Halloween Nightmare: Part I

[dreamposts]

✵ HALLOWEEN NIGHTMARE: PART I ✵

It comes without warning. A few nights before Halloween, when the moon is supposed to be full and bright, it suddenly blinks out and turns pitch black. Even the stars seem to be covered, casting a strange darkness all over Songerein. While the fae sense something unusual, the newly arrived people—the dreamwalkers—all suddenly fall over asleep as if struck by a curse. Thick, black fog covers the town and one by one their bodies glow bright before converting into dream energy and disappearing into their crystals.

Alarmed, the tapirs investigate, some plunging deep into the realm of dreams to try and find wherever they went. What they discover is something they had never seen before—a massive dreamscape rippling through the dimensions, one full of life, color, and sound. It's as if its own little world, unaware that a giant group has dropped in uninvited. Before the dreamwalkers can be too confused, the tapirs send out a message via their crystals:

Careful, Dreamwalkers! We don't understand what's happening, but you have entered an unusual dreamscape, one where everyone here believes this to be their own world. It feels unstable, to the point where if too much disturbance happens it could turn this entire place into a nightmare! One that could affect Songerein!

Good news is it looks like they're throwing a huge party, so maybe if you just have fun and help out, it will pass quickly and you can return. There's a strange barrier that prevents anyone from coming out of the dream normally...but, we'll figure it out! Just try and have fun, okay?

That might be a tall order for some, but there's little choice. Already everyone has been outfitted in appropriate costumes that serve as "disguises"—some more realistic than others—allowing them to blend in. So long as they follow along and don't cause any disruptions, the locals won't bat an eye. However, the moment someone behaves oddly, such as speaking of other worlds or not behaving in a "frightfully ghoulish" manner when expected, the locals will start eying them with suspicion and small cracks will start to form in various places, most notably the sky where are a large grinning moon watches over everything. Fortunately it will take quite a lot before things get dangerous, but care is needed.

Now, what kind of "dream" have they been pulled into?

I . HALLOWEEN FESTIVAL

The town is bustling and looking quite alive despite its rather monstrous and undead citizens. The architecture style is a mix of ye olde Victorian England and steampunk—with bones and spiders and a lot of sharp things, of course. There is a giant cauldron in the center that acts as a fountain, and while touching it won't harm anyone, drinking it might cause a few green, gassy, flammable hiccups and fire breath that goes away after a while. There is even an odd story going around about a crazy witch called Baba Yaga and many wonder if something strange will happen again like all the other years. For now it's advised for everyone to carefully explore while perhaps getting into the various festivities. It's their time of the year after all!

A. Costume Party. Everyone's in a costume and there are plenty of contests and parades for everyone to show theirs off. All are encouraged to do their best and act like whatever they're dressed up as, and some may even be pulled into random impromptu "acts" for fun. Cute little black cats with witch's hats will hop on their heads and drop some special candy as a "reward." What could be so suspicious about this? (Yes, this is the cursed candy mentioned in the official details.)

» BONUS: MAGIC THREADS. Some locals need a little help with their costumes and request special thread that can be harvested by the ghoul worms—an underworld version of the silkworm. However, getting to them can be a bit...tricky. The worms need to be scared out of their wits for them to spit out the thread. The next difficult part is capturing the thread and not having it all over one's face. There are also some rainbow spiders who produce colorful threads, but they need to be sweetened up before they'll pass over their hard work.

B. Beware the Food. Of course the food is to die for. No, really, be careful of the food because there's a high chance it's been cursed and will cause one or more of the following: 1) suffer severe food poisoning; 2) become an undead zombie; 3) turn into a ghastly toad; 4) have a Wicked Witch experience and turn into a puddle of goop to then become a slime monster. Except for the first one, these changes are all painless and will just make the affected feel funny for half an hour. For the food poisoning, drinking from the Cauldron in the center of town will cure it, but for those who don't want flame breath, creating a certain witch's brew could be concocted.

» BONUS: WITCH'S BREW: Gather the following items to create the special witch's brew that will not only cure the food poisoning but other maladies as well. Just need a few tails of newt, a couple eyes of mud guppies, and the nails of opossums. Fortunately there are quite a few stores that carry these items so no one has to harvest them themselves, though they are certainly welcome to. If buying, the payment requires five chocolate coins. The catch? All the kids have the chocolate coins so need to somehow get them. Maybe the trick-or-treating can help.

C. Jack-o-Lanterns. There are pumpkins everywhere and an assortment of activities to do with them. From simple pumpkin carving for decoration, to loading them into catapults to see how far they go, to avoiding flaming pumpkin heads flying around causing mayhem. But the real buzz is carving pumpkins for the newly "arrived" skeletons that have unearthed to join the populace. As part of a celebration these special pumpkins will be worn by the new skeletons so the more decorated the better.

D. Trick-or-Treat. Of course there is candy being handed out and thrown out to be passed to the younguns. Some adults may find a giant skull head full of various candies shoved into their hands so they can give them to any excited gremlins. Just beware, those little monsters are more than happy to pull a trick instead, so tricks are also fair game as long as they are eventually given candy. In fact, tricks and pranks are highly encouraged, to the point that some are throwing competitions. Should anyone try to withhold the goods, however...well, curses from children are the worst.

E. Candy Corn Golems. Some candy corn will randomly come together and transform into candy corn golems. They range from knee-high that can do little more than just do feeble punches and throw goop on people's legs to a towering ten foot monstrosity that is ready to launch candy corn missiles that explode into harder gunk that can completely imprison anyone. While some locals might find their presence a suitable chaotic ingredient, many don't as they have no idea how these creatures came to be as the usual hexes and underworld magic seem to have little effect. Yet they are susceptible to the dreamwalking abilities… Most will cheer when a golem is defeated, but some may become suspicious.

» BONUS: FIND THE SOURCE. Even though the golems can be taken care of, the more that only the dreamwalkers can destroy, the more unnecessary attention and suspicion is aroused. Best to figure out where to find what's creating them and put an end to it. Whispers of a "mad witch" and "crazy hag" can be heard and curiously, some of the smaller golems trundle down away from the main chaos through some small alleys. Following them will lead them to a strange house, the magic spilling out unnatural. There are drag marks and broom bits that are tinted blood red and inky black. Stray, tattered pages and black smears can also be found around the house. Attempts to enter the house result in being blown back into the town center cauldron, however as long as attention is drawn to the house then suspicion will reduce from the dreamwalkers.

II. GRAVE WEDDING

Just outside of town is a vast graveyard that stretches for a considerable distance, the madly grinning moon seeming to loom and be its brightest here. Although mostly consisting of graves, there are also large mausoleums and a dilapidated looking chapel. Many live within the graveyard and those not participating in the town's festivities are having their own little parties. There's even a wedding being held at the chapel. However, not everything is going well and a helping hand—connected or not—will be appreciated.

A. Haunted Wedding. What a spooktastic night for a wedding between a bootiful bride and her ghastly groom. The chapel may be old, riddled with holes, and look ready to fall apart at the slightest breeze, but it's the ideal venue for all wicked weddings. With the pews filled with other residents of the town, it looks to be a perfect celebration—until red-eyed goblins suddenly burst through the already broken windows and holes. Some of the guests are quick to fight back (with some thinking it part of the event), but these goblins seem stronger than usual. Anyone who is nearby will be asked to help and get rid of them before they really do wreck the wedding!

» BONUS: GOBLIN SEALS. No matter how many are defeated, more just keep appearing to take its place. A gravekeeper shouts out that they witnessed the goblins appearing near a dark corner of the cemetery, a place known to be heavily cursed and filled with hexes due to all the witches buried there. Those who investigate will find all the graves dug out and each one with a summoning seal inside. Fortunately they are easy to destroy by either casting magic or even chucking rocks to break up the symbol. Destroy them all to stop the goblins, but be careful as some will pop up in the process.

B. Grave Situation. The graveyard is considered as one of the largest neighborhoods with many finding their underground or stone mausoleum homes quite comfortable and even luxurious in some cases. As part of the Halloween prank, tombstones, grave markers, and even coffins have been moved around and the residents are not happy. They'll need help replacing everything, but be warned—some pranksters have gone beyond and boobytrapped some. Triggering the traps will produce sticky webbing, glitter paint, and "bloody" marshmallow slime (it's just dyed red).

» BONUS: HOSTILE NEIGHBORS. There are some undead and skeletons lying in their earthly beds and cramped coffins that will not take too kindly to being disturbed. They are quite aggressive and will outright attack anyone who comes near their homes, even if they aren't in the right place. They need to be restrained and it would be bad news if anyone is severely harmed or worse—destroyed. Careful examination will reveal a strange slip of paper with what looks like a hex symbol on their heads, and if removed they will pass out but return to normal.

C. Nightmare Graves. Some tombstones will have writing that will mysteriously change to words that will provoke those who read it and send them immediately to a nightmare. It could be something completely random or it could be personal with the severity also random. Some dreams will be reflected on the tombstone similar to the crystals while others can be entered via dreamwalking. In either case, the dreamer's body will be lying in repose in front of the tombstone, which will have a line of "Do not disturb" along with cryptic words related to the nightmare.

» BONUS: NOCTAERE. The longer someone stays in a nightmare, the greater the risk in either attracting noctaere into the dream and out into the dreamscape and for the dreamer to become a noctaere themselves. It could be a partial or full transformation, depending on how strong the nightmare and how sensitive the dreamer is. Dreamwalkers must help try to stop the change before it's too late by attempting to change the dream or calm the dreamer. But if the dreamer turns into a noctaere and starts causing havoc within the dreamscape, then they must be subdued physically with dreamotion abilities.

[Mod Note: This is Part I of our event! To look over the official details as well as ask any questions, drop them in the official Event Details post. While we prefer for threads to remain in the event log, players are welcome to take their threads into their own individual logs for personal organization. We only request players to comment to the event log with a link to it so that others can find them more easily!]

Comments

[lethechained]

[ The blonde has never been one to express herself loudly, but even she can't help a yelp of fear as the monster tears their shelter to ribbons with a single movement. Naminé's body shrinks in on itself defensively, curling against the perceived threat of what might happen in the next few seconds.

But it wouldn't really do any good, where protecting her is concerned; it's all instinct. The one that follows after might be more useful, as the girl's already mentally urging herself to flee when Tifa pulls her to her feet. It's not a challenge, easily-moved as the delicate lass is, and Naminé manages to get her feet under her as the table goes flying right into the monster's face. The thing staggers under the sudden assault, more surprised than hurt, and it quickly becomes clear that wood is no match for it, either, as the furnishing splinters against the beast's claws.

Still, it's diversion enough. The lass doesn't need to be told twice; she'll immediately make a race for the stairs. Agility has never been her strong suit, but she knows this room well, and she doesn't stumble as she ascends the stairs about as rapidly as can be expected for her - although she does look back as the monster casts the remains of the table aside, snarling. They've got a head start, but not much of one. ]

Hurry...!

[starshower]

[Tifa takes the stairs three at a time, legs burning with adrenaline, her hand on Namine's back as they climb for the main floor's landing. With each heavy step that follows behind them, the top of the stairs feels like it stretches further away from them, just out of reach of her feet. It's all in her head of course, but when they reach the top, Tifa stumbles at the last step, righting herself quickly before she's looking around for somewhere—anywhere—to run.

She doesn't know the house well enough, and she knows how nightmares work—where a door once led, it might not anymore, and she could run them right into a trap, so she leaves it up to Namine to tell her where to go next, turning on her heel to face the beast as it clambers up the stairs.

Fists raised, she prepares for a fight, and this time, the house shaking under them is no accident. The tremors are violent, and heated fractures split the floors open with the hope that it will buy her some time while the beast loses its balance with each quake.]

[lethechained]

[ As many memories of climbing these stairs as Naminé might have, she can't imagine that she's ever done it faster than on this occasion, Tifa's presence behind her and the desire not to block her way adding to the Nobody's hurry. When they reach the top, the sight that greets them is the same one that it was before; a peaceful kitchen and a calm living room, deceptively inviting after the darkness of the basement. The rules here in this nightmare seem to hold the space together much better than in the average dream, and the blonde doesn't hesitate to continue her flight onto the landing of the ground floor and take a sharp turn toward the living room, seeming well aware of her goal.

Casting a look over her shoulder, Naminé's face is the picture of concern when she spots Tifa still facing down the monster. As it clambers furiously up the stairs, the blonde takes quick but now shuffling steps toward what looks to be the front door. The ground sways under her, under all of them - she's stumbling but the creature is, too, clawing at the railing to try to keep itself from toppling over the side. It's tenacious, but there's no denying that it's being slowed somewhat by Tifa's efforts or that they're making it angrier, judging by the horrid noise that leaves the thing's throat. ]

Come on! We have to get--

[ Naminé's fumbling hand grasps the knob of the entry door, turns it - only to find it won't budge. Her head snaps toward the wooden surface, her surprised distress so great that even as the floor buckles near her, all she can say is, ]

It's-- still locked?

[ Evidently, that wasn't supposed to happen either, and it won't take much longer for their pursuer to catch up even with the handicap. ]

[starshower]

[It's only a few stairs away by the time Tifa takes after the girl, running through the living room and to the front door, stumbling over her feet on the way at a particularly violent tremor before she reaches it, freeing the doorknob from Namine's hands to give it a jiggle herself, but it only clicks back at her, the noise dreadfully loud in her ears.

Time is of the essence, and they're quickly running out of it as the beast reaches its last step, clawing its way onto the landing of the main floor with its ungodly noises. With one last glance over her shoulder, Tifa focuses all of her energy into her feet planted firmly on the ground, and within seconds, flames roar over them and she pulls Namine out of her way as she takes three steps back.]

Get down.

[It's the only warning that she'll give before she charges at the door, using the speed and momentum behind it to land a kick on the door's handle.

... But will it work?]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé stomach turns from the floor's violent upheavals, her weight pressed into the door more to try to keep herself steady than because she believes in her ability to force it open. Looking up as Tifa arrives, the girl meets her eyes with her own wide ones, and it doesn't take much prompting for the blonde to shift out of the way to let the stronger girl try the doorknob.

Arms clutched around her midsection, Naminé nods at Tifa's further command, shifting back and out of the way as best she can. When she stumbles in the attempt, the blonde catches herself with one hand and and one knee on the weakening floorboards, safely out of the way of Tifa's attack but struggling to find her feet again. Her attention at that point is torn between the desperate hope that the door might give way under the assault and the visceral fear of the monster that works its way ever closer, hissing and screeching as it tries to avoid the flames and forming cracks in the floor to move toward them. In the end, the second one wins out over the first as Naminé watches the creature begin to tense, body hunching in obvious preparation to spring the rest of the way toward them.

In that moment, a few things happen all at once. Tifa kicks the doorknob, the handle driving straight through it to the other side as it splinters both the frame where the locking mechanism is attached and part of the door itself, letting in streams of bright daylight in the new gap when the barrier starts to fly open. The monster, seeing its opportunity escaping it, pushes itself up from its crouched position on the floor, bladed wings beginning to extend as it leaps forward. And Naminé--

Naminé doesn't know quite when she got upright, but the next thing she's aware of is flinging her arm up past where Tifa is, palm extended as she cries, ]

Go away!

[ And then there's fire. Not the flames burning around Tifa's feet, or catching on the wooden timbers of the house, or licking up from the cracks in the floor. This is more directed, more furious, a large plume of Fire - even Fira, perhaps - that bursts forth from Naminé's hand and washes over the beast, catching on its sharp fur and spreading to hideous flesh as it screams--

But that certainly put a stop to its pursuit, no matter how temporarily that might be. With the door swinging open, now's the time to flee - though the view of what's beyond is obscured with light as if the world outside is too bright to perceive. Whatever's out there, it hardly matters; the cabin isn't long for this world if the ominous sound of wood starting to split and crack is any indication. ]

[starshower]

[Tifa hardly thinks twice about the light blinding her outside. All she sees is a place to run, whatever is on the other side be damned, and the thought is the only thing on her mind, especially so when the fire threatens to consume not just the monster, but the entire house as it grows and grows. Impressive as it is that Namine could pull that off in the dream world, regardless of whether or not it was intentional, she has no time to say as much.

The screams are blood-curdling as Tifa rushes away from them, and she can feel the heat coming from the fire as it struggles to give chase, struggling as it claws its way forwards after them. It's best that they don't look back, so Tifa grabs hold of Namine's hand again, fire or no fire, and runs alongside her, through the door and into the light, where they'll find some sort of refuge away from the beast and the cabin that will inevitably burn to the ground, and even better, a way out of this place and back into the real world.

Or, as real as Reverein's going to get, but anywhere is better than here.

Behind them, there's another groan and crack as the wood of the house starts to splinter apart, and Tifa, gritting her teeth, pauses in their steps to really make sure that they can make a clean getaway. With more fire, she forces the doorway to collapse in on itself before she's turning tail and running again, with Namine at her side. Into what, she has no idea, but at least it's away from whatever that thing is.]

[lethechained]

[ When Tifa's hand grasps her smaller one, Naminé jolts out of what might have been a stupor if it went on any longer, her eyes on the flaming beast screeching its fury, its pain, its protest as if the world owes it some response. To see such a powerful creature enveloped so easily by the fire, to have had a part in it herself - it's hard for the lass to wrap her mind around even as the heat from her magic is still fading from her palm. Part of her, truth be told, feels almost guilty--

But the older girl pulls her along and Naminé complies, nearly stumbling on the first few steps with her face still angled toward the flames, unable to help herself no matter how the brightness darkens her vision. She finally turns in time to see the open doorway as they pass through it onto the grassy space beyond, the shape fuzzy against the pale white of the outdoors. Here the edges of the dream grow blurrier, as if a dense fog lies over it. There might be trees in the distance, or they might be pillars - yet once the door is shut and the pair run into the light-wreathed space beyond, the area around them seems to grow ever more obscured, rather than clearer.

A number of trunk-like forms pass them by as they flee, but each is less distinct than the last until, all at once, everything seems to cease.

Then, with a vocal gasp, Naminé flinches awake. The gravedirt under her is gritty and uncomfortable, but she doesn't pay it any mind as her body naturally curls inward, her oversized hat tumbling the rest of the way off of her head and flopping over onto the ground. Breathing unsteady, the girl has to spend a few seconds glancing around as best she can manage before remembering quite where she is. That's right - the other dream. The one she was supposed to be in, before she got pulled into a nightmare.

It doesn't take long before she comes to an additional realization, and with an effort tries to turn her head enough to check the other direction as she pushes herself up from the ground. ]

Tifa--?

[starshower]

[Anywhere is better than that hell house that they'd just escaped from, so Tifa will take a dreamy fog over anything else that this nightmare could have offered. She keeps running, hand squeezing every now and then to make sure that Namine is still with her, as they journey further into the depths of it, their surroundings growing more unclear with each step. Moving forward is the only direction they can go, and she'll keep going until they find a way out of here, and—]

Huh?

[She freezes on the spot, her legs suddenly feeling like they're made of sand, and the entire world seems to stop around her. There's a split second when the fog clears, and the trees or pillars or whatever they are turn to static, but she can make out the faint hints of something through it—outlines of cookie cutter roofs that fill her with a sense of familiar dread, and then flames engulf them, and—

Tifa jolts awake not long after the girl, shooting upright from her spot on the ground just above the dug grave. The dirt clings to her hair and her skin and she tries to shake it off, but that only gives way to the dull ache that shoots through her head when she finally opens her eyes. The sounds of kids laughing, the music and the low buzz of chatter beneath it... Her black wolf's ears twitch in the direction of the noise, and it dawns on her at last...

They're back.

Looking around, she peers down into the hole next to her, where she found her laying before stumbling into the nightmare.]

Namine...?

[lethechained]

[ The grave is shallow, perhaps either freshly dug or interrupted in the middle being filled, so as Naminé reaches up, her hand manages to find the edge of the hole. When she tries to tug herself upward, though, some of the dirt gives and crumbles away under her palm. After that, she rethinks her strategy and plants both hands on the disturbed soil beneath her instead to help herself sit, blonde head finally lifting above the level of the ground, if only barely. ]

Tifa...!

[ The girl's tone is more relieved now that she's certain her companion came along with her, and without hesitation, she's already looking Tifa over for any sign of harm. ]

Are you alright? There was-- so much...

[ Fire. The longer Naminé's out of the secondary dream, though, the more her head clears. Trailing off, she frowns as her mind attempts to reorient itself, taking in the change in her own appearance and Tifa's. In that cabin, there was no witch costume, no floppy hat like the one next to Naminé's side. She'd been her old self, white-dressed and alone. Moreover, it had been so hard for the blonde to remember anything that had happened before her arrival there during the nightmare; it hadn't felt like a dream to her at the time, yet... ]

... What... happened?

[ Still somewhat groggy, the girl turns her perplexed face back toward Tifa. ]

I remember being in this place before, but then...

[ That's where it all gets weird. ]

[starshower]

[Tifa helps to hoist her up out of the grave, brushing away some of the dirt that's clung to her hair and clothes when she situates herself across from her, both girls looking one another over for signs of injury. Thankfully, either nothing has crossed over or they managed to escape unscathed, except for maybe the fatigue of battle, but regardless, she's relieved to see that Namine is okay.]

I found you asleep in one of these... holes, with a message on the stone. [Grave sounds a bit too ominous for her liking. She wasn't dead.] People have been falling into dreams all over the place here, and... I wanted to make sure you would get out of there.

[There hasn't been a single dream that Tifa has stepped foot into today that has been good, in any way, and so far, everyone has needed that extra hand in getting them out of whatever trap those dream lanterns had set for them.

The large wolf's ears on Tifa's head, black as her hair, turn back.]

Do you remember how you got in there?

[lethechained]

[ Naminé clasps the other girl's arm as gently as possible to try to keep them both steady as she's hoisted up, her remaining hand reaching back to grab her hat out of the grave and bring it along for the ride. The blonde murmurs her thanks as she settles into place after the assistance, eyes still searching over Tifa for a moment or two before finally appearing satisfied that none of the damage done in the dream, if there was any, was permanent. Frowning, the Nobody brushes the dirt from her hat as she listens to the explanation, gaze on her companion rather than the object in her grasp. Presently she abandons the project and sets the accessory on her own lap, too preoccupied to bother with it further. ]

So there are others? [ Visibly troubled by this idea, the lass nearly loses control of her train of thought as she's pulled into her imagination, already considering what might be going on in those additional nightmares. But she's not quite so far gone as to not catch herself, eyelids fluttering wider in an almost startled blink as she remembers to say, ] ... Thank you. I'm not sure what... what would have happened if you hadn't come to save me.

[ Or perhaps she knows the eventualities all too well already. The sentiment Tifa's newfound animal features display is one Naminé's face seems to echo as the question makes her expression tense slightly. ]

Not exactly. [ Which is strange in and of itself, because she rarely experiences gaps in her memory, equipped as she is with power that discourages such things. ] I remember... I was trying to help everyone clean up after what happened earlier. But then, when I came over here, I saw a message on one of the graves that I didn't think was there before, and when I glanced at it-- the next thing I knew, I was... in that other place.

[ There's a gap there that would be highly concerning if she'd moved from one physical space to another, but it doesn't take much for Naminé to surmise, ]

That must have been when I fell asleep.

[ The grim, reluctant way she says it, though, it sounds almost like she's hesitant to believe as much. ]

[starshower]

[So, is the key here to avoid reading the messages that are posted on the gravestones? She wonders, briefly, if there's one written for each person here, and she's just been lucky enough to avoid the one meant for her...? The sheer number of dug graves is pretty telling, but it's something she tries not to think about. If she had fallen victim to the nightmares, then she wouldn't have been able to help Namine, or the others, out of their dreams... And what would have happened to them then?

Tifa only nods to confirm her suspicions, her gaze flicking to the shallow hole in the dirt next to them. Had they all willingly climbed in, or was it more a trance that led them down there to put them to sleep? She has so many questions about how this happened, but no one around with the answers. If Namine doesn't remember, then it's unlikely anyone else would...

Instead, she focuses on the contents of the dream—things that she might know, because she has plenty of questions about what had happened in there, too.]

... What... was that thing?

[She is free to share as much or as little as she likes about that beast's meaning, or the house, but she'd at least like to know what it was.]

[lethechained]

[ Naminé has always found any gap in her recollection disturbing, creature of memory that she is. There are a lot of answers to be sought, both about the situation they just found themselves and the one that's been plaguing fellow Dreamwalkers, and the girl momentarily appears lost in these reflections as her expression darkens with her thoughts. Her delicate mouth sets itself into an unconscious downturn, her attention on her private considerations only wavering when Tifa asks that question.

At that, the blonde looks up, the shift in her gaze too quick for the inquiry to have been anything but a troubling one. Naminé's frown tightens, a hesitation visible in her expression, yet soon she seems to relent. Tifa deserves an explanation after all of that, doesn't she? No matter how much Naminé would prefer not to to describe it, especially with the experience so fresh in her mind. ]

It was... a creature that I met a long time ago, in another place.

[ Her hands fold together, the grimly tired look on her face telling of how that experience went. If it was that hard for them to get away in a dream... ]

Although I saw it many times, I was never able to learn its name. I asked a monster hunter about it once, but he couldn't tell me anything either. All that I know is-- what it was like when it chased after me.

[starshower]

[The fact that it was never given a name, or that it's still unknown, doesn't sit well with Tifa. For some things, having a name given to it makes it less scary to face, but this... it sets an uneasiness in her expression, sharpening her own features as she listens to Namine with focused intent, watching how her own changes as she struggles to describe it.]

That is scary...

[She isn't going to dance around that. They both know what they saw, and she can only nod, confirming that Namine isn't alone in feeling afraid. Tifa might try to look strong on the outside, but she had been shaken on the inside, terrified of it finding or catching them in its pursuit, even outside of the house.

One thing she can offer, though, is this reassurance.]

But... at least it was just a dream. It can't get us out here. Or our real selves, wherever they are. [ ... ] And if it does find a way, at least we know how to deal with it.

[lethechained]

[ There's something helpful about a definition - an instinctive limitation on what a thing can be that's based on it having a name. If it has a name, it has rules; if it doesn't, then there's no telling what it might be capable of. Or at least, it's easy to perceive the situation that way without quite realizing it, when fear and emotion are given control.

In any case, Naminé's troubled expression appears to indicate that the two girls are in agreement about how frightening the experience was. What makes her eyes flick up from where she'd been gazing at the ground, though, is the addition of those other few comments. Lips parting, the blonde hesitates; she wishes she could nod and leave it at that, but having run into that creature again - even if it was in a nightmare - makes her reluctant to allow such a careless fib. ]

Not for now, [ Naminé amends, voice a wan sigh. ] After all, we're still in a dream, even if it isn't the same one.

[ She can concur more readily, however, with the notion of dealing with the creature the way they did before. ]

But out here, it'd be much easier to hide. And I'm sure none of the others would stand for it either, if it were to attack someone else. It's... really at its worst when you're alone with it.

[ She can say that from personal experience, in fact. For all of the half-pessimistic encouragement that might be in those words, though, Naminé's eyes are far-off. The ordeal is over for now, and yet it's like some part of her is still stuck in that recollection. ]

we can probably wrap this! 💕

[starshower]

[There's no telling what will become of this place tomorrow, or next week, or next month if they're still here, so the possibility of it coming back—finding a way into this world is just as probable as Namine stumbling back into the nightmare, and while neither of them are outcomes that she wants, she thinks it would be preferable for it to be the former, because at least then... she wouldn't be alone in her fight against it. If Tifa hadn't shown up... she hopes she can believe that Namine would have been able to handle it all on her own...

Tifa can see the fear still sitting in the crinkle of her brows, and the way her eyes seem to look right through her surroundings, and she takes hold of the girl's arm in a firm grasp.]

Hey. We don't have to worry about that right now.

[Easier said than done, she knows, but better to try and get back on their feet than sit here. Better to get their minds on something else, lest they manifest it into this world by thinking on it too hard.]

How about we go grab a bite to eat? As long as we're careful to avoid any more curses...

Sounds good!

[lethechained]

[ As in her own head as she is, Naminé jumps slightly as the other girl's hand closes around her arm. But it has the desired effect; the blonde looks up again, brow smoothing and lifting in question, then sinking lower at the answering reassurance. Slim shoulders lowering with her deliberate intent, she willingly concedes a, ]

You're right. It's-- not the time for that.

[ There's been enough excitement of all varieties today; there's no room to worry about things that might not even come to pass. Naminé takes a second to let out a long exhale, trying to expel her fretting with it. Tifa's suggestion is probably a good one, no matter how the younger girl might feel in her first reaction to it. She'd hoped to be of help to others while all of this was going on, but... no, after that incident, perhaps it really is better to avoid the graveyard for now. ]

We'll be careful, [ Naminé agrees, finally nodding to the suggestion. ] So that we're not looking at any of the graves... And if one of us does, we can help each other if we're together.

[ There's a second sigh building in her lungs, but she holds it in; she ought to be optimistic, right? Plucking her hat up to place it back atop her head, Naminé begins the process of standing. Soberly, ]

Besides - the sooner we're out of here, the better.

[ A little food wouldn't go amiss, either. Her stomach could use some settling after all of that. ]