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]

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...]

[iracorn]

For an initial go, it could honestly be worse. And our friend doesn't seem to mind.

[Though granted, any hole in the ground is going to look awkward.]

We'll make it work.

[starshower]

[Even more awkward with a reindeer trying to climb in and examine it...

But it's endearing that it's trying to help them that she can't even be upset about it potentially getting in the way. She does pick up a few planks of wood and starts by laying one along the edge.]

So first things first, we wanna line the entire thing with a base so we can build up. Best we can, anyway... You wanna start on that side?

[iracorn]

Sure.

[He'll take a few planks over, and while it takes some looking at Tifa's example, he eventually starts placing the planks.]

I'm guessing as close together as possible?

[starshower]

Yeah. Close together and then pack it in as tight as it'll go.

[She demonstrates with her own slamming it into the dirt with her foot before she kneels to start pouring it all back in around it, but not on top so that it doesn't move from side to side.]

As long as the reindeer don't start slamming their antlers into the building, this should hold.

[It's simple enough, although the corners might give them a harder time, but she gets to work alongside Ira, with the reindeer watching intently, moving around as they make their way through.]

This the first time you've ever built something like this?

[iracorn]

Yes, it is. I've had to make the odd repair but never really had to build something from scratch.

[Sometimes you have a leaky roof or an old door. Things happened in the clocktower or the town. But rarely anything major.]

Our friend seems calm enough not to do that.

[Though he smiles a bit at laying down ground rules.]

[starshower]

[With most of the foundation laid down, Tifa pauses for a breather and a look around, perching herself up on the edge of the hole to sit, not minding the snow.]

Back home, sometimes everyone in town would come together to build something. A new booth, a new shop... This kind of reminds me of that.

[iracorn]

It sounds like you have quite a community, where you're from. If you're all working together like that.

[Usually, when keyblade wielders came together, it was more to defend the town from heartless than to build anything.]

[starshower]

Honestly? It was nice.

[Tifa considers herself lucky in that regard. It took a while to become a part of that community, but when she did, she was welcomed with open arms and open hearts.]

When you've all got a common goal, or have the same hardships, it becomes easier to find something like that. I think that's why we're at least lucky to have each other here, you know?

[The reindeer looks at them, grunting a little as it kicks some more snow over the foundation.]

Even some of the animals don't mind it.

[iracorn]

I agree. It would be more difficult if we were so divided.

[And he's seen what that division can do, unfortunately. And perhaps a chill wind blows through, responding to Ira's thoughts.]

It's good to know that we have many allies to call upon.

this feels like a nice place to wrap 💖

[starshower]

Even if it is for something like building a reindeer shelter. Can't say this is what I was expecting when I got here.

[Though it isn't that she minds. The reindeer has been very amicable so far, and when it catches her looking at it, it rears its head a little as if to show off.]

Anyway. Should we get back to it? Looks like he's getting a little impatient. And it's starting to get a little cold.

[Time to get moving again!]