second shot ⊗ open november log

[flamekthunder]

Who: Anyone!
Which: Open November Log
Where: Various locations in and out of town
What: A general open log with prompts that all feature dogs because I somehow could: helping chase squirrels away from the treehouses; assisting the farmers in orchards and herding; special "save Eustace from corgis quest" featuring Alice
Warnings: None


⊗ a: chasing treehouse squirrels

[The squirrels are certainly a menace for everyone living in the treehouses, and Eustace is no exception. He's been tempted to actually shoot them at this point, they've been such a disruption to his otherwise peaceful, quiet home. But they're not the only problem.

Barks and the sound of thundering paws can be heard all through the community as the fairy dogs Eustace had brought in previous start chasing the squirrels. On the one hand, they do help in driving them out. On the other hand...they are puppies and thus chaos will assuredly ensue.]

Dahlia, watch it!

[Eustace can only try and warn the young pup before she rushes up the stairs of someone's home and tries to jump at a squirrel that was taunting her. Not only will she probably surprise anyone who might be around, but she bumps into one of the tender fruits hanging from it. While it won't explode, it does threaten to fall so some quick action may be needed to either stop it or catch it without making it burst.

The other pups aren't that much better, barking and running up and down the trees, sometimes entering in homes with open doors. Yep this will be...quite the scene unless the pups are caught. They're fast little buggers, too.

Side note, the fairy dogs have names that match the flowers blossoming on their back for easier identification (from oldest to youngest): Dahlia (female), Edelweiss (Del for short; male), Iris (female), Valerian (male). They all have other flowers blooming on their coats, but those particular flowers stand out the most. The mother is named Rose.

Anyway, have fun with chaotic pups and squirrels with a side of exploding fruit.]

⊗ b: farm help

[Out on the farms, Eustace can be found in several places doing a variety of chores.

1. Clearing out pests. Out in the orchards, Eustace takes the opportunity to try and develop his abilities while dealing some of the pests...in this current situation, a mix between horned rabbits and giant insects. Although he will kill if he must, he will try to drive them away first.

Focusing on his keeping a steady and calm mind, he feels the air around him, the wind a stalwart breeze. Tapping into it, he tries to put in a bit more control and...woosh! A strong gust forms and blows away some of the large flies that were hovering around a tree.]

...A bit weak, but better than expected.

[Continuing with the calm mindset, he then focuses on the ground. He's used to creating mental and emotional walls, what about physical ones? In an attempt to trap a rabbit, he tries to raise the ground...but only succeeds in creating a small bump and just scaring it away instead.]

Hm... Practice is needed, but it's getting somewhere.

[2. Herding Livestock. With some trained farm dogs, Eustace joins a group in attempting to herd some captured Cotton Candy Sheep and fairy cows back to their corral. Of course Eustace really had just wanted to watch the dogs in action from afar...but he needs to work and this would be a good opportunity to learn some tips to help train those pesky pups. So with an experienced hound in tow and the basics in mind, he heads out. Of course it won't be easy, and a young sheep or cow will manage to slip out of the herd and run right towards another person.]

Hey, stop it before it gets too far!

[Or, you know, run over the person instead.]

⊗ c: special edition - fairy corgis (rescue eustace)

[A while back, Eustace and Alice had discovered a tree out in the forest of the Wildlands that looked like it had an entrance. They recently returned and when inspecting the tree Eustace picks up some sounds inside. Dog sounds. So perhaps against better judgment he tells Alice he's going in and when he does, a large group of corgis runs up to the door barking at them, but not stepping out. As if following some kind of impulse, Eustace is suddenly drawn in and steps inside despite Alice's warning. The corgis immediately surround him and are clearly distressed. After that, Eustace refuses to leave. Of course this could be something due to his love for dogs, but his behavior is more like someone under a trance. And now after Alice calls for help, it's up to everyone else to try and convince him to leave.

1. Warning Shot. Upon entering the clearing surrounding the tree, a bolt of lightning will suddenly strike the ground just inches before them. Looking up, they will find Eustace glaring down at them before aiming his gun at them, electricity crackling around the barrel.]

Leave. That was your only warning.

[Anyone is free to try and fight back, but Eustace will remain up in the tree and will never set foot outside of it. It's actually bad if he does, but...well, better to try and see what happens.

2. Memory Loss. It will become immediately clear that Eustace has no memory of his own life or about Songerein. But a "little bird" will appear and give a helpful hint: Eustace needs to recover his memories and he will be able to leave. Talking to him and trying to remind him of either something from his personal life or just Songerein will help as he won't even remember the dream world they are currently in, believing they are somewhere else. Finding a certain flower and making Eustace drink the nectar will also help clear his mind.

3. Beware the Corgis. It should be noted that Alice is the "gateway" to let people inside as she's currently the only one Eustace and the corgis "trust." So it can be assumed those who enter the house got approved by Alice. A group of seven corgis from old to adolescent will immediately "greet" and be wary, grumbling at the "visitor." They look like Pembroke corgis, but are unique with their leafy neck floofs. The interior of the tree itself is larger on the inside than the outside with a large open floor concept like a rustic cottage. There are spiral stairs that lead up to the second floor where a small bedroom and further up leads the various perches Eustace positions himself. The corgis will guard the bottom of the stairs and they are fierce. They may be short and long flufflebutts but they are heavy and can body slam anyone to the ground and know how to bite. Nipping ankles will be common.

The corgis will be very protective of Eustace and will not let him leave. Should anyone try to shove him out, bad things will happen and the corgis will freak out. Finally, should anyone try to harm the corgis, not only will they feel the wrath of Eustace and get shot with lightning, they will also be forcibly flung out of the tree and land far away deep in the forest. The corgis cannot leave, and will resist any attempts. They will also be stopped as if there is an invisible barrier.

4. Endear to the Corgis. It is possible to gain their trust, though it will be difficult. The corgis are distressed and while there appears to be a good stock of fresh food and they are not malnourished, they look as if they haven't seen a brush in months, perhaps years. Who knows when they last had a bath. So much hair everywhere... Finding the treat box might get their attention and a good brushing session to rid them of dust, old leaves on their neck floods, and excess hair will do wonders to calm them. Tidying up the place in general will help improve the mood as well. This may also help loosen the enchantment on Eustace, who will be watching and assisting, moving about as if he's always lived there.

Alice also has a toplevel that features other relevant tasks for this endeavor that also provides clues as to what the heck is going on. There is a sad story behind all this.]

⊗ d: wildcard

[Always up for anything else! Feel free to hit me up on discord or on laenavesse for any other plotting.]

Comments

[flamekthunder]

[The strong grip is surprising, but he's starting to expect more than what he initially assessed the further this fight goes on, her build and strength more than meets the eye. Feeling the force intending to push or flip him, he braces himself, a hand reaching out to grab the table and shifting his weight so that he could pivot on his heel to turn towards it and try to throw her off instead.]

[starshower]

[Damn it, he's good.

Better even because her focus is shot at the moment, but Tifa lurches along with him when he moves, not quite ready to let go of his wrist just yet. So together, they spin around the table until she's brought around with her back to him, colliding with a low grunt and fingers still wrapped around his gun hand as she forces the barrel away from them. The fire and ice and electricity are clawing at her hands, through the armour and leather gloves, but she forces herself through the pain that's searing up her arms.

She's doing all she can not to hurt him, but she's quickly running out of options... And the longer they stay like this, the more of a vulnerable position she'll be in, so she kicks him in the shin with the hope that it will allow her to free herself along with his gun, and perhaps grant her an opening... Any kind of opening...]

[flamekthunder]

[He can feel the kick through his boots, but unfortunately for Tifa, they're made of reinforced hard leather, designed so help insulate and protect him from Flamek's lightning. So instead he brings his arms around her, the barrel of his gun pressed dangerously against her neck as he puts her in a choke hold.]

Give it up.

[His voice is low, cold, and harsh against her ears. It does occur to him that it's strange that she's fighting so desperately to make him leave, and a part of him wonders why, but whenever he hears one of the corgis barking downstairs, those thoughts are immediately pushed away and are replaced with what he should do with this woman.

Killing her......not off the table, but he still would rather not. If he can render her unconscious he can just dump her outside and let Alice deal with it... Yet somehow that idea brings a strange discomforting feeling.

No, he has a job to finish, and his grip tightens as he pushes in harder.]

[starshower]

[Her struggle for breath has Tifa gripping his arm tighter, her skin burning under the touch of the elements that have started to swirl together into something dangerous. She can feel the heat tingling and searing through her under her armour now, and it takes everything in her not to give in and scream.

Tears blur her vision again, turning the kitchen around her into a world of nothing. Why is he doing this? Some enchantment, sure, but what kind of curse is this that it would make him go this far? She gets it—he doesn't remember her and whatever happened wiped his memory clean, but does he have to fight so hard to stay? To get her to leave? He's a fighter, but she didn't expect that he'd pull her into a choke hold like this...

He's left her no choice.

If he really, truly wants to fight her, then she'll bring the fight to him. In a move that is all too familiar to her, Tifa wraps her hands around his arms once more at the tingle on her ear and back of her neck, and she'll swing him over her body, flipping him onto the ground with a thud. And, before he can recover or breathe air back into his lungs, she's grabbing him by the cloak, lifting him, and shoving his back to the nearest wall so hard that she crashes into him.]

Snap out of it!

[She isn't yelling, but the desperation and anger are clear, and she has a hard time battling with the tears that stream down the sides of her face and stain her red cheeks.]

[flamekthunder]

[The move happens quickly and right around when he had been losing focus and had just returned to it. So it all happens in a flash and there's just a loud grunt when he's slammed into the wall, the sound of his gun clattering to the ground when he loses his grip due to the shock of the impact. More to the point, as he's being flipped over there's a strange sense of deja vu, one that disappears the moment he hits the ground and is picked up for the wall slam. Well if anything, it just proves he really did underestimate her. Were this another time he might have respected and admired that, but for now he's only thinking of the next move. She may be against him, but he could still grab her, his hands already reaching up to grab her arm and shoulder. It's clear she's skilled, but it's more obvious that she's not thinking it through, leaving so many openings.

It's then that he finally registers her expression, and for a brief moment his mind goes blank, eyes widening slightly. He had seen the tears forming before, had noticed her being upset and the strange recognition she had of him. He really couldn't understand why she's so desperate. Had he actually met her before? But that would be impossible, he has no memories or recollection of this woman—

A flash goes through his mind, a brief image of her face looking despondent and frustrated at him and clips of voices that bleed through like static.

...I have no idea what you're talking about. This is the first time I've ever met you.

      Could be this new world playing with memories. We've met before, but I guess you don't remember.

You say you know me from a world and time I have no memory of. Regardless of how you think of me, to me you are nothing more than a stranger. Why wouldn't I ask questions?

You should have expected it if you really know me well enough.

      Never said I knew you well.

It's clear that this is all pointless.

None of it is clear and yet it feels like it's something he should know. For a moment he can only stare blankly at Tifa, that initial hostile aggression fading.]

[starshower]

[Her breaths are cut short by the sobs fighting to free themselves, eyes screwed shut while she tries to blink back her anger and fear at what they've just done to one another, but the moment she opens them and her vision rights itself, she sees it.

The small fracture in that intense, wrathful stare that revives the sliver of hope she clung onto that she might find a way to get through to him. If all it took was knocking some sense back into Eustace, then she would have just done that right from the start—it worked once before, why wouldn't it again?

She can only remain cautiously optimistic that she'd found a way. Her arm is still stretched over his chest keeping him pinned to the wall, but the rage in her eyes fades along with his, and through her tears, she offers him the smallest ghost of a smile, her voice even smaller...]

Eustace...?

[flamekthunder]

[Something stirs and for a moment the static images and voices start clearing...

But the moment it does, there's a sharp, stinging pain, one that feels as if he had a vice crushing his skull. It knocks the wind out of him as he strains against her grip, gasping for air as his face contorts in pain. It happens so quickly that a few seconds seems like hours.

But when he's finally able to breathe again, he just stares at Tifa before all the anger and hostility return.]

The hell did you do to me!?

[It's a loud yell more akin to a growling roar as he suddenly grabs the arm that had been stretched over his chest and yanks it aside, twisting it as he flings her back to the table, the force so strong it sends both her and the furniture back several feet. Thunder booms outside, electricity crackling around him as he grabs his gun and lunges after, slamming the butt of his weapon into her side to knock her to the ground. With his knee pinned against her chest, he raises Flamek, the barrel now pointed mere inches away from her face. An ominous click and hum follows as he activates the weapon, the inner barrel beginning to glow as it starts to build up its charge.

He's breathing heavily, his head still feeling as it's about to slit in half from the searing pain. There's also a strange pain in his chest as well, as if something is telling him that he's making a grave mistake. Yet the only thing continues to ring through his mind is that this woman is a threat and is the reason why he's suffering right now.

So the only logical conclusion is to eliminate.]

[starshower]

[His movements are just as fast as her own, giving her little time to react before her legs are running backwards into the furniture and her back is hitting the floor. She shouldn't have let her guard down so much—at all, for that matter—and she might have been prepared for it, but hope got in the way again. Emotions got in the way again... and as she stares down the barrel of his gun, past the crackles of magic and into his eyes, they only start to grow.

Where there's a low rumble over their heads, there will be one to match the ground underneath them too as the ground begins to shake at the tree's roots, each one intensifying with the cuts of crimson glowing in her eyes that never leave his face. Her hands smoke with embers as she lays them flat on the floor on either side of herself.]

Nothing, [she finally answers, her voice uncharacteristically low and calm, but laced with a simmering rage, her face red and hot from her tears.

But she isn't about to give up just yet. Her gaze shifts, ever so slightly, to his gun, then to his feet. Next thing, he'll feel her legs tangle around his so that she can flip them, until she's rolling over with him on his back, her own knee pinning his wrist and gun to the floor.]

You know, you can be a real jerk sometimes.

[Her voice is rising now as she talks between rapid breaths and sobs, like a tea kettle finally reaching its boiling point. That small sliver of hope she was holding onto has shattered when she hit the ground, leaving her with nothing but desperate, unbridled anger.]

You don't remember me the first time, fine, but now?

[Pinning her to the ground and pointing a gun at her? Kicking her when she's already down? She knows none of this is really his fault and if he knew what he was doing, he would stop himself, but... It's time he got a right, proper scolding.

There's another rumble, and the tremors grow, shaking the entire inside of the tree.]

I dare you to point that gun at me again, but will that make you happy? Wonder what your friends will think if they saw you like this.

[Never mind her.]

[flamekthunder]

[She can scold all she wants, but it does little to change his current mindset—which is a bit chaotic at the moment with the clashing of emotions. Anger, hatred—uncertainty. He's about to counter either by slamming his elbow or butting his head against hers to get her off when there's the sound of harsh barking. It's closer than when they were before—instead of at the base of the stairs three of the older and heavier corgis have dashed up and lunge towards them.

One will slam into Tifa to knock her off, but then it will stay at her side and offer support if needed. Another will keep Eustace on the ground by pressing its body against him so that the most he can do is sit. The third knocks the gun further away, yelping at the zap of electricity but then ositiniong itself between them. Although it growls at Tifa, none of them are trying to attack her. And then eventually the one in the middle looks back at Eustace and then at Tifa before it begins to whine, almost desperately at her.]

[starshower]

[Tifa fights to stay upright, even as she feels the small, round body slam into hers, but its weight is surprising for being so small, and she tumbles back onto the floor with some distance between them now, and she remains sitting, staring at the trio of dogs that have come to their rescue. Surprising that the one is standing next to her, as if it's taken her side, and the one that's wedged itself into the space between them whining...

It does something to drive out some of that anger that's coiling in her stomach. Not enough that she's backed down completely, but she looks between the dogs and Eustace, confused for a moment before continuing with what she wanted to say.]

You think Zidane would appreciate knowing about all this? Gran?

[People she knows are important to him. That he is important to. It isn't just her that he would be hurting if he chose to remain like this. Whatever she'd done before, it had done something to break through the enchantment, but not enough. In one more move of desperation...]

Vitty. You think he'd like seeing you like this if he were here now?

[And what about Eria?]

[flamekthunder]

What are you—hey!

[He doesn't understand why the corgis are trying to stop him. The one trying to hold him back even nips at him! In a careful way, but still, the fact that it's actually acting out against him is unusual.

...As he thought, that woman is a threat—

Ting!

He hadn't been fully listening to her, but the mentions of a few names somehow grab his attention. It starts weak with "Zidane," but there's a stronger tug when she mentions Gran.

Gran?

A blurred image of a young male teen flashes through his mind, that same weird feeling from before buzzing through his mind. It's enough to make him grimace, a hand going to his head as he feels that splitting headache again.

Gran. Gran, Gran, Gran—Captain?

The words pound in his head like an ice pick chipping through solid ice, more images and faces starting to form. But it's not until she mentions Vitty that he freezes, eyes wide as if shell shocked.

Like with Gran, Vitty's name swims in his mind but it hits harder, striking somewhere deeper. Like there's a box locked away in the depths of his heart. It makes his chest throb, a painful ache he can't explain.]

...Vitty...?

[The word sounds strange yet familiar, and carries a strange feeling of sadness and despair. In his mind he hears a faint bark, a small howl, and then the heat of fire and more faces and snow—]

Argh!

[It's a strangled, pained cry as he clutches his right eye, slumping over as he struggles to breathe. It's so intense he can't feel the sting of tears that form or notice how a few drop to the ground, the water turning into ice before they shatter softly on impact. Immediately the corgis bark and whine as they gather around him, nosing and licking Eustace as all he feels is mind searing pain, unable to properly think and move. Jagged walls of ice start to rise up around him as the tree once again trembles and shakes.]

[starshower]

[Somehow, she got through to him. It may be small and brief, but that flicker of familiarity at Gran's name, and Vitty's, breaks that hard gaze of his and she watches, breath held, for something to happen...

...

But then he's crying out in pain, slumping over like the air has been sucked clean from his lungs, his tears turning to ice and scattering in small, broken shards across the wooden floors, and Tifa throws caution to the wind. She scrambles past the dogs, picking one up and moving it aside to make room for her, her hands pressing to the walls of ice that have started to build up around him. Embers at her fingertips melt it away, even as it continues to form, and she wants to reach out to him—remind him that he's here, not wherever those distant, locked up memories take him away to, but fear holds her back.

Even if she did see it, she still can't be sure that he's himself again.

But seeing him undone like this... It's too much, even more knowing that she was the one who almost unraveled his memories. It was for the best, but it still forces her over into a sob, her head leaning over the small dog that's been nudging her side since she collapsed on the floor in front of him. Her eyes hurt, her head hurts, but most of all, her heart feels like it's being relentlessly pulled in a hundred different directions.]

What's going on with you?

[She looks to the dogs, as if they'll have an answer for her.]

... What did they do? This wasn't how this was supposed to go.

[flamekthunder]

[The dogs only whine and Eustace sure as hell can't answer in his current condition. He's not even aware Tifa is even there. Eventually it all becomes too much for his consciousness to bear and he ends up blacking out. Beads of sweat mixed with the tear stains on his cheeks, his breathing shallow.

Before Tifa can panic too much, a little bird will suddenly appear sitting on the window sill just above them, tut tutting sadly.

"How difficult, it looks like you struck quite the nerve there. He should be fine, but it would be better if you found the cala lillies and make him drink the nectar from it. Should clear his mind a bit."]

[starshower]

[She almost snaps at the small owl on the windowsill, wanting to tell it that she'd tried to talk some sense into him before he fired his gun at her. Yeah, she struck a nerve, but how else was he going to back down? They couldn't keep fighting each other like that, and if the dogs hadn't stepped in and intervened, the only way this would have ended was with one of them getting badly hurt. Too hurt to make any of this worth it for either of them.

Or worse...

The hardness in Tifa's expression softens as she watches Eustace lay almost lifeless on the floor. She's going to help him... She's going to find a way to fix this... Wiping away a bead of sweat from his cheeks, she gives a defeated sigh and forces herself upright, her legs shaky and unbalanced underneath her.

... ]

Where can I find them?

[flamekthunder]

[It just gives an bored hoot, undeterred by the way Tifa looks at it.

"Lucky for you, they can be found within the forests not too far from here. I'd suggest grabbing as many as you can—it's still early, but you'll need every drop." It then looks down at the corgis who are staring up at it. "And quickly."

And with another helpful hoot and ruffle of its feathers, the owl flies up and disappears as quickly as reappears. Given how the corgis had only watched the owl without any hostility, they at least seem to have perceived as not a threat. In fact they whine when the owl leaves.]

[starshower]

[Tifa hardly waits for the owl to leave, let alone finish speaking, before she's turning on her heels and rushing down the stairs, skipping them a few at a time before she flies out the door, forgetting that anyone is even there at the bottom of the tree.

She can recall the last and only time she ran like this. It was across the rooftop of Shinra tower, after Cloud had fought Rufus. He was dangling over the edge, hanging on for dear life, and she was the one who'd caught him and pulled him back up. This is hardly different. Eustace may not be dangling hundreds of feet over a city, but he's teetering on the brink of something—something that she doesn't want to see.

So, into the forests she goes, her eyes searching as fast as they can for the sign of anything bright and colourful. She isn't sure how far she goes until she finds a small bundle of the calla lilies growing around the root of a tree, but she's careful, despite her shaking hands, when she plucks them from the ground. Five or six of them at least, but she wants to be sure she has enough...

How long she's gone is anyone's guess but hers, but when she returns, her footsteps are thunder against the stairs as she climbs back up the tree, stomping in and out of breath with at least a dozen calla lilies clutched safely against her chest.

She looks at Eustace, then at the corgis.]

Is he still...?

[She can't even bring herself to finish asking. Breathing? Alive?

Tifa falls to her knees at his side then, setting the lilies next to her on the floor, all except for one. She inhales, exhales, and screws her teary eyes shut when she feels her hands shaking still, but she parts his lips anyway, tipping the lily against them until the nectar drips over its petal...]

Come on...

[Draining the first flower, she waits to see if that will be enough, but when he remains lifeless on the floor, she grabs another.]

Wake up, you jerk. [Her voice is a sharp, desperate plea.] We need to talk.

[flamekthunder]

[When Tifa returns, she'll find all the corgis have come upstairs and are huddled around Eustace's prone body. Although his complexion is pale and his breathing still a little shallow, he's more or less stable and the ice that had formed before has mostly disappeared leaving only a thin layer of cold frost. Seeing Tifa, the corgis eye her warily before they see the flowers. Immediately their ears perk before some move away to let her through, the others continue to remain near Eustace as if guarding over him and keeping him warm.

Some of the nectar enters his mouth, the rest spilling out, but there isn't any response.]

[starshower]

[Having the corgis crowd around him like this makes her feel a little bad for being so mad at them. She wishes she knew the reasons why, but... they seem to want to help. Like they want him to wake up and make it out of this... She pauses to look around at them before she's dipping the next flower's nectar into his mouth, waiting for it to drip out every last drop before waiting again.

And then she'll take another, and then another, and will keep going to the last one if she has to... But the further she goes, the more desperate she becomes, her breath growing ragged and her hands unable to keep themselves steady.

After losing count, she finally snaps at him again.]

How many flowers is this going to take!?

[She only asks because this is her last one, and while she's more than willing to go out and find more, she hoped she wouldn't have to. A dozen should have been enough. One should have been enough...

Taking a breath to sturdy herself, she dips the last one, a little less careful than the others, tipping the flower so that it's upside-down to get every last bit of nectar out of it that she can, and using the stem of another to pull any remains of it out... and then again, she has to wait with bated breath until—]

Huh?

[The dogs around them whine and bark when they all see Eustace's chest heave and then stop, and Tifa falls forward on her hands, leaning over him, her panic escalating to tears. Small, hot embers float from the cracks in the wooden floor, and one of the dogs bumps its nose against her as if begging her to do something. He's stopped breathing and bringing a finger near his nose to check tells her that he hasn't started again.

Shiva's frozen icicle tits, are you joking?

A nervous flutter has her own breath catching in her throat, but she fends it off with a low, frustrated noise. It's a good thing she knows first aid, but is this really necessary? She was pretty sure the owl was certain that the nectar would work. Where is that bird now anyway? She has a few words to say to it.

No, back to what's important.

Tifa hangs herself over him and closes her eyes. It's a good thing she knows first aid and she's had to administer it plenty of times before when a man knocked himself out cold during a late-night drunken fight outside the bar, but why does this time feel so different?

Trying not to think too much of it, she opens his mouth as wide as she can given his state and takes in a deep inhale to fill her lungs with as much air as they can hold. Then, she lowers her lips to his, so close now that she can practically taste the sweet nectar...]

[flamekthunder]

[It really would take most of those flowers, but the reason why his breathing stopped wasn't because he was unable to but a temporary side effect of the magic within the nectar kicking in. Throughout the whole time he had been in a dreamless state of unconsciousness, and the nectar had slowly worked to calm and relax the effects of the enchantment on him.

So right as Tifa starts to press her lips against his, before she can even administer CPR, his eyes flutter open as he tries to take a breath—only to find her with her mouth over his.

...? ?? ??????

Of course he's frozen in shock at the sight, but before either of them could even move, the owl from before suddenly flies in.

"I forgot to mention that brewing the nectar into tea will make it more...effective..." It stares down at them for a whole second before it coughs into its wing. "Oh my, looks like you managed in your way. Excuse me for the interruption~" And with a slight lilt in its voice, it flies away.

It's that moment that Eustace comes to his senses and jerks back gasping, his mind spinning as he's trying to process what in the hell just happened. His memory is still a blur, still unable to recognize the woman in front of him. But at the very least the idea that she's a threat is no longer there, a growing sense of strange familiarity in its place instead.





Still doesn't answer why the hell her mouth was on his so explain is what his bewildered, wary glare is telling her.]

[starshower]

[With Tifa's eyes screwed shut out to preserve her dignity and pride, the only sign of anything wrong is the fluttering of wings, and the small voice of the owl from before. They snap open then, her vision quickly righting itself only so she can find Eustace's staring right back at her. Wait, he's—

Tifa tears away, shooting up so fast that she feels her muscles almost seize, and she shoots daggers at the owl with her stare while Eustace is next to her, gasping for air.]

You couldn't tell me that before I—!?

[But the owl is already flying off, pretending like it didn't hear her shouts after it.

She deflates with a defeated sigh and, for better or worse, looks to Eustace with an apologetic look—one that only shifts into deep regret when she sees his face.]

It's really not what you think, I promise.

[There is some callousness to her voice despite her expression, as if to imply that it should be obvious what was going on, and not to think much more of it, but... Tifa knows what it looked like.]

Glad you're awake.

[Whether he's feeling more like himself thanks to the nectar or if he's going to just pick up his gun and attack her again, that doesn't change the fact that she's overcome with relief regardless of how this all turns out.]

[flamekthunder]

[He's just going to continue to stare warily at Tifa before he feels a brief throbbing pain in his head. He remembers they were fighting before, but then...something happened that rendered him unconscious. Certain...memories. It's a blur right now, and he now has a sense that something is amiss here. Something that this woman might know about.

Hearing a whine near his hand, he sees one of the corgis looking up at him, worry clearly in its big, dark eyes. A small smile forms as he gently pats its head before his expression hardens a bit again as he looks back at Tifa.]

...I don't know what happened, but I understand you were trying to help me. ...Guess I owe you my thanks, then.

[Could he sound less grateful— But it can't be helped that he still treats her a little gruffly as he's still trying to understand. But at least this time he is trying to understand if of just trying to get rid of her.

With one of the corgis supporting him, he slowly stands so he can retrieve his gun.]

So who are you? And how do you know me?

[...Somehow this conversation feels familiar.]

[starshower]

[Unintentionally, and without her realizing, Tifa's hand moves to swipe at her lips. The harsh colour of his voice contradicts his words, and the insincerity of his gratitude bothers her, and it all makes what happened more embarrassing than it already was. Does he understand? Does he understand the kind of things he's just put her and all these other people trying to help him through?

When he stands, she doesn't follow, instead slumping on the floor, her head jerking in the direction opposite him.

It was silly of her to hope that this happening once already would soften the blow a second time, but it has the opposite effect—the pain of the first only aggravates the ache that pulls in her chest this time as she hears the same questions from him that she's had to endure already. Worse now because not only has he forgotten his memories of her in Camelot, but the ones they share here, messy as they are.

There's a long silence that follows his questions where Tifa just breathes, steady, trying to regain her composure from earlier. She needs to stifle the embarrassment that's clear in the colours of her cheeks, and the anger that continues to wind and twist itself in her stomach before she can even attempt to look at him.]

Really? [She finally says with a dry, dour laugh.] Again? Could at least try saying it like you mean it...

[This is just cruel. The nectar should have worked... Not to mention, this mismatch of memories hits a little too close to home. With Cloud, she was too afraid to face him, afraid that she was the one misremembering... That something had tampered with them, or with him, and she needed to be sure that what she knew was the truth.

This time, she knows what the truth is. She's sure of it, and she isn't going to run away.

She stands at last, brushing the dust and pollen from her skirt and stares right at him.]

Tifa. [She says it with such conviction that it's clear she hopes that it will at least jog a memory. Any memory.] We've met before, but I guess you don't remember.

[flamekthunder]

...Tifa.

[He mutters her name under his breath, brows furrowing as he tries to feel out any familiarity from it. At first he thinks he feels something nudging in his mind, something like deja vu...but no. When he looks back at her, at best is the feeling that he might have met her once somewhere before, but nothing more than that.

So in the end he just shakes his head, a palm pressing against it when he feels another dull throb the more he tries to think.]

No, I can't recall anything. All I know is I've been here for as long as I can remember, guarding this place and looking after them.

[He reaches down to lightly ruffle another corgi's ears before picking up his gun, his hand gently caressing it as it hums before he returns Flamek to its holster on his leg.]

I don't know where we could have met since I've never left this place.

[At least now Tifa will know for certain that there are more than a few screws loose in Eustace's memory, though whether that will bring any sense of relief is a different story entirely.]

[starshower]

Right...

[Oh, she can definitely sense that there are not a few, but many screws loose. Hell, the screws have gone missing entirely. They're just gone. And her expression says as much, one eyebrow arching with doubt as she watches him slide his gun into its holster so nonchalantly, as if he didn't just threaten her with it.

But Tifa can hardly be angry with him when there's the owl, who promised that the nectar from the lilies would be enough to restore him, and then sent her on a merry hunt to find them in the woods. Whatever frustration she's feeling with Eustace right now, it's nothing compared to the grudge she's holding against the owl. A bird.

She sighs, admitting defeat for now, but only because this feels like an opportunity that she needs to grab. She's getting a surprising sense of openness from him now that they've "cleared the air", and she's realized that she still hasn't found an answer to her many, many questions.

... ]

How long have you been here?

[Maybe, if she can search for a gap somewhere in those memories—a missing detail—then it could be just the thing she needs to finally pull him out of this strange waking dream.]

[flamekthunder]

Since—

[There's a pause, a frown forming as he can't seem to come up with an answer. How long has it been? Still not answering, he looks around him. Everything here feels familiar. In that desk he knows its contents and he knows the layout of this tree. Where to get food, how to take care of the dogs, their names.

And yet when he looks at the room that's supposed to be his, it doesn't feel...right. Like everything else, it's familiar yet it feels as if something is missing. That it's not really "his."

So after several more beats of silence he finally answers slowly.]

...I don't know.

[And now that he's voice it he feels another throbbing headache, one that forces him to press his fingertips against his temple before it fades.

He doesn't know. Something is wrong that he can't answer this simple quest.]