Not as long as the last long chapter, but still pretty long.
Again, this chapter is definitely rated T for brief mentions. Nothing graphic, though.
Enjoy.
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A New Flash of Perspective
"Please?"
"No."
"Pretty please?"
"No."
"Pretty pretty please with chocolate ice cream and neon sprinkles on top?"
Pacifica sighed as she looked at Gideon's hopeful face, cheeks puffed out, giving her the most adorable puppy-dog look in the history of puppy-dog looks.
"Aw, you know the puppy-dog look always works, you cheater." The blonde pouted as she pulled on her purple sneakers, bottoms flashing with its pink lights.
Gideon beamed at her, before letting out a roof-rattling sneeze. "Thank you, Paz! I promise I'll make this up to you."
Pacifica grumbled as her cousin let out another sneeze, the white-haired boy rubbing his cherry-red nose afterwords.
"Don't forget the journal, Paz. Page is already bookmarked."
The blonde flipped through the journal, finding the bookmark easily enough. On the page was a carefully drawn flower of some sort, almost looking like a lily. Considering the inked in background the drawing was sitting in, it appeared that the lily was floating in midair.
"Storm Lilies" Pacifica wondered out loud, not liking the sound of it or the weather outside.
"They only bloom right before magically-enhanced storms. They're really rare and apparently have a lot of magical properties and stuff like if you stuff some in your ears, you'll remember something you forgot and if you rub it on a rash, that spot will never ever get a rash again and if you eat it, your breath will stay minty-fresh forever!" At this point in his rambling, Gideon's eye's had gone wide, pale hands gripping his chubby cheeks in childlike wonder. "Plus, they're really, really beautiful!"
Pacifica swished some spit around in her mouth, contemplating. "Well, I do like minty-fresh breath..." The girl trailed off, staring out the window. "And they bloom before storms, right? Not afterwords?"
"Right before, so there's no chance you'll get hit by lightening."
That's not really what I'm worried about. Pacifica thought to herself, her heart clenching. However, on the outside, she simply gave her sick cousin a wide grin. "Pfft. As if light-en-ing has ever stopped me!"
Gideon chuckled lightly before letting out another sneeze. "It's pronounced lightening, Paz."
The girl let out another playful huff of air. "To-ma-toe, ta-ma-toe." she drawled, snapping the journal shut. Skipping over to the closet, she quickly pulled out her bright yellow galoshes with duck-faces on them along with a purple poncho covered in green dots. Lastly, she grabbed her small Tinker-bell umbrella, tying the string at the end to her wrist.
"Well, I'm off to get some Storm Lilies!" The blonde called out to her friend.
Gideon gave her another beaming smile. "You're the absolute best, Paz. Thank you so much."
"Of course, of course!" She waved her hand dismissively. "What are cousin's for? Now you just tucker yourself in and get some rest. When you wake, I'll have some flowers to give you."
Gideon gave her a sleepy smile, nuzzling himself deeper into his blankets.
"Bye Paz."
"Night-night Giddy."
Shutting the door to their room, Pacifica gripped her umbrella tight in her hand, worry already sweeping over her.
They bloom before. They bloom before. She chanted in her head, turning and starting down the stairs, each old step creaking lightly.
Reaching the front door, she called out to the house, "Bud! I'm leaving to go into a dark forest before a thunderstorm to get some flowers!"
The blonde lightly tilted her head, part of her hoping that Bud would tell her it was much to dangerous to go out and not let her leave and the other part guilty for hoping that in the first place.
"Don't forget my cream!" Bud replied, having obviously misunderstood Pacifica's question.
Shuddering in disgust, Pacifica rolled her eyes and slipped out the door, making sure to close the door all the way.
Facing the forest, the girl let out a sharp breath from her nose, clenching one hand on her umbrella and the other at her side to stop herself from shaking. Squaring her shoulders, the blonde made sure not to look up at the swirling storm above as she stepped into the woods.
The forest during a storm was...different. Already, after taking just a single step inside, the air pressed in all around her, thick and heavy with precipitation ready to fall. The trees twisted around the the wind, foliage brushing against each other in angry growls. The sounds sent shivers up her spine, causing flashes of fear to run rampant through her heart. Steadying her breathing once again, she set off. Her galoshes stomped heavily over the loose dirt, snapping twigs and crushing leaves underfoot easily enough, the sounds drifting up lightly to her ears. The racket of different creatures and beasts, natural and unnatural alike echoed weakly around the forest, only faintly heard.
Rolling her shoulders, Pacifica hummed a cheery tune under her breath, putting a light skip in her step as she went to take her mind off her surroundings. Cracking open the journal Gideon gave her, the girl read through the page, struggling to make out the crooked cursive the author wrote in.
Apparently, the forest was full of strange and wondrous plants that had many magical properties, and Storm Lilies were no exception. Along with the uses Gideon had told her before, dropping Storm Lily nectar into one's eye allowed you the ability to see an eighth color! An eighth! Excitement filled Pacifica as she thought of all the possibilities she had with an eighth color. Dripping the nectar into your noes however gave you the ability to sneeze with your eyes open!
Grinning widely, Pacifica let her mind run through all the useful things Storm Lilies could be used for, letting her imagination take her reins. Wandering ever deeper into the forest, the girl wasn't paying attention as she daydreamed.
However, an upset grumble from the sky brought her mind back to reality, forcefully shoving her imagination out as fear filled her mind instead.
Though the thunder wasn't overly loud, it wasn't quiet either. However, in Pacifica's opinion, all thunder was too much thunder. Startling from the sound, the girl let out a small shriek, naturally grabbing a hold of the closest thing near her; a pine tree.
Shivering slightly, Pacifica brought her heightened breathing down, humming another cheery tune as soon as she was able to. As long as she kept looking at the bright-side of things, she would be okay. Carefully unwrapping her arms from the tree, she shook off the bits of bark that got on her. Picking p the journal where she had dropped it, the blonde tucked it away safely under her poncho, glad that she always made sure to make her clothing have extra-big pockets. Who knew being a snack-lover and sneaker would pay off in an important situation like this?
After making sure Gideon's journal was okay, Pacifica picked up the pace, staring around the forest to actually start looking for the flowers.
The journal said that Storm Lilies only bloomed right before a magically-enhanced storm. Though Pacifica knew well enough what a storm was, she wasn't so sure what the magically-enhanced part of that meant. Gideon hadn't really said anything, most likely assuming that Pacifica would understand what it meant.
Keeping her eyes peeled, Pacifica did what she always did when she didn't understand something; break it down to make it easier, a trick Gideon showed her a couple of years ago.
So, magically pretty much means magic. So, like spells and stuff. And enhanced means improvement. So the storm has been magic-improved! She thought. Grinning widely at her discovery.
Unfortunately, the discovery did not help her find the lilies. Wandering ever deeper into the forest, Pacifica was highly aware of the sharp and cold wind picking up along with the steadily increasing oppressive force of the heavens bearing down on her. The air was sticky with humidity, making the hair on her head frizz up uncontrollably as the hair on her covered arms clung to her skin. Sweat pooled on her forehead from the temperature, her increasingly quickening pace, and her nerves.
A sharp, too-bright flash illuminated the sky above her, briefly throwing the forest around her into a world of sharp contrast between dark and light, creating twisted and abhorrent shadows. A snarl of thunder ripped from the jaws of the sky, full of rage and misery.
Pacifica did more than startle. Letting out a squeal, the girl stumbled, her foot catching easily on a root sending her tumbling to the ground...
...And down a steep hill.
The blonde rolled head-over-heels, dirt clinging onto her while branches ripped at her clothes and skin, leaving tears in both. Drops of blood welled up in the uneven cuts while tears streamed freely down the contours of her face. Screeching in both pain and shock, the girl couldn't stop her motion as continued to roll. Her world tumbled all around her, a maze of the hungry sky and the cold earth. Gray and brown-green flashed in her vision over and over, twisting together in nonsensical shapes.
More thunder roared above her, almost sounding like cruel and evil laughter. The sparks of lightening flashed ever brighter, sharp and dangerous. Terror filling the girl, Pacifica's mind was unable to form a thought. All the blonde knew was the ever-confusing world she saw spinning around her and the snarls of the wild sky above clashing with the sound of her frantic heartbeats.
Gray.
Brown.
Green.
Gray.
Brown.
Green.
Gray.
Brown.
Green.
Blue...
Pacifica rammed straight into someone at the bottom of the hill, bowling the figure over easily. Finally at a stop, the blonde groaned with pain as her brain slammed into her skull. Everything was still spinning around her, a confounding twirl of ugly colors. Next to her, the blue lump she smashed into groaned as well, all the while letting out small hisses of curses.
The lump slowly straightened itself out, growing taller. More colors came into focus; black and gray along with peach and brown.
The lump- no- person was sitting on their knees. As soon as the colors stopped blending together, so did the shapes. The person was sitting on their knees, fleshy hand rubbing their head in a way so as to not disturb their hair. More groans- male- Pacifica identified, came from the figure.
"What the literal hell."
The blood in Pacifica's veins ran cold.
She knew that voice, how could she not? All the threats to her cousin along with the sneers. She could even imagine the frozen look in his unnatural eyes; cruel and mocking filled with nothing but vileness and apathy. Oh yes, she knew that voice.
Dipper Pines.
Gasping at the realization that her situation had gotten so much worse, the blonde struggled to stand up, shallow cuts burning. Her right wrist screamed in pain as she put pressure on it trying to sit up. She had totally forgotten about the Tinker-bell umbrella she had tied there. As expected from a master knot-er like herself, the umbrella didn't fly off in her mad tumble. Instead, the item had bumped against her arm as the cord tightened, most definitely giving her some nasty bruises.
Focusing on her worn-out legs to get her up, Pacifica lifted herself into a sitting position, legs splayed out in front of her. More pain washed over her.
Ah, well. At least the world was mostly normal again.
Still grumbling, Dipper turned around to face her, a snarl on his lips while irritated fire danced in his eyes. A large cut bloomed across his left cheek, freely spilling blood down his face.
"Pacifica Northwest." The boy sneered. He took a threatening step closer. "What t-"
Before he could even start what he was saying, more lightening tore the sky open, throwing everything in it's too-bright stare. Thunder rumbled right afterwords, stretching open the already torn sky. It was so much louder than before as the trees themselves rattled with it's might. The wind was practically a gale as it howled all around them, tearing at the leaves above.
Letting out another shrill, fearful shriek, Pacifica jumped to her feet, terror halting her pain for now. The blonde went ahead and wrapped herself around the nearest object she could throw herself at.
That thing just so happened to be Dipper.
The teen, not expecting to be tackled, fell back on his butt with an oomph!
"Paci-" the young magician started, his words dying in his throat as he stared down at the girl holding onto him. Giant tremors wracked her body as she hugged him tightly around the waist. Her head was buried into his chest, right underneath his amulet. Tears streamed down her face, hot and fast, staining his button-up.
The girl whose face was always a picture of a braces-filled grin, a girl whose eyes always sparkled with a childlike innocence and wonder, a girl who hummed and skipped wherever she went, a girl who flashed like a neon sign literally, a girl who could always stare straight into his eyes and not turn away with fear, a girl who had courage and bravery to spare...
Was sobbing in terror from the storm above. Terror strong enough to make her want to hold someone who had tried to kill and hurt her and those she loved multiple times.
Normally, Dipper would shove the girl away, spit on her, sneer at her weaknesses before dragging her back home to either use as blackmail or give to Mabel as a plaything.
However, Dipper wasn't feeling normal. A strange emotion, one only that had pooled in his gut years before whenever he saw Mabel get slapped, beat, or- or worse came back. The memory of the feeling was nearly alien to him, having not felt it in so long. Gently reaching up to pull the girl closer, Dipper hugged the blonde back.
The need to protect. That was what it was.
And it really was a need. It was foreign and bizarre and it confused him to no end but...
If there was one thing he absolutely loathed in this world, it was the sight of a terrified girl crying.
Flashbacks of Mabel shot through his mind. Her skin red and raw from the slaps. Flesh split open from the belt. Thighs bruised and battered from the-the...
Dipper shook his thoughts away.
Staring down at the girl, he saw that she had calmed down quite a bit, hiccuping slightly. Her head was still buried into his shirt however, tears and drool dripping on him. Dipper wrinkled his nose in disgust.
Sighing, the teen decided it was best to try and get this entire affair sorted out and over with as fast as possible.
"Pacifica." He stated once again. "What are you doing in the forest during a storm?"
The girl squeaked at the sound of his voice, having forgot who she had naturally grabbed hold of. Releasing the teen, the girl tried her best to pull back as far as possible only to twist her hurt wrist and trip over her own legs.
Tutting at the girl's antics, Dipper reached over and untied the umbrella, surprised at how well it was. knotted. Setting it down to the side, Dipper lightly touched his amulet, using his powers to straighten Pacifica up into a better position while keeping her trapped between his legs at the same time.
Ignoring the light blush that brushed against his cheeks at their position, Dipper repeated the question.
"I heard you the first time." Pacifica pouted. Terror was still running hot in her veins, but it wasn't as potent as before, which really didn't make much sense as she was currently in the presence of two of her fears.
"You still haven't given an answer." Dipper replied coolly, his lips pressed into an apathetic line.
The blonde frowned, debating on whether telling Dipper what she was here for. "Well, what are you here for, huh?" She snapped back.
Dipper tutted. "That's a Red Herring, Pacifica. Logical fallacy's aren't a good thing, you know. I would suggest that answering truthfully is the best option you have, but you probably already know that."
Scowling at the teen, Pacifica wondered what red fish had anything to do with the matter at hand. She knew a threat when she saw one- er, heard one. "Fine. I was looking for Storm Lilies."
Dipper blinked, not expecting to get an answer at all. However, it didn't really surprise him. "What do you want Storm lilies for?" He questioned.
"What wouldn't you want them for?" The blonde replied snarkily.
Dipper looked thoughtful for a moment before nodding lightly. "Fair enough." He said with a slight nod.
"Well, what are y-"
Thunder cut off Pacifica's question. Squeaking, she tried to move, unable to due to the grip of Dipper's magic. Her eye's widened in fear, the blue the color of the normally clear summer sky, darkened by the emotions running through her. Dipper licked his dry lips, feeling heated suddenly. Releasing his hold on her, Pacifica crashed back into him, whimpering slightly. Memories flashed through her mind.
Sitting outside.
Unable to get in.
All the windows rattling.
Lightening above her.
Then all around her.
Splitting the ground right next to her as thunder laughed from above...
The memories never seemed to stop.
Dipper wrapped his arms back around the girl, shaking his head. "You're never going to be able to get home in this state. The rain hasn't even started yet."
A drop of water splashed onto his cheek, tracing down his face like a tear.
Scowling up at the sky, Dipper closed his eyes in irritation. All he wanted to do was capture some natural electricity for a project he was working on, along with replenishing his stock of deer blood. He never asked to get crashed into by a terrified girl who was also his enemy, or feeling such weird and confusing feelings for her.
Looking back down at the blonde in his arms, Dipper softly whispered a spell into her ear, feeling her erratic breathing slow down as she fell into a deep sleep. Rolling his shoulders, Dipper lifted the girl up in his arms, careful to make sure her head was supported. Grunting at the weight, the boy carefully started making his way to where he knew the shed the family called a home was, the smell of sweet rain mixed with the floral scent of lilies wafting around him.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Blinking slowly, she sat up tiredly in her bed, feeling her bones crack happily in the stretch. Slight burns made there presence known as well, littered all over her body. Moving to pop her wrists, the blonde hissed at the sharp agony that sparked through her right hand, staring down at it to see said wrist swollen and purple, skin rubbed raw from where a cord had been.
Widening her eyes, Pacifica easily recalled the memories of what happened. The storm, the woods, the hunt for lilies, tripping and falling down a hill, literally running- well, rolling into Dipper and then, and then...
Staring around her, Pacifica did confirm that she indeed was inside her room, tucked into bed. Gideon was snoring across the room still, the nasal sound proof of his illness.
Swinging her feet out of bed, Pacifica noted that her galoshes and poncho were both removed. The galoshes were placed next the end table while her poncho, now fixed, was neatly folded on the end of her bed.
Glancing out the window to see nothing but the dark sky, it didn't take long to put two and two together to realize that Dipper had put her to sleep and carried her home.
The blonde couldn't help but flush, her entire face and ears turning a bright red.
Blinking, Pacifica noticed something out of the corner of her eye, something gray and familiar...
There on her end table, wrapped neatly in a dark-gray ribbon with a note, sat a bouquet of Storm Lilies. The petals were a soft gray color like the clouds while the straw-like protrusions were white, glowing sharply in the darkness like lightening itself.
Picking up the bouquet gently, Pacifica smelt the flowers, her nostrils filled with the scent of ozone and fresh rain. Slipping the note out of the ribbon, the blonde read in slightly shaky cursive:
Don't think this changes anything. We're still enemies.
Stop wandering into forests in the middle of storms.
It wasn't signed, but it didn't need to be. She knew exactly who wrote it for her. Glancing up at the twitching form of Gideon, Pacifica stuffed the letter underneath her pillow, giving herself a mental reminder to find a better hiding place for it.
Looking down at the flowers, Pacifica grinned as she carefully slipped one out, gripping the small stem in her hand, twirling the flower around.
Ripping off the petals, the blonde proceeded to dump the nectar into her open eyes, watching as the world bloomed around her in a new swirl of perspective.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Ugh...sorry this was so late (well, late for me. 10 minutes before midnight) It just took a bit to get down. For whatever reason, my aim with the keys is really terrible today...
Storms are scary to be caught up in. When I was 5 me and my family went to Turner Falls in Oklahoma to camp for 3 days. On the third day there was severe tornado and storm warnings so we packed up to get the hell out of dodge. During that time I had to walk through an open field with tornadoes in the distance while a thunderstorm was above me. It was pretty scary. Luckily, I didn't get scared of storms during this, but I was afraid of high winds for a very long time afterwords (I'm not anymore). Point is is that storms are terrifying, especially if you have had a bad experience with them.
Anyways, Jealous Paz should come up within the next few chapters, so just you guys wait!
Aqua Girl 007- Yes, his blindness was supernatural based. Guess I forgot to mention it. Ah, well. Your planned multi-chapter fic sounds exciting! Can't wait to read it!
Duckyliner- Good idea! I'll add it to my list!
Grote da Grote- Unfortunately, I can't do a multi-chapter fic. At least, not anytime remotely soon. Oneshots and drabbles are easy to write as there really isn't that much of a detailed story in them and their isn't any needed build-up or anything, which is why I can write these so quickly in the first place. Currently, I have two ongoing multi-chaptered fanfictions. One is a Gravity Falls Transcendence AU based fic called Singularity, which will be at least 40 chapters long I believe, most likely longer. The other is an crossover between Harry Potter and Fullmetal Alchemist called Keeping A Promise which I've been working on for over a year now and will be easily longer than 100 chapters as it goes over the course of books 2-7. Writing up a new and interesting plot takes a lot of time and usually I have a number of different story arcs and sub-plots in my fanfiction. For me, writing a 20 chapter long fanfic, at least with these characters while building a realistic romance, is impossible. I don't have the time to write out a decent plot nor type it up with my other projects. I'm already stretched as it is and don't need anything else on my plate. Sorry, hope I didn't offend or disappoint you too much.
Anyways, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter.
Thanks for reading!