Work Text:
Being back in Nibelheim after so long felt strange. The town she had grown up in hadn’t changed overly much but there were a few things she spotted that suggested the passage of time. Tifa had once thought that after her search for Cloud she would return, but so much had happened since then. She never imagined she’d be happy with a witch of her own, but here she was.
With a hand on her stomach, Tifa sighed. She was exhausted, her feet hurt and she’d hardly done any walking at all yet. Staying in the town with Yuffie for the day had been so appealing but she was here for a reason. A reason she couldn’t turn down.
It had been the first time Cloud had sought her out since they’d met again, and it had been with a quiet request. She’d agreed before the words had even fully formed.
She’d passed by Cloud’s old home, left untouched and preserved as a testament to the woman and little boy that had used to live there. She pulled out her phone to take a picture and figured she could offer it to Cloud in case he wanted to see it later.
Much of the town was built around family units of familiars who appreciated a few luxuries. A human shelter was a part of that. Outside of town though, others still lived. Packs of feral, unbound, wild familiars roamed. They absorbed magic from the land, and were also helped out by the occasional hybrid but for the most part, they were remarkably self sufficient.
Tifa had played here as a child and hardly thought anything of it. Wild the pack might be but there were strict rules about harming children. Now however, she was an adult and would be given leniency for a different reason. To some she might have been encroaching on a territory not her own, her scent possibly unfamiliar now, but she was noticeably pregnant and that would have any feral familiar here hesitating.
There were all kinds of feral packs in Nibel, but none so secretly feared as the wolves. There were a few variations here and there in their family line but an unheard of amount of them were born as wolves. Terrifyingly large wolves. Led by an unnaturally large one, who also happened to have the strictest of rules. Two of the top being No Harm to the pregnant or those with newborns, and that hospitality must be offered to them, regardless of species. He’d even been known to make exceptions for non-familiars, despite most witches being outright banned from the lands surrounding Nibelheim.
Cloud had known this.
That meant Tifa was the perfect messenger to send. Not only had she been born in Nibelheim and could be considered a resident still, but her pregnancy guaranteed her safety. It was however, the reason she’d left Yuffie back in town. A witch on pack grounds was a bad idea until given express permission by the alpha. Even a Witch from Wutai.
Tifa pressed on, the scenery getting more and more familiar despite the years that had passed. She’d once been friends with more than one little wolf. Children often didn’t care about who they were playing with as long as they had fun and the wolves in the pack didn’t mind playing with a jackal at all.
Tifa had been there when Cloud had gone missing. She’d been gathered up with the other pups and hadn’t been allowed to search for him, lest they lose another child. She had first hand knowledge now on how serious the pack took others messing with their family.
She spied a house deeper into pack grounds that hadn’t been there before, and was pretty sure she saw another in the other direction, but that didn’t surprise her either.
It made sense that the alpha would want them closer, behind a wall of safety. In the end, Cloud and Claudia’s house had been too far away from the main pack.
She walked loudly, not bothering to hide herself. Not her scent or presence, nothing. It was the only way she knew how to metaphorically knock on the packs front door. And it wasn’t long before a blonde intercepted her. He'd practically just appeared, his sprint ending only several feet away from her.
“...Tifa?” Reks asked, looking bewildered. “That you? What are you doing here?”
Reks was only superficially similar in appearance to Cloud, in that he was semi-slender, blonde and a wolf like his younger half-sibling, but he was one of the ones who had played with Tifa and Zack as children. “Its…been a while.”
Tifa couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips as she approached. “Reks. Hey.” She had a hand on her stomach still. “I came…I…” She hesitated, smile slipping. “I came to speak to the alpha, if he’d spare me a moment.”
He glanced briefly at her stomach. “His hospitality rules demand it but uh…he’s…well, you know how dad is. I can try to track him down but it might take a few hours, until tomorrow even.”
“If I need to wait, then I'll wait.” Tifa said with a firm nod. “But I think he’ll want what I have for him.”
Reks' expression turned somber. “News?”
After a beat she smiled again, though it was weak. “Good news. Mostly.”
He offered her a smile back. “That’s a welcome change. It is good to see you, even if this really is unorthodox…” He shuffled back and forth a bit. “May I hug you?”
Tifa offered a soft huff of laughter and stepped closer. “Course you can. It’s been such a long time.”
He wrapped her up gently, arms strong and secure. “The others have missed you too. Serah will be happy to provide hospitality- she has a toddler now.”
Tifa perked up. “Oh really?” There was a moment where it was easy to relax against him. “I’d love to see her. Talk to her. This is my first and I'm rapidly nearing the end.”
He nodded, ‘subtly’ inhaling. “Four to six weeks, give or take.”
She couldn’t help but snort in response. “The noses you wolves have. I forgot about that.” Pups were the norm when they were kids and she could remember all of them making bets on how much time a pregnancy had left.
Cloud had done it too, but he hadn’t yet verbalized it if he’d narrowed down the time limit of her own pregnancy.
“Yeah, well, you know how dad is. Or, was.” He corrected, lightly nuzzling the side of her face and subtly scent-marking her to let other wolves know by scent alone she’d been greeted as a friend. It would cut down on confrontations.
“Yeah, well…” Tifa wasn’t sure what to say to that. The Alpha had definitely been promiscuous but he loved his children. All of them. He was there for every birth and even with all of his wanderings, was an attentive father.
That never stopped as far as she knew, but he hadn’t been able to bring himself to father another child after Cloud’s disappearance.
“I would like to see him, rather, I really am just a messenger this time.” Tifa sighed quietly.
“Ah, don’t say anything else. He should hear it first.” He said, sounding somber.
Tifa nodded once with a sigh. “How has everyone else been?” She pulled away somewhat but still kept her arm linked with his.
“Other then more cautious?” He led her down a winding path. “Not much has changed Teef. Wild wolves are still wild.”
She couldn’t help but snort while walking along with him. “But we’re adults now. That’s a change. Serah had a baby. That’s something.”
“Yeah, I guess. But things are simple out here. Oh- Serah’s mate is an outsider. That was some fun.”
“Yeah? Maybe I'll get her to tell me the story if there’s time.” Tifa mused. “Then I'll have all of you hound me about sleeping with a mundane while being bonded to a witch.”
He gave her the oddest look. “I don’t even know which part of that to start with.”
She shrugged. “Great big world with lots of paths. No one was more surprised than me, but I'm pretty happy with the way things are going.” She didn’t have to mention the fact that she was smart enough to not actually bring her witch with her this far into pack territory.
“Guess so.” He brought her to one of the few houses, and knocked carefully, mindful he may be waking up the puppy. “Yo, Serah…”
It was only a moment that passed before the door popped open and the pink haired woman came into view. She'd been a kid the last time Tifa had seen her.
“Hey Serah.” Tifa offered a smile. She could see Serah peering at her, and noted the moment the light bulb in her mind went off.
“Tifa!” she greeted as she stepped out of the door, hands going over her stomach but not touching. “Ooh, goodness. It’s so nice to see you.”
Tifa’s smile was genuine. “You too. I’m here to see your dad but I think I'm being ushered to sit down.”
Reks rolled his eyes, “Hey now, you’ve seen how dad gets over random strangers on pack land who’re with child. You think he’d be any less hospitable to someone who played with his kids? He’d box my ears if I didn’t make sure you were comfortable.”
Tifa patted his arm. “It wasn’t a complaint.”
“He’s right though, please come in.” Serah said, stepping back. “Snow is playing with Hope so we don’t have to mind our voices so much.”
“Which one is your baby and which is your mate?” Tifa asked as she stepped in which made Serah snicker.
“Snow is my mate, Hope is our son.”
“Another puppy?”
“Naturally.”
Reks snickered. “Like there’d be anything else in Fenrir’s bloodline.”
“No one would be more surprised than him.” Tifa offered a laugh as Serah led her to a comfortable chair. She didn’t say how much the inside of the home reminded her of Claudia’s house. “But he’d adore them all the same.”
“Yeah, dad’s pretty soft on kids. Doesn’t really let as many cross over onto pack land as when we were kids, but he does still let Nibelheim kids play.” He nodded at Snow. “Thought he might kill this one just for existing though.”
“Hey!”
Serah rolled his eyes. “He caved easily enough.”
Tifa didn’t bother to hide her smile. “Cause he’d do anything for his pups. I remember that so clearly.” She patted the bag at her hip almost absently. “I really do need to see him.”
“We’ll have someone howl for him, or fetch him if he doesn't turn up.” Serah offered. “I’ll bring you something to eat.”
It wasn’t an offer or a question. She was with child, they were going to feed her.
Reks stood up, “I’ll go with Snow, give you two a few minutes. C’mon, your baby’ll still be here when we get back.”
Snow took a moment to nod at Tifa as he brought his toddler to Serah. “I’ll uh- introductions later?”
“Definitely.” Tifa smiled at him as she watched Serah boop noses with the child. It was too adorable.
“Make sure someone looks for dad.” Serah commented as the two were headed out.
“Got it.” Reks said, throwing a wave over his shoulder as he nearly manhandled Snow out of the little den.
Tifa couldn’t help her snort. “He hasn’t changed a bit…”
Serah laughed lightly, bouncing Hope gently on her lap. “No, but then, most everyone’s nearly the same…” Her smile faded lightly. “Dad’s been…angry. Sad. He puts a good face on most of the time but he’s…he never got over…you know.”
“I know.” Tifa agreed quietly. She’d seen the pain first hand. “It’s why I'm here. I’m not going to get into anything until I've spoken to him first but… it’s about Cloud.”
She half wondered if anyone in the pack had been able to say his name in years.
Serah flinched slightly. “I uhm. Wait til dad gets here, ‘kay?”
Tifa nodded her agreement with a sigh, looking at the baby who reminded her so much of Cloud. If she was being honest, he was a happier version of Prompto and Denzel.
Hope turned to look at her, making a curious noise. Serah put a smile back on, Tifa's food momentarily forgotten. “That’s right, she’s gonna have a baby soon. This is Tifa, she and I grew up together. She’s a jackal, and very nice.”
“It’s so nice to meet you, Hope.” Tifa smiled warmly, arms around her own stomach. Seeing the adorable, blond, wolf pup was almost too much.
“Would you like to hold him?” Serah offered, expression now matching Tifa’s.
“Really? You don’t mind?” Tifa asked. Childhood friends or not, wolves were fiercely protective of their young.
“No, its been a while but its still you. And you’re about there yourself.” She said with a warm look and a nod to her stomach.
Tifa shifted a little closer and lifted Hope onto her lap who seemed absolutely fascinated by her pregnant belly and what he smelled. “Yep, that’s a smaller baby in here.” she laughed.
He gurgled a bit then gently patted her belly, arms out for a hug. “Ah.”
“You are too precious!” Tifa cooed. It had been too long since she’d gotten to hold a puppy. Prompto and Denzel weren’t ready.
“Isn’t he?” Serah said, gushing happily and filling Tifa in on what she’d missed and Hope’s recent milestones.
It was honestly exactly what Tifa needed. After all the drama at the academy with the trials and kidnapped victims, she’d needed a break. Since she was too pregnant to go treasure hunting with Yuffie, this was an incredible substitute.
This had been her home once upon a time.
They’d barely had ten minutes together before the door was opening again, another bit of pink hair visible.
“It really is you.” She greeted with a small smile that was so painfully reminiscent of Cloud. Tifa knew her on sight.
“Lightning.” Tifa greeted.
“Heeeey sissie.” Serah said with a smile, Hope making grabby hands at his aunt.
Lightning stomped in, purely playful to make the pup laugh as she scooped him up into her arms and nuzzled her cheek against his in a very wolf-like gesture. “I ran into Reks.” she said after playfully growling at Hope. “He gave me the quick version. It’s nice to see you.”
“Really nice to see you too.” Tifa echoed. “It’s been a long time.”
Lightening settled in next to her, rubbing their cheeks together lightly in an almost overly-affectionate greeting. “Too long.”
Tifa nearly went pink and she puffed out a laugh. It had been such a long time since she’d gotten a puppy-like wolf greeting, and Cloud certainly hadn’t been in the mood. “I know, I really should visit home more often.”
“Yeah you should. Tell me what i’ve missed.” Lightning said insistently, legs thrown casually over Tifa’s.
“I hardly know where to start.” Tifa chuckling, having already told Serah a few things. She knew both honed in onto her charm already. “Baby on the way, bonded to a witch, might even settle down in a home instead of traveling all the time.” She commented. “It’s been fun wandering though.”
Both sisters listened with genuine interest, commenting and questioning appropriately up until Serah’s head tilted a little. “Oh, they’re on their way.”
Tifa inhaled softly and let it out just as slow. Cloud hadn’t really given any instructions on how she was supposed to approach this topic so she figured she could keep her mouth shut unless spoken to.
“Fairly quick.” Lightning commented as if surprised.
Serah shrugged “Yeah well…its…news.”
News they’d all been simultaneously dreading and waiting for for a long time now. Tifa was digging through her bag, pulling out a ziploc that was tightly sealed with a folded piece of foil inside. They’d done what they could to lock Cloud’s scent into place. That would be more telling than anything.
“I’m just a messenger.” Tifa said.
All eyes were focused on her even as the family’s patriarch entered the room.
Fenrir’s eyes scanned the room, and Tifa couldn’t even be sure she’d seen the wolf as a man before. She couldn't remember. His gaze settled on her, intense and unnerving. The aura he gave off was pure strength.
“Alpha.” She greeted, even though he wasn’t her alpha. She wasn't a wolf at all. That didn’t stop her from dipping her head respectfully.
He sat down in front of her, almost too close. “Snow.”
The white-haired man stood at attention, clearly trying to win points. “Sir!”
“Food.”
“Uh- yeah, sure of course.” Lightening snickered as he scampered off.
There was a moment where Tifa bit her lip, but she knew prolonging this wouldn’t be in her best interest either. “Sir.” she mimicked Snow and held out the plastic bag. “A letter. All the time I was looking for clues and came up empty. Then I stumbled across him completely on accident.”
She looked up at Fenrir, knowing how keenly everyone in the room was listening. “Cloud’s alive.”
He was very suddenly entirely in her space. Even with it being almost entirely unthreatening, he was a big man. “Where is my son?”
“He’s currently in Radiant Garden.” Tifa answered honestly. “I didn’t read the letter so I don’t know what he wrote you.”
He plucked it from her hands, opening it, tossing the foil aside and lightly inhaling it, giving it a once over, and then huffing lightly again. “Where?”
“Uh…” Tifa hesitated. “He’ll either be at the Magic Academy with his witch, or home in their farm house. They’re usually home on the weekends.” Tifa didn’t know why she felt so flustered to answer. “It’s just to the west of the river, mostly trees around it. Ridiculously powerful wards around the property and there are chickens and bees on the property too.”
“What direction? Which river?” The letter was carefully resting on his very naked thigh as both his hands completely encompassed her arms, his tone urgent.
Tifa was a little tense but felt no actual threat from him at the moment. He wouldn’t break his own rules. “Uh, south from here. The Bastion River runs through Radiant Garden. The house isn’t in the city proper. It’s to the west of the river.” She only knew that because they had to cross a bridge to get to Squall’s house. “Once you’re close you really can’t miss it. The wards really are powerful and…” She hesitated again and noted how quiet the others were. “Look for a new grove.”
He blinked at her twice, smelled the letter again, and handed it gently to a bewildered Lightning before giving Snow an order and heading outside, already in wolf form after speaking a single word. “Hospitality.”
Tifa blew a strand of hair out of her face a moment later when she knew he was well and truly gone. “Should have expected that.” She was jittery, but it was the normal response to being close to someone so powerful. Fenrir was practically a force of nature.
Lightning gently smelled the letter. “...you really found him?”
Serah started to cry softly, Hope gently batting at her face in light alarm, after she'd taken him back from Lightning. “Mama, no no…”
“Lemme see.” Reks was almost whining at Lightning’s side, who looked somewhat annoyed and held him back with one hand, but let him stay close enough to look over her shoulder. “I wanna read it too.”
Tifa nodded once and pulled out her phone from her bag this time. She hadn’t gotten to take many pictures of Cloud since they’d reunited but she had a few thanks to Yuffie. The first one she pulled up was him in hume form. “Here, look.”
Serah took her phone, eager to get a glimpse of him and evidently seeing the resemblance from the small boy he’d been. She was, however, startled away from the image when Lightning started cursing.
“What the fuck does this even mean?” She snapped. “He’s not coming home? Why the hell is he talking like he’s broken? He is not broken.”
It was hard for Tifa to hide her wince, she’d wondered if it had said something like that.
Reks made a quiet, wounded noise. “Cloud…”
“He’s…” Tifa sighed softly. “So skittish. After what was done to him. He hasn’t even let me hug him yet. He’s trying but he can barely look at me.”
“Skittish.” Lightning said the word like it was offensive. “Not the word I'd use to describe Cloud.”
“He spent a long time in… that place.” Tifa offered.
“What place?” Snow asked, feeling a bit out of place. He’d never even met Cloud.
“The letter says he was taken. Which is vague.” Lightning grumbled. “We knew that. It says they hurt him.”
“He looks okay.” Serah muttered weakly as she hugged her baby close and Reks peered over her shoulder to look at the picture. “He looks…small.”
“I thought so too.” Tifa muttered, leaning closer to flip to another picture of Cloud in wolf form. “Funny thing is, everyone thinks he’s so huge. All I could think was that I expected him to be bigger…”
Lightning was frowning. “He hasn’t told you anything about where he was?”
Tifa shook her head, still trying to not be so bitter over it but knowing what she knew now, she was just more sad over it. Cloud couldn’t help it. “Not directly.”
“Its a good thing dad can’t read.” Reks said, looking uncomfortable and sad.
“Ugh,” Tifa groaned after a beat. “Cloud was so young, does he even know that? Poor man can’t catch a break.” Why else would Cloud write to him if he couldn't read?
“I mean, I didn’t know until we started looking through news postings.” Serah said, feeling a bit sick. “I figured…eventually we’d find the obituary…”
Only Fenrir and Lightning had never given up on Cloud, insisting he couldn’t be dead. It had been so many years, the rest of them had grieved his death.
Lightning grunted. “It explains why he didn’t even hesitate to leave even after Cloud wrote him not to, but lets be honest. He’d have gone either way.”
Tifa believed that but he could have had Lightning or one of the others at least read it to him.
“Wait wait wait…he left? Like, left left? Just now? Left the mountain?” Snow said, sounding shocked.
Lightning just raised a brow at him. “He was just handed a location to Cloud on a silver platter. You better believe it. He’s miles from here already.” Both of her siblings were nodding along in agreement.
“Makes me wonder if i should call and warn him…” Tifa sighed, “Not like he can go anywhere right now.”
Snow brought over a plate of food. “I mean…he had to know, right? Probably better to stay out of it.”
“Probably.” Tifa muttered. “Things are just… terribly sensitive right now.”
“Sensitive?” Serah asked, not understanding.
She’d hoped more of this would be explained in the letter but it seemed Cloud didn’t even want to write about it. “Cloud wasn’t the only one taken. Dozens and dozens of witches and familiars were. There was something of a huge rescue mission recently.”
Reks opened his mouth but was interrupted by a near half-dozen other wolves entering the dwelling, full of questions and greeting Tifa as if she’d only been gone weeks or months. It had been no time at all, but once one of them caught wind of gossip, they all heard it. Cloud had never exaggerated when he said he’d had several siblings.
“I have more pictures.” Tifa offered. “And… maybe a couple news clips…”
Vaan brought her a small snack, as if she didn’t already have a plate of food. “Is that why you’re here?...I mean, the baby…?”
“No, Cloud was just using me as a messenger to your dad.” Tifa said and she finally broke down and started eating. It was delicious.
“...its not dad’s baby, right?” Penelo asked hesitantly.
Tifa nearly choked. “No. No it’s not. I haven’t been back here in years.” Years ago that would have been a valid question, and they might not have even believed her until after the baby was born.
“It’d be fine if it was.” Serah said with a crooked smile. “Been weird, dad not showing up with a new pup every few months.” Fenrir had quite the reputation.
Tifa didn’t know why her face was so hot. “I guess it would be fine but it’s still not his.” They’d always been entertained by flustering her.
Reks playfully shouldered the ones he could reach. “Ease up guys, that’s enough teasing. No stressing her out.”
Lightning huffed out a quiet laugh though she was still looking sadly at the letter. “Yeah, don’t want that baby shooting out early.”
Penelo giggled at the mental picture. “Oh please, they don’t shoot out…”
Serah sighed. “Be nicer if they did.”
Tifa just groaned, a smile tugging at her lips. “This is bringing back a lot of memories, not all of them fond. I thought you’d want to hear about Cloud.”
Several of them exchanged guilty looks.
“We do,” Serah said. “But we don’t want to stress you out, and…we’ve missed you too, you know?”
Tifa shared a weak smile with Serah. “I spent a long time looking for him, only for him to appear out of nowhere all by himself. It’s been a weight off my shoulders since then.”
Vann peeked at her phone. “Well…thanks. For letting us know.”
“It was him. He was finally ready to let all of you know where he was.” Tifa offered.
“Are there pictures of the puppies?” Lightening asked, holding the letter carefully.
Tifa did wince then, there was no hiding it. She didn’t know if Cloud had written about them or not, but she should have known they’d have smelled them on the paper. “I only have a picture of one of them.” She took her phone back to scroll until she found a picture of Cloud with Prompto on his hip, the boy's thumb in his mouth. Several of Cloud’s siblings cooed over him.
“He uh…” Tifa cleared her throat, pregnancy had her hormones off kilter. She could barely help the tears but she wiped them away. “The pups were with Cloud. While he was still being held…” she explained carefully.
Lightning bit her lip, and handed the letter to Tifa. “I think we all have a lot to talk about.”
“Yes. I don’t know a lot of details but I know some and… I think Cloud sent me so he wouldn’t have to explain it himself.” Tifa said.
Serah hummed quietly, rocking her son to her chest. “We’re as prepared to hear it as we can be.”
Tifa hummed, taking a bite of the offered food and glancing down at the letter in her hands. “Well, buckle up then. I don’t have all of the information, but with what I do know, its a long story…”
~~~~~~~~
Dad - Alpha
I’m fine. I wanted to say that first before anything else. I am fine. It’s been a long time. Too much time has passed. Longer than I realized. Longer than I wanted to go without seeing you or going home.
It’s been too long now. Too much has happened that I won't explain that I can’t explain. I was abducted when I was small and that’s no one’s fault but mine. I didn't expect to be saved.It’s not your fault. I was told you looked for me. I’m sorry. Sorry, I disappeared. Sorry, I can’t come home. Sorry for the pain it must have caused everyone.
I’m not right now. Too much happened to me while in captivity. I’m too broken now to return to pack life. I’m too broken to face you. Too broken to be around predators even when they’re my family. I can’t do it.
I’m too mentally crippled when on my own, but things are getting better. I’m getting better. I wanted to see you. I’m sorry, dad. None of this would have happened had I been able to let go of my little house faster. I can’t change that now and I wouldn’t want to. You don’t need me as I am now.
I was hurt while in captivity. I won’t tell you more. You don’t need to be angry over past things. You have too many people to worry about now. Probably more now than I remember. You don’t need to worry about me anymore. I’m away from that place now. I’m safe now. I have a home now.
I have a witch now, which I know you won’t understand. I have a witch that saved me and this is where I belong. You might like him.
That said, I miss you. I never wanted to disappoint you the way I have. I never wanted to be this afraid of you. The thought of seeing you terrifies me, mostly because I don’t know how I'll react. Not being in control of my own reactions is just one of many problems.
I don't want to fight you.
I can't be in that positi-
Danger makes me reac-
I don’t know what to do anymore. I’ve been safe for a few months now. Months and I was never sure how to tell you. I didn’t expect to still be alive to be safe again. I still don’t know how to tell you anything. I just didn’t want you to keep worrying. Stop worrying. Stop looking.
I’m grown despite everything. You don’t have to fret over me anymore. I never wanted that. This wasn't your fault
I’m sorry I couldn’t be more. Be better. I’m sorry I ended up this way. I’m sorry I can’t go home. Things could have been different once, but not now.
They hurt me in that place. They ruined me there. I have to rebuild myself and I don’t think being around other wolves will help. Seeing what I could have been won’t help me. I’m too damaged.
I’m sorry. I am pathetic and broken now
I promise I'm fine now. I’m free now. I love you, dad. I wish I could see you. Stay away. I’m not sure I can let that happen again though. It’s just one more sad thought I'm going to have to live with.
Please don’t be an asshole to Tifa, she didn’t have to volunteer to bring you this.
I miss you. I love you. I’ll keep my distance.
-Cloud