Dipper and Mable joyfully settled into their grunkle Stan's attic room for the last time. Well, the last time as high schoolers. There was no reason they couldn't keep hanging out there during their summer breaks from college, which they fully intended to do.
After their uncles had finished their journey, Stanley had come back to the Mystery Shack. Ford decided to keep researching and exploring. He still sent them the occasional postcard and weird mystical thingy he wanted them to keep safe. Dipper couldn't wait to follow in his footsteps.
It was only a few hours before Mabel was rushing off to her welcome back reunion with her friends. Dipper smiled fondly as she skipped out in a slightly more mature but still ridiculously tacky sweater. Instead of being big and shapeless they were light and form fitting and, disturbingly, sometimes cropped to show her midriff. The latter was to show off her super sparkly naval piercing.
Dipper himself had gone for an earring. The piercings were a seventeenth birthday present to the both of them. Their parents hadn't really noticed.
He was happy to let her go off on her own because it meant he was able to go off on his own. Into the woods. He grabbed his backpack, which was filled with the journal and some other useful supplies should he run into anything...complicated.
Crossing the tree line, Dipper felt the familiar shiver of other worldly eyes on him. He smiled softly to himself, taking a minute to acclimate to the sensation. It had scared him at first, but now it filled him with a sense of calm. Most of the year he was stuck in the normal world, and sometimes he got anxious - worrying that his summer experiences were stress induced fantasies. If not for Mable and the journals, he would have gone crazy long ago trying to figure out what was real and what was fantasy. But the moment he stepped into those woods, he knew there was more to the world than his mundane, everyday life. Here, he knew he wasn't crazy; he knew what was real; and he knew what was important.
"Honestly," he thought to himself. "If I got mysteriously killed in this forest by some sort of other-worldly beast, I would probably be okay with it. At least I would die doing something that matters."
Dipper pulled a blank leather bound journal out of his backpack. He had bought it explicitly for the purpose of exploring these woods. He started sketching his own map as he went. Ford's journal had mentioned something about magical yaks. He was hoping he could find one so that he could make Mable a magically protective sweater to keep her safe when they were apart.
He walked for a couple hours without seeing anything newly paranormal. Eyes in the trees, check. Gnomes creeping around just out of sight, check. He stopped to rest by a waterfall that he was pretty sure he remembered having a secret cave behind it. He took out the peanut butter and jelly sandwich he had packed before leaving that morning.
He put it on the big, flat boulder he was sitting on while he finished sketching the weird patch of shimmery sap oozing out of the toadstool in front of him. Still engrossed in his drawing, he reached over with his left hand to grab the sandwich. His hand flailed around on the empty rock for a few minutes before he realized his sandwich was gone. Blinking, he turned his head around just in time to see someone running into the waterfall.
"Hey!" Dipper yelled, giving chase. He didn't hesitate to jump through the waterfall. There was, in fact, a cave hidden behind it. He ran forward into the darkened cavern. Dipper slowed his steps as he went, letting his eyes adjust to the dark.
That proved to be a mistake. Something heavy slammed into his back and knocked him to the floor. He struggled to turn over as a heavy weight settled on the center of his back.
"Hey! Get off me!" Dipper yelled, struggling fiercely.
"Geez, take a chill pill Pine Tree. Its not like I'm going to rip out your spine and use it as a coat rack. Ha ha!"
At the sound of that voice, Dipper's blood ran cold. He went completely still.
"Ah, I see you remember me. That's good! I don't have to waste time on pointless exposition."
The weight disappeared and Dipper scrabbled away desperately.
"What the hell do you want...Bill?" Dipper trailed off. He had been expecting a malevolent triangle, but this was...almost the opposite of that. Crouched in front of him was a skinny boy of about 17 with dirty blond hair. Literally dirty. He was absolutely filthy, his hair a matted clump of dirt. He was wearing a dingy white t-shirt and jeans, all muddy and torn. He was covered in bruises, scratches, and dried blood. And he was presently engaged in shoving Dipper's sandwich into his mouth.
It was definitely Bill though. Even as he practically inhaled Dipper's sandwich, he still managed to glare pointedly at Dipper with his one hateful, glowing eye. Dipper watched him silently as he licked filthy fingers.
"What's the matter, kid? Demon got your tongue?"
"Bill?" he tried eventually.
"In the inferior human flesh," he grinned. Peanut butter was caught in his teeth.
Dipper looked around and saw what could only be described as a nest made of straw and rags and other soft things in the corner. There was a pile of what looked like refuse in the opposite corner. Dipper tried not to look to closely at that.
"Dude...do you like...live here?" He asked eventually, moving into a sitting position. Bill rolled his eyes and wiggled his hand in a 'so so' gesture.
"If you want to call it that. I like to think of it more as...regrouping, before my bloody revenge."
Dipper glared.
"If you try to come after me, or my family, we'll stop you just like we did before!" He yelled fiercely. Bill rolled his eyes and stood up.
"Relax, kid. You'll get yours eventually. But right now, you're not exactly at the top of my 'To Destroy' list." Bill walked over the to bedding and flopped down.
"Then, who is? Who are you planning to get revenge against? And why are you living in a cave? Whose body is that? What are you up too!" Dipper demanded, indignation rising with each question.
Bill ignored him as he wiggled around getting comfortable.
"Well, to answer you first through fifth question, none of your business, you greasy sack of mortality." With that, he flipped over and immediately started snoring.
Dipper stared at him, confused.
"Hey!" He yelled, deciding anger was preferable to fear and confusion. He stood up and walked over to where Bill was sleeping peacefully.
"Wake up! I'm your arch-nemesis here, don't just ignore me!" He shouted, nudging Bill with his foot. He shifted but did not wake. Dipper considered him for a moment. Sure, he looked like an innocent, dirty (somewhat cute) teenage boy asleep in a cave. But he was also an evil, multidimensional demon. As tempting as it was to mess with his unconscious form, there was a very real possibility that Bill was still dangerous.
Dipper wisely withdrew his foot, which was poised above Bill's stomach. He turned and left, intent on telling Mabel about his discovery.
Telling Mabel might have been a mistake. Mentioning that Bill was now in the body of a cute-ish boy was definitely a mistake, because evil multidimensional demon or not, she wanted to see. And once she saw, she insisted on rescuing him from his sad cave life-style. Dipper figured it was because while asleep, Bill looked like an adorable, vulnerable guy.
So Dipper carried him home. Bill did not wake or even alter his snoring throughout the entire process. They figured they could stash him in the old camper grunkle Stan had bought, failed to fix, and then left in the woods at the back of the Mystery Shack property. After they stashed him, Mabel insisted that they clean him off. This involved the removal of clothing and the confirmation that he was in fact cute all the way through.
This was mildly awkward for both of them. Luckily, Bill was skinny enough to fit Mabel's clothes. She put him in sparkly jeans with rainbow heart patches and a bright yellow sweater. After she shoved it on his still sleeping form she drew an eye in his chest with a magic marker. Dipper watched the whole process with resigned amusement. By the time evening rolled around Bill still hadn't woken up.
Mable and Dipper left a plate of dinner in the little kitchenette of the mobile home. He still didn't wake up.
When Mabel and Dipper checked on him the next morning, he had moved slightly and the food was gone, but he was still asleep. They looked at each other and just kind of shrugged. And so it went for the next three weeks. It was kind of like having a really lazy dog.
One particular evening, Mabel was having a sleepover at Pacifica Northwest's mansion. This left Bill duty to Dipper. He didn't really mind - he was excited to have their room to himself so he could read his mystery novels. Without Mable around to get weirded out, he could hypothesize aloud to himself.
His mind was somewhat preoccupied when he walked into the trailer where they had stashed Bill. It was dark inside; dusk had fallen and the twins never bothered to turn the light on for the sleeping demon. Dipper dumped the contents of Stan's latest attempt at cooking on the table and was about to gather the used plate when the door to the bathroom opened.
Dipper could only make out a shadowy silhouette and one glowing eye but it was definitely Bill. Who was awake. And apparently showering.
"Dude, are you naked?!" Dipper screeched as Bill flicked on the light. Bill was technically naked. But only from the waist up. An off-white towel clung to slender hips. Dipper noticed idly that weeks of sleeping and eating had done wonders for the demonic teen's figure.
Bill noticed Dipper staring and rolled his eyes.
"You silly humans and your hangups."
He stalked past Dipper and planted himself at the table. Bill immediately started shoving food into his mouth with both hands while Dipper watched in sick fascination. Bill grimaced as he forced a dry bit meatloaf down his gullet. "And hey, garcon, can we take a break from the bachelor chow? I'm more of a bleeding-pile-of-offal sort of demon," he groused, spewing out bits of meatloaf as he spoke.
"Ew, Bill! What the hell?" Dipper yelled, gesticulating wildly. Bill didn't bother looking at him.
"What?"
"What do you mean, what?! I found you in the middle of the woods! In a human body! Mable and I have been taking care of you for weeks and you haven't woken up once! And instead of explaining anything, or thanking us, or even - I don't know, threatening me? - you're giving me food orders?!"
Bill kept chewing, silently watching him.
"Do you want me to write it down? That order too complicated for your tiny human brain?" he asked blandly, as though he were genuinely curious.
"Aaaargh!" Dipper yelled, pulling his hair and squeezing his eyes closed. Bill squinted at him thoughtfully.
"You know, now that I'm trapped in the body of a hormonal teenage boy, I find you a lot more...interesting." Dipper opened his eyes, and watched Bill watching him. Even though Bill's dinner was pretty much decimated, the look in his eyes still seemed somehow...hungry.
Dipper felt a blush forming. He closed his eyes and took a deep, calming breath. He counted to ten. Then he counted to twenty. Then he opened his eyes and yelped, because Bill was two inches in front of him.
"Bill!" he yelled, jumping back and hitting his head painfully against the wall. Bill smirked.
"Yes, Pine Tree?" he smirked, pointedly not moving. Dipper glared daggers. He put his hands on Bills soft, naked, wiry shoulders and forcibly pushed him back a step. They both looked surprised when Bill was actually forced back a step. The space allowed Dipper to focus.
"You owe me an explanation."
Bill looked at him gravely...and blew a raspberry.
"I don't owe you jack!" Bill said, shoving past Dipper and collapsing back onto the bed. He grinned viciously at Dipper's frustration. Dipper ignored him as his mind snagged on something Bill had just said.
"Wait...trapped?"
For the first time during their encounter, Bill stopped smiling. He glared at Dipper.
"Oh my god, you are, aren't you? You can't leave that body! And you...that's why you were stuck in that cave! Why you haven't tried to kill Mabel and me! You need us, because you're powerless like this!" Dipper was nearly shouting in his excitement. Bill feigned disinterest.
"Wow, and it only took you, what, a month of playing fetch-and-carry to figure that out?" Bill rolled his eyes. "And for your information, Pine Tree, I'm not powerless. I'm just...power-lite."
Dipper watched as Bill...snuggled, into the bedding.
"Is that why you're sleeping all the time? How the hell did something like you get trapped in the body of a teenager?" Dipper asked, walking closer to the bed. Bill cracked an eye open at him.
"By the machinations of another thing like me. Now go away, I need to sleep."
"Another thing like you? Wait!" Dipper yelled, grabbing Bills' shoulder and yanking him around to face him. "You have to tell me!" Bill just glared at him silently. Dipper crossed his arms. "Hey, you owe me! I rescued you from that cave, and I've been taking care of you-"
"And whose bright idea was that? The glitter in my hair tells me it wasn't yours." Bill groused, trying to turn away. Dipper pulled him back again.
"If you don't start talking, I'll let Mabel put glitter tattoos on your face! Try being an all-powerful demon of chaos with sparkle unicorns on your forehead!"
Bill blinked at him tiredly.
"Firstly, as an all-powerful demon of chaos, I can pull of any look, even sparkle unicorns. Secondly, I'll make a deal with you short stuff. You let me go back to sleep, and the next time I wake up, I will answer three questions for you. Dealer's choice."
Dipper hesitated.
"Is this...like a demon deal?"
Bill grinned.
"Ain't any other kind with me, kid."
Dipper hesitated.
"No tricks?"
Bill sighed resignedly.
"No tricks. Consider this one a freebie." Dipper wavered another moment before nodding.
"Alright then. Deal," Dipper said, holding out his hand. Bill looked at it, rolled his eye, and then shook it limply.
"Fine. Now get the hell out and let me sleep," he said, pulling the blankets around himself and turning over.
Dipper stared at the blanket cocoon and wondered if he had just made a mistake. It was hard to feel too anxious, given how freaking adorable Bill was like this - all vulnerable and sleepy, a smattering of freckles dusting his cheeks. It made Dipper want to lower his guard, even though he knew the boy was really a psychotic triangle in pretty packaging.
Still, as Dipper walked back up the steps to his room in the Mystery Shack, he was glad he had the room to himself.
"What's up with the tiny outfits?" Dipper asked, looking at the explosion of miniature cloths strewn about their room. Mabel smiled at him and held up Waddles.
"Online clearance sale!" she shouted. "Doesn't he look dapper?" she asked, cuddling the portly swine. Waddles was wearing a tiny tuxedo, complete with monocle. Dipper was quietly impressed with Mabel's ability to get the monocle to stay attached to the tiny piggy eye without falling.
"He does indeed. Those going on his instagram?" Dipper asked, turning to leave. His foot accidentally kicked against something on the floor, sending it spinning out in front of him.
"What...is that a little top hat?" Dipper asked incredulously. Mabel glanced over.
"Oh, yeah. Waddles didn't like it so I just left it off. It's a little pretentious anyway. I mean, who needs a monocle AND a top hat? A bit of overkill there, Dipper," she said with a grin. Dipper couldn't help but grin back. It was infectious.
He also couldn't help stooping down to grab the top hat and toss it in his backpack.
"Hey. Kid. Wake the hell up already."
Dipper blinked his eyes open and promptly freaked out. He slammed his face into Bill's, which was two inches from him and covered in crumbs.
"Oooh. Fun. That really hurt." Bill noted, drawing back.
"Ow!" Dipper, yelled, rubbing his head. Then he winced and looked guiltily over towards where Mabel was sleeping. Or, rather, where she was supposed to be sleeping.
"Mabel!" Dipper yelled, seeing her bed empty. Dipper sat up and grabbed Bill's shirt with both hands. "What did you do with Mabel, you fiend?!" he demanded.
Bill rolled his eyes but didn't move to defend himself.
"I didn't DO anything. She's downstairs making midnight bacon pancakes. Listen. Smell." Dipper glared at him but listened to the sounds of the house. He could make out the sound of Mabel's voice singing "Makin' Bacon Pancakes", and smell pancakes frying. At the sound of Mabel's voice, Dipper relaxed marginally.
"Okay. Why the hell are you on top of me?" Bill grinned down at him smugly.
"Don't you remember, Pine Tree? We had a deal. And ole Bill Cipher never goes back on a deal. I told you, the next time I was awake, you were entitled to a question."
Dipper thought back to the conversation they had earlier. Then he glared.
"Hey, wait a minute! I get three questions."
"Yeah, and I already answered two of them." Bill said mildly.
"Did not!" Dipper yelled, incensed. Bill smiled and held up a finger.
"You asked me what I did with Mabel. I answered you. You asked me why the hell I was on top of you. I answered you. You get one more question."
Dipper sputtered angrily.
"You...you asshole! Those didn't count!"
"Did too. So you better be reeeeeal careful with your final question."
Dipper glared.
"Get off me."
"No." Dipper blinked. He was about to ask, "why the hell not," when he realized that that was probably Bill's plan all along. Dipper smirked back at him, remaining silent. Bill seemed to realize that his ploy hadn't worked. He let out a huff of irritation.
"Just ask your question, Pine Tree."
"Gimmee a minute, I need to think," Dipper said, closing his eyes so that he could concentrate without being distracted.
He knew he could ask anything literally anything. What he really wanted was to save this free question for a time when he would need it. Like if he were ever facing a sphinx. Unfortunately, he knew he wouldn't be able to stop himself from accidentally asking Bill questions, so he had to figure something out now.
He mused that it shouldn't be a question about his future, since he was going to live it and find those answers anyway. Asking questions about the universe, magic, or mystical creatures might be a good idea...
"Do you wanna know the exact date of your death?" Bill offered solicitously.
"No." Dipper gritted out, refusing to open his eyes.
"You wanna know who wrote the journals?" he joked.
"No, shut up and let me think or you'll be here all night."
They lapsed into silence as Dipper continued thinking. Finally he opened his eyes.
"Okay, I have it."
"I await with baited breath," Bill deadpanned.
"Aside from Gravity Falls, what...are...the twenty most supernaturally charged locations on Earth presently?"
Bill tilted his head to the side.
"Really? I give you a free question, any question, and that's what you choose? I could tell you what happens when you die, if there's a god, the recipe for immortality, and instead want a list of supernaturally jacked up tourist locales?"
Dipper nodded.
"You keep saying it's a free question, but I think that's misleading. I think if I asked you a question that humans shouldn't or couldn't normally know the answer too, there would be a cost. Even if I didn't end up paying it to you, I think I'd have to pay a price. So I asked a middle of the road question, information I can independently confirm. Any unexpected cost shouldn't be too high this way." Dipper smirked, smug in his own cleverness.
"Hmph. Think you're pretty smart, don't you kid?"
"Yup."
Bill grinned evilly.
"You realize that you've essentially given me license to direct you towards all manner of dangerous and death-centric situations?"
Dipper rolled his eyes.
"Just answer my question, Bill." Bill glared at him. He snapped his fingers and a ball of blue fire appeared above his hand. The fire resolved itself into a rolled up piece of paper. Bill grabbed it from the air and lobbed it at Dipper's head. It bounced off his forehead and fell on the floor.
"There you go. One map of the twenty most supernaturally screwy locations on the planet." He stretched languidly. "Alright, that's three then. We're done here. Although," Bill drawled, looking down at Dipper speculatively, "Do you want to have sex?"
". . ."
"With me, I mean. Not in general."
"What he hell?!" Dipper stuttered. "No, I do not want to have sex with you! Why would you even ask that?!"
Bill rolled his eyes.
"Relax, kid, it's not you. It's this body. I told you, teenage hormones. All it's programmed to do is eat, sleep, and masturbate. I don't know how you stand it." he added pensively.
"Well, gee, thanks for that tempting offer but no, and also, get the hell off me!" He yelled, once again trying to push Bill off of him. Bill easily grabbed his hands and pushed them down against the mattress on either side of Dipper's head. He ground down with his hips as he brought his face closer to Dipper's.
"Calm your tits, Pine Tree. It was just a simple question. Although you are protesting an awful lot. Wonder why that is?" He drawled, grinding down just a bit more.
Dipper felt himself blushing as his body responded automatically. He glared silently, struggling against Bill's grasp but otherwise refusing to move. Bill watched him strain for a moment more. Finally, he sighed and leaned back, releasing his hold.
"Fiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiine. You pathetic humans; always denying what you really want without any good reason. Might as well just go. Although..." Bill trailed off, looking towards Mabel's empty bed. Dipper felt a spike of true fear.
"Don't you even think about touching Mabel!" he yelled. Bill seemed to consider it for another moment and then shrugged.
"Eh. This body doesn't seem drawn to females anyway." He climbed off of Dipper's body and straightened his outfit. Dipper notice for the first time that Bill was no longer wearing a mishmash of his and Mabel's castoffs. Instead, he was wearing a smart suit vest, dress shirt and dress pants with a yellow cravat. Dipper wondered idly where he'd acquired it.
Bill gave Dipper's body a final once-over.
"Later, kid. Come see me if you change your mind!" he called over his shoulder as he walked out.
Dipper scowled after him. After few minutes of working through what had just happened, he got up and went down stairs to check on Mabel.
"Bill! We're going into the forest again today. Do you want..." Dipper trailed off as he saw that instead of sleeping or practicing the dark arts, Bill was packing a suitcase on an unmade bed. He was fully dressed and the little top hat dipper had left for him was floating an inch above his head at a jaunty angle.
"What's going on?" Dipper asked uncertainly. Bill turned to look at him, smiling.
"Oh, you know, just practicing the human art of" he made air quotes with his fingers "getting my shit together!" Bill cackled madly at his own joke.
Dipper blinked.
"okaaay..."
Mable flounced in, bouncy hair bouncing bouncily.
"Hey Bill! Did Dipper tell you about our brilliant plan for the day? Now that you're awake, are you in? Will you summon a flock of winged unicorns to squire us around?" Mable lost focus as she pictured a chariot pulled by unicorns.
"Not today, Sparkles. Although I do have a little present for you," he said, holding up a gloved hand. On his finger tips were two sparkly triangular stickers.
Something about the look in Bill's eye raised Dipper's proverbial hackles.
Mable gasped and ran forward before Dipper could stop her.
"Yay! Stickers!" She reached for the proffered gift.
"Mabel, wait!" Dipper yelled. Quicker than thought, Bill grabbed her wrist and yanked up the sleeve of her sweater. He slapped the little sticker down in the middle of her forearm with an audible smack.
"Wha-" Mabel asked, confused but not alarmed. She watched in fascination as the sticker glowed and sank into the skin of her arm, disappearing into her flesh before gradually reappearing as a dark blue tattoo.
Dipper was so busy watching this happen to Mabel that he was completely unprepared for when Bill grabbed his arm and smacked the second sticker in the same place on him. It was over before he even had time to think of struggling.
The thing glowed and submerged, just like it had with Mable. It was warm and tingly but it didn't hurt. It was still pretty terrifying though.
"Why!?" Dipper screamed, scratching at the tattoo. "We helped you! I thought...we...why would you do this?!" He yelled, turning desperate eyes on Bill, who shrugged.
"Unclench, meat bags. It's for your own good."
"What? How?" Mabel asked, squinting at the triangular mark.
"I like you guys. You have that mix of cleverness and pure-heartedness that makes you damn near unbeatable. Plus your brains don't liquefy when someone rips the skin off reality and shoves your face in it's innards. That makes you valuable chess pieces." He grabbed Dippers forearm and yanked it up, inspecting the tattoo.
"This marks you as mine. Now no one else can possess you flesh sacks. If any otherworldly creature of unholy terror tries to lay claim to you, it'll rebound on them." He smirked slyly at Dipper.
"It'll also tell me where you are at all times and allow me to enter your dreams whenever I want." Dipper blushed at the salacious look Bill leveled at him.
"Well undo it!" he yelped, grabbing Bill by his lapels. Bill just smirked at him.
"Nope. Trust me, Pine Tree, you're better off this way." He gently brushed Dipper's hands away. Mabel was twisting her arm to and fro, trying to decide how she felt about it. She figured she could always cover it up with a bracelet. Or a wristband. A sparkly wristband.
"I'm going to bedazzle us some wrist bands," she muttered thoughtfully. Bill snickered at that. He grabbed the suitcase off the bed and smoothed his suit where Dipper had wrinkled it.
"Well, it's been fun kids. But it's time for me to get on with my violent and bloody revenge. Which means tracking down and painfully disassembling the fool that stuck me in this bag of bones." He smiled with all his teeth. He patted Mabel on the head - condescendingly- and started towards the door.
Dipper was surprised enough by this announcement to momentarily forget his anger. "Wait!" He grabbed Bill by the shoulder. "After everything we did for you, that's it? You slap a brand on us and walk off like it's no big deal?"
Bill didn't turn around. Instead, he rotated his head backwards at a creepily unnatural angle that would have broken a normal person's neck. He grinned toothily at Dipper. Something in his eyes said "predator" and Dipper almost took a step backwards. Almost.
"What do you want from me, Pine Tree?" He asked, voice dripping with malice. Dipper blinked, not sure how to answer.
"I-"
Before Dipper could respond, Bill used his now superior speed and strength to turn fully around and slam him against the wall. Dipper's head smacked painfully against the wood. His cry of pain was muffled by Bill's lips covering his own.
Bill pressed his body against him, wedging a leg between Dipper's thighs as he worked his slightly elongated tongue forcefully into Dipper's mouth. Dipper's body lit up with electricity as Bill kept him trapped against the wall. Dipper's hands flailed before grabbing onto Bill's sleeves. He meant to push him away, but Bill slid his leg up forcefully and Dipper couldn't help the muffled groan that escaped him. Bill kept him pinned there for what couldn't have been more than a couple seconds, but felt like forever. When he finally finished and slid away, Dipper was panting and making little involuntary motions with his hips. Bill smirked, licking his lips with glee.
"Don't worry, kid." He said cheerfully.
Bill narrowed his eyes, smile never wavering. "I'll be back for you."
Dipper could only watch dumbly as Bill turned and walked out the door.
After a few seconds of silence, Mabel walked over and poked him in the shoulder.
"You okay?" she asked. Dipper blushed furiously and nodded.
"Yeah. Good riddance, anyway. That guy's nothing but trouble," he said gruffly before walking out the door. Bill was nowhere in sight, and Dipper started walking back to the Mystery Shack. Mable looked on in concern, unconsciously rubbing the tattoo on her arm. Hopefully, it would all work out. In the meantime she had some bracelets to craft.