open 🌠 you see the shadows

[starshower]

Who: Tifa Lockhart & you!
Which: Open log + interactive dream
Where: Around Reverein, Mount Nibel
What: Mount Nibel Incident dream, and a couple of dream board postings.
Warnings: N/A for now



✨ i. "the day mom died..." — interactive dream

[There's a winding, rocky path overlooking the town of Nibelheim below, but where it should be clear, the mountain the path leads up is shrouded in a fog that only grows thicker with each passing moment, with what the eyes can see morphing and twisting in and out of view, almost as if the entire landscape isn't sure what it should be. There's an unshakable sound of static in the air, and a rumbling underfoot that isn't too threatening, but it's noticeable enough that it makes itself known.

On one ledge of the path up the mountain are four children. Three boys, whose faces fade in and out of clarity, and a girl with long, dark-brown hair, all looking up at the mountain as they talk, but their words are cut out by the static.]

"Mt. Nibel is scary. Many people have—there."

"—one crosses that—alive."

[The girl turns to face them all, revealing a much younger Tifa, not a day older than nine-years.]

"How about—died? Did—pass through—?" [Tifa wanders past the boys watching her, up the path.] "I'm—"

[Two boys follow while one runs the other way, threatening to bump into any dreamwalkers as he rushes back in the direction of the town. If Tifa is followed, they'll reach a bridge that she crosses fearlessly and without a word, but like the rest of the mountain, it fades in and out of view as well. There, the two boys who remain rush off, leaving Tifa to venture up the rest of the mountain alone.

...

But they stop upon seeing someone new. Someone who might be able to help?]

"Please, you have to stop her! It's dangerous up there! We're going to go back down and get Mister Lockhart."

[And off they go together without another word.]


** ( ooc: Because Tifa doesn't remember this event in full, I fully encourage anyone to have your character influence the setting as much or as little as you'd like! )

✨ ii. freeloading reindeer

[Having done some work on the communal gardens already, Tifa's grown handy with a hammer and nails. Not that she wasn't already proficient enough, but there's a difference between fixer-uppers around a bar that she knew like the back of her hand and building wooden flowerbeds and fences, and the latter has allowed her to at least learn some proper techniques in woodworking. Hell, she's even started learning how to sand and polish, so something like this should be a piece of cake.]

There. I think that's the last of it.

[She'd been hauling wood around all morning, the large planks thrown over her shoulder before she sets them down out in the middle of the farm where there's plenty of room to build out. It's nothing but a pile of wood and a bag of tools, and whoever else has come all the way out here with her, and around them, the reindeer will be grazing and curiously watching from afar, still not sure if it's safe to approach.]

So, it was a new stable for them and a fence, right? Gotta say, biggest thing I've ever built was a flowerbed so this'll be new to me.

✨ iii. new year's noctaere

[It is a little terrifying going up against the Noctaere, especially when she knows little of what to expect upon entering the dreamscape, but Tifa was never one to sit back or sit still for very long. Not when there were threats that needed to be taken care of. She might not be the most experienced partner in the dreamscapes, with her skills in dreamotion magic leaving plenty to be desired, but she can pack a punch when needed, and it has come in helpful in a lot of cases.

That isn't to say she's completely useless at magic, but she'd prefer to let her fists and feet do the talking if it came down to it. Which it will.

And just before stumbling into the dreamscape, she looks over to whoever has volunteered for the job with her, and gives a firm nod.]

You ready?

** ( ooc: if you have a preference for the dreamscape, then please let me know in the subject line! Otherwise, I'll randomize which one we end up getting! )

✨ iv. wildcard

[None of these prompts work? You know the wildcard drill! Feel free to leave something else below, or contact me via PM or @ crystariums if you'd like to plot out something! Tifa can be frequently found at the communal gardens, at the edges of the forest training, and just in general wandering around Reverein, so she's easy to bump into. Also okay with any of the dream board postings!]

Comments

closed to eustace — joint dream

[starshower]

[Whether Eustace likes it or not, Tifa has and still does show up at the corgi's house on occasion to help with cleaning. With that many dogs, it's no mystery how it gets to be so dusty so quickly—their hair sticks to everything, and even she never manages to go home without plenty of it clinging to her clothes, but they've lived in such poor conditions for so long that she can't imagine it would have been healthy for their little bodies! And so here she is again, having just finished cleaning the bathroom after bath time, not realizing how late it's gotten.

And after that dream she had only a night ago, it's best that she finds something to occupy her mind. She still has no idea where it came from or what it meant, but it had felt both so real and so far away that she can't be sure.

...

Anyway. How many dogs did they end up washing today anyway that it's now pitch-black outside?

Peering out the window, she runs a towel over her arms to dry herself off, and she watches Eustace's reflection in the glass.

She's kept herself at a respectable distance since they returned from the dreamscape. The awkwardness has dulled once more, as it tends to do, but the last thing she wants is to turn whatever little sense of normalcy they still have on its back again by triggering another unfortunate event. None of it has ever been either of their faults, granted, but this dream world did have a knack for finding a way.

So, physical distance is maintained, even as she finally turns around to look at him across the room with a lopsided smile.]

Jeeze, what time is it? No idea when I lost track...

[If either of them look at the clock, it'll be almost midnight. Oops.]

[flamekthunder]

[After everything that happened last month, he still feels a bit...tense whenever Tifa is around, feeling like he has to warily look out the window or over his head for the first few minutes she's there. But the awkwardness eventually passes and he'll go about his own business. And despite that awkwardness, he does appreciate Tifa's assistance in helping with the dogs and clearing out the tree. It's been such a mess for so long that while he had made headway on his own, he can only do so much on his own and the little floofs a very convincing distraction. But at least now they can go outside...which only creates more distraction as he ends up spending more time outside the tree than in.

So it's no wonder that they're getting dirtier.

After washing out the tub, he glances over at Tifa and then to the window.]

...Too late for you to head back on your own.

[Not discounting her abilities or anything, but even though they're in a safer part of the forest, natural predators will still pass through and with all the snow and him not having created a proper trail yet between the town and the tree, it's only natural to be concerned.]

After we finish up here I'll walk you back.

[Normally he'd just stay over if he found himself in such a situation, but he's assuming Tifa would want the comforts of her own home. And despite the distance still between them, he's not going to be so callous to send her out.

However, as if understanding his idea, well intended as it is, one of the corgis that had been hanging around starts to grumble as if against it.]

[starshower]

[They haven't even finished cleaning yet... Right. There are still dog toys strewn about, and the floor in the bathroom still needs to be scrubbed, and by the time all that gets done... Tifa looks to the clock again, and then to one of the corgis who whines out loud at the pair of them.]

It'll be at least another half hour by the time we're finished. And then the walk back. It's fine.

[It's not like she lives that close. She wouldn't make him walk back with her in the first place, but... looking outside, it still looks a bit cold. Not to mention dark. There's a silence that follows, broken by a sigh from her.]

It's already so late. We can finish up in the morning...

[Tifa makes the implications of that known in her voice, but she would understand why he would say no to such a thing. As if to answer for him, the same dog barks his fervent approval. Let the pretty lady stay!]

I don't mind. Besides, I don't want to leave you to clean all of this up when I helped make part of it.

ii

[iracorn]

It's a bit more than I've ever built as well, so I'm at your disposal.

I think I can probably manage a fence though.

[They don't look too difficult after all. But Ira's willing to try, and if all else fails, he has magic to fall back on.]

[starshower]

Hmmm. Yeah, we might need some more hands in for the stable, but we should at least figure out how big it should be before we start, yeah?

[No sense in building a fence if the stable isn't even going to fit inside the enclosure... So, she starts looking around, her eyes stopping on one of the reindeer grazing at a patch of grass through the snow.]

I wonder if we could convince one of them to help us measure it out. I've never met a reindeer before, so I wouldn't know the first thing about how much space they'll need.

[It's a long-shot, but the animals here have responded to them before, so it's worth a try?]

III

[fishflakes]

[Toge's not super well-versed in dreamotion magic himself, still practicing what little he knows and testing its boundaries with his own natural abilities. But he's well-versed in combat and fighting, and knows a thing or two about fighting supernatural beings. He's a semi-grade 1 jujutsu sorcerer for a reason. Some noctrae should be easy to handle.]

[He looks to Tifa and nods, hands fiddling with his collar.]

Salmon.

[He was ready to go when she was!]

[starshower]

[However this dreamscape magic works, and however they get thrust into it, Tifa has no idea, but one second, she's closing her eyes with her lantern in her hand, and the next—

Her balance is giving out from underneath her, and she's being splashed with a wave of water as what appears to be a massive ship tips one way, and then the other. Her only (very brief) respite is the flash of lightning that disappears as quickly as it had come, and that hardly is one, but it gives her enough light to see what exactly is going on.

She and Toge have been separated by the deck of a boat covered in water, as the violent storm around them rocks the sea from under it.]

Toge—!?

[She tries to call out through all of the rumbling and splashing, but her voice will hardly be heard over it all.]

II

[seemagicshit]

That's better than me. I haven't even built that much before.

[He grumbled at the beginning, having to remove the many rings he liked to wear, but he understood that it was necessary in this kind of work.

He doesn't even care that he has to learn what to do from someone else. At least Tifa's capable.]

So...how do we even start?

[starshower]

Well...

[Perhaps it would have been best to call on someone else who was more experienced with these sorts of things, but she's confident that between the two of them, they'll figure it out. Eventually. They've managed to get themselves out of dire straits before, and this isn't even dire.]

We'll need to figure out how big we want the stable to be, and work out from there. That's my guess, anyway. ... I've just never met a reindeer until now, so how big...

[Looking out to the field, she does spot one nearby, standing very still as it makes eye contact with her and watches them.]

... They're not dangerous, are they?

i

[oathkeeper]

[When Sora "wakes" inside of this dream he feels the whip of high mountain air on his cheeks as real as a waking day. The rocks crunch under his feet and the airy chill from the altitude is hard on his lungs for a moment as he tries to adjust. He blinks and brushes the hair our of his eyes before he looks up the stony path where there seems to be a rickety wooden bridge up ahead.

The rush of dreamy figures pass him, kids, as they garble about someone who has gone ahead...]

Her? What do you mean her...?!

[Sora looks up but when he turns back to the boys they're mysteriously gone like they were never there in the first place.]

Lockhart- Wait. They don't mean?! Tifa?!

[That is all Sora has to come to understand before he darts up the path at a sprint. Looking for wherever the dreaming girl might be.]

[starshower]

[He'll find her almost halfway across the bridge by the time he gets there, and if he so much as blinks, it will disappear from under her feet, only to reappear again and repeat the cycle each time. As for her, she's slowed her pace slightly, her gaze turned up at the sky rather than the fog down below that's so thick they can no longer see the town through it.

And when she hears footsteps, she turns around to face him, her tiny face scared and covered with tears.]

Mom?

i

[brokenlight]

[It's cold.

That's the first thing that registers in Ventus' mind when he arrives in this dream. At first, he's a bit taken back but then two kids run into him and he's just confused.]

Who--

[But that's not important.

The kids--real or not--seemed panicked and that's enough for Ventus to start moving. He doesn't know who this 'Lockhart' is or his connection with this missing girl, but it's fine. All Ventus knows is that someone seems to be in danger, prompting him to rush ahead to find her.]

[starshower]

[The moment that Ventus registers how cold it is, he'll feel an even sharper bite of the chilly mountain air, as if the thought alone was enough to bring in a winter front. Where there wasn't snow before, and it starts to flutter down lightly, but... there is a wind that's starting to pick up as well.

A wind that's strong enough to sway the bridge that Tifa stands at, her toes barely on the first piece of tattered wood, and her small hands gripping the posts on either side of her that hold the ropes. The bridge creaks and groans in front of her, but she finds herself frozen on the spot.

And when she hears footprints, she turns around.]

Who's there!?

iii

[tantailizing]

[Dreamotion might come easy to him, but it was also... a lot. At the very least, his own abilities were at his disposal, but getting more practice with the other skills he could draw upon would be a good idea and worth having with stronger noctaere likely to come up. Anything like that bear again, he had to be ready.]

[At Tifa's question, he puts on a grin and nods.]

Yeah, let's do this!

[No matter what happens, he's going in with confidence.]

[starshower]

[There's that familiar jolt that still surprises her every time that it happens when they're pulled into the dream world, and soon enough, they'll find themselves standing somewhere dark and cold. It'll take a few extra seconds for her eyes to adjust to the sudden change, but when they do, she can make out walls all around them. Jagged, rocky walls that are wide on either side and stretch high above them.]

Zidane?

[The echo of her voice is louder than she anticipated that it startles her, and when she steps around to search, she bumps right into him.]

Sorry—! Ugh, we need some light... If we can find something to hold a fire, I might be able to make us a torch...

III, the desert

[zephyrean]

[Law was born in and spent most of his childhood in an environment not entirely unlike the scorching hot desert they found themselves, so he was holding up better than most would be right about now.]

Ready to get out of this place, maybe.

[But... it didn't mean he was happy about it. Calaglia was a hellscape in more ways than way, and being anywhere even remotely like it didn't make him the happiest camper.

But if they were going to get this over with, they had to deal with whatever was causing it. He knew that going in, and he wanted to help.

He does a few stretches, making sure his arms and legs are good and limber in case they have a tough opponent, and then tightens up his gauntlets. Then he looks over at Tifa and flashes her a grin.]

Let's do this.

[starshower]

[Tifa, on the other hand, has had zero experience with a place like this. Nibelheim was a mountainous town, and Midgar had its own special type of environment, so the moment they land in the middle of the desert, she's at a complete loss. Although she knows this is nothing more than a dreamscape, the sun directly over their heads bears down on her with its intense heat, and she can already feel herself breaking a sweat.

Not that it will deter her from the mission they came here on, but it's certainly jarring for anyone, especially a first timer. At least one of them looks more prepared, and it's not her.]

I don't even know where to start...

[There's nothing around them. Just sand, sand, and more sand as far as her eyes can see.]

Think whatever it is, it'll be hiding underground?

iii - i know what i said in chat but

[darkcharge]

[ Vanitas still isn't the sort of person that goes around saving people for the sake of it. He's not that good natured. He doesn't really care about things like that. Still doesn't care about a mountain of people like that. However, he does recognize the fact that Tifa is going to go off and chase this creature and she isn't terrible to be around...

And quite frankly speaking he has his own reason for going and seeing what this one will be like. Vanitas seems to soak in the negativity and all those icky feelings so having him along would be an advantage, right?

Right? ]

If I wasn't ready... I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be standing here.

[ He gives a little bow and gestures towards the dreamscape proper. ]

Ladies first.

🌊⚓

[starshower]

[She waves a finger at him with a grin.]

Point taken.

[And leads the way. Nothing could have prepared her for what comes next, though. A jolt, a loud CRACK! of wood, with a blast of cold wind and even colder mist that follows. When they said they needed someone to take care of these noctaere, she expected something simpler, like another dark forest or a haunted fun house again. Not... the cabin of a rocking ship in the middle of what is unmistakably a violent storm outside.

There is no light, with all of the lanterns being snuffed out, and so she can only use her voice to find him.]

Vanitas? Are you okay?

i

[indolentaxe]

[The dream is patchy and incomplete, and the landscape is entirely alien to her. Hilda realizes rather quickly that this isn't her dream--she's been pulled into someone else's. She notices the children ascending and feels compelled to follow. As she gets close and the girl doubles-down on her intentions, Hilda recognizes her almost immediately--it's a younger version of Tifa, who she's only recently met.

The first boy that leaves runs past her entirely, and Hilda continues following and gaining ground on the trio. Eventually, the remaining two boys stop tagging along and take their leave, stopping to beg for her help. For the briefest of moments, Hilda sees younger versions of Balthus and her brother Holst in their faces.

It's dangerous up there! Hilda's own memories start filling in the patches of the incomplete landscape, replacing the rocky landscape with that of a forest. When she was Tifa's age, she and Holst and Balthus went walking in the woods and were descended upon by a monster. Holst and Balthus did everything they could to protect her that day, and now it's time for her to pay that deed forward.]

Go back to town. I've got her.

[The boys nod, clearly relieved, and continue their run downward as Hilda endeavors to catch up with Tifa and make sure no harm comes to her. She draws her axe, making sure she's ready in case there are monsters here, too.]

[starshower]

[Whether she's noticed the change in scenery or not, Tifa pays it no further attention. Her focus, instead, is fixed on the bridge underneath her feet that continues to blink in and out of Hilda's view, while the girl doesn't seem to notice. To her, it's there. It's always been there. She'd been caught several times talking about crossing the bridge, and her mother would scold her about how dangerous it was and beg her to stop thinking about it.

But just like the rest of the scenery, there are plenty of blanks to be filled.

She's having troubles taking the next step across the bridge, the few pieces of wood looking weaker than the others, but... she's come this far to find mom. She isn't about to stop there.

And as she takes a single step forward, that piece of wood snaps under her feet, and her shriek echoes through the mountains and over the trees as she wraps her arms around the ropes for dear life.]

I'm not scared... I'm not scared!

I

[luciing]

[ Whatever setting a dream may have, it seems the uncanniness of a large, autonomous suit of armor is par for the course. Bizarreness goes uncommented and unquestioned by the two boys, and they scurry off into the periphery of the vision. This leaves the silent would-be statue to stand and stare along the winding way the young girl has taken.

He begins to walk the same path up the mountain, leaving heavy sabaton-imprints into the earth as he steps. Wherever and however he may find her, he announces thus: ]

Hail, young Lockhart.

[starshower]

[She's at the edge of the bridge, her toes just barely hanging over the edge of the rocky path when she hears the voice and, upon turning around to see who it is, about ready to shout that she doesn't need any more distractions or criticism, tears immediately form in the corners of her eyes and she shrieks. She can't recognize the suit of armour, and it's jarring to say the least—not something she was expecting to see when she spun to face him.

And so she stumbles backwards, afraid, and Tifa can feel the ground slip from under her feet. She screams, and the world around them shakes as she grabs on for something—anything—before she falls to the foggy depths below. There's a rope she clutches onto on the bridge, but it sways in the wind as she holds on for dear life.]

Help...!

i. he's just gonna play dad to everyone

[heseesonlyher]

[Nier has yet to experience anything like this. This... sharing of dreams with another. He certainly wouldn't be interested in sharing his dreams with anyone else either if he has any power over it. Not because he has anything to be completely ashamed about (except his poor parenting), but because that's admittedly a part of him that he just doesn't want to share a lot of. Maybe... if the way it all ended was different.

Regardless, nothing about this current situation is affected by the thoughts of his own dream, except that every so often as he's following after some kids who look far too young to be exploring the rocky terrain of a mountain on their own, he's almost certain things flicker in and out of view. Things that probably shouldn't exist there. Things that feel, or almost look familiar to him.

...His own thoughts, perhaps, affecting this place he's found himself in? He'll have so many questions for Kainé and Nier the next time he sees them both.

"Please, you have to stop her!"

That's not something hard for him to get himself involved in. He's hardly gotten a particularly good look at any of these children, but they can't be much older than a Yonah in her younger years. It'd be silly to think that his fatherly instincts aren't immediately going to spring up. He lifts a hand in an attempt to be as reassuring as possible, though he suspects that a man looking as barbaric as he does may not be the most welcoming sight.

...Even if he is here for good intentions.]

Don't worry about it. I'll go get her.

[Just like that, they're down the way they came and Nier continues along to trail after a young, very determined Tifa. When he manages to get within earshot of her, he raises his voice over the relatively cooler temperature of the mountain's ascent.]

Hey, kid, wait up! You shouldn't be up here!

[He isn't fully certain of why, but it can't be good for a girl her age to be misadventuring here.]

[starshower]

[By the time he reaches her, she'll be almost to the other end of the bridge, but her fear is getting the better of her now that she's gotten this far. There's no way she could turn back, but rushing forward would be dangerous, too. His voice calling out to her is enough to startle Tifa, and the bridge sways and blurs in a wind that seems to come out of nowhere, and so suddenly, and she wobbles on her feet trying to stay upright, gripping onto the ropes on either side of her for dear life.

It's dad... isn't it? The boys went down to get him, and now he's come up to scold her again for being reckless...]

Go away!

[She shouts back but doesn't turn around to face him. She can't face him.]

Mom's not gone! You're lying, and I'm going to prove it!

[If she could just take another step...]