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!]

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Okay...

[Slowly, but surely, they make their way across. Solid as this bridge is now, she's still nervous about it giving way underneath them. Even the lack of sway from the wind puts her on edge—there's always a wind up here, so high up in the mountains that not having one... it's so, so wrong.

And for a moment—the briefest moment—there's a flicker of something ahead of them. As if the thick fog somehow gives way to reveal another one behind it and like it's reaching in to pluck from Sora's subconscious, it will be one that he might recognize. It's dark, and ominous clouds roll in overhead, and jutting out from the ground stands countless numbers of keyblades. Hundreds and hundreds...

But the image is shrouded behind the thick fog once more, but this time, there is no more light beyond it, and the moon no longer illuminates their path. Instead, it's dark, almost pitch black, except for a strange blueish glow, where Tifa can only make out the outline of Sora's shadow, despite him standing at her side.

Her hand grips his tighter, and she calls out.]

... Mom?

[There's no answer, but her voice echoes uncharacteristically loud.]

[The echo of nothingness is what hits Sora first. Then it's the fog that seems to screen across him. Making him shiver and look around like he's suddenly a small child lost too.]

Where are we?

[Sora's hand tightens around Tifa's small one. When the fog clears enough to see the expanse of wasteland and desert to reveal a seemingly endless stretch of keyblades a rock drops in Sora's stomach. He knows this place. This harrowing place where hundreds or thousands of nameless keyblades litter the way. Keyblades that used to belong to people. But ... Who?

... Why is here?]

No... No. This place is...

[The Keyblade Graveyard. Sora has only seen it once before. Or in figments of his dreams that repeat over and over. But those spots in his memory are littered with Sora's fears.]

[Tifa has never seen anything like it. Even with the heavy fog still lingering over it, she can tell—this isn't supposed to be here. She can see the outlines of the things coming up from the ground, but they're unlike anything she's ever seen before. Not quite swords, but not anything else that she recognizes, no matter how hard she tries to parse it. No matter how hard she tries, she can't find that memory.

So, this must be...]

Sora?

[She can feel his hand tightening around hers, and Tifa lifts her other one to place over his.]

You know this place, don't you? Because I can't remember it...

[...]

But it's okay, as long as we keep going together, nothing can hurt us.

[Sora feels some dryness in his mouth. He struggles to swallow a breath back as he stares intently at the rows upon rows of dead keyblades. It makes a severe chill rush up his spine and he feels ... scared.

But this is a dream. How is one of his own memories starting to creep up on him in a dream like this? This is Tifa's dream of finding her mother, her desperation in that. But maybe it's reflecting some of Sora's memories as well?]

Yeah. That's right. Nothing can hurt us here...

[Sora looks down at her with a small soft smile on his face.]

We've gotta be strong together to face things that are scary. Right? Things like losing people or feeling lost... It's easier when we're not alone.

Yeah...

[Though there's a strange feeling that pokes at the back of Tifa's mind... trying to break its way out. Something that tells her that there's something very, very off about this new landscape, and Sora's presence within the dream. It's that same feeling she had back at the other end of the bridge, but she tries not to think on it too hard, and nods at Sora with a ghost of a smile.

They have to keep going if she's going to find her mom.

And off in the horizon, beyond the field of hundreds of keyblades, the sun begins to peek out, and Tifa has to blink the light out of her eyes as she pulls him forward, through the graveyard.]

Don't be scared. We're going to go over there, where mom is.

[And so, they walk together, hand in hand, side by side, and at some point, Tifa peers up at him through concerned red eyes.]

How did you find your way here?

Yeah. Let's go.

[But there is a matching uneasiness in Sora now. One that he doesn't know how to swallow back. Being here again, even in some strange swirl of a dream mixed with hers, is harrowing. This is the place where so much about his life changed. Where so many lives changed. He still doesn't understand it all. Why does he keep seeing someone's face in the back of his mind for it...

As they walk their shoes crunch the rocks under their feet so real and loud that it doesn't really feel like a dream.]

How did I find my way here?

[He looks down at her with a small smile on his face.]

I don't know. One second I was falling asleep and the next thing I knew I was here. And this place? This place is dangerous and it has some weird secrets about it. I had to save some of my friends from this place once.

Falling asleep?

[Tifa's head tips with curiosity as she stares up at him, her brow furrowing with a frown.]

But if you fell asleep, and woke up here... did someone bring you here?

[Unfortunately for both of them, this version of Tifa is unaware that she's caught in a nightmare, even if she's had this numerous times before. But maybe that would explain why his presence felt so... strange.]

[Sora blinks and then stops so he can drop to a knee and come to her level.]

Tifa, this is probably weird to hear but I'm inside your dream right now.

[He isn't sure how that will affect her surroundings or her thoughts on this place. But he thinks it's important that she knows that somehow this is happening.]

Do you remember Reverein? The town we came from? We all travel dreams together. So I think this place is your dream and it's starting to pick up in my memories too.

[Reverein? Traveling dreams? His memories?

The confusion is potent all over Tifa's expression—her grimace is deep, lips pressed into a thin line, and she looks like she's trying with all her might to hold back frustrated tears. Not at Sora, but... that would explain why none of this felt right. Deep down, she knew something was wrong. She thought she could find her mom, but if this is just a dream...]

My dream?

[The ground starts to shake and crumble underneath them, the earth swallowing up the many keyblades that stand from it, and all of it starts at its center—right under Tifa's feet. It starts to close in on them quickly, and she doesn't know what to do but stand there and watch it in terror...

Watch as everything she thought she should have known begins to collapse around her when the dream begins its attempt to correct itself. This isn't how it was supposed to go. This wasn't how it happened, was it?]

This is wrong...

Tifa!

[No-! This is bad! As the earth rumbles and crumbles Sora almost loses his balance. The sheer tremors of earthquakes starting to uplift keyblades and stones.

Sora quickly reaches out to Tifa and pulls her into a hug. He tries to let his own sense of hope seep in, somehow, even if this is all a dream...]

Don't let go of the memory! If you wanted to see your mom! If there was one thing you could say to her, right now! What would say?!

[Make it real in this dream!!]

[She gasps quietly when she's pulled into the hug, and she can feel the tears burning her eyes that she has no choice but to screw them shut in fear, and she begins to sob against him. All of that only makes the tremors worse, fire and lava spewing up from the cracks that form around them until all they're left with is the smallest platform, only enough ground for both their feet to remain on solid ground.

Tifa can barely hear his words over the sound of the cracks and crumbles, but they still resonate with her all the same, because as soon as she hears them, everything starts to slow and steady, the quakes only a small rock under their feet.]

What would I say?

[She tries to imagine what her mom looks like, what her voice sounds like, but even that feels like a distant memory. And when Tifa next speaks, Sora will hear the voice that he's familiar with—that of a grown woman.]

I'd tell her how much I miss her. All the things that happened after she left.

[He only holds her closer and tightly when she starts to sob. Letting the dream world tremble and shake with lava and fire. No matter how much the world starts to crumble he won't let go of her small frame, even if they both go toppling over. Even as everything grows louder and rocky around them. But he keeps them still, ground and here.]

You know, no matter where she is right now, even if she's not here with us anymore, she can still hear you.

[Sora shuts his eyes and tries to will some of that hope.]

I think she would know how much you miss her. And she'd be so proud of you for who you are now too. And proud of what you're gonna do next. There's so much you've gotta do.

[There's a shimmer between his arms, a warm light reminiscent of what he may have felt before around her, and in an instant, she's taller, her frame not so small to fit in his arms anymore and rather, Tifa is the one holding him tight now, and she leans down so that she can bury her sobs into his shoulder.

And now, she feels silly. Stupid for getting so caught up in her nightmare that she hadn't even realized she had a friend to guide her the whole time. That she had given him a glimpse into this strange memory that had plagued her since shew as a girl—one that she could never fully piece together and still can't, and he had been to suffer through it with her. That's a burden she wouldn't wish on anyone, even her worst enemy.]

Sora...

[She may be her older, more present self again, but her voice is so small and afraid, and brimming with shame and guilt.]

I'm sorry.

[In a flash the dream seems to change again. Flickering back to something like a normal reality. She's here and she's herself again and Sora is sure to hug her back with just as much encouragement as he can muster.]

It's okay. Everything's going to be alright.

[Dealing with loss and trying to move on from something that felt so short. Childhoods are complicated. He misses so many people too but for their light, they've got to keep looking forward.]

I didn't mean to drag you into this.

[She didn't mean to drag herself into this, but alas... She recalls now that she's had this dream multiple times, all with different outcomes, but there was one thing that never changed between them, and it was that whoever had stumbled in had been able to help her, and some had even been forced to face something they would rather not have either.

In the corners of her eyes, she can see the dream beginning to shift, but much of the ruins they're standing in remains. Her arms only tighten the hug around him.]

What's all this?

[She's only ever seen weapons like those once.]

It's okay, sometimes dealing with this stuff is easier when you have a friend.

[While he knows that Tifa might not remember or even be the same Tifa he knows from home he's not about to abandon her in those feelings. Not a chance.

But then he loosens his hug and looks around at the remaining ruins around them. The crumbled ground and dusty air make Sora feel tense. The collection of keyblades that are protruding from the ground in droves gleam under a suddenly hot sun.]

It's ... Uh. It's a graveyard.

[That makes something feel heavy in his chest.]

A long time ago when darkness and light clashed a lot of people... were lost. [...] But this is just a memory, right?

[When she pulls back and frees him, her hands still rest on his shoulders. She doesn't look around, but watches his own expression, and how it mirrors everything she's feeling right now. She isn't going to pry or ask much more about it—she can sense this is a heavy memory, but it's already starting to fade away, a light current of water washing in through the cracks in the rocks.]

Yeah. Just a memory.

[He can talk about it if he wants, but she only gives him a small, reassuring nod and a smile to go along with it.]

Nothing in here can hurt us unless we let it.

[It's a reminder to him, but a much-needed one for herself, too.]

I wish I knew how to get out of these...

Yeah, you're right. Nothing can hurt us unless we let them do that.

[It's a lot to talk about and honestly Sora hasn't done that much with other people before. He has a tendency to bury his deepest darkest traumas deep inside his heart and hides them with a smile and upbeat energy. He's always done this.

That's why he laughs and puts his hand on his hips.]

I guess it might not be as easy as just pinching ourselves awake, huh? Maybe we should try to look around some more?

[A bad habit that the both of them share, which is why Tifa mirrors him, her own arms crossing in front of her chest, but her eyes are wary as she looks around them.]

I guess that'd be the best thing we could do.

[Although she'd rather not... see what else is out there beyond this graveyard. But if they're going to find their way out of here somehow, then standing around here isn't going to do them much help.

So Tifa first offers her hand to him.]

Let's be careful, okay? The ground's all broken up...

[To no one's fault but her own.]

[Sora smiles anyway as he goes to take her hand with all the trust in the world.]

Don't worry. I've got you, heh.

[Who's got who? They've got each other. Sora might be a little unnerved to be here in the shadow of his worst memory but he's with a friend and that's the important thing to keep him grounded. They can get out of here together.

Just a few steps over the expanse of this broken world. It seems like a long stretch of nothing. But soon enough it might seem like the dream is starting to shift and fade. The edge of the world blurring.]

[Whether it's Tifa's doing—a powerful enough wish to return "home"—or if it's Sora's, or the dreams, it doesn't matter. As the world around them starts to fade, her hand grows tighter around his, almost as if she's afraid to let go. She knows that they're going somewhere safe after this, and that she has nothing to worry about or be scared of for either of them, but walking through it all still feels like they're wandering into unknown territory.

And as the world begins to blur further, it envelops Sora's world, replacing it all with Tifa's memories. Memories of her home, of Nibelheim, and of Midgar all rolled into one, as if the two places have melded together to form a strange blend that doesn't quite fit together.

Just as she opens her mouth to say something, Tifa feels a tug that pulls right down to her very soul, and with one last squeeze, she turns to Sora.]

Guess this is it.

[Her smile is crooked, and she's unsure of what else to say before she disappears, so all she can do is nod and give him a quick—]

Thank you...

[—before they both fade from the dream.]

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open 🌠 you see the shadows

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sora!!! 😭

😭❤️

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