Unfortunately Dipper and Mabel's secret trip to Gideon's Tent of Telepathy was not the end of the affair. If it had been, Andrietta would have been able to relax properly again, but the little ball of sunshine that was Mabel Pines had decided it was a good idea to befriend Gideon Gleeful. Every time the little fake would come around to meet her, Andrietta could feel the other demon just lurking there. It made any semi-balance of humanity melt away from her, left her pacing around while Dipper tried to focus on the journal. Her agitation often snowballed, leading the boy to fidget restlessly until he gave up on his research. Usually he left the journal on his bed when the tension got too much for him and retreated downstairs to see what Grunkle Stan needed help with.
Today, however, he didn't retreat downstairs. Instead he grumbled, "Would you stop that?" Andrietta startled a little, suddenly realizing that there was a low growl of agitation rumbling in her chest. The demon went unnaturally still, trying to pinpoint exactly why the occasional presence of Aletha disturbed her so much. It wasn't so much that the other demon was more powerful than her, not really. While that worried her, Aletha wasn't so powerful that Andrietta could not, through trickery, defeat her. Why then did Aletha agitate her to the point of growling?
Dipper flipped a page in the journal, the paper rustling, and Andrietta tried to sit still on the edge of the boy's bed. She felt as if her entire body had been stretched to the snapping point and, at any moment, she would break. Another page turned and Andrietta's head snapped around, focusing on the sound. Her mouth had opened to snap at Dipper only to snap shut when she came to a sudden realization. The reason why she was so upset about Aletha's occasional presence was that the other demon was encroaching on her territory. Demons were highly territorial, Andrietta being no exception, and since Dipper had uncovered the journal in the woods the Mystery Shack had become her home. By coming here with Gideon, Aletha was stepping on Andrietta's toes, and possibly putting the journal in danger. Worse yet was the knowledge that Andrietta was letting her do so. The revelation was not exactly comforting.
"What's wrong with you anyway?" Dipper questioned, finally settling the journal aside to look at her.
"Do you remember when we talked about Gideon, before the Tent of Telepathy?" Andrietta questioned with a sigh, hoping the boy had. She didn't really want to rehash the conversation. Not with the frustration of having another demon in her territory so close to the surface.
"About how Gideon could be passing himself off as psychic?" Dipper asked. "I remember."
"Good," Andrietta said, folding her arms over her chest. "Then it shouldn't surprise you much to learn that Gideon is harnessing the power of a demon in order to pretend to be telepathic."
For a moment Dipper only stared at her, eyes wide and mouth gaping open in shock. Then he sputtered a bit and gasped out, "Gideon has a demon working for him?"
"Hard to believe, I know," Andrietta drawled sarcastically. "But the puffed up little peacock managed to summon a demon and make a deal for a neat little slice of the pie. Now he's got the power he wanted, and the demon can roam free through this realm, provided that the charm still exists."
"Mabel's out there with Gideon right now," Dipper fretted. "And Gideon has a demon at his command." Andrietta licked her lips with a pale pink tongue, savoring the boy's panic as Dipper jumped to his feet and began pacing. After a moment he seemed to reach some kind of conclusion as he grabbed the book and scrambled for the door.
"Where are you going, kiddo?" Andrietta called curiously, slipping off the bed to follow him. Dipper had just found out the supernatural existed a week or so ago. What did he think he was going to be able to do against a demon?
"I'm not letting my sister be alone with Gideon for one minute longer," Dipper called back. The tether that tied Andrietta to the journal dragged her along after him as he raced down the stairs.
"What do you think [i]you[/i] are going to be able to do against a demon?" she taunted as the sound of the front door slamming shut behind someone drifted up to them.
"I'll think of something," Dipper replied stubbornly, skipping the last few steps and nearly slamming into a moody looking Mabel. "[i]Mabel[/i]!" His excited cry only made the usually perky girl look even more upset. Andrietta basked in the unusual flow of negative emotions from Mabel and perched on the stair railing to watch the show. "I'm so glad you're okay!"
"Okay?" Mabel warbled, expression growing even more grim. "[i]Okay?[/i]" Andrietta savored the rich flavor of anger spiced with notes of anxiety, enjoying the feast while it lasted. She had no doubt that Mabel would bounce back quickly, the girl had the kind of personality that would more easily allow her to rebound from troubles than most people, and watched as it dawned on Dipper that something was wrong.
"Mabel, what happened?" he asked, eyes going wide with concern. Behind him, Andrietta pursed her lips as the sudden, sour-sweet taste that suddenly smothered her meal. Concern could be a delightful glaze over other emotions should it be selfish, but concern for others always seemed to be trapped between sour and sweet, as if it wasn't quite certain whether it was a negative emotion or a positive one. She drank it down, regardless of the taste, because she wasn't yet strong enough to pass up a decent meal.
"It's Gideon," Mabel replied with a forlorn expression on her face, flopping on the floor.
"What did he do?" Dipper demanded in the tone of someone about to kill the person who had hurt their loved one. The tone was comical, considering that Dipper had all the physical prowess of a bumblebee, but it was enough to quirk the corners of Mabel's mouth upward for a moment.
"Nothing that bad," she said, blowing out a heavy sigh that blew strands of her thick, brown hair out of her face. "We were just talking on the roof of his house when he, well... He asked me on a date."
"Okay?" Dipper questioned, face crinkling in confusion. "I thought you wanted a boyfriend this summer."
"I did. I do!" Mabel cried, flinging her hands in the air in exasperation. "I just... I didn't want it to be Gideon." She dropped her hands to cover her face and Andrietta snickered, making Dipper turn to glare at her.
"Can't you go somewhere else?" the boy demanded. "Mabel and I are trying to talk."
"Go?" Andrietta questioned mockingly. "And miss all this fun? Not a chance. Besides, you're still toting around the book."
Dipper groaned, tossing the journal aside, but Mabel peeked out between her fingers, shooting a look in what was, surprisingly, Andrietta's direction. The demon was beginning to think the Pines family might be just a little bit magic, especially considering all the luck they seemed to have in knowing when she was around. Still, that was an investigation for another time. "Let her stay," Mabel said, covering her eyes back up again. "Maybe she'll have some advice for how to convince a boy you don't want to date him."
"You're going on a date with him?" Dipper squeaked. At the same time Andrietta groaned, forcing herself on to the physical plane in the form of a twelve year old girl with silky black pigtails.
"My only advice is to eat him," she informed Mabel dryly. "But I don't think you're into the other white meat." The squeamish look on Mabel's face confirmed her statement and Andrietta drank down the disgust with relish.
"Okay, okay," Dipper was saying, pacing back and forth. "It isn't so bad. I mean, it's just one date, right?"
"Right," Mabel agreed, brightening considerably. "Just one date and I can tell him I just want to be friends. It'll be fine." Bouncing to her feet, Mabel leaned over and pulled Dipper into a hug. "Thanks bro-bro!" She rushed away before he could respond, leaving her brother to stare in confusion after her. After a moment, he shook his head and turned to scowl at Andrietta.
"What?" she questioned cheerfully, slipping easily back onto a plane of existence where only Dipper could see her.
"What kind of help are you?" He demanded. "Eat him? What kind of advice was that?"
"I'm not around to be helpful, kiddo," she replied with a sly grin, watching with amusement as the boy stomped over to grab the journal. "I'm just along for the ride, and I must say that you provide the most wonderful entertainment."
"Go away," Dipper muttered, heading towards the front door, probably to sulk by his favorite tree and read more of Stanford Pines' ridiculously well informed little journal.
"Only if you ditch the journal, kiddo."
"You'd probably like that," Dipper muttered, low enough that Andrietta guessed she hadn't been supposed to hear it. She grinned, shaking her head as she followed the boy out the front door. No, she didn't wish that he'd bury the journal like it had been before. Not anymore at least. She was having too much fun right where she was at.