Hello! Thank you for taking the time to read my first FF VII story! I do hope that you enjoy it!

Important: This story is the story of Cloud Strife from my story Pouring Rain. In that story his story is only eluded to, but this will be the whole story. It is NOT necessary to read Pouring Rain to understand this story.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the original plot for this and Pouring Rain.

Warning: none for this chapter

Prologue

The wind releases slow haunting moans and howls as it whips endlessly though the twists and turns of Mount Nibel. Snow descends rapidly and silently as the wind masks its approach, creating even more danger for anyone foolish enough to venture out on such a night. With the moon hidden behind thick storm clouds, nothing can be seen, and nothing heard as the storm prepares its vengeance.

Despite the cruel weather, two hooded figures struggle through the wind and snow, desperation fueling their determination. One figure struggles to maintain a hold on the hand of the other as they slip through the snow, while the other tries to pull its companion forward with even more urgency. The two struggle to remain upright as the wind grows with every step they manage to take.

A particularly harsh gust of wind blows the hood back from one of the figures, revealing rich chocolate colored hair, highlighted with a few stray silver strands, which are blown away from a pale heart shaped face. Clear pale green eyes flutter against the wind, and the woman's lips hold a slight bluish ting in cold. Two chocolate covered ears perk upright once again as the wind seems to settle for a moment. The other figure steps back towards the woman, and after smoothing her hair back into place, wordlessly replaces the hood back onto her head.

The two share a worried glace at their surroundings, taking even more care as soon even their own enhanced vision becomes impaired with the worsening weather.

As the snow falls harder and faster, and with the wind's howling reaching a fever pitch, the couple seek refuge in a small cave that is mostly protected by the elements by a few trees and some scattered boulders. And while the two of them can barely fit inside the small opening together, they somehow manage to squeeze inside.

They stay inside the small cave for hours, trying to wait out the storm, but also trying to keep the other from falling asleep and falling in to the clutches of the cold. The two mates may be physically close, but even their own heat seems to be failing them as the storm rages on.

As the storm reaches its final climax, the woman's eyes snap open in wide fear as the sound of a child's wail seems to mix in with the already howling winds. Images of some of the nightmarish creatures she and her mate had encountered in earlier days creep into her mind, and she presses herself even closer to her mate, willing the nightmares away. Sensing her distress, he pulls her close, praying that no monster find them there, for he knows that neither of them would be able to fight it off for very long.

Eventually the winds begin to die down, and while the wailing seems to come and go, eventually it too falls silent. Once the snow stops falling as harshly, the two nekos deem it safe enough to continue the rest of their journey, and possibly by nightfall, all of this will seem like just a bad dream.

The two step out of the cave and are greeted with a sort of gray twilight masking the colors of the mountain with shades of white and gray. The two take a moment to take in this strange sight before setting out once again, praying that the weather will stay calm enough for them to finish their decent.

After nearly fifteen minutes of walking, the woman suddenly trips in the deep snow, sending her slipping down the mountain for a few feet before coming to a halt. She stands slowly, carefully placing her feet as she climbs back up the mountain those few feet back to her mate.

As she nears the spot where she tripped, she feels something abnormal underneath her feet. She steps to the side to see what she stepped on, but something else is there too. Curious now, as to what she could have possibly stepped on that is that large, she kneels a few steps back and begins to dig through the deep snow.

Within a few minutes, she has dug through roughly two feet of the newly deposited snow. Her fingers are starting to grow numb, and her mate is urging her to continue on their journey. However, she feels a pull to keep digging, as though something is waiting for her beneath the snow.

As her mate steps forward to pull her from her digging, she pauses, a dark piece of cloth in her hand as she looks to her mate, fear in her eyes. The cloth is covering the pale blueness of an arm that has been revealed by the woman's digging. When her mate sees what she has discovered, he quickly kneels beside her, and the two of them begin to dig frantically through the snow, hoping against hope that whoever is buried, might still be alive.

Soon they have the form of a petite woman free from the snow. Unfortunately, the stiffness of her limbs and her frozen, empty eyes indicate that whoever she may be, she has been dead for at least a few hours. The thing that stand out most about the frozen woman is the fact that she is human, and with so few of them in the area, to find one alone on the mountain, and in the middle of a storm no less, is very suspicious.

The two neko look for something visually discerning to identify the woman by, to at least let the proper authorities know where she is and possibly who she was. The only sort of immediate identification that they can find is a pentagram that has been tattooed to her forehead. With no unusual design to make the pentagram, the two figure that they will easily remember the design.

The two stand and make to leave, but something makes the female neko turn back to the body one last time. She doesn't know what makes her do it, just like when she was digging, but she looks once more. When she does, her heart nearly stops.

The frozen woman they found was on her side when they unburied her, but something just under her side is making the material of her traveling cloak move very gently. Fearing that some wild animal has come to eat off of the body, the neko woman rushes back, intent on chasing off any small carnivores.

When she comes close to the moving piece of cloth, it suddenly stops moving and becomes as still as it was after it was initially unburied. The neko reaches down and throws back the cloth hiding the potential threat.

When she suddenly gives a sharp intake of breath, even her mate who is now several feet ahead of her, having not noticed that she turned back again, stops in his tracks and turns to see his mate standing with the frozen human once again. As he turns and walks back to her, he sees her bend down and lift something from the body. As he crosses the last few feet to his mate, he is shocked when she turns to him with tears in her eyes.

"We almost left it. We almost let it freeze to death too. We almost let it die."

Confused by what his mate is trying to say, he takes a look at the thing in her arms, and guilt rushes through him.

There in her arms is a very small neko kitten. Its eyes are closed, and its pale skin holds an unhealthy bluish tinge while it's breathing is far too shallow. Pale golden hair spikes up from its small head, and there folded on the sides of its head much like a newborn, are two pure white ears.

The man carefully lifts the kitten from his mate's arms, feeling how cold its skin is, and how snow clings to the single thin blanket that it is wrapped in. He pulls off his own traveling cloak and wraps it securely around the kitten, makings sure that the warmest parts are the closest to it, he hands it back to his mate.

Knowing now that reaching a settlement has now become a matter of life and death, the two nekos redouble their efforts as they race down the mountain.

….

Night falls all too quickly, brining with it even colder temperatures, and the wind and snow begin to pick up once more. However, lights flicker in the distance, indicating that a village is nearby.

The two nekos are now exhausted beyond their limits, but the sight of the lights allows them to gather the last of their strength. With their worry for each other, and now for the kitten traveling with them, they press onward. Hoping that the cold has not already overtaken them, fooling them with the hope of heat.

Nearly an hour later, they stumble into the small mountain village. Lights seem to dance around them as they try to figure out if there is an inn in this village, of if they should just knock on someone's door, hoping that someone would take them in.

Luck seems to be with them as they find one brightly lit building proudly proclaiming itself to be an inn. The two shuffle through the snow to the set of double doors, carefully opening them, and practically melting into the welcoming heat.

The moment that they two make it fully in the doors, a rather large male neko with black hair and ears rushes up to them and guides them over to a roaring fire, mumbling the whole time about how lucky they were to be alive after the storm. He rushes to bring them some water, and a cup of warm coffee for each of them, not wanting them to fall to the cold that they just managed to escape from.

After an hour or so in front of the fire, the woman notices that the kitten in her arms does not seem to be warming up at all. Its breathing is seven slower and shallower. She looks to her mate, letting her eyes convey her concern, and after a nod from him, she runs up to the keeper of the inn.

She knows that now is not the time for the whole story of how she found this kitten, so she simply tells him that her kitten is still frozen, and not even the fire is helping.

His brow furrows in concern and he has her follow him as he quickly strides further into the inn. She follows him into a more personal section, most likely his own living area, and he quickly introduces her to his mate. He explains how they have a kitten of their own who isn't quite a year old yet, so maybe some of her old things might be able to help for now. Especially since they do have a smaller tub that they can fill with warm water to help her kitten warm up in, and some old clothes that might fit, once it has warmed up to a safer temperature.

She gratefully accepts their offers, and the Innkeeper's mate steers her into a modest bathroom. She is then left alone as the other neko rushes off to find the small tub, but not for long as the woman returns in less than a minute. The already experienced mother helps her to find a good temperature for the water before filling the small tub and setting it inside the normal sized one.

The Innkeeper's mate leaves them, saying that she needs to check on her daughter Tifa, and that she will go look for clothes for the kitten in the process. The traveler thanks her once again for her generosity, and once the mother has left, carefully unwraps her new kitten from its many layers.

Finally seeing all of her kitten for the first time, the woman is a bit surprised to find out that this kitten is male. She quickly recovers from her small shock and carefully sets the kitten in the tub of warm water, willing for him to warm up.

Slowly but surely, she sees the bluish tint retreat from his pale skin, and sees his breaths become deeper, and steadier. She changes out the water a few times, before it becomes too cold, and each time, it still continues to help even more. Though he still continues to sleep, she does not let that concern her as she decides to start cleaning him off, now that he is warmed up.

It is while she is cleaning him that she notices something strange, for such a small kitten, his tail is unnaturally long. In fact, it is nearly as long as he is tall. She shrugs it off, thinking that this must just be the way it is with kitten, having had none of her own to compare.

She then takes him out of the cooling water, and wraps him securely in a blanket before leaving the bathroom in search of the Innkeeper's mate. She finds her just outside of the door, with a small pile of kitten clothes waiting. As she approaches, the new mother carefully lifts the kitten from her arms and unwraps him just a bit, to see just what size he would need.

When he is unwrapped, the new mother's face turns into a slight scowl. Her eyes dart between the kitten, and the woman that is obviously not his mother. Still, she is not going to take it out on the kitten, and searches for something that just might fit such a small kitten. She manages to find a blue one-piece that while still quite big for him, is the closest fit that she has from her own daughter.

After he is wrapped in some warm blankets, she regretfully gives him back to the woman that came in with him, questions darting through her mind the whole time. The woman thanks her before heading back towards the front of the inn, and presumably, back to her mate.

When the chocolate haired neko reaches the front, she is greeted by the Innkeeper who frantically steers her to a room on the next floor. Inside this room she sees her mate lying unconscious on the bed, and another neko leaning over him and taking his temperature. Hearing the approaching nekos, the doctor gives a small smile before reassuring everyone that the man is fine, just suffering from dehydration.

As he goes to get up to leave, the Innkeeper suggests that the doctor take a look at the traveler's kitten, just to make sure that there is no permanent damage. He agrees and goes to take the kitten from her arms, but she holds him close, refusing to let go of the kitten.

An argument between the doctor and she begins, but it is stopped quickly by the Innkeeper when he pulls the kitten from her arms. However, in the process, the blanket that the kitten has been wrapped in is pulled off.

There is a moment of silence before the doctor snarls at the woman. "Thief! That kitten is clearly from another, how dare you try to keep it as your own!"

She interjects, "But wait, you don't know what happened. I didn't steal –"

"Thief! And now to bring this kitten here, to endanger even further, how can you still plead for your own innocence?"

"I didn't steal him! My mate and I found him –"

The doctor raises a hand to cut her off; he takes a closer look at the kitten the Innkeeper is holding. His eyes widen, and his voice drops. "I don't know how you got that kitten. Whether you stole it, or found it, it matters not. How could you keep it, and bring it here. Why did you bring this curse upon us?"

The woman's eyes narrow. "I don't know what you're talking about. How could this kitten possibly be a curse to anyone?"

"This 'kitten' is a born killer. All snow leopards are. And now you have brought a killer into our midst, without a single thought to the consequences."

Suddenly the voice of the neko on the bed breaks through. "Enough. My mate and I have traveled very far and are exhausted. We have paid our dues for the room, and are more than willing to compensate you for the use of the bath and clothes for our kitten. Now, if you would be so kind as to leave us in peace, I can assure you that we will leave first thing tomorrow."

The Innkeeper looks like he would like to protest, but sighs in resignation. "Fine, but I want all of you out by first light."

He thrusts the sleeping kitten back into her arms and stomps out of the room with the doctor in tow, leaving the two mates and their kitten alone.

The woman rushes over to her mate, feeling grateful when he wraps his arms around her. "So what do you want to do with, a him you said it is?"

She gives a small smile. "I don't care what they say. I want to keep him. If nothing else but to prove to them that he isn't a killer."

She smiles a bit more when she feels her mate press his lips to her forehead. "What should we call him then?"

"Cloud. We'll call him Cloud and give him your last name. So I guess that makes him Cloud Strife."

Thanks once again for reading this chapter, I hope that you come back for more soon!

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