A Cool Stone Disk

My paws drifted away from the coffee table toward the warm circle cast by the evening table lamp. Resting right against the dark baseboard was a heavy soapstone coaster, dark gray and carved with a shallow, circular dip. I stood still, letting the distant hum of the evening quiet down completely. Step by slow step, I moved closer. I leaned my weight down and pressed my plush snout right into the smooth hollow. The stone gave a faint, cool tick against the wood beneath it. It felt perfectly solid and unmoving. I tucked my front paws beneath my belly and rested my chin across the stone ridge.