Author's Note: Second part of the filler is now up! As to why I put a filler in here, I think I just wanted to give you guys a better idea as to how far Selena's and Cloud's relationship extends and who better to discuss it than Sigmund! Besides…I kinda missed the furball!

Disclaimer: I don't own FF7, just anything outside of the game I own…Like this dust bunny! ^.^

Part 14

The winds stirred darkly and beneath his paws, the spirit of the earth sang lightly. Something was happening and he had a faint idea as to what it was.

Sigmund rose to his feet and shifted his acute ears to listen to the winds. From the great distances between them, he could hear his goddess scream. Something was harming her!

His hackles immediately raised and he savagely gnashed his teeth. Regardless of hoping to escape his love for Selena, he could not ignore her pain!

No…There was no hope of escaping her, no matter how hard he tried. She was everywhere, both metaphorically and literally speaking.

He launched forward and his feet barely touched the earth as he sailed over the land. He had to get to her…He had to find out what became of his goddess.

As he raced to her rescue, so too, did his thoughts.

Years later, almost four years to be exact, Cloud had returned, but not as anyone would have expected. He did not make it to the ranks of the elite SOLDIER, thanks to Sigmund's interference, but as a cadet and to make things worse for the youth, he had to endure his shame while returning home with a couple of 1st Class SOLDIERs and some other cadets (one of them being Sigmund).

At least the trip itself didn't dishearten Cloud too much, for both 1st Class SOLDIERs were dear to his heart. Sephiroth, his idol and Zack Fair, his best friend. Within a few days, they reached Nibelheim and just as they reached the gates, Cloud's spiky raven haired friend was chattering on excitedly.

"So, this is your hometown, Cloud?"

"Yes, sir." He mumbled and Zack nodded.

"Wow…I bet everyone will be throwing a welcome home party for ya, huh?"

"Yeah…Something like that."

"Enough. We can't stay too long. We're only here for the reactor, but since we are here, let's be on our best behavior. Anything less than that, you'll be answering to me." The silver haired General known to all as Sephiroth, stated as he moved past them flanked by the other cadets. Zack gave an excited grin once the General was gone, then turned to Cloud.

"Oh boy! So are ya gonna show me around, Cloudy?"

"Zack!" Sephiroth called from a distance and the other 1st class gave a sigh.

"Fine…Coming!" he called and ran after them, leaving Sigmund and Cloud all alone.

Cloud turned to him out of surprise before asking "Aren't you going with them?"

Sigmund took his own helmet off and ran a hand through his wild silver helmet hair.

"And miss the opportunity of seeing my relatives? No way! Besides, I expect Auntie Faera's made some good home cookin'! A lot better than that dog food we've had to eat for months on end! Well, toodles!"

Sigmund raced away, leaving Cloud by his lonesome. He dashed down the street, hurtled over a cart or two and turned, nearly knocking over a man carrying a large mirror. Soon, he stood outside of an aging Wutaian style home and gingerly knocked on the door, bouncing in place. The door was opened by none other than Faera and she gasped.

"Siggy! Oh my gods!" She cried as she hugged him, but paused to sniff. She instantly pulled away, holding her nose. "Ew! You need a bath!"

"Tch! Hello to you too! So where's Shibuki and Selena? They're not training in the mountains, are they?"

"Yes, why?" she asked warily as Sigmund's eyes widened.

"Oh damn! The SOLDIERs are heading that way! If they see Shibuki or Selena using their 'gifts', I'm sure things are gonna get ugly really quick! I have to go!"

He transformed and dashed away through the town until he came to the mountain trail. He could hear from a distance, the low rumble of moving earth.

*…Shibuki…* he thought and dashed in that direction. Within minutes, he found them battling it out.

In Selena's hands were two massive crescent blades, from one handle dangled a white ribbon and on the other, black. Shibuki, however, fought with nothing more than his body.

Selena danced and dodged to the side before becoming air born. Shibuki leapt out of the way at the last second before one of the swords struck. At first, there was no mark, but suddenly, the cliffside they had been fighting on slid away, Selena and Shibuki going with it. They ran and leapt, landing gracefully side by side.

Before they got into another bout, Sigmund howled frantically and both parties saw him. Selena's swords vanished in a blinding light after Shibuki said quietly "I think that's enough practice for one day."

They dusted each other off and hustled over to Sigmund.

"Hey, Siggy! Long time no see!" Selena chimed.

To him, she looked as beautiful as ever and she had grown quite considerably. Her little girl features had just about faded into womanly curves and her curled locks had grown longer.

"Selena, Shibuki, you need to leave. SOLDIERs are coming this way." Sigmund warned and before they went anywhere, Selena had a burning question to ask.

"…Is Cloud here as well?"

"Yes…Though I don't think he's too keen on seeing anyone."

"What? But why?"

"I'll explain on the way, now c'mon!"

Back in Nibelheim…

"Look, just don't tell him what I just told you. He's still pretty sore about not making it, he'll be even sorer if you bring it up." Sigmund said quietly to Selena as they raced on. By the time they had reached the village, Shibuki had decided to head home, which left Selena and Sigmund to go visit Cloud and his mother.

Within minutes, Goddess and Wolf Summon stood outside of a little white two story house. Again, Selena dusted herself off and Sigmund listened as she gave herself a little pep talk, prepping herself for the long awaited encounter.

"Okay…okay…phew…" she breathed as she brushed her hair back, then glanced at Sigmund. "Do I look okay? Dear gods, what am I saying? I just got back from training, so naturally, I look horrid-OW!"

Sigmund gave her a little nip and she glared at him.

"Gee, thanks…" she growled and finally, opened the door. "Hey, Mrs. Strife, I'm back."

"Oh, come right on in, dear."

"Mom!" a voice hissed from nowhere and Selena recognized it instantly.

"C-Cloud?" she asked. Lo and behold, there he sat with his fingers interclasped, looking away from her in shame.

"Um…Hey…"

"Cloud Strife! That is no way to speak to your lady friend. Come over and say 'hello' properly." His mother chided, but was seized by a sudden cough attack and dropped the fresh cup of coffee she had been holding. Selena put her arms about the woman instantly and led her to her aging rocking chair. Mrs. Strife gratefully sat down, her coughing fit growing worse.

By then, Cloud had snapped up and brought her over a glass of water.

Selena's brows furrowed as she said quietly "Mrs. Strife, you shouldn't be out of bed. I said I would be back shortly."

"I know sweety, I know. But a bed's not the best place to be when your only son has come home at last." She mused after taking a sip of water.

Cloud glanced over his shoulder while he cleaned up the spilt coffee.

"Mom…You're sick, aren't you?"

"Nothing to trifle yourself about dear. This kind of stuff happens all the time."

"How bad?"

"Cloud…"

"Mom…How bad?"

"Cloud, there is a guest present. Don't ignore her." His mother warned and she broke out into another coughing fit. Finally, Selena shook her head.

"Mrs. Strife, you need to rest right now. C'mon, I'll tuck you in."

"But-" she began, but Cloud took her side and held her hand.

"Mom, you really need to be in bed. I'll tuck you in myself."

The elderly woman gave in with a sigh and let him lead her away to bed. In the meantime, Selena took a seat on the couch to wait for Cloud's return. When he finally came back moments later, he only had one question on his mind now.

"Selena…How bad is it? Don't lie to me either."

She placed a hand to her head and muttered "Cloud…She's dying. She's only got a few days left."

"Shit…Shit, shit, shit…" he muttered hoarsely as he turned away from her and leaned on the table for support.

"…Cloud…If you want me to leave, I will if I bother you." She offered gently through his suffering, but surprisingly, he shook his head.

"No…No, I'm glad you came…"

He slowly approached her and took a seat beside her. Selena's arms snaked about his waist and he put his arms around her.

"I'm sorry Cloud…I've tried my best to take care of her, even resorting to living here, but…It wasn't enough…"

"Shhh…It's okay…Thank you for staying with her. I wouldn't have wanted her to die all alone in this house, anyway…At least…At least you cared enough to stay."

"What's that suppose to mean?"

"…She got sick because of me, didn't she? It broke her heart when I left…"

Selena didn't say anything, for it had been true. Ever since he left, his mother's health went downhill, especially when his letters stopped coming.

She finally shook her head and pulled him close to kiss his cheek, brushing his hair from his face.

"What's done is done, Cloud. However, I don't think your mother would want you beating yourself up over this. Apparently, it's closing in on her time and I think you would be wise to spend it as much as possible with her."

His hand slowly covered his mouth and he stifled a sob. His tears ran like rivers down his contorted cheeks while she pulled him into her shoulder. Like any true friend, she stayed and cried with him.

"…You were right, Selena. You were right about everything. I shouldn't have left…I shouldn't have left mom alone…I shouldn't have left you either…I love you…"

"Cloud…"

He sniffed and pulled away, holding her face in her hands.

"Selena…I told you, four years ago in our Secret Place, that I wanted to better myself and in the end, I had hurt you. What I really meant to say was I wanted to better myself for you. I wanted for you to be happy and give you everything you deserved, maybe more…But in the end…It all backfired on me and…I failed…I failed you as a friend…I failed as a son…"

"Cloud…I told you before you had left four years ago in our Secret Place, that in order to be a hero, you didn't need to go that far. Just being here with me is enough. That's all I wanted from you was just your presence." She soothed and placed her hands on his own, prying them away gently and kissing them briefly. "Truth of the matter is…I love you. I always have, even as children and that's something I wouldn't have any other way."

"…But why? Out of all the guys in the village, why choose me?"

She laughed and shook her head.

"Honestly, you doubt yourself far too much, love…So, do you want the short list or the long list?"

"For right now, let's keep it short. I expect that I'll be needed at my post fairly soon." He explained and she gave a quick nod.

"Short…Alright, here we go…" she took a deep breath and focused her eyes on his own. "…I love the subtle way you smile, I love how we use to snuggle during the nights when we found ourselves lonesome, I love how your eyes remind me of the sky. Believe it or not, I love getting into arguments with you…What? What's so funny?"

Cloud cracked up and shook his head.

"nothin'…continue."

"Seriously, we'd get all mad at each other over the dumbest of things, but in the end, we always came back to each other to make things right…Anyways…I love listening to your heart beat, especially on the rainy days. Lastly and not least of all, I love the side of you that no one has seen. The kind, loving side so very few people ever get to see behind the barrier you've built against the world. I enjoy basking in your affection like a flower does the sun…I need it…"

From across the room, the forgotten Sigmund had curled up and watched through narrowed eyes as the young lovers kissed. At first, tenderly and rather shy, but soon it grew to a burning passion. An insatiable hunger gnawed at the very cores of their souls as their fingers intertwined and their lips met in a battle.

Sigmund couldn't take much more it. It was far too heartbreaking to watch.

He got to his feet, padded over to them and squeezed himself between them, ears flattened. They immediately pulled away and gave him dirty looks.

"Bad Fenrir! Get off the couch!" Cloud ordered as he pushed Sigmund off, but the stubborn Wolf Summon clambered back up. Selena sighed irritably.

"Well…So much for that…I suppose I better head home then, if Fenrir's gonna start acting up." She grumbled as she rose to her feet, but Cloud reached out to take her hand in his. A slight pink tinged his cheeks.

"Selena…Will you…stay with me a little longer?"

She gazed down at him with a smile and nodded.

"Alright… but I gotta send Fenrir home."

She whistled for Sigmund and grudgingly, he followed her out the door. Once outside, she lit into him.

"What the hell, Sigmund?!" she snapped at him and his ears flattened as he sat on his haunches.

"What do you mean 'what the hell'? I should be asking you that question, young lady!"

"Alright, what's your problem? Right now, you're being a total jerk."

Sigmund tilted his head this way and that thoughtfully before replying "hey, someone had to play the adult while you two were sucking each other's face off. Shame on you both! Tell me, what's the real reason you sent Cloud's mother to bed?"

Her eyes widened by the sheer nerve that Sigmund would even suggest such a thing. Her nostrils flared and her hands clenched to fists.

"How…Dare you…" she strained dangerously as a deathly cold chill ran down Sigmund's spine. It had been a very long time since he had seen her this angry and the only thing he knew at that particular moment was that if she was furious, beware ye who cross her path.

His head lowered nervously as she tried to collect herself and in the end, she finally seethed "Sigmund…Go home and don't you dare come back to this house. Do you understand me?"

Little tremors crept into his legs, but he gave a small nod. He shakily rose to his feet and took off swiftly.

He had lost her. He had lost to Cloud Strife.

Through lands uncharted by mortals, he kept up his furious pace. Within time, barren desert waste lands faded into grasslands and soon, lush virgin forests.

The earthly energy began to grow stronger the closer he got and soon, he ran into skies dominated by ominous clouds. The winds had picked up tremendously and tore through his wild silver fur.

His legs were burning, but he ignored it.

His breathing had become quick and hard, but he kept up his pace.

One way or another, Sigmund vowed to get there or die trying. All in the name of the Goddess he loved and swore to protect since the day she came into existence. Regardless as to whether he had lost her to the unfathomable Cloud Strife, Selena's well being came first before everything, even his burning unsatisfied thirst for revenge.

At one point, he had thought his vengeful spirit would be appeased with Strife's demise in the Mako reactor. However, as they say, fate is a total bitch and the youth survived.

Author Note #2: I know these two latest chapters have kind of been a bummer, but don't worry too much. Things will start livening up real soon. Anyways, read and review and as always, enjoy.