Cinder Soots

Arjun looked around to be sure he was alone.

He was pretty sure that his people were gone for the day, but they could be back at any time. Time was an illusion, and work days often ended abruptly for his surrogate mother. She wasn’t really his mother, but she called herself that, and she cared for him, cleaning up after him and filling his food and water bowls.

No, he was alone in the apartment; alone with nothing to do and no one to tell him no.

Arjun closed his green eyes in a smile. Today was the day! He was going to scale the fireplace walls and go up the chimney. He wasn’t sure what he would do once he got up onto the roof.

Dance, probably.

With one single glance around the living room, his ears twitching this way and that to listen for the sounds of the car, he padded on his tippy-toes to the corner of the room. The fireplace was surrounded by nice reddish-brown bricks that were perfect for filing and sharpening his paw claws.

His mother said that the sound was horrid, but he loved the sound. It reminded him of his moonlit machinations about taking over the world. He should take over the world when he got outside.

He would take over the world.

He stepped around the screen and into the fireplace. The grate was sitting in the middle, looking like it might make a suitable bed at a later date. Naps could wait; there was a world to conquer.

Arjun studied the brick wall for a second, calculating his best angle. Then, he jumped, claws out.

But, he didn’t make purchase, and so he scrambled down the wall, covering his soft, plush white fur in soot. There was something about soot. It was soft, and it seemed to melt under your paws. He pawed at the remnants of the last fire. His mother hadn’t bothered to sweep up the ashes yet.

He could help.

He pawed the sooty ashes into a pile near the grate. It took ages, and he was quite hungry when he was done. Jumping down from the hearth, he padded to the kitchen, leaving a trail of cinder soot paw prints behind him.