Friendship Hurts
Chapter 1
It was midday on the second day of summer in Gravity Falls, Oregon, and it was hot. Possibly even the hottest day of the summer, and barely even into it! 18 year old Chimeri Diana Huntress lazed high in the trees near the tourist trap Mystery Shack. She wore a gold single-sleeved long-sleeved shirt that ended above the waist, and ankle length sapphire skirt. Her long coppery hair was braided into one single plait. Unlike humans, Diana had coppery-gold wings and a fur tail that blossomed into a fan of feathers at the tip.
"So, how many tourists will leave the Shack empty-handed today, Diana?" She turned to look at the speaker. Her best friend and constant companion Scarlet Rose flew up elegantly to the tree she was in. The sixteen year old was a pheonix with long red hair and sparkling emerald eyes. She wore a black knee-length dress with a short red jacket. Scarlet, also known as Scar, perched delicately on the branch next to Diana.
"Same as always, Scar. None." She replied simply.
"Why do you always say the same dang thing, Diana?" Scar complained.
"Because you know how that old man runs his business. He doesn't let anyone leave without spending money."
"Well, I say that at least one person will leave with nothing. What are you willing to bet?"
"A lotus blossom."
"Fireflower."
"What would I want with a fireflower?" Diana asked impatiently, drumming the branch she was sitting on.
"They are pretty." Scarlet retorted. "And I have too many of them."
"They are useless. Unlike lotus blossoms, which have powerful magical potential."
"Fine then. I'm still betting one th-" She was interrupted by a yellow taxi speeding up the dirt road that led to the Mystery Shack. With a screech, it parked outside the building in a billowing cloud of dust, earning a bleating from the goat that lived there. Two figures got out of the car, and when the cloud faded, the winged duo saw that they were brunette twins. A boy and a girl.
"Hey, those kids from last summer are back!" Cried Scarlet daftly.
"No shit, sherlock." She replied sarcastically, rolling her eyes. They watched as the 'old man' Diana had mentioned stepped out the front door with his six-fingered twin brother and a squealing pig close behind him. The boy and the girl both ran up to the men, yelling, smiles on their happy faces.
"Grunkle Stan! Grunkle Ford!" They cried, hugging them tight.
"Grunkle?" Scarlet asked rhetorically. Diana mentioned for her to be quiet.
"Dipper! Mabel! Good to see you." Stan said. A squeal erupted and Mabel's eyes were drawn to the adorable pink pig next to them.
"Waddles! Oh my gosh, I have missed you so much!" She picked the pig up and hugged it tight. As she did so, Ford said something they couldn't hear and Dipper replied. Diana frowned.
"Well, I think I've had enough." Scarlet spread her gorgeous red, orange, and yellow wings, ready to fly. "Diana, are you coming?" She asked.
"No, thank you. I want to stay here and take a closer look." Scar frowned. She didn't like it when her friend wanted to do something that she didn't. Then she smiled. She ought to be happy for her friend. Besides, Diana deserved to take a break from her. With little effort, she took to the clear blue skies and flew off.
Diana watched her go, then gently lowered herself to the leafy forest floor, careful not to clip her wings on anything. Once on the ground, she tucked her wings into her shirt, and withdrew her tail into her skirt, concealing everything that made her Chimeri. Now she looked like a human. And a tourist. Unlike her friend Scarlet, Diana could lip read. Ford had said something about a journal, and magic. She needed to find out what was going on. Something told her that this was not your ordinary family. Drawing her midnight blue purse out of a hidden pocket in her skirt, she made her way to the Mystery Shack, and entered the run-down establishment.
Dipper and Mabel had unpacked their belongings upstairs in the dusty attic that had served as their bedroom the previous summer, before coming back downstairs to retrieve Dippers beloved journal number three from Ford. Ever since he had found the old, dusty book in a false tree in the woods, he had been adding information about Gravity Falls mysterious and magical inhabitants. When his great uncle Ford, aka the author of the journals, had came out of the portal the year before, he had let Dipper keep the journal. But when it was time to go home after the summer ended the year before, he knew, sadly, that he could not take it with him, for there were no mysteries, theories or magical beings back home. So Ford had said he would look after it until he returned. And here they are now.
He had told him to meet him in the basement. Dipper was about to enter the passcode into the vending machine when the door to the gift shop opened with a ding, and a young lady with a large smile on her lips walked in. He sighed. Tourists. They always showed up at the wrong time. To cover his action, he put a quarter into the machine as Mabel went to man the register. The woman looked around a bit before selecting a pair of cute silver question mark earrings. The idea was Mabels, of course, and she wouldn't leave Stan alone until he agreed to sell them. They were still here, so Dipper figured that they were popular. Going to buy them, Mabel complimented her outfit, and showed the lady her latest sweater. That immediately started a conversation. Dipper sighed in resigned frustration. Mabel was incredibly irritating like that at times like this.
"Oh, and your hair! It's so beautiful! Who does it?" She asked, grinning from ear to ear.
"Actually, I do it myself. I'm Diana Huntress, by the way." Dipper narrowed his eyes at the person. He had met someone with that name before. But then again, she was in another dimension.
"What a pretty name!" Mabel exclaimed. "I'm Mabel. That awkward person over there is my twin brother, Dipper." She pointed at him.
"Mabel!" He said, embarrassed. This girl was rather attractive, and he didn't want to ruin his chances. Unlike what had happened with Wendy. Diana purchased her goods and walked out the door, waving goodbye as something coppery fell out of her pocket.
"She is a nice lady." Mabel remarked happily. Dipper picked up the object and opened the door, hoping to give it back.
"Diana, you dropped-" She wasn't there. "-something. Where did she go?" He frowned. Mabel pointed to the object he was holding.
"Dipper! Look!" He examined the 'something'. It was a copper feather.
"Why would she have a feather?" A shadow briefly passed over him and Mabel. He looked up and squinted against the bright sun to see a silloiette of a large bird. The shape looked rather humanoid.
Later that night, Dipper stayed up late researching about the feather. He rubbed his temples absentmindedly. He was puzzled.
"It matches no other feather in the world." He murmured aloud. "It's close to a falcons, but has too much golden hue in it. Unless..." He grabbed the journal off his bedside table and started leafing through the pages. After Diana had left, he had gone downstairs to retrieve his book from Ford. He paused at a page labeled 'Chimeri', and read aloud a small paragraph.
"'The Chimeri are a winged race who live for the protection and preservation of nature. They won't go near cities because they live in awe of civilization. Most think that they are proud and stuck-up. They have an aerodynamic tail that fans out like a birds at the end for flight control. Feather designs and colours vary from person to person, but most are some form of copper, bronze or gold.' So Diana is either a Chimeri, or knows one." The latter seemed more likely, but if she was one, maybe she was used to, or likes civilization.
"Actually, now that I think about it, she did have a feather-patterned tattoo peaking out from behind her shirt collar. Maybe she disguised herself." He pondered aloud. Then he shrugged. He would tell Mabel and ask Ford about it in the morning. But what he needed most right now was some sleep. It was tugging at him, urging him to close his eyes. Turning his bedside lamp off, he closed his heavy eyelids, and drifted off to a deep slumber, dreaming about birds with human heads.