The library of Trolberg was large. No, that word wasn't enough. Huge? Ginormous? Colossal? The actual wording didn't matter. As Wendy perused the almost uncountable number of books on the shelves lining the wall, she thought about what she was trying to distract herself from.
Alcohol was her first hurdle. Wendy wasn't an alcoholic by any means, but it was when she was under the influence that the protective walls she had put up were torn down with ease. A cool, refreshing beer was a one way ticket to another incident. She had to be focused. She had to be able to think.
The second distraction was Hilda. Several times since their night together, Wendy struggled with thoughts of the blue haired girl. Visions of a naked, panting child filled her mind, and she found it difficult to not react on the impulses that fought for control. She had lost a few times, as memories of the experience made it too much for her to bear. Pleasuring herself to the young girl, Wendy reasoned, was at least better than seducing her again.
As Wendy combed the multitude of novels, she eventually settled on a young teen romance. Perhaps immersing herself in a story of young love would ease her tension. Just a fifteen year old girl falling in love with a sixteen year old boy. No mention of sex of any kind. This was going to be a nice, family friendly story about growth and adventure.
That's exactly why Wendy had to replace the book, choosing a tome containing the history of Trolberg instead. Her mind had wandered to the couple, and how she thought they could do more than just explore the world. Their young bodies had plenty of hidden secrets. So, Wendy simply had to change her tactic.
Wendy sat at a table and opened the book to a random page. She began to read about the Great Raven and the history of the plentiful harvest. She had just found a particularly interesting bit about how he hadn't shown up at his parade one day, thus causing a terrible drought, when someone else had taken the seat in front of her.
"Hair as red as a tree on a cool autumn morning," the new arrival said, leaning forward and locking her fingers under her chin.
"Can I… help you?" Wendy asked. She looked the strange woman up and down and found her quite attractive. The purple tipped hair along with the cloak reminded her of Robby's style of choice. Her ex boyfriend was way more emo than this lady, though. Something about her outfit had all the pieces fit right into place.
"Oh don't mind me," the woman said. "I'm just observing. I heard a friend of mine has a smidgen of a crush on you."
Wendy held her tongue before she could say anything stupid. Not even in the confines of the library could she escape her blue haired goddess. She knew she couldn't stay silent forever, so quickly thought up a string of words that would coincide with what she had said to Hilda's mother.
"You know Hilda? Yeah, she had a thing for me. Pretty sure I shut it down, though."
"I don't know, she can be a stubborn girl. My name is Kaisa," Kaisa said as she extended her hand.
"Wendy." Wendy shook Kaisa's hand. Part of her wanted to jump at the opportunity to expand her social circle. The other part, the part that was afraid of going to prison, was worried that more friends of Hilda's meant more opportunities to expose herself. "Trust me, you don't have to tell me about how stubborn that girl can be."
"She puts herself in danger a lot because of that stubbornness." Kaisa leaned back in her seat after the handshake. "It's a wonder how she hasn't gotten herself killed yet."
"Is it really so dangerous around here?"
"Only if you go looking for trouble, usually. Otherwise, it's fairly safe!"
"What kinda stuff happens here?" Wendy asked as she closed her book. Talking to someone who knew the odds and oddities of this city seemed like a much better way to distract herself. Immersing herself in history was something she never thought she'd do, but it was better than the alternative thought her brain kept trying to push to the front.
"Oh I don't think you'd be able to handle the knowledge." At Wendy's raised eyebrow and somewhat spiteful stare, Kaisa backpedaled. "I mean no offense. I just don't want to scare you off of your staying here. Hilda has quite a history with this town."
"I think I can manage." Wendy leaned forward and mimicked Kaisa's earlier posture. Kaisa was so worried about scaring off a potential new resident, but Wendy had a feeling that her own stories would make the Librarian think twice about which place was more dangerous: Trolberg, or her home town of Gravity Falls.
"You find yourself surrounded by goblins looking for a quick cash grab (likely because they're afraid of the dragon.) Give five gems to each of your opponents."
Frida took fifteen gems from her pile, which was nearly nothing now since the game had just begun, and gave five gems each to Hilda, David, and Miss Johanna. Hilda and Johanna accepted the gems with smiles aplenty, but David merely watched with rising apprehension. It was his turn to roll the dice, after all.
David shook the plastic cubes in his hand, his eyes roaming the board. Maybe if he threw them in a certain way, he could make it so that they landed on the number he needed. That was silly; He was nowhere near dexterous enough to pull off something like that. He would need to practice, learning the weight and positioning of the dice when he held them. This was all just speculation of course. For now, he had to lose this game again.
David tossed the dice onto the board and moved his piece the allotted number of spaces. His piece landed in an empty square, so David neither collected or lost any treasure.
"There you go, gloomy face!" Frida teased as she jostled the sandy haired boy. "Things are looking up!"
"I didn't land on a treasure card, though."
"You didn't land on a panic card either," Frida said as Johanna bent forward to take her turn with the dice.
"The game is still young, David." Johanna said, her dice rolling across the board. She moved her piece and drew a treasure card, then winced when she saw the writing. "I… stand corrected."
"Dragon's Hoard?" Hilda asked.
"Dragon's Hoard," her mum confirmed.
David groaned and put his gems back in the center, followed by the others. The Dragon's Hoard card allowed a player to grab a literal handful from the gem pool. They had all realized after the first few times that whoever was lucky enough to draw said card essentially won the game.
"Another round?" Frida asked, already setting up the initial ten gem start for the players present.
"I'd rather not." David said, standing from the floor. "I'm a bit burnt out on this game. We've been playing quite a bit lately."
"We could play something else." Johanna suggested. "I can go and shop for a game if nothing catches our fancy here."
"I think I'm going home, if that's alright with everyone."
The group nodded in understanding. The kid had lost every game he's played in this session, so it was natural for him to want to decompress. Combined with the last time they played, they were surprised he hadn't quit sooner.
"I think I'll take my leave as well," Frida followed David's lead after helping with clean up. Once their mess was tidy enough to make it easier for Johanna to put away or for the mother/daughter duo to continue the game, Hilda waved goodbye to her friends.
"You know, Frida said she's the only one among us without a crush," Hilda said as she locked the door, turning to face her mother. "But she spends an awful lot of time following David around."
"So I've noticed," Johanna said. She decided that she was done with Dragon Panic and began to put the board away. "Do you believe they'll get together?" Hilda climbed onto the couch.
"Hard to say. Neither has said anything about actually pursuing a romantic relationship at all, let alone with each other. They're polar opposites anyway."
"Like you and Wendy?"
Johanna knew she struck a nerve when her little girl began pouting, crossed her arms, and pulled her legs onto the sofa, her knees against her chest in a defensive posture.
"That's different."
"Is it, now?" Johanna chuckled, sitting beside her daughter. "She's got red hair, you've got blue. She seems to go with the flow whereas you search for an answer. Oh, she's tall and attractive while you're short and pouty."
"I can't help being younger than her," Hilda said as she narrowed her eyes. Johanna wrapped an arm around Hilda as her other hand searched for the remote to the television.
"I'm sorry for bringing her up, dear. How about some telly for a little while."
"Television rots the brain, you know," Hilda argued against the picture box, but made no other motions to stop her mother from channel surfing.
While Johanna hit the buttons, Hilda snuggled herself against her mother's side. She took the opportunity of silence to enjoy the short closeness with her parent.
She had been truly terrified at the hot spring. Even when running from the time worm, when thrown into the Void of No Return, when faced with the black beast that terrorized Trolberg, Hilda had never been as scared as when she pulled Johanna's limp body from the water.
Hilda had pulled her mother from the depths with Twig's help in the span of a full minute, and spent more time than that doing chest compressions. She had seen CPR in action in her Sparrow Scout classes, and only did what she knew. If anyone were around, they would have seen a face Hilda had never worn before: despair.
Hilda had been afraid before, terrified even, but she had never felt that there was nothing she could do. There was always something she could manage, always a task she could handle to even make a dent in the bigger picture. After the first few minutes of her tiny hands accomplishing nothing, Hilda had begun to feel true emptiness.
In light of that fact, Hilda decided to milk every opportunity she could get with her mother. She didn't know when they would never be able to share a moment like this again. Enjoying the comfort of knowing her mother was, in fact, alive and well, Hilda allowed her mind to wander. Unlike when she had wanted to push the thought aside, she allowed a certain red headed woman to enter her mind in an attempt to comfort her feeling of uselessness.
Wendy was gorgeous. She had the figure to match her nearly perfect first impression and anyone in their right mind would be blessed to have Wendy as a romantic partner. The only downside to her beauty was the fact that she didn't want to share herself with anyone of her age and above.
Thinking back, Wendy must have been nervous as well as ecstatic. Similar to Hilda's situation, though definitely not the same due to the obvious major difference between them, this was Wendy's first time having sex with someone. Learning this had made Hilda all the more excited to share the experience with someone who was as close to as green as her as it was going to get.
A door to a new world had been opened and, ever the adventurer, Hilda dove right in. She was eager to explore the world of sexual pleasure, and was pleasantly surprised to discover something truly enjoyable. Hilda allowed her inner thoughts to run through her memories of that night, to reminisce on the way she felt.
Her body had been so hot. Hilda shuddered when past hands caressed her body, Wendy's imaginary lips pressed against her own. Kissing was probably her favorite part of that evening. Well, that, and when she got a taste of Wendy's other pair of lips. Hilda loved being played with, but she enjoyed pleasuring her partner above all else. It gave her a sense of accomplishment knowing that she her inexperienced tongue could cause such a reaction from Wendy's practically shaking body. And… that feeling at the end was something else.
It wasn't difficult to describe. The entire time she was with Wendy, there had been "something" growing inside of her. Her body continued to heat, as if that growing "something" was trying harder and harder to escape. Only when Hilda was weakest could it break free and rob her of her movement, if only for a few moments. In return, however, it left a feeling of immeasurable bliss.
"Hilda, are you alright? You're breathing heavy and your face is red."
"What?" Hilda was brought from her inner sanctum by the voice of her worried mother. It took her less than a moment to realize that she was right. Her face was hot and her body felt as if she were wrapped into a little burrito with multiple layers of blankets.
Suddenly, as if a switch had been flipped inside of her brain, Hilda went from confused to realization, and with that, terrified. Before Johanna could reach her hand out to feel her daughter's temperature, Hilda jumped from the couch.
"Oh, you know I have been feeling under the weather lately!" Hilda said, poorly masking her embarrassment with a nervous chuckle. "I think it's just a cold from the spring. It was cold out and I spent a lot of the time out of the water after I pulled you from the spring."
Johanna raised an eyebrow at that last part. "Is that what has you so flustered?"
"Y-yeah…" Hilda nodded. She thanked every deity she could that she had let that slip. She wanted to talk about the spring incident with Johanna since it happened, but she wasn't quite ready. Though, it was better this than her real reason for the blood rushing to her face. "I… I want to talk about it. Not now, obviously, but soon. Maybe tomorrow morning? I think I'll take a shower and turn in early."
Johanna glanced outside and saw that most of the sunlight had indeed died out. It wasn't quite too late to play outside, but by the time Hilda finished bathing, it would be too dark for Johanna's comfort. Johanna was frightened last time because Hilda hadn't come home, and though she returned safely, she still had no inclination of where her little girl was. She would bring this up in their talk tomorrow. She had been a wonderful friend to Hilda these past few days. It was about time she started being a bit more of a mother.
"I'd enjoy that," Johanna said. She stood from the couch and began walking to the kitchen. "I'll make some tea in case you do have a bit of a cold. I could use some myself anyway."
"Thanks Mum." Hilda said, running to the upstairs bathroom. Only after her cold shower would she have realized that, in her haste, she had forgotten a change of clothes.
Wendy let out an a low grunt as she threw her mattress on its bed frame. She wiped her brow with the back of her arms, having accumulated a few droplets of sweat during her redecorating.
Her conversation with Kaisa had helped clear her mind. The Librarian had been thorough in her descriptions of the dangers around Trollberg. The trolls that surrounded the town were the biggest threat to the residents, but the outskirts of the town is where death lies.
Giants, flying creatures called Woffs, the many villages of invisible elves, and The Great Raven were just the tip of the iceberg. Kaisa had said there were so many different creatures and oddities that it would take the whole rest of their day, plus the rest of the year, to get through even a fourth of them in explicit detail. Wendy came under the assumption that this town was in another world entirely, rather than part of hers. This definitely didn't seem like Earth.
Then again, this could just as easily be how the United Kingdoms is. She's certainly never been there until her move. Perhaps it's better to leave the question as the mystery it is.
Then Wendy had talked about Gravity Falls and the events of what had been lovingly dubbed Weirdmageddon, as well as the events leading up to the event. Kaisa had been surprised, empathetic, and above all else, intrigued. Wendy was talking about things that The Librarian had no knowledge of. Excitedly, they shared their experiences well into the evening.
As Wendy began to undress, she thought about how great it felt to have made a friend in this strange town. Even if Kaisa knew Hilda, with the increasing probability that her secret could be revealed, Wendy was proud to have had a somewhat normal interaction after leaving Gravity Falls.
That was why she moved her bed from the living room to the apartment bedroom along with her mirror. It felt more permanent. It felt more like a new beginning.
A soft knock at her door interrupted Wendy's stripping. Having just removed her pants, she didn't want to put them right back on. Instead, she grabbed her bathrobe from the bathroom. She made sure the fabric was set in place so as to avoid an unfortunate slip, then answered her door after a second, more insistent round of knocking.
"Yeah?" Wendy asked automatically as she cracked her door. Her eyes, after not registering any human shape at their own height, moved downwards to see a certain, bashful, blue haired girl.
"H-hey Wendy." Hilda greeted.
"Why are you out so late?" Wendy asked, avoiding Hilda's greeting for the fact that she was out and by herself well passed dark fall.
"I needed to see you," Hilda said honestly. "Don't worry. I snuck out and my Mum thinks I've got a cold. I've… I've had a bad couple of days."
"You don't have to tell me, kid." Wendy opened her door completely and leaned against her doorframe as she crossed her arms. "I'm sure I was one of them."
"Can I come in?"
It should have been easy to refuse. After turning Hilda down the other day, it should have been nothing to turn this girl away and go about her life. But with a nod of her head, shifting her feet to allow Hilda inside her apartment, Wendy was reminded of her weakness.
Maybe Hilda really had come just to talk. The girl ignored Wendy's jab at rejecting Hilda as a romantic partner, so it was possible that she might just need to talk about another issue. Of course, Hilda could have talked to anyone else. She could have talked to Kaisa, or any kid friends she may have had. Honestly, Wendy had fallen into her old habit of fooling herself.
In the apartment, Hilda had noticed the lack of Wendy's bed in the living room. Silently, and without asking any kind of permission, Hilda made her way to Wendy's bedroom. The red head sighed and undid the straps of the robe tied around her waist.
As the heavy fabric fell to the ground, Wendy thought about how stupid she was. She was stupid for allowing Hilda in her home the first time. She was stupid for letting it happen the second time. And she was a downright dumbass for believing that she was still human.
Wendy stood in the doorway and watched Hilda strip, who had still refused to turn and look at Wendy. That was okay. The girl said she had a couple of bad days, so release would come first. Serious discussions would come later.