It took some time for Dippers eyes to adjust to the forests night. There hadn't been many ways for the moonlight to come through the trees. Small broken shards of it would shine in at times, but not enough to make it easy to walk. Dipper waited for the fear to seep in as he walked deeper and deeper into the woods with Stan, but he felt nothing. What was different now than before? That is something he didn't know.
Dipper thought back to an adventure with Ford, the one in Africa. They needed permission to enter sacred grounds at that time, though sacred is a foul word. There is no such thing as 'sacred'. A more accurate word would be 'cursed'. He looked up at the sky, the trees were letting up, and the moon was now more visible; more clear. Such a thing should make the feelings of the forest less wrong. Somehow though, seeing more only made it worse. Empty. It was so empty. Yet also, heavy.
"In Africa," He began, his eyes snapping away from his surroundings to his uncle, "There was a 'god'."
"Yea? We talked about that earlier today right?" Stan replied.
"Yea." Dipper continued, "You were not there, I mean, you would know that. It happened after West Virginia. So..."
"Hmmm."
"Nothing entered this 'sacred' ground of that god. Getting permission with Ford at that time may be one of the worst experiences of my life."
Stan did that chuckle again. A chuckle that would bound between high and low pitches.
"Oh I doubt that."
"How am I able to enter this forest Grunkle Stan?"
Stan turned to look at him, his mouth half quirked.
"Just don't think about it."
He could have sworn there was a glow behind those dark glasses on Stan's face. Perhaps though, he considered, it was only that scarce light of the moon.
"I can't just not 'think about it' man."
His uncle's body began to wobble, going limp, before falling hard on a nearby tree. Dipper ran up to him, only for the man to right himself in seconds; continuing on as if nothing happened.
"You never could huh kid, something I like about you... and hate."