Once upon a time, there was a Godly valley with mountains that could touch the sky and trees that cast long shadows. The people who live in the small mountain town are hardworking and happy, so long as they never stray into the forest where the wolves lurk in the darkness. Adults brave the trees in groups to hunt the vicious pack as they have for decades, the conflict is deep with no sign of victory for either side. But wolves are not the only threat, nor the village's only secret - and the link connecting them is a simple cloak of Red ...

Every night, from the highest peak of the uninhabited mountains, a single Wolf howls to the good folk of the valley – as a warning, as a message, and as a reminder of what they did:
"Beware, beware, the Path where the Witch once stood. Beware, beware, of the Wolf in the Wood."

A rustle in the bushes was the only warning before he pounced.

Leon grunted as his back hit the floor, glad his cloak was durable enough to soften the blows of the rocks and sticks under him. He sent an unimpressed look at his attacker and sighed, exasperated at the grinning face above him. "Is this going to become a habit?"

His assailant chuckled at his irritated question "Maybe I like getting the drop on you, Red."

Cloud leered over him, hands pinning his shoulders and legs caging Leon's expertly. His face was close, so close that Leon felt the breath of his exhales on his cheeks. Said cheeks warmed when Cloud leaned in closer and growled playfully "I'm gonna eat you, Red …"

Leon sighed dramatically "Can you get off?"

"But I'm hungry, and you look so tempting today," Cloud purred, not budging.

Leon rolled his eyes and shoved at him, "Move." Cloud obeyed, at last, laughing, and held out a hand to pull Leon up too.

"No hard feelings, Leon, it's not my fault you're so easy to mess with," he grinned.

Leon smirked and shoved him, making sure he tripped over his leg to start a new brawl. Cloud lay flat under him though his knee was pressing into Leon's stomach, he gave the aura of surrender when Leon pinned his wrists to the floor with all his strength. Leon raised an eyebrow slowly as he got a feel for the superiority, from this close he could see the collection of freckles over Cloud's nose and cheeks and a small scar on an ear like a healed piercing. But, most satisfying, was the fact that Cloud was caged and only looking at him.

Leon hummed thoughtfully, "I think I can see the appeal."

Cloud mirrored his look, a small touch of red covering his cheekbones and nose, and, adorably, the tips of his ears. Before Leon could tease him, Cloud had spoken up, "Really? I can guarantee I'm not half as tasty as any potential deer that's out there today."

Leon agreed and they both rose from their game and straightened clothing. Leon caught Cloud's eye as they planned where to lay in wait for a hunt, and he wondered how he had ever survived without him for so long – how had he gone on without this carefree, relaxed and even playful teen in his life? How had he manage to stay so reserved all his life, he never realised that he had the potential of play inside him, this was fun.

Cloud saw him looking and when he held eye contact they both found new, directionless laughter bubbling up in their chests.

Leon enjoyed these meetings, he enjoyed embracing a wild side, a playful side he must have forgotten along with his childhood memories and Cloud was all too happy to keep it up. The blond wildling wondered aloud about a potential lake that looked promising for an ambush, but Leon wasn't listening.

His head was hurting again. He rubbed at his temple and tried his best to focus on Cloud's voice.

"Back here again?"

Leon looked away from the tree he had been staring at in disappointment for the last five minutes to see the very stranger he sought walking out from the undergrowth, looking amused.

Thankful that he wouldn't have to spend an entire day looking for him, Leon walked over to meet him. "I was looking for you."

Cloud smiled "I know, I was watching."

Leon raised an eyebrow "How can you do that? I never hear you." Once again, the invisible presence was gone and had been nearly all day, nothing had been following him that he knew of.

With a mere shrug, Cloud changed the subject "Why were you looking for me?"

Uncertain now, Leon let a small silence build. When Cloud prompted him again, he said at last "Did I know you a long time ago?"

Cloud blinked, Leon didn't blame him for the suspicious and slightly guarded expression that one would expect when being faced with a potentially bad joke, but it rocked his confidence. "Wouldn't you know?" the blond drawled.

Leon shook his head "I lost my memories about ten years ago when I was a child." At his guest's astonished expression, one that Leon was pleased to see held more concern than a stranger would normally have, Leon quietly indulged in more information. "I was very sick with fever, for a few days, it burned very hot, especially here," he touched his forehead but Cloud's eyes never left his, that heart-broken expression still on his face. Leon sighed heavily "When I woke up … I had forgotten almost everything."

Cloud's expression was still guarded, but there was a lot of upset and guilt in his expression as he absorbed the story. "I'm sorry," he looked away, his eyes calculating, almost desperate.

Leon nodded, grasping silently at the straws. "I've learnt to accept it." with a bitter laugh he realised aloud; "Not that I had much choice …"

Curious now, the blond looked back at him and stepped closer, his eyes back on Leon's and his expression sad once again, he raised a hand and touched Leon's temple with his cool fingers. Leon blinked and his breathing stopped at the almost intimate gesture and his voice left him alone in his surprise.

Cloud tilted his head "You don't remember anything from before?"

Before he answered, Leon read the desperation in his eyes and futilely wracked his brain for the secret door to his past, anything to not disappoint the blond watching him so intensely. But … no.

Leon shook his head regretfully. "No. When I woke up, I knew my name and age, and some useless things that didn't have an origin. Up was that way, red looked like this … but I didn't know what happened last week. And I didn't remember the people who called themselves my family." His own eyes faded from the clearing they were in to recall the heartbreak of his, now, beloved sisters and brothers who were strangers to him when he first opened his eyes.

"I'm … sorry," Cloud said again, his eyes looking down and his hand retracting. "I can't imagine …"

Leon smiled slightly at the concern "That's why I wanted to find you. I still don't remember anything, but you're very familiar to me, and I don't know why." He met Cloud's eyes, catching the blond's neck and shoulder to turn him forwards inescapably.

The blond looked shocked.

"Have we met before?" His near whisper held more desperation than Leon was willing to admit. Do I know you? Why do I feel so much with you?

Cloud looked him up and down and went thoughtful. "I didn't know anyone called Leon when I was younger …" his eyes went down "Sorry."

Leon, about to sink into despair once again, remembered something critical "I wasn't called Leon when I was a child. I was Squall."

Cloud blinked "Why'd you change it?" his voice was unreadable, but Leon's hopes were rekindled.

Uncomfortably, Leon looked away "It … it became a curse in my village. Squall the cursed boy, I wanted to become someone else … my name seemed like a good place to start," he admitted. He remembered his Matron telling him the stories of Abram and Sarai, the Father and Mother of God's many nations, who changed their names. Abraham and Sarah, they became different people, nobodies to somebodies and it started with a change of name.

His attempt, however, had only brought his past with him.

Cloud's sympathetic smile drew his attention from his troubles, "That's a shame. It's a good name." His eyes were searching, calculating once again. He breathed in deeply and rubbed at his eyes "I don't know, Leon. If I did know you, we must have been so small …"

Disappointed in no small part, Leon nodded. "I see." He wasn't sure how to deal with the sudden emptiness inside him, the pit in his stomach that threatened to drown him and the most pitiful thing that he just might let it.

On the surface, he gave a respectful nod and offered his parting words. "Thank you, regardless."

Cloud stopped him from leaving with a hand caught in his cloak "Hold on there, Red," his lips turned up into his familiar smirk, "Just because I didn't know you then doesn't mean we can't try now, right?"

Leon's spirits lifted at once. "I'd like that."

"Leon? Are you alright?"

Leon opened his eyes from the dull pain of his headache to find Cloud peering closely into his face, eyes searching. "Is it your head again?" he wondered, reaching up to touch Leon's temple himself, as if he could feel the point of pain and erase it.

Leon hummed absently, used to Cloud's touches by now, but no less unaffected. "Just a small one …"

"You're getting these a lot lately. When I watched you before you never had any," Cloud tutted, offering the hunter a water skin from his pack. He was dressed the same as normal, his coat discarded somewhere else, maybe in his pack, and a small dagger by his side today too which Leon quickly asked about between sips of water that didn't do a thing to help his pounding temples.

Cloud picked the flint up from its belt hold and grinned, he held it so Leon could see it "I thought I'd join you in your Hunts." Leon admired the excellent craftsmanship, the red thread that held a few teeth from foxes and claws from rabbits, even a bird's toe, and gave Cloud a wary look.

"You want to help me?" he said incredulously. "I thought you hated hunters."

Cloud rolled his eyes, slipping his knife back into his belt with a click of his tongue. "I do hate them, but you're not like them, are you? You're a true hunter, not one ruled by violence and anger, and a lust for blood," he walked onwards before Leon could ask for further answers and called back, "Don't be so worried. It'll be fun."

Not about to argue with the blond, Leon followed suit and readied for the day.

"Skilfully done!" Cloud's eyes were alight with wonder when Leon held up the catch he had expertly slaughtered. "I don't know many people who can catch rabbits with just a knife," he stood from his crouch and plucked one fat creature from Leon's grip.

Leon held the other one with a look of concentration on his face, he saw the healthy coats, the worn teeth and the average amounts of fat on the creature's limbs and spoke his thoughts "They're doing well here, if these were the weakest ones."

Cloud gave him a toothy grin "I saw that too, look at their eyes," he pointed "They're doing so well it's like they're pets! Stupid, fat things, I'm shocked a fox hasn't been at them." he dropped the catch into Leon's pack and smiled at him "How did you learn that exactly?"

Leon snorted "Surely you'd know if you've been watching me on and off for years?"

Cloud snorted, a blush painting his cheeks and his hand bashfully rubbed at the spikes on the back of his head as he muttered, "I thought I'd be polite."

"Okay then," Leon humoured him with a chuckle "I watched them and how they moved, what they were scared of and what they ignored. I watched until I was sure I had a good target in my sights, one that was slow, or too far from a burrow." He held his dagger up again "Then I'd wait until I could strike. Each time I failed, I learnt what I did wrong and tried again. Most of it was learning how to be patient enough for the crucial situation."

"You think like a predator, not a human," Cloud acknowledged "You're a true hunter alright. More worthy of that title than any of those loud idiots back at your den."

Leon, used to Cloud's funny ways of naming places, led them onwards through the trees just for the sake of movement – his job was done, his catch would feed himself and Matron for the next few days, and now he could enjoy Cloud's company uninterrupted. "I think that too, sometimes."

Impressed was the least accurate word for Leon's surprise when Cloud proved to be a hunter easily more skilled than him.

Cloud moved more like a wolf than a human when he stalked forwards, making no noise even on the leaves and taking down the aging deer with hardly a struggle. He pounced with a killer's intent in his eyes, the confidence that came with the earned right of superior predator and the deer was in his grip before its head could fully raise to see him incoming. Cloud gave it no chance to fight as he drew his flint across the jugular and dropped it to the ground to bleed out quickly. He ploughed the flint through the deer's skull and upon its gurgle of death let out a small howl of victory.

Leon stood up from his hiding place, his gun uselessly pointing at the earth just like his jaw "How … what on earth was that?" he demanded, glancing between Cloud and his catch like he was seeing lies.

Cloud shrugged and stood up, panting very slightly and his eyes exhilarated "I've been doing this just as long as you have, Red, difference here is that we don't have guns so …" he shrugged with a natural air "It's just practice. A lot of it, and more than a few injuries when you get it wrong," he rubbed at one shoulder with a smirk of pride.

Leon smiled weakly, unsure how to respond to Cloud's apparent superior skill. "And the howling?"

Cloud blushed a bit, instantly losing the prideful look "Yeah … sorry, I got carried away." He rubbed at his spiky hair but looked more nervous than mad. "Bet you don't like wolves, hey Leon?"

Leon shook his head "I have no problem with them." Cloud looked interested and Leon continued "They've never given me a reason to hate them." He knelt to inspect the deer, expertly caught as it was he wanted to see the signs of the forest in its features, the coat, the antlers, the scars it bore from evading death.

He explained while he examined, "They need to eat like us, they survive better than us, and this is their home, I don't think that Genesis and the others have the right to hunt them. I'm glad, in a way, that they're too stupid to realise they're never going to catch them."

"In a way?" Cloud echoed.

Leon sighed "Every time the Hunt fails they blame me."

"Why?" he had knelt by his side with a hand on Leon's shoulder, Leon saw the blond looking torn between anger and confusion.

Since he had brought it up, he might as well answer. "Because I'm different."

Leon drew his arms a little closer to himself "I have a … uncomfortable association with the wolves anyway, though I've never met one that I can remember." He sawed off one of the deer antlers as he spoke, "Matron and my family told me that I was left at the door of her house as an infant, there were no footprints in the snow, just paw prints – people called me a wolf-child as an insult. Then I'm the only one in the village who actually likes being here, it makes me consciously wrong as well as unfortunately cursed."

He shut his eyes for the final part. "Genesis has seen me at my worst too, when he brought me back from the woods when I fell sick with fever – he told me once, when he was drunk, that a wolf had protected me like one of its own, that I must be in league with them. I don't remember, I had lost my memories then."

Cloud's hand tightened on his shoulder.

"But, when I showed signs of being a good hunter he was willing to overlook everything about my past, that's when I changed my name. I wanted it to be a new start, it felt promising. I learned under Genesis for a few years and Matron gave me this," he touched the red cloak on his shoulders "when I brought home my first solo catch and earned the title 'Hunter', it was like a coming of age present. Seifer got a white scarf."

His light smile died and his eyes went dark "Then I went on my first and last wolf hunt …"

"Stop it!" Leon yelled, pushing past Seifer to grab at Genesis's arm "That's not a wolf! Leave it alone!"

The dog, undoubtedly a pet who had gotten lost, hurt and then turned mostly feral, whimpered and tried to drag itself over to the safety of the trees and away from the blows of the Hunter above it. Its fur matted and patchy, its ribs jutting and two legs deformed and weak from an old, crippling injury. The large eyes looking up at masters with betrayal and Leon couldn't take seeing it being beaten anymore and held Genesis's gun and arms as tightly as he could with his lesser strength.

Genesis shoved him away with his superior might, his face as turmoil as the thunder. "What do you know boy? These aren't just wolves, they're demons. If they claim our dogs, we must set an example."

Leon shuddered at the madness in this man's eyes. "Look at it, it's not a wolf, it wasn't trying to hurt anyone – now you've hurt it," he moved past to try and comfort the traumatised animal. It saw his approach and howled miserably and tried to hide from him.

Genesis tugged him back by his elbow and a loud bang shattered the quiet daytime woods. The whimpers were suddenly silent.

Leon stared at the corpse of the dog with bile rising fast in his throat. The undergrowth rustled as more of their hunting party ploughed through to regroup. One of the company being slapped heartily on the back for his good shot at the animal's skull. It took Leon several long seconds to process that they hadn't hesitated to shoot it. An innocent animal.

Leon turned on the older hunter, the man's beard grey and arms tanned and scarred, "How could you!"

"It's one of them."

"It was scared! It wanted to go home. For God's sake it was happy to see us," he breathed deeply, his chest beginning to constrict again like it always did whenever he was emotionally worked up. The hunter's eyes felt heavy on his shoulders, like weights from his head and belts around his chest too tight. But the yelps and barks of pain kept echoing in his head and he spitefully hissed, "It didn't even try to fight you …"

Genesis turned Leon to face him, turning him away from the old hunter, his hands gripping hard and his face stony. "If you're not with us you're against us," he said "Just like that mutt. This is a war, boy, we have no time for feelings. Forgiveness is not a quality that hunters need."

Leon shook his head again, his chest hurting badly and his eyes stinging "No … it's not right. You're wrong!"

"Leon, be quiet!" Seifer hissed from beside him, the fellow disciple sounding scared with the turn of events, a significant turnaround from the cocky and eager boy from the village starting point.

"No!" the brunet hissed "How can you just watch him do this? He's mad!"

The next thing Leon knew was that he was sent sprawling, punched down by the barrel of a gun, a very hard swing. His ears rung, and for a good few moments he couldn't move and the world swam before his eyes.

"Leon! Leon! Genesis what have you done?"

Seifer, his brother, had fallen to his knees beside him. Leon heard his desperate cries, the gasps and mutters of the other hunters and his eyes rested unfocused on the corpse only a few meters from his resting place. The blond splashed water over Leon's forehead and eyes and slowly Leon came to.

"Oh thank the Lord," Seifer muttered, his broader arms pulled his body upright and shook him gently to awaken his senses. Leon rubbed his head, wincing at the lump that was forming. Seifer chuckled weakly "Don't get up too fast … remember what Matron told us."

Leon smirked "Don't be bossy Seifer?" the blond just punched him in relief.

He was grateful Seifer was with him, but Genesis wouldn't allow any further help as he pulled the blond to his feet and away from him. Slightly disappointed that Seifer didn't insist on coming to his aid against Genesis's wishes, that he lowered his head and eyes and let the typical ritual begin without stopping the verbal abuse that Genesis and soon the entire coven of hunters began to shout down at Leon. That Seifer couldn't find it in him to be the brother he was meant to be. Leon held his chin up and let the words wash over him.

Leon was left alone and as soon as he could stand without falling he began the long trek home.

"I wanted to hang up my cape that day," Leon admitted, looking into the fire that Cloud and himself had built by their temporary camp, the tale had taken longer than expected and neither was willing to stop. "I didn't want to be anything like them."

"You're not."

Leon looked up at Cloud's earnest tone of voice and saw the blond smiling at him with nothing short of pride. "You're not." He repeated again, putting an arm around Leon.

The brunet smiled, brimming inside with how much Cloud's words meant to him.

"But what changed your mind?"

Leon snorted "Hunger, mostly," Cloud gave him a sympathetic expression when he explained that farming and other community jobs were barred to him for fear of bad luck. "It was all I knew; the only trade I could do because I was expected to live in my own home soon after that. I'm glad to be able to provide for my sisters and brothers, but I never fire a gun lightly," he looked at the musket, empty of gunpowder and bullets just in case and though the item was familiar to him it was not a source of comfort or pride.

"If I had half your skill at bare handed hunting I'd never pick it up again," Leon admitted.

Cloud sniggered suddenly, as if the idea of Leon hunting as he did was funny, "Well … I'll try and teach you if you'd like." His eyes twinkled "You'll have to listen very carefully, though. I'm not a good teacher, it's all instinct to me."

Leon smiled "Thank you."

"Don't thank me yet, when you can take down your own deer, that'll be the day," Cloud leaned back confidently to admire the full moon above their heads.

The brunet snorted "No, not for that. Thanks for listening."

"Why wouldn't I? You don't have to thank me for that," Cloud sounded surprised again, and Leon was reminded that he was not a typical teen with that tone of voice in Cloud's reply. To Cloud, he was normal, and accepted and trusted and it was all he'd never had.

Shyly, Leon admitted "I … you're the only one that understands me, Cloud. Even if my family listen they just … they don't understand," he finished ungracefully, fiddling with the laces of his shoe and afraid to meet Cloud's eyes.

The blond leaned against him with a sigh "You deserve better." He admitted.

Leon smiled into the warmth of the blond, relaxing in his favourite environment, with his favourite person. The closeness was something he wasn't used to, and he knew that even with his closest family he was a little anxious about touch, touching too long or too much got him quickly uncomfortable and each member of his family was respectful and cautious with him. Rinoa was entirely ignorant, or disrespectful if, as he suspected, Selphie or Quistis had told her around the village well that he reacted strangely to touch.

But with Cloud … Cloud was confident and open and Leon trusted him. The blind trust of someone who should have been a stranger, who in two weeks had become a friend and in another month had become his most consistent social visitor. It had only been six weeks, spring was in full swing and edging into summer, and it should have scared him or confused him how quickly Cloud had threaded himself into Leon's life, and how deeply. But Cloud was Cloud, and that meant he was trustworthy, and Leon couldn't bring himself to argue against the insistent Heart's Calling that this was so.

Subtly turning his head to admire his blond companion he quietly thought; Who are you Cloud? How do I know you so well?

Their heads perked up when a chorus of wolf howls rose through the night like a song. Leon listened to them with peace in his demeanour, he had never heard them so close and he had never stopped to take in their song. The mountains were still a good mile trek even across the flattest of trails, he was still at a safe distance, but he had never been in the woods this late to hear them.

Beside him, Cloud raised a hand to his mouth and let out a loud howl back, glancing at Leon with a nervous chuckle "Shall we let them know we're here?"

Leon raised an eyebrow "Do you think they can understand us if we did?"

Cloud pushed him lightly "Hey, they're not dumb! There's got to be a reason if they howl, right?" he cupped around his mouth and howled up into the night air. He nudged Leon "Come on, you do it too."

Uncertain but infected with the playful vibe from the blond once again, Leon copied his hand action and let out a small noise that didn't sound much like a howl, he winced and Cloud laughed heartily next to him.

"What the heck was that?" he puffed up his chest and brought his hands up again "You gotta do it like you're reaching out to someone, let them know there's a true hunter in the forest tonight." He howled again, Leon's spine chilled pleasantly at how realistic Cloud sounded, it was like a wolf was next to him rather than a man.

The wolves paused in their song eerily when Cloud's voice registered with them. The night was still for a second before the song of the evening resumed, Cloud howling in time with them now like he had been accepted.

Leon watched, feeling awed by the display before cupping around his mouth once more and howled alongside Cloud.

Cloud snorted mid-howl at him and Leon admitted that his second attempt was an improvement but still sounded horrible, more like a wolf groaning than singing. He continued, undaunted, listening and learning, and after two minutes his voice was sounding a lot like Cloud.

The wolves had paused again when Leon's shaky and strange voice joined the song of the night, and the pause was longer and Leon waited with baited breath, Cloud too, tense beside him. The relief with the new rising chorus of howls was indescribable. Their song continued and Leon found a wide smile cross his face as his chest swelled and his heart clenched in excitement as the wolves accepted his voice into their calls.

Their playful song in the night was fading, wolf voices fading one by one and the two human teens catching their breath's and resting their voices to the end of the chorus of calls.

Cloud and Leon lay back staring at the full moon and Cloud turned to him with utter sincerity in his eyes, and a fond expression on his face "You'd make a good Wolf, Red," he swept Leon's hair back from his forehead.

Leon, having been called wolf as an insult and curse for more years than he could remember, was surprised at himself at the rush of pleasure that coursed through him at the compliment Cloud whispered. He turned to face Cloud, unsure of himself and why he had reacted so strongly, but gratitude and understanding overruled the empty spaces in his reasoning. "Yeah?"

"Yeah … goodnight."

Leon closed his eyes and nodded, his body was tired and his high spirit needed to rest in its happy bubble for the night. He relaxed against his friend for body heat and tugged the cloak over as many of their limbs as it could reach.

Cloud was still at once and Leon soon found sleep leading him into the familiar black lair of rest too, but just as he drifted off he felt a pair of lips against his warm cheeks and a soft whisper of; "Remember me … My Squall …"

A whisper that was instantly lost to dreams.

Thanks for your comments, please leave another. I may consider doing double updates form now on, but that depends on the response and how much time I have - obviously.

Bottom lines- the better the response from you readers the higher priority this story is on my list. MAYBE high enough to update doubly every week ...