The brown-haired boy felt weightless; everything in his mind was gone, all worries and knowledge sitting away in the confines of his subconscious. Dipper — his name was Dipper — tried to remember what he was doing and where he was going but all meaning was lost to the unfamiliarity around him. He found himself grasping at the vagueness and strange aura of his history but everything that happened in the past was out of reach. There was only the present. But . . . what am I trying to do?
Bill watched the kid fall asleep and he asked himself the question: nightmare or dream? Bill felt he should lay back on the nightmares for now. Dipper was so happy compared to how he usually was. He noticed the kid trusting him more; it was good that he did, for Bill didn't want to force him to do things by using fear. He snapped his fingers, deciding to be nice for once; it was just a normal dream about Dipper using magic more. The demon snapped his fingers one last time, changing his appearance since it was the dreamscape. He chose to look like a human. Then he walked straight into the dream to teach Dipper some magic. Certainly not dream control, though. He didn't want the kid to have that kind of power yet . . .
Dipper suddenly remembered that he was supposed to be gathering ingredients to create Bill's body and blinked, alarm coursing through him when he realized that he was nowhere near the Shack. Oh no! I think I'm lost! What if I can't get back? What if someone else finds the ingredients before I'm back? This isn't good . . . Bill will be so mad. He'll —the train of thought stopped completely when he spotted a human walking towards him, knowing immediately that that was Bill. Oh, did I already make his body? Is he human now? Wow, I'm dumb.
Mentally slapping himself in the face, the brunet walked up to meet him, convinced that his task had already been completed. "Hey, Bill," Dipper greeted with a friendly smile and a wave. "How are you liking your new body?"
"It's nice, thank you." Bill gave him a smile, playing along with the dream he had set up for fun. It would be entertaining, but in a different way. He had created his human form to look like he always wanted: blonde hair, golden eyes, an eye patch over one eye, and of course his top hat and bow tie. He wore a yellow suit with black pants and boots. A cane floated next to his side.
Dipper thought he looked very nice. The appearance of Bill's body was just as glamorous as he'd expect, if not more. If he was a girl, the twelve year-old would probably be all over the former dream demon's look, down to the handsomeness of his visage and the beautiful yet masculine curves that were complemented by his wardrobe. But he wasn't, and so the thought never occurred to him other than the fact that the formal wear was satisfyingly tidy and Bill's face free of bloody scars.
"You're welcome," he responded politely, grinning. "I see that you've been taking care of yourself while I was wandering around. Where'd you find clothes like that? And I thought you would have broken your nose or something by now." Dipper laughed at that, happy and feeling rather accomplished of himself.
"They didn't have exactly what I wanted at the clothing store, so I made them!" Bill grinned, his arms opened wide to show off his outfit better. "And pain in this body is a bit different than a normal possession . . . so it's still fun, but not great amounts of it."
"Well, at least killing yourself isn't part of your plan for entertainment," Dipper commented, calmly looking over Bill's handiwork. "Huh. You never lose your sense of style, do you? Are you some kind of secretly amazing fashion designer or was this magically created? That would be cool if it was."
"Magically, of course. I can't sew, but I'm sure your sister could teach me!" Bill said cheerfully. "Which reminds me, you need more training in magic, don't you?"
"I'm not sure I need it now that you've got your body but I'd love to learn. You'd really help me even though it won't benefit you?" the tween asked, eyes widening in hope. I want to know all about magic. I want to do something great with what I uncover. Would Bill actually help me reach my goals? He felt his light smile widen. He can't be that bad, then. If he'll do that for me then maybe there's less evil in his heart than I'd thought. And . . . Dipper blinked up merrily at the blonde's suit. I'm excited.
"Sure. Why not? After all, magic is fun and important here in Gravity Falls." Bill shrugged and gave him a smile. "Plus then you will be able to defend yourself against monsters and not get eaten." Bill chuckled, remembering a few different times where that almost happened to Dipper.
He cares. The boy beamed. He actually cares. "I'll take you up on that offer, then," Dipper returned the smile without hesitation. "I wouldn't want to get eaten. What do you want to show me how to do? Is it awesome? I bet it's awesome."
Bill laughed, "Okay, just slow down a bit . . . but yes, it's awesome! I guess we can start out easy. Fire spell," Bill smiled. "Incantare: Templum Incedere." Bill spoke the Latin words perfectly, the complicated incantation rolling off his tongue with accuracy. His hands burst into flame that jumped and leaped around, burning the trees, but never Dipper.
The boy stared with fascination, mouth open the slightest bit at the sight. Dream demon Bill with fire in his hands is one thing — human Bill summoning flame was quite another. It was mesmerizing. Incantare . . . Templum . . . Incedere . . . Dipper was dying to try it. "That's amazing. Can . . . Can I do it?" he smiled. "It's so cool. Is it real fire? Or is it light? Are you controlling where it goes?"
"You can try. It's real fire, and yes, I can control where it goes." Bill chuckled at the kid's fascination with the spell. It was fairly simple, compared to the powerful spells Bill knew.
Grinning with wild enthusiasm, Dipper recited the spell in his mind a few times as he always did, getting the hang of the syllables. Opening the palms of his hands to the air, the brunet focused, releasing his energy in a burst. "Incantare: Templum INCEDERE!" he exclaimed, hands igniting suddenly. The fire began small, a candlelight, then rose as he willed it. Dipper swelled with pride. "I-I did it. Bill! Look! I did it!"
Bill nodded, "Very good! You did well for your first time with that spell. You can practice that one for a bit. I want to see how good you can perfect it before teaching you another one." He grinned, giving the kid a sense of encouragement.
Dipper nodded with determination, taking in a long breath before expanding the fire's reach. He flexed his fingers, causing the heated glow to twist and bend. Higher and higher. The boy concentrated until he couldn't control it any longer, letting the fire go out. Sparks and smoke flew from his hands as it disappeared, some of the grass catching fire. He smothered it with his shoe. "Whoo," he wiped the sweat from his brow, feeling the temperature in the part of the forest they were in go up. "That took effort. Should I give it another go? Or was it enough?"
Bill watched Dipper closely. "That was good. If you want you can try again, but don't overload yourself. You don't want that to happen," Bill warned him. Bill recited the spell, showing him one more time. His hands and arms moved freely, the fire bending to his will. It was beautiful.
Amazing. Dipper watched Bill with large eyes, captivated by his experienced movements and by the way he moved the flame as if it were a part of him. Then the show was over and it was Dipper's turn. "Incantare: Templum Incedere!" he tried again, making sure to hold back some of his energy like Bill had said.
The orange pinprick of light appeared as before, only smaller. Willing it to grow, he made it jump from his skin and into the sky, a flickering fireplace that was made with his magic. It fed from the air around them, curling smog and heat blasting out of the entity in steady waves. Dipper felt the illusion waver and concentrated harder, automatically putting more effort into keeping the fire alive without thinking. The surrounding forest was basked in a red light, the glow strong. I-I've got it . . . Dipper hissed through his teeth, the fire becoming stronger with the effort. He lost his grin, his legs becoming weak under him. The fire continued to drain him, getting bigger and twisting into strange shapes as it poked at the clouds. Caught in the moment, Dipper didn't try to stop it. He swayed on his feet, the burning mass more violent. That was when the trees beside him started to collapse.
"Pine Tree! I think that's enough . . ." Bill stepped closer to him, and waved his hand, muttering another spell under his breath. The fire disappeared, his spell canceling Dipper's spell. Bill stared at him, a worried look on his face, almost as if he cared. Though he knew it was a dream so it wasn't that bad, but still . . . Dipper's mind could get damaged if Bill wasn't careful . . .
Once the fire was put out and the tips of the trees reduced to smoldering, blackened ashes, Dipper felt his energy stop flowing out of him; the trees around him begin to stabilize. It was as if his weakness was permanent, yet it wasn't getting any worse. Thankfully. And he was sure that his spell had caused the world to falter as well, an alarming side-effect. He would be sure not to get carried away in the future, although the muted pain in his head was beginning to make his spare thoughts fade.
"B-Bill?" he forced out, lungs tired and filled with leftover smoke. Dipper started forward, nearly falling from the movement. He caught himself, struggling. "I . . . don't think I'm doing this properly, am I?" Of course that was his first question after almost being killed. Typical Dipper.
"Um . . . well . . . You did just fine at first, and then you pushed too hard. The thing with magic is, the more focused and relaxed you are, the easier it is. I think you need some rest now. But don't worry, one day you'll be a master at this. I should get going . . . I have some business to take care of. Goodnight, Dipper," Bill flashed a smile and waved his hand, the dream ending as everything went black, allowing Dipper to rest before he woke up.
It was a while before he did, although the time sped up faster than he could've thought possible. His confusion and wariness lingered even as he opened his eyes to the world, memory rushing back along with his strength, which returned more sluggishly. "Erm . . . what?" Dipper slurred, sitting up and rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand. He was in bed. In the Mystery Shack. In his room. When did — Oh. That was all a dream. All of it. Dipper made a face, realizing that Bill actually wasn't human and that he never actually learned that fire spell.
That fire spell . . . Narrowing his eyes in suspicion and curiosity, Dipper whispered the Latin words from the dream, testing out its credibility. To his astonishment, a small flame ignited in his bare palm, which he quickly put out. It's actually real. That means . . . Bill was there, trying to teach me something. He wasn't sure if he should be grinning or not. And he was nice to me about it. And he complimented me. And . . . I really don't know the guy as well as I think I do.
Lying back down, he stared at the rotten, dirty ceiling of his and Mabel's room while he let his thoughts wander. He felt much better now that he'd been resting but his mind felt sore — if a mind could feel sore. That would explain why the trees in my dream were crashing . . . the spell was hurting my mind. Why would Bill care, though? Apart from getting his alchemy stuff done correctly . . . but that doesn't mean he has to be so friendly about it. Why didn't he tell me it was a dream like last time? Why was he looking like a human? Was he testing me? Or . . . is it something else?