february catch-all;

[amadaman]

WHO: Ken, Koromaru & YOU.
WHERE: wherever specified
WHEN: throughout February
WHAT: catch-all for the month!
WARNINGS: there we be talks about cannibalism at the very least.

Comments

[ursawhiner]

[Dipper leads them toward what is essentially a giant sandbox, with various tools laid out nearby.]

I'm pretty good. I mean, this kind of thing doesn't take too much finesse. We're pretty much just dusting off rocks. Or trilobites.

[Despite his words, Dipper still looks pretty excited.]

[amadaman]

The only sand I ever played in was the sandbox at a nearby park, or the shrine.

[With the dog, and a little girl who dropped by there sometimes too.]

You know how to do this better than I do.

[ursawhiner]

I'll teach you, don't worry.

[He hands Ken a rake and motions at the sand.]

You kind of sweep through it, looking for rocks or whatever.

[amadaman]

So it really is like digging through sandbox...

[Ken crouches carefully by the sand as not to get his clothes dirty, and he'll sweep the rake gently over it. That's what you should do right? Be gentle??]

[ursawhiner]

[Dipper can't stop being reminded of the last time he cleaned the litter boxes, though he decides not to mention it. The rake turns up a couple dirt encrusted rocks, so Dipper scoops them up and brings them to a low table.]

Now we kind of brush off the dirt. Use the chisels on the tougher bits.

[amadaman]

[Ken follows, putting the rakes back where they came from.]

Are they going to look like actual fossils, or are they mostly rocks?

[ursawhiner]

Fossils technically are rocks. Just with imprints or bits inside. I've never done this museum's dig before, so I dunno what we'll get.

[Worse that happens is they get some dinosaur poop or something. Which is still pretty cool.]

[amadaman]

[Ken hums thoughtfully, but as they get to the table for brushing it's already mostly full of little kids taking their time and screaming at each other and their moms. No space for two tweens to squeeze in! At the most there's one space in a corner for one of them, where Ken guides Dipper without hesitation.]

Show me how it's done, then? I'll watch. [If you can handle Ken leaning his chin on your shoulder to watch from behind.]

[ursawhiner]

[Dipper stiffens for a second, not expecting Ken to suddenly be so close. He relaxes quickly though, and grabs one of the chisels.]

So uh... just gotta crack off the harder bits of dirt first. But you have to be gentle or you'll chip the fossil underneath

[amadaman]

[He waits for him to relax, and he's happy when he does. Dipper always got very nervous when they were close, but they're getting more used to each other, now. He nods and smiles to himself.]

So you want to tap it, then?

[ursawhiner]

Yeah, kind of like-- [He gives one of the larger pieces of dirt a sharp tap, causing it to crack and fall away.]

Oh, you can see a bit of the fossil now. [Dipper tilts it towards Ken, pointing out partially revealed swirl.]

Looks like an ammonite.

[amadaman]

Mmm.

[Ken, instead of raising his head to look over Dipper's shoulder, just tilts his head where it's perched.]

Yeah, it looks that way. We get to take these home?