Something tickled Tifa's face and she crinkled her nose, reluctant to end what had been a deep, dreamless sleep. She slowly became aware that she was cramped and uncomfortable, but warm. A blanket was over her, covering her curled legs and tucked around her shoulders. Cloud, she thought suddenly, and her eyes snapped open.

It was not Cloud's face that looked back at her but rather a furry one. She realized what had been tickling her face. Whiskers. Cait was peering over the edge of the sofa at her. He shrugged sheepishly and flattened his ears as Tifa sat up.

"Sorry lass," he said. "My face isnae the one you wanted to wake up to, eh?"

Tifa did not answer. She sat up slowly, pointedly not looking toward the other end of the sofa. Cloud was not there. She wondered how long he had slept. Sunlight was trickling into the room through the windows. It was morning, but only just.

Cait climbed up onto the sofa next to her. As Tifa blinked the sleep out of her eyes, she noticed Vincent was there as well, leaning silently against the wall where Cloud's sword had been propped before. Tifa ran a hand over her sleep-mussed hair self-consciously. How long had they been there?

"Is everyone else up?" Tifa asked, hoping she was not the last one to wake.

Cait shook his head. "Yuffie and Cid are still asleep."

"Barret and Nanaki are-"

"With Cloud," Cait finished her sentence. "We were with him earlier, but now it's their turn to…"

He tapered off. Tifa sighed, ignoring his awkwardness. Whether it was out of suspicion or care, she was glad that the others had eyes on Cloud. She hoped Barret was not antagonizing him. She frowned suddenly and glanced from Cait to Vincent, wondering if the others were taking shifts watching her as well. Vincent shot Cait an annoyed look.

"They are securing supplies," Vincent explained. "Cloud is…eager to continue."

Tifa nodded. That was one way to describe Cloud's relentless, perhaps obsessive drive.

"Wait," Tifa said, realizing something Cait had said a moment ago. "You were with Cloud earlier? Where did he go last night?"

Cait shifted uncomfortably next to her. Vincent crossed his arms and looked down, brow furrowed. Tifa did not know the man well, nor was he especially expressive. But if she had to guess at his expression, she would say it was between thoughtful and disturbed.

"He went wandering the village," Cait began. "There was an old, abandoned cabin."

Together, Cait and Vincent filled her in on what they had discovered. Icicle Village had been Aerith's birthplace. Aerith's mother had fallen in love here with Professor Gast, a scientist studying the Cetra and the mysterious crater beyond the glacier. Tifa's chest ached, thinking of Aerith. At the same time, the old anger burned at Shinra. Here, Aerith's life had begun, but also ended as Hojo had murdered her father and claimed both Ifalna and Aerith for cruel, selfish experimentation.

"She never told me," Tifa said softly.

"Perhaps she did not know," Vincent replied.

Tifa considered this. Aerith had told her much about her life as the two of them got to know one another along their travels. Aerith had lived a lonely life. She had longed for family, for friends. It would have devastated Aerith to know how her father had died, but she would have at least known that he loved her. That he had died trying to protect Aerith and her mother from Shinra.

The finality of Aerith's death struck Tifa. There was so much Aerith had died without knowing. So much she had died without experiencing.

Cait's gloved paws landed on her lap. He looked up at her worriedly. Tifa blinked the tears from her eyes and patted his paws. I'm fine, she thought. I have to be fine.

Bracing herself, she asked a question she feared knowing the answer to. "How did Cloud react to all of this?"

Vincent looked at her directly. "He didn't."

Tifa nodded and looked away. Last night, she had seen glimmers of Cloud's old self. She knew he was still there. There were traces of Cloud that still cared about something other than this relentless pursuit of Sephiroth. Had Aerith's death broken him? Tifa wondered. But he had been getting worse before that, at the Forgotten Temple. Whatever was wrong with him now had to do with Aerith's death, but it was also tied to Sephiroth. Lost in thought, Tifa barely noticed when Cait bounded off the sofa to wake the others. How are Cloud and Sephiroth connected? Tifa and Aerith had discussed many things when it came to Cloud, but it was a question neither of them could begin to answer.

"Tifa."

She was jolted from her thoughts. Vincent was watching her, eyes serious as always.

"I know what it is to have parts of yourself you cannot control or understand."

Tifa nodded, remembering the creature inside Vincent that they had fought in Nibelheim.

"Thank you," Tifa said.

Her reply was not quite right, but she felt comforted by his words. Vincent met her gaze a moment longer before looking away, his capacity for conversation seemingly spent. Regardless, the moment was broken seconds later by Barret entering the inn, arms full.

"We gotta get going," he said, dumping the gear next to Tifa. "Surprised he hasn't gone off already."

He cast a loaded look at Tifa. She ignored it. But he hasn't left, she thought. Despite whatever was driving Cloud onward, something inside him still cared for the group. And something inside him had cared enough to cover Tifa with a blanket last night. Something ties you to Sephiroth, Cloud, Tifa thought. But something ties you to me as well. She could not define what was between her and Cloud. But they both felt it, an anchor that grounded them, a tie that tethered them together. I won't let you forget it, Cloud.

Resolve strengthened, she nodded confidently at Barret and began sorting through their supplies. She was pleasantly surprised that the two men and Nanaki had managed to find a snowsuit that looked like it would fit her well, as well as a smaller one that would fit Yuffie. There were ice spikes for their boots and plenty of rope.

"Cait is waking up Yuffie and Cid," she told Barret calmly. "We'll be ready to go soon."

Tifa paused what she was doing and turned to Barret.

"Where is it exactly that we are going?"

If Tifa thought the journey to Icicle Village had been harrowing, it was nothing compared to their trek through towards the Northern Crater. Her snowsuit kept her dry and cut the wind, but even still, she had never known a person could be so cold. The storm of the previous night was nothing but flurries compared to icy snow that pummeled and blinded them. She squinted against it, once again following behind Cloud.

He had barely acknowledged her that morning, only nodding in her direction when she had joined him and Nanaki outside. It was almost nothing, but the moment his eyes met hers sent a spark of warmth through her that she tried to hold onto now as numbness crept into her limbs.

The team was loosely corded together with ropes to prevent anyone from being lost in the storm. Tifa was grateful for the spikes on her boots that gave her traction, but still felt clumsy in them. As the wind picked up, she stomped as hard as she could into the packed snow and ice. The path narrowed ahead, barely wide enough to accommodate two people walking side-by-side. Tifa gritted her teeth and avoided looking at the steep drop off to her left.

The group trudged on, all of them fighting the wind that was becoming increasingly perilous. It hit Tifa at exactly the wrong moment and she swayed away from the solid rock to her right. Rather than firmly connecting to the ground beneath her, the spikes on her boot skidded against the top layer of ice. Her leg slid out from underneath her. Suddenly, she was falling.

Tifa had fallen before. As a child, she had fallen on Mount Nibel. She had nearly died. Only recently, she had learned that Cloud had attempted to save her. He was not able to, but they had only been children then. And he had tried to save her. Since, they had each fallen what felt like a thousand times. Each time, they had been there to catch one another. Tifa would fall, jump, leap, and knew Cloud would catch her. Now, her feet scrambling for purchase, Tifa cried out.

"Cloud!"

A hand gripped her hard around her upper arm. Tifa was no longer falling. Shaking, she clung to the solid form next to her.

"Hey now, I gotcha."

It was Cid. He did not look at her now, but rather glared ahead of him. Cloud marched onward. He had not looked back. Cid kept a firm grip on Tifa's arm and looked behind him. Tifa followed his gaze. He was exchanging a look with Barret, who had the collar of Yuffie's snow suit in his grasp. Vincent was behind them, Cait clinging to his broad shoulders. Nanaki forged on his own between them, his claws gripping the snow better than any artificial spikes could manage. Even through the white haze of the storm, Tifa could see the anger on Barret's face.

Together, Tifa and Cid continued behind Cloud. Tifa fought tears that would only freeze on her cheeks. Aerith had gently pried Tifa about her relationship with Cloud. Yuffie, less subtly so. Barret, who straddled the line between father-figure and friend to Tifa, was cautiously supportive of her relationship with Cloud, having seen time and time again how they protected one another. Still, Tifa had thought of her relationship with Cloud as its own separate and complicated entity. She had forgotten how the two of them were embedded into the larger, eclectic group.

Cloud's indifference towards her had baffled and hurt her for days now. Tifa had not anticipated how the others might perceive it. She was grateful for her friends' support, the stabilizing grip of Cid's hand beneath her arm. But she could feel the fragile trust the group had in Cloud shattering.

What was between Tifa and Cloud was strong, not fragile. It could withstand whatever it was that was happening now. How could she explain that to the others? Aerith, Tifa thought desperately. Tell me what to do. Tell me what to say.

The only answer was the howling of the wind as the storm continued to batter them while they pushed onward toward the Northern Crater.