#ahit moon penguin | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

crescentblossom66 · 2 months

Text

Yellow Bundles of (Pain) Joy

The first of the two fics that I submitted to @anachronism-ahitzine Please check out the other writers and artists.

It was seriously the last thing he needed right now, a brain-splitting headache that spread from the back all the way to the front of his cranium. It had been some time since he had to deal with such an annoyance, if the yellow bird's anger was high before, it was now on par with the force of a raging volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. At this rate his movie would never be finished in time.

His right ear-like feathers twitched before Conductor stood up from his director's chair, yelling 'cut' as he stormed over to the frantic Express Owl whose face was contorted in a mix of pain and panic, as he tried to free the tip of his wing from the jagged beak of a fluffy troublemaker. After the young bird realized that her grandfather was coming toward her, the little owlet let go, leaving a big bruise on the wing of the brown bird that handed the girl back to his boss with urgency.

The relief of the Express Owl was cut short when the Conductor glared and made a noise akin to a low growl “Cannae even take care o' a wee one. I'm surrounded by incompetent buffoons!” Even if the owls were already used to the temper and rage of their very irritable boss, it still caused them to shiver and scurry away in fear. His granddaughter buried her face in his chest, as the Conductor carried her back to the playpen that was kept in a room away from the set to avoid exactly the scenario that had just occurred. Why...Why did he have to watch over the little blighters now of all times? It was only a few more months until his movie had to be finished and that meant that he could hardly spare a minute, let alone days to watch over his grandkids!

When he got close to the door of the room the little owlets were kept in, he felt his anger flare up yet again, as he could already hear that something was wrong. He hoped that the commotion was only caused by the disappearance of his granddaughter that he was returning, but of course, luck wasn't on his side today. The moment he opened the door, his gaze immediately fell on an empty playpen. The owl that he snapped his head toward, looked like he wanted to be anywhere else just not right where he was. “Ye better tell me that ye took the wee ones out fer a stroll, laddie.”

Rather than deal with the apparent rage that the owl could not only see, but feel coming off the director like an oppressive, malicious aura, the other bird quickly stormed past him. “I have no idea how they got out!”, the fleeing bird informed as he sprinted down the hall faster than the Conductor had ever seen an Express Owl run...If only they could run this fast in his movies, maybe then they'd not get singed in explosions all the time.

The young owl in his arms started to twist and turn as if uncomfortable, which made the yellow bird realize that he was holding onto her too tightly in his angry state. “I'm sorry, lassie. I didn't mean ta scare ye.” He felt horrible, he had scared his granddaughter so much that she wanted to get away from him. The girl chirped happily when he cradled her in his arms and pet over her head...He could only hope that no one saw that. “Alright, let's go look fer yer siblings.”

He found the first one of the little troublemakers on the top of the huge barn on his set, just walking on the roof tiles with unsteady steps. Before the true gravity of the situation sunk in and he sprinted off to get the young owl, he briefly wondered how his grandson had even gotten up there in the first place, given that he could hardly walk without falling over backwards. The old bird nearly slipped off the roof himself as a loose tile shifted under him. The things he did to keep them safe...Breaking a bone would still have been less problematic than facing the ire of his beloved daughter though, of that he was certain.

“Ye cannae simply run away like that, laddie, ye worried yer grandpa sick.” He picked up the young boy whose feathers lowered as his grandfather lightly scolded him. Getting down with the fragile baby bird proved rather difficult, but thankfully his incompetent owls used their brains for once and brought over a ladder for him to descend safely.

The yellow bird only had time to thank his subordinates briefly as movement and yellow plumage caught his attention down the hallway, heading to his other set. He shoved his grandson into the arms of the Express Owl closest to him, the disapproval of this action was visible on both, as the brown owl stretched his wings out to keep the toddler as far away from him as possible, while the fluffy baby watched his family member leave while lightly sobbing. The director nearly recoiled when he noticed the state of his normally neatly organized dressing room which now looked like a hurricane had torn through it. All the costumes were mixed together on various piles instead of hanging from the clothes hangers that they had originally been placed upon. “Holy peck!” The Conductor balled his talons to fists, his sharp claws nearly digging into his palm as his eyes scanned the room for the little perpetrator that he found with ease, as a pile of clothes in the back moved and gave away the position of his second granddaughter. The little bird was revealed after he tossed neck scarfs, vest, and purposefully ripped and dirtied trousers behind him. Not noticing his presence yet, the young girl continued to put a ruby necklace on that was intended for a wealthy side character in his upcoming movie. She protested and chirped when he pulled the accessory off and carried her out of the room with a scowl on his face.

“Stay in here, ye got that? I know ye want ta play, but I got a movie to record, I ain't got the time right now.” He informed the three young birds that he had found so far, after placing them back in the playpen.

He was about to head back outside the make-shift kids room, when he noticed a couple of Moon Penguins brusquely walking down the hallway, holding one of his grandsons. The way they held him didn't sit right with neither the owlet nor his disgruntled grandfather as they held the young boy by the scruff on his neck like they were taking out the trash, rather than carry an infant. “Don't leave your little terrors on our side of the studio, a'ight. We're not a daycare!” The penguin that was holding the unhappy toddler, dumped said owlet into his arms and dusted off their flippers. The Conductor would have snapped at them if wasn't for the fact that he needed to calm down his grandson first, who appeared glad that he was reunited with him.

“It's true that ye ain't daycare workers, yer a bunch o' talentless clowns who ain't got no idea how to handle a young owl.” The two birds that had started to walk back, turned around once more, their annoyance shifting to spite. Dealing with their leader's arch nemesis was trying their patience enough already, getting insulted over a problem that the yellow- feathered director had caused himself, only angered them more.

“Hey! We wouldn't even have to come over here if YOU had these mini terrors under control! This one nearly ruined the electricity on our set by playing with the cables!”

The Western director contemplated whether he should scold or praise his grandson for doing that, on one hand, he got himself in danger, on the other, he was sabotaging the set of his rival. Instead of admitting to failed supervision, he smirked at the angered penguin. “As if he could ruin that set, it's already held together with duct tape and glue. I wouldnae even call it a set, more like shabby dump!” The self-satisfied bird watched as the more agitated one of the two Moon Penguins gritted his beak and was pulled back by his slightly more calm coworker. It appeared that the more sensible one of the two tried to deescalate the situation by getting his enraged friend away from the director.

Now he had four of his five grandkids back together, he was only missing one, the one that he secretly liked the most...even if picking favorites was a bit of an awful thing to do. His favorite grandson was nowhere to be seen though, not on his sets, nor in the hallway or even the lobby. The Conductor was cursing under his breath when he reluctantly entered the one area that he hadn't looked yet, his rival's side of the studio. Given that the Moon Penguins had brought back one of the little blighters, it wasn't far-fetched to assume that the young boy was over there as well. He ignored the stares and the confusion on the penguins, that seemed to stop dead in their tracks and ceased what they were doing the moment they spotted the Western director just barge in and walk through the sets and down the hallway. When one brave penguin decided to try and stop the yellow owl, he was met with a death-glare and a low growl, which caused the poor bird to step back.

After reaching the end of the hallway, completely unopposed, the Conductor could hear the happy chirps of his missing grandson...and when he opened the door, he was greeted by a sight that he would never have expected. His grandson was smiling widely and made happy chirps and giggles while being lightly thrown into the air and when caught again by none other than his rival. “Come on, darling, up you go again.” The disco-loving bird tossed the boy, who flapped his tiny wings up and down, as if trying to catch the wind to fly, while seemingly having a lot of fun. Fun was the last thing that his grandpa had, however, as he stomped his way into the room.

“What do ye think yer doin' ta me grandson?!” The DJ seemed to not have heard him enter, being so focused on the baby bird, he gasped and visibly flinched while catching the boy again.

“I'm playing with him, darling, something you clearly neglected to do.” The way the young bird snuggled into the exposed feathers on his rival's chest made his blood boil even more, and caused the Conductor to reach out and grab his grandson, pulling him away from the tall penguin. Unsurprisingly, the tiny bird began to cry.

“Look at what you've done, Conductor, the little darling started to cry!” The owl was shocked to hear his grandson suddenly wail as he was being carried away by him.

“You kidnapper! You stole him from his playpen just to spite me, eh! Ye peck neck!” The penguin rolled his eyes at the accusation, his shades hiding the action from the other bird who tried to calm the little one down.

“I did no such thing, Conductor, he fell out of the vent and thankfully landed in my hair. I was going to return him.” The sci-fi director tried to reach out to the little owlet and the young bird rose his tiny wings out toward him in an attempt to wiggle out of the tight hold he found himself in.

The Conductor was about to just take the missing child back to the others that he had already gathered, but loud noises in the vent above, and the screaming of panicked Express Owls that were shut down by louder yelling from the Moon Penguins, caused him to stop dead in his tracks. When he focused, the yellow owl could make out “Conductor” and “Grandchildren” in the cacophony of voices. The kids must have escaped again!

Swallowing the harsh insults with which he wanted to express his anger and disappointment for the lack of competence his owls displayed, he took a look at the vent shaft that his grandson had supposedly used to get to the DJ's dressing room. Said DJ observed him for a moment and wanted to open his beak to ask what his rival was doing. The penguin couldn't help but laugh when his rival tried to look up the vent and was brought to the ground as four little owlets fell right on him. “Need some help there, darling?”

The ear-like feathers of the old owl twitched as he sat up again. “I donnae need yer help!-” He turned to look at the young birds with rage still present in his voice. “- Come here!” The owlets started to hide behind the flashy penguin, shaking with fear and whimpering. The yellow bird didn't need the disapproving glare from his rival to know that he had messed up badly...He had scared his grandkids. “I'm sorry, I...I should have taken some time off to play with ye.” His voice was uncharacteristically quiet, the confidence in it gone. They only wanted to be with him...and he had just shoved them away.

When the owlets hesitated, the sci-fi director put his contempt for the old owl behind and bent down to talk to the kids. “How about we get you some toys, darlings?” That got their attention easily. DJ Grooves sent his penguins to pick up some of the cheap plastic props from storage. The Conductor meanwhile, had an idea to get the affection of his grandkids back and had his owls set up the big trainset that he had shoved into a corner of his office and put it on his set. Maybe he should have looked at the measurements before buying it.

The young birds played with the small space shuttles that the DJ had brought for them...until they heard the high pitched sound of a train whistle on a smaller scale. The yellow owl watched as his grandkids admired the train and the three carts it pulled. He was a bit worried when they decided to climb onto the carts and ride around on them, but he smiled when he noticed their happy faces and cheerful chirps. Wondering where the kids had went, the penguin checked on his rival's set, finding the old bird in the middle of a small railroad, surrounded by ecstatic owlets. He rolled his eyes when the Conductor noticed him and gave his signature smug smile, the very same one he always had to endure whenever the Western director won the Award. “Did ye think ye could replace me, DJ peck neck? Nae, ye cannae have 'em, I love these wee blighters!”

#anachronism zine #ahit #ahit conductor #ahit dj grooves #ahit conductor's grandkids #ahit moon penguins #ahit fanfic

11 notes · View notes

tiramegtoons · 1 year

Text

“Sorry, no can do. I’m already under an active contract.”

“LOOK- I DON’T CARE WHO YOUR EMPLOYER IS,

JUST

SIGN THE PAPER!”

“AND MAKE IT QUICK. IVE GOT MORE IMPORTANT MATTERS TO ATTEND TO.”

#the snatcher #the snatcher ahit #sketches #sorry grooves you won’t be making a movie in subcon for a while #moon penguins

53 notes · View notes

nasubeenwithcat · 1 year

Text

Will he lose his memory again? If so, for how much longer? Not to mention Grooves, will he forget his daughter and the Owl Express? How far would he go to forget the memories of his family, when he had already forgotten his grandchildren?

Done!!!I’m translating it (amnesiac Conductor/DJ Grooves fic)

I posted first part!! >here

I just want to write a normal romance, but it always ends up being weird. I just want to see pretty birds……

#a hat in time #ahit conductor #ahit moon penguin #my art #ahit fanart #the conductor #moon penguin

77 notes · View notes

habijob · 1 year

Text

The feeling when you travel to work...

For the hatcord artprompt "Travel"

#a hat in time #ahit #The Tourist #Nyakuza Cat #Moon Penguin #Habiart

35 notes · View notes

slushie5544 · 1 year

Text

Intro to The Fall of a Star

Hi there so I've been working on this fic and it's sort of a sequel to "A Star is Born" which technically you don't have to read to understand this fic as most parts will be explained throughout the story! I'm actually a lot more proud of this than the previous fic! This is actually half of one chapter so in a way this is a teaser!

Words: 2,512

Characters: Dj Grooves, the Conductor, and mentions of snatcher!

Summary: After losing for so many years to the Conductor, DJ Grooves vows to make the greatest movie yet! However when he hits a terrible writer’s block the penguin he’s ready to give up until something quite literally hits him.

No one ever said writing stories was an easy task, let alone trying to write a story that could be the next big blockbuster hit! However, that never deterred DJ Astro, Grooves; ever since he was just a chick he had ideas and dreams that would spiral through his mind, just waiting to be shared with the world. Sure it had taken him many obstacles and challenges to finally get where he was, but he tried to see them as just stepping stones to his success! He was nearly thirty years old when he was given ownership of his own movie studio, well it was more or less half ownership. Nonetheless, despite the countless headaches and arguments with his neighboring director, Grooves counted it as one of the biggest achievements in his life. He finally was able to show the world what he was capable of!

Unfortunately for the director, the masses seemingly weren’t quite ready for the big new ideas he had. Every year he would go against his opponent, the Conductor and every year he would win with his old fashion train western movies. It wasn’t fair, Grooves tried so hard for years to bring something new to the table, but it never worked. That was, up until a couple of years ago.

Tensions were high throughout the movie studio, everyone was either glued to their phone screens or surrounding the breakroom televisions. Nothing was getting done and it was all for good reason. For the first time in Dead Bird History the scores between the two rivals: DJ Grooves and the Conductor, were neck to neck! With the Conductor only being just a mere couple of votes behind it was an extremely close call for both parties, however, both parties took the news differently.

Moon penguins were dancing about and snapping their fins excitedly, their boss DJ Grooves was ecstatic, he had never felt so close to winning in his life. However, as for their neighbors across the studio, it was a different story. While it was expected for the Conductor to be a sore loser, he expected the other director to explode, or at least let out shouts. Instead, he was seemingly closed off to anything and everyone around him. His ears were flattened to his head; even the feathers around his neck that were normally so free were also close to his body. No one had ever seen the director so reserved before and it terrified the owls even more than usual. At least when he was screaming it was predictable what was going to happen. This almost felt like walking near a ticking time bomb that didn’t have a set detonation. No one even dared to go near the owlish creature. That was until

That was until Grooves finally decided to break the ice and possibly talk to the other. Though he had to admit, he wasn’t sure how to approach the brooding director. They did eventually bump into each other in the lobby, but it didn’t go quite as he thought it would.

The Conductor was hastily leaving his studio with his coat thrown over one of his shoulders and hat being pressed down over his head. He shouted something to the receptionist which caught Grooves and the other penguins off guard.

“AYE! I’m taking my leave early!”

The DJ penguin was quick to get in front of the creature who abruptly stopped in his tracks, but he let out what Grooves could only assume was a curse in another language as he shoved past him. His clawed hands were gripping the jacket and hat tightly and Grooves swore he could see the other trembling slightly. Was the Conductor really this prideful over a win? He never lost before and now that he was so close he just had to run away from it? Maybe something else came up! No, the timing was too perfect! Grabbing the other by the back of his white shirt Grooves pulled the Conductor back.

“And where do you think you are going, darling?”

“...”

No response at all from the Conductor, that was definitely a first. He didn’t let go though. Instead, he tried to ask again this time with a bit more concern.

“Conductor? Is everything alright?”

“..”

Though he once again didn’t speak the director’s shoulders raised to his neck as he attempted to keep his head low. A slight tremble came from the other’s body and this only solidified the worry in Groove’s mind.

“Is this really over the Dead Bird Award? It’s not the end of the world you know-”

“You have five seconds to get your flipper off of me, DJ Grooves.”

The penguin complied, taking his wing away and holding it behind his back. The Conductor continued to storm off but stopped as the sliding doors opened.

“If you get in my way again, I’ll ruin your career.”

Grooves took a step back and watched as the other director jumped into his train and left without even announcing his departure. Most of the Express Owls had to either find other modes of getting back home or simply stayed at the studio till the next morning.

By the last day of filming, it had been three days since the clash with the Conductor, and Grooves hadn’t seen or heard from him in those few days. It was starting to worry the penguin. However, that concern didn’t last long when he woke up that morning and checked his phone to see numerous messages and notifications about checking the final scores. His heart jumped a beat upon searching for the scores, with the Conductor having been gone for so long surely he had to be disqualified or at least he forfeited but his body went cold and his heart dropped upon seeing the scores:

CONDUCTOR: 1,439 DJ GROOVES: 1,419

He had made the mistake of clicking a link that was associated with a search and it was a video of the Conductor receiving his award laughing.

“That DJ Grooves couldn’t have made an award-winning movie even if he tried! His movies are nothing but loud, incoherent drive! And another thi-”

Grooves turned off his phone and tossed it to the side, he couldn’t let the Conductor get away with this! He had to have cheated! There was no way he could prove it, but those words from their last interaction replayed in his mind.

“I will ruin your carreer.”

He wasn’t going to let go! If stopping the Conductor meant he needed to buckle down and truly make the greatest movie out there, then so be it! He promised to not stop movie-making until he finally stopped the reign of the Conductor!

There was only one small, tiny problem though. DJ Grooves had nothing, his mind blanked completely whenever he tried to type something. It was almost as if when an idea came to him and he started to type it, the idea left him just as quickly, as he tried listening to his favorite music, watching previous movies he had made, as a last ditch effort the penguin had almost watched one of the Conductor’s boring mystery movie. Almost. He would rather lose everything than give that owl a single ounce of his attention like that! Then again he wasn't far off from losing everything if he didn't make a movie!

With a sigh, the penguin rested his chin on his wing staring at the blank screen before him. The cursor blinked repeatedly, mocking him for not being able to start even a single sentence. For so long he was able to spew words onto his screen with ease, he never truly had to think about what he had to write. It was almost second nature for him to come up with new ideas for his movies! So why is it now, he can’t think of a single good idea!?

The clock that hung against the wall behind him ticked annoyingly reminding him of every second he wasted just sitting there. He knew he shouldn’t, but he couldn’t stop himself from looking down at the corner of his laptop to see the time, it was a quarter after eleven. Two whole hours of doing nothing. A groan erupted from the director’s beak as he closed his laptop then pushed himself away from his wooden desk and stood up, sliding on a pair of slippers.

Taking off his tinted star glasses, Grooves rubbed his sensitive eyes feeling a tense headache starting. He desperately needed a break, maybe some fresh air would help him clear his mind! He let out a yawn as he stretched back slightly while raising his arms behind his head. His luxurious Afro had been put in a light bun as he had planned to go to bed after he wrote, but instead, now he was wandering the halls of his part of the studio. Everyone had gone home hours ago, even the hardheaded Conductor saying he had some ‘preparations’ he needed to do for his next movie.

That left the moon penguin in the empty building by himself, the fluorescent lights dimly lit hallways to which he looked at some of the yellow stars that were painted on some of the walls. Some of the paint was clearly becoming worn out as many stars faded with the blue background. A few drops of water also dripped on his beak making the penguin quickly back away and look up at the ceiling above him. Great, another pipe needed maintenance, just what he needed. He continued down the hall and finally made it to his dressing room, upon entering Grooves picked up his bright red jacket from the coat hook that he kept near the door and traded it for his equally bright, but fuzzy robe. He tried his best to not look directly at the pile of letters and newspapers near his door. Rent notices and papers full of reminders of his failures as a movie director.

Soon Grooves couldn’t take it much more and needed to get out of the room and left back down the hallway where he made his way to an elevator to go upstairs. He pressed the L button and leaned against the wall next to him as he listened to the soft space jazz. His wings were kept in his jacket pocket, and he could feel something in his inner pocket. His heart dropped recognizing the piece of paper that he had with him. Despite his best judgment the penguin took out the rolled-up paper from his inner pocket and held it under one of the slightly brighter lights above him so he could inspect the writing.

“For as long as you make movies and keep one favor for me, I will allow you to own a recording studio with THE official Dead Bird Studios! If you do not comply with the following agreements both your -soul- studio and fortune fame will be taken from you.”

Looking at the bottom of the paper Grooves inspected his signature, it had nearly been ten years since he signed the contract and to this day the ink still looked fresh. The ghoulish stamp that was next to his name made him shiver, it reminded him so much of the raven-like creature he met and had made the contract with. He tried so hard to forget those hollowed glowing eyes of the bird that managed to tower over him, the laughter of that raven haunted him even more. He swore he could hear the cackling now as he looked down at the paper in his flippers. When the purple stamp started to glow the penguin let out a yelp and dropped the contract. Never had it glowed without him touching it, just as the paper landed on the floor the doors to the lift opened and he fumbled to grab the paper once again. He rolled the paper back up and stuffed it into his jacket, not wanting to look at that stamp anymore.

Thankfully his thoughts were interrupted when something caught his attention, a bright flash of light illuminated one of the nearby rooms. He was cautiously walking up to the room with his wings ready in front of him to swat at anyone or anything. Upon getting just a bit closer there was another flash of light and this time a slight crash could be heard making the penguin jump slightly. He continued his way to the doorway where he finally saw the flashes of light had been coming from a window that was looking outside. He tiptoed to look out the window and let out a gasp. Multiple objects were seemingly falling from the sky! They were bright and falling quite fast!

Was it a meteor shower? Surely something like that would have been announced! He saw another flash in the far distance which was followed shortly by the expected crashing noise. Grooves left the window and made his way to the lobby where he darted past the front sliding doors and hurried down the short hallway. From the windowed doors, the penguin could see something not too far from the parking lot shining brightly. Upon seeing the object his eyes were solely focused on it, and he felt as if he was being beckoned toward the glowing debris.

As he opened the front doors of the studio he could hear the sound of music, it was calming yet captivating. He was being drawn to whatever it was that had been falling from the sky; not even noticing the other timepieces that landed in the lot. The subtle sounds of clocks ticking and the calming piano played along with soft tinkling sounds. As he inched closer to the object he barely even noticed how quiet everything outside the surrounding darkness became.

Wiping the dirt from the object Grooves finally picked up the item and was able to finally get a proper look at what he was holding. An hourglass? Not even a scratch was seen on the glass as he turned it around to inspect it. It glimmered under the moonlight as he held it up to the sky, the sand inside didn't even move when he turned it about. Before he could look any closer at the details of the hourglass the penguin looked up at the sky. A single bright flash from above him was what caught his attention, he squinted his eyes slightly behind his glasses and then put a wing to his forehead. Another flash and this time the object was seemingly getting bigger, not wait, it was getting closer! Unfortunately by the time he realized where it was landing the penguin could only widen his eyes and let out a squawk before he was blinded by a flash of light then everything went dark.

#a hat in time #dj grooves #the conductor #ahit dj grooves #ahit conductor #ahit snatcher mentioned #snatcher mentioned #moon penguins #timepiece #ahit fanfic #a hat in time fanfic

14 notes · View notes

majormeilani · 2 months

Text

sorry it's a thousand years late lol. idk what happened 2 me

Title: Curtain Call (Part 2)

Summary: DJ Grooves has to tie up a few more loose ends before he can leave the studio one final time. Some harder to tie than most.

Word Count: 8k+ content warnings: heavy mentions of suicide ideation and depression, smoking

[Part One can Be Found Here]

DJ Grooves sat stunned at the sight of the other bird in his doorway. It was something he probably should have suspected would happen but for how long had the owl been standing there? Why was he just looming in his doorway like that? Normally a loud mouth like him would have wasted no time barging right in and yammering away at him about some arbitrary nonsense but instead he was standing there. Silent.

DJ Grooves tried to even his breathing once more, fighting back the urge to let his tears flow enough for the owl to see.

Stick it out for just a little longer, Grooves.

The penguin leaned forward and began to zip up the suitcase he had just finished packing, giving himself a moment to try and think of what to say to The Conductor. Even though he knew in his heart that Conductor didn't care about him or what his whereabouts might be, he had figured that he had to talk to him about it at some point.

And from what DJ Grooves could tell by looking at the owl's body language, The Conductor wasn't too keen on the news of him leaving the studio.

The owl was staring hard at the floor, hands stuffed into his pockets and shoulders slack. He didn't even glimpse up at DJ Grooves when he detected the sound of the penguin zipping up the suitcase. His beak was grit together tightly and he looked rather on edge despite his attempts to remain still. DJ Grooves could almost feel the anger radiating off of him; it was a sense he'd picked up on over the years of sharing the studio with the other director.

DJ Grooves stood up from his place on the floor, continuing to stare at the owl. The penguin's brows furrowed and he gently ground his beak and brought his hands together at his front. Despite the couple of minutes of silence the two of them shared, DJ Grooves was at a complete loss of what to say to him.

After all, this likely would be one of his last conversations with the owl.

What is one to say to the one who hates you with a burning passion? For the last time?

How would he want him to remember him?

Did he want him to remember him at all?

The Conductor had picked up on DJ Grooves' movement, his head feathers perking slightly at the sound but the rest of him remained rigid. The owl's posture sank further and DJ Grooves detected that the owl grit his beak with a rather audible click.

Without looking up, The Conductor broke the silence with a harsh, disappointed tone to his words:

"So… ahm… that really werenae a prank, was it…?"

The owl reached up towards his own head feathers to ruffle at them, his nervous habit making itself known. Conductor shifted his weight onto the other foot and dug at the carpet with the toe of his dress shoe. His gaze was rather avoidant, still not daring to look at the penguin but he did his equivalent of glaring daggers at the dark carpet beneath him.

DJ Grooves could still tell he was rather tense, despite how the owl tried to mask his emotions and his miserable attempt at sounding calm and reasonable. It wasn't like The Conductor was good at hiding his feelings in the first place. Right now with the way he was carrying himself, Grooves could tell this was a rather obvious display of disappointment.

DJ Grooves looked down to his coat where the inner pocket was and gently placed his hand over it. The letter. He'd nearly forgotten The Conductor had seen the letter. His heart drummed as he wondered if the owl had gotten a good enough look at what was written upon it.

Might as well try to act normal, nonchalant about it. Maybe try his best to keep things neutral. He best try not rock the boat too much before he leaves the shore. Which is definitely easier said than done.

But might Conductor think of his behavior as strange if he didn't try to gloat a little? DJ Grooves had to remember he couldn't let anyone think that something was amiss. Especially not Conductor of all birds.

DJ Grooves realized that he'd been making this silence entirely too awkward by overthinking everything in the moment. He had to blurt something out quick before the owl could start picking up on what was really going on.

"Sorry, darling, I just didn't want to break the news so soon-- but it seems word got around to you after all," DJ Grooves paused for a fake chuckle, bringing the back of his hand to his beak.

The Conductor's head feathers twitched again when DJ Grooves finally spoke and the penguin detected a soft scoff from him.

"Ye think aye wouldnae put it tahgether that yer actors were'll loudly spoutin' offa 'bout a sudden holiday? And tha yew were nae leavin' the studio because of sum letter?" The Conductor spat back at Grooves. "I'm nae an eejit, Grooves. I saw yer letter on tha boardroom floor. What's this whole thin' all about, huh?"

The owl's tone made him sound a tinge emotionally hurt by presumably being left out of the big news of his rival. He was still refusing to look up at DJ Grooves' face as well, like this confrontation was one he did not want to have.

DJ Grooves feigned a playful smirk on the outside at the owl's reaction to him but on the inside he almost felt pity for him. The Conductor really didn't have the faintest idea of what was really going on and DJ Grooves was going to make absolutely sure of that. He couldn't know the truth. No one could know the truth.

DJ Grooves' hand gripped the edge of his coat before he reached in and retrieved the letter once more.

"... You mean this letter, darlin'?" he asked, pinching it between his digits as he held it by his shoulder.

The mention of the letter got The Conductor to look up at him and DJ Grooves watched as the beak of his rival scrunched up at the sight of the white envelope in his hand.

"Why do ye always ask questions like that? Ye already knew what I meant by tha’ lett’r. What the 'ell is it for?" The Conductor scoffed again, voice lowering in volume as if he didn’t really want to ask.

Of course, the owl had likely heard rumors of it and likely read the address of the letter briefly, but over the years of DJ Grooves living and working with The Conductor he had come to know him to be the type to affirm things very stringently. Even if everything around Conductor was spelling it out for him, he always needed affirmation for his suspicions and sometimes even then Grooves couldn't always tell if the owl believed them.

To answer the rather obvious, DJ Grooves brought a soft prideful expression to his face and stood taller on his platforms.

"I would have thought you would have known by now. Conductor, darling, it's from a film honor committee," DJ Grooves stated firmly, feeling his own feathers puff a bit at his lie.

"I 'ave never heard o' sucha rubbish committee in me life," The Conductor barked back harshly.

The old owl was folding his arms again.

"It's pro'ly nae even a real committee…"

DJ Grooves felt himself jump at the accusation. Though it was true the committee was a sham, he had to convince his rival to believe in it. He was not going to let The Conductor stand in his way.

"Wha--! Why would a fake committee send me a letter, darling? That makes absolutely no sense!" DJ Grooves sputtered back, cringing as his own voice raised in pitch and cracked.

"Yer darn right et makes no sense," The Conductor said, standing taller, jabbing a thumb towards his own chest.

"If it were real they would'ave honor’d me ages ago! Me! Ah've won far mor' times than ye ever have and I 'ave never been invited to nae peck neck 'film honors committee' me whole career!"

DJ Grooves felt his heart drop in his chest. The other director was correct; no film committee had ever specifically honored him in such a way. Sure, Conductor had the occasional TV interview for news or other programs but a film committee specifically honoring him? Was something rather unheard of. Conductor's strong skepticism of the committee's non-existence was now breaking DJ Grooves’ confidence in his own lie.

DJ Grooves was starting to lose track of his original purpose in this conversation and decided his best course of action was to double down and his stubborn heart even told him the same. The penguin even felt himself grow angry and his breathing sharpened as he huffed at the challenge his rival had placed before him. Sometimes The Conductor knew just what to say to really set him off. And with Grooves' current emotional state, it was a recipe for disaster.

"Darling, you're being ridiculous right now," DJ Grooves barked back now, posture stiffening.

"Frankly, I think you're just jealous of my accomplishments. You always have been, darling! I think you're just upset that I have something that you don't."

DJ Grooves moved closer to The Conductor, watching as the owl seemed to tense as he approached. He then wavered the letter at The Conductor's beak in a teasing gesture.

"That's it! You're simply jealous of me. Jealous that I was finally recognized for my talents and success and you haven't been. After winning first place how many times now, darling? Fourty?"

DJ Grooves felt his tone grow mean and an edge to it; one that seemed to cause The Conductor to reel back from in shock and he watched as The Conductor's beak clenched and he brought his hands up to wave away the letter that had brushed against his nose. DJ Grooves pressed further towards him, their beaks inches from each other now.

"Face it, darling. You're simply just jealous of me and you don't want to admit that," DJ Grooves nearly growled at his rival.

The Conductor's feathers raised as he looked up at the taller bird from what looked like an attempt at a heated glare. The owl looked like he wanted to pout almost with the fact that Grooves had called him out in such a way. The jealousy was written across his face.

"Oh, PECK OFF, with ye!" The Conductor shouted back and retaliated by shoving DJ Grooves back from him and threw his arms down by his sides.

"I ain't got nae reason tah be jealous o' a cheatin' peck neck like ye! Yer-- Yer just some crook anyhow with how ye always need some'ne else tah make yer succeed."

The Conductor gestured widely about the room as he spoke then pointed his finger straight towards the penguin's heart.

"Ye cannae do nothing on yer own! Without those litt’l lasses yer movie wouldnae 'ave been worth squat! And look a' how ye treated them! Diabolical."

DJ Grooves listened to The Conductor's rather ironic verbal abuse that was aimed at him, though he wished he'd covered his ears and blocked the loud-mouthed director out. He grit his beak at the mention of the darlings, an obvious dig at DJ Grooves to hurt him but damn if it didn't crack a pain straight through his heart.

Till the very end this is how things were going to be between them. No heartfelt goodbyes. No congratulations. No amicable hand shakes.

Just the miserable way that they have always been with each other since the moment they walked up to the studio doors for the first time till the moment they found themselves standing here.

It all made DJ Grooves so sick.

So sick of everything.

So sick of Him.

So sick of The Conductor.

DJ Grooves found himself clenching his fists by his sides, the letter in his right hand wrinkling under the pressure. He lowered his head to look towards his shaking fists and his tone dropped significantly and he spoke like his throat hurt.

"I've had enough of you and your vile words, Conductor. You can never be happy for me. You always have to ruin everything, darling."

DJ Grooves stepped closer again, getting in Conductor's face once more. Though he were merely acting before, his feelings of inferiority were resurfacing now. Even if this whole award acknowledgement thing were fake, his feelings now were raw and real. Words he'd wanted to shout at The Conductor were making themselves known and he did nothing to stop them from flowing out.

"Nothing I ever say or do matters to you. Why do you care what I do, then? What does it matter to you what happens to me? Or where I go? Or how I live my life?"

DJ Grooves voice grew a shake to it and he gasped briefly trying to catch himself from sobbing. He punctuated his next words by prodding the wrinkled envelope towards his rival's chest.

"Why. Do. You. Care? Why are you even here if you don't fucking care so goddamn much, Conductor?"

The Conductor leaned back now from DJ Grooves as the penguin got in his face once more. He was breathing rather hard himself from attempting to manage his own anger and stress at Grooves' aggression towards him. The owl's expression was now unreadable to Grooves; a cocktail of confused, surprised, angry, guilty. The elder director's posture sank pitifully like his shoulders were weighing him down and his forearms were hung in front of his chest in what looked like a protective stance.

It seemed DJ Grooves had caught him in a stalemate of sorts as the usually vocal bird was uncharacteristically silent under DJ Grooves' gaze.

"Why do you care…?" DJ Grooves repeated in a slow rhythm once more, as if the old owl hadn't heard him and needed him to speak slowly. A fire of anger was burning in his throat as he rasped the words out.

DJ Grooves' breathing was uneasy now as he glowered down at The Conductor. He awaited the response his rival would have to his questions.

The answer came in the form of the wrinkle of Conductor's nose and the aversion of the owl's gaze downwards.

"... Fine, yer want me tah be happy fer ye?" the owl said in a light, fake-happy voice.

Before DJ Grooves could react, he found that The Conductor had yanked his letter from his grasp and had it presented in front of him.

The Conductor seemed to give the envelope one more glimpse before the sound of tearing paper filled DJ Grooves' ears.

His rival was now shredding the letter right in front of him. Tearing each piece in half as he went until all that was left of the envelope and letter was small shreds of paper within the old owl's hands.

The Conductor then looked Grooves straight in the eyes and thrust the makeshift confetti towards the penguin. As the shreds rained down around them and at their feet, The Conductor said in a sarcastic tone, grandiose gestures with his every mocking word:

"Then Ah'm so peckin' happy for you, DJ Grooves."

The owl then promptly turned and marched out of DJ Grooves' door, vaulting over the guardrail to the floor below as he left. The last sound that could be heard was the patter of his feet stomping down the hall.

DJ Grooves stood there with a wide expression on his face, pieces of his letter lying like snowflakes in his afro and perched on his shoulders. He felt something like ice grow in his chest that captivated his lungs and made him feel as if he couldn't breathe. His legs lost all their feeling beneath him and he collapsed onto his knees on the floor.

He sat frozen, still not quite understanding what had just happened. Or if what had happened was even real. All he found himself doing was staring at the small shreds of paper that littered the floor now, seeing broken pieces of his own handwriting upon them. Tears in his vision blurred the words into blue fuzzy blobs as they began to flood and drip from his eyes.

DJ Grooves felt like he couldn't move. Every muscle in his body felt stiff. He could only think now, if not barely.

Had Conductor really just done that…?

He almost couldn't believe it.

Things really were always this way between them. They never could get along. There was no reconciliation between them. It seemed there never was any room for it to begin with. Even after everything, this is how The Conductor chose to act.

So this was how it ends between them. DJ Grooves with tears in his eyes and The Conductor, the one responsible for those tears, not even turning back.

The Conductor was one of his many regrets. And now that regret couldn't even be bothered to shut the door on his way out.

The Conductor was one of those who was always doing something to hurt Grooves and dig his hands into what he loved most and tear it away from him. Like his parents. Like the audiences around him. Like the friends he’d lost. Like the darl--

The sudden feeling of DJ Grooves' cell phone buzzing in his pocket awoke him from his weeping daze, his posture stiffening in surprise.

DJ Grooves reached into his pocket to retrieve it, trying to read the name that illuminated the screen. The name was blurred but became clear upon him blinking his tears away to roll down his cheeks.

Amor.

His club's bartender.

He'd forgotten that he'd said for them to call. He'd nearly forgotten about the rest of the world being in his room for the past few hours.

The call being a rather important one still didn't shake Grooves from his current paralysis. He felt the buzz of the phone in his hands and his thumb hovered over the bubble to answer it but he just listened to the sound of it as the penguin on the other end waited for him to pick up. DJ Grooves himself waited for the phone to stop ringing and watched the screen as the phone notified him with a small pop-up that read "Missed Call" and listed Amor's name and phone number.

DJ Grooves exhaled a deep, shaken, breath at his failure to answer the call but at this moment he couldn't bring himself to put on a chipper act. There was no way he could pretend that he was fine after everything that had happened. He was finally growing tired of his own act and it was becoming hard to fight on like this.

How had he managed to do this so many times before? How had he found the strength to carry on? This was exhausting now. It felt like melatonin was injected straight into his veins with how lethargic he now felt.

Still, he knew he had to press on. He had to see this through. There was no way he would find comfort and closure if he didn't.

DJ Grooves' legs finally cooperated with his mind as they brought him to a stand. He still stared at his phone screen, the same way he had done before in the boardroom and made his way over to his bed to sit upon it. The mattress edge sunk beneath his weight and he began to recall what he'd planned to say to Amor on the phone.

As he sat, instead of paying mind to the words he wished to use for Amor, he began to notice how soft his bed was beneath him. He soon found himself lying back upon it now. The way the mattress felt was something he'd never really paid mind to before and subconsciously he shifted further into it. The bed cradled him perfectly as he lay upon it. He supposed it was a small comfort he found despite everything, though he recalled the bed being where he'd spent most of his sleepless nights and nightmares. The place he'd woken up numerous times before. The place where he'd cried. The place where he'd dreamed.

Before he could think anymore, DJ Grooves fell asleep.

DJ Grooves felt his body being shaken. The fog of sleep still clouded his judgement and he couldn't make out what was causing his body to shake. He squeezed his eyes shut at the discomfort of being jostled about and he turned his face towards the comforter of his bed as the light from around the room was now permeating his eyelids. The shaking was now identified to be done by a small pair of hands.

Someone was trying to wake him up. He felt a tug on his arm, pulling it from his body.

There were two small pairs of hands now.

A soft high pitch voice called,

“.... --ooves..?”

DJ Grooves caught only the last part that was said but the call came again, this time more clear and closer to his face.

“... DJ Grooves?”

The Moon Penguin now was hearing more clearly than before and his eyes opened slowly to meet with the gaze of two aqua eyes.

The eyes of Hat Kid.

The child smiled once she got him to open his eyes and she let out a giggle. DJ Grooves felt the owner of the other small pair of hands leap off the bed and patter to his bed side.

The other one was Bow Kid who was stood with one hand behind her back but she looked rather nervous but smiled anyway despite her nerves. She waved with one hand at the half asleep penguin.

The penguin lifted his head as he blinked away the sleepiness from his eyes before his eyes grew wide and he sat up on his elbow. How long had he been asleep for?! Panic beat in his heart as he felt about for his cellphone on his bed and his sheets but he didn't feel his phone there.

Where was his phone?

Through his blurred vision he noticed Hat Kid turned to glance towards Bow Kid before she placed something solid and rectangular onto the bed. Bow Kid also pulled her arm from behind her back and placed a pair of star-shaped sunglasses on top of the rectangle.

DJ Grooves picked up the sunglasses and pushed his arm against the bed to sit up to put them on. The penguin groaned sleepily and rubbed at his eyes with the back of his hand to try and clear them of sleep before he perched the sunglasses in place on his beak. He blinked a few times, adjusting to the brightness of the world before subconsciously straightening his posture as he stretched, a habit he was mindful of.

“... Thank you, darlings,” DJ Grooves said, groggily, also picking up what he now knew to be his phone, which had been placed on the bed by Hat Kid.

Briefly he forgot his manners and where he would have normally greeted the girls joyously, he buried his beak in the screen of his phone as he checked his notifications.

This action brought a simultaneous frown to both the alien girls’ faces, one that DJ Grooves did not outright see.

DJ Grooves noticed that he'd received fifteen missed calls and three voicemails from Amor and he gasped sharply at the time. It was already five o’clock in the evening! DJ Grooves shamefully pinched his brow and sighed in exasperation as he looked to the ceiling.

Then he felt a hand pat on his arm trying to get his attention before he looked down and now noticed the rather worried and almost sad expressions of the two girls. Once Hat Kid saw DJ Grooves look her way, she pushed her bangs up with her hand and lay her palm over her forehead. Then she made an ‘a-choo’ sound and gave him a quizzical look and shrug.

DJ Grooves gathered from her body language what she was trying to ask.

She was asking him if he was sick.

This brought a frown to his face.

After all that he put these two through-- they still were concerned about his well-being.

He didn't deserve it.

DJ Grooves shook his head in response, both an answer to her question and at himself.

“No, Darlin’--” a sudden sigh paused DJ Grooves, “I'm alright, sorry, darlings. I have just had a crazy busy day today. But DJ Grooves is a’okay.”

The lie made him honestly feel sick to even say. Were there anything in his stomach, he would've felt like vomiting. Maybe he was sick. But not sick in the way the kids were assuming him to be.

Hat Kid smiled softly back once more and Bow Kid looked at him with a tilt to her head. He wasn't sure as to her reason for tilting her head at him before he realized-- he never actually broke the news to them.

DJ Grooves glimpsed towards both of their eyes before he perked up slightly.

“Oh-! Don't tell me I've completely forgotten to tell you two!” DJ Grooves started in an excited tone, slapping his palms down suddenly against his thighs.

Hat Kid and Bow Kid both jolted slightly at his sudden enthusiasm, blinking up at him in synchrony.

“Did you darlings hear about my invite?”

Both shook their heads in response to his rather vague question.

“I was invited to my first ever ‘film honors committee’ interview! It'll be broadcasted live on television in a couple days! Isn't that exciting?” DJ Grooves gloated, loudly and proudly.

If DJ Grooves had teeth they'd surely have rotten from how syrupy sweet his tone was and how rotten these lies felt leaving his beak each and every time.

Bow Kid’s jaw dropped in surprise before she started clapping for him. Hat Kid also responded in chime with some clapping and cheered with a, “YAY!” and a little hop from foot to foot.

DJ Grooves faked an elated laugh and posed proudly with a hand to his heart before he stood from his bed and bowed graciously, as he typically did the few times he'd won an award.

After a moment of this tiny celebration, DJ Grooves reached his hands out to place gently onto their shoulders, one on Hat Kid's left shoulder, one on Bow Kid's right. The two alien girls stilled in their cheering as they watched DJ Grooves kneel to their height.

He looked them both in their eyes and felt like he didn't know what to say. This would likely be one of the last things they would ever hear from him. What could he say to them? How could he make things alright?

DJ Grooves felt like his throat was closing and he wanted to collapse and weep once more but he held it in the best that he could. He had to. Even the darlings couldn't know.

He tightened his grip gently on both girls’ shoulders but only in a comforting tightness. Though he felt the tension from their gaze as they furthered listened for what else he had to say to them. Bow Kid even placed her hand on his and gave his hand a gentle pet, as if to tell him to continue.

DJ Grooves breathed a shaken sigh and looked down as he swallowed. Then he gave their shoulders a brief squeeze and looked at them through the top of his sunglasses. His words came slow and shaken but he forced himself to say them.

“... I-I want to thank you darlings for everything. With-- Without you two, I wouldn't be where I am today. And though things have been-- rough. I'm glad you're still here. Standing with me. Today.”

DJ Grooves choked up and his tears started coming, but he forced a smile.

“And no matter what happens--” DJ Grooves breathed sharply in pause, “Just know you-- you both mean a lot to m-me.”

He loosened his grip and rubbed his thumb gently on their shoulders as if to comfort them.

Bow Kid’s big purple eyes glistened and she stepped from DJ Grooves’ grip and moved forward into his shoulder. One wrapped around his neck and the other under his arm in a hug and she held him tight.

Hat Kid watched Bow Kid go and she too had empathized with the energy of the current situation and also collided with DJ Grooves in a hug on his opposing arm. She looped one arm around Bow Kid as she did so, hugging both as tightly as she could.

DJ Grooves felt an immense wave of grief wash over him in this moment. Though he knew he had to say goodbye to the two of them somehow, doing so was harder than he ever expected it to be.

Though to them this was only a temporary goodbye, it was his goodbye to them forever. And they didn't even know.

DJ Grooves just sat with his arms wrapped around them and he loosened his legs to sit on his feet. Bow Kid had buried her head into his neck and Hat Kid had the side of her head pressed into his. Eventually both girls separated from him but he almost wished that the hug wasn't over, at least for their sake.

He knew he didn't deserve anything else from them.

As the two of them stood in front of him, he offered them both a smile. He noticed that Bow Kid’s face was wet with tears but Hat Kid didn't have tears on her face but he noticed one small one fall from her eye.

DJ Grooves laughed, brushing the back of his hand against Bow Kid's cheek, the girl reflexively shrinking away from the touch but allowing her tears to be dried. Hat Kid used the wrist of her own shirt sleeve to dry her face. Both girls giggled back at him with peeking smiles.

“Sorry, darlings. I didn't mean to make you cry…!” DJ Grooves rasped, before adding with a forceful nod, “I'm just. Very thankful.”

The trio smiled at one another and DJ Grooves stood up, clearing his throat and clapping his hands together once.

“Oh! Darlings-- I forgot to mention! I actually depart on my trip to the film honors committee’s headquarters tonight. So this will be the last night we see each other for a while,” DJ Grooves said to the two of them. “Don't try to miss me too much.”

The two of them giggled at his little joke, Hat Kid even rolling her eyes a little in amusement before she stepped towards him and grabbed his hand and gave it a shake

“I'll miss you,” Hat Kid said in her small voice.

“Miss you too…” added Bow Kid, her hands linked together behind her back as she did a small side-to-side sway.

DJ Grooves' smile faded again at their words. But he gave Hat Kid's hand a gentle pat before she squeezed his back and then let go.

“Well. See you darlings later. I still have to finish getting ready to go, Goodbye!”

“Bye-bye!” Hat Kid called back as she headed for his door.

Bow Kid waved at DJ Grooves with her fingers spread wide and trotted after Hat Kid out the door.

Once the two were gone, DJ Grooves breathed out one of the heaviest sighs he'd probably ever done in his life.

The deed was done. Now only one more loose end was to be tied.

DJ Grooves looked towards his phone that lie where he'd left it upon his bed. He picked it up, the display illuminating as he held it right.

Amor.

DJ Grooves sat on the edge of the bed, unlocking his phone and navigating to his voice mail. He opened the most recent voicemail.

“Hey, Grooves. It's Amor. Why aren't you answering? I'm waiting in the lobby now and it's been over three hours since I’ve heard from you. I'm starting to get worried here. Please call me back or hell, text me even.”

Had Amor really been waiting for him all that time? DJ Grooves cringed at himself for worrying Amor like that. He knocked himself in the forehead for being so foolish as to let himself fall asleep when he'd made contact with someone with the intent to meet them.

DJ Grooves selected the second most recent voicemail and hit play.

“Hey, Grooves. I don't know if you had your phone off or something but the studio doors are locked and I forgot my key. I'm waiting down at the lobby now but there's nobody here to let me in. Please call me back when you get this or come down to the lobby. Bye.”

Oh, right. Most of the Moon Penguins probably left shortly after DJ Grooves broke the news to them so no one was there to let them in. Even The Receptionist having fled at the news was rather unsurprising but also disappointing. Again DJ Grooves shook his head at himself for failing to meet Amor on time.

He selected the oldest voicemail in his saved messages and hit play.

“Hey, Grooves. Is everything okay? I just woke up a couple minutes ago and saw you left this message. I'll be there as soon as I can, I'm on my way. Goodbye.”

DJ Grooves felt what little of his already shattered heart break evermore after listening to these messages and seeing how many times Amor had called. How loyal the penguin had been to him despite everything.

He heaved a big sigh and threw his phone down towards the carpet before rubbing the stress out of his own features. One last time. One last time he would have to say goodbye. Then he could head off.

DJ Grooves stood up, walked to the suitcase he'd packed of random stuff and stood it onto its wheels. He took a quick glimpse into his mirror, briefly preening himself to ensure he looked more presentable. Then he took inventory of what he was going to take on his person on this final trip; his box of cigarettes and his lighter, his clothes on his back and-- the letter.

With a spared glance to its place on the floor of his room, shredded and scattered about, a frown creased his beak. He supposed that it would have to be left behind and collected by one of the custodian birds when they came to work in a couple days. DJ Grooves left the suitcase briefly and tended to the pile of letter fragments, sweeping most into his palm and meticulously pinching up the rest. For a moment he just squeezed the pieces in his palm as if he expected the gesture to form the pieces back together as one, which didn't work of course. Then he carried them to his desk trash bin and disposed of them, watching most of them drift down into it, a few fluttering behind it into the corner of the room.

He heaved another heavy sigh as he stared at the pieces, his brows knit. His gaze turned to his desktop and he grabbed his key ring from the mat upon it and he reached for the handle of the suitcase. Wheeling the suitcase towards the door, he spared one last glimpse around his entire room.

Amor was waiting but he was still lost in his thoughts again. Letting others down again was his favorite hobby it seemed.

But even still, DJ Grooves stared at the stars all about his room. The ones that would mirror the stars in the sky on his walk to his death. A brief bout of nostalgia came over him as he remembered when he first had them installed. He always loved the stars.

As he gazed at them, his hand reached towards their switch on the wall and he slowly dimmed them, the whole room becoming enveloped in darkness. He shut the door and locked it, not sparing the same nostalgic glances towards his dressing room as he made his way towards the elevator to use in ascending to the main studio floor, to meet Amor, who he hoped was still in the lobby.

As DJ Grooves walked down the empty studio halls, only the sound of the clatter of the suitcase's wheels followed right behind him. He passed by room after room, this time the reverse of his trek from before.

Some rooms were dressing rooms, some held props and costumes, some were used for planning and some were used for breaks. All of them once held fond memories as part of what he once called home. Where he'd accomplished so much-- but also the place that brought him so much pain.

Movie posters from past movies hung about the walls. Bulletins posted by the Express Owls and Moon Penguins boasted about their daily lives at the studio and even small markings of graffiti scrabbled here and there, some by that mustachioed girl who spouted off something about ‘bad guys.’

DJ Grooves didn't stop to admire any of them one last time, just made note of their presence, and continued down the hall towards the storage rooms.

He passed between the crates that filled the entire room. From ceiling to floor, in stacks that staggered in height, filled with all the wondrous props and equipment necessary to make four decades worth of movies. DJ Grooves had lost track of which crates were his and which belonged to The Conductor. They'd certainly had more than many fights about the organization of that mess of a room. The penguin heaved a sigh.

DJ Grooves finally reached the elevator and pressed the up button with his knuckle and the elevator doors breached open. He stepped in and pressed the button for the first floor and then leaned on the wall of the elevator.

As he ascended towards the first studio floor, he held the suitcase handle tightly with one hand and stared at the floor. The loud clatter of the elevator filled his ears and he closed his eyes as the rickety old elevator rattled him.

Once the elevator lurched to a stop, DJ Grooves stumbled a little at the sudden jolt the elevator made as it reached the top. He never got used to that. Yet it was the least of his worries now as he stepped out of the elevator and walked down the hall and past empty studio sets.

DJ Grooves finally reached the front of the studio and stopped by the studio doors that lead into the lobby. He stilled his breathing the best that he could, both from his nerves still on high and from his lengthy trip back up to the lobby.

He still had his key ring gripped tightly in his palm, the keys pressing marks into his hand and he heaved a sigh as he pressed into the crossbar style handle of the door. His nerves caused him to peek through the lobby door as though he were a scared child, waking his parents in the middle of the night. After not seeing Amor in the lobby he gasped softly before pressing his body into the door as he scanned the room more for any signs of the penguin.

Then he noticed Amor was sat upon the bench in the lobby corner and DJ Grooves was overcome with a bout of relief.

Amor had their arms crossed on their chest and gaze tilted down, their hat shadowing their eyes. They were silent as they sat there, not even responding to the sound of the locked door unlatching, despite the way it echoed about the empty lobby.

DJ Grooves' heart dropped a bit but he stepped out the door into the lobby and rolled the suitcase with him to his front. The door shut behind him louder than he expected it to and it made him jump and glance back at it. Then he turned back towards Amor and looked at them with knit brows.

The other Moon Penguin sat still in their place on that bench, unmoved.

DJ Grooves looked at his keys that he still held in his hand and filtered through them to find a shining gold one with a key fob hung onto its ring that displayed the logo for his nightclub and the same emblem that proudly presented itself on the back of his jacket. He snapped the key free and it jangled gently in his hand.

Amor suddenly tilted their head up at the small sound of the key and their sunglassed eyes peered over at him.

“There you are, Grooves,” Amor said, pushing themself into a higher posture. “You kept me waiting so long; I figured you'd still come though. Never took you for being a punctual one, anyway,” Amor added with a small laugh and a smirk.

DJ Grooves was honestly slightly relieved at Amor’s patience and loyalty to him. His shoulders sagged in shame at how long he'd made the other wait for him but Amor, the ever patient and chill, still waited for him.

He really didn't deserve their loyalty to him.

Still, DJ Grooves put on one last fake smile to meet Amor's energy.

“Thank you for waiting, darling. I'm so sorry-- everything that's happened has been so sudden and I've been preparing all day for it--” DJ Grooves said with the shake of his head as he tucked the rest of his keys into his pocket. “I just need your help with one last thing--”

“Whoa, whoa-- slow down there, Grooves. You still never really told me what's going on? I heard bits and bobs from the other Moon Penguins but I'm still at a loss here, friend,” Amor said as they leapt from the bench and stepped towards DJ Grooves.

The sound of the studio doors from The Conductor's side of the studio unlatching caught both penguins’ ears and then it shut again as briefly as it opened. DJ Grooves managed to catch a peek of some figure but couldn't make much out of what it was, though. Amor raised a brow at the door’s movement as well but turned their attention back to DJ Grooves.

“Well…?” the purple feathered penguin drawled back up at their boss and close friend.

“Oh-- Oh! I-I’m sorry, darling. I was invited to a really, really important interview with a prestigious film honors committee and I snatched up the opportunity immediately-- and I need your help while I'm gone as I leave tonight.”

“With what? Exactly?” Amor said, tilting their head, eyes squinted. “... I don't have to star in any movies do I?”

DJ Grooves found himself chuckling suddenly, startling himself from how melancholic he'd been the entire day.

Amor. Ever humorous despite the circumstances.

“Oh, no, no, no, darling. Nothing like that. I just need your help with this--” DJ Grooves said, wavering his hand in front of his beak dismissively, reaching a hand out to grab one of Amor's. Then he turned their palm over and placed the enclosed key to the nightclub into their hand.

Amor stared at the key and then glimpsed back up at DJ Grooves' face, a confused look on their own.

“.... Your club key?” Amor said, still not quite understanding what DJ Grooves wanted of them.

“It's my master key to my nightclub, darling. I know it's a lot to ask darling but-- would you take care of my club in my absence?” DJ Grooves pleaded to Amor, cupping his hand over theirs.

Amor was quiet for a second as they stared at the top of DJ Grooves' hand. Then after a moment Amor nodded their head and closed their hand around the key.

“... Alright. I suppose I can shift some things around to make this work. But you owe me big time,” Amor said with a smirk, lightly jabbing their enclosed fist against DJ Grooves' upper arm.

DJ Grooves smiled again and felt tears come to his eyes and he sadly chuckled in a thankful manner. Then he stepped forwards and wrapped his arms around the other penguin and hugged them tightly.

“Hey--! Hey, easy now, you big goofball-- no need to get sappy on me. You know it's nothing,” Amor said, patting DJ Grooves steadily on the back before giving him a firm brief squeeze in reciprocation.

“You're right, sorry,”

DJ Grooves separated from Amor and reached out to affectionately squeeze Amor's shoulder.

“It just-- means more to me than you know,” DJ Grooves said.

Amor rolled their eyes but smiled back.

“Sappy again.”

The two laughed. Then DJ Grooves walked back to the suitcase that he left and grabbed its handle.

“Well. I'll see you around, darling.”

Amor waved and DJ Grooves mirrored them as they exited the studio’s lobby.

DJ Grooves’ nerves were still on high after this interaction and as soon as Amor was gone, he started breathing hard in slight panic. He'd pulled off the last thing he needed to in his plan, this time without a hitch. He bowed his head and placed it against the handle of his suitcase, trying to catch his breath.

Now was time to make it look like he just disappeared. He ran through his head his plan once more.

It was time.

DJ Grooves stared out at the front lobby doors towards the desert outside. His heart was pounding in his chest as he stepped onto the front door mat, looking down at the Dead Bird Studio logo that was marked with countless grains of desert sand. The lobby doors swept open and he stared into the final hall he would cross to the outer doors.

His breath was shaky and he took slow steps towards the outer doors. He stared at his faded reflection in the glass door once he reached it, out into the parking lot. Despite how smeared the glass was with hand prints and other various smudges, DJ Grooves could see clearly in his own features how beaten that he looked. It shocked him how little anyone noticed how torn he was but he supposed it was because he was really good at hiding his pain as it were.

He pressed the door open. And out he walked towards his car.

The suitcase rolled erratically across the desert sand and straightened when DJ Grooves reached the paved section of ground. The parking lot was illuminated by the streetlights that glowed above and the warm orange of the setting sun. Once DJ Grooves reached his car he pressed the button on his car's remote and popped the truck open. He lifted the suitcase of nothing particularly special into it and stared at it before pushing the truck shut, resting his palms on its surface.

In the distance, he looked up to see Amor's own car pulling away and heaved a sigh as a gust of evening desert wind blew past him. He waved weakly with an open-closed hand gesture as he watched the other's headlights disappear into the distance as they turned onto a nearby highway.

DJ Grooves furrowed his brows and navigated to the driver side of his car, placing his hand on the handle. Then he remembered his burning desire for a cigarette and looked towards the pocket that held his final pack of them. He reached in and retrieved the pack and his lighter, holding one in each hand parallel to the other. Though he'd kicked the habit long ago that no longer mattered now, and thus he lit up a cigarette and leaned upon his car, which creaked slightly against his weight upon it.

He stared out at the clouded sky above as he inhaled the tobacco smoke into his lungs and created some clouds of his own as he breathed out. He coughed softly as he got used to the old burn but as he inhaled more he felt more at ease as the nicotine overtook his senses.

He was ready to do this once the cigarette burned out.

As he took drag after drag of his cigarette, he looked towards the studio one last time. He saw the figure of The Conductor by the front doors, locking them up for the night.

The other bird director seemed to look around mindlessly into the expanse of the desert, but the distance made it hard for DJ Grooves to tell where he was looking. It really didn't matter if The Conductor saw him right now and he doubted that The Conductor would approach him after their conflict from earlier.

DJ Grooves huffed. He'd have to wait for the elder bird to head off before he could enact his plan. He took one final drag from his cigarette before tossing the corpse of it to the ground and stamping it out into the pavement.

The Conductor still stood there in the distance as if he were staring at DJ Grooves and though DJ Grooves wasn't sure if they met gaze, something told The Conductor to head for his train. The DJ director waited in his place as Conductor boarded his train and disappeared through its back door.

DJ Grooves felt himself smirk almost before shaking his head. Then he raised his car keys in front of his own beak between the tips of his digits and then. Dropped them onto the pavement. He swung his leg out to grab them beneath his platform shoe and kicked them under his car. The keys rattled as they slid under and DJ Grooves moved from his lean upon his car.

He never actually planned on leaving by car. His ending would be in a walk.

DJ Grooves looked out at the expanse of the desert beyond the parking lot. Then as the sun dipped into the sky for the night, DJ Grooves headed into it.

#a hat in time #ahit #dj grooves #dj grooves ahit #ahit dj grooves #the conductor #hat kid #bow kid #ft. one oc of mine for now lol.#amor #amor the moon penguin #tho they aren't that central to it i prommy #also sorry this is over a year late but :]#this is also on my ao3 if you want to read it there #my writing #long post #there's gonna be like. 1-2 more parts to this too btw it doesn't end here

25 notes · View notes