The Boy in the Woods

Ok! This is a bit of a side project, and my first fanfiction ever >.< (unless we count that one supernatural thing lol) It’s just the start of how I would imagine Dipper actually meeting Wirt. Critiques are welcome!! But be gentle, I obviously don’t write a lot but I’d love to learn how. 

The Boy in the Woods~

It was Dipper's third summer back in Gravity Falls, and nothing much had changed over the years. He wandered through the forest, breath barely visible in the crisp morning air, the leaves beneath his feet making quiet crunching sounds. In one hand he clenched his journal tightly, in the other he held a compass. The sun was just breaking over the horizon, enveloping the trees in a warm light and illuminating the thick fog surrounding him. It was perfectly silent save for the occasional bird call, Dipper couldn't recall ever hearing the forest this quiet before. He continued on in the same direction for several hours, carefully moving deeper and deeper into the woods. He had no destination in mind, he'd go wherever the forest took him.

It began to grow dark as the thick branches overhead blocked out more and more sunlight. Little bio-luminescent mushrooms were scattered around the roots, creating a dimly lit path before him. He had an unsettled feeling in the pit of his stomach, but pressed on. He'd made it his personal mission finish up a fourth journal, and it sure wasn't going to write itself. After a while the little trail of lights came to a stop, and where they ended he could make out what looked to be a scattered garden of rocks in deep grass.

Like Tombstones, he thought to himself with a shudder.

The clearing was bathed in a soft glow of light from a break in the canopy somewhere high above, easily giving him enough light to see around. He moved forward and was relieved to see nothing more than piles of rocks, he could really use a day without something trying to kill him. Dipper pulled out a pen and opened the journal, making quick notes on his location and what he could see of the strange formations. Upon further inspection he noticed some of the stones had symbols carved into them, not quite words but possibly important. He carefully drew what he was able to make out; they were pretty worn down though, so not much remained.

He was about half way through the rocks, slowly circling around them, when he saw it. Well, saw him would be more accurate. Dipper let out a small yelp as he tried not to fall on the sleeping boy propped up against the rock he'd been looking at. The boy didn't stir. Dipper frowned, surely he had heard him? Dipper calmed down enough to get a better look at him. He looked like a gnome with that silly red hat on, but his face was definitely human. He was also wrapped up in vines for some reason, almost up to his head. He was extremely pale, had heavy bags under his eyes, and his lips had the faintest tint of blue to them...wait, was he dead?

'Oh no, oh nonono' Dipper murmured as he moved to touch the boys cheek.

And went straight through his face.

With another scream Dipper flung himself away from the body. If he couldn't touch him then the boy was what? A ghost? He'd never seen a sleeping ghost before, did that even make sense? Forcing himself to focus he took one of the older journals out of his backpack and quickly leafed through it for any mentions of ghosts. Out of the corner of his eye he watched the boy, but he remained motionless on the forest floor.

After a few minutes of searching the best he was able to find was how to repel ghosts and spirits, there was a list at the bottom of the page and the word iron caught his eye. He opened his backpack back up and dug around the bottom blindly. Eventually he felt his fingertips brush against something cold and quickly pulled the small object out. It was an iron nail he'd used last summer against another witch, and he was happy he'd forgotten about it until now.

Dipper glanced back over to the ghost and wondered how to go about doing this. He didn't want to hurt him, just wake him up. He cautiously lifted the nail and let it hover just above the boys cheek. Well here goes nothing, he thought, and gently pressed the blunt end of the nail down. There was a sharp hissing noise as the iron pushed against flesh, and Dipper quickly pulled his arm back. He was both relieved and terrified to see that the boy's eyes were now open... and looking directly at him.