[ falco was too much with his politeness, and had it not been for dipper’s own recognition, he’d let him keep speaking. this little jump behind his ribs, from his heart, makes him realize his nervousness, but with a nod and a soft confirmation, ]

Okay.

[ he starts to look down, and his lips start to pull harshly, frowning, culpable as much as he was ashamed. ]

You should never perform an exorcism against it alone. Not— not that you shouldn’t have. [ he wants to make clear; it wasn’t a scolding. it was a fact his erratic state had purposely omitted, stuck under the strings of a puppet, but either way— it should have been mentioned earlier, when he was still stable. ] The priests at South Sister said so, after the first time it resisted. I knew that. It was a rule.

[ falco occasionally looks up, but the attention is divided with his fidgeting fingers. that, and his eyes are reddening; he has to keep blinking to soothe the burn it brings to his nose. ]

I don’t know why . . . I didn’t tell you, and that, I— I forced your hand to try anyway.