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]

Keep those gloves up.

[His bracers, or whatever they are! Because—]

Down!

[The sand sinks under their feet and sends them sliding between the legs of the scorpion, granting them access to its underside before it can even stab its tail at them. Tifa doesn't have much in the way of cutting it open, but she does send a blast of fire up its unarmoured stomach, and it lifts it off the ground far enough that Law should be able to finish it off in whatever manner he sees fit.]

[zephyrean]

[Fire, huh. He would have questioned the wisdom of using fire in a place like this, but Tifa manages to once again surprise Law, with her fire shot scoring a critical hit on the scorpion. The fire lifts the scorpion into the air, and Law, having flashbacks to many battles alongside Shionne and her use of fire spells, knows exactly how to follow up.

He leaps into the air, and through some unconscious use of dreamotion that he hasn't realized, gathers up the residual flames of Tifa's fire blast into a condensed shot, almost like a bomb, and then--]

Burn Strike!

[He lands a powerful kick on the condensed shot, sending it flying at high speed at the exposed weak point of its stomach, the bomb exploding on impact and sending the scorpion flying away from them in a charred, crumpled heap.]

Nice work!

[starshower]

[It lands with a hardy thump in the sand several feet away, and as the sand waves lower and flatten to place them both back on solid ground, Tifa can see its legs twitching in the air before all movement finally stops. As for the two of them, they'll both be covered in sand that clings to their skin and clothes and hair that she makes a futile attempt to brush away. The sun that was once scorching feels less so now, and although it's still unbearably hot, Tifa feels like she can finally breathe properly.]

You too.

[She lifts a fist for a fist bump. Don't leave her hanging!]

Nice move at the end there. Surprised me a little in a "that was really cool" way.

[zephyrean]

Hell yeah!

[Law flashes a cheeky grin as he reciprocates that fist bump, knocking his fist against her, their gauntlets making a metallic klink sound together.]

Pretty sweet, right? That's a little bit of improvisation from back home. I'm just glad there wasn't any friendly fire there!

[It would have been very bad if he accidentally caught himself on fire with Tifa's spell there.]

[starshower]

[So he does some fighting like this back home, then. Not that she doubted that at all, given his skill, but seasoned fighters can improvise on the spot like that. He looks pretty young, though, but never judge a book by its cover.]

I'm always careful with magic. If anyone's gonna get hit by it, it would've been me. Wouldn't have been the first time it backfired, but...

[She dusts her hands off.]

Managed to get out of that with only a few scratches. I'd call that a win.

[zephyrean]

Yeah, I'd say so.

[He shifts around on the balls of his feet, coming to rest his hand on his hip as he takes a relaxed pose.]

Gotta say, I don't run into too many people with moves like yours. The way you went HRAAAAAAH and kicked that tail clean off was amazing.

[Law, the master of eloquence.]

[starshower]

[His eloquence provokes a peal of laughter out of her.]

Let's not forget the way you dove right in there with that Eagle Dive!

[She puts some emphasis on the name, her voice a low, enthusiastic shout and two punches of her fists. All the best and coolest fighters name their moves.]

I'd say let's check out if there's anything else in this dreamscape, but this has gotta be the plainest one I've seen so far. [Her hand lifts to shield her eyes from the sun as she tries to look past the waves of heat rising from the ground.] Nothing but sand.

[zephyrean]

Hey, all the best fighters name their moves! [As if vocalizing her thought there.] And that move right there deserves a really cool name. Like...

Sundering Fang! [He shouts that with all the bravado he would use in battle.] Or... Spineshatter Sweep! Something that really catches attention.

[Yeah, he knows what he's talking about. He was trained by the best, after all, and he's become better than the best, so he's the new best now.

He shifts around again, placing his weight on one side as he rubs at his neck.]

I dunno... I'm pretty over this place now. I left home to get away from places like this. Let's get outta here.

[He grins now, and pumps his fist in the air.]

And maybe you can show me how you did that move!

[starshower]

[Tifa lifts a finger.]

I call that one Somersault. Definitely not as creative as yours, though. Might need to rethink it, but I can show you.

[She's kind of jealous of his names! Sundering Fang has a really effective ring to it, and it reminds her a little of Red XIII.

Beginning to walk in any which direction, she realizes:]

So, where exactly do we get out of here? Not a single exit sign.

[Now for the worst part of the dreamscapes: getting out of them. If she could just pinch herself awake, she could, but does that actually work?]

[zephyrean]

Good question...

[Law glances around the area. There wasn't any convenient door, or gate, or elevator, or portal out of here. Just. Sand. So much freakin' sand...]

Maybe we just need to dream up a way out.

[But that's just ridiculous sounding, there's no way that'd work, haha. ...Unless?]

[starshower]

[Tifa doesn't like sand. It's coarse and rough and irritating. And it gets everywhere.

Anything ridiculous sounding is very, very plausible in a place like this, she's discovering, so when he suggests it, she arches an understanding brow at him.]

That could work. Let's not throw that out as a possibility. If we think hard enough about going back, maybe it'll just happen...?

[And they'll need to pray that neither of them get sucked through the sand to get there. She's got enough of it in her shoes as it is.]