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

[starshower]

A full-on reindeer? [She turns to him with both shock and amusement mixed across her expression, the latter of which she tries her best to bite back. She's not laughing at him, she swears!] All I had were antlers...

[The poor guy just can't catch a break, can he?]

I'm wondering if we can lure that one over there... just so we can get a sense of how tall this thing needs to be?

[iracorn]

[Apparently not, but he takes it in stride. It wasn't all bad.]

The dream made it so, in order to compete in the games.

[Which he tried his best at and made a decent showing he felt. He could fly fairly well at least. And was strong enough to take out some robots.]

I don't think it would be too hard. I can try.

[starshower]

[At least this isn't a horde of raccoons... but one single reindeer. How bad could this go?

Tifa looks around for something to lure it with, but with all the snow, she'd be hard pressed to find some fresh grass underneath it, so...]

Guess we should just go right up and ask. See if it responds...?

[Her feet crunch as she takes a few steps forward, and the reindeer pauses in its grazing to look at them.]

[iracorn]

I'm not sure if I can speak reindeer anymore, but if you have a carrot available, that might help.

[Apples would also help, but Ira's had enough of those for a while. Still, he does his best to look non-threatening]

As long as we don't startle him, we should be fine.

[starshower]

Should've thought to bring some...

[They're working with the reindeers, after all, and making homes for them. Hindsight is twenty-twenty, of course, but she'll remember to do that for the next time she comes by to work on it. For now, they'll just have to improvise like they did with the raccoons, although this time around, it's a little less terrifying.

Maybe. Those reindeer are big.]

Won't know until we try, right?

[Tifa waves at the reindeer, and it goes back to digging its nose through the snow.]

Try calling out to it...

[iracorn]

I suppose you're right. I'll do my best.

[Though, he's not entirely sure what to say. He takes a moment to think, before approaching the reindeer as calmly as he can.

He remembers the reindeer from the games were very clever, so hopefully, that remains.]

Hello there, do you think you'd be able to help us with something?

[starshower]

[She stands at Ira's side as he calls out to it, and the reindeer's ears turn in their direction first before it lifts its head to stare at them. It's still far enough away that, if they've upset it, they could make a run for it, but it doesn't seem either interested or disinterested, or even angry that they're there.

It gives a small reindeer noise (what sounds do reindeers make?) in response, and it wriggles its head.]

I think we're getting somewhere...

[Are they? Well... best to keep the momentum going.]

We're trying to build a pen for you and your friends, but we need a little help with measuring. Think you could give us a hand?

[This feels a little silly, not gonna lie...]

[iracorn]

Well, he's not running away or charging us, so that's trending in the right direction...

[He hopes. It occurs to him that they don't really have anything to lead him back with.]

I'll try to approach him. Do you have anything to measure with?

[starshower]

[Tifa steps back—slowly—to dig through the toolbox, and with a crooked smile, she pulls out a tape measure.]

... I've got this. Not sure if it'll take kindly to it but we can try.

[At least the reindeer doesn't seem particularly aggressive, but that could change.]

[iracorn]

I don't think he'll mind. Just, don't make any sudden movements.

[But Ira will do his best to keep the reindeer distracted or at least calm.]

This shouldn't take too long.

[starshower]

Okay.

[Approach slowly, and don't make any sudden movements... She reminds herself of that again as they move in closer to the animal, and she's sure she didn't—she swears!—when it turns its body to face them. It makes her nervous, to say the least, especially when being so close makes it easier to see just how big those antlers are, but... it doesn't appear to be upset by their presence.

In fact, Tifa all but freezes when it starts trotting over to them...]

[iracorn]

[Trotting isn't charging as far as Ira is concerned, so he takes a few steps forward to greet the reindeer. Something tells him that if it had wanted to charge, it would have.]

Thank you. I think it's safe to start measuring him now.

[And Ira will gently pat the side of it's neck.]

[starshower]

Right. Steady now...

[But just as Tifa extends the measuring tape and approaches the reindeer, it moves right past her towards the piles of wood and tools they left several feet back and, pausing to look back at them as if to say "are you guys coming?" it glances over before continuing, leaving Tifa standing there bewildered as she watches.]

... What... just happened?

[When it reaches the giant planks of wood, it lowers its head and... tries to scoop up one in between its antlers...]

[iracorn]

It would appear that it wants to help.

Or at least, that's what I assume.

[He can't really think of another reason for such enthusiasm.]

It's a better reaction than the raccoons.

[starshower]

[It isn't very dextrous with those antlers—at least not in trying to lift the wood, because it tries and fails, and drops the plank into the snow before it grunts.

And... Tifa probably shouldn't laugh and earn the potential ire of the reindeer, but she can't help it. The fact that it tries to help at all is... cute, and surprisingly smart. Maybe they're magical reindeer...?]

It sure is... Should we give him a hand?

[iracorn]

I think so. He does seem to be having some difficulty.

[There's no denying it's comical, but the effort is there. So Ira heads over to help, giving the reindeer a small pat as he goes to pick up the wood.]

So, now that we know he wants to help, where do we start?

[starshower]

[Tifa also picks up a thinner piece and, as the reindeer is looking at Ira and the wood, she stands it upright and pulls a piece of chalk from her pocket to measure the reindeer and its horns, having to get on her tiptoes to reach.]

There! We got what we needed. Now, we can just chop this and double it and use the leftover wood for something else.

[No point in wasting what little resources they have. But first...]

I guess our first step would be to lay down some sort of foundation. Hmm, we'll need to start digging.

[And she wonders if they can use dreamotion magic to help with that...]

[iracorn]

[Ira doesn't really have any earth based magic. That was something Aced was always better at.]

I can go find a shovel and get started on that, unless you'd rather I chop the wood?

[starshower]

[Tifa could try, but that would mean negative emotions abound. She hasn't learned how to control her magic just yet, and it would only serve to burn a hole in the earth rather than give them a place to put the wood, but it's... worth a shot.

If Ira can balance it all out somehow. It's worked before, so why wouldn't it work again with something simpler than luring out a noctaere?]

I have an idea, but... would you be up for lending me a little bit of dreamotion magic?

[iracorn]

Certainly. I've been practicing with it a bit more. What do you need me to do?

[He's steadily been gaining proficiency and any chance to practice is a good one.]

[starshower]

My magic should get us a hole deep enough that we can start, but...

[Tifa holds out a hand and tiny embers float up into the air from her fingertips, as if to make a point.]

We don't want to burn anything, so... [She pauses to take a few steps in the snow, creating an outline of sorts to guide them.] If things start getting too hot, think you can cool it down?

[iracorn]

Shouldn't be too difficult. I've a few ice spells that will work.

[He's been working with dreamotion to make them a bit more pliable in different situations. There's a flash of light as he summons his keyblade.]

Ready when you are.

[starshower]

Alright. Hold on tight.

[The wink she gives him is the last bit of confidence she has in her expression before doubt seeps its way in. She's not sure how well this will work, but here goes nothing...

The ground begins to gently shake beneath them, and the reindeer grunts and growls as it tries to keep itself from falling over. And in a sort-of neat square in front of them, the dirt and snow starts to crack and crumble into itself, creating a hole that hot flames carve into it.

And that's where Tifa will need help, is keeping them at bay so they don't grow too big to harm either them or the ground...]

[iracorn]

[Ira catches on, holding his keyblade out in front of him to summon a Blizzaga spell. He's still working his way up to the stronger elements, but as long as things don't get too out of control, he's confident he can maintain it at least.

It takes some concentration, but he works on moving chunks of ice to the edges to keep the flames contained.]

[starshower]

[They're able to work together to make... something in the ground, at least. It isn't perfect by any means, and ends up being more of a weird, crooked square with slightly rounded corners with each side not matching the next, but...]

Well, it's a start... [she says with a laugh once she opens her eyes, and the flames start to die down.] It's... workable, I guess.

[She sounds like she only half believes that as she steps up to the hole to examine it, but the reindeer is already climbing in...]