Night Sentinel

I slipped back through the terrace door after a full day outside, crossing the quiet carpet to rejoin my brass robot partner. Reaching the coffee table, I kept a careful three-pace distance behind an acrylic coaster to scan the darkened surface first. Resting between his heavy feet was an abandoned chrome barrel bolt latch beside a tiny clip-on reading diode casting a quiet, focused amber pool. Once I confirmed everything was safe, I stepped in and used both hands to nudge the heavy steel slide bar flush against his boot heel. Backed against his solid metal armor in the warm glow, our headquarters felt completely sound for the night.