ghostharasser | Open Post

[Stan and Mabel both check in on him frequently.

Two days is a long time to sleep. They both bring him food and water now and then, in the hopes he might jostle awake enough to eat it. When his fever is at its highest, they get a cool washcloth for his forehead.

Mabel has likely never seen Dipper this sick before. Stan is quick to reassure her though - once his fever goes away, he'll start feeling better in no time.

(Stan and Mabel talk a lot in those two days. Long, anxious conversations over coffee and Mabel Juice, where Mabel wrings her hair more and Stan delivers news both good and bad. He teaches her some tricks. They save a stuffed animal from Dipper's sleepy clutches.)

By the end of the second day, Stan's physically feeling a lot better than he did. The first half of the month is always better for him anyway - he gets further and further from the stupid full moon until he's at peak energy. After the new moon it's all downhill from there.

It's Stan's turn to check on Dipper this time, and he looks surprised when he pops in the doorway.]

Wow, you're actually awake! It's about time!

[He laughs, and leans on the doorframe.]

Feeling any better?

[Dipper has frantically unraveled most of the bandages on his arm by the time Stan greets him, and judging by the way he practically bristles at the sudden sound of his voice, he sure was focused at staring at the scarring.]

[Because that’s all it was, now. Scarring, and a few tender patches of healing skin. Even if he’d been asleep for a week it shouldn’t have healed that much. When he finally looks up at Stan, his eyes are wide, confused and awfully frightened.]

Grunkle Stan, what’s happening to me?

[He knows the answer. He knew the moment the wolf locked it’s jaws on his arm, it was the very last thought running through his head. He’s not stupid, he’s seen movies, read plenty of books, he understands the lore far more than most. It’s pointless to keep playing this denial game that he clung to the entire morning after, where his family scraped his bloody mess of a body off the forest floor. Where he should have been dead, but he wasn’t.]

[And of course now that he can finally think straight again, his mind is rapidly putting together the pieces he struggled with before. Stan’s acceptance of what happened, his suspicious knowledge of scampfires, of treating his injuries, his teeth, and of course the most damning thing of all, and the thing Dipper is only just now able to grasp, his scent.]

[Dipper knows the answer, but he needs to hear it from Stan.]

[Oh, geez. Guess it's time for talking. The false good cheer fades from Stan's face, and he shuts the door behind him. It's not anything Mabel doesn't know at this point, but it still feels better to make the whole thing feel private.

He crosses the room and sits on the edge of Dipper's bed, trying to think of the best way to tackle a question that they both already know the answer to. Eventually, he heaves a sigh.]

What's happening to you...is something that happened to me well over thirty years ago.

[He leans down and pulls up the pant leg of his suit, revealing an absolutely massive scar on his calf, as though something bit his leg and tried to rip the whole thing off. It won't be the first time Dipper's seen it - Stan frequently walks around the house in his underwear, and has an absolutely obscene amount of scars on his arms and legs, even a few that poke out from his chest. But the revelation gives all of them new context. He's spent the whole summer lying about them whenever the kids asked.]

I was lucky to get away with my life, but...that life hasn't been the same since then. And it was already pretty weird, so that's saying something.

[There’s a lot to unpack in just those few sentences. The way Stan immediately drops his wise-cracking and talks to him like an actual person. The way he’s being ...strangely candid. Honest? It seems honest, which is so not the usual Stan Pines, Dipper is used to.]

[Even if he’s thankful for it, he still finds it weird.]

[And of course the answer that both of them new but needed to have out in the open. Dipper watches him come to the bed and sit, pulling up his pants leg to show him the scar he’s seen a dozen times already, and confirm everything Dipper had already suspected. No lying, no arguing, he just. Tells him. It’s probably the strangest part of this entire situation.]

I knew it.

[He falls quiet, before trying to gather up his words and continue.]

I’d seen the signs weeks ago, but no one wanted to believe me. Soos wouldn’t budge, even, and he’s usually so ready to help me with the supernatural.

[Which ...makes him wonder now if he knew and was protecting Stan. He’ll have to chat with him later.]

All this time, I knew you had to be lying about not believing in the supernatural.

[It’s. Nice to be validated after all this time, is what Dipper is getting at.]

[Stan doesn't comment on Soos. He's...sort of suspected that Soos knew for a while, but he showed it in the weirdest ways. Things like bringing him coffee the morning after a full money, or being glad to come open the Shack so Stan would get some extra shut-eye. And apparently, covering for him when the kids started asking about him. It feels weird though, that someone would go out on a limb for him that way.]

Of course I was lying! I literally lie for a living! This town's probably the weirdest place in the whole country, but I know better than anyone that supernatural junk...it can be dangerous. I didn't want you kids anywhere near it, so I figured if you thought it was all fake...

[That they would stay away from all of this and the kids would survive the summer without getting bit by the mailman or kidnapped by gnomes or whatever the weird of the week happened to be.]

...well. It doesn't matter, 'cause I didn't do a good enough job of lying about it anyway. And now you're stuck paying for it.

[If Stan could have done something to prevent all of this from happening, he would have done it in a heartbeat. But, because he was down in the basement waiting for the full moon, he missed the kids heading out to check out the scampfire. He didn't tell them not to go out on a full moon, because that sounds nuts from anyone who doesn't believe in the supernatural.]

[It leaves a bad taste in his mouth, Stan acting like all of this is his fault. Dipper knows better, because he knows that he’s exactly the kind of person to ignore warnings of danger for his own curiosity. He knows he never would have believed the supernatural was ‘fake’ because of the journal, and because of his own desire for the supernatural to be real.]

No.

[Dipper shakes his head.]

I don’t think I would’ve ever bought that, no matter how well you tried to sell it to me. I’ve always believed, and it probably would have made me want to prove it to you even more.

[Because the one thing they for sure have in common, is how stubborn they both are.]

This isn’t your fault, Grunkle Stan.

[Stan appreciates it, he really does. But does that mean he believes it? Not a chance.

Still, he slings an arm around Dipper's shoulder in a side-hug. It means more than he can actually express with words.]

Yeah, well. Either way, it's still something we've gotta deal with. But at least you've got a good month before you really need to worry about anything. And in the meantime, you've got me. I don't know as much about the technical mumbo-jumbo, but I can still tell you what I know.

[And that's got to be worth something, right?]

[Well, if Stan has thirty years of experience with being a werewolf, then yeah, it’s definitely worth something. Dipper is honestly relieved that he’s not going to be dealing with this alone.]

Don’t worry, I’m compiling a list of questions as we speak.

[And like, he’s already on page two of his mental journal. One question does stick out to him first, though, because it’s important for another question he has, which he needs straightened out as soon as possible.]

How many werewolves does Gravity Falls have, exactly?

Uh. ...Two? As far as I know? Me and the mailman.

[The mailman is almost certainly a werewolf. They've never outright talked about it, but they have a certain understanding...or, at least Stan thought they did.]

There could be others, but I dunno. It's not like we hang out. The sensible werewolves hide on the full moon, y'know?

[So the only werewolves he knows are himself, and anyone who's being particularly obvious about it.]

[Dipper is thoughtful, taking that in. Stan can practically see the gears turning in is head.]

So, you definitely weren’t out last night, right?

[It sounds like the answer is yes, which means that it definitely narrows down the suspects of last night’s incident. He had a feeling it was the mailman, but its nice to get some kind of confirmation before he considers maybe throwing a brick through the guy’s window.]

Definitely not. I go down to the--

[He seems to realize mid-sentence that in the process of revealing one secret, he's about to inadvertently reveal another. He tries to backpedal, but the damage is done.]

--I've got a place I go. Mabel can back me up; I was here at the Shack when she came looking for me.

[Dipper doesn’t even try to hide the way he raises his eyebrow at that blatant backpedal.]

Right, so then that narrows down who attacked me.

[Because even if they only know of one other person in town, it doesn’t mean there couldn’t be more. However, Dipper is certain he has some damning evidence. His voice drops some, because the memory is still fresh and awful.]

I got a pretty good look at the other wolf, thanks to the scampfire. I’m ...about 80% sure it was red.

[That is damning evidence. Stan can feel his teeth sharpen and that gold appears in his eyes for just as a second as the thought of murdering the mailman and flinging him off a cliff with his teeth creeps into his mind. There's a low growl in the back of his throat.

He shakes his head though, and with a blink or two the gold is gone.]

Yeah, that's the mailman alright. I mean, I've never seen him as a wolf, but if he's anything like me he'll be red all over, 'cause of his hair.

[Because again, Stan does the right thing and hides himself like the monster he is instead of running free in the woods once a month biting people like the mailman apparently does!]

[That’s quite a reaction, though not at all surprising. Dipper’s honestly kind of pissed, too! Especially since Stan’s confirmed he’s probably right! But it does set off something in Dipper that catches him off guard. A flood of instincts that both feel alien and familiar. New, but unmistakably his.]

[He mirrors Stan’s growl with one of his own, though probably its much less threatening sounding, and his own eyes flash. He’s not growling at Stan so much as he’s agreeing, and responding to this instinct of this guy threatened their pack and needs to pay that is suddenly very apparent.]

[Unlike Stan, Dipper isn’t able to just shake it off, it takes him a moment to realize what he’s doing, and when he does, he startles with a yelp and clamps his hands over his mouth.]

...Whoa. Okay, that’s going to take some getting used to.

[Even Stan is a little startled, though not scared. It's just...well, he doesn't usually see it on anyone else, and it takes him by surprise to have his irrational wolf sentiments echoed by Dipper.

The reaction when it's over makes Stan laugh though, and he leans over to ruffle Dipper's hair reassuringly.]

Eh, you'll get there. I've had thirty years to perfect this routine!

[Thirty years, and no one to show him the ropes at all. Heck, he doesn't even have the satisfaction of knowing for sure who bit him.]

Sometimes you can sorta shake it out a little, but it takes practice. ...and a lot of undignified blinking like you're trying to get something out of your eyes.

[Ah, hair ruffles. This pleases the suddenly very awake inner wolf. His eyes haven’t faded yet, but he seems to be more relaxed at least.]

I’ll ...try to keep that in mind.

[He’s not exactly looking forward to having to navigate social situations with sudden wolf instincts when his social skills were already abysmal. Ugh, this was going to be such a pain. He doesn’t voice that, though. Instead something else catches his attention.]

[Dipper frowns, and then begins to sniff the air.]

...Wait. What is that.

[He’d sort of noticed it before, but was focused on other things, other scents but now he just caught a huge whiff of ...something pretty foul! It was dirty, a little sour, and sweaty? He leans over to Stan, sniffs him, leans back, wrinkling his nose, but then shakes his head.]

It’s not you. But what-

[There he goes, easing off the bed to continue looking for this smell. It’s somewhere in this room, he’s sure of it.]

[It takes Stan a second to realize what Dipper's doing, or rather what he's smelling that's gotten his attention all of a sudden. That smell is something that Stan's gotten used to, even with his overpowered sense of smell. It's been present in the background all summer long.

So when it finally clicks, Stan looks incredibly amused.]

Oh. Oh, this is rich. I wish I had popcorn!

[He is absolutely not going to give Dipper any hints. He's just watching the kid figure it out for himself, as it he's waiting for a punchline.]

Edited 2020-11-20 16:36 (UTC)

[Dipper gives Stan such a funny look at that, but he’s far too invested now to stop, so he keeps on his search. It’s bothering him now, so he needs to know. Also its a really bad smell? So, he should get rid of whatever it is or it’ll drive him nuts.]

[Stan will be rewarded by watching Dipper sniff all over the room before he figures out how to hone that sense and follow the trail, which finally leads him too...]

[His dirty laundry.]

[The noise he makes once he realizes this is the single most offended noise Stan has heard Dipper make, and seeing how Dipper makes offended noises at many things, this is pretty impressive.]

Are you serious, is that what that really smells like?!

[Hold on a second - Stan's too busy laughing to answer. After a few seconds, he wipes a tear from his eye and stifles the last of his chuckles.]

We've only been trying to tell you all summer! Well-- Mabel more than me, but still!

[What was Stan going to do, say "Actually your dirty laundry reeks twice as much for me, your Werewolf Grunkle Stan!"? It was never going to happen. Better to just pretend it was a normal amount of stinky.]

[Dipper feels like his entire reality came come crashing down around him. Not because of the life-changing werewolf problem, and not because he’s realized just how bad he’s smelled this whole time, but because he has senses now that won’t let him ignore it. He’s furious.]

[Dipper grabs his laundry basket, gives Stan the biggest stink-eye, and then heads right out the door with it. No, this gets fixed now.]

[His first act as a werewolf is to do his laundry. Incredible.]

[Stan doesn't follow right away, but once Dipper's out the door he gets up and listens down the stairs for Mabel's inevitable reaction to the laundry.

She absolutely does not disappoint, and Stan's in stitches again for the second time in the last two minutes. Dipper can probably hear him. Honestly, that isn't even the wolf powers - he's laughing hard enough that Mabel can hear him too.

Once he's got it out of his system he heads downstairs after Dipper. That's probably enough laughing for now, maybe. Kid's still got werewolf ropes to learn and all that.]

Edited 2020-11-22 06:39 (UTC)

[Yeah, yeah, yuck it up. He’s not even going to argue that he doesn’t deserve some of that, after this hideous discovery. Mabel’s reaction is exactly what he expected, and she hollers and hassles him all the way down to the utility room.]

[They actually have a decent conversation while they’re in there, though, free of Stan’s echoing laughter from above. Mabel helps him get the load started and then lets him borrow one of her sweaters after he discovers that his shirt is in just as bad of shape as the rest of his laundry.]

[She asks him about his injuries, and he shows her the healing scars. She yells at him about scaring her and they share a hug while Dipper apologizes.]

[They’ll eventually head out to the kitchen where Dipper’s stomach loudly informs possibly the entire town of Gravity Falls that he is starving.]

[Stan's actually already in the kitchen when they get there, rummaging through the fridge. They haven't had dinner yet, and also Dipper hasn't eaten in almost two days so...yeah, he should probably feed the kids.

He is also, thankfully, done laughing. Maybe he'll snicker a little later when Dipper goes to switch the laundry over, but he's good for now.]

Since you just got up, how's about breakfast for dinner?

[It's a good cheap way to feed Dipper a bunch of red meat, and Mabel's never going to say no to pancakes for dinner.]

[Mabel immediately starts cheering, because yes, obviously she is not going to say no to pancakes for dinner. Dipper lights up, similarly, though his cheering is a little more subdued. He’s understandably a little tired, and kind of dealing with a lot! Still, that doesn’t stop him from scampering into his chair with his twin as they start pounding on the table chanting.]

Pancakes for dinner! Pancakes for dinner! Pancakes for dinner!

[That’s at least incredibly normal. Dipper seems to be taking things at least moderately well. For now.

[For a half a second, everything feels normal. The kids harassing Stan, Stan being a questionable guardian feeding them breakfast for dinner - this could be any normal day, really.

And that's a good thing. It's a stark difference from the first few months Stan was a werewolf, and that's honestly the best he could do for Dipper. Plus it keeps things sort of ordinary for Mabel too.]

Yeah, yeah, hold your horses! Chanting isn't gonna get you your Stancakes faster.

[Not that he actually minds.

Soon enough, there's three platters on the table to serve from. He's made a large stack of pancakes, plus plenty of bacon and a big bowl of "scrambled meat". It's not the classiest breakfast out there, but it's also real hard to mess up breakfast food.]

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