"Pine Tree" the call came unbidden into the teenagers ear "Psst, Pine Tree!" Dipper grumbled and swatted his arm in what he assumed was the general direction of the owner of the voice. There was a snort "That wasn't even close. Wake up-" he broke off when Dipper shoved him away
"Bill shut up" he complainined, voice muffled by the pillow as he pushed his face further into it
Bill glared down at the teenager
"Don't make me dump water on you, Pine Tree" he hissed
Dipper groaned and sat up, hurling the pillow at the demon. It smacked right into Bill and Dipper couldn't help but smirk when Bill was knocked out of the air and fell onto the bed. His mirth disappeared when Bill threw the pillow back. The teenager caught it and passed a hand over his face
"Why do you insist on getting me up at the crack of dawn?" he complained
Bill let out a laugh
"It's not the crack of dawn, Dipper, it's eight in the morning. And because where's the fun in sleeping all day?"
Dipper shot the demon a glare but hauled himself off his bed nonetheless, yawning almost instantly, much to Bill's amusement. He sighed heavily and made his way into the bathroom, and Bill floated downstairs to wait in the kitchen, turning on the coffee-maker as he passed it. It didn't take long for Dipper to join him, offering a grateful smile to the demon when he noticed the coffee maker was on.
"Want pancakes?" he offered, opening the cupboard and spotting the box of pancake mix Mabel had purchased a few days prior
Bill let out a squeal and within seconds there was a very human Bill Cipher leaning over his shoulder, eyes sparkling at the box of pancake mix. Dipper snorted
"Wow. Scary as ever"
"Don't make me put deer teeth in your coffee, kid" he flashed a grin as he reached up and grabbed the box "I want to help"
"The last time you helped you broke the carton of eggs" Dipper replied as he raided the fridge for said eggs
Bill stuck his lower lip out in a pout for a moment before visibly brightening once more
"But we still used them, because I have magic, and made them usable. So there!" he let out a triumphant cackle "Also, you're not being fair, Pine Tree. That was the first thing I tried to do after the first time I became a human" he folded his arms over his chest
Dipper rolled his eyes, trying and failing to hide his smile from the demon, whom smiled in response
"Fine, fine. Whatever. You can help"
Bill beamed enthusiastically and snapped his fingers, and a moment later both were clad in aprons to protect their clothing from the inevitable mess. Dipper could only sigh.
"Can we eat on the porch again? I love the view and its a great way to start the morning-"
"Calm down!" Dipper cried out through a laugh "God you're way too chipper for this early in the morning. Yes, we can eat on the porch"
Bill cheered softly before grabbing the measuring cups and getting to work, and Dipper couldn't help but smile. Within half an hour both had a plate of pancakes and were seated on the front porch, Dipper with a mug of coffee and Bill with a can of Pitt Cola. They ate in silence, content to simply enjoy each others presence.
"Hey, Pine Tree-" Bill began, mouth full of pancake, and Dipper shoved him
"Bill, don't talk with your mouth full!"
Bill shot him a glare but finished chewing and swallowed before trying again
"Do you see those tracks over there?"
Dipper raised a brow and looked where the demon was pointing, brows furrowing when he realized Bill wasn't joking; there were strange tracks across the yard. His brows furrowed and he stood, setting his mug of coffee aside and hopping off the porch. He made his way across the yard, Bill following quietly, stopping and kneeling beside the tracks.
"They... Look like dog tracks" he frowned "But not"
"Wow Pine Tree, eloquent as ever" he rolled his eyes and brushed the crumbs off his shirt as he knelt next to the teenager. "I know what you mean, though" he nodded, reaching out to touch the tracks "They feel warm, but they look like they were made hours ago. There's even rain in some of them from the shower this morning" he frowned "And they're entirely too large to be a dog"
"Maybe a wolf?" Dipper suggested
Bill hesitated
"They look to big to be a wolf, too" he glanced at Dipper "They might be, though"
"We should check it out, then" Dipper declared, getting to his feet
"Tomorrow" Bill protested "It's supposed to rain today. You and Shooting Star won't be of any use to me if you get sick while we wander the woods looking for the thing that made these tracks. Tomorrow is supposed to be a bright sunny day. We'll go then"
As much as Dipper wanted to protest and go immediately, he could see the logic behind what the demon was saying, and sighed in defeat
"Yeah, okay" they looked up when a crack of thunder sounded above them "We should go inside"
Bill nodded and the duo jogged back to the shack, grabbing their drinks and plates on their way inside. By the time they had cleaned up and done the dishes, Mabel and Grunkle Stan had taken seats at the table and begun eating the leftover pancakes Dipper had left for them. Bill transformed back into a triangle and took a seat on Dipper's shoulder, and Dipper leaned against the counter in silence, debating wether or not to ask his Grunkle about the tracks on the lawn.
"Hey, Stanford" Bill chirped, and Stan shot him a tired glare
"What?" he grunted
"Pine Tree has to ask you something"
Stan's gaze flicked to Dipper, and the teen almost smacked Bill off his shoulder. Deciding it would do no good he sighed and shifted his position slightly so his arms were folded across his chest
"Bill and I found some strange prints across the lawn"
"Strange prints?" he raised a brow
"Yeah. Like, footprints- well, pawprints really" he shrugged "They're too big to be a dog or a wolf, and they're still warm even though it's rained since they were left there; there was rain in some of the tracks"
Stan swallowed the last bite of his pancakes and stood
"Mabel sweetie, can you wash my dish for me?"
"Sure thing, Grunkle Stan!" she offered him a wide grin
He smiled in return and turned to Dipper, smile almost completely gone
"Show me" he requested
Dipper nodded and turned, leading the man out of the house and straight across the lawn to the tracks, Bill still perched on his shoulder. At the last possible moment he hopped off the landed beside Dipper and the prints as a human, gazing down at them with curiosity burning in his gaze. Stanford came to a stop beside them and knelt, ignoring the crash of thunder and the few raindrops beginning to fall
"I've never seen anything like these" he muttered, reaching a hand in to touch the bottom of one of the prints "You're right. It's warm" he paused, pushing himself up and meeting Dipper's gaze "you seen any of this in any of the journals?" Dipper shook his head "Me either" he sighed "come on, we should go back inside before it starts pouring. We have some research to do"