Surprise! So I did make a promise to write an update to this story if New Horizons got a Brewster update, didn't I? That update came much later than expected (thx Nintendo :/), but I'm happy to be writing a bonus story for this novella! Please enjoy :)
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Time had done nothing but pass for Blathers. The museum had finally reached its completion in Animal Village, and while the joy of identifying specimens had been lost to the owl, he still enjoyed giving villagers tours every once in a while. But even then, Blathers was no stranger to the fact that life had grown considerably slow in Animal Village. All around him, everything seemed to be changing -- Celeste only worked the museum in the spring and summer during the busy season, and Brewster had passed off his coffee shop into the hands of some trusted employees so he could travel. Blathers' two closest companions had found ways to improve their lives, and yet, for Blathers, life remained stagnant, and quite honestly, lonely without the company of his sister and best friend.
Blathers was startled awake by a knock at the side of the door one summer morning. His eyes shot open, and he stared in confusion as Tom Nook stood at his entrance. While all the business owners of Animal Village were acquainted with each other, Tom Nook did not often visit the museum, often too busy to get away from his realtor business.
"Tom! What a pleasure to see you," Blathers cooed. "Were you hoping to get a tour of the fossils this morning? Or maybe you wanted to peruse the aquarium?" Inwardly, he prayed that Tom wouldn't want to see the bugs.
Tom Nook glanced around the museum, clearly noticing how empty it must be. Then, he approached Blathers and spoke. "I actually have come to you with a business proposition."
Blathers blinked. "A...a what?" He had no idea how Tom Nook could have an interest in his museum.
"Well, you see, the word is starting to spread around. Perhaps you've heard it, but I'm expanding my real estate business! There are a great number of islands out there just begging to be developed. There's one island in particular that has caught my eye that I'm hoping to develop in the springtime. I've already convinced the Able Sisters to join me. What about you?" Tom Nook asked.
Blathers stared at him strangely. "M-Move the museum?"
"Not move it, but build a new one entirely! Oh, think of all the specimen out there waiting to be discovered. It sounds right down your alley, Blathers," Tom said.
Blathers could not think of any words to say. It was true that life here had grown boring, and that even though he had aged, Blathers still dreamed for adventure just as he had done when he was a chick. That being said, he had been here many years now, and it seemed wrong to leave the entire museum behind after he had spent so long building it up from its foundation.
"I can tell this is a lot for you to process. Why don't you get back to me in a few days' time?" Tom Nook suggested, patting Blathers' shoulder.
Blathers nodded, then watched the raccoon leave. He had a lot to think about.
...
Celeste returned from a short trip a few days later. She had barely taken a few steps into the museum when Blathers pulled her aside to talk. He relayed to her all that Tom Nook had told him.
Celeste seemed annoyed. "Why is this bothering you so much? You've said yourself life has gotten boring here. That's why I've been traveling more. That's why Brewster left."
The mention of Brewster made Blathers' heart sink. He missed his best friend more than anything. Though they sometimes exchanged letters, with Brewster's whereabouts often unknown, they'd sometimes go months without speaking to each other. Blathers wished he could write to the pigeon, but he didn't know Brewster's current location at the moment.
"But what about here?" Blathers wondered. "We spent so long building this museum."
Celeste nodded and smiled at him. "Yes, and you've done a great job, Blathers! But the exhibits are complete, and you and I both know that especially during the fall and winter, no one really visits. I think this could be a great opportunity for you. After all, there's got to be some new and interesting fossils on that island Tom Nook is talking about."
"You always know how to ruffle my feathers," Blathers complained. It was true. Just the thought of new flora and fauna, but the fossils especially, were enough to get him excited about the prospect of moving.
"But what about you?" Blathers asked.
"I don't think I'll be much help in building a new museum, but the archipelago does seem like a great place to travel. Just think about all the stars I can see out there!" Celeste exclaimed, seemingly lost in her own star-speckled fantasy.
"So...I would be going alone," Blathers realized.
"No, you won't be alone. The Able Sisters will be there, and I heard Isabelle talking all hushed with Tom when I got off the train this morning. She must be accompanying him too. Who knows who else will follow?"
"I wish Brewster could come," Blathers said, glancing down at his feet.
"You still haven't gotten ahold of him?" Celeste asked.
Blathers shook his head. "He wouldn't want to come anyway. He's retired after all. Already off on his next great adventure hunting for gyroids to add to his collection."
"Then, it's about time you set off your next adventure too," Celeste suggested.
Blathers glanced at her and slowly nodded. "I think...I think I will."
...
Tom Nook really hadn't been kidding when he'd said deserted island, Blathers realized. He'd gotten off the plane to find a sprawling island overgrown with bushes, trees, and weeds. There was not an inkling of development save for the Resident Services tent Tom had managed to erect before Blathers had arrived.
Blathers had found a small clearing to pitch up his own tent when he arrived. He sat inside, making notes in his journal under the glow of his gas lamp about the fish and bugs he had managed to procure from that day. While Animal Village had not been as populous as the city, it was strange how quiet and dark the island was, Blathers thought. Curiously, he stepped outside and glanced up at the sky. Just as he expected, it was glistening with stars. He hoped Celeste would visit soon, as he knew she would love the sight.
Suddenly, a star darted across the sky. Silently, Blathers wished that his new life on the island would be worthwhile.
Thankfully, after a few weeks living out of his tent, development began to take place, and as Blathers received more donations, Tom Nook revealed his plans to build a proper museum, this one more grand and elegant than the one in Animal Village. Already, Blathers was excited about the new specimens waiting to be added to his collection. He encouraged the islanders to bring him anything they could find - fish, fossils, and though he hated the vermin, bugs as well.
On especially starry nights, Celeste would visit. Blathers and his sister would sit on a bench outside of the museum's entrance and stare up at the meteor showers that were much more common on the island than they had been in Animal Village. Celeste's visits were never for long, but Blathers appreciated her presence all the same, and she always praised him on the new additions to the museum's collection every visit.
Eventually, an artwork collection was added to the museum, bringing some fresh change in scenery to the museum. When Blathers wasn't working on polishing up that collection and sharing bad news with the islanders that the paintings they had found were frauds, he was doing his best to get along with the other residents. He shopped often at Nook's Cranny and The Able Sisters, and he was happy to see familiar visitors pass by every once in a while. His favorite were the new visitors to the island who had never seen the museum before. He spent many afternoons giving tours and encouraging everyone he could to bring by any new fossils and fish they could find to the museum for him to inspect.
Slowly, a civilization rose up from the once desolate and deserted island Blathers had once flown to one day in the spring. Blathers was happy to see more and more islanders visiting and settling, and he was even more happy to see the museum slowly fill up. But Blathers knew better than anyone else that he wasn't truly happy, not when he was missing the companionship of his closest friend.
Sure, the museum's displays were new and exciting, but nothing kept the visitors inside. They simply did a quick tour and left to explore some of the other shops on the island.
Blathers sighed and reached for his run-down coffee maker one morning as he contemplated these thoughts. The coffee was bitter-tasting and nothing like the cups Brewster used to make for him. He smiled as he fondly thought back on those days that Brewster's cafe sat adjacent to the museum. There was always fun to be had, and the evenings where they would both sit and listen to K.K. Slider's performances on Saturday nights were some of Blathers' fondest memories.
That was what the museum here was missing, Blathers suddenly realized. A cafe!
Blathers had tried sending a few letters to Brewster, mostly just to tell him that he had moved and was now the curator of a new museum on an island, but he had received nothing in response. He had no idea if he managed to get ahold of Brewster if Brewster would even jump at the idea of opening another cafe. After all, Brewster had broken away from the museum the last time he had opened a coffee shop, and there was still no telling if Brewster even wanted to return to the coffeemaking business in the first place either after leaving it behind a few years before.
Still, that did not deter Blathers from trying. He reached out to various residents on the island, asking them to keep a lookout for Brewster when taking trips to neighboring islands. It was possible that Brewster was out exploring on one of them, as Blathers had heard rumors that some of the neighboring islands had quite a collection of gyroids buried in their soils.
One day, a villager ran out of breath into the museum, alerting Blathers that they had managed to find the pigeon and that Brewster would be reaching out to Blathers shortly. Blathers was in shock the rest of the afternoon. It had been years since he had last seen his friend. He wondered if anything had changed, or if their friendship would pick up right where they had left off.
A few days later, Blathers received a letter:
Dear Blathers,
I want to apologize for not writing to you in so long. There are no postal services in the places I visit, and when I tried sending a few letters recently, they were returned to me. I feared something had happened to you or the museum back in Animal Village, but I'm happy to hear you've simply moved. It was hard to believe at first. You seemed so content staying in Animal Village, even when I had left a few years before, but I'm happy you decided to do something different for a change.
About your proposition: While I have greatly enjoyed my time traveling and adding to my gyroid collection, it's true that I've felt homesick, not so much for the city, or even for Animal Village, but for you. I don't feel like I've been a very good friend lately. I've missed you, and I want to return. I don't plan to open another big coffee shop anytime soon, but a little cafe in the museum sounds perfect and a perfect return to my roots.
I'll start packing my things and heading to you soon. Keep an eye out.
Brewster
A few tears rolled down Blathers' cheeks onto the sheet of paper. He had missed Brewster tremendously too. Now that his friend was returning, Blathers felt that things were going to be set right again. And so Blathers got started making preparations right away.
The finishing touches on the cafe had just been made when Blathers heard a knock at the door one morning. His breath caught as he opened the door and found Brewster standing there. Blathers was certainly not used to seeing Brewster in a straw hat and tropical shirt when he had nearly always seen him wearing an apron, but Blathers could tell the time away had done good for Brewster. He looked different and older, but happier as well.
"Brewster!" Blathers exclaimed, pulling him into a strong hug. The two warmly embraced.
"It's good to see you again, Blathers," Brewster said. He stepped inside, carrying his luggage with him. He glanced around in awe, then turned and smiled at Blathers. "The new museum looks great. You'll have to give me a tour once I put my things down."
"Not until you see the new Roost!" Blathers exclaimed, practically shoving Brewster up the stairs and into an adjacent room that he and Tom Nook had recently developed.
The cafe was around the same size the original in Animal Village had been, though the kitchenware was new and updated, and there was no place for K.K. to perform now that the musician often performed out front of the Resident Services building.
Brewster seemed taken aback by the sight. He stood in place, staring around in awe at the new space.
"Do you like it?" Blathers asked, worried for a moment the silence was not a good sign.
Brewster nodded, letting out a faint, "Coo."
Blathers helped Brewster unpack his things. He felt all was right with the world when Brewster tied an apron around his waist and began brewing some coffee. Though it had been years since Brewster had last made a cup, Blathers noticed that it seemed easy for Brewster to pick back up right where he had left off.
As the coffee brewed, together, they began decorating the new cafe by hanging picture frames on the wall. Blathers recognized several of the photos - there was K.K. performing at their old cafe and another picture of the shop Brewster had left behind back in Animal Village. Finally, Blathers pulled out one more photo frame. He wiped some dust from it and smiled. It was a picture of the two of them, back when Brewster had just moved to Animal Village.
"That one goes front and center," Brewster said, hanging it underneath the other two portraits. "Come up to the booth and have a cup," he told Blathers. "The coffee should be ready."
Blathers took a seat at the booth, feeling strangely nostalgic for old times. As Brewster poured him a hot cup, Blathers brought the cup to his beak and sipped slowly. He hummed in happiness, having almost forgotten how sweet and rich Brewster's coffee tasted.
"I must say, I missed your coffee," Blathers told Brewster. "I can finally stop drinking that instant stuff."
"I'm offended you even drank the instant coffee to begin with, coo," said Brewster as he poured himself a cup as well.
As they took a seat, someone else walked in through the doors. Blathers smiled as he recognized his sister, Celeste.
"Do you have room for one more at the booth?" she asked cheerfully.
"Of course," Brewster said. As he got up to pour Celeste her own cup, he gave her a brief hug and slid the fresh cup of coffee toward her.
"You didn't tell me you were visiting today," Blathers argued as she sat on the other side of him.
"Well, I heard Brewster was back today, so I had to come say hi, even if the star conditions are less than favorable tonight," she argued. "It's good to see you again, Brewster."
"It's good to be back," Brewster said. "I feel like I've been gone far too long."
"You have," Blathers said. He took ahold of Brewster's wing and squeezed it before returning to his own cup of coffee.
Together, the three sat, sipping on coffee and sharing conversation. Blathers was once again reminded of another memory of when all of them had recently moved to Animal Village. They had sat, just like this, sharing stories and drinking Brewster's coffee. While a lot had changed in that time, Blathers was glad that, through all the separate adventures they had had, they were reunited once more over a delicious cup of Brewster's fresh-brewed coffee. Blathers hoped that this time, he and Celeste could enjoy Brewster's coffee for many years to come.