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[matchmade]

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[pinetree]

[Seeing her do something so mundane and normal as knitting just makes this harder, but he swallows his awkwardness and opens his notebook to the timeline page, setting it to face her on the table.]

I've been talking to people who have been here a while, to get an idea of how this whole monster thing works, and it turns out that things are on a schedule. [He's hesitant at first, but once he gets rolling with the explanation, he finds it's easier to just wordvomit and not think about how uncomfortable this is.] The first changes start happening a month after people show up, and...well, you've been here for about that long, so it should be happening soon, and I want you to be prepared for it.

[He forces himself to stop and look up at her, checking to see if she's...receptive to hearing about this.]

[matchmade]

[ Mabel has spent most of her time trying to pretend the whole monster thing isn't happening, and that it won't happen to her (which is hard to do, all things considered) So hearing that there's a schedule? That she needs to actually prepare for something? Isn't news she really wants to hear.

She fiddles with the edge of the timeline page, trying to keep her frown from becoming too much of a thing. ]

Is there any way to be prepared for something like that? I mean, it's--kind of a big thing. [ Not to mention that she doesn't want to prepare. She doesn't want it to happen at all. ] And--are you sure it happens to everyone? Maybe--

[ And then she feels bad for thinking maybe she's different from everyone else, from Dipper, so she looks down at the table and fidgets. Ugh. This whole situation stinks. ]

[pinetree]

[If only he could assure her that it doesn't happen to everyone. If only the numbers dictated that was possible. But this has been happening for months before he got here, and the schedule doesn't lie. But he can't bring himself to outright shoot her down, either, and flat-out tell her "No, this is how it is". She's already miserable. Why make it worse?]

You can be prepared for it. [This is a more hopeful and helpful topic.] It helps if you have someone else around to keep an eye on you. Things get kind of painful and you never know when you might need... [He forces himself to finish his thought] medical help or something.

[Having a buddy will also prevent you from being stuck in a wall for three hours, or doing weird stuff like wandering out into the snow in the middle of the night.]

If you want, I can ask Ginko to come over. He helped me when I was changing.

[matchmade]

[ She pouts a little, but she pays attention to what he says. As usual, he's more in the know than she is, and this is something she can't just...brush off or ignore like she might normally. This is important, even if she wishes she didn't have to worry about it at all. ]

I guess that makes sense...[ She bites her lip and fidgets a little. She's trying really hard to just stomach her worries, but it's not working so well. ]

Ginko knows a lot, huh?

[pinetree]

Yeah. [Not that he knows why. Dipper's just assumed Ginko is...some sort of doctor or at least knows a lot about medical stuff, but he realizes he's never asked. Well, whatever Ginko is, he's effective when helping the twins, and that's what matters.] He's probably the most helpful person I've met here, so if I'm--

[And then he stops, because the thought completes in his head and he isn't sure he can say it. What he wants to say is that Mabel can rely on Ginko if she needs to, but it comes with the condition of "if I'm not around". He wants to protect Mabel, he wants them to look out for each other like they always have, but if Rota is any indication, it's not always going to be an option and he may even be more hindrance than help.

He starts over.]

Just...go to Ginko for help, okay?

[It hurts to say, because it feels like he's removing himself as an option completely, but that's for the best, isn't it?]