[The moment he staggers is the same moment that the cuffs around Tifa's hands fall loose, and the same one where she feels a sudden jerk of her own before everything in the dream shifts, all of the control back in her own hands.]
... What?
[For how long she has no idea, but she isn't about to let that go to waste.
Another ripple of their environment and the house moves under their feet, the rumbling loud enough to drown out Eustace's shouting until they are no longer standing in the middle of that dungeon, but at the front door... and while she has a moment...
She lunges through the flames to reach for him, pulls him close, and kisses him fiercely on the lips, her tears staining his cheeks as she prays with every bit of her strength that this will wake them both.
[At this time it feels as if something is burning him on the inside, a scorching hot flame that makes it difficult for him to comprehend anything at all. Even when Tifa reaches him and kisses him, he still has no real idea what's going on.
But because he's lost whatever grasp he has on the dream, it's enough to expel him out of the dreamscape and jolt him awake, drenched in sweat, gasping and clutching at his chest and then at his mouth before he hunches over the side of the bed and heaves.]
[She feels him fade right in front of her. One moment, his lips are there and the next, they're gone, leaving Tifa standing alone in the burning foyer of the house.
And as her flames reach the wooden staircase and walls and doors and she hears them crackle from the heat, she exhales with relief.
There is that pull back to her reality, and she leans into it.
But it will take her a moment to wake up, her brow furrowed as she tries to find her way out of the fire and to the safety of their bed, and the tiniest noise escapes her at his side before she, too, jolts awake and immediately searches for him, still dazed and confused.]
[Unfortunately, Eustace won't be able to notice as he remains hunched over the side of the bed, hand gripping the table and the sheets as he continues to heave and vomit, though he's not really producing all that much. It's more just fluids and bile, but it's better than the taste that haunts him.
The taste of her blood...
Just the thought alone makes his stomach churn and he wants to claw his mouth to shreds. Even if it only happened in a dream, the memories hit him too hard, the sensation and the taste too strong. It's even worse than when he had been cursed as a lindworm, though that really brings no solace as it only brings even worse memories forward and it worsens his body's reaction with a strangled cry.]
[She doesn't even check her neck for an injury—she doesn't even register it as she hears the sounds coming from Eustace, and she immediately shifts, her arms circling around him so that she can hug him from behind and hold him tight, her face burying into his back, before his thoughts begin to wander.
Because she knows where they will go.
Back to that war-torn field, back to the days they'd much rather forget, when they were both consumed by those nightmares that reared their ugly head. And for what? She doesn't know what caused them, or where they came from, only that it was her dream. Her idea. Her fault that he ended up this way...
And when he lets out that cry, her arms unwrap from around him only so that she can grab hold of him more fully and pull him into a proper embrace.]
[He stiffens when he feels Tifa's arms around him, and while he wanted nothing more than to bury himself in them, an old feeling of fear that makes him try to break out of her grasp.]
Don't—!
[Fuck. Fuck.
Again he lost control to something, to something nightmare related. And again he tried to hurt her—]
Stay away from me...!
[Why? Why does this always happen?
Cold, black frost forms around him, reminiscent of that night long ago, the guilt, anger, and remorse manifesting.]
[He can fight her all he wants. Before, a long time ago, she might have backed off and given him the space to cool down, but not anymore. She is his wife, and she had made a promise, said her vows, and she intends to keep them.
So when he tries to wrestle free from her arms, it only makes her hold on tighter, makes her press her forehead to him more firmly, even as the frost creeps over them. She'll take it, and she'll be the one to melt it all away.]
No.
[No, she will not stay away. Not anymore.
Does she think that she should be afraid of him? After all the other things that they have gone through? That this should scare her away? His demand falls on stubborn ears.]
[A hoarse, strangled cry as he tries again to break free, but he ends up not putting as much effort and the hands that were pushing away start to cling to her instead.]
[She shakes her head, still holding him tighter, if such a thing is even possible.]
Nothing. You did nothing.
[He would never hurt her so willingly, and whatever had snuck into her dream to take over him—now that she knows it wasn't just an illusion of a nightmare but really him, and her stomach sinks all the more for it—had only been able to do so because of her. Something she won't voice yet... not until he comes down from his panic.
Her hand caresses his cheek, the other threading into his hair gently to keep him still, as if she was the only thing to keep him from trembling so much. Even though she is the one shaking with a fury that she's kept bottled up for so long...
That this world would keep being so cruel to him...]
[Just shaking his head, unable to control the way his body trembles even at her painfully soothing touch. Unable to stop the thoughts of how he once again lost his mind and tried to hurt her.]
Tifa,i could have killed you—! I wanted—the things I thought—
[Too horrific, sickening, and revolting for him that it sends another wave of nausea through him.]
[The words spill from her before she can stop them, her heart teeming with so much regret that it had nowhere else to go but out.
No matter how many times they tell each other to stop trying to shoulder all the blame and burden, it's still a hard habit to break. Especially when—]
It was my dream. I should've been more careful...
[Was it the thrill of it? Was she too caught up in everything that she hadn't noticed that something was wrong? And slowly, that realization sinks in.]
[Refute it all he wants, she is and will be stubborn on this one. Stubborn, but patient, as she listens and waits for him to sort through his thoughts and let them out, and one hand moves to find his hand, to thread her fingers through his. He'll feel them shaking between his own.]
I... I think I could feel it. Whatever it was.
[But she remains steady and present as she rests a kiss against the side of his head.]
[Tifa looks him over in a bit of a panic, her hands slipping away from him to move his arms a bit and to brush his hair back away from his face, as if trying to search for any bite marks he may still have.
Though, if her own is gone, then would his not be, too?
Doesn't matter. The fact that anything managed to at all in her dream...]
[He's still unsettled and riddled with guilt and disgust, but with something to actually focus on helps a bit, oddly enough. There's another shaky breath as he remembers that sharp prick he had felt.]
Back of my neck. I didn't think much of it at the time...
[At his breath, Tifa gently runs her fingers through his hair, giving the base of his ears a light scratch in that exact way that she knows helps to relax him before she's urging him to straighten a little.
And there's an unsettling feeling that swirls in the pit of her stomach.]
[They have been through this so many times before that she wouldn't have even let him protest to it, so she is already combing his hair away from his neck by the time he moves to sit up.
And as soon as she sees it, there's a ripple of heat through the room as her dread only sinks in further.
There, on the nape of his neck, almost hidden beneath his hairline, is a mark. A bruise where the skin has blackened.]
... There's something here.
[Her fingers will graze along the line of it, never quite touching it... too scared to touch it for fear that it will bring him pain or only make it worse.]
[He stiffens at her confirmation, thoughts spinning through his mind at the implications.]
...No—
[And now he's reaching back to touch it for himself, fingertips brushing over the bruise. Only then does he twitch at the cold sensation, dread sinking in.]
[That was exactly what she had been afraid of when she saw it... She's tended to a lot of bruises in her life, and that did not look like an ordinary one.
Her fingers inch closer, brushing over his as she does, and she pulls back suddenly at the cold touch.]
[His eyes close painfully as that sensation comes to mind and for a moment he's afraid it will take over him, but... It's dull, like remembering a sensation from a normal dream, where you remember it but it's just a small vestige of the original emotion.]
I... Wanted your nightmare energy. And to do so, your dream had to change...
[She remembers that sense of control being lost... and like she was lost. Like trying to grapple one's string of consciousness and falling short every time until it all spirals out of control... Certainly not the first time she's felt that way, but to have it manifest like that...]
I thought I was the one that couldn't control it. Or... there was someone else in there with us.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
flamekthunder) wrote2025-04-07 09:12 pm
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... What?
[For how long she has no idea, but she isn't about to let that go to waste.
Another ripple of their environment and the house moves under their feet, the rumbling loud enough to drown out Eustace's shouting until they are no longer standing in the middle of that dungeon, but at the front door... and while she has a moment...
She lunges through the flames to reach for him, pulls him close, and kisses him fiercely on the lips, her tears staining his cheeks as she prays with every bit of her strength that this will wake them both.
Just follow the starflowers...]
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But because he's lost whatever grasp he has on the dream, it's enough to expel him out of the dreamscape and jolt him awake, drenched in sweat, gasping and clutching at his chest and then at his mouth before he hunches over the side of the bed and heaves.]
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And as her flames reach the wooden staircase and walls and doors and she hears them crackle from the heat, she exhales with relief.
There is that pull back to her reality, and she leans into it.
But it will take her a moment to wake up, her brow furrowed as she tries to find her way out of the fire and to the safety of their bed, and the tiniest noise escapes her at his side before she, too, jolts awake and immediately searches for him, still dazed and confused.]
—Eustace!?
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The taste of her blood...
Just the thought alone makes his stomach churn and he wants to claw his mouth to shreds. Even if it only happened in a dream, the memories hit him too hard, the sensation and the taste too strong. It's even worse than when he had been cursed as a lindworm, though that really brings no solace as it only brings even worse memories forward and it worsens his body's reaction with a strangled cry.]
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Because she knows where they will go.
Back to that war-torn field, back to the days they'd much rather forget, when they were both consumed by those nightmares that reared their ugly head. And for what? She doesn't know what caused them, or where they came from, only that it was her dream. Her idea. Her fault that he ended up this way...
And when he lets out that cry, her arms unwrap from around him only so that she can grab hold of him more fully and pull him into a proper embrace.]
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Don't—!
[Fuck. Fuck.
Again he lost control to something, to something nightmare related. And again he tried to hurt her—]
Stay away from me...!
[Why? Why does this always happen?
Cold, black frost forms around him, reminiscent of that night long ago, the guilt, anger, and remorse manifesting.]
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So when he tries to wrestle free from her arms, it only makes her hold on tighter, makes her press her forehead to him more firmly, even as the frost creeps over them. She'll take it, and she'll be the one to melt it all away.]
No.
[No, she will not stay away. Not anymore.
Does she think that she should be afraid of him? After all the other things that they have gone through? That this should scare her away? His demand falls on stubborn ears.]
I'm staying right here.
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[A hoarse, strangled cry as he tries again to break free, but he ends up not putting as much effort and the hands that were pushing away start to cling to her instead.]
I... Again I...
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Nothing. You did nothing.
[He would never hurt her so willingly, and whatever had snuck into her dream to take over him—now that she knows it wasn't just an illusion of a nightmare but really him, and her stomach sinks all the more for it—had only been able to do so because of her. Something she won't voice yet... not until he comes down from his panic.
Her hand caresses his cheek, the other threading into his hair gently to keep him still, as if she was the only thing to keep him from trembling so much. Even though she is the one shaking with a fury that she's kept bottled up for so long...
That this world would keep being so cruel to him...]
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Tifa,i could have killed you—! I wanted—the things I thought—
[Too horrific, sickening, and revolting for him that it sends another wave of nausea through him.]
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It's my fault.
[The words spill from her before she can stop them, her heart teeming with so much regret that it had nowhere else to go but out.
No matter how many times they tell each other to stop trying to shoulder all the blame and burden, it's still a hard habit to break. Especially when—]
It was my dream. I should've been more careful...
[Was it the thrill of it? Was she too caught up in everything that she hadn't noticed that something was wrong? And slowly, that realization sinks in.]
I should've known...
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No, it's not—
[Of course he would refute it. Would never blame her.]
This was... I...
[And then he feels a pain at the back of his neck and it's enough to bring some clarity in his grief.]
...There was something else...
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I... I think I could feel it. Whatever it was.
[But she remains steady and present as she rests a kiss against the side of his head.]
You can tell me.
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[He takes a steadying breath, trying to sort his thoughts against the swirling emotions that still torment him.]
But I think... Something bit me back there.
[He frowns a bit, reminded of this happening somewhere else, but... Where?]
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Though, if her own is gone, then would his not be, too?
Doesn't matter. The fact that anything managed to at all in her dream...]
Bit you? Where?
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Back of my neck. I didn't think much of it at the time...
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And there's an unsettling feeling that swirls in the pit of her stomach.]
... Can I check?
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...Yes.
[And he'll straighten up, turning slightly for her.]
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And as soon as she sees it, there's a ripple of heat through the room as her dread only sinks in further.
There, on the nape of his neck, almost hidden beneath his hairline, is a mark. A bruise where the skin has blackened.]
... There's something here.
[Her fingers will graze along the line of it, never quite touching it... too scared to touch it for fear that it will bring him pain or only make it worse.]
Can you feel anything?
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...No—
[And now he's reaching back to touch it for himself, fingertips brushing over the bruise. Only then does he twitch at the cold sensation, dread sinking in.]
But I can feel it now. It's nightmare energy.
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Her fingers inch closer, brushing over his as she does, and she pulls back suddenly at the cold touch.]
Did it... put nightmare energy in you, or...?
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[A grim thought as those memories return...]
I think both.
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... What did you feel anyway? In the dream?
[Another pause, as she chooses her next words carefully.]
You kept talking like you needed more? From me...
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I... Wanted your nightmare energy. And to do so, your dream had to change...
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[She remembers that sense of control being lost... and like she was lost. Like trying to grapple one's string of consciousness and falling short every time until it all spirals out of control... Certainly not the first time she's felt that way, but to have it manifest like that...]
I thought I was the one that couldn't control it. Or... there was someone else in there with us.
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🎀 fin.