The Boy Who Cried Werewolf

A Morning of Portent

Dipper awoke with a start. He realized he wasn't feeling Wendy's arms about him. Sunlight was already beginning to seep into the cabin, dripping down through the windows. He sat up and saw Wendy, already dressed and packing a large backpack. He thought he recognized a sleeping bag, a tent, extra clothes, some kind of pre-packed food or snacks, a canteen, and so on. She noticed Dipper sitting up in bed, staring blearily at her.

"Mornin', Dip!" she said, more brightly than anyone at that hour had any right to speak. "Sorry, man; I told you I had to get an early start. There's coffee if you want some, and don't forget to lock up when you leave."

She continued her preparations as Dipper wearily pulled himself out of bed and began to dress. The coffee smelled wonderful, its scent filling the house. After getting into his trousers and a tee shirt, Dipper made his way to the kitchen for that coffee Wendy had offered. It was good coffee. Before he had finished his cup, Wendy was pulling him to the table. On it, he saw a map, made of some kind of cloth, a compass, and something that looked like a small sextant.

"Okay, dude- I got these ready for you for your first sortie," Wendy explained. "You know how to use a compass?"

"In theory, yes," Dipper admitted, "But I've never really used one."

"No worries, man," Wendy replied. She pointed at various points around the map. "Here's where we are now...and here's the Mystery Shack way over here...and from the Shack, I know you can find your way into town."

"Are those direction markers?" Dipper asked, indicating some other markings around the map.

Wendy nodded. "Yep! Just align the compass and you should be able to find your landmarks easily enough."

Dipper nodded. Wendy gave him a quick kiss. "I gotta run," she told him. "I'll show you how to use the sextant when I get back." She went to the door and picked up her backpack "I'll see you in a few days," she called out as she opened the door. "Feel free to stay here if want!"

Dipper followed Wendy out and stood on the porch as she went out to her truck and tossed her gear in the back. After Wendy drove off, Dipper sat on the carved couch and finished his coffee, watching the morning unfold.

Eventually, Dipper stood and stretched. Well, time to get started, he thought to himself.

He went into the kitchen to wash out his coffee mug, and clean out the old stove-top percolator. Then, he carefully swept and cleaned the cabin; it didn't take long, as small as it was. Then, after a quick shower, Dipper dressed properly, made sure his gear was in order, and then set off, locking up behind him.

He walked several yards out into the woods beyond the cabin, then studied the map Wendy had given him. He used the compass to orient himself as to direction, keeping Wendy's cabin directly behind him. He set off for the Mystery Shack, keeping his eyes and ears sharp for anything like the black geese, or a shack on chicken legs. He would stop every now and then to make some notations on the map, and jot down a note or two in his journal. After a couple of hours, his phone rang. It was Mabel.

"Mornin', Bro!" her ebullient voice rang out. "Whatcha doin'?"

"Hey, Mabel," Dipper answered. "I'm hiking through the woods, looking for anything weird going on- about those black geese I was telling you about."

"How was last night at Wendy's?" she asked, her tone a bit strange.

-Truthfully, Mabel was worried about her brother's relationship with Wendy now, after that frankly cryptic conversation yesterday with Pacifica. Ever since she had notice them getting emotionally closer and closer over the phone during high school, Mabel had been enthusiastically hoping that their already close friendship would bloom into something more, And after the past weekend, she was quite happy over how things seemed to be progressing. But now, she was becoming uneasy.

As she thought about it, the last time she was here in Gravity Falls, she had always been more worried about her own lack of success in her romantic adventures. But now, it occurred to her that Wendy herself might have a problem. Mabel remembered how nonchalant, how cavalier Wendy always seemed when talking about her own romances. If Wendy was treating this affair as she remembered her talking about past relationships and their breakups...and if what Pacifica implied about Wendy was true...and maybe even Robbie's odd comments too, at the party.... Well, although Mabel didn't want to believe anything bad about Wendy, she wasn't sure that Dipper would be able to recover from that kind of disappointment if any of it turned out to be true, and she was determined to protect him.

"Oh, it was fine," Dipper was answering her. "We watched a truly awful monster movie on local access."

"Is she there with you now?" Mabel asked.

"No. She and her family have a big logging job up by the Floating Cliffs," Dipper replied. "She'll be gone for a few days. What about you? What're you up to today?"

"I'm going to visit friends in town today," Mabel lied.

"Aww," Dipper answered. "I was hoping you could come out monster hunting with me."

"What, today?"

"Yeah! I'll probably be back in an hour or so- Wendy showed me how to use a map and compass to find my way around."

"That's so cool!" Mabel enthused. "Maybe tomorrow?"

"You're on! Maybe I'll see you later today?"

"You never know," Mabel said. "Anyway, I was just checking in- I gotta run!"