After Ford was finished, he gave a cup to both Mabel and Dipper. Dipper bravely took a large gulp out of it ignoring how hot the cup felt to his hands. Mabel couldn't help but chuckle as soon as he realized his mistake. It was not smart drinking out of a hot cup. What was smart was waiting till it cooled down for a bit.
Ford watched as the twins interacted with each while enjoying the hot chocolate he made for them. He still couldn't believe that they were here now right in front of him. It still felt like only yesterday when he saw them as tiny babies still barely being able to crawl. Now here they were a lot older, but yet still so small. He had missed a lot and he hated that. But who could blame him? He had been quite busy over the past few years.
"So Great Uncle Ford? How come we haven't seen you before at any of our family reunions?" Mabel asked out of the blue.
Ford looked up at Mabel wording her question over his head over and over agin. How come was the real question. He had to be careful how he answered her. He did not want to think badly of him. After all, he was actually going to take some time off of his work just to spend some time with them.
"I've been very busy with work. I'm a researcher for this town and for that reason, I couldn't really leave since leaving would risk valuable findings that could go to waste."
Mabel half believed what Ford just said. Although it sounded like it was a lie, it also sounded like the truth. And if that was the case, Mabel wanted to find out more.
"What do you research?"
Ford looked like he was too deep in thought at her question and for a slight second, Mabel could have sworn she saw regret in his eyes. Was it really that bad of a question to ask?
"I research the supernatural activity in this town..." Ford answered quietly.
"Wait- you mean like ghosts and things that go bump in the night? There's really stuff like that here?" Mabel asked with excitement noticeable in her voice. Mabel hated to admit it, but she loved that kind of thing. Dipper was crazy about t-shirts, and she was crazy about the supernatural.
"Yes, that's what I research." Ford replied back with a hint in his voice that he wanted the conversation to end. He glanced down at his wrist where there lied a worn down silver watch. He turned back his attention towards the kids after checking the time. "I have to get going. My museum is going to open soon. You two can stay here or head up to your room to unpack. It's the last room on the second floor." After saying that, Ford stood up and walked out of the room leaving the twins behind.
Immediately after Ford left, Mabel stood up barely being able to control her excitement. There was actually supernatural phenomena here. And if that was the case, she wanted to investigate immediately. Even if it was cold and snowy outside, that wasn't going to stop her from going to look what was exactly out there. With that, Mabel placed her cup down on the tray and began to walk to the door when her brother stopped her.
"Uh... Mabel what are you doing?"
Mabel turned and gave a smile at Dipper. "I'm going to look outside around the forest."
"For what?" Asked Dipper as he placed his empty cup of hot chocolate down.
"For the supernatural."
Dipper glanced down at the bags. "But what about unpacking?"
Mabel looked down at the bags now remembering that they still had to unpack. But the thought of finding a creature or two kept making Mabel itch with excitement. She knew what she wanted to do.
"Um... Dip? Can you leave my bags upstairs? I'll unpack later. Thanks!"
Before Dipper could say anything else, Mabel opened the door, exited, and closed it behind her. She then thought about the obstacles ahead of her. The freezing gust of wind gnawed at her face and the white bundles of snow seemed to laugh at her for being untrained for this weather.
'This is definitely going to take some time to get used to.' Mabel thought with longing for summer.
Mabel began to walk towards the dreary forest. Snow littered the branches of the trees and the abandonment of plants and animals kept giving Mabel chills. As Mabel continued walking looking for a glimpse of a supernatural creature, she couldn't stop the feeling of being watch. At first, it didn't bother her, but as she continued walking deeper into the forest, the feeling of eyes following her every move grew.
Just as Mabel was beginning to think about turning around, she heard a low growl. Mabel jumped with fright and began to back away turning in every direction for what made the growl. She had read many books and listened to many documentaries, but nothing sounded like the growl she heard.
