Disclaimer: I do not own GF
Edited and revised 7/16/15
~~0~~0~~0~~
Dipper glanced down the hallway, making sure he was alone before scurrying back into the kitchen.
Grabbing the peanut butter and bread, the young boy checked behind himself every few minutes as he made some simple sandwiches. If he was going to be gone most the day, he'd need a good lunch, a few snacks, and plenty of water. It wouldn't do him any good to run out of energy while out.
After making three sandwiches and packing them into his bag, Dipper grabbed some dried fruit lying about, something that Mabel had been able to talk Stan into getting somehow. With it went three unopened water bottles.
After triple checking he had everything, Dipper ripped a piece of paper out of his notebook and took out his pen. Leaning over the kitchen table, he worried his bottom lip, wondering what he could possibly write.
After all, he was ditching work on a Saturday, one of the busiest days of the week.
Dipper groaned to himself. He was making bad decisions all over the place, it seemed.
Finally, he scribbled a lie onto the paper, something about town history and school and how he would be gone all day and to not come looking for him for any reason because he was very, very busy in town, but still not at the library because he was still grounded and-
Though not entirely happy with his note, Dipper stuck it up on the fridge nevertheless.
Slipping his backpack over his shoulders, Dipper crept to the door, careful to not step on the creaky floorboards, wincing at every new step.
Reaching the door, Dipper took another cautionary look around him.
The shop was still and silent. Soos's truck was nowhere to be seen. Mabel was still out at Grenda's, leaving him free of early-rising screaming sisters.
The thought brought a smile to his face.
Sighing silently at his good fortune, Dipper cracked the door open just wide enough for him to wriggle through, flinching when it groaned loudly.
Eyes darting about once again, Dipper hurried on through, shutting it as best he could behind himself before breaking into a mad dash across the lawn. His backpack thumped heavily against him as he moved, feet smacking loudly against the hard, dry ground. The young brunet didn't stop until he was safely in the tree line. Slowing down to a stop, Dipper bent over to grab his knees, panting as he tried to catch his breath.
A few familiar fingers weaved through his hair soothingly as a pair of familiar black and gold dress shoes came into view.
Dipper quickly straightened himself to stare up at the god, smiling.
"Hey Bill!" He greeted.
"Heya Pine Tree! Wendigo caught your breath?"
Dipper let out a dry laugh between breaths. "That again?" He asked rhetorically.
Bill grinned in response and tugged his wrist to follow.
Dipper fell into step easily with the god. It was hard to believe it had a week since he'd met Bill. It felt so much longer than that. He had a strange, but in its own way, charming personality. He smiled easily and despite the teasing, never went out of his way to actually hurt his feelings.
Dipper's heart pounded in his chest, a phenomenon that had nothing to do with the fact that he just sprinted.
"So what are we going to do today?" The young brunet asked, his shoulder brushing easily with the god's arm.
Bill snickered at his enthusiasm. "Well, there's going to be a pixie migration happening pretty soon in-" Bill summoned his cane and pointed it straight ahead, "-the direction we're walking in. You ready to write, kid?"
Dipper beamed. "You're kidding!" He cried out, already yanking out his journal and pen.
"Nope!" Bill chirped.
Dipper's eyes shined. "That's amazing. Let's go, let's go!" He chanted.
Bill laughed loudly, amused by Dipper's infectious enthusiasm.
The two quickened their pace, Dipper chatting a mile a minute of how excited he was to see some more creatures and Bill simply watching all the different, innocent emotions that crossed the boy's face.
After a few more minutes of their quick pace, Bill held out his cane to force Dipper to stop. The boy looked up at him with liquid, mocha eyes.
Bill lowered his voice to a whisper, "We're here. Get your pen and paper ready and don't make a sound."
The brunet gave a terse nod before scrambling to get everything he needed, clicking his pen open and making sure the paper wouldn't shuffle too much. Prepared, he gave Bill a thumbs up.
Bill smiled and nodded. Motioning for the young boy to crouch down, the two crept through the undergrowth, careful not to crunch leaves or snap twigs.
Bill lead him to a bush partially behind the tree. Dipper crouched down, Bill next to him, and peered around the tree, between sharp, green leaves.
Before them was a quite possibly the widest tree Dipper had ever seen, easily over ten feet in diameter, though also very short. Thick, knotted branches protruded from the top, winding upwards and tapering into thin claws. The bark was a deep auburn that seemed to shift in the sunlight, sparkling slightly. Even from where he was hiding, Dipper could feel the pressure of magic in the air, thick and sleepy. The taste stuck itself onto his tongue, overly sweet in a fruity kinda way.
Dipper watched the tree, unblinking, a comical grin stretched out across his face.
The silence in the air was cracked by the sound of bark being ripped open. One of the knots on the tree tore wide from sharpened nails.
Dipper's mouth fell open.
The being that crawled out of its hole was undoubtedly a pixie. It had a pointed, yet flat face with deep brown skin stretched over its thin, bony frame. Black, beady eyes were set deep in the creature's skull. Its nose was more of a snout, flat and lifeless with thin black lips that wrapped all the way around it's bottom jaw. Thick tendrils of greasy hair hung from its head, brown and clearly not brushed and unwashed. The pixie also sported no eyebrows whatsoever, giving it a creepy, uncanny look.
The pixie floated there, fly-like wings beating fast and wet against the air. It carefully stretched itself out from it's night of sleep, arms and legs going taunt.
Dipper's eyes focused on its sharp yellowed nails. Though no thicker than a needle, the young brunet could tell they were as sharp as knives.
After the pixie fixed its loincloth that helpfully covered its nether regions, it turned its beady eyes over to the area around it, spotting for predators.
Dipper stiffened as he made brief eye contact with the creature, its black eyes dull like an animal's, no spark of intelligence whatsoever.
It was uncanny.
The creatures eyes moved on, not catching his own mocha ones within the leaves.
Once the pixie was satisfied with its once-over of the area, it turned around, wings audibly buzzing with every beat, and let out possibly the most horrid sound Dipper ever heard.
It was high pitched and screechy, completely inhuman, like sharp nails scraping against glass. It rang through the air, cutting the pressure like a knife through butter. The sound echoed inside Dipper's ears, causing them to ring painfully. His head started thumping lightly with a small headache, pulsating right in the middle of his forehead.
Wincing, Dipper slapped his hands over his ears as quietly as he could, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow to try and block out the pain.
Luckily for him, the pixie soon stopped its screeching and fell still and mostly quiet.
Carefully, Dipper removed his hands from his ears. Though his brief headache was already fading away, the same could not be said for his still ringing ears.
A small tap on the shoulder reminded Dipper what he was doing and in a flash the young boy was back to staring intently at what was going on before him.
The sound of bark tearing vibrated in the wake of that terrible screeching howl, the knots on the tree cracking open like eggs to allow more pixies to come out. Small chirping sounds reverberated around them as the pixies communicated with one another, though about what Dipper didn't know. Pixies were only a little smarter than a common house cat; a fact that he had read in a book one time.
Soon, more frantic wing beats thumped as the chirping got louder. Dipper widened his eyes as some pixies started to twirl and dance around one another, happily kicking out with small feet. Others moved to clean one another with long black forked tongues, licking away at faces and chests.
Dipper made a face, but couldn't turn his eyes away.
"Hey."
The whisper behind him was quiet and filled with barely held back giggles, somehow cutting through his dampened hearing yet still not alerting the pixies to their presence.
"I have a hilarious idea."
Dipper's eyes widened in fright as Bill suddenly stood up, rusting the undergrowth around them wildly. Taking his cane, he viciously rapped it against the tree beside them, causing the pine to tremble under his strength and pine cones to fall haphazardly onto the pixies before them, pelting a few in the head and causing them to crash onto the ground, green blood flying.
"Bill!" Dipper shouted, fumbling with his journal and pen in haste to put both away.
Bill flashed him a mischievous grin, eyes alight in laughter. "Looks like we better start running, Pine Tree!" He cackled before turning and sprinting away.
"Bill! What do you-"
A symphony of sharp, angry clicks accented with furious wing-beats sliced his sentence in half. Gulping thickly, heart already hammering in his chest, Dipper slowly turned around only to be met with a very large, very angry cloud of pixies.
"Um...sorry?" Dipper choked out, taking a cautionary step back.
A twig snapped under his foot.
Whipping around, Dipper sprinted away.
The young brunet could still see the flash of gold from Bill's waving coattails way ahead of him. The god was twisting around trees and often glancing behind himself to meet Dipper's fearful and frustrated gaze before grinning like a madman and turning back around.
Dipper, tried his best to keep Bill in his sights, eyes hard. He was furious that Bill would do this in the first place and fearful of the pixies swarming behind him.
Yelping when he felt thin claws scrape against the back of his neck, Dipper forced himself to run faster, trying to catch up to the god ahead.
"B-BILL Y-YOU J-JERK!" He yelled between pants. His backpack was slamming against his lower back, causing an ache to spread through his spine, down into his hips, and up into his neck and shoulders.
Blood beaded on the back of his neck as a pixie managed to dig its claws in a little deeper.
Hopping over an exposed root, Dipper's eyes darted around as he tried to figure out how to shake the pixies off. Barreling through a bush, the young brunet hissed as sharp twigs dug and tore into open flesh, causing more of his blood to spill.
Where the heck was Bill?
Taking a sudden ninety degree turn, Dipper darted between two trees and made another sharp corner left this time. Swiveling his head around, Dipper let out a pained gasp of relief as the swarm of pixies seemingly got lost in his sudden turns.
Confident, Dipper slowed his pace down to a light jog, then even more to a normal, yet tired walk. Shoulders sagging, Dipper cursed Bill in any way he could, hoping the god ran into some poison ivy, got ran over by a werewolf, or something.
Stupid Bill. Stupid pixies. Now look at him! Lost, tired, and sweaty. Well, more sweaty than usual.
Sighing breathlessly, Dipper sat down, splaying his scratched up legs before him.
As he thought, the cuts were paper thin and shallow, but stung something terrible. Tiny streams of red leaked out in places, matting down the little hair he had and already drying into a nasty crust.
Dipper sighed and slipped his backpack off his shoulders, groaning at the pain that rang through his muscles and bones.
Running in a heavy backpack: not one of his best ideas.
Unzipping it, Dipper grabbed one of the bottles of water and twisted the lid off. Hand shaking slightly, he brought it up to dry lips and greedily guzzled the life-giving liquid down, wetting his desert mouth and esophagus.
Lowering the now half a bottle of water with a small pant, the young brunet twisted the lid back on, double checking to make sure it wouldn't leak before tucking it back into his bag.
Zipping up his backpack and swinging it back onto his shoulders, Dipper glared all around him, feeling like he was being watched.
"You're a butt, you know that?" He told the empty air, knowing that Bill was here and watching him somehow.
Standing back up, the young boy rolled his stiffening shoulders and bent over at the waist to touch his toes, popping his spine in the process. Feeling a bit better, Dipper started walking forward again, curving to the right slowly without realization.
Not paying attention to where he was going, Dipper didn't really pick up on the chirping and buzzing of wings until he saw a few small, familiar shapes dart around in his peripherals.
Dipper swung around on the spot, staring at the, smaller this time, thank the gods, pixie swarm.
He couldn't help but groan.
"Really?" He had a feeling that this was somehow Bill's fault, though he wasn't so sure how.
He broke into another run.
Already exhausted, muscles caterwauling in exertion, Dipper slowed down quicker than what he would've liked. Once more, he felt the pinprick of claws against his aching back, wing beats slapping against his skin, wet and disgusting.
The young brunet darted through trees while struggling to keep out of bushes that would certainly mar him.
His eyes rolled around, taking everything in and all his options in a surprisingly calm, yet intense, manner. Looping around a few pines set close together, he hopped over a tiny, bubbling creek, dived under a fallen pine, and then made a sharp left turn, looping back.
However, despite his desperate attempts to shake off the swarm, angry chirping could still be heard, ringing in his ears.
"Darn it," Dipper hissed between pants and clenched teeth.
He needed a new, better plan.
Circling another group of trees, he darted to the right, straight through more bushes that tore at his legs. Eyeing around wildly, the young brunet huffed out a breathless chuckle as he grabbed a low-hanging branch from a nearby tree.
Though the chirping could still be heard, even now, echoing through the pines, the swarm was nowhere to be seen.
Using the trunk as leverage, Dipper scrambled onto the bottom branch, then reached up and pulled himself higher. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, thrilling and fearful. The aches in his bones, muscles seemed to disappear along with the sharp stinging in his legs as Dipper clawed up the tree. His shoes scraped against the bark sending pieces falling to the forest floor. Small branches tugged at his shirt and vest, but did not rip.
Dipper wasn't aware how high he was climbing, or how fast until he realized that he could no longer hear the chirping. Dipper blinked blearily, glancing up to clearly see the sun burning bright in the sky, a welcoming morning if there ever was one.
Dipper let out a small scream as he dropped back down on the branch he was standing on, wrapping both arms around the trunk of the tree, staring down at the long, long fall that would certainly break every bone in his body and his lungs and heart and head and he could already hear the crunch as he-
"Pine Tree!" A familiar voice called out far below. "You're in a pine tree!" He tacked on at the end, slight shock settling into his tone.
"BILL YOU JERK!" Dipper screamed back, clenching his arms around the tree tighter. His muscles screamed at him to relax as his adrenaline started to fade away, leaving him aching, bruising, and stinging. Tears started to wet his eyes from the onslaught of distraught and pain.
"Yo-you butt," He gasped out, choking on his frightened tears a bit.
The next thing Dipper knew, the branch was sagging down due to excess weight as the god appeared behind him.
"C'mon, Pine Tree. Time to get you down," Bill called, slight amusement tilting his already grating tone.
"No!" Dipper yelled back, a rush of rage flashing through him. "You're a jerk!"
"I think we've already established that fact," Bill said dryly, creeping closer.
Dipper swiveled his head around, only to see the branch they were on sagging even more than what it felt and Bill sitting back on his haunches, looking like he was ready to fall at any given time.
"You're horrible! Why would you do that!?" Dipper shouted back, squeezing his eyes tight to not see the terrifying scene before him.
"Geeze kid, it was supposed to be a simple prank! I didn't think you'd just run off and up a tree!" Bill protested.
"Well, that was a bad prank."
"Eh, in a few days you'll be laughing about it," Bill chuckled.
Dipper wanted to flash Bill the glare that was burning behind his eyelids, but fear kept his eyes closed.
Dipper shivered. "J-just please g-get me down," He whimpered.
Actually whimpered.
The young brunet felt a pair of arms loop around his waist and the next thing he knew, calming fire was racing alongside his body, digging deep into muscles and bones, slipping inside his cuts and swirling under his skin, sending waves of warmth through his entire being. Vision blackening, Dipper leaned into the god.
Both were gone.
~~0~~0~~0~~
Dipper blinked his eyes open, grogginess fluffing his brain ever so slightly. His face was buried into a warm and by now, familiar position. His arms were tucked in at his sides as he was pressed flush against Bill. Spluttering and still angry, Dipper shoved himself away from the god, half his mind noting his healed wounds and fatigue. The young brunet fixed the god with the best glare he could muster, lips twisted into a frown.
Bill cocked an eyebrow at the child, trying to hold in bubbling laughter. The kid was more or less staring at him with the biggest brown eyes ever. Rage dwelled in them, but it was the look of a kitten dropped into water, an indigent glare that complimented his pout perfectly.
All in all, it was absolutely adorable. Especially the lingering fear.
"You- you-!" Dipper was at a lost for words. Crossing his arms with a huff, he turned away.
Glancing around at the place Bill had taken them- the beautiful clearing with the waterfall- The young brunet strode forward and sat at the pond's edge, right before the wet grass. Crossing one leg over the other, he balanced his elbows onto his knees and leaned his head forward into his hands, staring downwards, lingering tears still clinging to his eyelashes.
Bill rolled his eyes and loped forward, settling down next to the child.
"C'mon! Don't be like this, kid. It was a joke!"
Dipper hesitated, words on the tip of his tongue, before turning away, giving the god the silent treatment.
A few beats passed. "Pine Tree..." Bill whined, leaning on him slightly.
Dipper didn't answer, just shoved the god away. Or, at the very least, tried to. Bill didn't budge.
"Pine Tree," Bill continued, tongue sticking out slightly, "You'll be laughing about this entire thing tomorrow!"
Dipper still stayed silent.
Bill leaned even more on the boy, at this point completely splayed out over him, causing Dipper to nearly collapse from the weight. "You can't stay silent forever!"
"Oh yes I can!" Dipper finally snapped back.
Bill smirked triumphantly.
"Darn it," The child muttered.
"C'mon, Pine Tree! Stop pouting! You know we'll be laughing about this tomorrow. And...oh, damn it I'll introduce you to someone I know you'll like!"
Dipper perked up at that. "Like, an actual introduction? Not gnomes or pixies?"
"Not gnomes or pixies," Bill confirmed with a shark-like grin.
Dipper sighed and finally twisted around to wrap his arms around Bill's waist, letting them both fall to the ground in a heap.
"Fine. I forgive you," Dipper said, his eyes softening.
Bill laughed and stood up, dragging Dipper along with him.
"He lives in the mountains up there." Bill pointed over at the small mountain range, much closer than Dipper had anticipated.
"Ready to go?"
Dipper gave the god a watery smile, quickly wiping the leftover of his tears away. Though he was still a bit peeved by Bill's earlier actions before, the brunet found he really couldn't stay mad at the god.
"Yup," He replied.
Bill took his hands and wove their fingers together, causing a light blush to tint Dipper's cheeks.
"Then let's go!"
With that, Bill was dragging Dipper alongside with him yet again. The young brunet stumbled alongside the taller god, practically running besides him. Bill led him out of the clearing, up a gently rising slope, and around the sharp undergrowth. The trees slowly thinned out the closer they got to the mountain, which was looking much taller than Dipper had previously thought it was. Breaking the tree line, the child and god stood side by side, staring up the sheer cliff, sunlight glinting off the rough rock.
"Well!" Bill said, clapping his hands together, "Let's get climbing, Pine Tree!"
Dipper squawked, "You expect me to climb up a mountain side!? What if I fall!?"
Bill laughed, "Calm down, kiddo! There's a path..." He summoned his cane and pointed to the supposed path. The trodden rock curved precariously up the mountain, all sheer cliffs and dry cracks, looking only a smidgen safer than just crawling up the face.
"That doesn't look any better," Dipper protested.
"You worry too much! Besides, I'll catch you if you fall."
"Somehow, that doesn't reassure me," Dipper replied dryly.
Bill laughed and clapped a hand on the young brunet's shoulder.
"Well, let's go!"
Dipper huffed nervously as he took after the blond who started up the path, easily stepping over cracks and stray rocks, gesturing wildly as he talked about an apparent cult of his that existed here a long time ago.
While Bill droned on, Dipper worked on keeping his footing stable, jumping over cracks, side-stepping rock that looked as if it was about to crumble, and generally trying to stay safe. He followed Bill as best he could, but the god made traversing the dangerous path look easy. It was almost like a dance to him- weaving and tapping and balancing- sometimes spinning around suddenly to talk to him face to face. He dodged every dangerous bit as if those sharp and cruel edges were in his peripherals.
Dipper scowled as the god decided to face forward, still yammering on about the cult he had.
"Worship is very important. Well, it was until you humans fuc- I mean, screwed it up with your free will nonsense. Hilarious! Your entire race is kinda like one big joke with a crappy punchline-"
Dipper zoned out of Bill's rambling. With the sun high in the sky, sweat pooled on the back of the young brunet's neck and trickled down his back, causing his shirt to cling to him uncomfortably. More sweat perspired in his palms and...other gross regions, making the young boy feel disgusting and, for once in his life, want to take a shower.
"-And furthermore, what's with the 'werewolves are people too?' I mean, you humans turn everything into a social issue it seems! I mean everything! How has your race lasted this long?"
Dipper wiped his forehead and quickly flattened his hair back down, wishing he had a hat or something. It would keep the sun off his scalp at the very least and hide his embarrassing birthmark. He licked his chapped lips with a dry tongue, wanting to stop and rest for a drink, but not feeling safe enough to stand in place longer than five seconds. He jumped over another crack, shoes scuffing against the rock and sending some dust particles flying straight into his face, causing him to sneeze.
"-And that's why you never do a deal with an ogre-" Bill cut his sentence off and whipped around to see a tired Dipper wiping his nose, cheeks flushed in the summer heat.
"...Did you just sneeze?" The god asked, eyes shimmering.
Dipper flinched and stared up at Bill, heart plummeting.
Darn his sneezes! Why must he be cursed like this?
"You sneeze like a kitten," Bill gasped, squishing his own face between two hands.
How was he not sweating?
Probably because he's a god and has powers, genius. Dipper thought to himself
...The heat really was getting to him, wasn't it?
Dipper scowled (well, more like pouted) angrily, eyes falling to glare at the unstable rock beneath his feet. "...Shut up," He muttered, already knowing what was coming.
"That was adorable!" Bill exclaimed.
"I am not adorable! Or cute!" The brunet protested.
"But you are Pine Tree! You pout and you sneeze like a little, soft kitten. Which reminds me, back in Egypt, where I was worshiped as a god of course, they always kept these cats which-"
Dipper groaned internally. He really was in no mood to be teased.
He was beyond ready to try and demand Bill if they could just teleport back to the clearing or better yet, teleport to the actual cave. Why didn't they do that in the first place anyways? Before Dipper could voice his strong opinions about their unnecessary trek, he crashed straight into Bill's backside, almost falling to the ground.
"Whoa, watch it there, Pine Tree! We're here."
Dipper peered around Bill's legs to stare into the black, gaping maw of the cave. Stalagmites- or were they stalactites? Littered the ceiling as well as the floor. The faint dripping of water echoed from inside, joined by an odd rumbling noise.
Dipper took a step back. "Um, I'm not so sure about this anymore. Why don't we go back to the pond an-"
The brunet was interrupted by Bill grabbing his wrist and yanking him forward, right into the great hole.
A flicker of bright blue flames on the tip of Bill's finger illuminated the cave somewhat, throwing sharp, jagged shadows onto the walls. Nervous and a little bit scared, especially at the sight of bleach-white bones littering the ground, Dipper stepped close to Bill, his shoulder brushing up against the man's arm.
"Ugh, you really stink, Pine Tree. Give me a hug in exchange for a cleansing?" Bill held out a hand of flames for him to take.
Shifting slightly, Dipper cautiously took the hand. Blue fire licked up his arms and across his chest, spreading everywhere and taking away the collected filth on his body. He could feel the sweat and dirt being burned away, leaving a fresh, if not familiar scent...
As soon as the flames disappeared, Dipper was pulled into a tight side-hug by Bill, who hummed in delight.
"Bill, did you make me smell like pine trees?"
"A pine tree should smell like a pine tree, Pine Tree!" Bill chirped.
"Ugh, I don't even want to think about that sentence!"
Bill chuckled.
Dipper jumped as his eyes focused on a shape that seemed to move in the shadows, right out of reach from Bill's light. It was huge; second biggest thing Dipper had ever seen in real life, right behind dragons. The rumbling, which had only gotten louder as the two had strolled into the cave, stopped suddenly. The form in front of the shifted, growing larger and larger.
Dipper pressed himself even closer to Bill, who had now wrapped a long arm around the boy. The god grinned into the darkness while keeping an eye on Dipper's fearful expression.
"WHO'S THERE?" Snarled the creature. It, or he, by the sound of his voice, rolled out of the ball it was curled into, transforming into a massive, unidentifiable, hulking figure.
"Oh, calm yourself! It's only me," Bill sing-songed into the darkness, bouncing on the balls of his feet.
"...Mister Cipher?" The creature asked.
Suddenly, everything was bathed in sharp torch-light, thanks to the dream god.
"The one and only," Bill confirmed.
Dipper gasped at the- the creature before him. Out of everything he'd ever seen in both the woods so far and in all the books he had read, nothing came close to what was standing before him.
It was a bear. Well, a bear with eight gigantic, snarling heads and eight massive legs with thick paws tipped in deadly black claws. Thick and coarse brown fur covered it, which was surprisingly well-groomed for a creature living in a cave.
"Pine Tree, meet the Multi-bear. Multi-bear, Pine Tree!"
The massive deformed bear peered down at the young child pressed close to Bill. His eyes were mocha and soft, shining with a certain intelligent innocence the Multi-bear hadn't seen in...well, ever really.
"That's not my name," The child huffed, "It's Dipper."
Bill glanced down, raising an eyebrow.
He hadn't actually known Pine Tree's real name. Oh well. He was still Pine Tree.
"Well, it is certainly nice to meet you, Dipper. As Mister Cipher here said, I am the Multi-bear," Multi-bear greeted cordially, settling into the best sitting position he could with all his legs.
"So how are you doing today? Scared anyone- or thing- off today?" Bill asked, filling in the silence before it could settle.
Multi-bear shrugged. "No, not today. Most do not happenstance upon my mountain, besides those horrible Manotaurs." Multi-bear shuddered.
"Manotaurs?" Dipper questioned, diving out from under Bill's arm, much to the god's chagrin, to step closer to Multi-bear, eyes already gleaming with a curious light. "What are Manotaurs?"
"Manotaurs are half man, half bull hell-beasts. The believe one must be manly all the time and are very cruel and merciless to anyone who thinks differently," Multi-bear explained. "They're also really stupid," He tacked on as a second thought.
"What? Why would they bother you I mean you're-" Dipper blushed slightly as his voice trailed off. "Um, what I mean to say is, uh-"
Multi-bear raised a single paw, hushing the child effectively. "Shush. It is fine, Dipper. The Manotaurs come and harass me due to my love for the Icelandic pop band, BABBA."
Dipper gasped audibly, giant grin working onto his face. "You're a fan of BABBA? Me too!"
"Really? What's you're favorite song?"
"Disco Girl of course!"
The Multi-bear beamed at him, grinning the best way a bear with multiple heads could grin, which is to say, not very well. "Same," He rumbled cheerfully, "I even have it on their special record."
"No way!"
Bill rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, absentmindedly crushing small bones underfoot with his heel. Slight pinpricks of irritation stabbed at his heart as the two talked. Frowning, the god focused his gaze on Pine Tree, watching how his eyes lit up in so much joy, mouth wide in a dazzling grin, gesturing wildly with his hands.
He really was a weird human, wasn't he?
Then again, Bill himself was a weird god.
As Bill contemplated his own strange thoughts, Dipper and the Multi-bear continued to share their love of BABBA.
"See? Here's one of their rare, limited edition records. Protected and enhanced by magic for maximum quality and wear."
Dipper gasped in utter elation. "Ca-can I hold it?"
"Just be careful." Multi-bear said, gently handing Dipper the record.
Dipper carefully balanced the black disk on his open palms, feeling every groove carved in. In the center, a number of rune glowed a bright pink color, a clear sign of magic making the quality of the record possible. Carefully, the boy hooked and dragged his finger over the very edge, shuddering at its smoothness.
"It's beautiful," He gushed, "Can we listen to it?"
Multi-bear's eyes gleamed. "Of course we can! Go put it on that record played on that table."
Dipper turned around to see a single, flattened rock with a simple player on it, a few drained crystals scattered around it from where Multi-bear changed out its charge.
Padding over, Dipper lifted up the arm and dropped it on where he knew Disco Girl would be located. Just because he didn't have the special record didn't mean he didn't have one hidden in his desk drawer at home. The song started to play, no static and no fuzziness. Her voice and the instrumentals were clear as day, like he was at an actual concert and not in a wet, smelly cave.
Dipper and Multi-bear sung loudly and off-key to the pop song, both eventually getting up and swaying in a mockery of a dance at the music.
Bill couldn't stop the smile forming on his face at Pine Tree's enthusiasm even if he couldn't dance to save his life. The young boy awkwardly swung his hips to the beat while waving his arms around some, head bobbing as he sung the words with his cracking voice.
Bill's chest rumbled in laughter.
The Multi-bear was right alongside the young boy, all his heads bobbing to the beat while stomping his feet in time. Like Dipper, his voice was off-key, but low instead of high.
Feeling more pricks of...was that jealousy? In his heart, Bill pushed himself up off the wall and strode over to Dipper, grabbing one of his hands and twirling him around.
"Whoa!" Dipper exclaimed in surprise, completely taken off-guard.
"Oh Pine Tree, you are a terrible dancer. Let me show you how it's done!"
"What? Bill! I can dance fine!"
Both the god and the bear chuckled at the cracks in his indigent voice.
"Lying to yourself isn't healthy," Bill teased, pulling the boy closer and spinning him again.
Dipper huffed, but soon broke into a laugh as Bill took his hands and dragged him across the cave floor, his own hips swaying to the bright music.
"Fine! Fine!" Dipper finally relented, leaning in close to Bill. "Just don't step on me."
Bill laughed loudly.
"I think you got that the other way around!"
~~0~~0~~0~~
"Mister Cipher?"
Bill looked up at Multi-bear, Pine Tree still asleep in his lap.
The two had danced not only to Disco Girl, but every other song on the record and though Bill had helped the young boy relieve some of his fatigue, Pine Tree ended up crashing quite soon, the day's events having finally caught up with him.
"Yes?" Bill replied, bored, running a hand through fluffy brown locks.
"...If I may so ask, what are your plans for the child? You're not one to just play around with humans- children especially." The Multi-bear's eyes narrowed. "You're not planning to use him for-"
"Now Multi-bear, I never did really give you permission to ask in the first place, hmm?" Bill said, voice cheerful but frigid, promising danger.
Multi-bear bowed his head. "I apologize, Mister Cipher," He rumbled.
"Apology accepted," Bill said snidely.
"May- may I ask that he stays safe? You're not going to bring harm to him, are you...?" Multi-bear started cautiously, wary of the god's narrowed, almost hungry eyes.
Bill dragged the boy closer to him, giving a wide grin of too-sharp teeth downward at the sleeping boy.
"I haven't really decided yet," He drawled.
The god gathered the boy up into his arms.
"Well, it's best to be off. Pine Tree here needs to go home and get his proper beauty sleep, after all."
Multi-bear nodded sagely. "Very well. Will you allow him to come back?"
Bill shifted the young brunet so that his head was carefully balanced on his arm. The child twitched in his sleep, smiling softly as he tried to snuggle into Bill's coat.
"If he's good, which he normally is," Bill relented.
"Oh, and Mister Cipher?"
Bill groaned. "What now?"
If Multi-bear was taken aback by the god's tone, he didn't show it.
"Your...friend dropped by the other day. He couldn't find you so he left a brief message."
Bill groaned yet again, this time out of exasperation rather than irritation.
"What?"
"I believe he said to meet at 'next new moon at the spot everything changed.'"
Bill hissed, "Of course he did," Bill shook his head, "Though I can't blame him; irony is one of the best forms of humor, after all."
Multi-bear dipped his head, not in agreement but not in disagreement.
"Is that all?" the god asked after a beat.
"That is all."
In a flash of bright blue fire, both Bill and Dipper were gone.
~~0~~0~~0~~
GSV YVZI PMLDH DSZG'H FK
~~0~~0~~0~~
Ugh, this chapter was kicking my butt the entire time.
No matter what, this chapter just did not want to be written. I don't know whether it was because of what's happening in it or what, but the descriptions feel choppy and the dialogue feels stiff, well to me at least. I hope it still reads well for you guys.
Anyways! I got some pretty exciting news! Today I was able to really sit down and think through the plot. Since so many people wanted a darker story, I had to change up the way things happen and one thing lead to another and...
I think this thing will end up being a full trilogy. No promises yet, but that's the vibe I'm getting. Also, rating will go up in the future. Maybe not a full M, at least not for this part, but definitely a high T at the minimum.
I'm going to continue to try and keep this first part around 30 chapters. By the way things are developing, it'll probably be around there for sure. Like, 25-35 give or take lengths and where I want chapters to cut off.
random name- Didn't totally do your suggestion, but I did like the tree bit! Hope you don't mind the slight adjustment to your idea~
crabbySeer- But then again, I never said it wasn't in English either ;) I went and listened to both songs you listed and god, Gold Splatter is Bill and Dipper's song. No joke, that is the theme song for their relationship (at least up at this point...) The other song was beautiful too and really fits the mood! I really like you're decisions. And yes, I love asshole Bill, as you can tell by this chapter! Ah, but he's still a cutie and can't stay mad at him for too long~
Guest- No problem and good luck!
Guest #2- Aw~ *hands tissue* Thank you so much! You have no idea how much your comment made my day!
Anyways! I hope you all enjoyed this (kinda messed up) chapter!
And, as always, thanks for reading!