closed 🌠 hold on, there will be better days

[starshower]

Who: Tifa Lockhart & others
Which: February catch-all
Where: Around Reverein
What: Some follow-ups, spider traps, etc.
Warnings: None at the moment.

If you'd like to do something with Tifa, please feel free to contact me via PM or over at crystariums and we can plot something out!

Comments

zidane.

[starshower]

[Another one!?

Tifa had heard about the snare traps by way of the dream board, but her impression was that it would only be a few scattered here and there around town. What she's finding, however, is the opposite. Every block on this street is littered with them and, thankfully, she hasn't come across any that have caught something within it... until now.

The chirping is what grabbed her attention first. It's an oddly familiar chirp—one that she hasn't heard in a very, very long time. Rather, it's more like a "kweh"...]

Zidane! Look...

[In one of these traps is a baby chocobo, probably small enough that it could sit in the palms of her hands, completely wrapped up in webs that it can hardly move to fight itself free.]

I didn't even know we had chocobos...

[tantailizing]

[He knew that the snoyotes had been a problem, but the number of traps still set seemed excessive. He doesn't think he's dismantled that many, but they'd been at it for so long, maybe he'd forgotten. Why? Why had they'd been so easy to set? And why did people just decide to put out so many?]

[Ugh, he's done with spiders for a while and it's not their fault this time.]

[Hearing he chirp himself, he's busy detangling more web from his glove when Tifa calls for his attention.]

Huh?

[Oh, wow, holy crud that is the smallest chocobo chick he's seen. And it's all bungled up in one of these dumbass traps.]

They mainly stick to the forest. Poor guy's probably lost... [Also, wasting no time in approaching it.] Hey little buddy. We'll have you out in a sec.

[starshower]

[A wayward hatchling that's wandered a little too far from mom... How young is this one, she wonders?

Questions to ask for later as she wanders up a little closer to kneel down and take a better look at the web, and the chocobo chick chirps helplessly at them again, the sight tearing Tifa's heart in two. The web trap that it's caught in is thick, and it's not so much a snare trap as it is just a giant bundle of sticky web that clings to every tiny feather on its body that this one will take some delicate work to free.]

We don't want to tear out its feathers, so we'll need to be careful.

[There's another tiny kweh as it stares up at Zidane through its beady black eyes.]

[tantailizing]

[It's probable... that this was a hatchling of only a few days to weeks at best. Even a month old, a baby chocobo would be bigger than this.]

[Looking over the trap, it's so bad. Couldn't blame the little guy for panicking and making it worse, but oh boy, they'll having to try for another method than the usual.]

... I think there's something we can use to make the stickiness wear off. Then we don't have to worry about pulling out any feathers.

[starshower]

There is?

[Her voice is laced with desperation, and as much as she wants to reach out to try and untangle the knotted webs, she knows she shouldn't. It would only make it worse... but the poor thing is practically crying now.]

I don't have the right kind of magic yet, but... if you have a way, then let's give it a try.

[Lighting the webs on fire only works when there's nothing trapped inside them. Water magic, on the other hand... That would work, but...]

[tantailizing]

Nah, no magic. Not everything has to be solved with magic.

[Besides, he's pretty sure between the two of them? They both still suck a little too much with magic to help the baby chocobo like this.]

Some oil should get this off. But then we should clean that off.

[starshower]

[She's a little worried about dabbing even a little bit of oil on the chocobo's feathers, mainly because it'll be a bitch to get out of them, but maybe something less harmful? This likely isn't the first time she's seen chocobos with dirtied feathers... Midgar was likely full of them when they got away from their owners, the poor things.]

I can see if I find any in one of the stores? Some cooking oil, maybe? It won't harm it, at least...

oriphi.

[starshower]

[So it really did become something more official.

Tifa had visited the beginnings of the firepit before, but all it had been was a smaller pile of wood and a few logs laid out to sit on then. Having someplace comforting to go to either spend alone or with other dreamwalkers was nice—being in a strange place like this, Tifa has always thought it was something much-needed, and the more places they had, the better.

It's a slightly cooler day when she makes the journey out to see it for herself after overhearing about it, bringing along a small bag of marshmallows to leave in the firewood shed should anyone decide to come by and have a craving for something sweet...

But there's already someone there when she arrives, and Tifa stops short on the path, just short of the edge of the trees.]

Oh, sorry! I didn't know someone was here.

[She didn't mean to intrude!]

[hearthwarming]

[ Ori, too, has come after overhearing others talk about the communal firepit. She's been thinking of doing something nice for the other dreamwalkers and perhaps cooking up a large batch of soup to help everyone warm up and maybe unwind from the tumultuous events and nightmares of the last month, but first she has to scope out what this firepit is like. She has gathered up some firewood in her arms with which to start a fire with when she spots someone out of the corner of her eyes. She startles a little, but her own apology is already on her lips before the other woman beats her to it. ]

Ah— it's okay! I was just going to... start a fire...

[ Her words trail off as she slowly realizes that she recognizes this woman. This is one of the people who had been pulled into her nightmares. What does she say...? ]

[starshower]

[The recognition is instant on Tifa's end as well. It had been several weeks since she stumbled into the dreamscape, but it's difficult for her to forget the faces she meets within them. The way Ori's voice trails off, she understands, and with a low laugh, she passes into the sunlight and wanders to the pit.

It's not easy, having people walk into a dream like that, whether it be a friend or stranger—Tifa had been in the same position herself, and what does one say to the girl whose past she accidentally snuck a glimpse into?]

Here, let me help.

[And with a spark from her fingers, what firewood is already in the pit lights up with a tiny flame that already basks them in warmth, and with that done, Tifa spins back around to face her.]

Oriphi, right?

[hearthwarming]

Oh!

[ Tifa is quick to think on her feet in any situation, it seems, and Ori is glad for it. Ori keeps the firewood in her arms, though, in case she'll need it to keep the fire going later.

With a small smile, she nods. ]

That's right... and you're Tifa. It's... um, it's nice to finally meet you in person. And I'm sorry about— you know.

[starshower]

The dream?

[Tifa shakes her head as she slumps down onto one of the seats around the fire. There are several more little embers that form around her fingers, and the fire slowly begins to grow. Already, the warmth is starting to steep into the air and push out the cold.]

Don't be. I've been in worse.

[She would have taken a spooky forest over some of the other things she's seen, if she had the choice.]

I'm just glad we got out. ... You been holding up alright since?

[hearthwarming]

[ Not that she was expecting otherwise, but Ori is a bit relieved to see that Tifa seems just as kindhearted as she had been in her nightmare. She takes her own seat across the fire from Tifa as she watches it grow and glow with warmth. The sight of a warm hearth like this has always been comforting to Ori, who's spent much of her life living in the woods since the childhood days that Tifa witnessed in the dreamscape. ]

Oh, I... suppose so. I had more nightmares even after that one, sometimes they were even really... similar. [ She sighs. ] But someone was always there to help me wake up, so I'm glad...

How about you? Have you been alright...?

hans.

[starshower]

[When Tifa had seen the posting on the board for the arrows, she couldn't believe what she was reading. Sure, she knew some people were in desperate need of a little bit of love in their lives, but shooting others with magically infused "love potions" wasn't the answer this (or any) world needed to that plight. Not to mention there were more important things that they should be worrying about, and not whether someone is taking aim at them out of their sight.

Fortunately, she isn't too worried about herself—she trusts that the people she does know wouldn't ever try to play games with her—but she is worried about those she doesn't know. She's been staying on the alert ever since, keeping a watchful eye for those armed with a bow and arrows, and she's glad she hasn't found any troublemakers so far.

Well, until today.

Whatever this man plans on aiming at with that bow and quiver of arrows, he'll be interrupted by her voice calling out to him from behind.]

You know there's a place you can go to practice your aim, yeah?

[sleightofhans]

[While he's not as fully trained with a bow as he is with a sword, he's definitely competent and what better use of his ability than causing just slight mischief in the name of love? Or whatever. Look, it's been solidly entertaining having people fall in love with random objects or chase a bird around the street, and he's not stopping now.

Honestly, it's been quite a miracle that no's stopped him just yet, maybe because everyone is all focused when someone starts to chase an animal down the street or hug the nearest person with all of their might. It's been causing quite a commotion, to say the least.

But as he pulls his next arrow back, an unfamiliar voice actually gives him pause, the prince lowering his weapon as he looks back at Tifa with a completely bewildered expression.]

Pardon, my lady? [He blinks somewhat slowly, as if fully registering what she said to him.] Oh, of course! But I wouldn't be helping people find their true love if I practiced at the target range.

[starshower]

[She folds her arms and approaches slowly but firmly. She isn't about to jump at a man armed with poison-tipped arrows, but Tifa's eyes do narrow with suspicion.]

I don't think anyone asked to be shot in the name of true love.

[And after the experience she had with not the arrows, but those bleeding hearts or whatever people called them, the idea of forced emotions makes her stomach turn. Granted, she isn't after Hans (at the moment) but rather—]

Do you remember who gave you those arrows?

[sleightofhans]

[Hans realizes that he probably needs to choose his words pretty carefully here. She's definitely not amused by his arrow shooting and honestly, the last thing he wants is getting into a physical fight with her. He's not entirely sure if she's the type to resort to violence quickly, but Hans would rather avoid it as much as possible.

So, as innocently as possible--]

It was a request on the dream board, asking people to assist others with finding their true love. I didn't see anything wrong with that, love's a wonderful thing to share with another.

[He smiles slightly, as if to reassure her.]

I promise that these arrows aren't hurting anyone. There's no bleeding or anything terrible like that.

[starshower]

[He didn't! Answer! Her question!!!

She tries not to let her frustration get the better of her, especially after that, but it rises in the way she presses her lips together in a taut, firm line. But she does arch a brow, curious.]

Uh huh. So you won't mind if someone hit you with one of the arrows then?

[What if she just stabbed him in the leg with one?]

[sleightofhans]

[He feels like he's one sentence away from falling into a trap. Or getting punched.

There's no way he can admit that he'd hate being struck by an arrow, because that will put him in a really terrible light. So, he'll just have to lie, maybe admit some truthful comments in there to make him more believable. He's always found that to be the most effective and easy method to pull off.]

Not entirely. I won't argue that the experience my be embarrassing at first, but I wholly believe that more good is coming from this. It helps the person that's been wanting to confess, but didn't have the courage to do so. It allows two strangers to meet-- in strange circumstances, most certainly, but that's part of living here.

eustace.

[starshower]

["Nothing could keep us apart..."

His voice sounds so weak and so far away when she hears it somewhere in the back of her mind. Despite being enveloped in warmth, she still feels ice cold as images flash in front of her eyes. There's fire and ice, the claps of thunder following bright flashes of lightning, the sound of swords and arrows piercing flesh, and the vicious, chilling roars of something large and filled with rage, then everything goes black... before it repeats itself again.

Again and again, she's forced to watch him beg her to hold on, listen to him cry out for her as the visions of his face grow dark and blurry, the blue in his eyes she loved so much gone, swept away from the curse. She can feel the rain falling gently over her skin, washing away the blood that burns, the scent of it mixing with the smell of roses.

"You were the one I was meant to find..."

With a sharp gasp for air, Tifa shoots upright. Her heart beats furiously, and her lungs beg her for air. She can feel the cold sweat on her temple and the sharp pain that suddenly courses through her chest, beneath the old scar and up into her neck where her hands clutch and grasp as if afraid that she'll bleed out right then and there, but there's only sweat.

Sweat and the tears that now form and streak across her face when she realizes where she is, and when everything that had just happened finally sinks in. That everything she had just seen, although a dream, was still very, very real. His claws digging into her back, teeth sinking into her neck... The curse, the wedding, the hours after, the castle, the dance...

A sick joke. All of it.

And her hands fly up to her face and she sobs violently into them, and Tifa stays there for a while, alone in the darkness of her room while she tries to process it all and pull herself together.

Together enough, at least, that she can force herself out of bed. She feels so scared and weak and her knees shake from under her as she tries to make her way for the door, and she wonders how much of this is all in her head. She almost collapses on the way, everything dark that she can't see through the tears still blurring her vision, and things clatter and fall around her when she tries to keep balance. This all makes her think back to the days of her recovery in Midgar... How it felt to have no strength left. How hard it was to pick herself back up when she fell, but she would do it anyway, no matter how difficult it was. And so, she does it again.

Her worst fears be damned, she needs to see him. She needs to at least make sure that he's okay.

With only her jacket slipped on over her pajamas, she stumbles out the door and into the cold with only one destination in mind, however long it takes her to reach it, and no matter how hard it becomes. By the time she reaches his door, she can hardly feel her muscles, and while the cold is biting, it's nothing compared to the way the chill and frost lingering around his home gnaws at her skin as she reaches up to knock.

Please... Please be okay...]

[flamekthunder]

[When Eustace awakens from the dreamscape, he sits up gasping, hands clenching the sheets as he continues to suck in air that he doesn't actually need but feels he does. He's had vivid nightmares before, even suffering from them just the past month, but by nature of the dreamwalking this was more visceral, more real. Tangible. Hands trembling he raises them to his face, staring at them blankly as the after images of their clawed form pass through his mind.

And then the blood...her blood—

As an anguished scream erupts from him, ice rips out to encase the room before it crawls up through tree's trunk to spread out over the highest branches and into the leaves. At first glance, such a frost covered tree would seem like a magnificent sight until one stepped closer to realize the black blotches that tint the white, the energy emanating from the area dark, ominous—almost twisted. Thunder clouds roil above, lightning flashing. It's probably a good thing he chose a tree farther away from the rest as it was unlikely many if any would notice the storm brewing around his home. It's also probably a good thing he's here instead of with the corgis, as they would surely have suffered and only feed into his already tormented anguish.

But since he is alone, he can only become trapped within his thoughts. In the memories from start to finish—how things had already started so bittersweet but eventually grew into something so much sweeter. So sweet he wanted more of it, so sweet he had started to think that would take it for himself. Like an addiction, he longed and yearned for it, wanting it. Wanting her.

And though they knew things would take a turn for the worse, he never imagined it would go downhill so fast and so terribly. Never imagined that he would be the one to hurt her, to...

Those last memories replay in his mind over and over again. How he had no control over himself when his hands and teeth dug into flesh, taking Tifa's life. How he had broken every single promise and vow he made to her... How cold and pale her body, the fading light of her eyes, the blood that soaked him through.

Hot tears fall from his eyes as he clutches his head, gasping. A small part of him knows—knows it's not truly his fault. That it had been against his will, that he had been basically possessed and forced into a curse, that it was at least in a dream.

But it doesn't matter.

It doesn't matter at all.

Dream or not, losing control to this world's whims and harming Tifa had already been his greatest fear ever since the Bleeding Heart. It had only happened just weeks before they entered the dreamscape so it's all still fresh and raw. It also was the second time, the first being when he lost his memories and fought against her at the Corgi Tree. It had become the new reason for him to hesitate in advancing their relationship, but after their song, he had realized he didn't want to live in that fear anymore. That he wanted to fight the odds and be with her anyway. That he would believe in Tifa's support and strengthen his resolve to resist whatever tried to take him next.

But he couldn't.

He didn't.

He ended up living out his worst nightmare and in the worst way possible.

Is that what the world is trying to tell him? A warning of what could happen? That they were doomed to start? To not be with her? That she isn't the one he was meant to find...? To let her be with the one she's really fated for—

The thoughts pierce his already shattered heart, but rather than lessen his feelings, it only makes them grow. It's painful, but that pain is also proof that it's all real and genuine. He wants to see her, wants to check on her to see if she's okay, hold her, kiss her, beg for her forgiveness—

But the moment he tries to get up, he's assaulted with the memories of her fear. Of the look in her eye after he attacked her, the terror when she found him on that battlefield.

Eustace... you're hurting me...

Her words, her voice, it will haunt him for the rest of his life, and right now it's crippling him. Why would she want to see him? He terrified her.

He killed her.

Surely she wouldn't want anything to do with him now. Even though that small part that's trying to remain rational realizes he's taking things too far, those thoughts persist.

The only thing that breaks him from their clutches is when he finally opens his eyes to find a strange, black mist enshrouding him. All previous thoughts vanishing, he straightens up and stares wide-eyed at the black shadows that start to coat his skin like ice, over his arms, shoulders, and chest. Is this another possession? Did the curse carry over from the dream? Or is this just a new manifestation of his emotions—

At that moment, he recalls something from his frenzied state after he transformed. He didn't pay attention at the time, but he does remember seeing some of himself, his body long enough for him to. His mind had been in such a blank haze, only moving in accordance to his instincts and feelings... But he remembers. Remembers the black splotches on his body, the deep, intense anguish, rage, and hatred he felt. How it was starting to consume him, the heaviness of it all.]

...It can't...

[Despite still being in emotional turmoil, he has enough sense to quickly look back and piece together something important—and alarming. A new feeling of fear starts to rise as he continues to watch the black mist rising and the ice inching over his skin, finally feeling the ominous energy he had encountered enough times to recognize it.]

...No.. Not now—

[His thoughts are broken when he hears that knock, and everything stills, as if frozen in time. Even the black mist suddenly dissipates, the receding back into his body. Eventually he releases the breath he had been holding, but he doesn't calm at all.

He doesn't need to ask who it is.

He knows.

And she shouldn't be here.

But he's frozen, unable to decide how to move. The once, usually levelheaded and composed erune is now completely disheveled and, frankly, a mess. He knows he can't avoid her—he doesn't even want to—but he feels he has to until he can calm down. But can he? Will he? What if he just continues to put her in danger, what if his emotions hurt her, what if he turns in front of her—

Dammit, what should he do!?

So in the end she's only met with silence, the cold worsening.]

[starshower]

[Tifa gazes into the ice, at the black blotches that skew its crystalline colour as they continue to grow even after she's met with that disconcerting silence, filled only by her breathing and the crackling of the ice. She doesn't need to hear him answer to know that he's in there, and for a moment, she considers giving up, turning around, and leaving...

But then she remembers the anguish that strained his voice in those images, how his tears burned hot on her face in her last moments.

Her feet remain rooted in place. Even if she wanted to turn around and leave him be, her own yearning for him is what keeps her there. Her own fear of what the black within the ice means for him, and what will happen to him if he's left alone with the thoughts that have caused it. What will happen if he allows them to take over and manifest into something bigger. Something worse than what he's already been put through.

So, she knocks again with a shakier hand.]

Eustace, please...

[If he can even hear her. She can hardly bring her voice above a stressed whisper as her fist thumps lightly on the door, her forehead following to rest against the cold wall of frost that coats it, and slowly, she begins to melt it away.]

I... need to see you.

[She needs to see that he's okay. Alive. She doesn't want to be alone. She doesn't want him to be alone.]

[flamekthunder]

[His breath catches in his throat, the loud buzzing in his ears drowning out any words that managed to pass through. The loneliness that begins to engulf him is more than he can bear, yet he continues to endure. He had closed himself before, he's already suffered the pain and grief of loss that led to his heart shutting down before. Surely he can do it again...and keep it closed this time.


Ha, what a lie he can't do it now. He doesn't want to. A part of him might, but already his body is slowly moving, the ice over his sheets crackling before he finds himself standing. And then before he knows it, he's standing in front of his door, hand raised as if to open it.

He can sense the warmth, see how some of the ice that had formed on the door had thawed. How it's seeking him out. He wants it so much, to be embraced and comforted by it. To have the two of them heal each other, as she is surely suffering just as much, wanting to be with him just as much. Isn't her presence her proof of that?

Instead of the handle his palm trembles over the one small spot, fingers curling in as he presses his forehead against the ice cold wood.

He wants to open the door.

He wants to be with her.

...And yet.]

...Go home.

[He tells her to leave instead, his voice low, quiet, devoid of any emotion. Tired.]

[starshower]

[She waits for his response this time, silently resting against the door and listening for signs of movement from the other side. Signs that he hasn't completely closed himself off to her yet. Not until she could check on him at least, and even then... The thought of him shutting her out is enough to split her heart in two, leaving an empty, hollow feeling inside her chest where it should be.

Instead, it longs for him. Her heart wants to break through the confines of her body and go to him, like it always has. He just needs to open his door to let it.

So when she finally hears his voice from the other side, so close that she knows he's right there, her heart thumps in her chest and her hand presses firmly on the door and more of the ice melts beneath it.

"Go home..."

...

Her own voice comes out strained and tired.]

It's so cold...

[Tifa doesn't just mean outside.]

[flamekthunder]

[Again his breath catches in his throat at her words, nails digging into his palm as his eyes close tightly. He needs to keep her away from him, if what he fears is true. She would be safer...and again the thought that he's already hurting her again comes forward, pricking at him.]

...Tifa...

[He feels that warmth, desperately wants to let her in yet wanting to keep her out for her own safety. Or is it out of fear of himself? Maybe it's all the same—but his heart continues to be torn on what he wants and needs to do.

With a shaky breath he starts to speak.]

...You need to stay away—

[But before he can finish, the tree shudders, the ice encasing it cracking as pieces fall away, as if the tree itself is trying to rid of the nuisance. Eustace hastily grips the side of the doorframe in surprise before the door suddenly flies upward, as if pulled up by some unseen force.

Maybe it's the tree's doing. Maybe it's responding to their inner desires of to see each other. Maybe it has its own will and is tired of these two being idiots. Regardless, the door is now gone and there's nothing left separating them but empty space.]