[It isn't the cool air that descends into the room that wakes her, nor is it the sudden darkness that it brings with it. It's his fingers digging into her waist and his gasping first that has Tifa stirring, slowly blinking the sleep from her eyes to check up on him with a mumble of his name... but before she can finish the thought and ask him if he's okay, she feels the sharp sting of ice over her skin that has her body instinctively jerking against it until she's sitting upright and looking over him.
Watching as his fingers at her waist slowly begin to frost over, the ice creeping up his hand and over the bedsheets, and there's the leftover residue of it clinging to her own skin, burning into it just like it had back in the cave...]
No... Not now...
[She should have expected it, should have seen it coming, but ever the optimist that she is, Tifa hoped that the day they spent together would have been enough to allow him the night to sleep in peace. She shouldn't have been so foolish to think that. She should have stayed awake longer... to make sure that he was okay... She doesn't even know how long it's been, but it doesn't matter.
Tifa grabs him by the shoulder and shakes him, gently at first.]
Eustace, wake up...
[But the further the ice begins to spread, the more desperate her attempts become.]
Eustace, please wake up...!
[But whatever it is he's stuck in, there's no getting out, and his condition is getting worse. His breathing is growing into more harried gasps, and she can't seem to wake him no matter how much she tries to shake him. Whatever nightmare's clutches he's fallen into, it's clear that it isn't going to let him out. She's panicking, her own breathing quickening now, but that isn't going to do her much good.
So with a deep breath, she places her hand on his cheek and brushes his hair back to press a kiss to his cold forehead.]
Hold on, okay? I'm coming...
[She would be there to catch him when he stumbles, and if it's in a nightmare, then she'll face her worst fears to do it.
It won't take long at all for her to slip into his dream, but when she's there, it's still. Silent. Dark...
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Watching as his fingers at her waist slowly begin to frost over, the ice creeping up his hand and over the bedsheets, and there's the leftover residue of it clinging to her own skin, burning into it just like it had back in the cave...]
No... Not now...
[She should have expected it, should have seen it coming, but ever the optimist that she is, Tifa hoped that the day they spent together would have been enough to allow him the night to sleep in peace. She shouldn't have been so foolish to think that. She should have stayed awake longer... to make sure that he was okay... She doesn't even know how long it's been, but it doesn't matter.
Tifa grabs him by the shoulder and shakes him, gently at first.]
Eustace, wake up...
[But the further the ice begins to spread, the more desperate her attempts become.]
Eustace, please wake up...!
[But whatever it is he's stuck in, there's no getting out, and his condition is getting worse. His breathing is growing into more harried gasps, and she can't seem to wake him no matter how much she tries to shake him. Whatever nightmare's clutches he's fallen into, it's clear that it isn't going to let him out. She's panicking, her own breathing quickening now, but that isn't going to do her much good.
So with a deep breath, she places her hand on his cheek and brushes his hair back to press a kiss to his cold forehead.]
Hold on, okay? I'm coming...
[She would be there to catch him when he stumbles, and if it's in a nightmare, then she'll face her worst fears to do it.
It won't take long at all for her to slip into his dream, but when she's there, it's still. Silent. Dark...
Tifa calls out.]
... Eustace?