Monster Falls

21: Are Racoons Sweet or Savory?

OH MY GOD GUYS I AM SO SORRY ABOUT NOT PUBLISHING ANYTHING FOR LIKE, THREE WEEKS! First off, I had three tests I needed to study for, and then I was having writer's block, and then I just procrastinated but--UGH. NONE OF THAT MATTERS ANYMORE. WHAT DOES IS THAT CHAPTER 21 IS FINALLY HERE!

Dipper put a hand to his chin, planning his next move. Instead of playing Dungeons, Dungeons and More Dungeons like they had planned to (Stan had hid it somewhere) they had decided to play a good game of chess instead. The cervitaur smiled, placing his piece. "Your move," he explained, looking up at his great uncle.

Ford smiled at the boy, feeling his tail twitch happily. Thinking, he bit his lip, nudging a piece with his paw and groaning when it fell over. "D-dipper, do you mind--"

The cervitaur shook his head, moving the chess piece to the place where he guessed his uncle had wanted it. "Here?" Dipper guessed, looking up at his uncles lion-like face. Stanford sighed. His nephew wasn't right, but he didn't exactly care at that moment.

"Yes, Dipper, thank you."

Dipper furrowed his brows, glancing at Ford and noticing the worried look in his uncle's eyes. "Great Uncle Ford?"

Stanford looked at the boy, who was clearly concerned for him, considering the way his ears were pressed flat onto the sides of his head. "Yes, my boy?"

Dipper sighed. "A-are you alright?"

Ford contemplated on lying for a moment, but he decided to tell the truth. He bit his lip, ruffling out his wings and readjusting his position. "No. To tell you the truth, Dipper, I'm not." He sighed, resting his head on his arms. "I'm so goddamn stupid. I've got an insanely high IQ, twelve ph.Ds, graduated at the top of my class, college and high school--yet I include a cursed river that I don't even know the effects to in my journals!" Ford growled, slightly wincing at the hostile sound. "And now I'm just a big cat with wings," the man mumbled, glancing at his paw. "I'm sorry I put you all through this. It was my fault for writing down the river in my journals." Ford huffed. "Heck, I even ruined Bill's life! And now you and your sister can't even lead normal lives because of a stupid, brash decision that I made," Ford whimpered, cursing his feline instincts.

The young cervitaur bit his lips. That had been a lot to take in, especially from Ford, who didn't seem to be all that emotional. "G-grunkle Ford, you don't have to apologize," Dipper explained, awkwardly scratching his left arm. "I-it'll be okay. Mabel and I will just stay here until we find our cures. It'll be okay."

Ford sighed. He chuckled softly, looking down at his paws. "I'll probably have no opposable thumbs for the rest of my years." He sighed. "Not sure how Stanley feels about all this."

"You haven't talked?"

"We have, but he--he's never told me his true feelings," Ford huffed, a familiar sensation coming on. He bit his lip. "D-dipper?" He asked, already feeling the blood rushing into his face.

"Yeah?"

"C-can you--do you mind--may you pet me?" Ford asked, his cheeks burning with hot blood. He didn't want to ask the boy for this, but with his stupid feline instincts paired with a human mouth just made it slip out.

Dipper's ears were perked straight up, his face a bright red. Those were words he'd never thought he'd hear out of his normally quite stuffy uncle. "Uh, sure?" The cervitaur mumbled, carefully stepping over the chess board, catching himself when he almost fell onto Stanford. "S-sorry," He apologized, rubbing his arm.

Ford shrugged. "It's alright," he reassured, sighing when Dipper placed his hand on the back of his neck. "Thank you," he breathed, smiling giddily when he felt the fuzzy feeling come on and a purr stirring in his chest. "Puuuurrrr--Dipper if you're uncomf--puuuurrr--uncomfortable you don't--puuuurrrrrr--you don't have to do this," Ford explained.