closed ⚡🌠 can we come back from this

[starshower]

Who: Eustace & Tifa
Which: Closed log
Where: Their treehouse, corgi tree, maybe some other places
What: After Eustace's Noctaere episode, he and Tifa try to put their relationship back together.
Warnings: Trauma, lots of sads, and then probably gross fluff after.


[It had been a struggle even getting home. After they and the others had arrived at Ori's home together, it was at Tifa's insistence that she and Eustace go back to theirs. For as grateful and appreciative as she was for all their help in saving the both of them, there are some things that Tifa would rather they be alone for, and this... whatever this is, is one of them. Never mind the guilt that she feels for having been the one to put them all through it—Eustace can argue with her all he likes, and they can all contend that they shouldn't feel that way, that none of it was her fault, but ever since she woke up from her weakened and frozen state, Tifa couldn't look any one of them in the eye.

Including Eustace.

Even as she walks with their arms slung around each other for support with Eria at their side, the journey home is silent. Only the stirrings of dawn can be heard—the birds that chirp in the canopies, the sound of dew dripping from the leaves, but nothing is quite so loud as their staggered footsteps, or her heart beating wildly in her chest, and her blood roaring in her ears.

Tifa tries to keep her anxiety to a minimum, tries to keep her thoughts straight, but all she can see are the claws of those lindworms as they came down to strike, and their scales that shimmered as they slithered around her. All she can hear are his desperate cries, and the sound of ice and electricity crackling as her vision darkened and her consciousness had begun to fade... She remembers the chill, the grips of death when it threatened to consume her, how cold his fingers were as they brushed against her face. The red in his eyes...

And then when she woke and saw the destruction he'd left behind. Saw her friends bruised and battered from battle. Saw him like that...

The thought is cut short by a sharp breath when they finally arrive at the foot of the stairs leading up to their home, her boot bumping against them when she hadn't been paying attention. The climb up is as dreadful as everything else had been, and she can feel the heat under her boots, the fires that try to claw their way out of the cage she tries to lock them in, to struggle against the trail of ice that forms in their wake. Even the tree's branches and leaves shudder as they walk through the front door, the flowers that decorate their tree that were once bright and vibrant freezing over and shriveling up, dying without a fighting chance.

It isn't until they're safely inside that Tifa so much as looks at him for the first time since they were at Ori's. Perhaps even before. Really looks at him. He's bruised and cut up, and he looks more tired than she's ever seen him.

Her hands fold together as she skirts her gaze away again, down to where she tries to stop her fingers from trembling when she bites back the urge to sob.

Tifa wants to say something, but... what is she even supposed to say? What can she say right now that would make this easier for both of them? She searches and searches her mind for an answer to the question that's been wracking her since they left the cliffside, but she's still coming up short of nothing.

Eria trots over and nudges Tifa with her nose, as if to encourage her to say something to break this tense silence before it all snaps. So, she blurts out the first thing that comes to mind in a voice so tiny that she's not even sure she's said anything at all, and it crackles, as if this is the first time she's ever spoken a word in her life. It certainly feels that way right now.]

... Do you want to get cleaned up first?

[First.

She kicks herself for it. Any other day and she would have suggested together, but her fear—not of him, but fear for them—is getting the better of her, and maybe that's for the best.]

Comments

[flamekthunder]

...Hm...

[His lips brush against hers as his hands slide lower to her hips.]

Should I make it so you really can't...?

[starshower]

[He draws the most breathless gasp out of her.]

Eustace!

[She gives him a gentle shove against his shoulder, but with him on his back, it only sinks him further into the bed and lifts her up and away from him.]

... That sounds like a challenge.

[Not that it would be much of one—he's making it so this very second with the way his hands move over her, and she can feel a ripple of warmth already spreading over her, and her toes curl with anticipation.]

[flamekthunder]

[He can't help but smirk as he watches how her body rises, not even bothering to hide where his gaze goes to.

...Now, should they? After everything? Some might think no, but for him... He just wants to love her in every way possible, and she's the only one who could push him like this—even if she doesn't mean to.

There's a very strong urge to push her downward, but he resists. Barely.]

Do you want to take it?

[starshower]

[She ponders it for a while... or pretends to...

Before she wordlessly flips them over so that she's on her back with him on top of her in such a smooth motion that she surprises herself with it, given how tired she feels. They don't need to, they could just lie here in bed until the sun came up the next day and doze in and out of sleep and she wouldn't mind, but the longer she looks at him, the more she kisses him, the more that craving sinks itself deep in her.

One hand takes his at her hip and guides it over her, trailing his fingers along her side and up to her chest where she presses his palm over her heart, and he'll feel it racing again, see her body rise and fall with each breath...]

Only if you want to...

[That glint of a smile fades, replaced with something more serious.]

Was there anything you wanted to say? Talk about? Ask, or tell me?

[flamekthunder]

[He's surprised by the maneuver, his bangs falling messily over the right side of his face and hanging over like a curtain. But the slightly widened eyes curve into amusement as she takes his hand, the heat from her skin tantalizing...but it's the feeling of that precious heartbeat that makes him press his palm more firmly against it, as if wanting to secure it in place so it never stops.

He stares down at her for a moment before he shifts and repositions himself so that he's more aligned with her, his face lowering closer.]

...I just want to tell you how much I love you. And how no matter what...

[He lifts the hand holding his, pressing his lips against her ring finger that still remains empty.]

...I won't falter again. I won't make you doubt my love for you again. I will be your strength... Just as you have become mine.

[starshower]

[She purrs when his lips meet her finger, and she imagines what it might be like to have a ring around it. She had, once, in a dream long ago, but that hadn't been real. This time however, come winter, it will be, and he will have one to match. Her neck feels empty without that chain, but as nice as it was to have a physical representation of their love for each other, what really matters is this.

These precious feelings that are like a guarded secret that only they may ever know...

But at times she wonders how it might feel to have a ring there, to have his lips press to it just like they do her bare skin... And as they leave her finger, she runs her hand across his cheek so that she can push back the hair that drapes over and hides his face from the sun.]

I never doubted you. I won't ever. And even if you falter, I promise that I'll be here to catch you...

[With that said, Tifa lifts her head to connect her lips against his.]

I love you...

[More than she did a minute ago, a second ago. If there were a word to describe something that were more than overwhelming, it would be these things she's feeling for him right now. It's an indescribable sort of love, the kind that takes over one's mind and soul. It's the kind that leaves her breathless but her lungs full of his scent like it's the air she breathes.

She's sure that she's never loved him more, but then he kisses her again, he touches her again, he whispers sweet nothings in her ear, and that all changes...

As they spend the next hours together, Tifa is sure to remind him of everything she's said. That she would love him always, that should he ever trip and stumble, she would be there to catch him. That should she ever fall, she would want him to be the one to catch her... That in spite of everything that's happened today, even if they are both tattered, scarred, and bruised on the outside, everything beneath that has never changed.

Their love hasn't changed but it has grown stronger, more resilient, like the starflowers that hold fast around their tree, their petals blooming a little bigger and shimmering brighter, even as the shadows continue to lurk beneath their glow.

It's only after the sun has begun to set that they even make it out of bed at all. It's Tifa's rumbling stomach that protests (very) loudly to her wanting to stay beneath the sheets with him, insisting that they finally get something proper to eat. So, after changing into fresh clothes, she's able to whip up something fresh and easy for them—salads made with vegetables plucked straight from the communal garden and her special homemade vinaigrette dressing. Plenty of water to go with it, and some coffee.

Eria returns on her own without the kitten, who she'd left with the flowers, to check up on them, and even the wolf seems pleased to see that they are already in slightly higher spirits. She can still sense the tension, but it isn't between them. Rather, it's the residual energy that still lingers, the more stubborn pieces of it that cling on for dear life. They explain to her their plans to keep the corgis at the flower tree for another night, to give them the space they need— they'll pick them up tomorrow, they promise! —and that's all the explanation she requires before she rolls her eyes and walks away with a sassy swish of her tail that makes Tifa laugh, shushing herself only when Eria shoots her a look.

There's some cleaning that needs to be done, too. It helps, having some things to keep them busy, but it's all things that they can do together. Cleaning up the mess that they left in the living room during their earlier conversation, and mopping up any water that's been left on the floor in the bathroom from that morning... Before they're making a mess of it again. Another bath together, and this time, they spend it talking about things that aren't the nightmares. Happy things, at Tifa's insistence. Like planning another date in the near future, the new things she wants to buy for the house... All things that they might have talked about while cozy in a hot bath together before...

It's well into late hours of the night when they finally make it back to bed, and even with a slightly more restful evening, she still feels her body giving out under the fatigue, prepared to collapse into their bed next to him.

Once there together, she scoots up right next to him, but she doesn't fit herself right in at his side. Instead, she moves up, watching the sleepy look on his face as she reaches to touch his ears, his hair and their fur still a bit damp from the bath.]

... You'll be able to sleep?

[flamekthunder]

[It would have been difficult to imagine at first, but being able to share in their bliss really does wonders to improve his mental and emotional state. The shadows still lurked, but when he was Tifa...it really felt as if he had his own special sun constantly warming and lighting the way to push them back. There were still times the doubts or regrets of those deep rooted issues would appear, but he could push them back for another day. Be reminded of the special treasure he had found in her, and why he has to pick himself—and her—up whenever they stumble.

And after...having more than his fill throughout the day, he was more than content to just basking in her presence and just be able to hold and be close to her, stealing and sharing the occasional kiss every now and then. It truly felt...as if things had returned back to the day before. As if that nightmare never happened. Briefly he wonders if that's a good thing or not. They certainly aren't brushing past anything this time, but are they somehow moving back forward too quickly? ...Or was this just a testament to their love and devotion for one another, how desperately they want to keep moving instead of squandering in the dark? Guilt and pain would sometimes flicker through whenever he see her smile or if she seems to be in her own thoughts, but then she smiles so brightly...

No, it's better this way. Better to salvage these moments of peace to help heal their wounds. So when they finally end up in bed, Eustace just wraps his arms around her waist, not minding that she doesn't move right to his side as it allows him to press his face against her chest, breathing in her scent and listening to her heart as her touch lulls him further. It seems now that the worst has passed and they are able to just rest, his body has finally decided to give out completely.]

...Mm. You?

[...Should he suggest the dream sharing thing? But his mind is already drifting, that soft sound of her heart beating so loud and strong...]

[starshower]

[She smiles down at him fondly, glad that he can't see the way that sadness flickers through her gaze again. It's not as if she's bottling anything up—they have talked plenty and she's said everything that she wanted to say, but there are still times when she looks at him and feels... sad for him. Sad that he had to go through all of that, and that she knows beneath all the smiles and the laughter they shared today in an attempt to heal their hearts, there is still pain.

Try as she might to whisk it all away in a single night, she knows that she can't, and it's a hard pill to swallow, but one that she does, nonetheless.

Her fingers continue to gently run over his ears, brushing and squeezing in all the ways that she knows he likes to help relax him and ease him into a slumber that she prays will be a good one. They both need the sleep—the naps throughout the day were helpful but not nearly enough, but he's the one who needs it most...]

Yeah. I think so. I feel... relaxed.

[Well, as relaxed as she can be right now. She sighs as she presses a kiss to the top of his head.]

That bath was nice.

[Good for them, honestly. Her muscles were sore and she felt a headache coming on, but the heat and the lavender-scented steam did wonders to help both that even Eustace will be able to feel her body sinking into the mattress.]

But don't worry about me...

[flamekthunder]

I'll always worry about you.

[He shifts slightly so that he's looking up at her, eyes meeting hers.]

...In fact...you should want me to worry about you.

[starshower]

[She knew that no matter what she said, he still would, so when he moves to look up at her, she can only smile apologetically back at him as her fingers leave his ears briefly.]

I know you will.

[Tifa leans in to kiss the tip of his nose.]

I just want to make sure you get a real sleep. I'll be fine... [As if her body is trying to prove a point, she yawns.] I'm already starting to drift off myself, but... I wanted to make sure you could first.

[flamekthunder]

...Hm.

[He doesn't look too convinced...but he's also too exhausted to argue the point further. If she has a bad dream...he's certain he'll notice and rush to her aid. And he knows she'll do the same. So he just stares at her for a moment longer before he leans up for a proper kiss, one that lingers and steeped in the warm love and care he holds for her.]

...Sweet dreams.

[starshower]

[Tifa smiles gently into the kiss, allowing it to linger so that she can take in one more before they sleep. She may even chase him for a second, quicker one too, but it's no less genuine, no less loving than any of the many, many others they've shared today.

And when he pulls back, she lets him find a spot on her chest again while her fingers continue to brush over his ears, massaging them until she finally feels his breaths even out, and his body relax over hers.]

Sweet dreams.

[She follows not long after, and she slides into that spot against him where she was made to fit, and tumbles into a light but dreamless sleep of her own...]

[flamekthunder]

[It all starts peaceful enough...or as peaceful as it can be given the circumstances. For Eustace, her heartbeat had been a strong lullaby that allowed him to slip into a not quite dreamless sleep. In his dreams he's just lying in an open field covered in starflowers, his head resting on Tifa's chest as she lays next to him, gently and lovingly run her hand through his hair. He can hear the steady, rhythmic beating of her heart, so soft yet strong. And in the distance he can hear the sounds of the dogs barking and playing.

It's peaceful. Quiet. Everything he could ever want...to last forever.

Until at some point, a strange...clicking sound breaks through the soft ripples of the flowers. It starts faint, steady, and it takes him a moment to realize it ticks in time to the sound of Tifa's heart. But then it steadily grows louder, and his eyes snap open as he sits up to stare at Tifa who only smiles at him curiously, her brilliant red eyes questioning his actions and almost beckoning him to return. She reaches out to him, and although he can't shake off the strange feeling, he softly smiles and reaches out in turn to touch her cheek, wanting to brush back her hair.

But the moment he does, ice erupts from his hands and he jerks back wide eyed as he can only watch in horror as the ice quickly encases her, her form turning more into statue of ice.

Ha... Ha...

The ticking sound continues, and he doesn't realize his ragged breaths are in time to it as he looks around. It's then he hears that ominous crackling of ice beneath him, and as he hastily staggers to feet the ice spreads out through the once vibrant field, freezing everything in its path.]

...No—this is a dream.

[He realizes then, that what he's seeing is another dream, another nightmare. He needs to steel himself, try and take control of it. Force himself to wake up before it gets worse.

But that ticking sound...the sound of a heartbeat.

Although he tries to resist, his eyes turn back to where Tifa remains frozen, her expression still so peaceful and oblivious to what happened.

Tick tick tick

Thump thump thump

...If he gets her out, maybe this could all turn around. If he can just heat up the ice, imagine the warmth he gives her, remember their love—

He can do this.

There's nothing to fear.



The ticking and beating grow louder, pounding in unison as he reaches out to that extended hand frozen in midair, as if reaching out to him. He pictures her smile, her laugh, her radiance—

The fear in her eyes.

It was for a moment. Just a very brief flicker. But it would prove to be a fatal one as that terrified expression from that night appears on the statue's face right as his fingertips had brushed against hers. A loud crack echoes loudly through the space, the hand breaking apart.]

—!

[Piece by piece she falls, each one in time to that ticking beating sound that thunders in his head. And when the last piece falls—

Tick

Thump

—

There's a heavy weight of silence before everything breaks apart around him.







When they had fallen asleep nestled close together, the room had been warm, flowers blooming here and there as if absorbing that warmth to transform into soft glittering lights. But now a cold chill descends upon them, the lights extinguishing in a flash to plummet everything into darkness. Eustace stirs, the hand that had been around Tifa's waist digging into her as he gasps in his sleep—until a sharp cold will pierce her skin, ice forming around his fingertips and slowly frosting over his body.]

[starshower]

[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...

Tifa calls out.]

... Eustace?

[flamekthunder]

[The darkness seems to stretch in forever to the point she might question if she entered his dream at all. If she steps forward she will find there is firm "ground" but she won't hear her footsteps. If she reaches out there is nothing to touch, only a seemingly neverending darkness with no light or anything to guide her.

But it is cold, and the longer she stays the colder it gets.]

[starshower]

[She can feel the sting of the bitter cold, and the way that it digs into her bones and tries to slow her down. She won't stay put for long, and Tifa starts to wander through the dark, one careful step at a time to make sure that she won't just fall through, until... she breaks out into a jog that turns into a run. Not even that is enough to keep the cold at bay as it sinks deeper and deeper, but she keeps running anyway, ignoring the way everything feels harder to move.

She does wonder if she found the right place, or if this is just her own dream. It feels just like the one she had when she had called out for help. Just a black, empty void of nothing. It was cold, and she was scared. She still is, but this time, it's for a different reason. That reason being that she can't find a sign of it ending, which means a sign of Eustace...]

Eustace?

[...

Still nothing. She's not even sure that she called out his name at all. The silence is so deafening that Tifa can barely hear her voice over it, let alone in her own head...

Fire erupts from her hands with the hope that it might help to illuminate the way...?]

[flamekthunder]

[As brilliant as her flame is, the darkness is still overwhelming with nothing in sight. However, she can now see the floor beneath her is solid ice—no, perhaps it's rock frozen over. In that moment a strong burst of icy wind and snow slams into her, thunder rumbling in the distance. The force is so strong, as if to snuff out the flame and push her back.

And yet.

Carried in that biting wind are faint sounds, faint voices.

Don't look.

Leave.

Soft, but forceful. Desperate.]

[starshower]

[She still runs, even as the flames do nothing to help her. Despite the icy ground, she doesn't slow, doesn't stop, doesn't slip.

... Not until the wind and snow blast against her. Her boot trips up on the ice and she falls forward, her body hitting it with a hard slam and a groan of pain before she can even think to break her fall. It's so cold, and as she lifts herself back up to look around and continue on, she's forced to shield her face from the ice that's grazing against her skin. There's thunder roaring in the distance, and she uses that sound as her beacon, fighting against the blizzard that beats back against her, tries to keep her away.

Fighting against the voices in her head as she tries to focus on the storm. That must be where he is...]

I'm not leaving... [she growls under her breath, as if those voices could hear her.] I'm not leaving until I find you.

[Regardless of whether they will do anything to protect her from either the cold or the darkness, the flames at her hands flicker brighter as they spread past her wrist and up her arms.]

[flamekthunder]

[...

How admirable.

The voice takes a strange stone compared to before, and as Tifa's flames grow, the wind lessens...or perhaps the winds are becoming more permissive. Regardless, her fires will warm her and allow to proceed forward.

It will take some time, but eventually she will suddenly break out of the darkness like bursting through a black fog and stumble into vast field of snow. Like before, there's nothing else to see, just endless snow and cold winds that continue to try and beat against her.

This time the winds carry the sounds of a child sobbing.

No!

Why!

If only I stayed home!

I don't want to be alone!

Kill them... I'll kill them!

Can't lose...again...

From to anger back to grief and then hatred again. The voice cycles through the emotions no young boy should have, but it does as Tifa ventures forward until she spots a small figure in the far distance moving away from her.

But before she can reach him, even if she's just within her grasp, a giant wall of ice will erupt in front of her. This, too, will seem and feel familiar.]

[starshower]

[She doesn't stop. Even if the voices continue to tell her to turn back or if they mock her, Tifa keeps going. She can sense the winds dwindling, and for once, her fire keeps the cold away. She doesn't know which way she's going or if she's even walking at all anymore—the ground is moving beneath her and the storm is blowing against her, but it's difficult to tell whether or not she's moving forward towards anything.

The voices that echo out around her are loud, ringing in her head like sirens, but she knows that voice... She's heard those small sobs before, a long time ago. It walks her through her own memories, and her fire suddenly feels hotter than it should around her wrists, and she can smell the faint scent of mako in the air before it's swept away in the wind as if it were never there... but she follows those voices until...

In front of her is a small boy. She would know him anywhere...]

Wait—!

[Tifa rushes forward to him at a breakneck speed to catch up, not caring at all that her feet almost slip on the ice again...

She reaches for his shoulder when he's within her grasp, but something stops her. A massive wall of ice erects itself from the ground, shooting up and sending her falling back several steps in surprise. There's a sense of dreadful familiarity that beats in her as she looks up at it, too high to scale and too thick to punch her way through effectively, but she can see through it to the distorted shape of the boy on the other side.

...

What did she do last time?]

Eustace... You're not alone, I promise...

[She presses both her hands to the ice where the fire is burning bright and hot, and the flames try to melt it away just as they did in that dream...]

[flamekthunder]

[The fire is resisted at first, the wall seeming to thicken to obstruct her attempt. But it will eventually give way, slowly, very slowly until at least an opening forms just large enough for her to pass through. But when she does, the wall immediately seals back up, trapping her within.

In front of her is large ice cavern with several iced over paths that span over a dark, empty abyss, almost like veins. Each one is thin, ice slowly chipping away as cracks slowly form. There's a loud tremor, a distant roar—thunder?—and a few paths crumble apart reducing her options and weakening the others. It's clear if there's one wrong misstep or the path gives way, she'll fall into the darkness beneath—and she'll have to hurry before the next tremor.

But that one tremor does reveal a light on the far side of the chasm. She just has to make it over.]

[starshower]

[She doesn't even look back at how the ice closes itself back up. There are no intentions of turning back around, so she continues, walking over the ice completely unfazed by the way it cracks and groans under her weight. The tremor does make her lose her balance and she spreads her feet to try and keep herself upright as the cave shakes around her.

It's time that she picks up the pace, and with her options quickly dwindling, she breaks off into a run again, skidding when she feels herself slip a little, but she's able to at least keep up. Some of it does break under her feet, but she isn't afraid. There is no room for her to be... Not with Eustace locked up somewhere in here all on his own...

All she feels is the adrenaline moving her legs as fast as they'll go, and the need to find him pushing her faster.

She runs and runs until, from the corner of her eye, she spots a light. She's hesitant at first to run to it and wonders if she should keep on this path instead, but there's something that draws her to it. A familiar pull that tells her that this is the right way, and she stops right at the edge of this new chasm that's formed, or maybe it's been here all along.

Staring down, it's deep and dark, and she can't see the bottom...]

Are you kidding me...

[She breathes it quietly to herself before she shakes it off and backs up... Step by careful step... so that she can wind herself up and be ready for a jump. It's probably a good thing she's trained for this, or else she might not have thought she could make it, but her boots beat against the ground like rolls of thunder and as she feels her foot hit the end of the road, she kicks herself from it, using the familiarity of battle to propel herself across as the edge crumbles after her.

It's only a roll to break her fall, and she takes a moment to regain herself and catch her breath before she's forcing herself up again and heading to the light...]

[flamekthunder]

[The light will lead her to another opening, just large enough for her to pass through. As soon as she crosses over that threshold, there's a loud CRASH as the rest of the paths crumble into the abyss, and the opening behind sealing shut.

Blinding sunlight will greet her as well as the thick scent of flowers—starflowers. It's a vast field that looks so different, so bright and lively compared to what she went through before. Yet it's also...empty. The flowers sway to an invisible wind, but there's nothing here. No sounds, no people—nothing. Nothing except...

In the center there looks to be someone lying in the middle of the flowers, and when Tifa investigates she will find—herself.

Sleeping in the middle of that field all alone is the very likeness of Tifa, the flowers gently swaying over her and occasionally brushing over her cheeks. The chest rises and falls, indicating some semblance of life—but she will not stir or awaken.]

[starshower]

[Once again, moving forward, Tifa doesn't look back, even when she hears the crashing of the ice from behind. Not that there's much to see at first as her eyes try to adjust to the very sudden burst of light and the way the sun beats down on her, its warmth a very stark contrast to what she felt in the darkness.

When she finally gets her vision back, she does take a moment to look around this time. She's surrounded by star flowers. Millions of them in a field that seems to stretch on forever past the horizon. They rustle in the wind, their sweet scent being carried on its back as it swirls around her, kicking up petals as it moves over the flowers. She walks this time, minding the blossoms as much as she can, with Aerith's voice in the back of her head nitpicking at her to be careful.

Her steps only slow to a stop when she comes across someone lying in the bed of flowers, and with a silent apology to Aerith for jogging, she moves to check up on them, halting again only when she sees the spill of black hair and the fair skin against the blue.]

... Huh?

[Is that... her?

She's sleeping so soundly, her chest rising and falling. Tifa closes the distance between her and... herself, and kneels over to check. Is this her right now? Or is this how Eustace sees her? So quiet, so peaceful... the same way that she sees him as he sleeps next to her.

Tifa won't try to wake her, but instead adjusts her arms so that she—herself—is more comfortable, and she plucks a single flower from the bed and places it between her fingers...

It's a little surreal, looking down at herself. This is the kind of thing that only happens in fever dreams, and she knows that this isn't one. She knows that this is a nightmare and that this image is only going to last for so long before it all crumbles like everything else did. Still, she whispers quietly, as if this sleeping Tifa might have the answer...]

Have you seen him?

[flamekthunder]

[Rather than a voice coming in front of her, one answers from behind.]

I have.

[When she turns around, she'll find Eustace standing there... But the red eyes tell everything, even if there's no frost on his skin or dark shadows around him.

And just as he speaks, there's a tremor similar to the one in the caves that rumbles beneath them, causing the flowers to shake and sway.]