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]

I remember... it was dark and cold...

[She watches as these memories fade in and out all around her, but she tries to call this specific one.]

And then next thing I knew, I was awake. I didn't even remember...

[Tifa looks back behind them, and that mountainous view is back, with the rickety bridge swaying gently in the wind over the valley below, and she grimaces back at it.]

I don't even remember coming up here...

[He'll feel her weight shift, and there's a glimmer from in his arms, and when it all fades, he'll find the Tifa that he's met. Older, but she's still holding on as if she were still that small girl in the dream, and she gives no sign of wanting to let go, almost as if she hasn't even realized that she's slowly waking from the nightmare.]

I wanted to, but... I didn't think I actually did?

[luciing]

[ As she returns to her present state, he allows her some room between her and his armor. Yet trapped in the memories (or lack thereof) of her past, he will not set her down until she has her faculties restored. ]

Perhaps... now is not the time explore further. [ Despair and defeat seems to have consumed her, a sure suggestion that she is not ready-- not yet, in any case. Letting go would be a healthier option, but one harsh to hear to someone not prepared.
A thought passes, unbidden: among the dead, would any wish to see their descendant shackled by the past like so, unable to overcome their mourning?

He would not. What a tragedy it is, then, that her face remains stained with the tears of her youth. ]

Regrets are leaden. [ The rumble of his voice is a low lull within the hollow cavity of his armor. ] ...Forgive yourself, Maiden.

[starshower]

Huh...?

[This dream, this world that she's created is just a projection of each and every regret she still harbours from her past, and she can feel a cold coming down to settle on them, even as embers still continue to flicker around her. But he's right—while she's overcome the despair within the nightmare, there are still things left that Tifa needs to confront, things she needs to forgive herself for and let go of, but now wouldn't be the time. With how weak and tired she feels, she doesn't want to begin to imagine what things she might find lurking in the shadows of this place. Or behind the memories that continue to flash in the backdrop.

So she lifts her head at last, and shifts now so that she can lower herself, but not without an appreciative smile at the helm of his armour first.

Looking down at herself, she huffs out a small, embarrassed chuckle and wipes the tears from her eyes.]

Wow. Been a while, huh...

[Since their wreath-making adventure. She wouldn't forget him.]

Didn't think this'd be how we'd meet again.

[luciing]

[ Once her feet find purchase on the ground, his arms fall back to his sides. With her tears drying and the vision fading, the trial is over. His helm is pointed in her direction as she regains her bearings, patient until she does.

No, this is not how anyone would expect to meet again, and she appears all the more exhausted for it as she wipes the edges of her eyes. He answers in an even tone. ]

Perchance we may speak again... another time. [ It would be in poor taste to remain, for her sake. ]

For now you must wake to reality, then rest.

[starshower]

How...

[But just as the question passes her lips, Tifa feels that familiar tug. That one that beckons her back to reality, and she looks around at the world surrounding them one last time. The dream knows that she knows, and now it's time for this all to come to an end. Whatever this is.

It's all still very much a blank space in her memory, but perhaps this will set her on the right path to find that missing piece.]

I'm sorry you got caught up in all this. I... don't really know what's going on here but...

[Her smile is strained and sad, but no less genuine than it always has been.]

Thank you for helping me.

[luciing]

[ His helm dips in a polite acknowledgement of her gratitude, even if, truly, the credit goes to her, both of scaling it and burning it. ]

Forget not: it was you to brave this mountain. [ The mountain may remain, but its summit is not unconquerable. She only needs to be better equipped. Time will tell.

Whether dreamscape or nightmare, this has given him some topics over which to ponder. Somnus says nothing more, and waits for the dream to end. ]

wrapping!! 🎀

[starshower]

[She wishes she could say she felt brave, but really, she's even more scared of what this all could mean. She has no time to, as the dream fades around them both and she starts to wake up from it, but she'll have to ponder it all once she's out.

With a small, appreciative wave, Tifa vanishes from Somnus' sight, and it won't be long before the dream fades for him too, and in those last moments, he'll see a glimpse of the sun peering out from the horizon, and the dark silhouette of a woman where the sea of flowers once stood.]