Blog – The Cryptidery

Hiatus

Posted on August 6, 2021 - August 6, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Ontario is slowly opening up again, and we’ve been trying to figure out what that means for The Cryptidery.

We have enjoyed building the website, updating the blog, and telling you all about the creatures in our care. However, it’s becoming difficult to keep up with. So, we’re taking a break from it, for now at least. It may be something we come back to in the future if we find the time and energy to do so. There are just other things that need our attention at the moment.

If you’ve enjoyed reading about our adventures here, or even if you’ve just stumbled on the blog and want more, please feel free to let us know. It will definitely influence our decisions.

Thanks,
Draven

To-do

Posted on July 30, 2021 - July 30, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Sorry this post is a bit late. It’s been rainy all week, and it has me feeling so tired. I feel like I’m just dragging myself through my to do list, you know? Hoping I can get some sunshine this weekend.

It’s been pretty busy around here the past few weeks, but things are finally getting back to normal at The Cryptidery. The shriles are back in their new and improved enclosure, thanks to the caretakers and our silver chimera security detail. I have to remember to ask Maria about those chimeras. I always thought they were just muscle. You know, big scary guard dogs. Good at doing what they’re told to do, or what they’re trained to do. But from what Jose told me, catching a shrile isn’t easy. They’re fast and smart. So how did a chimera catch two of them? Maybe we’ve misunderstood them, or underestimated them. Maybe I should install more cameras outside so we can study them more.

I think we’re almost done repairing all the damage caused by the shriles. You should have seen my white board! All the caretakers write things on there when they find something that needs to be repaired. It started as a nice neat list, but then people resorted to scribbling notes in every empty space. Then someone taped a piece of paper to the edge, and someone else added a sticky note, and before too long the whole wall around it was covered in paper notes too. I usually prefer to take care of repairs myself, so I know they’re done right. But with so much to do, I’ve been asking anyone who has a free minute to help out with some of the simpler repairs.

The next thing on my list, that I won’t trust anyone else with, is the space octopus enclosure. If a shrile can get in, an octopus can get out. But there’s no sign of oxygen in the air, which should mean the enclosure is still completely sealed. Just to be sure, I’m going to head over there, suit up and have a look around.

Hope you all have a safe and fun long weekend!
Mohammed

Uncomfortable

Posted on July 23, 2021 - July 4, 2021 by The Cryptidery

This morning, as I was unlocking the doors to enter the Cryptidery, I heard strange noises above my head. I backed up so I could get a better look at the roof.

I try not to look up there too often because that is where the silver chimeras live. I find them unsettling. I know it is strange coming from someone like me, but they seem so unnatural. They do not move during the day, so I have learned to pretend they are not there. Looking at them makes me uncomfortable.

Of course, in looking at the roof, I saw the silver chimeras lined up and frozen at the edge of the roof as they typically are during the day. But today something was different. One of the chimeras was standing awkwardly, holding its arms out in front and possibly holding something in each of its hands. I considered my options. The silver chimeras were definitely not going anywhere. I could wait until someone else arrived. I could send someone else up to the roof. But then I would have to explain why I did not just go look myself. And there was still a noise I could not explain, definitely not being made by the silver chimeras.

I let myself into the building and went looking for Mohammed. He is usually here overnight, and I hoped that in asking him for a ladder I could also have him accompany me when I ventured onto the roof.

I felt fortunate that Mohammed was still working when I found him. However, he informed me that I did not need a ladder to access the roof. It seems we have a hidden staircase and a door. So, no need for someone to accompany me. I thanked him for the information and silently reminded myself that it was daytime and the silver chimeras would not be moving in the daytime as I made my way to the roof.

Having successfully found my way onto the roof, I slowly made my way to the edge where the silver chimeras usually sit. I saw the same one I had noticed from the ground, holding its hands out awkwardly, and I tried to see what it was holding without getting too close. The noise was definitely coming from that direction.

To my surprise, I found that the chimera was holding the remaining two escaped shriles. Unfortunately, there is no way to remove them. We will have to wait until tonight when the silver chimeras reanimate. All I could do was make sure the shriles were safe for the day.

I found Mohammed again and told him that I needed to create some form of shelter on the roof. He helped me construct a tent around the chimera holding the shriles. I was glad to have his company. I could not avoid being that close to the chimeras, but having someone with me made it easier. I left dishes of food and water within reach of the shriles, who are now protected from the sun. I am sure they will not be comfortable today, but they will remain alive.

As soon as Jose arrived, I asked if he could stay past dark to retrieve the shriles and return them to their enclosure. After all the times I have helped him, he should have been willing to do this favour for me. However, it seems he is still working on the paperwork from last week’s “adventure”. He would not stay unless I agreed to do the paperwork. I did not argue, although I wanted to. I do not like to go near the chimeras during the day. I do not want to go near them at night.

So now I have piles of paperwork to do. Again. Jose told me he had started, but if he has done any work I have not found it yet.

At least Maria is happy. She made a point to thank me for my work this morning. I think she must know my opinion of the silver chimeras. The grungles will be happy, too, when we can return them to their normal enclosure tomorrow.
Nushi

To Catch a Shrile

Posted on July 16, 2021 - July 4, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Hello, my loyal admirers! It’s Jose, here to tell you how I have once again saved the day!

The last couple of weeks have been an adventure. An adventure right here in quiet little Cacheclee! Who would have thought?

I’m sure you’ve all been made aware of the shriles’ escape. I believe Nushi and Maria wrote about it, and Draven did whatever it is that he does to get the word out (something to do with birds, I think, though I was under the impression that humans do not understand the birds’ tweets). If you live around here you may have even seen Wei and their team canvassing the town, making sure no one had seen any strange creatures outside of the Cryptidery.

No need to fear! None of the shriles have been seen or caught outside of the Cryptidery’s property (technically), and all except two are now back in their enclosure.

But the story! The adventure! That’s what you all came here for, of course.

So, there I was, climbing through an air vent in search of the shriles. We had been fairly certain they were hiding in the ducts somewhere. I had a team of caretakers with me, those able to squeeze through, but each time the ducts split off I sent one of them in that direction, hoping that we would eventually surround the shriles. Mohammed had given me a map, but… let’s just say drawing maps and plans isn’t his strong suit. He certainly knows the building better than anyone, but he has never been good at transferring that knowledge to others.

Still, after a week of encountering dead ends and making notes on the “map”, we were sure we were closing in on the missing shriles. Everyone else had branched off on different paths, and I was crawling along by myself. Signs of the shriles were everywhere, and that was part of the problem. It seemed they had been everywhere in the building, leaving dents and scratches and excrement behind in the ducts, and it was hard to tell where they had been most recently.

As I made my way towards the front of the building, I heard a scream. Not the scream of a creature, but a human child. Since we are not yet open to visitors, I assumed that it must be Draven (who is not a child, but sounds like one when scared). I suspected that he had simply come across a spider, or broken a phone charger, or perhaps stepped in something sticky with his new shoes… again.

Despite my suspicions, it was my duty to investigate!

I sped towards the office (or where I thought the office was since I do not often find myself crawling through ducts). As I got closer, I saw a damaged grate. I cautiously approached, looking down the connecting paths for shriles before peering into the office. Below me, I saw Draven frozen in his chair, staring at the ceiling in horror. Trying my best not to laugh, I removed the damaged grate and lowered myself into the hole to see what he was looking at. There, hanging on the ceiling fan in Draven’s office, were two of the missing shriles!

You can’t bring much equipment with you when you’re climbing through air ducts. It isn’t practical. But that doesn’t mean I came unprepared! I jumped down to the ground and pulled a burlap sack from my back pocket. Earlier, I had cleverly used this sack to play a game with the grungles, so that it would smell like them. I unfolded the sack and shook it, holding it open below the fan. The shriles didn’t stop to think. They both wanted to be the first one into the sack. And so, they both jumped in. I quickly found a cage to put them in, sack and all, before they managed to claw through it, and before long they were safely back in their enclosure.

A few days later, having had no more luck capturing the shriles, I thought to put the little trick I had played on Nushi to use. Surely if Nushi had believed I was a grungle, the shriles would too. I managed to lead three more shriles right into their enclosure this way, but after narrowly avoiding being eaten by the third I decided to stop using myself as bait.
The next day, I went out to my van. I do my best planning in my van since it is usually with me on my adventures and has most of my equipment in it. I turned the radio up loud while I looked through my equipment and made some notes. After a while, I opened the back doors and carried some things inside. I got outside just in time to see my van driving away! I suppose I should have known better than to leave my keys in the ignition, with the music blaring, while I went inside.

At first, I thought it must be a simple theft (which would be out of the ordinary, but not unheard of, in Cacheclee), but then I noticed a couple of caretakers running across the parking lot. I couldn’t hear them, but they were waving their arms and gesturing at a vent on the side of the building that was obviously broken. I ran back inside and ignored Maria’s protests as I grabbed her keys from her desk and ran out again. I jumped in her car and drove as quickly as I could after the shriles that had stolen my van.

Thankfully, most residents of Cacheclee know me and know my van. Things are normally pretty quiet around here, so a van blaring music and driving erratically had not gone unnoticed. I only had to ask a few people where it had gone before turning a corner and seeing it. What followed was a high-speed chase! The action! The thrill! It was as exciting as any chase scene you’ve seen in the movies!

And perhaps as destructive. We’re going to have to pay for a lot of repairs. Maria is not happy about that.

But finally, my van ran out of gas. It’s a good thing Maria always keeps her tank full (and I don’t). My van had stopped in the middle of the road with the two shriles still inside when I caught up to it. One was honking the horn incessantly, and the other had found a taser and seemed mesmerized by the sparks it made.

I had to act fast. I stopped Maria’s car at the back of my van and jumped through the back doors that were still open, pulling them closed behind me. The shriles of course heard the door close. Both dove towards me. My first priority had to be wrestling the taser away from them. Doing so while making sure none of us got tased was difficult, but I finally managed to pull it away and hide it in the glove compartment. Now that I was in the front of the van, I was able to keep the shriles contained in the back. There was only a small space they could climb through, so I kept pushing them back through it as I removed my keys from the ignition and rolled down one of the windows. Then I quickly jumped through the open window and used the remote on my keychain to close it.

By now other caretakers had caught up. We decided it was best to get my van towed back to the Cryptidery with the shriles still inside, where we were able to get them back into their enclosure without much trouble.

So, there you have it! Seven shriles, captured by me and back where they belong!

I suppose I had better stop avoiding the paperwork. Nushi refuses to do it. I can’t imagine why! She seems to enjoy it, and she knows how painful it is for me!

Until next time, remember, adventures can be had right in your proverbial backyard (even if you live in a tiny boring town no one’s ever heard of).
Jose

Everything is under control…

Posted on July 9, 2021 - July 4, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Hello everyone! This is Draven.

Maria just wanted me to take a moment to write a blog post and reassure everyone that there is no need to be alarmed. It seems that Wei and their team asking questions around Cacheclee has some people worried.

So, let me assure you that we have everything under control here are the Cryptidery. Mohammed has reinforced and redesigned parts of the shrile enclosure to make sure they will not escape again, and our caretakers are all working hard to capture those that are still on the loose.

Yes, there are still shriles loose, but they are all in the building. We haven’t found any signs that they have left the building, and there have not been any sightings around town. If you do see one, let us know, of course. But we are all confident that they’re still in the building… somewhere… so you, the public, outside of this building, have nothing to fear.

I, on the other hand, am here in my office in the Cryptidery… and I’ve just noticed two shriles hanging from my ceiling fan…

Smile of a Shrile

Posted on July 2, 2021 - June 18, 2021 by The Cryptidery

It’s been quite the week here at the Cryptidery! Somehow, all the shriles got loose

Since shriles are the grungles’ only natural predator, we’ve isolated the grungles in a smaller enclosure. They’re not happy about it, but it’s the best way to make sure they are all accounted for and there are no more shrile infiltrations. We have a caretaker or two in there with them at all times, doing their best to distract them from the situation with instruments and games. Hopefully we can get them back to their usual enclosure soon.

The shriles are uniquely suited to hunt the grungles. They look very similar, allowing them to infiltrate a grungle troupe unnoticed. They have smaller ears , no tail paddle and duller colours, but these are all differences the grungles can easily overlook because of their colour blindness and bad vision. It can be hard for even humans and caretakers to tell the difference between the grungles and the shriles when they’re up in the trees and not in brightly lit areas. Up close, however, the shriles can be a little unsettling. At first, it looks like they have mouths similar to the grungles, but if you see them eating or baring their teeth, you’ll immediately realize you’re looking at a shrile. That grungle-like mouth is just for show. Their actual mouth is huge, seeming to split their head in two, and unlike the grungles, the shriles have sharp, pointed teeth .

Once a shrile has successfully infiltrated, it will try to lure individual grungles away so it can eat them without the rest of the troupe noticing. At first, this is easy to do. Show a grungle a toy or a game and they’ll happily follow you. However, once the grungles notice that members of their troupe are going missing, they will become stressed and be less willing to leave the rest of the troupe. Often the shrile will then move on to a different troupe before the grungles identify them. If the grungles find the shrile before it moves on, they’ll gang up on it, using their paddle tails and armored fists to drive it out of their territory. This can result in injuries or even death for both the shriles and the grungles, so making sure the shriles and grungles stay separated is important to keep both species safe.

The shriles are hard to catch, though. It didn’t take Mohammed long to patch up their enclosure, and he’s working on some permanent modifications to hopefully avoid this in the future. But so far there’s only one shrile back in the enclosure, the one that Nushi escorted back from the grungle enclosure last week. There have been sightings of others, but so far we haven’t managed to catch them.

As far as we can tell, they’re all still in the building. Jose has been setting traps, and the caretakers who are small enough are climbing through the air vents looking for them.

Wei and their team have also been out looking for signs of shriles around town, just in case. If you live in or around Cacheclee and see a creature matching the shriles’ description, let us know, don’t approach it. There’s a link on the homepage that says “Have you seen something strange?”, you can always use that link to report sightings of any creature. Draven will also pass along any messages sent via social media.

I did spot one in the space octopus enclosure, but we weren’t able to catch it in time. I suppose the good news is that the space octopus ate something other than a sunflower, but it won’t be getting any more shriles if I can help it.

Hopefully the shriles will all be back where they belong soon.
Maria

A Bad Day to be a Grungle

Posted on June 25, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

We have a problem. A problem I believe was caused by Jose’s lack of responsibility.

For nearly two weeks after he got back from finding the space octopus, he hid. Shirking his responsibilities, playing a trick on me, making me think a grungle had escaped, and then making me not check the security of the enclosure because of his trick. The hole could have been there the whole time, and I would not have noticed, because I was too busy doing his work to spend time in the enclosure. Maybe he knew about the hole. Maybe he was using it to get in and out when he was playing his trick!

I suppose that is not a fair accusation. Jose has his flaws, but he would not knowingly endanger a creature. Though he may not have seen the danger. The grungles have no interest in leaving their enclosure.

But the shriles… they will take any opportunity to escape.

I went into the grungle enclosure yesterday with the usual buckets of food. The grungles all came running out of the trees as usual, but they were acting different. Quieter, almost nervous. I counted them and thought there was one less than normal. So I counted them again. Thanks to Jose’s trick, I doubted myself for a moment. I thought that maybe I was remembering the wrong number, because there was one extra last week. I am still surprised that I did not notice one extra grungle, but with so much work to do I never stopped to count. I only stopped yesterday because the grungles were not their normal playful selves.

I decided that there was definitely one missing. I started walking along the perimeter of the enclosure, watching the trees for movement. I was so focused on the tree tops that I did not notice the barrel in my path until I ran into it, almost causing me to fall over. But if I had not run into it, I might not have noticed the hole hidden behind it.
I ran out of the enclosure to sound the alarm, still watching the tree tops as I slid open the alarm panel, inserted my key and flipped the switch.

I heard the alarm sound throughout the building and hoped some of my coworkers were nearby, and that some of them were good climbers.

We have procedures in place for situations like these. As caretakers arrived, I instructed them each to take a grungle or two to an empty enclosure nearby, where they could be entertained while we searched. Those who were able started to climb the trees. Others helped Mohammed repair the hole in the enclosure.

It was not long before someone spotted movement in the tree tops. The caretakers who were climbing made their way towards the movement. From the ground, it sounded like they had found a grungle somehow stuck in the tree. They were talking to it, trying to coax it out and determine if it was hurt. One of the caretakers made their way to the ground and told me it was not a grungle at all, but a shrile that had somehow found its way into the enclosure. Worst of all, it looked like it had already eaten a grungle.

Shriles are the grungles’ only natural predator. We keep their enclosures as far apart as we can, so that they cannot hear or smell each other. But somehow this shrile had made its way into the grungle enclosure and eaten a grungle without anyone noticing.

We quietly left the grungle enclosure to find a cage we could use to transport the shrile back to its enclosure. The other caretakers kept the shrile distracted while we got the cage into the tree, but as soon as it saw the cage it became agressive. It took us nearly an hour to get it into the cage. When we finally captured it, we were all exhausted, but the work was not done yet.

I left the other caretakers to clean up the grungle enclosure and bring the grungles back in while I returned the shrile to its enclosure. I was looking forward to the end of this stressful day.

But it was not over yet. In fact, it is still not over.

The shrile enclosure was quiet. Not just quiet, but completely silent.

I did not sense any movement as I entered. I set the shrile down, still in its cage, and waited. I did not see or hear anything for several minutes. As I scanned the trees, I noticed something on the ceiling. An air vent that was somehow broken open.

I walked dejectedly out of the shrile enclosure, slid open the alarm panel, inserted my key and flipped the switch.

Nushi

Pranks and Panic

Posted on June 18, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

Jose here!

Nushi was supposed to write the post this week. Do you think if I cross something off of her to-do list, she’ll forgive me for my little prank?

Earlier this week, I snuck into the office to file some paperwork. Nushi had left it on my desk so I could sign it. I looked around quickly to make sure I was alone, and then signed the pages and made my way to the filing cabinet. I hoped to leave the office before being seen. Out of nowhere, I heard Maria’s voice calling my name! I spun around to see her at her desk with a giant pile of papers infront of her. I mean giant! It must have been 300 pages!

I guess I sort of panicked, and Maria started laughing. It was a prank! She had already filled out the report, and she had placed it on top of a stack of blank paper to make it look huge. I must admit, it was rather clever. I wonder how long she had it prepared, just waiting for me to reappear!

I took the prank to mean that Maria was no longer upset with me, and was relieved to know that things could get back to normal. Hiding can be fun, but it can also be exhausting!

With a mental sigh of relief, I set out to find some work to do. There was a to-do list on my desk, but none of the tasks mentioned creature sightings. Most of them involved cleaning various enclosures, which was less than exciting. I picked the task furthest from the office and made my way towards it, eyes peeled for anyone else who may need help with anything else. I was rather pleased to run into a distraught-looking Nushi. She was going on and on about how “her grungle” had gone missing. She was so upset, she didn’t even stop to comment on my sudden reappearance.
I was barely able to contain my laughter. “Alright,” I said “hold your horses, let me get my gear, I’ll meet you at the enclosure.”

I turned and ran around the corner, covering my mouth so Nushi wouldn’t hear me chuckling.
Maria was still in the office, and was immediately suspicious of me.

“That grungle Nushi has been going on about seems to have gone missing,” I explained as I pulled on my gloves and boots.

Maria, of course, knew exactly the prank I had pulled. She looked amused for a moment. I thought she might even laugh! But then she got serious again and ordered me to tell Nushi about my prank. I was going to tell her anyways… after we had searched the enclosure for holes that a “grungle” might have escaped through.

I suppose Maria was right, though. Nushi was angry enough without me drawing it out longer.

Remember, it’s all fun and games until Nushi stops doing your paperwork.
Jose

1436 Minutes

Posted on June 11, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

It is starting to become difficult for me to do my job and Jose’s. He continues to avoid everyone for the most part. I have not seen him since he once again gave me his paperwork to do last week. Maria keeps giving me more work and Jose keeps not doing his work and I am reaching the limits of what I can accomplish in a day. I am trying not to let it bother me. I am focusing on the jobs that affect the well-being of the creatures in our care first. Then I focus on my jobs, which are usually in the lab helping Maria with her research. And then I do any other jobs Jose has not done that cannot wait any longer.

As the list of jobs has become longer, I have had to limit my leisure time. There are only 1436 minutes in a day, and I had been spending too many of them playing with the grungles to keep up with the increased workload. Even without taking leisure time, I cannot do all of my work and Jose’s. I have been avoiding bringing this subject up with Maria. She has been less angry recently. Yesterday, when I briefly entered the office in search of some work gloves, she even complimented me on how hard I have been working recently. It is nice to have my work recognized, even if it is work I should not have to do.

It is perhaps because of my limited time that I had not noticed my new favourite grungle until recently. When I brought in the food buckets for the grungles a few days ago I was greeted by an especially bright grungle. It dropped out of the trees right on top of me! It then tried to wrestle one of the buckets of grubs from my grasp. I always try to make sure all the grungles have equal access to the food, so I pushed it away and waited for the other grungles to gather before I put the buckets down. Then I noticed that the other grungles give this one space. I have not caught it bullying the others, but it seems to have made its way to the top of the pecking order in the enclosure. The others will not come near it unless invited.

If I was simply a visitor, I might think that we had acquired a new grungle, but I know this is not the case. This grungle has just reached maturity and therefore has grown a new coat. I have seen other grungles do this before, but this particular grungle has an especially beautiful adult coat. This will make it popular during breeding time. I am worried that our normally peaceful grungle enclosure might have some fighting as a result. I have mentioned this to the other caretakers so they can help me watch for any aggression, since I cannot spend a lot of time in the enclosure at the moment.

I think this is enough blogging for now. Mohammed needs help with repairs of some sort.
Nushi

Grungles

Posted on June 4, 2021 - June 13, 2021 by The Cryptidery

I have been spending a lot of time in the grungle enclosure lately. That is where I like to go when I need time to think. Maria was upset with me for helping Jose to hide from her, and also for doing his paperwork for him. I was upset at myself, too. I do not know why I let Jose give me his work all the time. It only ends in frustration. I always tell myself that next time I will say “no”, but when he asks again, I always say “yes”.

The grungles do not have these problems. They are simple. They like to eat and play games and hang in the trees. They do not have to worry about friends being angry with them. If a grungle upsets another grungle, they will act upset for a short time, but then one will start a game and it will be like nothing negative happened.

Grungles play a lot of games that small human children play. They play hide and seek. They have fun jumping out to scare each other or a passing caretaker like myself. They seem to especially like simple percussion instruments like drums and shakers. We need to replace the instruments often. The grungles do not understand that the instruments can break. They will take them into the trees in their enclosure, some of which are 30 feet tall. A shaker does not survive many falls from that height.

Recently, I brought a new box of shakers into the enclosure. When the grungles saw me with a box, they all came down from the trees and jumped all over me, causing me to trip and drop the box. All the grungles jumped off of me, picked up as many of the shakers as they could, and returned to the trees. I stayed on the ground, watching them in the trees as they playfully fought over the new toys. One grungle managed to take a shaker away from another. I watched as it threw the shaker into the air and jumped after it. The grungle caught the shaker in the air, but missed the branch it was aiming for. It slid down the trunk of the tree and landed awkwardly at the bottom.

Sometimes a grungle will act like an injury is worse than it is to get attention from a caretaker. Knowing this, I continued to focus my attention on the tops of the trees, but I kept the grungle that had fallen at the edge of my field of vision and waited for it to climb up again. It did not climb up. Instead, it crawled to a corner of the enclosure and sat there, tapping the shaker it had worked so hard to get. As it crawled away I noticed one of its feet dragging. I hoped it had not injured it badly.

The grungles were starting to calm down again. The initial excitement over new toys does not last long. I left the enclosure and returned with buckets full of the live grubs and beetles that we feed the grungles. My entrance with the buckets caused all the grungles to jump on me again. I set the buckets down and backed away, looking to the corner where the injured grungle still sat. It showed no interest in the food, which worried me.

Leaving the other grungles to their meal, I slowly approached the injured one. It turned its back to me, purposely making it difficult for me to see the injured foot. I picked it up, ignoring its complaints, and gently checked that the injured foot was not broken.The problem was actually a sprained ankle. It would just need time to heal.
I spent the next three days almost entirely in the grungle enclosure. At first, the injured grungle would not accept any food and would turn away from me when I tried to engage it in a game. I tried to get the other grungles to start a game with the injured one but it ignored them too and they eventually got bored and returned to the trees. But I did not give up. I brought a small bowl of food over to the corner whenever I brought in the food buckets and I continued to try and engage it in games, but I continued to be ignored.

Grungles are normally very active. I thought that maybe it did not know how to play with an injured ankle. So I set out to teach the grungles a new game. Since the injured grungle would not engage, I brought another grungle to the corner and showed it how to play catch with a shaker. We were both sitting, throwing the shaker back and forth, when the injured grungle threw the shaker it had been clutching for three days at me. I was momentarily surprised. The injured grungle howled at me impatiently. I picked up the shaker it had thrown and threw it back. Suddenly we were playing a three way game of catch with 2 shakers. Before long, the other grungles brought their shakers down from the trees to join in the game.

Tonight, when I brought the food buckets in, the injured grungle limped over to eat with the other grungles. It will likely be a few days before it is comfortable climbing again, but otherwise it seems to be back to normal. The other grungles seem willing to play on the ground for now, and it seems they have discovered “monkey in the middle” on their own.
That grungle reminded me of why I work here, at the Cryptidery. It reminded me that I am good at my job, even if Maria is sometimes upset. I decided that I would try to do better. That I would put all my efforts into my research and the creatures in my care, and that I would not let Jose distract me. That next time he asked me to do his paper work, or to help him hide something from Maria, I would say “no” because I have more important things to do. I felt at peace with this decision. I spent some time watching the grungles play their new games before deciding to go get some of my own paper work done.

When I left the enclosure, Jose was standing in the hallway. He looked like he was going to ask me to do something. I reminded myself, as I walked towards him, that this time I would say “no”.
Jose held out some papers. He said he had forgotten to give me the expenses for his trip, which Maria needs us to keep records of for tax purposes.

“I am far too busy with my own work to be doing yours as well. It will take you no more than ten minutes. Do it yourself.” Is what I said in my head as I took the papers from him. As I looked through them quickly to be sure he had not forgotten anything else, I told him “It should not take me more than three minutes” and started to walk away. Then, remembering something I had seen on the television once, I turned back and said “but you owe me one”.

If Jose wants to give me the jobs he does not like, maybe I will give him the jobs I do not like.
Nushi