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Chapter Text

Radio Fin

Chapter 1: Show and No-Show

There was a dull thump as the little fennec plopped down some office supplies on the desk. A somewhat higher pitched and energetic voice broke the darkened early morning silence.

“I don’t know why the old sound guy couldn’t get here as early as you. Was it so hard? I bet it wasn’t.” The polo-shirt-adorned red panda scooted a control panel to the left just a little so there would be more room. Jian was Finnick’s new boss. He was friendly, hard-working, and patient, but… Planning ahead didn’t seem like his thing. It was a pretty notable shortcoming for a station-manager, sure, but it was also a seriously big change from working with a fox that planned for nearly anything. It would take some getting used to.

It was alright for now. The little sand-toned vulpine was being useful with or without a plan. Finnick, despite his size, had no trouble lugging boxes bigger than his coworkers were managing. Though tiny, even for a fennec, Fin was deceptively strong.

“Well, I ain’t the sound tech, I’m the assistant,” the fox finally responded, fanning his ears. That was more effective than fanning his brow. It’s kinda what those huge headsails were for, after all. He’d been hired about a week ago at a small beans radio station in Sahara Square that played a huge range of music from pop to metal. If it was a hit for the last 30 years this station likely played it. He was starting to get used to set-up, tear down, testing, remote - all the parts of the job. He hopped up on the chair and adjusted the professional-looking microphone and stand. He was happy he made it on time, given that it was obviously super important to his boss. He had to assume that was a problem for the previous guy.

Still, Finnick might have been late if he was still in his van and not crashing with his pals. He couldn’t sleep if his van was an ice tomb. He’d make enough money here to get the heating coil fixed at least. Or, if needed, he could at least change the paid parking for his van from Tundra Town to Sahara. He would rather not, though. It was easier to sleep chilly than to try to beat the heat. A blanket burrito was cheaper than cranking the AC to the max for hours.

With that in mind, he had to cut some slack for folks that were late from time to time. But as he understood it, being on time would be a cause for alarm with the guy he replaced.

“You know your equipment already, though,” the red panda said, changing the subject a little, smiling brightly. “And you’re quick too. I appreciate the help.” They were being nice to him, at least, even if the weight of their compliments reeked of ‘please don’t quit our cluster-fluff’. Fin had been in this position before. It meant extra work, sure, but it also always meant job security.

The fox accepted it all the same, however. “It beats th’ hell outta getting my nose spattered with hot fry grease all day. Line cook? Never again.” Finnick hopped down from the chair and then moved back to his van, dragging a huge black case back on wheels. Having his van turned out to be a super valuable bonus to his new boss as well, and that wasn’t up for debate… especially today.

“Yo, Finnick! Help me out with this broadcasting desk, it’s stuck on something in the … in the case…” In the other room was a striped hyena struggling with a big rectangular piece of equipment inside a plastic and canvas framed rolling case he’d just brought in. His mohawk-like mane was rainbow-dyed. The guy’s name was Collin Zevoa, but Fin had taken to calling him ‘Colors’, which had stuck. Fortunately he was super chill and absolutely fine with it.

Due to his diminutive size, Finnick simply scrambled into the case between layers of equipment where the broadcast desk was originally loaded and freed the coax cable that was looped under the retainer bracket inside of the case. The fennec slid out of the case on top the soundboard and hopped off of it, dusting himself off.

“Please tell me ya’ll don’t move stations like… every week,” the small fennec qualified in his deeper-than-to-be-believed voice. It was a bunch of extra work and it was not even five in the morning.

Jian laughed weakly at that. “Nah, hopefully we won’t move again soon… and then only as things get better, and then maybe we move into a better station than this little thing. Been a rough quarter…. Or four.” The new station in question looked like it could have been a small mobile home if it was longer and not actually built on the site. It definitely felt pre-fab. Had it been a shipping container before? Finnick wasn’t sure. Jian helped push the broadcast desk into place on the wooden table as the hyena put up two wide flat panel monitors. His boss sucked in a breath through his teeth as one of the monitors tapped the other roughly. “Careful, we need both and we’re already on the spare.” Finnick put his ears back in question. No backup? The hyena noticed his expression.

“Yeah, Flint laughed at a caller and spewed beer all over the other one,” he explained. “Shorted that shit right out. Lost our mic processor too. Epic fail, dude.”

“When do I meet Flint?” Finnick asked, taking additional advantage of his size to slip under the desk and connect cables. He was never against using his size to his advantage. He was always the opportunistic sort. So far, Flint was an unknown, he assumed, because they had been pulling equipment and getting everything set up for the station move. No need for their broadcaster while all that was going on. That had represented a significant disruption from his first few days, so he didn’t meet Flint the snow leopard because he was out.

Collin and Jian exchanged uncomfortable glances.

“Half an hour ago, supposedly,” Jian claimed.

“Late? Wasn’t he out sick before the move?” Finnick inquired, slipping out from under the desk and straightening his black polo shirt. He did think it was odd that he hadn’t met the voice of their station as of yet.

“Kinda,” the station manager said with a sigh. “We’re being patient with him. He’s going through some stuff.” The little fox stared. Finnick was a hustler. Personality pattern recognition was kind of his thing. He slowly backed away from the equipment. It was time for a reality pause.

“Do you even… want me to keep hooking all this up, Jian?” sighed Collin, appearing to be in the exact same mood as the little fox right then.

“He might still show up,” the manager replied.

“Did he text?” Collin fired back, Finnick watching warily between them.

“No.”

“Of course he didn’t. He never freaking does.” The hyena pulled the rolling chair over and just sat in it backwards, resting his chin over the back of it. “So we just play music this morning and we say it’s because of the move?” Finnick flattened his large ears. That sounded like ‘standard operation’ with how it was announced.

“Yeah, if you want to be the one to explain the same BS to the station owner this afternoon when he checks our new digs,” Jian grumbled.

“This… a common problem?” Finnick finally asked the obvious. Had he climbed on board a sinking ship here? That would be his luck, of course. No wonder they hired him without a background check. Or experience. Or a work history. Or references. Damn it.

“No, it’s just…” Jian tried.

Collin interrupted. “No, it’s absolutely a common problem. Flint couldn’t even do a show if he did get his ass in here because he’s probably too hung over to read the script!” The larger angrily mammal threw down some bundled cable onto the flaking and dilapidated linoleum floor. “Shit!” Finnick looked blankly at the pair. What the hell was he supposed to be doing here, then? He was getting trained for a job that wouldn’t work without, you know, a broadcaster in the freaking not-really-soundproof broadcasting booth. The station manager sighed heavily.

“It’s not you, Fin, yer doin’ great,” he said resolutely. They were not showing good ‘new-hire’ vibes. The little fox narrowed his eyes.

“I know it ain’t me, I got here early,” Finnick replied, crossing his arms. “But now it’s us that’s gotta figure out how to deal with it. Why’s this guy still workin here?” the little fox demanded. Collin spun slowly in his chair, his mane bristling angrily. It was hard to look so mad with a rainbow mane but he was doing a pretty good job of it. He answered with professional grump-face.

“… We ain’t got anyone else. It ain’t like KRUF is an affiliate station or anything. He was a buddy of the former manager, but that guy left and took all the good talent with him. No offense, Jian.”

“I’m offended,” Jian huffed.

“So fill out a requisition for some sad feelings, then, poser,” laughed the striped hyena.

“Harsh,” Finnick observed with a grin. The mood wasn’t… doomed at least.

“No, he’s right, I totally fill out requisition forms. I’m management. It’s my function,” the red panda confirmed.

“But you guys can’t … just do the scripted stuff yourselves?” Finnick asked.

Collin replied lackadaisically, “I ain’t got a filter... can’t keep myself from swearing on the radio if I get into it. That could get our station fined. Oh, and Jian there freezes up if the topic gets even remotely raunchy.” The polite, try-to-please-everyone manager did seem the type to have issues with a bit of embarrassment, yeah.

“Ah.” Finnick stared at the two mammals. He knew it was coming. What were they waiting for? He was tiny. Were they afraid he’d go out swinging? There was a long uncomfortable pause. Collin stared at his boss hard and made a motion to him. The boss looked at the floor because obviously spineless. Right. That was expected.

“You… want me to give it a try?” the small fox finally asked.

“Do you… Do you want to?” asked Jian hesitantly, as if it wasn’t the huge slice of cake he was drooling over for the past half hour.

Early on, heck, nearly the very first day, the hyena had ‘tested the waters’ with Finnick about possibly letting him read the morning news on the air because he had this ‘super rad tone’. The fennec had mostly written that off because pretty much everyone he met made a big deal about the tiny fox with the big voice. Sure he was small. He was small even for a fennec, but he made up for it with attitude. He had to. And it got him through life just fine. This was different. He had no experience doing what they wanted him to do and he wasn’t hired for that. Maybe he could manage it, but did he really want to?

“Nope,” the little fox flatly announced, staring at the pair. Jian actually flinched like the little fox slapped the hell out of him. It was too much. The fennec had to laugh. Collin covered his face, shaking his head.

“C’mon man,” the hyena pressed. “We’re all tryin’. You’re tryin! We already got downgraded, we’re just tryin’ to make this work. I’m on probation! I can’t just switch jobs easy.”

“Alright, alright, I was kiddin’, jeeze,” Finnick grumbled. “It don’t sound too hard, but you guys gotta like… make sure I’m hittin the right buttons and not hangin’ up or stopping the music and all that. I just did the setup and a bit of editing stuff so far. If I smash autotune and humiliate myself on the air to the sound of Gazelle’s version of ‘Let it Goat’, I’m bailin’.” There wasn’t even a pause for reflection.

“D-deal! We got yer back,” Collin agreed, the sound of relief in his voice heavy. Jian drew a cross over his chest like he’d just avoided dying. Finnick knew why. They were obviously on thin ice with the station’s owner, whoever that was. They couldn’t mess up again, but if Fin screwed this up horribly they could just fire him and move on to the next chance with their boss. He knew the game. Still, it was better than saying no to them, then having them screw it up when maybe he might have done better, and all of them getting the boot at the same time. With what he’d already seen, he would take his chances. Still, he needed to do something real quick.

“You guys mind if I step out and grab a coffee to wake myself up a little more before I go live for the first time in my life?” That seemed like a perfectly reasonable request.

Jian hopped up from his rolling chair. “Oh, certainly yes you may! Just… come back quickly! We… we get everything else set up and ready!” placated the red panda predictably.

“Yes, I will get the setup done,” Collin growled, glaring at the red panda. Finnick assumed that setting up was not his manager’s strength either. The little fox dropped down and pulled the remaining four smaller boxes out of the back of his vehicle before heading out, leaving with a typical backfire of his van. His real reason for going was more pressing to him than coffee, however.

He sent a text at the first traffic light he encountered.

Yo, Nick, you still cuddle-bunnied or you awake?

There was a pause that lasted until almost the next traffic light.

I’m up. Got my high school wish, finally, so I s lept like a baby.

The little fox looked with some confusion at the text sent by his former partner in not-quite-crime. What the heck?

Sounds scandalous. What was that again?

He was mostly joking. Fin didn’t want to ask for help without at least showing he was interested in what Nick was saying. He’d learned that early on in his hustling days. Listening earns you more trust than talking.

Got roughed up by an alpha wolf-girl! :D

Well he regretted that one. Finnick almost missed his green light. Fortunately it was so early that even on Sand Dune Boulevard there wasn’t anyone waiting behind him. He didn’t have another opportunity to write anything back to Nick until he actually pulled into the doughnut place to get his coffee. He hopped out of his van and darted inside to get a coffee; not just for him, but for the other two as well, plus an assortment of sugars and creams, and a half dozen regular glazed doughnuts. One can’t go wrong there. Finally he texted Nick again to see if he was willing to give him a call for something ‘work’ related.

Nick pretty immediately called.

The little fox answered, sitting in his idling van. He would go back once he’d had this important conversation with his friend. Finnick spoke with a dark tone.

“You better be doin’ the Red Riding Hood role-play with your bunny, or you dead, fox,” the smaller mammal grunted in his still-too-big-for-him smartphone.

“Nah, work related stuff,” laughed Nick. “All very painful, I promise you. What’s up, big guy?” his snarky vulpine friend asked. He added insistently, “Gotta head in to work shortly. Got a lead on a case.”

“Remember how I said I might get to do the morning show or something?” Fin asked.

“Yeah? What station do I need to tune to?” asked Nick in a supportive tone.

“Well, I was messin’ wit ya obviously, except now I ain’t. This place is a shitshow, Nick, and they don’t got someone who can talk on the radio and we just moved to the new place. They want me to up and do it, on the spot. What the heck am I supposed to do? I didn’t go to school for broadcasting. Hardly went to school at all!”

Sure it sounded kind of pathetic, but Finnick was excited and he needed to be grounded. Nick was excellent at making him think clearly when things were chaotic. Nick was always calmer than him. He’d either give him some advice that would get him through today, or make him follow his initial instinct to bail before this whole mess crashed and burned and he was looking at some kind of communications fines for some offense that he knew nothing about. This wasn’t a ha-ha funny thing they were asking for like some kind of sitcom.

“Do what you do best, Finnick,” Nick said in a very happy tone. The ‘happy Nick not even putting on a show’ was still novel to the little fox.

“I’m best at hustlin’ Nick. You know that, and I can’t go back to that cause I ain’t putting you thorough it if you gotta see me in jail. We agreed on that.” He wanted to remind his friend he was very serious about going legit. He’d been a line cook for months and months as miserable as it was. He’d see this though.

“Just about everything’s a hustle, Fin,” the fox on the other end of the line stated.

“What?” the fennec replied, looking at the time. He didn’t have time to get all symbolic on the phone. He had to be ready to take over on the radio soon, and he was honestly freaking out about it.

“It’s all a matter of who you’re hustlin’ buddy,” Nick answered sagely. “Sometimes you hustle everyone else, sometimes you gotta hustle yourself, but you got the skill. You got it. I promise you do. Don’t think just because you didn’t have a mammal tell you that you could do something somehow you can’t.”

“Everything’s a hustle…” Finnick answered slowly.

“Almost everything,” Nick clarified.

“When ain’t it a hustle?” the fennec asked expectantly. His hustlin’ days were over!

“When you find that one thing, finally, that’s real,” his former partner expressed.

“Like you did?” Finnick responded with some reverence. Nick was different now. He was the same fox, but he was different too. Nick found the real Nick Wilde. It was as far from what the fennec could have ever believed even two years ago, but he found it.

“Like I did,” Nick confirmed. “So, I gotta help Judy, she’s a bit sore and her body armor is a pain on a good day. Let’s catch up about it later. I might miss your debut, but get them to record it. I wanna listen in!” And with that, the red fox bluntly disconnected. That was Nick in a hurry. That part wasn’t new.

His friend certainly meant well, but the conversation didn’t help Finnick to make a choice about it at all. He sighed and looked at the cooling coffee for his coworkers. He already bought that so if he bailed they at least got a consolation prize, but it didn’t feel right bailing without even trying. When it mattered, Nick tried. Judy certainly tried. It’s why Nick was even still around to call for advice in the first place, as cryptic and utterly useless as it was. He was in a hurry. His life was busy. The little fennec understood.

“Well, crap,” he growled before shaking his head and just heading back.

When he arrived, both Collin and Jian were out front with eyes nearly glistening with gladness. Of course they thought he used ‘going out to get coffee’ as code for ‘so long suckers’. Their expressions lit up even more when he brought out extra coffee and more doughnuts than he could have been expected to eat on his own. While the station was certainly not being run well, and they were obviously suffering from that by measure of them having to downgrade to a less expensive operation, the pair that were still there did seem at least to appreciate effort… so that wasn’t so bad.

They had, as promised, finished setting up with the hope that their new broadcaster would soon return. Which he had. As such, they had a chance to munch on doughnuts, have some coffee, and get everything together for Finnick’s first radio shift.

The start to the morning would be super easy, as promised. It really was just an announcement for going on the air that he would be reading from a cue card. He could read just fine so that wouldn’t be an ordeal for him. After that, it was either introduction or exit call-out for various songs that he could choose from a list and Collin would set up the tunes and run. At eight there was a little trivia game that they did where callers could call in and give the answer.

Fin was actually kind of surprised to see that the prize for getting all of them right was not cash, tickets… anything like that. It was just a chance to have their name called out on the radio. That seemed like very little incentive for a mammal to potentially get a question wrong and look stupid on the radio, but maybe it worked fine for their specific listeners.

After that, it was a few hours of music up until noon, at which point Finnick would read and possibly elaborate on or give opinions on the major news topics for the day, and he would report the weather for the different districts of Zootopia. Finally, a traffic report, then more music. Collin would handle the music for an hour while Finnick had a lunch. He often didn’t get one while working at the grill, so that was a novel idea. He and Nick usually didn’t take one when working together either because time and money were much more closely linked back then. It would take some getting used to.

Through all of these stages there would be commercial interruptions including a few that the little fox was given a script to read. These would be fine, he was sure. He was used to having a product to hype and sounding genuine about it. Some were easier than others.

Normally, there would be an afternoon radio personality, but that person was the former manager of the station who left before Finnick even got hired, so he would do a late day news report, traffic, and the following days weather, then take a few callers to take dedications and let listeners call out things like birthdays and anniversaries until later in the evening, at which point the station was set to automatically continue to play a mix of music and commercials until midnight, when it was set to go off air.

It would be a long day, but the work wasn’t hard and the little fox was getting paid by the hour.

On top of that, he was getting big pay. That meant his pay didn’t scale with his size. For some jobs, the size of the mammal directly affected their bills. Tiny rodent homes didn’t cost as much as massive elephant homes, so tiny mammals tended to get paid less for certain jobs that were specifically easier for them to do. That was just economy. This, however, was a job that really required a wolf or larger because of the heavy lifting, and needed technical skill to boot, so it was, to date, the best paying real job that Finnick ever had.

With everything laid out and scripts on the table, and with provided promises that some of the more complex functions would be handled by his possibly inept coworkers, Fin was a bit more encouraged. He felt like he could handle just talking to mammals. Usually, in their hustles, Nick did all the talking, but it’s not like the smaller fox wasn’t paying attention. He knew how it worked, and what his partner did to get into other mammals heads back then. It would be like that. Maybe Nick was right after all. Maybe this, and everything else, was mostly just a hustle. The goal was different, the situation might change, but ultimately, it’s watching, listening, and reacting to get what he needed.

And this radio station needed something.

Seven finally hit and the small desert vulpine swallowed heavily as he saw the red light come on, and his sensitive ears actually picked up the hum from the radio antenna outside. This was it.

“Good morning, Zootopia,” He felt suddenly self-conscious about his own voice. Would it sound stupid or forced on the radio? He shook the thought away. Nope, no time for second guessing. He had to convince the listeners he was a broadcaster, and that meant selling himself to the hustle.

He regarded the script.

“This is introduction, and you’re listening to Kay-ruff out of hot, hot, hot Sahara Square.” He paused, realizing he screwed that up within the first five freaking seconds. He was supposed to introduce himself, not say ‘introduction’. He felt suddenly alarmingly novice there in his semi-booth with plexi-glass shell and egg carton walls. What the hell was he doing? Jian and Collin grinned and motioned for him to continue. Don’t get hung up on a goof. Got it.

The script said ‘freestyle into music’. He just had to announce that he was playing music. He was selling music. Got it.

“This is…” He closed his eyes, ears up, heart pounding. He focused his voice a little better. “This is Lil’ Monster Fin fillin’ in for Flint Coldstone. The sun is up, gas prices are down, and that coffee ain’t gonna drink itself. It’s too complicated out there, so we gonna start the day with a little bit of comic nostalgia. This is ‘YENA’, with ‘99 Fed Raccoons.’.”

Finnick got immediate double thumbs up from outside the booth.

This station needed something.

Maybe that something could be a little fox in a van with a big voice.

Chapter Text

Radio Fin

Chapter 2: Voice and Connections

“And that was all the 90’s you can stomach from Pack Street Wolves,” Finnick said, adjusting his headset. He was trying not to fidget with it much while he was on air because it created small crackling sounds that he, at least, could hear. It would be unprofessional if others could hear it too. The equipment was too big for his little fox head though, so he couldn’t help it. He got a thumbs up from Collin and he indicated the marker board the set up with some signals Finnick could see from the booth. That meant next commercial on the printed list.

He picked up the list and found the next one, and read it verbatim from the sheet.

“Gone are the days where skunks sat alone, however not all anti-musk products are created equal.” Finnick rolled his eyes. He could not believe he was doing this, but there were clearly worse ways to make money. He would make it work, and it wasn’t like he was suddenly the permanent guy doing this. He continued, “For our mustelid friends, we at Musk Mask are pleased to offer Musk Mask EX3, our strongest formula yet. We are also excited to offer Musk Mask EX3 NP, the same great product without any perfume scent. All anti-musk products carry some scent, but now it doesn’t have to be overpowering. Musk Mask, look for it in the personal care aisle. Musk Mask NP...” The commercial was continued on the next page. Annnnnnd, the next page was missing. Of course. Finnick quickly came up with something to at least keep from awkward dead air. “… if you wanna smell like something, go hug someone.” His tone when he said it felt pretty grumpy, honestly. But how bad were things being run here? Seriously!

Finnick immediately played “Smells like Yeen Spirit”, because that felt like pretty appropriate follow-up.

Collin and Jian looked utterly shocked outside the booth. Finnick inwardly sighed. Perhaps… winging it wasn’t always the right choice. The moment the song began playing and the mic was off Collin literally fell on the floor, wailing with laughter.

“The next page’s missing, guys!” Finnick shouted from the semi-sound-proof booth. “I don’t know the dang commercial by heart!”

Finnick looked at the remaining typed-up schedule as the song trailed out and nodded to Collin who switched over to a prerecorded set of two commercials before the next solid block of five songs. The first was a law firm called JR Small and Associates which specialized in rodent crushing accident litigation. The second was for a car dealership that was going out of business and had ‘nearly unlimited stock still to sell’. According to Jian, they had ‘gone out of business’ four times, so it was possible they were not actually going out of business.

As the next block of songs played, Finnick took five from the booth with Jian helpfully just making sure that the computer didn’t crash or something. The small fox popped out to the console and opted to enjoy one of the now cold doughnuts. They were fine like that.

“Sorry about the adlibbing,” the little fox expressed. “It literally left off in the middle of the commercial and the next page had Trivia stuff on it.” He sipped his coffee.

“Dude, it was golden!” laughed Collin. “You sounded so pissed!” Finnick sighed. He had hoped his frustration wasn’t showing. His temper slipped to the surface when suffering dumb stuff.

“Yeah. Not… not used to monitoring my tone like that. It’ll take getting used to.”

“The Hell you say!” barked the striped hyena, combing his rainbow mane back. “Dude, if it’s you, let it be you! I’d buy the shit out of a product sold be someone who sounded real about it, and you sounded real!”

“Oh, that absolutely ain’t what I sighed up for,” Finnick laughed. “I’m no marketing genius. I just had to say something because the advert got cliff-hangered.” He sipped again. “Besides, if I don’t read that stuff right, your advertisers’ll probably stop paying for the adds.” Collin laughed again and shook his head.

“The next line woulda been ‘Let the first impression be you’, dawg.” He sipped his own nearly empty coffee. “Trust me, dude. That was way better.”

“This ain’t hard… least if the pages are all here,” Finnick stated, feeling a little more confident at least. “You seriously have trouble with it? Not tryin’ to insult or anything, it’s just… it’s reading and just transitioning.” Finnick was talking himself up more than anything else. He messed up a couple of times, but he had this, at least for today. Maybe if Flint heard another voice on the radio he’d get the picture that the days of just messing around and letting everyone pick up the pieces were very much over.

“Yeah?” Collin asked, resting his chin on his paws. “If I found out the page I needed was missing, I’d have f-bombed without thinking and the station owner would be pullin’ that outta my check for a solid year and I’m barely makin’ rent.” Finnick stared at Collin. Sure, he could cuss like a sailor when it was appropriate, but folks really… struggled with that?

“Well,” started the fennec.

“Jian?” interrupted Collin. “Yeah, he’d have spent the next ten minutes solid on the air apologizing for ruining the reputation of the station and the Musk Mask brand in a desperate downward spiral before I had to call an ambulance to deal with his crippling anxiety attack.”

Finnick stared at the hyena for what felt like a solid awkward minute.

“Well uh… Uh… Well, knowing your limitations is a part of… success… right?” asked Finnick.

“Right,” Collin rumbled smoothly. “So… what are your limitations?” he asked. “Top shelf items, aside.”

“You drop another size joke, I’m handin’ you the mic,” the fennec answered grumpily. The hyena backed off, looking genuinely worried. Yeah. Out of bounds.

“Two minute warning,” interrupted a red panda who would absolutely botch the next commercial. Fin laughed at the sound of worry in Jian’s voice. Finnick didn’t quit on his break. He was still there.

“Dude… you got this. You’re doing amazing. Thank you,” Collin said in a soft but very genuine voice, making up for his banter a second ago. Finnick paused a moment, looking at the striped hyena. He seemed very genuinely happy. Being supported by someone other than Nick was weird, but he felt the same genuine energy and that made him pause.

Something Nick told him echoed inside him.

That echo actually happened a lot since his friend nearly died.

It’s all a hustle until you find what’s real.

Collin was looking for something real. He was here, hoping he’d find it.

Jian was looking for it too.

Finnick sucked in a breath. Time to get back to work. He took over in the booth as Collin retreated gratefully. Fin sat down at looked at the notes. This… This was the part he was most worried about.

One more set of commercials that he could just read from the page, another seven minutes of music, and it would be time for the trivia game. He looked at the notes for that. They were pretty mundane questions that spanned science, popular culture, and some questions that were clearly brand placement. What bothered the fennec was that there were no real prizes of any worth for taking the chance to answer those things on the radio. Just being on the radio was all there was to it.

What it came down to is that plenty of listeners had to be excited to call, or they would probably just get the same one or two folks that just liked showing off their trivia knowledge, and a lot of the questions were pretty basic knowledge. Even a braniac might not be that interested because the questions were either not hard, or obviously partial advertisements for sponsored companies.

He glanced out of the booth at his new coworkers. They were sorting items as they were still getting things where they needed to be after basically finishing the move-in this morning. They were busy. He looked at the timer. Less than seven minutes.

He remembered what Nick said. It was a hustle. Finnick was good at a hustle, he just had to keep doing that, even if the end result would be different.

What would he do in a hustle?

He looked at his phone, and then grinned. Maybe it would be a dead end, and he’d have to just do this dull segment the old way, but if this worked…

He picked up his phone and sent a quick text message. Please oh please oh please answer…

“And we’re back, you filthy animals,” Finnick grunted over the radio. They told him they were fine with Finnick being Finnick so he could go off script until they corrected him. “This is Lil Monster Fin and you’re listening to K-Ruff! Our long time listeners know what time it is!” He hit a button that sounded like a school bell. “That’s right, we got trivia for you on this whatever heckin’ morning it is, but yo, I gotta shake things up! After that last fumbled commercial earlier they ain’t never gonna let me back in this booth, ya’ll!” He glanced at Jian and Collin who both stood with crap in their paws, slack-jawed.

“What are you doing?” mouthed the striped hyena. Jian was immediately pacing, striped red panda tail poufed out. Perfect.

“I have a celebrity guest waiting on the line. Some of you will recognize this familiar voice; our guest host for today’s trivia is a star of the big screen. You’ll get to see him soon in the newly announced action film ‘The Interior’. Anyone out there wanna call in for trivia and chat with The Actual Jack Savage? You with us, Jack?” Finnick asked.

“You got me,” Jack said on the newly connected call. “Good to get to play some trivia with you again, Fin,” the rabbit on the other end of the line said. Jian stared blankly with a doomed expression and the hyena pressed himself up against the booth’s plexiglass with a wild look in his eyes, obviously freaking out. This was top tier delicious to Finnick.

“Well, you ain’t rollin me under the school bus this time, bunny!” Fin laughed. “The great city of Zootopia’s playin’ with you. You ready for some callers?” the small fox asked. Collin looked in a total panic at the phone boards on his side of the glass as all eight lines immediately lit up.

“Sure am, pal,” the energetic voice on the other end of the line chimed. Collin got on the lines in a flurry of desperation. He wasn’t ready. It caught him so off guard he wasn’t ready. He needed to filter the calls to provide quick caller rules and ensure they didn’t get something vulgar or stupid if possible. There was a delay so that they could cut out something weird, but it still required an unplanned commercial break or something to get caught up again.

“While we’re waiting on our first caller,” Fin announced, “Where can our listeners follow you if they wanted?”

“Easiest updates are on my Chitter account, TheActualJackSavage. I’ll be doing a meet and greet at the Maker Fair next Saturday at the Palm Hotel.”

Collin gave a thumbs up to let Finnick know he had a caller. He still looked shell-shocked.

“Awesome, I know everyone’s lookin’ forward to seein’ you there!” the little fox transitioned. “Alright, we have our first caller.” Finnick looked at the computer monitor with the chat from Collin’s laptop. “We have… Meeka!”

“Hey, Meeka, where you from?” the charismatic bunny answered. Ecstatic crying was the reply, and they were able to mostly make out that Meeka was from Little Rodentia. “Well, it’s so nice to get to talk to you, Meeka,” Jack expressed in his fan-friendly tone. Jian was flailing at Collin, showing him his phone. There was a Chitter screen visible. Finnick didn’t have to look at it. Jack had told his fans he was doing live trivia on KRUF. It was verified. His coworkers were now fully aware this was real. “You ready for a question?” Jack asked.

“Yes!” sobbed the likely small mammal.

“What popular hotel with a medieval theme closed in the early 80’s but plans to reopen next year?” he asked. Finnick looked down. He’d given Jack the questions, but he was, apparently, not asking them in order. That was the fifth out of ten questions. The fox knew why though. Jack intentionally asked what was likely a rodent a question that pertained to local news for her. He wanted her to get this.

“Oh my gaaaah! The Redwall Inn!” she practically shrieked. She got a question right for Jack Savage. It probably made her entire month. Collin pushed a button that had a ‘yaaaaay’ track on it, his eyes still relaying stupor. “You got it right,” Jack said happily on his end. For all it mattered on the radio, he was right there in the booth. “It was awesome speaking with you!” Meeka said some other things but it was absolutely unintelligible. Jian was pacing and talking on his phone. Finnick hoped they weren’t actually in trouble for it, but Collin at least seemed less freaked out and was now just focused on screening calls. He gave a signal that next call was ready.

“Alright, next caller,” Fin announced. “We have Morris on the phone, are you ready for your question, Morris?” asked Finnick, trying not to get pulled into a full radio show for what was supposed to be a short segment.

“Yeah,” came what sounded like a kid. “Is this Jack?”

“No, but this is,” Jack answered. “Where you from, Morris?” he asked.

“Cooooool. Tundra Town,” the kid answered.

“Keepin’ warm I hope?” Jack asked. Finnick worried that each question was taking too long, but he was too deep in it to correct that now. Jian was still on the phone.

“It’s not so bad. I’m supposed to be here,” he said.

“Ready for a question?” asked Jack.

“Sure!”

“You know a lot about ice, I bet, but what do you know about ice cream?” inquired Jack.

“Woah, like… only everything!” the kid said enthusiastically. Finnick quietly wondered how Jack zeroed in like that. Was that something you gained by becoming a star, or was that part of what made someone a star?

“Okay! Back in the sixties, ice cream almost ceased to be a thing.”

There was a gasp on the other line.

“Scary, right?” Jack asked. “But it’s true. So, the question is… why did all the ice cream almost disappear?”

“Oh.. uhh...” The kid seemed unsure. “Oh wait! Didn’t they try to ban like… milk or something?”

“Correct!” Jack chimed. Collin pushed the yaaaay button again. The bunny on the other line continued to speak. “The popular Capybara Candy Company generated an uproar and helped convince a change in the law that saved ice cream as we know it.” Finnick peered at the list of questions. There was a Capybara quiz item on there - it was one of the advertisement questions, but that wasn’t the one Jack used. He went out of his way to make a new one that would have been themed closer to the caller. The original question was what gelatin had been made of before the unification, but that would have been pretty dark to ask a kid. Gelatin was, of course, now made of a derivative of seaweed and Capybara perfected the technique to create some of the most popular snacks on the market.

Finnick chose Jack because the bunny was a celebrity that the fox had access to who might make this more fun but he completely forgot that the bunny was a trivia genius.

Jian was off of his call.

“Great chatting with you, Morris!”

“So cool!” the kid chimed and Finnick moved to the next caller.

“Next we have Vincent,” Finnick announced. “You with us, Vincent?”

“My name is Vincent,” came a whisper on the phone.

“Woah, secret Vincent!” chuckled Jack. “Where ya calling from?”

Finnick looked at Collin who held up a finger, perhaps indicating that the caller was rogue. Maybe he called and wasn’t whispering but changed. He would be ready to switch to a commercial.

“If I told ya that it wouldn’t be a secret,” he whispered.

“Ready for your question?” Jack professionally handled the strange caller.

“You ready for yours?” Vincent countered.

“Sure, if you get yours right first,” the bunny humored him.

“Okay, go.” he stated. Finnick heard over his headset from Collin that the caller was rogue, which Finnick kinda figured, and they had dropped for commercial. They would resume live in two minutes. Jack did not know this, of course.

“A recent discovery purports that spiders may have one new thing in common with us at night, unless you’re nocturnal,” he asked.

“Uh…” Vincent responded. He thought for a moment and then offered in an uncertain tone, “Wait, dream? Spiders dream? Eew.”

“Weird but Correct,” Jack stated happily.

“Now mine,” Vincent whispered.

“Make it quick,” the bunny pressed.

“Do fox girls really do that gekkering thing in bed or is that just for pornos?” asked the caller. Jian sprang up high on his feet, paws way up in the air, then fell back on his butt in the control area. Collin rolled his eyes and put his face in his paws.

“Dunno, It’s hard to hear anything when she’s pullin’ my ears, mate,” Jack answered flatly. “Next caller.” The call was disconnected. Finnick stared in shock through the window of his booth. Wow.

“Sorry about that,” Finnick expressed genuinely, even though he could barely restrain his laughter.. “Yo girl’d be proud of that foxy comeback though,” he pointed out. Collin was practically howling in the other room. Jian was holding his head in his paws.

“You can’t possibly think I’ve never had those kinds of calls,” Jack laughed. Finnick laughed as well. He certainly had his answer ready, that was for sure.

“That part wasn’t live. Kinda wish it had been,” the little fox stated. “That comeback was golden.”

“Yeah, I figured. It’s way worse in a live Q&A believe it or not.”

“Twenty Seconds,” Collin wheezed.

“I’m gonna have to send you guys some filtering questions to help weed those guys out,” Jack laughed. “Okay, I’m ready.”

The message popped up and Finnick answered the line. “We have Kris on the line, where you callin’ from, Kris?”

“A gutted gas station,” a familiar voice chimed. Oh yeah… Finnick told the otter what station he had started working for. Of course she was listening.

“No chips for me, huh?” the bunny laughed. Finnick marveled at how other radio announcers managed to keep these things from lasting an hour.

“Not this time, but real soon I hope! I’m a really big, really small fan,” she giggled, seeming very much on cloud nine. Finnick was glad for that. She was a pretty cool otter.

“You ready for your question, Kris?” Jack inquired.

“Absolutely!” piped the mustelid.

“What above-average actor was responsible for the now highly pervasive meme that states ‘pretty sheep don’t float’?”

There was a giggle on the other line. Kris responded after she got herself under control. “Leonardo Di’Caprido.” Finnick felt like he should have known that himself, but he suspected Kris wasn’t even born when that movie came out. It was painfully long ago.

“That is correct, and lemme tell you, Leo got some mileage off that joke at parties,” the other actor informed. “Awesome answer!”

The next nearly twenty-five minutes were full of trivia and very happy-sounding callers who genuinely just wanted to say they’d talked with Jack Savage. There were no other vulgar or prank callers, though one bunny gal was unable to be aired because she was hyperventilating and wasn’t able to really interact on the call.

The remaining questions were either about popular culture, or about popular products, and Jack went off script in such a professional manner that it would have been believable that he was just sitting by his pool coming up with the questions by himself. Only one mammal actually got the question wrong, but instead of getting to feel foolish about it, he was delighted to get to talk to his favorite actor a little more about the answer he did give. Finnick originally expected he would be doing more of the lead in to the calls, or interacting a bit more, but Jack’s presence in the quiz was way bigger than a bunny had any reason to be, and the tiny vulpine let him have at it while he sipped his coffee.

At the end of the quiz show, Finnick thanked Jack for being awesome and playing with the fine listeners of KRUF, and finally went to an automated commercial block to be followed by 7 minutes of music. And speaking of music, it was time for the little fox to face the music himself, as he did drop that like a bomb on his new coworkers. Jian and Collin both looked very eager to talk to him.

The small fox stepped out of the booth and smoothed out his black and red button-up shirt. He looked up at the hyena and red panda and sipped his coffee.

“You may have deviated from the plan slightly,” the station manager said in a raspy tone.

“Teensy bit,” Collin gestured in affirmation with his fingertips.

“It needed to be spiced up a bit,” Finnick observed casually.

“The station owner called and wants to know… what the heck that’s gonna cost us...” Jian said, his voice actually cracking slightly. Finnick folded his head sails back. Oh, he hadn’t thought they would assume he wrote a check the station couldn’t cash for that.

“We already agreed on my pay, so whatever that is, I s’pose?” Finnick laughed.

“No, for Jack, Fin!” Collin practically hissed. “I don’t know if you noticed, but we moved because we ain’t got a lot of money.” Jian nodded at that. That was a fact. They were handing out truths here.

“Nothing, guys, I asked if he wanted to and he said he was cool with it.” Another sip of coffee. He’d seen Nick do things kind of like this to mess with folks, but he’d not really done it before. Now he understood why that walking disaster enjoyed it.

“So you really just… know Jack Savage?” Jian asked, holding up his phone which still showed the Chitter account for the actor.

“We’re accuainted, yeah,” Finnick answered. “We played trivia a few times while a mutual friend was recovering from gettin’ hurt. He’s pretty cool for buck with so many bucks.” Jian sat in the spinny chair, rubbing his face, before getting on his phone and typing a message furiously, probably to the station owner to let him know they weren’t bankrupted by the new-hire’s stunt.

Collin laughed at that. “Well, you ain’t ever gonna top somethin’ like that I bet so it’s just as well that you were just fillin’ in, but hoo boy Flint’s not about to enjoy tryin’ to measure up.” The fennec glared at him. The hyena shook his paws, flustered. “No, not measure up… uh…” Finnick laughed. Collin nervously laughed back.

“Would you be willing to do… more booth time after today?” Jian asked. The little fox stared across the sound board at him.

“Come again?” he asked.

He turned his phone over to show Finnick the conversation, perhaps just in case the little fox thought he was being played or something.

The first message Fin could see without scrolling up was the end part of what “Morton” was saying. The cut off line just said:

can expect it to come out of your pay.

The next line was Jian: It was free. They’re friends or something.

Morton: Ah. Interesting. Where is Flint this unusual morning?

Jian: He didn’t make it.

Morton: See that he doesn’t make it tomorrow.

Finnick cringed at the wording. Wow, that was pretty heavy.

The little fox pulled his big ears back. “Oh crap, hey, I wasn’t tryin’ to get the guy fired! I was just havin’ some fun with it.”

“You didn’t get him fired, dude,” laughed Collin with exasperation. “He’s had this comin’ for months.”

“I can’t help but notice… it doesn’t directly say give me the guy’s position, though,” Finnick stated, motioning to the phone.

“Not it!” Jian and Collin both yelled simultaneously.

“Damn it,” Finnick huffed. “Are you guys… Are you guys serious?” he asked. He was actually already considering it while he was working in the booth. It wasn’t hard work, but it felt like there had to be a catch. Crazy hours, crap he’d have to do or put up with. Every job seems simple until they tell you what you’re actually doing.

“You’d be seeing a pretty big increase in pay,” explained Jian.

“No I won’t, you guys are broke,” laughed the fox. Collin spoke up.

“Broke but no longer paying the best friend of the former station manager an obvious fat stack of favoritism.” Finnick sighed heavily as he looked back at the booth.

It was different.

It was the most different thing he’d ever done. He’d have a lot to learn in a pretty shoret span of time, ut wasn’t that just life? He’d been looking for something different, and he’d been looking for something that he could be proud of doing. That his friends could be proud he was doing. He could be the voice of Zootopia in the morning on KRUF. He could meet new people, do new things, and live his life without worrying about whether his van would get towed. Heck, maybe he could even get his own place. How crazy would that be?

He put the poorly fitting headphones back on his small head and laughed softly.

“Sure, dude, I’ll try.”

Collin fist-bumped the little fennec as Jian sighed with relief, spinning around in his chair.

“Hell yeah, Lil’ Monster Fin. Let’s rock this city.”

Chapter Text

Radio Fin

Chapter 3 : Pachyderms and Personality

“I think he just wants to meet you is all,” Jian expressed, soft paws out to Finnick.

“I’m not scared, Boss,” the fennec laughed, “I just wanna know more about the guy.”

“Why?” asked Collin, flittering a fluffy short hyena tail.

“Whaddayamean why? I gotta work with the guy.” Finnick returned. “We just fired my predecessor. What’s he like? What’s he lookin’ for in a radio personality? Guys, if I blow this you’ll be the one’s in the booth, to fill me in.”

“Morton’s an elephant,” offered Jian.

“Real big guy, and he’s not afraid to let you know that,” the hyena added.

“Right, so I don’t discuss peanuts so I don’t offend him - Did you tell him what I am?” asked Fin.

“Not… not yet, but it didn’t come up.” Jian said with a flourish. “I don’t think it’ll matter. I mean, there’s no bias or anything. Flint is a snow leopard and that was never a problem for Mort.”

“I’m not worried about offending the guy, I wanna actually impress him!” Finnick argued.

“You already did, or he’d not be coming by today to meet you,” Collin laughed, obviously trying to seem less freaked out.

“What’s the guy into? What kind of movies does he like? What kind of music is his favorite? Who’s his favorite band? Why did he buy a freaking radio station – give me something to start with, Collin!”

“It’s a meeting with the boss, not a speed date, dude!” laughed the rainbow-maned hyena. Finnick sighed loudly. Finnick rubbed his paws down his face. These guys were so excited yesterday, but the mere thought that the boss was coming to check in on them had them in a death spiral and it was frustrating.

“I get that, but look... you guys might not be doin’ this radio thing out of a trailer in the parking lot of a defunct strip mall if you were paying closer attention to what the guy puling the purse strings actually wanted.”

“Hey now, that’s not fair!” Jian countered. “I have meetings with Morton every single week. I ask him directly what he wants, what he expects, all that stuff. I’m not being negligent.”

Finnick glared at Jian. This red panda was his manager, but this was not a normal placating manager conversation. Every single clear indication showed that this was a failing radio station, doomed to obscurity and eventual release from the airwaves. If he wanted to do this new thing as a career, he needed to grab the wheel. “Right, so, in these conversations, he said to you, “What I really want is for my investment and social platform in the city of Zootopia to downsize and lose listeners at a rate that necessitates we don’t show up in a non-specific Zoogle search?”

“Dude, ouch,” Collin complained.

“Pick up your phone you have your nose pushed to during half your shift and tell me I don’t speak tha damned truth!” Finnick barked. It was harsh, yes, but if he was moving forward, he needed to know that everyone was moving in the same direction. At least with Nick he could be blunt with the facts. If a thing wasn’t working he could depend on Nick to actually look at the reality of what was going on and adjust the approach to make sure that the pair made a profit. That was the difference between mammals working to stay employed and mammals working to get ahead.

The only time Finnick had ever been wrong was when his former partner hitched his wagon to the firecracker bunny who turned his life upside down a couple years back. The little fox was only thinking in terms of money back then, but once he understood what kind of wealth Nick was actually after, he knew Judy had been the right choice, even if the end result kind of cost him the best thing he had going for him at the time.

It was time to move on, however, and he was grateful for the advice of his friend.

And Nick was genuinely that now. No longer was he just work partner or a boss. The other fox supported and believed in him, and he was finding that to be more valuable than the cash he was pocketing at the end of their popsicle days.

After the dominant nature of the small fox’s discussion, however, Jian and Collin appeared somewhat despondent. Perhaps they just weren’t used to having reality dropped on their heads like that. Finnick glanced down a moment, then back at the seated pair.

“I’m not judging you guys. This is not me attacking what you’ve done. You’ve been dealing with some… disadvantages here.” He wasn’t sure what to say, though. Both were shackled to their roles in the station. They had not been able to, on their own, make it even remotely successful. Yes, this was in part due to their being held back by someone who was dealing with his own personal demons, but they had to understand that for the station to be successful, it could not just be up to Finnick alone.

The red panda gestured slightly toward Fin. “Look, we’re just a little...” Jian lacked the backbone to continue.

“… We’ve had folks come in and change the flow before,” Collin continued. “The previous manager, for instance. And it looked good. It sounded good at first. But… it didn’t last. The money wasn’t good for them, or they had other issues, or they got involved in other things, and we’re the ones who stuck by the station and … we love that you wanna just… grab it by the ears and go, really we do...” The hyena rubbed the back of his head. Jian continued.

“… but its scary too, because change, y’know? If it succeeds, it’s good but if it fails… well… We don’t have other prospects in the short term.”

“I ain’t here to fail,” the fennec replied in his deep, somewhat graveled voice. “… but for us to not fail we all gotta be willin’ to get behind each other and make it not fail. That means learnin’ new things, and bein’ on yo game. No mixed up pages, no mix up when folks are callin’ in… that kind of thing. I’m gonna do my part, and short of bein’ forced out, I ain’t bailin’ on you guys. But what I need right now is for you to take the direction of the station seriously for the guy who owns the thing. We need to take it in the direction that guy wants it goin’.”

“He doesn’t know what direction it’s going,” Collin sighed. “It’s kinda like… a vanity project for him. He’s an advertiser and it was originally a way for him to get his name out there in the ad world, but it’s kinda not necessary for that anymore,” he explained frankly.

“Doesn’t need it, or it didn’t work?” Finnick inquired seriously.

“Probably both, but clearly as he has slashed our budget like… four times, he doesn’t regard it as a necessity in his whole plan. Impressing him probably isn’t a big deal because he’s already got this on a serious back-burner and a few cool interviews or a slight uptick in listeners ain’t gonna change much about that.”

“It sho ain’t gonna change if that’s how ya really feel, and that tells me that nothin’ I do is gonna change it. Is that… really the message you got for me?” Finnick asked. Jian sat back down and sighed.

“No… but it’s been a while, right? It’s hard… to just run full speed ahead with something different and new. That’s the reality of this station. Can we keep the status quo with you running the booth? I bet yes we can. But can we just cheer and say this is suddenly turned around after a day? That’s a hard sell, Finnick.”

“Then give me the energy for a few days, Jian. Don’t give up right as I get in the door.”

Collin drummed his claws on the desk by the control console. “We’ll do that it’s just… Mort comin’ in here usually ends up bein’ a bunch of ‘change this, do this, try this’, and it’s arbitrary... and it’s offered up by a guy who owns a station but doesn’t run a station. We don’t wanna see you get pissed at the guy and then we end up in the booth.”

“You let me worry about bein’ pissed at the guy. I’ve got my own way of dealin’ with big mammals throwing their weight around. Just… have my back while I’m on the air. That’s what I want right now.” Finnick wasn’t really ahead when it came to his original intent on getting some information to make dealing with his new boss any easier, but Jian was terrified of pretty much everything, and Collin seemed to have a personality created by having to deliberately not care about the opinions of others. It might have related to his rainbow mane, but the little fox wasn’t about to ask.

“Half an hour ‘til you’re on,” warned Jian.

“I’m gonna get my coffee from the van,” Fin replied. “Make sure my papers are actually in order.”

“Don’t go rogue this time,” laughed Jian.

“Oh no, do!” laughed Collin. Their better humor was encouraging at least. They were ‘on’ for the morning music.

Finnick went to his van and shot a message at Nick that he would be going live again. Nick would be getting set up for work at the station so he might not hear it, but knowing his friend was pulling for him, even if he couldn’t be listening, helped. Judy made such a big deal about it yesterday. He’d not really had that kind of encouragement before. He wanted to make this work.

The first reply on his phone wasn’t from Nick, though.

It was Jack.

You there? You going live this morning too?

Having the actor pulling for him made the fennec even happier.

Yeah, bud. Like… twenty minutes.

He sipped his coffee. Yesterday pretty well assured the small fox that he had this shot, so he appreciated Jack. The bunny was worth a few moments of his short time this morning.

Trivia again?

Finnick flicked his ears. Did Jack want to do the trivia show again? Surely he didn’t have that kind of regular free time.

Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, yeah.

A short pause, and then another message from Jack.

Can I call ya real quick?

Finnick looked at his phone’s clock. He did not want to start late on his second day on the job but he felt like he had plenty of time.

He answered in the affirmative. He could talk for a few minutes. Jack immediately called. It was still kind of weird just having this level of celebrity call directly on his phone. They’d spent considerable time together around Nick and Judy, but it was different being the one talking to him without his actual friends there too.

He answered his ringing smartphone quickly.

“Nick… told me they decided to make you a more regular voice on the radio,” the rabbit immediately stated.

“That’s all yo fault, pal,” the fox laughed.

“Nah, you got stuff goin’ for you outside of me,” laughed Jack. “So…” He seemed to be trying to decide what to say next.

“I appreciate yo help though. I mean it,” Fin said in a softer tone. He didn’t want the bunny to think it wasn’t appreciated. It may have changed his whole life.

“You earned it,” Jack insisted solidly.

“I ain’t done nothing to deserve it. You always too modest.”

“Hah… If you told Skye I was modest she’d slap your ears backwards for lying,” Jack chuckled. “No, I’m serious. You maybe don’t realize it but you changed my life too.”

“I changed… what?” Finnick leaned back in his seat, forgetting his coffee, or even the time for a moment.

“Remember when Nick’s apartment got busted into by the guys Darmaw had chasing me?” the rabbit asked casually.

“Sho, that was fun. Heck of a party, as I recall.” Finnick remembered how scary the incident was, but he was already dealing with a lot of anger over Nick leaving him for his new life and he really enjoyed getting to vent without consequence that day. It was as guilty a pleasure as the small mammal could ever have.

“Well, I never forgot it. You ain’t a big guy, Fin. No offense.”

“You get a pass, Squeaker,” Finnick laughed, getting an exasperated huff from the bunny. “So what, it scared you straight or somethin?” he asked. How did that change Savage’s life?

“No, actually. See… I watched you take on two mammals who had names that probably weighed more than you. No offense.”

“You can’t keep sayin’ no offense and it never offends,” Finnick grumbled. “It ain’t never worked like that.” He thought he understood where Jack was going with the conversation. “So, you felt more … confident because the little guy didn’t take it lying down?”

“You coulda stayed locked in the other room. You could have played it safe. It wasn’t about you not taking it lying down, it was about you coming out fighting.” Finnick felt a rush of emotion that he wasn’t sure how exactly to quantify. He was definitely awkward in this kind of conversation.

“Yeah well… the streets of Zootopia can be rough for a little guy,” the fox murmurred. There was a long pause before Jack spoke again.

“I was face down in hot, wet foliage, Finnick...” the lapine said in a wavering tone.

“Finished yo pint before you made it to your salad, huh?” laughed the fox, wanting to deflect this strange mood.

“In the jungle of the interior, Finnick,” Jack stated in a firm tone, making it clear that he wasn’t going to be distracted. “We had death on our heels, and Judy was captured by a mammal who wanted nothing more than to break you to pieces to make them pay for the trouble we’d caused them. I was hidden. I was small. I was quiet. I could have stayed there and while it might have been terrible for Nick and Judy, I might have survived.”

Finnick swallowed loudly. Okay, this wasn’t the direction he thought it was going.

“Look, it was hard. Nick told me about it. But no one would judge you if you were scared. I’d have been scared. I was scared the night of the apartment fight. I was.” He didn’t want to give the idea of false bravado if that made Jack feel like he was lower than the fox. Finnick wasn’t a hero. He wasn’t on some moral high ground. Dropping those big dummies was a dessert that tasted amazing for six months in his head. He did that for him.

“It was scary. I thought getting up in the middle of that would be the worst experience of my life… but when I stood up that day, Fin… nothing ever felt so incredible. And later, I looked into Skye’s eyes and had what... what I promise you was the real bravest moment of my life… I said the words, and I gave myself to her without regret. I knew how small I was, that I was a bunny, that I was different… none of that mattered. I wanted it for me, and the whole world couldn’t take it away from me. Thinking about you in that apartment... I stood up in that jungle… and I have never gotten back down.”

Finnick found himself breathing faster. Why did it have to get so heavy?

“I’m … glad you did. Skye’s real cool.” He honestly had no idea what to say.

“I think… I might not have gone into the Interior at all had you not shown me who I could really be if life demanded it. I helped fight those guys in Nick’s apartment because of you.”

“Yeah, but you thought I was a kit,” the little fox laughed.

“Uh-huh. But it proved who I was. Me being wrong about who you were doesn’t change that. I went home that day with the ZPD telling me that I had zero obligation to go back and help Nick fix up his apartment. I could have stiffed him. There’s nothing he coulda done.”

“I can’t believe he made you do that,” Finnick admitted.

“I went back because as I went to bed that night, I took a hard look at myself and everything that happened. I took on a mammal many times my size without a second thought. I thought he punted a little kit, and I was gonna stop him. I play heroes on the big screen all the time, but for the first time… I discovered I was that guy in real life. I couldn’t deny it. I wanted to go back just to hold on to that feeling a little bit longer.”

“It was already in you, dude… That was you, not me...”

“Had you stayed in the bedroom, I promise I’d have done nothing,” Jack sighed. “But when I went back, I met the most important mammal I would ever meet. And I took her to the Interior because I was willing to take a big risk because of you. And I vowed myself up to her because you showed me that who and what I was didn’t matter. So no, Finnick… Me helpin’ you out yesterday wasn’t some… gift to a friend of a friend. You had this coming.”

Finnick could barely swallow. What the hell had Nick actually gotten so tangled up with since he met his bunny? Were all bunnies emotional landmines?

“I… appreciate that...”

“I’m not done helping you out,” Jack said resolutely.

“Seriously, you don’t gotta do the trivia show again,” the fox laughed.

“Nah, I helped out differently, in this case. I believe it’ll be good for both of us,” he laughed. Finnick folded his headsails back. What?

“I… Thank you, I think?” he offered. “I’m… about out of time though...”

“I have another treat for you today for your morning show,” the bunny quipped with a tone of genuine mirth.

“You don’t gotta do this,” the fox grumbled in his deep voice. He got it. It was appreciate the little fox day in Zootopia.

“Not me. I’m havin’ someone else call in to the station. It’s a mutual buddy who knew Judy a while back too. Your listeners are gonna blow out their coat for this one. Like before, no charge, and have fun with it. He’s a good guy. Big on the charity scene. I know, I know. You gotta go. You’re welcome.”

And he hung up. Finnick looked down at his phone as he had received a text message that Jack had already typed to him which included a number he wasn’t familiar with. That message had been replied to with the other recipient explaining who they were.

“N… no way...” The little fox barreled into the little mobile home based station as fast as his little feet would take him.

“Wake the hell up, crazy animal city!” called Finnick in his big fox voice. Jian and Collin gave an enthusiastic thumbs up, keeping their energy as requested earlier, but seeming further energized by Finnick’s loud and playful demeanor. He had a reason, though. He continued his morning greeting to the airwaves of Zootopia. “I’d ask how you slept, but let’s be honest. Half of us don’t, and the half that did had to be up so early you gotta listen to my goofy tail!” Jian appeared worried about whether or not that would have been self-deprecating, but Collin laughed hard enough top make it clear he didn’t care. Fin continued in his morning routine with a quick capture of the local news, the weather, some light political banter about Oak and some acorn references, the usual radio stuff.

Finnick finally introduced a commercial break with three pre-recorded spots and a final where he would recognize a sponsor for the station then tapped the plexi-glass of his booth to get Collin’s attention. Collin called the booth so they didn’t need to yell muffled things back and forth. The little vulpine explained that they would have a caller to help with the morning trivia again, and to just patch him through.

“We said don’t go rogue! Is it Jack again?” pressed the hyena excitedly.

“Nah, that’d be boring two days in a row, dude!” the little fox laughed.

“Who is it?” barked the colorful hyena. Finnick hung up and prepared his commercial slot. He got to watch the flailing conversation with Jian in the other room who clearly freaked out a bit. Wonderful.

He knew he wouldn’t be getting away with this all the time, but this was fun and he felt like he’d sell himself far better with his role here if he was clearly having fun.

“The waters of Zootopia have come a long way,” the fennec expressed in his commercial slot. He had some initial misgivings about doing commercials and whether or not it was beneath him, but ultimately he’d done more embarrassing things for far less money, so with his foray into the broadcasting world, he decided that he was willing to play along. “We are far removed from the days of ‘Canal District Grey’, where you knew where an otter was from based on the waters where they played.” This was a reference to conservation measures that purified the waters of the canal district that once were far more acidic than was good for anyone’s fur. “Still, even though we can see the bottom again, if my otter and beaver pals spend a lot of time frolicking in the waterways of this fair city it can still dull the fur. Get back your youthful sheen and natural color with Lutra-Glo, now offered in 8 and sixteen ounce sizes. Lutra-Glo…” Finnick turned the page.

Oh, they were absolutely joking, right?

Jian and Collin looked horrified. Guess what they messed up. Finnick darkened his tone.

“Lutra-Glo… Enjoy the pretty otter-y, not the city watery.” Finnick winced at his own delivery as Collin fell out. Oh he was dead. He did that on purpose. He had to.

This followed into final commercial that was pre-made but he couldn’t call Collin to give that hyena a piece of his mind because he was already on the phone with someone who was instructed by Jack to call in.

Collin’s face went from his restrained hyena laughing to immediate shock. Yeah. That’s what Finnick wanted to see.

“Welcome back, my lovely mammal-tropolis!” Finnick greeted again. “I know we had a bit of unexpected fun yesterday while I was filling in and I might have made some unrealistic expectations, but we’re gonna roll with it!” He saw that his caller was on hold as he watched Collin gesticulating to Jian wildly on the other side of the glass. They both pulled out their phones. “We have another mammal that probably doesn’t need much introduction joining us for our trivia fun today, and a little extra incentive to call in and join the fun.” Collin held up his phone in Jian’s face, making the red panda throws his paws up high again. The little fox secretly delighted in that expression of surprise.

“Good mornin’, mammals of Zootopia and esteemed KRUF listeners!” came a slightly countrified voice on the other end.

“Good morning!” Finnick barked back enthusiastically. “KRUF critters, we have the new lead guitarist and back-up vocals for the iconic band ‘HISS’, Bobby Catmull!” Collin looked like he was standing in front of an oncoming truck, almost expressionless as he hit a key that resulted in applause.

“Good to be here, Lil Monster Fin!” It absolutely delighted the fox to hear his radio name used by someone else and he wasn’t entirely sure why.

“Whatcha got coming up in the next little while here?” inquired the fox.

“We’ll be doin’ Caterwaul, the feline arts and music festival in the Meadowlands next Catterday!” chimed his guest. This was the least Finnick could do for this kind of favor. Give this popular rocker some bandwidth as he brought listeners to the station.

“Look forward to seein’ ya there!” Finnick called back with cheer. “Any other questions or announcements before we move on to the harder questions?”

“Yeah, furballs! Anyone who gets a Q right, I’m gonna make sure they get a seat at the show, and whether you get it right or wrong, I’m givin’ a hundred bucks in whoever’s name you want to the Charity ‘A New Coat’, who has been at the top of mange research and treatment for over 25 years.” Finnick paused. Even he didn’t know that part of it, but this definitely extended the invitation to more callers. He beamed at the gobsmacked pair in the other room. He was so getting chewed out for this, but it made up for them making him mess up another commercial.

The next twenty-five minutes filled themselves with a bit less confusing journey through trivia. Bobby was not as dominating a personality as Savage had been, but the small fox took command of hosting the game with Jack’s example in mind. He worked to figure out who his caller was and tried to match them up with an appropriate question and give them praise and cheer the way the bunny had done.

Being super friendly and sweet wasn’t the fennec’s style though. He cast little hedgehog needles of playful insults and admonishments to his callers because that was absolutely more his style. He suspected he’d get called out for it, or it would sound awkward but because of his voice and personality, it actually worked. They seemed to eat it up, and even ribbed back a few times.

It felt natural. It felt like how he and Nick ripped on each other. They were having fun, and no one rally cared if it didn’t appear professional. He didn’t think he could ever get away with that much snark with any other job he had, but he got a lot of genuine laughter.

They had a few hard core fans of Bobby Catmull or HISS call in, and a few had questions about him or the band, but he was good about pushing them to their trivia question after a short interaction. It wasn’t as funny as Jack, and Bobby was a lot more goal oriented in terms of getting through the calls, but the fox filled in the spaces a little and made it, to him, just about as fun.

There were, fortunately, no instances where they needed to cut anyone off. Catmull didn’t have the added controversy of dating a fox to provoke anyone. In total they raised 1200 dollars for the charity and gave out 7 tickets as the questions seemed a little harder this go round. Still, those calling in sounded happy just to get to talk to the acclaimed rocker, and he showed plenty of passion for his fans.

It was another sincerely good experience.

The trivia ended and they went into another commercial and music block. Finnick exited the booth to the hard stare of his coworkers.

“Is there anyone else we should be aware will call in?” Collin asked.

“Depends on what Gazelle’s doin’ tomorrow,” the little fennec teased. Jian squeaked.

“No.” Collin huffed.

“I’m teasing, I don’t know Gazelle,” Finnick laughed, shaking his big ears side to side.

“Our listener count went up tenfold from yesterday, and that was before you rolled out another A-list guy,” the hyena indicated on his computer. Finnick couldn’t even tell what chart he was looking at, but it was still good news. “This is how we get big ad revenue,” he added excitedly.

“Sorry we seemed… doubtful earlier,” Jian said, wringing his soft paws. “This was… not costing the station a big amount, yes?” Of course he was still worried about that. That was his job.

“Nope. Another favor from a friend,” Finnick answered without elaborating.

“You’re gonna spoil the listeners,” Collin chuckled.

“Maybe. We’ll just have to keep them entertained ourselves!” With that, Finnick got to enjoy a breakfast sandwich and some now cold coffee he retrieved from his van. The mood was different. The doom that was hanging over them that morning had largely dissipated because another morning went very positively. Maybe it just took a few days of things not utterly falling apart because their radio jockey was passed out drunk somewhere.

After the next batch of songs, there was a repeat of the news and the weather. Finnick had some fun with that as he unloaded some weather puns and made fun of a pretty outlandish report of a dire wolf being seen in Deerbrook County, a location that had become known for such sightings in the past couple of years. This time the great beast was seen by children, for however many grains of salt that was worth. It was popular news on the radio circuit, however, so Finnick had some fun with it.

Finally, after the noon hour, the booth was turned over to Collin for a bit. There were no real speaking parts for a couple of hours after the news spot because that was the KRUF Lunch Jam. It was a big solid block of music for mammals to enjoy with only one commercial interruption. This would have been something Finnick looked forward to because it meant his lunch break and he would, for the moment, have pretty long days.

Not this time though. Today it meant going to a cafe across the street and meeting the new boss. He had to admit there was some trepidation there. He took a seat in a metal bar-style chair pushed up to a huge table on the patio. He ordered a buggy burrito which was kind of a usual for him if it was offered. This one had cheese and a spicy sauce that worked well for him.

He hadn’t been served yet before there was suddenly plenty of shade.

The lumbering form of an elephant took a seat on a groaning metal chair. Finnick was immediately concerned about the fate of the seating, but it valiantly held. He wore a nice pale blue button down dress shirt with a darker blue vest and a tie. Black slacks completed the appearance of someone who was dressed like a business professional, but without the starched, rigid three-piece suit. His tusks were easily almost three feet long, and had been gilded with silver fittings and had clearly been polished to make them look somehow new and executive.

“Morton, I assume?” queried the small fox.

“I am. And you must be the appropriately named… Fennec?” he asked.

“Finnick, actually,” the small vulpine corrected. “Fin is fine as well.”

“Or… Little Monster?” he qualified without expression. He seemed super serious, so Finnick dialed back his normal fun-mode.

“Just on the radio,” he informed.

“I will keep this meeting short, Fin,” expressed the pachyderm.

“Fair,” the vulpine replied, perking up as he got his order. Morton ordered banana pudding which Finnick immediately craved upon hearing it requested. Maybe next time.

“I feel like you have fun in that booth,” Mort explained. Finnick nodded, staring back.

“I uh… It’s different, but that’s not a bad thing.” He wasn’t sure what to say. This guy wasn’t just saying ‘here’s what I want, do it and I will pay you’.

“How do you know … Jack Savage?” This question was pretty predictable.

“He’s the friend of some friends,” Finnick countered.

“What friends?” asked the elephant. He didn’t expect that question, honestly, but it was fair too. How many points of contact resulted in Jack helping?

“Nick and Judy Wilde. They’re cops. They’re friends with Jack,” he explained.

“The blood-soaked police mammals from that Palm Market video?” Morton qualified. That was also a fair link. A lot of mammals knew who they were by that.

“Yeah, those guys.” Finnick hoped the guy wasn’t gonna try to get them on the radio. Judy and Nick went out of their way to avoid the notoriety that came along with that fiasco. It was pretty solid PR for the fox and bunny but it could be argued that it did not make the ZPD look great at all. They stopped searching for the fox. That was not so positive.

“And today’s co-host for the now much more… popular trivia game… How do you know him?” Finnick munched on his food a moment and finally answered.

“Never met him personally, but he was kinda pointed to us by Jack.”

“You have an abrasive personality,” Morton stated after some quiet reflection as his pudding arrived.

“I was told to be myself,” the fox defended. If he was told to reign it in he would, but it might make this way less fun.

“You are not abrasive right now,” the elephant pointed out.

“I’m being professional.” Fin explained.

“Why?” asked the very calm, cool pachyderm as he took a slow and savory bite of his dessert.

“Because it’s a meeting?” he offered. He didn’t understand why it was odd that he would be polite in a meeting with his boss.

“It is that, yes, but… I rather like the voice in the booth. It’s why you are sitting here now.” He indicated the patio.

“Yeah, maybe. I just don’t wanna seem disrespectful. I appreciate the opportunity I’ve got here.” He felt like it was pretty starched even for him, but he genuinely felt that way.

“What happened with the commercials?” queried Morton.

“Collin mixed up the pages so I didn’t see how the commercials ended,” defended the fox. He’d roll his coworker under the bus for that, certainly.

“They do have something of an… organizational challenge there,” the elephant said in a warm tone. “You handled it better than he would have, I assure you.” He took another bite of his food, seeming so relaxed and casual.

“I have heard as much,” the fox agreed.

“And you came up with your new… endings… on the spot?” he asked.

“I kinda had to,” Finnick admitted. “Sorry if I got complaints. We will get it under control.”

“Oh no… Musk Mask was initially curious about what happened, but when the clip started making the rounds, it generated buzz. They stated that they would prefer that you use your version going forward, but it’s apparently to be entirely yours as it was your tone that sold it. I suspect our friends at Lutra-Glo will enjoy being on the hype train too, if you wanted my opinion on it.” Finnick quietly sighed, his posture relaxing. Oh good, he wasn’t in trouble. Now he had to get the sound byte so he could remember what he even said.

“I will… I will do that,” Finnick verified.

“What do you think of Jian and Collin? Are they easy to work with? I must admit that they have, thus far, not helped the station move in the most lucrative direction.” The fox sucked in a slow breath. Right. He was new and hadn’t formed a bond that would make him want to protect his clearly overwhelmed coworkers.

“They’ve been struggling with operating either outside their comfort zones or with very little support from the guy in the booth.” He didn’t want to bring up that they felt that Morton had been unhelpful. It might be a misunderstanding fostered by the previous radio jockey and manager. Pitting them against each other right away was not going to make Finnick’s job easier.

“I see...” Morton mused on that a moment. “I wish to have Jian communicate more with me about the things he needs… so that he does not have to feel that he lacks support.” Finnick folded his ears back at that. That didn’t match the concerns that the red panda appeared to have. It was pretty helpful.

“I think he’s just… I dunno… maybe intimidated by you,” the small vulpine offered.

Morton held his spoon up in front of him with his trunk and looked at his distorted reflection in the back of it. “I have witnessed that your manager is also intimidated by blueberry muffins, pictures of boats, and any utterance of the word ‘teat’.” Finnick was unable to restrain his laughter there. Once he got himself under control, the casual elephant resumed eating with his mirror spoon. He continued, “I suspect my size may be to blame there. Being very big or very small can be a frustration.” Finnick pretended not to be bothered by the implication. “I would like to ask, if you can, to be an intermediary and perhaps communicate with me if you think that Jian is uncomfortable and anything is needed. I may be pretty trunks-off about it, but I do want my media platform to at least carry some weight within the advertising world.”

Finnick nodded slowly at that. It sounded reasonable, yes. He finished his buggy burrito. It was nice and spicy so he felt the warmth in his ears. “I will keep an open channel with you, sure,” he remarked.

“I have another question, if I may, about your friend, Jack.” Finnick nodded, wiping his paws on his napkin.

“Sure, shoot.”

“You said you know him through your police friends… but you know him personally too? You have met with him? He mentioned doing trivia with you in the past.”

The little fox nodded at that. “That’s right. We hung out with my friends and stuff. I actually do see him sometimes, though it’s been a while.”

“In the interest of our open communication, I should tell you… he placed a very sizable advertising contract with KRUF for his various charities and for his movies and associated sponsorships.” Finnick stared back.

“He hadn’t told me that he did that,” the fox swore.

“Well, when he gave the amount, I didn’t understand how he came to that number, so… I was curious if you understand why. When I asked, he told me you would love it.”

“How much was it?” Finnick inquired. He didn’t request for Jack to give the station any money. Still, he was known for giving a lot of his wealth away.

“It was eighteen point five million.”

The amount might normally have made the little fox’s eyes bug out, but the second Morton said it, he sighed and pulled his ears down over his own face.

“So, it is… significant?” inquired the towering elephant, spoon clinking in his bowl as he took another bite of pudding.

“I’m 18.5 inches tall,” the fox growled, releasing his ears just in time to be greeted by a face full of banana pudding ejected through an elephant’s trunk at high velocity from across the table.