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If at all.
As long as he keeps to himself, then there's nothing to worry about on our end. Besides, pretty sure Eustace's finger would already be on the trigger before I even knew he was there.
I know that you are just trying to protect the people you care about, but I am telling you that the best way to do that is to just say what you need to say and leave it at that.
The last time he was provoked he
[There's a splotch of ink where she pauses her writing.]
I just don't want anything bad to happen.
As long as he keeps to himself, then there's nothing to worry about on our end. Besides, pretty sure Eustace's finger would already be on the trigger before I even knew he was there.
I know that you are just trying to protect the people you care about, but I am telling you that the best way to do that is to just say what you need to say and leave it at that.
The last time he was provoked he
[There's a splotch of ink where she pauses her writing.]
I just don't want anything bad to happen.
[The splotch was all that he needed to know of the potential damage if this one. If anything, it put his defensiveness higher on alert and his keenness to divert such attentions away from his own.
When one couldn't stay dead, there was a certain recklessness when it came to going up against someone who could potentially damage him. All he needed was one shot.]
I need to track him and for that, I need to be in close enough range. There are things about me only Jack knows, but I'm likely as dangerous as the creep you're warning me against.
When one couldn't stay dead, there was a certain recklessness when it came to going up against someone who could potentially damage him. All he needed was one shot.]
I need to track him and for that, I need to be in close enough range. There are things about me only Jack knows, but I'm likely as dangerous as the creep you're warning me against.
And if something were to happen to you? What would Jack say about that, you think?
You'd probably deserve that.
Just please be careful, okay? Sephiroth is no joke, and not someone you wanna mess with, as far as I'm concerned. It was because of him that I lost everything before, and I don't want the same thing to happen to anyone else.
And don't do whatever it is you're planning without Jack knowing.
Just please be careful, okay? Sephiroth is no joke, and not someone you wanna mess with, as far as I'm concerned. It was because of him that I lost everything before, and I don't want the same thing to happen to anyone else.
And don't do whatever it is you're planning without Jack knowing.
I'd hate to know what earned you the first.
But if anything happens, promise that you'll call Jack first, and then me or Cloud. Even Eustace.
But if anything happens, promise that you'll call Jack first, and then me or Cloud. Even Eustace.
He's not an idiot.
[Reaper!!!]
But next to me and the others from home, he's the best person I can think of should anyone need protecting. And he's also fought him before. Unfortunately.
[Reaper!!!]
But next to me and the others from home, he's the best person I can think of should anyone need protecting. And he's also fought him before. Unfortunately.
[No, that's not better!!!]
Not quite. He just picks fights with anyone who tries to pick fights with me.
Not quite. He just picks fights with anyone who tries to pick fights with me.
You don't, no, but Sephiroth did once.
I just mean that if he picks a fight with you and you need some help, you know who to call.
I just mean that if he picks a fight with you and you need some help, you know who to call.
I plan to make him pay five times over when the time comes.
Just stay safe.
Just stay safe.
Hey, Tifa.
Can you come over?
[It's fairly late— Aerith wishes she had thought ahead and asked Tifa earlier, especially considering they'd spent the entire day together at work, but in her defense, she hadn't been unable to sleep then, and still uncertain of whether or not she wanted to say anything.
She knows she's been out of sorts the last short while. Her cheer has been just a little too forced, or her mind has been caught wandering a little too often, but she wasn't the only one who was acting differently. If there was anyone she could share her thoughts and worries with, it was Tifa. She'd been mulling them over on her own for long enough.]
Can you come over?
[It's fairly late— Aerith wishes she had thought ahead and asked Tifa earlier, especially considering they'd spent the entire day together at work, but in her defense, she hadn't been unable to sleep then, and still uncertain of whether or not she wanted to say anything.
She knows she's been out of sorts the last short while. Her cheer has been just a little too forced, or her mind has been caught wandering a little too often, but she wasn't the only one who was acting differently. If there was anyone she could share her thoughts and worries with, it was Tifa. She'd been mulling them over on her own for long enough.]
[Getting something through her journal at this hour had been surprising, to say the least, and from Aerith, too. Concerning, especially, because she'd noticed that something had been... different about her, and when she thought to ask what it might have been, a feeling of dread would settle over her instead, and she would find the words caught in her throat.
Her stomach sinks yet again, but she takes her quill anyway and writes back.]
Yeah. Of course. I'll be right over. Do you need me to bring anything?
[She's already getting properly dressed and out of her loungewear, letting Eustace know that she's got to head out to Aerith's for a bit.]
Her stomach sinks yet again, but she takes her quill anyway and writes back.]
Yeah. Of course. I'll be right over. Do you need me to bring anything?
[She's already getting properly dressed and out of her loungewear, letting Eustace know that she's got to head out to Aerith's for a bit.]
Just yourself. You're always more than enough, you know.
[Lest that ever be forgotten, even for a moment.
Aerith does take the time before Tifa's arrival to prepare for company by making tea— it seemed awfully rude to ask her to come over late at night and not offer her something, and when Tifa gets there, two cups and a pot will be waiting on the little table near the kitchen pass-through, along with a plate of cookies. Aerith thinks it's what her mom would have done, and she'd gone to the effort of modeling the inside of her treehouse after the home she'd shared with Elmyra— as much of home as she could get in this place.]
[Lest that ever be forgotten, even for a moment.
Aerith does take the time before Tifa's arrival to prepare for company by making tea— it seemed awfully rude to ask her to come over late at night and not offer her something, and when Tifa gets there, two cups and a pot will be waiting on the little table near the kitchen pass-through, along with a plate of cookies. Aerith thinks it's what her mom would have done, and she'd gone to the effort of modeling the inside of her treehouse after the home she'd shared with Elmyra— as much of home as she could get in this place.]
["Just yourself", she says. So... that means she brings over nearly a whole week's worth of soup that she made, right? Tifa can't help but smile at the words on the page.]
I'll be right over.
[And true to her word, the soft, telltale knock on the door that is always Tifa's comes not long after, and if she wasn't expecting her to come with a bag of goodies for her friend, then surprise!
When Aerith opens the door, she'll be standing there, worry padded under a smile.]
Brought some stuff with me anyway. We had plenty of extra.
I'll be right over.
[And true to her word, the soft, telltale knock on the door that is always Tifa's comes not long after, and if she wasn't expecting her to come with a bag of goodies for her friend, then surprise!
When Aerith opens the door, she'll be standing there, worry padded under a smile.]
Brought some stuff with me anyway. We had plenty of extra.
[It had been a few days after returning from his venture with the Rosfield brothers, and it was...quite the venture. Despite the difficulties with the noctaere and nostilium, at least they were successful in destroying it. And while there had been concerns about his own "infection" of the nightmare energy, after the treatment from Orkili he felt no different than other times when he was exposed to or used a large amount of nostilium.
Still, Tifa's concerns were legitimate and he was careful to monitor himself and take additional supplements made by the flowers thanks to 76. But fortunately, he felt nothing unusual. His dreams were normal, if he had any at all (which was also not unusual), and other than feeling a little in the first few days, after the third he felt more himself.
But there was one odd thing.
Every now and then he would feel a prick in the back of his neck, a cold tingle as if ice was suddenly dropped down the back of his shirt. It was more noticeable than before, and whenever Tifa noticed he would just shake his head in confusion as it would go as quickly as it came. A bug, he would suggest, or perhaps a pinched nerve. Reasonable, and he would often forget it happened because it was once every few days. And since he tends to read a lot, well, maybe it was a pinched nerve of sorts and he should fix his posture.
But then a week passes since the trip, and now...]
...Ugh...
[Late into the night, Eustace groans in his sleep, brows furrowing as his body curls into himself. Naturally he's holding Tifa, so she'll feel him shift and move, his arms tightening around her as his breathing becomes labored and heavy.
Most alarming of all, however, will be the growing coldness that seeps from beneath is body and spreads outward across the bed. Valo and Melody, who had jumped onto it to sleep at the end as always bark in surprise and fear, jumping down as soon as that ice creeps towards their paws. Eria, sleeping in her bed on Eustace's side rises and growls lowly.
By now Tifa will surely have awakened, but Eustace?
Still trapped asleep...
...
With chips of black ice slowly forming along his shoulder and near the back of his neck...]
Still, Tifa's concerns were legitimate and he was careful to monitor himself and take additional supplements made by the flowers thanks to 76. But fortunately, he felt nothing unusual. His dreams were normal, if he had any at all (which was also not unusual), and other than feeling a little in the first few days, after the third he felt more himself.
But there was one odd thing.
Every now and then he would feel a prick in the back of his neck, a cold tingle as if ice was suddenly dropped down the back of his shirt. It was more noticeable than before, and whenever Tifa noticed he would just shake his head in confusion as it would go as quickly as it came. A bug, he would suggest, or perhaps a pinched nerve. Reasonable, and he would often forget it happened because it was once every few days. And since he tends to read a lot, well, maybe it was a pinched nerve of sorts and he should fix his posture.
But then a week passes since the trip, and now...]
...Ugh...
[Late into the night, Eustace groans in his sleep, brows furrowing as his body curls into himself. Naturally he's holding Tifa, so she'll feel him shift and move, his arms tightening around her as his breathing becomes labored and heavy.
Most alarming of all, however, will be the growing coldness that seeps from beneath is body and spreads outward across the bed. Valo and Melody, who had jumped onto it to sleep at the end as always bark in surprise and fear, jumping down as soon as that ice creeps towards their paws. Eria, sleeping in her bed on Eustace's side rises and growls lowly.
By now Tifa will surely have awakened, but Eustace?
Still trapped asleep...
...
With chips of black ice slowly forming along his shoulder and near the back of his neck...]
[It doesn't take much to wake her, even when she is deep in her sleep. Not that she's been sleeping that well since Eustace has been back from the trip with Joshua. She's been worried sick, always on edge, her focus always more hyper aware of Eustace and his state than usual. She's always been a worrier, even after he tries to reassure her time and time again that he will be fine, and while she goes on about their days as normal, her instincts keep pricking at the back of her mind. So, the last week have been filled with nights of odd sleeps, Tifa waking up in the middle of the night just to make sure that he is still there and okay...
So when he starts to stir and groan, his breathing suddenly growing more laboured, and especially when she feels his arms slide unnaturally tighter around her, she snaps awake and Melody and Valo both start to bark.]
Sshhh.
[She hushes all three of them, including Eria, as her trembling hands press to Eustace's face, the sweat at odds with the way he feels so very cold, and the ice that's begun to creep over the bed. Her worst fear when he told her about this trip and what had happened after has come to pass, but she takes a deep breath anyway and tries to swallow down her panic and remain calm, resisting the urge to try and shake him awake. Her own anxiety and fear won't help to make things any better, and it would only serve to worry the dogs more and to feed into the nightmare that he is having. She already knows what it is she needs to do...]
You're so cold...
[She presses her warm lips to his forehead, shivering against the nostilium that she feels seeping into the room, the starflowers that usually shimmer faintly dimming. She turns to Eria first.]
Keep an eye on us, and them, please?
[A motion to Valo and Melody, and the wolf gives a sharp nod, her blue eyes focused sharply on Tifa, words that she needn't say passing between the two of them loud and clear through their silence.
Maybe it's the urgency of the situation, but it won't take long for Tifa to dive into his dreams, her arms tightening around him as she does... And whatever she finds in there, she is scared, yes, but ready...
She thinks.]
So when he starts to stir and groan, his breathing suddenly growing more laboured, and especially when she feels his arms slide unnaturally tighter around her, she snaps awake and Melody and Valo both start to bark.]
Sshhh.
[She hushes all three of them, including Eria, as her trembling hands press to Eustace's face, the sweat at odds with the way he feels so very cold, and the ice that's begun to creep over the bed. Her worst fear when he told her about this trip and what had happened after has come to pass, but she takes a deep breath anyway and tries to swallow down her panic and remain calm, resisting the urge to try and shake him awake. Her own anxiety and fear won't help to make things any better, and it would only serve to worry the dogs more and to feed into the nightmare that he is having. She already knows what it is she needs to do...]
You're so cold...
[She presses her warm lips to his forehead, shivering against the nostilium that she feels seeping into the room, the starflowers that usually shimmer faintly dimming. She turns to Eria first.]
Keep an eye on us, and them, please?
[A motion to Valo and Melody, and the wolf gives a sharp nod, her blue eyes focused sharply on Tifa, words that she needn't say passing between the two of them loud and clear through their silence.
Maybe it's the urgency of the situation, but it won't take long for Tifa to dive into his dreams, her arms tightening around him as she does... And whatever she finds in there, she is scared, yes, but ready...
She thinks.]
[What greets her as she first enters the dream will be the sound of a loud explosion so fierce and powerful that her vision will be filled with blinding white light. So blinding and hot she'll feel a searing heat over her right eye, the ringing persisting in her ears even after she crashes to the cold, snowy ground. She'll feel smaller shorter, around the age of 9,and when she opens her eyes the right one will be too painful, her vision blinded. While she will retain her sense of self, her body is now that of her 9 yr-old past, and she will find herself in the middle of a snow covered forest.
Despite the frigid cold, panic and anxiety will flood through first, ones that are not her own, before she can control her emotions again.
And in the distance through the ringing, she will hear the shouts of a young boy coming towards the rising flames visible through the trees.]
Despite the frigid cold, panic and anxiety will flood through first, ones that are not her own, before she can control her emotions again.
And in the distance through the ringing, she will hear the shouts of a young boy coming towards the rising flames visible through the trees.]
[It happens so fast that she doesn't have time to block it. The explosion and the blinding light flood her senses, all of it painful in her eyes and ears that she can't help but scream—or try to, but she swears that the only thing that comes out of her is silence when she can't hear herself. It's only after it goes off that she slams her eyes shut and her hands snap up to cover her ears, her face burying into the snow to try and fight off the heat that rips through her right side when she opens her eyes again. A pain so great that she sobs, gritting her teeth as she tries to push through it.
What the—?
She was definitely not ready.
Nor has it dawned on her yet that she is not her usual self... Not until she tries to climb to her feet and stumbles again when her body feels smaller. Weaker. Even her voice—]
Eustace!
[—is equally small and panicked. A heat ripples in the air, but it does nothing to stem the cold fear that clings to her like the snowflakes cling to her hair.
Her hand goes to her right eye to cover it and she grits her teeth, calling out for him again.]
Eustace, where—!?
[She's heard that voice before—the one that echoes just barely through the trees, and she runs towards it as fast as she can, trudging through the snow and already growing tired as her tiny legs can only take her so quickly. She falls more than once, face flat into the snow where the tears she didn't know she'd started crying begin to freeze, but she makes it there. Eventually...
And as she stands in the middle of the flames, a vision of her own memories flickers over them, and she sees her home, the general store, the inn in Nibelheim all burning away before the boy's cries from somewhere inside them break her out of it.]
I'm here!
What the—?
She was definitely not ready.
Nor has it dawned on her yet that she is not her usual self... Not until she tries to climb to her feet and stumbles again when her body feels smaller. Weaker. Even her voice—]
Eustace!
[—is equally small and panicked. A heat ripples in the air, but it does nothing to stem the cold fear that clings to her like the snowflakes cling to her hair.
Her hand goes to her right eye to cover it and she grits her teeth, calling out for him again.]
Eustace, where—!?
[She's heard that voice before—the one that echoes just barely through the trees, and she runs towards it as fast as she can, trudging through the snow and already growing tired as her tiny legs can only take her so quickly. She falls more than once, face flat into the snow where the tears she didn't know she'd started crying begin to freeze, but she makes it there. Eventually...
And as she stands in the middle of the flames, a vision of her own memories flickers over them, and she sees her home, the general store, the inn in Nibelheim all burning away before the boy's cries from somewhere inside them break her out of it.]
I'm here!
[There is no answer, just the sound of the boy shouting somewhere further into the now burning and destroyed village. Houses and buildings are burning if not blown away completely and she should take care where she steps...or she will find a grisly sight of mangled, disfigured corpses, many not even completely whole. Even the flames have become disfigured, one moment burning red and the next pitch black like the night. Eerie wails fill the air...but they are not from the people, for there is no one, absolutely no one left alive.
But she'll have to get through it to reach the source of the boy's cries.]
But she'll have to get through it to reach the source of the boy's cries.]
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