@seeksholy ∗ o5﹕ sender comforts receiver in the aftermath of a nightmare . :)
There was a moment upon waking where nothing truly changed , her eyes are open and yet she is still in that room ; a child , run through by Sephiroth's blade and desperately trying to hold herself from spilling onto the floor in a hot red heap . Even on the precipice of waking her mind couldn't focus , sweat that soaked through her top felt like blood against the tightly wound fists on her stomach . Then , suddenly , was a terrrible shuddering that vibrated outwards from her chest , veins emerged against her temples from the tension of a locked jaw and her lungs < BURNED > in her ribs until----
She finally sucked in a breath . It was freezing , and shaky ; so rushed that she nearly choked on it as her body desperately pulled in as much oxygen as it was able .
And suddenly she was awake , lucid , her brain could finally begin to digest what was real and what needed to be buried in her subconcious . Aerith's hand was cold against her cheek , those worried emerald eyes fell upon her with a worried horror as she asked --- something . Tifa was awake , but she could scarcely understand a thing that was being said to her . It was like static .
This wasn't her first nightmare about that day , but it was the first time she wasn't alone to sit with it . It's a shame that her first thought was to apologize for the inconvenience . She couldn't help but turn her face inwards towards Aerith's palm , some childish attempt to hide from the scene she'd made
“ Sorry ! I didn't mean to wake you , ” a pause to wipe her eyes with the back of her hands . “ just a bad dream , that''s all . ”
There was an attempt to smile it off < albeit a poor one > as though it were simply something to be embarrassed by , but her hands never left her stomach . If her intestines weren't tied into knots she was sure they'd come spilling between her fingers .