Hope is the Thing With Feathers

Chapter 11

Sorry for the bit of a delay in an update. I had planned to update on this day last week, but I've been having a bit of Writer's Block all this week. In addition, I have had a couple users comment on my other ongoing stories essentially telling me to update this fanfic. Please do not do that. It's incredibly rude and demotivating for me, and I partially withheld this update because I do not like to encourage that type of behavior. I work equally hard on all my stories. While I am thrilled many of you enjoy this novel, please get off my other stories if you're only going to comment that I should update this instead of actually reading the story I put a lot of effort into. Thank you.

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The addition of coffee and entertainment had been a success for the once desolate museum. Blathers saw more foot traffic than ever before, and it had to be due to his friend's delicious coffee blend and K.K. Slider's wonderful Saturday evening performances. Blathers sometimes found himself taking a quick break from his post to listen to a tune while he shared a coffee with Brewster.

Entertainment had helped, yes, and donations were increasing, but not so much in fossils, the artifacts that Blathers was the most interested in. It had begun the day that Blathers had started his post, really.

Lolly, a tabby cat, had brought a few fossils to him. Blathers, eager to unveil the new specimens, happily accepted them, but Lolly continued standing impatiently.

"What are they?" she asked. "I've been dying to know all day."

"I-I'm afraid I can't answer that," Blathers said. "You see, I have to ship them off to Farway Museum before I can get confirmation."

Since that day, the fossil donations had diminished, as the days long assessment process often threw off the villagers who wanted to witness their fossils almost as soon as they had donated them. Because Blathers had not completed his doctorate, his assessment abilities were subpar, and he was beginning to fear it was taking a toll on the museum.

Thankfully, after a quick conversation with Mayor Tortimer, Blathers found a local community college that offered a fossil license course. It was a short bus ride away, and while Blathers hated closing the museum in his absence, he knew it would have a good outcome.

Those days when he did his course, Blathers felt a bit like a failure sometimes. It was a constant reminder of his inability to finish graduate school and the dreams he had left behind. He never let Brewster know these thoughts, even if his pigeon friend always clearly noticed when Blathers was in a poor mood after coming home from his college course some nights.

However, the course was continuing smoothly, and Blathers was starting to feel that he was finally getting the hang of it. He was excited for the day he would be able to assess the fossils on his own. But in the meantime, fish and bug donations were nonstop.

Blathers was practically writhing as soon as he saw Bunnie enter with her net and an insect enclosed in a plastic container. The same fear was instilled in him every time a villager came to donate a bug. It was the least favorite part of Blathers' position, but there was no escaping it. Brewster couldn't very well identify and give information about bugs. Blathers had no option of escape. He merely had to withhold vomiting every time a villager stopped by with a new bug donation.

"Um...just...let me see here," Blathers grumbled. It was a mantis, he realized, like the one whose egg sack had exploded on his desk that one time. He let out an eek, and nearly dropped the container, but he slowly composed himself and listed off to Bunnie any facts she might be interested in before she headed out and he hurried to put the bug into its exhibit before he had to look at its disgusting beady eyes any longer.

After such a scarring experience, Blathers decided to head downstairs for a coffee. Brewster was casually wiping a few spare mugs, though he began pouring fresh coffee for Blathers as soon as the owl entered.

Blathers took a seat at the counter, thanking Brewster as he happily sipped at the coffee.

"I hate the bugs," Blathers grumbled. "Foul, disgusting things."

Brewster laughed. "I'm afraid it's part of your job."

"And I hate going into that exhibit. I avoid it at all costs," Blathers complained.

"Well, nevermind the bugs. How is your fossil course going?" Brewster asked. "You should be almost done now, shouldn't you?"

"Next week," Blathers said. "It's been a pain studying while running the museum, but your coffee beverages make the day all the more enjoyable."

"I'm glad. You know, I thought I would miss the city coming here, and in a way, I do, but it's also so delightfully peaceful out here. I'm really enjoying my time here," Brewster said. "And I'm still so thankful to you for getting me this position."

"Of course! And I'm glad you're enjoying your time here. I've started to grow toward Animal Village a bit myself," Blathers said. "It's a lot less lonely these days," he said, looking up and flashing a smile at Brewster.

After finishing his coffee and exchanging a few more words with Brewster, Blathers headed upstairs to his living quarters for a small break. The place needed a bit of tidying since he went up there so little. As Blathers dusted his things, he smiled at a few pictures of him and his family. He hadn't had time to visit them much, but he knew his parents and Celeste were supporting him. He hoped when they did come to visit, he could show them the museum in all its glory. Lately, he had been holding off their visit, as the museum was still not completely to his liking.

As Blathers set the family picture frame down, his phone began to ring. Strange. It never rang much. He assumed it was a call from Tortimer, who was too lazy to get up from his office, but when he picked up the phone, he found his sister's voice on the other line.

"Hey, what's up?" she asked.

"Celeste! I didn't expect to hear from you!" Blathers admitted.

"I get to call every once in a while, don't I? Mom and Dad get worried when they don't hear from you in a while. How are things going?" Celeste asked.

Blathers ran her through the changes, noting how he was almost finished with a fossil license course, how Brewster's excellent coffee had seemed to save the museum, and how life was slowly, but surely, improving for him in Animal Village.

"I'm happy for you," Celeste said. "The stars must be really lovely there, without all those city lights clouding them. It makes me jealous."

"How are you, then?" Blathers asked.

"Well, I'm graduating soon," Celeste said.

Blathers had nearly forgotten his sister was finishing graduate school in the spring. He paused, trying to think of words, when Celeste said, "You forgot, didn't you?"

"I did not!" Blathers exclaimed. "Well, then what's next for you? Have you figured out what you're going to do?"

"Perhaps I'll be an astronomy professor," Celeste murmured. "Although that doesn't let me look at the stars that much, unfortunately. I realize there's less and less I can do with this degree than I thought. I'm sort of jealous. You were handed a job before you had even finished school."

"It was just a bit of luck," Blathers said. "I really didn't intend to take this position."

"I know, I know. I'll have to come visit sometime. Maybe there's a job lined up for me there," Celeste said, with a little laugh in her tone. She was joking, Blathers knew, but suddenly, the wheels in his head began to turn, and his eyes widened.

"Celeste, I have an idea," he said.