"...Man, I never thought a tree-golem could have so much talk about." Dipper remarked.

The day's minor foray into the paranormal had taken a little more time than the twins had planned. As a result, they now had to troop through an almost completely night-darkened forest. Only the barest sliver of light peaked out over the horizon as a final gasp from the setting sun.

"But he was nice enough to give us directions back home when he was done!" Mabel thoughtfully reminded.

"Yeah, and really good directions, too. Like, impossibly good." Her brother marveled while they passed yet another familiar landmark. "How does a guy who's permanently rooted into the ground know how to get to the Mystery Shack?"

She shrugged. "Dunno. But he was nice enough to let me take a piece of his bark!"

Dipper grimaced at the grotesque souvenir that she now waved about in his face. "Isn't that basically just part of his skin?"

"Probably!" The unsettling observation had no effect on her mood. "Whatever it is, it's definitely going right in the scrapbook when we-"

"Whoa, hold on!" He motioned for them to stop. "...Do you smell that?"

"What?"

"Smells like something's…." He sniffed the air. "Almost like something's burning."

At the moment, Mabel practically resembled a giant firefly thanks to the electric light that she had cleverly stitched into bulb design on her sweater. Until then she had been lighting their way home, but as an acrid odor began to fill the air, it looked like their return trip had hit a snap.

"Whoops!" Hurriedly she switched off her light before it overheated her specially-crafted garment. The twins were immediately bathed in the dark, left with nothing more than the weak twinkle of the stars above.

"Uh oh." Dipper gazed up at the heavens. "Okay, give me a minute. I'm pretty sure I can figure this out….first, I need to find the North Star, then..."

"It's okay, we're good!" Her smile didn't waver for even a second as she interrupted his efforts to triangulate their location. "Lucky for you, at least Mabel made sure that we came prepared."

"Huh? What do you-"

"Boop!"

He was caught completely off guard when she reached forward and pressed the left breast of his vest. Suddenly his garment lit up with a bulb-shaped electric glow. Mabel grinned at her handiwork. "See? Pretty smart, huh?"

Dipper,s surprise last for only a few moment before exasperation quickly set in. He shot her an annoyed glare. "...Okay, when did you sew this in?"

"Right after I added this one!" She tittered unrepentantly. "And Mabel said let there be LIGHT!"

The girl deftly pressed his cap, and the pine tree logo lit up. Unable to restrain herself, she snickered mischievously, "Hey, Dipper!"

"Oh, no." He immediately guessed what was incoming. "No, don't-"

"Want to keep going? Or are you feeling a little too light-headed right now?" Mabel was instantly overcome by a fierce giggle-fit.

Dipper let his obvious displeasure be known to all within hearing distance with a despairing groan. Once finished, he flicked his hand and gestured that it was high time for them to hit the trail again. As the illuminated boy lead the way, he lamented, "Is it even worth it to ask you not to go through my things?"

"Nuh-uh!" She cheerily answered with an affectionate smack on his shoulder. He accepted his fate with a combination of shrug and sigh.

"At least you're honest with me…"