[The "presence" shrieks from the flames, and for a moment it shrinks back, the talons dragging out from them as the flames expand enough to give them more space to themselves. Already Eustace feels some relief, but there's also exhaustion and pain that makes his head fall forward against her shoulder, his breathing cold and labored.
But despite her hope, what she uses now is not enough. Already the darkness swats at the flames, extinguishing parts of it as it shrieks and wails, as if determined to take back its prey.]
[She grits her teeth against the cold that fights back, those flames that wrap around them flickering out before coming back to life as they push and pull with the nightmarish claws. There is a moment when she doubts, and wonders if this is even something that she can do by herself. She's pulled him free before, but she had been stronger, older, less vulnerable than she is now. She could stand up for herself and run after him, and not keep stumbling over into the snow...
But honestly, right now, she feels defeated, as another claw lashes against her, raking over her arm before it draws back.]
...I don't know if I can do this by myself...
[She holds onto him tighter, as tight as she can, listening to the sound of his breathing. But damn it, she's going to try.
Which is why she moves him in her arms, shifts him so that his head is no longer resting against her shoulder. Moves him so that she can kiss him instead, hoping that this will be enough to, at the very least, give her what she needs to pull them both out of it. And at the same time, those flames erupt bigger and brighter, not only protecting them from the hands that would try to take him, but rushing over those scales in an effort to melt away all the cold.]
[Alone is unfortunately what she will have to do. While Eustace would have normally been able to assist in some way, it's as if he's completely trapped and just remembering who she was took everything he had. To only feel some relief through her warmth and flames, which slowly melt away some of the ice...
...
But not the scales, which remain hard and black over his arm.
Still, the kiss does help open his eyes more to look up at her...and while he's grateful to have her there, he also feels some shame and guilt that he not only put her through this yet again, but that he can't do anything to help her. These negative feelings make those scales harden for a moment before he finally pulls himself out of it.
No, he can't think this way. How many times has he stumbled over thinking like that? He may not be able to do anything, trapped as he is, but he can at least support her. So with the last bit of strength he has, his small hand finds hers, squeezing it weakly. He tries to speak but he can't—he can barely breathe. But even if he can't voice it she'll know what he's trying to say.
I love you...and I believe in you...
She's the only one who can help him and he wouldn't want anyone else.
The smallest smile forms at that, the scent of starflowers momentarily surrounding them... Before he grimaces, something sharp and cold stabbing the back of his neck from the inside, and in the next moment his eyes close and his body grows limp, head falling to the side.]
[There are times when she really does try to do everything on her own, and she hoped that this could be one of those times. He needed her, and she couldn't do anything to help him. They're stuck in this spiraling nightmare with no way out, caught up in it until morning comes. All she ever wants to do is help him, be there for him, be able to pull him out of the dark when it all comes back... And she can't even do that this time. She's tried so hard not to let this helplessness defeat her, but it feels almost hopeless as she feels the scales continue to harden on his body, like she's the one who's only made it worse.
But then his hand finds hers, their small fingers squeezing together.]
I love you, too...
[She says it aloud through a fought back sob, telling him that yes, she knows what he is trying to say.]
It's hard... I don't know what to do...
[As she pulls him close, her face burying in his hair where she lets out that sob.
But that scent of starflowers continues to fill the air around them, and those fires continue to burn brighter, those unsaid words threading their way through her. Beneath their feet as they float through this endless, dark void, those starflowers begin to bloom, and as more and more begin to sprout, they begin to form a trail that leads seemingly to nowhere...
She just needs to get him free of this.
A deep breath in, and then out, every part of her trembling from both the exertion and the fear... the anger. But that was always the way with her, wasn't it? She's felt that anger all her life, ever since she lost everything, just like he did. That was why her dreamotion manifested the way that it did—that's why those flames continue to burn around her. She turned that anger into something else... a reason to fight, and a reason to keep on living despite having lost everything to them. Her life, her family, her home, her innocence, all of it burned away in the flames that night...
Just like him...
As those thoughts race through her head, as that vengeance and that anger come roaring back, there's a surge of heat so hot that it's enough to burn her, and though it doesn't hurt, she can feel it. In the next moment, the blast is so wide and so hot that it rips through everything—the claws, the tendrils, the eyes that continue to stare down at her...]
[Again there is a loud shriek, shrill and piercing as the cold that continues to cut through the flames. A large clawed hand slowly raises as if to crush them, to smother the flames completely.]
[She can feel it descending on them, bringing with it the cold. Fine. Let it come. She's had enough.
Before it can sink its claws into either one of them, and before it can even attempt to snuff out the flames, there's a loud roar from the fire, and a rare, stifling heat. Her flames are always created from her love for him and others, her dreamotion almost pure in that sense... Except this time, they only burn with a fiery rage, the bottled down fury that she's held within her for so long. Anger not just for him and what this world continues to put them through, but for everything else. For his past, and for hers. For his family and his home that burned, and hers. For Sector Seven. For what Sephiroth and Shinra have done...
"Hold onto this. This anger."
Just pure, unfettered rage.
And it bursts forth, catching the claws that continue to clamber at them, filling the room with a red, burning light. It has even caught onto the starflowers, burning those at their feet away as well.]
[Another ghastly shriek, the claw burning from the intensity of the flames, repelling it back. Although there is a pressure that could be felt to signify it trying to push back still, there is only a brief burst of cold wind and snow before it all fades into the flames.
Flames that touch Eustace, but all it does is slowly burn away the scales that cling onto his arm. Not all of them, for those would require his own efforts...if they are not just a different aspect entirely. But there will also be warmth that spreads through him, enough to rouse him briefly to open his eyes and stare up at the little girl with a young woman's strength and spirit. It's reassuring and relieving, enough to make him relax and close his eyes once more as again his subconscious fades.
Through the curtain of fire, there will be the flash of red and blue eyes, another angry roar as it releases a large blast of black ice to try and extinguish the flames. But it will seem weaker compared to before, the entity's presence slowly diminishing.]
[She sees his eyes open, although brief, and she meets his gaze with a smile, able to manage at least that much knowing that he was still with her. That she could still get through to him somehow, even if it is just through the warmth of the flames.
But when he fades away from her again, she buckles, that pressure that fights back still enough to make her wince in pain. She just needs to focus... focus on those emotions, those feelings that he makes her feel. That need to protect him in spite of her fears. She is terrified, yes, but she needs to remember how to turn that around and use that to her advantage.
The flames grow again, pushing back, and then pushing some more. Growing into something that she's not sure she's ever been able to do, and for a moment, she swears that they take the shape of a fiery horned beast that slashes at the eyes, the flames burning like hellfire...]
Go away!
[As she screams those words as loud as she can, her voice shattering, the starflowers that had disappeared bloom again, their petals a bright orange that light up the void that they are stuck in, trying to chase away the darkness that continues to threaten consuming them.]
[Another shriek, and she will be able to see the way the flames cut into the dark entity, see it reeling and stagger back. For a tense moment it is the walls of fire and the strange mass of darkness and ice. It's clear that while Tifa has been able to keep it at bay, it's not enough to destroy it completely. Without Eustace, this is as far as she can go, but perhaps that in itself is a feat. And perhaps releasing Eustace from the fears and anguish that had once imprisoned him also helped, weakening that hold the nightmare had over him.
The eyes stare down at the small boy still in Tifa's arms, something like greed and hunger reflected in those dark eyes. They are not the same eyes that Tifa is familiar with, not the eyes of that other nightmare form that usually existed within him. It's something different, foreign...yet may seem strangely familiar but in a way that cannot be easily placed.
After another few moments, the strange entity will disappear into the darkness, leaving only that dark cold in its wake...and Eustace still out cold.]
[She stares back up at those eyes with a fierce determination, ready to fight it if necessary, though terror makes her tremble on the inside. It is strange that she doesn't recognize them, even stranger that they still seem familiar in an eerie sort of way, but in the moment, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that she keeps it at bay, chases away that hunger as it stares at Eustace for a moment longer before it finally retreats.
Tifa lets out the breath that she had been holding in, that fiery beast dissolving and leaving behind the flames that continue to wrap around and shield them, keeping them warm in the cold.
She holds Eustace as best as she can in her arms as they are lowered into the bed of orange flowers where her legs give out beneath her and they both go stumbling to the ground, and she tries to shake him.]
[There's no response, just the quiet but ragged breathing as his expression, though mostly relaxed and leased strained, still grimaces and groans as the arm still partially covered in scales twitches. It does look a lot better, but traces of nostilium continues to seep out from it, staining the starflowers beneath it black.]
[She looks around, desperate. If she could carry him out of here, she would, but like this, she's stuck. And if they are still trapped in this nightmare, then there is still something holding him here, a grip on him that she needs to somehow loosen so that they can both wake up.
...Whether this will work or not...
With a sniffle, she reaches for the scales on his arm and she wraps her fingers around it, letting the warmth of the flames dance over them.]
[He can only lay there and breathe, everything just a mess of confusion. But at least he has more sense of awareness now, mind no longer stuck as that little boy over twenty years ago...]
Sorry...it feels... Like something... Is holding me ba—ugh!
[He feels a sharp spasm down his arm and can't stop the cry that escapes him, as if something was stabbing it hundreds of times.]
[She wishes so badly that she wasn't trapped like this, if only so that she could hold him properly, or even carry him someplace else, to wherever this trail of starflowers might lead them, but all she can do is clutch onto him desperately when he cries out, one hand grappling for his scaled arm.]
It's okay...
[She whispers it softly beneath his voice hoping that it can overcome whatever it is that has a hold on him, worry gripping her once more now that she can concentrate fully on him.]
[He takes a steadying breath as the pain finally subsides, his head turning towards the starflowers. He can feel that wherever they lead, it would be out...somehow since simply waking is clearly not an option. And he knows while he does need to rely on Tifa, that doesn't mean she has to do everything herself. So after another breath, another moment, he rolls to his side, grimacing as he tries to push himself upright.]
[But he rolls away anyway, Tifa watching him move with both concern and confusion because he hardly looks like he's in a state to walk anywhere. She gets up anyway, with some effort, and grabs hold of his arms to help steady him.]
[He just shakes his head at her offer, and he would have even if they were in their normal forms. He couldn't bear to let her do all that. But he will be grateful to her support as he struggles, already feeling the unusual strain on his body. He does manage to stay on his feet at least.]
[As they start to walk, the starflowers begin to shimmer, and though they are still giving off a bright orange light, their shade begins to soften, basking them in a sunset glow rather than that of a fire.]
And I'll do it a hundred times over if I have to. You know that, yeah? Sickness and in health...
[A quiet laugh, a sound that seems so strange right now, but... Perhaps it's needed.]
Sickness and in health...
[He takes a ragged breath as he feels that warmth spread further within him...before he looks down at his arm, still half-covered in scales. As he does, the ground will rumble beneath them, the starflowers flickering before they are pushed back by an invisible barrier.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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But despite her hope, what she uses now is not enough. Already the darkness swats at the flames, extinguishing parts of it as it shrieks and wails, as if determined to take back its prey.]
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But honestly, right now, she feels defeated, as another claw lashes against her, raking over her arm before it draws back.]
...I don't know if I can do this by myself...
[She holds onto him tighter, as tight as she can, listening to the sound of his breathing. But damn it, she's going to try.
Which is why she moves him in her arms, shifts him so that his head is no longer resting against her shoulder. Moves him so that she can kiss him instead, hoping that this will be enough to, at the very least, give her what she needs to pull them both out of it. And at the same time, those flames erupt bigger and brighter, not only protecting them from the hands that would try to take him, but rushing over those scales in an effort to melt away all the cold.]
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...
But not the scales, which remain hard and black over his arm.
Still, the kiss does help open his eyes more to look up at her...and while he's grateful to have her there, he also feels some shame and guilt that he not only put her through this yet again, but that he can't do anything to help her. These negative feelings make those scales harden for a moment before he finally pulls himself out of it.
No, he can't think this way. How many times has he stumbled over thinking like that? He may not be able to do anything, trapped as he is, but he can at least support her. So with the last bit of strength he has, his small hand finds hers, squeezing it weakly. He tries to speak but he can't—he can barely breathe. But even if he can't voice it she'll know what he's trying to say.
I love you...and I believe in you...
She's the only one who can help him and he wouldn't want anyone else.
The smallest smile forms at that, the scent of starflowers momentarily surrounding them... Before he grimaces, something sharp and cold stabbing the back of his neck from the inside, and in the next moment his eyes close and his body grows limp, head falling to the side.]
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But then his hand finds hers, their small fingers squeezing together.]
I love you, too...
[She says it aloud through a fought back sob, telling him that yes, she knows what he is trying to say.]
It's hard... I don't know what to do...
[As she pulls him close, her face burying in his hair where she lets out that sob.
But that scent of starflowers continues to fill the air around them, and those fires continue to burn brighter, those unsaid words threading their way through her. Beneath their feet as they float through this endless, dark void, those starflowers begin to bloom, and as more and more begin to sprout, they begin to form a trail that leads seemingly to nowhere...
She just needs to get him free of this.
A deep breath in, and then out, every part of her trembling from both the exertion and the fear... the anger. But that was always the way with her, wasn't it? She's felt that anger all her life, ever since she lost everything, just like he did. That was why her dreamotion manifested the way that it did—that's why those flames continue to burn around her. She turned that anger into something else... a reason to fight, and a reason to keep on living despite having lost everything to them. Her life, her family, her home, her innocence, all of it burned away in the flames that night...
Just like him...
As those thoughts race through her head, as that vengeance and that anger come roaring back, there's a surge of heat so hot that it's enough to burn her, and though it doesn't hurt, she can feel it. In the next moment, the blast is so wide and so hot that it rips through everything—the claws, the tendrils, the eyes that continue to stare down at her...]
I'm sick of this...
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Before it can sink its claws into either one of them, and before it can even attempt to snuff out the flames, there's a loud roar from the fire, and a rare, stifling heat. Her flames are always created from her love for him and others, her dreamotion almost pure in that sense... Except this time, they only burn with a fiery rage, the bottled down fury that she's held within her for so long. Anger not just for him and what this world continues to put them through, but for everything else. For his past, and for hers. For his family and his home that burned, and hers. For Sector Seven. For what Sephiroth and Shinra have done...
Just pure, unfettered rage.
And it bursts forth, catching the claws that continue to clamber at them, filling the room with a red, burning light. It has even caught onto the starflowers, burning those at their feet away as well.]
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Flames that touch Eustace, but all it does is slowly burn away the scales that cling onto his arm. Not all of them, for those would require his own efforts...if they are not just a different aspect entirely. But there will also be warmth that spreads through him, enough to rouse him briefly to open his eyes and stare up at the little girl with a young woman's strength and spirit. It's reassuring and relieving, enough to make him relax and close his eyes once more as again his subconscious fades.
Through the curtain of fire, there will be the flash of red and blue eyes, another angry roar as it releases a large blast of black ice to try and extinguish the flames. But it will seem weaker compared to before, the entity's presence slowly diminishing.]
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[She sees his eyes open, although brief, and she meets his gaze with a smile, able to manage at least that much knowing that he was still with her. That she could still get through to him somehow, even if it is just through the warmth of the flames.
But when he fades away from her again, she buckles, that pressure that fights back still enough to make her wince in pain. She just needs to focus... focus on those emotions, those feelings that he makes her feel. That need to protect him in spite of her fears. She is terrified, yes, but she needs to remember how to turn that around and use that to her advantage.
The flames grow again, pushing back, and then pushing some more. Growing into something that she's not sure she's ever been able to do, and for a moment, she swears that they take the shape of a fiery horned beast that slashes at the eyes, the flames burning like hellfire...]
Go away!
[As she screams those words as loud as she can, her voice shattering, the starflowers that had disappeared bloom again, their petals a bright orange that light up the void that they are stuck in, trying to chase away the darkness that continues to threaten consuming them.]
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The eyes stare down at the small boy still in Tifa's arms, something like greed and hunger reflected in those dark eyes. They are not the same eyes that Tifa is familiar with, not the eyes of that other nightmare form that usually existed within him. It's something different, foreign...yet may seem strangely familiar but in a way that cannot be easily placed.
After another few moments, the strange entity will disappear into the darkness, leaving only that dark cold in its wake...and Eustace still out cold.]
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Tifa lets out the breath that she had been holding in, that fiery beast dissolving and leaving behind the flames that continue to wrap around and shield them, keeping them warm in the cold.
She holds Eustace as best as she can in her arms as they are lowered into the bed of orange flowers where her legs give out beneath her and they both go stumbling to the ground, and she tries to shake him.]
Eustace? Can you hear me?
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...Whether this will work or not...
With a sniffle, she reaches for the scales on his arm and she wraps her fingers around it, letting the warmth of the flames dance over them.]
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Ngh...Ti...fa...?
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I'm here.
[She cradles him on her lap as best as she can, shifting so that his head rests there, the flames dying away so that she can hold him instead.]
Try not to move too much yet, okay?
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Sorry...it feels... Like something... Is holding me ba—ugh!
[He feels a sharp spasm down his arm and can't stop the cry that escapes him, as if something was stabbing it hundreds of times.]
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It's okay...
[She whispers it softly beneath his voice hoping that it can overcome whatever it is that has a hold on him, worry gripping her once more now that she can concentrate fully on him.]
We need to get out of here...
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[But he rolls away anyway, Tifa watching him move with both concern and confusion because he hardly looks like he's in a state to walk anywhere. She gets up anyway, with some effort, and grabs hold of his arms to help steady him.]
... Can you walk?
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[Gritting his teeth, there's a fierce glare in his eyes as he uses Tifa as leverage to get his feet under him and try to stand.]
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[Though, her voice trails away the moment that she starts to say it. It might have been possible if she weren't so small, but as they are...
She shrinks back.]
Here. [Tifa lifts his arm around her shoulders, and she buckles a bit under the weight as he stands.] How's that?
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Sorry...you have to do this...
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[She looks at him, her head bumping gently and reassuringly against his, and her hand curls over his fingers to squeeze.]
It's what I came here to do.
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But you've had to...so many times now...
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And I'll do it a hundred times over if I have to. You know that, yeah? Sickness and in health...
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Sickness and in health...
[He takes a ragged breath as he feels that warmth spread further within him...before he looks down at his arm, still half-covered in scales. As he does, the ground will rumble beneath them, the starflowers flickering before they are pushed back by an invisible barrier.]
...Dammit.
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❤️💙 fin.