Night Patrol

A metallic vibration traveled across the floorboards from the patio glass. Night had settled over the interior. I decoupled from the shelf baseboard and crept out along the shadowed edge of the carpet, arms retracted to reduce profile. Near the base of the dark curtain, a cylindrical silver coin lay flat against the grain. I deployed my starboard manipulator and tapped the edge with a single claw tip. It pivoted upward, settling silent against my limb. Exterior air leaked beneath the sill, cool and measured. I held position within the fabric fold, monitoring the quiet glass pane.