roseofmay: (pic#15205303)
𝓑𝓮𝓪𝓽𝓻𝓲𝔁 🗡️🥀 ([personal profile] roseofmay) wrote in [community profile] dreamcrystals2022-09-02 03:24 pm

XX3 Entry - [A Dream within a Dream] - Early September

Sender: Beatrix
To: Everyone
Subject: Passive Dream Recording
Warnings: Likely potentially upsetting content. Implications of genocide. I’m going to try to explore this as gently, respectfully, and carefully as I can, but I do emphasise to proceed with caution.
Notes: A dream depicting Beatrix reflecting on some of the war crimes she committed in her home world. It is longer than I expected it to be.

Have some sounds of rain for ambiance.

It is not uncommon for Beatrix to patrol at night, usually following her dreams. It is safe to assume that post this dream, that’s precisely what she does. Feel free to encounter her in person (out on patrol, at her residence) or via journals, though with the latter, it is unlikely she will respond immediately. Assume journal responses are after an applicable amount of time, depending on circumstance.



Her dreams most oft are accompanied intimately by rain. Sometimes, it is the blistering sound of wind. Occasionally, the consistent roar of airship engines and the turning of gears. And every once in a while, it is the sound of wood splitting and cracking, followed by a flash of light and the deafening explosion that trails after in its wake.

Tonight, it is rain. A sky looms overhead, blanketed by dark clouds and the occasional tendril of lightning. The blue-grey cobblestone pathways are soaked, so much so that in places where the footpaths dip after years of wear and tear, they are filled with reflective and rippling puddles of water. The front entrance stone archway is intricately detailed and has been standing for too many years to count, established likely earlier than some native to the world may think.

Welcome to Burmecia, the Realm of Eternal Rain.

It holds nothing precious, except life. Life that Beatrix, general of Alexandria, has been tasked with taking.

This is something that has already happened. Beatrix simply replays it near nightly, and the dreams rarely seem to change. Her boots echo softly on the ground in a momentary eerie silence and behind her where she has already been, the environment simply turns to stone. A broken down cart knocked over, its wares splattered on the pathway and up against the wall of a nearby multilevel home, once in muted colour now sits in permanent disarray in chilling sculpture.

There are figures slumped. On the grounds. Draped over stairways and metal bannisters. Burmecians—a race of ratlike people, tall in stature, tailed, with pointed ears and pointed noses.

For years, Alexandria and Burmecia have waged wars upon one another. Pitted against each other, the concept of war is not so foreign, though perhaps disappointing when the continent at large believed to be ushering in an era of peace. What has happened here, however, is not war at all. It is only conquest. Only eradication of the Burmecian people. A simple little test conducted by Queen Brahne of Alexandria, utilising constructed black mage dolls with no will of their own and only the orders pounding in their doll heads. The leader of this charge, this show of overwhelming power and influence, is none other than Beatrix, compelled by order and the lust in her veins for something she cannot quite understand, a realisation that she will not come to learn for a great deal of time following.

The Beatrix of today, the one stepping through this replay of a chapter of her life that she has kept hidden and closely held to her heart, is not identical. Not different, but only a part of the woman who carried this out in so impeccably a fashion.

As she steps, there are voices, many words that are garbled and incomprehensible, blending in with the sounds of the pitter-patter of the rain as it strikes. If one listens closely, an occasional scream, a memory left over from an otherwise desolate and ruined city-state, disrespected and torn asunder by invasion. Some lines of memory highlight the tense air in voices that are not Beatrix’s as she continues this reunion with this intimate knowledge of her past.

”That’s Beatrix? The cold-blooded knight who knows no mercy. Beatrix…”

In the square of the city-state, the homes in the vicinity are worn down, most of them only partially standing. A curving bridge pathway leads to the towering, ominous, and impressive figure of Burmecia’s castle, stretching tall towards the sky as lightning flashes about it.

”...Beatrix of Alexandria, in particular. They say her swordsmanship is the best in the land.”

As she moves along, Save the Queen in the grip of her right hand, a chain that binds her to obligation and her role, there are but glimpses, moving images for just moments that betray the chaos that ensued upon her initial charge. The movement of feet and the blur of bodies before they’re cut down or subjected to the magicks of the black mages. As she takes to the bridge and its connecting path, the commotion freezes, transposing image and concept to stone and reality, like macabre decor in a courtyard.

Before the entrance, it’s her own voice that echoes in a stunning clarity. An embittered laugh, hand-in-hand with chilled tone. Unfeeling. Uncaring. So professional and emotionally detached that one would think Beatrix feels nothing at all in this exchange, except an irritation. In what, one can only theorise.

”I have never been so humiliated in my life.”

The castle stands above her and she finds in its centre, a couple of grandiose statues, some of the only things remaining that have yet to be broken down and destroyed. There is the lingering memory of Queen Brahne in search of Burmecia’s king, only to find by way of a charming and sinister man, the one who has provided her so much power to begin with, that the king has fled to the tree protected by the wind—Cleyra.

There are other things to note. A couple—Burmecian woman standing alongside a tailed statue that some may recognise as Zidane, the cunning and charismatic companion to many. They possess no movement. Only presence in colour doused in greys. And she hears herself again, the same chill wrapping her in tight embrace.

”I once killed a hundred knights single-handedly… To me, you two are nothing more than insects.”

Approaching them each, one after the other, Beatrix lifts a hand and she settles it to the forearm of the Burmecian she will one day come to know as Freya and it takes only touch for her to join her statued brethren. There is a moment’s pause as she examines a Zidane that once was part of her past. In Reverein, he may not have forgiven her, but he never seemed to hold her actions against her and Beatrix, to this moment, to this very breath, still cannot understand why. The only clue she has ever had is that the Beatrix of his future is different than the one who was the head of this calamity.

Settling hand to his shoulder, she puts him to rest, and lifts her chin to hear her voice once more. A woman who is only a part of her, but perhaps one she has yet to embrace. To this moment, she has only ever admonished and condemned herself, placing distance between her person and others, knowing that she would rather be hated than pitied, rather hated than forgiven.

”How ridiculously weak… Is there not anyone who is worthy of facing me?”

For the moments that follow, she simply stands in the rain, drenched, sword dropped low at her side, and she stares at the muted sombre sky, foreboding and dreadful. The words that follow are her own.

“The only thing I have granted to the Burmecian people is a grand tomb, forever frozen in time, place, and circumstance.”

They are the last and only words she manages to say before she too, turns to stone like those around her. This moment has no end. An interior part of her that refuses to weather and is only subjected to an infinite rain, marking the abrupt end to a dream that Beatrix never forces herself to finish.
hearthwarming: (010)

the following afternoon

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-05 08:54 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Despite her better intentions, Ori is unable to visit Beatrix for some time following their shared encounter with Eustace's noctaere form. It's for the better, ultimately - and also prescribed by Diluc, for whom she had strongly suggested the same when he had his own close encounter with nightmare energy many months back.

But one of those evenings, she watches as her Dream Lantern glows and she closes her eyes, wondering whose dream it's going to be this time. There's a part of her, perhaps, that is anticipating that it might be one among those who were spurred into action to save Eustace and Tifa. After all, it wouldn't be surprising if any of them were made to have such strong dreams after everything...

When she realizes what she is seeing, however, she feels sorry that her suspicions were correct. And she knows that although she may not be fully recovered, she also knows that she needs to see her friend.

And so the following afternoon Oriphi waits, sitting beneath a tree with a basket full of healing potions where she knows Beatrix will pass by during one of her patrols. ]
Edited (that bracket hanging out by itself was bothering me slks) 2022-09-05 20:54 (UTC)
hearthwarming: (067)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-06 01:50 am (UTC)(link)
[ They'll all be processing things for some time to come, she thinks - at least, when it comes to that night. That Beatrix had such a dream so soon after... Ori can only imagine the turmoil that must be taking place in the general's mind...

If the woman gave herself even a sliver of a moment to allow herself to think about it all. But Ori has formed the impression, in the months that she's been getting to know Beatrix, that this will not be the case. That Beatrix will simply march on, soldier-like to her very bones. That she will think and think and think without allowing her thoughts to see the light of day, to give them the outlet they might need. Just like Diluc.

Ori remembers what that nearly did to him. And now she and Beatrix have both seen firsthand what it truly does to a person. Ori doesn't want that to happen to Beatrix.

But Ori knows that she must go about this carefully. Beatrix might need space, although she might also need... Some healing potions! As such, she shakes her head at the general as she moves to get up to her feet, taking the basket up in her hands. ]


No. They're right where they need to be - these are for you, Beatrix.
hearthwarming: (050)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-08 01:44 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Ori simply stares up at the general, her gaze unwavering, as Beatrix questions her. There are very few things in life that Ori allows herself to be insistent about - but receiving proper care and healing is one of them, even when she isn’t so kind as to extend that same insistence upon herself much of the time. Surely, Beatrix remembers that Ori would not let any one of them depart from her and Diluc’s home without a proper healing spell.

Thankfully, Beatrix accepts the basket, and Ori rests her hands on her hips as she responds, plainly, ]


I’m making enough for everyone. So please take them.

[ Or else. ]

Besides that, I— [ She frowns. ] I watched Eustace strike you down, Beatrix. And I couldn’t do a thing. Healing spells may have been enough to take care of the physical injuries, but that’s not the only reason I’m here to see you.
hearthwarming: (016)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-08 09:52 pm (UTC)(link)
I'm just doing my best...

[ But she's not here to talk about herself, is she?

Beatrix's discomfort is clear, at least. Ori may not be as insightful as her friends, who can easily tell when someone is lying or being deceitful - but she is insightful when it comes to feelings. She'd like to think that she can tell when someone is upset or hurting. What good would she be as a healer if she couldn't tell that much?

And to her, Beatrix surely looks like she is hurting, one way or another. She has to be, after everything that's happened between their encounter with Eustace's noctaere form and now with her dream. As much as Beatrix may want to deny it... She is only human. And a person can only take so much.

At length, she tilts her head, leaning over to try and catch Beatrix's eye. ]


Do you want to sit in the rose gardens with me for a moment?
hearthwarming: (002)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-09 03:30 am (UTC)(link)
[ Beatrix is right. It is what she wants, or else she wouldn’t have asked. ]

It is what I want. I think you and I deserve to spend some time together that doesn’t involve…

[ Well, that doesn’t involve either one of them getting the ever-loving shit beat out of them. And yes, she would use those words out loud exactly.

She clears her throat before she offers an arm at Beatrix. ]


Come on, let’s go.
hearthwarming: pov: you're lowkey falling in love with ori (012)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-09 02:00 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Many would call her a bit of a meddler for what she’d done. She should have respected that Beatrix wanted to be alone. Perhaps she could have stopped at merely letting Dohalim know that something had happened.

But, after seeing what had happened to Diluc after he tried to keep everything to himself - after that secrecy and those lies and his fighting against noctaere on his own nearly brought the worst to bear - and after their encounter with Eustace… She couldn’t bring herself to let Beatrix be alone. At least, not in the immediate aftermath.

The general at least earns a grateful look from the tiefling as they link arms and begin to make their way to the rose gardens. She knows that she’s been asking a lot of Beatrix, lately, and she knows that it’s uncomfortable and ugly and vulnerable. But… The most worthwhile things often are. ]


I am most certainly not…! I’m not letting you go, Beatrix.

[ In many ways. ]

I won’t say anything more until we’re sitting on our favorite bench in the gardens, but… I’m here for you, okay? Don’t forget that.
hearthwarming: (010)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-10 01:17 am (UTC)(link)
[ It’s not a very long walk to the rose gardens by any means, and yet as they walk through the town, its denizens none the wiser to what transpired at the cliffside not too long ago, it feels like an eternity. Fae spirits mingle about as others who have been pulled into this dream world all strive to build lives for themselves in a strange, new land. Some people have rooted themselves. Some are continuing carving out their own place.

But some of them, too, are lost.

A pang of pain lances at Oriphi’s heart at Beatrix’s words. If only she knew what the other woman was thinking, she might know what to say. She would tell the general that she’s sorry, too, or not being able to stay strong enough to protect her as she faced Eustace. That she wanted, so badly, to be able to hold her own so that Beatrix could focus on protecting the most vulnerable of them. But that’s not what happened. Instead, they each received a grim reminder that for all the wonder that this realm can bring, for all its light and love and the unlikely connections it’s created between people who would otherwise never meet, there is a dangerous, dark current that runs beneath. Where the light is greater, so too is the shadow that is cast. This is what Ori has been thinking about, lately. ]


I think I should.

[ She draws in a deep breath, releasing it in a slow exhale. ]

We have to look out for one another, after all. We have to stick together. No matter what. Not any one of us can go through any of this by ourselves.

[ At last, they enter the rose gardens, and it’s not long before Ori leads them to sit where they have sat before while tending to the roses. ]
hearthwarming: (018)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-10 02:52 am (UTC)(link)
Well, not just that. But that’s one of the things, for sure…

[ It’s merely the preface to what she really wants to say. There’s a lot she wants to say. She does want to apologize for what she feels is a failure on her part to keep the team up. If taking blows and holding the front line is Beatrix’s strength, her role, then making sure she is fit to do so, that everyone is fit to play their parts - that’s Ori’s job. She wants to talk to Beatrix about her dream. She wants to tell her, just as she’d told Diluc, that she is so much more than what her past has made her.

Ori has so much she wants to say. She can only hope that Beatrix will let her, and listen. Similarly, her hands rest in her lap, fingers gathering and curling around the fabric of her skirts. She doesn’t quite look at Beatrix, either, her gaze instead falling on the roses around them as she musters the strength to begin this inevitably difficult conversation in earnest. ]


I think… It would be foolish of me to ask if you’re alright. None of us are alright, after everything… But first, I want you to know that I’m sorry. I let you down that night, in a way.

[ She feels that Beatrix might protest. Might argue that she’s the one who let her down. ]

I think all of us are blaming ourselves for things that happened that night. I know that I am. Things like wishing I had been stronger, or faster… But we’re all feeling that, and you shouldn’t try and bear all that on your own. That’s how we get to these kinds of incidents in the first place…

But I feel that I let you down, because you told me before…

[ ”You cannot protect anyone if something happens to you. Remember that your safety is as paramount as those you seek the companionship of.” ]

That I have to protect myself, too, or else I can’t protect anyone else. I didn’t do a very good job of that. If I had, I could have done something while you fought Eustace. But instead all I could do was watch, while I couldn’t move or do a thing…
hearthwarming: (013)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-11 07:50 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oriphi winces at the words because, well, Beatrix is right. There really is no use for them dwelling on everything that happened last night, and yet… Surely they are all helpless against it. That’s what makes them people. They all want to think about what they could have done better. They all want to be better.

And despite what they all saw that night, despite what Beatrix was made to see in her nightmare… Oriphi refuses to believe that the dear woman beside her whom she’s proud to call a friend could be completely heartless.

After all, if she were, she would not have faced off against Eustace the way that she had, blade shining with brilliance in the otherwise dark and cold cavern - the only light Oriphi could remember after she herself was taken down. ]


That’s true, but… All of us are going to keep wishing things could have gone differently. Because we care…

[ About one another, that is. ]

I just want you to know that despite what happened that night, I want you to feel like you can still depend on me. Gods forbid that something like this happens again to somebody, but… We can never be sure, with the way this place is.

[ A deep breath, and then she keeps going. ]

And before you say anything, I think you’re worthy, Beatrix. No matter what your past and your memories and your nightmares are telling you, too.
hearthwarming: (087)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-12 01:19 am (UTC)(link)
[ For the entirety of their friendship, Beatrix has been ever stalwart. It would be easy for most anyone to leave her at that. Strong, reliable, and proud. But for the entirety of their friendship, Oriphi has also seen glimpses of the woman beneath all of that armor. The woman who, perhaps in spite of herself, accepted a humble offering of chocolate. The woman who saw Ori fretting and working herself into a frenzy at what was intended to be a celebratory occasion and urged her to enjoy herself. The woman who visits these very gardens and tends to the roses even on hottest of summer days.

The woman who once told her not to speak of herself like she were ”little more than an implement to be used and discarded.”

Shouldn’t the true be the same of the general?

After all, Beatrix is, above all, a woman who protects, in Oriphi’s eyes. Whether she is protecting the princess of a land Ori will never know, or protecting her friends in this dream, it makes little difference to the tiefling. She is intimately acquainted by now of what happens when someone protects and gives and holds steadfast for those who cannot, when they stand alone and build walls to protect themselves. But the wall keeps them in the darkness and keeps others out, too… So what happens when they are drowning, alone, within those walls?

The protectors need protecting, too, don’t they?

Beatrix’s voice falters ever so slightly as she speak, and it breaks Ori’s heart. She cannot even fathom how the general must be feeling at this moment, but she knows that of all things, the general does not have to— must not be made to feel alone in her pain. ]


I know it’s painful to hear it, but please listen to me, Beatrix.

[ Tentatively, her hand reaches for the other woman’s, her touch warm and kind and if she is so allowed, flowers would begin to bloom where their hands are joined. ]

I’m not from Alexandria, and I can’t pretend to understand even a little bit what happened. But I know that it’s tearing you apart, what that nightmare showed you. And what Eustace’s waking nightmare showed all of us, too. But you are more than what you were made to do. Even when what you’re made to do is horrible, and ugly, and cruel… When it eats away at you the way that it does… It’s because you’re a person and you have a heart. If you didn’t, you would never care enough to look back on that cruelty.

And you would never care enough to answer your friend’s call when they need you the most. But you do both of those. You always show up. Because you have a heart. And I, or Dohalim, or Tifa and everyone - we will not let you forget that.
hearthwarming: (086)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-12 08:35 pm (UTC)(link)
I’m afraid I can’t do that, Beatrix…

[ Oriphi is so rarely insistent on anything. But healing is one of the few things she will stand her ground on - and that includes healing of wounds that aren’t the sort to bleed. ]

I care about you, Beatrix. You can’t keep on living like you’re all alone in the world and that you have to shoulder everything by yourself. Because you aren’t, and you don’t have to, not anymore. I don’t—

[ She squeezes Beatrix’s hand as she feels her eyes begin to sting with tears. ]

I don’t want to watch someone I care about crumble under the weight of their own emotions… And here, more than anywhere else, it can be dire when that happens… I don’t want to see you or anyone else turn noctaere anymore, so, please— Please, rely on us a little bit more. Don’t say that it’s not fine for me to be burdened by these things.

The General of Alexandria isn’t here anymore. I just want my friend, Beatrix, to be okay.
hearthwarming: (013)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-13 01:25 pm (UTC)(link)
[ Oriphi leans into Beatrix as if she’s been wanting this very thing from the general from the very moment they crossed paths with one another today - because she has. She has wanted nothing more than to hug Beatrix, and though Ori is the one that is physically leaning on the other woman at the moment, she can only hope that Beatrix finds some semblance of comfort in the act. She rubs at her face with her free hand to wipe her tears away.

Beatrix doesn’t repel what she’s said entirely. Thank goodness. But Oriphi doesn’t want her to avoid giving into nightmare energy because of what the rest of them might face in such an event. ]


Don’t forget - for yourself too, Beatrix. We can only help you to the very best that we can if you want to help yourself, too…

That woman who stood in the rain… She’s always going to be a part of you. You’ll always carry her around in your heart. Sometimes she’ll feel like a bigger part of you, and sometimes she’ll stay in your past, and that’s okay. What’s important is … She isn’t all of you. [ She had told Diluc something very similar, once. ] The Beatrix I know likes chocolate and wine and roses and is a brilliant swordswoman. She has a troubled past, but so many of us do, too, in different ways… But the Beatrix that I know is just as important. She deserves to have a chance to live and grow and come to terms with her past.

[ Gods know, there are a great number of things that Ori herself isn’t proud of. Things that she did as a mercenary. Things that she and her friends were made to do on their great quest to seemingly save the world. But it’s thanks to those very same friends and the friends she’s made here that she feels as though she can move forward.

She lifts their joined hands together, stretching them out towards some of the wilted roses around them. ]


Roses may wilt and and fall apart, but we have to take them out so that new buds can grow in their place.
hearthwarming: (079)

[personal profile] hearthwarming 2022-09-14 01:44 am (UTC)(link)
[ Ori is so caught up in her emotions, she’s somewhat blindsided by Beatrix’s comment and falls silent for a few long moments. That’s right, isn’t it? Beatrix had turned down the offer for s’mores, and even then it took a while to convince her to take even a little piece of bittersweet chocolate…

Still, the memory of it brings an unbearably fond smile on Oriphi’s face, and she shakes her head with a little chuckle, glad to release some of that tension and emotion into the laughter. ]


Right. You did tell me that. I forgot…!

[ Still, she can’t be too upset with herself for forgetting, if only for the touch of amusement in Beatrix’s demeanor. She’s always happy to see Beatrix letting her guard down even the slightest bit. Each time is a precious gift, a sign that the other woman trusts and relies on her - which is exactly what she’s hoping for. The worst case scenario for Beatrix would be that Ori would tell Diluc. Something along the lines of, ”I spent time with Beatrix in the rose gardens today. I got her to smile!” But then the secret would die there, likely to be guarded with ferocity by the man who very much reminds her of Beatrix in a lot of ways, too. ]

Why can’t we both be flowers? You’re just like a rose, after all. So elegant, though you have your thorns. But that’s okay. Despite that, roses are still so beloved…

[ Just like you. ]

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-15 02:34 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-16 01:30 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-16 14:13 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-18 18:33 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-20 01:18 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-22 13:34 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-09-30 02:32 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-10-04 02:38 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-10-06 02:51 (UTC) - Expand

(no subject)

[personal profile] hearthwarming - 2022-10-08 18:38 (UTC) - Expand