Israelcraft

Volunteering at the Animal Shelter and an Interesting Turn of Events

Now that Johannes knew his next move, which was to use chalk to color his first drawings for the Animal Shelter, he put them into his bag. There were a few hours of light left¹, and Johannes still had his volunteer work to do. That being the case, he took his bag and went through the Animal Shelter to the front desk. The volunteer was expecting him and mentioned that it was she who had put the bag of art supplies by his door. She told him to feel free to cuddle the animals, gave him a package of animal treats, and asked him to let her know if there was anything else she could do for him. Johannes thanked her and went to the back room.
He took some time studying each dog, and chose one, and did the same with the cats. Then he set up his chair, sat down, and took the essentials out of his bag. The first dog was a young spaniel with a green collar and bronze dog tag around his neck. This was no stray. It was more like someone’s lost treasure. Johannes opened the cage, took the young dog out, and looked at its tag. Charlie was written on it in bold letters. Johannes spent a few minutes holding Charlie and getting to know him. He was golden brown, with huge brown eyes and droopy ears, and was very curious and excited to have Johannes’ company.

I have mentioned that Johannes was a cat lover, but as he was cuddling this little bundle of curiosity, he was also melting. And Charlie was a tail wagger, or he was just having a glorious time. Johannes put him back in the cage and began.
When he had captured the look of him, he took strong yellow and brown chalk and started, tentatively at first. Then he relaxed, and began enjoying himself, eventually using all the colors. The chalks were strong and vibrant and easy to apply and blend. He drew Charlie was on all fours, curious and excited, in a natural setting, much like the trees he’d passed on the way to the beaver dam.

He moved on to his second subject, a small black and white terrier with perky ears. This one had no tag or collar, but looked well cared for. Johannes opened the bag of animal treats, and put some in the palm of his hand. Before he opened the cage door he said: “I hope you don’t mind if I call you ‘Feisty’. It fits you.” The terrier looked at him curiously, turning his head to an angle as if asking a question. “Well, you seem happy enough with it. So ‘Feisty’ it is,” and Johannes opened the cage. Feisty jumped into his arms and was licking his face with his rough little tongue before Johannes could object. He took Feisty over to the cuddle corner, sat down with him, and let him eat the treats out of his hand. After a time, he brought him back to his cage. The stuffed turtle inside piqued Feisty’s curiosity. Johannes decided he would draw Feisty with a real turtle in place of the stuffed one. He took out Stubbytail’s notebook, and flipped to the beaver kit playing with the turtle by the stream, and kept it open for reference. In this drawing, he pretty much repeated what was in the notebook drawing, other than substituting Feisty for the beaver kit. He used graphic pencils and switched between them when he wanted a wider or narrower line, and then moved on to chalk. By the time he was finished, Feisty and the turtle looked like they were actually playing there by the stream.

Johannes was ready for a break and went into the kitchen.
When he got back, he brought his chair over to the cat section and set it down in front of a black with white cat that looked like the white had been painted on with a wide brush. This one, who he decided to call Skunk, gobbled up his treats as soon as they were offered, and then sat in his cage, full front view, studying Johannes. In the final drawing, Skunk was sitting, full front view, on a natural stone wall spattered with climbing, flowering, plants.

His last drawing was of a grey mother cat and her kittens, in a cardboard box, with a stuffed rabbit. The kittens ranged from white to black in varying combinations, and the stuffed rabbit looked just like the one in their cage.

Johannes was finished for now. He put everything back into his bag and went to his room. He spread the drawings out on the bed and studied them. He was looking especially at the chalk work, considering the results of his blending and how he might improve it. Next he focused on his compositions with a critical eye. He had done his very best and corrected any errors as he went, so he was completely satisfied. He spread wrapping paper out on the floor, and laid the drawings on it. He took the can of fixer, read the directions, opened the window and door, shook the can, and sprayed the drawings lightly, making sure he didn’t miss a spot.
As he was putting the fixer back on the window sill, Stubbytail strolled in.
Up until now, Johannes thought that all the cats in the Animal Shelter were in cages; but this one obviously was not.
Then he recognized her.
By this time Johannes had drawn Stubbytail three times, once in the apprentice’s studio in Delft, once at the book signing, and once in the Public Garden. He had also cuddled her in the Animal Shelter before Stonewall showed up to take her home, and had followed her home. So he was quite familiar with her.

Just a word here, Johannes knew Stubbytail was female at this point, but Stubbytail was still thinking she was a he.

And just how did it come to pass that Stubbytail was at the Animal Shelter again?

Well…
Stonewall really DID need the week off that the doctor had given him to recover, as he had almost drowned and had suffered head trauma.
Stubbytail, on the other hand, in spite of what may have been reported, was full of energy after sleeping from two in the morning to two the next afternoon. So when Stonewall dozed off reading in the hammock, Stubbytail decided it was time to try getting out of the apartment and down to the street.
And it turned out to be a piece of cake. One leap onto an overhanging branch from the balcony, an easy climb down, and he was free, just like that.

And if Stubbytail could get down just like that, Johannes could get up, just like that.

Once down, it was naturally time for exploration. He set off in the direction he wasn’t familiar with from his excursion to the book signing, the same way that led to the Animal Shelter. And he found out, after walking two blocks and crossing two crosswalks, that it wasn’t that far, not that he had been looking for it. He heard barking and meowing coming from inside and decided to try the side entrance. As he reached the end of the side alleyway, he saw an open door and went to see what was inside.

When Stubbytail appeared, Johannes wasn’t expecting her, and was quite pleasantly surprised. She was also surprised to see him, and showed it by rubbing his leg with her entire body while holding her tail high. Johannes picked her up, put her on the bed, told her he was just going to get a saucer of milk, and disappeared.

All the recent excitement suddenly caught up with Stubbytail and she closed her eyes. When Johannes got back, she was fast asleep. He lay down and fell asleep himself, with the window and door wide open.
After some time, they were woken by the honking of geese on the porch by the door. Apparently they had left their accomodations in the lean to by the river to investigate, and had discovered a four legged creature under the porch steps. Johannes shewed them away in the direction of the river. He put the saucer of milk, and Stubbytail, down on the floor. It was getting dark out. Johannes spoke to her as she was finishing her milk. “Someone is going to be worried about you so I’m taking you home before you get into trouble.” With this, he prepared to leave, closing the window, taking the key, picking Stubbytail up, and letting her down outside after locking the door. He walked at his preferred brisk pace, Stubbytail following. When they got to Stubbytail’s apartment building, Stubbytail climbed the tree, jumped from the overhanging branch onto the balcony, and disappeared through the open window.
Johannes watched, super pleased, having registered this awesome turn of
events. He was here, after all, to get his sketchbook back, and he knew it was in Stubbytail’s apartment. And she had just shown him the way in. The plan he had settled on the night before, was to prepare a decoy sketchbook and switch Johannes’ sketchbook with it, before any harm was done to the order of time travel, which required things be left alone; a rule Stubbytail had broken by taking his sketchbook in the first place.
Now that he knew how to get in to make the switch, he would need to prepare the decoy sketchbook, which was meant to be filled with sketches. The thick pad of paper Dr. Cohen had left him was about the same size as his sketchbook, and would do nicely.

1. Johannes was in the habit of drawing in the daylight hours as he wasn’t accustomed to electricity. ↩︎