The side door to the Mystery Shack – soon to be Mystery Manor – opened swiftly. Just prior to noon, two teenagers led themselves out of the building; a determined look in their eyes. On tucked his hat around his head roughly, theories and formulas rushing through his brain like fire tracing oil. The other was busy sticking a final sticker to her cheek to accompany the other; Mabel pines finally slipped on the two camouflage stripes on her cheeks, and huffed out aggressively, punching at her stomach, where a kitten with a combat helmet was displayed on her sweater. She was ready for war.
It had been a day since the roof caught fire by the intervention of the creature of burning winds. Grunkle Stan had convinced the work crew of Weytani-Yuland that their equipment caused the incinerations to his roof, and therefore would pay damages from the company. Since such commotions, the twins had been set back yet another day of research. Between Grunkle Stan's quick, terse remarks, and the gaps of information throughout the towns record-keepings, the twins had a new target: Town Hall.
"This will suck if it was just one huge typo," Mabel stated as they passed the grumpy crewman, no longer pleasant towards the twins or anyone else who resided at this building.
"Don't say that," Dipper begged, tightening his shoulders instantly, "that would mean we're down to nothing. Just an extra 'memory charge' and a million questions."
"Bro, don't worry," Mabel patted his shoulder, "with me at your side, in total surrrrious mode," Mabel glared ahead like a preying falcon, "we'll crack down on this case and before we know it- bam! Solved!"
Dipper fought to restrain a smile for his sister, but lost the struggle. Even if she constantly was distracted from the investigatory work, she tried her best. Her unending support was a nice boost of confidence in an otherwise difficult mystery. He needed such emotional bulwarks; he was starting to feel the pressure. According to the calendar inside, they had three days before their time ran out, and they were needed back home.
Just the thought of leaving something as possibly big a mystery as this one infuriated Dipper. He stowed away such pains, as well as the idea of saying goodbye to his sister yet again, by moving to the driver's door. "Hop in," Dipper told her as he unlocked his car.
"Awww, just for once, can't we get on my bike?" Mabel flopped her arms limply by her side, "your car reeks of stale boredom."
"That's pine-fresh, actually," Dipper retorted, leaning on his door, "and every time I've gotten on your bike so far, you've tried your best to either throw us into a ditch or freak me out!"
"Hehehe, I usually get the second one."
"Mabel," Dipper warned her as she laughed, "Get in, sis. We got work to do?"
"Aww, fine. But if we need to go into town again later, we take the bike?" she asked as she strode around to the other side.
"Fine, sure, okay," Dipper agreed half heartedly as he landed on the seat and closed the door. Mabel cheered and entered the passenger side, her reluctance towards Dippers car dealt with by assurances of pink-biking later. To her, any chance to scare Dipper the know-it-all was more than worth it.
"Onward, my valet!" Mabel demanded, pointing forward to the dashboard.
Dipper eyed her, trying to dissect the joke. "I'm not your – that joke doesn't even make sense –"
"Onward!"
Dipper sighed and put the gear into place. He began backing the car away from their base of operations. Smooth and steady, Dipper handled the car as he did with life; tactically. He cast a glance at his sister. "You meant escort, by the way," Dipper told his sister as they left sight of the Mystery Manor.
"I meant what I said," Mabel stuck her tongue out at him.
Now through the woods, Dipper leaned to his sister. "Mabel, valets don't-"
BOOM.
Dipper and Mabel both shouted. The young teen slammed the breaks hard as the car instantly halted.
"What the heck was that!?" Dipper demanded to his sister. "Was that a gunshot?"
BOOM.
The brother yelped, desperately looking around. The car itself had shaken with the blasting echoes. Mabel had instead turned to the window she thought had the most violent rattle, and she pressed her face against the glass. Outside in the woods, there was movement heading straight towards them.
Her eyes widened as she saw figures approaching. "Dipper-"
Dipper had only a moment to turn and open his mouth, ready to ask 'what'. As he and Mabel stared towards the rushing shadows, they burst out. Two hooded figures, one about the twin's height while the other was the other a good half a head shorter than the twins, ran out and nearly into the car. They gasped, showing their faces for a moment to the twins. One was clearly in some level of distress or pain, and the smaller one had a strained look of 'getting a move on'.
Staring at the two before his car, Dipper gasped. "Who the-" As they glanced back behind them, where more movement was heading their way. The two, the girl and the teenager, did not stick around. As quickly as they came, they ran past the car and over the dirt path to the other side of the woods. The twins watched them run, shocked at how desperate they seemed. After looking to one another, they turned front and saw a large man emerge from the woods after them. He wore a hunter's vest, a cap, walked with a large stomach, and was currently holding a huge shotgun up.
BOOM.
"Gah!" Dipper shouted, leaning away from the man, who had just aimed his large weapon after the fleeing pair. The man in front of their car, who had just blown away a substantial chunk of the trees to the side of the road, seemed to be muttering to himself and aiming again. H reached into his worn and beaten camouflage jacket. Untangling more shells from a frayed amount of ghillie material, he began to re-load his weapon. This man with the weapon turned briefly to the twins and they got a good look at him. He had graying, wild, frizzy hair, and looked dirty as he was unshaven, and looked to the world with unstable eyes.
Just as the two watched, he indeed fired again, rocking the air with his huge double-barreled shotgun. As the two winced from the sonic blast that rattled the windows of the car, the man swore loudly and charged ahead. He began to run into the woods, leaving the twins shocked and desperate to regain steady breath.
As Dipper slowly regained composure, his sister gently reached out for his shoulder. "Okay, I know we wanted to figure our stuff out... but we can't let that just slip by."
Dipper groaned, but nodded, "Agreed! Lets go!"
"Don't have to tell me twice," Mabel stared to undo her seat belt. Dipper was still moving his car, pulling it to the side of the road. Once he had parked, Mabel shoved the door open and leapt outside, Dipper following closely behind. The two gave each other one more look as they crossed the road, and then ran into the woods.
They were already darting past thick trunks and green bushes as they ran after the three strangers. Wind whipped by their ears, warning them of their speeds, sprinting as best they could. It wouldn't be a hard chase for the twins. All they had to do was follow the deadly sounds of an exploding boom-stick, or the trail of blasted trees and bushes.
"Plan?" Dipper asked Mabel as they hurtled over a falling log, Mabel actually flipping over the tree, to which Dipper grumbled, "show off."
Landing, and posturing a thoughtful chin-scratch, Mabel suggested, "I think we should have them stop shooting at each other first." He rolled his eyes, and the two continued their dash. "Maybe it's all a big misunderstanding?" she asked.
"Looked like a crazy redneck hunter," Dipper added, his stamina running low. All the running and fitness he had been doing with his sister had increased his tolerance to such activities, but certainly he was no where close to on par with her.
"So? We just have to have a crazy redneck reason for him to stop," Mabel suggested, "speak his language!"
"M-mabel," Dipper gasped, "I don't think that's-"
Mabel yelled. Dipper was slammed into dirt as Mabel leapt to his side and yanked him down to the ground with her. Not a second too late, as a huge blast of sound and splintering wood exploded next to where they had just been. The two looked above their heads. They had just been shot at.
From further into the woods, they heard a voice shout out to them. "I don't know who you think you are, but you need to stay away! They're mine!"
Mabel, who was quick to get back to her knees as Dipper struggled to roll back onto his elbows, was able to peek around the tree she dived behind. There he was: the hunter holding the smoking end of the gun and turning away and running into the brush.
The color fading from his face as shock spread through his body, Dipper said, "Almost shot us!"
"He really knows how to be crazy," Mabel nodded, slowly standing up.
"A crazy jerk-wad," Dipper growled as he stood, wiping away the remains of dirt and leaves from his arm. "He said they're mine? Is he hunting them!?"
Mabel was already back on her feet. Dipper had been right; regardless of past reason and motive, this was someone who had decided to isolate others from his game. It was a hunt, less a chase. He was chasing them to kill them, and he wasn't afraid to kill others to succeed at that. He was dangerous.
Mabel looked to her brother. "We take him down," she suggested.
To that, Dipper nodded. "Let's."
Then with little warning, Mabel grabbed Dipper's arm and pulled him back up. Before he could get proper footing, she turned and starting running after the guy. Dipper stumbled, but following, his pace slower. The brunette girl was darting ahead, blazing a trail through the woods as quickly and quietly as she could.
Dipper made to chase, eying behind them the pellet-pocked side of the tree. This guy was aggressive enough to shoot at them for following; it was enough to consider the next attacks would be just as lethal.
Breaking into a mild clearing, Mabel found him pointing his gun above, angling towards higher branches, where the two hooded figures clawed their way higher and away, trying to mask themselves with the branches. The hunter fired again, chipping away more of the tree. A scream above told Mabel somewhere up there was a girl younger then even her.
Alpha twin mode: freakin' mad.
Mabel ran, her learned martial mind preparing for combat. The man was mid-heavy, his belly being larger than his shoulders. If she could make him bend over, he would be easy to topple. Her footsteps finally caught the man's attention. He gasped, spun around, and fired towards Mabel had just been. She dived aside.
Spotting a rock next to her hand, she grasped it and tossed it right for the man's fingers in the trigger. He yelped, the stone making full contact against his hand's digits. He cradled the hand for a moment, long enough for Mabel to run at him again. Remove the gun, remove the threat.
She reached forward the business end of the gun and leapt up. Her fist wrapped tightly around the barrel, and she leapt high into the air, as she had practiced for many days. Her feet had a particular target- his nose. Heel to nose, she surely broke it least in one spot. He howled in pain. It had all been part of her plan; get him to let go of the gun in the shock and pain. She yanked the gun, but his grip on his gun was stronger than expected though. All in the moment, the pain faltered. She had to quickly adjust and place her feet onto his chest, and yank as hard as she could. The man had an iron grip.
The hunter flailed like a wounded wolf. "I warned you!" the man cried, and spun around. He threw her off him with his spin. As she landed on her feet, he unloaded the empty shells, and almost instantly had two more inside the barrel. This was it- his gun was loaded.
Mabel heard him coming. Dipper was right behind the hunter, barreling with his greatest speed he could manage. The hunter heard as well, and started to spin. Call it magic of the connection twins had, but Mabel knew precisely what they were about to do before it manifested.
Dipper leapt with a furious roar, leapt up and spun. Using that momentum to twist, he then lashed out with a kick, which planted itself deeply into the hunters chest. The impact was not a soft one, and the hunter cried out and stumbled back and into Mabel. She grabbed the gun and tossed it away. With a mighty Mabel-warrior roar, she threw herself in the air with a mighty upper-cut. The man, winded, tired from a chase, kicked now in the face and the chest, was finally k-o'd. He fell to the ground, limp and unconscious.
Dipper, who had fallen to a knee, stood up with a heavy groan. He reached for the gun, opened the barrel, and unloaded the shells, tossing them aside. Only then did he aimlessly throw the hunting shotgun into the deeper brush. "No one..." Dipper breathed heavily as he growled at the unconscious man, "points a gun... at my sister. Ever."
Mabel cheered, "Dipper!" and lunged at him, hugging him tightly, "That was an amazing kick!"
"Gah! Mabel!" Dipper cried, still trying to catch his breath.
"That was a freaking great leap! Wow! You have been learning! I... oh man, you almost leveled him with that!" Mabel giddily told him as she let go of her domineering hug.
"You... really think so?" Dipper smiled a little, and then nodded, "yeah, it was kinda cool, wasn't it?"
"Try way cool!" Mabel punched her brother's shoulders, and he winced.
"Thanks, Mabel. Just... you know, had to-" Dipper gasped, and realized there was whispering above them in the trees. The twins looked up, scanning the canopy for the prey in the lethal woodlands chase. "Right... those two," Dipper nodded above him with a curt jolt of his head.
"I got this," Mabel told him with a nudge of her shoulder, and turned to the tree, "Greetings earthlings! I am Mabel the Magnificent! Approach us with honor, and-" Dipper slapped the back of her head. She winced, "Ow! Hey! I wasn't done!" she whined.
Shaking his head, Dipper tried his own shot. "What my sister would like to say," Dipper called up into the tree, "Is that we're not going to hurt you. We want to make sure you're okay. Can you hear us?" Silence followed their words. Dipper almost thought that they had left the tree during the fight.
He tried more, keeping to his best pacifying tones. "It's okay if you really don't want to come down," Dipper continued, "I know I wouldn't if some crazy dude had been chasing me through the woods... shooting at me... and some kids show up out of the blue. I'd be paranoid too."
Mabel, though certainly no pro with her own introduction, clearly wondered if Dipper was going in the right direction. "Are you trying to give them reasons to think we're monsters?" Mabel told her brother.
Dipper shrugged. "Being honest?" Dipper turned back to the tree, "Can you at least tell us if you need help? We won't climb up or anything. Just want to make sure you're okay."
Nothing. Not a shake of leaves, or a whisper. They must have left.
Dipper sighed, and put his hands into his pockets. "Well... I guess that's that," Dipper said, and turned to leave.
"What?" Mabel ran ahead, holding him back with a hand, "But we saved their lives or whatever. I feel responsible! We should at least see if they're okay!"
"We didn't save their lives... well, okay," Dipper relented at the glare his sister gave him, "We really did help them, but they didn't ask for it. They ran by, when they could have asked for help. We should let them be if they don't want company."
"But... we're good people," Mabel pouted, "They should trust us."
Dipper chuckled and nodded. "Let's go Mabel. We have our own-"
A soft thump sounded behind Dipper, catching his words in his throat. He turned about and stepped side, letting Mabel see the source of noise. One of the two cloaked figures had landed, possibly from high above, and was kneeling before them. Slowly it stood up, and they had a better look at her face; the face of a younger girl. She had a bang of corn-silk blond hair protruding out from under her hoodie. She wore a fretting smile, in a feeble attempt of comfort, or peace. The girl's eyes flickered between the two teens before her. Uncertainty, a little fear, and a tad bit of worry shimmered in her gaze.
Dipper opened his mouth to say hello, and then the second figure landed. Much quicker to rise than the girl, the person was a young man, just slightly taller than Dipper. He had slight facial hair, and seemed to be sweating slightly. The two shared bright blue eyes and the brother had a beautiful face, sharp and wonderfully even. It was enough for Mabel to put her hands to her cheeks and stare.
At first taken aback, and now pleased with their appearance, Dipper gave them a steady smile. "Hello," Dipper said calmly, "I'm Dipper. This is-"
Mabel shoved past him, knocking him aside to be in front of the beautiful young man, "Mabel! I'm Mabel! Nice to meet the two of you!" she grabbed the stunned man before her by the hand and shook vigorously.
Quickly he winced and pulled his hand away. "Ouch! Ah, Thanks," the man replied, a silky voice matching the face, causing even more wonder to flood Mabel's eyes, "Nice to meet you."
Mabel's eyes grew wide yet. "You have the voice of angels," Mabel muttered as she listened to him. Despite being clearly in pain, the boy laughed. She asked of him quickly, "Tell me you can sing?!"
He chuckled. "Thanks. I'm Jace," he motioned to himself with his injured hand, "And yes, I can sing. This is Jessandra, my younger sister," he said with a motion to the shorter figure.
"Hi!" Mabel waved to the girl behind him, who had taken a quick step next to her brother. "Don't be shy!" Mabel told her, indicating to her face, still covered with warpaint and stickers, "It's just how I dress when I need to research."
The girl looked to Mabel, terrified she might actually believe what the twin was saying. Dipper stood, brushing the leaves he had collected off him. As he stepped to his sister, he returned the favor by pushing her head aside. She gave a small, "whomp" as she was shoved.
"Hey Jessandra," Dipper waved a hand to her. The girl in the hoodie seemed stunned, her eyes widened. Dipper waited for a reply from the small girl for a moment. Then a second moment. "Okay," Dipper said, and turned his attention to the taller of the two, "So, Jace, your arm looks kind of messed up."
"Huh?" Jace blurted out, and looked to his hand, "Yeah. It got caught between two branches when we were running. Twisted my elbow kinda badly."
Mabel slapped her forehead, remembering her vigorous hand-shakes. "Oh! Sorry!" Mabel cried out, clenching her teeth in worry she had broken a chance of friendship with her aggressive hellos. "Are you okay?" she asked him.
The man with the pretty face and voice gave her a toothy grin. "Of course I am," Jace said and waved a hand at her, "Takes more than a little tree to stop Sir Jace the Just. I've taken worse punishment than that before!"
The smaller of the two, Jessandra, finally piped up. "No, you haven't," she said, looking at her brother disbelievingly. Her voice had a smokey quality, entirely bereft of her brother's silky tones.
Jace forced out a series of laughs. "Yes, I have," Jace nodded to Dipper and Mabel, "Of course I have," Jace turned to his sister, keeping the warm smile on his face, even though he looked to his sister with cold eyes.
Jessandra, or Jess, saw right through him. "I had to jump into the tree to pry you off because you didn't know what to do, and you thought you broke it; crying to be abandoned and have me run off-"
"Well, I don't usually hurt myself," Jace argued, looking back to Dipper and Mabel, "Pretty good about avoiding injuries."
Jess rolled her eyes. "That's because you're afraid to do anything but fl-" Jessandra stated, but her brother smacked the side of her head so quickly it was a blur, "Ow! Jerk!"
As Jessandra rounded on her brother like an insulted falcon, Dipper withheld a laugh. They kind of reminded him of Mabel and himself. One seemed easy to maneuver and socially empowered, and the other was a sucker for the details in life. It was weird seeing it like this, from the other side of life. Dipper glanced to his sister, who seemed to have the similar thought to her. She had looked back, and they shared a happy grin.
"Uh," Dipper interrupted a quickly developed wrestling match, where Jessandra had somehow managed to get on top of her brothers back, and was pulling on his head. His words put a pause in the fight; Jess still holding herself perfectly still, pulling at her brother's nose. Dipper re-stated, "So if you need some help with that arm, we can take you back to our place. We have some ice and medical supplies."
Jace, as he pried his sister's wrenching fingers from his face, studied the twins. Jace called out, "Oh? Uh, thanks... I guess."
Mabel, with great gusto, bent towards him and swung her arms enthusiastically, "You guess? Be our guest!"
Jace snorted, and then belly-laughed at Mabel's antics. "Nice one!" The attractive man patted Mabel's shoulder with his other arm. Giggling, Mabel returned the favor and hit his injured one. "Gah!" he winced.
"Sorry!"
Clearly eager to ruin the moment, Jessandra cleared her throat. "I, uh – that's really nice. Thank you. But we have to get moving again," she said, tugging on her brother's sleeve, and looked to the twins quickly before adding a quieter, "Thanks so much again."
"Jess," Jace ushered her quietly. He gave the twins an apologetic grimace, and then turned away from them; pulling his sister into a private meeting a few feet away. In hushed whispers they spoke, discussing and debating quietly and quickly. Dipper frowned, eating at the back of his head like a worm.
The way he saw it, they wouldn't, at this point, have much else to be hesitant with. Dipper and Mabel had been willing to part ways with them, and allow them their own walk to life. Jace and Jess decided to come down to them. They had made the attempts at trust. What would cause them to stand away and deliberate? Dipper suddenly realized something about the outfits.
Dipper whispered to himself, "Baggy clothes. Large hoodies. Annoyingly mysterious," he then turned to his sister, and quietly said to her, "Mabel, did anything they do remind you of when the gnomes were acting like Norman?"
Mabel spluttered, and spun to face Dipper. "What?" Mabel quietly hissed back. At Dipper's insistent stare, she thought. "Not really? I'd say they act too graceful to be gnomes."
"Graceful?" Dipper snorted.
"Just look at him," Mabel pointed to Jace, who was just standing up from his talk with his sister. It was like his entire body flowed together; each bone able to act in accordance to their neighboring body parts. He was like if water and wind had become an elder-teen heartthrob. Mabel cooed gently, waiting to see the teen's face again. Dipper personally thought he was sort of a 'pretty-boy', but could not deny the adjective.
He looked back to his sister, and saw a hunger in her eyes. "Chill," Dipper rolled his eyes, aware of her tendencies with boys, "We just met them."
"Never too early to start a little romance, am I right?" Mabel wiggled her eyebrows with excitement.
"Yeah right," Dipper huffed back, "There totally is such a thing as too early. Just ask twelve-year-old me."
Mabel stared at him, uncertain to his meaning. Like two monkeys' solving a puzzle, it was only a matter of time before she understood. She suppressed a snort, and patted his head gently. "You didn't have much of a chance back then, did ya?" Mabel asked.
Dipper's chest felt instantly heavier and tighter as he buried those newer feelings deep inside himself. He slowly looked away, trying to swallow away the scorching hot reminders of what could be and what had not been. He didn't want to deal with them now, and he didn't want to show he was dealing with them now. He decided, ultimately, it was best if Mabel would not be privy to such feelings. Those dang resurfacing feelings.
Ahead of the twins, Jace cleared his throat. "Sorry about that," Jace stated aloud as he finally turned to face the twins, "Sibling conference."
"Entirely understandable," Mabel grinned, grabbing Dipper's shoulder with her own for a half hug, "Being awesome twins ourselves."
"I thought there were some similarities!" Jace pointed at the two, excited at the information.
Jessandra looked to her brother, affronted. "Of course, they're-" Jessandra put a hand to her face as Jace grew a smug grin. "You're an idiot, bro," Jessandra told her palm.
"Quiet, heretic," Jace offhandedly said to his sister, "So," he looked back to the twins, "We'd love for you to take us somewhere safe."
Mabel leapt with excitement and shouted, "Awesome!" With a quick wink to her brother, she stepped to Jace, extended a crooked arm, and asked him, "Shall I escort you to my car sir, where my valet can drive us to safety?"
Jace spied the arm, and smiled back. "Of course, my lady!" Mabel suppressed a huge fit of giggles as he took her arm into his own, and they linked together. Walking past Dipper, they both missed his uncertain stare. As Dipper forewent the process of coping with Mabel's lightning-fast romances, Jessandra stepped up to him.
"Ugh," she loudly groaned, eying Dipper, "I wouldn't want to do anything like that," Jessandra said with a disgusted tone at her brother. Dipper nodded. The girl lips puffed out slightly, some unbidden words contained behind her teeth. She struggled for a moment until Dipper eyed her, and her poker face game became pro-level. "I mean," she added as her face grew pink, Dipper watching her, "Not unless you do. I mean, you know, not going to say no and be a jerk. Cus, no one likes... a jerk. Yeah."
Dipper, his great perceptions failing him, had no idea about her strange antics. "Don't worry, you're good," Dipper assured her with a quick pat to her shoulder, and began to walk ahead. A few paces ahead, he realized there was hadn't been a patter of footsteps next to him. Taking a pause, he turned to see the girl behind him. She hadn't moved; staring blankly ahead, her cheeks slightly red. "Uh, you okay?" he asked.
She practically flew into the air in response to his very normal thing to ask. "Huh? Okay? Me?" Jessandra stumbled over her words, trying to push her hair out of her face, "Why wouldn't I be?," she rushed to catch up with him, "I'm not looking at you weird! Right? I would never look at a boy weird, that's weird. Of course! ...hahaaa..." She lifted her fingers and pointed to Dipper as if her words had been the part of a well thought out joke. Dipper was certain he saw the faintest trace of a throaty gulp from underneath her sweater.
He looked ahead to her brother, still walking away with Mabel, and then back to her. "So... you're okay?" Dipper asked again.
"Yeah," she quickly mumbled, her head slumped as she marched ahead.
Dipper, curious and entertained with Jess's shyness, decided to keep conversation alive as they walked back to his car. "So," he asked her, "What's the story of the hunter looking guy?" Dipper pointed over his shoulder with his thumb, indicating the unconscious hunter.
She scoffed, looking ahead. "He passed by his home, and he thought we were going to steal something of his. Went all crazy, and chased us all the way though this town," Jessandra told him, "Like we grabbed money, or something."
"Did you?" Dipper asked after a pause, catching up with the laughing pair ahead.
"No!" Jessandra defended herself as she adjusted her hoodie.
"Okay, I believe you," Dipper said, keeping a mental crossed fingers in his head. Certainly, he had nothing to prove that they had been thieves, but she and her brother had things to hide it seemed. What those hidden secrets were could very well be related to the hunter. Or maybe it was something more sinister? Either way: they didn't want something to be shared. Dipper decided to not push for information yet, recalling how his attempts at aggressive forwardness went with Tambry. He instead asked her, "So, where do you live?"
"Huh?"
"Where in town do you live?" Dipper asked her calmly, "Mabel and I can take you back to your place after we get some ice on your brothers arm."
Jess looked like no one in her life had ever asked her such a question. "I – uh – we, "she then said very slowly, keeping her eyes on Dipper, "Don't live around here."
Dipper thought, his eyes ahead. "Really? Oh. There's a place nearby Gravity Falls you came from? I kind of thought we had miles and miles of wilderness between us and other towns," Dipper thought aloud and looked back to her.
She wouldn't make eye-contact. "Not... really?" Jessandra tried saying, coming out as a question. "Jace and I are sort of, uh, gypsies."
He had to repeat it, just to make sure he had heard correctly. "...Gypsies."
"Yeah. Gypsies," Jessandra repeated. What well-crafted veil of deception she had built was starting to fade away, revealing the chaotic, turbulent roil of emotions within.
Fortunately, Dipper was too amused to see her struggle. Her claim was odd, but truthfully, it wasn't the weirdest thing he had heard. Coming from this girl, being a gypsy was actually very normal. For a town filled to the brim with goblins, gnomes, gremloblins, and gobblerwonkers, running into a pair of nomadic travelers seemed entirely tame.
Though, they were young and without companion adults. She clearly was younger than Dipper and Mabel, and her story was that the Jace and her were traveling together. Two pre-adults just walking around America without a backpack? Possibly by foot? Not exactly a solid story. Dipper nodded as understandingly as he could though, willing to be patient to learn the truth on this one. Besides, he had another mission to get to.
Dipper guessed aloud, "I guess you two got separated from your family," as he spotted the coming dirt road ahead, where his car rested.
Jess was clearly eager to nip that potential inquiry in the bud. "Aha – right, yup," she nodded, tucking her hands behind herself as she strode in pace. Approaching the vehicle, she then turned to him. "So what about you guys?" she asked, "Just driving along a dirt road in the middle of the woods, or is that what's there to do in this town?"
"Ha," Dipper chuckled at first, "You'd think that at first glance. Gravity Falls is kind of a lame place to be," Dipper told her, "But only on the surface. Once you get to know it better, there are a lot more things going on than you can imagine."
The nod she gave in response came from a place of wisdom and understanding. "I can imagine. I mean," Jessandra coughed, and her tone changed to uncertainty, "I don't know. Just a lot of woods. Nothing special about woods. Just... wood."
Dipper's hands felt an urge to reach under his vest and pull out an old, worn binding of notes. Suppressing the urge to show her his journal, Dipper stepped out of the woods with her into the dirt street. Just ahead, Mabel and Jace were looking at the car.
Mabel feigned looking around the road as if seeking someone else. "Man, what old fart left this out in the road?" Mabel asked aloud, looking to Dipper with a grin. "Someone has no sense of style."
"They didn't even get it with bumper stickers," Jace added, "This car needs bumper stickers."
"I love stickers," Mabel told Jace, "I even carry a roll of emergency stickers with me at all times, just in case a paper needs some color-love," she whipped out a small roll of colorful, mismatched stickers with too many themes to count, "I think some of them were scratch and sniffs too. But they're mostly scratch now, I think they're over a year old."
"You're so well prepared," Jace complimented her, "You must be a fashion ranger or something."
"Oh, stop it you," Mabel slapped his chest and laughed with him.
Dipper had gone from pleased with Jess to grumbled with Mabel. "Well," he snapped at his sister, "If we're ready to get into my boring car," Dipper pointed said, displeased with Mabel getting vindication towards his apparent lack of taste, "We can get you some ice, dude," he told Jace.
As the four approached the doors, Jess quietly protested, "You're car is nice." Thankful to her backup, he gave her a big grin. As the four settled in, Dipper wasn't sure he had seen Jess's cheeks grow pinker than he had seen them yet. When he looked again, she was very busy looking out the windows. She said stiffly, "There's a tree there that looks like it would be great to sit and get a view," she pointed at the canopy above, out the window.
The car was spun around, and it quickly made its way back to the Mystery Manor. As they passed the many false-promises on the signs, the recently acquired siblings gaped in awe. They clearly had not seen a single of the (possibly) hundreds of signs scattered around Gravity Falls. It was amusing for Dipper and Mabel; their minds were entirely immune to such devices by now. They watched the mastery of Grunkle Stan's merchandising take effect, first hand. They spotted the dozen or so men working on the expansion of the building, to which Mabel eagerly explained, "People might actually pay to stay here, instead of stealing deeds!" Other than the chuckle from Jace and the confused look from Jess, they then had arrived. Dipper parked the car aside the building, and they started to step out.
"There you are!"
The gruff voice of the master of the building met them. The four pairs of eyes then drank in, perhaps to their dismay, the image of the elder as he relaxed. Moving to sit alongside the outdoor couch, Stanley Pines had decided to wear only his best boxers and a slightly less-stained-than-normal wife-beater. The twins, much like they were with the many signs, were used to this sight. The siblings, clear with their expressions, were not. As Grunkle Stan adjusted himself to sit, he then noticed the additional young folk and halted.
He sighed as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. "I never thought I'd have to tell you, but no strays allowed," Stan told Dipper and Mabel.
Mabel quickly protested. "They're not strays!" Mabel laughed, "They're wonderful people who we saved from a deranged hunter!"
Stan eyed the siblings, and then looked to the woods. "I was wondering what all those gunshots in the woods were about," Stan mumbled, "Great, you two going out of your way again to get between some crazy farce. Neither of you got shot up, right? Good," he nodded to himself after glancing between the twins, "Fine, who are they then?"
"This wonderful man is Jace," Mabel pointed to him with bother hands, like she were a game-show award hostess, "And this lovely lady is Jessandra!"
"Hi."
"Hello."
"How's it hanging?" Grunkle Stan asked the two of them, scratching his rear absentmindedly, "So what do they want? I'm not doing tours today. Hurt my back putting out the fire yesterday."
Dipper frowned. "Soos put out that fire," he pointed out, "You just ran around and panicked while the roof kept blazing-"
Stan bolstered his report, "My shouting promoted his efforts to get it done faster, and in that process my back started hurting. So stuff it," the old, messy looking man grumbled to Dipper. Dipper just rolled his eyes. Stan added to the twins, "If they're coming in, no freebies with the merchandise, got it?" he told them as he turned back for the door.
Dipper nodded and said, "Uh-huh. We're just getting him some ice. Then they can leave if they want to."
Jace looked wounded, more so than just the arm. "Oh, so soon?" Jace asked as they started to follow Grunkle Stan inside, who unceremoniously closed the door behind him as he walked back inside. Jace added as his large, blue eyes started to scan the building around him, "I think Jess and I would love a little look around. It's a really cool looking building."
Jess seemed distracted, eying Grunkle Stan. "Yeah," she added, "But what happened with that fire?"
Dipper looked to the ceiling. "Ah, right," he said, wondering if there would be any ashes from the scorched roof left unswept. "There was... huh," he paused, looking to his sister. There was an unwillingness to divulge about a Phoenix burning part of the building up. Perhaps it was the siblings being, themselves, secretive, but Dipper wasn't sure he wanted to pass on weird information to strangers, at least not yet. After Mabel glanced back to him, he decided to say, "Equipment issues. You saw those guys working on the side of the building? Somehow their stuff burst into sparks and... well, old building made of wood and sparks make a mess when put together."
Jessandra was quick to continue her inquiry. "It was yesterday?" she asked.
"Uh, yeah? Why you ask?" Dipper looked to her. She shifted her gaze around and shrugged.
Mabel pointed to the hallway as Stan turned and left for the living room, no doubt to continue his binge of Broker Nova. She told the siblings, "The kitchen's over here." Dipper stepped aside in the doorway, letting the three file in, Mabel in the lead. "Here, " she asked of Jace, "Roll up your sleeve so we can get some ice on your arm."
Jace held firm to his sleeve. "Oh, no, that's fine, err, I can do it on my own," Jace looked between Dipper and Mabel, smiling brightly.
"Suit yourself, strong man," Mabel winked to the injured teen, and gently tossed him the ice-pack to the table before them. Jace easily reached for it, and then Dipper watched him carefully as he applied the icepack. Rather than roll his sleeve up, Jace slowly shimmied the icepack into the sweater sleeve; pushing it near the injured location.
Jace took a long sigh, perhaps of pain, perhaps of relief. Dipper was fixated on the hoodie now. "You can take off the extra layer, you know," Dipper stated.
"I'm fine," Jace assured him with a wave of his arm, "Where me and sis come from, this is considered wintery weather."
Dipper riposted quickly, eager for information. "And where would that be?" Dipper tried. Jace looked to his sister, and Dipper's gazed flickered to follow. There it was again – suspicion growing as the siblings had a silent communication together.
Jace answered, "California."
Mabel was all-too-pleased with the answer. "Get out! Us too!"
With wide eyes, Jace squawked back, "Really?"
Mabel ferociously nodded her head. "We just came up here for the summer," Mabel told Jace, "You see, Grunkle Stan, that guy who let us in, we thought he died. But he didn't, and now we have this crazy mystery we have to-"
"Mabel," Dipper coughed and interrupted, "Can you help me with something in the gift shop?"
"Dude, what?" Mabel chortled, "We were just going to have a chill day-"
"Something important," Dipper looked to her, forcing intent to be read across his eyes.
"I... oh. Oh yeah, that one thing! Duh! Pfft," Mabel smacked her head, and stepped past Jace, "Just chill here for a sec," she told the teen holding the ice in his sleeve, "We'll be back."
As Jace happily cackled at her pun, the twins stepped into the Gift shop. They were not alone: Wendy was, as she often could be found, behind the counter, reading quietly into her usual magazines. Soos was there too, busy sweeping to the rocking sensations that the twins could have sworn had a orchestra involved in it.
Dipper turned to his sister, and quietly announced, "So, I'm getting a 'withholding information' vibe from these two."
Wendy jolted at Dipper's accusation. "Huh?" Wendy eyed the twins, lowering a corner from her magazine, "What about us?"
Mabel shook her head and assured her in a thick jersey accent, "Not you twos. We found some friends in the woods!"
Wendy relaxed. "Oh. What are they today? Elves? Werewolves?" Wendy asked as she brought the face of the reading material back to her eyes.
Mabel gasped. "Maybe they could be elves!" she squeaked to Dipper. "Jace is certainly pretty enough!"
Dipper faintly smiled at his sister, and then answered Wendy, "Human; at least they haven't shown any signs of being anything else." Dipper then turned back to his sister, "They're holding off telling us something important. Like their story about being gypsies? How does that work with two teenagers, let alone a teenager and a younger sister? How do you survive in the world like that these days?"
"Being a gypsy isn't a job, Dip," Mabel said, "It's a lifestyle, duh."
Dipper was undeterred in his suspicions. "They didn't have any kind of backpack," Dipper listed off with his finger, "Their clothes aren't dirty from traveling, and they act like they have no idea what town their in. If you were wondering around, you'd probably find out by road signs or whatever as soon as you could."
"Well, being chased through the woods would throw you off," Mabel shrugged.
"I'm telling you, they're hiding something," Dipper verbally pushed with vigor, "They said the hunter was just chasing them from his home or whatever – but he said they were his to hunt. Hunt! That's not chase away and make sure they don't come back! Like 'claim for your own' sort of thing!"
Mabel easily retorted with, "Crazy redneck saying crazy redneck things." Dipper smoldered at her. Following herself up, Mabel laid a hand on his shoulder as Dipper tried to speak again, "Look dude," she told her brother, "Maybe they just have some family stuff they don't want to talk about. And, I dunno, maybe that's okay, you know? We have our own secrets we're not telling them."
Dipper, despite his burning, hungering curiosity, felt an ease in how Mabel put it. He remembered how the adventure chasing Tambry went, and took it to heart. He took a nice, long breath in, and then suggested, "Live and let live?"
Mabel nodded. Her eyes flickered past him to Wendy and Soos, and she suddenly cried out, "Oh! I know!" She poked her head through the doorway, "Hey guys! Jace 'n Jess! Come in here! We want you to meet some cool peeps!"
Soos was broken from his deep trance listening to that crazy-epic music. "Whoa, yelling inside, what's-" Soos turned from his musically tuned sweeping, and saw the twins standing behind him, "Huh, sup dudes."
"Hey Soos," the twins said and waved.
Footsteps heralded the coming of the recently acquired siblings. Mabel cleared her throat, "Soos, Wendy," Mabel announced loudly as two figures walked inside the gift shop, "Meet our new friends from the woods: Jace and Jessandra! We saved them from a crazed hunter guy!"
"Sup," Wendy waved from the counter lazily.
"Yo! Name's Soos," Soos approached them, a hand extended, which Jace took with his uninjured right for a quick shake before the large man did the same with Jessandra. Soos added a quick, genuine, "Nice hoodies."
Jace smiled, and adjusted his slightly. "Thanks, it's useful for long trips."
Soos chuckled. "I can't believe you guys can wear those outside in the summer," Soos nodded in amazement, "Like, it was hot yesterday, and it's supposed to get even hotter."
Jessandra fired away with her answer, "Well, we're from southern California, so heat doesn't bother us. It's actually quite cold up here," she said, nudging her brother, who was wiping away a bit of sweat from his forehead.
"Yeah, heat isn't a problem," Jace pursed his lips and glared at his sister. He then turned to Mabel, "So, how about that tour? We'd love to look around a place that's world famous!"
Wendy let out a sympathetic groan, "Oh no, they saw the signs?" she asked, and added quietly, "Stan got another two."
Mabel skipped in place, unable to contain all her excitement at spending time with the hottie. "Sure, you guys want to have it now? Or do you need to wash up or anything?" Mabel asked the two.
"Wash up?" Jace repeated, looking to his fingers, which Dipper noted, were very clean.
"Yeah, from the long hiking you two have done," Dipper said forcefully.
Jace blinked, a moment of stress passing his face. He carefully adjusted a smile along his lips and nodded. "Sure! A quick change sounds wonderful," Jace said.
Mabel was right next to Jace in the blink of an eye. "Here," she said, "I'll show you up. Dipper can wait down here like a lamer," Mabel poked her tongue at her brother, who glared back.
There weren't many things that got Mabel moving like the possibility of cute boys. Sure, she would help them to a private space, so that Jace could undress in private, and Mabel was, as always, the perfect and good host. Deep inside though, she had an ulterior motive to all of this. The twins' room had an older style lock on their door, one that if you found the right angle, could see all the way through. Mabel was a little too excited about this handsome faced man to let pass a chance to allow a single peek through the door, if only just a small peak. Nothing too weird – but she had to know if the man had abs. It wasn't as if she was going to burst in and stare him down; she just wanted a quick look into what lied under those thick, baggy clothes.
"Up here," Mabel waved them ups the stairs, biting a lip tightly in excitement.
Jessandra spied at Mabel; eyes sharp as a hawk. "You okay?" Jess asked her.
"Yup!" Mabel waved their worry off, rubbing her red lip, "Just stepped up and spoke at the same time! Pfft, clumsy me."
Jace was quick to console Mabel. "I wouldn't say you're clumsy," Jace told her, "You have a strength to your step, like a dancers glide. Not to mention, kicked that man's face."
Mabel, giddy in multiple ways, resisted many urges to pounce upon him. "Oh stop it! You sheer scallywag!" Mabel leapt the last three steps in her bubbling excitement. She turned from the stairs towards the rooms, and rounded whirled about to Jess and Jace. "So, here's mine and Dipper's room," Mabel held open the door, "and across from it here is the bathroom. You know, you should use our room first, let your sister wash up if she needs to?" Mabel asked Jace, trying to hide her excitement.
Jace nodded. "Sounds okay to me. Jess, you want the sink first?" Jace asked his younger sister. She merely shrugged. Jace grumbled, "Jeesh, don't be too energetic about it. Thank you, my lady Mabel," Jace bowed as he stepped inside and slowly closed the door. Mabel fought the urge to swoon, but a groan and a door slamming behind her shook her from her pink gooey feelings. That meant, however, that she was alone.
Show time.
Mabel rubbed her hands together, and very quietly approached the door lock. A hungry grin grew across her face as she found the light, and started to look in. There he was, looking around the room with interest. His eyes seemed to naturally gravitate towards Mabel's side, looking at her belongings and few posters that remained from their first visit. Her heart raced as he seemed to enjoy her taste and style, even going so much to nod in approval at some of her old album posters. Then her heart really raced; he started to adjust his hoodie. As he started to lift the sweater gingerly, wincing from the arm, his eyes befell something out of sight on Dipper's side.
His eyes stared right where the desk was. Mabel muffled her mouth as she gasped. She and Dipper had completely forgotten to put away the blue batteries. They were out and open to view, glowing away like there was no tomorrow. Jace, like any sane person, stared at them with uncertainty. What could she do? Should she run in forgetting something and just take those out of sight?
Then the door opened behind her suddenly. Jess asked quickly, "Where do you keep the so – what are you doing?" she asked Mabel, who hadn't moved from her keyhole fast enough.
Electricity jolted through Mabel and she shot out at the accusatory tone. She grasped the handle of her door mid-jump, in a poor attempt to ground herself. Yet the door swung open, and all she managed to do was fling herself in and plant herself, face down, in her own bedroom. Jace yelped and jumped away. Mabel was able to look up from the floor. What she saw… wasn't making much sense. She had to have hurt her head a tad more than she thought.
Jace was much more colorful than she remembered. Along his arms were streaks of bright neon green, gold, oranges and dark blues in an intricate pattern. Mabel tried blinking; maybe the light behind the window was causing a weird effect on his arms. Post blink, it was still there. In fact, it looked clearer.
They were feathers. Feathers all along his arms. Even by his ears and the back of his neck- there were beautiful, shiny feathers all along his body.
Jace was acting as if his arms and face were parts of the body to be shamed off. He desperately tried covering himself up as he shrilly exclaimed, "What are you doing!?" and he desperately tried grabbing at his dropped hoodie.
Mabel, slowly standing back to her feet, gasped. "Oh... my... god. You're-"
Jess rushed into the room, standing between Jace and Mabel. "It's just a costume!" she declared with all but the maximum amount of desperation a voice of her size could squeeze out. Jess explained rapidly, "We just wear it because it's part of a family tradition! They aren't actually part of our body!"
Mabel's eyes widened further, and she turned to Jessandra. "Our body!?" Mabel gasped. Jessandra looked like she was about throw up, realizing what she had just admitted.
Jace murmured angrily, "Good going, sis."
Mabel stepped closer to them, all having forgotten her embarrassing spill. "You're eagle-people!? That's so freaking cool!" Mabel ran to close the door behind her, and then turned back after they area was secure. The siblings looked at Mabel like how anyone else might look at a human with arms and necks filled with long, beautiful feathers: shock.
Jace asked Mabel, "Wait... that's it? That's all the reaction you have?"
Mabel was almost vibrating with energy. "Well, no, I'm still way, waaaay excited," Mabel admitted, "But that makes sense- you're not walking around, you're flying around, aren't you! And when you hurt your arm, you could just fly away from that jerk could you?"
Jess stepped to Mabel, looking up at her. "But... but you're just a normal human. You should be freaking out that anyone has feathers coming out of their arms."
Mabel snorted, waving a dismissive hand through the air. "Well, dating a merman kind of changes your perspective of 'normal'," Mabel told them slyly, and they both had their mouth fall open.
"You know people like us?" Jessandra asked.
"You're dating?" Jace asked.
Mabel nodded. "Of course! And no," she said to Jace with authority, "Mermando and I broke up a long time ago. Being a prince of his kingdom kind of put him into an arranged marriage. But yeah – Dipper and I have met tons of people like you before! So," Mabel eagerly eyed the two of them, "What do you call yourselves?"
Jess looked back to her brother. Jace, looking crestfallen, sighed and dropped the hoodie. "We're harpies," Jace told her slowly, "Bird people."
It could have been any name he told Mabel. She was too busy looking at his coordinated plumage to really care about their identification. "You have literally the prettiest arrangement of feathers I have seen on anything," Mabel told Jace as she walked over to his uninjured arm, and stroked his feathers. Jace gasped and stepped aside.
He stammered with blushing cheeks, "Y-y-you don't have to do that."
"Did I hurt you?" Mabel asked, worried she may have pulled one out, "Gosh dang it-"
"No, you didn't! That just, uh," Jace looked away, very red in the face, "It felt nice."
"Oh! I, uh," Mabel put a hand to her mouth, trying her best to keep it together, "Sorry! I think? Yeah, sorry-"
"What are those?" Jessandras voice barely registered for Mabel. It was enough for her to glance towards the girl. She was pointing towards the desk. From a beautifully awkward moment, Mabel suddenly felt the icy talons of stress rake their way across her mind.
"Shoot!" Mabel growled and stomped over to the desk, picking up the three sticks, and shoving them into a drawer quickly, ignoring the desire to run around making 'vroomy' sounds. As their faint light vanished, she spun around and grinned, "Just a little project me and Dipper were working on. Nothing weird or unusual, I promise you that!"
"Uh huh," Jessandra nodded, entirely unconvinced with Mabel's assurance.
Mabel brushed her hair, eying Jace. "Oh man, you guys," Mabel stepped forward, "Dipper and the others will freak out when they hear you're actually harp-"
"No!" the two shouted.
Mabel was taken aback at their outburst. She told them, "But Dipper and I are all about this sort of thing! He's usually the one who starts looking for people like you: just to meet with them and see what they're like."
Jace frowned and shook his head. "We can't have people know there are harpies in this town," Jace said, adopting a new tone; one of formality and authority, "If they did, more hunters would arrive to find us."
Mabel hummed. "So, he wasn't just chasing you two away," Mabel nodded slowly, stroking her chin in thought. Dipper had been right after all.
Jess quickly piped up with, "He wanted our feathers! We're not exactly your normal bird species, so a collector would pay a high price for these," she raised her sleeves, and bright brown and golden feathers extended from her arms.
"Wow," Mabel gasped as she saw Jessandra's arms as well, "But really guys, Dipper would love to know-"
"Tell us what those three glowing things were," Jessandra offered suddenly, "And we'll let you tell him our secret."
"We will?" Jace asked his sister. She elbowed him in the stomach. "Gah!" he coughed, and nodded, "Yeah, fair deal."
Tempting offer, Mabel thought. After all, a little information exchange couldn't hurt? Show me yours and I'll show you mine? Then again, Dipper may be excited to find out about harpies, but he would be furious about having his secrets with Mabel betrayed without his consent. That, and if Grunkle Stan found out they included anyone else after he told them not to, especially after that fiasco with Tambry and McGucket, he'd be furious with the twins. Sadly, she would have to pass on their offer.
Mabel resigned her chance of telling Dipper and told them, "Okay, fine; your secret is safe with me."
Jace smiled at her peacefully. "Thank you, Mabel," Jace stepped forward, sincerity in his eye," I'm glad we can trust you." Mabel grinned and felt her stomach roil with excitement.
"Trust, right," Jessandra prodded her brother's back, "Because she totally wasn't peeking into the lock earlier."
"Oh, look at the time," Mabel spun around to the door as fast as her legs let her, "I need to be downstairs, waiting for you two to finish up! Haha!" she opened the door, and peeked her head back inside, "Remember, secret safe!" she winked over-dramatically and closed the door behind her. Rumbling down the stairs in a rush, she let all the tension flow out of her with a large breath. It was going to be hard keeping this secret, but a promise was a promise.
She turned for the gift shop, where Dipper was talking to Wendy.
"And it was pretty awesome, I don't even know really how I did it; I felt that turning and twisting in one way would give me the moment to, well," Dipper mimed the action of his kick with his fingers, "Boom, like that."
"And this guy had a gun on you?" Wendy asked him as she turned a page, looking between him and 'Disregarding Work Weekly'.
Dipper nodded. "Mostly. He was turning away from Mabel when I got the jump on him. He was going to shoot at her, what else was I going to do?" Dipper told her, an expectant smile on his face.
"Sounds pretty cool dude," Wendy gave the teen a congratulatory punch on the shoulder. Dipper's eyes gleamed and he stared back.
Mabel marched over. "Bragging about how you can't keep up with me in a race?" Mabel asked, having Dipper whip around to her, pink in the cheeks.
"You took a while up there," he told her, "Spying on them or something?"
Mabel lied a little too well for her own comfort. "Nah, just helping Jess find some hand sanitizer," Mabel shrugged. Dipper turned away, clearly not giving it another thought. It at her up how much he trusted her.
"So, what's the plan then?" Wendy asked the two of them, putting down the magazine, "You going to include them in the search for answers for those blue things?"
Dipper shook his head and said heavily, "We need to keep them out of it."
"Yeah," Mabel said as she deflated, "Grunkle Stan was probably right. This is our nutty adventure to solve, and getting others involved isn't going to help them."
"Mabel?" a voice called from the stairs. The twins turned to find the siblings approaching the bottom of the stairs. Back to fully clothed, they eyed Mabel and Dipper carefully as they approached. Jace asked eagerly, "So, how about that tour, huh?"
"Heck yes!" Mabel cheered, and turned to Dipper, "How about you, Dippy-dotty?"
"No thanks," Dipper growled at his sister as Jess giggled.
Jess, who looked between Mabel and Dipper, cleared her throat. "Uh, I'll I think I'll pass too," Jessandra also said, "Not feeling like looking at a bunch of stuffed animals."
Jace defended his desire to explore. "They're not stuffed animals," Jace told her, "They're mysteries of the world and beyond our own!"
Jess, unimpressed, grumbled, "The only mystery this building has is how you can fall for it."
As Jace scowled at his sister, Wendy snorted. She leaned over to Dipper, and quietly said with a snicker, "I like her, she's got spunk."
Jace fully faced Mabel. "Looks like it's just you and me, my lady," Jace nodded in a bow to Mabel.
She beamed, and gave Dipper a little farewell wave before she wrapped an arm around his shoulder. She declared, "To the mysteries!" The two walked in unison away, deeper into the building.
Wendy, watching the spectacle, joked, "Well, they're hitting it off easily. Wonder how long it'll be until the engagement cards are sent out."
"What?" Dipper and Jess turned to her.
The redhead burst out laughing. "Relax, I'm joking," Wendy told them.
"Ha, good one," Dipper tried to grin, but was still uncomfortable with the idea of his sister really going for a guy so soon. He looked to Jess, who had a furrowed brow. Dipper easily assumed she had the same thought.
After a long sigh, Jess turned to Dipper. She opened her mouth to speak, and then it sealed shut, her cheeks glowing pink. Then, she re-positioned her stance, and looked to Dipper with something of an unconcerned look. "So, uh... do you want to, maybe, go outside and look for stuff? You know, mysteries and things?" Jess tried asking with a strange tone that felt both incredibly eager and very distant and cool.
"I'm okay, thanks Jessandra," Dipper smiled to her.
Her posture sunk a little. "O-okay. I'll just be outside and stuff. You know. In case you want to come outside too. Just letting you know," she said all while walking backwards towards the screen door that led outside, "And want to hang out or... whatever."
"Okay, cool," Dipper told her with a raise of his eyebrows. Jess then stepped outside and out of sight. He mumbled to himself, "Huh. That was a little weird."
Wendy stared at him; an eyebrow cocked. "Really?" Wendy demanded of him, "You of all people think that was weird?"
"What? Why?"
"Dipper, come on, you're kidding me, right?" Wendy asked him.
Dipper became flustered. Had he somehow offended Wendy with something he had done? She seemed amused by it, maybe it wasn't too bad. "Sorry, what are you talking about?" Dipper tried, "I didn't say anything bad, did I?"
"Dipper, there are a ton of signs," Wendy snorted, and started listing off using her fingers, "She blushed when she talked to you, she wants to hang with you, and didn't stop facing you until it became weird. Does any of that sound familiar?"
Dipper stared at the redhead. Something about the way she was saying it all did seem to hit home. Like a memory he had of something special. Or someone. Someone he was speaking to right now. Three years ago. In this very building. Dipper gasped and his eyes widened. She was right: they were tell-tale signs of the same feelings Dipper had for Wendy. She, Jess –
"She likes you, man," Wendy told Dipper with a small grin. Shaking her head in a small, under the breath laugh, added, "Young crush, incoming."
You said it Wendy. Man, Dipper just can't take a hint. Not that he ever could. Then again, he always over-thought things, at least in his attempts to get a certain someone to notice him and like him.
So, Jace and Jessandra. Ten points to whoever can guess what really brought them into Gravity Falls. HINT- it's bird related. ;)
A bit less of an 'exciting episode', but it was crazy at the beginning, and now we have some fun young characters for Dipper and Mabel to chill with... for the next episode. Then we move one. Because life is too fast and no one seems to stick around this town. Except for one guy, and we won't officially meet him until episode ten.
Welp, hope you enjoyed this first half of chapter seven. We're getting close to the end here folks. So enjoy it! :D
(angelic music plays, and EZB is lifted out of his chair by a golden light, out of the window and into the great silver clouds)
Okay, I didn't mean THAT kind of ending! C'mon! Put me down! GAH!
(EZB fades into the light and won't be seen unless you review him.)