Foot Prints in the Snow
Lieutenant Alexander Kand watched the ground as he walked along the snowy walk. It was slippery, and he carefully studied the ground for patches of ice. He began to study the footprints of those who had passed along this route before him, trying to guess who they belonged to, and where they were going. One in particular piqued his interest. He could only make out the heel impression, the rest of the print having been lost in the crush of other tracks. The heel was marked by an x, that almost looked as if it had stitches along the letter. He decided to follow that print, watching for it. He came to an intersection, and the print seemed to veer off in the direction he was not going. Reluctantly, he continued on his way, knowing he didn't have the leisure of wandering off today. He was pleasantly surprised to find the print again on the other side of the road. He kept watching the marks until the print was lost in the tracks of other travellers entering the market district. Disappointed at the loss of the trail, he went in to work.
"Good morning Muffet," he said as he rubbed the head of the station tabby cat. "You look tired. Been chasing down those dirty rats all night?" Muffet meowed and rubbed against him.