[Tifa only just registers the meaning behind his words before Rose is carrying Tifa away from him with incredible speed that it's a wonder she somehow manages to stay on her back. Her hands grip the reins until her knuckles start to turn white, but she doesn't dare look back when she hears the shouts of war and terrified screams of the soldiers behind her.
But it feels like there's no escape. No matter how fast Rose runs, the battle stretches on, and the fires with it, the air so thick with black smoke and ash that she can hardly see the sky anymore. The horse skillfully weaves through the soldiers, running down anyone who gets in her way regardless of which side they fight for before carrying Tifa off to heaven knows where.
She tries to tell herself it's okay. That they're going to get out of this regardless of how this ends. If she were to go down, she wanted it to be at his side and not on the back of a horse, even if it meant seeing him turn before they could wake up.
Her eyes go wide then, and she does spin back around on the horse. The potion... It was still in her pocket. She had taken it from him when the soldiers had shown up, before he could take even a drop of it. She holds onto the reins tighter.]
Rose, we have to—
[There's the sound of something slicing through the air, and then next thing she knows, Tifa is being thrown several feet forward from Rose as the horse collapses to the ground with a whine, and she only barely breaks her fall with a tumble into the grass. It still hurts, and it still knocks the wind from her lungs, but when she looks up, she can see the silhouette of the beast crumpled on the ground with an arrow lodged in her hind leg.]
No... No no no no...
[Not like this. It isn't supposed to be like this...
Tifa has no idea where the arrow came from, but once she has enough air back into her lungs, she drags herself across the grass, scrambling to Rose where she places a hand over her head.]
You're gonna be alright. I promise. Just... this is gonna hurt, okay? Just trust me.
[There's a weak, pained sound from below as she nudges her head against Tifa's hand, as if giving her the go-ahead, knowing that the wound will need to be mended before she can run again. Keeping the horse steady with one hand, she moves to wrap her other around the arrow, and with a deep breath, she gives it a strong pull. It comes out cleanly, and Rose whines and groans and kicks underneath Tifa, but a warm glow passes over it before it becomes too much. A cure spell that she wasn't sure would work, but it's a damn good thing she thought to equip that materia before she got sucked out of Gaia...]
If anyone comes, you need to get up and run, okay? As far as you can. Don't worry about us.
[For now, Rose needs to rest and let the wound heal. The cure didn't do much, but it closed up the wound so that it would at least stop bleeding. That would be enough, she hopes.
Tifa is already rising to her feet, however.]
I'm going back.
[She has confidence that Rose will know to take care of herself should any soldiers find her, and so Tifa dashes off back the way that they came in search of Eustace...
no subject
[Tifa only just registers the meaning behind his words before Rose is carrying Tifa away from him with incredible speed that it's a wonder she somehow manages to stay on her back. Her hands grip the reins until her knuckles start to turn white, but she doesn't dare look back when she hears the shouts of war and terrified screams of the soldiers behind her.
But it feels like there's no escape. No matter how fast Rose runs, the battle stretches on, and the fires with it, the air so thick with black smoke and ash that she can hardly see the sky anymore. The horse skillfully weaves through the soldiers, running down anyone who gets in her way regardless of which side they fight for before carrying Tifa off to heaven knows where.
She tries to tell herself it's okay. That they're going to get out of this regardless of how this ends. If she were to go down, she wanted it to be at his side and not on the back of a horse, even if it meant seeing him turn before they could wake up.
Her eyes go wide then, and she does spin back around on the horse. The potion... It was still in her pocket. She had taken it from him when the soldiers had shown up, before he could take even a drop of it. She holds onto the reins tighter.]
Rose, we have to—
[There's the sound of something slicing through the air, and then next thing she knows, Tifa is being thrown several feet forward from Rose as the horse collapses to the ground with a whine, and she only barely breaks her fall with a tumble into the grass. It still hurts, and it still knocks the wind from her lungs, but when she looks up, she can see the silhouette of the beast crumpled on the ground with an arrow lodged in her hind leg.]
No... No no no no...
[Not like this. It isn't supposed to be like this...
Tifa has no idea where the arrow came from, but once she has enough air back into her lungs, she drags herself across the grass, scrambling to Rose where she places a hand over her head.]
You're gonna be alright. I promise. Just... this is gonna hurt, okay? Just trust me.
[There's a weak, pained sound from below as she nudges her head against Tifa's hand, as if giving her the go-ahead, knowing that the wound will need to be mended before she can run again. Keeping the horse steady with one hand, she moves to wrap her other around the arrow, and with a deep breath, she gives it a strong pull. It comes out cleanly, and Rose whines and groans and kicks underneath Tifa, but a warm glow passes over it before it becomes too much. A cure spell that she wasn't sure would work, but it's a damn good thing she thought to equip that materia before she got sucked out of Gaia...]
If anyone comes, you need to get up and run, okay? As far as you can. Don't worry about us.
[For now, Rose needs to rest and let the wound heal. The cure didn't do much, but it closed up the wound so that it would at least stop bleeding. That would be enough, she hopes.
Tifa is already rising to her feet, however.]
I'm going back.
[She has confidence that Rose will know to take care of herself should any soldiers find her, and so Tifa dashes off back the way that they came in search of Eustace...
Please still be okay...]