songerein | 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!]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[While they wait for the ship to settle, Toge reaches into his pocket to pull out a potion bottle, one likely from the apothecary in town. He takes a moment to wipe the blood from his chin and drink down its contents, feeling the magic potion soothe his sore vocal cords. And as the noctrae sinks to the bottom of the ocean, he can finally breathe a sigh of relief as the waves jostle the boat a little less, and the pounding rain abates.]

[As the sun peeks through the clouds, Toge blinks and peers over the ruined railing, out at the beautiful waters below.]

Ikura...

[He says it kind of softly, since it still hurts like a bitch to talk. But looking up at the brightening sky and the calming ocean, he can't help but be in awe at it all. They really did do it, huh?]

[Turning to Tifa, he nods to her and smiles silently. Putting his empty potion bottle down, he lifts up a hand for her. Hi-five?]

[He's met with an enthusiastic hi-five back, but that hand is immediately going to his other shoulder to keep him steady.

She's going to conveniently ignore the remains of the kraken scattered all over the deck of the ship—whoever is in charge of the boat in this dreamscape can take care of that once they're long gone, but for now, she'll guide him to the edge of the boat to look over into the water, sparkling and blue.]

It's really tempting to just jump in.

[She isn't going to, but it looks so refreshing, as if nothing had even happened in here.]

But we should probably get out of here. I could use a bite to eat.

[Hi-five! She's got a hard smack, but he's familiar with his friend Maki's strength, so he's not tossed around too much by it.]

[Toge's fine to ignore the kraken bits lying around as well, in favour of looking out at the beautiful ocean. He's reminded of beach trips back in Tokyo, and he lets out a small sigh. It really does look perfect enough to go swimming, doesn't it?]

[At the mention of food, Toge realizes that he could also use something to eat. He glances down briefly, resting a hand on his stomach, before turning to Tifa and nodding.]

Salmon.

[Food sounds great, as well as some nice hot tea for his throat.]

[With a firm, agreeable nod, Tifa glances around.]

Now, how do we get out of here?

[Her gaze moves up to the sky, and she takes a deep breath in before she shouts—]

Hello!? We're done in here, if you wanna let us out now!

[This may or may not be Tifa's first time trying to willfully force her way out of a dream, and there is no exit sign to be found. And just like that, as if right on cue, she feels that familiar pull from reality, or rather, the dream world that is their reality, and she peers back at Toge.]

There we go. See you on the other side!

[Oh, it looks like there's that familiar pull to tug them back to Reverein. Toge looks over at Tifa as they're being pulled, nodding and holding up a peace sign to her.]

Kombu!

[See you on the other side! Maybe they could celebrate a job well done back home or something.]

open 🌠 you see the shadows

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feels like a good wrapping point! :3

Works for me!