Shiba 500?

What? I was here the whole time, I swear.

I’m used to noises in other parts of the building because our landlord has several teenagers who regularly slam in and out of the house and play LOUD games on their X-Box… or at least I hope that’s  the origin of the groans and the screams…

Tonight, though, I heard something different.

KA-THUMPETY-THUMPETYTHUMPETYTHUMP!  KA-THUMPETY-THUMPETY!  THUMP! THUMP! WHAM!

What the hell?

Now, I’m conversant enough with the pitter-patter of four little feet, but this sounded like four little feet in army boots.  So I start up the stairs, just to see if I can catch him in the act.  Not to punish him, you understand, but just to see what was going on.

THUMPETY-THUMPETY-WHAM-WHAM!

WOOF!

And then I brushed against the wall.  Sssshhhh…

Silence.

The stairs in our home are built with six steps going up to a landing, then seven steps going up to the bedroom.  I cautiously poked my head around the wall.  Nothing.

I started up the stairs.  As I ascended, the tips of two pointed ears, then a foxy looking face came into view.  Looking at me.

Mischa is away, so I’m alone in the house, it’s dark in the stairway and in the bedroom, but the ghostly light from the bathroom silhouetted Tierce’s head and body.

It really looked like he was playing with someone or something that disappeared as soon as I stuck my head around the wall.  There was this air of, “What are YOU doing here?” that was somewhat disconcerting.  And, of course, now that he was being observed, he did not deign to pick up his little game to show me just what kind of craziness he was engaging in.

Creepy… he doesn’t do this when Mischa is here.  I think he’s just fucking with me.  Or maybe he is playing with a hellhound that he inadvertantly summoned by dropping his hydrolized soy protein dog food into a pentagram.  I would not be surprised.