[Ch 04, Q&A]

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     I am waiting at the dock long before Noon, still out of breath from my sprint. Swinging my legs off the edge of the pier, I wonder if my leave was too sudden. Would Mabel and the others get worried?

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     I am running to the door, double-triple checking my bag that I have everything I need. I notice Mabel on the couch watching mindless TV. "Mabel! Mabel, there you are! I'mheadinoutdon'taskwhere. TellGrunkleStanandGreatUncleFordthatI'llbeoutforabittodayokay? Great! I'mgonnaleavebeforeyouprocessthissentence! Loveyabye!!" And I slammed the door behind me and left.

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     "Hmm, nah. It was fine." I mumble to myself. I check my back for the nth time like the contents would disappear when I close it.

     "Dipper?" I hear (Y/N)'s voice as she swims up, and can't help but smile excitedly. "Dipper! You came! And you're here early." She beamed with an equally excited smile. I looked at her impressive and sharp teeth distractedly.

     "Yeah, yeah.. I dId." I mentally curse myself stupid puberty voice. When she notices me looking at her teeth, she covers her mouth and looks away. I feel bad immediately. A bright blue overcomes her cheeks as I think of something to say. "Sorry for staring." I say after a moment. "W-Well anyways, I didn't expect you to actually come, you seemed so unsure yesterday." I add quickly, trying to make up for making her uncomfortable.

     (Y/N) hummed an agreement. "Mhm...Yeah, I didn't know if I was wise yesterday for coming to talk to a human in the first place." They say sadly, taking a deep breath. She then looks up at me again and smiles warmly, but without showing teeth this time. I can tell she was being careful about that. "But then again, you're a Mystery Twin! You're Pine Tr- D-Dipper Pines! The Sirens don't stop talking about you! I figured that was an okay exception."

     I smiled in pride and appreciation of her correcting herself on my name. I then fully processes the sentence. "...Sirens?" I say softly. "There are Sirens in this lake?" My voice gains a bit of a panic.

     "I-" (Y/N)'s eyes fly wide, and I can read the shock in those all black voids of hers. "N-Not where they can be a danger! They live at the depths, they never come up. They were banished there by the King, they don't dare step out of line!" She tries to reassure me. My heart warms as she does. '(Y/N) cares about others enough to try this hard to explain to me.'

     "They were- Banished? Then how come you talk to them..?" I ask with a tilt of my head. I quickly got an idea and grabbed that substitute Journal I made yesterday. I listen as she explains, writing down what I deem to be most important.

     (Y/N) rubs the back of her neck slightly. "Oh, uh... I, I'm curious, y'know? I couldn't resist at least meeting them." She grumbles, swirling a finger around in the water. "They aren't half bad when there's no humans around."

     "What are they like when humans are around?" I ask slowly, dreading the answer. I straighten my posture and jot a few things down in the notebook. (Y/N) doesn't answer for a moment, thinking to herself and looking out into the water.

     "They turn into the picture perfect women, looking like a royal Mermaid, nearly human, y'know? They'll sing and stroke a human's ego until they get into the water. Once that happens..." She pauses for a moment, likely to listen to me rapidly writing away. She takes another breath. "When the human gets into the water, the Siren turns back into their monstrous form, pulling the human down into the water until they drown, then all of the Sirens- they feast together..."

     "I... I see.." I say evenly as I finish up my notes. "..Why are you friends with such ruthless killers?" I fiddle nervously with my fingers.

     "Because.. Well because of two things really." She says, looking up at me again. She pats the space next to me on the pier, and I scoots out of the way for her. (Y/N) pulls herself up and sits next to me on the pier. Now I can get a real understanding of what she wears. A torn and re-sewed t-shirt that has been ripped into a crop top, whether on accident or not, I couldn't tell. A long skirt that is also ripped and re-sewn. I note this down while (Y/N) finds the words to say, as well as possible questions to ask her, like why wear a skirt?

     "The first reason why ...I stick around them is because it's not their fault," she starts. I put my things down to give (Y/N) all of my attention.

     "Not their fault?" I ask, gently pushing her to continue explaining.

     "Yeah. It's not easy to turn off your hunger, how can the Merfolk expect the Sirens to completely ignore their Bloodlust? It's unfair to them." She looks down and a patch sewn into her skirt. "I've been trying to introduce them to veganism, but it hasn't been going too well." She sighs. "Anyway, the second reason I talk to them is.. I understand what it's like to be pushed aside ...and to be different. The Sirens may not treat me great because I'm not quite like them, but it's better than how the world treats me." She shrugs lightly. "I'd even go so far as to say they are like my family."

     I think for a moment, before gently placing a hand on (Y/N)'s shoulder. "I think it's brave of you to befriend and try to help the Sirens. Brave, and kind." I gently move her dorsal fin out of the way of her eyes, staring into the dark pits for a moment. (Y/N)'s becomes very blue, and mine very red. I try to change the topic as I let go of her face. "Mind if I ask you a few more questions?" I smile, to which (Y/N) nods and smiles as well. "Okay, let's see here." I pick up my notebook and look at some of the questions I planned. "Uh, you said the Sirens were banished to the bottom right? To the depths? Where?" I look up at her. (Y/N) looks out at the water, leaning her weight on her hands behind her.

     "Under the island there." She nods in the direction of the island in the centre of the lake.

     "How do they keep them there? Can't they escape?" I write in the notebook for a moment.

     "The King made a magic barrier and these chains that connect to a Siren's voice.  It's where most of their magic comes from, singing to sailors and such." She says simply, tilting her head to rest it on her shoulder. Her tail slaps numbly against the pier behind her, dipping into the water every now and then.

     "So the Sirens can't sing in there?" I press on, turning to look away from the distracting Mermaid.

     "They can, the Magic Thread in their vocal cords just won't work, so they can't lure people in." She shrugs, kicking her feet like she was bored. '(Y/N) sure knows a lot about this, I can learn so much,' I think to myself.

     "Magic Thread huh? Interesting..." I jot that down quickly. "Do all Sirens have these Magic Threads?"

     "No, not all of them. Those born without are considered social outcasts though..." Her voice trails off a bit towards the end. I nod and continue writing.

     I came across a question I wrote down that I've been curious about since yesterday. "Um...Is it insensitive for me to ask why you have legs..?" I ask awkwardly, rubbing the back of my neck and flushing pink. (Y/N) flushes blue and looks away.

     "N-No, not really. That's a, uh, pretty good question. It's another weird thing about common folk Merpeople. The royals have the human top, fish bottom, but we're... mixed throughout?" She says with uncertainty. I nod and write it down, carefully looking up at her again and smiling. She turns more blue and looks down. "You're not the only curious one here, so.. How about this," She begins. "You get to ask one more question about me, my people, the Sirens, whatever. You get one more question, and then I get to ask some about you?" I hear her tail slap into the water again, then back onto the pier.

     "Can I get two?" I say sneakily. Or at least what I hoped was sneakily. She shakes her head, smirking. "You ask one I ask one?" I ask, making a pleading motion with my hands.

     I must've looked stupid, because I heard (Y/N) laugh. It wasn't a normal, simple laugh, it was dorky, weird, and out there. Far from the typical teenage girl laugh. I couldn't help but smile at the odd Mermaid with her oddly beautiful eyes and odd laugh.

     "Sure, why not? You get one, I get one." She chuckles, before turning to me completely and crossing her legs. "But I get to go first."

     "Fair enough." I nod, putting my notebook down for a moment. "Go ahead."

     "What's Shooting Star's real name?" (Y/N) asks, crossing her arms.

     "Mabel Pines." I respond simply, shrugging.

     "Oh, that's a beautiful name!" She gushes for a moment. "Alright then, your turn!"

     I smile brightly. "Why do you have human clothes? Shouldn't you have seashells or something?"

     "Uh.." (Y/N) hums. Was it a weird question? "That's- reserved for royals, and Sirens aren't the only ones who can turn into humans. It's just a hard skill to learn! It'd be awkward walking around with seashells, right?" She says quickly. She must be excited to get to her turn.

     "Okay then, go ahead." I chuckle and gesture towards her.

     "Okay, Alright. Now that you know all the things, are you still going to come back?" She asks worriedly, putting her tail in the water again.

     "Of course I will! I'm too curious to pass this up." I nod quickly, beaming.

     (Y/N) breathes a sigh of relief. "Good, I was worried. It seems we have curiosity in common then, Dipper."

     I can't help fiddling as she says my name again. "Okay, my turn. Um..." (Y/N) cracks her knuckles while she waits for my question. "Do you need the water to live?" I say after a minute.

     "Pardon?" She asks curiously.

     "I-I noticed that you are dunking your tail every now and then. Do you get hurt if you dry out? Do you need water to breathe, like fish?"

     (Y/N) laughs again. That weird, odd, unconventional laugh. "Yeah, yes kinda." She wheezes out between laughs and heavy breaths. "Whoo... Okay. Yes I need water while in this form, but touching or drinking it is enough. When I'm in my human form, it matters a bit less. I still need water, but not as vitally."

     "Then why don't you become a human to sit with me? Isn't that easier?"

     "Easier, maybe, but this is also my first instinct..." She says weakly, rubbing the back of her head.

     "There's ...another reason, isn't there?" I tease lightly, grabbing the things I had brought for (Y/N) out of my bag.

     "Maybe..." She mumbles, trying to crack her knuckles again. Only a few of them cracked, they weren't ready yet. "I know I'm not the prettiest sight, but when I'm like this, it's, I don't know, excusable? If I'm iffy like this, it's fine because I'm a monster. If I'm iffy as a human, then it's not fine. Then I'm just an iffy human." She shrugs, looking off to the side away from me.

     I let a small silence fall. 'So she's body dysmorphic, huh? I wonder if (Y/N) knows there's a word for how she feels.. I won't tell her yet.' I think to myself. "Well, I personally, don't think you're iffy at all. You have an air of kindness around you, and you're curious, and sweet, and adorabl-" I cut off my compliments when she looks at me from the corner of her eyes. Her cheeks are stained with blue, and now mine is red again I suppose. "What?" I ask awkwardly, tilting my head to the side.

     "Nothing, it's just flattering. ..How you see me." She says with a sharp-toothed smile. "It's distracting, and I almost forget you're this famous and untouchable guy."

     "You think I'm untouchable?" I chuckle lightly, looking down at my hands.

     "You and Mabel saved Gravity Falls, along with the world, from the Eye. I know for one that most of the creatures in this forest see you as this untouchable icon. You are recognisable even when you're never seen. Your hat and coat are words I'll often find floating around the woods. The gnomes, who you apparently fought, brag all the time to me about you.  And about the fact that Mabel was almost their Queen.  They never mentioned your appealing physical features, or your curious nature." Her words fade out into the white noise of the lake. I'm not looking, but I think her face is as warm as mine, though blue.

     'The creatures in the woods think of me and Mabel like that? She likes my curiosity, she thinks my features are appealing?? DID SHE JUST CALL ME CUTE?!' I wonder to myself. "I-uh, brought the things you wanted. Books and drawing things right?" I offer her things to her, not looking up. "I didn't know you could draw..." I keep holding them out, but when she doesn't take them, I chance a glance. I see her hesitating to grab the objects from me, but she does, and hugs them to her chest, I look away again.

     "I'm not that good, but I try.  Sorry about that, I didn't want to accidentally make a bubble." She mutters. I look up, crossing my legs.

     "A bubble?" I say, looking over at her. She just nods. I wait for a moment for her to answer, but when she doesn't I press on. "What are the bubbles for?"

     "...It's just a thing we.. common Merfolk do. When emotions are running high, sometimes we bubble. Physical contact sometimes pushes me over the edge." (Y/N) looked up at me to see I didn't understand. She sighed and continued. "Our magic is closely tied to our emotions. When there are too many emotions, our magic has to go somewhere." I nod slowly, reaching for my notebook.

     "Can I see one, please?" I ask gently, offering a smile to her.

     She looks down, cracking the few knuckles that didn't the last time she tried. "I-I guess... If it will help your research." She mumbles slowly. She changes how she's sitting, her tail swirling the water in front of us. She puts my gifts to her down and cups her hands like she was holding water. A large, bright coloured bubble floats up from her hands, and hovers level with our faces. I'm mesmerised by the thing. So colourful and uplifting. When it pops, I see (Y/N)'s head hanging embarrassedly.

     'Okay Dipper, this is your chance, don't blow it.'

     Awkwardly taking my chance, I lift her chin up to face me again. The lovely black voids of (Y/N)'s eyes shine and she squeaks nervously. Her face becomes a profuse blue, and a dozen colourful bubbles of various sizes come into existence. I smile at her in what I hoped was confident flirting, and not awkward nervousness. She pulls away from me, smiling sheepishly and brushing her dorsal fin out of the way. As the blue fades, she hugs the items I gave her to her chest again. I notice how now they looked like they were covered in translucent scales. "Woah..." I say in awe. I wondered what that was for, but she got to it first.

     "Water proofing." She chuckles. Ah, that makes sense. "I-I should get going... Tomorrow?" She says. I nod numbly, still processing everything. The bubbles, the things I learned, the scale waterproofing, my semi-successful flirting! I was on cloud nine!

     I gave her a dumb, awkward smile. "Y-Yeah, tomorrow." I mumbled, and before I knew it, (Y/N) dived into the water and was gone. Rather than sticking around, thinking about everything, I do it on my walk back to the Shack. "Tomorrow." I whispered to myself.

---Timeskip Brought to you by Count Lionel Having his Chance at the Cotillion—

     I walk back into the Shack, still with that stupid smile on my face. Putting my bag down, I see Great Uncle Ford in the Living Room, trying to teach Grunkle Stan and Mabel how to properly play "D, D, and more D", rather than how we played it last year with Wizards trying to eat our brains. I chuckle and join them. Patting the shoulder of an exhausted-looking Ford, I help him explain to the two creative thinkers across from us.

     "So, how far in are we?" I ask.

[Word Count: 2849]