Tales Of The Flame & The Axe: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Part Six: Ignition Point
Summer had come to the small Pacific Northwestern town of Gravity Falls, Oregon. Mabel and Pacifica Pines were glad that school was finally over and that they could spend the next few months hanging out with their friends. Always an early riser, Pacifica was once again studying the mysterious book she had found abandoned in a cave the previous fall. While her sister had found out about the tome, she kept it a closely guarded secret from everyone else as she was sure that she would never see it again if it were up to her parents. Although they had caved and divulged the lost legends of the sleepy town to the two teen girls, they had no intention of reliving them once again. While Mabel and Pacifica had both read from the nearly three hundred page book and tried some of the spells, only the brunette haired Pacifica had garnered any success with them. She fondly recalled the day after Christmas when she had levitated her new bicycle about a foot off of the ground. Mabel stood in awe as her twin moved it back and forth a bit. "You're, like, a magician or something!" she exclaimed with wonderment. "Yeah… Except that I'm not some fraud… This is the real deal!" she proudly proclaimed. The brunette heard the footsteps of her parents approaching and quickly broke the spell as the bicycle fell to the frosty ground below. "What are you guys up to?" asked a curious Wendy, who wondered what her children were doing out on such a chilly afternoon. Nothing much, just breaking in the new wheels…" Pacifica quickly replied. "Glad you like it… You know, I used to ride my bike all over this town when I was about your age…" the auburn haired woman fondly recalled, unaware of what the duo were actually up to.
"You're up early…" Mabel commented as Pacifica was snapped back to reality. "Uh… Yeah! You know me! Up with the sun!" she quickly said as she slammed the book shut. "Studying again, huh?" the brunette teen asked; having seen right through her sister's façade. "Maybe… What of it?" Pacifica retorted as she stood up from her desk. "Nothing… Geez… You've been kinda short with me the past few days… Everything alright there sis?" Mabel asked as she placed a caring hand on her twin's freckled shoulder. "Yeah… Sorry… Just in a funk I guess…" the thirteen year old said as she placed her hand on top of her sister's to return the affection. "Well, this trip should be just what the doctor ordered then! I'm so excited!" Mabel exclaimed as she danced around the room. "Ugh… Nobody who just woke up should have that kind of energy…" Pacifica commented with a chuckle. "What can I say? I'm just so stoked for this! We'll get to hang out with Aunty Tambry and the gang all weekend!" the ginger girl once again said in a joyous voice. "Yeah, that does sound like fun!" the chestnut haired teen agreed. Dipper and Wendy had been hesitant to take a trip without their children, but Tambry had reassured them time and time again that they would be just fine. Although Dipper had his doubts about the lackadaisical woman being able to control seven teenage kids for a weekend in the woods, Wendy was able to convince him that she was up to the somewhat daunting task. Plus, he really wanted to spend a long weekend with his wife away from the small town of Gravity Falls.
After helping Wendy and Dipper load up their sport utility vehicle, Tambry finished packing the children's bags into her minivan. "Welp… Dip and I are gonna hit the road. Are you sure you don't need anything else?" Wendy asked her best friend. "Wen, I've told you this, like, a million times… I've got this. Now you and your hubby go and enjoy all that Vancouver has to offer! That is, if you two even bother to leave the hotel room…" the purple haired woman said with a chuckle as she playfully jabbed her elbow into the side of the now clearly embarrassed woman. "OHMYGOSH! Tambry!" the ginger woman chastised her bestie as Dipper burst out laughing. Unknown to his wife, he had seen the same scene play out many years before. "While we will be spending ample time between the sheets, I assure you, we'll be sure to take in some of the sights…" the chestnut haired man said as he pecked his wife on her now crimson cheeks. "Stop encouraging her!" Wendy shouted with frustration while stomping her foot into the driveway. "Perhaps I should clarify what I meant by that… By spending time between the sheets, I mostly meant sleeping… This is gonna be the longest that we've been by ourselves since we've had the girls… You better believe that we're catching up on some sleep…" he explained as he nervously adjusted his glasses, hoping that was what his wife had wanted to hear. Wendy shot him a smile as she was appeased by the expansion of his thoughts. "Whatever… Just have fun!" the olive skinned woman said as she wrapped the couple up in a hug. "I'd tell you to as well, but keeping an eye on those guys seems more like a job to me…" Wendy said as she returned the gentle jab her bestie had given her before. The friends split up and got into their respective vehicles to begin their journeys.
The trip only took about half an hour, but nevertheless the group of campers were excited to be out among the wilderness. "This air out here is so much fresher!" Mateo said as he raised his arms above his head and stretched. "Dude, we live in the forest… We're just on the other side of town…" Lucas said as he playfully slapped his friend on the back. The twelve year old was of average size for his age and sported a short and spiky haircut. Usually found in a band t-shirt and jeans, this was no exception. "HaHa, oh yeah dude!" the somewhat portly Mateo chuckled. A little bit taller than his friends, the fifteen year old was practically a spitting image of his father, save for his wavy dirty blonde hair he had inherited from his mother Melody. "Ugh… Why couldn't I have gone to Vancouver with Aunt Wendy and Uncle Dipper?" a feminine voice protested from inside the vehicle. Courtney Corduroy had made the trek after her parents decided that they needed a break from her for the weekend. "Because… They need some time to themselves…" a soft voice replied. The slender and tall fifteen year old Grendy Chiu exited the van and grabbed a bag from the back. "Well… So do I!" the auburn haired teen terror protested. As much as she wanted to retort with an insult, she instead kept it to herself. After the fight with her cousin the previous summer, the thirteen year old was trying her best to change her ways and become a nicer person, especially towards Grendy after being particularly tough on her. "That means they're totally doing it!" Lucas said with a chuckle. "EWW!" Pacifica and Mabel shouted in unison as they recoiled at the insinuation with disgust. Mateo, his eleven year old sister Alessandra and Lucas helped gather firewood while Grendy, Pacifica, Mabel and Courtney set up camp.
Pacifica had just finished setting up her sleeping bag in the tent that the girls would share when she felt something on her leg. Thinking it was a bug, she brushed her hand against the inside of her thigh to shoo whatever it was away. Much to her horror, she felt dampness on her digits and observed a dark red liquid on them. "Must've been a hell of a mosquito…" she thought to herself as she walked back towards the tent to grab a moist wipe. About halfway there, she once again felt the strange sensation on her upper thigh. "What the hell?!" she thought to herself as she peered down and saw a stream of dark crimson blood trailing down her leg. The crotch of her dark blue denim shorts also felt a bit damp and soon enough the thirteen year old put two and two together. "OH SHIT! NO, NO, NO, NO!" she said to herself in a panicked hush as her heartrate began to pick up. "FUCK! NOT HERE! NOT NOW!" the brunette continued to comment as she sped up her pace; hoping that nobody else would know about her embarrassing situation. Luckily, the other teen girls had gone off in search of a few rocks to ring the campfire. She spied Tambry sitting on the open tailgate of the minivan; her fingers furiously texting away on her phone. "A-Aunt Tambry…" the thirteen year old said in a shy and soft voice, which took the purple haired woman off guard a bit. "Is everything alright Paz?" she asked with a bit of concern. "N-Not really… I-I don't know… I…" she began to reply before breaking down; tears streaming from her hazel colored eyes. "What's the matter?! A-Are you hurt?!" Tambry exclaimed as she threw her phone down onto the carpeted back of the vehicle and stood up. "I… I… I uh… I got my period…" she said in a soft tone that oozed with embarassment. Tambry's expression changed from one of concern to that of understanding.
"O-Okay… So, I take it that this is your first one?" she asked as she tried to make the situation less awkward for them both; remembering how it had been for her. Pacifica nodded her head that it was indeed the first time she had experienced it. She had learned about it from both classes in school, as well as from her mother, but all the preparation and understanding in the world still didn't keep her from being blindsided by the real thing. "So… It's, like, totally okay… First of all… Welcome to Womanhood… I'll be your tour guide for this magical and confusing journey where your body totally rebels against you…" the violet haired woman said as she tried to get a laugh out of the somewhat terrified teen. "D-Do you have anything with you? Like, any supplies or anything?" Tambry inquired even though she was pretty sure that she already knew the answer. "N-No… I wasn't really thinking about it… I-I have a kit Mom made for me at home… But a lot of good it does me there…" she answered the olive skinned woman. The sounds of the three other girls returning to camp brought about a new wave of anxiety to Pacifica, as she didn't want her friends and relatives to find out what had happened. "Hey! Girls! Could you guys come over here please?" Tambry called out. "Aunt Tambry… Please… I-I don't want them to know that I got it like this…" she pleaded to her surrogate mother for the weekend. "Honey, we've all been where you are before… Trust me..." she tried to reassure her Goddaughter as the footsteps drew closer still. "What's up Aunt Tambers?" Mabel said in her typical laid back style. "First of all… Don't call me that… Second of all…" she began before pausing momentarily to turn and look at Pacifica. "Well… Pacifica officially just became a woman…" she said with a bit of enthusiasm in her voice. "Alright! Welcome to the club sis!" Mabel said as she hugged her twin. "Ow! Not too tight there… It feels like I got punched in the gut by a boxer…"she replied with a grimace plastered on her face. "Sorry…" the redhead sheepishly apologized.
Much to the young woman's surprise, the girls were extremely mature about the whole situation; Courtney even giving her a pad so that she could be properly equipped. "Well… I'm gonna run out and get Pacifica some things to get through this… And some ice cream!" the violet haired woman announced. "Why ice cream?" a curious Pacifica asked. "Because, silly... Ice cream makes everything better..." Tambry replied as she got into the minivan and drove off; the thirteen year old nodding her head in agreement. The teens had decided to try their luck at fishing while they awaited Tambry's return to the campsite and hiked to the stream that ran near their temporary home in the forest. "So... Everything okay sis?" Mabel asked as she took the hand of her twin, who now wore a black cotton skirt to replace her ruined denim shorts. "Y-Yeah... Like, I knew it was coming at some point and all... I just didn't think that it would be this weekend..." the young woman replied. "Trust me... It's gonna be a bit scary at first... But you'll get used to it. I guess just one more thing we have in common now..." the redhead said with a chuckle. "I can't believe how chill Courtney was about all of it... I mean, I know her and I are not on the same page and all... But, she actually kinda came to the rescue" the ginger teen observed as she swept some of her auburn locks from the front of her face. "I guess she is serious about changing..." Pacifica said in a hopeful tone as she rubbed her prosthetic arm. Meanwhile, a few paces ahead, Grendy and Courtney had struck up a conversation. "I just wanted to say that I thought it was incredibly sweet of you to help out Pacifica... The old Courtney wouldn't have done that" the lanky teen girl doted. "Well... The old Courtney is dead" the auburn haired fourteen year old coldly replied. "I don't think she died... I think she just grew up" Grendy optimistically commented. "Either way, I'm trying to be a different person... Which, by the way... I'm, like, sorry about all those times I picked on you... Like how I called you squeaky all the time because of your voice... O-Or when I laughed at you when you fell off the trampoline and broke your leg... O-Or when I ma-" she began to apologize before being cut off by the taller girl. "Okay! I get it... You were really shitty to me... But the important thing is that you're making amends for it now" the sandy haired teen interjected as the duo followed the rest of the teens to the stream. "If you wanna know the truth... The reason I was so hard on you is because... Well... I-I... Ikindathinkyou'recute!" the fourteen year old girl blurted out, hoping that her confession of a crush on the slightly older girl wouldn't be met with disgust or outright rejection.
Grendy stopped in her tracks and at first thought that she had either misunderstood or misheard the ginger teen that walked beside her. "Oh shit! You really did it this time Court!" the freckled girl chastised herself as an awkward silence filled the air. She knew that her parents had been long time friends before they admitted their feelings to one another and that they had come out as a couple in a much less accepting climate than they found themselves in nowadays. To be honest, Grendy wasn't sure how to feel. She had developed a few crushes on boys in her school, but hadn't dated yet due to her meek nature and fear of rejection. Ironically, although her parents were lesbians, she had never considered the thought that she may be attracted to those of the same sex. Grendy noted the growing awkwardness between Courtney and her while she tried to process things. "I-I should say something here... She just put her heart out there and if I don't say something soon, she's gonna get hurt..." the fifteen year old thought to herself. "Pacifica... First of all... That took a shit ton of guts to say... I-I like you too... I-I'm just not sure how... Like, you're turning out to be a good friend... B-But I don't know if I like girls... I haven't even had a date with a boy or girl yet, so I just don't know..." she said before taking a breath. The young woman hoped she hadn't just devastated the redhead that stood beside her. "Oh... Okay then... I-It's just a stupid crush anyway... I-I know that I can't expect you to just say something one way or the other... I don't know what I was thinking..." Courtney replied as she looked down at the ground. "I have an idea!" the sandy haired teen said with excitement. "O-Okay... W-What would that be?" she asked with hesitation; not sure what kind of crazy thought had just popped into the usually reserved teen girl's head. Before she could fully process things, she felt the lips of the slightly older girl press against hers; the soft hands of the taller teen cupping her jaw as she returned the gesture. "HOLY SHIT! GRENDY'S KISSING ME!" the younger girl thought to herself as her heart began to race.
Courtney broke the kiss and opened her emerald eyes to meet the gaze of the taller girl. "D-Did you feel anything?" Grendy asked as a blush came over her cheeks. "I-I can't believe I just kissed a girl! Courtney Corduroy of all girls too!" she thought to herself as she awaited a response. "Yeah! Definitely! Absolutely! I-It just felt so right... Y-You're a great kisser by the way..." Courtney eagerly replied. She could only hope that her crush felt the same way. "W-What about you?" she asked with nervousness pulsing throughout her body. "To be completely honest... Yeah, I sorta did... B-But I dunno if that was because it was my first kiss ever... Or because I like you... I'm just all mixed up inside, you know?" she answered, hoping she wasn't breaking the younger girl's heart. "Okay... I-I get that... I-I'm glad that I was your first kiss..." Courtney said as tears filled her eyes. "You know what? I'm glad you were too!" the sandy haired girl admitted. "S-So what now?" the fourteen year old inquired. "Well... I guess to know for sure, I should probably kiss a boy... Kinda see how that makes me feel... I-It might sound kinda indecisive and all... B-But what if I like both boys and girls?" she asked the girl who stood beside her. "Well... It sounds like you have some work to do!" Courtney giggled. "Have any crushes on guys?" she thought aloud. "Well... I-I kinda like Mateo... B-But we're way too close to ever be anything but best friends... Besides... I-I don't think he likes me in that sort of way..." Grendy said as she buried her hands in her pockets and looked down at the dirt trail beneath her feet. "I wouldn't be so sure about that..." Courtney replied as the slightly older girl looked up and their gazes met once again. "What do you mean by that?" Grendy asked with guarded curiosity. "Oh, I've caught him staring at you with that longing look a person gets when they're completely infatuated with someone... He digs ya... And you just said you dig him... Just get him alone and admit the way you feel..." the redhead advised the somewhat shy and apprehensive girl. "B-But what if he takes it the wrong way? What if you misread the situation? W-What if I lose a good friend because I let my hormones and feelings and all that shit take over... I-I mean... I'm the smart one. The logical one. I-I don't let my emotions decide what happens... It's just not who I am" Grendy questioned as she began to pace back and forth; the nervousness she often held just below the surface making a rare appearance. "Grendy, girl, you just have to let go... Give in to your heart..." the alabaster skinned girl said as she placed a caring hand on the teens shoulder. "Trust me... No matter what, even if he doesn't feel the way you expected him to or wanted him to, you'll feel better. Confession is good for the soul..." Courtney sincerely stated. Grendy realized that the skirt clad girl was speaking from recent experience and gave her a knowing nod of her head as the the pair began to walk once again.
Courtney and Grendy arrived at the bank of the stream to find Lucas, Mateo and Mabel with their poles in the water. Pacifica and Alessandra sat on a large, flat rock where the older brunette had begun to braid the youngster's hair. "There you two are!" Mabel said as she turned around and spied the duo out of the corner of her eye. "Yeah... I took a bad step and twisted my ankle. Luckily, Courtney here stayed behind and helped me walk here..." Grendy fibbed. "You didn't twist your ankle? Did you?" the auburn haired girl mouthed to her companion. "Just go with it..." the lanky teenager whispered under her breath in a tone just loud enough for Courtney to hear. "Y-Yeah... I-I helped her out... Totally why we just got here!" the shorter fourteen year old agreed. "Huh... Who knew that Grendy could lie..." the ginger girl thought to herself as a small smirk formed on her face. "A-Are you gonna be okay?!" Mateo said with concern as he too turned around. "Y-Yeah... I-I should be. I think I worked it out..." she quickly reassured the young man as she pointed her sneaker clad foot toe-first toward the ground and began to roll her ankle. "A-Alright... If it's still bugging you... I could, like, totally try to massage it and try to loosen it up some more..." he offered to the object of his deep-seated desire. "Maybe I'll take you up on that..." she playfully replied; turning before the blush that had begun to spread on her cheeks became apparent to him or anyone else for that matter. "What did I tell you? Totally into you..." Courtney gloated as she walked away. As much as Grendy hated to admit it, her one-time tormentor and now smooch buddy was right.
After an hour of unsuccessful fishing had passed, the group of bored teens decided to head back to camp. They arrived to find their temporary home in the forest had been ransacked; their many possessions strewn across the ground. Among them were the mysterious book that Pacifica had found the previous autumn. "What's that?!" asked Alessandra with excitement as she walked over to the jewel encrusted tome and lifted it up. Pacifica panicked for a moment as she didn't want her friends to know that she had found a book of supposed spells in a random cave. Ultimately, they would start asking questions and she felt as if she wasn't quite ready to reveal that she had begun to study and perform them. "I don't know!" the brunette blurted out in an overly loud tone. "It looks important..." Mateo commented as he observed the book his younger sister held. "Pfft... It's probably just one of Aunt Tambry's trashy romance novels..." Courtney stated in a dismissive tone. "Eww!" Lucas responded; recoiling at the thought of his mother reading such smut. "HaHaHa!" Mateo reacted as he burst out in laughter. "Dude, it's not funny!" the spiky haired twelve year old shot back at his best friend. "S-Sorry man... But... It, like, totally is dude..." the portly teen said as he placed his hands on his knees as he doubled over in laughter. Lucas stormed off in anger; shoving the older boy as he did so, which caused him to tumble to the ground. "Mateo!" Grendy exclaimed as she sprinted over and extended her hand to her crush. The eyes of the two teenagers met and both their faces formed slight blushes on them.
The awkward scene was diffused as a rustling was heard from the boy's tent; stopping the angered Lucas in his tracks and drawing the attention of the group. "What do you think that is?!" Mabel asked. "I dunno... Probably some kind of wild animal... It's probably what caused all this..." Pacifica answered as they slowly approached the structure. "What would an animal want with clothes though?" Grendy wondered. "Well... Suppose someone had some graham crackers and honey in there... M-Maybe they'd want that... I know I would... N-Not that they're mine or anything, 'cause they're totally not..." Mateo informed the group as he nervously rubbed the back of his neck. Lucas walked over to a small tree and broke a low hanging branch off of it; brandishing it as a weapon against the possible feral animal. Taking a brave step forward, Pacifica lifted the fabric flap that served as an entry to the tent and peered in. "What in the fuck?!" she said in a hushed tone as she motioned the others to come and take a look. Gazing into the blue hued tent, they all spied a tiny man in a red pointy hat furiously munching away on a graham cracker while another scooped his hand into the glass jar full of honey. "They're like little men!" Alessandra gushed in a soft voice. The one eating the cracker looked up and noticed his now sizable audience. Letting out a yell, the pair of gnomes pierced a hole in the tent and scurried off into the woods; the group thoroughly confused by what had just transpired. As they tried to process the scene before them, the sound of an approaching vehicle rung through the tall timbers of the forest. Tambry had returned from her shopping trip to find their campsite in utter shambles. "Oh my God! What happened?!" the violet haired thirty-something exclaimed as she exited the vehicle. "That's what we're trying to figure out..." Lucas replied as he dropped the branch he had been holding. "These little dudes came and totally trashed the place..." Mateo commented as the others nodded their heads in agreement. "Gnomes..." Tambry said with disgust dripping from her voice as narrowed her eyes.
Author's Note: So, this chapter took a while to write. I kinda didn't know where I wanted to go with it, but this is what I agreed upon. I wanted to get more interaction between the new crew and also show Tambry trying to be a responsible adult, which is kinda funny to me because it totally is a one-eighty from how she was portrayed in the show and even my own work earlier on. This was one of my longer chapters in a while, but I actually found some time to write and everything just kinda fell into place. The music, mood, and my mindset just kinda clicked and away went my fingers to the keyboard. A lot of the relationships I've come up with just kinda happened on the fly and I've just run with them. Will Mateo return the feelings that Grendy has for him? Will Courtney be satisfied to wait while Grendy figures out how she feels, or will she decide to take matters into her own hands? Now that the whole group knows about the spellbook, how will it affect their friendships? And why does Tambry have such a deep disdain for the gnomes of Gravity Falls? Answers to all this and more, plus Wendy and Dipper in Vancouver in the next addition of Tales Of The Flame & The Axe: A Shooting Star Falls Story - iKLOT
My Playlist For This Chapter:
The Decemberists – "Severed"
Jonathan Davis – "What It Is"
Starset – "Halo"
Chevelle – "Joyride (Omen)"
Chevelle – "The Clincher"
Nothing More – "Go To War"
The Official Shooting Star Falls AU Reading Order:
Underage Discoveries On A Reckless Night: A Shooting Star Falls Prequel
A Shooting Star Falls
Echoes Of A Nearby Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Scarred Summer: A Shooting Star Falls Story
The Dark Days of Candy Chiu: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Forever Memories: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Stable Times Or A Wild Ride?: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Grenda's Confession: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Birthday Weirdness In The Rose City: A Shooting Star Falls Story
The Gift Of Forever: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Wendy & Dipper Vs The Future: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Life In Transit: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Pause The Moment: A Shooting Star Falls Story
Tales Of The Flame & The Axe: A Shooting Star Falls Story