'Alright, class. My name is Mr. Pines, I'll be teaching you Introductory Anthropology. If you've all received and printed your syllabus, you'll already have a basic grasp of where the class is going, and if not, I have some printed copies up here on my desk.'

'That's him! Ohmygosh! It really is him!'

'AHEM, If you're all quite finished, please open your text books to chapter three, we'll start with the migration of Homo Sapiens out of Africa, as it can be argued that everything before that is Paleontology... YOU!' Dipper shouted, pointing at the student who had first excitedly confirmed Dipper's identity.

'Uh... m-me, sir?'

'Yes, you. Since you're feeling chatty, you'll read through the first couple paragraphs. Tell us about early humans... Mark, was it?'

'Y-yes, si-sir.'

'Good. Now read.'

'You again. What do you want?' Dipper found himself slipping easily in to the role of bitter and sarcastic teacher. It was remarkable how well he found himself channeling his inner Ley. It was Mark, and his idiot friends who conjured demons in the library basement.

'Uhh, well, sir, we'd like you to teach us.' That was Gina, the girl who got possessed.

'I'm a teacher; they already pay me to do that. Anything else?'

'No, like, teach us about what you did when... y'know. In the library?'

'No.'

'But what if-'

'NO. You idiots wouldn't have had that problem to begin with if you hadn't been sticking your noses in to Hornet Nests. You want a lesson? Here's one: Don't summon any more demons. That's ALWAYS a bad idea. Now don't you have homework or something?'

'But-'

'But nothing. I won't be responsible for watching children die, and you will if you keep this shit up. You're waist deep in gasoline, and you want to play with matches. Now I have work to do. Run along.'

And that was that, as far as Dipper was concerned.

'Mabel, I CAN'T teach them, this is ridiculous! This is dangerous!'

'Dipper, just because we've been doing it since we were twelve doesn't mean that other people don't have a knack for it. They deserve a chance to learn, and who better to learn from? I doubt there're more than a handful of people in the WORLD better qualified to teach them than you.'

'Do you really want to bring MORE of this crazy in to our lives?'

'Says the guy who traveled the world looking for crazy.'

'I dedicated my LIFE to the study of these phenomena, sought out Masters who guided me along the safe paths-'

'But only after you stumbled through the undead, the occult, and the truly bizarre as an unguided child.'

'But what if they get hurt?'

'You don't get it Dipper, they're gonna do this anyway! Remember how Ley tried to stop us from doing this? Even Ford tried to hold us back initially, and see how well that worked? You can teach them, or you can let them learn on their own, but you can't stop them. They know it's all real now. For good or ill, they know.'

'I- I just don't want to see them get hurt. It kills me to see you when I get hurt. I don't want to put that burden on anyone else.'

'But you still do it.'

Dipper couldn't sleep, so once again he found himself jogging down the main road in to town. Down to the park where he would do a couple Tai Chi forms and get his mind right. The moving meditation kept him momentarily disconnected just long enough to relax a little.

The possibility of his death had never really concerned him overmuch. He got hurt often, and it had been years since the last time he spent any time with people who mattered much to him on a personal level. Mabel though... Mabel had been in the hospital with him every time he was injured and they were on the same continent- going so far as to fly down to San Antonio after he had to be airlifted out of the Mexican Desert. How could he take responsibility for walking someone else down that path?

Finally Dipper understood some of the frustration and fear that his Grunkles faced when letting their protégés- their niece and nephew, children, face the insanity of the supernatural world to which they had become accustomed. Mabel was right, of course, they would get in to trouble on their own, eventually. The same as she and Dipper had.

They might live. Or not.

It was that thought that had Dipper continuing through his forms long past when he usually left.

He had to do... something. Would a crash course in not being an idiot suffice? A guidebook, like the journal? No, probably not. They'd need a hands on instructor, could he do that? Could he commit to spending time with these... Children...? Though, when he thought about the stupid shit he did with Mabel. Not so different, and they started so much younger. He could teach them to be better... Not as reckless. They were a little old to learn everything he knew, but he could put them on the right track.

It was a start.

'Dipper? Is that you?'

Dipper stopped mid step, arms extended- wild goose leaves the flock. His concentration was shattered.

'P-pacifica! Uh, what are you... what are you doing out here?'

'Pax. I might ask you the same question.'

As Dipper recovered from being startled, he actually looked at Pacifica. A light jacket, track pants, running shoes-

'Running! You're out for a run, right, of course.'

'Brilliant deduction Sherlock. So what are you doing? And... is that a sword? You're not out here murdering people are you?'

'I'm, uh... It's for Tai Chi.'

'Oh, that's... pretty neat, actually. Where did you pick that up?'

'China. Well, mostly China... and Brazil... and some similar stuff in Vietnam, Nepal, and India. And also back in California.'

'So, you do this often?'

'Out here?' Dipper looked around the park, the sun would be up soon, he'd been out all night. 'Only when I really need to think. Or not think.'

'Whooo, spooky Chinese Wisdom! Nerd.' Pacifica smiled and pushed Dipper lightly on the shoulder. He felt ice cold where she had touched him, a feeling that spread across his chest and down to his stomach, where suddenly it felt like birds rather than butterflies were trying to escape his chest cavity.

'Yeah, birds make more sense...' Dipper muttered.

'What?'

'I, uh, nothing! Nothing. So you? I imagine you're out for much the same purpose. I can't think of any other reason the fabulous Pacifica Northwest would be out of bed so early.'

'Well, it's important to stay in shape, and too much sun is bad for my skin. The mist is nice too...'

'But?'

'But yeah, I like the quiet. It's a nice break.'

For a moment, they made eye contact, then went back to staring into separate vague distances.

'So, umm, are you free later? Maybe... want to get some coffee or something?'

He was twenty-six. His voice was not supposed to crack like that.

'Yeah,' Pacifca turned back to smile at Dipper. 'Yeah, that'd be real nice. Have you been to the coffee shop on Main yet?'

'No...'

'Then we'll go there.' Pacifica grinned. 'I think you'll like it.'

Something in her eyes made Dipper nervous.

'Oh, okay... so I'll see you around...' Dipper looked over towards the sun. 'Around...'

'It's six fifteen, Dipper. How about 10? And do take a shower before you come over.'

'Oh. A shower?'

'Yeah, you stink,' Pacifica grinned, wrinkling her nose. 'You've been out here doing Karate all night.'

Dipper was at a momentary loss of words.

'It's-'

'See you soon, nerd!' Pacifica laughed, jogging down the path.

'It's Tai Chi.'