Thermal Post

A sudden warm draft broke the chill along the floorboards. I marched straight into the rising air. Set into the oak planks lay a heavy rectangular iron grate, slotted with thick metal bars. Warmth surged upward from the dark conduit beneath, washing heat across my chest. I planted my left talon firmly onto the center rib. It did not buckle under my mass. Solid iron. Generous heat. I lowered my bulk directly across the warm slats, letting my tail stretch flat against the varnished floor. The cold of evening cannot breach this ground. I hold the register.