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"So you're sure it's fairies then?" Dipper quietly indulged in his best friend's spiel as he kept his eyes on the road, twilight had slowly sprawled across the horizon as they encroached on their destination. It was going to be dark soon, but this was far from his and Dib's first cryptid hunt together. It was, however, going to be in unfamiliar territory- at least for Dipper. "Yeah, I'm not really sure what attracted them here, but they're definitely new to the area." Dib squirmed as he adjusted his seating, Dipper couldn't help but briefly sneak a glance. He finds the typically self-serious teen in the most ADHD practically-sideways car seat position he could imagine, feet on the storage and his back laid against the car door as he finagled with his camera. silly. He couldn't help but smile as he refocused on the road.
It had been some years since the two first crossed paths one fateful summer. Dib had decided to visit the sleepy Oregon town of Gravity Falls, where Dipper and his sister happened to be making their yearly visit. While he was far from some naive novice, Dib's compulsive tenancies made him rather difficult to work with at times. Nonetheless, the two became fast friends, and learned to appreciate one another's circumstances. Dib's resilience was incredibly admirable, and it was strange knowing most others didn't feel lucky to know him.
Dipper was.. satisfied. With where their relationship was currently. Yep.
"I tried to get a good shot, but I tripped on some roots and they were gone by the time I shook it off." Dib's complaining snapped Dipper out of his rumination. "I remember them pretty clearly through the brush, though. They were sorta incandescent, Like they were too bright to make out their bodies but not bright enough to cast much light on their surroundings. Their wings were- you'll wanna take a right here." A shiver went up the cinnamon-haired boy's spine as his friend suddenly leaned very close and pointed to a dirt path off of the main road. Dipper's reaction time proved a little slow as the sharp turn caused a bit of inertia as they drifted onto the proper route. Dipper let out a shaky breath.
"Ah, my bad. I erm, forgot to tell you its a weird route." Dib uttered a bit quietly, before reaching toward the truck's GPS. "Gah, It's fine." Dipper let out a little chuckle. "I wasn't really paying attention to the road anyways." He could listen to Dib talk for hours.
Snow had begun to thinly coat the countryside, the exburb having diluted into a humble stretch of fenced-off grassland, which itself finally opened into a clearing along the woodland's edge. The rumbling motion of the truck ceased before Dipper opened the door and let the frosty winter air wash over his face, awake and poised for the hunt. The grass was dry and crisp, crunching gently beneath him with every step. He could hear every step of his partn- colleague's behind him as he moved to gather some minor supplies from the trunk. Dipper pushes aside a heater and rummaged through some of his assorted equipment, it was only going to be a short walk so they were going to pack light.
Dib scouted ahead in the dark woods, brushing aside foliage with his hunting knife at an expeditious pace. "Dib, slow down. My legs aren't as long as yours." Dipper saw the light ahead of him come to a halt as Dib turned around and pulsed his flashlight toward him. Dib was always the impatient type. Amused, Dipper momentarily turned off his flashlight and rushed at Dib with a burst of intensity. Thrown off, his companion can only pause for a moment before DIpper springs from the dark and covers the flashlight with his hand. "If you do that, you'll scare the fairies." Dipper said dryly, feeling Dib jump as he covered the light.
"Gagh- well you didn't need to do that!"
"You didn't need to run ahead of me. It's not a race."
Dib shakes off Dipper's grip and points his flashlight to the ground. "Dipper you've been in like a hundred forests, you clearly go faster than that."
"You've fought like a hundred paranormal creatures and still flinched from me running at you."
Dib pursed his lips and sighed, clearly not having an answer for that. They were just having a bit of fun, but Dipper could feel the air shift slightly between them. "Is.. there a reason you're in a rush?"
"No," Dib said with some hesitation. A beat of silence lingered between then before he continued. "I just, well I wasn't sure if they would, you know, still be here. When I came back."
It made sense, Dib had some crazy bad luck when it came to actually documenting his findings.
"Dib, you don't need to worry about it. You know I already believe you."
"Yeah, well- I'd still like you to see it. This is your first time visiting my hometown and nothing interesting's happened yet."
"Didn't that little green plush dog thing break into your pantry and steal all your waffles?"
"That's normal." He remarked, perfectly candid. "That's also not what I mean."
Dipper knew Dib well enough to know he had trouble expressing his feelings. He also knew how often Dib felt outcasted in his own community, which was why he visited so often to begin with.
"Well, you don't need to worry," Dipper felt it was best to console him. "I'll have you know I'm having a great time hanging out with you. Fairies or no fairies" Dib looked up at him. For a moment it was like the light he gained from Dipper's words was reflected in his eyes. "Well, if you say so."
"Yeah, I mean it's a good thing to stop and smell the roses every- mf!" Dipper felt a hand suddenly cover his lips. Dib's gaze had suddenly shifted into something blank and quiet. His grip was tight, and the sudden intrusion was unnerving dipper. But before he could react, Dib slowly turned Dipper's head to the left with some level of force. Weaving through the trees, he saw two turquoise lights, Bright but not too bright, listlessly wafting through the air on their weblike wings. Dib quietly turns off his flashlight as they both crouch down to quietly observe the lights.
"They're different from the ones in Gravity Falls, aren't they?" Dib whispered. He was right, Dipper had already figured these were a unique variety. These looked more like stars converging over a vaguely human form, their enchanting glows waxing and waning as they quietly drifted among the branches. He can't look away. He feels Dib tug on his shoulder. "I think we can get a bit closer." Dipper nods in response, crawling through the foliage.
As he inches closer, he moves a bit faster than he initially expected, accidentally elbowing a leaf on the ground in a loud crunch. The lights perch in response, sitting perfectly still for just a moment. Dipper could feel his heart beat in his chest, not knowing if they would vanish like Dib had described, but instead, one began to flap its wings. It began to drift in the night like a dandelion seed in the wind.
As Dipper's gaze continued to lock with the bright light, his crawl slowly accumulating into a leisurely walk. He weaves through snow coated trees, enamored by how the fairy's wings would meticulously weave past every branch and trunk. Gentle moonlight began to filter through the canopy as the woods filtered out into a serene clearing. Nearing the end of its journey, the fairy floats to the center where a single drab branch grows from the ground.
Dipper paused. He only just now realized how quiet it was.
He looks back, and realizes he's all alone.
As an experienced cryptid hunter, he realizes something is very, very wrong. Somehow, he'd figured that Dib had been behind him that entire time. And now he's in an unknown forest, alone, and off the main path for however long he'd been walking
He looks to the clearing again.
The fairy glows softly. Humbly. As though it were absorbing the moonlight.
The clearing was a pretty wide area, and he was just at the edge of it. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to find a place like this. It'll be easier for Dib to come find him if he just stays here.
Dipper sits at the edge of a rock, and starts absent-mindedly digging into the ground with a stick, waiting for anything to happen.
He glances at the fairy.
It's still there.
He didn't doubt that Dib would find him soon, he's mentioned going to this place a hundred times. Sometimes he'd find bigfoot, sometimes he'd find some cult ritual, but sometimes he would just come here to clear his head. Stars are clearer away from the lights of the city.
Dipper wondered how Dib did it. His eyes tended to be bigger than his stomach, sure, but he never stopped looking toward his dreams, no matter how life got him down. They were sort of similar in that regard, wanting to be known. Wanting to understand. Wanting to be understood.
It was no wonder the unknown was so alluring to them both.
A soft breeze whispered through the trees.
He glances at the fairy again.
He wondered what it would've been like, if he had to live a life more like Dib's.
His family meant the world to him, and Dib was forced into a life that was so isolated.
He could never really have the fortitude he has.
He stands up.
Dipper wanted to savor that light in Dib's eyes. To nurture it. To bask in it. He wanted to feel pain and joy with him. For them to reach for that star together.
His arms stretched, reaching for a dream just outside his reach.
...And just as fast, the earth opened to embrace him, reaching back with brambles burrowing deep into flesh and bone. The gaping wound within the loam yawned open releasing a dense, acrid petrichor. A tepid, humid smother barely masked the frigid winter air, a facsimile of relief as the crack grew deeper. The roots coiled tighter. His jacket soaked up the warm fluid leaking from his arm and back.
His body was guided deeper, and deeper into the crevice, upturned soil reaching his knees, his abdomen, and then his chest as his gaze remained upright, fixated upon the object of his obsession. Like a guiding star, each waxing glow filled his mind, leaving no room for the pain radiating through his body. His eyes grew tired and his head pounded just beneath the surface- he tries to imagine his sister, but his mind is filled. He tries to imagine his Grunkles, his friends, his family, but their faces are buried in the loam, fleeting and immaterial.
...He tries to remember Dib.
For a moment, he looks down.
Vivid yellow eyes line the dark walls of it's bowels, gnawing thorn-like teeth tighten their hold on it's prize. Digestive fluid regurgitates through its cavernous throat and churns within its gullet, slowly seeping into his bloodied clothes.
Dipper prepares for oblivion.
..
....
...
There was a movement, a vibration.
It was only momentary, but it seemed to cause some shift in the roots.
And then, as quickly as the quiet began to set back in, a spasm shoots through Dipper's earthen tomb as a thunderous sound sounded from above. It almost sounded like screaming- no, it was the shuttering of leaves and crackling of branches. The earth twisted and rumbled, roots spurring upwards as the incessant sound of carving foliage. Soil begins to pile on top of Dipper's head as he wearily looks up to see a large branch (a normal branch) being violently kicked and wedged into an opening in the roots with great vehemence. And then, like shucking an oyster, upturned the hinge of the creature's "maw". He sees Dib, himself coiled in brambles, intent on cutting Dipper out armed with nothing but his hunting knife.
This wasn't Dib when hes talking about the unknown with light in his eyes, or even Dib when he's bitingly frustrated with another failed attempt at capturing paranormal evidence.
No, this was something far more severe. A ferocious contempt stained his gaze as he desperately clawed into the tough outer layer of the monster's roots.
Dipper began to squirm through the topsoil, exhausted but emboldened with persistence, and manages to extend his left arm toward him. Dib, through his desperate assault, dug into the soil to try to reach him, grabbing and pulling with every ounce of strength in his body. Dipper groaned as he pulled Dipper's arm, enduring the thrashing thorns of the creature and kicking its trunk. Dipper could feel it gaining its bearings however, his other arm was practically being crushed by the thorny roots.
"D.. Dib, you have to hurry." Dipper's voice was hoarse, not knowing how much strength he had left. Dib took immediate notice, and wearily observed the creature to think of something. In just a moment he let one of his hands go from Dipper's and gripped his knife once more, quickly stabbing it lightly into a weaker spot before using his foot to smash it deep in. While Dipper sunk momentarily, that seemed to do it good as Dib returned his other hand to his attention, using every bit of strength to pull Dipper out as the tree shuttered in pain again, branch shaking as Dipper rose up to his bloodied chest, and finally out of the ground.
Dib held on to him for a moment, both of their hearts pounding out of their chests before he quickly dragged him further away from the tree. His knife was still embedded within its trunk, wedged right into an opening where a hideous yellow eye surfaced. It shuttered one more time before burrowing itself deeper into the ground. Not wanting to stick around to see what happens next, Dib got up on his shaky legs and lifted Dipper onto his shoulder, adrenaline still pumping through them both.
It wasn't a far walk back to the truck, in all fairness. Dib was going as fast as he could considering his own injuries, but as the adrenaline was beginning to wear off, he couldn't help but notice the pain radiating up his right arm.
After a few excruciating moments, The forest cleared up and they were back at the truck. Dib wasted no time quietly opening the trunk and turning on the heater, laying Dipper down. Dipper was still a bit disoriented, but he quickly realized that Dib removing his coat and cleaning up his wounds was meant to be first aid. He'd never felt more physically and mentally drained... but in this moment, being cared for felt very nice.
"Well... I guess I should've picked a better spot.'" He herd Dib mutter. He hadn't realized how quiet it was between them until he spoke.
"Oh, no Dib it's going to be alright" Dipper sighed, still in pain. "You got that thing good. If we're lucky it just burrowed off to die somewhere."
He still seemed uncertain.
"...This isn't your fault."
Dib could only give silence as a response
"...You should be stable, at least." Dib assured.
"Well in that case, can I ask you something?"
"What?"
"Can we look at the stars together before we go?"
Dib was quiet for a few moments, hovering over Dipper.
Then slowly, laid down next to him, close, but mindful of his injured hand.
Dib was right. The stars did look beautiful from here.