Chapter Text
The bell above the door gave a jingle as a disheveled Stanford Pines walked in, frantically writing in a journal. It had two small handprints on the front, with a number four in between. He didn't slow to close the door behind him, allowing a chilly fall wind to slipped in behind, bringing with it a few orange and brown leaves into the giftshop.
"Whoah, Sixer! I just swept!" Stanley chastised from behind the register, wads of money in his hands.
"Hey!" Wendy looked behind her as she placed a broom into a closet.
"Uh, I mean, whoah, Sixer! I just had Wendy sweep!"
"That's right. I'm taking the rest of the day off just for that."
Before Stan could said anything, she grabbed her hat and scarf off of the coat rack by the door and was on her way. He sighed and accepted it. She only worked weekends during the fall anyway, on account of school. He was surprised she showed up for those two days half the time anyway. He watched through the window, wanting to make sure she was safe. A van of the youths who were always distracting her peeled in with timing much too good to be coincidental and picked her up, screeching away while playing music that Stan couldn't so much hear as feel reverberating in his chest. He narrowed his eyes, realizing that she was going to ditch work anyway."Youths" he muttered, full of respect for Wendy.
Placing the money back in the register, he turned his attention to Ford, who was still scribbling in his journal. "What's got you all worked up?"
"Stanley, it's incredible. You know that group of Sasquatch that I monitor?"
He didn't. "Yeah, sure." He said.
"Well it's absolutely amazing. They have been - without a doubt - one of the most difficult species to study. It's nearly impossible to sneak up on them, to observe them without being detected. Before I went into the rift, I was only able to make passing observations a few times with the aid of my most advanced binoculars and scopes from miles away. A couple of footprints here and there, one time a hair. I was never able to make even a logistic growth model, as I couldn't ascertain their intrinsic rate of growth or even the carrying capacity of their home range! I mean, what biomass are we even talking about?"
"Hah! That's precisely what I'm saying, Sixer!" Intrinsic? He had learned that word when he was rebuilding the portal. He thought that had to do with torsion? Maybe when applied to animals it had to do with more like..their topologic factors? Oh wait, that would be for an equation about their growth rate or something. Whatever. No wonder it took me so long to rebuild that thing. He thought to himself.
"Well anyway, these last few weeks I've gotten quite good at sneaking up on them. It's uh.." He brushed a twig out of his hair and some dirt off his shoulder. "no small feat." He was able to look smug for just a moment before-
"Well duh, Sixer, they're BIG feet! Ayo! Up top!" Ford gave a sincere smile, high-sixing his brother. Even he could admit that was good. His brother really was very sharp, even if he didn't consider himself to be.
"Heh. Heh heh, that was a good one, Stanley. And you're precisely correct, their feet are enormous! So, imagine my surprise when I found a set of tiny footprints among their tracks today!"
Stanley gasped. "A baby bigfoot?" He clenched a fist, a sly grin appearing on his face. "We could catch it and teach it tricks. It would be a hit!"
Stanford rolled his eyes and softly bopped his brother over the head with his journal.
"No, Stanley, we aren't kidnapping a baby Bigfoot."
"Well then what even is the point of all this! What, can you make your dumb logarithmic model now? Is that what's so exciting? Nerd."
"Logistic model and no, Stanley, I know you wouldn't find that interesting. The thing is that I don't think they are bigfoot tracks at all. They're slightly more digitigrade, as opposed to plantigrade. I think they belong to a human. And a human child, at that."
"Wait, what? How would that even happen?"
"Exactly! Some of the most secretive organisms on the planet, and it seems that they have accepted a human child into their midst. Think of everything they must be learning! The implications-" Stanford continued to ramble about the implications, but Stanley was finding it hard to listen. He looked out the window. It was an overcast, dreary day. The fog that morning had been thick and left a blanket of dew over everything. Everyone who had visited the shack was wearing a jacket at least, some even a light coat. The sun would be setting soon, and there would likely be a frost the next morning.
Stopping his ramblings, he noticed that Stanley had gotten a troubled look on his face.
"What's wrong?"
"Ford it's... it's suppose to snow next week I think."
The excitement drained out of Ford's face as he looked out the window with his brother. "Oh my...I didn't...I didn't even think about..."
Anxiety welled up in his chest as he considered how he would feel about Dipper or Mabel being out there, and knew Stanley was thinking the same.
"It's a little kid, out there in the forest? At the end of September? In Oregon? And they don't even have shoes on?"
"Well I, I'm sure the Bigfoot know how to keep warm. They probably have some sort of nice, warm den where they stay. They don't go into any kind of hibernation or torpor that I've been able to tell. I bet they have a nice cave for shelter!"
"A cold dark cave?" Stan said, alarmed.
"Well, even in winter, caves in this area maintain 44 degrees Fahrenheit, not very comfortable but one could survive...." Ford trailed off, now considering all the true ramifications of his discovery. He looked at his brother, who was scanning the tree line outside, bearing a somber expression. Ford looked outside as well, not knowing what he was looking for but scared to meet his brother's eyes.
"Ford." Stanley said. "No one's reported a missing kid, not anywhere near here."
"I know, Stanley."
"No one is looking for them." He sounded truly distressed now.
Ford rested a hand on his shoulder. "I am."
Stanley covered Ford's hand with his own.