"The Moon is always there. A half blink of shadow, a crescent of an eyelash, opulent in fullness, spellbound in nothingness, and a friend."

― Carolyn Riker

Accordingly, the next day, Bridget went through another interview with Alice.

The good news; it went exceedingly successful, and she was officially employed as the penguins' personal zookeeper…

The bad news; her body right after getting re-hired started to shut down due to a lack of proper recuperation.

Without getting a chance, she got sent back to her apartment… not by Alice, but by the penguins. Kowalski really gave her a real earful, which doesn't help his own recovery.

Her pristine routine initially consisted of apartment cleaning, watching television, the occasional text to Kowalski (as a way to check on him and the others), some reading, taking medicine, and catnapping. Bridget decided to switch things up when it became too monotonous, as when she was no longer in pain, she began scribbling some designs for innovative ideas.

An old habit her younger self did… It's been a while.

But, not to actually make them, just a way to distract herself, playing around with ideas and concepts she's had in mind. It was easier especially with her Aunt no longer around breathing down on her neck… figuratively.

And so, that's where we continue our story.

Bridget, days later, recovering from her injuries in her flat. She was nearly recovered by this point, with most of her injuries spontaneously healing into fading scars and her body significantly less uncomfortable than it had been the previous week.

Doodling out some innovative ideas at the kitchen table, with a cup of tea, a lit small beam of sunshine from the balcony window, and the television playing in the background.

However, it's been a while since she heard from the penguins, especially Kowalski.

He hasn't texted, being off and on responses. She hopes they're doing okay… keeping her borrowed phone and walkie-talkie close to her in case. Just in case.

Then her attention was caught by the chiming of a breaking news bulletin on the TV.

"This is Chuck Charles live from the scene of yet another string of convenient store robberies. Once again the thief took only several pints of ice cream and left behind their calling card sardine tins at the register—"

He pauses and holds a hand to his ear. "This just in, there's a report of a second robbery from last night at the local liquor store, presumably by the same person as they too left sardine tins behind after taking a few bottles of vodka."

Her eyes flicker at the screen to squint in a concerned manner. At first, her thoughts shook away what madness she listened to. Who on earth would be out and about stealing shit and leaving behind sardine tines?

But, thinking things out more, her intuition crept into her mind. She felt ashamed for already pointing fingers, but by now she understands the patterns that New York City runs on. Perhaps not a human… but a penguin?

Besides, leaving sardine cans behind? Dead giveaway.

"If you have any tips or witnessed these robberies, you're asked to call the local law enforcement." The TV continues on.

Biting her lips, Bridget thinks through this more. Oh, what trouble her feathery friends get themselves into. But maybe it's wise first to figure out who exactly is the culprit.

She's already eliminated Private, the vodka part doesn't fit much with him. Skipper is already cut from the list as well, she can't see him as a drinker. Rico actually fits the description more... except she would expect him to raid the entire store rather than just a few goods if she's honest. So that leaves… Kowalski?

Why would Padre be stealing alcohol and sweets?

The ginger then pulls out the phone and checks. It is coincidental that the convenience store robberies did start around the time he went quiet. She frowns more at the thought. Perhaps she's making too large assumptions, she doesn't have the full story anyways…

Oh, don't her boys always give her the best jigsaw puzzles to solve?

But still not hearing from them for a while...worries her a bit. Perhaps today it is time to physically check in on them again. Perhaps even go inside the HQ.

Bridget bites her lip at the idea. Surely by now, they would be recovered and no longer sick? The ginger then taps her foot. Maybe she should try to visit? But considering how the last time she visited unannounced, Kowalski almost froze her with his freeze ray?...

Yes, she should definitely let them know in advance.

Nodding at this thought, she then grabs the radio and turns it on. Biting her lip for a moment, and then calls in.

"Moonsquawkers, ya there, over?"

There's a moment of silence on their end… before the radio cracks to life.

"Hi Bridget! Over." Without a second passing, Private's voice chirps back.

She takes a slight sigh of relief, somewhat happy to hear some communication.

"Heya Kiddo, how's it goin over there? Ya fellas all recovered?"

"Yeah! We're all better. How are you?"

"I'm doin alright myself," She waits to see if he has anything else to say.

"Kind of missed having you around. We've been keeping busy with silver hunts though. Oddly our silver keeps disappearing"

The first sentence made Bridget rub the back of her neck, slightly looking away from the radio as if the small penguin were in front of her. This moment doesn't last long, as she then clears her throat to answer.

"Ya fellas keep losin them or somethin?"

"I don't know. It's almost like they keep being stolen actually. It's quite odd."

Great. As if more mysteries needed to be added to Bridget's list to solve. Why is there always a puzzle for her? Not that she didn't like solving them, they can be fun. It's when they start becoming problems that get under her freckled pale skin.

"Well, there's enough for the four of ya, right?"

'And kept it well hidden for no future stealing?'

"Maybe. Though I'm not honestly sure"

The ginger frowns at that.

"Aye, I getcha. I'll try ta look out for some silver then."

"Thank you. I know we have at least one."

Bridget nods again and then hesitates on her next question. Biting her lip, she forms her thoughts into words.

"So uh, is it alright if I come visit ya fellas?"

"Oh of course! Are you coming today?"

"That was the plan" She smiles lightly.

"Okay! I'll let Skipper know."

"Could ya let Kowalski know too? It's been a while since I heard from him."

"Um, I suppose I can try"

Oh. She heard that tone shift. Private's cheerful voice suddenly shifted to an apprehensive one. Her eyes squint as she thinks through his words carefully.

"You'll try ta?"

"Mmhmm! He's just been kind of—" The radio cuts out.

"—He's fine" Skipper's voice then finishes.

Now Bridget is really suspicious. Her eyes squint when the flathead's voice answers her, only fueling her concern that brews into frustration.

"Ah. Captain Paranoid" She begins with a more southern draw at him, conveying her inkling.

"Hey, Freckles. Recovering well?"

"I've recovered well— Where's Kowalski?" The ginger asks before he gets the chance to change topics.

"He's busy with… nerd things."

There's then silence from her side, in a way to convey her deadpanning expression. And it seems like he took the hint… which is kinda impressive considering he can't even see her physically.

"What? You expect me to know what he does in his lab all the time? I have better things to do than watch that camera all day"

"Then you wouldn't mind if I came over and visited him?" Bridget then answers and goes on to mention.

"Or are ya worried about me seein how much sugar he's been consumin lately?"

"You can visit, but that situation is under control. You have nothing to worry about"

"Cap, ya think Kowalski stealin shit every other night is 'under controlled'?"

"Hey, at least he's up moving more than the last time she dumped him. I'm calling this progress"

Bridget blinks.

"... Kowalski got dumped?"

"... Uh, got to go, got Ringtail on the other line—"

"SKIPPER."

Too late, the radio is silent.

"Ya son of a—" Bridget shoots up from her chair, quickly getting herself ready. Putting on her normally gray clothes and black jacket, she mindlessly packs up her bag, and without another thought, skates out of her apartment in ablaze.

'Oh, Kowalski… you should've dumped her first when ya had the chance'

0000000

As Bridget surges down the park's path at a steady pace, she begins to realize that for some cruel, twisted reason...it felt good to be outside again. That's a lot, reflecting she's in Manhattan. Never recognizing how much she relished being outside today, despite her frequent yearning to stay indoors and be isolated. Maybe staying inside her apartment too long made her restless. How strange.

Approaching the zoo once again, she slips inside through the gates, her hoodie covering her head and face. Her feathers have recently grown in length, going from centimeters to inches.

But, as frightening as it was (and what a lovely revelation that was, oh how she panicked), it wasn't her primary worry. She was more concerned with not being recognized by the other zookeepers. Particularly Alice or her sister. She wasn't in the exact mood for joyous chatting.

The ginger eventually creeps her way around the area where the penguins have concealed their garage. After a cautious glimpse around, politely knocks on the door. Bridget had clearly learned her lesson from the last time.

This time the door is opened by Rico, who nods at her and steps out of the way. Understanding his gesture, she nods back at him and rolls inside. "Nice seein ya again," She pauses when entering inside, waiting up for him.

"Uh-huh." He nods, closing the door behind her and waddling behind. "You 'ood?"

"Yeah," Bridget then softly skates when he catches up to her. "Be frank, have things been good here too?"

"Eh, 'wal'ki drama." He rolls his eyes. "'Ere 'e 'o a'ain."

Bridget carefully listens to him, trying to slightly make out his irritated babbling. Body language and voice tone did help her out though.

"Aye, yeah. I've heard the story before."

"O'fully 'e last time." He nods and opens another door.

Nodding at him in gratitude, she strolls into the open room. In the room, Skipper and Private are having a snack at the little table. And then the caretaker's frustration came back to her, notably more at the flathead as she hummed with a frown. Hearing them approach, both Skipper and Private look up.

"Oh hey, Freckles."

Bridget gives him a look.

Skipper raises a brow. "What?"

"Ya tried ta hide Kowalski's break up from me." Her eyes narrowed a bit, crossing her arms.

"It wasn't need to know info." He shrugs.

The redhead was about to argue back, but noting how the other two are present in the room, she instead clears her throat. "Can we… talk privately on this?"

Skipper looks at her before getting up with a nod. "Fine, to the hallway." He sighs, waddling ahead. Bridget nods at him, following him, and then turns back to wave at the other two.

The other two, with a shared look, simply watch as they go into the hall.

After Skipper closes the door, for a moment, an invisible tension echoes between them, as the flathead waits for Bridget to gather her thoughts into formable words. She finally breaks their silence with a tired sigh.

"K, yes. If I knew about Kowalski's breakup sooner, I would've visited more, which doesn't help me heal. I get your intentions," Her black eyes look down at him in agreement.

"That still doesn't excuse ya tryin ta hide it from me, especially today after I told ya I've recovered." She grumbles, crossing her arms at him with a look.

"It wasn't anything to worry about." He states again. "He's being dramatic, but he's not as bad this time as he usually is."

He rubs his forehead with a sigh. "At least he's up and moving some. Last time he didn't move from his bunk at all for 6 months." He gives her a look. "And I mean that literally. Cleaning up was life-scarring."

"That's still not good," Bridget deadpans. "He might be active but him consumin all that shit ain't any better than him in his bunk for months. When's the last time he's showered or had actual food?"

"Well, we still slide some fish in each night so I guess he's been eating some?"

She frowns at this, not entirely trusting him on it. He did still lie to her. Not implying he's lying to her currently but who knows? Her eyes look away from him.

Skipper then thinks as he shrugs. "I don't think it'd be much longer until he snaps out of it anyway. Probably by the time of whatever our next mission ends up being."

Bridget then sighs and nods at this. "I still would've liked ta been told the truth. Could even been asked ta come over ta check on him after ya knew I was fine, but ya kept it from me," The ginger huffs.

"You really think he wanted to be seen like this by you?"

"… No," She ponders. "But that would've reduced his heartbroken behavior."

Skipper stops to think again, scratching his chin. "... Alright, fine. Maybe I just didn't think about that."

'Yeah no fuckin shit'

But she left that thought to that, just a thought. "Just sayin. I could've helped out..."

She then rubs a hand through her forehead and hair, her hoodie being pushed back.

Skipper looked up at the motion. "Well, looks like I wasn't the only one keeping secrets, huh?"

Bridget then stops… and realizes her mistake. She promptly conceals it again and clears her throat. "T-That's different! Ya already know I have f-feathers in my head."

"They weren't that long before."

"... N-No, they weren't," The redhead looks away and bites her lip. "But my secrets aren't runnin around New York ravagin convenient-store goods."

"He hasn't stolen anything. He's been paying for what he takes."

'…OH. The sardine cans were currency? Is that a penguin thing? I didn't know fish could also be money?… Wait why is Kowalski payin them sardine cans, I'd thought he'd know about payin with actual money? He has a card!'

Bridget shakes the thought to focus. "He's not payin with the right currency. It'd be like paying with euros in Japan."

"He was paying with what he's got at flipper. Can't really use debit cards when the machines are off and they're closed up, can he? And he doesn't have pockets for cash." He crosses his flippers.

"… He doesn't have pocke—" The ginger shakes her head. "Point is, he paid with the wrong type of money that others aren't gonna understand is money. It's still considered stealin."

Skipper considers this briefly. "... Fine."

Nodding back, the other huffs, attempting to rub her hair again, but midway stops herself and instead bites her lip. "Is there anythin else I should know? Private told me about the silver."

"That's pretty much everything. Been turning the higher security on recently from how the silver keeps walking off. I half wonder if Kowalski's dropping and forgetting it in places."

"If he is then it should be somewhat easy ta track and locate, considering it's the same store."

'Then again, people could've found it too and taken it… Mm'

Skipper nods. "Probably should check the freezers tonight."

Bridget nods at him. "As I offered to the kid, I'll try ta help. For now, I think it's time I go visit Einstein."

She then bends down to him, and flicks the flathead in the…well, head.

Skipper grunts and scowls up at her. "What was that for?"

"For not tellin me shit sooner, Paranoid." She deadpans at him.

"... Fair. I guess." He grumbles and opens the door.

Bridget stands back up and skates out the door directly to Kowalski's lab door.

The penguins at the table watch, a little curious about what happened in the hall, but not daring to ask. Maybe it's best too. What happens between them stays between them.

The ginger knocks on the door, awaiting a reply. And it's promptly opened by one Kowalski. "Bridget, hi! What a surprise."

A surprise indeed, to be greeted by a slightly tired and hiddenly messy penguin, who looks like is barely getting himself to look presentable…

And is probably still drunk.

She raises a brow at him. "Hey Kowalski, you holdin up well?"

"Oh yeah, yeah. I was just about to start working on things." He opens the door. "I just did a little late summer cleaning first."

Bridget's eyes peers inside the room behind him, and then back down on him. "Good ta know…mind if I come in?"

"Of course." He nods and moves out of the way.

Inside his lab, she takes notice of the dairy-nail polish scent, frowning a bit but not saying anything of it. Instead she turns to Kowalski. "It's been awhile."

"It has, how have you been?" He smiles a little at her. "Been up to anything interesting?"

"Uh, not really…you?" The caretaker sits down while looking at him.

Kowalski shakes his head. "Today is probably the most productive I've been."

"Other than ya gettin snacks and drinks at convenience stores?"

His smile mask slips and for a moment he just looks exhausted. "You... Know about that?"

"Padre, the man paid in sardine cans." Bridget furrows her brows at him in concern.

He smiles sheepishly and rubs the back of his neck. "I was short on cash, card systems were offline, so I went with what currency I had."

'Sorta the same thing Cap told me'

Mentally fact-checking her already known information, she nods at him empathetically. "Aye. So ya wanna talk about it?"

He steps a little closer with a deep sigh. "Despite knowing that it was coming… It still hurts."

Bridget nods at him again, remaining silent to let him continue on.

"So yeah... I've been drowning my feelings in vodka and ice cream." He sighs.

She bites her lips roughly, grimacing at the idea of Kowalski in that state. "Padre… I'm sorry."

Kowalski shrugs. "I knew it was coming. I've just been a Nancy cat." He sighs.

"You're no Nancy cat. Breakups are rough in general." Not that she ever dealt with one.

Kowalski sits down. "And now I don't know what to do. I spent so much time devoted to her, thinking about her for years... And now... I know that that's completely over."

Bridget (carefully) rubs the back of her neck, her thoughts filing themselves to gather up what she can respond to him. "Aye… I'm sure what you're experiencin is difficult," She scoots a little closer to him.

"But things don't always go as ya plan…bein adaptable ta unexpected interruptions is sometimes all you can do."

Kowalski nods a little. "I just haven't been this single in... Decades."

"…Well, maybe it's best ya take a lil break from romance?"

"That's probably for the best." He sighs. "I just have to—" He pauses and thinks. "Actually no, I already do have something else to do with that extra time and attention."

"What's that?" She tilts her head.

"I have a daughter who needs my attention." He smiles at her.

Bridget blinks at that, and turns away from him with a shy smile, chuckling a little. She couldn't think of many words for that. He reaches up and pats her head.

But then she backs away from the patting, out of reflexes gripping her hoodie tightly. That totally isn't a red flag. Kowalski furrows his brow but retreats his flipper. "... Sorry, I forgot I'm supposed to ask first."

"N-No, it's fine just—" Biting her lip, she sighs and leans down a bit to let him pat.

He pets her but then notices part of a feather from under her hoodie.

Why does her feather look longer than before?

And now there's a penguin up her hoodie, trying to investigate. With him moving around her head, Bridget squawks. "P-Padre!"

"You have more feathers!"

The ginger grimaces, her hair being messed with didn't give her the exact comfort. "Y-Yeah I do—Stop p-please!"

Hearing her alarm, he stops and backs away with a sheepish expression. "Those grew in while you were recovering?" She gingerly rubs her head, sighing at him while nodding.

Kowalski gets his clipboard and studies it, putting his flipper to the table to keep himself steady before adding this to her list.

Mentality noting once again another condition being added to the list, her black tired eyes glance away, her head rubbing the feathers more.

"Anything else that's new or has changed?"

"…It's not the only thing that grew." Bridget grumbles, her cheeks reddening.

He looks at her and motions for her to continue.

"….Tail."

"... How much?"

Bridget hesitates. "…I t's more… noticeable…."

"Is it causing you pain?"

"…Only a lil discomfort," She rubs her neck. "But uh I'm good."

Kowalski waddles around her. "A skirt or dress may feel less restrictive against it?" But she scoots away from him while he does so. "I uh, don't do dresses or skirts. I'm fine, really."

He tilts his head a little but nods. "Fair enough."

Bridget huffs, embarrassed about her uncomfortable pant bump…

That came out very wrong. Her squished tail bump. That's better.

Truthfully none of this is better.

"Might try guy pants. They may give you more room?"

"… I'll try that, yeah."

Kowalski nods. "The extra room for the front tails may instead assist with your own situation?"

Bridget squints at him. "… Yes, I'm sure it's more roomy there for… front tails."

Kowalski nods. "Dresses still have the most room though. Plus, you can do the cute swish swishes."

'… K, I think it's time tipsy Padre takes a nap'

"Yes, very cute swishin," She nods, and gestures to him to come closer to her.

Kowalski curiously comes closer. Suddenly, he feels her hand on his head, rubbing and gently scratching him in a soothing way. Kowalski purrs and wags his tail some.

Instantly her hand pulled back, her eyes widened at him.

'Did he… Did he just purr?'

He then pouts. "Over already?"

In shock, her mouth opens to question him. She didn't know penguins could purr. Squawk, yeah, that's basic knowledge of their sounds. But purring? Like a cat?

However, Bridget pauses, as her mouth slowly closes. Perhaps now isn't a good time to question it…yes she wants to know, but attempting to ask Kowalski anything and getting a straight answer should be saved for a time he's not so loopy.

And so instead, the ginger stares at him…and continues to pet him more. Kowalski smiles and leans into it with another purr. After so long in self isolation, this felt wonderful.

'Holy Shit, penguins can purr… I guess there's still a lot ta learn about these fellas'

Biting her lip, his daughter continues to pet him. He leans against her. "Are you going to be around more often again?"

Bridget's expression drops a little. Although realistically should be able to, tomorrow happens to be a… certain day. A day she wishes she could forget about entirely. But not wishing to disappoint her tired, resting Padre, she sighs with a smile.

"I should be," Her hand scratches under his neck. "I've recovered more than last time."

Kowalski wags his tail more. "Okay."

Bridget bites her lip from the lie, but nods, and pats his head more. The day after tomorrow… for sure. Hopefully, her Padre doesn't notice.

Kowalski starts to get drowsy. And to kick in the calmness that comforted him, a soft warm hum fills the room, as if the tune wrapped him into a peaceful blanket.

The next sound was his soft snores. The humming then stops, Bridget's hand brushes his head. Her eyes smile at him, as she sighs.

Despite how temporary it is… it was good to be back.