was pounding in his ankles and his fingertips. He crawled over to the side of the roof and jumped to the next building, spreading his wings and allowing himself to glide lazily. Scanning the ground while he jumped, he assured himself that no one was watching him. More confident, now, he flew over to a fire escape and climb-jumped, a weird combination of flapping and grabbing, up a few more stories to where he would have a better view of the streets.

Cloud's shock of blonde hair would be very easy to spot, even from up high. Sora leaned over the edge of the roof and watched the crowds drifting by, still a good amount of people, despite its being so late, and a Sunday. No spiky blonde hair, however. Well, he hadn't expected it to be that easy. He floated over to another building, and picked through another crowd. Then another, and another. After a dozen or so buildings, the work was getting tiring.

Sora hunched down, taking a break and opening his wings up to let the wind sift through his feathers. He wished Cloud was an Other so that he could sense him- it would make things so much less complicated. As it was, he'd have to think things through. Where had Cloud said his apartment was? Alphabet City, he answered himself. At least that was nearby. Or, he was pretty sure it was, in any case. It was definitely in the lower east side, and that was where he was, so there was a good chance he would get there if he started moving. Sora chose what he thought was the right direction, and set off into the night, hopping from building to building with his wings backing him up.

Riku gingerly tried to open the door, and then jumped back as it fell clean off its hinges. If the outside was any indication, he'd really done a number on his would-be warehouse hideaway. Broken wood and other debris were scattered around the streets and alleyways, evidence of a massive beast snuffling through on the hunt. Luckily there were no people in this area- that must be why he had traveled so far.

Inside, the warehouse was even worse. Claw marks covered the walls and the floor was carpeted in an ankle-deep mishmash of dirt and chunks of brick. Riku could smell blood, as well- his own blood- he must have hurt himself trying to escape. Imagining the wolf frantically pounding on the walls, searching for a weak spot, was easy, but when he tried to remember specifics, nothing came to mind. The wolf was a part of him, and guessing what it would do was easy. But he didn't have control, and never would. The thought at once fascinated and terrified him.

Moving past the thoroughly destroyed basement door and the mountain of mangled furniture, Riku looked for his belongings. Luckily they were still safe, tucked up in a corner out of reach. He supposed that wolf-Riku wouldn't be that interested in human-Riku's stuff, anyway, but it obviously didn't hurt to be cautious. His clothes were there, along with a half-empty pack of razors, his eyebrow pencil, and a well-loved map of New York. He'd stolen the map from his mother before he left, and he was quickly learning that it was a bit out-of-date. For one, the bus and subway lines didn't run anymore, so most of the information on the map was useless. He thumbed the upper west side, looking for Amsterdam Avenue. He found it, and 104th street, sure enough just west of the upper left corner of the large green rectangle that marked Central Park. Kytes' words echoed in his mind.

You're closer to what you're looking for than you think.

How much had he heard? Even if he'd heard barely anything at all, Kytes was still a threat. Life in the big city was getting a lot more complicated a lot faster than Riku expected. But he could worry about that later. Right now, he was absolutely starving, and even if everything else was going to shit, at least New York had plenty of really good food. Changing into his own more comfortable clothes and jacket, Riku slipped back out of the warehouse the same way he'd come in. Through the gaping hole where the door was supposed to be.

Riku moved away from the toxic East River, back towards the inland part of the island, where his nose reminded him restaurants would be. He would figure out something for food once he got there. Maybe he could trade the clothes Kytes had given him or something. Unfortunately, fate was not on Riku's side this day, and he was not destined to make it anywhere near people or restaurants.

"Hey Riku!" Riku smelled him before he heard him, but it didn't mute his surprise any.

"Sora?" The wings fluttered noisily into place behind him, and Riku finally turned around. Sora looked much more disgruntled than he was used to. Apparently you could still have problems even if you were completely isolated from the outside world. So that hermit thing Riku was planning once this was all over wasn't going to work out, then. Crap.

"Yeah. Listen, have you seen my brother? You know, Cloud Strife?"

"No." Riku hadn't seen or heard of him since their brief conversation in the coffee shop a week prior. He didn't really know why Sora would ask him, except that he supposed Sora couldn't ask anyone else on the street. He looked disappointed, and Riku almost felt guilty for disappointing him. "Sorry." Well, almost.

"That's ok." Sora's wings drooped sadly. The way he gestured with his wings was kind of cute, Riku thought before he could stop himself. "I was looking for his apartment, but I think I missed it."

"Well, where's his apartment?" Riku casually looked around at the uninhabited shithole where they now stood. Hopefully not here.

"Uh, well, I think it's around here, but actually, I'm not totally sure…" Sora mumbled, trailing off into silence, scratching his ear and dipping his head so his bangs would cover his face. Riku wasn't really sure how to respond.

"Uh, sorry about that. See ya." He pushed his hands back into his jacket pockets and turned back to where he was going. Sora stopped him.

"Wait. Riku." Riku turned around, watching Sora with mild amusement as the boy stood with his mouth halfway open, as if he weren't sure if he could speak or not. The sight was so innocent and endearing that Riku wasn't expecting what came next.

"Are you really a werewolf?"

Riku froze. How would Sora have figured out what he was? Of course. That vampire. Riku silently wished a pox on Cloud Strife for ever indirectly introducing him to these kooks. But, since Sora knew already, and he looked so eager and expectant, and no one was around, and the jacket was getting stuffy, Riku supposed he should just give him what he wanted. He casually lifted a hand and pushed back his hood. Sora's eyes widened in surprise. Like he'd never seen silver hair before.

"Why didn't you tell me?" What a stupid question.

"I barely know you. It's not the kind of thing you run around advertising- hey, I'm Riku, I like vodka tonics and long walks on the beach and oh hey I turn into a rabid animal once a month," he said sarcastically. Sora visibly winced at the bitterness in his words. Well, he deserved to wince, for asking overly personal questions. Out on the street, no less! But social boundaries notwithstanding, Sora seemed determined to press on.

"You could've warned me. You attacked me this weekend." Now it was Riku's turn to be shocked. Sora was attacked? In the depths of his mind, he reached for a snide comment about how sure, some dog attacks you and of course everyone points at the werewolf, but all he could get out was:

"What?"

"On the west side, in an alley. I got attacked by a werewolf, and far as I can tell, you're the only one in the city," Sora said quietly, once again surprising Riku with how astute he could be. There really weren't any werewolves in New York- Riku hadn't so much as caught a whiff of one the entire time he'd been here, even with consciously looking.

"Don't be so sure. We're good at hiding," he said evasively. But inside, his heart was racing. So he had attacked someone. Sora hadn't mentioned a bite, but what if he'd bitten or done worse to someone else? He had to know. Where could he get access to a computer? He needed to check the news for wolf attacks, ASAP. But right now, he was stuck with Sora. He felt claustrophobic, and his anxiety began to build.

"I've never met another werewolf before, Riku. If that's your real name." God, did Sora hunt him down just to annoy him to death with inane questions?

"What, is this Interrogate Riku Day or something?" Riku stopped bothering to hide his irritation. He was in a panic. I might have killed someone. "Listen. Were there any weird deaths around the full moon?" Sora may not be the best person to ask, but Riku didn't have time to try to find information elsewhere. "Any bites? Maulings? Please!"

"No! Oh, no, I checked," Sora said hurriedly. "I checked everything really thoroughly, right when I got home that night. No deaths, and no sightings, either. It would have been all over the World News if you'd been spotted- like I said, we don't have werewolves in Manhattan." The good tidings fell on deaf ears. Riku's chest was constricting and he was beginning to hyperventilate. Just like him- a lifetime of transformations, and he still couldn't deal. Dizziness overtook him and he stumbled into the wall. Or at least, he would have, if Sora hadn't caught him.

"Oh, Riku, are you ok?" Stupid question, really, especially considering that Riku was in no shape to answer. He could barely get enough air in himself to stay conscious, and his chest was beginning to ache. Sora set him down roughly. "Uh, hey, you stay here, I'm going to get you some water, ok?" Riku feebly gestured at his pocket. Sora thankfully got the message, pulled out the water, twisted the cap off and handed it back to him. Riku guzzled the liquid gratefully, closed his eyes, and concentrated on controlling his breathing. He'd spent years practicing breathing control- little had he known he would need it halfway around the world. Sora waited impatiently, watching and fidgeting. Eventually, Riku calmed down enough to speak.

"Thanks," he wheezed.

"No problem, I guess." Riku sighed. He supposed he had to be nice, now, since Sora had helped him, and he wasn't in much shape to travel very far for the moment anyway.

"Yes." Sora looked confused, and Riku rolled his eyes. "Yes, Riku is my real name. I really am a werewolf. I really do like vodka tonics. Anything else you want to know?"

"Why are you looking for Botan Shimizu?" Again, right out on the street! Swell. This was the best day ever. Riku's good will was fading fast.

"Sorry. Don't have the slightest clue what you're talking about," Riku said thinly, making the universal zip-your-lips sign over his mouth. Instead of changing the subject, Sora just dropped his voice in volume.

"I was looking on the World News, and it turns out Démé Desmarais hasn't been seen anywhere in seven months," he whispered dramatically, closing his fingers into fists.

"So?" Riku rolled his eyes.

"So! I think I was right. I think he's gone missing. This Russian guy named Alexei Godeeski or something hasn't been seen since then, either. And I bet if we started looking, other people will have gone missing too." Sora had the look and manner of someone who had been holding on to an especially juicy piece of gossip for much longer than he could stand.

"I told you, I'm not one for conspiracy theories," Riku muttered. "You really braved the great outdoors just to hunt me down and infect me with your crazy?" Oops. That last part wasn't supposed to be out loud.

"NO," Sora glared, looking more angry than hurt. He was surprisingly thick-skinned, all things considered. "I'm looking for Cloud, I found you by accident. And good thing I did, too." It was a good thing that Sora had found him- it would have been a great deal more difficult to recover by himself. Not that he would ever admit it. Though, if Sora hadn't told him he'd been attacked by a werewolf, he wouldn't have had the anxiety attack in the first place. Everything was very complicated.

"Well, sorry, I can't help you," he said tiredly. His hunger was long forgotten- he just wanted to find somewhere to sleep. He found himself oddly longing for his warehouse.

"No, but I helped you!" Sora beamed, feathers rustling.

"Aren't you supposed to be helping your brother?" The words came out more harshly than Riku had wanted, but he needed to do something to get Sora to go away. He just wanted to drag himself back to his busted up warehouse and pass out. Today had just been way too much for him, on top of recovering from a full transformation and wolfy night on the town. I never should have bothered to climb out of that gutter.

"Cloud doesn't need my help," Sora was saying, oblivious to the fact that Riku wasn't paying attention. "He was supposed to come visit me this weekend and he didn't and I got really upset, and, well, I guess I decided I should go out and find him… it sounds kinda stupid, saying it like this," he said sheepishly. Yes, yes it did. But Riku felt obligated to say something to make him feel better.

"Oh, uh, no, I'm sure he'll be really touched that you went out to look for him..?" Riku didn't do comforting well, but the gesture seemed to be enough for Sora, who smiled at him and perked his wings up.

"Hey, where do you live?"

"What?" Did Sora really just ask him where he lived?

"Are you living somewhere?" Sora asked again, more slowly, as if possibly Riku didn't understand the question. Riku understood the question perfectly well, and the resounding answer was not with you.

"Yeah, I've got a place," he said vaguely, hoping the answer would satisfy.

"You need help getting there?" Sora had a promising future as one of those volunteers who house-sat lonely old people.

"No, thanks. I feel a lot better now." To prove it, Riku stood up, keeping his knees locked so as not to sway. He was still feeling a little dizzy, but no way was he going to let his new mother see that.

"You sure?"

"Jesus, yes, I'm fine!" Riku snapped. Sora was completely unfazed.

"Ok, then. I'll see you later?"

"Uh, yeah, sure." So long as there weren't any specifics, Riku would agree to anything. Sora thankfully didn't ask for any, and spread his wings, hovering into a rather blustery take-off.

"Remember what I told you!" he shouted as he flapped away. What, the stuff about how the World News lost its interest in Frenchy McWhatshisface? Yeah, when little boys fly. Riku watched Sora soar out of sight, and sighed.

"Forever and always," he said, as sincerely as he could manage, half-heartedly waving goodbye.

Leon awoke with a jolt, and leaped out of bed like a firecracker had been lit underneath him. He sprinted to the bathroom, threw open the toilet seat, and hurled. It wasn't a small amount of puke, either- Leon ate a very large dinner. The sight and smell of the regurgitated blood only made the nausea worse, and he threw up again, this time thoroughly vacating his insides. Unfortunately, his body was hell-bent on getting rid of everything inside it, so he kept retching until his stomach was completely empty. Then he dry-heaved painfully against the side of the toilet for another couple minutes, just so his body could be absolutely convinced that there was nothing left inside it. More simply put, Leon felt like shit.

I bit Cloud. He collapsed woozily onto the cold tile floor. I bit Cloud and he tasted good and I liked it. At the thought, he convulsed and started retching again. Throaty spit dribbled out of his mouth. This was it, he was over. He could never trust himself to be around people ever again, knowing that he had erotic fantasies about turning his friends. He might as well lock himself in his room and never come out. Wait, what was he thinking?

God! Get a grip, Leonhart, he admonished himself, pulling himself upright and leaning back against the sink. A chip in the wood on the cheap vanity was poking him in the back. It was just a dream. It'll never be reality, and no one ever has to know. But he still couldn't quell the guilt, at least, he supposed it was guilt. He dreamed about killing his best friend. While having sex with him. That was sick, that was twisted, that was every single kind of wrong that could be. He shivered. No one could know- he'd take the secret to the grave with him. It's not like anyone was ever around him while he slept, and as far as he knew, he wasn't a sleep-talker. No one would ever have to find out, least of all Cloud, who never even came around anyway. Cloud!

Cloud was supposed to come tonight to hang out with Sora. Oh my God, he could be here right now. Leon took a deep breath, sniffing the air to see if the kid's deadbeat brother was around, if there was even the slightest possibility that he may have heard what was going on in Leon's head. Cloud had a very distinctive, pungent yet sweet scent, that Leon would recognize anywhere. Deep and masculine and human. And he was most definitely not inside the church. Well, in any case, I should go make sure Sora hasn't killed himself or anything. Leon flushed the toilet three times, ran a towel over the floor and his fingers through his hair, brushed his teeth twice, and set off downstairs, ignoring the kitchen even though his stomach was growling.

"Sora? Hey, kid, you ok?" He didn't get a response, so he walked over to the corner directly underneath Sora's bed. "Hey. Cloud never showed up?" Nothing. A lump was settling in Leon's empty gut, and his mouth was painfully dry. "Sora?" No one else was in the church. Shit. Shit, shit, shit! Sora was gone. Leon had to find him right now. He stormed over to the door and grabbed his coat. Leave it to Sora to run off in the middle of the night like an overdramatic teenager. He is an overdramatic teenager, a tiny voice reminded him, and he ignored it, grabbing his coat and banging the door open, nearly whacking an awkward-looking, lanky kid with white-blonde, strawy hair.

"Ah- hi, are you Squall Leo-"

"Sorry. We're closed," he said gruffly, walking off without even looking at his customer, and not stopping until he reached the sidewalk. He lifted his nose into the wind and searched for Sora's scent- definitely unique, with the feathers, but not nearly as enticing as Cloud's. The smells of the city were far too strong- the stench of pollution, dog piss, homelessness and rotting food was too overpowering to pick out anything specific.

"Sir, please, if you have a moment-" Leon ignored him and kept moving. God knows what could happen to Sora out alone in this city- he had survived that assignment, but he'd be reckless if he were out looking for Cloud. And Leon knew that that was exactly what Sora would be doing. So, if he were Sora and looking for Cloud, which direction would he go? Didn't help that the kid was able to fly. With a sigh of resignation, Leon picked a direction at random, and started walking south.

Woo! Ten chapters, and over 50,000 words! Hard to believe it came this far. Thoughts and constructive criticism are always appreciated- this is only my second real fic, and I don't do a lot of creative writing usually. Any characters you like? Any characters you want to see more of? Are you, like me, slowly coming to realize that there are way too many characters in this fic? Questions, comments and concerns? Are the chapter lengths good? (I try to keep it between 4 and 5 thousand usually, which ends up being 5,000+ with notes and whatnot.) Is the pacing good? Please, please tell me. I really appreciate it. :) And thank you again, to everyone who's subscribed and faved this fic, even though I admit it's kind of weird, lol. I have fun writing it. :)

Self-Indulgent Story Trivia (because my beta thinks it's fun): I picked Demyx's name off an internet list of French names starting with D, but it turns out there's a famous musician from Burkina Faso named Victor Démé. Funny coincidence.