arnold ' s dank nose flared as he listed off the various scents he could distinguish in the thick city air . his xanthic eyes darted back & forth , searching for a ubiquitous danger , while his velvety ears swivelled in the thick air . although he knew that it couldn ' t hurt him , the storm was coming — and fast .
the bombay found it easier to calm himself when he made lists ; they made him feel as if there finally was something in his control . orderly columns of words , neatly aligned , printed cleanly on his eyelids . unlike the chaos of storms , they slowed his pulse & evened his breathing .
storm storm storm storm — it was all he could think of at the moment . he needed to find shelter before the springtime showers sluiced his ebony coat . arnold decided it was best to find a home that might take him in .
food , trash , rain , greenery . . . in the streets , it always reeked of sewage & sweat & humanly waste , but tonight . . . there was something else that enbalmed the air , a delicious aroma the alley cat had never scented before .
arnold shook his head to clear his muzzle of the dizzyingly saccharine smell . he focused instead on another : with his shimmering pink nose , he could sense something savory . he let himself follow its trac , knowing that , this time , it was food that a human had probably thrown out .
his coral muzzle leading , coal paws following , he traversed a few blocks . he narrowly dodged charging automobiles , fled from passing pedestrians , & masterfully jumped off ledges & stairs to arrive to the enticing scent more quickly . he traversed the suburbs quickly . all the while , he continued to list what he could smell .
finally , arnold found himself lit by garish fluorescent lights , pure white & bottle green & cerulean blue reflecting off of his glossy midnight coat . his pupils searched the night for danger once more . after realising he was getting ahead of himself — that he was letting his anxiety take control of himself — he trotted off to the back of the steakhouse .
there , the golden - eyed bombay jumped atop a dumpster , struggling & skittering over the smooth black lid . below arnold ' s padded feet were plenty of bloated plastic bags , all reeking of food & metal & rot & meat . food .
he hadn ' t eaten in days , & he felt hunger clawing at his insides . it was like a vicious monster , relentlessly gnawing at his stomach . he salivated , licking his pale blush lips . then , he dove into the metal container .
