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After their little game of cat and mouse with a very disagreeably wet Stanford, they decided they had had enough action for the evening. Ford manifested his desire to take a shower and change into something more comfortable for the night. Little A was still in play mode and followed him inside the bathroom. Ford tried to take her out and placed her outside the room, but she kept getting up and following him inside, oblivious to what was going on. By the time Ford was closing the door, she was back inside the room. She would just laugh and giggle every time he would pick her up.
Ford’s patience was starting to run thin. He was all wet and sticky and really needed to change clothes. He was on his fifth attempt to take his shower, when Stan noticed that smoke was probably going to come out of his brother’s ears if this kept going on any longer. Stan trotted to his twin’s side and peeked behind him. Little A was hanging on his leg, a huge grin plastered on her face. She looked at Stan and giggled.
He huffed half a laugh and reached down to grab her by the back of her pjs with his jaw. As soon as she was lifted off the ground and carried by Stan, she curled on herself. Stan turned around and exited the bathroom with his little cargo in his jaw, when he heard a choked laugh from behind him. He turned his head, Little A dangled a little with the movement, and saw his brother chuckling. Stan raised an eyebrow.
Ford waved a hand in his general direction, motionning Stan and Little A. « It’s… It’s just... » Ford cut himself with a fit of laughter. Apparently whatever he was seeing was enough to make him forget his frustration from a moment ago. Stan tilted his head, wondering what his twin was laughing at. He felt Little A tilting her head, mimicking him. Stanford managed to compose himself enough to finish his previous sentence. « It’s… You look like you’re carrying your cub around. » Stanford finished his sentence with another fit of laughter, bent over himself and hugged his midsection. Little A giggled at the sight in front of her.
Stan growled in his direction and huffed indignantly. He then lowered his head to the ground and eyed his twin. Little A was now sitting on the ground, but still trapped in his jaws. She couldn’t escape. Yet. She squirmed a little and Stan could sense that if he let her go, she would bolt back to Ford’s leg. Stan barked a little to get his brother’s attention. Ford stopped his laughing fit a little to look at Stan. Stan eyed him and Little A alternatively, a cheeky smile on his lips. Ford caught what his twin was implying and raised his hands placantly. « Ok, ok! Don’t be like that. I’ll stop. » A smile was still plastered on his face. He closed the door and left Stan and Little A on the other side. Stan huffed in satisfaction and took Little A away from the bathroom.
Stan and Little A retreated to the small living room to finish the evening and wait for Ford to finish cleaning up. Stan had hoisted himself up on the couch and spread all four of his limbs, monopolizing pretty much the whole thing. Little A didn’t seem to mind at all. She had run back to the bathroom one more time, but when she found the door locked she opted for their room and grabbed her little army toy soldiers. She now sat next to the couch on the ground and was talking to herself and her toys.
Stan eyed the little toys. After coming back from the cave with a little toddler in their hands, Stan and Ford had gone to a goodwill market to get the newly named Little A a few clothes that would fit properly. They had bought her enough to last a week, and a few extra toys that caught her eyes. One of those was a stuffed killer whale that was almost as big as her. She hugged the plush and never let it go for the rest of the day. The other toy that caught her attention, had been a little box set with little army mens inside. She loved those little things and was taking great care of them. Each had their own little name. Ford had tried to play with her, but had made the mistake of calling one of them by the wrong name and made him do the wrong thing. Little A had given him a four year old court marshall equivalent. It had been one of the funniest things Stan had seen in a while.
Stan wasn’t really paying any attention to what she was saying at the moment. He kinda was zoning out. With all the rollercoaster of emotion this evening had brought, he was feeling worn out. His ears twitched when he caught the sound of the bathroom faucet going on. Ford was finally taking his shower. The sound of the shower going on and the sof ramble Little A was making managed to lull him to sleep.
Stan stretched his limbs and yawned loudly, almost making a howl. He stopped himself for a moment and blinked. When was the last time he had howled in this form? He couldn’t recall. Long before Weirdmageddon, if he remembered correctly. He didn’t think he made one during the twins' visit either. And before that, his memory was too scrambled to recall anything. He didn’t mind really, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he should do one. Feeling more awake now than he had a minute ago, he sat up on his hind legs. The couch protested a little as he shifted his weight but he didn’t mind.
He took in a deep breath through his snout and let it out slowly. Everything around him was peaceful and quiet. They were in the middle of nowhere on a boat. Ford was almost done with his shower by the sound of it and Little A was whispering to herself. Stan shook himself, looked around him and smiled. Yeah this seemed like a nice time to howl once more.
He lifted his head, took a deep breath and released one of the strongest howls he ever produced. It was long and loud, almost sending him into a trance-like state. He registered a thud from the bathroom and a little surprise yelp next to him, but didn’t care. He howled for a long time. At one point he felt a little tug from the couch, quickly followed by a high pitched howl to accompany him. The bathroom door opened and a half drenched Ford peeked his head out to see what was going on. He might’ve asked Stan something about what was going on, but Stan didn’t listen or paid any attention. Ford went back inside to finish his shower and left them alone.
The howl lasted a few minutes and when it was done, Stan looked down on his little friend with a doggy smile on his face and wagged his tail. It felt good. Little A was smiling at him, her little tail wagging happily behind her. She was standing up on the couch, holding onto his fur to stabilise her. Stan shook himself and lied down on the couch again. He was about to rest his head between his paws when he sensed Little A moving against his side. He turned his head to see what she was doing. She walked between the edge of the couch and his huge mass, careful not to fall down, to come sit between his paws. She had her back to him, had tucked her tail around her and wasn’t moving anymore. She glanced back and eyed him from the corner of her eyes. Stan tilted his head. She seemed to be expecting him to do something, but he didn’t know what it was. He let out an inquiring growl.
Little A turned halfway toward him and frowned. « ‘Tan g’oom A? » she asked. What was that supposed to mean? And in this form he couldn’t ask her what she wanted from him. Not with words anyway. He’d have to wait for Ford to finish up. Stan raised his head above the back of the couch toward the bathroom. His twin was very quiet at the moment, meaning he was almost done. Little A raised herself to see what he was looking at.
Stanford emerged from the bathroom, his hair a bit drenched, a towel tied around his waist and saw two pairs of eyes staring at him. « What? What is going on? » He asked while adjusting his glasses on his nose.
Little A pointed a tiny hand toward Stan’s snout and said « ‘Tan g’oom A! ». Ford owlishly blinked a couple of times after her statement and looked at Stan for answers. Stan raised his eyebrow and shrugged his shoulder. Little A looked between the two brothers and frowned again. « G’oom A! » She raised her hands above her head, like what she was saying was obvious.
Stanford raised a hand, the other holding his towel in place, placantly in front of him. « Ok little one, let me change into something more acceptable and we’ll… try to understand what you are saying. » Little A nodded, this answer seemed to satisfy her at the moment. Ford took his leave and walked to their room, closing the door behind him.
Stan laid down on the couch again, Little A following him. When his front paw rested on the couch, she took her place between them again, not allowing Stan to lay down his head. She turned her back to him and waited for Ford’s returns. She took her tail and tried to flattened some of the more wayward hair sticking out with her fingers. Stan heard her grumble a little, she didn’t seem to be able to do it properly. After a few unsuccessful attempts she let her tail go and crossed her arms across her chest. Her tail lying limply behind her. Even from behind, Stan could see that she was pouting, Especially with her ears tucked behind her head. He chuckled a little. Little A turned around and shot him an angry glare that only made him laugh more. She frowned again, waved her arms and exclaimed « G’OOM! ». She sounded frustrated.
The door to the twins bedroom opened and Stanford came to the living room. He was wearing a blue shirt and some grey sweatpants, his evening attire for today. He also had one of his journals tucked under one arm. It was one of his most recent one. Probably the one where he wrote down Arthuria and now Little A’s entry. « Little one, there’s no need to get angry with anybody. » He said firmly, coming next to the couch and looking at both Stan and Little A. « We just want to help. » He added more softly.
Little A curled around herself and held her knees close to her chest. « Sowwie » she whispered quietly, her ears now drooping. Ford came sitting down next to the couch, making sure not to disturb her little soldiers still on the floor. He rested a gentle hand on her back and rubbed it slowly. She uncurled a little bit and looked up at him.
« It’s all right little one, just tell us what’s on your mind. » Ford encourages her. Stan huffed approvingly behind her and nudged her a little with his snout, earning him a small smile from Little A. « From the beginning ». He sat crossed legged on the floor and opened his journal to an empty page. He scribbled down some hasty notes about the recent events of the evening.
Little A took a deep breath. « Mamie wolf friend, Mamie ‘owl an’ Mamie g’oom A. » Both brothers nodded at her statement, even if they weren’t totally sure where she was going with this. Ford scribbled down her statement and frowned. She pointed to Stan’s snout again. « ‘Tan wolf friend, ‘Tan ‘owl an’ ‘Tan g’oom A. » She opened her arms wide, gesturing to the space between her and Stan.
Stan tilted his head again. He really wasn’t sure where Little A was going with this. She was clearly expecting him to do something with her or to her. He turned to look at Ford and found him deep in his thoughts, writing more information in his journal. He was scratching his chin and thinking hard about what their friend had said. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times before being able to word a sentence. He frowned and looked at their little friend. « What does goom mean? Can you show us? » He finally asked. Stan turned his attention back to Little A.
She had grabbed her tail again and was passing her fingers through her tail, combing it. Just like earlier, she didn’t seem to be able to do it properly. There were a lot of knots in it. She looked up at the brothers again. « G’oom. »
All at once, Stan understood what she meant and didn’t like it. He felt his eyebrow meat the top of his head. He lifted his upper body at once and recoiled from Little A. His ears were flat against his head. Sitting on his hind legs and shaking his head from side to side while looking at her. Stanford looked between his twin, the little toddler on the couch, his notes and came to the same conclusion Stan had made. « Groom! » He exclaimed, snapping his fingers. Little A nodded enthusiastically at his last sentence, her tail let loose and happily thumping on the couch.
Arthuria Collins was one anomaly that Stanford could probably write an entire book about. When she had been her normal age and mentality, she gave him pretty good insight about her life and what she has been up to. She unfortunately couldn’t really remember anything from her childhood and upbringing. Her fall into the golden pound made it possible for Stanford to study her when she was very young. This Little A was nothing like her adult counterpart.
Ford had been surprised when Stan had started howling while he was showering, making him slip a little. Fortunately he didn’t fall or break anything, fortunately. A second high-pitched howl had followed Stan’s soon after. He had poked his head out to ask his brother what was going on, but Stan didn’t seem to hear him or just decided to ignore him completely. He shrugged and went back inside the bathroom to finish cleaning himself up. He made a mental note to ask Stan the next morning why did he howl like that. He never did when they were back in Gravity Falls.
Ford had quickly finished his shower and changed back to rejoin his companion in the small living room. Little A was expecting Stan to do something and apparently he needed his help to figure it out. After changing into his night attire, he grabbed his journal and wrote down everything that had happened in the evening.
Stanford noted Little A’s behavior when Stan had howled in his journal. She had followed him, but only after he had started. Maybe because she saw him as a superior member of the pack? This was fascinating. She clearly displayed more pack and animal behaviors when she was a child then when she was an adult. Was it because of her instincts or the fact that she was raised by werewolves? He noted all of it down in his journal.
Now, Little A was sitting on the couch, her tail wagging happily and looking at Stan expectedly. She wanted him to groom her, apparently because that was the ritual her old caretaker would perform each full moon. Ford looked up at his brother. Stan looked terrified at the idea of grooming their little friend. He had recoiled from her and was backing up. So in her mind this was a normal behavior to do, but to Stan it wasn’t. Stanford chuckled a little. His brother probably never encountered a wolf cub or someone needing to be groomed. He doubted he did it to their niblings.
As Stan was backing away and Little A was scooching closer to him. If this kept going Stan would probably fall down the sofa. Stanford closed his journal, raised a hand and rested it in front of Little A, stopping her from getting closer to Stan. He saw Stan deflated a little. He smiled softly. « You want Stan to groom you. Don’t you little one? » She nodded and tried to walk around his hand. Ford grabbed her and pulled her further away from Stan. « I’m sorry little on, I don’t think it’s going to happen. » He turned to his brother to confirm and Stan nodded enthusiastically at Ford’s statement. « My brother isn’t going to groom you. »
Little A frowned a little and looked at Stan. She registered his body language and her whole little frame dropped. « Oh... » she said.
Ford Looked at Little A in the eyes « I understand your Mamie did it, but Stan isn’t Mamie. He might have the same… Condition but that doesn’t mean that he’ll behave the same way. » He explained calmly. He heard his twin huffed in approval. She nodded in understanding.
Little A then raised her head and tilted one ear. « Sisser g’oom A? ». Ford was taken aback by her request. His eyebrows shot to his hairline. Did she mean with his tongue? Was that what she was asking him? That’s what she wanted Stan to do, but why asked him? he didn’t have a tongue to do such a thing. He was at a loss for words and for an answer. He stayed frozen in place for a couple of minutes, not knowing what to do or say. He opened his mouth a few times but nothing came out. Little A seemed apprehensive to listen to his answer. Her eyebrows were coming together as she observed his behavior.
Stan had stayed quiet for some time, but then stood up on all four and jumped off the sofa. He trotted back to the bathroom, leaving Ford alone in the living room with a worried Little A.« Stan? Where are you going? » Part of Ford didn’t want to be left to deal with this situation alone. Stan just ignored him and kept going. Ford heard his twin rummaging through their stuff and cupboards. Ford winced a little at the noise his brother was making, but didn’t stand up.
A few moments later, the big grey wolf came back with something in his mouth. He stopped in front of Ford and let the object he carried dropped on his lap. Stanford looked down. Stan had retrieved a comb from their bathroom. Little A leened a bit forward to see what the old wolf had gotten. She smiled brightly when she saw the comb in Ford’s hand. She climbed down the couch and rested her hands on the comb. « Sisser g’oom A with comb! ». Stan was wagging his tail and had a huge doggy smile on his face. Apparently he approved more of this plan than the previous one.
Stanford blinked a couple of times. Why didn’t he think of that. He really was a dumb genious. He turned the comb around in his hands and looked at Little A. « I suppose I can groom you with a comb. » He conceded. It was the better option than what he had imagined. That seemed to brighten Little A’s mood. She sat down in front of him and let her tail rest close to him.
Ford grabbed the comb in his hands and started combing, more than grooming, Little A’s tail. Stan laid down behind him, curling protectively around him. As he started to comb her, he realized that she had a lot of knots in her tail. Stanford frowned at that. He worked on untangling them carefully so as to not hurt Little A. « We should comb her more often ». He said to Stan. The old wolf raised his head and titled it. « She got it really tangled and it can’t be comfortable for her. » He added.
Stanford couldn’t recall if Stan or him had combed her tail before. They would comb her hair real quick in the morning, she had so much energy that she wouldn’t stay in place and let them. Luckily she had short hair, so they didn’t get too tangled, but her tail was another story. The hairs on her tail were long and thin. They were light, soft and puffy. Stanford chuckled. She had called his twin a Fluffy friend, but she was pretty fluffy herself.
Stanford got lost in his thoughts. His twin at his side started to snore and Little A seemed to relax more and more as he brushed her tail. It was peaceful and nice. He could feel his brother’s chest rising and falling against his back. Same with Little A, but on a much smaller scale. Her little body was tilting back and forth, she was very tired and the grooming must’ve made her really sleepy. It was the last nail in the coffin that sent her to the land of slumber. She switched her stance and came closer to Ford, nesting on his lap. Absentmindedly, he kept brushing her, but moved from her tail to her hair. He stayed like that for some time, wondering if he should take her to her pillow or just fall asleep with them like that. Stan’s back was very comfortable and warm. Neither of them would mind if they fell asleep right here in the living room. His back would disagree with him, but that would be future Ford’s problem. He chuckled softly at the thought and sank deeper into his brother’s side and closed his eyes. He was about to drift off to sleep.
Ford then heard the sound of a small engine rumbling to life. He turned his head to look at his brother, but Stan was fast asleep and snoring loudly. He turned his attention to the little bundle on his lap and crouched closer. He then froze into place. He brought a hand over his mouth to choke out a gasp.
Little A was so peaceful on his lap that she started purring. Stanford couldn’t believe it. She had never done that before. Her adult self never mentioned doing anything as such. He thought back to all the hardship she had told them about and endured over the years. All the adventure and events she witnessed or in some instance took part of. He Wondered if it didn’t result in her having some sort of trauma and making her forget or unable to purr anymore. He frowned sadly at the thoughts. Him and Stan have had their fair share of trauma over the years, but seeing that in her case it resulted in her losing the ability to express happiness openly was disturbing. Would that mean that her older self was never truly happy, even when she seemed to have a genuine smile?
He pondered if he should get up and grab his journal to scribble down his observation at the risk of waking her up. She squirmed in her sleep, temporarily interrupting her purring to change position. Seeing her like that, Stanford decided to just let her sleep and he himself sank back into his brother's side. He would scribble this in his journal the next day, in the meantime he would just fall asleep with his brother and their unusual friend.