I. arrival
[ It's not every day you come crashing into an old pawn shop in the late evening after its doors are long closed and locked. To her credit, she doesn't end up breaking anything or leaving a mess. When she manages to get the back door open in a clatter, the only person she's really upset is the proprietor, an older man who's sputtering and yelling about her trespassing. Tifa ducks out of the building without even closing the door, down the back alleyway, making plenty of noise. ]

So sorry! I promise it was an accident!

[ And more yelling accompanies her route out onto the street, where she's faced with the reality that the previous whirlwind kept her from really acknowledging until she's seen it all with her own eyes, when she nearly runs into a group of people out wandering.

This isn't home. This isn't anything she recognizes.

Gaping, whirling in a circle, trying to get a grasp of where she is... None of it's particularly helping her, except maybe to draw attention, wanted or not. Tifa's looking for any kind of familiarity in the people who pass her by and she eventually just decides walking away might be the best thing to do, if only to not trouble anyone further.

Breathe, breathe... Gotta figure this out.

She can easily be found wandering, definitely not blending in, and trying to politely stop a few people every now and then to flag them down for information. ]

I'm sorry, I'm-- I'm just looking for a little help. I think I'm lost.

[ That's more of an understatement at this point, though... ]



II. goblin market
[ She's not an alchemist by trade or anything so fancy, but Tifa is a bartender. Some of these ingredients being listed just sound ridiculous. Anything resembling a cure-all gets more than a bit of a side-eye for the seller's trouble, though she does take a few more looks than necessary at all of the concoctions being peddled regarding bonds.

Tapping her finger to her chin, she reaches to take one of the bottles to look it over, only for it to be snatched away by the seller.

Buyers only. She's definitely looking too much like a skeptic for them to be comfortable with, unless she's offering to pay, and she doesn't have anything in her pockets to give (though not for lack of trying). ]

I'm just wondering how they work, you know. [ It's mild, even sweet, almost admiring. ] It must've taken a lot of work to make these. I keep hearing that these bonds are very, very important. What did you put in them?

[ This tactic works on all of one (1) seller until they realize she doesn't have coin. And then? Well, they tuck their wares away and tell her to come back when she can pay.

What a letdown.

Which is why she tries to sidle up to people who do look like they know what they're about. It's not to get them to buy anything, honest. She has other questions instead. ]

Have you tried any of these? Do they work?

[ Dangerous questions! But seriously...do they? ]



III. the hunt
[ If there's trouble, then she wants to help. And that's what leads her out into Wilde, not only to see if there's something she can do but also to practice what's been budding beneath the surface for several days now.

Materia is one thing, after all. That makes sense. But Tifa is a fighter and the flow of magic in this place is a completely different beast, one that wriggles beneath her skin and makes her restless in ways she can't describe, far beyond what's ever felt natural. So the first few nights, she's out in the Wilde simply fighting, practicing, seeing where her natural limits are in this world. After that, though? It's a practice of a different kind, testing spellcraft with her hands and with her focus, then trying to incorporate it into her fighting.

The results? Mixed at best.

Testing the magic on its own leads to more harm than good. Tifa can manage a spark of lightning just as surely as she can manage anything else. Where it strikes? That's...a bit trickier to maintain the first couple of nights. She's as liable to strike down an enemy as she is to hit near someone just out and about. And since she doesn't know many people, this just leads to one mishap after another.

But when it works? It works. And when she lands her third direct blow with magic against a Shade, she can't help but smile. ]

I've got you now!

[ It comes just moments before both of her feet collide with the creature, throwing it backwards several yards from the sheer force of her attack. She flies with it from the impact, able to twist herself around and keep herself from hitting the dirt. Reflexes graceful, her feet touch down on the ground just a few feet from another Witch or Monster, and Tifa tosses a smile in their direction. ]

Need a hand? I can help.

[ Considering she just knocked a Shade across a clearing and put someone else in harm's way? Yeah, she's definitely going to offer to help. ]