[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.]
[She feels that rumble and she glances at him, at his arm, at the starflowers that flicker, and when she feels that invisible pushback, she can't help but sigh.]
Hey.
[She shifts them so that she can look at him more easily, and he can see her should he choose to look her way. There's still something in his subconscious that's stopping him, isn't there?]
Still with me?
[Simply a check to be sure that nothing else has sunk into him.]
[Was this his fault? Was there something else blocking their way? But what? Yes he still has these scars, but...he's no longer beholden to them. His past, the loss of his family...it haunted him for so many years, but he finally had closure.
So why?
Why is this still...
But there's another rumble of the earth beneath them, one that lasts longer as cracks form nearby. It's here he'll feel that throb on his arm again, and he starts to feel something beckoning him. Whether it's something he should trust...he doesn't know.
[Her eyes linger on his arm when she feels their whole world shaking under them again, and as she stares at him, her brows draw together, clearly unsure.
Not that she thinks he can't do it, but because she worries that doing so will only make matters worse for him after.
Still, she trusts him and in him unconditionally, and while that does little to stem her fears, she can at least support him better, physically and emotionally.]
Okay. I'm right here if you need me.
[Her fingers find his, and she gives his hand another squeeze, trying to keep him here with her.]
[There's a light, appreciative smile before he takes a breath.
He could be wrong. This could be a greater risk. But if part of conquering one's past is harnessing it then... If it worked once before, perhaps it can here.
The scales on his arm will start to glow, ice forming around it again. However, this is more of that familiar blue of his own rather than the nightmareish black. He's learned a lot with Tifa's help, and a great part of that is accepting all that he fears and he hates. And that acceptance takes on that lindworm form. Perhaps because he was still a child, what appears next to Tifa is smaller, as if to fit their size...and while there are notable patches of black on the scales, he still mostly retains that silver white color.]
[Honestly, she isn't sure what to expect when the scales begin to glow, but it isn't him transforming into the silver lindworm. She steps back to give him space, stumbling a little in surprise when he finally does fully take on the form. Her wide eyes move over him, lingering on the spots of black scales on his body. It's been a while since she's seen him like this, and she's forgotten how beautiful he was...
So there's a stretch of time where she stares before she remembers that they are likely more pressed on time, and she wanders over to run her fingers over the scales, pausing on a black patch, before she clumsily starts to climb onto his back.
... This is so much easier to do when she's not tiny.]
Okay. I'm on. [She makes a small sound of discomfort as she pushes herself up and wraps her arms around him to hold on.] You're sure about this?
[Mostly just because she doesn't want him to hurt himself.]
Don't have much of a choice... But strangely I feel more in control this way.
[And he's not sure what to make of that. Is that a sign that if he accepts everything he can better control his dreamotion and nostilium? Part of some internal struggle? Is this a good thing that transforming clears his mind more than when he was still a young boy? Maybe it is some kind of reflection... But this isn't the time to dwell on it.
Once Tifa is on, he'll move to face the darkness beyond the invisible barrier where the starflowers still trail ahead of them. Perhaps this barrier is enother construct of this nightmare based on other lingering fears and regrets that may never ever disappear completely. But that doesn't mean he can't get through them.
Feeling more of his usual self returning, he steadies himself before leaping into the air to fly straight through.......
.......
And there is nothing impeding them. They pass through as if nothing is there, but they will feel a blast of snow and ice as if to prove that something did exist there and remains there, a swirl of black fog and icy storm that is now more visible now that they are on the other side.]
[After a warm, even proud smile, she slams her eyes shut and he'll feel her hold around him tighten as they take flight, expecting to be met with the same barrier that they had been before. Instead, they just fly right through and are greeted with ice and snow that batters them on the other side, making her cheeks sting, but she manages to open her eyes against it, her right one feeling like it's been healed.]
Huh? What happened to the barrier...?
[Slowly, she sits up on his back so that she can get a better look around, except there isn't much to look at between all of the fog and ice that swirls around them. Even the starflowers on the ground below are nothing more than a dim cloud of light through it, but at least they can still see them. A small comfort that their light hasn't been snuffed out by the storm.
And in her search, it strikes her that she is no longer the small girl she had been before, nor is he the baby lindworm that he was. Instead, here he is, in all of his glory, as Tifa looks back at the long, wispy tail behind her and the thick mane in front, and she can feel her own strength returning.]
[But this was a nightmare and if this had been something his mind or the nightmare created... Perhaps there is no sense to it. But then his head lifts slightly.]
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
no subject
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?
no subject
no subject
...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.]
no subject
Ngh...Ti...fa...?
no subject
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?
no subject
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.]
no subject
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...
no subject
no subject
[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?
no subject
[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.]
no subject
[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?
no subject
Sorry...you have to do this...
no subject
[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.
no subject
But you've had to...so many times now...
no subject
And I'll do it a hundred times over if I have to. You know that, yeah? Sickness and in health...
no subject
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.
no subject
Hey.
[She shifts them so that she can look at him more easily, and he can see her should he choose to look her way. There's still something in his subconscious that's stopping him, isn't there?]
Still with me?
[Simply a check to be sure that nothing else has sunk into him.]
What is it?
no subject
[Was this his fault? Was there something else blocking their way? But what? Yes he still has these scars, but...he's no longer beholden to them. His past, the loss of his family...it haunted him for so many years, but he finally had closure.
So why?
Why is this still...
But there's another rumble of the earth beneath them, one that lasts longer as cracks form nearby. It's here he'll feel that throb on his arm again, and he starts to feel something beckoning him. Whether it's something he should trust...he doesn't know.
However, perhaps it's all part of this...]
...I'll get us out of here...just hold on.
no subject
Not that she thinks he can't do it, but because she worries that doing so will only make matters worse for him after.
Still, she trusts him and in him unconditionally, and while that does little to stem her fears, she can at least support him better, physically and emotionally.]
Okay. I'm right here if you need me.
[Her fingers find his, and she gives his hand another squeeze, trying to keep him here with her.]
no subject
He could be wrong. This could be a greater risk. But if part of conquering one's past is harnessing it then... If it worked once before, perhaps it can here.
The scales on his arm will start to glow, ice forming around it again. However, this is more of that familiar blue of his own rather than the nightmareish black. He's learned a lot with Tifa's help, and a great part of that is accepting all that he fears and he hates. And that acceptance takes on that lindworm form. Perhaps because he was still a child, what appears next to Tifa is smaller, as if to fit their size...and while there are notable patches of black on the scales, he still mostly retains that silver white color.]
Hop on. I'll break through it.
no subject
So there's a stretch of time where she stares before she remembers that they are likely more pressed on time, and she wanders over to run her fingers over the scales, pausing on a black patch, before she clumsily starts to climb onto his back.
... This is so much easier to do when she's not tiny.]
Okay. I'm on. [She makes a small sound of discomfort as she pushes herself up and wraps her arms around him to hold on.] You're sure about this?
[Mostly just because she doesn't want him to hurt himself.]
no subject
[And he's not sure what to make of that. Is that a sign that if he accepts everything he can better control his dreamotion and nostilium? Part of some internal struggle? Is this a good thing that transforming clears his mind more than when he was still a young boy? Maybe it is some kind of reflection... But this isn't the time to dwell on it.
Once Tifa is on, he'll move to face the darkness beyond the invisible barrier where the starflowers still trail ahead of them. Perhaps this barrier is enother construct of this nightmare based on other lingering fears and regrets that may never ever disappear completely. But that doesn't mean he can't get through them.
Feeling more of his usual self returning, he steadies himself before leaping into the air to fly straight through.......
.......
And there is nothing impeding them. They pass through as if nothing is there, but they will feel a blast of snow and ice as if to prove that something did exist there and remains there, a swirl of black fog and icy storm that is now more visible now that they are on the other side.]
no subject
Huh? What happened to the barrier...?
[Slowly, she sits up on his back so that she can get a better look around, except there isn't much to look at between all of the fog and ice that swirls around them. Even the starflowers on the ground below are nothing more than a dim cloud of light through it, but at least they can still see them. A small comfort that their light hasn't been snuffed out by the storm.
And in her search, it strikes her that she is no longer the small girl she had been before, nor is he the baby lindworm that he was. Instead, here he is, in all of his glory, as Tifa looks back at the long, wispy tail behind her and the thick mane in front, and she can feel her own strength returning.]
We're...?
[Back.]
no subject
[But this was a nightmare and if this had been something his mind or the nightmare created... Perhaps there is no sense to it. But then his head lifts slightly.]
What is it?
[He can't tell.]
no subject
[She finishes that sentence, looking down at her hands and flexing her fingers.
Which feels like a weight being lifted from her shoulders. At least now, if anything happens, she can defend them a little easier, she hopes.
He'll feel the warmth of her palm press to his back, in contrast to the cold air.]
You've got this.
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
❤️💙 fin.