Winged Falls

//Chapter Four//

Wendy fingered the wooden handle. “Kinda… but I have some better weapons, too.” She grinned, and something about the lighting made her teeth look razor sharp. Mason wasn’t sure whether he wanted to see these “better weapons.” 

He decided a change ot topic was in order. “Hey, so what do you think we’re gonna be doing today?” 

“I dunno.” Wendy cupped a hand around her mouth and shouted, “Hey, Ford, are you gonna tell us what the plan is or just act all mysterious about it?”

“I’ll explain when we arrive,” Ford said, his tone inscrutable. 

Wendy rolled her eyes. “Being mysterious it is, then.”

Mason laughed harder than he should have, then stopped himself. Had Wendy noticed? Did she think he was weird? A quick glance revealed that she was back to swinging her axe at various foliage, and Mason let out a small sigh of relief. As long as she didn’t know about his crush on her, he would be safe. But she was just so cool, and brave, and— 

“Mason. Earth to Mason.” Wendy was waving a hand in front of his face.

“Yeah! Definitely!” Mason’s head spun around wildly. “Wait, what?”

Wendy snorted. “Whatcha thinking about? You totally zoned out on me, dude.”

Mason’s mind went totally blank as he fumbled around for a suitable answer— anything other than the truth. “I-I was trying to guess where we were going.” That sounded reasonable, right?

Wendy laughed. “You can try, but believe me— when Ford decides to be mysterious about something, there’s no getting it out of him.”

Ford, who must have been listening to their conversation, came to a stop up ahead. “Well then, you two are in luck. We’re nearly there, so I’ll give you a briefing on what to expect and what we’ll be doing.” As Mason and Wendy caught up with him, he smiled at Mason. “Curiosity is one of the natural hallmarks of an explorer— you have a lot of potential.”

Mason’s cheeks flushed again, this time with pride. He fumbled in his jacket for the Journal. “So… what is going on? Are we gonna investigate a monster?” He gasped. “Did you discover a new species? Or—”

Ford laughed. “I appreciate your enthusiasm, but no, we aren’t doing any of those things. What we’re doing is… much more serious.”

“Oh.” Mason arranged his features in what he hoped was a suitably serious expression. So far Ford seemed to like him, and he couldn’t disappoint him now!

Ford glanced down at him, an eyebrow raised. “Mason, are you all right? You look ill.”

“N- no, I’m fine,” Mason said, hastily reverting to his normal expression. “So what are we doing?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure where to begin.” Ford hesitated, looking around the forest. “As you know, this forest is home to hundreds —if not thousands— of creatures that don’t exist anywhere else. You can imagine what a disaster it would be if this forest were destroyed— which is why I take even a potential threat to it very seriously.”

Mason followed his uncle’s gaze to the trees towering overhead. “But— the forest is so big. What could destroy it?”

“Hopefully nothing,” Ford said seriously. “Soon we’re going to reach a cave, which, as far as I can measure, is in the direct center of the forest. And in this cave… well, as I said, hopefully it’s nothing. But if not…” His voice trailed off, and Mason unconsciously clutched the Journal closer to himself. “If not, all of Gravity Falls may be in danger.”