don't go around tonight, it's bound to take your life

[iracorn]

Who: Ira and you
Which: Interactive Dream; Open
What: Ira's having Nightmares, Ira's spreading Nightmares. Nightmares for everyone!
Warnings: Might be some spooky stuff and violence



A - Nightmares

[Ira has been having nightmares.

It isn't that surprising, thinking about it. He was exposed to the Nightmare energy in the city, perhaps more than he should have been. To say nothing of the weights on his Heart. He knows the difference now, between what are his memories and what aren't, even if they still feel like they are. It's been a long road to walk.

There isn't a particular theme to this Nightmare. Indeed some of his worst fears have already been broadcast. But it is a Nightmare nonetheless.

Ira walks alone through distorted streets at night. The buildings, a mishmash of various towns and places, dark and tilted, some towering over him, others oddly shaped. He is lost, armed with a vague notion of where he is going but every turn seems to keep him away from where he desperately wants to go. It might be odd to call out in your own dream but he does. He needs helps.]


Where am I? Can someone help me?

...please...

[B - Night Mares]

[If Ira is able to escape his Nightmares, he is changed.

He's taken a similar form before, but this one perhaps seems more malevolent due to the excess energy. What enters your dream comes in a mass of black clouds and shadow. He moves within them, both a defined form and part of the shadow. A Unicorn of awesome size, with glowing red eyes and a slate grey horn. His mane and tail waving between navy blue and deep purple. It would be majestic were it not for the Darkness rolling off of him.

Whatever dream he enters is sure to become a Nightmare, as he stalks, slowly through.

A challenge is met with the pawing of the ground with his hoof and the horn lowering to a deadly angle.]

[C - A Shadowed Heart]

[Whether Ira is saved from his Nightmares or ultimately beaten back, it ends up in the same place. Some from his world may recognize it as a Station. A large pillar with a stained glass image that represents one's Heart.

Ira's Heart looks worn, there is shadow and cracks and places where it does not shine as brightly as it is meant to. One can see images, slightly cracked, of the other foretellers, of two hooded figures wearing very familiar coats, the image of a Unicorn that is his crest. Every so often, something seems to shift as some part of him tries to organize the memories that are his and aren't. There are places where it's been reinforced but there's also the sense that it needs more.

But it's a brief look, before everyone wakes up.

But if you've seen Ira's Heart, it might be worth reaching out. Or he will, once he's a little more awake]

[ooc: Looking to plot, want an additional starter, urbaninja]

Comments

[starshower]

[Yeah, it was bad, but she snorts with a laugh anyway.]

Would it be alright if you showed me?

[She only asks because she doesn't want it to stir up any horrible memories that would just turn this nightmare into an even worse nightmare. So far, things are calm, just a bit distorted and... dark... but only if he is comfortable with it.]

[iracorn]

I...I think it would be. It's been a while, since I spent any time there.

[It holds a lot of memories, particularly of the other Foretellers, but they may be welcome. He's made some peace with the Keyblade War after all.]

The entrance is this way.

[starshower]

[She'll let him lead the way, still patiently holding her arm through his as she tries to bleed as much of her own positive dreamotion into the air as she can. A pocket of warmth envelops them—like the heat of one's own hearth, or the sun's rays after a cold, dreary rain, and in the cracks of the road, small, glowing starflowers will bloom in their trail.

Maybe it will make this place seem a little less scary for both of them.]

Did you live here for most of your life?

[iracorn]

[It's welcome, this feeling of warmth. A reminder that he is not alone and that the world is not the dreary one his dreams have come to create. It's enough that the sun starts to shine as it would in the mornings.]

Yes. I don't really remember a time before it.

It was me, my Master, and the other apprentices. And then the town sprung up for the Union members.

[starshower]

[The sun doesn't escape her notice, and it only makes her smile a little brighter.]

Sounds like it was a little crowded. Not that it's a bad thing. Think I've come to prefer that sort of thing myself, actually.

[iracorn]

It was, a little, but the clocktower was large enough for all of us. I admit, I've come to miss it as well.

Despite everything, I still have some good memories from when I was learning with the others.

[starshower]

Is this where you'll be coming back to...?

[There's a sad note in Tifa's voice that she tries to mask.]

When all this is over?

[iracorn]

When...when we wake up, you mean?

[From the Dream, though it seems such an odd concept now.]

But...to be honest, no, I don't think so.

I don't really know what happened to Daybreak Town after the Keyblade War. But, Sora and the others didn't know of it.

[starshower]

Ah. I see.

[Tifa gives him a sad, apologetic smile.

At least he can visit it now, in his dream... and she hopes that it won't be quite as painful as it would have been before, or alone... as they come up to the door.]

Well. After you.

[iracorn]

[Perhaps it is something he will get an answer to one day. Since Scala Ad Caelum stands, and the two are connected.

Still, it is sad.

With a nod, he opens the door. It is dark inside, and they enter into a large room with staircases leading up. Not unexpectedly, it's less of a living space, and more of a hall.]

We lived upstairs mostly, if you're not averse to that.

[starshower]

Not at all.

[She does keep her arm tight through his, however, but she lifts her other hand so that a fire lights up in her palm, and with a little wave, she sets it free to drift ahead of them, guiding them through the dark. She can see it struggling a little—this is still a nightmare, after all—but she manages.]

I'm actually pretty good with heights. ... Maybe not so much with the dark.

[iracorn]

It wasn't always as dark as it seems now.

[There was light from the windows, and from magic. But he leads her up several flights of stairs to what looks like a common area. A place to sit, a place to eat, surrounded by several hallways.]

Down that hallway were our rooms, and that was the way to my Master's laboratory. We were in there often for lessons.

The meeting room was just beyond there.

[starshower]

[She does slow to take a look, genuinely curious and interested and taking everything in. The little flame flickers a bit, dancing in the center of the common area before coming back to them, dimming just a bit now that things are a bit lighter.]

Where was your favourite spot to go?

[iracorn]

If we go up another flight, there's a small balcony just outside of the clockface.

It could be a bit windy, but I liked being up there, to watch the town.

[starshower]

A little wind never hurt anyone, I think.

[Her free hand reaches across to give him a light pat on his shoulder.]

And maybe we can see a way out of here too, from way up there?

[A way to get him out of this dream-edging-on-a-nightmare?]

[iracorn]

That might be a possibility. It's not too far from there.

[It is quiet though. Normally the clocktower is loud, just with the sounds of the clock. But those are comfortable, familiar sounds. Without them, things just seem eerie. Empty. Not how Ira wants to remember this place.]

[starshower]

[It is incredibly eerie, which is why Tifa tries to keep him talking all throughout their walk, hoping to keep the silence from sinking in for too long.

But she figures now is the time to ask, as they make their way.]

... So, why do you think you ended up with this dream? Did something happen?

[iracorn]

[Ira is quiet, for a moment, trying to land on an answer.]

I think it has been a few things. The whole trouble with my memories, and everything that has come from that. I do not know if my Heart has been in the strongest state lately. I've been worried.

[starshower]

Your heart?

[She tilts her head, a bit concerned. That is incredibly worrying.]

What makes you think that?

[iracorn]

I, well, I often worry that my Heart is not as strong as I would like it to be. And with everything that has been happening with my memories...

There are more than enough cracks for Darkness to seep in.

[starshower]

[Just the slightest tighten of her arm, her fingers coming up to curl around his elbow now.]

Are you worried that... the nightmares might become too much?

[That he might become noctaere...?]

[iracorn]

Yes.

[It's a slightly grave answer.]

Yes, that is something I am worried about. That I might fall to Darkness is, honestly a terrifying prospect.

[starshower]

[Tifa stops in her tracks then, her arm slipping out of Ira's so that she can walk around to face him dead-on. Her hands find his shoulders... and at first, she only grips them tight but steady...

...

Before she's throwing her arms around him in an embrace.]

You won't. And... if you do, then... I hope you know that there are people here who will come pull you out.

[Herself included. It wouldn't be the first time she's had to do that for someone, and she knew it wouldn't be the last.]

[iracorn]

[If Ira is startled at all, it is only for a moment before he returns the embrace, holding on to Tifa tightly. The edges of the dream start to warp a little, and behind them, Ira's damaged Heart can be seen.]

I...I know. I don't just want to dismiss that, but I do know. It's been. Hard to admit that I am struggling.

[starshower]

I know.

[When he returns the embrace, it only makes her own arms tighten their hold around him. And though she sees the dream shift, she keeps her focus on him.]

It's never easy to admit that.

[She knows it all too well herself... because it's something that Tifa struggles with every day.]

But doing it is the first step in healing, yeah?