Klaxon

Wild rain and lashing winds through the afternoon and evening, turned into a dark and stormy night. When the rumbling clap cut through my sleep, I expected Moby to jump off my ankles and hide. He stayed, even through subsequent thunder. I drifted back to sleep as well.

Until about 0200, when the klaxon and strobe of the fire alarm jolted us out of bed. We threw on clothes, grabbed the carrier, and I fished out the clot of Moby far beneath the sofa, and dragged him out and into the bag, utterly passive. Everyone milled about the lobby, unwilling to stand in the heavy downpour, and the firemen not insisting. Moby squirmed and writhed in the bag, with the alarm still loud and painful to our human ears, it must've hurt him badly. D went back for umbrellas, and we took him outside where it was quieter. Rather cold, still windy, very wet, cat quieted, and shivered. About 20 minutes out of our place, we were allowed back. As soon as he hopped out of the bag, Moby was tail-up, eager to eat, happy to be home.

Took us longer to calm ourselves, a few more alarms, but short, as though they were testing the system, and we stayed put. Crawled back to bed, hoping for a few hours, but dreaming about not making it to work. The chime dragged me awake, and I made it on time, in fact. Moby needed a full cat-rubdown before I left, purring away. I spilled the kibble as I filled his dish, again. Rain, mixed with snow as I drove uphill to work, still thick in the air. Snow on the mountains.

Dramatic clouds all day, as the precipitation abated. Gorgeous.