songerein | open 🌠 you see the shadows

Entry tags:

open 🌠 you see the shadows

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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

It's fine.

[Where she would otherwise be shaky on this, she stands firm tonight. If she's being completely honest with herself, Tifa is a little afraid to go back to sleep or be alone, lest they fall into another dream of hers again... or worse, she would peer into one of his without his knowledge. It's one thing to be the dreamer, but it's a whole other to be the person who accidentally stumbles on something so personal, she can imagine, and...

She doesn't want to break that trust she's already worked so hard to earn from him.

So whether the bed is too big or too small doesn't matter, because the likelihood of her sleeping again tonight is slim.

She lingers a little longer before she takes him by the wrist and urges him to follow her into the dark room, and to the bed, where she slides up to the head of it and sits, leaving room for him to take a seat beside her.]

[When she pulls him after her, briefly he has to wonder if she realizes what she's doing to him. No, rather if this had been before anything this wouldn't be a problem. Awkward, but in a completely different sense. Right now, everything is just a bit too fresh and raw, decisions newly made.

But there isn't really time for that kind of thinking, anyway. He knows what's more important, and it's not too difficult for him to shift into a more appropriate mindset. What she needs is comfort, someone to be there for her. He can be close but still be objective.

So eventually he sits next to her, hands clasped over his knees as he looks at her.]

Do you want to talk about it?

[When the bed shifts under his added weight and she feels his shoulder bump against hers, she realizes then how little room there is on there, even just to sit. A heat crawls up her neck and her cheeks, but the darkness masks that, at least, and she curls her knees up to her chest to bury her face in. She tries to keep her voice steady, but the tension winding up tight in her stomach wavers it.]

You saw a lot, huh?

[Bringing it back to the forefront of her mind, she can feel that same burning over her scar that she remembers there being for the many days after she had woken up in Midgar, and her muscles feel tired all over again. A hand slides beneath the sides to touch it, to make sure that the wound hasn't opened as a result of the dream.]

Not really sure what else there is to talk about... Everything you saw is mostly what happened. Or what I could remember of it...

[He can feel her shifting movements, but he turns his gaze away upon seeing her hiding herself.

A number of questions come to mind, none that he would really ask as it isn't the time for it nor does it really matter. Were there any survivors? Has she been back? Who saved her? Who was the silver haired man? Who was she talking to? Who—]

Who did I replace?

[He stiffens when the question pops out of his mouth before he realizes it. He feels like a child being a hung up on such a stupid thing and he quickly tries to retract.]

Not, that's...

[FFFFFFFF.]

[Her head turns to rest on her arms crossed over herself, and she looks at him. He won't be able to see it in the dark, but a small, fond smile cracks her expression. She can hear him trying to backpedal through it, but he doesn't need to. She knows he means to ask, and what the dream did, but she still can't—or won't—figure out why.]

His name's Cloud. We grew up together.

[There is a lonely weight to her voice when she says his name. He probably doesn't need to know the details of their relationship, nor is it as important here, but... was that something that had been on his mind the entire time they were in there together? She can hardly remember what had happened in between when she fell and when she woke up in that snowy field, so did something transpire that she isn't fully aware of?

She tries to mend it all together, but gives up on that fairly quick, not wanting to find that answer. She despises not having all of the pieces of her memory...]

I don't know why...

[It's not as if he's some kind of "replacement" for Cloud. Never, in a million years would anyone be that... but Eustace... she'd be lying if she said he didn't mean something to her. She can't deny that he's special to her in some way.]

Probably just because you were nearby...?

[That's what she'll tell herself anyway.]

[Grew up together... So a childhood friend—and male. Then that promise...it would make sense, then if he made such a promise to her. And that likely meant...

He's silent for several seconds before he finally answers.]

...Perhaps. There's not a lot we know about how dreams work, but it might not be impossible. We'd have to ask if anyone has experienced the same.

...But I do find it strange how it mixed my memories with yours, and how it felt so real to me, even if there were times things felt strange.

[She'd rather not ask anyone if she can help it. If she has it her way, they'll drop this by morning, and she'll never have to think about it again.]

Dreams can be funny sometimes... Could just be part of how they work. Filling in the blanks or... whatever. Your consciousness tried really hard to find a place for you, and that's just where you ended up.

[Living next door, in Cloud's house. In his shoes. But why there...? Why not any of the other many houses in Nibelheim? Or maybe she's trying to pin too much meaning to something completely arbitrary.

Rolling her shoulders in a shrug with a tiny sniffle, she looks away again.]

Doesn't really matter... You saw what you saw, and that's that...

["That's that," she says. Eustace questions whether he should push or let it be. It's clear she's not comfortable, ready, or willing to talk about her dream...and truthfully he doesn't need to know, either. In the grand scheme of things it doesn't matter too much as what happened in the past can stay there, but sometimes they can return to rear their ugly heads. And if she has another nightmare having some understanding could help.

Yet seeing her like this, her outline a dim shadow in the moonless night, he lets it go and remains silent. If she wants to open up to him that's her choice. He can't really say much since he would be the same. And since she's not questioning about what he saw in his own memories, he won't speak about it. It would likely make things worse.

It's at these times he wishes he was more outgoing and knew how to better comfort her. So he just sighs and slips his arm around her shoulders to pull her to him for something like a hug.]

...Let's not think about this anymore and try to get some rest.

[She'd been on her way to resting herself against him when she feels the tug of his arm, and with a small, surprised gasp, Tifa's entire body falls to his, her smaller frame curled up beside him as her head finds a place on his shoulder. Any other time, this might have been just as awkward as their time in the box, or on the lake, but there's something comforting about simply knowing that he's there...

Again.

He always is, even when he doesn't need to be.]

Thank you, Eustace...

[Said through a heavy, relieved sigh. She won't be falling asleep any time soon, so Tifa lets her sleepy gaze wander to the window. After several silent moments of watching it fall, she mutters the observation out loud. No particular reason, but—]

... It's snowing again.

[Just like in the dream.]

[He glances at her, his gaze unknowingly softened. Regardless of what he ends up doing, at least he can do this much for her.]

...Do you like it? The snow.

[Tifa nods, feeling his gaze on her.

She's always liked it. Even back in Nibelheim, she loved the fresh snow—it was perfect for snow angels and snowmen, and she would never forget how all of the kids would run out no matter the hour to make sure they took advantage of it.

But more than that—]

It...

[Reminds her of him, but she swallows the words before they could ever leave her.

After that night... at her house... Tifa had spent a long time watching the snow fall. Her mind had been racing as fast as her heart was, and the only thing that eased it was the snow. Why, she had no idea, but she hadn't realized it until then that there were so many reasons why it reminded her of Eustace.

Its calm and cool air, how it was so silent but so very present. It could come down in a violent storm, or it could be gentle...

Her knees curl up closer to her chest, and he'll feel her weight shift closer as she continues to watch the snow.]

... It's nice. It calms me down.

[Feeling her relax, he starts to feel more relaxed as well. He sits back a little more, adjusting himself to be a little more comfortable.]

I feel the same.

[Of course, there's a bit of bias since had been born in it, but because of that it also makes him nostalgic and can be bittersweet at times, especially this time of year. ...Come to think of it, that day has long passed, hasn't it? He had completely forgotten about it with everything else happening and not really keeping up with the calendar—if there really is one.

He shakes the thought away as he looks down at Tifa's face, her features barely visible but he can tell she's looking out the window.

...]

Want a closer look?

Hm?

[She looks up at him then, accidentally noticing his gaze and immediately averting hers away when her breath catches in her throat.]

You mean outside? Isn't it a bit late for a walk?

[It's got to be long past midnight now.]

[His brows at her reaction before his eyes glimmer a little in amusement.

Cute.]

No... I was thinking something more like this.

[Eustace holds out his hand and it shimmers as small ice crystals form over his palm. It first coalesces into swirling sphere, and then small sparks of electricity can be seen forming inside. It spins faster and faster before he tosses it up lightly. The sphere expands before bursting upward, the crystals transforming into snowflakes as they slowly cascade down. Infused with the electricity, the sparkle in the darkness, but are harmless when make contact, at most leaving a soft little tingle.]

[She wants to reach out and touch it, but at the same time, she's too taken aback by his show of magic that she can't do much else other than watch as it spins, the electricity inside the little sphere of ice lighting up the room, but then it bursts, and her surprised gasp turns into peals of soft laughter. The snowflakes tickle when they reach her skin and, reaching up to touch one, she discovers that it's already melted away before she could.

It probably doesn't help that her face is burning hot, and it's warming up the otherwise cool air around them, but it won't be enough to harm the magic itself.

Tifa can tell that he's trying... that he's making an effort to feel better...

When all goes dark again, she turns to him and as the last remnants of the sparks fade, her gaze lingers on him—his eyes, his hands, and then down to his lips...

The thought is a fleeting one, but it comes in a single wave that hits her so hard that she almost acts on it. She feels her fingers flex in his direction, but when she feels her lids grow heavy and her lips part, she snaps herself right out of it.]

Looks like you've been practicing.

[Hearing her laugh—he never would have imagined he could feel so strongly about it. It first starts with a flutter in his chest that hitches his breath, and then it ripples all the way down to his abdomen, a ticklish feeling that refuses to immediately leave. It blanks his mind, leaves him defenseless, and in the next moment he wants to reach out and turn her face towards him, to swallow her breath and take it for himself.

It's so strong it burns, and when she turns to him for a moment it reflects in his gaze, how he stares into her own before also drifting to her lips. He had made the decision to not do anything, to keep his distance, to clear his head. He knows that they've been through a series of high tense, emotional events, events that could easily skew their thoughts, their feelings, cloud their judgment.

Rationally he knows all this. And normally he can maintain that. Yet seeing her so close, seeing her own signs that maybe...

There's a tense stretch of silence as he continues to stare down at her, the air seeming to crackle with the rising heat. But then it dims as he ducks his head away, his voice just a quiet murmur.]

...It's still not much.

[Away from the line.]

It's plenty.

[Her response comes immediately—she doesn't want him thinking that whatever he just showed her, she didn't think much of it, or she didn't appreciate it, or that it wasn't impressive. It did what he had intended for it to do, and already, she feels a little better, which is a big step up from where she was minutes ago.

But it hadn't escaped her notice the way he had stared back at her, and it was as if she had been staring straight into her own soul then. His eyes had reflected back all of the things she'd been feeling... or so she thought up until they both pulled themselves out of that moment. She could have just been imagining things, or seeing things she thought she wanted to, but it's dark, and her mind is still foggy from the dream.]

Better than what I can do.

[Tifa lifts her hand, and in her palm, a yellow lily partially blooms. Its petals shudder under the pressure of her emotions, wanting to open up more, but it remains as is, its colour fading slightly with her smile. She offers it to him anyway.]

[He's a little grateful that she's...moving on, as he's not sure if he would be able to keep his resolve if she reached out to him instead. And the flower impresses him...if also makes him internally flinch as he recalls the lily he has locked away in a drawer, the frost that had formed on its petals still coating it. But he takes the one offered to him, anyway, his touch careful.]

...It's still beautiful, and more impressive.

[And then a small pause as he examines it.]

Are these your favorite kind of flower? ...I noticed them appear before.

[On that snowy night.]

Ah...

[How embarrassing...

Tifa wishes she had a little more control over when they appear. She can make them bloom, but she can't stop them... and that's how they ended up cooked into that stir fry. She hasn't forgotten...

Noting how careful he is with it, she does perk up slightly with a sad smile.]

Don't know enough about flowers to say whether they're my favourite, but I think they're pretty. [ ... ] They make me think of friends from home.

[Of Cloud, and Aerith especially. Marlene too, who would make sure to remind Tifa to make sure that the flower had enough water to drink every morning before she started her day.]

I see.

[Reminder of home... It makes sense, and somehow it suits her image as well. Even if the one in his hand is a little pale and not fully open, the bright, yellow color matches her personality. And the ones he had seen that were open had been beautiful, promising.

With the snowflakes twinkling around them, he can see a little more of her, and in a burst of whimsy he pushes some of his own dreamotion into the flower. It turns partially white, the petals now forced open and glittering in the snowflakes that dust it before he holds it up to her hair and tucks it behind her ear.]

It suits you.

[She doesn't even get a chance to take a good look at the flower before he's tucking it behind her ear, and Tifa instinctively bows her head, feeling the cool snowflakes over the side of her face, and... in a reflex move, she leans her cheek into his hand before he can pull it away.

At a loss for words again, Tifa instead reaches up to touch his arm in thanks.

It wasn't all her, though. He was the one who made it bloom, and he was the one who gave it the white colour and the magical snowflakes...

It wasn't just her magic, it was just as much his, too...]

You helped.

[Which, the second she says it, she realizes what those words mean to her and draws back suddenly with a small laugh.]

Got any other tricks up your sleeve you haven't told me about?

[His hand falters when he feels her press against it, and he only barely manages to remove it somewhat naturally, resisting to put it back as his palm warms from where she had touched it. He is doing more than usual, expending effort and care that he normally wouldn't. But he finds he likes seeing her reactions, seeing how much what he does moves her. And how much it's helping her.]

...Depends if you still need them.

[If she still needs them? She doesn't think that she ever did... Having his company is enough to at least ease her mind and keep it off of the dream, but now it wanders back to it when her attention is suddenly dragged back.

Tifa falls silent for a moment, before she shakes her head.]

No, it's okay. You don't have to on my account.

[It's just nice to see what he can do, but expending his energy just to cheer her up isn't what she wanted from him.

She shifts away from him then, sliding further down the bed to better look out the window. The snowflakes have gotten bigger and fluffier since she first spotted them...]

Outside's doing all the magic for us anyway. Look...

[Perhaps it's her own magic at work, but there are little sparkles that look like stars glimmering among the snowflakes, as if painting a sky around them.]

[He only watches when she moves off the bed, her warmth lingering in the empty space beside him. And the way she stands at the window... He shakes off the feeling when she beckons him and he slowly joins her, standing beside her as he peers out the window.

The sight of the falling snow reminds him of how he had taken the snow for granted in the past and how after growing up he had begun to treasure it. A sight he used to see every day now reduced to only a few months sometimes weeks a year depending where he is. Yet most of those times he would be alone, lost in his thoughts, in his memories. However now...

As he glances down at Tifa in front of him, a soft smile forms, a now familiar warmth settling in. And in that same moment, the dark skies brighten in a wash of color, as if a paintbrush has swept through it. It illuminates the sky, the ripples of greens, purples, pinks, and yellows almost dancing with the snow.]

[She doesn't need to point the lights out. They're bright enough that not only would they notice them immediately, but it lights up the room and all of the snow around the tree, splashing the greens and purples and yellows across the white canvas in waves. All she can do is watch the show put on by the sky, lost in awe and bewilderment. For all of the problems this world has, and she has with this world, its magic truly is unmatchable.

When it goes all out, it's no holds barred. Every time.

It'll be silent for a while, the lights sparkling in the reflections of her widened eyes, and she catches herself casting a couple of fleeting glances his way.

Several beats of silence pass before she shifts again, stepping back so that she can swing the window open. The winter air swoops in, but it's brisk and refreshing and not at all overbearing. There's a strange, misplaced scent of flowers carried in with it, but besides that, she's too busy leaning out over the window sill to get a better look at the lights, both the coloured ones and the ones that twinkle among the snow, to care where it could have come from.

Eventually, she breathes in, and exhales with a heavy sigh, releasing as much of that heavy burden from the dream that she could into the night's air.]

What is all this?

[Surely this isn't their doing, is it?]

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