A Hollow Strike

A faint rhythmic tick caught my attention from the darkened corner behind the television console. Scaling the grooved baseboard in two swift lunges, I perched atop an empty ceramic mug left beside a fallen wooden clothespin. My throat rattled in sharp clicks as I leaned forward, calculating the narrow gap. With a sudden burst, I drove my heavy foreclaw down onto the split end of the clothespin. The tiny wooden lever snapped upward with a sharp clack, somersaulting end over end through the air before bouncing off the metal radiator grille and landing clean inside the ceramic mug. A low rumble pulsed in my chest as I settled low to inspect the captured prize.