songerein | second shot ⊗ open november log

Entry tags:

second shot ⊗ open november log

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.]

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[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.

Edited 2021-11-15 02:30 (UTC)

...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.]

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.]

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.]

[Tifa's expression softens a touch, her eyes darkening until all that's left in them is pity. A fake life, and they couldn't even give him a story to go with it... but this is exactly where she hoped it would go.

She can be patient, as long as he doesn't try to endanger her again. Tifa wanders slowly away from him, inspecting the room more closely for herself. Running fingers over the dusty counters and table, her nose wrinkling at the dust that she picks up, standing a fallen chair or two, searching for any small thing that she can point out.

Her voice is surprisingly gentle, masking the prying nature of her words and intentions.]

Try to remember.

[Feeling a bit unsettled, he tries—but he only gets a sharp ringing in his head followed by a painful throb.]

...I can't. When I try it feels as if something is trying to stop me.

There shouldn't be.

[If he truly believes that he's been here all along, then there should be nothing blocking his memory from recalling it. But she can sense that this is having an effect on him as she watches him carefully, spotting the smallest changes in his expression. The last thing she wants is to make him slump over onto the ground in pain again...]

Why'd you come here anyway?

[Maybe this will be easier?]

[Why... Hm.]

I was chosen to protect them. The previous guardian— [Another ringing in his head, another grimace. But this time he grits his teeth and works through it, trying to remember anything. If not his memories, at least what happened that caused him to be here.]

...Something happened to the previous guardian, so the dogs have been alone for a long time.

[A conflicted expression forms as he looks down at the dogs at their feet. Only now does he see how shaggy their coats are, and the dust in the rooms. The moment he stepped in he had been so overwhelmed with this duty to protect that he hadn't been able to fully look over everything. He had gone to his perch while Alice—]

Alice.

[The name suddenly leaves him as he remembers the girl he had for some reason immediately recognized as an ally yet couldn't remember how they met or why he thought that.]

Have you spoken with her?

[Something pulls tight in Tifa's chest then, a sharp breath suddenly catching in her throat when he mentions the girl's name, and she fixes him with a light frown. He remembers Alice, but not her...?]

I didn't come here to talk to Alice.

[They had exchanged words briefly at the base of the tree, but Tifa had already made up her mind long before she could get any information out of her and had bounded up the stairs without a second thought or look back.

Tifa isn't even sure what talking to her would do, if anything. Sure, she'd been here when it all happened, but hearing about that all over again wasn't going to return Eustace's memories to him, which is the entire reason she's still here.]

She can't help you.

[It's a bold, presumptuous claim to make, but she's making it anyway, and she believes it.]

She doesn't have your memories.

[He just frowns at her.]

She's the only one outside of the dogs that I at least know the name of and I am assuming she's not part of... Whatever is going on.

[A small frustrated sigh.]

I still don't know if I can fully trust you, but I will concede that my memories have been tampered. How long have I been this way?

[At least he's finally accepted the possibility that things are not what he thought and listening.]

[She's heard those words before too—him questioning his trust in her. She should know better, but once again, there's that familiar pang of doubt twisting in her gut, wondering again if he really does fully trust her the way she trusts him.

If this were Avalon, she would have no second guesses now, but here, they're weaving a completely different story. One that does make Tifa wonder...

Still, she doesn't allow that to waver her on the outside, her stance and expression still as convicted and sure as ever. If she falters and he sees those reservations, then what good will any of her answers be to him?]

Not sure. Alice sent out the call for help not long before I got here. Couple hours, maybe?

A few hours... But it feels as if I've been here for longer even if I can't remember specifics.

[A small sigh as he looks at Tifa. The corgis have either been resting or shuffling around them, and they don't see Tifa as a threat. Even if now has to doubt his relationship with them, he knows he can trust them.]

Then how long have we known each other?

[With how determined and desperate she had seemed to be earlier he can only guess they must be fairly close?]

[She sighs, her brows furrowing together with worry. A tiny part of her now fears that this is how it's going to be—that his memories are gone, and that they will have to start over from square one all over again. Sure, there are some memories with him that she'd rather not remember, but they are still a part of both of them, whether they like it or not, and she... wants them back...

It really shouldn't bother her this much... He was just a good friend, if that, and that was all, but she's having a hard time not being upset by all this.]

A few months. For as long as we've both been here.

[She leaves it at that, choosing to exclude those extra months in Avalon before she came to Reverein.]

Only a few months? [A small arch of the brow.] We must have gotten along well for you to be desperate enough to fight me earlier.

[That had been something that's been bothering him—how much effort this woman took to try and literally knock sense to him. Not only in fighting him, but her expressions at the time, those tears... Why had she been so upset?

Did they have a close relationship?

Or was she just that sensitive about things?]

Something like that.

[Did they get along well? It's hard to tell, looking back. The last time they met left much to be desired, and she hadn't seen him since for a good reason, but even before that... It had mostly just been small encounters in the town or coming and going from their homes. She'd brought him food a few times as well, but she had made it a habit to do for a lot of the people she's met here, so she wouldn't think of it as being anything special.

...

....

Sure, they had gotten along, but were they close?

Perhaps for her, yes.]

I just want to help. You can't stay here forever.

...Hm.

[Just a small of acknowledgment as he looks at her for another moment before a low whine reaches him. Looking down at the corgi at his feet, his face crumples for a moment before he rubs his brow.

Stay here forever...

He feels a very strong pull towards that notion, that the idea wouldn't be the worst thing, really. That it might actually be needed. But he shakes that thought away, now realizing it's not wholly his own.]

...For now I need to take care of them. Maybe my head will clear if I fulfill my tasks and not have them hanging over my shoulder.

What tasks?

[Her question comes almost immediately, and much more eagerly than she'd meant it to.]

... Maybe I can help.

[If it means just taking care of the dogs, then how bad can it be? Besides, she had a part in making a complete mess of the house, so the least she can do is help him clean it up, but if there's more to be done, she can stick around... if it means that it will help him.]

[He first looks at her warily, but he forces himself to push away that initial wave of distrust. She's only trying to help, and if what she says is true, then he shouldn't be so cold towards her. He still comes off awkward, however, as he glances away and starts moving deeper into the room.]

Let's clean up here first... Then downstairs. I need to check their food and water, and then brush them out.

[He frowns as he runs a hand through their leafy floof, withered leaves and barbs pulling away along with loose hair.]

It really has been a while...

[They at least look healthy and not starving, but how long have they been like this?]

[She's still careful around him, her shoulders only just barely tensing on the outside when he moves through the room, her gaze falling to the gun in his holster, but not missing the way his own eyes remain wary on her. It's hard to let herself completely relax, even before when she would be around him in Reverein, with his memories... let alone without. At any moment, anything in this room could trigger something and turn it all upside-down again, so she'll keep herself at a respectable distance.

Tifa looks down at one of the dogs, wondering if they'll let her reach down to comb through the leaves.]

Have they told you how long?

[She realizes only after she says it that it had been a minor slip—that her mind had automatically assumed that he was the same as the Eustace in Camelot, who could speak to and understand animals, and she turns around, waving a dismissive hand.]

Uh, I mean, does anyone know how long it's been?

[A while is what she can assume, just by looking at the place.]

[Fortunately for her, Eustace just thinks she's assuming he can talk to them due to nature of this place and how close he seems to be with them. So there's somewhat of a forlorn smile as he ruffles the ears of the one that continues to follow closely next to him.]

Unfortunately no, thought it would be nice if I knew what they were saying.

[Maybe they could give him the answers they needed, to tell them what's really going on.

And why they were left alone.

At least that much he's sure of.]

But from the look of things, I'd say too long.

[There's that small glimpse of the Eustace she does know, in the way he looks at the dogs and ruffles their ears. He's still in there, somewhere.

Tifa picks up the chairs that they'd knocked to the ground, sliding them back into their rightful place along with the table before she's moving on to the wall, where a picture had fallen onto the cabinet beneath it.]

The place is filthy, too.

[Her nose wrinkles when a cloud of dust blows back in her face when she tries to wipe the frame clean.]

Could be that they just want you to clean up.

[She's kidding, mostly, but... it's not out of the realm of possibility either.]

[At the very least, his love for dogs has definitely not changed. But he has calmed a fair bit compared to how he was before, so that should help things.

And although she might have been joking, Eustace purses his lips as he considers it.]

...It's possible. If it's only been the dogs, then no one would have been able to take care of things here...

[His voice drifts when he looks back at her and then at the picture before he walks over.]

Wait, what's that photo of?

[Because of the dust it's a bit obscure, when it's cleaned it will reveal a man not much older than Eustace and some of the corgis gathered around him.]

[Tifa scrubs it clean with the back of her hand for them to get a better look at the photo before she offers it to him. A man, and what she can only assume are his dogs. The one who had been here before? An unsettling feeling turns the pit of her stomach when she remembers that pile of bones at the foot of the tree, and she swallows, hard, before peering up at Eustace with a hopeful glint in her otherwise firm expression.

Maybe this will trigger something in him...?

Gently, she prods a little more.]

Do you know him?

[He frowns before he feels something zap through his mind. Something tries to surface, but in the end he can only shake it off.]

Personally...no. But I believe he's the one who was here before.

[She tries not to let her disappointment show, and she only hums in response at first before she's hanging the picture back up on its hook and straightening it.]

Wonder what happened to him...

[Would someone just up and leave all their dogs willingly? Or maybe he had been enchanted the same way that Eustace had, and then tried... to leave... She has no idea, but she's almost too afraid to run away with that thought, so she finds something else to occupy herself with—a shelf with several of its dusty books knocked to the floor that she starts to reshelve and organize.

Time for some more questions.]

How'd you find this place anyway?

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