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]

[He moves her with such ease, and Tifa can feel the strength in his grip as he shifts them further up until she's on her back. Her chest rises and falls as she tries to steal back the breaths he had taken from her, as she stares up at him with reddened lips and eyes heavy with both wanting and trepidation. She can still admire how he looks above her, his hair cascading over his face and onto hers, and how his blue eyes seem to darken under the weight of a hundred reflected emotions, unknown and terrifying and exhilarating all at the same time.

She's scared, and he'll be able to see it, but when he lowers his lips back to hers again, all that fear and doubt is swept back by the electricity his touches send through her, as if he were imbuing her with his magic. It's a feeling so faraway, but it brings her back to the moment they had shared in the cave, where the smallest buds of it had started—tiny traces of this intense heat that wound itself up inside her that are now bursting through her now threadbare conviction.

She held on for as long as she could, and maybe she could have a little longer, but the way her hands skim over the planes of his back, and how his lips feel on hers... Even the sturdiest, most determined souls can come undone by it. These more instinctual urges only make her want to take more and wish that he would do the same.

She does, for as long as their bodies will allow. It's gentle, tender, slow, but she can feel the gravity of those thousand unknown emotions weighing down on them both—that need for comfort and the search for something to fill those lonely voids, but there was something else there, too. Through all of those hardships and tense moments, between those lingering stares and stretches of silence, there had been something else that had built up—it was almost carnal in nature, heated but mesmerizing... Something that needed to be resolved in a way only being this close to one another could.

And still, Tifa remains so very careful about it. It's still delicate, and whatever there is that had grown between them could still easily be broken. Even if this is just a spur of the moment, one-time thing in a pursuit of comfort, she doesn't want to break that frayed thread that still somehow held them together.

How long had passed, she has no idea, but by the end of it all, her head is filled only with him. His voice, how his name had rolled off his tongue and his from hers, the trails of heat his fingertips had left, and the sound of his breathing as she lays her head down next to his at long last, her body sheened in sweat, and her legs untangling from his to wrap up in the messy sheets.

How much longer is it that she lays in silence to catch her breath, and it's then that she catches herself admiring him again. She looks away, her lips parting to speak, but...

What in the world is she even supposed to say now?]

[flamekthunder]

[Bit by bit, moment by moment, all his original plans and thoughts are cast out that window as he loses himself to all those repressed wants and needs, that unfamiliar longing to be with someone and to fill the void taking over. He's careful at first, noticing her own fears and that initial hesitation that forms when reality starts to sink in.

But the longer they continue, the easier it is to forget all of it and just be lost in that moment. And even he, someone who can usually keep his reason, falters and finds greed the more he touches and tastes, his mouth leaving her lips to explore and take every inch of her soft, sweet skin. How he can feel the light trembles and shivers as he moves; her soft, alluring voice that hits deep into carnal instincts; the heat formed between them almost burning; and her pulse—the quick, steady beats that reaffirm that yes she's alive. It sends his mind racing to those heart stopping moments from the lake to living it through her nightmare just moments ago. He would of course fear losing anyone close to him, but it's Tifa that shook him the most. So it's this sound—the sound of her heart—that grips his own, dictates his actions, going beyond what he ever imagined or intended.

And the more she allows him in, the further he goes, lost in that need and desperation. It's such a raw, wild feeling, one he's never experienced before—one he will later regret once it's over.

With ragged breaths he stares back at her, his eyes unconsciously flicking down to see the numerous marks he's left on her, including on the scar on her chest. How at the time he had wanted to imprinted himself, that moment, this night over the pain it haunted her. But now with their heads cooling along with the air, he wonders if he went too far.

No, they did go too far. It's one thing to give physical comfort, but this... Knowing he's the older one and supposed to be more responsible and mature and the less emotionally compromised one of the two, he should have stopped it several times. Instead, he almost feels as if he had taken advantage of her, especially when he's the one who instigated it, and it sends an ill feeling to his stomach.

Yet at the same time, he can't say a part of him doesn't regret it. Not when he sees her looking at him and that little familiar flutter of amusement forms briefly. But she's likely thinking and feeling the same. Even if she had consented and their thoughts and feelings likely mutual... He's fairly certain they skipped a giant step. That step being, what in the world do they even want from each other? How far should they really be going? What should they do from here? Questions they need to answer, and answer soon, but... Have they been through enough for now? Should it wait? For how long?

And does he want to risk breaking something that seems so tenuous and fragile right now?

After the silence stretches a little longer, he slowly brings his arm around her and moves closer to her.]

I guess I did a good job if I made you speechless.

[Said in a very dry, languid, and somewhat teasing tone. They have serious matters to discuss, one that could either result in them having more moments like this or this being their last. But as his own thoughts rest heavy on his mind, he'll try to alleviate hers a little.]

[starshower]

[Well, when he calls her out so directly like that, it's no wonder she winds up choking even further on her own voice. Whatever he did, it had left Tifa feeling... different in its aftermath, and the little strength she still has left is going into trying to process it. The why's and how's, and more importantly, the what now's... They've given themselves plenty to think about, but she's still so lost in the moment—in the spell she's accidentally entangled herself in, and with the way he scoops her towards him, tucking her against his side, it makes it harder to pull herself out of it.

The question remains of whether she wants to, because the moment she does, Tifa knows that they'll have to talk about this. She's afraid of what she'll feel when she comes down from that high, and what he might say, or where it might lead after. If this is what makes or breaks their friendship, then she'll have plenty to regret, but... she doesn't find herself feeling those annoying pangs of it yet. Guilt over taking advantage of the situation to do something uncharacteristically selfish, to use him to run away from all of the heartache, even if it was for just a little while?

Those are things she'd rather not think about as she lays here, still enveloped in his warmth. The silence persists, weighing heavier on them with each second she gives herself to piece together something... Even if she might come to lament over this later, right now, her body refuses to let it go.

Once she's caught her breath, she lets out a small exhale over his skin, and this is the first time she's noticed the twinkling lights over their heads—the same ones as the little stars that lit up the air around the tree when they had watched the snow fall. Through it all, she can at least smile up at that, understanding where they'd come from now, and her voice is quiet, but pointed when she finally sighs.]

... You did something.

[Still a little speechless. That, and she still doesn't know the right thing to say given the situation.

Another pause before Tifa is lifting her head just far enough to look up at him.]

How are you feeling?

[It seemed the most appropriate thing to ask after all...that.]

[flamekthunder]

[Even if the silence persists, the fact that she hasn't pulled away from him is enough. Although a part wonders if it would have been better as it only gives certain impressions of what she could possibly want.]

Fine.

[Which is true. A little tired, sure, but otherwise he does feel fairly invigorated after it all. It's only hampered by the black cloud of questions that hang over them....

....

A black cloud that actually forms a over them, casting a shadow and obscuring the twinkling lights. Glancing up at it, he sighs.

They can't delay it any longer.]

...But I am wondering this is something you actually wanted or if I pushed you into it.

[starshower]

[She can see, through the corners of her eyes, the way the lights dim when he asks that, going dark until they've been snuffed out completely, and the air leaves Tifa's lungs as if the cloud had sucked the life out of her instead.

She should have expected it—that they would talk about it, and she wasn't going to sleep tonight without it, but so soon? She's hardly had time to process what's right in front of her, let alone what awaits them tomorrow, and all the days after that.

However, there is one thing she is sure of, that she doesn't need time for.]

You didn't push me into anything.

[She had been a willing participant as much as he had, and if anyone had pushed them further over the edge, it might as well have been Tifa. Whether she had been thinking straight when she did is another question... for later.

As for what it was she wanted...

That's a question that's harder to answer, and it's one she hopes her actions had spoken for her. Whatever that meant, and whatever feelings lay beneath those urges, there was no denying the fact that they've uncovered something much deeper. Tifa doesn't know if she can say the same for him, but... for her, at least, it had meant something.]

Did you think you did?

[flamekthunder]

[He's silent, hesitant, before he releases a soft exhale.]

In some ways. ...I can't say I acted with wholly pure intentions and you were more vulnerable and emotionally compromised. I should have had better control of myself.

[Even though he did genuinely want to comfort her, there were so many different ways he could have done so. Ways that would have been more "chaste" and not devolve in them completely losing themselves. At the same time it hadn't been wholly physical—there was a fair bit of emotion that transferred between them, unspoken messages that hint at their true wants that they still can't bring themselves so say.]

[starshower]

[Something flips in Tifa's stomach then. It's a strange mix of apprehension and anticipation, and at last, there's that hit of guilt that she had been waiting for. She wondered when it would come, and didn't think it would be so soon, but hearing him talk like that... Hearing him wish he had held it back, or kept himself in check... She wasn't much better about it, vulnerable or not, and it's just as much her fault as it is his. Her fault that he's now feeling what she can only interpret as regret...

Their fault for what, though? At the time, he seemed so sure that he wanted it, and she was certain she did too, so why is she suddenly thinking like this?

Of all the things to come out of that, it shouldn't be this.]

You didn't do anything wrong.

[Neither of them did... or so she'll try telling herself.]

I...

[Wanted it, too. That small part of her that held her gaze on him whenever he wandered too close, or that had her linger in his presence a little too long... That part had seen and felt something with him. It was at the tree, when he couldn't place her, and when he started to disappear right before her eyes... It was then that she realized that he had become someone special...

But she can't say that, can she? Because did this even mean anything? Through all the emotions that they exchanged tonight, can they say that it was anything more than just two people seeking comfort in each other?

It's probably better this way.

She breaks off the thought with a shake of her head, and rolls away from him, her head falling back against the pillow instead of his shoulder. Tifa feels as if she's imposing on him again, pressing further than she needs to.]

Me too. Both of us... but... [He's so much better with words than she is right now.] I know I was vulnerable, and there were a lot of emotions, but I think we both knew what we were getting into.

[flamekthunder]

[Her rolling away from him elicits the same sharp chill he felt when she flinched away from his hand. It's that feeling of rejection, that feeling that the distance between them is growing again despite having become so intimately close. Of course, didn't he essentially drive her away with his words? So he can only stare at her back, hoping that this place won't reveal his emotions again.

She thinks he's so great with words, but really he doesn't know how much he should say. How much he should tell her. If he should ever tell her. In the end he just resigns to himself and stays where he is.]

But I don't think we were ready for it.

["It." "This." Whatever the hell "this" is now.]

[starshower]

[It's probably better that those twinkling lights had gone out, because he can't see the way her lips turn down into a frown, or how her brows furrow together. Or how the complicated wave of shame and remorse hits so suddenly and so hard that she almost turns away then. She doesn't, and holds fast against it, trying to maintain a neutral expression as she stares up at the dark ceiling.]

I guess not, but we did...

[Her voice is even and quiet.

Whatever "this" is, she can't say it was ever going to be something they would have been ready for, or if they would have even pursued under any other circumstance or later down the line, so how could either of them have ever prepared themselves for something they didn't know was coming?

She asks this as if they had no control over themselves. They knew exactly what they were doing and did it anyway.

Which begs the question...]

Eustace. Do you...

[No. That's not right.

Now she shifts to turn to her other side, her back facing him.]

Did that mean anything to you?

[flamekthunder]

[Her question seizes him, his throat constricting as he feels the heavy implications of her question.

Did it mean anything to him?

And if it did, what?

Does he know the answer? No—does he want to admit it?

There's a long stretch of silence before he slowly starts speaking, each word carefully measured, and quiet.]

...For a while now... I've been wrestling with how I've been thinking...and feeling towards you. Especially after what happened at the lake, the thought of losing you...

[The more he speaks, the more he wavers. Things he had intended to keep closed are trying to pry themselves out. He could still keep the lid on it, but... Seeing her back, feeling that distance.

He hates it.

He doesn't know what he wants from her, from them, but he knows this much. He doesn't want that gap to widen.]

Even now I'm still trying to wrestle with it, so I can't give you a clear answer. But I can tell you this.

[Eustace finally shifts closer to her, his hand reaching out take her shoulder and pull her back to him so that she can face him. As she turns, that dark cloud will start to clear, a few of those twinkling lights returning. It's not completely gone, the uncertainty a looming shadow, but she can at least now see the sincerity in his eyes.]

It wasn't empty. Being with you... [He falters for a moment, as if trying to find the words.] It's genuine. Even if I sometimes think it would be better if I keep my distance, I can't.

[...Annnnnd now he feels a little embarrassed. Isn't this almost similar to a confession??? He ends up withdrawing a bit and muttering under his breath.]

What am I saying...

[starshower]

["It wasn't empty."

That was all she needed to know—that this night wasn't wasted on something hollow and superficial. That their actions did have some meaning, even if neither of them can figure that out.

And when he turns her over to face him again, he'll be able to see her eyes glisten again with tears underneath those sparkling lights. It's complicated, and she hopes he doesn't ask what they mean. Having to explain to him the amount of relief and shame she feels right now wouldn't come easily, and she has faith that she would only make it messier in trying, but as much as she wants to turn away from him and refuse Eustace the opportunity to ask, her eyes lock onto his upon seeing the weight of his words within them.

Which is why it's almost a relief when he shrinks back.]

Me too...

[It didn't mean nothing to her, either. She has her doubts, and reasons for thinking that this could never work, but what happened tonight—it wasn't all for nothing. She felt the gravity of it, those emotions she poured into him with every touch, and every kiss, and it was more profound than she imagined it would be when she made that move towards him.

She loses her steadiness, and the next breath she lets out is shaky as she pulls the sheets up closer to her face.]

Why's it always you... [She repeats the words again, laughing quietly to herself at how much truth there is to them, especially now.] You're always there when I'm in trouble. Always there to help fix my problems, or get me out of a pinch. It was so much easier when it was just me...

[flamekthunder]

[Me too

He doesn't realize how tense he had been until he first hears those two little words, and then it melts completely when she hides herself and laughs. His muscles relax so much he actually slumps forward, head hanging as his long bangs hide the slight smile that had unknowingly formed.]

I could say the same to you... As troublesome as you've been, I've caused you just as much grief.

[From the very first day they met, to that Halloween dreamscape, when he lost his memories, the box during Christmas— She's saved him as many times.

He slowly reaches out to touch a strand of her hair and pull it back, as if trying to reveal a little more of her face despite the sheet pulled over it. And then a question forms on his tongue, one he hesitates to ask. But it's been a question that's plagued his mind. That's made him think he needs to hold back.]

...Would you rather if I wasn't around? Or...it be someone else?

[starshower]

No.

[Her answer comes in a single breath, before he can finish asking his question.

The hair he pulls back only falls back over her eyes again, covering them as they blink back to the past, and more frustrations resurface. Different ones than what she felt coming out of the dream, but ones that she carried with her everywhere she went—even beyond the boundaries of a universe into another.

Memories of a blond-haired boy with bright blue-green eyes, who she missed more than she could put into words. It had been so long since she's seen him, and even when she had the chance to back in Camelot, she ran away from the idea of it for fear of what she might find—that he wouldn't be the Cloud that she remembered. Her Cloud.

In the process of all that running, she crashed into someone else.]

You know... [she begins, a hand reaching out to touch the side of his face, a smile warming her expression. It's a brief gesture, and it falls back to curl around the sheets again.] Back in that other world, we spent a lot of time together. We got into some weird situations, but never anything as bad, but you always had my back, just like you do here.

[When no one else did.]

[flamekthunder]

[He wishes that gesture hadn't been so brief, but her answer...

...

Truthfully he's not sure how to make of it, just like he was never sure what to make of her having memories of him in another world. Could he even think of himself as the same? So there's a slight disgruntled look as he considers the laughable idea of him getting annoyed of himself.]

So you're pulling me into trouble no matter what world we're in. Should have known.

[But then he wonders. Wonder if in that world they would have been on the same track or if things could have panned out differently. Of course neither of them knows and...really he doesn't care. He's here, not there, and the same is true for her.]

Just don't compare myself to the other one.

[...

Primals he really is getting jealous of himself what is wrong with him—]

[starshower]

[His grumbling has her brows arching at him, and it takes an extra moment for it to dawn on her what that implies, before she bursts into a short bout of giggles, covering her mouth with the blanket as if that will do anything to stop them.]

What do you mean, "the other one"? There's one you.

[He's the same person, through and through. Tifa might not have known him for very long back in Camelot, but in the time they did spend together, she's never been more sure of anything. That this Eustace and that Eustace are one in the same, with the only differences being their memories.

Although... she'd have to reconsider that... after tonight...

Still, her amusement remains, helping to lighten some of the heaviness that had lingered.]

You have nothing to worry about, I promise.

[If anything, shouldn't Camelot's Eustace be the jealous one?]

[flamekthunder]

[For all they know maybe the ones in Camelot are happily dating and planning to get married and live together!! IT DOESN'T MATTER TO HIM NO— if only

He still looks at her as if not convinced... But he also knows he's being stupid so he lets it go with a sigh, flopping down on the bed and rubbing his eyes.]

...You're the only one who can drive me this crazy and get hung up over useless things.

[starshower]

[The way he falls back against the bed only makes her smile wider, and when he's finished with his grumpy ramblings, she only lays there and watches him.]

I'm sorry.

[This is what it should be. Even if they are laying in bed next to each other, and a thousand other thoughts are running through their heads right now, this is what Tifa had wanted from the start. It feels just like how it had been back in Camelot, where she could so easily laugh in his presence, even when he was being a grouch over the most unimportant things.

How he'd frowned at her from across the bar when they made the decision to move elsewhere, mumbling all the way to that little animal café just down the road, and somehow, she managed to convince him to join her. And how he looked at her when she invited him to the movies... When she'd suggested the date to draw out that woman and how no amount of grumbling could change her mind.

It's how it should be.

Truly though, she is sorry. She never meant for this to happen... Everything leading up to tonight... Any of it.]

... I missed this.

[She says it so suddenly, after a short stretch of silence, but she doesn't backpedal, nor does she move away embarrassed. Instead, her eyes flicker up to him, watching him in the dim light.]

[flamekthunder]

[He's still ruminating over how childish he's acting and can only slightly roll his eyes at her little apology. She should be glad he thinks she's cute.

But just as he's settling back in, he hears those words and reflexively glances over at her. It's then that he realizes that they've relaxed and had fallen into more of a normal rhythm where they weren't so hyper aware of each other, not dancing around each other and trying to keep distance while at the same time wanting to be close.

So he stares at her for a moment before he rolls onto his side to face her.]

...It's been difficult.

[Being tossed in one direction and then another, hardly having any time to breathe.]

[starshower]

[He stole the words right out of her mouth.]

I never liked it... how things always were.

[Just when they thought they could move past the last incident, they would just find themselves in a new one, and it was starting to become this unbreakable cycle. No matter how much she tried to pretend things were normal, that was always just out of her reach every time. They are both partly to blame for that, but how much of it can they put on them when it's this world that keeps finding new ways to keep them on their toes, so to speak?]

Promise me something?

[She turns on her side so that they're fully facing each other now, so she hopes he can sense the magnitude of her wish.]

That things will be normal tomorrow. We can figure the rest out, but we can't keep doing that.

[flamekthunder]

[He stares at her for a moment before his gaze softens.]

...It's hard to run away and ignore things now.

[A small exhale as he reaches over and pulls her to him.]

There are a lot of things we'll need to discuss, but... I'm tired, and I know this is what I want right now.

[Just. Holding her. Nothing more, nothing less. To feel her warmth against his, to know she'll be right there. Is this something he'll want more of the in future? ...Probably. And maybe they've already figured out that this is what they want. But this isn't the right time to decide, not with everything still raw and confusing.

And even if for some reason things don't work out, at least they had this chance. Chance to give in and be honest with each other. A chance to be selfish in their wants.]

[starshower]

[The way he gathers her against him again and holds her—that feels like a promise to her.

And it feels... nice. To lie there next to him and just... be. She can't remember the last time she's felt like this, or if she ever has. It's different, but it's calming. Whatever comes of this tomorrow, she'll at least take this for what it is. She'll accept his comfort, and return it in kind, because in the end, that was what this was all about, right? Everything else was just a surprise.

She buries her face into his chest and closes her eyes, amazed at how quickly she feels the sleep come over her, even when she had been so afraid of it before. Even if the nightmares do come back, Tifa can sleep soundly knowing that he'll be there should she wake up in fear, or if she needs to be saved again. The same would go for him too, if it ever came to it, but she prays it never will.

No matter what happens, he'll be there in the morning, and nothing will change this time.

Her arms slide around him and squeeze.]

Thanks again, Eustace... for getting me out of there.

[And before she can say goodnight, she dozes off into the deepest, dreamless sleep she's had in a while that it feels like a blink before sunrise.

...




Is that... barking?]

[flamekthunder]

[He smiles softly against her hair, lips lightly pressing against it as he murmurs just loud enough for her to hear.]

Always.

[He's always been loyal, but when it comes to her, he feels it even more strongly. So strong that he can't help but hold her a little tighter as she drifts to sleep, and it's not long after that he follows.



And he would be the first to rustle awake as the barking grows louder before he feels something wet and cold touch the back of his shoulders. It's enough to make him jerk slightly and then click his tongue when he remembers he has Tifa in his arms.]

...Dammit I should have locked the door...

[But it's too late. The bed is surrounded with some hopping up to Tifa's side to bark oh so happily and hungrily while nudging her. One is even going to jump onto the end of the bed, not caring that it's already full enough as it is.

Are they not even going to have a sweet morning cuddle???]

[starshower]

[No morning cuddles, apparently. Only cuddles with dogs.

The barking isn't what wakes her up, nor is it Eustace stirring, but something warm and wet at her ear, and then on her face, and over her nose—

She swats at it, but the dog just comes right back with double the enthusiasm until Tifa finally opens her eyes and lifts her head to see what's going on... Only to find several corgis staring down at her and Eustace. She's so sleepy that it takes her a moment to fully realize what's happening, and by then, most of the dogs have hopped up that they're surrounded and crowded.

So crowded that Tifa has no choice but to shift closer to Eustace, and she wipes the slobber from her face.]

Is this what they do for breakfast every morning?

[Or did they just sleep in so late that they got impatient?]

[flamekthunder]

Usually it's not all of them...

[A low grumble as he holds Tifa closer to him, as if not wanting to share her with the dogs, before he swats at them.]

Enough, already! We get it! Cadoc, get 'em out of here.

[Of the two or three not on the bed, the one that had stayed by the door and just kind of side eyeing everything stands and gives a sharp bark. The dogs on the bed grumble and then hop off after another bark. They just want food! And to share love! Grumble whine as they slowly shuffle out.]

[starshower]

[As much as she'd like to stay here a little longer, wrapped up in the warmth and comfort, she watches after the dogs as, one by one, they leave the room.]

... Shouldn't we get them their food?

[How does it work in this household anyway? This is the first time she's been here before breakfast... for all of them. Should she get up and make some for them too?

Maybe a few more minutes, and her arms squeeze around him a little tighter again, the blush on her face more visible now that the sunrise and clear blue skies are filtering through the window. Part of it feels wrong to want to stay, and to be so close—she knows that after this, it'll be as if this never happened, and she should be fine with that. Neither of them agreed to anything... But that other, more selfish part doesn't want to let it go...]