Chapter Text
On a beautiful clear winter day, Stanford was trotting through the woods, making his way along the cliffs that surrounded the valley of Gravity Falls. A huge layer of snow covered everything in white, making his own brown feathers stand out amongst the scenery. A huge brown mass moving silently through the threes.
Today, he was alone outside, looking for one of the journals he had lost nearly four years ago. He hoped that the seasonal scenery would help trigger his memory and he would be able to remember which part of the cliffs he had been exploring when he had lost them.
Unfortunately, even if he was in the right season, nothing came back to him. It all looked the same.
He sighed and glanced at the clear blue sky above him… Only for snow to fall on his face.
Yelping in surprise, he took a few steps back away from the cliffs and cleaned his face with one of his paws. Once the snow had been removed, he looked up and glared. A low growl coming up his throat.
If the gnomes think they are being clever!
His growl was cut short when he noticed something dangling from the cliffs. It was too big to belong to a gnome, even their queen, and it’s colours were off. All brown and green as opposed to the red and blue commonly associated with the little mens.
The form yelped and more snow fell down, Stanford sidestepped out of the way. With his enhanced vision, he could clearly see that it was a woman literally hanging for her life. She threatened to fall at any moment if nothing was done.
“Help! Somebody help me! Anybody!”
The griffin started to panic. What could he do? Run for help? No, people were most likely to start to run at him, with pitchforks if he wasn’t lucky. He snarled and started to pace. What could he do, what could he do! He caught sight of his shadow and stopped mid-stepped.
He stared at the huge blue shape resting on the white snow. More precisely, he stared at the flat spot on his back where his wings were resting against his sides. He rolled his head and growled.
He looked back at the women up the cliff. She wasn’t too high, but still high enough that she would hurt herself. He will have to use them to reach her.
Bracing himself, he carefully unfolded his wings and tested them. He could feel all the muscles, he was now used to them moving on his back, stretching and extending as he opened them. He crouched low to the ground, with his wings now closed and jumped.
As soon as he was airborne, Stanford flapped his wings. He felt the strong muscles on his chest pull down his wings, moving him upward toward the women. His stiff flight feathers pushed the air, lifting him higher and higher. Instinctively, his front paws moved closer to his chest and his hind leg raised with his long tail, giving him a more slim and streamlined shape. The tail feathers he had just behind his hind legs opened like a vail and helped him steer. He quickly passed the treetops.
His flight was sloppy, what with his limbs getting tired and the fact that he hadn’t flown much. Maybe if he practiced more he would become quite the flyer… he shook his head. Now was not the time to think about those things, the cliff was coming in fast… too fast!
He yelped as he crashed into the side of the cliff, just below the lady. He scrambled, kept flapping his wings and dug his claws into the hard rock wall to stabilize himself.
“What the..?” A feminine voice came above him. “Who are yo-AAAH!”
She lost her grip and fell. She quickly passed him. Stanford didn’t think; he acted.
He pushed himself away from the cliff, closed his wings to gain speed and followed the women down.
As soon as he was closed enough, Ford grabbed the young woman with his front paw. He grunted, he had never flown with a load before. He opened his wings and felt the wind pushed against his feathers. He felt as if his wings would be torn off. He quickly readjusted his position, strengthened his body and dived toward the ground.
He gained speed and just before he could reach the treetops, he shifted his wings and flew straightforward. He spotted a small clearing and steered toward it.
As he was coming closer, Stanford realized that he was coming in too fast to execute a proper landing, especially with a cargo. He slowed down and dropped the women once he was closed enough to the ground. He looked behind to make sure she was alright. She seemed frazzled but in one piece. He sighed in relief and turned around.
He barely missed the tree and crashed in the bushes next to it.
I need to learn how to land , he thought bitterly as the world kept spinning around him. He was sprawled uncoordinated on his back in a snowbank. He closed his eyes and wished everything would stop moving.
“Oh my gosh! Are you all right?” A voice near him said.
Ford groaned and slowly opened his eyes.
A round shape was standing just above him. It was mostly brown but had a clear spot surrounded by something pinkish shouldering it. He blinked a couple of times and the upside down face of a young ginger woman with blue eyes came into focus. He turned his head until she was right side up and stared.
She had shoulder length straight dark strawberry blonde hair. The woman was wearing a brown coat and had a red scarf around her neck. She wore a bright green sweater with plant patterns all over and blue jeans. Her boots were grey and had some sort of skin sewed to the ankles. The word druid came to Stanford when he looked at her.
She smiled and extended a hand toward him.
It took Stanford a moment before he realized what was happening. He panicked, scrambled to his feet, stepping on one of his wings in the process, and backed away from her.
Why isn’t she afraid! Plus I shouldn’t be seen!
He quickly turned with the intention to run back to the house.
“Wait!” She shouted.
Despite his better judgement, he stopped mid-stride, one of his paws hanging in the air. He glanced over his shoulder warily.
“You just saved my life… You should be rewarded!” She pulled out a satchel Stanford hadn’t realized she had. She searched in her bag for a moment before shouting triumphantly. “Here you can have this!”
His curiosity peaked, Stanford fully turned around and cautiously stepped back to her.
The woman was holding what appeared to be a small flower pot with an even smaller sprout in the middle. Ford looked closely and tilted his head. He didn’t recognize that plant.
“It’s a special small Ivy plant.” She explained. “It’s not much, but somehow I think it suits you.” She gave him a bright smile and held the pot close to his face.
Ford frowned and looked at the women and the plant alternatively.
That’s a nice thought but how does she expect me to carry this?
“Anna!” Another female voice echoed through the woods. “Anna, where are you?”
The woman turned her head. “Over here! Ria, I’m here!”
Another woman, with short ginger hair wearing a winter hat came into view and ran towards them. A huge dark brown coat floated behind her with a leather satchel and she wore a grey turtleneck. He could spot the pommel of a sword poking out of her left shoulder. Her pants were a marine blue and her boots had steel toes. She resembled a ranger from his DDnD game if Ford ever saw one, all that was missing was a quiver and a bow.
Stanford observed them both. They seemed to be close in age.
“Oh thank goodness! I thought ya’d fallen off the cliff.” She was out of breath and hung her head between her shoulders for a moment. She raised her head, adjusted her own satchel and rested her hands on her hips before looking directly at Stanford. “Now, what do we have here?”
“This gentle fellow saved me from the cliff and I’m rewarding him with this ivy plant.” Anna explained proudly.
The other woman, Ria Ford remembered, crossed her arms over her chest and stared at them. She wasn’t fazed by Ford’s presence whatsoever and simply raised an eyebrow. “And how’s he supposed to carry it?”
Anna’s eyes widened at the realization. “I hadn’t thought of that.”
“Course ya didn’t, that’s why you’re still training and I’m the witch.” She said as she searched her satchel until she found a small golden tread. She handed it to Anna. “Here, tie this around his neck and it should do the trick.”
Anna took the tread and neatly tied it around the pot before stepping toward Stanford. “Could you please lower your head?” She asked politely.
Ford obeyed while trying to process what was happening. Those women were witches and weren’t questioning who or what he was. Well, since they were witches he probably wasn’t the weirdest thing they ever saw. What surprised him the most was the familiarity and easynes they were talking to him. They didn’t see him as a monster.
Can they see my soul?
He didn’t have time to process that possibility before Anna tugged at the now fastened tread around his neck. “There this should hold on tight until you get back to your home.”
The two women turned around and started to walk away, going deeper into the woods. Before completely disappearing out of his sight, Anna turned around one last time. “Oh! The plant will bloom in about ten days and a flower should blossom for a day or two after that! Thought you’d want to know.” She waved before vanishing behind the threes.
It took Stanford a moment for his brain to catch up to what had just happened. He scrambled to his paws and ran to where he had last seen them but when he turned the corner of the three they were gone. No traces of them whatsoever. If it wasn’t for the small pot hanging around his neck, he wouldn’t have believed he ever met someone.
Disappointed, he turned around and headed back to his home, his present dangling around his neck.
In ten days it’ll bloom? I could give it to Stan as a Hanukkah present.
Contended, the griffin trotted through the woods.
Once he got home, Ford went to the basement to hide his little plant. He didn’t know if he would move it later but it would stay there for the time being. After placing the plant in a corner where his brother rarely went and putting some boxes before completely conceiving it, he went back to the surface to the back porch and waited for his twin’s return, curled up into a ball watching as snowflakes started to fall gracefully from the sky.
“Well it’s official! I’m on holiday break for the next three weeks!” Stan exclaimed one night. “No more essays, reports and studies to hand out. Nope! Just sleep for me, sir.”
Stanford huffed in amusement and chirped with his twin.
This means they were going to spend the next few days together and have a somewhat normal holiday celebration together. Nothing much but they had both agreed to take it easy for the next week or so and enjoy some holiday seasonal activities. At least, any activity Ford could participate in near the house. Although, ice fishing wasn’t completely out of the picture since Gravity Falls lake was pretty much deserted this time of the year.
Ford was excited to give the little pot to Stan once it would have bloomed and he suspected his twin had also found something for him that he would enjoy.
Needless to say, both brothers planned on relaxing and having some small holiday celebration for just the two of them.
Ten days later
Ford woke up cold which was unusual, since for the past two years, he hadn’t experienced any feeling of cold.
His feather coat had always kept him warm all year long, especially during the winter seasons. One of the few perks of being turned into a huge owl-griffin, the cold never bothered him anymore. Even when the temperature dropped near zero degrees, he didn’t feel a thing, just as most days.
This morning, somehow, Stanford did feel cold. He sighed.
Odd… Maybe I left a window open?
Stanford grumbled and was surprised how it wasn’t as deep as he was used to. He curled tightly on himself but instead of finding a coat of feather he was met with something smooth and featherless. He frowned inwardly.
What is going on?
Ford tried to test his limbs to make sure that everything was alright but when he tried to roll his wings shoulders he couldn’t. His normal shoulders rolled but there weren't any more muscles and limbs attached to it. He concentrated on his tail next but couldn’t feel the vertebrates that extended at the end of his spine.
What is happening?
He opened his eyes and blinked a couple of times, trying to get the world around him into focus. The sun wasn’t even up but the sky seemed to be clearing up. He could vaguely see a lighter blue peeking out of his window. Which was odd, he should be able to see clearly what was surrounding him. Instead all he managed to see were fuzzy dark shapes and a lighter distorted one where his paws should be.
He scowled and brought the appendages closer to his face to have a better look. It was only a few inches from his eyes when he managed to see clearly what it was.
His eyes opened wide in bewilderment.
Staring back at him wasn’t a huge clawed furry paw but a six fingered human hand with normal fingers and pink nails.
Entranced, Stanford turned his hand over and marveled at the sight. He clenched it and wiggled his fingers, excitement growing in his chest.
He could feel a smile tugging up on his lips, actual human lips. His eyes became watery and a wet laugh escaped him. He cupped his hand over his mouth, running his tongue on round human teeth, and tried to calm down, scrunching his eyes and letting tears stream down his face.
Let not this be a dream.
His breathing had started to come quicker as the realization of what happened to him sunk in.
He was human, by some miracle he was human again.
He curled tighter on himself, hugging his sides with his arms and sobbed happily on the floor for a few minutes before composing himself enough to stand on two legs.
Two wobbly human legs that managed to get him up the stairs to his twin’s room.
For his first school holiday break in years, Stanley Pines expected to be able to have a lazy morning and wake up near noon.
But apparently the world had other plans.
Stan was sleeping peacefully, snoring loudly and sprawled hazardously on his bed with his covers only resting on his ankles when something jumped on his bed and pulled him up tightly.
“What… What’s happening!” Stan stirred awake, his fist already up, he had been apprehended too many times when he was homeless, old habits die hard. He blinked a couple of times when he realized that the person on him wasn’t restraining him but only giving him a very strong hug.
He froze. This was definitely a person hugging him. He felt arms wrapped around him and hands clutching the back of his head. Stan heard soft sobs coming from the person’s face, which was hidden in his chest where wet spots were forming. A soft tuft of brown hair was brushing his chin. Yes, that was a human hugging him.
That’s impossible, everything is locked. There’s only me and Ford in the house and Ford is…
Stan gulped and gently pried the person away from him to get a better look at it’s face.
“Stan… Stanford?” He whispered as he got a good look at the person in front of him.
He couldn’t believe it. He must have been dreaming.
Staring back at him was a face similar to his but with red rimmed eyes and tears and smiling broadly at him. Brown curly hair encircled his features, if it wasn’t for the fact that it was slightly longer than Stan’s at the moment, it was a perfect copy of his face. The only difference is that he had a cleft chin.
Staring back at him was his brother. His human brother.
Stanford laughed. It was deep and uncertain but it was the most beautiful sound Stan could ever hope to hear. He lunged forward and hugged his brother tightly. His twin returned the hug immediately.
They broke apart a few minutes later.
“Ford.. How..? What? How are ya human?” Stan managed to get out before his throat completely closed up and he felt a lump form in it. He blinked the wetness that threatened to stream on his face quickly from the corner of his eyes.
Ford shrugged and smiled. “I-I don’t kn-know. I-I woke u-up like th-this.” He stuttered. The words came out slowly and awkwardly from his mouth.
I guess going from grunts and hoots to words and sentences must be difficult.
“There must’ve be something ya did recently that resulted in…” Stan motioned to his twin’s whole appearance. “This.”
Stanford frowned and thought for a moment. Staring blankly in front of him. Stan chuckled.
He’s still thinking like an owl.
Stan let him sort his thoughts out and admire his brother’s form sitting in front of him. His hair was long, almost looking like a mane resting on his shoulder. He looked a bit thin, maybe giving him a meal every few days wasn’t a good idea, but not underweight. Ford was bare chest and shivering a little. Stanley frowned, glanced downward and immediately looked away. His cheeks are already turning pink.
Sweet Moses.
He turned back to his brother and opened his mouth to say something but before any sound could escape his lips, Stanford jumped off the bed and started to stride out of the room.
“The-the plant! The-the flower! A-a few da-day ago a wo-woman gave it to-to me!” His brother started to ramble to himself.
Stan shook his head, speaking might not come easily to him but rambling sure came back fast. Before he could pass the door’s threshold, he called out to him.
“Stanford!” His brother turned his head toward him, an inquiring look on his face. Stan chuckled. “Put on some clothes first.”
Ford glanced downward and his cheeks turned tomato red in an instant.
After both twins got dressed, two years of not wearing any clothes Ford found them a tad restraining, they walked down to the basement.
Stan laughed when his brother went up to the back door and opened it.
“Hey, Big Bird, you fit in the elevator now.” He teased.
Ford hunched his shoulders for a moment before closing the door and walking back to his twin. His cheeks turned red.
“I-I didn’t think ab-about that.” He said while following Stan to the stairs leading to the basement. He pouted and glanced sideways at his brother. “I-I am no lon-longer a bird, St-Stanley.”
Stan just smiled and rested a hand over Ford’s shoulder. “Physically no, but I get the feeling you and your big brain hadn’t caught up to that yet.” He answered while poking Ford on the forehead making him go cross eyed.
His twin waved his hand away and adjusted the pair of glasses still intact they had been lucky to find and keep two years ago. It was a good thing too that some of his old clothes were still around and that they still fit him. Although, they did seem to be a bit tight around his shoulders but they will have to do it for the time being. It looked like even in bird shape, Stanford had grown a bit. Until they figure out why this happened, they were good enough.
They were now waiting in the elevator, both of them standing up. Stan couldn’t help but marvel at the fact that his twin was human again. It was something he thought he wouldn’t see for a long time. He felt a bit sad. He was back in school to help him but if his problem was already fixed, what was the point? What would happen to him? Would Ford want him to stick around or would he have to leave?
His worry must have shown on his face, because Stanford looked worriedly at him. “Is-is something o-on your mi-mind?”
Stan rubbed the back of his head. “Yeah… Hum… if you are cured, where does that leave me?” He looked down at his feet, he felt defeated. “What are my efforts worth?”
Stanford made a little whining noise with his throat before stepping closer to his twin, resting his head on his shoulders. “I-I don’t want yo-you to leave, if tha-that what’s your won-wondering. Be-being apart for to-to long.” He raised his head and smiled sadly at Stan. “Be-beside, I do-don’t think thi-this is a per-permanent thing.”
Stanley raised an eyebrow. “How so?” He asked while they reached the bottom floor.
The door opened and Stanford stepped outside the elevator. He strode directly to a darker corner of the basement, as if he knew what he was looking for. He crouched down, moved some boxes and stood back up with a little potted plant in his hands that had a golden thread around it’s vase. He presented the start to Stan who carefully took it in his hands.
The plant looked like the hanging type, Stan wasn’t sure which one precisely, he was studying biology but not plants at the moment. It seemed in pretty good shape, considering it was in a basement with poor lighting. It’s leaves were all green and in good health overall. It had even sprouted a flower. A single five golden petals in the middle of the leaf. Stan arched an eyebrow.
“I ain’t no expert but… that’s an unusual color for a flower, isn’t it?”
Ford nodded. “I-I got it a coup-couple of days ago. As a-a reward for sa-saving someone.”
“You saved someone?” He said with a hint of doubt in his voice.
He nodded enthusiastically. “She-she was hanging off a-a cliff, she fell-fell and I cau-caught her. Thi-this is for than-thanking me.” He motioned to the plant. He frowned for a moment before his whole face illuminated. “She sa-said it wou-would bloom in te-ten days and the flo-flower would last a da-day or two afterward. She ad-added that it-it was a special Iv-ivy plant.”
Stan arched an eyebrow. “Special how?”
Stanford motioned to his body with an excited smile. “ I-I think this plant is why I-I am like this. It mu-must be magical. She-she seemed to be a wit-witch.”
“So ya took in a flower from a strange witch because she said so?”
The ex-griffin blinked just as the owl he used to look like, confused. “It wa-was a gift. You do-don’t turn down one. And sh-she tied it to-to my neck.” He rubbed the back of his head nervously. “I-I thought I’d give it to yo-you once it bloo-bloomed.”
“A day or two..?”
Stan stared at the plant between his hands. It was a lovely sight, that’s for sure but he didn’t know what to do with it. Well, he did have some idea where to start with it. He turned around and started to walk to the counter where some of Ford’s equipment had been salvaged after his whole incident. Before he could get too far, a warm hand tentatively grabbed his shirt and gently pulled. He turned to see Ford looking worriedly at him.
“What’s the matter, Sixer?” He asked.
“Wh-what do you pl-plan on doing?” Ford said slowly and pointed to the plant with his chin. He let go of his shirt and played with his fingers.
Stanley raised an eyebrow. “Run some tests on it. This plant could help in finding a permanent cure for your… um, situation. You said it’ll bloom for two days tops. I guess it’s safe to assume that’s how long you’re gonna stay like this.” He stared at his brother who avoided his gaze. “You don’t want to run tests?” He whispered.
Stanford looked down and deflated. His head hung low between his shoulders. His arms were limp by his sides. He took a deep breath and closed his eyes tightly, but Stan could still see something shining in the corner of them behind Ford’s longer than usual bangs. He inhaled sharply before locking eyes with Stan.
Stan’s heart could have shattered in that moment.
“I-I don’t know… if-if I want to waste ti-time… down he-here running te-tests.” He said between shaky breaths. “I-I know it could be a-a… a huge step for-forward to help me-me… but if-if it’s only for two…”
Ford didn’t finish his sentence before his legs gave way and he fell to the ground. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed loudly. His cries echoing one the walls around them.
Stanley rushed back to him, placed the plant on the ground and brought his brother into a tight hug. Ford didn’t waste time and burrowed into his chest, getting his clean shirt all wet again but Stan didn’t care. It’s just stuff, it can always be changed and cleaned. He cupped the back of Stanford’s head into his own and gently stroked his long brown hair; they did have the foresight of tying them into a ponytail for the time being. Stan also rubbed circles into his distressed brother to soothe him. The only thing he could do until his brother calmed down.
After a few minutes, Ford’s breath became more steady and he managed to extract himself from Stan’s chest without being pried out of it. He rubbed the heel of his hands into his eyes, removing any remaining traces of tears on his face. He sniffed a couple of times before taking a deep breath.
“I-I’m okay. I’m okay fo-for now.” He said quietly. He blinked and looked at Stan. “I-I don’t want to st-stay cooped up in-in the house. If-if I have only two da-days as a human, I wa-want to spend them wi-with you. Out there.” He looked down embarrassed by his confession. “It-it’s stupid” He added barely above a whisper.
Stan sighed. “It’s not stupid if it’s what you want to do.” He grabbed the plant in one hand and helped his brother up with the other.
It’s not what he would have hoped to do but if his brother wanted to enjoy this… this gift that had been given by some sort of kind soul who was he to stop them. He will not look a gifted horse, or ivy plant, in the teeth or fern.
They both walked to the closest counter where Stanley rested the plant before herding his brother back to the elevator.
“It’s okay if you don’t want to spend the day in here or around the house.” Stan reassured him. “Will you still stick around for breakfast at least?” He teased with a mischievous grin.
Ford raised his head with a hopeful smile on his lips. “Do yo-you think i could ha-have coffee?”
Stanley laughed and ruffled his hair. “Anything ya want Stanford. Anything ya want.”