The High Ledge

Night fell. I slipped back through the gap in the doorway, leaving the dark gravel behind. A sheer timber cliff blocked the corridor: the first step of the stairs. It stood twice my height. No detour. I braced my hind feet against the floorboards and lunged. My foreclaws slammed into the polished bullnose, hooking the edge. Talons scrabbled hard against the vertical riser, fighting for purchase. One violent shove through my hips. My tail whipped down for ballast. I hauled my belly over the ledge and hauled my hindquarters up. The step is conquered. The hall stretches below.