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

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]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

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.

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.

[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.

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.

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.

[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?

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.

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?]

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.]

[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?

[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.

Your heart?

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

What makes you think that?

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.

[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...?]

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.

[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.]

[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.

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?

It is. I never understand why that first step is the hardest.

[Laughing at himself and his tendency to not follow his own advice. And maybe as the dream shifts, there's a little shaft of light that is coming through.]

But thank you.

It always is.

[And when she releases him, she gives him a little fist bump to his chest, trying to ignore the way that the dream shifts once again. She wants her focus on him, wants to keep him grounded, but she doesn't miss the light that filters through.]

But... you've got people here who're willing to help. And you know where to find them, I hope?

[Ira has been aware of the shifts in the dream, if only on a superficial level. Caught up in his own thoughts, he misses how he is often the driving force for these changes. But he is paying attention, making eye contact, and there's a small smile on his face.]

Yes, I believe I do.

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

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i think we can prob start wrapping this! 💜

Sounds good