Through the Wolf's Eyes.

Disclaimer: What?!?! Again?!? Oh come on!!!

--Watches Sephy's eye twitch and gulps--

Ok!! Ok!!! I don't own Final Fantasy VII or any of the characters...

Seriously... If I did, I wouldn't be here writing FANFICTION

Sephy: Just. Get. On. With the damn story!

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It's time you learn... exactly... the pain that your living in the past has caused those around you.

Clouds gaze snapped up again, from where it had dropped. His mako infused eyes met the great wolf once more... And he suddenly realized how fatigued he felt. It was a strange sensation. Like a wave of water, sweeping him under the currents. The last sight he saw before his eyes closed were the silver paws of the wolf in front of him.

"Please... be careful with him..."

The large wolf simply nodded.

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A/N: Italics are Clouds 'thoughts' from here on

Chapter 2: Realizations

Tifa hummed softly, the day was bright, the sun blessed the land with it's warmth, and a blissful breeze passed through the ever growing town of Kalm. The door to her small tavern, as well as all the windows in the main area, were open, which delivered to her patrons said blessed wind. She leaned against a near by shelf, idly cleaning a glass, which she realized, looked all too stereotypical for her profession. It was a force of habit more then anything else, and she knew the glass was damn near wearing away under the touch of her clean rag.

It had just passed noon, so she knew the silence wouldn't last long. Soon the lunch rush would flood into her small but popular tavern. She eyed the few people present at the moment, an elderly man who always told her one of his handful of stories, a young but somewhat handsome brown haired man who always ordered the same drink, an older woman who always seemed worn out, and a younger woman who was always too perky, at least that how Tifa thought. They were all regulars. She took a peak into the kitchen and saw her hired help, two younger girls who did the cooking and serving and her lazy dish washer. She shook her head as she heard some of his grumbling about the piles of dishes beside him, over the louder giggles of the two girls who were chatting away. Normally she'd have to give them a word or two, but it was a slow day, and somehow, the effort required for such, didn't feel worth it. "Sachi, could you watch the bar for me?"

The taller of the two girls turned to their boss, she was a cheery blue eyed girl with slightly long black hair done up in a bun. "Sure thing, Miss Tifa!" She chirped out whilst smiling so bright it was enough to blind the girl beside her, a green eyed girl who wore her black hair just above her shoulders, like a helmet, Tifa had always said. "We can talk out at the bar Eri." Sachi whispered to her co-worker. The dish washer eyed the two girls, both of whom were wearing conservative waitress outfits, grumbled something that probably wouldn't be fit for company, flicked some blonde hair from his eyes, grumbled about that too, and set about cleaning a large pot, which he no doubt grumbled about as well... Tifa didn't stick around to check.

Tifa gave the patrons one last glance with her wine colored eyes before she moved to the stairs beside the bar. Her tavern only had three rooms for rent, not that she got too many renters in the first place, that were on the second floor. She quickly turned, moving up a second flight of stairs, to the third floor. The floor she called 'home'. It was larger then her rented rooms, taking up the whole floor, and was split into three rooms; her bedroom, a small but pleasant living room, and her bathroom. She quickly closed the door to her floor behind her, and locked it, another force of habit. After all, she -had- lived in Midgar's slums.

She moved toward the currently unused fireplace, and sat down on her couch, spotting the object she came in search of. It was a large, sleeping, wolf, whose light brown and white fur was hidden under a blue blanket.

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Tifa walked briskly through Kalms streets, it was Saturday, and she'd taken the day off work, like she had every Saturday since she'd opened her tavern. She took the day off to train. She wouldn't let her impressive skills go to waste, just because peacetime had come. She usually closed her tavern during the mid-hours of the afternoon, and sometimes she'd go to train, or to clean the tavern, or any of the other hundred and one things that needed doing, Saturday had always been hers for a complete and rigorous workout. After destroying a boxing dummy at the local gym, she was forced to find her own training spot. She had eventually made her own, in an open area in the nearby forest. A few trees, wrapped in cloth, proved far more durable then the dummies at the gym. And the area was open enough to allow her to perform her kata's without hindrance.

This was one such Saturday, as Tifa reach the outer reaches of the town, and soon stumbled upon her very own stomping grounds. Though today, habit... and her training... would end up in the back seat of something completely different. As she stepped out into the open area where she usually trained she spotted something. Something of which she had first thought to be a dead animal. She moved closer, as silently as she could, just in case. As she moved closer, she realized the animal wasn't simply sleeping. A wolf would have noticed her coming a long time before she'd seen it. Tifa knelt beside the creature, giving it a once over. No scratches, no marks what-so-ever, it wasn't even scrawny, and it was wet nut not shivering. She was beginning to wonder how the creature had died when she saw it's chest rise and fall. "It's... alive?" Too soft hearted to simply let the creature be, she took it up in her strong arms and proceeded back to Kalm.

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That had been two days ago. Of course the lame excuse for a veterinarian, couldn't tell her much besides the fact that the wolf, for it had been confirmed a wolf, was completely and utterly healthy.

"The best I can say...is that it's in some sort of comatose state." Something that was plainly obvious, even to Tifa. After mumbling some more medical terms Tifa didn't understand, the doctor sent her away with the simple orders to let it rest for a few days, and if nothing happened, to bring it back. Not like she wanted to... though that had been 'a couple days' ago.

What was the strangest thing, in Tifa's opinion, was the collar around the animals neck. Either someone loved their pet a little too much, or he had once belonged to someone very rich, for the collar, which was made out of some sort of metal, had four ruby gems inserted on either side of something that surprised Tifa greatly, a red materia orb. She gently stroked the fur, which ranged from a nut brown color to blonde to white. "I still haven't thought of a name for you either." She put two fingers over her lips and smirked. "I don't think you'd like to be called Spot would you?" She waited almost as if she expected an answer from the beast. "Good. Neither would I!" She 'replied' with a confirming nod. It had a shock of spiky blonde fur that fell off to one side of it's head, and it distinctly reminded her of Cloud.

She shuddered briefly, looking over to her table where a piece of paper sat, untouched ever since Cloud had left her. And she was torn in three yet again. Part of her was damnably angry. So angry she wanted to kick his spiky butt all over Kalm. Angry that he'd left without even a word.

Another part of her was sad, but that was nothing new. She'd always been somewhat depressed at both her lack of ability in showing her feelings, and Clouds lack of responding to them. "Locked Heart." She grumbled in a voice tinged with both a bit of anger and hurt. All of it aimed at the irony of her name.

The last part of her, the part that remained the most vigilant, was the part of her she always tried to show to everyone. Energetic, cheery, and most of all... hopeful. She hoped against hope, even now, that Cloud would one day return. It was why she'd left the note there... so she could throw it in his face... She smiled lightly at the thought of that.

Tifa looked down at her new companion...a wolf who had yet to wake. "I think... I'll call you Cloudy." She chuckled lightly at her own joke.

She continued to stroke the wolf's fur for a while, that is... until there came a rapid knock on her door. Moving quickly to open it, she found a scared looking girl on the steps. It was Eri, and she had the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "Miss Tifa! Theres trouble!"

"Eri? What is it?" Rather then tell her the goings on, The green-eyed waitress latched onto Tifa's wrist and dragged her down the steps and back into the bar room. What she saw there didn't please her.

Sachi was on her knees, bawling her eyes out, and holding her cheek with both hands. Chairs were turned on end all around her, and many patrons were watching intently. Opposite the young waitress was a large man, probably in his mid-thirties, Tifa guessed. His was ill-shaved, disheveled, and very... very... drunk. Tifa recognized him as one of the men who had entered when she had gone up to check on the wolf. He was muttering words that would turn a dead Viking red. Between the Sachi and the drunk was none other then her Dish washer, a man of impressive height and quite a bit of girth who called himself Gavin. He was tough looking and tough talking, but not much more. Tifa knew from previous experience why he was a dishwasher and not a bouncer.

It was easy to size up the situation. But it was also easy to solve. The reason she didn't hire a bouncer was that she could easily take on the role. She moved forward, and put a hand out in front of Gavin. Tifa barely came to her dishwashers elbow, so the sight of the big man backing down was rather comical. The drunk had already been prepared to fight the large man in front of him, so Tifa simply slid into a ready stance and smirked in a much more evil way then she had intended.

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The very first thing he noticed was the major pounding inside his head, It simply would -not- let him be. He inched his eyes open, but regretted doing so, as the light and the sight of his surroundings caused his head to ache even more. When he finally managed to open his eyes, the next thing to assault his senses were the immense number of smells. Old ash from the fireplace, the soft scent of freshly cleaned cloth, the breeze from the outside, and all the various unidentifiable smells that came with it. Cloud shook his head... something was off...way off. He tried to stand, managing to do so only long enough to realize something very strange, only half his body went 'up' when he told it to. He shook his head again, trying desperately to clear the fog. the next idea that came to him was to call out, and maybe someone would hear him. However when he spoke he found he could only growl, no matter what he told his mouth to say, it only came out as a growl.

Then, as the fogs lifted, it was as if a steel wall's worth of memories fell down upon him. He had left the fort, and then heard -her- calling his name. Then he'd been attacked and then...that beast. But... what had happened afterward? His mind was a complete blank. It was when he tried to stand up again the true situation came crashing down on him. He tried to stand again, and as before, the lower half of him refused to do as he wished. He fell and got a glance of just why everything seemed so... off.

The first thing he'd seen was... a tail. Then a pair of hind haunches, and the body that he knew inevitably connected to the head of... a wolf. He had become a wolf.

No...

No....

No. No. No. NO!

Again, he tried to speak... but even had he heard the words in his mind, they came out only as guttural growls. What was worse was he still hadn't figured out many things. On top of that list was, how to move, where he was, and why he'd been turned into what he now was. And on top of the entire situation...there was nothing he could seemingly do, about any of them.

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Folks walking along the streets of Kalm were treated to a loud crash, and a very unmanly cross between a squeak and whine of pain. One of the passers by of Tifa's well-known bar saw a black gloved fist retract, and a beautiful girl with thigh long brown hair, that came up in a very...cute... was the only word he could think of, tail that resembled a dolphins tail. Of course, said passer-by knew who the girl was and how dangerous she could be. As if to exemplify his point, there came a moan from the man who had been 'forcibly evicted' from the tavern. Sporting a few more bruises then he would have liked, the man who was once drunk and now very...very sober limped down the street. The passer-by cheered Tifa on for a moment, then went about his daily business.

Inside the tavern there were more cheers. Tifa gave a curt bow to those who looked on and smirked before she went to check on her employee. "Sachi... are you all right?"

The blue eyed waitress, met first with Tifa on one side and Eri on the other, blushed in embarrassment. "Y-yes...It... It was only a slap." She had stopped a grope and was rewarded with the stinging sensation in her face that was only now beginning to fade.

"Maybe you should take the rest day off?" Tifa was concerned for the girl, neither of them were in condition to take hits, especially the reckless, but powerful hits of a drunkard.

"N-No, Miss Tifa... I'm fine really!" She waved her hands to express the point. With Eri's help Sachi got back to her feet. "Ill take care of the mess and get back to work."

"Are you sure?"

Sachi smiled one her trademark sunshine smiles and nodded, touched by her bosses concern. Tifa nodded reluctantly and stood, noticing that Gavin had gone back to the kitchen without so much as a word, though she could her the odd jumbled sound of grumbling from the kitchen. A soft smile on her face, Gavin didn't hate his job, he just made sure everyone thought he did. With a light sigh Tifa moved toward the stairs and back up.

As she moved inside her living room, again closing and locking the door behind her, she was surprised to see her new companion awake. "You're ok after all, Cloudy!" She moved to it's side, and gave it a soft smile.

Cloudy?

Although the strange name was first to be registered, it was the voice behind the words that impacted him the most. And, as the voice's owner came into view, his blue eyes, were met by a very familiar pair of beautiful, wine colored eyes. The wolf's mouth opened slightly, but it was the equivalent of a jaw drop inside his mind.

T...T...Ti...Tif....Tifa?!

It took much more effort then one might have thought to get that mental word out. Tifa reached out with a light chuckle and tentatively scratched behind his ears, and Cloud had to admit, he could now see why dogs like it so much.

"I found you in the forest, ya know." Tifa smiled in a way Cloud could only call... lovely. Though she hesitated only once, she reached over and wrapped her arms around the wolfs neck. She figured that if he had a collar he would be atleast somewhat tame. After getting over the initial shock of the situation, which was mostly caused by the pleasurable shiver that ran down his spine when she hugged him, Cloud unconsciously nuzzled her neck. Though he didn't even admit it to himself... He had missed his partner very much. Thoughts of the how and the why of his current situation left him for the moment.

Tifa giggled lightly. "Well, aren't you a friendly one. I wonder who your owner is? I'll just have to tell people about it as they come into the bar." She gingerly stroked the wolf's head, and for the second time, Cloud began to see why dogs liked it so much. "For now...You and me are gonna be friends... right?" She blinked in surprise as she recieved a small yelp, almost as if the animal had agree'd with her. What else could Cloud do? He hadn't had any leads on Aerith, he was currently stuck in a body he didn't have full control over yet, and he had no way of knowing how he'd get back to his normal form, if he ever would.

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Unseen and unheard by the people who traversed the streets of Kalm, there sat a figure on a tree branch. How the figure sat there was unknown, for the branch couldn't have possibly held the weight of a person. This figure watched the events transpire in the third floor of a building that the tree was outside of.

An older woman, carrying a bag of groceries paused for a moment in the shade of a tree outside the tavern she was near. "Why do I live so far from the damn market?" She whined lowly, so no one else could hear. She readjusted the bag of goods against her chest and was about to start off again when she heard a giggle from above her. She looked up into the tree's branches...but nothing was there. She shrugged and continued on her way home.

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A/N: I'M ALLIIIIIIIIVE!!! Sorry for not posting ch. 2 for such a long time. Between my writing for my original fiction series, a failed attempt to rewrite ch.1, the start of my first official year of college, and plain old laziness, I didn't get around to it till now. So... whatcha think? Please R&R!!! I need the input badly cause I'm REALLY not used to writing and not knowing where I'm going with the story lol.

FF7 Fanatic: No worries, I may be a little lazy, but I do intend on getting this done... now if I can only figure out where I'm going with it ; I'm a die-hard Cloti fan too )

kay.heartscry: Yeah, I never saw the pairing of Cloud and Aeris as 'right' they were just too different. But I always thought Tifa and Aerith were good friends... that was evident if Tifa was in your team when Aerith dies.