escordvi | closed 🌠 it's a good day for dreaming

Entry tags:

closed 🌠 it's a good day for dreaming

Who: Cloud Strife & Tifa Lockhart.
Status: Closed.
Where: Eltrut.
What: Tifa and Cloud take some kites out to fly, and chat about their past, present, and future(s).
Warnings: Rebirth spoilers, probably.

Come on! I found the perfect spot.

[She's got a large, round cat-shaped kite in her arms that nearly slips out as she rushes up the hill, trying to make it before someone else can nab the spot first.

It was the perfect afternoon for kite flying, and after a promise made between her and Cloud months back, it felt like an even more perfect time for that. Not that Tifa had made any reminders of it when she had asked him to join her in testing them, but she wonders if maybe he already knows. They have a lot to catch up on anyway.

A lot.

For now, the kites seem like a fine place to start, and from up here, they can see the fields stretching out before them. It's not a high hill by any means, but Eltrut always did boast some nice views over the turtle's shell. And up against the blue skies are a few more kites billowing about from others doing the same.]

Yeah. I think this is good.

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[ Cloud doesn't ever recall flying a kite before. He's not really sure that he even knows how. But with Tifa wanting to go out there and test them out, of course he's going to give it his very best shot. The weather is finally nice enough to start venturing out without being too cold.

He has a dragon kite with him. Though he doesn't entirely suspect that they are coming out here to talk. About things. ]

You're acting like it's a competition to find the "perfect spot."

[ But he's slightly smiling while rolling his eyes. Cloud catches up with Tifa soon enough and then. Well then he's trying to figure out how, exactly, to fly a kite. ]

Do you know how to fly one of these things?

[So what if she is? Maybe she just wants the "perfect spot", though in truth, she would have been happy with just about any spot, but this hill is nice.]

Well, it has been a while...

[With a grin, she steps up to him, her arms wrapped around her kite.]

But I watched a few videos on my phone as a refresher. How hard could it be?

Saying "how hard can it be" usually leads to some major incident. One where we'll probably end up laughing at ourselves.

[ First they have to make sure that they have enough room to run, right? Seems like they do, and the wind's okay. The thought crosses his mind that maybe all of the kites are enchanted to fly no matter what.

He'd be okay with that. But he wants to see Tifa go first.

So that uh. He can get a refresher. ]

And isn't that part of the fun?

[She can tell what he's doing, standing there waiting like that, and for a moment, the two of them just stare at each other...

...

Before she relents with a sigh of laughter.]

Okay, pretty sure I just gotta hold it here... [She adjusts her hand to hold it at the center of the kite and lifts it just slightly so that it is facing the wind.] And then—oh god!

[It catches immediately, and Tifa nearly loses her grip on it before it launches up into the air.]

[ For a moment he's about to give her a look that says "speak for yourself." But then... ]

It's okay sometimes.

[ Big Cloud on campus admitting that it's okay to laugh at yourself sometimes. Will wonders never cease. But anyway, thank you Tifa for picking up on what Cloud is doing. Or not doing. He will watch her and almost, almost step in when it seems to try to get away from her. ]

So wait for a gust of wind to try to rip it away from me. Got it.

[ He watches her quite for a few moments before sighing. It's... His turn. And you know that, despite how he mimics Tifa on this? He's NOT getting it the first try. oops!

It's about the third before he actually gets it into the air. ]

[Even now, it still tries to get away from her, the wind above their heads whipping the round cat about as Tifa tries to hold it and watch Cloud at the same time. She manages to hold her laughs back for his first attempt, but on the second, her giggle breaks out of her, causing her focus to falter enough that she has to scramble to get a firmer grip on her kite again.]

Whoops.

[She reels it in, careful not to let it get caught in Cloud's when it finally does take to the air.]

See? Not so bad, right?

[Even though she's the one who almost lost her kite. Twice.]

[ Yeah yeah. He's going to shoot her looks for her giggles. Go on. Tease him all you want, Tifa. Cloud won't hold it against you... Forever. Actually he gets the opportunity to huff a laugh right back, considering she almost loses the grip on her kite. ]

Who would've thought that it would be this hard. Doesn't seem like it should be.

[ Hey. Cloud is giving her an out there. So he's not completely icy cold. ]

I gotta say... The wind does feel pretty nice.

Mm-hm.

[There's a peaceful, calm quiet that settles over them as Tifa watches the kites fly, feels the wind in her hair.]

Hard to feel it when we're cooped up on a ship all day. Even being behind the bar... We don't do these sorts of things enough.

No, we don't. Being on the ship isn't bad. I'm surprised at how much I've gotten used to it.

[ Given his motion sickness and all. But... He doesn't mind this life. It's better than what he would have imagined. ]

Should we make this a regular thing?

What, getting off the ship, or flying kites?

[A teasing remark with a glance at him, and then up to the clouds.]

I think I'd like that. Not often that I get the chance to do stuff like this. Things have been pretty busy lately. With the bar and everything else going on... We haven't really had much time to really relax, have we?

[There's a looming sentence on the tip of her tongue that she doesn't say, but it's there.]

Maybe both.

[ Teasing right back with a slight quirk of a lip. Though it really wouldn't be so bad to get out every once and a while. Do things other than requests or errands or delivery related things. Just going out and hanging out wouldn't be too bad. ]

Things... Have been pretty tense lately, yeah. Kind of feels like a kettle being left on a stove, I guess.

[She looks at him with a mix of curiosity and worry.]

How do you mean?

[ He continues to just look at the kite. ]

Things aren't really good between the two armadas. That's all. I feel like it's going to reach a boiling point eventually.

[Ah, that. Tifa gives a little nod as she tugs on her kite.]

I'd heard the stories about the auction houses and all. You think it's because of that?

I was there, at the auction houses. Actually, I've been working on this thing with Eustace on and off since whales started sinking ships. Pretty sure it all started there.

[ Things are always a little tense. Both Armadas have done things to tick the other off. ]

Oh, right. I heard a about that.

[The mention of Eustace has Tifa glancing Cloud's way briefly, and then back at her kite, and she doesn't realize that she's clearing her throat softly until the sound leaves her.]

I just hope it doesn't find its way back to us. We've already got so much to worry about as it is... I don't even know where to begin.

[ One day you're going to have to talk about that, Tifa. For now, Cloud just focuses on the kite and keeping it in the sky. ]

It'll be all right. We've all got each other. No one is going to want to mess with that.

[ But they aren't out here for that sort of conversation, right? ]

Honestly, I'm kind of glad for a break.

We definitely needed it.

[The two of them especially. With the bar and everything surrounding it, when was the last time they've had the chance to really "sit down" and talk?

Speaking of that...]

Good thing, too. There was... something that I wanted to ask you about.

Probably should take breaks more often. Though right now I feel like a big brother to a whole bunch of kids.

[ Which he's not actually complaining about. Cloud just doesn't know why he has a soft spot for so many of these teenagers. It's not like they exactly remind him of Denzel or anything like that.

But Tifa's words brings his attention away from the kite and back onto her. Something she wants to ask about, huh? A while back Tifa had mentioned wanting to talk about things. Cloud had told her whenever. ]

You can ask me anything, Tifa.

[She busies herself with the string of her kite for a moment, very clearly buying herself some time as she frowns in concentration, allowing the kite some slack as it drifts higher into the air.]

I know it's a bit of a sensitive subject... maybe.

[Really, she doesn't know for sure if it is, but it is about him, so...

Her voice grows quieter, softer, but she doesn't look at him.]

Back home, there's a lot going on. I... was wondering if you could tell me what you know after we left Gongaga. With you and... Sephiroth.

[ A bit of a sensitive subject. Well that only really leaves a few options. Cloud takes a deep breath and releases it, thinking about how best to answer that. Granted, he doesn't know if things will work out the same for Tifa - given their differences and all - but Cloud isn't going to tell her lies either. ]

That... Is. [ he frowns. Looks away. Fingers tense. ] It's complicated.

[ It's not something he can really tell with a series of events starting from leaving Gongaga. ]

He and I... Are connected. The time period you're talking about, he could mess with my head. My missing memories from the mako poisoning only helped him do it. I kept pushing us to go after him but that's what he was manipulating me to do from the start. All so he could get his hands on something called the Black Materia and I gave it to him so he could destroy all life on the planet.

[ That's skipping some details. Like locations. The fates of certain people. How they get from Point A to Point B. But the important part is the pursuit of the Black Materia and the fact that Cloud had been toyed with in order to obtain it and then to hand it over. ]

Obviously we stopped him, but he came back just recently. Chances are he'll never go away completely as long as I'm still breathing.

Edited 2025-04-06 06:26 (UTC)

[She can tell that it isn't the whole story, but that's okay. She figured that there would be some details he'd leave out, whether out of respect for her or they weren't quite as important or for some other reason entirely, she doesn't know, but she doesn't push for too much more.

She focuses on the kite again, watching them both as they sway in the wind.]

That explains a lot, then. There were moments when I wasn't sure if you were really... you. You kept saying all these strange things to me and I didn't know where they were coming from.

[A sad smile passes over her lips.]

I'm sorry that I couldn't help you sooner.

Because I kind of wasn't.

[ Cloud sucks in a breath. Watches the kite in the sky. Even now, he doesn't really talk about it. Who could he talk about it to? ]

I was in Nibelheim during the fire and for four years after the incident, I never left. Shinra kept me in the basement of the manor. It wasn't the typical SOLDIER enhancements I was given. Sephiroth's cells.

[ He sighs and looks over to Tifa. ]

And you did help. At some point I fell into the Lifestream and it was you who put my memories back together. I'm only whole because of you, Tifa.

[... He could talk to her about it. If she knew that he needed someone to, she would listen. Even if it meant telling her things that she thinks she shouldn't know. But even now, she listens patiently, her mind a flurry of different thoughts. Things she should say but doesn't want to, and things she's not sure if she should. Honestly, she's not even sure if she should have brought this up at all, but ever since they spoke about things at the Farplane, there have been things weighing on her, this being one of the worst of them.

But she looks at him when he mentions the Lifestream and what he says after, most especially. There might be the tiniest prick of a tear in the corner of her eyes, out of relief or something else, she doesn't know, but she blinks it away just as quickly.]

So it happens again, huh...?

[She laughs a little at that. She can't help it because what does one even say to all of that?]

I guess the Planet really was trying to tell me something that day I fell in.

I don't know if everything will happen the same way for you. It's not like you fell into the Lifestream in Gongaga in my memories.

[ Nor in Nanaki's, for that matter. Cloud had thought that he had been going crazy until he had gotten confirmation? He sighs. Part of him hopes that things do turn out a little differently for Tifa. Maybe she won't have to go through the things that Cloud has. Maybe it will work out for the better. ]

But from what you told me, maybe it was. Not everyone can fall into the Lifestream and come out okay, you know.

Well...

[She smiles a bit more broadly now.]

I had a Weapon to protect me this time. And I guess you to protect me last time.

[A little shrug, as if it's no big deal.]

The things I learned while I was down there, though... In a way, I'm a little glad that I did.

[ Cloud releases a little "heh." Tifa, despite how strong she is, worries. She worries a lot. But she never allows those things to get the better of her. Tifa is steady, like a foundational rock. Cloud might have been the "leader" of the group, but no doubt it's Tifa that kept them all grounded in the end. ]

What sorts of things did you learn?

[ Because Cloud sure didn't learn things down there. Other than about himself. ]

Well. A few things. Reminded me of some things, too.

[Tifa looks up at her kite, not quite able to look at him for now. Somehow, this feels harder than asking about Sephiroth and everything that happened with him.]

You remember when we were kids? How you'd always be... I don't know, a little quiet?

[ Honestly, he's not sure where Tifa is going with this. Cloud knows that people can remember things while floating around in the Lifestream. But why bring up how quiet he had been? ]

More than a little, but sure.

[ There were good memories there, but mostly tied in with his mother. A few with Tifa, of course. Overall, though, Nibelheim hadn't been a good time for him. ]

Well, I—

[She stops, using her kite as an excuse to try and figure out the words before she says them.]

I realized the same thing that I told you about in the Farplane, and how I wanted to change that. That we didn't really know each other as well as we thought. I always assumed that you preferred to be alone, and I'd come to realize that... maybe it really wasn't that bad. I could see the appeal?

[She shakes her head. She's not making any sense...]

Anyway. It made me a little sad.

[ Ah. To be fair, Cloud isn't sure how to take it. Well... He's fussing with his kite as well. They can use the same excuse together. ]

I don't like being alone. Not then and not now. [ It's a truth that he has a hard time admitting. ] The problem is I got used to it. When someone is just the norm, you kind of... Fall back on it.

[ A shrug. Back then, if Tifa wouldn't get hurt or in trouble or have a hard time because of him? Cloud had accepted being alone, even if he didn't want to be. When things with Sephiroth settled... He did the same thing - pull away because he thought he'd just be a burden. ]

You don't have to be sad about any of it. Things are different now and that's what matters, I think.

Well, I am. And I know that things are different now, but...

[She gives him a crooked smile, but no less genuine than any other one.]

I never actually got to apologize for it. Or thank you for helping me when I needed it.

[ That gets his attention. He looks back at Tifa with wide eyes. She had never needed to apologize. ]

You don't... You never needed to thank me for that. I said I'd come to your rescue, right?

[She laughs softly at that and nudges his shoulder with hers.]

More times than I can count now. I'd only made the one promise, remember?

[ Cloud only huffs and shakes his head. Still a small smile on his features. ]

I didn't think it was a one-time promise. Kind of one of those forever ones, you know?

[She glances at him, her eyes a touch wide with surprise.]

I guess so. In that case... Since there's still a lot I don't know, I think we should do this more often. Well, this sort of thing. Doesn't always have to be flying kites.

The talking thing, not the kite thing. [ Another smile ] Yeah. Any time, Tifa. I'll always make sure I have a spot open for you.

[ It's a friendship that he should have repaired a lot sooner anyway. At least now, he has the opportunity to do this with a better state of mind. Cloud is emotionally and mentally at his best now, at least. ]

Good. Then you'd better mark me in for plenty more of these.

[She gives her kite a tug.]

Though, I still wouldn't mind kites, but there are other things that would be fun to try out, too.

[ Cloud rolls his eyes with a grin. Trying other things, huh? ]

Next time I'll take you out on a monster hunt.

[ Wait that sounds a lot like work! How is that. ]

Or maybe something else on the MANTA board comes out that sounds like more fun than work. We can even shut down the businesses for a little while.

I'd like that a lot. No matter what it is. I could use a break...

[Even the monster hunt sounds appealing. She's been feeling a little rusty as of late anyway, so she could use something to practice and refresh herself on.

But for now, they'll enjoy the kite flying as a good enough break, and Tifa will tease him a little by dragging her kite closer to his in an attempt to knock it out of the sky. She's unsuccessful of course, but all in good fun. The kites may have gotten tangled at one point as well before they're able to get them back up into the sky, but she doesn't mind. She might even challenge him to a race down the hill before they head back to the ship, but who wins? That is only for them and the kites to know...!]

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closed 🌠 it's a good day for dreaming

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we can start winding this to a wrap!

Probably 1 more tag after this then

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you can wrap!

🎀