[With a bit of a rueful, apologetic smile, she lifts a hand out of the water to press it to his cheek, her palm warm to the touch, her own dreamotion seeping out of her fingertips and into the air.]
I think she would have done it either way. And... [Tifa's eyes glisten with the beginnings of tears, held back with a hard blink.] We don't even know if she would have survived after all that.
[Even if she tries to hold it back, he can sense it and his arms move to go around her for a full embrace.]
...I'm sorry.
[He doesn't know what else to say, he can't even provide proper words of comfort. He knows better than to fully blame himself, but it's hard not to feel some of it, both for questioning if he was the reason as well as having been the one to have to destroy her, unable to save her. What if she had fed off of him? What if he had made her worse? Questions he knows he shouldn't dwell on, but... It's hard.]
[And the moment that his arms go around her and she's pulled in, the water splashing gently between them, she breaks. She tried to be strong, she tried to hold herself together for him because she wanted to be sturdy and solid ground for him to stand on. She knows what it's like, feeling like the world's crumbled beneath her feet, and she doesn't want that for Eustace. Not again, and not ever.
So she just holds him back, her arms going around him fully as she cries gently into his shoulder. Even when he woke up, she kept it all in, not wanting to frighten or upset him, and now it comes pouring out in a way that she would not let it before.
Relief, and pain, and sadness... guilt... all wrapped up in her body that's come bursting forth.]
We did what we could, but I still miss her. And... [She hiccups.] I'm sorry that I couldn't stop it. For you.
[His arms only tighten around her, eyes closing tightly as that hurt and ache becomes suffocating. He knows she's trying to be strong for him, trying to be his support in his time of need, but she doesn't need to be. Rather, they need to be there together for each other, so while he still relies on her, he wants her to rely on him still. She was hurt, too, after all.]
[She knows she should be better about it. She's always said it to him, too. Yet it's still hard to let go of that need to be, that responsibility and that burden. She wants to carry his share for him until he is ready, but she also knows that it isn't what he wants.
And so she leans into him further, holds onto him tighter.]
I just... I want all of this to stop. How do we make it?
[It's been a long time since the last incident, but even then, they still haven't found many answers.]
[It will be. It always does get better with time. These wounds won't ever heal, but they can at least move on from them eventually, just like they had before. As long as she has him and the others, then she has no reason to believe otherwise. It's just hard now.]
[Her eyes widen a touch for a beat before they soften with something of an apologetic, sad smile.]
I can do that.
[She's getting better at it these days, but sometimes she needs a little push, a reminder every now and then that it's okay to let her emotions go and allow herself to feel them fully, and right now, that is something that they both need. They need time to grieve their loss, room to be upset and angry about what happened, and then they can figure out where to go from there.
Slowly, almost tentatively, she leans in and seeks his lips for a soft kiss.]
Oh. That reminds me. I... got you something while you were asleep.
[The kiss does so much for him, he's actually a little wistful when she parts. But...well, he does kind of need to rest and recover a bit more, so he'll just have to let it be for now.]
[They're still allowed to kiss, even if they are both resting—]
Wait here.
[She nods shyly and with a pat on his arm, she pulls back and gets up out of the pool, dabbing herself off a bit with a towel before heading back into their room. She returns with a small box in her hands and immediately sinks right back into the water beside him, handing it to him.]
It isn't much, but I figured that you needed a new one.
[And when he opens it, wrapped in the velvet inside of the box is a small glass charm—the same ones that they wear around their necks that have since filled with colour and dreamotion the last time that they have switched out for new ones. Only this one is not shaped like the moon, but rather, a lindwurm, its body coiling in a downward spiral to the end of its tail, its wings folded over. And rather than full glass, part of it is made with a pearly white metal-looking material.]
Dragon scale. [She explains, pointing it out.] I got them to add one for good luck.
[His eyes will follow her and then widen a bit when she brings in the box. He could never guess what was inside, so he just stares blankly at the pendant before he understands what she tells him.
[She drops her gaze down to the box, and her hands move up to rest over both of his so that they can hold it together, and already, there's a light shimmer inside, faint but it's there.]
When you turned, it fell off. I picked it up before I went to look for you.
[He'll feel her fingers tense around his.]
When I did, I... took a bunch of old ones that filled up and used them to turn you back.
[She's not going to remind him of how she literally punched his lindwurm face to get through to him, but she probably doesn't have to.
She smiles though and reaches into the box to take it out and hold it up to the light.]
It took me a while to decide on what I wanted to get. But I've always liked the white lindwurm... And I thought it was a little symbolic. It's silly, I know.
So do I. Let's hope that was the last time we ever will.
[She is a bit sad that she had to use up so many of them, but... it was for a good cause. The best cause. That is part of the reason why they had them to begin with, isn't it?]
I was thinking of getting something to match for myself, but... we can wait until you're feeling better, and maybe you could pick one out for me?
[She needed that kiss, and as her hand closes around the charm to hold it tight in her hands, she slides an arm around his shoulder to pull him back for another one, soft and sweet.]
Now I'm curious what you'll end up picking for me.
[She bops him gently on the cheek with her knuckles for that.]
Wonder if I should get a dragon scale on it for good luck, too.
[It makes her so relieved to see him smiling. She knows there is still a lot to process, but this is a step in the right direction. They're both getting better at not letting their grief consume them and spiral them further into the depths of it these days.]
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flamekthunder) wrote2025-04-07 09:12 pm
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I think she would have done it either way. And... [Tifa's eyes glisten with the beginnings of tears, held back with a hard blink.] We don't even know if she would have survived after all that.
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...I'm sorry.
[He doesn't know what else to say, he can't even provide proper words of comfort. He knows better than to fully blame himself, but it's hard not to feel some of it, both for questioning if he was the reason as well as having been the one to have to destroy her, unable to save her. What if she had fed off of him? What if he had made her worse? Questions he knows he shouldn't dwell on, but... It's hard.]
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[And the moment that his arms go around her and she's pulled in, the water splashing gently between them, she breaks. She tried to be strong, she tried to hold herself together for him because she wanted to be sturdy and solid ground for him to stand on. She knows what it's like, feeling like the world's crumbled beneath her feet, and she doesn't want that for Eustace. Not again, and not ever.
So she just holds him back, her arms going around him fully as she cries gently into his shoulder. Even when he woke up, she kept it all in, not wanting to frighten or upset him, and now it comes pouring out in a way that she would not let it before.
Relief, and pain, and sadness... guilt... all wrapped up in her body that's come bursting forth.]
We did what we could, but I still miss her. And... [She hiccups.] I'm sorry that I couldn't stop it. For you.
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You did stop it.
[His voice is a rough whisper against her ears.]
You still saved me. That's what matters.
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[She knows she should be better about it. She's always said it to him, too. Yet it's still hard to let go of that need to be, that responsibility and that burden. She wants to carry his share for him until he is ready, but she also knows that it isn't what he wants.
And so she leans into him further, holds onto him tighter.]
I just... I want all of this to stop. How do we make it?
[It's been a long time since the last incident, but even then, they still haven't found many answers.]
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I wish I knew. But we'll find a way... Somehow.
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[Her fingers cling to the back of his neck, and she buries her face into his.]
To just live our lives here without all this dreamotion and these nightmares?
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[A small sigh as he just continues to hold her.]
It'll be okay.
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[It will be. It always does get better with time. These wounds won't ever heal, but they can at least move on from them eventually, just like they had before. As long as she has him and the others, then she has no reason to believe otherwise. It's just hard now.]
Is there anything I can do now? ... For you?
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[And he's not brushing it off—just having her with him right now is doing wonders...and he really does need her presence and company right now.]
And...don't try to hide anything from me.
[That is, don't try and be strong and ignore her own feelings.]
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I can do that.
[She's getting better at it these days, but sometimes she needs a little push, a reminder every now and then that it's okay to let her emotions go and allow herself to feel them fully, and right now, that is something that they both need. They need time to grieve their loss, room to be upset and angry about what happened, and then they can figure out where to go from there.
Slowly, almost tentatively, she leans in and seeks his lips for a soft kiss.]
Oh. That reminds me. I... got you something while you were asleep.
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Something?
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Wait here.
[She nods shyly and with a pat on his arm, she pulls back and gets up out of the pool, dabbing herself off a bit with a towel before heading back into their room. She returns with a small box in her hands and immediately sinks right back into the water beside him, handing it to him.]
It isn't much, but I figured that you needed a new one.
[And when he opens it, wrapped in the velvet inside of the box is a small glass charm—the same ones that they wear around their necks that have since filled with colour and dreamotion the last time that they have switched out for new ones. Only this one is not shaped like the moon, but rather, a lindwurm, its body coiling in a downward spiral to the end of its tail, its wings folded over. And rather than full glass, part of it is made with a pearly white metal-looking material.]
Dragon scale. [She explains, pointing it out.] I got them to add one for good luck.
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...Speaking of...]
What happened to mine?
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When you turned, it fell off. I picked it up before I went to look for you.
[He'll feel her fingers tense around his.]
When I did, I... took a bunch of old ones that filled up and used them to turn you back.
[She huffs quietly.]
Guess you could say I... packed quite the punch?
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...]
Now that you mention it... I do recall feeling an intense rush of dreamotion flow into it. It felt like I was being washed over with it...
[He looks at the lindwurm charm and then at her, a wry smile forming.]
I guess that was it in then.
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[She's not going to remind him of how she literally punched his lindwurm face to get through to him, but she probably doesn't have to.
She smiles though and reaches into the box to take it out and hold it up to the light.]
It took me a while to decide on what I wanted to get. But I've always liked the white lindwurm... And I thought it was a little symbolic. It's silly, I know.
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[He reaches up to place his hand over hers and the charm.]
It's perfect, thank you.
[His hand then squeezes hers.]
I just hope... We never have to use it.
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[She is a bit sad that she had to use up so many of them, but... it was for a good cause. The best cause. That is part of the reason why they had them to begin with, isn't it?]
I was thinking of getting something to match for myself, but... we can wait until you're feeling better, and maybe you could pick one out for me?
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[He leans in closer so he can kiss her softly on the lips.]
Let's do that.
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Now I'm curious what you'll end up picking for me.
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[He doesn't part from her, instead letting his lips brush against hers as he speaks in a quiet, low voice.]
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[She doesn't sound surprised at all by the choice, and he'll feel her smile against his lips, her hand coming out of the water to caress his cheek.]
Even without the wolf to match?
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[He'll lean into her touch before smiling a bit.]
A rabbit with a strong punch and kick.
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Wonder if I should get a dragon scale on it for good luck, too.
[It makes her so relieved to see him smiling. She knows there is still a lot to process, but this is a step in the right direction. They're both getting better at not letting their grief consume them and spiral them further into the depths of it these days.]
Maybe... a blue one?
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❤️💙 fin.